AN: There you go! 70 days later, a new chapter comes out. An early Christmas gift! Happy Holidays everybody! If anyone is wondering or cares, I am having a great time in Australia! Going to Sydney soon and will hopefull find a job there. If you don't care, well, you're not here for the Author's Note anyway, enjoy the chapter!

"We have done some research." Lily began.

"A lot of research." James interjected and held his hands up innocently when Lily gave him a piercing and slightly irritated look. "What? We have barely done anything else between working and taking care of Daisy!"

They were in Dumbledore's office, Dumbledore behind his desk, with Lily and James seated comfortably in a couch and Harry standing. He had been pacing around and just finished recounting his experience with finding the philosophers stone and facing Voldemort when Lily began to talk. He was now standing rather awkwardly, not sure where to go. There was room for a third person on Lily and James' couch but he would not feel comfortable sitting there. He chose to stay where he was, standing. It somehow gave him a sense of advantage. Dumbledore was looking at him expectantly, did he know what Harry's parents were talking about?

"Okay?" Harry said, not enduring the pregnant pause any longer. "What kind of research?" James and Lily opened their mouths to speak but then both hesitated. They looked at each other, somehow communicating before Lily finally spoke.

"We have researched our," She gulped, "actions and the reasons for them since approximately ten years ago." She paused and looked down at her feet. James had grabbed her hand in his and was looking hopefully at Harry. Dumbledore was seated behind his desk with his hands clasped, a calm and peaceful expression donning his face. Harry drew from the safety of that peace and schooled his own expression. He felt a tiny shiver run down his back. What did they mean reasons for their actions? Were they looking for excuses? He felt his hands begin to slightly shake and a heat was rising trough his neck.

"When we dropped David off at King's Cross on his first day of Hogwarts I met Sirius." The words were tumbling out of James in a terrible rush. "He told us that he had dropped you off there and was very mad and I couldn't understand what was the matter with him!" He was now gesturing wildly with his arms. "Then Daisy told us that you had been home all summer and that she had given you a birthday present. We felt so very confused and like, somehow, something was missing..." His voice broke off. Harry could feel the heat spreading up his face, reaching up to his ears. Was this leading to where he thought it was. They wouldn't dare! Not now! He tried to calm himself. Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. He glanced at Dumbledore. The old man was still seated comfortably and had yet to make sound or reaction to anything they had said. So he knew about it and what's more, going by his expression he might even see some credibility with what Harry's parents were getting at.

"I searched through all the old albums until I finally found this one." Lily said and held out an old photo album. Harry snatched it off her and tucked it under his wand arm. He did not need to open it. He knew exactly what it contained. It was the recordings of how Harry had been slowly more and more shunned until he was all but completely neglected. He had spent more than enough hours mulling over this very album with tears in his eyes, asking why, until Sirius had hidden it from him.

"It hit us like a backlash." James continued. "What we had done over the course of ten years just washed over us!"

"So after weeks of writing and rewriting, we sent you that first letter..." Lily whispered in a small voice.

Harry felt like he was going to explode. A Confundus charm? A CONFUNDUS CHARM! How could they? How dare they? He opened his mouth to begin his tirade but was stopped by an old and wrinkled hand on his shoulders. Dumbledore had, without Harry noticing, gone up to stand next to Harry. He still wore that calm and peaceful expression, albeit slightly more somber.

"Harry, come have a seat." He said in a calm and collected manner but with a hint of steel and power. Suddenly he seemed like a very large man and Harry felt like a very little boy in comparison. Dumbledore radiated control and power. The strongest wizard of his generation. Chief Warlock. Supreme Mugwump. Leader of the Light. There was no disobeying that voice. Slowly, carefully, Dumbledore led Harry behind the Headmaster's desk and to sit in the big and lavish chair that belonged to the Headmaster. He kept his hand on Harry's shoulder even after Harry had sat down and Harry was rather thankful for it. Harry took a few deep breaths and looked out over the oval office. He remembered the last time he was in this chair. Then he had been in control. Now, he had to be in control once again. James and Lily seemed slightly smaller from his new viewpoint. He could draw comfort from that. He once again prepared to speak, but no outburst this time.

"Do you mean that all the neglect, all the pain and suffering you have caused to me, were because of a Confundus charm?" There was poison in his voice and Harry knew it.

"Of course we in no way mean to excuse our behaviour with this!" James exclaimed and made to stand up.

"Then what exactly is the point of bringing this up?" Harry retorted quickly and James shrank back into the couch, becoming small once again.

