As usual I own nothing!

Molly was fuming. When she saw that man standing in the doorway of her kitchen smiling like he had nothing wrong everything but that articles venomous words were pushed from her head.

Fortunately for the older man her wand was on the bed upstairs, unfortunately for him she was still holding a basket full of damp clothing waiting to be hung, and they were about to be hung from his crooked nose!
Without even thinking she grabbed a sock from the top of the basket and threw it at the man, hitting him square in the eye!

With a full basket in her hands and a mind full of maternal fury she continued with her bombardment while her husband could only stand flabbergasted in shock, watching as trousers, shirts, underwear, robes and socks went flying.

It was only then it occurred to the redheaded man that a family of their size and tendency to roughhouse truly did produce a lot of laundry!

He was surprised the older man didn't seem too interested in stopping the barrage, almost like he was too surprised that it was happening at all to do anything about it leaving him to just wait it out in shock.

Fortunately Molly quickly ran out of clothing, unfortunately she instead turned to a verbal attack

"How dare you! Leaving that sweet boy in such an awful place! You said he was safe! You said you cared! There's no other choice, he had to stay there, you said! Did you even check who these people were before you left a venerable child there? He was a baby! An innocent baby who lost everything and you left him with criminals! What do you have to say for yourself?!" she demanded

Arthur was glad she had apparently remembered the house full of sleeping teenagers as her rant surprisingly remained at a regular level of speaking, however the tone may as well have been a banshee's cry!

Dumbledore had the good sense to look ashamed before replying

"My dear, I truly believed Harry was in the safest possible place he could be!" he started in a serious tone that was severely damaged by the sock caught in his beard "I assure you: any criminal activity that MAY have happened in that family must have happened in Vernon Dursley's office! It's one of the few places I did not keep under observation, why would I? The man makes drills!"

"What are drills?" Arthur interrupted only to be immediately silenced by one look from his wife and her hand twitching towards a rather large cookbook on the table next to her- dangerously in arms reach

"What about that article then?" Molly asked in a tone so cold it would give a snowman frostbite "that woman being charged with neglect?"

"Ah, well- I'm following that up but do remember my dear: Ms Skeeter does have a tendency to… exaggerate. Actually, that's partially why I'm here. I wanted to talk to Harry, get his side of the story and all the first hand details for part of my investigation, so if you don't mind…" he made a gesture to the stairs clearly indicating he wanted to go up though Molly was still blocking the way

"He's asleep" was her blunt reply

"So late? Surely he can be woken for something as important as this?"

"He's a growing boy who had a hard day yesterday. He needs to sleep"

"But surely…"
"He NEED's to sleep"

That final statement was said with such finality that for all his power not even Dumbledore dared order her aside

Just as he was about to make another appeal he spotted the redheaded man standing behind his wife slowly shake his head and point to the large book besides the witches ever twitching hand.

With that he decided the best course of action would be a tactical change in approach: the socks hurt enough and that book looked heavy!

He absentmindedly wondered if Molly had ever been a quidditch beater.

"That's very reasonable then: you know young people better than I, I'm sure! Years teaching children, aiding them and watching them grow does nothing on raising seven of your own"

"Eight"

"Eight? My goodness are congratulations in order?" he smiled, eyes drifting down to her plump waist in hidden shock

"Until you can prove Harry is in good hands with that pathetic excuse for a family he has I'm officially claiming him as one of my own" Molly stated as fact

"I'm not sure that's entirely allowed" Dumbledore started

"As far as I'm concerned he's been one of my children since he came to stay when he was twelve!"

Again the headmaster realised he wasn't winning this. How was he- a wizard of such experience and power- losing so many battles today? He wondered.

Love, he told himself, he always said love was powerful and the woman before him was overflowing with maternal love! He just had to wait for her to calm down and h was sure she'd relinquish this overprotective hold over Harry and he could get back to putting things in order.

