By csabi1brutus
Disclaimer: all rights belong to J.K. Rowling which means I own nothing from the Harry Potter series, only the characters I personally made!
Chapter 1: Disturbing newsLittle Whinging. Privet Drive 4. A house like so much other, and yet so unique. A black-haired boy with thoughtful emerald gaze is looking out of the window. On his forehead a scar in the shape of a lightning. His brain is full of memories so dark your worst nightmares are comedies compared to it. Death and sorrow, torture and war.
A hero they say, the boy-who-lived they call him. A 16-year-old child whose name is in history books. Or even if it's not everybody knows it in the wizarding world. Harry Potter, the one who killed the dark lord Voldemort. One of the darkest and most fearsome wizards of all time. A man whose kill count is legendary.
But they were all wrong, Harry Potter did not kill Voldemort or You-Know-Who as the common people speak about him since they even fear to name him on his name.
That little baby from Godric's Hollow only stopped him for a while, only paused the horror that the dark lord had made. It took him though 14 years to return. 14 so happy years for the wizards and witches of Great Britain they almost forgot the destruction and terror Voldemort made.
For everybody's surprise he returned though. Nobody knew however, only Potter saw his rebirth in a dark graveyard in Little Hangleton. This news would spread as fast as the wind during thunder you would think. But it did not happen that way.
The Ministry of Magic tried to spread that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, a group led by the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, were only lying to cause panic and steal Fudge, the Minister's place. They knew the truth however. Then why did they lie about such a thing?
They were able to fool the society of magic for a while, since they did not want to believe either that the horror of the first war could restart. After a year though the Dark Lord returned officially when he attacked the Ministry of Magic for a prophecy about Harry and himself.
Through their strange connection he got the boy to go into the Department of Mysteries with some of his fellow students. They tried to fight the Death Eaters which went quite well for a while, but they could not take the fight for long.
Voldemort of course tried to kill the Harry. After his rebirth, his main goal was to kill Potter, since he was the only one who could stop him once which should be impossible if you are the greatest wizard of all. He did not succeed although, as Dumbledore and the Order came to rescue the students. In the moment they arrived the war officially restarted.
The first battle began.
The members of the Order arrived just in time. The students were pushed back by the Death Eaters into a room with a magical stone structure in the middle.
Their hope was almost gone when Harry's only left relative, well the only one who cared for him, Sirius Black and the Order of the Phoenix arrived, and the fight begun.
Short story, during the fight Sirius was pushed next to the stone thing in the middle, which looked kind of like a gate, but in its centre were something like a veil instead of a door.
A curse from Bellatrix Lestrange hit Sirius and pushed into the veil which as it turned out was a straight path to death.
They won the battle, but for Harry it felt more like defeat.
Needless to say, Harry Potter's summer did not go very well, he had to somehow move on, because outside of the doors there was a war to fight, which only he could end according to the prophecy.
The fact that his uncle and aunt who he had to live with until his 17th birthday hated him, and sometimes even wished he did not exist did not help much. Besides this Harry had a very bad habit about feeling guilty for things he had nothing to do with. And of course, his godfather's death became one of those instantly.
His friends tried to convince him about the opposite of course but it felt for him sometimes that they pushed him too hard not to feel sorrow. It felt bad that they instantly wrote him in their letters not to think or feel any guilt, not that it was a lie. It felt for him like they did not think that he was capable to move on. He knew they meant well and that he shouldn't have felt any of this, but he couldn't help it.
Nonetheless, good things happened too as he realised that the number of his friends grew during his fifth year at Hogwarts. In the previous summer brakes, he only got letters from Ron and Hermione but that year Neville, Luna and other DA members wrote him too. Okay those were mainly about how sorry they were considering Sirius' death bot it felt good whatsoever.
However, the biggest surprise was a letter from Ginny Weasley, because even though they had known each other for years, she sent her first letter to Harry only that summer.
Harry hadn't sent her any letter either before, so when he got the letter he thought that it was his fault that they did not keep in touch during summers. In his reply he apologized, that led to several conversations. And Harry soon realised that the thing he needed right then to help him moving on was Ginny, I mean nothing serious, Ginny only as a friend. It seemed that she was able to occupy him enough to keep away from deep depression as they chatted about nonchalant things in their letters. Considering anything but the loss of Sirius.
Afterwards, Hermione warned him that distracting his thoughts wouldn't turn out good. Eventually, he would face these problems. That made him think, was he just running away? Was he hiding from his grief about Sirius?
No matter how much he tried to admit Hermione's right, he had to realise that he did face those problems. The distraction made mourning slower but easier.
He replied to Hermione to reassure her that he was all right. This started a whole conversation between the two about how Harry was just trying to hide from her help which ended in a short letter to her:
Dear Hermione,
I tried to be clear, but it seems you just cannot get it.
I am really seriously and very fine. I will not write more. If you can not accept this, then please just do not bother me. Because it is fine when a friend tries to help but when there is no need I don't think it is any help at all.
All in all, I'll be not mad at you if you drop this topic.
Harry
This finally broke through the fog that surrounded the bushy haired girl's mind, and after a long and emotional apology everything was all right again.
Since then if Harry had to be honest with himself, he had felt truly happy for the first time after those torturous and sorrowful months.
