Bab 25: Chapter 29: 1-19: Surrey
Disclaimer: Being neither British nor Japanese, it should therefore come as no surprise that I own neither Harry Potter nor Naruto, nor anything from their respective franchises.
Notice: I've updated Chapter 28 to add a little scene at the end.
At their first individual meeting since the fallout around the Stone incident, Iruka shared some news with Harry.
"I've done my best to look into if and how you might be able to spend the summer somewhere other than Privet Drive. The bad news is that you're probably stuck there for now." Unsurprisingly, the boy's face fell at this news.
"Apparently," Iruka explained, "there are a series of steps for determining custody of a child in Wizarding Britain: First parents, then immediate family like older siblings, then it starts to get murky. Sometimes the will of the child's parents or previous guardians will specify someone, or a list of someones, but in this case that's no help."
"Magicals get preference over non-magicals, but blood relatives come before relatives by marriage, who come before non-relations, who come before total strangers. If there's a tie, or if there's no obvious choice, the Ministry ends up deciding, and that's where things get really sticky here."
"Apparently your aunt and cousin are your only remaining close blood relatives; everyone else is several times removed. Your parents had a number of close friends listed in their wills, but all of them are either dead or in some way unable or ineligible to care for you. So, after the Dursleys, the next step for guardianship would be your rather distant blood relatives. Of those of age to care for you only two adults, sisters, are alive and not in prison. One of them, unfortunately, was cast from her family for marrying a Muggle-born wizard; it was actually through corresponding with her that I found a lot of this information. Her sister would likely be chosen to take custody of you, but given her family and their political leanings that might not be the best of ideas. Unless, of course, you want to be Draco Malfoy's new foster-brother?"
Iruka suspected that Harry's attempt to turn Slytherin green was not a sign of enthusiasm for that idea.
"Yeah, that's about what I thought. Unfortunately, her husband has the ear of the Minister of Magic and a lot of other influential people, despite apparently bribing and sweet-talking his way out of trouble for following Voldemort. Needless to say, I don't think that would be a very safe or healthy home for you."
"Anyway, the good news is that I intend to make sure the Dursleys at least treat you like a human being this summer. I'll be speaking to them at the end of term to let them know the new way of things, and I'll also be visiting you at least once or twice a week to make sure everything's all right. Does that sound good to you?"
Harry nodded vigorously, clearly fighting back tears. "Thank you, Sensei," he finally choked out.
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At the end-of-year feast that night, Gryffindor won the House Cup by a decent margin, apparently breaking a long winning streak for Slytherin that was likely due at least in part to Severus Snape. As the decorations of the Great Hall took on the red-and-gold color scheme of the house of lions, every table but the snakes erupted in applause while the Potions Professor seemed to be trying to immolate them all with his eyes.
The next afternoon, Iruka met Harry at Platform 9 3/4. He'd sent a letter through the mundane post informing the Dursleys that he'd be giving their nephew a lift that day, and would also be speaking to them afterwards. Harry released Hedwig with instructions to meet him at Privet Drive, before his teacher shrunk both her cage and Harry's trunk.
One side-along Apparition later, Iruka was standing and Harry was dry-heaving in the isolated spot on Magnolia Crescent that the chuunin had now used several times for discreet magical arrivals and departures. Once the young Potter had caught his breath, the two walked somewhat solemnly to #4 Privet Drive.
Harry's gait and carriage changed as they drew closer to his summer residence: His steps showed obviously increasing reluctance, as his form hunched as if trying to become as small as possible. Every aspect of his posture and movements screamed out fear, shame, and reluctance. If Iruka hadn't already known that the Dursleys weren't fit to raise a stink, much less children, this would have made it more than amply apparent.
Finally their destination came into view, distinguished from its neighbors only by the number on the door and the apparently expensive automobile in the driveway. Taking a deep breath and calling on his every reserve of civil professionalism, Iruka pressed the buzzer.
"Probably the boy and his freak teacher." His hearing wasn't spectacular by shinobi standards, but the chuunin still made out the grumbled words of Vernon Dursley from within the house. "Best answer it and get this nonsense over with."
