Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 2 – From Potion Masters to Headmasters

The summons from Dumbledore arrived with that morning's post in the guise of being an invitation that afternoon after classes. Harry had been expecting it so wasn't too disturbed and sent back a confirmation that he would be there. His more pressing matter was the letter he was currently writing to Sirius and Remus. He was trying to word it just right so that they would understand the severity of the situation – that Quirrell had something to do with Voldemort – but also so they wouldn't storm the school and confront Quirrell with nothing to go on aside from pain in an old scar. He finally thought he couldn't get the letter any better and was just thinking that he'd need to leave breakfast early to make a detour to the Owlery – there was only one bird to whom he would entrust this letter – when he heard a familiar screech. Looking up he saw Hedwig, the snowy white owl whom Sirius had gotten him for his eleventh birthday, flying towards him. In the month since he'd had her, Hedwig had constantly surprised him with her intelligence but this was a step further.

"Are you sure you're just an owl?" He asked as Hedwig stuck out her leg for him to tie the letter to. She gave an offended screech and nipped at his finger as if to say how dare he call her just an owl. "Sorry." He said immediately. "It's just that you're more intelligent than any other owl I've met. I don't know how you knew I needed you." Hedwig puffed up and ruffled her feathers at his praise before nuzzling against his hand affectionately and stealing a piece of his bacon as she took off. With more time to have breakfast now, Harry settled in for seconds but wasn't left alone for long.

"Good morning Harry." A quiet, tentative voice spoke as Hermione appeared. She seemed hesitant and didn't immediately take a seat next to him as if unsure if the kindness he had shown her last night was real, or if he had been nice simply because they'd been sat beside each other with no other choice.

"Hi Hermione!" He greeted happily, taking note of the beaming smile she sent him as she finally sat down. After the attempt on his life and the revelation that Voldemort wasn't really gone, Sirius and Remus had started training Harry, knowing that at minimum he would be a target when Voldemort returned and wanting him to be as able as possible to defend himself. Reading people was one of the things they had taught him, as it was a useful skill should anyone be trying to hide something, and the impression he got from Hermione was that she didn't have many friends and was uncertain as to her own desirability as a friend. It was something Harry vowed to change. Ron joined them shortly after and unlike Hermione he immediately threw himself onto the bench across from them and began eating.

"Morning." He grunted nearly incoherently through his sausage and eggs.

"Chew your food before talking, Ronald." Hermione snapped, not at all hesitant in her dealings with Ron as she had been with Harry; he suspected it had to do with her thinking of him as a potential friend while she thought of Ron as an annoyance. Ron glared at her but did as instructed. For the rest of the meal the two bickered any time either of them opened their mouths and Harry couldn't get a word in. He was tempted to leave them and find someone else to hang around with at school but something within him was telling him not to. His instincts had always served him well before so instead of getting away from the both of them before their fighting brought on a headache he resigned himself to the role of mediator and got them both to stop fighting long enough to get to their very first class. It happened to be potions first thing and Harry was curious as to how Snape would act towards him. If he ignored him then it would all be well and good, but if he turned vicious…well, Harry had a way to deal with him.

"There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class." Snape said as he entered the classroom, his black robes billowing behind him. "As such, I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion-making. However, for those select few who possess, the predisposition... I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death. Then again, maybe some of you have come to Hogwarts in possession of abilities so formidable that you feel confident enough to not pay attention!" Harry got his answer not two minutes into the class as Snape approached him, looking furiously down at the notes Harry had been taking. "Mister Potter. Our new celebrity." Harry stared back at him unflinchingly, causing Snape's eyes to narrow. "Tell me, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Hermione's hand shot up next to Harry, though she was ignored.

"A sleeping potion, sir." He replied promptly. "A very powerful one also known as the Draught of Living Death." Snape's eyebrow rose, he did not seem impressed.

"Where, Mr. Potter, would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?" Again Hermione's hand shot up.

"The stomach of a goat, sir." Now Snape's eye was twitching, though he was good at hiding it from all but those closest to him.

"And what is the difference between monkswood and wolfsbane?" Hermione nearly jumped out of her seat as she raised her hand this time, desperate to be called on, though Harry knew this answer too.

"There isn't a difference, sir, they're the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite." Snape sneered but could obviously find no fault with his answers for he turned his attention away from Harry and to the class in general.

"Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?" En masse the class shuffled to get a piece of parchment and a quill, some of them muttering what Harry had just said in an attempt to remember. Hermione looked at him somewhat hurt that he hadn't let her answer, but Harry merely shrugged; Snape had specifically directed the questions to him, after all. The class continued in much the same fashion until lunch, the first years having double potions once a week as there was so much they had to learn at the beginning, especially in regards to safety, before they could even start brewing. When the bell rang to signal it was time for lunch Harry slowly put his things in his bag, purposefully taking longer than everyone else.