Back in the window Harry was waiting, for awhile. He couldn't have told how much time had passed. He fell asleep at eleven o'clock on the chair next to the window through which he had been staring out. His room was quite a mess, there was a half-packed trunk, robes, muggle clothes and books for school on the bed. A cauldron laid in the middle of the small room as well as some measuring equipment for potion class.
Next to the window stood a desk and a chair, but the latter one had a more important role that night. There was a mixture of letters on the top of the desk and newspapers filled all the place on the small wooden table. In fact, a few fell off with the old table lamp that's small light was enough to see the content of those papers.
There was an article cut out from one of the so many copies of the Morning Prophet. It was a description about the infery (dead people led by the magic of dark wizards), and a list about how can we test if somebody is under effect of the polyjuice potion. In Harry's opinion neither was good for nothing, since the first one did not give any useful information and the second one just told you should ask some questions about the favourite jam of the person you meet, or something like that. Not that a Death Eater couldn't take the answers with legilimency from the person he wants to act.
Next to it laid a piece of paper with beautifully handwritten letters on it.
Dear Harry,
I cannot accept your apology for not writing me in the past because I am guilty just as much in this.
I am happy to see that your mood is improving, and your summer is going well, and hearing that I am the cause of this makes my day. I am happy to help and write to you as long as you feel the same.
Of course, we can be friends, and again you have nothing to be sorry for, in fact I would say I am the guilty of this since as I am sure you remember, in my first three years at Hogwarts I was barely able to speak to you.
As for Hermione, well she always was…
And the less were covered in the darkness of the august night. This letter was one that Harry got from Ginny right at the beginning of the summer break, as reply for his letter of apology, but for some unknown, even for him, reason he read this again and again.
The last was a more formal although much shorter one with a broken seal of Hogwarts on it. The slender letters on the paper said,
Dear Harry,
I would like to meet you on the day after your birthday at 1:30 in the morning. I have a task for you, so are there some things to discuss both with you and your aunt and uncle. Make sure that they know.
Furthermore, I would like to ask you to pack everything you need for school, because after our little task is done, I will take you to the Burrow.
Please answer whether you are okay with this.
Warm regards,
Albus Dumbledore
Another letter Harry kept rereading times to times as if not believing the truth behind the words. That was also why he could not finish packing his school tuck. It felt unreal for him that Dumbledore finally took him on a mission. Or a task. For him it didn't really matter, if it was just cleaning out the office of the Headmaster or killing Voldemort. The boredom was killing him, since there wasn't so much to do other than sitting and counting the days left of the summer.
The sound of the doorbell spread through the sleeping house. Harry was up in an instant and started his way to the stairs. He didn't even reach the door when tired groans started to fill the corridor. As he heard uncle Vernon curse, realisation hit him. He forgot to inform his relatives about professor Dumbledore's late night visit.
'I'm in very big trouble' he thought as a hand ran through his hair. The doors opened to the corridor and he could hear aunt Petunia mumbling his name. It seemed that the only opportunity left was to open the front door before anybody could really wake. On the other hand he still had to finish his packing.
He decided fast, not that there was anything to really make decision about, he hurried downstairs with angry shouts like 'Where are you going boy?' coming from behind. The packing could wait.
The Dursleys came soon in his footsteps, their curiosity giving them power. They arrived in the living room exactly as Harry turned the key in the lock of the front door.
The Dursleys gasped at the old man who was standing outside their house. He wasn't in clothes like anybody they knew. He wore long shining green robes. It took them a few seconds to realise that the tall, white bearded man was a wizard. When they found this out it didn't took that long for uncle Vernon to move. As he arrived to the door before Harry could have said anything he looked into Dumbledore's bright blue eyes and almost shouted, didn't even try to cover his annoyance:
"Two questions. Who the hell are you and what are you doing here in the middle of the night?" probably he believed that his tone would scare the older wizard, but the professor just smiled and answered with perfect calmness.
"I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, which I suppose you know what is. For your second question, I am sorry to come at this unholy part of the day, but these times travelling is maybe the safest during the night. And I had lot of things to do anyway. As for what am I doing here, I wanted to speak with you and Harry. Also I would take Harry with me after our conversation if that's good with you."
The last thing said seemed to calm the stout man, since the best time of the year was when he could get rid of his nephew. The speaking though, was an entire other situation. He didn't want to waste even a second of his life to freaks like this Dumbledore or whoever.
Vernon just wanted to send the man into hell as Harry would go eventually anyway, when the headmaster stepped in and calmly said:
"I take this silence as an invitation into your house which I have to say I really appreciate. These times the less we are outside the safer you know." On this the whole Dursley family wanted to protest, but they didn't have the time as Dumbledore made his way into the living room after he took his shoes down with a lift of his wand.
When he realised that only Harry followed him and the Dursleys were just standing at the edge of the room, he shook his head and turned to his student.
"You didn't tell them about me coming here." Though it wasn't a question but a statement Harry felt the urge to answer.
"No I forgot in my excitement, and I am very sorry." He apologized with his head bowed.
"Eh, what's done is done" shrugged the professor. Then he took out his wand and turned to the family. "Will you come and sit or…" since they still didn't move, after a short movement of the wand the coach came behind the three muggles and made them sit down. After that it just floated back next to the small table in the middle of the room.
