Chapter 14

On the first day of his second week at Hogwarts, Harry had just sat down for breakfast when he was approached by Snape.

"Potter," he growled.

Harry looked up at his head of house. "Yes professor?"

"The headmaster wishes to see you after breakfast. Since your first class is potions, I am aware that you will be late. Be sure that you get the notes from someone that was in class."

Without waiting for an answer, he turned away, striding back to the head table, robes billowing behind him. Harry turned to his friends.

"What do you think that's all about? I haven't even spoken to the headmaster."

The others shrugged. Daphne looked over at him, her lips twitching. "Just make sure not to accept any candy from him," she said dryly. "I hear he always offers people lemon drops. You would hate to wake up somewhere and not know how you got there."

Harry turned slightly green. "Are you suggesting that our headmaster is a…" he broke off, unable to finish.

"Don't worry," Daphne continued in that same dry emotionless tone. "If he touches you, just tell me. I'll make him pay. You'll still need counseling, but at least you'll be able to rest knowing that he was punished."

"Gee thanks, Daphne," Harry grumbled. "I feel so much better knowing that you'll hurt him after he's molested me."

Daphne turned back to her breakfast. "What are friends for?"

Harry felt a gentle touch on his arm. He turned to see Ariana staring at him, a worried expression on her face.

"Are you sure you should go see him? You know that he may try using legilimency on you, don't you?"

"I don't believe I have a choice," Harry said. "If I refuse, he'll know something's wrong."

"Why would you refuse?" Pansy asked. "I mean I know our house hates Dumbledore on general principle, but we still have to do what he says."

"Let's just say that I don't trust the old man very much and leave it at that."

"That's a good attitude to have," Daphne said approvingly.

Harry looked over at her, but she wasn't looking at him, seeming absorbed in her breakfast.

Ignoring the mystery that was his emotionless friend, Harry finished off his breakfast and stood up. "I guess I better get going," he said. "I'll see you guys in class."

"Good luck," Ariana called.

"Thanks," Harry said, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

As Harry left the hall, Hermione Granger approached their table hesitantly. "Hello," she said brightly.

Ariana looked up at her and smiled. "Hi Hermione, how are you?"

Hermione's answering smile was slightly sad. "Oh I'm wonderful," she said. "Are you looking forward to potions?"

Ariana frowned inwardly. She'd noticed that sad expression. Should she say something? Hermione wasn't in her house, but she'd been nice to her. Would it be tactless to ask why she was sad when she hadn't told them she was? Deciding she would allow Hermione to lead the conversation, she answered her last question.

"Potions looks alright. I never was great shakes at cooking, so I'm not looking forward to it. You've already had it, haven't you? What was it like?"

Hermione started to answer, when Daphne interrupted her.

"Why don't you sit down, Granger. Breakfast won't be over for another quarter of an hour. There's no point in you standing that whole time."

Hermione looked at Harry's vacated seat. "Are you sure? Harry may be coming back."

Pansy looked up at her and pointed to the seat. "Sit," she said firmly. "We'll see Harry in class. He had something he needed to do."

Slowly, as if she expected the bench to bite her, she sat down.

"So," Ariana said patting her hand. "You were telling us about potions."

XXX

Harry wrinkled his nose as he entered Dumbledore's office. The overpowering smell of various candies, old books, and wood smoke filled his nose. Singly, these smells wouldn't be bad, but all together they created an overpowering stench. He wondered how visitors to the old man kept from gagging. After considering for a second, he realized that most visitors didn't have al elf's sensitive nose. His thoughts were interrupted as he saw Dumbledore sitting behind his desk.

From a distance, the old man's outlandish appearance made him look like some one's slightly eccentric Grandfather. Up close, the man's neon blue robes with bright green stars on them made him look like a madman's interpretation of Ghandalf from Lord of the Rings. The half moon spectacles did nothing to diminish this impression. As Dumbledore smiled at him, Harry was reminded unpleasantly of the big bad wolf in Little Red Riding Hood. The smile was slow and predatory, revealing way too many even white teeth. It may have been the knowledge of what Dumbledore had done to him and his Mother, but he suddenly felt uneasy. Smile or no smile, this man was dangerous.

"Ah, Harry," Dumbledore said jovially. "How are you, my boy?"

Harry tried his best to smile back. He kept thinking of Daphne's comments about Dumbledore being a child molester and he seriously hoped she wasn't right. "Fine sir," he said. "Professor Snape said you wanted to see me?"

"Indeed I did," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling like two stars. "I wanted to know how your classes were going. Have you been having any trouble?"

