Chapter 9: Leadership Qualities
Harry lay in his bed in the Gryffindor Common room. The last month and a half had been quite eventful. The first DA lesson went off without a hitch, the students had taken what he had said to heart and had put their best foot forward in his class. On a bleaker note, Umbridge had banned Harry from quidditch for 'putting fellow classmates in danger by flying recklessly.' Harry had performed a simple spiral dive to lure Malfoy down as well, however, whilst Harry pulled up in time Malfoy was met with the ground and sent across the pitch. For defending his actions, Fred and George were also banned from quidditch effective immediately.
Harry had mixed feelings about the ban, on the one hand he loved quidditch and flying but on the other it gave him a significant gap in his weekly schedule allowing him to train more often. The extra training had been paying off to the point Harry would look forward to practising spells just to feel the power of his magic coursing through his veins. Powerful spells tended to be more destructive so Harry would sometimes go to the Room of Requirement where the DA met to practice, however he found if he went in the morning then it wouldn't show up. They had yet to test the room's full capabilities but when he had mentioned this to Hermione, she had immediately known the problem.
"Someone else is in there, obviously" she had said in a condescending tone, looking up from her mountain of books to answer his question.
'Hermione has never studied this hard. Poor Ron looks lost all the time trying to keep up. I'm surprised he's trying though, this relationship must mean a lot to him. Now that I think about it, Ron's been a lot more serious lately and not just when Hermione's watching. Good for him' Harry thought, proud of his best friend for finally growing up.
On the topic of people changing, Dumbledore has been completely ignoring him and his attempts to contact him. Dumbledore's restrictions on him during the summer and his disappearing act this year has begun to sour Harry's perception of the man.
'I've saved the school a couple times, the least he can do is allow me to pop in for a chat' Harry thought with an unusual amount of anger and frustration.
What really kept Harry up most nights though was thinking about his encounter with the elusive Daphne Greengrass. Harry had started to notice her in his classes more often and he felt stupid that he couldn't identify her before, however she had made no contact whatsoever since their talk. Not even a side glance or meaningful look.
What she was suggesting in their discussion was madness. He couldn't lead a faction, no matter what kind of pedestal the people put him on he knew nothing about leading a war effort. He hadn't been able to talk to Sirius about the Greengrass family in the fire because he ran out of time but he would find more out during Christmas. This made agreeing to a meeting difficult if he couldn't judge the words she said as true. Although the warning about Umbridge was spot on, just two days after the meeting at hogs head there was an educational decree disbanding all student organisations. It was apparent that Umbridge was suspicious of him and his friends but since she couldn't prove anything she was just trying to make their lives hell, hence the quidditch ban.
Turning over and closing his eyes Harry decided to rest, soon he would be able to talk with Sirius and Remus about Daphne and Umbridge and hopefully they can ease his worries.
He was in a long dark corridor, moving methodically side to side towards a door. The way he was moving was almost snake like. Reaching the door that was slightly ajar, he pushed his way through. There were shelves. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of shelves with little white orbs swirling with unknown magic. It didn't matter he was here to kill.
There was a small light down the shelved corridor, and he knew he had found his target. The master was watching and had given explicit orders to attack the human he found here.
The light came from the tip of a wand owned by an overweight red headed man. Rising, he prepared himself to strike. His prey had noticed him by now and was frozen in fear. Lashing out once at the man's knee, his victim fell to the floor. Striking twice more, the man was a twitching bloody mess, feeling that his work was done he turned back and headed towards the -
"Harry! Harry wake up!" Ron shouted. Harry gasped and sat up. Looking into Ron's eyes he could see fear and what unnerved Harry was that he could not tell why he enjoyed the feeling of seeing that.
Remembering his dream, Harry shot up and looked away from Ron and stashed away his conflicted feelings to be dealt with later. Slipping on some shoes, Harry found Ron's eyes again and said gravely
"Your father has been attacked, I need to see Dumbledore right now." Before bursting out of the room.
Going straight to McGonagall's quarters, Harry knocked loudly and impatiently. It only took moments for his Head of House to be at the door, the very definition of frazzled.
"Mr Potter, the explanation you surely have prepared for this incursion will not be satisfactory in the slightest. There better be someone in serious danger otherwise you will be scrubbing the walls of Hogwarts with your bare hands" she grumbled.
"Mr Weasley has been attacked doing something for the Order, I need to speak to Dumbledore" Harry said quickly, already turning around to head towards the headmaster's office. The trio rushed towards Dumbledore and as they approached the statue McGonagall shouted something to open the gargoyle passage to the office.