That was it. With his head red as a tomato, uncle Vernon started shouting at the old man up against him.
"That's enough. You invade my home in the middle of the night, then act like you were the head of this household." He always had been sensitive about his role in the family, or anywhere in the world anyway. He wanted to continue but Dumbledore, clearly tired but isn't looking annoyed at all, cut in.
"I said I am sorry, but there are some things to sort out. Now if you didn't mind, I would start." He didn't wait for answer. "First thing first. Harry" he turned to the thin 16-year-old "I was in Gringotts and I have been informed that they found the testament of Sirius." at the name of his lost godfather Harry made a little flinch but nodded as if saying to go ahead. "He of course devised all of his possessions to you." Hearing this Harry's eyes widened, even though he thought it would be coming. "That means all the money of the Black vault in Gringotts, which is…" he quickly summoned a roll of parchment and continued "which is 50210 galleon and twelve sickles. Furthermore and that is the main reason I have to talk to you, you get the house on Grimmauld place." this time Harry wasn't the only one whose eyes widened.
Uncle Vernon cut in immediately.
"Does it mean that the boy has a house on his name?" he asked
"Yes, exactly." Dumbledore answered calmly and tried to go on, but the other man didn't stop.
"And what do we get out of this? After all we are his guardians by the law, and he isn't of age." The headmaster sighed, but soon came with an answer.
"That's right, but Harry's godfather clearly wrote that all his possessions are Harry's and only his. If you want to argue with that, you will have to fight a few goblins, which I wouldn't do if I were you." as he finished, he looked deeply into the muggle father's eyes as if to stop him from any further argument. This or the thought of angry goblins had done the necessary effect so Dumbledore turned back to Harry who took it as a sign to speak.
"If you would like to ask whether I would allow the Order to use it as a headquarter." He waited a moment and when the professor nodded he said "Use it for whatever you want. I don't really care, he hated that house and nor I see any reason why I should like it." He finished with a groan.
"You don't have to like it Harry" Dumbledore tried to calm him "and thank you for your generosity."
"Is this all? Because I would like to go to sleep." It was Petunia this time who cut the conversation with an annoyed snap. The other Dursleys nodded in agreement.
"A few more minutes dear Petunia, I just have to finish this with Harry then a few words with you and we are gone." that earned a frustrated sigh but seemed to reassure the muggle part of the family that they can live in peace. Sooner then later. "So, Harry, the last thing about this heritage of yours, we must discuss. Kreacher." Harry's stomach flipped at the name of the old house elf, who was partly guilty in Sirius' death.
"What do I have to do with him?" he snapped angrily, but as soon as he realised it he looked apologetically, for which Dumbledore smiled.
"Oh nothing, I just wanted to mention that you inherited him too as he was Sirius'. But we should make a test before we say it for sure."
"Why?" he asked curiously.
"Because though Sirius designated you as his only heir, you are not the part of the Black family. And if Kreacher had the chance to serve the closest relative to Sirius, Bellatrix Lestrange, he surely took the chance." as he mentioned that name Harry exploded.
"What!" he yelled "How would she get anything from Sirius?! After what… after what she has done. And the information that Kreacher knows about the Order?" he didn't even realise that he stood up during his eruption.
Dumbledore remained cool, however. He nodded and said:
"Yes Harry, that's exactly what we fear. If Bellatrix knows what Kreacher knows we are in a very big trouble." At this point the three other people in the room felt totally lost. They remained in silence and looked from one to the other.
"And how can we know that Kreacher is mine?"
"Easily, you just call for him. If he belongs to you, he has to come in the minute you summon him." Harry raised an eyebrow but did what the headmaster asked anyway.
"Kreacher, I need you." as soon as it was said, the sound of a pop could be heard in the room and a little elf stood in the middle of the smoking table. All the Dursleys shrieked, aunt Petunia even screamed but they didn't do anything more. They were afraid to even move.
"The mudblood's friend who dear Kreacher has to serve, wanted Kreacher, so Kreacher came. But Kreacher didn't want to, he wants to serve the mighty lady Bellatrix." at this he almost cried. Harry's reaction wasn't much different, only he groaned.
"Never say again that word about anybody Kreacher!" he commanded angrily. "And I don't want to hear another word about any death eater unless I ask you." the old house elf looked heartbroken but bowed. And only groaned.
Dumbledore spoke up next.
"We should make sure that he won't give away any information about the Order so Harry, you should command him, then he can leave." the black-haired boy just nodded.
"Kreacher I forbid you to say, write, show or give any information in any form about the Order of the Phoenix to anybody who is or has any connection with a Death Eater or Voldemort." Kreacher just groaned, but this time a little louder.
"Master Potter thought about any way possible, so Kreacher has to keep his mouth. Oh, if only Kreacher's mighty mistress saw what Kreacher had to become." and he was back to his normal form, that Harry couldn't tolerate any more.
"Kreacher you can leave." as soon as the words scrolled down from his lips, the house elf was nowhere to be found.
Silence fell on the room for a moment, as the Dursleys were still trying to process the latest event. The little, wrinkled shape in that dirty towel had a very deep effect on them. They have never seen anything like that and didn't want to meet anymore in the future for sure.