The footsteps that approached the door from within were far too light for either male Dursley, leaving Petunia their likely source. This was confirmed as the door opened to reveal Harry's aunt in all her thin, long-necked, horse-faced sneering glory. Though most of her expression broadcast her disgust and contempt for the wizards at her door, the stiffness of her movements betrayed a hint of fear. Her glance at Harry showed a flash of something unpleasant but too complex to identify, while her brief scrutiny of Iruka seemed to only intensify her disgust towards him. "Well don't just stand about where everyone can see," she snapped curtly, "get in here."
Nothing of note had changed inside the house since his 'visit' back in October. After swiftly closing the door behind them, Petunia led them into the living room with quick, stiff strides. Vernon, Iruka noted, did not bother to rise from his oversized armchair as they entered, nor did either he or Petunia invite them to sit; she merely stood scowling silently behind her husband's right shoulder.
Taking up a position at his student's side, Iruka decided to get things moving. "I am Professor Umino, and as stated in my letter, we need to speak regarding your conduct toward Harry this summer and going forward. I will be blunt: The way you have treated your nephew thus far meets the legal standard of child abuse in many civilized nations, including this one. It was never acceptable, far less normal (he spat the word with thinly-veiled disgust). You may not have actively flogged him, but you used him like a domestic slave, encouraged your son to brutalize him, watched and laughed as he was attacked by dogs, and our school medic found the lasting signs of injuries consistent with abusively rough handling, as well as chronic malnutrition. On top of your attacks against his body, you have done your best to destroy him emotionally, socially, and academically."
"All of this will stop. Now."
"Now see here!" Vernon surged (well, struggled) angrily to his feet, his face a distinctly unhealthy shade of red. "I will not be insulted and told what to do in my own home! Especially not by some freak! We never wanted the boy, but you freaks forced us to take him in! We've given him a roof over his head, clothes on his back, and food in his stomach. Even tried to turn him into a proper, normal Englishman, but that's clearly a waste of time with a worthless mongrel like him. So what if we made sure to get our money's worth? And of course we disciplined him! The brat is a liar, a delinquent, and a troublemaker; needs a firm hand..."
At this point Vernon trailed off with a look of growing fear on his face, one matched by his wife. Iruka had decided that he'd had quite enough of the man's bigoted vitriol, and allowed a small amount of anger-fueled sakki to leak out towards the Dursley adults. He kept it to a tiny sliver, though; any more and he'd probably send the morbidly-obese civilian into a fatal cardiac event.
"Sit. Down." The chuunin's voice was one of cold command, his face set in a harsh glare. Vernon quickly obeyed, rattling the picture frames on the walls slightly as he sat heavily back into his chair. "You may have spent the last ten years lying to yourselves, to your son, to your nephew, and to everyone else, but you cannot lie to me. I know how you have treated your nephew. I know that your son is a spoiled, obese bully whom you have abetted and encouraged at every turn. I also know that if Harry is not treated with at least a minimum standard of human decency from this day forward, everyone else will know that you kept a child in a cupboard while two bedrooms sat uninhabited. They will know that you gave him a crushing load of chores while you and your son lounged about. They will know that you lavished your son with copious amounts of food, toys, and new clothing, while your nephew was forced to subsist on table scraps and secondhand clothing that barely qualified as rags. They will know and they will wonder how two people could treat a child so abnormally."
"And that will be before I come for you."
"This is what will happen: Harry will be given adequate portions of food of the same quality the rest of you consume. He will retain usage of the bedroom he used immediately prior to school. He will be permitted reasonable freedom of movement and contact with his friends. He will be permitted to complete his summer reading and homework, as well as continuing his exercises. He will be given no more or worse chores than are given to his cousin."
"You will not strike him. You will not forcibly manhandle him. You will not attempt to confiscate, hide, or destroy his belongings. You will administer discipline in a fair and reasonable manner. You will speak to him in a civil manner, refraining from epithets such as 'freak'. You will ensure that your son abides by these restrictions as well."
"I will visit at least twice a week to check on him and confirm that these rules are being followed. I will know if they have been broken. I will not always announce the day and time at which I will arrive, nor will my presence always be obvious." At this he drew his wand, taking some vindictive satisfaction at their flinches at this action and their shrieks of terror as he briefly Disillusioned himself (he'd notified the appropriate Ministry office that he'd be doing a few spells in the area that day).
"I can be anywhere," Iruka said from behind the Dursleys as he shimmered back into view, provoking another pair of shrieks, "and before being a teacher I served as a form of soldier. Do not test my forbearance." Iruka turned to his student with a placid smile. "Shall we get you up to your room?"
