Facing the music

The very next day, Rose sent an owl to Uncle Harry with the names of the three people who had kidnapped Yann Fredericks. That should also tell him what she had done on her vacation. She spent the next few days simply being with Scorpius again. She understood why he had returned here. Where else could they go if they needed space to find themselves in a world where it seemed everything was chaos?

But the real world beckoned. The week she had taken off was extended to two weeks, but she knew they couldn't stay away for much longer. Surprisingly, Scorpius was the one to suggest going back to Britain first. 

"I was told to be gone for a month; it's been more than that now. Time to go back and face the music," he said. 

"I'm sure it won't be as bad as you fear," Rose said. 

"You didn't see him. I've never seen Harry that angry."

"I think he's calmed down by now. Besides, thanks to you, we've shut down that awful Dark dungeon cult, and punished the people responsible for the kidnapping."

"Both of which could have been done months ago, if I had been more open about what I was doing."

Rose didn't have a good reply to that. He was right. If Harry had known that Scorpius was Amerson, he wouldn't have wasted several weeks' worth of time looking for him. But that had also been the same time when Scorpius had been kidnapped, so it wasn't all his fault. 

"You need to consider what you want to do," she said as they approached the Ministry building. "Do you want to continue with your job, or do you want to use this as a reason to stop. No one would begrudge you that."

"That's assuming I'm even given a choice. I wouldn't be surprised if Harry fires me over this. I won't blame him if he does. I messed up."

"He won't fire you. If he wanted to do that, he would have done it when he first discovered all of this."

"I wish I shared your optimism." 

"If he fires you, so what? Then you won't have to do anything he says anymore. Doesn't mean you can't still be useful." 

That didn't really make Scorpius feel any better. He almost felt like he was back at his trial, facing the judgement of the court. At least he knew Rose would support him no matter what. He squeezed her hand in gratitude as they entered the corridor for Magical Law Enforcement. Many people greeted him cheerfully, glad to see him back. Harry himself waited outside his office.

"Let's talk inside my office," he said. "Alone," he added as Rose tried to go with them. She sighed but let go of Scorpius' hand. 

Inside the office though, Harry didn't seem to be in a hurry to say anything. He let Scorpius stand there for several minutes before he looked up at him. 

"Don't you have anything to say?" he asked. 

"What do you want me to say? That I'm sorry? That I won't do it again? That I was an idiot, that I should have told you what I was doing?"

"That would be a good start."

"I can say all of those things, it doesn't change the facts."

"What facts?"

"That I broke Vane out of prison and created an unnecessary situation for all of us."

"That is true. But my main concern is whether or not you would do the same thing again, if a similar situation occurs."

Scorpius hesitated. Would he? Could he honestly say that he would not?

"I wish to say that I would not, but I cannot promise that. However, the likelihood of this exact type of situation happening again is very unlikely."

Harry nodded. "Thank you for being honest. I would rather have that than a promise you cannot keep. However, the question remains, what do you want to do next? I don't think anyone would blame you for calling it quits and leaving this job now. Would you be able to go back to the way you worked before, pretending to be a Dark Wizard without really becoming one? Or has this situation changed you so much that you should rather stay away from the temptation of the Dark Arts?"

"You, you mean you would let me continue, if I want to?"

"With certain conditions, yes. Mostly because I suspect that you would probably do it anyway, if I try to stop you. But are you sure that is a good idea, Scorpius? How close to falling into the darkness were you?"

"I don't know. That is what I've spent the last month or so trying to figure out. I was afraid that Vane was right, that I was a monster, or at least that I had become one. But then I remembered how much everything in that dungeon disgusted me. I pretended to be tough, but I hated it. That is what made me decide that I am not what she said I was. That, and the fact that Rose slapped me at the mere suggestion of such a thing." Harry smiled at that last comment.

"Very well. That is good to hear. Just know, you are not alone in having these sorts of doubts, Scorpius. I think most of us that work so closely to the Dark Arts have doubted ourselves, at times. If you feel such doubts again, don't be afraid to let me know. That is not a sign of weakness. And as you've hopefully seen, it will not make the family turn their backs on you."

Scorpius sighed in relief at hearing this. He had worried that he had ruined everything, but it seemed that Harry Potter understood more than he let on, at times.

"How is James doing?" he asked. 

"He is a lot better now that I've let him out of house arrest. The fact that he was disgusted by the whole affair was pretty clear from the start. Please, if you ever do something like this again, refrain from mixing in others."

"It was only because I thought he would feel the same. The need for justice."

"What you did was not justice. Let me make that clear. What you did was revenge. Justice is to let her rot away in a prison, knowing that all her goals have failed. Your revenge was to make her feel the same fear that you felt. Now she might think that she achieved one thing, to make us see you as the monster she thinks you are."

"She may also be scared that I could return at any time to finish what I started."

"Yes, she still seems to fear that, though no one believes her, which is lucky for you. But let me make it clear, if you do anything to harm her ever again, I will not be as lenient. She got what she deserves. The same goes for Sam Crickey or his brother. Understood?"

"Yes. What happened to Sam?"

"He was sentenced to 6 months in prison, though not in Azkaban. He will be free in a few months. It is unlikely that he will seek you out, but you may cross paths with him again."

"That is okay. I still remember how terrified he was when he saw me. I may not trust him, but I bear him little ill will anymore. I won't harm him any further."

"Good. Now, if you are to return to the kind of work you did in the past, there are a few rules we need to make absolutely clear. The first one, I think you can guess."

"I need to tell you about every alias I have."

"Yes. Not only that, but I will also require weekly reports about EVERYTHING that you discover. No more secrets, no more judging on what you can share with me or not. I will make the judgement on what will be done with that information. Is that clear?"

"Yes." Scorpius hadn't expected anything less. He was lucky to get to continue with work like this at all. He wouldn't mind more oversight, as long as it was only a few people that saw his reports. Harry had apparently thought about that too.

"You may give your report orally, so that only you and I hear it, if you think that is necessary. But no more secrets, not between the two of us. That is the most important requirement. I need to know that I can trust you. Can I trust you, Scorpius?"

That stung a little, but Scorpius figured he probably deserved that. 

"Yes, you can. I think I was too caught up in trying to balance loyalties, to try to pretend, even for myself, that I wasn't just exploiting my family background in service of the Ministry. But my month away made me realise that that is just pure foolishness. Everyone knows what side I chose now; I am the only one holding back. I've made my choice, and I stand by it."

Harry nodded, as if he hadn't expected anything less. Scorpius had had a lot of time to think. And he found that it was more important for him to keep his new family, than to honour old alliances and promises, just because of his last name. No one actually thought he kept most of them anyway, why not go all-in?