Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.
Web of Lies.
Dumbledore was exhausted when he entered his house later that same day; he had been trying to reassure everyone while trying to keep an eye on his professors and find out what exactly had happened. It had not been a large attack, but it was no secret that the Flitwicks were very involved with him and the Death Eaters had tried to eliminate that threat. Luckily, Filius was not a charms master for nothing and had managed to hold them off long enough for a bunch of aurors to reach them. It had taken a bit of time to sort everything out, and after that he had had to stay and question the two Death Eaters they had managed to capture. Finally, Minerva had sent him home while the other teachers worked on plans to make sure something like that wouldn't happen again. He would have liked to stay, but his deputy- headmistress had been adamant. Silently, the old man shrugged his cloak off and hung it up in the hall. He turned around, ready to walk up the stairs, when he nearly walked into Twinkle, who had seemingly been waiting for his return.
The Headmaster immediately noticed that there was something wrong, the small being was not behaving like her usual happy self, and instead she was looking at him with dropped ears and scared eyes. Frowning, the tall wizard knelt in front of her. "What has happened, Twinkle?"
The house elf flung herself to him, hugging his neck tightly. "Oh, Master Dumbledore, it is Master Alexander, he was crying and screaming and Twinkle didn't know what to do. Twinkle wanted to call Master, but Twinkle didn't know how."
Dumbledore froze, his arms around the small body of the house elf. Patting her back slightly, he couldn't keep the worry out of his voice. "Why don't you go make a cup of tea for me while I go check on Alec?"
With a small sniff, Twinkle let go of him and quietly walked to the kitchen. Not thinking twice about it, Dumbledore hurried up the stairs and went to Harry's room. Opening the door silently in case the boy was asleep, he was very shocked at the sight that greeted him. It seemed like a tornado had gone through the room. The windows were broken, glass lying everywhere. There was not a single piece of furniture that was not scratched or plainly broken to pieces. The blankets and sheets were torn apart, and were lying in disarray on the floor. Walking into the room, he didn't sense any magic excess, so he it hadn't been an accident. Slowly, he walked deeper into the dark room, carefully trying to determine were Harry was and what state he was in. The glass cracked under his feet, filling the strange silence. A few paces more and the sound changed. Looking down, he noticed he had stepped on a piece of parchment that seemed to have survived the destruction. Frowning, the old wizard bent down and picked it up, wondering what it could be. Using his wand to light the paper, he started to read. A few minutes later, he dropped the parchment in shock. There, written for everyone to read, were the happenings of the third task, in much more detail than Harry had ever told him. Looking around the room, he could see several pieces of parchment, also full of the messy writing. Slowly, the old man bent down and started to gather them. From time to time he would read a few lines, but he felt uncomfortable doing so. The feelings written there were Harry's and he couldn't help but feel he was intruding in the young boy's mind. After gathering all the papers, he pulled them together and put them on the table that had been pushed from one of the walls to the middle of the room.
Knowing that Harry had to be there somewhere, the old man brightened the light emanating from his wand and quickly looked around the room, trying to ignore the ruined pieces of furniture. He finally located the small form of the boy lying on the floor near one of the broken windows. He was curled up in a tight ball and was trembling visibly. Trying not to make much noise, Dumbledore approached him and knelt at his side.
"Alec?"
But the boy was completely out of it. His flushed face held clear tracks of tears and his hair was in disarray. Looking once again around the room, Dumbledore decided to take Harry with him; the boy seemed to be in need of comfort and he wasn't about to leave him alone right now. Muttering a small levitation charm, he picked the teen up and quickly left the room, not once looking back. On his way to his own room, he saw Twinkle, who had been waiting with the cup of tea until he came out of the room. Nodding to her, he motioned for the house elf to follow him and led the way towards his own room. Once there, he put the boy on the bed and turned to face Twinkle, taking the cup from her hands.
"Thank you, Twinkle."
The house elf nodded and quietly whispered back to him. "Will Young Master be alright?"
The Headmaster looked at the sleeping boy for a long time before slightly shaking his head. "I don't know, Twinkle, I really don't know." Then, returning his attention to the house elf, he smiled at her tiredly. "Twinkle, I need you to fetch some night clothes for Alec. I don't want you to touch anything else in the room, leave it as it is until I can deal with it."
Twinkle nodded and quickly disappeared to do as she had been ordered. When she returned, Dumbledore put her to work on bedding the boy while he went to change his own clothes. Ten minutes later, he was back in his room, and Harry was comfortably tucked in his bed. Smiling his thanks to the elf, that had stayed there waiting for his return, he climbed in the bed and took Harry in his arms, trying to reassure himself that he would be alright for now.
Closing his eyes, he heard Twinkle leave the room with a soft pop, and finally he allowed his exhaustion to take over, sending him to the comforting darkness.
