Chapter 36
Harry couldn't remember the last time he'd found himself in a more awkward position as right there and then, with his arms wrapped around a rigid Tom.
If you'd asked Harry why he did it, he wouldn't have been able to tell you. He was just so elated in that moment, and Tom was right there and important and his friend and it happened before Harry even realized what he was doing.
And now he stood hugging Tom Riddle, Lord Voldemort, his prophesized enemy, and also the man who singlehandedly made Harry question his sexuality to the point that he was now quite sure he had feelings for Tom that went beyond sexual attraction or even a simple crush.
Here was the thing, though. Growing up with the Dursleys, Harry never received positive physical contact. He wasn't used to it and didn't really understand how any of it worked. Even after starting Hogwarts in his first life, positive physical contact had been incredibly limited. A rare slap on the back from Ron or the twins, or a very brief hug from Hermione or Mrs Weasley and that was it.
And during his doomed relationship with Ginny she was the one who pretty much always initiated any physical contact and Harry had let her since he didn't have a clue how to go about doing any of those physical things.
And yet, here he was, arms wrapped tightly around a man who meant more to him now than anyone else had ever done. There was no contest, not with any of his former or current friends.
The feelings Harry had for Tom went deeper than any feelings for anyone else, ever.
They went soul-deep, because they were as close to being real soulmates as anyone could ever hope to be.
Tom's hair brushed against Harry's cheek in a soft caress and only now did Harry realize that Tom had a scent that was his own. Harry inhaled once, twice and he didn't think he'd ever smelled anything before that was simultaneously as exciting yet comforting as Tom's scent. Like walking through a forest after the rain, earthy yet fresh, but also masculine with a hint of spices that was probably some sort of cologne, but underneath all of that something musky that made Harry want to bury his nose in the nape of Tom's neck and inhale as deeply as he could, but he didn't because he wasn't fucking crazy even if his current position suggested otherwise.
And then, out of nowhere, an arm slipped around Harry's waist and pulled him just a fraction closer until Harry stood pressed against Tom's thigh while Tom hugged him back.
Oh.
This was even better, yet also even more awkward, because now Harry was silently panicking about how to end the hug.
He had no clue how long hugs were supposed to last. What if he ended it too soon? What if he dragged it on too long? Should he say something? No, Harry knew at once that whatever happened, he should keep his mouth shut, because words were not his friends in awkward situations.
How did anyone know how to do any of this? Not to sound like Hermione, but were there books available that discussed these things, because Harry was in desperate need of one.
Tom's firm body moved underneath him for a moment and Tom's face brushed against the side of Harry's and was Tom smelling him like Harry had done to him earlier? Was this supposed to happen? And what was Tom smelling right now? When had Harry last showered? Probably that morning, or was it the night before? Harry couldn't remember and at once he worried he stank of sweat or worse, potions, because they'd had potions that morning and what had they been brewing again that might make Harry stink?
Before Harry could descend into a full-blown panic attack, Tom pulled back from the hug and Harry was forced to let go, much to his immediate regret because hugging Tom had been nice, overall, if you ignored the awkwardness and almost anxiety attack.
Tom ducked his head and cleared his throat while Harry took a wobbly step backwards.
Perhaps now was the time to say something, Harry mused, yet all he could come up with to say was, "Let's never talk about this happening."
"Agreed," Tom said at once and finally looked up to meet Harry's eyes, though his expression was carefully neutral. "Tea?"
"Yes!" Harry released a shuddering breath and dashed back to his own chair, sitting down at once.
"Dobby!" Tom called and a second later Dobby appeared, looking between Tom and Harry with wide eyes before a cautious smile appeared on his face.
"The great Master Tom is calling Dobby?"
"Tea for two, please," Tom said and Dobby popped away without comment. Tom shifted in his seat, leaning both forearms on the edge of the table so he could look Harry straight in the eye. "I had expected at least some questions from you concerning Dobby being in my employ, but it seems you already knew about that. How curious, since I can't recall mentioning it to you before this evening."
"Er…" Harry licked his lips, wondering how on earth he was going to spin this story without getting Dobby in trouble for sneaking off to meet him.
"So it was Dobby," Tom said, leaning back in his chair with a sigh. "That elf did seem awfully smug after you contacted me and we made up after the whole Umbridge debacle."
