Harry continued his tale.
"Then, just before my eleventh birthday, I started getting mail by owls. My relatives snatched the letter out of my hand before I could open it, but I saw the address. They were addressed to 'Harry Potter, The cupboard under the stairs.' Doesn't that mean somebody knew of my situation there but didn't care? I wonder."
Once again, Dumbledore's face momentarily showed his worry, before he schooled his features back to normal.
"My relatives didn't want me to get these letters and couldn't stop the owls, so they decided to go away with me. We stayed at a small hotel one night, but the owls found us there. Then, my uncle found a house on a small island, accessible only by boat, and took us there. In a way, it worked well. No owl came after us. Instead, a large man came looking for me. It was Hagrid, evidently sent by Headmaster Dumbledore, whom Hagrid adores, although I still have to find out why. He took me from there. We rode the train to London and went to Diagon Alley for my school supplies. Since I had no proper clothes of any kind, I asked to buy some muggle clothes too. We went to Gringotts, where I also asked if I could get enough money to stay at a hotel until school started. I was quite content to hear that it was possible.
"While staying in London, I met a very studious girl who soon became my friend. We later found out that we were also starting a magical bond. Then, when we recently decided to get a betrothal to protect us. Magic finished the bond, and then we bonded, making her my wife, Lady Hermione Potter, as Gringotts announced a day or two later.
"Due to her thirst for knowledge, we studied quite a bit ahead, and also some subjects which are not taught at Hogwarts during the first year or not at all."
Harry was content to see Dumbledore cringe again.
"We were both looking forward to Hogwarts, where we expected to learn much more. You may certainly understand how we felt when we found out that some of the teachers were completely useless. Professor Binns is a ghost who knows nothing of all that happened since he died, so most of what he can teach is much less relevant to our lives than recent history. And of course, he only talks about Goblin Rebellions and does it so boringly that nobody can stay awake for more than five minutes into the lesson.
"Then we had Snape, whom I can't even call a teacher. He just copied the instructions from the book to the board and stated, 'You have an hour to finish. Start brewing.' That's not teaching, no matter how one looks at it. Add to this his prejudice against anybody not in Slytherin, especially against Gryffindor, and the dishonest way he took or gave house points, and you get the picture of a bully masquerading as a teacher.
"Last, but by no means least – our deceased DADA professor. His classroom stank so badly of garlic that one could barely breathe. He stuttered so badly that he could barely say an occasional sentence without interrupting it multiple times. Worst of all, as we found out later – he was possessed by the soul of the last known Dark Lord, the one who called himself Lord Voldemort."
Harry stopped, already expecting the gasps and protests. He also saw that Dumbledore wasn't pleased at all. Tough luck! He should have thought about what his decisions meant for others long ago. It was too late for him to regret, although Harry thought that the man only regretted being exposed in such a bad light, not the deeds themselves.
"That teacher then attempted to kill me during the first Quidditch game of the year. Luckily, my wife was able to distract and expose him, and that led to the trial and the punishment at its end."
Harry sat back and Sharpclaw stood again.
"Before we freely open the discussions, I've noticed that Lord Potter hasn't answered some of the questions sent to me earlier. I'll read them from the letters and let him answer as he pleases. I'll try to ask them in the same sequence as his story."
Sharpclaw took a pile of parchments in his hand. "When were you first aware of magic?"
Harry stood again to answer. "I already said, but maybe not clearly enough. The first time I heard about magic as something real was when Hagrid told me about it. Before that, I only knew about some 'freakish' events that happened near me."
"Next. Is there any truth in the various 'Harry Potter' books sold for children?"
Harry smiled and shook his head. "None at all. As I told you already, I knew nothing about magic and lived with my muggle relatives, unlike what was written about me." He felt lucky he had a chance to see some of the books before. "Besides, they are not believable even as fiction. Can you find a two or three-year-old child who can pronounce those long spells correctly? They are completely rubbish. You should also know that whoever wrote and published them had never spoken with me or anybody I know of, nor paid any royalty for using my name. I've asked my solicitor to check which legal actions should be taken about this."
