Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
$Parseltongue$
Chapter 62: Moral dilemma
James looked much paler when his face came out of the pensive.
"That bastard! I can't believe…Malfoy!. They think they can just go after my family?!"
"Do you understand now?" Harry asked calmly.
James went back to his desk and collapsed on the chair. He took a minute to collect himself before speaking again.
"I do understand what is at stake, Harry. But don't think you can gloss over everything I saw you do in there…using crucios to torture, and the killing curse?...those are 'their' way of doing things!"
Harry did not react in the least.
"Would it have been more morally acceptable if I had tortured and killed that man using legal spells? I could have conjured a hundred needles to stab him all over and finished him by blowing his head with a reducto. Besides, I had a good reason to use specifically those spells."
"Care to explain?" Asked James.
"Now that I understand a bit better the detection methods the Aurors use, I decided to leave a clue that could lead to the investigation of some rival Dark Wizard…after all, as you said, the unforgivable are some of their favorite spells. The ones used by his followers."
"You wanted to guide the investigation to other members of his inner circle, in hopes the Aurors would find some incriminatory evidence that we could use against them." James could guess.
Harry nodded.
"Is not a bad plan…although a cold-blooded one. Using the unforgivable curses for such misdirection." James didn't feel that Harry's actions were justified.
"Did it work thought?"
James shook his head.
"I'm not in charge of that investigation so I don't have all the details. But for the things I have heard, no important moves are being made against any pureblood Lord. You have to understand that all of those Lords hold a great deal of power in the Ministry. We can't even open an investigation without some seriously damming evidence on them."
James looked at the pensive.
"Obviously, we cannot use your memories…the only one who would end up in Azkaban would be you."
"Not that putting them in that prison will do much…Voldemort can control the Dementors. Is best to eliminate them." Said Harry.
"Harry…" James said with a warning tone.
"For what Malfoy has revealed, we are not fighting the real Dark Lord anymore, but a pretender with a lot of political power."
"True." Admitted Harry.
"The one in charge now is that Lord Parkinson. I don't really know much about that man. I have only met his daughter a few times."
"I do know him a bit. I still attend some meetings of the Wizardgamot, when there is some ridiculous law they are trying to implement, and Lord Parkinson is always there, that man doesn't miss a single meeting. He is a very serious and quiet person. His political views are even more extreme than the majority of the conservatives. He had voted for some very controversial laws, but regardless, he seems to be well respected among his peers. Now I know why…"
"You need to be careful around him. He is the one who wants you dead the most, and the one who ordered those Death Eaters to attack me and Mom in that alley."
"Yes, that was…wait a moment!" James seemed to have realized something.
"That was you, wasn't it?!" He pointed at Harry.
"Yes, I was there too, what are you getting at?" Harry tilted his head.
"Not that!. You were the one who killed those men. There was no mysterious man with a black robe who showed up just in time to save you and your mother!"
"You know…when you say it like that out loud, it does sound hard to believe. And of course, it was me, I thought you had already reached that conclusion ages ago."
"I spent two months looking all over the country for that mysterious hooded man." James lamented.
"Sorry about that…"
Jame sighed in defeat.
"What a waste of time…"
"Can we go back to the topic at hand?" Asked Harry.
James placed his hands on the table.
"Fine…for the moment, you need to stop playing vigilante. No more going around kidnapping, torturing, and killing….I can't believe I have to ask for his."
"Me neither, am I supposed to do nothing at all?" Harry huffed.
"We are dealing with a different enemy than the one you know. This is a battle of politics and corruption."
"I hate politics…" Said Harry.
"I don't love them either... I'm going to need some time to process this information. I also need to investigate a few things at the Ministry." Said James.
"According to Malofy, at least half of the Auror Department is corrupt and already in their pockets." Harry decided to remind him.
"I know who can I trust in there. You don't need to worry about me. That's my job."
"Fine, just be careful"
James looked happy to see his son's concern for him.
"Is best if you take that memory out of the pensive."
"What are you going to tell mom?" Harry asked while retrieving the memory with his wand and reabsorbing it into himself.
"Almost everything. I may skip the kidnapping and torture thought…But she will want to know the rest. Before you were born, she was fighting at my side against Voldemort and his followers. "
"I know she is amazing…" He just didn't want her to be in danger, that was all.
"She is. You should go to bed now. We can talk more on the weekend when I come back."Said James.
"You can leave Dobby here, I'll have Mipsy help him settle."
Harry turned to look at the elf, who had been waiting patiently at one side.
"You heard him Dobby. Be nice with my family. It will also be your family from now on."
"Of course Master Harry. Dobby will be the bestest elf!"
When Harry was about to open the door to leave, his father called him again.
"Oh, and Harry…'
"Yes?" He turned around.
"You are grounded."
A.N - I just want to say that the political faction of the Conservative wizards has nothing to do with the U.S political party. I just gave them that name because they are the ones trying to preserve the old traditional values of the magical word. And calling them the 'preservatives' just sounded wrong.