"We have made extensive research into this and a lot of what we've found point towards this conclusion." Lily said slowly. "For example, how it seemed that we didn't realize what we were doing. How, when we did realize, the spell seemed to break and the backlash hit us with tremendous force. The fact that we did not neglect Daisy in preference of David. How, I know that I love you and always have, underneath all the cruelties and mistakes I've made." There were tears in Lily's eyes. Harry did not really know what to say. On one hand, he thought she deserved all the pain she felt, he even enjoyed it and was slowly speculating on how to increase it. On the other hand, it pained him to see her this way and he wanted nothing more than to comfort her as he knew she would have done to David or Daisy.

" I feel the same way." James intoned steadily. "And we believed that you had the right to know where our research has led us." Harry was about to interject but James continued. "However, we cannot be sure that a Confundus charm is the cause of our behaviour. There are still too many unanswered questions. First and foremost, we must know how this has affected you, Harry. We can understand and even accept that you may hate us. How even the sight of us brings you pain and suffering. How it conflicts with your love for Daisy and I suspect even for David from what I've heard and seen of your interactions. We can also understand how our sudden change in behaviour may also may cause you great confusion and a new set of conflict within yourself." He stopped and there was quiet in the room for a while as Harry let everything they had just said sink in.

He tried not to let his feelings show as his mind was working at an incredible speed. It would be so easy to just lay the blame on a Confundus charm. To go back to being a happy family. He could almost see himself forgiving them just like that and join them for the summer. Eat dinner with them. Celebrate his birthday with his whole family for the first time in ten years. At the same time, he hated them for looking for excuses. It was so petty of them and Harry could see that it was an even easier way out for them than it was for him. Still, if what they said was true about how they suddenly had their change of heart was true, then it sure did seem like something was slightly off to say the least. And they couldn't confirm it being a Confundus charm with just their side either. They also needed to know how it had affected Harry. If there wasn't any sign of it in Harry, then their research would fall apart. And if there was? Then it would confirm their research. They would all truly be able to blame the charm. If that were the case, would Harry be willing to admit it to them? Would Harry be able to see past the neglect and suffering of ten years? If it was a Confundus charm and he managed to break it, that might even automatically give him the chance to do so. That would mean that the animosity and hate he has felt between him and his parents weren't real emotions, wouldn't it? But even if the emotions weren't real, the actions still were. He shook his head and looked up at Dumbledore. The old man's eyes were twinkling madly and he wore a small and tight smile. Was he using Legilimency on Harry? Had he bypassed Harry's walls? Could he do so without Harry noticing? Harry wasn't sure. He returned to his musing. There remained a few more questions apart from how this would affect him and his relationship with his parents. How, when, why and who. He looked down on his parents, making sure his face didn't betray a single emotion.

"Let's say this, situation," he gestured vaguely with his hands, "was caused by a Confundus charm. Then who did it, why did they do it, when did they do it and how did they do it? Bloody hell, who is even strong enough to perform such a spell?"

"If it is indeed true that there might be magic involved in your mistreatment," Dumbledore said calmly from next to Harry, "I believe we can approximate the when of it to the moment of Voldemort's defeat or shortly thereafter. As for your other questions, I have some theories but none of them matter unless there truly is such a magic in play."

"Did Voldemort do it?" Harry asked the old man and received a serious look in return. It would be the most obvious and logical suspect, disregarding how the Dark Lord would be able to cast such a powerful and complicated Confundus charm without even Harry's parents present at the moment of his defeat.

"He would certainly be strong enough." Dumbledore said after a moment's thought. And so would you, Harry thought. He didn't say it out loud, though. Knowing Dumbledore, straight answers were very rare, he might even have another culprit in mind that Harry hadn't even thought about. Harry returned his attention to his parents.

"Well?" He demanded. They looked unsure and Harry hid a little smile. They must have been expecting an outburst, or at least they had not expected the reaction they got.

"Well, what we need you to do, to confirm or deny our research, is to somehow find out whether or not you show the symptoms of a Confundus charm." Lily said. "We would suggest going to a Mind Healer..."

"Nope." Harry answered.

"What?" Lily and James asked in unison. They had obviously not expected trouble at this point, not when they had gotten this far. Harry had even listened to them and was seemingly seriously considering what they had said. No, they had expected resistance a lot earlier. They had probably not expected him to even hear them out and that he did had made them bold.

"Then how do you expect to find out if our research has led us to the right conclusion or not?" James asked and Harry had to admit that to their credit, they had not completely given in to the temptation of excusing their behaviour with a Confundus charm.

