To Catch A Thief

Part 7

Severus groaned. What did Harry do now that he was being called to Dumbledore's office? Severus had spent the morning animal proofing his quarters. His own new kitten, Sophia, seemed to enjoy sleeping on his face. Fawkes spent most of the night with him while Mrs. Norris showed up to check on her kittens but returned to Argus. He ignored the ongoing issue with the missing guardian as he walked up the stairs to the Headmaster's office. He could hear Molly Weasley's voice and knew that Dumbledore must have tried something stupid last night at King's Cross. The door opened before he could knock. It wasn't a good sign.

"Severus, please join us." Dumbledore was behind his desk. "Lemon drop?"

"No, thank you. Kingsley, Molly." Severus took his normal place, leaning against the wall. He really didn't want to be close to Molly's screeching. "What appears to be the problem?"

"That boy!" Molly almost screamed. "He refused to come with me last night."

"He has a family. They were there to pick him. I'm just glad I didn't have to arrest you." Kingsley had been fighting with the two of them. "Unless you want to be arrested for kidnapping you can't force him to go with you nor are you going to be adopting him." Kingsley looked at Severus. He was hoping the man would help shake some sense into the two Gryffindor Idiots.

"You were already aware of the situation, Albus. Let's also not forget Ronald hasn't endeared himself to Harry." Severus thought that was the politest way he could phrase that Harry loathed Ron due to Ron's own stupidity. If he was being honest with himself, Ron was the male version of his mother, he couldn't stand either of them.

"He needs to learn how to behave. Honestly, hanging around with Death Eaters, being means to my Ronnie, and in Slytherin."

Kingsley and Severus arched a brow at that. Dumbledore realizing where this was heading decided to stop it from erupting. "Now, Molly, Harry doesn't know anything about Death Eaters. He has raised himself. He needs someone to love and care for him. To be a mother figure."

"Albus, he has a family. If you keep interfering with this you will find yourself under arrest. His family made it very clear last night that they won't put up with another attempt by you to keep Harry. I believe they mentioned having him attend school in America. Amelia was not happy when she learned what has been occurring. I received an informal warning for my part in trying to get him to leave here. The Potter family informed Amelia about the issues Harry has been having with you, Molly, and Ronald."

"Albus, we must do something," Molly whined. "Lily and James would be so shocked and disappointed that their son is in Slytherin."

"I need to go. I have to finish filling out my report on my stolen Auror kit." Kingsley wasn't going to be dragged into the same debate he had every time Dumbledore or Molly mentioned Slytherin. He knew he wasn't the only one to point out not all Death Eaters were Slytherins, just like not all criminals were either. They came from every house.

"See! That is why we need to have custody of Harry. He needs to learn not to steal. Can't we use that?" Molly waved her hands around.

"Molly, as I told you last night and again this morning, I don't know it was him. I was on assignment in Knockturn before that." Kingsley was getting very annoyed. If he had known that Dumbledore was willing to do illegal activities he never would have agreed to work with him. "I'm going to warn you, again, leave Mr. Potter alone. His family has a lot of English connections and they do know how to use them."

"Kingsley, there must be something we can do. We need to protect Harry. He needs our guidance." Dumbledore really needed to gain control over the boy. They needed to have a Savior for the people to rally around, for him to mold Harry into his puppet, and for Harry to defeat Tom.