The three burst into the office to see Dumbledore standing in front of his desk looking expectantly at them. Harry stepped forward and looked at Dumbledore but noticed he wouldn't look him in the eyes.
"I had a dream, a vision maybe. Something attacked Mr Weasley, I think it was Voldemort's snake Professor" Harry said worriedly. He was starting to calm down, but he had since realised the mad state he was in. Shirt clinging to his chest, eyes wide and droplets of sweat landing on his glasses. Dumbledore's eyebrows rose to the top of his head and he quickly turned his back to Harry.
"In the dream were you standing next to the victim, or were you looking down at the scene? Dumbledore asked
"Neither it was like I… will you please tell me what's happening?" he responded frustrated. Dumbledore clearly knew something but once again he was being unhelpful and distant.
Turning to a portrait of an old man in a red bowler hat Dumbledore spoke quietly "Everard, Arthur was on duty tonight, make sure he's found by the right people"
"Sir if you would just-"
"Phineas if you would go to your portrait at Grimmauld Place and tell them that Arthur is gravely injured and that his children will be arriving soon by Portkey" Dumbledore continued.
"They've got him, Albus. It was close but it looks like he will make it, what's more the Dark Lord failed to acquire it" the man, Everard said returning to his portrait.
"Oh thank heavens, next we need to-"
"Look at me!" Harry shouted, causing everyone in the room to look at him in shock. That increasingly familiar rage burning inside him. In this moment he felt more powerful than ever, staring down Dumbledore with a fury unmatched. 'The old fool ignores me when I need him most, after all I've done for him.' He thought.
"What the hell is going on?" Harry continued. The overwhelming anger was dissipating fast but nothing would have made Harry happier than to blow something up, especially the Headmaster. His rage made him miss the fact that this was the first time Dumbledore had looked him in the eyes since term started.
"You wished to see me, Headmaster" Snape said walking into the office slowly.
"Ah Severus, yes. I'm afraid we cannot wait, not even a moment. Or else… we might be vulnerable" Dumbledore spoke gravely.
"Of course, come Potter" Snape said, making a grab for Harry's arm. Not anticipating this but still extremely tense from his outburst, Harry twisted and pulled his wand out, raising it at Snape's head.
"Snape I've had a trying night, please refrain from touching me in any way, shape or form. I don't know if I could beat you but I sure as hell will cause a mess in this lovely office" Harry said, directing that last part to Dumbledore before addressing him directly. "I need to speak with you alone, now would be preferable."
"Harry there is no time now, you must go with Severus otherwise the consequences would be most severe."
"No, you can't keep giving me vague answers and expect me to fall in line. I need to know why the consequences would be dire and what Snape has to do with all of this," he demanded. Harry and Dumbledore stared at each other for a moment before the old Headmaster broke eye contact to look at Professor McGonagall.
"Minerva, please escort Mr Weasley here to your office and then send him and his siblings to headquarters, Molly will be waiting. Severus you may stay."
McGonagall and Ron left the office and Dumbledore gestured to the two seats in front of his desk. Harry and Snape took their seats whilst Dumbledore whispered a few words to Fawkes who flashed into a burst of flame, disappearing.
"For Arthur, just in case they need some tears" Dumbledore explained, taking his own seat behind the desk. They sat in silence for a few moments before Dumbledore sighed and looked at one of the trinkets whirling behind his desk.
"Harry, it is with a heavy heart that I tell you this piece of information. I believe that you and Tom share a mental connection, created at the incident in your parent's home. I trust that you can discern what this means for us?" Dumbledore said softly but seriously.
'If he can see into my mind then what's to stop him from learning the order's secrets? Your evasiveness makes sense now old man but you haven't done anything about it yet.'
"I see that you understand the severity of the situation. That is why I'm asking Professor Snape to teach you a branch of magic called Occlumency, it is best described as a form of defensive mind magic designed to repel invaders of one's psyche. Severus is extremely skilled at the art and I hope that the two of you can get over your grievances to help the cause."
"What's the process?" Harry asked
"I will attempt to penetrate your mind and you will attempt to resist. Even a dunderhead like you can follow those simple instructions" Snape snidely responded.
"That's a relief, I was worried that it would be horrible and torturous" Harry replied sarcastically. "Sir if you expect me to open my heart and soul up to this man then you're sorely mistaken"
"This man is still your professor and your best chance at learning Occlumency."
