Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, things would have been a lot different.

Author's Note: All of my thanks to my Beta Alethea 27. My deepest thanks to all of you loyal readers who have so patiently awaited this new chapter.

This chapter deals with abuse and handling it to which I have no proper knowledge of except for what I've read in other stories.

In Loving Memory of Alan Rickman.

Chapter Nineteen The Talk

"The Headmaster is here to see to you, Potter," Madam Pomfrey said when she came to take away his lunch tray.

Harry's head snapped up hearing the matron's words. This was the first time Harry would get to see Dumbledore since the last day of term that June. He had not seen the man in the near three days that he had been in the hospital wing. "Now?"

"Yes. He did say that if you're not feeling up to it, he could come back later."

"No, it's alright," Harry told her. "I'll see him."

Madam Pomfrey nodded as she took the tray and headed back to her office.

Harry had been dreading this moment. He had no idea what Dumbledore was going to say and he had no idea of what to say. Part of him was still angry at the man. Not telling him about the Order, Voldemort's plans, basically avoiding him at every which turn. The young wizard was sure the Headmaster would have wanted to see him once he arrived at Grimmulard Place but he had not. He wanted to know what was going on and he wanted to help despite Mrs. Weasley's claims that he was only a child. How could he be? He never had a real childhood. As he thought all this, his scar started to twinge and he reached up to rub it.

"Good afternoon, Harry."

Harry looked up to see the Headmaster standing at the foot of the bed. At first, Harry was not sure it was the Headmaster. His robes where far too subdued, near dull gray as opposed to his usual bright and loud colors. He was also without his hat which made him seem naked in a way. Something was wrong and it made Harry feel unsettled.

"May I sit?" Dumbledore asked, motioning to the empty chair by the bed.

"Of course, Sir," Harry answered as he sat up against his pillow.

Dumbledore too his seat and folded his hands in his lap. For the next couple of minutes, no one spoke. They just looked at each other. Harry noticed how old and frail the Headmaster appeared. He almost looked like he could disintegrate into a pile of dust if he was as so much as touched. Albus saw the young wizard doing his best not to show how hurt he truly was. For several long minuets, silence filled the space between the two wizards. Dumbledore cleared his throat a few times but just as he opened his mouth to say something, he quickly closed it. Harry meanwhile was starting to worry.

'Why hasn't he said something? He can't...No. He can't know. No one can. I was careful and Madam Pomfrey said I had just been slowly poisoned. No One could have found out about the Dursleys...'

Finally, Dumbledore cleared his throat and looked at Harry directly in his eyes. "Harry, I am sorry. I'm so very sorry."

"F...For what?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"For allowing my notions of love to blind me. For allowing a student under my care to suffer. For failing two of the people I loved."

Harry tuned his face away from the Headmaster. He could feel his heart hammering against his chest. "I...I don't know what you're..." His words just died off

"I know Harry," Dumbledore said. "I know how your relatives have treated you. I know that they've been abusing you."

Upon hearing this, Harry thought he felt his heart stop. "No," he said quietly as he shut his eyes and looked away. "You're wrong."

"Harry, there's no reason to feel ashamed," Dumbledore replied gently as he leaned over and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You've done nothing wrong."

'Done nothing wrong? How could the Headmaster say that?' Harry thought to himself. He had done something wrong he knew. The greatest wizard in the world now knew that the famed Boy-Who-Lived, the only person to survive the Killing Curse, could not protect himself from his own Muggle relatives

With that single thought, Harry felt all the weight and responsibilities that he had been forced to carry on his shoulders finally give way and it all came crashing down. Try as hard as he could, he could not stop the tears from escaping his tightly shut eyes.

"You're...you're wrong, Sir. They don't abuse me," Harry said in a tight voice. "I'm not abused at all."

"There's no need to lie anymore Harry. You're safe," Dumbledore told him kindly. He had seen this behavior before in past students. "Harry, I assure you that no one is disappointed with you or angry at you. We want to help you-"

"I DON'T NEED ANY HELP!" Harry suddenly yelled at the aged wizard. "I'M FINE! NO ONE IS FUCKING ABUSING ME SO PISS OFF!"

The instant the words were out of his mouth, Harry's faced paled in horror and he turned over and buried his face in his pillow and sobbed.

'I cursed Dumbledore. I'm so screwed,' Harry thought to himself as he cried.

Harry continued to cry until he felt the bed's mattress dip and he felt a warm comforting hand on his shoulder. Daring a peek, the Boy Who Lived looked up and saw the kind face of the Headmaster looking back at him.

"It's alright, Harry. You don't need to brave with me anymore."

All Harry could do was nod his head. He had no idea what to say. All he knew at the moment was that his heart felt like it was going to bust out of his chest and his lungs felt like they could explode at any minute.

"Here, drink this," Dumbledore said as he reached for a goblet from the bedside table. "It's a calming draft and it'll help."

Harry did as he was instructed and soon, he felt his heartbeat and breathing return to normal. Dumbledore took the goblet and with a wave of his hand vanished it. He then got up and returned to his seat.

Harry stared at his hands and tried to find the correct words to apologize to the Headmaster. "I'm sorry, Sir."

"It's alright, my boy. You're not the first person to curse me out and I can assure you, I've had worse said to me," Dumbledore replied with a small twinkle in his eyes before his face turned solemn. "Harry, I know this is difficult and you don't want to, but I would like you to tell me about your relationships with your aunt and uncle."

"Sir...I...I can't..." Harry got out in a small voice. "Please. Don't make me."

"You don't need to go into great detail and only share what you feel comfortable with at the moment."

