You could be a dick but also not an active murderer, he supposed.
Harry knew plenty of assholes who weren't serial killers, so the two things weren't necessarily mutually exclusive. I mean just look at Blaise, who was barely hiding his murderous tendencies but was also charming as shit when he wanted to be. Someone being friendly or being a dick seemed to have, unfortunately, very little bearing on the likelihood of them being a murderer, which was not a great observation for his paranoia to be honest.
It just meant he needed to keep up his 'people reading' skills sharp because it was probably one that would keep him alive one day.
"What else ya got?"
"Yeah Death Eaters are too easy, who else?"
They needled him, and he took a breath, trying to center his thoughts into something more coherent than just holy shit do I hate Dumbledore—he should've itemized the list of reasons to hate the man at some point to make it easier to explain it, but then again that also seemed like a terrible bit of paper to have lying around.
"Okay… there is one thing that will be a bit hard to hear, but I have reasons. A lot of them honestly." He began. "You're right that Death Eaters are low hanging fruit because it's so obvious why I take issue with them, but the one that I need you to hear me out about, is Dumbledore."
He had braced himself for their reaction, though it was initially just confusion as they tilted their heads in opposite directions.
"The Headmaster?"
"What, like as an enemy?" George blinked, and then Harry watched as it belated sank in what he was saying, both of them openly startling.
"Why?" they demanded immediately, more confused than alarmed… but fast on the way to becoming alarmed as clearly this was the last thing they expected him to say.
Harry mentally ran through his list of reasons to figure out where to begin, but found they were annoyingly interrelated. He didn't realize how long the silence had stretched while he wrestled over it until Fred spoke again.
"Apples?"
He snapped out of it, meeting their gazes… and realizing, just like those months ago in Hagrid's pumpkin patch, for some reason it wasn't as hard to speak to them as it usually was. Every instinct he had to lie and cover his tracks for safety just… wasn't ringing as loudly in his head when faced with the twins.
He trusted them.
Which was usually something he had to consciously think to himself, but for some reason with the twins the words just came to him before he could think too hard about it.
"Did I ever tell you about my relatives? Or, have you suspected." He began, because no matter what other reason there was, this was the one that mattered most to him.
And he was going to be honest so that if the twins still decided to grab a shovel and help him dig this grave he was making, they would do so knowing just how deep Harry intended to go.
"You mentioned them before. That you're not close." Fred recalled. "Them being 'relatives' not family, you said."
"I know they're muggles, and the fact you don't talk about them or go home for breaks is kind of telling, honestly." George allowed. "But you not getting on with them is related to Dumbledore because…?"
Harry almost laughed at how he said it. He didn't let it out though because he knew if he did it'd be hysterical instead of funny.
Not 'getting on'… 'hating them to the pits of hell and already burying them in unmarked graves in my head'… same difference I guess.
"I really hate them." He confessed quietly, kind of stunned how easily that came out.
Fred and George both dropped the jovial attitude properly now, sensing this was not a conversation that was meant to be interrupted by any bout of levity right now.
"It is related, I promise, but I have to start from the beginning because it's not… my reasoning is selfish, to be honest. It's not some noble cause, none of my goals are actually that noble honestly… I just don't want to die so obviously I don't like the Death Eaters who want to kill me, I want my godfather to be happy so changing laws isn't for all werewolves it's for Moony specifically… and worst of all is that Dumbledore might actually be a good man to a point, but he's still done a lot wrong by me, so I still consider him an enemy." He explained taking steadying breath.
"Starting with the… the root of the issue I guess… you need to know that my aunt, the one I grew up with, is my mother's sister. She's fully muggle while my mom was a muggleborn, so as you can probably guess there was a ton of resentment when one sibling got to go to Hogwarts and the other didn't."
"Yikes," George practically flinched, Fred not looking much better. They probably knew better than anyone how ugly sibling bonds could get, better even than Harry who had none.
"Yeah, well, sometime in my mother's life, they had a huge falling out. My aunt hates magic with everything she has, and she married a man with the same attitude. They raised their son to feel the same way… anything not muggle or 'normal' to them is freakish and wrong, and meant to be locked away to rot."
"You mentioned something about that before, when we asked about your colors," Fred recalled, frowning.
Neither of them were stupid though, and unlike Draco neither of them were by any means spoiled either. By their expressions they were already putting together the pieces, but respectfully let him continue.
Harry was grateful even if he was hesitant to do so.
"…the night my parents died, there was a lot of things that should've happened. I had two godfathers, there were three other people listed in my parents will that I should've gone to—hell even just taking me to St. Mungos would've been better but… Dumbledore got involved, and he decided what my parents wanted didn't matter. Apparently he took me to my muggle relatives, and left me on their doorstep with a fucking letter… a letter and no chance to give me back, to a family of muggles who hate magic more than anything. Who didn't even know there was a war going on from how long it'd been since they'd spoken to my mother—I don't think they ever even laid eyes on my dad from how estranged they were."
"Harry…" Fred couldn't help but be genuinely worried at this point while George's expression was getting darker.
"Dumbledore left me with them." He confessed, in a heavy tone and… yeah, that was just it, wasn't it? That was that old man's heaviest sin, and Harry would never forgive him for it.
I guess some things don't need to be complicated.
"I don't care that everyone else thinks he's a great man… for that reason alone I want him dead."
It kind of just popped out of him, but by their shocked looks realized how far he'd actually gone… oops.