"Please don't hurt him," Harry pleaded at once.
Tom seemed genuinely insulted by the idea of him hurting his house-elf. "I'll thank you to remember that I'm not the Malfoys, Harry."
"Yeah, I know. Sorry," Harry said quickly, unsure why he'd even thought Tom might hurt his house-elves. From what he'd seen of Tom with his soul intact, he wasn't the type to do such a thing. "And yeah, Dobby came to see me since you hadn't forbidden him to do so. It was something he said that made me realize why I was so upset with you, so he did good."
"Hm." Tom looked like he wanted to say more, but at that moment Dobby returned with a huge tray holding a complete tea service.
"Let me get this." Tom pulled Snape's memory out of the pensieve and back into the vial and then levitated the pensieve towards a wooden crate that stood on the floor to the right. Dobby got the tea service situated between them and then stood waiting patiently to see if his master had another command for him.
Tom looked between Dobby and Harry with a promising smile. "Well, since Harry is aware of you, Dobby, we might as well break the news to him that you're to become his elf for Yule. Or we can switch you over right now, since it seems silly to wait a few more weeks if everyone is in the know anyway."
But instead of looking happy, as Harry had expected he would at the news of becoming Harry Potter's house-elf, Dobby pursed his lips while his eyes widened and his eyebrows curved in a way that made him look like a sad little Disney puppy.
"You don't want to be my elf?" Harry asked, genuinely surprised. In their previous life, Dobby had been a huge admirer of Harry before they even met and had ultimately given his life to save Harry's.
Dobby fidgeted with his pillowcase while scuffing a foot across the wooden floor as he ducked his head. "Oh, Dobby would be more than honoured to become Harry Potter's elf. But Dobby loves working for the great Master Tom, especially because he gets to work with Plucky, who Dobby likes very much."
For a moment, Harry wasn't sure what Dobby was saying, but then he got it. "Ah! You like Plucky, and you want to continue working with her. Yeah, I get it, Dobby, and you should stay with Tom if that is what you want."
Tom sighed and shook his head in a rather resigned fashion.
"I have Kreacher already," Harry said, just to make sure Tom understood Harry's reasoning for turning down his very thoughtful and generous gift. "He's as good as my house-elf anyway, since he hates Sirius. And you got Dobby away from the Malfoys, that is what's most important."
"Yes, fine. Dobby, you can return home." Without further comment and looking only slightly put out, Tom went about serving them both tea while Harry helped himself to a chocolate biscuit. "Winky prefers the more domestic tasks, and Plucky is very talented with the garden and renovating the house, and I suppose I can continue using Dobby for more adventurous work."
"Like spying on Dumbledore," Harry said with a grin, reaching for another biscuit. They were delicious and he couldn't help himself.
"It was Dobby who suggested that in the first place," Tom said while he sipped his cup of tea. "I was complaining about not knowing Dumbledore's next move to Barty at the breakfast table and before I knew it that elf had a whole plan worked out on how to find out."
"Yeah, Dobby has always been fond of sneaking around while skirting the rules," Harry said while he also picked up his cup of tea. "Are you going to continue spiking Dumbledore's tea? Because if he keeps acting so irrationally, it might be too obvious."
"You have a good point," Tom said with a slow nod. He, too, treated himself to a chocolate biscuit. Harry loved that for some reason, that Tom liked to indulge in sweet treats, though he had no clue why he would find such a silly thing endearing. "I suppose we'll let Dumbledore finish the spiked batch he's using now and let him go back to his own tea for a while. We can always have Dobby replace another batch in the future if we need him to act irrationally again."
"Yeah, that seems like the smartest thing, because I noticed at once he was acting differently," Harry said with an agreeable nod while he sipped more tea. "I have never even heard of that orchid before. We never learned about it in herbology or potions, I don't think."
"You wouldn't have, since it's mostly a muggle plant. The effects are mild enough that most wizards don't bother with it, since there are far stronger and better compulsion charms or potions available," Tom explained with a sly smile and eyes that shone with cleverness. "Muggles in certain parts of Asia use it as a cheap and mild party drug."
"Huh." Harry got a knowing look on his face. "Let me guess, in a batch of herbal tea it won't even show up when scanned for harmful ingredients."