"In that case I will trust his care to you until this mess is sorted out" he smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes "do you mind if I ask how you were able to know he needed collecting seemingly before anyone else?" he probed

There was no hiding the way Mr Weasley's chest swelled a little in pride

"He called me" he stated proudly "when the muggle law told him he could have an adult present he decided to call me to ask for help"
Arthur was fully aware what sticky territory he was currently in, but the joy he felt over the small victory still warmed him, though he decided to show the older man's pride some mercy

"Hedwig was away, I think I was the only wizard he know to have a phone. Plus my line of work probably helped, and I like to think to a small degree he trusts me"

"Yes, good man" Dumbledore said thinking hard "It was foolish of me not to give Harry a way of contacting people in a case of magical emergency. It's very good he had you to rely on"

There was an air of bitterness that did not go unmissed: if ONLY Harry had called HIM! The headmaster thought. Albus could have slapped himself for not giving Harry a method to communicate with him over the summer! That certainly would have been helpful in preventing this mess! Not to mention build another level of trust between him and the boy.

While Dumbledore would deny the articles claims about him wanting to turn Harry into a brainwashed puppet who blindly followed him he would admit (if only to himself) that he really did need to be the boy's first point of contact!
For most of his pupils emergencies could be handled by parents, guardians, authorities or even other teachers… but Harry?
He needed a little extra attention in that area.

Not out of favouritism! Just… the boy was unique. And his problems tended to be a tad more… extreme? Impactful? Bazar? Severe?
Yes, severe. With long term impacts.

After all, most of the Hogwarts student has issues like homework, romance, puberty, maybe a fight with their parents (and in some of his Slytherins cases: yes the parents were former Death Eaters, though he was confident he was keeping close enough tabs on those families to keep those children safe, though it was unfortunate he couldn't stop the parents being a bad influence).

"So what, precisely, do you know of the situation my good man?" he asked the red-head

"As far as I'm aware, as much as Harry knows, or at least as much as he's willing to say, maybe a little more can be inferred" the man replied "Harrys uncle has been arrested for crimes linked to illegal substances. I'm not sure if he was trafficking them, selling them, or anything specific like that, though were both fairly sure the man himself wasn't taking them"
He paused for a moment, thinking of exactly what he wanted to say and how much he wanted to say in front of his wife (who, while being considerably calmer now it was certainly more of a simmer waiting to boil rather than her really 'cooling off' as the metaphor would have it)

"The people investigating were concerned by what they saw of Harry's home life, though he doesn't seem to be physically injured. One of the main issues seems to be the lack of certain documents such as a birth certificate or any evidence to prove who he is or that he's supposed to live there. It's a good thing he did call me; turns out the Dursley's didn't tell him the official cover story to explain where he went to school, what happened to his parents or… well anything really"

Dumbledore looked shocked at that "Well they knew!" he stated in genuine surprise "I included a reminder in a letter to them not to mention Petunia should have remembered the majority from Lily's days in school!"
Sometimes he truly did detest that woman!

Sensing the rising tension in the room Arthur decided it was time to take control and de-escalate the situation

"Perhaps we should let Harry and the kids rest for now and we should instead try to think of a way to address what issues we need to tackle in what order, then get Harry involved this afternoon when we can be a little more certain in our plan. That should give him confidence and alleviate any distress this may have brought him" the wizard reasoned

Molly immediately nodded, mostly happy with the idea of Harry being protected a little longer.

Dumbledore cocked his head in thought for a moment "very well, it will serve no purpose to distress young Harry any further"
"But we should get him involved no later than this afternoon, even if it's just to give him an update on what we're doing about the situation" Arthur stated suddenly "He has to be involved in this!"

Both the other parties looked ready to protest so he continued

"Harry is complex" he started "far more mature than anyone give him credit for. But he's also a teenager! I think we've all seen that if he feels like he's being treated like a fragile doll he becomes a lot harder to predict and a lot more likely to go against our advice"

Both his companions couldn't help nodding at that

"In other words: if we treat Harry like a responsible adult he will behave like a responsible adult. If we act like we don't trust him, he will never trust us! Besides, we have no reason to hide anything from him! This is about his life, his wishes, and his experiences! We need him to understand what's going on so we can receive any relevant information he may be able to provide to aid us in this case, future situations, and also to inform us on how to make his life better!"

Arthur looked at the two, hoping what he said had sunk in. the headmaster spoke first

"Well said, I couldn't agree more. However, given the complexity of the situation I would advise three things for the meantime: first, I would still like to speak to Harry as soon as he's available" both the Weasley parents nodded eventually "second, giving the fact this matter is probably going to become very public very quickly I would advise Harry keep to your house and the immediate surroundings for not to avoid harassment, and third, I think this afternoon may be a little soon to have any details ready. I have already spoken to the minister but he seems reluctant to provide assistance so I will speak to the owner of the Prophet about avoiding the subject of Harry for now and then see what I can do about Vernon Dursley and the trouble he's in"

Everyone eventually agreed, Arthur assuring the older wizard that when Harry awoke he would tell him that they were dealing with the situation and the basic steps they would take, while Molly made it clear SHE would contact HIM when Harry was ready to talk to him.