"I don't know." Harry answered nonchalantly. "I don't even know that I will see if I have been the victim of a Confundus charm. It does seem like an awfully convenient explanation, doesn't it?" They had the decency to blush. Good. "I do know, though, that I will not see a Mind Healer and that's final. Now, I would like for you to leave." He dismissed them, although he knew that it was not his place to do so. Dumbledore, however, didn't say anything and Harry fought the urge to look at the old man.

"But, Harry!" Lily exclaimed and Harry clenched his teeth.

"I will give you the answer of my decision when I am ready and willing to do so. Until then, our previous arrangement stands." Lily looked like she wanted to protest but James put a soothing hand on Lily's arm. He nodded towards Harry.

"For Daisy." He said and stood up as if to go. "Come on Lils. For now, it's best if we leave."

Harry watched them go with a serious expression. Lily glanced back several times, clearly wanting to stay for a while longer but James stoically kept his gaze forward.

As soon as the door shut behind them, Harry put his forehead on the desk. He didn't know whether he should laugh, cry, or scream, so he did all three.

.

When Harry woke up, the first thing he noticed was that he had a slight headache. The second thing he noticed was that he wasn't in his bed. He wasn't in a bed in the Hospital Wing either. In fact, he wasn't in a bed at all. It took him a few extra seconds to realize that he was still in the Headmasters office. He was lying on the very couch that his parents had been sitting on only... how long ago? Harry felt clear eyes watching him. Dumbledore was seated on his stool behind his desk, a document held in both hands in front of him. His moon shaped spectacles had slipped down his nose and he was bending his head slightly backwards to properly see Harry. Harry then remembered the events that had transpired before. How he had broken down on Dumbledore's desk until sleep took him. The old wizard must then have relocated Harry to the sofa.

"Ahh, Harry," Dumbledore said. "Hot chocolate?" Dumbledore offered and gestured to a steaming cup of hot chocolate on his desk. Harry sat up and nodded and with a gesture from Dumbledore, the steaming cup was flowing gently through the air towards Harry. "I always find it refreshing with a cup of hot chocolate after an emotionally draining day." Dumbledore smiled gently and went back to do his paperwork. He didn't say anything else and so Harry quietly sipped his hot chocolate and felt his headache slowly disappear in tact with Dumbledore's small stack of paperwork. Once finished, Harry let out a contented sigh and relaxed into the sofa as Dumbledore caught his eye with his own twinkling ones. "You might find it interesting that you were asleep for exactly three hours, eight minutes and two seconds." The old man said in a jovial tone before turning serious. "You and I have some serious business to deal with."

"Yes, sir." Harry answered, immediately alert.

"First of all, I'd like to know if you take your parent's research and theories seriously or not." Dumbledore said and Harry sighed once again, this time not so contently.

"How can I not?" He asked and Dumbledore gave a hint of a smile.

"Oh, Harry, I can see many reasons as to why you wouldn't, one of them standing out very clearly. Perhaps this is where your Ravenclaw side shows through, putting logic and reasoning before your feelings. And while their reasoning is sound, it is not foolproof." Dumbledore pondered.

"Do you think I shouldn't? Do you think they're wrong?" Harry demanded and he almost felt a little hopeful.

"That, I cannot say. Not yet. All I know is that there is powerful magic in feelings. There might be some other reason as to how and why they felt as they did." Dumbledore took a moment to pop a lemon drop into his mouth. "You are perhaps familiar with the patronus charm?" Harry nodded. "The Unforgivables?" Harry, a bit startled, nodded again. "Yes, Harry, just like how the patronus charm is strengthened by a happy memory, the three Unforgivable curses are strengthened by negative emotions, as you may have presumed, mostly hate."

"I... see." Harry said as he took a moment to ponder this. It made sense. It also implied that although he and his parents might not have been subject to a Confundus Charm, magic itself might have imbued itself into Harry's and his parent's emotions throughout the years, nudging them slightly in the directions of creating the distance between them, thus resulting in the animosity felt between them. But that was next to unexplored area of magic that would be next to impossible to investigate, much less prove. Harry shook his head. "You might have a point, sir, and it might even be worth investigating after we have confirmed whether a Confundus Charm has or has not been in place." Dumbledore gave Harry a pleased smile.

"Harry, you absolutely astound me. I cannot begin to fathom what a brilliant wizard you will become one day!" Harry blinked a few times at the praise and to make things even worse, he felt his cheeks heat up.

"Not as great a wizard as you, sir, surely." Harry mumbled and Dumbledore's eyes began twinkling playfully.

