Harry scuffed his feet on the way to the Headmaster's office. He had received a letter after dinner for a meeting.
He had been having regular meetings with Dumbledore since he had returned to Hogwarts for his sixth year but those were always planned in advance not last minute like this.
Finally Harry reached the gargoyles and they moved aside obviously anticipating his arrival.
"Harry my boy." Dumbledore greeted.
"Good evening Professor." Harry greeted having a seat across from the headmaster.
"I trust you have had a good week since our last meeting?" Dumbledore smiled making small talk.
"Indeed I have, our lessons have been helping me in my classes tremendously." Harry nodded.
Since starting back to school Harry had been meeting with the headmaster periodically to work on things he was having trouble with Transfiguration and potions, as well as a few history lessons that hadn't bored him to death.
"Yes, Your teachers have commented on the improvement." Dumbledore smiled his eyes twinkling.
"Forgive me sir, but I assume this isn't a social visit." Harry bit his lip as he was prone to doing when nervous.
Dumbledore stood and began pacing the room. "You are correct in that assumption dear boy. What I have to tell you is difficult however so, I hope you can forgive an old man his ramblings."
"It's alright sir, take your time." Harry transfigured his hard wooden chair into a cushy armchair prepared to wait.
After a long silence Dumbledore finally made a noise. He held out his hand pulling back his robe sleeve revealing his burnt shriveled hand.
"I learned last year that keeping information from you is dangerous," Dumbledore began. "I told you I would tell you what happened to me and now I shall do just that." Dumbledore moved back to sit behind his desk while Harry leaned forward in interest.
"Do you know what a horcrux is Harry?" Dumbledore asked in a grave tone.
"Unfortunately sir, Yes." Harry replied not caring to share why he knew this information. Dumbledore nodded his understanding and continued.
"Voldemort had one, a ring to be exact. Foolishly I put this ring on my finger and well," Dumbledore moved his disfigured hand in a flourish. "The piece of soul has been destroyed but I'm afraid I have been as well." Dumbledore paused taking a deep breath. "Promise me one thing Harry, I know you have pieced it all together and know I am dying. You must promise me something."
Harry swallowed hard fighting against the tears threatening to fall and nodded. "Anything." He whispered.
"You need to trust Severus. He is not as bad as he pretends to be and he knows what you are going through. Trust him." Dumbledore looked pleadingly into Harry's emerald green orbs.
"I promise." Harry agreed through gritted teeth. He didn't want to trust the greasy haired man who always treated him like a bug squashed on the sole of his shoe.
"I know neither of you like each other but he will be able to help you as will Cole." Dumbledore held up his hand to stop Harry from asking questions. "You will find out soon enough who Cole is please don't ask me any questions. But it is late and I'm sure your friends are wondering where you haven't wandered off too." It was a clear dismissal so Harry didn't bother to argue about his 'friends'.
"Good night sir." Harry stood and left the room wandering slowly down the hall back to the common room. The truth was that Ron and Hermione were no longer associating with him. Ever since the incident at the ministry they deemed him foolish and dangerous and wouldn't speak to him.
Ginny had continued talking to him for a while until Harry had bluntly informed the red head he wanted nothing to do with her romantic advances. Now she ignored him too.
He still had Neville and Luna, as well as the twins but it wasn't the same. Somewhere along the way tears began to fall down Harry's cheeks. They went unnoticed until someone pointed it out.
"What's the matter Scar head? Did you just realize you don't have any friends?" Malfoy jeered.
Harry gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He told himself over and over in his head that the blond was just trying to get a reaction and he didn't really know how close to home he had hit on Harry's thoughts.
Draco began to laugh leaning against the wall. "I'm right aren't I?" He sneered. "The golden boy is alone in the world. No one wants you, Even your parents got themselves killed just to get away from you."
Harry felt his magic begin to surge trying to hold it back wasn't working.
"Did your voice run away too? I know I would if I was stuck in the wasteland you call a brain all day." Malfoy continued to taunt.
With a deep growl in his throat Harry finally turned on his heal and stomped up to the blond, he stopped when his face was a few inches away from Draco's.
"If your life is so pathetic that you choose to stand around waiting for me to walk by just so you can fuck with me, then you have no room to talk about mine." Harry hissed then with a satisfied smirk on his face he turned to walk away.
The brunette hadn't made it very far when a purple stream of light flew past his head exploding into the wall in front of him. Before he could turn to retaliate however someone placed their hand on his shoulder.
"Mr. Potter come with me please. Mr. Malfoy that was unacceptable and you will see me in my office on your lunch break tomorrow."
"But Professor! He threatened me," Draco whined.
"Mr. Malfoy he did no such thing I've been observing you both and if anything you would have deserved it if he had cursed you." Snape sneered leading Harry down the hall.
Harry followed along quietly staring at the back of Snape's head curiously. The Slytherin head of house always preferred his own students over all others, particularly Gryffindor's and especially Harry.
"Mr. Potter, Might I inquire what you were doing wandering the halls at this time of night?" Snape questioned entering his office and shutting the door behind them.
Harry gaped at the man a moment and highly considered denying doing whatever it was Snape had brought him here to accuse him of. "I was on my way back to the tower, I just had a meeting with the headmaster?" He finally replied deciding to wait until Snape set his punishment before he argued.