"Exactly," Tom agreed with a chuckle. "I hadn't heard of it either, but Nagini mentioned it when I discussed possible plans with her to draw Dumbledore out while Dobby was spying on him."
Harry blinked. "Your snake knew of a muggle orchid that's a mild party drug?"
Putting his teacup down, Tom stared at Harry for a few seconds before laughing. "You don't know about Nagini. I'd have thought Dumbledore would have told you, since he certainly knew."
"I know you had a big, honking mean snake as a pet in our first lives, but I'm beginning to think I'm missing something here," Harry said, his voice tight in obvious frustration. He gave Tom a pleading look.
"Nagini is a Maledictus," Tom said as though that word made any sense whatsoever. Clearly Harry's confusion was written all over his face because Tom was kind enough to explain. "A Maledictus is a witch born with a blood curse that is passed down from mother to daughter. They have the ability to transform into an animal though at some point in their life they will became stuck as that animal, unable to transform back into human form."
"Nagini is a human?" Harry asked, sitting up in alarm as he felt the blood drain from his face. "Neville cut off her head with Gryffindor's sword, for fuck's sake, thinking it was just your pet snake. And fuck Dumbledore! Fuck him so very much right now. He never, ever mentioned what Nagini really was, just that she was a horcrux that needed to be destroyed." Harry sighed and ran a hand down his face while he sat back in his chair, suddenly tired.
"And it was Dumbledore that accidentally introduced us," Tom said just to make matters worse. That old bastard had so much to answer for. "He mentioned to Nagini one of his students was a parselmouth, and Nagini tracked me down when she was still human, after I finished Hogwarts. Dumbledore tried to keep Nagini from joining me, offering to keep her at Hogwarts even as a snake, but Nagini preferred to stay with someone who could at least communicate with her. Not that long after we met, less than a year, she became stuck in her snake form."
"I never, ever in a million years would have guessed any of that," Harry said, deeply astonished about everything he'd just learned. "Where is she now? I mean, where has she been all this time?"
"My safe house. She can enter and leave it at will, and it has a lot of land, with a river and woodlands, so there's plenty of prey for her to hunt there. She doesn't need to eat that much anyway, so she had no problem surviving on her own for years." Tom refilled first his own cup with tea, and then Harry's. "That's where I'd left her when I went to kill the Potters. Before that time she was always with me, accompanying me on my travels if I went abroad or staying with me in my safe house."
Something bitter and angry came to life in Harry's chest and he recognized that overwhelming feeling from the time he'd been infatuated with Ginny. God, he was feeling jealous of Nagini. Harry cleared his throat, suddenly worried perhaps Tom had once had an intimate relationship with her, maybe before she got stuck as a snake?. But Tom liked men, he'd said so. But had he always liked men, or had he slept with Nagini and then realized he preferred something else?
"Harry," Tom said, voice suddenly filled with concern. "You look about ready to throw some curses. Talk to me, my dear."
"It's nothing," Harry muttered and inhaled a deep breath to calm his suddenly racing heart. Sometimes he really hated emotions and he perfectly understood why once upon a time Tom had thought it an excellent idea to do away with them entirely. "She was still a woman when you met?"
"She was only ever my friend," Tom said with a rather knowing glint in his eyes as he took in Harry's obviously relieved response to that statement. Harry sighed deeply while his shoulders lost their tightness at once. "She was born in Indonesia where she was found by someone running a magical circus. She performed in it for many years, and that is where she chose the name Nagini for herself, because it suited her better. Eventually she got involved briefly in the struggle against Grindelwald, which is how she met Dumbledore and some time later, me. "
"Dumbledore always claimed you never had friends," Harry felt compelled to point out, since it was obvious the old man had no clue what he was talking about when it came to Tom Riddle.
"Utter nonsense. As Tom Riddle, I had plenty of friends, and even as Voldemort I still had Nagini, who was very dear to me even as my mind slipped further and further into insanity." Tom offered Harry a rather hopeful look. "She'd like to meet you. I've told her everything that's happened to us, and she's eager to get to know you." Tom seemed suddenly embarrassed as he briefly looked down, fingers busying themselves with rotating the teacup in his hands a few time. "She's the closest thing I have to family so I'd like it if I could introduce you."