Dumbledore was the first to speak again. However, this time he turned his attention to the, by then, slightly recovered muggle family.
"Now, that all of this is done, I would go on to the next thing I wish to discuss." he waited for a moment, but since he didn't get any reaction he continued "As you know next year Harry will turn into a man." Before he could say anything more Vernon Dursley cut in rudely again.
"What? He will only be seventeen, so he won't be of age for a year more, will he?"
"Yes, you are true Mr. Dursley. In the muggle community he would turn into an adult in his eighteenth birthday. Although in our society, it is a little different, we become adults a year sooner." at this the chunk man shook his head clearly showing his dislike but did nothing more to interrupt the elder professor. "So, now that you know this too, I would like to ask you something."
"Another thing?" asked the head of the family clearly annoyed.
"I wouldn't speak if I were you Mr. Dursley. If you had done anything properly I asked from you, you would have had the right to argue. But I won't argue. The only thing I would like you to do is to let Harry come back next summer here for last. The wards that are protecting him will last until his seventeenth birthday." that somehow lit up the eyes of Vernon.
"That means he will leave after next summer? Permanently?" his voice was full of hope.
Dumbledore took a deep breath. His face showed the disgust he felt for the man sitting in front of him. How can one hate a child so much? Such as a child like Harry. He would never understand.
"Yes, yes it does. So that means he can come back here next year?" as he asked he took a quick glance at Harry. His face clearly showed how much he didn't want to spend his summer in his uncle's house. However, he didn't say anything against Dumbledore's plan. The old professor couldn't decide whether it was out of respect or he understood it was the best, or at least the safest for him. He couldn't think of it for long as uncle Vernon opened his mouth.
"It's hard for us, but we can tolerate him a summer more." to this Dumbledore just nodded, since he feared if he had said anything it would have been very very rude.
"Thank you" he managed finally "Now Harry, we can leave if you are ready."
Harry stood up, looking slightly embarrassed and said:
"I'll be down in a minute. Just have a few more things to pack in." the older wizard smiled a little bit and nodded.
It didn't take five minutes for them to leave the house, both relieved. They took a few steps when Dumbledore stopped and turned to the boy next to him.
"Did you apparate before Harry?" he asked.
"No professor we will learn that only this year."
"Oh, you don't have to, you will side apparate with me." he added seeing Harry's puzzled face. "That means you grab my arm and I will guide you."
Harry nodded and formed an 'O' with his mouth than took the arm of the professor.
"Make sure that your grip is strong." He advised.
"And what will we do with my trunk sir?" he asked with a questioning face.
"Oh, right. I almost forgot about that." with that said, he lifted his other hand and the big case disappeared with a pop. Although, during the process a little bit of his wrist revealed under his sleeves, which made Harry's eyes wide. The skin were burned black on the small area. Harry couldn't help but ask:
"Excuse me sir, but what happened with you arm?" the headmaster looked down him and after a few seconds answered.
"You mean this?" he asked pulling up the sleeves on his damaged arm a little more, revealing more of the black skin. Harry just nodded, a slightly frightened expression on his face. "Ah, this is a very interesting and educative story but it needs more time than we have here. I will tell you sometime later I promise."
Harry nodded, than tightened his grip on the good arm of the headmaster as he was asked before. Dumbledore took this as a clue to leave and with a pop they left the street of Little Whiling.
First, Harry was slightly confused as why did he have to go with Dumbledore into a little muggle village, called Budleigh Barberton, but than it all got crystal clear.
They were there to get an old ex-professor to Hogwarts. The need for Harry came when it turned out that this professor Slughorn, had a tendency of getting the famous or promising students into some kind of a club.
There he would get them to know each other, he would build relationships between them and would help them into high positions in the ministry or a in a famous quidditch team. That way he would have insiders in almost everywhere, so would he be able to get his favourite candied pineapple, a free ticket for a match, or just information. He was like a big spider sewing his net in Harry's opinion.
The problem was that prof. Slughorn didn't want to go back to teach in Hogwarts. This was when Harry came into the picture, as knowing that Slughorn would get to teach the Boy-Who-Lived, the Little-Survivor or as the Daily Prophet referred to him last time, the Chosen One, he accepted Dumbledore's offer. After some persuasion of course, which Harry didn't even realise that he had done until the headmaster told him so.
Then they started to walk back into the village's little square to disapparate into Harry's second home, the Burrow.
Suddenly Dumbledore stopped them, and when Harry looked very confused the elder pointed to the sky.
There, Harry instantly noticed the reason they paused. The dark night-blue sky was lightened up in a strange silver colour. He had never seen such a beautiful sight before. It was like the aurora polaris, but it was much clearer and sent a warm feeling through his body. For a moment it looked like the part of Heaven became visible for just them.
However, it didn't last long, or so Harry thought, as it started to get smaller and smaller, but in the meanwhile it felt like it had been flowing closer to them.
Soon it turned out that it indeed was getting closer, and when it stopped in mid-air a meter from them it hit Harry, the warm feeling in his chest, the beautifulness of its light. It was a Patronus. A grown European bear looked into their eyes, only it was shining silver instead of the usual deep bear brown. Then it did something so surprising that Harry almost shrieked in shock. It spoke. Its voice was a deep, if Harry had to guess old man's voice, but he could slightly hear some tiredness in it too.