"Go on, I'll catch up." He said to Hermione and Ron when they looked like they would wait for him. Both nodded but instead of leaving together, Hermione marched off on her own, much to Ron's relief. When the entire class was gone Harry approached Snape, who eyed him as one would eye an insect they were about to crush.

"Yes, Potter?" He said in a dangerous voice.

"Sir, I wanted to talk about your behaviour towards me today and ensure it never happens again." He said straightforwardly. He doubted that Snape would ever be a pleasant teacher, but Harry would be damned if he allowed the rest of his potions career at Hogwarts be marred by something that had happened before he was born.

"Why you-" Snape stood up to tower over the eleven-year-old, but Harry simply held up his hand; the potions master stopped more because of Harry audacity then because of the action itself.

"I know you don't like me, and I know why. But you will not ruin my education by punishing me for what my father did."

"I see that Black has been telling tales." Snape spat. "What lies has he told you about your sainted father?"

"None. At least not that I know of. Sirius and Remus have both admitted to me that they, and especially my father, were rather cruel to you in school. They told me this as they thought you might treat me poorly because I look so much like him. It seems that they were right." Snape said nothing, appearing to have no words as he'd been convinced that Black and Lupin would do nothing but sing James Potter's praises. "Look, as heir to a noble and ancient house I could demand that you treat me better or risk the wrath of my house, but I don't want to." He said forcefully when Snape opened his mouth. "I'd rather us simply come to an understanding. I don't expect you to spew sunshine and rainbows or anything, merely to treat me the same as any other student and not punish me because my father was a bully. If you can do that, then I will continue to treat you with the utmost respect and we will get through potions classes with a minimal amount of pain." Again Snape was at a loss for words. No student had ever had the nerve to speak to him so, especially not a first year. The fact that Harry was also speaking calmly and rationally, and not requesting more than he thought Snape could give, also sent him into shock such that he merely nodded.

"Good." Harry said, before rummaging around in his bag and pulling out a stack of papers tied together with a string. "I also wanted to give you this. Letters from my mother." Snape's shock was now blatantly obvious. "She wrote dozens of them to you before she died, though I don't think she ever sent one. I don't know the whole story, Sirius and Remus said it wasn't theirs to tell, but from what I read here I gather that the two of you were rather close growing up, but in your later years here at Hogwarts you had a falling out of some sort. Whether or not she ever meant to send you the letters or if she wrote them just for her I also don't know, but she's gone now and since they were addressed to you I thought you deserved to have them." Snape took the stack of letters almost reverently and was completely unaware when Harry left the room.

-H/G-

With Snape effectively cut off at the knees – though he wasn't yet sure what would happen now – Harry finished his first day of classes without any other incidences. However, he knew that his confrontation with the Headmaster was still to come. At four o'clock Harry ascended to the seventh floor and the Headmaster's tower, speaking the password, Acid Pops, that Dumbledore had given him in his letter that morning. The gargoyle guarding the entrance sprang to life and Harry rode the moving staircase up to the Headmaster's office. The door stood open in anticipation of his arrival and Dumbledore, sitting behind a large, ornate golden desk, smiled at his arrival.

"Ah, Harry my boy! Please do come in and take a seat." Harry moved to do as directed but stopped short upon seeing the brilliant bird perched on a golden stand next to Dumbledore's desk. He seemed mesmerized by it and approached the bird, reaching out a hand to it. The bird crooned softly and Harry felt a weight lift off his shoulders, as if all his worries were no longer so heavy. The bird rubbed its head against Harry's outreached hand as it continued to croon, bringing a sense of peace to the entire room.

"This is a phoenix, isn't it, sir?" He asked softly.

"Yes." Dumbledore said, coming to stand beside Harry. "Fawkes has been my companion for some time now. They are fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry immensely heavy loads, and their tears have remarkable healing powers. Their song, which you have been fortunate enough to hear a few notes of today, is also quite remarkable. It-"

"Is like warm liquid." Harry said. "It instils peace and courage to those with goodness in their hearts, though it is said that its song can also strike fear into the hearts of those who are impure."

"Indeed." Dumbledore sounded impressed. "And why is that, do you think?" He was ever the teacher, even long after he'd left the classroom.

"No one knows for certain, but it is said that it is because phoenixes are creatures of pure light. Those with evil hearts cannot stand to hear the song of one so good and pure. Nor will phoenixes stand to be near to those who are impure." Harry finally turned to face Dumbledore. "It says a great deal about you, sir, that Fawkes came to you. That he has remained with you so long is unheard of." It was also making him reconsider his opinion of Dumbledore. He had never thought the man evil, but from what Sirius and Remus had told him about his manipulations and secrets, Harry had had no trust for the man. He was still unsure about the old man, but Fawkes' presence told him that whatever the Headmaster was hiding, whatever the reason for him playing with people, their lives, and even the government and the law itself, like they were pawns in a game of chess, he did not do so with malicious intent.

