Chapter Six
Dinner With Dumbledore
(,o0o,)
27 July, 1991
Granger Manor, London
Harry Potter was sitting in his new room at his godmother's house, going over the events of the previous day in his mind. A lot had happened yesterday. He had met his sister for the first time in this timeline, as well as convinced Dumbledore to let him stay with his godmother, and, more importantly, Hermione. The only problem was Gerald Pintura.
Harry could see as plain as day that Gerald was in love with Adrianna. He could also see that Adrianna loved her business partner also, but only as a good friend. He had to somehow figure out how to tell Gerald that it was not going to work without ruining his relationship with Adrianna.
Disturbed from his thoughts, Harry heard a knock on his door. "It's open," he said as he stood. The door swung open, and Hermione walked in.
"Mum says we're going shopping tomorrow for clothes and anything else you and Sam might need." She sat on his bed, and Harry sat beside her.
"That's good. There are a few other things I need to get, anyways." Even though she was more than a decade younger than when he last saw her, he could not help but gaze at her.
"I noticed you the other day at the Leaky Cauldron. You were staring at me. Why?" Hermione was curious. She wanted to know why the boy had seemed so familiar that day.
Harry tried to find an appropriate lie quick enough. She would not believe him if he told her the truth. Not yet, anyways. "Can you fault me? I was staring at everything in there. I grew up without even knowing that the wizarding world existed."
"No, I guess not." For some strange reason that she could not quite figure out, Hermione was sure he was lying. Harry stood up and walked to his open window. He looked outside briefly and then shut the window.
"It's gonna rain soon." Hermione looked outside, and then at him. There was not a single cloud in the sky, yet he was sure it would rain. "There's a storm coming. It'll be here by nightfall," he said as he left the room. Hermione left the room soon after.
(,o0o,)
The doorbell rang as Adrianna walked nearby. "I'll get it!" she yelled out. When he got to the door, he opened it and looked out at the figure on the stoop. "Professor Dumbledore, what a pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting you."
"Yes, well, I had something I needed to give to young Samantha. Her Hogwarts letter. I was also hoping to talk to Mr. Potter." Dumbledore pulled an envelope from his robes.
"Please come in. We were just about to sit for dinner. If you would like some, I can have an extra place set for you." Adrianna turned and let him inside. She closed the door after him.
"Yes, please. Thank you." He followed her into the dining room.
Upon entering the dining room, Adrianna found the plump maid standing near the door to the kitchen. "Greta, we will have an extra guest tonight, please make sure a place is set for him." The maid rushed off to tell the cook and to get extra settings. A few minutes later, dinner was ready and everyone was seated at the table, eating.
"So, what brings you here, Professor Dumbledore?" asked Hermione as she finished her green peas.
"Well, I came to deliver Miss Potter's Hogwarts letter to her, and your mother invited me to stay for dinner. He turned toward Sam as he pulled an envelope from his robes. "Without further ado, here is your letter, Miss Potter. I'm sure Lady Granger can take you to get your school things tomorrow."
"We already got her things," Harry stated as he dug into his roast beef. "I figured you merely forgot to give her letter to Sam yesterday after the hearing, so I convince Ms. Granger to let us get her stuff."
"Good, good. That saved you a trip, I'm sure…" Dumbledore felt he needed to say something about his actions. "…I am sorry that I could not have allowed your parents wishes to happen, but I really did need to place you with the Dursleys, Harry."
"Why?" Harry asked as he set down his fork.
"Excuse me?"
"Why did I need to be placed, against my parents wishes, with my abusive uncle where I was constantly starved and ignored, and why were my sister and I separated?"
Dumbledore was almost at a loss as what to say. It couldn't possibly be true, could it? Harry Potter beaten? Surely I misheard him… Everyone had stopped eating and looked at Harry.
"My uncle would beat me a couple times a year, especially on my birthday. My cousin was a constant bully. I was his personal punching bag. Did you know that I had lived in the cupboard under the stairs my entire life? How about the fact that I've been the only person to cook for that family since I was four, except for a few meals my aunt would do. What really blows me is the fact that not once did you even think to check on me! You just left me on their doorstep to fend for myself, assuming that they would care for me as a normal family would. Did you not stop to think that my mother might, just might, have had a reason to ask us to be kept from there? I would have been better off at the orphanage with Sam!"
"I'm sorry Harry. I had no idea… I assure you, what I did was done with the best intentions, to protect you-"
"Protect me! Did you not hear a single word I said? My uncle would beat me! I got this scar on my sixth birthday." Harry pulled up his pant leg to show a jagged scar on his leg, below the knee. "My uncle broke my leg with a cricket bat. After three weeks, they finally took me to the doctor because a neighbor had noticed my limp. That was the only reason they took me, a neighbor noticing. As it was, the doctor had to re-break my leg because it had set wrong!" He put his pant leg back down. "And as for good intentions? There is a saying that muggles use quite a lot. I goes something like, 'The road to Hell is paved with the best of intentions.' It means that the more you do something out of the kindness of your heart, the more harm you may actually be causing. Good night Professor, I'll see you on the first of September." With that, Harry stood and left the room. Everyone else ate in silence.
(,o0o,)
Harry sat in his room that night, thinking. Maybe I had been a little harsh with Dumbledore, but it was necessary. He needed to understand that what he did was wrong. He looked outside, and saw that it was raining. Suddenly, he heard a scream down the hall. He quickly rose from his bed and made his way into the hall. He heard the scream again, and realized it was coming from Hermione's room. When he reached her door, he opened it to find her tossing and turning in her sleep. It was obvious that she was having a bad dream. She seamed to be saying something.
"Please, no. Not my babies! Please leave them alone," she moaned in her sleep. She started to struggle more. "No! Get off me! No, get away." Harry realized what she was dreaming, or rather remembering, and moved to wake her. "Harry, help! Please, help me!" She was nearly shouting now.
"Hey, Mi! Wake up. It's alright, I'm here. They can't hurt you." Harry was shaking her. "The children are fine. Nothing is happening." Sleepily, Hermione opened her eyes.
"Harry? What are you doing in here?" she asked as she realized where she was.
He answered, "You were having a bad dream, so I woke you up." After making sure she was fine, he got up to leave.
"Harry?" she called out to him as he reached the door.
"Yes?" Harry turned around.
"Stay with me? Please?" she asked. "I don't want to be alone right now."
Harry smiled slightly. "Sure." He walked back over to the bed and climbed on top of the covers. He wrapped his arms around her and started to caress her hair. Hermione sighed contentedly and settled down to sleep. She had no more nightmares that night.
(,o0o,)
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. Here is chapter six, where Harry confronts Dumbledore. The polls are now officially closed. Thank you to everyone who voted. I have taken your thoughts into considerations, and I believe I know what I want to do now.
hmaddict
