AN: As I promised, here's another update!
"Nnnnnnnggggg."
"What's wrong with him now?"
"Hnnnnnnggggg."
"I think his brain started rotting, perhaps?"
"Ggndkslfjaaasdfaghajk..."
"... I don't even know how he made that sound," Harry admitted, staring at Nick. The corpse-child was slumped in a catatonic state, sliding off of the chair he'd claimed.
"... You think he'd perk up if I... toasted him slightly?" Adrian asked, a sociopathic grin spreading as he raised his already-flaming wand.
"EEEK! Nooooo!" Nick scrambled away, upsetting chairs in the motion. "I'm fine with my perfectly un-toasted buns, thank you very much."
"Drat," The amnesiac sighed, the flame going out. "Well, at least you're still alive, so that's something."
"Not sure," Nick groaned, thumping his head against the floor he lay on. "I think that Transfiguration exam killed me... again."
"The exams weren't that hard," Harry laughed.
"Easy for you to say. Both of you guys were Ravenclaw, right? Everyone says that house just exudes knowledge and understanding."
"Technically, I'm a Gryffindor now," Harry pointed out, sulkily.
"Doesn't count. You were a Ravenclaw. As such, you are a Ravenclaw, therefore, you exude knowledge."
Harry rolled his eyes, choosing to let the conversation devolve into what it may be. They just finished their last exams for this term, so Christmas Break or Yuletide or whatever they called it here was just around the corner.
The exams were all-consuming for the last few weeks. After the Quidditch game craze, the whole school seemed obsessed with Toby for a while, then it mulled itself out when he didn't hang around for a few weeks. After that, everyone started winding themselves up for the end of term exams, so it was a nice time for Harry to have a ready excuse of studying or enjoying everyone else being too busy to bother him in return.
The last week of November, they were actually pleasantly surprised when Slender showed up one evening smuggling in a small Thanksgiving feast 'sampler' in their borrowed sleeping quarters. Harry gleefully indulged himself on stuffing, potatoes, and pumpkin pie that night.
Slender promised they'd have a 'second Thanksgiving' when he came back as celebration, so he couldn't wait. Call him a glutton for food being on his mind so much, but in Hogwarts, meals were either very greasy, very heavy, very rich, or interrupted by trolls, owls, ghosts, or redheads.
He honestly wanted Sally there that day to throttle Peeve's phantasmal throat when the poltergeist decided Harry's dinner would be better served as a hat for someone.
"You're thinking about food again, aren't you?" Adrian broke his mental monologue.
Harry shrugged, "What can I say? I'm looking forward to EJ's cooking again. And bacon... mmm, bacon~" He sighed, almost forgetting what it tasted like considering his was routinely snatched by the postal service.
"Speaking of, does Hedwig have to come with?" Nick asked, curious. "I didn't know if we're supposed to take them with or leave them here over break."
"I think they expect us to keep them at home to have wizarding correspondence," Adrian guessed. "Wouldn't do much good for muggleborn kids, but I don't think they really think on that too much." He muttered.
Harry sighed, "Well, as long as Hedwig doesn't steal my bacon, she can have an entire food bowl of bacon, sausage, and mice as long as she leaves my plate alone."
"But is it just the food you have to look forward to?" Nick encouraged.
Harry looked up in thought, exaggeratedly twisting his mouth in thought, "Hmmm, nope. I'm just in it for three hots and a cot."
Laughing, they gathered their stuff from the empty classroom and made their way to their respective dormitories, ready to pack up and leave. It would be a good break from all... this. The staring, the congratulations, the attention, the nuisances.
'Yep,' Harry thought to himself as he clicked his trunk open and began gathering his clothes. 'Going home, and nothing is going to stop me.'
"You're joking," Slender deadpanned, his glamour displaying his raw expression of 'incredulously unimpressed' at the older man in front of him.
"I'm just saying, now that Harry Potter is back in the public view, it may be best for him and his safety if he were to stay at Hogwarts over the holidays," Dumbledore explained coolly.