As soon as it started to speak, it seemed that it did not pay attention to anything but the headmaster standing next to Harry. Who, to Harry's awe, didn't even look a little shocked, as if talking patronus bears were everyday occurrences for him. Well, to be honest, it could be, as Dumbledore wasn't an average man in the world. One thing was sure, Harry would never get used to the wizarding world and its surprises totally.
Though, he couldn't wonder too much about the bears' and the headmaster's relationship, since the patronus' message was starting to get interesting after a formal greeting.
"Dear Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, for first thing I think, I should apology for sending a message to you in this late hour of the night, but you have to understand, the thing I have just discovered is more important than some sleeping." hearing this, for a moment, Harry thought he saw the headmaster smiling, but even if he did, it didn't last long as the message continued.
"I don't want to say too much in no form of message for it could be captured and the information I possess is, as I already said, too important to get into the wrong hands. However, a quick introduction is needed, I think. I am Alamus Tinkling, headmaster of the Hungarian wizarding school Szegred." and hearing this, it seemed that Dumbledore… flinched? Harry couldn't believe his eyes, but it indeed was a little flinch of discomfort, if only for a short moment.
The bear continued anyway.
"As I mentioned before, I won't say much in this message, but believe me, you have to be aware of this knowledge of mine. I suggest that you meet up with one of my students in your office in a quarter hour, as I currently can't leave the country. Although this boy I send knows everything that you need and I am sure that it will be a pleasantly for you to get to know him." on this, one of the eyebrows of the headmaster wandered high up on his face, but the message still did not end.
"Please be in your office had you don't have any more urgent thing to do, because as I said already, but can't emphasize enough, this will be worth the hurry. If you can meet, please just say so to my messenger, and I will send my representative in exactly 15 minutes. Should you not be able to attend, say so too, and we will meet later. I give you a little time to answer." It shut its mouth just as suddenly as it started speaking a minute back. Dumbledore didn't answer, it seemed that he was thinking, but after a few seconds he turned to Harry and asked:
"Interesting, isn't it?" smiled the older man "What do you think Harry, should we accept this invitation to our own beloved school?" he said warmly.
"I don't know, but why do you ask me sir? And what do you mean by we? Aren't only you invited?" he answered a little shocked, he didn't really understand why did the headmaster care about his opinion. The bear-headmaster was quite clear about who was invited.
"I know but considering the little time to decide I wouldn't be able to get you to the Burrow, so if I go, you come with me, because I won't let a boy wandering around England these days. That would be really unresponsible now, wouldn't it?" he stated. With these being said Harry shrugged.
"Than I would say that we should go sir. It is indeed interesting, and if the things this Ala…" he started to think because he forgot the foreign headmaster's name.
"Professor Tinkling, if I remember correctly." Dumbledore suggested helpfully.
"Ah yes, so if the things this professor Tinkling said were true, then I think those are important enough to arrive a little later to Ron's" he finished a little uncomfortably, as he wasn't used to the headmaster asking for his opinion. It was so weird. In the previous year Dumbledore avoided him like he was some infection and now he asks his opinion.
Harry could only hope that this change was because the headmaster finally came to his senses and decided to treat him like the adult he is or has to become to fight the Dark Lord. If this was the case, Harry couldn't be happier.
In the meanwhile, Dumbledore looked like he made his decision. He nodded before turning back to the patronus, who slowly but noticeably started to fade. 'It could be because the time passed' thought Harry for they had been surely thinking for a while by then.
Only a moment before the silvery bear disappeared in the blackness of the summer night Dumbledore said him a short 'we will be there' than turned his attention back to Harry.
"Now Harry, I think we have to make a little bypass to our favourite wizarding school" he said as he lifted his arm for Harry to grab.
After a moment of, still terrible, apparition travel, they stood in the main road of a village Harry knew very well. It was one of the few places in England that he called his favourites. This one got on that list because it was the last village in the country where only wizards and witches lived. In addition, you could reach it in a few minutes' walk from Hogwarts, so it gave happiness in various weekends for students during the school year.
When Harry realised where they apparated to, he didn't understand immediately why. Than something clicked in his brain about how Hermione told him that the school was guarded with anti-apparition wards, especially these days.
This was the moment when Harry noticed that something missed from the always happy roads of Hogsmeade. Soon he figured out that the missing thing was that happiness exactly. He knew that the school year hasn't started yet and well, it was the middle of the night, so it was normal that the streets were empty. However, this was more than emptiness. It was kind of like those ghost cities in the horror movies Dudley watched with his stupid friends. It felt as if the village was radiating fear.
On the walls of some houses hang the well-known warnings of the Ministry and some pictures of the worst Death Eaters. The windows of Madam Rosmerta's were as dark as the cloudy night sky above their heads. Only from a very few houses was sweeping some candlelight. The silence was so perfect it made the blood freeze in Harry's veins.
This was exactly why he hoped Dumbledore changed his mind about Harry needing protection. Well, yeah, he needed protection from Voldemort of course, but so did everyone else. And if this was what the terror of Tom Riddle changed the wizarding world into, the world Harry so loved, his real home, his real world, then he would make everything he could to stop him. 'So Dumbledore better let him, because he is grown up enough.' He thought.