But then suddenly Fred was just hugging the life out of him, out of his chair and practically in Harry's, George's hand on the table like he was about to reach for his arm but stopped himself… the look on his face thunderous but not necessarily judgmental.
"You don't have to go back there ever!" Fred shouted to the classroom at large. "Come to our house, whenever you need— there's always room, I promise! Mum would love to have you, I swear!"
George didn't speak but Harry saw him give a solid nod… and he couldn't help but sink into Fred's arms with a small smile. Merlin did he love the twins.
Not just because Fred gave amazing hugs apparently. He hated talking about this most times and people's reactions were definitely one of his hang ups. Nott was easy since he understood in a way others didn't… but even if the twins didn't have that same experience or understanding, they were open arms that only felt too tempting to run to.
They came from a loving family but were also world-wise enough to know not every parent or guardian loved their children like their parents had loved them. They knew what the sense of family and a good hug could do for a shaky heart and had zero hesitation in offering that feeling to others who grew up less fortunate.
And Harry did let out a slightly hysterical laugh at the irony of it all. The Weasleys, supposedly the poorest and least advantaged family in magical Britain… but they were wealthy in love and family ties, and they damn well knew it. The twins in particular knew they were blessed to be born so insanely lucky, so they did not get jealous of those who had 'more'… in fact they pitied them.
Which wasn't to say they pitied Harry exactly but… they weren't about to act like they didn't have everything Harry had ever wanted in the most important of ways. At this confession they knew they did, and just like Harry was rich in gold he didn't care about giving away, they didn't think twice to offer the family they were running lousy with. They had never shied away from the fact that Harry was richer than them, but it had also never been an issue or a point of resentment. Now that tables had flipped and they were not avoiding the fact they had the family Harry didn't… but still, it didn't change them either.
Harry would not cry but his eyes did get wet as he accepted Fred's hug and let the tension seep from his bones for a moment as he hugged back tightly. It was just… nice.
"Thanks guys," he got out, clearing his throat as he was let go, Fred choosing the seat right next to him now instead of returning to his old one—brown eyes cataloging him carefully like he was actively searching for injuries or anything else wrong with him right this moment. "I um… I probably can't accept that invitation for a bit, though. I want to but…"
"It's the same reason we had to cover for you. Dumbledore would know eventually and…" George trailed off.
"And put me back with my relatives." Harry finished for him quietly, voice strained at the mere idea of such a thing.
"But why?" Fred huffed. "Have you—I mean does he know that they're—!"
"Oh he knows." Harry was ice cold to confirm it, both of them sealing their lips in shock.
"So he… he does know but he would… still send you back there?"
"Yes." He could only hate the headmaster so much further than he already did, but needing to repeat the truth out loud like this and watch their faced sink into even more horrified looks than they already had on, he suddenly found a little more space in his heart to hate the headmaster just that much more. "Hogwarts is supposed to do a check on children living with guardians instead of parents. That means no, Dumbledore didn't just not know how I was treated—at best he knew and pointedly kept me there anyway or he never once checked on me in ten years but signed off that he had anyway, fucking lying to the Ministry and the school board and all of it. Or, he did check… and he did know what my life was like… and he didn't care."
The twins seemed frozen, trying to absorb this information and clearly failing.
"He knew but he…?"
"Why?" Fred could only beg again. "Why would he—why would he do that?"
Harry could only give a very bitter, dark smile.
"I've asked that a lot, but only really have my guesses. Why does he do any of it? Why would he leave me with muggles he knew hated magic? Why would he completely disregard my parents' wishes and how they lived their lives? If he knew anything about them he would've known that my mother's estranged sister was the last person she would've wanted me to grow up with, but he didn't care. He-"
He cut himself off, choking for a moment on his own emotions and needing to take a minute to center himself. All the reasons he hated this man were in his graveyard, papers strewn across the grass before his graffitied grave, so he slowly picked them and tried to organize them some.
"He's too involved. I told you he was tracking me, and this is the un-edited version of why I can't have him knowing what I'm up to. To be clear, I hate my relatives and Dumbledore knows that. I do not plan to ever go back to them though, but Dumbledore doesn't know that yet—and I'd like to keep it that way before he has a chance to do anything about it. And yes, I'm certain he will try to do something about it.
"And before you ask," He cut off whatever George was about to say, clenching his fists in his lap and finding comfort that Fred noticed from beside him and grabbed his wrist to give a gentle, comforting squeeze. "I know this because he's already trying to interfere. I won't lie and say part of the reason I started looking into Sirius in the first place was because I did not want to return to my relatives this coming summer but the only way I'd get out of it is if I had my official guardian back. Sirius is my legal and magical godfather and if he's deemed innocent I'll be able to live with him, and no one will be able to force me back to my relatives, including the headmaster. My relatives are nowhere in my parents' will after all, me being with them was a decision he made purely by himself since there was no one else around to stop him eleven years ago. If Sirius is free though, he'll be able to stop him."
He swallowed some, ignoring how dry his mouth was. "At first it was just my paranoia that Dumbledore was watching me, since he'd already been too involved for a headmaster while I'm an orphan without parents to advocate for me, but then I tried to get Sirius a trial. And now I know he put me with my relatives on purpose… because it's not just Fudge trying to block the trial right now. Dumbledore is trying to stop it too."
Fred and George both looked like they'd been slapped. The grip around Harry's wrist got unbearably tight as Fred clearly forgot how to breathe.