With that the old wizard left feeling his world spiral ever further from his ever-present control.

…

…

…

Dumbledore was back in his office after what seemed like a day that would never end. He'd been cross examined by a minister, pelted with socks by Molly Weasley, lost his authority over Harry, one of the boys guardians had been arrested, the other was under suspicion of child abuse, and now it looked like the blood wards were almost guaranteed to fail as his investigation showed Vernon Dursley to almost certainly be guilty of the crimes he was arrested for. As much as Dumbledore wished to simply obliviate all involved and deal with Dursley personally the Article made that almost impossible, plus a small part of him screamed that it truly would be going too far!

Fortunately he found no real evidence of physical abuse, though he feared that did not disprove it had happened. Unfortunately it certainly looked like Harry had had a far harder life than Dumbledore cared to think.

"Where did I go wrong?" he sighed looking forlorn

"Is that an actual question or rhetorical?" asked Professor Minerva McGonagall who had fortunately calmed down from her own reading of the paper before they crossed paths so he had only needed to dodge a dozen or so hexes when he showed up and then deal with a 30 minute scolding about how he hadn't listened when she warned him not to leave Harry at number 4 and how she had raised concerns about Harrys home life every year.

However it seemed that her own personal guilt was dampening the fiery witches rage. She was the boy's head of house, surely she should have noticed something to raise more than vague concern that Harry wasn't as happy as he should have been? Spoken to him? Found something solid?

Now she stood with her former teacher and now boss and friend, wondering how everything could have gone so wrong. After a moment she finally spoke

"Do you know what your problem is Albus?" she asked

He raised an eyebrow but otherwise stayed silent

"You're a genius who knows he's a genius" She finished

"My dear" he smiled "I know my limits, knowing your strengths and limitations is an asset not an issue"

"Ah, but I'm not talking about assets" she interrupted "you see Albus, your mind doesn't work like most peoples. And while it's true that often plays to your favour it means while you know and understand the reasoning behind your actions you never stop to explain them and the desired outcome to those around you. You know you're smart and therefore your decision is smart, but others need to know too for those results to happen"
"I would have thought the desired outcome would be clear: stop the war, defeat Voldemort and preserve innocent lives" Dumbledore countered calmly

"Yes but you're trying to reach those goals with incomplete information" The younger witch explained "you come up with your plans while predicting how others will act and respond in certain situations but because they don't have the same information as you they won't respond in that manner you expect. Something rash to you is completely rational to them and something bizarre to them is every day to you. You can out a cake on the table and fill it with poison because you know there are rats in the kitchen, but unless you put up a sign or tell people not to eat it or they will die you can't be surprised when someone takes a slice"

"But I do tell people as much as they need. They always trusted me in the past!"

"But blind trust can only take people so far. It will only work for so long until people need some kind of reassurance. You have to reinforce that trust by talking to people, showing them what you're doing and explaining why it works. It's a basic principle of being a teacher!"

The headmaster sighed wearily

"You must understand I'm only trying to achieve a greater good. Secrets are a part of that, for security, for tactics. I can't just lay all my cards on the table Minerva" he said sadly "I'm looking at the bigger picture"

"I'm afraid the you've stared at that picture so long it's twisted your sight" she sighed "you only see the frame instead of the content within.

You need to think of how others will interpret situations and actions: imagine if you were a parent of a young child" Minerva started. Albus nodded so she continued

"You came down with an infectious disease and while not too serious for an adult if your child catches it would be very dangerous. Now as a result when your child asks for a hug you refuse and won't go near them. To you that's perfectly logical. You want to protect your kid and keeping a distance is the most effective method. However the child won't think that way. They won't understand unless it's explained to them and if it isn't, or it's not explained in a way they comprehend that action of refusing a hug would be nothing short of cruel. The child would think they'd done something wrong or were being punished. Or that you didn't love them anymore"

Albus pondered this for a moment, letting the words sink in

"What do I do?" he asked solemnly "What do I need to fix this? All I have are my mind, my magic, and my morals. I never wanted to hurt anyone"

"Your hearts in the right place my friend, and your mind and magic are a tremendous, but you just need one more thing: empathy"

The two sat in silence for a moment, neither quite knowing what to say to that, until it was finally broken by an owl swooping in through the open window. Much too both teachers dread it was carrying the afternoon paper. Fortunately it want front page news yet (that was still being taken up by some Quidditch scandal) however sure enough on page three there was a half-page article penned by Skeeter:

Illegal substance scandal linked to Hogwarts Headmaster?