"Thank you for saying so, Harry." Dumbledore murmured with a small smile. "Now, to the reason I asked you here." The two moved and took their seats. "Lemon drop?"

"No thank you." Harry turned down the sweet offered to him.

"Very well." Dumbledore put the sweets away. "I asked you here, Harry, because I wished to speak with you about your living arrangement with Sirius Black. It was very irresponsible for Sirius to have taken you from your parents' house that night, Harry. I had made arrangements for you to stay with your last living relative, the only family you had left, and it was there you should have been taken." Harry felt his blood boil.

"Sir, Sirius is both my godfather, and my legal guardian should anything happen to my parents. This was clearly laid out in their will, a will that you tried to have sealed I might add, as was the fact that under no circumstances was I to be sent to my aunt's. I wonder, sir, what right you had to try and disregard my parents' wishes?"

"Harry, I knew your parents very well-"

"Then you should have been aware of their decisions regarding my care in the event they couldn't care for me themselves. I also daresay you did not know them better than Sirius, who was my dad's brother in all but blood." Harry had already had enough. This was the same argument Sirius had been having with Dumbledore for years, and Harry was not prepared to take Sirius' place and have this argument with the old man for the next seven years. "Sir, I don't know why you were determined to place me with my aunt, and like before when my godfather asked you, I doubt you'll give me a straight answer now. I also don't know why you seem determine to weasel yourself into a position of power in my life. And again, I doubt you would answer me honestly should I ask. We both know, sir, that Voldemort is not really gone. You all may have thought I had gone to bed, but I heard your row with Sirius and Remus after that Death Eater tried to kill me when I was five. I hope that there comes a day when we can work together to take down Voldemort once and for all, but until you are honest with us, and stop trying to manipulate me to do what you want, that isn't going to happen. So until that time comes, Headmaster, please refrain from trying to interfere in my life and stick to school related matters for all your dealings with me. Otherwise I will be forced to view your actions as a direct attack against House Potter." Without another word Harry stood and left Dumbledore's office.

The old man had seemed speechless and Harry wondered if he had gone too far. If nothing else he had let it be known, as he had with Snape, that he wasn't some ignorant kid, which was no longer an advantage he had over him; adults tended to underestimate ignorant kids, but Dumbledore would not do so now. With Snape Harry had not cared too much, he had also not revealed as much, only going so far as to show that he was highly observant and quite intelligent. With Dumbledore though he had revealed that he knew about a great deal of what was going on and could handle it all quite well. And he could. He'd been training since he was five years old in anticipation of facing Voldemort again one day. At eight he had realized what all the training was for and knew that he couldn't afford to be a normal kid. This was too important; it was not only his life on the line, but many other lives as well. He had to be prepared when the time came and if that meant smartening up and becoming a 'short adult' as some witch had described him on one of his rare outings to Diagon Alley, then so be it. He would not go down, nor let anyone he cared about go down, without a fight and as Voldemort had already shown that he was not against trying to kill a baby, Harry could not rely on the Dark Lord waiting until he was seventeen to attack. Whenever the time came, he would be ready.

-H/G-

The next morning Harry was once again sitting at the Gryffindor table for breakfast with Ron and Hermione on either side of him. This time they were steadfastly ignoring each other instead of bickering, though Harry wasn't sure if that was an improvement. When the post arrived he looked up to see that Hedwig had returned. She landed next to him, stuck out her leg, and happily drank some of his pumpkin juice before once again stealing a piece of his bacon before taking off for a long rest in the Owlery. Harry opened the letter from Sirius with some trepidation. Though he had tried wording his letter carefully, there was still every chance that Sirius, and Remus, could already be on their way to the castle.

Harry,

Congratulations on being sorted into Gryffindor!

Now that that is out of the way, you did the right thing writing us so quickly. It is more than just worrying that your scar has hurt again and I want you to be very careful, especially around this Professor Quirrell. I have written Lucius and Narcissa asking that Lucius find some excuse as a school governor to visit Hogwarts so he can meet this professor for himself. Your subtext was noted, pup, and you were right: storming the castle and confronting him right now isn't a good idea, no matter how much we might want to.

For now I want you to lay low and use your powers of observation – I know they are far better than you let on – to see if you can find out what he is up to. Do NOT do anything stupid though! You are to simply observe when the opportunity presents itself, do not go seeking him out. It is unlikely that whatever he is up to is an imminent threat to you, or the other students. If it were, then he would have gotten on with it and wouldn't be playing the professor. Let us know immediately if you see anything unusual or if you scar hurts again. If something changes and you think that there is an imminent threat I want you to go to Dumbledore. You know I don't trust him, but he is a very powerful wizard and would do anything to protect the school and her students, of that I have no doubt, and he is better placed to act immediately if needed.