"…what?"
"Tell me you're lying." George seemed to be lost in equal parts horror and denial as he struggled to come to terms with what he was hearing.
"I'm not." Was all he could say. "It's true to the best of my knowledge. I literally sold my soul to Sebastian Greengrass to make this trial happen, and he informed me that Dumbledore was directly blocking getting the trial on the calendar—and the Greengrass family is getting whatever they want from me, so he has literally no reason to lie about it. In fact, me getting all these seats was specifically because I needed at least this many to outvote Dumbledore. Because Mr. Greengrass knows he's going to vote against Sirius' freedom."
"But—" Fred stuttered. "What if he just didn't know, or—I mean since only you and Greengrasss knew he was innocent, if he—"
Harry pulled his hand from his grip to shoot him a fiery look. "You'd rather blindly believe Dumbledore is still in the right and this supposedly great man had no idea over Sirius? That bastard knew Sirius his entire stint at Hogwarts—he was a harmless prankster just like you guys! He was Padfoot—and look what happened to him!" He forcefully reminded them, Fred flinching back at the sharp words and paling sharply.
George looked like he was genuinely about to throw up across the table. He knew that would work—they knew Padfoot from the map, it wasn't like they were talking about some stranger. They knew him, they idolized him… and it was just as hard for them to believe Dumbledore was doing something so horrible as it was to believe Padfoot would do those things either, so the conflict was clearly giving them a mini crisis.
Harry pressed forward firmly.
"Remember, Dumbledore is Supreme Mugwump, and that's not just a bloody title for why people think he's a 'great man'. That's a job title he's owned for decades, so WHY has he never given Sirius a trial himself!? Innocent or guilty, for better or worse, people deserve to at least that much! Why would he NOT at least verify if he were truly guilty, if not in the mess of the war ending but in the decade since? Even if Mr. Greengrass is lying and he's not actually trying to stop the trial, even if maybe he honestly doesn't know or believe Sirius is innocent, what reason could he possibly have for not at least following the fucking law and giving him a fair trial!? We expect this shit from Fudge but if Dumbledore is so great than why hasn't he done it already? What harm could there possibly be?" He demanded, before dropping his voice to a hiss.
"To put this in perspective, Padfoot was 21 when this all went down. Did a hundred-year-old bastard really just toss a young man into prison without even double checking the truth? I know for a fact that Moony begged everyone who would listen to get Sirius a trial back then, including Dumbledore… so why hasn't he?"
He knew the logic of 'why hasn't he done it' didn't directly translate to 'he's trying to stop it', but for this at least Harry had more solid proof. In any case, the twins were more shell shocked at this point instead of trying to argue, but he could tell they were hearing him.
Believing was a different fight, but they were working through it and he gave them a couple breaths to try and catch theirs.
Eventually, George gathered himself first, though his voice was uneasy.
"And if he is… doing this. If he really is purposefully keeping Sirius in prison despite knowing he's innocent… you're saying he's doing it just to keep you with your relatives? To prevent Sirius from being your guardian? That's… a lot to assume, Harry."
It did not feel good to be questioned like that, but he also knew that it was a very fair question. It was easy for him to believe but… he was also paranoid, and vain, and had been living this way since entering the wizarding world. He was already well accustomed to the idea the headmaster was out to get him specifically, though he was sane enough to know that it for sure didn't seem like a sane argument to an outsider.
For someone who, until five minutes ago, was a staunch Dumbledore supporter, Harry just being insanely paranoid was a more than reasonable argument to make, even if it stung a bit.
"What other conclusion could I possibly come to with this? Why was he even there to take me anywhere the night my parents died?" He shot right back, not getting angry but not backing down either. They glanced at each other, knowing that it was very hard to argue that point. "The real reason though? The biggest proof I have isn't actually just what he's doing to me or Sirius, it's bigger than that. Simpler too: he wants something from me."
"Seems a little too simple for something so insane though?" Fred half-heartedly argued but he seemed to already know Harry was about to elaborate. "Although I guess it depends on what it is he wants…"
"Honestly, I don't know for certain what it is he wants, but I know it's something—because it's not just me he's done it to. He… how do I explain this," He licked his lips in frustration, starting over once more. "Fred, George, you… do know that…"
"Know what?" George looked like he'd dread getting hit with a bludger less, but knew he had to know now.
"Well. It might not be true for your family exactly, but on the most part, you do know that purebloods don't pay for Hogwarts tuition, right?"
They blinked in sync.
"What?"
"No, we didn't know that." Fred frowned.
"Why wouldn't they?"
"The way my account manager explained it, older pureblood families work out deals with Hogwarts to avoid paying.: He explained, reaching into his bag and pulling out the folder he needed to have on hand. "The Ministry subsidizes Hogwarts Tuition, meaning they're supposed to pay for all of it. For years now though, the tuition has been going up—just a galleon or two here and there every year—until now there's a couple hundred galleon gap that falls to the student to pay. I know this because my mother started a charity called the Eileen Prince Foundation, which specifically pays for muggleborns' tuition. And she made it applicable to muggleborns only, because she knew purebloods were not paying it."
The twins looked at each other again, eyes wide.
"To be honest, we did know we weren't paying tuition."
"It's expensive and there's no way we could afford it even for Bill, much less the rest of us." Fred curled in on himself some.