Slowly they started their walk to the castle and in a little while they reached the gigantic oak door of the main building. It was very weird to see the portraits sleep comfortably and to feel so warm inside while a few minutes earlier he almost froze mid-step in Hogsmeade.
The Headmaster's Office came fast in sight, and in a blink, Harry found him sitting in a padded chair in front of Dumbledore's desk. Neither of them knew how much time passed since the bear-patronus disappeared, so waiting seemed to be harder than Harry first thought it would be.
The way Dumbledore were walking up and down were starting to make Harry a little frustrated. He knew that he was acting ridiculous, as watching the headmaster thinking shouldn't get him upset. Although he couldn't help the frustration that were creeping its way into his mind, because of the curiosity of what could possibly Dumbledore think that made the headmaster look so far away.
He almost asked the elderly wizard, when a little flame popped out of the embers in the fireplace of the office. It soon started to grow till it filled the whole structure. Than its deep orange colour turned into an emerald green, and for a brief moment Harry thought he saw the image of a little phoenix flash through the flames. The dance of the fire didn't last long since, after a moment a boy's steppes broke it.
Of course, Harry figured out immediately that the change of flames was the arrive of someone using the floo network. He saw it more than few times around the wizarding world, but this one somehow seemed a little different than the ones before. It was more graceful. However, he thought that it could have been only the playing of his mind for he started to grow more and more tired.
Although Harry's exhausted eyes popped wide open immediately as his gaze wandered onto the 16-17-year-old boy who stepped out of the fireplace. If the flame-dance was graceful then the clothes of this boy were upright aristocratic. His robes were made of a deep but somehow shining blue silk, which, when its wearer slightly turned changed to green, but only for brief seconds. It made the image of the wizards described in muggle stories, only it was a whole world more elegant. Under the robes the boy wore a very deep blue velvet shirt with black buttons and a silver badge of a falcon on it.
The aristocratic feeling quickly broke as the boy spoke up with a groan:
"Ah, I see now why Alamus sent me." he rolled his eyes before continuing "I take you don't know me." he stated but waited for an answering shook of the head from both of them anyway. When he got it, he sighed and introduced himself.
"I am Szily Károly, ooor…" he rubbed his jaw briefly "It's Károly Szily in English" for Harry it didn't really matter, because he had never heard a name so weird before. The boy had a strange, something similar to Slavic, accent too, so he took that this Károly was a foreigner. "I came from the Hungarian wizarding school called Szegred, you may have heard of it before." he pointed to Dumbledore with his gaze at the last part of his sentence.
"Yes, but not so much to be honest. I am not really familiar with Hungary." replied the headmaster. On this Harry was sure that he heard the boy mumble something that went like 'I'm not so sure' but it again could have been the playing of his exhausted brain. Well, it didn't really matter since Dumbledore didn't seem to hear it, or just simply didn't care. Either way, Harry dropped the topic.
"Well, it doesn't really matter, because the knowledge I must share with you doesn't need deep familiarity of my dearest country." he stated in the same bored tone he spoke since his introduction. Though it was some more since Dumbledore's reply in it. Maybe some frustration. Whatever it was, either Harry only imagined it or this Károly could hide it very well.
"Then I think you should begin because it's starting to get late in the night. Or almost early in the morning." suggested the headmaster with a smile. It didn't break the icy mood of Károly though. However, it did make him start to explain.
"My headmaster, Professor Tinkling, I assume he introduced himself in his name translated, didn't he?" Dumbledore nodded "So he sent me here because he found out a very uncomfortable news this morning. However, to understand it totally I have to explain a few things in advance" he took a dramatic breath and made an even more dramatic wave of his arm before starting the real story.
"During the past few years, a few very dark and unsettling gossips started to wander around in those taverns which had the highest crime rates in the Hungarian wizarding world." Harry realised that this bored-narrator-like tone started to make him frustrated. It made the story so unenjoyable. "They were all about a sect rising in the shadows. Professor Tinkling thought they were not true of course, as in the first years only those drunk swindlers used to speak about it. However, with time the rumours started to grow, and they said that so did the sect. Thus, my headmaster decided to take a look on this shadowy group. Although, when he thought that he'd easily find them, it turned out that he couldn't have been more wrong. He found out the location and date of a meeting and went to interrogate, they disappeared only a moment before he had arrived. Now you see, we know nearly nothing of these people other than the fact that their sect exists and called the Nobles." When Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, Károly just nodded and continued "Exactly, a weird name it is, and very little knowledge."
"Professor Tinkling is one of the smartest wizards in the world I know though, so he had patience. It turned out that the more the sect grew the easier the dates of meetings could be found out. It was only a matter of time for the Professor to get in one of the secret meetings. And what he found out wasn't…" he ran a hand through his deep brown, slightly wavy hair. It seemed that he was finding the right word to continue, but Harry realised that the closer Károly got to the end of the story the more anxious the boy became. "… appealing." He stopped for a minute, on which Dumbledore commented with a half-forced smile:
"I take that's a very big understanding."
"You are right. The first you should know is the number of members that we are aware of." the headmaster cut in with a confused expression on his face, which made Harry a little uncomfortable, for in his eyes the elder professor always seemed so sure, so self-confident. As if he knew all the secrets of the World. However, this boy made Albus Dumbledore unsure? It was weird.