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Harry felt oddly at peace when he woke up. For once he didn't have nightmares and he was able to wake up slowly, enjoying the warmth and comfort that surrounded him. In his sleepy state, it took him a while to realize that he was lying in someone's arms. When he did, he tensed up, trying to figure out who was holding him. He tried to get up, but then a gentle hand pushed his head back down and he immediately felt the soft beard lying under his cheek. Smiling softly, the boy relaxed against the old headmaster that started to stroke his head lightly. He was dozing off again when his grandfather's gentle voice called him.
"Alec."
Not wanting to move just yet, Harry buried his head in the headmaster's shoulder.
"Alec, come on, wake up."
But the boy only shook his head and curled up tighter against the warm form. The headmaster chuckled softly and started to pry the boy from him much to the teen's discontent. "Alec, I need to go to my office, there's things I need to do."
Resigned, the child released the headmaster and sunk into the pillows, intend in going back to sleep. Figuring he could allow Harry to sleep a little bit longer, Dumbledore went to his bathroom and got dressed in plain bright blue robes. After taking care of his necessities, he returned to the room and went to wake Harry.
"Come on, Alec, up, I need to go to work, and there's no way I'm letting you out of my sight until we've had a good talk."
Harry finally decided to open his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that he was in Dumbledore's bedroom instead of his own. Frowning slightly, he wondered why he was there. Not a moment later, it all came rushing back. Not meeting his grandfather's gaze, he started to blush slightly. How could he have allowed himself to break down like that? He shouldn't have done it; it had been idiotic. But he felt better, that was something he couldn't deny. The huge weight that had clouded his mind since the third task had finally started to lift and he was feeling like everything was starting to make sense. Finally looking up, he noticed that Dumbledore had laid out some robes for him to wear and that a small tube of make up was lying next to them. Getting the hint, he walked out of the room and got ready for the day.
When he entered the room again, the headmaster was waiting for him. Silently, they made their way to the older man's office, where breakfast was already waiting for them. Both ate hungrily the delicious food, having missed dinner the day before. Once they were finished, Dumbledore settled down behind his desk and started to look through his mail. Looking around for something to do, Harry finally noticed some of his books lying on a smaller table and went to them, happy to know Dumbledore wasn't going to demand an explanation just now.
To be continued...
A/N: Thanks for all reviews, and thanks to my beta reader, Vinnie.
Thanks to everyone who voted for me in the HPFA awards. I hope you keep enjoying my fics.
Hugs, Star Polaris.
Web of Lies.
Dumbledore was exhausted when he entered his house later that same day; he had been trying to reassure everyone while trying to keep an eye on his professors and find out what exactly had happened. It had not been a large attack, but it was no secret that the Flitwicks were very involved with him and the Death Eaters had tried to eliminate that threat. Luckily, Filius was not a charms master for nothing and had managed to hold them off long enough for a bunch of aurors to reach them. It had taken a bit of time to sort everything out, and after that he had had to stay and question the two Death Eaters they had managed to capture. Finally, Minerva had sent him home while the other teachers worked on plans to make sure something like that wouldn't happen again. He would have liked to stay, but his deputy- headmistress had been adamant. Silently, the old man shrugged his cloak off and hung it up in the hall. He turned around, ready to walk up the stairs, when he nearly walked into Twinkle, who had seemingly been waiting for his return.
The Headmaster immediately noticed that there was something wrong, the small being was not behaving like her usual happy self, and instead she was looking at him with dropped ears and scared eyes. Frowning, the tall wizard knelt in front of her. "What has happened, Twinkle?"
The house elf flung herself to him, hugging his neck tightly. "Oh, Master Dumbledore, it is Master Alexander, he was crying and screaming and Twinkle didn't know what to do. Twinkle wanted to call Master, but Twinkle didn't know how."
Dumbledore froze, his arms around the small body of the house elf. Patting her back slightly, he couldn't keep the worry out of his voice. "Why don't you go make a cup of tea for me while I go check on Alec?"
With a small sniff, Twinkle let go of him and quietly walked to the kitchen. Not thinking twice about it, Dumbledore hurried up the stairs and went to Harry's room. Opening the door silently in case the boy was asleep, he was very shocked at the sight that greeted him. It seemed like a tornado had gone through the room. The windows were broken, glass lying everywhere. There was not a single piece of furniture that was not scratched or plainly broken to pieces. The blankets and sheets were torn apart, and were lying in disarray on the floor. Walking into the room, he didn't sense any magic excess, so he it hadn't been an accident. Slowly, he walked deeper into the dark room, carefully trying to determine were Harry was and what state he was in. The glass cracked under his feet, filling the strange silence. A few paces more and the sound changed. Looking down, he noticed he had stepped on a piece of parchment that seemed to have survived the destruction. Frowning, the old wizard bent down and picked it up, wondering what it could be. Using his wand to light the paper, he started to read. A few minutes later, he dropped the parchment in shock. There, written for everyone to read, were the happenings of the third task, in much more detail than Harry had ever told him. Looking around the room, he could see several pieces of parchment, also full of the messy writing. Slowly, the old man bent down and started to gather them. From time to time he would read a few lines, but he felt uncomfortable doing so. The feelings written there were Harry's and he couldn't help but feel he was intruding in the young boy's mind. After gathering all the papers, he pulled them together and put them on the table that had been pushed from one of the walls to the middle of the room.