"But the way Mum put it, Dumbledore… waived it for us." Geroge admitted, realization flickering in his eyes as he put some pieces together.
"But we had no idea it was so—so common!"
They were clearly not comfortable admitting the charity they'd been offered, but Harry had fully expected that was exactly what had happened. He didn't blame them in the slightest—they wanted to go to Hogwarts and there was a conniving old man who got a thrill out of manipulating desperate people standing in their way. It was not the Weasley family's fault they'd been manipulated.
Harry put the folder he held on the table lightly. "That's the thing though: no one is paying the tuition most likely. It's completely fabricated."
"What do you mean?" George took the hint to open the folder, opening it cautiously to scan over the papers inside.
"Think about it: pureblood families have all made deals with Dumbledore to waive it for them. My dad canceled our family's deal but before that the agreement was to provide teachers to the school if they were in need. How many other pureblood families now owe him favors and of what kind? And they don't owe them to Hogwarts itself, they own those favors to Dumbledore specifically." He explained brutally, watching Geroge's eyes go wide as he saw the numbers in front of himl. "Now think of all the incoming muggleborns who not only are suddenly finding out they have magic, but then are also now given a pretty large bill unexpectedly. Imagine this kindly old grandfather-like wizard that tells you all about magic for the first time, and then also oh-so benevolently waive your tuition fee. He'd really be a great man to you at that point, wouldn't he?"
George looked up from the folder, but even Fred looked deeply disturbed.
"Why is this so expensive?" He put the folder down, his brother grabbing it to see it too and instantly making a tiny noise of protest. "And it went up again this year?"
"I'm not sure that's the right question," Fred's voice was strangled as he looked at the numbers, a businessman at heart. "The finances just make no sense."
"To be fair, compared to the muggle world I never thought the way money worked in the magical world made any sense. Magic makes the creation of certain things easier so of course they'd be cheaper but… that logic only works on some things." He admitted. "It could be I just don't understand what goes into running a school, but you're right, it makes no sense to me either."
He put his hand on the folder pointedly, catching their eyes. "What does make sense though, is if you consider how this even happened. Who sets the Hogwarts tuition? Who is in charge of this school which includes it's budget?"
"…the headmaster, then approved by the school board." Fred admitted.
"And the board doesn't care because the Ministry is supposed to pay for it. Which it does, except the Wizegamont needs to meet to vote and approve if there are changes to the subsidy they provide. Which they used to do without issue, until about fifty years ago when those sessions suddenly stopped happening—and the couple times they did happen, they voted not to match the subsidy to the current tuition. Any guess what happened fifty years ago that prompted the change?"
"…" they didn't need to say it, going by their faces they'd figured it out. Fifty years ago would've been right about the peak of Dumbledore's post-Grindelwald victory hype, and would be right about when he'd started achieving his many accolades and titles he still had today… including being a prominent member of the Wizegamont.
"Before you wonder how one man has that much power, remember it's Albus Dumbledore, and also he has twelve seats in the Wizegamont. I can ask Mr. Greengrass to obtain proof of that if you want me to."
"No, no… I think we see your point." George finally tore his eyes from the papers, meeting his grimly. "You're saying he created the tuition problem, so that he could waive it for favors, or at least a good reputation."
Harry was glad he didn't need to actually spell it out for them, and also that the numbers seemed to be going a long way in convincing them, because they weren't just in disbelief anymore, but now were frowning like they were getting angry.
"Tuition is not the only way he does it though. Don't even get me started on what he did to Moony," He slipped up in how calm he was pretending to be for this conversation, his voice cracking. Both their ginger heads snapped up at it, eyes wide in horror.
"What did he do?" Fred inhaled, looking panicked.
Harry didn't keep him in suspense but cut right to the heart of the gruesome, awful matter.
"Remus became a werewolf when he was six. He came to Hogwarts as a werewolf… but do you know how many children werewolves there are in the UK right now? At least a dozen. Wanna guess how many are at Hogwarts right now?" He demanded darkly.
"…none." George looked like he was really going to throw up this time.
Harry took an uneasy breath.
"To be honest, I haven't told most of this to Remus yet, not even that Sirius is about to get a trial despite how much it would mean to him, because he just—he doesn't want to hear it. He's… insanely loyal to Dumbledore and… well, three guesses why."
"He let him come to Hogwarts… but he hasn't let any other werewolf kid since?" Fred was almost in tears and Harry leaned into his shoulder for silent comfort, but he couldn't shield him from this truth either. He needed to know if everything was being put on the table right now.
He kind of regretted piling more on, but they needed to see it, so he leaned down and grabbed yet another ream of paper from his bag—the ones Axeclaw had sent him that had truly sealed the deal for how dead-to-him Albus Dumbledore truly was.
"I might be pretending to hate werewolves for the advantage, but Dumbledore is only pretending to like werewolves for the advantage. Because it makes him look light and 'good' or whatever with the right people… maybe he honestly actually doesn't care about werewolves at all in fact, but it suits him best to keep werewolves disadvantaged for several reasons, not least of which being brainwashing Remus." He set the papers down, and neither twin reached for it, correctly assuming that they did not want to know what was in those papers.
So Harry just told them.
"Court records. Dumbledore's seat, and therefore the eleven other seats he has under his control, has voted against or at least abstained from voting on every werewolf reformation bill since he's been in power. Crazy as it is there has been reformations proposed before, but clearly, nothing ever changed."
