You're Being Hugged, Harry

by David Silver

32 - Echoes of the Past

"That is why you were left there." Dumbledore folded his arms. "Do you understand?"

"Wow..." Harry desperately searched for a better word, tapping his hooves and failing in the task. "They... That's a long way to go."

"But, it did work." Dumbledore sighed, leaning back in his seat. "You were safe, and put in a place you could grow well and joyfully, from all accounts. They did it out of love."

"Y-yeah... Yeah... I'm not arguing that..." He reached up a hoof to run along the scar on his face, it gaining a new meaning. "Core..."

"This is a lot to take in." Dumbledore leaned forward. "Despite their great bravery, your parents could not defend you any further and ended up paying the ultimate price for their efforts. A strong and impenetrable barrier protects Equestria. This is why they chose it, I presume. It was a sanctuary from He Who Must Not Be Named, a place unreachable to him."

Dumbledore steepled his fingers. "I imagine this is why you took the form you did. It was the only way for you to exist there. There is no room for a human. On the other hand, or hoof in this case, you could take a human form now."

Harry flinched back at the proposed idea, ears flattening against his head. "I'm pretty comfortable the way I am, um, sir."

"I imagined that would be the case. You've been this since you were an infant. Still..." He set a hand atop Harry's snout. "It would be improper to not at least inform you."

Harry drew his head away, free of the hand. "So, I was sent there, a human, but I arrived, as a pony, because I had to be."

Dumbledore shrugged at that. "Something less irritating to that world. If there are other native creatures, perhaps you could have been one of them."

That filled Harry's mind instantly with the assortment of other creatures he could have ended up as. A bulky yak, or a changeling, or a dragon? So many options, but he got a pony. "Huh... Most people can blame their parents for what they end up as."

"Technically, you still can. They are the ones that sent you." Dumbledore set his hands flat on his desk. "I felt you deserved to know. I do hope this doesn't bother you too much."

"N-no... You didn't do anything wrong." Harry paced in a narrow circle. "Nothing at all, sir. I wish I could have helped them... Or knew more, about them..." He kicked at the ground and turned to Dumbledore. "Thank you." He let out a sigh that came out as half an equine snort. "This is a lot. And he's still there. He attacked me!"

"Unfortunately, likely. However... You have friends." Dumbledore smiled at that. "Trustworthy ones that are ready to stand at your side. Some human, and some not, all true friends, from what I've seen. You are far from alone."

"Sir..." He paced in place a moment. "Sir, there's a little secret... I'd like to ask about."

"You are a secret, in many ways." Dumbledore folded his arms. "You'd be better off not widely spreading the story of your origin. They'd likely insist you stop 'pretending' to be a pony. Allowing an actual half-blood to be as they are is one thing. You don't have that excuse. All magic removed, you'd be a human."

Harry's ears flattened at the idea. "But this is what I am."

"I'm not arguing it." Dumbledore raised his hands flat. "But others will. Best to avoid the topic, given the choice. By the way... I know it may be something you're avoiding, but the big match is coming up." He pointed to Harry. "I know you would have rather been up there, with them, but they could use your supporting cheers, if you're up for it."

Harry snorted into a smile. "That's quite the topic shift, sir. I'll consider it."

"All I can ask."

"Since it came up." Harry took a few steps in closer to Dumbledore. "Do you think it's fair, that I got kicked off?"

"I'm not in charge of that. I won't speak over the coach." He let out a sigh of his own. "His call to make."

"Not asking you to, sir. I just wanted your opinion." Harry tried for a winning smile, equine teeth on display. "I won't try to use it against him."

"Promise?" When Harry nodded, Dumbledore rolled a hand. "You were a skilled player, from all reports. The issue is that it's a human sport. The rules aren't made for unicorns. If they were, they'd cover how far away you could grab a ball, to start. Not covering that isn't very fair for the others."

"But they don't," agreed Harry, coming to the same conclusion. "Blast it. Sorry, sir... I get it, but I don't like it not one bit. Couldn't we add unicorn rules?"

"Easier said than done," laughed out Dumbledore. "It usually takes a big event to get any rules changed in that game. A player getting hurt or some obvious cheat exposed. Allowing a single player to join? The coach took the far easier route out. Now, you are still a Gryffindor, so you can take part, just not that way."

"Yes, right..." He turned for the door. "Is that all, sir?"

"That's all. I hope this has helped a little."

Harry willed the door open and stepped through it, back to handling his day.

Dumbledore made a little scribble. "That could have gone worse... I wonder what secret he was asking about?" Some things would remain hidden, for the time.

---

"Good to have you here." Ron patted Harry on the back, the two seated side by side. "Thought you'd given up on the whole thing." The surrounding arena was full of excited voices and pumping fists, ready for the game to start. "I'd rather be cheering for you, but this is almost as good."

Harry watched as they arranged in formation for the game. "Aw... I'd be right there." He could see their seeker, preparing to do their thing.

"Root for 'em," Ron thrust up a clenched hand. "That's our job. Cheer them to the win."

"Not sure how much cheering will actually help..." But he decided to give it a go, rooting for the spot he once held.

The game was going well, with points being scored by both sides. The seekers were chasing after the snitch dutfifully, but Harry raised a brow at part. "There's no way."

"No way what?" Ron glanced aside at Harry, then focused on what he was looking at, the seeker on their side. "They do something wrong?"

Hermione pointed off in a completely other direction. "He's looking sneaky." Another person, a teacher, was staring at the same student, muttering to himself all the while.

Above, the seeker was having problems even staying in the air. Two others rushed in to help, but it was getting worse by the moment. "I think he's casting a spell!" Hermione scowled at Severus Snape, the one staring and intoning inaudibly. "We've got to do something!"