"Oh." Harry felt a fire ignite in his belly and he worried his entire face might erupt into flames at any time. Tom wanted Harry to meet his family. "Yes, I'd love to. And I can talk to her, so that would be cool." Harry frowned for a moment as he realized something. "It's just, you never really mentioned her before now and we've been talking for months."
"I am aware," Tom said with a sigh while staring up at the ceiling. "I've only recently returned to my safehouse and met up with her again. Before that…I wasn't sure…"
"Oh, you were embarrassed," Harry guessed, understanding that much from talking with Tom as much as they did. Tom genuinely felt embarrassment and regret about all the things he'd done as Voldemort, and having to face someone he considered family would be a huge step to take to explain to them why you'd accidentally turned yourself insane and almost destroyed the world.
"It was indeed rather embarrassing," Tom conceded, still not meeting Harry's eyes. "Nagini believes herself to occupy the role of an older sister of sorts and she's always cautioned me to stop creating as many horcruxes and yes, she took great pleasure in rubbing my own stupid mistakes in my face once I finally went to see her."
Harry grinned and couldn't hold back a bout of laughter. "I'd love to meet her, really."
"I'll take you to my safehouse during the holidays." Tom finally looked at Harry again, but his gaze quickly turned serious, his brows drawn down and eyes narrowed. "Nagini did remind me of something we have yet to really discuss between us."
"What?"
"The prophecy."
At once Harry's good mood diminished significantly and he sagged in his chair. "Oh. That thing."
"Yes, I'd rather forget about the damned thing, too, but Nagini pointed out that Dumbledore might very well try to use it against us in some way, so it might benefit us to at least discuss it."
"You don't know the prophecy," Harry said in realization, suddenly remembering that Voldemort had never gotten his hands on the complete thing.
"No, I don't, so if you're willing to share, I'm very happy to listen," Tom said while quirking a single eyebrow.
"Yeah, sure." But instead of just rattling off the prophecy, Harry actually had to think for a moment. In his first life, after the battle of Hogwarts, Harry had all but deleted any detail of the prophecy from his mind, unwilling to give the bloody thing anymore thought ever again. Now, though, Tom had a point. They might no longer care about the prophecy, but Dumbledore certainly still did and it would be foolish to not at least go over it together to ward off anything Dumbledore might one day try to throw at them.
"Okay, I remember now. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh months dies. And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not. And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh months dies." Harry slowly folded his hands on the table in front of him and waited for Tom to react.
Tom, in the meantime, sat still as a statue while he gazed at something over Harry's shoulder, clearly going over every sentence in his head to figure out what it all meant. At least, Harry hoped he was occupied with that and he wasn't suddenly planning Harry's downfall after all because of that stupid fucking prophecy.
Nah, Harry knew Tom wasn't that kind of person anymore. Harry doubted Tom would have returned the hug or told Harry Tom wanted for him to meet the person he considered a sister if he still planned to do Harry in at some point. Still, thinking about the prophecy brought back a lot of negative memories and emotions from the time they were still mortal enemies, and Harry would just as soon forget that whole era.
"It's been fulfilled," Tom finally said, much to Harry's relief. Tom offered him a small smile, also appearing reassured that fate wouldn't try to force them into enemy roles just because of something silly Trelawney had once said. "It says you vanquish the Dark Lord, and you have, in both lives. Our first one you destroyed my horcruxes and reflected the killing curse back to me, and in our second life you ensured that my soul was in one piece upon our return, thus bringing back Tom Riddle and doing away with Voldemort entirely."
Harry gave Tom his biggest grin. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear that. I've always resented Trelawney for spouting that thing, during a job interview at the Hog's Head of all places."
With a disbelieving snort, Tom actually buried his face in both hands, causing Harry to burst out in laughter. "Please tell me you're joking," Tom muttered, barely audible.
"Nope. The woman who determined our lives in ways that are still hard to believe is a slosh who made that prophecy during a job interview in a sleazy pub. And, incidentally, I'm quite sure she doesn't know a thing about real divination even if it bit her in the arse."
"It could even be fake," Tom said with a pensive look in his eyes. "Prophecies are registered at the Department of Mysteries, but a wizard like Dumbledore could probably find a way around that if he truly wanted."
"No." Harry shook his head over and over. "Don't even go there, Tom. I don't want to hear it. Real or fake, the bloody thing is done for. And Dumbledore can try to force it to happen all he wants, it's us who have to act upon it, and we won't, so case closed."
