Chapter 100

"Ron Weasley is certainly no longer a friend of mine," Harry frowned. "He never was. He used to report on what I was doing to Dumbledore. I even think Dumbledore paid him to do it."

"I don't think he was a friend, either," agreed Wendell. "But learning he was effectively a spy against you? That's a little sickening."

Harry nodded.

"What Hermione is having a little trouble with at the moment, is that the 'Harry' she thought I was, was only a... façade... I surrounded myself with to protect myself and my secrets from Dumbledore. She's now 'met' the real Harry and is having some problems putting the fake Harry and the real Harry into context. I also had to come down a little hard on her to get her to start rethinking who I am."

Wendell frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

"The Harry she thought she knew was not much of an 'achiever'. That is, it didn't look as if I applied myself as well as I should. In that, I'm sorry to say, I deceived your daughter into thinking I was not as smart as I am. I would deliberately write my assignments to be... adequate. Hermione would demand to review my assignments, which I would let her do, and she would make some changes to improve them, which I would mostly incorporate. It did not harm my persona to allow her. However, real Harry is pretty much on a par with her when it comes to cleverness and smarts.

"I hated that Hermione thought she had to help so I would consider her worthy to be a friend. I've even told her numerous times she didn't have to, but she'd insist and I was feeling deeply guilty for hiding the truth from her. She never had to do that, but 'fake' Harry needed to hide until he could strike back - that was at the First Task.

"However, irrespective of the difference between fake Harry and real Harry, my feelings for Hermione are no different. She does not know it, but her friendship has been my 'emotional rock' that has kept me both anchored and centred. I would not have made it to the First Task to bring everything to light if it hadn't been for her. I probably would have lost my 'nana somewhere around the middle of second year.

"I owe that girl so much - for being my friend, for being my rock, for just being there - I could spend the rest of my life and my entire fortune towards her happiness and still not repay her for both what I said before and for the fact I deliberately tricked her. That's why coming down hard on her over the past week has been so hard."

Wendell sighed and asked, "Why couldn't you have told her before now? She'd have kept your secret."

"Because Severus Snape is an expert at the magical art of Legilimency," he explained. "It is a skill that allows him to see into a person's head and see their memories and read their surface thoughts. If he'd seen what she knew about me, or read her surface thoughts about me, he'd have immediately taken that information to Dumbledore."

"If that happened, Dumbledore would have wiped her memories of it and then tried to use other methods to take my memories. If he couldn't, he'd have used potions to enforce my loyalty to him. And may have even used those same potions on her. Those are the sort of potions he used on Poppy Pomfrey. I couldn't let that happen to her."

"You did it to protect her," nodded Wendell.

"And myself," added Harry.

"What about if this Snipe character had used Legilimency on you?"

"It's another mind magic," he replied. "I seem to be significantly immune to that, as well. I don't know how, but suspect to the point of belief it has something to do with my mother's blood protection she placed on me; because any book that was any good in the school library on the subject of either Occlumency, the magical art that protects the mind, or Legilimency has been removed to the Restricted section. No guesses for who ordered that. Eventually, I had to go and buy my own from a shop in Diagon Alley.

"However, I still couldn't do it. I think it's that same protection from mind magics that's stopping me learning Occlumency, which is of course another mind magic."

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

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Harry and Wendell had 'retired to the parlour' when Monica came back down leading Hermione.

Harry took one look at the girl and was on his feet, looking at her with a scowl on his face. Looking directly at her, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she replied, shaking her head. "Mum and I just needed to talk."

"You've been crying," he firmly said.

"I've not been crying because I've been hurt, Harry," she carefully said. "I've been crying because I'm happy."

Harry stared back for a few moments, trying to figure that one out, before he gave a single nod and said, "Well; alright, then." And sat again, still keeping an eye on Hermione.

Turning back to Wendell he said, "Now, I've also promised my godfather, Sirius Black, that I would ask you if he could come visit me while I'm here. One of those trials that I - and Hermione too, I suppose - mentioned that occurred over the past week was his. Madam Bones pulled a 'shoofty' and snuck his trial in between the ones publicly announced. He's finally been found innocent of the crimes for which he was dumped in Azkaban prison, without a trial, in the first place. And he can now move on with his life."

"He's truly innocent?" asked Wendell.

"Innocent? Heavens no!" Harry chuckled, beginning to relax again. "But he's definitely not guilty of any of the crimes they pegged him with. No, Sirius likes to portray this image he's a 'bad boy'; but he's not committed a crime beyond something like failing to register something."

Both Granger adults looked at one another for a moment.

"He can visit," said Monica. "I take it he just wants to catch up?"

"That and he also wants me to visit his Healer; who also happens to be his cousin and, to some degree, mine," replied Harry.

"Why does he want you to visit a Healer, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"Because he knew my parents and my size, compared to theirs, concerns him," replied Harry. "He's right to worry. The Durs... I didn't eat well while I was with my relatives."

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