Dumbledore had requested Slenderman to visit before they left to discuss some particulars of Harry's holiday. The entity was exasperated with the man, but humored the meeting as he felt some things needed to be said. It was clear, though, upon entering that Dumbledore had asked Professor McGonagall to be present as well to back him up, as she stood to the side of the office. An 'ambush', in a sense.
"Many of Voldemort's followers escaped the Ministry's justice and may seek revenge," Dumbledore continued. Slender dismissed the urge to point that fact out as yet another fault in this society. "If Harry were to stay at Hogwarts, we could keep a closer eye on him. Make sure he's safe."
'Hmm, you mean so you may keep an eye on him,' The entity read between his words. Out loud, though, "Nevertheless, we are capable of handling ourselves. I can promise you that Harry will be quite safe with us. After all, Harry remained hidden for years. Even to yourself and your efforts."
Slender took a smidge of pride, sensing a frustrated twitch in the old man's facade.
"However," He allowed his glamour to glower, "I didn't come here for that, I came to set some things straight. As his legal guardian, I have a final say-so in his liberties, and Harry is coming home this break alongside my other wards, regardless of your suggestions or intentions. You are his headmaster. Your authority does not extend into a student's home life."
"Mr. Lindermann!" Professor McGonagall sputtered, speaking for the first time since pleasantries. "He is the headmaster. He deserves respect."
"I have no reason to respect his advice," Slenderman coldly intoned.
"B-But he's Albus Dumbledore!" She exclaimed, as though that would null-and-void any argument.
"Which means very little outside of England."
Silence stretched tensely in the office. Not even the flaming bird warbling to break it.
"I will be leaving now," Slender announced. "With my wards, thank you very much. I appreciate your time, Headmaster, but I must put my foot down in this." He turned to leave.
"Please, Mr. Lindermann, I implore you to think on this," Dumbledore grimly requested. "This is about the safety of Mr. Potter. People know he is alive and link him to your family, you and your wards may be in grave danger if he were to go with you."
Slender turned back, locking onto the Headmaster's eyes and a touch smug that the old man didn't even attempt that intrusive mind-technique. He's learned that much. "Professor Dumbledore, I am taking Harry with me. And if I must say, I find it deeply disturbing that a headmaster sees fit to 'keep an eye' on my ward."
"I am only trying to bear the Greater Good in mind. This is not just a simple student, he is Harry Potter, he has a great significance to our society and that comes with a cost. I understand Harry would enjoy spending time with you, but you must also understand the risk. And your family visits so often, he sees you all year. I'm sure he would be very comfortable here-"
"A gilded cage, Dumbledore," Slender interrupted. "I intend to return Harry after the break, naturally. In the meantime, enjoy your winter holidays," He said frostily, stalking out of the room.
As the door shut, McGonagall cast a concerned glance towards her employer, who merely sighed wearily. His eyes glowering after the guardian's exit.
"Hup!" *thump* "Hup!" *thump*
"Hup!" *thump*
"Come on!" Harry groaned, hopping again, teetering a little from his awkward perch, "Even considering 'magic' as an answer, everything fit when I came here, so it should (*thump*) fit (*thump*) NOW!"
*thum-*
*Click*
Harry let out an explosive sigh as he slumped off the top of his straining trunk. Thrusting his weight down on top of it finally got the latch to click shut. Everything came with him back in August, and it all fit comfortably, so by that logic it should all fit back inside, no problem. It wasn't like he was taking back seashells, souvenirs, or an 'I Fought a Troll in School (and Lived)' T-shirt.
Then again, with magic thrown in the mix, the whole 'conservation of mass' shtick may be thrown out the window alongside gravity and... well, basic physics. Just last week, Flitwick taught a nifty spell... to light candles underwater.
"F-finally managed to fit th-the l-library, did you? Hehe."
Harry turned, surprised, to see Neville giving a small, joking smirk before quickly looking away, smile disappearing in a shy turtle-like retreat. The ward hadn't heard the chubbier boy speak more than a few timid sentences in the last few months, so it was surprising to hear him actually speak first for once.