"Don't worry Mr. Potter I'm not going to give you detention or deduct any points, Just get an excuse from him next time." Snape shook his head and opened the door gesturing Harry out.
The raven haired teen felt his jaw drop but he said nothing he didn't want to push his luck. He did however spend the rest of the walk back to Gryffindor tower wondering what in the name of Merlin's beard Snape was up to.
Not long after Harry had left Snape's office the door opened and another student entered.
"Did it work?" Draco questioned the potions master.
"It's a little too soon to say right now, but you should have seen the look on his face, it was priceless." Snape cracked a rare smile at the blond.
"It's not fair that you got to show him a little of your true personality. I had to be obnoxious." Draco crossed his arms with a little bit of a pout.
"You're always obnoxious though." Snape argued sweeping around the room throwing ingredients into a cauldron.
"Yeah, but did I really have to be so whiny?" Draco questioned.
"It's all part of the plan Draco, you know that. I need him to trust me. After that you can work on him trusting you." Snape left the potion he was working on to brew and took a seat next to Draco with a glass of Firewhiskey.
"So how do you think Cole will feel about training him?" Draco smirked.
"He hasn't quit blabbering about it since I asked him." Snape sighed. "I don't blame him though, it's something different for a change. He spends all day locked away with nothing to do and no one to talk to."
"Are you sure that's all it is?" Draco asked waggling his eyebrows.
"Draco honestly, Just because my son is gay does not mean I want the mental image of him with Potter." Snape cringed while Draco laughed.
"So why doesn't Cole stay here at Hogwarts with you?" Draco shrugged.
"Dumbledore won't allow it, Since Cole doesn't have any magical ability he can't stay at Hogwarts." Snape began pacing around the room again throwing more ingredients into the bubbling cauldron in the corner.
"Well that's stupid. Filch doesn't have any magical ability either and he's still here." Draco sneered.
"Yes Draco, I know. But there is nothing I can do about it. I can however tell you to go to bed you have class in the morning." Snape looked at the blond through the steam wafting off the cauldron.
"Fine, Do I have to come see you at lunch tomorrow?" Draco asked standing up stretching.
"Yes, I expect you here as soon as you've finished eating." Snape gave a pointed look to the Slytherin.
"I'll be here. Good night Uncle Sev." Draco sighed leaving the office.
Harry scuffed into the great hall the following morning yawning, his hair was messier than usual and his clothes were rumpled. He had been up all night pondering what Dumbledore had told him as well as his run in with Snape.
"Wow Harry you look awful." Luna sat down next to him earning glares from the rest of the Gryffindor table.
"Thanks Luna." Harry smiled at the girl.
"Anytime." She replied in a dreamy voice. "Oh and don't look now but Malfoy is staring at you."
Of course when some one tells you not to look the first thing any normal person does is look. Harry turned to glance over his shoulder. Sure enough Draco's steel gray eyes locked with his own. The usual malice was missing after a moment Draco turned to address something Pansy had said to him breaking the eye contact.
Dumbledore wasn't at breakfast that morning which had Harry slightly concerned. He had been doing better in potions recently but the lack of sleep and confusion about everything going on around him had his attention span at an all time low. Therefore in his attempt to make a boil curing potion was sadly lacking.
Harry held the snail intestines out over the cauldron about to drop them in when a cold hand caught his arm.
"Mr. Potter! Are you trying to kill us all?" Snape snapped, somehow it was missing his usual bitterness. "You missed the third step on the list, if you add the intestines before the lacewing flies it will put off a poisonous gas sure to destroy us all."
After class Harry went to the library and explained what had happened to Luna and Neville trying to figure out what had caused Snape to change.
"Maybe one of his potions went wrong." Neville shrugged.
Luna truly didn't seem to have anything to say on the matter, but then again Luna always seemed to know what was going on before anyone else. She just never said anything until everyone else figured it out.
They had just pulled out their homework when Hermione rushed into the library. She had been coming in alone for several days and she always stared at Harry like she wanted to say something but never did.
This time however she rushed right up to the group looking distraught.
"Professor McGonagall sent me." She gasped. "You need to go to the hospital wing immediately."
Harry jumped up running past her. He ignored several protests as he pushed past students and professors alike. Finally he made it to the hospital wing calming himself the best he could before entering.
Madame Pomfrey greeted him at the door and ushered him off to a private room. The brunettes breath caught in his throat as he entered. Dumbledore's frail sickly form was lying there barely noticeable under the blankets.
"Harry my boy." Dumbledore smiled weakly.
"Sir," Harry replied his voice barely audible he moved to sit next to the bed.
"You remember what I told you right?" Dumbledore asked. Harry not trusting himself to speak merely nodded. "Those you once thought as friends only wish you to meet bad ends. Those you thought you would never trust may turn out to be the ones you need the most." Dumbledore chuckled ending in a cough.
Harry wanted to scream. The man was on his death bed and he was still speaking in riddles.
"I've left most of my belongings to you Harry. I always thought of you as the grandson I never had."
Harry's eyes went wide at this and he shook his head. "I, I I don't know what to say." He choked. "You were like my grandfather. I don't know what I'll do without you." Harry allowed the tears to stream down his face as he took Dumbledore's healthy hand in his own.
Dumbledore gave one last frail smile before closing his eyes for the last time.
Harry sat back in the chair beside the bed. First Sirius now Dumbledore. What else could possibly go wrong?