Closing Point

After hearing Oz's rebuke, Dumbledore's eyebrows creased. This was probably the first time in a while someone had directly insulted him.

"Oh? and why do you refer to me as short-sighted Oz".

Oz sighed deeply as he looked at the headmaster before him.

"In my eyes Dumbledore you seem to only be thinking of the bigger picture. After all, instead of thanking me for exposing Harry's abuse you instead jumped to why I exposed it in the first place. Isn't that a strange way of going about things? It almost makes me think you don't care about how Harry's been treated or you already knew how he's been treated at that household... I don't know if you've seen the damage first hand Dumbledore but that boy has been physically and mentally broken. Its a surprise the lad didn't become an obscurial! Even if there was some reason he had to be at his uncle and aunts don't you think there would be some way to monitor him? some way to monitor all of them? One wrong move in his childhood, one day is all it could have taken and Harry could have been pushed over the edge becoming an obscurus yet you sat here in Hogwarts while it all happened, the 'good' man doing nothing".

Dumbledore looked at Oz in shock at all his rebukes, In some ways he knew Oz was right however he couldn't bring himself to admit he'd been wrong.

"Oz... Harry had to stay with his uncle and aunt so he'd be safe! He's the boy who defeated the dark lord after all, there's many forces out there that want him dead due to the feat he achieved. The ward that protects Harry only works while he's at a house with a family member who has his blo-".

"Don't give me that bullshit Dumbledore. Even if there was no other way than to leave Harry at his uncle and aunts you could have at least reprimanded his Uncle and Aunt for the treatment they put him through... better yet you could have tipped off their behaviour to the authorities in the area! If you took Vernon out of the picture, his aunt wouldn't want to risk being abusive to him anymore and would be scared to even attempt to do anything. For someone like you such a task should be as easy as lifting a finger but instead you remiss to do anything, allowing the boy to suffer all his childhood for no good reason".

Dumbledore looked down at the desk in front of him, a slight sadness overtaking his countenance. Oz decided to continue:

"Your power and wit is something I highly respect Dumbledore but you're too hung up on the greater picture, not thinking of the damage you're causing along the way...".

The room fell into a sombre silence as Oz finished his speech. Dumbledore had a look on his face that told Oz he was deep in thought about something. After some time he replied:

"I understand what you're saying Oz... as a matter of fact I think I'll act on your request and have Vernon prosecuted. However, understand that the boy needs to stay in that house for him to be safe".

Oz sighed as he listened to Dumbledore's response.

'He's saying this to appease me but in reality he would have had to act sooner or later anyway due to the pressure from the public...'.

Dumbledore's response to Oz was a non-answer. While on the surface it seemed as if he was complying to Oz's wishes/reprimands, in actuality this was something he needed to do in the first place due to the pressure from the public after Oz's scene in the Leaky Cauldron. A sly and cunning tactic indeed, making it seem as if he's being understanding when in reality he's been backed into a corner with no other option.

Oz heaved a sigh at Dumbledore's response and continued:

"Well im glad we got one thing sorted while I'm here Dumbledore... Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

Dumbledore sat for a while, stroking his beard gently. The man was deep in thought about something and to Oz it almost seemed as if he wanted to ask him something more. However after a long while brooding to himself he instead sighed while shaking his head.

"I think that is all Oz... I do want to thank you though for the Health Specs the school ordered in. I see that in the future they will become incredibly handy, keeping all the students safe in the years to come".

With that, Dumbledore smiled at Oz again with his grandfatherly smile. Oz however sneered to himself inwardly as he heard Dumbledore's response.

'If I didn't know what was going to happen in the years to come then that comment would have just been innocent praise... But in reality it seems as if he already knows he's going to be putting the children here in danger in the years to come...'.

After Dumbledore's closing comment Oz started to head for the door, on the way looking at Fawkes, the latter of whom was eyeing him up the entire time he was in the room talking to Dumbledore. As Oz was about to leave however he felt the need to tell Dumbledore one more thing:

"Being a descendant of Merlin my magical sense and control has always been very... keen, Picking up even the faintest traces of magic at times. I initially thought it was all my own power when I was young but over time I realised that this was a gift to me via the Ambrosius bloodline. My own sense and control allowed me to effectively make the Health Specs that are now so widely renowned... Dumbledore, when I first saw that boy Harry there was one thing I sensed from him that stood out. That scar on his forehead emanates a dark magic, almost as if there's a soul trapped within...".

Just as Oz reached for the door handle he turned around to finish his closing speech to Dumbledore.

"Dark magic on a boy whose been in an abusive household... All it takes is for that dark magic or soul to use the boys repressed emotions to its advantage and instantly the boy is under its control... You asked me when I entered why I exposed Harry's abuse so publicly and besides the obvious reasons heres my other answer".

Oz stared coldly at Dumbledore as he uttered his last sentence to him.

"To save a boy who was on his way to becoming a puppet".

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Recently while looking back on chapters I found the chapter labelled "No Hero" (Now 'Aftermath') to be the most controversial one. In lew of all this I decided to tweak the chapter slightly to better fit the narrative and Oz's progression.

The reason why I even labelled the chapter "No Hero" in the first place was that I was trying to depict that Oz's motives for stepping in and helping aren't exactly 'Hero like'. The boy didn't decide to do anything until he was nearly face to face with the canon after all and his reason for interfering was so he himself wouldn't feel regret at doing nothing. However, its become clear to me with time that this narrative doesn't actually fit the chapter at all and it makes more sense just to omit the details where he labels himself as no hero.

As the story progresses so do I and at times I do feel the need to tweak these situations so they sit well in my mind and also fit what the readers think better at times as well.