Knowing that Harry had to be there somewhere, the old man brightened the light emanating from his wand and quickly looked around the room, trying to ignore the ruined pieces of furniture. He finally located the small form of the boy lying on the floor near one of the broken windows. He was curled up in a tight ball and was trembling visibly. Trying not to make much noise, Dumbledore approached him and knelt at his side.
"Alec?"
But the boy was completely out of it. His flushed face held clear tracks of tears and his hair was in disarray. Looking once again around the room, Dumbledore decided to take Harry with him; the boy seemed to be in need of comfort and he wasn't about to leave him alone right now. Muttering a small levitation charm, he picked the teen up and quickly left the room, not once looking back. On his way to his own room, he saw Twinkle, who had been waiting with the cup of tea until he came out of the room. Nodding to her, he motioned for the house elf to follow him and led the way towards his own room. Once there, he put the boy on the bed and turned to face Twinkle, taking the cup from her hands.
"Thank you, Twinkle."
The house elf nodded and quietly whispered back to him. "Will Young Master be alright?"
The Headmaster looked at the sleeping boy for a long time before slightly shaking his head. "I don't know, Twinkle, I really don't know." Then, returning his attention to the house elf, he smiled at her tiredly. "Twinkle, I need you to fetch some night clothes for Alec. I don't want you to touch anything else in the room, leave it as it is until I can deal with it."
Twinkle nodded and quickly disappeared to do as she had been ordered. When she returned, Dumbledore put her to work on bedding the boy while he went to change his own clothes. Ten minutes later, he was back in his room, and Harry was comfortably tucked in his bed. Smiling his thanks to the elf, that had stayed there waiting for his return, he climbed in the bed and took Harry in his arms, trying to reassure himself that he would be alright for now.
Closing his eyes, he heard Twinkle leave the room with a soft pop, and finally he allowed his exhaustion to take over, sending him to the comforting darkness.
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Harry felt oddly at peace when he woke up. For once he didn't have nightmares and he was able to wake up slowly, enjoying the warmth and comfort that surrounded him. In his sleepy state, it took him a while to realize that he was lying in someone's arms. When he did, he tensed up, trying to figure out who was holding him. He tried to get up, but then a gentle hand pushed his head back down and he immediately felt the soft beard lying under his cheek. Smiling softly, the boy relaxed against the old headmaster that started to stroke his head lightly. He was dozing off again when his grandfather's gentle voice called him.
"Alec."
Not wanting to move just yet, Harry buried his head in the headmaster's shoulder.
"Alec, come on, wake up."
But the boy only shook his head and curled up tighter against the warm form. The headmaster chuckled softly and started to pry the boy from him much to the teen's discontent. "Alec, I need to go to my office, there's things I need to do."
Resigned, the child released the headmaster and sunk into the pillows, intend in going back to sleep. Figuring he could allow Harry to sleep a little bit longer, Dumbledore went to his bathroom and got dressed in plain bright blue robes. After taking care of his necessities, he returned to the room and went to wake Harry.
"Come on, Alec, up, I need to go to work, and there's no way I'm letting you out of my sight until we've had a good talk."
Harry finally decided to open his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that he was in Dumbledore's bedroom instead of his own. Frowning slightly, he wondered why he was there. Not a moment later, it all came rushing back. Not meeting his grandfather's gaze, he started to blush slightly. How could he have allowed himself to break down like that? He shouldn't have done it; it had been idiotic. But he felt better, that was something he couldn't deny. The huge weight that had clouded his mind since the third task had finally started to lift and he was feeling like everything was starting to make sense. Finally looking up, he noticed that Dumbledore had laid out some robes for him to wear and that a small tube of make up was lying next to them. Getting the hint, he walked out of the room and got ready for the day.
When he entered the room again, the headmaster was waiting for him. Silently, they made their way to the older man's office, where breakfast was already waiting for them. Both ate hungrily the delicious food, having missed dinner the day before. Once they were finished, Dumbledore settled down behind his desk and started to look through his mail. Looking around for something to do, Harry finally noticed some of his books lying on a smaller table and went to them, happy to know Dumbledore wasn't going to demand an explanation just now.
To be continued...
A/N: Thanks for all reviews, and thanks to my beta reader, Vinnie.
Thanks to everyone who voted for me in the HPFA awards. I hope you keep enjoying my fics.
Hugs, Star Polaris.