Harry shook his head. "No sir, no more trouble than any other first year I guess." He shifted nervously from foot to foot. He was becoming more uncomfortable by the second. Why had Dumbledore called him here? Was he meeting with all the first years like this just to discuss their classes?

"Sit down please," Dumbledore said pointing at the chair across from his desk. "Make yourself comfortable. I suppose you are wondering why you are here?" At Harry's hesitant nod, he continued. "I knew your Mother and Father very well. I was very close to James especially. I came to view your parents as the children I never had. I just wanted to check with you and make sure you weren't having any trouble. Are you happy in Slytherin? If not, I'm sure we could resort you."

"No sir," Harry said respectfully. "I am happy where I am. My friends are great."

"Most of whom are female," Dumbledore said cheerfully, his blue eyes twinkling brighter than ever. "I dare say that you will have a very difficult time in choosing a girlfriend when you are older."

Harry felt himself blush. This was too weird. Dumbledore was acting like they were old friends, but why. Had Merlin done more to Dumbledore's memories than he'd said? If so, why hadn't he warned him and Ariana before they came to Hogwarts. His thoughts were interrupted by a feather light touch on his mind. He forced himself not to react, responding to Dumbledore's last statement as if he hadn't felt the mental nudge.

"I believe you are right, sir. Luckily for me, I have a few more years to decide."

Dumbledore chuckled. "It's never too early to be thinking about your future, my boy."

The next touch on his mind felt as if someone had thrown a golf ball at his mental shields. He winced. Human wizard or not, Dumbledore was strong. Should he say something? No, that would not do at all. If he revealed he knew what Dumbledore was doing, it may make him more suspicious than he obviously was.

"Is that all sir," he asked. "I really don't want to be too late for potions."

There was the feeling of a knife blade scraping along his mental shields. He frantically reinforced them, focusing on making them as hard and obdurate as steel. . He had to get out of here now, but how. He couldn't just get up and run. Dumbledore was saying something. Harry struggled to make out the words.

"Are you sure you don't want to be resorted? I'm sure Gryffindor would love to have you."

Harry felt the pressure on his shields vanish. He let out a breath of relief only to flinch slightly as something washed over his shields. This was new. What was it; some kind of magic? He suddenly had the urge to agree with Dumbledore. Why wouldn't he want to be resorted? After all, Gryffindor was the house his Father had been in and he wanted to be like his Father.

Forcing the impulse away, Harry spoke calmly. "Quite sure sir."

"Very well," Dumbledore said sounding a little disappointed. "If you change your mind, just come and see me. Now, you'd better get going."

Being careful not to run, Harry stood. "Thank you, sir," he said. "Have a nice day."

"You as well, my boy," Dumbledore said looking down at some papers on his desk.

Still moving slowly, Harry exited the office. Half way down the corridor, he stopped walking and leaned against the wall. Shakily, he wiped sweat from his forehead. That had been too close for comfort. Dumbledore had almost gotten into his mind. If he had, the results would've been disastrous. Everything they'd worked for would've come undone in a moment.

He needed to talk to his Mother and Fast. A letter would not be fast enough. He needed to try elemental communication. Luckily, the common room had a fire. He would just need to wait for midnight and then he could contact her. Decision made, Harry began walking again.

XXX

Dumbledore watched Harry leave his office, a pensive expression on his face. Something was off. The boy was polite enough, but he seemed… reserved. Why would he be nervous? Had Lily told him something about him, but why would she? He, Lily and James had been friends for years. Why would Lily say anything negative about him? He rubbed his temples. His head ached dully. The boy's mental shields were quite impressive.

He'd wanted to see what his childhood was like. True, it was illegal to perform legilimency on a minor, but what the DMLE didn't know wouldn't hurt them. Besides, he wasn't doing any harm. He hadn't intended to use what he found for any nefarious purpose. He just wanted to check and make sure the boy was well. That had not happened.

Somehow Harry had managed to block his attempted intrusion, but how? How had he gotten shields strong enough to keep him out? For a moment, he'd felt the shields beginning to give, but then they'd strengthened. Had Harry known he was probing his shields? If so, why hadn't he said anything, but then again why would he? No one would be able to prove that he'd attempted to enter Harry's mind and it would be his word against Harry's. Now he had to decide what he was going to do.

Regardless of his reasons, he knew Lily would not be pleased. She would take any attack on her son as a personal offense. Would Harry tell his Mother? That was the hardest question to answer. Unfortunately, the answer would determine his actions.

