McGonagall Confronts Dumbledore

Professor McGonagall returned to Hogwarts after delivering a bag of clothes, essentials, and a handful of wizarding sweets to Harry at St. Mungo's. The young wizard was adapting well to his stay in the hospital, engrossed in reading his books and bombarding the healers and nurses with a multitude of questions—a truly inquisitive lad.

Upon reaching her office, she noticed a note from Dumbledore requesting a meeting at her earliest convenience, resting on her desk alongside three response letters from Muggleborns. Opting to read the letters first, she carefully jotted down the names and scheduled meetings with the students and their parents.

Now armed with six replies (seven if one counted Mr. Potter, who, despite his magical heritage, seemed as knowledgeable as any Muggleborn), she headed to the owlery to dispatch responses. Preferring to give Muggleborn families a couple of days' notice, she informed them of the upcoming meetings.

With the owls on their way, she made her way to Albus's office, pondering the reason behind his summons. Aware of her busy schedule during this time of the year, she uttered the password 'gummy bears' to the gargoyle, letting the stairs transport her upward.

Entering the office, she wasn't surprised that Dumbledore was already aware of her arrival. "Ah, Minerva, thanks for coming. I wasn't aware you were making a visit to a Muggleborn student today, so when I found your office empty, I left you the note," he explained.

"No problem, Albus. It was a spontaneous decision after receiving a response to an acceptance letter from a potential future first-year," she replied.

"Hopefully? So the student hasn't accepted the place at Hogwarts yet?" Albus asked.

"No, he asked for more information to make an informed decision on the matter as he also has several offers for scholarships at renowned muggle institutes," she explained.

"That's a good policy. What is the student's name?" He asked.

"Harry Potter," she said, glaring at him now.

"What? But there shouldn't even be any question if Harry attends Hogwarts. He has been placed on the list since his birth," Albus replied, shocked.

"You can thank those damn muggles for that. They abused the boy, physically and emotionally, told him lies about how Lily and James died, and painted them in the worst light."

"Harry told me he was told by them that his parents died in a car crash they caused due to being drunk."

"He was called a freak by them until the day before he started school, his bedroom was a cupboard until today, and the physical abuse only stopped because he scared them with his accidental magic."

"He paralyzed his uncle when he was nine for four hours when he tried to beat him with a belt again. They didn't tell him anything about magic," she said.

"I told you they were the worst sort of muggles, but you didn't want to listen to me, who had observed them for a whole day. But you said they would be the best people to raise him and explain to him about his parents' deaths," she accused him.

Albus looked really pale. Did he really allow Harry to be abused for ten years?

"Are you sure Harry is not exaggerating?" He asked and immediately realized that it was the exactly wrong question to ask seeing her face.

"Yes, I am sure. After I took Harry to Diagon Alley to get some reading material to make his decision, so far I have the impression that he got a good first impression of the wizarding world; I took him to St. Mungo's. Healer Ickings did a thorough examination and found several old injuries."

"He had several broken bones, two concussions, scars from the belt on his back, and no vaccinations against muggle diseases."

"Hell, the only way he healed was because of his magic taking care of those injuries because his relatives never even took him to a muggle healer."

"The school nurse was the only one to ever treat him. His body having to rely on his magic to heal him so often also led to him not developing as many antibodies to common illnesses as he should have."

"Until his eighth year of life, he was malnourished, and the worst part is his curse scar still has a big residue of dark magic in it!" She shouted now.

He could see that her infamous Scottish temper was coming out. He knew to tread carefully around her now.

"Where is Harry now?" He asked.

"At St. Mungo's, Healer Ickings informed me that Harry would need to stay for two days to address all the issues. They're bringing in a specialist on dark curses to examine his scar. Meanwhile, he's filing a case against the Dursleys for child abuse with the Ministry," she replied, her eyes fixed on him, a glare in place.

Knowing better than to argue, he remained silent. Convincing her that Harry had to return for the wards to hold was out of the question.

"I have another question. My instruments detected a rapid decline in the wards protecting Harry's home, fueled by Lily's sacrifice. Did he mention anything that could explain this?" Albus inquired.

"They're falling? Since when?" she asked, surprise evident in her voice.

"Early this afternoon," he responded.

"What were the terms for the wards to work?" she pressed.

"As long as Harry considers the place where his mother's blood resides as home, he's safe from Voldemort and his followers," Dumbledore explained.

"Then I have the answer. Harry told me this afternoon that the Dursleys' house wasn't his home, just a residence until he could escape. That's when the wards began to falter," she informed him.

"Given the falling wards, we'd have to relocate Harry regardless. It's too risky for him to stay there without the blood wards," Dumbledore admitted.

"If he no longer sees it as home, there's no saving the wards, even if we negotiate with the Dursleys," he continued.

"Didn't you hear? They abuse him! He'll never have contact with them again!" she shouted.

"Alright, Minerva, please calm down," he urged.

"I'll calm down when you swear never to place Harry with those monsters again!" she demanded.

"Okay, okay, I swear he won't go back to them," he quickly promised. "What's your impression of Harry?"

Taking a few deep breaths to compose herself, she couldn't help but be frustrated by his attitude. This man had a way of provoking her.

....

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