She surged to her feet and raced off to action. Harry's horn glowed. "I'm not playing in the game, so..." There was no rule stopping him. Focusing, he could see the magic at work and grabbed onto it with his own, wrenching it with a toss of his head. He couldn't stand up to Snape's arcane will, not directly, but it was enough to throw things off.

The seeker was back in action, and keeping control of their rebellious broomstick. Calls went up, some excitement, both in the seeker's resumed progress and a little furor near where Snape was, and some smoke was raising. "What'd she do?" Ron swatted at Harry's side. "Whatever it is, looks like you two got him to stop that."

"Mister Potter." There was a scowling referee. "I saw that."

Potter recoiled, jumping at the sudden presence. "Saw what?"

"You were casting." He pointed up at where the seeker had been. "At one of the players. What spell was that? Be honest. Interfering with an official game is a serious matter."

"I wouldn't!" Harry backed a step, almost falling down to the next set of sets. "I was countering a spell, sir, not casting one of my own, I swear!"

"We're going to have to inspect that. Come with me, bring your wand." He waves for Harry to follow him and stormed off, confident that he'd be followed.

"It's built-in..." He looked up at his 'wand'. It was unlikely he'd forget that. Still, he'd been called, and he scampered to keep up. The game continued, without him.

He was brought to a gloomily lit room. There was a table and a too-small chair on either side of it. For a human, uncomfortable. For a pony, mostly unusable, at least in any way a pony would sit normally. Harry sank on one side of the table and left the chair alone. His haunches would serve as a fine enough seat. "How can I help?"

"I'm the one here to ask questions." A new questioner was there, not the one that had ordered Harry there to begin with. "We will have to examine your wand to see what magic you've been using it for. To be clear, a fully certified wizard would be well in their rights to refuse such an inspection. Rights of privacy and what not." He raised a fine brow. "But you're not that, yet. You're a student. So, are you going to cooperate?"

"O-of course! I have nothing to hide." Harry sat up proudly. "I was trying to stop cheating, sir."

"You have an advantage." He waved over Harry's horn. "Your wand isn't standard. Examining it will be... difficult, but not impossible. We have our methods." He snapped his fingers. "Before we get to that, do you have any other wands?"

Harry dug out his trusty wand. "Here, sir. I didn't use it today."

A quick spell confirmed this. "I'll be keeping this." He stuck the wand away. "You'll get it back when you're released, if you're released. Prisoners don't need a wand."

Harry glanced up at the wand he still had.

"We can remove that." The man leaned forward with a frown. "I hope you won't make that required."

Harry squeaked in horror at the idea, hooves springing up to cover his horn. "Would you cut off someone's arm? It's about the same..."

"If I had to." The man shrugged, no emotions shown in that. "I make sure this place is run properly. If that's required, it's done. Don't make your horn require removal. No magic."

Harry swallowed nervously, but kept his horn cool as the rocks beneath his rump. No magic! "What's the next step then? Can I help?"

"You can give an exact summary of what you thought you were doing." He waved at a paper that began floating, scribing down the words as he said them. "Be as precise as you can."

"We were wa--"

"--We who?" The man rolled a hand. "Precise."

"Y-yes, of course." Harry shuddered lightly, but re marshaled himself. "I was sitting next to Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. We were watching the game. It was going well, but the seeker looked like he was having trouble controlling his broom. Hermione noticed first."

"When?" He tapped at the table, the quill at the paper tapping sympathetically. "Precise, please."

Harry sighed, but revised the story for details, as best he knew them. He went over the game step by step, his attempt to wrestle the magic and being taken in for interrogation.

"Severus Snape?" The man folded up the paper. "That's a high crime you're tossing at his feet. The odds of him agreeing with it are... vanishingly small. The word of a teacher against a student." He stood up. "I don't envy your position. This is your cell." With a wave of his wand, the table was banished, and one chair became a cot. "Make yourself comfortable. They'll be along later to perform the wand inspection. We never had one attached before. I expect it may be... Well, you'll tell us how it feels. If that comes up clean, they may release you. No magic." He wagged a finger with that last command. "Good luck."

Author's Note:

Oops, things have taken a turn... Who said unicorns have it easy?

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Comments

[Booster Spice]

No mark on the giant wand ottherwise called a broom either as Snape wasnt casting on it, just a breaker?

[David Silver]

11686743
Which mark?

[Booster Spice]

11686765

Ah.. the mark of the remanants of spell last cast, or recently cast on the broom, given its waand like form?

[David Silver]

11686789
One hopes they'd look into it. Magical crime sensing seems... unreliable at times.

[Amethyst Dragonfly]

While the word of a teacher against that of a normal student might have overwhelming weight, against the word of a student who is also the child of foreign royalty it might be a whole lot less.

[harts fire]

this referee needs his wand broken and his hands removed for even talking about removing his horn.
and trust when i am saying i am being kind.

[tsaukpaetra]

Absolutely not. Dismemberment or mutilation would never be an option while under investigation. Restraint and subduction? Verily. The interrogator should never have threatened such intention to permanently (for all he knows) debilitating unskilled surgery. For one who cries crime he's surely breaking at least a few laws.
It really is quite amazing that they would assume the source and cause of a spell would be retroactive. Obviously the glow of a horn would be seen but then how was the magic being performed prior? Just doesn't add up. Fowl play is afoot!
Curious though why the seeker is still being targeted as in the alternate version it was an attempt against Harry specifically to cause a disabling injury.
Many cards seem unrevealed yet. 🙃

[howard035]

11686872
Very good point, and also in this case the teacher is a convicted felon possibly still on parole.