Chapter 11: Explanations At Last
When Harry woke up the next morning, he steeled himself as he knew that his first confrontation with Dumbledore was going to happen today. He kept his calm composure as he got ready for the day and went down to the common room where Hermione was, once again, sitting in a couch and reading.
Harry smiled slightly as he walked up to Hermione and decided that he would wait for a bit this time. Hopefully their second morning conversation would go better than yesterday's.
"Hello, Hermione," Harry greeted.
"Oh! Hi Harry. How did you sleep?" Hermione asked with a smile.
"I slept well. Did you?" Harry replied.
"Are you sure? You look like you have something on your mind," Hermione stated with concern.
~She's good. She can read you like a book~ Sabrina said with a sly grin.
~What? Do you suspect her of using Legilimency?~ Harry questioned.
~No, no, no. I highly doubt that she would have started to study arts outside of school at the moment. Let alone arts that isn't exactly encouraged in school or in the rest of Wizarding World for that matter~ Sabrina answered.
~Good point~ Harry said.
"What are you whispering? It sounded strange like it wasn't even English," Hermione enquired.
~Crap! She heard me!~ Harry hissed.
"There! You did it again! It almost sounds like you're hissing. I've never heard a language like that before. Can you tell me what it is? Can you, please?" Hermione asked, slowly getting more excited at the prospect of new knowledge.
~I think that you can tell her. She's clearly too interested in the knowledge to have any nefarious purposes. Hopefully that will get through that paranoid head of yours~ Sabrina said with a smirk.
~Oh ha ha. Very funny. You need to come out then as it'll be the only way that she'll believe me~ Harry said.
"Harry, this isn't funny! Talk to me already!" Hermione demanded as she got irritated and worried.
"Sorry, Hermione. I guess that an introduction is in order first so that I can explain this better," Harry answered.
Sabrina then emerged out from Harry's shirt's collar, startling Hermione as she wasn't expecting to see anything come out from his clothes.
"A snake?! Why is there a snake on you?!" Hermione asked fearfully.
"Hermione Granger meet Sabrina, my familiar," Harry said.
"Your familiar?! But I thought that your owl was your familiar," Hermione said.
"You can have more than one familiar, you know? That's why it's not against the rules for Sabrina and Hedwig to be here. Familiars aren't pets, but friends who can help you to achieve your goals and unlock your potential. The Hogwarts supplies list stated that only one pet could be brought with you, not one familiar. Besides, familiars are bonded to you, so trying to separate you from them wouldn't be a good move by the school," Harry explained.
"Ok, that makes sense. However, that still doesn't explain how you can talk a different language. I assume that you were somehow talking to Sabrina? But how? Snakes can't talk," Hermione said.
"Snakes can't speak any human languages, no, but they have their own language," Harry answered.
"Snake language? But how can you understand it then, let alone speak it?" Hermione asked.
"There were some witches and wizards throughout the ages who could speak to snakes. These people are called Parselmouths, with snake language being called Parseltongue. There are some around today as well, like myself, but they are few in numbers. Unfortunately, thanks to the fact that Salazar Slytherin was one, Parseltongue is now thought of as an ability that only dark witches and wizards can use," Harry explained and waited as Hermione pondered this new information.
"I know that I accused you before of being dark, and I sincerely apologise for that, but from your actions and ideals; you clearly are not. If fact, you're not pure light either. Grey probably suits you better. So, why would you use a supposed 'dark' ability?" Hermione questioned.
"Because it's not dark. Over the years, many things that the Ministry couldn't understand were labelled as dark. Parseltongue was one of them. Since not many people could speak to snakes and notable dark wizards had the ability; it was classed as dark. Then you have the Unforgivable curses. By that logic, love potions and most curses should also be classed as dark and should be criminal offences. Love potions are like the Imperius curse as it removes your free will to choose who you love and many apparent lawful and light curses are more destructive and more painful than the killing curse could ever be. Think about it this way, if you had to choose how to die; would you prefer a quick, painless death or a prolonged, agonising death?" Harry explained.
"I guess that I can't really argue with that, but to label something dark just because of a select few and lack of understanding? That's awful," Hermione said.