They seemed unable to speak for a moment, staring at the stack like it was about to jump to life and scream at them like a howler from their mother.
"If you don't care about me or yourselves or anyone else, then at least recognize what he has blatantly done to Moony: he manipulated a child into being thankful for his education—something that should've been his right anyway— but was kept from him like it's being kept from a dozen of other werewolf children. But he likes people who are loyal, so he oh so benevolently let one single werewolf into Hogwarts to be sure that Remus was forever indebted to him, no matter what it costs him. No matter if other werewolves are now wary of him for going to a wizarding school, no matter if even spending seven years here he was still in the end shunned from everyone he used to know. By having him come to Hogwarts Remus lost every community he might've had, and all for what? So he could be an informant on dark creatures to Dumbledore during the war."
Both of them snapped out of it some to looked shocked at this news, but Harry pressed the issue harder.
"Oh but don't forget that when the war was over, when Dumbledore didn't need his werewolf plant anymore, he cast him aside. As soon as the war was done he forgot about him, leaving him to poverty and with no community to take him in, and despite being in a position to do so, has actively impeded laws being changed to help werewolves. Remus begged him to get Sirius a trial back then and Dumbledore didn't. He used Moony for everything he was worth, since he was eleven, for his own gain, and has done nothing to help him in return… not even respond to a letter no matter how many Remus has sent.
"And the sickest part of it all…? Moony is still loyal to Dumbledore. He's too kind-hearted to realize his own situation." He got out bitterly, but also proud of himself he'd remained relatively calm despite how hotly his blood was boiling in his veins right now.
"But how?" George was aghast, fist clenching where it rested on the table. "I get maybe we were just uneducated or naïve to not look this up ourselves, but if Mr. Moony has been—been alone all this time and he won't even return his letters then how is he still loyal!?"
Harry bit his lips, the frustration getting to him a bit.
"Because Remus won't hear it. I tried, trust me I tried to have this exact conversation with him but he just—he won't hear it. You have to understand… he was a child. A child without trustworthy guardians who was promised seven years away from hell on earth to just be a normal kid, all on the whim of an old man who plays a friendly grandfather really, really well. He was just a kid who wanted to be a kid… just like I was."
"Harry—" Fred's hand was on his arm now, sounding stressed.
"Don't you see this is just what he does? I don't really have proof for this one but… your parents are insanely loyal to Dumbledore too, aren't they?" he demanded and they looked stricken, immediately connecting the dots.
"They are… but Harry—"
"Do you know why? Besides him being a so-called 'great man' or whatever… are you sure something didn't happen that made them grateful? Because that's his entire MO: he fabricates horrible situations and then benevolently saves people from the very situations he put them in to create this weird hero-worship and loyalty in them. Not often, but then he has extremely loyal advocates that spread the word that he's a 'great man' until it's somehow common knowledge." He ranted viciously. "And it's really, really widely known that the Weasley family are loyal to Dumbledore. To be blunt, part of your bad reputation with Slytherins is because they've written you off as his pawns and not much else."
George tensed to the point of shattering and Fred looking a bit panicked, glancing between them sharply.
"I can't think of anything, besides the tuition I guess… but Merlin now that you say it, it makes… too much sense…" But he was glancing at brother, even more worried about George's reaction for some reason.
But the pieces lined up too well, and they knew it.
He kept werewolves in oppression so that every time he tosses Remus a bone, he goes jumping for it.
He put Harry in an abusive household so that when he was 'saved' by attending Hogwarts, he'd see Dumbledore as the man who gave him his place here.
They couldn't help but wonder if he'd planned to do it to Sirius too—he was the one who wasn't pushing to give him a trial, letting him essentially sit on ice until the day he needed the Black family back, and would 'save him' by suddenly proving his innocence… when Harry suspected Dumbledore already knew damn well he was innocent.
If he really was watching through the paintings all around Hogwarts, there was no fucking way he didn't know the Marauders Animagus secret.
Slytherins in general didn't align with Dumbledore because they could eventually pick up on it. They were cynical and paranoid enough that could tell when a bad situation was because of something, not just fate, and they didn't believe in things like coincidences at all. They would always eventually be able to tell Dumbledore was behind their bad fortune while trying to be their 'savior' from the situation he himself caused.
Ah, but Slytherins were the 'bad guys' obviously… something Dumbledore, even as headmaster, never once tried to intervene or sooth. It was his own school but he had let the house rivalries run wild, never lifting a finger to stop the blatant bullying and hostility happening amongst children… because it suited his purposes to discredit those who wouldn't fall for his schemes. He didn't give a fuck he was villainizing an entire house, most of which would never be involved in any way with his plans but would still suffer from the lack of school unity and being blamed for being 'dark' as the generational trauma continued on and on and on under the old man's care…
Just because it made sense didn't make it true. That was the Slytherin saying, at least.
But this… they also said things like 'it's not paranoia if they really are out to get you' and Harry KNEW he had every right to be paranoid—the twins did too, even if they hadn't known it until now.
"I don't know what he's after with me, but I can guess. The Potter line has money and connection, but more than that my bullshit 'Boy Who Lived' title and reputation gives me public sway, and to an old man whose had his hands in every pot for the past hundred years that means I'm a threat. It would've been better for him if I were one of his pawns, not someone competing against him in the court of public opinion." He put a hand on Fred's on his arm, as he could tell this was a lot on the both of them, but one twin was clearly just getting upset while Goerge was visibly getting more and more poised off.