He liked seeing the reporters write it all diligently. He also noticed that Dumbledore paled some more. Was he behind these books?
"Next. When did you manage to learn so much about magic and the magical world?"
Harry smiled. "I had a month between the first time I went to Diagon Alley and boarding the Hogwarts Express. I used that time well. Having Lady Hermione at my side only enhanced our learning."
"Next. How did you bond? You both seem too young for that."
Harry wasn't sure what to say. Sharpclaw answered instead. "As announced by Gringotts, soon after both signed their betrothal contract, they started glowing brightly and then there was a very bright flash, as one sees at wedding ceremonies. I suspected it was their bond finishing and suggested to Lady Potter to try to silently summon her Lady ring. A moment later it appeared on her finger, affirming the marriage."
"Last question in this batch: How do you find learning in Hogwarts, under the direction of Albus Dumbledore, the greatest Wizard alive?"
Harry was sure this question was sponsored by Albus himself, but he answered it truthfully, knowing the old man wouldn't like his answer at all. "I also read about the man's greatness, but I can't say I witnessed it. As a headmaster, he lets bullying and bigotry run free without punishment. Well, it's no wonder, since he employed a bigoted bully as the Potions teacher for ten years. A great headmaster would not have employed anybody who isn't a good teacher, at least, and would have acted decisively against bigotry, bullying and every other behaviour that disrupts learning. The current headmaster had done nothing in that direction. Besides, the pace is excruciatingly slow, probably to allow some of the extremely stupid students to be able to learn something, at least. In muggle schools, such students get individual tutoring as needed, but are not allowed to slow the majority of students. Hogwarts should do the same. We also found the number of lessons ridiculously small. We had more lessons each day in the primary muggle school. I can't believe magical children are less able than the muggle ones. It's probably another way to let the less talented dictate the pace."
Sharpclaw addressed the audience again. "From now until the end of this meeting, you are requested to raise your hand if you have a question. Only the one allowed should ask, each in his or her turn."
Practically everybody raised their hands. Harry noticed that Dumbledore did so too. He pointed at the old man.
Albus stood up to talk. "Don't you think that even the slow students have a right to learn?"
Harry smiled. "They have the right to learn, but they don't have the right to adversely affect the learning of others. They should get help from teachers, and maybe from healers too, if they have any medical problems that interfere with learning, but their classmates shouldn't be slowed down by them."
Albus didn't like the answer although he knew it was actually the right way to handle such problems. His problem was that most of those slow students came from pureblood families. Ron Weasley, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle came to mind. These families would not gracefully accept that their children were anything but the best.
Harry pointed at another raised hand.
"Hogwarts is usually referred to as the safest place in Britain. Do you agree?"
Harry shook his head. "The first evening at Hogwarts, we were told not to go to the west wing of the third floor for the risk of very painful death. Does this sound like a safe place to you? Then, we had a possessed teacher, hosting the last Dark Lord. Is that safe? Then, at Halloween, a troll entered the school grounds and my wife barely escaped with her life, since it came to the girls' toilet to destroy it. Does that seem safe? Anybody who claims that Hogwarts is safe doesn't even understand what safety means."
"You only mentioned three bad teachers. May I assume that there are some good teachers too?"
Harry smiled. "Of course. Transfiguration, Charms and Herbology have very good teachers. Some of the teachers who teach elective subjects may also be good or bad, but I don't have any experience with them. I only doubt if a pureblood teacher can teach about muggle culture without living in it for even a full day, but I've not attended any such lesson so I can't really tell."
"You said you were left on the doorstep of your muggle relatives. Do you know who left you there? Why didn't he first talk to them, at least?"
"The one who left me there was Professor Dumbledore. As for the rest, I suggest you ask him. He's here, as you've noticed."
