The Stubborn Old Headmaster

8

"Poppy, I need you here immediately," Minerva shouted into the fireplace, glad that her best friend stepped through the Floo an instant later.

"What happened? Has Severus found Harry?" Poppy asked worriedly, already rushing through into Harry's room. "He has a concussion," she told the others after waving her wand over her godson. "Did he tell you what happened?"

"No, he didn't say anything," Severus answered. "Harry, can you please tell one of us what happened? We need to know what they did to you."

Harry quickly gulped down the potions that Poppy was handing him and shortly explained what had happened to Minerva, who repeated everything aloud for Severus and Poppy. "So your aunt hit you with the hot fry pan?" Minerva asked horrified.

'I'm not sure,' Harry thought back. 'I only noticed something hitting my head, and it hurt so much, and then I began to see stars.'

"Then it obviously was the hot fry pan, as the skin on his head is burned at one point," Poppy said flabbergasted, shaking her head before she handed Harry another potion.

'Oh no,' Harry groaned inwardly. 'They are all absolutely yucky, can't they just let me rest until the headache goes away?' Before he could even give Poppy the phial back, he was already asleep.

Minerva let out a relieved sigh. "Will he be all right, Poppy?"

"Yes of course," Poppy replied in a soothing voice. "Let him stay in bed as long as he has a fever, and then he'll probably be fine. I don't want him to run around, fly or do any magic for two weeks though."

"Poppy, can you stay with Harry for a few hours, please? I need to go to the Ministry. I won't allow Albus to hurt Harry anymore. He willingly returned Harry to the Dursleys in spite of knowing that he'd be abused there. Therefore, he is as guilty of child abuse as the Dursleys and as such not an adequate headmaster of Hogwarts. So I'll speak to the Minister about the possibility of removing him as headmaster and maybe even have a trial against him because of child abuse."

"That's very good, Minerva, however, I'd like you to wait for a moment. When you brought him to Hogwarts the first time, I took photos of all the bruises and welts that covered his body. Moreover, I'm going to prepare an official medical certificate that you can show the Minister. It'll take me about half an hour to get everything ready."

"All right, Poppy, thanks a lot," Minerva replied, a relieved expression on her face.

"Minerva, I'm going to leave the Essence of Murtlap here; you'll have to apply it every few hours. I'm going to head back to my potions lab and start brewing my potions once more; just call if you need me," Severus said in a voice that was lacking all menace.

"Thank you so much, Severus," Minerva replied gratefully.

ハリーと頑固な校長先生

Nearly an hour later, Minerva was on her way to the Ministry, her robe pocket full of photos and other documentation concerning the abuse of her adopted son. She had a long conversation with the Minister, who was horrified at Minerva's revelations.

"Minerva, I'm very sorry that the Ministry didn't know what was happening to the poor boy. However, I promise that we are going to have a trial within a month. Unfortunately, we cannot do anything against Dumbledore until the trial, but I'll prepare a document for you and send a copy to Dumbledore that you are the child's guardian and parent and that Harry of course has the right to stay at Hogwarts with you at all times," the Minister promised.

"But Millicent," Minerva objected, "Dumbledore will fire me immediately, as he has already threatened to do."

"All right, Minerva. From now until the end of the trial, Dumbledore will be granted to stay at Hogwarts but he'll be suspended until the trial is completed. Until then you will be the acting headmistress, and you can choose a deputy to help with the work, especially as you have to teach your classes and have a child as well. Now, let's go to Hogwarts together and speak with Dumbledore. My decision will be published in the Daily Prophet tomorrow morning, so that the whole wizarding world will know about it."