"He did what he did to Remus so that he has a werewolf singing his praises and can maintain that he fights for the 'little guys' with the Light sided families, without actually ever doing shit to help anyone. He's letting Sirius rot in prison to keep his Black family contact on ice, but I bet you anything he wanted to be the 'savior' who freed him from Azkaban when the time's right… and if that happened then you bet your ass that the second richest family in Britain would've been at Dumbledore's disposal. For fuck's sake, he's old as dirt but he lets the house rivalries between children get worse and worse every year without doing anything to stop it, when I managed to make progress as an eleven-year-old. At some point it's because he wants the student body to keep fighting amongst itself and villainizing a fourth of them—most conveniently the fourth that would never fall for the blatant, conniving bullshit he pulls and who has the pureblood connections and money to not need a 'savior'. Not that they'd ever accept one anyway."
He softened his expression as much as he could, knowing they'd heard him and now more just pleasing with them as he squeezed Fred's hand.
"When you think of Light-sided families… Weasleys are at the top of the list, and all of you have been his biggest vocal supporters from the start. Do you really think that's a coincidence?"
He posed it as a real question this time, but was met with silence.
George's face was indescribable, but Fred finally lost it and sniffled, turning away a bit to shove his sleeve over his eyes hastily.
He felt kind of guilty for doing this to them, but he knew he had to be honest. And he was not going into business with people who didn't understand how much of a fucking threat the headmaster was—it was too dangerous.
He took a calming breath, trying to let out the frustration and anger that had been building under his skin.
"Look… I have enemies out there. More than I know, I'm sure. I don't think Voldemort is truly dead for one, but even if he is there are a ton of death eaters out there that are still kicking and would love to kill me anyway. As you said that's all obvious stuff though… Dumbledore is my biggest enemy right now, since if he gets his way then I'm going back to my relatives this summer and… frankly, I'd rather die."
He winced as the grip on his hand tripled and was suddenly being forced to look at a red-eyed, frantic yet angry twin beside him, free hand atop his head tightly to hold his gaze still.
"Why do you sound so fucking serious when you say that," He hissed at him, but Harry just clenched his jaw for a second and shot him a reassuring smile that he was sure neither of them bought.
"I have a contingency plan or two… Sirius, for one. Convincing a Slytherin friend of mine to hide me in another country so he can't force me to go back for another… so this summer is probably fine. If I can't get free more permanently then… I'd drop out of Hogwarts to get away." He admitted honestly, valiantly ignoring the way George was sitting up straighter in his periphery—or the way the brown eyes boring into his widened with even more tears. "Since that would remove any possibility of Dumbledore keeping his eye on me I doubt he'll let it be that easy, but still… he can't make me go back if he wants me alive."
"Harry." Fred fully just grabbed his shoulders now to shake him lightly, but desperately. "Were you really thinking all of that!? Why did you—that can't—!"
"What did they do."
They both froze, looking over at George who… didn't looked nearly as shocked or panicked as his brother did. No, when Harry met his gaze, he realized this twin somehow immediately understood Harry's attitude… even if he looked grim as hell, he got it.
If Dumbledore tried to force the matter, he'd have to kill him because he wouldn't go.
While the mere thought had Fred in literal tears, George, somehow, looked like he understood the sentiment.
Which made his question all the more unnerving.
"…who?" Harry evaded softly, unable to meet his eyes.
"You know who." Came the unamused grunt, the twin suddenly seeming very tired as he ran a haggard hand through his hair. "Look… this is a lot. I'm… I'm leaning towards believing you about all this but on the other hand, this conversation is just proving that I need to question things a lot more than I have been. It means I'm also questioning you too, but I'm seriously questioning Dumbledore and pretty much everyone else as well."
"That's fair…"
"So I want to know. What did they do that makes dropping out of Hogwarts or even death better than that?"
"George…" Fred was uneasy, refusing to let go of Harry's shoulders, though he wasn't exactly pushing him off either.
"I want to know how much I should want them dead too." He demanded shortly, almost bratty even, and Harry felt… slightly comforted, actually.
"We're not killing anyone!"
"Except maybe Dumbledore depending on his answer!" George shot right back, Fred not even seeming to realize he was digging into his grip on Harry too harshly in his distress.
"You can't say that!"
"Why not!?"
"Don't you fucking dare ask me though, you know why!"
George slammed his hands into the desk sharply and was suddenly on his feet. "If this doesn't throw everything we had agreed out the window then you're heartless! Stop crying if you won't fucking do something about it then!"
"I am not crying about it and if I'M heartless then what the hell does that make you!?"
While Harry had once been fond that they let him see them bicker, seeing them fighting was awful.
He grabbed Fred's hands from where they were on his shoulders and squeezed to get his attention, ripping him from glaring at his brother to look down in alarm—then followed what Harry was purposefully showing him.
Their hands, held tightly together like it would save them from the torrent of emotions threatening to blow them all to pieces… and the deep, disturbing white scars littering his hands. Both twins lost all the fire they'd had in yelling, staring… Fred clearly not wanting to believe it but George's expression going stony again.
"Look I… it's a long story. My whole life, actually." He admitted softly. "I… I do want to tell you guys, I want to tell you everything since you've heard me out so far but… let's do it another time. I think—I think we've had enough for today." He tried to deescalate the tension in the air… and thankfully it worked some, as George stopped leaning on the desk but stood up and took a step away, collecting himself.