The reporter turned to Dumbledore. "Can you tell us why you left a toddler on the doorstep of a house on a cold October night and didn't even take him in and talk to the people inside?"
Dumbledore had really hoped not to have to answer this question since he could find no plausible excuse. It seemed so simple at the time, and it also saved him an unpleasant confrontation. In hindsight, it wasn't one of his best decisions. He still had to say something.
He didn't notice a goblin at the back of the room waving his arms and mumbling something. Harry noticed.
"I made sure he was well protected from the weather and cast some warming charms and a sleep charm on him, to make sure he'd be safe until they found him. It was too late to try to talk to them. They were probably already asleep at the time." It was a poor excuse, but the best he could come up with on a moment's notice.
Harry also had to ask, "Did you even make sure that they were appropriate for the task? Did you ever check on them before or after leaving me there?"
"Professor McGonagall observed the family for a day, but I didn't think it was long enough to say for sure. Besides, as your only blood relatives, they were the best option."
"Not according to my parents' will, that you hurried to seal even before their bodies cooled. They explicitly forbade the Dursleys from becoming my guardians, As a witness to the will, you should have known that." Harry didn't relent.
"I don't remember reading it. I only signed where James pointed. I still saw enough to know." he wasn't sure why he said the last statement.
"Then why did you insist on not giving me to the others who were recommended in the will?"
"I couldn't leave you with a magical family that would teach you all you needed and make you aware of your position. I wanted to become the only magical influence on your life, so I could direct you to your destiny."
"And what is my destiny, according to you?"
"You have to fight Voldemort and sacrifice yourself so I can finally vanquish him." Dumbledore knew he was saying more than he wanted to but couldn't stop himself from revealing the truth. He couldn't even refrain from answering.
"But Voldemort is dead now, along with his marked minions. Your plan is irrelevant."
"No! That can't be true! If he's dead, I can't vanquish him and gain the glory, or reform him and gain a different glory. It would be so good to be able to reform such a villain."
"Did you ever succeed in reforming a Death Eater?"
"Severus Snape was reformed, or almost so."
"Not according to his words and deeds. He may have spied for you during the war, but he kept to his previous beliefs and destroyed the potential careers of many students. Since you allowed it, you're to blame as much as he."
"No! Severus was not a murderer!"
Harry shook his head in disbelief. The man was blind to the truth when it contradicted his opinions. "Severus had taken the Dark Mark. According to Gringotts, one needed to do a cold-blooded murder of an innocent in order to get the mark. It was part of the ritual. Every marked Death Eater was a murderer!"
"No! That can't be true! Severus wasn't that bad!" Albus started foaming at his mouth and seemed to fade out of and back into consciousness. Two goblins rushed to him and started casting. One conjured a stretcher and they levitated him onto it. They then took him out.
Harry looked at that sadly. "I suppose he won't hold his position for much longer," he commented.
He then shook his head, as if to rid himself of a nagging thought, and turned to the audience. "Next question?"
It didn't take much longer to finish the Press Conference. In a way, Dumbledore's collapse, after admitting to some very questionable deeds, was more interesting news than the conference. The reporters were sure to write about it.
–..–
Soon enough, they were left alone with Sharpclaw.
"How do you think it was?" he asked.
"It went better than expected," Harry said sincerely.
"And Dumbledore's confession was unexpected," Hermione added.
Sharpclaw nodded tiredly. "It may have far-reaching consequences, though. You must be cautious, since some dark powers may try to rise, using the chaos as their weapon."
"We shall be very cautious and try to stay as safe as possible," Harry replied. "Without Dumbledore, Hogwarts may become much safer, I believe."
Sharpclaw nodded. "I also hope so."
Harry checked his watch. "I think we should return to our apartment, first. We told nobody about this event, so we need to tell nobody about what happened. It will all become known soon enough anyway."
Sharpclaw nodded.
The Potters activated their portkey and returned to their apartment.