The Headmaster did not waste any time. He had apparently been literally on his way out when he "decided" to take Harry with him. Within minutes they were out the door and quietly making their way from the school on foot. There was something slightly surreal about being out after hours, in the dark, with the Headmaster striding along beside him. There was something distinctly different about doing this – whatever this was – with the Headmaster and not with Ron or Hermione. Surprisingly, it wasn't that it felt less like skulking about, but rather that the skulking about was much more focused and deliberate. Like the difference between messing up in class bad enough to get in trouble versus intentionally trying to rebel.
For a moment, it almost reminded him of the feeling of standing next to Sasuke or one of the others when they focused all of their attention and chakra on achieving one finite goal. Like magic was almost humming along with them, primed for something that they couldn't see ahead of them.
Adrenaline, Harry reminded himself. It was called adrenaline. There was nothing magical about it. Simple science. The natural world. There wasn't anything magical about that, was there?
"I regret that we have not had much chance to talk since your return, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore announced once they were far enough away from the castle that it felt like they were the only two people still awake, even though it was still early in the evening.
It wasn't that much different from the kind of meaningless small talk that most people started out with when stuck with someone for a length of time. But Harry was used to the Headmaster, or at least as used to him as probably anyone was. "I hadn't really expected us to," Harry finally settled on replying, but being careful to keep his tone as calm and level and not yelling as possible. He wasn't exactly happy with the way things had been handled last year, and sometimes he was still angry about it. Sometimes he did blame the Headmaster. But normally it wasn't any more than he blamed anyone else – or himself. And he had resolved to be more level-head this year. To pay more attention to what was going on around him, and not just what was happening to him. To learn from his mistakes. To be better.
The Headmaster hummed thoughtfully. "Did you have a pleasant summer with your cousin?"
Harry snorted. In comparison to his previous summers with the Dursleys everything about this summer had been an improvement. "Yeah, it was good. Bit rough in patches, but good."
"We were all quite alarmed by the events at your Aunt's house. That should not have been possible." And that was maybe the first time Harry had ever heard the Headmaster truly sound confused by something.
It was kind of a nice reminder that the Order did put a lot of effort in trying to do their best for him. Poor Remus had seemed very distraught. "Oh!" Harry exclaimed, remembering that they hadn't really gone over all the details, had they? "Um, the man who attacked me, he's maybe sort of related to me too? Or rather, he's related to Sasuke, so you know…" Harry didn't really want to go into all of it. Not even with the Headmaster. It had been clear how much it had pained Sasuke to admit that Itachi was his brother. That it was someone that close to him that had done such horrible things. And while Sasuke clearly didn't care what anyone thought of him, it was also clear this was something he wished he could erase.
The Headmaster hummed again but thankfully didn't ask for a more detailed answer. "That might have affected the wards, but I would not have thought that they would have extended to your father's side. A puzzle for later, I suppose. No harm done."
Harry snorted but had to grin a little. No harm, at least not permanent. His Aunt probably had something else to say about her yard and house and car and general sanity. Harry couldn't go back there next summer, that much was clear. He didn't know what all the Headmaster had done to keep Harry in that house, but he doubted even the Headmaster could manage it after all of this. Thank god he wouldn't have to! Harry smiled, for once not already dreading the end of the year.
When they reached the gates, the Headmaster slowed.
"Are we not going to Hogsmeade?" Harry asked. He had assumed since that was the way they were walking that the Headmaster planned on a quick trip down to the village.
"Ah! I'm afraid our destination is a bit further out than that. I will have to Apparate us," he added slowly, watching Harry closely in the limited light they had used walking down.
Harry flushed a bit at having someone being so courteous about the visceral aversion Harry had had to Apparition after the Triwizarding tournament. "That's fine, sir. It doesn't bother me anymore," he muttered. It was mostly true. By comparison.
The Headmaster didn't press the point. He silently held out his arm and Harry took it.
Apparition was still gut-wrenching. It still felt like being turned inside out then sucked through a straw. But at least it didn't make him break out in a cold sweat anymore, or make his hands shake. It was easier to shake off the sense of discombobulation when he wasn't short of breath. Easier to focus on how fascinating it was to have been standing just moments before on a tree lined gravel driveway outside of a castle and to now be on the corner of a quiet, suburban street. Magic. It didn't matter if it was wonderful or terrible, it was always remarkable.
"Where are we, sir?" Harry asked, wanting to know just how far they had come. He hadn't been to many places before becoming a wizard and there was still something wonderful about suddenly finding himself in a different part of the world.
"Budleigh Babberton. The current home of an old friend. He taught at Hogwarts once before, long before your time. I had hoped to maybe lure him back, but circumstances were a bit different than predicted this year. Still, there's nothing wrong with a friendly visit, is there? Maybe a quick chat about old students."