"…Harry, just tell me you're okay." Fred pleaded.
Harry wanted to but… no use doing this much damage with being honest only to lie at the end.
He gave what he hoped was a comforting smile. "I will be. By this summer I'll have Moony and Padfoot, they'll have each other again and things will get better, I know they will." He smile faded some, unable to fully hide the desperation behind his actions. "I probably won't sleep soundly until that happens though. I never do."
"We want to help you." Fred squeezed his hands again, more gently thankfully, and not breaking eye contact. "Say you'll let us help you, please."
"Even if it's not the business deal we proposed, you need to let us know if we can help." George agreed, and Harry was relieved they were back to finishing each others' thoughts… even if Fred was still phrasing things much less aggressively than George was.
He blew out a breath, giving a tired chuckle.
"I'll be totally honest with you guys… a part of me is tempted by your offer to work together for the exact same reason Dumbledore wanted your parents. Your family has an insanely Light reputation, and even among your peers you two are above a lot of the shit other people get bogged down by since everyone assumes you're just here to pull a prank and have a good time. You've never let people see you as being serious so far, so no one suspects you actually have that side to you." He confessed, ducking his head apologetically.
"In a way, that's insanely useful… if you two go out into the world maintaining that reputation, having you two publicly vouch for me even when I'm up to probably less above-board stuff that other Gryffindors might not be comfortable with, I can still maintain my reputation enough to make Minister someday. "I'm going to need to do a lot of Slytherin shit to get anywhere in politics, but I still need the votes from the graduates of the other three houses too. Balancing that is going to be really hard, I think.
"When you first offered I wanted to say yes immediately, but… I don't think you guys realize just what kind of sway you actually have in the world. You're offering to be my business partners but you're actually giving me way more than me being a financial backer could ever actually repay—you're giving me your reputation to hide behind if you really intend to support me, and that's not something to scoff at. You might discredit your own reputation because of the negative things that get tossed at you but you have to know that in reality, your support really matters. The Weasley family's support is a very important piece that you have to realize the importance of before you actually offer to work with me." He explained.
"Really?" This seemed to be news to both of them, Fred blinking rapidly.
George however… suddenly collapsed back into his seat, startling both of them and making Harry do a double take when he realized he was staring at him—or perhaps he should say he was staring right through his soul, which startled him.
"George?"
It took a long few moments, but eventually his made a face. Fred just seemed confused, as it wasn't often they weren't thinking along the same lines. Even when they were disagreeing they'd at least known what each other was thinking… now it seemed like something new had occurred to one twin, but not the other.
"Care to share?" Harry prompted when the silence became awkward.
It still took another couple seconds, but then… George's expression hardened.
"Look, it… it does make sense." He allowed, pausing almost pointed. Fred didn't jump in though, as for once he had no idea what his brother was about to say and looking at him just as curiously as Harry was. He blew out an impatient breath. "The fact you're straight up telling us that you want to use our reputations and why… it makes a scary ton of sense. It's a little too easy to realize that for the same exact reason, anyone else who wants the Light side support but wants to actually work darkly would need someone like our parents and our family to cover for them." He admitted.
Because Harry wanted to use them in this way… it really cemented for him that Dumbledore could just as easily want it too.
Fred frowned though, hesitating given the high emotions but still unable to help himself. "I mean, by that same token… you work like a snake yourself Apples, but your purposes are for something good. If you think you're doing the same thing in this one instance, isn't it possible Dumbledore is in the same exact boat?"
"What, that he's after something good?" He repeated, blinking as the notion sunk in. Had he ever really considered it…? He didn't think so.
Despite never having visiting this area of retrospection in his heart before, the answer wasn't that hard to find at all.
"Honestly… I really believe that's probably true."
They both blinked.
"You do?"
"Sure, why not?" He shrugged, a little distributed by how calm he was to admit this. "Maybe he is fighting for something better… using every underhanded trick he has in order to fight for something maybe we'll even agree is a good thing. Even now I get that he might be fighting for the very same things I am right now, with good intentions even. Things like preventing Voldemort from returning, getting rid of death eaters and saving lives even… in fact I'd find it pretty reasonable to think that's pretty much exactly what he's doing."
"But… you still consider him an enemy?" Fred tilted his head.
Harry could only shrug.
"…he left me with my relatives." Was all he could say. "There's no grand reason… but I won't forgive him for that."
They absorbed that for a long minute in silence. Fred had yet to let go of his hands and seemed to have no intention to, as he eventually squeezed them a couple time as if to reassure the both of them again.
He gave a weak, hesitant laugh. "And…and here I thought you'd say something sage like 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'," he tried to make the joke to cut the tension, and thankfully it did work. A little.
Harry offered him a thin smile to know he appreciated it. "Maybe sometimes… but that's usually a better tactic for taking out two of your enemies at the same time. Assuming you have two enemies is way safer than arbitrarily trusting someone for a weak reason like a shared goal."
Both twice grimaced, but couldn't argue that logic.
Harry suspected Dumbledore employed that tactic quite a bit… no one could argue against him because everyone agreed that he was at least against the dark lord. He made it impossible to remember that you could hate both Voldemort and distrust Dumbledore, the two were not mutually exclusive things. Just because you knew the dark lord was an enemy did not mean Voldemort's biggest enemy was somehow your ally.
You didn't have to agree with Dumbledore just because you hated Voldemort, but the headmaster was really good at making people forget that.