He popped a lemon drop into his mouth and leaned back in his chair. He had to risk it. He needed to contact Lily as soon as possible. Little as he wanted to admit he'd done wrong, it would be better if Lily heard it from him rather than Harry. Reluctantly, he picked up a blank piece of parchment. Dipping his quill into his inkpot, he began to write.

XXX

Snape sneered as Harry entered the classroom. "What took you so long Potter?"

Harry blinked at his Professors tone. "Sir," he began slowly. "You know where I was. You're the one who told me the Headmaster wanted to see me."

Snape's sneer became more pronounced. "What took you so long," he hissed. "What? Did you think that just because the Headmaster wanted to speak with you that it gave you the right to skip my class?"

"No I," Harry started only to be cut off by Snape.

"Detention with me tonight. Now, get to your seat. We are brewing the boil curing potion today."

Harry sat down beside Daphne and began unpacking his ingredients. As he lit the fire underneath his cauldron, Daphne slid him a small stack of parchment.

"Those are the notes," she whispered.

Harry nodded his thanks before beginning to brew his potion. With Daphne and Ariana's help, Harry had managed to finish the potion by the end of class. As he placed his finished potion on the teacher's desk, Snape glared at him, but said nothing.

As they exited the classroom, Ariana looked over at Harry. "What did Dumbledore want?"

"He wanted to know if I wanted to be resorted."

Ariana stared at him. "Why would he ask that?"

"I don't know," Harry said shrugging. "He seemed disappointed when I told him I was perfectly happy where I was."

"And we're happy to have you here," Pansy piped up.

Harry smiled at her. "Thanks. I honestly wondered if he offered the same opportunity to all the first years."

Daphne snorted. "Hardly," she said in her soft dry tone. "I know damn well he hasn't offered it to me.

Pansy and Ariana made noises of agreement. Harry looked down at the floor, scowling so hard his forehead hurt.

"What?" Daphne asked.

"If he's not offering the chance to everyone, why is he offering it to me?"

Daphne snorted. "Do you really not know? You're a member of the Potter family. The Potters have been in Gryffindor, 'the house of the brave,' for centuries. You are the first one to be sorted into Slytherin in at least three hundred years. Dumbledore probably just didn't want you besmirching your noble ancestry by being sorted into 'the evil house of the serpent.'"

Harry laughed. "You did that speech rather well." He sobered. "What would you guys suggest I do? I don't like the idea of Dumbledore taking such a personal interest in my life."

"Why is he?" Pansy asked. "I mean what reason does he have to do so?"

"He says he knows my Mother and he knew my Father. He said something about wanting to make sure I was happy."

Ariana looked at Harry, eyes hard. "I think you need to contact Lily. She needs to be made aware of this."

"Okay," Harry grunted, "I was planning to do that anyway." He winked at her. "If she blows up the castle, I'm blaming you."

As he walked ahead of the girls, Pansy glanced at Ariana. "He's joking, right?"

Ariana's smile was all teeth. "No, but hey, castles can be rebuilt."

XXX

That night, Harry knelt before the fire in the Slytherin common room. Reaching out with his magic, he touched the fire, calling to his Mother in his mind.

'Mum, can you hear me?' The flames, which were on the verge of going out, suddenly flared up again. Swiftly, a face formed out of the flames. The orange flames changed to match the colors of Lily's hair and eyes. Lily smiled at him.

"Hello Love, I assume this isn't a social call?"

Harry shook his head. Quickly, he explained what Dumbledore had done. When he finished, he waited patiently for his Mother's response.

"I'll need to come there and talk to him. No doubt he has already sent a letter with his version of events. I'll wait for the letter to arrive before coming to Hogwarts."

Harry blinked in surprise. "You're taking this surprisingly well."

"I've been expecting this. You can alter his memories, but Dumbledore is still a jerk. Make sure you are not alone with Dumbledore until after I have spoken to him, understood?" At Harry's nod, Lily relaxed. "Good, now get to bed, you need your sleep."

Wishing his Mother goodnight, Harry made his way to his dormitory and climbed into the bed. As he drifted off, he realized he hadn't asked about his Father.

XXX

In a prison cell hundreds of miles away, Bellatrix stroked the locket lovingly. The heart inside beat faster at her touch. She looked at the package of plain white salt clutched in one claw-like hand. These guards were so easy to bribe. "Soon master," she whispered. "Soon, you will return greater and more terrible than ever before."

Unbeknownst to her, a pair of storm grey eyes watched as she lay down on her bunk.

A/n Sorry this is so short. This weeks been a bit hectic.