Right. Because the Headmaster made it a habit to do things for no reason at all. Harry found himself grinning back. Alright then. He was along for this ride, might as well see where it was going.
Their first meeting with Mr. Slughorn both was and wasn't what Harry had expected. At least he had known the Headmaster was up to something before they had even set off. Normally he felt like he was walking into situations blind whenever the Headmaster came swooping in to pull him along. So it was nice to have a little warning this time. Still, he hadn't really expected the Headmaster of all people to try to take advantage of Harry's fame for something. He had never thought that the man would need to, but apparently, Mr. Slughorn was not susceptible to the Headmaster's reputation. But he was to Harry's.
Harry wouldn't say it was a comfortable evening, trading on his fame like that. Sometimes Slughorn sounded more like he was talking about a rare artifact than a person when he was talking about Harry. Harry had spent most of his school years trying to avoid drawing attention to himself. Usually he didn't have a choice whether or not he was going to be dragged into the limelight. There was something intrinsically different about when he did it on purpose. Clearly Dumbledore thought this was important, and watching Slughorn simper and avoid the Headmaster's questions just made Harry more curious. And curiosity would always be a far more efficient motivator for him than anything else.
Unfortunately, it was fairly evident that they had not gotten the information the Headmaster had wanted in their first meeting. What the Headmaster had secured, mostly for Harry but also for himself, was an invitation to come back around again for tea. Mr. Slughorn even offered to give Harry some pointers on his Potions work when the Headmaster brought the topic up. Which, Merlin knew, Harry would need every ounce of help he could get to survive sixth year with Snape. So it wouldn't be a complete waste. And maybe he'd figure out whatever it was the Headmaster so plainly, desperately, wanted from the man. Because it was clear to Harry that he needed something. Something he thought he could only get from Mr. Slughorn and something he thought Harry could manage.
It felt a bit underhand. A bit like a lie. Like one step further than anything they had done before. More manipulative. But it also felt, for once, like he was doing something useful. He didn't know how he felt about that. Didn't like how it was a mixture of elated and ashamed.
Of all of the times not to be able to talk to Sasuke about something! Harry had a feeling that his cousin would have all kinds of advice on how to get information out of someone who clearly didn't want to share. Whether that someone in this case was Slughorn or the Headmaster was up for some debate. Because even though the Headmaster had brought him along, and let him know they had a goal in mind, he still hadn't designed to share what the actual goal was.
In fact, the Headmaster made him pause before they Apparated back, putting a hand on his shoulder and peering down at him. "I must stress this, Mr. Potter. You must not speak of this to anyone. Not Mr. Weasley or Ms. Granger. And not to any of your new friends. I know you value your friends very highly, and they are a great benefit to you, but there are some matters that, for the protection of all involved, it is best not to share."
Harry hesitated. It was one thing to neglect to let Sasuke know he was going somewhere, it was another thing to intentionally hide something from him. Particularly something that looked like it was going to continue and go on for some time.
"Sasuke's going to eventually notice that I'm going somewhere if we come back again," Harry pointed out. Because while he respected the Headmaster's ability to arrange things to happen just the way he wanted them, Harry also had a very healthy respect for Sasuke's obsessive nature.
The Headmaster nodded but looked grim. "Yes, I'm afraid as much may be true. But this is Order business, Mr. Potter, and as happy as we are to have the assistance of the Konoha ninja, they are not a part of the Order. I need to know that you understand that and can be relied upon to do what is necessary."
Normally people just assumed Harry would be on board with whatever needed being done. Like it was a foregone conclusion that he would be right in the thick of everything. It was sort of nice to be asked? Or sort of asked. It was a bit late for the asking part, Harry supposed, but he was still being asked to keep the Headmaster's confidence. After a year of feeling constantly on the outside of everything that might destroy his life, the sudden change in role was hard to ignore.
"Alright," Harry finally agreed. "I won't tell him where we went, but I'm not going to lie to him either."
The Headmaster sighed. "This would be easier if you could perhaps use a bit of misdirection, but I suppose I will have to respect your decision. Thank you for your assistance tonight, Mr. Potter. I have great faith in you on this matter."
Which would be great if the Headmaster had explained a little bit more what exactly this matter was, but Harry let it go. He was more distracted trying to think of how he was going to keep this from Sasuke without blatantly lying to him. Neither of them ever enjoyed that very much, after all, the times before when Harry had tried fudging on the truth. And maybe it was a bit hypocritical of Harry to want to be in the know when it came to Order business and want to keep Sasuke as far away from all of this as possible. But the Headmaster was right. This was Order business. And as amazingly - and frighteningly - helpful as his cousin was, he still wasn't a wizard. Until they could figure out how to use magic, they'd be far too vulnerable. Harry would have to take care of this on his own.