"All right," Tom said, head tilted as he gave Harry an undeniably fond look. "Case closed. No more silly prophecies. Let's talk about something else. That club of yours, you had a meeting tonight?"
"Yes!" Harry sat up in his chair at once and snatched up another chocolate biscuit just because he could. "It went splendidly. I talked about the old Yule rituals, to protect against the Wild Hunt and no one freaked out or complained. They just asked questions."
"That's wonderful. And they're still kids. They're happy to hear all sorts of stories at this point in their lives without having to consider the politics," Tom said easily while he also helped himself to another biscuit. "Though I still can't understand how you can spend all your time with them without slowly going bonkers."
Harry snickered while he thought about that. "Sometimes they say things or do things that baffle me, sure, because they're kids. But overall I do enjoy spending time with them."
"For now." Tom gave Harry a pointed look. "Because you're going to keep maturing, and eventually you'll be mentally twenty or twenty-one, while they will be thirteen or fourteen."
"I know."
"I understand why you want to do your Hogwarts years over, my dear, I truly do, but on the other hand I worry that you're merely wasting your time there." Tom waited for Harry to give a reaction, but Harry wasn't sure what he could say to that, so Tom continued. "You can also take your OWLs and NEWTs early at the International Confederation of Wizards in Rome. That's a little loophole I discovered. In the UK you need to be fifteen for your OWLs and seventeen to sit your NEWTs. But at the ICW there is no age limit, and the Ministry of Magic has to accept their results, even if the wizard taking them is underage."
"You've been planning my whole life," Harry said in a slightly accusatory tone.
"Only a little," Tom replied with a crooked grin that did things to his face that made Harry want to take a picture and keep it in his nightstand. "I signed myself up for the OWLs and NEWTs at the ICW so I read their rules and that's when I discovered that convenient little loophole."
Harry wasn't sure if he felt relieved or disappointed at hearing that. "Ah. When are you taking the tests?"
"Next week, I'll be in Rome for ten days or so, right before you start your holidays."
"So you'd better get studying," Harry said with a cackle.
Tom looked entirely unimpressed with Harry's suggestion. "I got straight O's across the board once, I'm sure I can do it again. But think about what I said, darling. Should you get tired of playing with little children all day, there is a legitimate way out for you that doesn't involve running away and hiding or some such nonsense. You could simply take the official exams at the ICW and even Dumbledore couldn't force you back to school once you've passed those."
"All right," Harry sighed, realizing that Tom did make some good points. Right at that moment, Harry was enjoying his time at Hogwarts immensely. It really did feel like a do-over for him, a chance to be the kid he never got to be during his first life. But Hogwarts had 6,5 more years of classes waiting for him, and it could very well be that before that time Harry would honestly grow tired of it to the point he might want to take his OWLs and NEWTs early. "Thanks for the tip. I might very well make use of that loophole in a few years."
"You're welcome." Tom glanced at his watch. "And it's past midnight. Perhaps we should call it a night."
"What? Merlin, yeah, I didn't even let my friends know I would be off for a few hours, just that I was visiting the loo. They're going to be wondering." Harry pushed his chair back and got up, stretching his arms over his head. "Thanks for this, though. Seeing Dumbledore lose his job was hilarious."
"It was my pleasure, my dear. Now off to bed with you. The holidays are only a few more weeks away and then we'll exchange some more memories."
"Yes, I'll hold you to that." And with a small wave, and some mild feelings of regret at having to leave, Harry lowered himself down the trapdoor and hurried back to the castle. It had stopped raining, thankfully, so Harry was still dry once he reached the dungeons.
"Where were you?" Theo whispered, his head sticking out between his bedcurtains as Harry entered the dormitory. "We've been worried when you never returned."
"Sorry," Harry whispered back. All the other beds had their curtains drawn, too and everyone seemed asleep already. "Something came up and Tom wanted to share some news. Dumbledore got sacked as the Chief Warlock this afternoon."
"Seriously?" Theo grinned at hearing that. "I'm sure we'll see it in the paper tomorrow."
"Yeah. Night, Theo," Harry said as he gathered his pyjamas and disappeared into the bathroom.