Harry did not reply, instead he just continued to stare at his hands.

"Please, Harry."

There was something in Dumbledore request that Harry had never heard before from the aged wizard. It was begging.

"Okay," Harry finally answered after a long period of silence, head still down.

Dumbledore nodded. "Please start at the beginning."

For the next few hours, Dumbledore sat and listened to Harry tell the older wizard of his childhood growing-up with the Dursleys. He told of the neglect, the withholding of food, the punishments, the bullying from his cousin and his friends and their hatred of magic all leading up to the events of the past few weeks. Occasional, Dumbledore would ask a question Harry to expand on a statement but he never pushed the boy too hard into reveling details. Sadly, the Headmaster could fill in several empty spaces on his own. It pained the older wizard to hear him reply in such a normal yet hollowed tone. Over the years, Dumbledore had heard countless students use the exact same tone as they confessed to their own abuse and hearing it come out of Harry caused him more pain than the Cruciatus Curse could ever inflect.

During all the explanations, Harry never looked at the Dumbledore, rather he would stare at the bed cover or look at some point on the wall. There were a couple of time he could feel the tears starting to buildup, but he willed them back and went on. He was not going to cry in-front of the Headmaster. That would have been a sign of weakness and he could not let the man see him be so weak. He was unaware of how much the headmaster could see for himself.

"...and then I was brought to Sirius'," Harry concluded. Glancing up he saw Dumbledore's eyes were closed. A moment passed before they opened and Harry saw the great sadness within them.

"Thank you, Harry. I know this has been exceedingly difficult for you but thank you for being truthful with me. Now, I have a question for you and I want you to be completely honest with me. Can you do that?"

Harry nodded.

"During all this time...has your uncle ever touched you...?"

"No."

Dumbledore nodded, knowing that that was end to their conversation on the subject. "I know this hasn't been easy for you to talk about, Harry, but I want to again ensure you that neither I nor anyone else is mad with you. If anything, we're all mad at ourselves for not seeing the truth about how you have been treated all these years. I claimed to be the greatest wizard of all time and yet, I've failed to notice when one of my own students has been harmed."

"Who knows?" Harry asked, afraid to hear the response.

"At the moment, only myself, Madam Pomfrey, Remus, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape."

Harry was horrified. Snape knowing was as bad as Malfoy knowing. Maybe even more terrifying then Voldemort knowing.

"As a head of house, Professor Snape can be trusted with this information," Dumbledore assured Harry, sensing the young wizard's great discomfort. "He is duty bound to keep such matters confidential. He will not relay this information to anyone."

The tone of the headmaster's statement told Harry that he could trust the man on the situation. After nodding in acknowledgment, Harry brought up the other matter that worried him. "Wha...what happens when school starts?" he asked with touch of fear in his voice.

"Well discuss that later," Dumbledore told him as he rose. "Right now, I believe you can do with a rest. After you've had supper, I would like you to come to my office to discuss your placement for the rest of the summer."

"Am I not going back to Sirius?"

"I'm afraid not. You're situation has made me realize you're in need of some special training to help you for the upcoming year. Training which I'm afraid Sirius cannot offer, but don't worry, I'll make sure you're still able to see him and the Weasleys. I just need to shore up a few minor details."

"No, no, a thousand times to hell no!"

Albus reminded silent as he sat behind his desk and watched the face of his Potions Master turn an angry shade of red. After he had left Harry in the hospital wing, Albus returned to his office and placed his memory of his conversation with Harry in his Pensive. He relived the memory five times then spent the next two hours in silence as he contemplated it before he summoned Severus.

"There's no need for such dramatics, Severus."

"I should say there are," Snape fumed. "How could you ever think for one moment I would agree with such a ludicrous request?"

Rising from his chair, Dumbledore moved around the desk and stood before Snape, looking at him directly in the eyes. "Severus, you once pledged yourself to help protect Harry from danger. In the past four years, you kept him from being thrown off his broom, protected him and his friends from Remus after he transformed, and have repeatedly warned him about his seemly endless parade of reckless actions."

Snape could not help but scoff as he crossed his arms. "Reckless actions which you've always seemed to encourage and reward."

"Perhaps but you promised, on Lily's name, that you would help me protect him. This is something you can deny me, Severus. Please."

Snape tried to find a logical way to escape the headmaster's words but he knew he was trapped and there was nothing he could do to change the old man's mind. "Fine," he finally said resentfully. "I agree, but I have the right to set down whatever rules and punishments I see fit."

"I see nothing wrong with that," Dumbledore replied. "I know you won't use this as an excuses to abuse your position as you have done here during the school year when it comes to Harry and punishment."

Snape glared at the headmaster, but it did not have the same effect on the headmaster as it did on students. "What about the wolf and mutt?"

"I will see them later tonight and explain the situation. Sirius in particular will not be pleased, but I know Remus will be able to help keep him calm."

"He'd better," Snape said. "When are you planning on telling Potter?"

"This evening," Dumbledore answered. "Will accompany him up from the hospital wing?"

"Yes," Snape answered with a hint of irritation as he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I should have the good conscience to start charging you a 100 galleons a day for babysitting."

Author's Notes

Hello, everyone. First off, I'm sorry it took 19 months to get this chapter done. School and real life just didn't leave me with the time. I've also been toying of going back and redoing a few chapters to make things a little more cleaner.

Ironically, I completed this chapter on the same day Alan Rickman passed away. Then I would have had this posted a week sooner but I got sick and I just didn't have the strength to post it.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I look forward to hearing back from you.