"It probably doesn't help that it's snake language and snakes are considered to be dark and even evil. Yet it's thanks to Sabrina that I turned my life around and I'm now relatively alright. Slytherin hasn't made a good name for itself and its mascot at all with some of the people who have come out of there. Unfortunately, people also skip over any of the dark witches and wizards from the other houses, making Slytherin seem to be the only place where these dark magic users come from," Harry explained.
"I suppose that you're right. Now that you mention it, I've only ever read about dark witches and wizards coming from either overseas or from Slytherin," Hermione said.
"That's what the Ministry and Hogwarts want us to believe. Trust me when I say that I've done my research. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff have all had their fair share of bad eggs. Unfortunately, the mass of bad eggs from Slytherin in modern times gave the Ministry a perfect opportunity to erase those pieces of history to further isolate Slytherin and bring the other three houses together. This was especially done around the time of the war," Harry explained.
"That's horrible! No wonder everyone considers it a death sentence almost to be sorted into Slytherin!" Hermione exclaimed in horror.
"That's because it literally is. You're either dark, so you are hated by the other houses, or you try not to be and you get bullied by those who are dark in your own house. You can't win," Harry stated bluntly.
"How do you know that?" Hermione asked.
"Let's just say that I notice rather fine detail around me a lot. I can usually pick up on slight changes in people's attitudes just by their body language. If you looked at some of the first year Slytherin, you wouldn't have thought of them to be bad at all. They were happily eating and talking with their friends with no problem. The next morning, they changed. They were silent. No-one would even look at each other. However, their eyes were constantly scanning the table to where the older years were sitting. I would hazard a guess to say that intimidation tactics are used a lot in Slytherin. If you can't handle it, then you will be treated as lower class," Harry explained bluntly, sighing at the bad hand that those first year Slytherins had been dealt.
"That's barbaric!" Hermione exclaimed.
"That's the way the world works, Hermione." Harry stated, "Anyway, enough with this depressive talk. Let's go and get breakfast before everyone else wakes up."
Hermione agreed with Harry and the two students went down to have breakfast together. When they got down and saw that all of the professors were already seated, Harry instantly went on the defensive and placed his mental blocks up in case Dumbledore attempted anything.
Hermione seemed to notice Harry's change in body language as he tensed up and got concerned enough to ask him about it as they began to eat.
"Harry? What's wrong? You've gotten all tense," Hermione asked.
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it," Harry replied with a forced smile.
"It's clearly not. Come on, you can tell me," Hermione said insistently.
"Not here," Harry whispered.
"Why not?" Hermione questioned.
"Because there are those who do not need to hear it," Harry whispered with a more forceful tone.
"Fine. Be that way," Hermione huffed.
"I will tell you, but after we leave the Great Hall, alright?" Harry said, trying to placate Hermione for now.
"Alright, I believe you. But don't be short with any of the details, mister!" Hermione demanded.
"Yes, ma'am," Harry replied with a smirk.
Soon, the two were joined by the rest of the student body as they all sat down to chat and eat. Fortunately, Harry wasn't pestered by Ron this morning, which was a wonderful relief after the boy's constant annoyance and falseness. When Harry and Hermione finished eating and went to leave, he was stopped by McGonagall.
"Potter, the Headmaster wishes to speak with you after your classes today. He is especially fond of sherbet lemons at the present time. See you in class," McGonagall said before heading back to the staff table.
Harry then walked out, schooling his features until he exited the Great Hall and saw Hermione waiting for him.
"Now there's definitely something wrong. What did Professor McGonagall tell you? Does it have something to do with what made you tense earlier?" Hermione enquired.
"It was related, yes. Dumbledore wants to speak with me after classes today. I have a feeling that I know exactly what he will want to know too," Harry replied.
"What would the Headmaster want to talk to you about?" Hermione asked in confusion.
"How I've been at my relatives and what I've been doing since he dumped me there. He probably never expected me to be so...fine..." Harry suggested with a hint of anger in his voice.
"Professor Dumbledore put you there?! But you said that they were horrid! Why would he do that?! And what do you mean he didn't expect you to be fine there?!" Hermione questioned.