"I doubt it, if the best you can come up with is Snape, I'll teach myself thanks." Getting up from his chair, Harry turned and walked towards the door. Today he had started to question if Albus Dumbledore was the man for the job when leading the war effort. Daphne was making more sense with each passing day.
"So Harry, tell us about Hogwarts, not much information is coming out of that place." Remus said, intrigued. He, Harry, Sirius and Tonks were sitting in the drawing room late at night each enjoying a cup of hot cocoa. The time spent leading up to Christmas was very relaxed with only Sirius and Harry training to kill time. Tonks was on assignment from the ministry and the same could be said for Remus but for Dumbledore. Harry enjoyed his time with these three, they treated him as an equal and made him feel like he was part of a family.
"Umbridge is cracking down on the DA. I'm amazed I haven't gotten detention yet, she's the reason I hesitate to use the mirror. The other teachers are starting to pile on work too, unfortunately even with Umbridge about, they're not letting up during the O.W.L year." Harry said sourly. He had to cut into his training time to finish class work which was both annoying and, in his eyes, dangerous.
"How is the DA doing? You must get tired of teaching kiddies spells all day" Tonks said, forgetting that he was a 'kiddie' himself.
"It's mostly good. No one questions that I know what I'm doing anymore, and they're really doing their best. There are some students I can't figure out but I'm getting close."
"Ahhh yes, I imagine Mr Longbottom is one and Miss Lovegood another? It was certainly difficult to find what clicked for them. Neville seems to be just a confidence issue, but his wand is also fighting against him. Miss Lovegood, I found, interacts with magic differently than you or I. She is much more in tune with the ambient magic around us and claims to communicate and interact with it, quite remarkable really" Remus supplied. Werewolf or not, he was certainly a passionate teacher and it was plain as day to see.
"You're on the money there. Thanks for the information, I'll see what I can do with it in the new year."
"Enough about the serious stuff, it's nearly Christmas for Merlin's sake. Gotten into any romantic entanglements Harry? Of course, you know about the wand and the holsters right?" Sirius said grinning, mischief in his eyes.
"Yes Sirius, I know all about that stuff. Hermione gave me an uncomfortable run-down last year before the ball 'just in case.' I was 14 for fuck sake, there will be no holstering of wands for a long while so get your mind out of the gutter, if you can." Harry declared firmly, trying his best not to go beet red in embarrassment.
Sirius poured slightly before going into a cheeky smile asking "So nothing saucy? No late-night snogging in the Astronomy tower, or a salacious back massage in the Room of Requirement?"
Shaking his head Harry mentally sighed, all those years in Azkaban had Sirius dying for some entertainment. 'We really need to get him exonerated otherwise he's going to start humping the couches, in both of his forms.' Shivering at the thought Harry remembered something he was waiting to tell all three of them.
"Does duelling count as something saucy?" Harry asked humorously.
"Only if there was an intense make out session afterwards" was Sirius' immediate reply.
"Who were you duelling?"
"Did you win?"
Remus and Tonks asked respectively. They had leaned forward in their seats, interested to know more.
"Her name was Daphne Greengrass and… we tied? Not sure if there was a clear winner but I had the upper hand more often than not. We destroyed a classroom before having an interesting chat that I want your guys' opinion on '' Harry revealed.
"What did you talk about?" Remus questioned.
"Her family, her following me around, the war; or more specifically my role in the war. It was her family who covered up the patronus in Little Whinging."
"What do they want with you?" Sirius said, jumping into protective mode.
"They said they want to fight Voldemort. They asked Daphne to tail me to learn for information about me"
"If they want to fight, why not join the order?" Tonks wondered out loud.
Looking sceptically towards Sirius and Remus, unsure of how they would react to this next bit of information, Harry said "they don't trust Dumbledore to win the war. They said last time, before I killed him, Voldemort was on the brink of total victory in Britain."
Sirius and Remus looked at each other having a silent conversation before nodding. Remus was the first to speak.
"Harry, they're not entirely wrong. Often when people in the order, mainly the aurors like Sirius and James, requested proactive strikes against Voldemort they were denied in favour of intel gathering and going into hiding. Dumbledore either didn't have the guile for offensive strikes or had some other plan that he wouldn't tell us, the man plays his cards extremely close to his chest which wasn't received well by some in the order." he said.