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A few days later, after his first check on Harry (all was well, if tense), Iruka was called to the Headmaster's office.
Once the usual greetings, seatings, and refusal-of-sweet-ings were dealt with, Albus spoke. "I received an interesting letter today, through the Magical/Muggle Postal Relay. In it, Harry Potter's aunt Petunia makes some very serious accusations towards you, mostly revolving around attempting to threaten and extort them into giving Harry special treatment. Given the rather extreme nature of these allegations, the fact that they seem outside of my understanding of your character, and the fact that I greatly doubt that young Harry would tolerate such behavior towards his family, I thought it only prudent to ask for your account of events."
"I did make some threats," Iruka admitted, "although most were of a social rather than physical nature. The part about demanding 'special treatment' for Harry though is a shameless lie. Had I been able to find someone decent that could reliably get and hold custody of Harry in place of the Dursleys, I would have done so, but you probably know better than I do the convoluted mess that is child custody in Wizarding Britain." At Dumbledore's frowning nod, he continued. "Much of what Harry and I spoke about in our private sessions is just that - private - but I can tell you that his experience of Potions class this past autumn was what some might call 'a taste of home' for very loose definitions of the word 'home'."
"Iruka, while I cannot share any details - you probably know better than I do the concept of 'need to know' - you must understand that there are very specific and important reasons that Harry remain with his family during the summer holidays. While he need not remain in the house constantly, and could likely leave it after a number of weeks, it is vital that he return there for a period each summer. While the Dursleys may be harsh, they are still his kin, and family takes care of family."
"Albus, while I cannot share any details, you must understand that the Dursleys do not consider Harry family, or possibly even human. From what you told me about your eavesdropping campaign, Headmistress Derwent can confirm my assessment. Harry's treatment at the hands of his relatives was so bad that we should actually be thankful that they never told him about magic." The current Headmaster and former Headmistress (whose portrait had stopped pretending to doze at the mention of her name) looked confused. "If he had known why they were treating him so harshly, he might have tried to suppress the cause." Headmistress Derwent clearly understood and agreed, as she looked positively ill. "I'm certain as learned a man as you is familiar with the work of Newt Scamander?"
Iruka could tell the moment his employer worked out what he was trying to say as the man's face suddenly seemed to do its best to match his snow-white beard for color. His head whipped to the portrait of his predecessor. "Truly, Dilys? He could have..."
"Yes, Albus," the former Headmistress said darkly, "he could have developed an Obscurus."
For the first time in Iruka's experience, Albus Dumbledore looked every one of his one-hundred-and-ten years, and possibly a decade or two beyond. "No wonder you've been so cold to me; I thought it was because of the workload of handling the listening charm, but you rightfully blamed me for what poor Harry has suffered this past decade."
The Headmaster turned back toward his guest. "Newton Scamander may have documented the phenomenon of Obscurials, but his writings could never convey the full reality. To see a child, particularly someone you care for, so tormented and be unable to help... to simultaneously love them and fear them, and know that they are almost certainly not long for this world... It is not a fate I would wish upon anyone. And yet, now I hear that I almost brought that calamity upon Harry Potter... It would seem I owe a number of people some very sincere apologies, Mister Potter most of all. I presume that your interactions with the Dursleys have been to ensure that they treat their nephew properly?" Iruka nodded. "Good. I may pay Petunia a visit myself in order to enlighten her as to what she and her husband nearly unleashed upon themselves. While the risk has mostly passed by now, I would prefer to be absolutely certain that such a thing will not happen again. You may go, Iruka; I have much I need to think about."
Iruka nodded and rose to leave. As he reached the door, he commented, "Next time we talk about my world, remind me to tell you about Sabaku no Gaara. He wasn't an Obscurial, but the similarities... His siblings probably have a good idea how it feels, what you described."
A/N: For those that don't know, an Obscurial is a magical child that's tried to suppress their own magic because of fear or trauma. Basically, this causes a dark force called an Obscurus to form inside the child, occasionally bursting out and wrecking stuff. They pretty much always die young, often after causing a lot of collateral damage. Ariana Dumbledore is one example, and JKR herself has stated that the only reason Harry didn't become an Obscurial was because the Dursleys hid the existence of magic from him. For a more detailed explanation, check out the Harry Potter wiki and/or the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
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