"I meant exactly what I said, Hermione. He knew exactly what the Dursleys were like, yet he still put me there. What person in their right mind would think that someone would come out of there alright when they are completely different to the people inside of there? It's like putting an antelope in a lion's den. Would you honestly expect the antelope to be alright?" Harry explained coldly.
"It just seems so weird when he's supposed to be the Leader of the Light, yet he would consciously put you in a life that you describe as an earthly Hell. Why would he do that?" Hermione pondered.
"To answer your question, I'd have to tell you everything. However, now is not the time. Our classes will start soon. I'll tell you later after I have my talk with Dumbledore," Harry said.
"You better!" Hermione said playfully as she nudged Harry slightly for emphasis.
Harry smiled as the two of them walked to their first class. Once again, Harry and Hermione were the only two students to complete the tasks set by the professors, with Harry finishing first and Hermione second. Eventually, the time came were all the classes were over, which meant that Dumbledore was expecting Harry.
Harry realised that McGonagall's insinuation of the old man liking sherbet lemons was probably a hint to the password for getting into the Headmaster's office. He made his way to where the maps said that the office was, but only found a large golden eagle statue.
~Maybe saying the password now might show the entrance to the office~ Sabrina suggested.
~It's worth a shot~ Harry said in agreement.
"Sherbet lemon!" Harry bellowed.
That seemed to do the trick as the eagle began to turn and rise, revealing a staircase connected to the bottom of the statue. Harry followed the staircase up to a door, which he assumed was the office door and was about to knock before he heard the old man's voice.
"Come in!" Dumbledore called.
It seemed as though Dumbledore already knew that Harry was there. Likely it was some form of spying spell so he could see just outside of the door. He probably also timed his "Come in!" to be more theatrical. Harry entered the office and walked up to Dumbledore's desk where there was an empty chair for him to sit on, he assumed.
"Hello Harry, my boy. Take a seat. Would you like a sherbet lemon?" Dumbledore asked, putting on his best fake grandfatherly voice.
"No thank you, Headmaster. Why did you summon me then?" Harry asked bluntly as he sat down.
"Well, I wanted to see how you've been for all these years. The last time I saw you was when you were a baby and I gave you to your relatives," Dumbledore said.
"In that case, I've been fine. We didn't get along at first, but they soon turned around," Harry answered.
Harry then felt a Legilimency probe and inwardly smirked as he watched Dumbledore's frustration as he couldn't get past Harry's mental walls. After a few seconds, Dumbledore stopped trying and left Harry's mind, hoping that he wasn't detected.
"That's wonderful. I knew that your family was the best place for you to go," Dumbledore said with a fake smile.
'Yeah, you sure did, old man,' Harry thought angrily.
"So, what have you been doing for all these years? I've heard that you're top in your classes. You must be rather proud with yourself. I can't help but wonder how you got so good. Did you do some practicing before coming to Hogwarts?" Dumbledore enquired.
"I read through my books when I got them in Diagon Alley. You can't do wrong when you read ahead and prepare yourself. The theory was there. I guess that I'm just a natural with my spell work," Harry answered, giving the same response as he gave Ron.
"Quite right, my boy, quite right. However, it's not every day that someone can complete all of the first lesson tasks so quickly and easily. I'm worried that you might overload your core if you use too much of your magic at once. Have you been feeling ill or fatigued lately?" Dumbledore asked.
"Not at all, Headmaster. I'm feeling perfectly fine," Harry replied with a fake smile.
"Well, if you ever do feel like something isn't right; come and find me and I'll try to resolve the issue," Dumbledore said with his grandfatherly voice.
'He's still under the impression that I'm at half strength. Well...he's going to be in for a big surprise,' Harry thought, smirking inwardly.
"Of course, sir," Harry said.
"Now then, it has come to my attention that you have broken one of the rules for first years when they get their school supplies. Can you elaborate on that, Harry?" Dumbledore questioned.
"I haven't broken any rules, sir," Harry replied, knowing full well where this was going.
"But you have two animals with you, do you not? Your owl and...a snake, is that correct?" Dumbledore enquired as a hint of a smirk appeared on his face.
"Yes, I do. Do you have an issue with that, sir?" Harry asked back, daring Dumbledore to continue.