"You mean your headmaster doesn't know a lot more about this case than years before?" Károly sighed a little frustration leaving his body.
"Exactly, in fact no one really knows how many members the sect has. Though we do know that they are popular. As a few years before, in the meeting Professor Tinkling could attend, there were like a 100 wizards and witches, and we knew that it grew since then. Furthermore, it seemed that they have thought themselves strong enough to advertise them half publicly, since the rebirth of this Dark Lord of yours. How does he call himself by the way?" he asked with a troubled look on his face. This time Harry answered as he started to feel a little left out. The two other wizards seemed not to care about him at all. This way he would have been better sleeping in the Burrow.
"Lord Voldemort." he said nonchalantly. Károly just shrugged.
"Weird name. However, if we are by names, I don't remember hearing yours." this statement made Harry surprised for two reasons. On the one hand, he was used to everybody in the wizarding world knowing him. He was the Little Survivor after all.
On the other hand, it was weird to hear someone his age speaks with such formality to another. He decided to try to break this unusual formality, and who knew, maybe it will bring some change in the cold mood of the conversation.
"My name is Harry James Potter, but please call me Harry, I don't really like the formalities. I mean if I can prevent it, I do so." it seemed to work as Károly smiled briefly while nodding. Or at least between the two of them. When the foreign boy turned back to the headmaster, his bored and frustrated expression returned.
"Okay, so where was I?" he asked to answer himself right away. "Oh yes, so when this Voldemort returned it seemed that they found the courage and strength to, let me say this way, publicise themselves." he waited for reaction, which Dumbledore gave in the form of a question right away:
"So, you think that they are followers of Voldemort?" he asked a little worriedly. Károly didn't answer immediately. It seemed that he had to think of the right form to put this in.
"Yes, and no. They surely have some connection to him, but they didn't seem to follow him."
"Then they follow who exactly?" it came out from Harry's mouth before he could stop himself. Also, for him at least, it sounded a little bit irritated, but it looked like Károly appreciated the question.
"That we didn't know for long and when we found out, it didn't make us happy. Not even the very least." he shook his head as if it was the same day. "Mr Dumbledore, they follow him. Ge…" when he started to say the name the headmaster clearly looked frightened, and he didn't even try to hide it. He made a little movement with his wand and silenced the foreign student immediately. It made Károly's face red from fury. However, even though he tried, he couldn't unmute himself. Dumbledore turned to Harry.
"Harry, would you leave us for a minute?" it surprised him. The headmaster dragged him in the school in the middle of the night and let him hear all these interesting things, but when the actual importance came, he wanted to send him out. No, he decided to fight. He wouldn't let the professor treat him like a baby anymore. Károly said that this had some connection to Voldemort or could have. All the same for him as what had connection to Voldemort, also had connection to Harry.
"May I ask you, why, sir?" he forced some politeness, but the tone betrayed his growing anger.
"Because I don't want to you to hear this." Harry prepared to argue, but Károly beat him. It seemed that he could finally undo the headmaster's charm.
"Hah, of course you don't. You would never let your precious golden boy know all the truth, would you?" the volume of his voice didn't increase much, but the tone turned into furious. However, it was different from all the angry 'speakings' Harry had heard before, and let's face it, he heard a lot of that given he lived with his hateful Uncle Vernon.
It was low and dangerous, venomous in fact, it made Harry feel as should he spoke against it, Károly would get his head. Even though, Dumbledore wasn't Harry, he lifted his chin and started to argue.
"Harry has far more than enough things on his mind about dark wizards than any young man should. I don't want to worry him anymore." he said stubbornly.
"Oh yes, sure you prevent him to know more about the war, because you want to give him a great childhood, not because it is easier to make him do things when he knows less." Károly laughed in a voice that made Harry froze. He didn't notice it, but this young wizard had some kind of aura, he looked powerful. Only his laugh, his voice, his words made him nervous, like a foreign magic came from his mouth hidden in the tones of his speaking. And anyway, everyone who was brave enough to argue with Albus Dumbledore was powerful in Harry's opinion.
"You don't know Harry, Mr Szily, you don't know our war. Let me decide on this for I am his headmaster, not you." he stated firmly. Harry sighed and prepared to get up and leave. No one could disobey the commands of the headmaster. Or till this time no one did.
"No, don't leave Harry, unless you want to of course." Károly held out a hand in a gesture that said 'stop'. Harry froze immediately and waited for the headmaster's answer. Although, he didn't get the chance to speak, because Károly was faster. "I may not know your war Dumbledore, or Harry, but it doesn't matter. I was told enough about him to know that he played a part in this war much sooner than any child should have. I heard the stories."
"You better see that he isn't a child, and if you want him to help in the war, which you should, had the stories about him are true, give him the chance to hear what's going on in the world. Because what I am going to say concerns everybody, so it concerns him too." when the headmaster opened his mouth to speak Károly just held up a finger in a silencing gesture.
"Let me finish. All in all, I don't really care what your decision is, you may or may not let Harry stay, it doesn't matter for me. Because I will find him and tell him the end of this story anyway." this silenced Dumbledore, and yet it was clear he didn't like this ultimatum, he accepted. And nodded for Harry to sit back, who gave a thankful smile to Károly. 'Maybe this foreign fellow wasn't that bad after all.' He thought.
