Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 81: A difficult decision
Remus ended up staying for an entire week after that.
Harry had one the best birthdays of his two lifetimes.
Remus gave him the Nimbus 2100 prototype he was given by the company but made him promise to not show the broom around until it came out for sale in September.
They were sad that he could only stay one week, but he had more business to attend as well as make preparations for his next business trip, this time he was going to France.
The night after his uncle Remus left. His father called for him.
It seems that he and his mother had something important to discuss.
"Take a seat, son." James looked somewhat serious.
"Did something happen?." He wondered if those Deatheaters had decided to make any moves.
"No, is nothing like that." His father clarified.
Harry sat down next to his mother and she started to talk.
"We spent a bit of time talking with Remus during his visit. As you probably already know. After graduating from Hogwarts, your father, his closest friends, and I were invited to join a secret order tasked with aiding against the threat of Voldemort." Lily finished saying and waited for his reaction.
"Yes, the Order of the Phoenix…I know about it. " Said Harry.
"We spoke with Moony about the information you got from Lucius Malfoy..."
"Wha-" Harry was stopped before he could say anything about that decision.
"Let me finish…we had to change the story a bit. To avoid mentioning you and you know…the way you got that information. As much as I trust my friend, that is not something I'm willing to share with anyone." James said.
"Then, what story did you tell him?" asked Harry.
"We told him that, during an investigation on Malfoy's death, I found out about Parkinson's and that he is the one behind all the Death Eater's attacks during the last decade, and that they don't have any idea where the real Voldemort is." Explained his father.
Lily spoke next.
"We talked about what to do with this information. Normally, if an auror finds something like this, the next course of action is to present a report to his superior. But since this matter involves important figures from the Ministry, we have to be very careful with whom we talk with. "
"Yes, I already told Dad… according to Malfoy, at least half of the auror forces are compromised. And I don't think he was exaggerating." Harry said.
James frowned, but could not argue with that comment. He hated to admit that many of the men and women he worked with had sold their integrity for a few gold coins.
"Remus suggested that we talk with Dumbledore." Lily did not beat around the bush.
"You told him?!" Harry could not believe what he was hearing.
"No, hold on. We haven't talked with anyone yet, other than Moony. We wanted to discuss this with you first. We want to hear your opinion first." Said James.
Harry calmed down.
"But you want to get him involved…why thought?. He will always keep secrets from you and work behind your back."
"We know you had some problems with him in your past. And if that Dumbledore was here right now, I would slap him silly just for putting you in the same house as my sister, but…you can't move the blame to this one…he hasn't done anything to you. It may not be a completely different man, but…" Lily stopped there.
"We also had our own differences. At the time, I blamed him and his passive methods for…Sirius death. We didn't talk with him for years. And I am still bitter about it. But, the truth is that we cannot do this by ourselves. Especially not when I cannot even trust half of my own coworkers. Dumbledore is still one of the most powerful and intelligent wizards I know, and we could really use his help." James said.
"That's right. With Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix reinstated, it will be much easier to keep track of the Death Eater's movements and intervene if necessary. " added Lily.
Harry thought about it for a minute and realized that he didn't have a good argument against theirs.
His reason for not wanting to work with the old man came mostly from his bitter feelings of having been manipulated into following his plans…even if his goal was a good one.
But he cannot deny them a powerful ally for a reason like that one. He can not allow his personal feelings to get in the way.
"Would you be telling him the same that you told Remus?" Harry asked.
"We will have to polish the details, but yes. Does this mean that you agree with this plan?" Asked Lily.
Harry nodded.
"As Dad said, it is the most logical step…just, don't let him manipulate you to do something you don't want to do. Dumbledore may not be a bad person but he only sees the big picture, like a chess board, with pieces on each side. And you can't win a game without sacrificing a few pieces."
"I'm glad to hear that. You can enjoy your school year in peace. If something important comes up, we'll tell you about it." James promised.
"What do you mean by enjoying my school year? I want to help too." Said Harry.
"But what about Hogwarts?" Asked Lily.
"I can skip a few classes if necessary." Harry shrugged.
"And how do you plan on helping? Most of the work we can do right now is limited to observing and spying as well as some policy maneuvering at the Wizengamot." James asked with a knowing suspicion.
"You know what I can do…just find me where Parkinson and the others live and I'll take care of them," Harry said nonchalantly.
"Harry!" Lily shouted.
"That's what I was afraid of…Harry you can't go around playing vigilante anymore. We already discussed this!" James was furious.
"Harry you can't lower yourself to their level. I do not wish to see my son like that, please." Lily
Harry hated for his mother to look at him like that.
They went back and forth for over an hour and in the end, Harry had to make a concession and agree to do things their way for now.
What he did not tell me was that he was only willing to do this for as long as the real Voldemort didn't show up. If that were to happen and the threat level rose up, Harry would act in full force, no matter what they said or what they thought of him afterward.