"Well, unfortunately I do. For starters; snakes were not listed as a possible pet, Harry, so the fact of you having one in the first place is against the rules. Also, you are only supposed to bring one pet with you. I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you to send your snake home," Dumbledore explained as the smirk on his face grew. It still wasn't big enough for a normal person to see, but Harry spotted it.
'Time to wipe that smirk off of your face, old man,' Harry thought with a grin.
"I'm afraid that I can't do that, sir," Harry said.
"I don't understand how you cannot do this. I can always call your aunt and uncle to collect it for you," Dumbledore offered.
"I mean that you can't separate us. Surely you must know that it's never a good idea to separate a wizard from his familiar," Harry said, grinning inwardly as he saw the shock on Dumbledore's face.
"Familiar?! But how?!" Dumbledore exclaimed.
"I met Sabrina quite a while ago, actually. She was a big help and we bonded. We've been together ever since. I've bonded with Hedwig as well, so they're both my familiars. They are not my pets, but my friends," Harry explained.
"I understand. Just be careful, my boy," Dumbledore sighed in defeat.
"I always am. And if I get in trouble, Sabrina is usually there to get me out of it. I have no reason not to trust her," Harry said, knowing exactly what Dumbledore meant by being careful.
"Very well, Harry. I just thought that I should say as your friend, Mr Weasley, was rather worried," Dumbledore stated.
"Ronald Weasley is not my friend, sir. His concerns are unfounded," Harry said coldly.
"You need some friends though, my boy. Mr Weasley was only trying to do what he thought was right. Maybe you should give him a second chance to prove himself. I'm sure that he will be a good choice for a friend. I have been friends with the Weasleys for many years now, as were your parents. I can vouch for them being good people," Dumbledore suggested.
"I will think about it, sir," Harry responded.
"Alright, Harry. You are dismissed. Oh, by the way, congratulations on being the Gryffindor seeker! I know that being a first year should prevent you from being on the house team, but I decided to make an exception after hearing Professor McGonagall's convincing argument for you. Good luck, my boy," Dumbledore said, putting his fake grandfatherly smile on again.
"Thank you, sir. Goodbye," Harry said as he left the office and went down the staircase.
As Harry walked back to the common room, he couldn't help but be angry at Dumbledore as everything that the old man said and did proved his guilt. Harry guessed that Dumbledore was likely to start wondering about whether the blocks on his core had been removed after the confrontation as he not only blocked Dumbledore's mental probe, but also showed no side effects from using his magic to a high standard, apparently. Hopefully, Dumbledore wouldn't figure it out until it was too late for him. Until then, Harry would need to start planning ahead for that inevitable event as Dumbledore would likely strike then and try to weaken him again.
When Harry finally entered the common room, he found Hermione waiting for him in her couch and schooled his features so that no-one else around could detect his change in attitude. She saw him almost instantly and a beaming smile appeared on her face as she stood up to greet him.
"Hey, Harry! How did your talk with the Headmaster go?" Hermione asked.
"Not here. Outside," Harry said as he led her outside of the common room as there were many people inside who had tried to subtly turn their heads to listen in on their conversation.
"So what happened?" Hermione asked.
"Well, Dumbledore asked me how everything was after he left me at the Dursleys first. I gave a half truth that we were getting along now which prompted him to try and use Legilimency on me," Harry answered.
"What do you mean by it being a half truth? And what's Legilimency?" Hermione asked.
"We don't technically get along well, but we are civil to each other as they know that trying to mess with me again will not end well for them. Legilimency is part of the mind arts along with Occlumency. Legilimency is basically you going into another person's mind to see their memories etcetera whereas Occlumency is when you block your mind from the intrusive art of Legilimency and other magic involving the mind," Harry explained.
"The Headmaster tried to force his way into your mind?! Isn't that against the rules?!" Hermione exclaimed.
"It's illegal for a legal adult to perform Legilimency on a minor, yes. Whether I am still classed as one is up for debate though due to other factors. After he failed to get past my blocks, however, he then asked me to get rid of Sabrina as I wasn't allowed to keep a pet snake. His face was priceless when I told him that Sabrina was my familiar and couldn't be separated from me," Harry explained.
"I can't believe that Professor Dumbledore would stoop so low. At least you managed to prevent all of that. What else happened?" Hermione said, genuinely disgusted by Dumbledore now.