That fact, alone, made him one of Harry's more-tolerable students here. He didn't ask intrusive questions and seemed to accept that Harry didn't want to talk about what he didn't want to talk about and leave it at that.
For that... Harry smirked back, "Well, I am a Ravenclaw at heart. The Hat said so. I need my fix."
Longbottom's shy smile returned with a stifled snort before turning back to his trunk, busying himself with a pair of socks, "So... a-are you looking forward to going home?"
"Of course," Harry answered. "It's great to be able to see my family all the time, but... it's not 'home', you know? Plus, it'll be fun playing video games (it's a muggle thing) with my brothers. And generally, it'll be nice to hang out without feeling like a Prefect is hanging around the corner... and what about you? Any holiday plans?" He asked politely.
"N-nothing much. Yule celebrations with my Gran. My Uncle Algie might visit," He mumbled, a little upset towards the end.
"What about your parents? Any plans with them?" Harry asked.
"... we... we'll visit," Neville said quietly.
The other boy visibly retreated from the conversation, returning to re-folding several shirts he'd already folded. In the growing, strained silence, Harry returned to his own belongings, wisely letting the topic drop
He left his trunk on the bed, per instructions given in the common room that they'd be 'magicked' downstairs, and made his way towards the entrance.
"Hiya Harry!"
Harry mentally grimaced as Ron appeared in front of him, again. Brightly smiling at him and trailing along. "Heading out for the Holidays, right? Thought you'd've stuck around, y'know? Ah, could've hung out without homework to bother us. This year, my parents are visiting my brother in Romania with my sister, so we've all got to stay at Hogwarts this year. S'not so bad, though.
"Back at the Burrow, I'd be launching frozen gnomes out of the garden, for sure. Oh, that's what we call our home, by the way. You'd love it, I'm sure. All magic, but we're right next to a muggle town out in Ottery St. Catchpole. You could ask your guardian for you to visit over the Summer. Mum'd love to meet you. And Dad'd probably love talking to your family, y'know. He's nuts for muggle stuff, tries enchanting it all the time.
"In fact, he once picked up this muggle 'wash-shing mash-sheen' or something, for clothes I think? And took it apart to try and enchant a couple bits and pieces. Now it just hops around the back yard, launching sopping wet socks all over the place. Not even our own! We think it magics them out of other people's washing somehow. So whenever it gets crabby, we go 'round back and whack it with a few sticks or a good 'Bombarda'-"
They left the portrait hole a while back, but the redhead seemed adamant to follow the Boy-Who-Lived like a duckling. While Harry ignored the Weasley (and an answer to the mystery of what happens to all those missing socks in the laundry), he didn't notice a shape on the wall subtly move like a camouflaged chameleon. A whispered incantation and a subtle flick, and a spell discretely latched itself onto the ward's robes.
The shape swiftly turned through an empty corridor littered with wreathes, tinsel, and holiday cheer. The spell faded like morning mist and Dumbledore emerged at the other end, pleasantly wishing awestruck students a good holiday as he strode past to his office.
Slenderman lead the three Hogwarts wards to the gates and sighed with relief once they were all off the property. It was a pleasant respite to have all of his wards off that place's grounds. Nikolaus, Adrian, and Harry all seemed in good spirits, eager to return to the Mansion for the next few weeks. Nick, particularly, was eager to try out a game BEN had been gushing over since the release last week. Harry looked forward to practicing with his electrodes again.
A little ways from the gate, down the dirt path to the Port symbol, he stopped them to explain the plan, "Now, before we go back, we must visit Ollivander to ensure any Traced wands don't Trace back to the Manor. I don't care if it only works when the wand is used, I'm not taking any risks of it being tracked." Slender explained.
Speaking of.
"Ah, just a moment, I'd like to run a quick check, first." He emitted a faint glimmer of Sigma and felt it 'bounce' off his wards and their luggage. He sighed, "It seems some people in the school are too curious for their own good."
