Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not unfortunately belong to me :( but to J.K Rowling.
AN: Please read and review guys...kisses xxx
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
OH DUMBLEDORE!
Meanwhile at Hogwarts…
"Severus, I have been meaning to ask…how is Neville Longbottom doing with the tutoring sessions. Have you seen any improvements yet?" Dumbledore asked the teacher as he did every week, expecting the same response, which is that Neville is completely hopeless and that it was a waste of time tutoring him. The response he got, however, was surprising and made him really happy especially compared to the couple of weeks he's had trying and failing to get close to Remus Lupin.
"He has improved a lot…and I bet it is that Granger girl that has been helping him" Snape spat out angrily. He was still a bit miffed that the boy had taken the initiative to get help besides their tutoring sessions since he knew that he hadn't really been a very good teacher to him.
"Oh, that is wonderful news" Dumbledore beamed. He really was pleased to hear about Neville's improvement as he had been getting really worried about the boy. Harry Potter was ultimately going to have to face Voldemort eventually, as soon as he can get to him but while Harry is still out of his reach, he needed Neville to really step up and temporarily take Harry's place. So he needed him to up his defence skills and so it was good news to hear that he was beginning to show improvement.
He was not worried about Harry Potter's defence skills since he was being raised by an Auror and a Defence against the Dark Arts professor, both of whom are very skilled in duelling and would definitely be training him. So for now as he was still very elusive, he was going to be focusing on Neville until he gets his hands on Harry Potter.
Meanwhile back at the Manor…
Both men rose as the deputy headmistress walked in accompanied by Dinky the house elf. She took a seat across from them after exchanging greetings and declined offers of refreshment from an house elf that had come to offer her some.
Getting right down to business, she read out the will from Merlin once again to remind them that both the school and all of Merlin's belongings are to be given to Harry. Then they began to discuss what Harry's roles as the owner entails.
"So, basically since you are still underage, you could appoint someone in the position of interim headmaster until you are of age and can run the school or you can choose to leave the school the way it has been functioning with me in charge until you are of age. However, with both options, you will still be in charge and major decisions would still have to be run by you and can't be implemented without your approval."
"So are you saying that Harry does not have to step into the position of headmaster right now, if he doesn't want to?" Sirius asked.
"Yes, Lord Black, that's exactly what I am saying…although once he reaches the legal age of seventeen years old, he will need to step up and take up his role as headmaster of the school."
"Thank you for the coming out here to do this, deputy headmistress…" Harry began and was rewarded with a smile. "I am both happy and relieved to hear that I don't have to take up the headmaster position so soon as I believe that I do not have any experience to run a school, however, I will like to be involved in everything that goes on in the school and occasionally visit, if that's ok"
"That's absolutely fine…now regarding your stand-in headmaster, what do you want to do about that?"
"Well, you've been doing a very fine job of running the school and so I am not making any changes with that…I want you to keep doing what you have been doing so far" Harry replied with a smile. He really did like the way she had been running the school, she was strict when needed but also kind to the students.
They then discussed some more for a few minutes and touched on some details on how Harry could still stayed involved with running the school without actually fully running it, after which, the deputy headmistress drew out some papers for Harry to sign, signifying that he had accepted his inheritance.
This process took about twenty minutes as there was also a section on the parchment that required a drop of blood from Harry to show proof that he is in fact the heir and owner of the inheritance. The minute, his blood touched the parchment, his name appeared on every document stating that he owned everything Merlin left him.
As soon as they had finished, the deputy headmistress got up to leave, to which Sirius then invited her to stay for dinner.
"No, thank you…I'd rather to be taking my leave now" she replied with a smile. She really did need to leave as she still had to assemble the staff and update them on the new developments as she hadn't wanted to fill them in until she had been certain that Harry was on board with it all. She bid them goodbye and took her leave.
Meanwhile back at Hogwarts…
"Very good work today class" Lupin said as the students began to pack up their books to leave. "Don't forget that the essay on counter-jinxes is due first thing on Monday"
Ignoring the students groans of protest, he smiled as he wished them a great weekend. As he began to prepare for his next class, a shadow fell across his desk causing him to look up.
"Ha! Professor Dumbledore…what can I do for you?" he smiled politely at the headmaster.
"Remus…I know the full moon is tonight and I just wanted to check up on you and see if you need anything for tonight…my offer to help still stands you know?"
"That's incredibly nice and generous of you headmaster…but like I have told you before, I don't need to do anything since I won't be transforming at all."
"I know that you said that before but I know it is just because you are still angry with me and so you don't want me to help you but I say let bygones be bygones. Water under the bridge, Remus" Dumbledore said as he smiled, hoping that he sounded convincing. "You don't need to lie to me about having a potion that has cured your problem"
Remus couldn't believe what he was hearing and the shock was mirrored on his face. The headmaster oblivious to this, was still talking.
Starting to get angry now, he slapped a hand on the table and got up "With all due respect headmaster, I am going to have to insist on this being the last time we have this discussion. I do not need or require your help and contrary to what you think, it is not a lie when I say that I have it handled and so will not be transforming tonight or any other night for that matter. Now if you don't mind, I will like to prepare for my next class so please leave"
The headmaster was very taken aback by the teacher's reaction as Remus was known for being a very patient and calm person who was not prone to getting angry often. He knew that he had gone too far for him to have reacted that way.
He still did not believe that there was such a potion that can be used to curb lycanthropy during the full moon, in fact, he had had people look into it and search for such a potion, all to no avail.