As I'm sure my diligent readers will know, this very morning a scandal arose linked to illegal substance and abusive behaviour being associated with Harry Potter's guardians, assigned to the young boy by none other than Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore.

Due to the sensitive nature of the situation and the ongoing case (being run by the muggle authorities) this reporter has decided it would be best for both the investigation and the privacy of its young victim this report shall not disclose any further details of the case until deemed appropriate. Instead it shall focus of a greater issue at hand one that effects the whole of Britain's Wizarding World:
How did the great Dumbledore allow this to happen?

How could such an atrocious situation in which a child, deemed the saviour of the wizarding world, could be left in such a dangerous and unstable household?
Is it neglect? Or a cover up?

It truly is strange that no one noticed the warning signs despite the glaring discrepancy between members of the household. One look at the two underage boys living in the household shows clear signs of a troubled home life: Mr Potter is clearly underweight, however one glance at his cousin of the same age shows a dangerous and frankly alarming level of obesity!
The boys clothing also varies startlingly in quality, Mr Potters being old and poor fitting, while the other boy dressed in 'top of the rang' muggle clothing.

Now surely some of these signs could be explained: why would Mr Potter spend lavish amounts of money of clothes he'd only wear a few months of the year? And as a Seeker he'd surely want to stay light (weight management is believed to be a common issue amongst seekers wishing to stay light as it makes the faster and more agile).

However: the family's wealth should surely permit a decent set of summer clothes, and the sheer difference between the two boys should be a red flag to anyone keeping an eye on the family.

Furthermore, it appears Mr Potter doesn't go home for any other holiday besides summer.

This raises an important question: how did no teacher realise there was an issue, and how, despite his assurance of him closely guarding the boy, did the headmaster not realise there was an issue?

This man, the one in charge of almost all the children in the countries education! The man we trust to house, feed, and care for those in our world who are most vulnerable!

Is it just those in Muggle families he's neglecting his duties to? Or are other vulnerable children slipping under his radar?

As many know Albus Dumbledore, as well as being the Headmaster of Hogwarts School, is Chief Warlock for the Wizengamot, and Supreme Mugwamp of the International Confederation of Wizards. Could this simply be a case of one man being stretch too thin? Or is there something more sinister going on.

While one may hope this is simply an unfortunate oversite combined with overcompensation not to give special treatment to young Harry, it is worth noting that witnesses have come forward in the past saying they met the child when he was 11 on his first trip to Diagon Alley, and stated he seemed confused when people made a fuss over him. To the point apparently it appeared too many that he was unaware of magic even existing prior to that moment.

Surely it would seem strange to a child to go from a world of mistreatment to suddenly have a world of people showering you with love, praise and admiration.

While it would surely seem daunting at first there is no doubt in this reporters mind it would create a subconscious loyalty and affection towards any who indoctrinated him into such a world.

To have such a radical change in one's life would surely make any risks associated such as threats from foes such as Sirius Black and those Death Eaters that escaped justice seem like minor inconveniences. Indeed, it has been remarked that Potter not only shows little care for his safety (we have multiple- unconfirmed- accounts that the boy has faced numerous dangers while at school, even helping to end the embarrassing 'Chamber of Secrets' fiasco where multiple students were attacked). It has even been said that there was an attempt to hide Potters link to Sirius Black from him after the criminal escaped, rather than warn him of imminent danger.

Could it be our children's headmaster is trying to hide the possible dangers there in so they won't question his reckless decisions and instead will swear utter loyalty to him?

It is certainly suspicious that every summer our young hero is hidden from our world with relative who, even if they are fit parents, cannot do magic to defend the child or educate him on our world, and while he is in our world it is at Hogwarts under Albus Dumbledore's careful watch, controlling what he is exposed to, where he gets his information, what he eats, right down to his friends and identity.

We can only hope a full investigation will be launched into this matter by the Ministry to ensure no further cover-ups are allowed to occur!

