Deathly Hallows!...What can I say, overall a great book and ending to the series. Although I have to say I was slightly disappointed that Dumbledore's fatherly love for Harry wasn't made more obvious by J K. Oh well, I guess that's just my obsession with the whole father/son thing between them... anyway back to the story!
The vase wavered, and then dropped to the floor with a resounding crash.
"Focus Harry! You must focus!" came Lucien's exasperated voice, "once more…..Wingardium Leviosa".
Harry sighed and raised his wand for what seemed like the hundredth time that afternoon. The floor around them was covered in shards of glass and china, and Harry was immensely thankful that Isabelle had chosen to remain in the kitchen while they practiced.
"Wingardium Leviosa" he said waving his wand vaguely at a marble statue in the corner of the room. It hovered in the air for a moment, before dropping with a sickening thud, onto Lucien's foot.
The elder man howled in pain, and his patience seemed to have finally snapped.
"You are not concentrating enough! This is not a game we are playing, this is serious training, and if you do not start taking it seriously, I will not waste my time teaching you!" he screamed, hobbling from the room and slamming the door behind him.
Harry dropped into a nearby chair, scowling at the door. Over the last two months, Lucien's temperament had radically disintegrated from the calm and proud figure Harry had first met, to a point where he was almost tyrannical at times. Harry did not know what had caused such a change, but Lucien's haggard appearance of late, suggested that he was under a lot of strain.
Harry tried the spell again, but after a few failed attempts, he gave up and made his way towards the kitchen in the hope that Isabelle would sympathize with his plight and make him something to eat.
As he drew closer to the kitchen however, he could hear strained voices from within, and stopped to listen.
"- cannot go losing your temper like this Lucien, if the boy tells anyone at Hogwarts-"
"Then what? It doesn't matter does it? He is no where near as competent as we thought…… and after all the effort of getting Dumbledore to give him to us in the first place!"
"He is competent Lucien, we have both seen it. All we need to do is match his theoretical aptitude with practical application, if we can manage that, we will be halfway toward our goal!"
"…..Perhaps….but I just didn't think it would take so long."
"You knew from the beginning that this would require time and patience. It must be done subtly… carefully so as not to arouse suspicion, but if all goes as planned then we will be successful-"
"Master Harry…..not eavesdropping are we?"
Harry spun around drawing his wand, but lost his balance and fell with a heavy thud, onto the floor. To his left, the kitchen door flew open and Isabelle and Lucien came hurrying out having heard the noise.
The owner of the voice, came in the form of a small hunched man with a ghostly pale complexion. His bloodshot eyes were partially obscured by the filthy strands of long black hair covering his face, but Harry could still make out the leer from beneath them.
"Rabastian, what are you doing?" said Isabelle, addressing the servant.
"My lady," he said bowing to her, "I saw young master Harry here, eavesdropping on your conversation and thought you should know."
Harry felt his face flush and threw Rabastian the dirtiest look he could manage. From the moment they had first met, Harry had sensed the man's depraved nature and loathed him on instinct.
"I was just coming to get some lunch, I didn't mean to hear anything" he mumbled.
Looking up, he saw the Mortimers share a glance.
"Were you talking about me" Harry said before he could stop himself.
There was an awkward silence, then Isabelle smiled and said, "Harry don't be silly. Of course we weren't talking about you. You're our star boy aren't you?"
Harry reluctantly smiled back, not entirely convinced of her honesty.
The rain was pelting down hard when the portkey released Harry in front of the castle. By the time he had dashed up the drive and flung himself through the great oak doors, he was soaked from head to toe and water was dripping everywhere.
"Blimey Harry, yeh'd better get goin before Filch catches you" said Hagrid, sidestepping the large puddle forming in the entrance hall.
Harry didn't need telling twice. He quickly made his way up the staircase towards the Headmaster's office. On reaching it however he realised, with a twinge of disappointment, that it was empty.
Fudge had come calling again. Harry slumped into the vacant chair opposite the desk and sighed.
Lately it seemed as though Dumbledore was expected to run both Hogwarts and the ministry single handedly and Harry couldn't help feeling a certain amount of resentment towards the minister for taking his guardian away from him.
A loud clap of thunder jolted Harry from his thoughts. Looking out of the window he could see a storm approaching the castle. The streaks of lightning caused a well of anxiety to build up inside him. He was shivering, he realised, not only from the dampness of his clothes but from fear as well.
Harry had never been good with storms and the Dursleys, who knew full well of this phobia, had often used it as a means of cruel amusement.
During one particular visit from Aunt Marge, Ripper the dog had chased Harry up a tree in the garden where he was forced to take refuge as a terrible storm passed overhead. Despite lightning bolts striking the ground close to the terrified child, the Dursleys had watched gleefully from inside the house, eager to see which fear Harry would succumb to first, the dog or the storm. He was saved only when a passing neighbor heard his cries and alerted the family.
Another clap of thunder and Harry began to panic, his heart thumping wildly. He gripped the side of the chair as his head began to spin.
A bolt of lightning struck the wall outside making the entire office shake.
"Albus" he cried out weakly, desperate for the elder man to hear him.
Harry could hear his own whimpers echoing loudly in his head as he fought to stay conscious. Everything was going black. He felt something close in on him and tried to lash out, but his arms were too heavy.
With one last shuddering gasp, he felt his grip on reality slide away and fell into the dark abyss.
The first thing Harry noticed, was that he was warm. Opening his eyes blearily, he saw that the heat was in fact coming from a blazing fire in the fireplace.
His head was resting against something soft, and looking up he realised that it was Dumbledore's beard. The elder man was reading a newspaper, oblivious to the awakening of his young charge.
Harry tried to sit up, but he was wrapped tightly in a fluffy towel. His fruitless struggle eventually caught the headmaster's attention.
"Harry," he said, lifting the younger boy upright, "how are you feeling child?"
Harry squirmed embarrassedly on the sofa, "I'm fine" he mumbled.
Dumbledore placed a finger beneath Harry's chin making the boy look into his eyes.
"You gave me quite a fright back there, what happened?"
Harry glanced out of the window again. The rain had subsided completely.
"I don't like thunderstorms….I guess I just panicked" he said feeling ashamed at his own lack of self control.
Dumbledore wrapped an arm around him, sensing the younger boy's thoughts.
"Everybody gets afraid Harry, there is nothing to be ashamed of" he said gently.
"Not everybody………….not you" said Harry, barely above a whisper.
Dumbledore chuckled lightly, "My dear boy if you believe that, you are gravely mistaken…..adults fear things just as much as children do, and I am certainly no exception."
"Really?"
"Oh yes" replied Dumbledore, eyes twinkling.
Harry settled back into the elder man's arms feeling slightly happier.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here when you got back" said Dumbledore quietly, and Harry thought he could hear a trace of guilt in the headmaster's voice.
"I understand," he said earnestly, "its OK." They both looked at each other, and then smiled.
"Now," said Dumbledore attempting to neaten Harry's messy locks, "I hope you don't mind us having a few guests for the next couple of days?"
"Of course not, why?" said Harry curiously.
"Well, I just received a letter from my great niece Agatha," he said, "and it looks as though she's coming to pay us a visit."
A/N: Well I've finally managed to post this chapter after a good 3 months at least! This fic won't be abandoned, and I'll try and update as soon as I can.