"So, as I was saying before that rude interruption, the Nobles doesn't follow Voldemort, but the teachings of Gellert Grindelwald." Harry saw the fear in the eyes of the headmaster, which made him anxious too. As far as he knew, there weren't many things that made Albus Dumbledore afraid, worried yes, but frightened, never. First, he didn't get who this Grindelwald was. Than when it hit him, it made him gasp.
Albus Dumbledore is known for a lot of great things, but his duel with the darkest wizard of all is considered as the greatest. With the defeat of Grindelwald, the wizarding world could end its longest and deadliest war.
He remembered reading this accidently in the Hogwarts library, when he was searching for a book on History of Magic. Grindelwald's war was the biggest ever in the wizarding world, it burned through the whole globe, as if it was the World War of the wizards.
Very many people died, both muggles and magical creatures. If that man returned when Voldemort has been starting to get his former power back, the worst of the current war was yet to come.
It was an understatement that this was bad news. This was terrifying, horrible, you get the point. It wasn't surprising anymore that Dumbledore was frightened. It was known to most of the wizards that however he won the duel, it was one of the longest and hardest victory for him.
His thoughts got interrupted by the words of the headmaster.
"Has he gotten out?" he asked tiredly.
"No, but it doesn't really matter, does it?" Károly asked back, his eyebrows raised high. "Grindelwald's real power wasn't his magic. Don't get me wrong, he was a very strong and talented wizard. However, it was his ability to persuade people into doing things that made his case so popular. So powerful. Unfortunately for us, it seems that the Nobles' leader is somebody with the same talents. But as I know the Austrians doubled the guards by Stuttgart anyway." he shrugged at the last part.
"Good" was the short answer of the headmaster. Though, it didn't seem to satisfy him at all. "Is there anymore that you have to say?" asked Dumbledore from Károly.
There was silence for some brief moments.
"I don't think so. Or maybe there is. I mean I think you should know that the Hungarian Ministry told your Minister this news too." that made Dumbledore's eyebrows rise in surprise.
"Then I assume it didn't really change things that we got a new Minister of Magic, for I have heard nothing of this." he sighed in disappointment, which Harry was very familiar with. The Minister never was his favourite wizard and it looked like he didn't really try to improve their relationship. "I have to say that it makes this war a lot more complicated. I knew that the Order of the Phoenix can't count on the Ministry's help, but I think I hoped for it to change with Scrimgeour." Károly nodded on this.
"Politics isn't a thing that supports the good but only its desire." he said, and Dumbledore nodded sadly.
"It shouldn't be like this, but we shouldn't dwell on things we can't change, should we?" offered the headmaster.
"Yes, but you get friends out of this too, I think. Professor Tinkling for starters, and as much as I would like not to work with you, considering the circumstances I will also help." Harry couldn't understand Károly's dislike for the headmaster. Dumbledore was the greatest wizard he knew. How dare this boy doesn't like him. However, the headmaster didn't do anything against it, but accepted the offer after a little thinking.
"Thank you, I think." he forced a tired smile. Then looked on the clock above the door surrounded with some of the portraits of the former headmasters. "Hm, time flies when you have fun, I guess. It is almost 3 in the morning. I think I should get Harry to the Weasleys'." the sudden thought of Harry's favourite family, the warm food and bed, made him yawn, on which the headmaster chuckled lightly. And for a brief second, he was sure that he saw Károly smile too.
"Yes, I think you should. Also, I take that as my cue to leave. I assume we will meet in the future Harry, but until then I say my farewell." Harry can't get what Károly was speaking about because he wasn't planning on travelling to Hungary. It could be just politeness.
The foreign boy bowed his head to the headmaster and after saying "Professor" as farewell he stepped into the flames and muttered that weird-named Hungarian school, maybe Szegred, Harry couldn't really remember its name, and vanished in the green lights of the floo network.
Dumbledore let out a long and exhausted breath before speaking up, tilting his head to Harry.
"That was some interesting conversation I must say." interesting was an understatement thought Harry. "You can use my fireplace to get to Arthur's, I am sure they won't mind you getting to them this time of the night. Although before you go, I have to tell you one more thing." after Harry nodded, he continued "I will be giving you private lessons this year." The teenage student's eyes widened. Dumbledore teaching him? That was shocking and unbelievable. After some moments of assuring himself that he didn't dream, he gathered all the courage to ask:
"What will you teach me sir?" it felt like the curiosity was going to make him explode. Dumbledore teaching him? He still couldn't really believe. Although, the headmaster only shrugged and said mysteriously:
"A little from this, a little from that, I think. We will see." Harry laughed inwardly; it wouldn't have been Dumbledore had he hadn't been so secretive. He thought for a brief moment if he should push the topic a little more. His curiosity was killing him for what mattered. Though, he gathered some self-control and decided against it. Sleep was more important right then. And he couldn't have gotten information from Dumbledore that he didn't want to tell anyway.
He stood up and made his way to the carved fireplace of the headmaster's office. After saying a short farewell and goodnight to the elderly professor, he stepped into the green flames, only to find himself in the small kitchen of the Burrow.
The best part of his summer had begun.