Something extraordinary happened. Or rather, for the next three weeks nothing out of the ordinary happened, which was rather extraordinary, seeing as how tumultuous the weeks since Tom's resurrection had been. The whole month of November had seemed to consist of one surprise after another. But thankfully December was utterly without them so far.
Harry felt like he could finally breathe again in some ways, like a weight had fallen off his shoulders that he hadn't even realized was on there in the first place. Everything was running smoothly and no more surprises awaited him, at least for a while.
He talked to Tom on their mirrors, like they always did, and even when Tom spent time in Rome to get his official exams done as Thomas Gaunt, he still made time to chat with Harry at least for fifteen minutes or so every evening. Harry also sent a few letters to Sirius, who always wrote back with complaints about the hospital food and stories about James and Lily. After a week, Harry got a very happy letter in which Sirius told him he'd been released from the hospital and was now staying at Black Manor in Cumbria, where Lupin was helping him cleaning the place up a bit, which Harry translated as getting rid of dark artifacts and books. Harry wanted desperately to have Sirius give those to him, but he couldn't think of a way to make that request as an eleven-year-old child. So eventually he asked Kreacher to be on the lookout for any books Sirius threw away, in the Black Manor or Grimmauld Place, and to save those he could and place them in Harry's Gringotts vault. Kreacher was happy to comply.
The news of Dumbledore's dismissal from the Wizengamot did appear in the paper, but at that point the students had already had so many shocks that week concerning the news, that it hardly even registered. Dumbledore pretended nothing was amiss, though he did miss more meals than usual, probably to search for evidence as to Tom's real identity, but nothing came of that yet.
Harry hosted two more Culture Club meetings, which remained popular and successful and every student attending seemed to get something out of it, besides socializing with their peers on a Friday evening.
Neville facilitated a few brief moments of correspondence between Harry and Augusta Longbottom, to finalize the gifting of the Hogwarts book of rules and regulations to all the students the morning of their departure for the Christmas holidays. Augusta provided a signed letter on behalf of the Board of Governors, explaining to the students that while for decades the book had been lost, thankfully an anonymous benefactor had found a copy and provided it to the Board of Governors so it could now be distributed amongst the students again, as it should have been in the first place. Kreacher had at that point already made more than enough copies of the book for all students and he was ready to distribute books and letters to every single student at Hogwarts when the time was right.
Of course, Harry's peaceful break couldn't last.
Two days before the start of the holidays, Snape called Harry into his office.
"You wanted to see me, Professor?" Harry asked politely as he stood in front of Snape's desk.
"The headmaster inquired as to your plans for the upcoming holidays. I informed him you hadn't added your name to the list of students who wish to remain at Hogwarts. Is that correct?" Snape asked while giving Harry his customary glare filled with distaste, as though speaking to Harry was on par with receiving suboptimal ingredients for brewing a lifesaving potion.
"Yes, Sir," Harry said with a puzzled expression. "I'm going to spend time with my family."
Snape narrowed his eyes. "The headmaster has decreed that you shall remain at Hogwarts, Potter."
"The headmaster can go fuck himself," Harry said before he could bite it back.
"Potter, you will keep a civil tongue in your head or I will have you in detention until June, is that understood?" Snape snarled while leaning forward in his chair to better glare at Harry.
"Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir," Harry said quickly, in slight disbelief Snape hadn't taken points or given him detention for that outburst . "What I meant to say was, the headmaster doesn't have the authority to keep me at Hogwarts. It's not a prison, but a school. And the headmaster is not my legal guardian, but my aunt is, and she wants me to spend my holidays away from school."
"See?" Snape sneered. "That wasn't so difficult. Now go write that down in an official letter to the headmaster, send a copy to the Board of Governors, the Ministry of Magic and the Daily Prophet for all I care, and leave me out of your little spats with Dumbledore from now on."
"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir." Harry really wanted to point out that Snape was Harry's Head of House and it was his fucking job to get involved with these things on Harry's behalf, but Harry wasn't suicidal and Snape looked like he could really use a vacation at that point, so Harry quickly left.
Now he had to go and fight with Dumbledore so he could have a vacation of his own. And Harry knew one thing…there was nothing Dumbledore could say or do that would make Harry stay at Hogwarts over Christmas, even if he had to sneak out of the castle to get away.
Dumbledore really could go fuck himself.