"So like… with all this said, was your comment earlier actually true?" George blurted out, and at Fred's uneasy frown and Harry's confusion, clarified. "About wanting him dead."
Harry mentally walked past Albus Dumbledore's grave in his head and glared at it… before knowing he had to do the right thing.
"Honestly… I would not lose sleep if he up and had a heart attack right this moment. In fact I might raise a toast," He huffed and they seemed almost amused at that. "But uh… no, I'm not actually plotting to kill him. I wouldn't complain if someone did it for me but I'm not that far gone to want to do it myself."
"Not that I'd blame you," George offered darkly and Fred shot them both a bewildered look, though finally seeming to relax now that they weren't actively plotting anyone's death. Harry's or Dumbledore's or anyone else's.
He rallied himself, regaining some the prankster twin spark through sheer force of will it seemed.
"Well I'm glad, as it'd be much harder to get off of a murder charge than anything else you've hinted at doing, even if you have the Potter and Malfoy wealth to keep you out of Azkaban. Besides, if it ever got back that you had a hand in it then you'd never be Minister," Fred pointed out for more diplomatically, nearly pleading for the both of them to see reason. "Maybe he got it through dishonest means but Dumbledore will probably always have the reputation of being the good guy, no matter if you're also seen as the default 'good guy'. If you kill him then that'd be a mess. You'd be immortalizing him as the good guy in a way."
Harry made a face. He would absolutely would not give the old bastard that final victory, and by George's disgusted noise, he agreed.
"I guess that's fair…" He relented, though it annoyed him to do so. "But while offing him would probably be too far, he is still a problem. He needs to get removed from his positions of power somehow or I'll never get a chance to gain power of my own."
Fred had to allow that point, nodding along. "I suppose if Dumbledore still holds those seats… you probably won't be able to do much as Minister, or even make it to Minister if he's really trying to manipulate you too."
Harry almost did a double that, that point kind of taking him off guard. Harry hadn't even considered that but he was god damned right.
"I didn't even think of that," He confessed, "But yeah, there's no way, is there? I need him out of power if I'm going to be Minister, I can't just keep avoiding him."
Which was terrible news, as he was half thinking he'd need the power of the Minister's seat to be able to face off against someone like Albus Dumbledore, but he wasn't even going to get that far with the old bastard still holding all hi current cards, was he? Unless he continued to play 'good little pawn' to the man and got his support in his bid for Minister, the headmaster still believing he was installing one of his own people into a position of power… you know what how much did he want to be that's exactly what he'd done with Fudge!?
George ripped him from his spiraling with a scoff.
"It's got to happen sometime though, right? I mean, how old is he? Over a hundred for sure and people that old leading the modern world can't be looked on favorably forever."
"No one has questioned it so far, but I definitely want to make them start, and I want to do it soon." Harry frowned deeply. "I'm still working out specifics but that's a pretty good point. Maybe the senile route is the best tactic…"
As he was considering it out loud to himself though, the twins perked up—their mischievous spark thankfully making a return as their grins matched once again, a devilish thought clearly occurring to both of them at the same time.
"I mean…"
"As part of the family that's his most ardent supporter—"
"—if at some point we start to get genuinely concerned for our dear Headmaster then it'll be hard for people to dismiss it."
"And I'm sure there'll be a lot of hidden snakes who'd jump right in on that bandwagon no matter how true it is or not, right?" They snickered.
Harry beamed.
"That's… bloody brilliant! You two are geniuses!"
"Why thank you, thank you-"
"-thank you very much!"
"We might need to wait until we've graduated, until we have a bit of a stake in the adult world as reputable businessmen ourselves…"
"And if we have a shop with tons of light-minded customers rotating through, spreading a rumor or two here and there—"
"We can absolutely do that!" They gave each other loaded looks again and nodded in agreement, thankfully their earlier tension seeming to be resolved by whatever passed between them.
Harry let them have it. He felt bad about ruining their mood and triggering a fight at all but was both relieved they seemed to be more resilient than rubber and willing to embrace this new, horrific knowledge of theirs without much more drama.
"Even if he doesn't turn out to be evil, I think I'd still be on board with weakening the credibility of someone over a century that is still making policy in a modern world. Seems a bit too backwards," Fred decided, not quite as on board with hating Dumbledore so immediately as George, had been but reassured by this logic at least.
Which, good. It meant at least one twin semi-believed in the senility argument—that could only help sell the argument.
And the other twin, though clearly more on board with the 'he needs to go' sentiment, had cooled off enough to no longer looked so pissed.
This wasn't the end, Harry knew it wasn't. They would have to talk a lot more about the details of how this would work but…for today, they'd all had enough.
The brothers would need to talk amongst themselves after this, they'd need to reach their own conclusions and plan for what they wanted—or needed—to do. Harry would let them, because this probably wasn't something that would be solved in one day, in one conversation.
He wanted to go back, to the happy conversation this had started as, with them sharing stories of their break.
Or… more accurately, he wanted to move forward. He wanted to return to those happy conversations, but now was people who understood each other better, people who knew more about the less pretty sides of themselves but were just better friends because of it. Fred's hug earlier had felt like an offer of family that was already really, really tempting… but the tight grip he had on one of his hands still, with no intention of letting go even now despite them trying to return to happier topics… it felt way more important after what they'd just discussed.
Not just an open invitation to something warm, but a plea for him not to go farther than his arms could reach.