The transfiguration teacher could only stair in shock at the article, while the Headmaster sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Well that was gentler than I expected" he sighed "at least the focus veered form Harry towards the end"

"How is this better?!" McGonagall exclaimed exasperated "she's making Hogwarts sound like some kind of bazaar cult and you sound like some brainwashing manipulator!"

"I have nothing to hide in how I run my school. I may have made some mistakes with Harry but I am confident all the other students are safe and well cared for" he smiled, though it did not reach his eyes

"Do you recall my telling you that apparently one of Mr Longbottom's relatives dangled him out the window by his ankles? And dropped him!" she asked exasperated

"I reprimanded them!" the older wizard said simply "and his grandmother assured me it won't happen again"
"His grandmother is the reason he's too nervous to hold his wand straight, let alone have the confidence to perform well in class"

"On the contrary, I believe Mr Longbottom to be quite an apt young wizard"

The younger witch could only roll her eyes

"Even if you ignore your student's home life-"

"Which I don't" the headmaster interrupted only for McGonagall to continue like he hadn't spoken

"There are many other issues which, if brought to light, may give some parents cause for concern" she finished

"Such as?"

"The fact you hired a teacher with the dark lord stuck to the back of his head"

"He was not attached at the time I hired Professor Quirrell"

"The fact that you then hired a teacher who, on top of being a fraud who had attacked multiple witches and wizards over the years, then proceeded to vanish the bones in one students arm, then attack said student and his friend leaving another to die, and on top of that was completely unqualified to teach"

"In my defence I had no idea about Lockhart's fraud, I was not present for his attacking students and did believe the arm thing to be an honest mistake, which I still believe it was"

"He was still incompetent, and after that you hired a werewolf and hid his condition from the whole school"

"Professor Lupin was perfectly adapt at teaching, in deed I do believe you yourself attested to that fact to Severus on multiple occasions. And just because I didn't announce it to the school does not mean I hid it; if anyone asked I would have been honest. Besides, it wasn't that hard to figure out, Miss Granger did after all. Besides, he was perfectly safe"

"Firstly, I'm not denying he was a good teacher, nor am I saying you had to announce his condition to the school. Just to the other staff members and anyone who may be at risk! You told no one! Secondly, of course Miss Granger figured it out, Severus practically told the class to research it! You really think the brightest student in the school WOULDN'T figure it out? And third: HOW IS IT SAFE WHEN HE WENT RUNNING AROUND THE GROUNDS WITHOUT HIS POTION AND THREE STUDENTS ON THE LOOSE?!"

"You can't blame the man for forgetting one dose: he had just had a great shock realising one friend who he believed to be dead was alive, his friend who he believed to be a traitor was innocent, and the son of his third friend was in trouble. And Severus really wasn't the most helpful giving the circumstances, not bringing the potion with him to the shack. I find it quite easy to believe things got a little muddled for the poor man" Dumbledore said in a calm voice, pouring two cups of tea and gesturing to his friend to take one. She declined.

"It still won't look good. And while we're on the topic of Professor Snape, he won't help your case one bit! A known Death Eater who no one really trusts who also has a negative history with the Potter family and multiple complaints on file from students, parents and teachers for bullying behaviour and an unprofessional demeanour" she continued, determined to get her point into her head, by forcefully bashing it through his skull with a heavy object if necessary

"I understand the concern there but where else am I meant to put him?"

"…Anywhere. Anywhere else. Preferably with as few people as possible" she deadpanned

"I need to keep an eye on him" was the counter

"You NEED to keep an eye on the issues people keep raising and you keep letting slide! At LEAST give Hagrid a lesson plan he has to stick to!"

"I've been under the impression his lessons are quite informative"

"If it was a survival class then yes, the lessons would be perfect" McGonagall groaned "then again, considering the number of dangerous beasts in this school maybe you're right and he is perfect"

"I would appreciate you having a kinder tone about Remus my dear, he doesn't even teach here anymore"

"I mean the other ones!" Minerva all but yelled at the old man "the acromantula, the mermaids, the centaurs, the three headed dog, the troll, the basilisk, the giant squid- seriously: why do we need that squid?! Or the non-animal ones: Peeves- who has run amok with deadly weapons more than once, the punching tree, the devils snare, the vanishing steps that move, the… the…" she trailed off

"Are you done?" asked the headmaster, sounding genuinely concerned

"I'm just out of breath" she panted "and don't you dare point out that the squid hasn't killed anyone because that's a big yet!"

