Neville had targeted him first, had attacked him first, so he hardened his heart and he shoved aside all thoughts of what Rabastan had done to the Longbottom family, as far as he was now concerned, he and Neville were nothing. Rabastan was his future and Neville had made his choice very clear by attacking him and as a result of that, Harry had been able to make his own choice more easily and with less guilt too. Rabastan would have always been his choice regardless of Neville's behaviour, but because Neville had destroyed his stuff, it took away the guilt that Harry had felt in taking Rabastan for a husband and the eventual father to his children and that made him feel better.
But now, today, less than a week after the charm on his trunk had been activated, he had been called to the headmaster's office and he was sure it was to answer for why he had such a charm on his trunk in the first place. He'd already sent a letter to Rabastan telling him all about what he'd done, including subtle pictures of what his dormmates' had looked like before their hands had been treated, taken with his wand when they'd been screaming and shouting to each other, and at him too, in the dorm room, and then a second photo of them all with heavily bandaged hands and arms afterwards. He'd shown these pictures to Draco and Blaise as well, to give the Slytherins a laugh at his ex-friends' expense, and he had then sent them on to Lucius and Rabastan.
He wasn't rushing to the headmaster's little meeting though; he was leisurely taking his time with his breakfast, he'd eaten his bacon, eggs, and toast and now he was enjoying a bowl of fresh fruit salad as well, all washed down with three chilled glasses of pumpkin juice.
Breakfast was almost over when he finally drained the rest of his glass and got smoothly to his feet. It was a weekend thankfully, otherwise he would have refused to attend the meeting due to the disruption it would cause to his schooling. The look on Dumbledore's face would have been a real picture, but instead, the man had wisely waited for the weekend to pull him up on his charmed trunk. He hated to admit it, but Dumbledore had probably guessed that that was what he would have done, which was why he'd waited a full six days, and the start of the weekend, to summon him to his office.
Harry sighed and finally made his way up to the headmaster's office for the second time this year…it was only just the second of November! He gave the same password as he had the first time he'd been here and climbed the revolving stairs before knocking on the door and waiting to be told to enter.
Remus wasn't in the room this time, but Snape and McGonagall were.
"Nice of you to keep us waiting for you for half of the morning, Potter." Snape sneered at him straight away. Some things would never change.
"I was finishing my breakfast, Professor. Surely you wouldn't deny me the chance to finish eating?" Harry questioned softly. "If you wanted me here just after I'd been told about the meeting, then why not schedule it closer to the end of breakfast and not before I'd even started eating? Or even for ten or eleven in the morning, which likely would have been best for all involved, it seems."
"Do you know what this meeting is for, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, quickly changing the subject.
Harry pulled up a chair between Snape and McGonagall without being asked, despite Narcissa's lessons on etiquette swirling around in his mind and his shoulders hunched instinctively, expecting the familiar hex to the back of his head for his social faux pas.
"Not really, Sir. I was hoping that my Firebolt had finally been found but, as I can't see it anywhere, I doubt that that is the reason that I'm here." He answered, being purposefully obtuse. He knew that he was here because of the charm on his trunk. He doubted that the headmaster was even looking for his Firebolt. Lucius was going to sort it out for him, he'd already promised him in his last letter to get it back for him by any means necessary.
"You are here under the allegation of using dark magic against your fellow housemates in the form of a curse on your school trunk."
Harry didn't even need to fake his surprise. "Dark magic? Are you teachers at this school or not? It was an anti-thievery charm. I brought my complaints personally to you twice about my things being stolen, and then stolen and completely destroyed, all of which had to be replaced at my father's expense. I was not going to allow that to happen again for a third time, so I charmed my belongings to prevent it from happening again. But at least now you have that proof that you wanted about who was stealing my property, Sir, and I'm sure if they were questioned then my missing broomstick would be found too."
"Potter has a point, Albus. Those boys were purposefully stealing, and they damaged nearly all of Mister Potter's things to the point where they actually had to be replaced and a very valuable broomstick is still missing. I will not stand for this behaviour to happen within my house." McGonagall said sternly.
"What charm did you use, Potter? I didn't recognise it, but I could tell that it wasn't a curse and certainly had nothing to do with the dark arts. Where did you find the book?" Snape asked him, looking sour that he couldn't insult him, nor get him expelled for the use of dark magic.
"It was in the Restricted Section, Sir. Professor Flitwick gave me permission to go into the Restricted Section to find a spell that would help me to protect my newly replaced belongings and he even recommended the book to me after I told him that people kept taking my stuff. He said that there was a very strong locking charm in there. I found that charm and while I had it, I read the whole book from cover to cover, the other charm was also in the book and I added it to my trunk as well. The way I see it, they shouldn't have been trying to steal my stuff for the third time and potentially trying to destroy it again for a second time. They were a bit discomfited for a few days, but no lasting or permanent damage has been done to them. Madam Pomfrey could tell you that herself."
"Even so, don't you think such a thing is a little…uncalled for?" Dumbledore asked him.
Harry blinked incredulously, but he held his temper back by the skin of his teeth.
"They not only stole off of me, but they damaged all of my belongings, tore up all of my robes, clothes, and my homework. They smashed all of my bottles of ink, ruined all of my books and even my trunk and they were going to do so again and you think that me protecting the brand new books, clothing, and trunk that my father sent to me is uncalled for? No, I don't think so and as my very valuable broom is still missing over a month after it was stolen then I think it is fair to say that you aren't even looking for it. I think I'll take my father up on his offer of bringing this matter to the attention of the school governors." Harry threatened him. "I want my Firebolt back and I want those pestilent boys to leave me alone. I will petition to have my own sleeping quarters if this matter…persists."
"I don't believe that this is a matter for the governors to discuss." Dumbledore said almost reproachfully.
"Under usual circumstances, neither would I." Harry insisted. "But twice I've been attacked in this way and almost a third time and my Firebolt is still missing. I think that if this continues for much longer then I'll have to inform the governors and let them decide on the best course of action to take. I want my Firebolt back by the end of today, or I'll send an owl to the governors. I think that's all we have to discuss, Headmaster. I have homework that I need to do."
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