"Oh, I do believe that you will eclipse me many times over," Dumbledore began and smiled at Harry's raised eyebrows. "You are right though, in pure power, many if any aren't my match, but in heart, despite your many troubles or perhaps because of them, you, Harry Potter, are many times my match."

"I..." Harry didn't quite know what to say to that. Dumbledore chuckled slightly.

"Now that I have successfully rendered even your quick wit speechless, I believe it is time we see to the matter at hand. Let me be direct, do you know how Lily and James intended to see if you were affected by a Confundus Charm?" Dumbledore said and Harry shook his head.

"They wanted me to go to a Mind Healer. There is no way I'm willingly letting anyone see inside my head, what I've been through." Harry felt himself getting aggravated by just the thought.

"I understand." Dumbledore said soberly with a slightly pained expression that soon changed into something akin to hope and satisfaction. "However, that is not what I was referring to. Rather, the process of looking into your mind to find the missing links that would either prove, or disprove their research and what is only thus far, theory. Fortunately, and I don't doubt much to your own sense of security, with your skill at Occlumency, it will not be necessary for anyone else but you to perform the investigation." Harry nodded, not helping but feeling slightly smug and almost arrogant.

"So, what do I do exactly?" Harry asked. Mind magic was always a very interesting topic.

"Well, that is a rather interesting bit of magic!" Dumbledore said delightedly. "I received quite an interesting lecture from Poppy about the moral implications of subjecting someone to such a powerful and severe Confundus charm... I will spare you the unnecessary details," Dumbledore winked and Harry grinned. "Essentially, what you have to do is to look into your own mind and focus on your feelings. Apparently there is no such thing as an absolute perfect Confundus Charm and there will, without exception, exist evidence."

"So I look into my memories, focusing on my feelings to find...what?" Harry asked.

"Well, my boy." Dumbledore started. "What do you think would indicate a Confundus Charm?"

"Hmm..." Harry hummed. "Maybe if I could find some memory in the early stages after that night where I actually felt loved...?" Dumbledore smacked his lips.

"Ahh, to find a moment where the supposed Confundus Charm had somehow failed to manifest itself in its early stages. Definitely not a bad tactic. That would be a very obvious piece of evidence and make it a very simple case. It might, however, not be that obvious." Dumbledore continued. "For a Confundus Charm to work on you, a child wanting to be loved, it would have to be incredibly subtle to escape notice in its early stages. It could not simply have you cut off connections from your parents immediately and them with you. But if it indeed is there, it would have to show through in some ways."

"Such as what?" Harry mused. What Dumbledore was saying did make sense. If the change was too drastic and too fast, magic would be suspected as a reason.

"Signs of doubt, regret and unwillingness to perform certain actions that would further alienate yourself. Body and mouth moving without the complete consent of the mind." Dumbledore said. "Of course, these things may be very hard to find even if they are there, it will take an incredible amount of concentration and perhaps months to yield results since what you are looking for might not even exist."

Harry pondered that. If he wanted to, he could refuse to do it on the premise of it being just a way to excuse their behaviour. Doing that would surely not be helpful to their relationship. Did that mean he wanted to fix their relationship then? To transform it into what it should have been. The reason he ever spent time with them form the beginning was because of Daisy but it had still come so naturally that it surprised him. And it had been strange how they had done a complete one-eighty in the beginning of the school year.

What would happen if he didn't find anything? It would hurt, knowing for sure that their actions towards him came completely from themselves and weren't affected by some outer force. Receiving that ultimate truth, he would probably completely cut off ties with them. Leave the house, move in with Sirius, maybe even take legal action against them. He could not see himself ever speak a civil word to them if that were the case. It would hurt, to leave Daisy, and even David, but it was a pain he could take. A pain he was used to.

On the other hand what would happen if he did find it, if this Confundus Charm truly was in place. It would mean that more than half of his life had been a lie. Could he really accept that? Could he disregard ten years of neglect just like that? A voice spoke from deep inside of him. A part of you do want to know them better. A part of you still want their love. And if there is a Confundus Charm, isn't that your true feelings?

Harry nodded to himself. He had made his decision. If the Confundus Charm existed or not, he would find the answer. He couldn't leave it in suspense like this, not knowing the truth of it. For Daisy. For David. Maybe even for his parents.

And most importantly.

For himself.

AN: Nice! I rather liked this chapter. We're getting closer to finally getting some answers, despite my slow updating.

Now, what would you prefer? The existence or nonexistence of a Confundus Charm? Your answers may or may not influence the outcome.

Hope you liked it and you are very welcome to review as I usually ask. There is no telling when the next chapter will come out. Toodiloo