Changes and Secrets

Chapter 6

The next day, Harry entered the Potter Manor dining room to find the Marauders waiting for him for breakfast.

"Morning champ," James greeted him as Sirius and Remus smiled at him warmly.

"We were waiting you for to get started on breakfast," said Sirius. 

"Harry, I don't want you to freak out or anything but I hope it's alright if I brought you to St. Mungo's for a medical check-up this morning," said James, choosing his words carefully.  "Just a regular, routine one," he quickly added. 

"But why? I'm fine, dad. There's nothing wrong with me," Harry said frantically.

This was precisely what James feared. He didn't think anything was wrong with Harry, but Harry had spent years being ill-treated at the Dursleys. He couldn't help but fear if the Dursley's ill-treatment had left any sort of damage on him.

"There's nothing wrong with you, son," James said quickly. "It's just a regular check-up since I'm sure the Dursleys hardly ever took you to see a doctor. My parents took me for a regular check-up every year. Any injuries that you sustained at Hogwarts were only ever looked at by your school matron. You were never looked at by a proper healer," James tried to reason.

"But ..." Harry was still skeptical but at least seemed to be pondering over it.

"Harry, it's just a regular check-up. It's common for healthy people to get regular check-ups. Dumbledore obviously didn't concern himself with whether you received proper medical treatment," Sirius prompted.

"Speaking of regular check-ups, shouldn't you both get one along with Harry?" asked Remus.

"Why?" asked James and Sirius in unison.

"You've both been in Azkaban for almost 12 years. Aside from the terrible Azkaban food, I bet you both haven't been looked at by a proper healer there either," said Remus.

James and Sirius exchanged looks, knowing Remus was right.

"Alright Remus, we'll get our check-ups done, but only with the condition that you get one too. I know you haven't been to a healer in years either," said James.

"Oh alright," Remus relented, bemused. 

"Harry, please at least do it for my peace of mind. Your uncles and I are getting our check-ups done too," James appealed.

"Alright, I guess it's fine," Harry finally caved.

"After our check-ups, we'll visit Godric's Hollow to visit your mother's grave and get some of our belongings from our house at Godric's Hollow," said James.

"Are you sure we'll be back in time for Ratkin?" asked Remus.

"I'm sure we will. Ratkin's only coming over in the evening," James shrugged.

"Who's Ratkin?" asked Harry.

"Our family proctor," said James.

"Proctor?" asked Harry curiously. 

"Proctors are the equivalent of lawyers in the wizarding world. We're going ahead with filing our case against Dumbledore," James explained.

"Oh. No wonder the word sounded familiar. I've read it in classic books," said Harry. 

"So, what exactly is our goal with Dumbledore? Are we getting him chucked into Azkaban, removed from Hogwarts, or is it just a warning?" asked Sirius.

"Depends on how he responds to our lawsuit," James shrugged.

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