His wards and their objects were arguably littered with tracking spells. Some rudimentary and clearly from nosy students, while others were more complex, doubtlessly from Dumbledore or Quirrell. He 'plucked' the handful of spells off his wards' robes, luggage, and the bottom of Nick's shoe as easily as he'd done months ago in the letter correspondence.
He 'stuck' the spells to a few dead leaves skittering the dirt path. He felt a little satisfaction to hold them up high and watch a particularly blustery December wind carry them off to be scattered in the countryside.
"Now, if that's all done-"
He paused, 'squinting' (so to speak) at Harry.
"Harry, hold on for just a moment," He leaned over, tugging the corner of the boy's robes. It was subtle, almost impossible to 'see', save for the occasional 'flare' of a specific wavelength emission every few seconds.
Clever... worrisome, but clever.
The other trackers had been applied like a stain on the surface of whatever they hit. 'Slapped on' as it were, and easy to notice and 'peel off'. This particular spell was embedded into the woven fibers of the fabric, the signal almost lost in how it 'spread' along the fibers it touched.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked as his Guardian's inquisitive silence stretched on.
"It looks like a homing beacon, a tricky one, too." He 'tugged' at the spell, but this wasn't quite so simple. "Hmm, it seems immovable without cutting a hole in your robes. An option, I'd rather avoid if possible. No sense wasting a good set of clothes..."
He trailed off as he considered the spell itself. He noted the wavelength always seemed to hold at a certain intensity.
He placed a palm over the 'center' of the spell.
"I wonder... what if I...?"
Dumbledore settled into his office chair, only half paying attention to everything around him. His main thoughts were centered on the tracker he'd just applied to Harry. It was a handy little spell that was developed in Russia, if he was not mistaken. Designed to be nearly-invisible and untraceable, save to the original caster.
Mr. Lindermann would likely not notice at all, or if he did happen to discover it, it would most likely be much later and Dumbledore would already know the mysterious 'Mansion's' address.
Perhaps he could devise a group of wizards to harass the household. Not kill, of course, but definitely shake their trust in their own security. That would leave them searching for magical options to their problems and he could offer someone he had connections with.
Yes, this plan should work.
His eyes unfocused a bit as he took in the rather confounding position-markers the spell emitted. It was a complicated spell with complex 'information' that needed a well-trained mind to interpret. It was, in part, why the spell was so seldom used. Few had the mental capabilities to manage the spell, hold it, and interpret the signals.
And right now, Harry Potter was at the gates.
...
Right now, Harry Potter has walked a bit away from the gates towards an old path along the lakeside.
...
Right now, Harry Potter has stopped.
...
Right now, Harry Potter is there...
...there...
...still there?...
...
Right now, Harry Potter is here.
Right now, Harry Potter is there-here.
What?
Right now, Harr yPot Ter is Near.
Right now... Harry... Potter... is-
here-there-over-there-where-here-near-far-London-Wales-Ireland-France-Greenland-Chicago-Beijing-South-Africa-The-Moon-The-Atlantic-
"AARRRRRGGGH!"
The old headmaster, collapsed to his desk, his mind overwhelmed by the sudden assault of information that Harry Potter was simultaneously everywhere at once.
Fawkes warbled, head bobbing to the side as he observed the headmaster's unconscious form slumped over his desk. A groan of deep pain sounded through his beard amidst a growing puddle of drool.
Slender nodded satisfactorily, removing his hand.
As predicted, when he amplified the intensity of the spell, the spell 'glowed' with its wavelength for a split second like fired glass before it 'shattered' into nothingness. Hard to describe the corporeal nature of Energy, but for what it was worth the spell was destroyed. And that's that.
"There we go, all clear," He approved.
Pleased with his work, he did one more check for any spells, particularly the finicky one he just cleared, and grasped his wards hands as they vanished from Hogwarts in a quiet wisp of ethereal smoke.
AN: Ah, moving a way from Hogwarts for a little bit!
Stay safe out there, everyone!
-Crow