Harry Potter and the Wanderer by The Shadows


Author's Note: Due to a test that needs to be run at the hospital, I have been awake for many more hours than I would have previously considered healthy. While this does mean that I had a lot of time for writing, I would rather not have had the time, given the circumstances. Here's hoping everything turns out okay for the tests (heart issues). The actual testing happens today.

Thank you everyone for your reviews - they're great to get and excellent motivation to work harder and faster on the next chapter.

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Chapter Twenty Six: Forgiveness and the Unforgiven

Harry and Hermione were walking hand in hand down the halls towards the breakfast hall when they noticed the first signs of something strange - there were students all through the halls, most of them looking quite pale, and several of them pointing at Harry and whispering to themselves.

"Harry! Hermione!" Both turned quickly at the sound of Ron's voice calling to them, and they turned in surprise to find him barreling down the corridor, knocking people aside to get to them as fast as he could. He had a rolled up copy of the Daily Prophet in his hand, and Luna was right behind him with a copy of a special edition of the Quibbler.

"You read this yet, Harry?" Harry turned so quickly from Ron and Luna that he felt a little dizzy to find Colin running up to him with another copy of the Prophet in his hands. Again, he didn't have the chance to reply before three other members of the DA thrust more copies at him, and Hermione took one of them for herself to scan the headlines.

"Might I have a word with you for a moment, Mr. Potter?" Harry looked up blankly from the pile of papers that had accumulated in his hands to find their Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts standing in front of him, the hood to his cloak concealing all but his brown eyes, as usual. "Bring a copy of that news thing you have there... it is important."

"Sir, can I..." Hermione started, but Talisien shook his head to cut her off.

"This is something I must speak with him about alone, Ms. Granger," he replied easily. "If he choses to share the information with you later, then I will not fault him." He then caught Harry beneath the arm and started walking swiftly with him down the halls to the first empty classroom, students parting before them like water on a cliff, before she could make any other objection.

He motioned to two empty chairs, and Harry sat down without thinking about it. He and Hermione had ended up sleeping in by a few minutes that morning, and it looked like something big had happened in the news last night. That rarely meant good things, especially given how several members of the DA had come up to him...

"Would you rather read the article or simply hear what happened from me?" Talisien asked calmly as he took a seat across from Harry and took his hood down slowly. Harry looked up and found his eyes drawn to the scars along the elf's cheek, but didn't say anything. "How about you take a moment to read it, then?"

He nodded and looked down to the paper again, unrolling it and opening it to the front page. Glaring back at him were dozens of small pictures, all put together into one large, twisted mural of horrible faces. Death Eaters, all of them. The large headlines across the top thankfully drew his attention away from them.

Largest Breakout in Azkaban History: Dementors Defect to Side of You-Know-Who

Feeling sick without reading any more than he already had, he dropped the paper and looked up to his teacher. "Breakout?" he asked in a whisper. "How many in all?"

"Almost fourty this time," Talisien replied, his voice still relatively calm. "Including those captured at the end of last year."

"Malfoy?"

"Yes."

Harry groaned and cupped his head in his hands. "Why didn't they just give them all the kiss?" he thought out loud. "Why didn't they just kill them? Didn't we all know that it was only a matter of time before they broke out again?"

"You would see them executed, then?"

Harry looked up in surprise at the tone in the elf's voice suddenly. "Is that so wrong?" he asked quietly. "Do you have any idea how many people they'll kill on their own, now that they're out?"

"Could you kill them? Given the chance, no questions asked, could you do it?"

Harry swallowed hard and closed his eyes. The idea of being forced by destiny and fate to become a murderer already wasn't sitting well with him. He could barely believe he had even considered just killing the lot of them... that wasn't him. He couldn't even see himself killing one man... "No," he whispered.