They sat in silence for a moment, Dumbledore sensing that any attempt to justify or defend himself would lead to a book to the head and he'd had quite enough projectiles flung at him for one day!

In the end he decided to try a new tactic

"I get the feeling you've wanted to get that off your chest for a while?" he asked. He only received a small nod from the still fuming (but considerably calmer) witch

"Feeling better" he asked

"Still angry" she said "but I hope you realise my point: all of those incidences are known to the students, and while maybe one or two can slip under the radar, like the acromantula, the majority will fall right on you. You need a reasonable explanation for issues that are completely unreasonable to expect parents to be ok with their children being exposed to"

"But my dear friend!" Albus started "many of those children have at least one parent who will have been to Hogwarts themselves! They know about the majority of these things as they have been in the school far longer than I have: the centaurs, the steps, Peeves… even the squid pre-dates me" he smiled "and I imagine they will all outlast me"

As she stood and looked at her former teacher and mentor Minerva realised it was true, half this stuff had either been around a long time before either of them were in the picture, or were out of the headmaster's control. He didn't allow a troll into the Dungeon, and could hardly rebuild the castle to modern standards… still

"Just understand you're going to have to put yourself in shoes of a parent and ask yourself: would I send my child here if I wasn't a teacher?" she sighed. Before turning and leaving the Headmaster in deep thought

…

…

…

The next morning Albus burst into the Minerva's kitchen while the woman was sat at the table eating toast. She really should have been more surprised, yet, she wasn't (it was not an isolated incident; the Headmaster had boundary issues)
"Minerva, you're right. Today I will announce that I am running a full investigation into both Mr Potter's case, and the running of the school to alleviate the parent's fears! I will invite them to raise any concerns they have in the way the school is currently managed and prove to them we take safety seriously. We will fix any potential issues the best we can and explain why others don't need fixing"

"Oh? And how will you distinguish which issues do and don't need fixing?"

"It will be a simple question of what actually poses a genuine threat to students and what I can do to take reasonable precautions: moving stairs: I can't stop them moving but I can think of something… put nets underneath or something, centaurs: I can try and arrange a meeting so they can explain they have no desire to hurt the children, the squid: well it hasn't eaten anyone- student or otherwise- since the school was founded so I think it's safe to say it's not likely to happen anytime soon. Others I can explain they've already been dealt with: the basilisk is dead, the troll was removed, and the next teacher I've hired has an impeccable record for obeying the law and not being a werewolf"

"Yet he's completely barking mad and possibly unstable"

"Well… maybe I can polish up his reputation a bit, convince the parents having an experienced teacher is just what the students need"

"And the death tournament?" Minerva deadpanned

"For the last time that wasn't my idea! And it's not a death tournament! And Harrys too young to enter anyway so at least he'll be out the way"

"Really?" she replied "you think the fact that Harry shouldn't be involved in the tournament because he's not supposed to will stop him from getting into some kind of trouble with it somehow? Have you even met the boy?"

"Well, yes, in the past he's gotten into scrapes…"

"By scrapes you man the FORBIDDEN forest, the Chamber of SECRETS, and the death maze you made to keep You Know Who at bay?"

"BUT" He continued as if she hadn't interrupted "this is a much more controlled situation and I doubt Harry will even want to participate"

"Albus, he never WANTS to be in the situations he winds up in, it just HAPPENS"

"It's not like he will trip and fall into the arena!"

Minerva rolled her eyes at that

"No, but he could have someone else enter his name, or have Hagrid show him one of the creatures thinking it will be a game and wind up getting the boy eaten- and don't act like he didn't sent two twelve year olds into an acromantula nest- or one of his enemies will use it as a way to get into the castle to attack or kidnap him. Not to mention one of the headmasters of the other schools is a convicted Death Eater!"

"The tournament is happening whether we like it or not. If you can make Fudge change his mind, be my guest"

"I'm just trying to make you realise you have a lot less power over that boy than you realise"

"My dear, right now I'm questioning if I have power over anything" Dumbledore sighed "but I will fix this, mark my words, by the time the Quidditch World Cup is over everything will be fixxed"

Authors note: I'm not thrilled with this chapter, but I've been working on it for a while and this is as happy as I think I'll get with it. Harry should be back in the next chapter and we'll get more info on how the investigation is about to take a surprising turn