"He tried to get me to befriend Ron, one of his lackeys, and said how concerned and good the boy is. It's sickening to even imagine me being friends with that backstabbing idiot! He even tried to use the fact that my parents worked with the Weasleys during the war to manipulate me by saying that they were friends," Harry replied.
"Isn't Ron the red-haired boy who keeps annoying you?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, he is. I told Dumbledore that I'd think about it, but even he must've realised that I had no intention of being friends with the boy when I told Dumbledore that Ron was lying when he told him that we were friends," Harry said.
"I just can't believe this. This goes against everything that's ever been said about him," Hermione said in shock.
"I can give you a magical oath to show that I'm telling you the truth," Harry offered.
"No, no! It's not that I don't believe you. I do. You didn't even need to talk to me or tell me if you didn't plan on being truthful. But still, Dumbledore has been the Leader of the Light for many years and is even classed as the greatest wizard of the age after his defeat of Grindelwald. It's just a lot to take in. At least I now know why you hate him so much. He's trying to control your life for crying out loud!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Thank you; for believing me," Harry said.
"You don't have to thank me, that's what friends do, right?" Hermione said.
"Friends?" Harry asked as he raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Well, even after everything I said to you and accused you of, you've been helping me and talking to me a lot. No-one has ever really done that before unless they wanted my help on something before they would stop talking to me again. You clearly didn't need my help, so it was strange that you would willingly talk to me and help me when I needed it. You're a really nice guy, really, and you're heart's in the right place. I just thought that it meant that you wanted to-Oh forget it! I'm sorry! I jumped the gun!" Hermione replied, starting to sob as she thought that Harry didn't want to be her friend.
"Woah, woah, woah! Don't get upset. You didn't jump the gun at all. Of course I would like to be your friend," Harry said as he tried to comfort Hermione.
"You really mean that?" Hermione asked hesitantly.
"Of course! I wouldn't have told you anything if I didn't want to be your friend," Harry replied with a smile.
Hermione beamed at Harry and hugged him tightly. This was his second hug now, both from two girls who had somehow managed to get him to open up and befriend him when he didn't think that he ever would trust another person again.
~See? I told you that she would believe you if you would only tell her the truth~ Sabrina said teasingly.
~Ok, you win, I admit it! I was wrong!~ Harry hissed back quietly.
"Were you talking to Sabrina again?" Hermione asked, still hugging Harry.
"Yeah. She told me from the beginning to stop being cryptic with you and Ginny and tell you two the truth and that I wouldn't have to worry about whether you two would believe me or not. I admitted that I was wrong about that. Let's just say that you now know why I have trust issues and why I was so cryptic before. I'm sorry for not trusting you sooner," Harry explained.
"And I'm sorry for misjudging you. Wait a minute...who's Ginny?" Hermione questioned, releasing Harry from the hug.
"Ginny is the youngest Weasley. I met her at King's Cross Station before I got onto Platform 9 and 3/4. She's nothing like her brother and mother. I guess that you could say that she's my first human friend. We've exchanged some letters as I had to warn her about Ron's letter. He insulted her on the train before he knew who I was, hence why I wasn't very fond of him already, so he sent a letter to his mother to tell Ginny that he was my friend and that I didn't need her. I had to tell her the truth then or I would've lost her trust and friendship. Fortunately, she believed me. I won't allow her to be manipulated and turned into another one of Dumbledore's pawns," Harry explained.
"That's terrible!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Yes...Well, now you know everything. How are you feeling?" Harry asked.
"A bit overwhelmed, but I'll get over it. What do we do now?" Hermione enquired.
"We act like normal; like we don't know anything. When Ginny arrives, we can discuss this more. Until then, we keep our heads down, figure out what Dumbledore's planning next and prevent it from working," Harry answered.
"Right. So...back to the common room then?" Hermione asked as she nodded in agreement.
"Back to the common room," Harry replied.
As the two students walked back into the common room, both were happy that they had made a new friend, with Harry thinking that his time at Hogwarts wouldn't be so bad anymore. He had Sabrina, Hedwig, Ginny and now Hermione. Maybe everything would be alright after all.