As he walked away, he thought to himself that Remus might not need his help since he knew to go to the Shrieking Shack but he didn't understand why he kept insisting that he wouldn't need to transform. He would make sure to watch the professor, because to his knowledge, the transformations tended to leave him incapacitated and weak for a few days.
Later that day, after dinner Remus retired back to his quarters and fetched his two way mirror and called Harry's name. Soon after, Harry's smiling face appeared flanked by Sirius.
"Hey cub" he greeted.
"Moony or should I say prof!" Harry said grinning before having the mirror taken away from him by Sirius.
Ignoring Harry's yell of protest, he said "Hey Moony…how are you and how goes the teaching?"
"Oh, still loving it…" Remus replied with a smile "So how did it go with the deputy headmistress?"
Harry piped up from behind, "I thought it went well"
"Yeah, she actually explained that Harry wouldn't have to take over as headmaster until he reaches the legal age but he can choose a stand in, if he wanted or leave things the way they are right now". Giving his godson a nudge, he said "Go on, Harry tell him"
Harry then explained all that was discussed, after which they then went on to talk about Dumbledore and his latest attempt to get closer to them.
"Wait, so he actually thinks that you made up the whole thing about having your little furry problem in control just to get back at him" Harry asked, incredulously.
"Yeah, I literally lost it with him" Lupin responded, feeling a bit shamefaced about losing his temper with the headmaster.
"I don't blame you, Moony…Dumbledore needs to pull his head out of his arse" Sirius said with a little frown.
"So what are you going to do about him, since it seems like he is not going to give up on trying to get close to you?" Harry asked.
"I really don't know…before this whole full moon business, I had been able to successfully avoid him at school but now that I think about it, he might have let that happen and decided to bid his time until now" Remus replied, sighing in exasperation as he ran his fingers through his hair.
They talked for a little while longer and still weren't close to finding a solution to deal with the headmaster before saying goodbye.
The next day, Remus was just setting up for his first class of the day when the headmaster appeared at the doorway. He gave him a quick once over which Remus soon realized that he was checking to see if there were any marks or bleedings on him as he tended to scratch and bite himself when in his werewolf form if he did not take the Wolfsbane potion beforehand, and he knew the headmaster knew this.
"Good morning, headmaster…what kind I do for you this fine morning" he greeted cheerfully as he was determined not to let the headmaster ruin his good mood.
Looking confused as he couldn't understand how the teacher was looking normal, cheerful even, a day after a full moon, the headmaster answered, "Nothing, I was just checking in on you to see how you were doing…you know after last night"
"More like spying" Remus thought to himself as he watched the headmaster make a hasty retreat after he replied that he was fine. With a shake of his head, he continued to prepare for his class.
Later that evening during his tutoring session with Neville, he had just put the boy through his paces and was just congratulating him on a job well done when the boy spoke up.
"Um professor…can I ask you a personal question?"
Not quite fully hearing what the boy had said as he was packing away the equipment he had used to teach, the professor absentmindedly replied, "Sure, Neville".
"I know that Harry Potter lives with you and Sirius Black and you are both like parents to him…"
At this point, Lupin had dropped what he had been doing the minute he had heard Neville mention Harry's name and was listening intently to what the boy was saying.
"And as I'm sure you already know that professor Dumbledore is training me to be a replacement for Harry Potter at least until he can get to him which I have come to realise that you or Sirius Black won't let that happen…" Neville paused as he took a deep breathe, as if to find the courage to say what he wanted to say next. "It is too much pressure and I did not sign up for this…hell I don't want this. I understand now why you and Sirius Black are trying to keep Harry Potter away from all of this. It is too much pressure for a fifteen year old and I have tried telling my nan this but she doesn't understand and won't listen…she is so proud that I am not only a squib but that I have been personally chosen by Dumbledore himself to help fight You-Know-Who."
"Neville, why are you telling me this? What are you trying to say?"
"I guess what I am saying is that if you won't let Harry Potter come back to the Wizarding world…can you take me in? Can I come and live with you? I need…no, want to get away from it all. It is too much" Neville replied as he cast his eyes to the ground.
The professor was so taken aback by what the boy had just asked him that he was struck silent for almost a minute until he saw the downtrodden expression on the boy's face.
"Neville, I am so sorry that you are being put through this…in fact it is why when you asked me to help you, I was very willing to do so. I do not support or agree with what Dumbledore is doing but I can't take you in as much as I would love to…" as he spoke Neville opened his mouth as if to protest but was stopped by a raise of his hand. "I can't take you in because I am not your guardian and you are not of age to make that decision for yourself…if your nan agrees to it, I can talk to Sirius and Harry…although I doubt that they'd be against the idea. In fact Harry had already suggested it."
At this point, Neville was dumbfounded when he heard that Harry Potter, the same boy that he had come to resent had actually offered to take him in and protect him from Dumbledore and his manipulations. He felt remorseful for having thought the worst of the boy and also sad that the professor couldn't take him in, at least without permission from his nan which he knew she wouldn't agree to.
"Whenever you need help though, don't ever hesitate to come to me, Neville" the professor said, dragging Neville back to the present from his thoughts. "I promise I will try to help you to the best of my abilities and protect you from Dumbledore's manipulations as much as I can"
"Thank you professor" Neville replied with a smile. At least, now he knew that he had someone else looking out for him besides himself. With that he took his leave.