Keep your head, Harry, and know that Moony and I will do everything we can to help you. Know also that I miss you terribly, though I will deny ever saying so if you tell Moony.

Padfoot

Then in another hand, a postscript had been added.

P.S. I am fully aware that Padfoot told you he missed you. I miss you as well. – Moony

The letter was much better than he had expected and said everything he had hoped for. Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

"A letter from home already, Potter?" A familiar voice spoke behind him. Harry turned to face Draco and found him flanked by two gorilla like Slytherins, both trying their best to look menacing. "Do you miss your godfather so much that you can't even go a day without a letter? Pathetic." Harry tried not to laugh and though Draco was sneering superiorly at him, he could see the mirth in his cousin's eyes. Since the two couldn't openly be friends at school they had decided to become 'enemies.' This would allow them to continue to see each other frequently outside of class, not to mention that they had had great fun this last summer coming up with ideas and practicing insults.

"Well it is my first time away from home, as it is for most of us first years, and I'm sure you noticed that many people got letters from home today." Harry decided to shoot Draco's taunt down with logic this time. "And don't think we didn't notice the package you got. Though I'm surprised your parents missed your ugly face enough to send you anything." That was about as nasty as they could get, neither being able to push aside their years of friendship to truly say anything too cruel. In truth, Harry knew that Narcissa and Lucius would miss their son terribly, and that his aunt had not stopped worrying for the last two weeks. The package Draco had received was no doubt full of sweets and some short missive just long enough to embarrass Draco with how much she loved him. Harry also knew that he likely had a similar package waiting for him in his trunk. Not being able to send it through the post, Narcissa would have called on Dobby, his house-elf, to play messenger as he would have no trouble getting to his master, even through Hogwarts' wards; very little could stop a house-elf where it concerned their master. Dobby had once been the Malfoy's elf, but upon saving Dobby two summers ago from a gindylow that had gotten hold of him when he'd been down by the lake at Malfoy Manor the little elf had worshipped the ground Harry walked on. Knowing that Dobby's first allegiance was now to Harry – in his heart at least, his bond with the Malfoys would allow him to be disloyal to them – they had gifted him to Harry shortly after. Knowing how house-elf magic worked, and that they genuinely enjoyed serving their masters, thanks to the several elves at Potter Manor, Harry had happily accepted Dobby and had had a loyal friend ever since.

"My mother sent me the sweets I asked for, Potter, its not some letter because I'm too much of a cowered to sleep away from home." Practically sticking his nose in the air, and really testing Harry's ability to control his laughter, Draco stormed off with his two new sidekicks.

"Just ignore him, Harry." Hermione advised sensibly.

"He's a git!" Ron said, looking at Hermione like she was crazy for suggesting that Harry ignore Draco's taunts. "I doubt he asked for anything from home, he probably just misses his mummy too much."

"Probably." Harry agreed. "Come on, we're going to be late for Herbology."

A/N - A bit earlier than anticipated, but I got a lot of writing done these last few days!

A few comments about this story:

1) I realized that many people took my saying this is a manipulative Dumbledore story to mean that he's evil and worse than Voldemort, or that there will be bashing. None of this is true. Dumbledore is a great character and there will be no bashing of any character in this story (except Voldemort and his Death Eaters at times. And Umbridge, if she makes it in to the story). Dumbledore was very much manipulative and secretive in the books and while I'm exaggerating on that, that's it. He is not evil.

2) Ron and Hermione are definitely important characters and their lack of appearance in the previous chapter is not indicative that I'm cutting them out. You may have also noticed that they are among in the very limited number of characters you can list in the story's properties. There will be no Ron bashing.

3) This is an AU fic and this Harry is not identical to the Harry in the books. He's an old soul, he knows more than he probably should, and he's not afraid to use it. Given he grew up with Sirius and Remus don't think it's too much of a stretch that he would know about his father's bullying of Snape, for example, or that if he found letters his mother wrote to Snape that he wouldn't make assumptions. I'm trying to keep true to the spirit of each character as written by J.K. Rowling, but there will be differences.

4) I'm doing my best with spelling and grammar, please bear with me on this. I don't have anyone else proof reading, though I do it a couple times myself before posting. Still, I'm human and will miss things. Also, if you see things like "colour" instead of "color" please note that I am Canadian and we use the British spelling, it is not an error.

5) While I don't anticipate this to be a short fic, I am not writing a 100+ chapter, 600k+ word story. There will be time jumps, not everything from the books will happen in this story, and some (or at times many) of them may be glossed over.

I think that's it for now. I'm not a huge fan of long author's notes, I try not to do them too often, but I had enough reviews and PMs that I felt the need to clarify a few things.

Review please!