With a haunted look on his face, Sirius spoke softly "There were days when I questioned Dumbledore's handling of the effort, James did too before he went into hiding. His whole attitude changed and it both worried and angered me. James, Lily, Alice, Frank and I were the front lines a lot of the time. We fought death eaters, trolls, vampires and even Voldemort himself. We were never going to win by hiding in a hole unless some sort of miracle happened. And then…" Sirius' face grew pained and he turned away, Remus got up and put a hand on his shoulder offering him support. Sirius looked to Harry and gave him a sad smile "and then brilliant old Lily, invoked ancient magic and pulverised snake face, sacrificing herself and James for your life. The miracle we all knew wouldn't happen, did. I am grateful for their sacrifice Harry but make no mistake. Had they not done so and we continued down the path we were going, the world would be a lot worse than what it is now."
Never seeing Sirius so sombre and depressing, they just sat in silence for some time. All of them contemplating what the world would look like had the Potter's not done the impossible. Harry decided that it was time to tell them the final piece of the conversation Daphne and he had.
"They, being the Greengrass family, want me to lead them and others as a new faction in the war. They know by now my exploits and escapades during my early Hogwarts years and they know I have the power to back it up. But I'm not sure I could rightfully lead men and women more experienced than I into a war." Harry admitted.
"The Greengrass' hey? I heard they lost a lot of business in the wake of Voldemort's first fall. However, Damien Greengrass was savvy enough to work with muggles in the imports and now has amassed himself quite the trade empire" Tonks said impressed.
"Yes, in the aftermath of the first blood war, many families who stayed neutral lost a lot of clients either to disdain or mistrust. The Greengrass family was no exception, they stayed neutral, not willing to put their family lineage on the line and they suffered for it. It is not unlikely that they wish to attach themselves to a winning side, however it is unlikely that it is their only intention" Remus surmised. The aftermath of the war was fresh in his mind as it was the time where he had lost everything, something very difficult to forget.
"You think they're a threat?" Harry asked in a curious tone.
"Not necessarily. They are notoriously ambitious, it's likely they have designs to make you a figurehead with no real decision-making power so that they can sway the faction to their will." Remus guessed. He wasn't certain in his insights, but they were entirely logical.
"I have already agreed to a meeting with them. I'm allowed to bring one advisor by the way. Do you think I should do it?" Harry asked, valuing their opinions greatly.
"What do you want, Harry?" Sirius spoke for the first time since his monologue earlier. "What do you want to achieve in this life?"
'Gee that's an open question' he thought. "I want to be powerful enough to protect myself, my friends and my family. Right now that means getting rid of Voldemort, what that means for later is still unclear to me" Harry answered honestly. He did not seek power for power's sake but rather to wield it in the name of others who couldn't.
"Then we need to go to this meeting," Sirius declared firmly. He looked more determined than ever before seen by Harry. Jaw clenched, eyes narrowed at nothing, Sirius looked like he was fighting his inner demons at this very moment.
"Sirius? Are you sure? This could just be a trap." Remus cautioned
"No, these people are taking a gamble on my godson. They might be slimy Slytherins but they are resourceful, cunning and ambitious to a fault. That makes them predictable."
"Go on cousin, I don't understand what you mean" Tonks requested followed by a yawn.
"They won't set a trap because they are worried it will fail and so their reputation would go into the dirt. They wouldn't have bothered tailing Harry for months if they weren't genuinely interested in his qualities and capabilities as a leader and Daphne wouldn't have divulged the information if they weren't desperate for someone to lead them. They may want a puppet, but they also want a wartime leader they can be sure to trust." Sirius deduced masterfully. He had lived with Slytherins most of his life, he could separate a sinister scheme from a desperate one. The Greengrass' had no options, so they were attempting to create one. Turning from addressing the room to just addressing Harry, Sirius spoke from his heart.
"Harry, I haven't been able to watch you grow up and I regret it tremendously but with or without my help you have grown into a strong young man. The dedication you pour into your self-studies is apparent. Your ability to nearly best Moody in combat speaks volumes to your magical progress and analytical mind and the ability to convince kids who don't even like you to give you a position of power over them shows your diplomatic capabilities. If those aren't the budding attributes of a solid leader, then I guess I'm going senile early. I would follow you Harry, even if I was your only companion, we would take down the dark lord together as a dynamic duo."
Sirius' little speech made Harry's heart swell with a sense of fulfilment. Not a lot of people in Harry's life have given him affirmation so when Sirius does it fills a large hole left from years of emotional torment.
"However," Remus cut in "it would be much easier with the Greengrass family connections and resources." Remus had been convinced by Sirius' deductions and moved by his heart-warming speech to Harry. Directly addressing Harry now Remus decided a long overdue apology was needed.
"Harry, I don't live a day where I don't feel regret about the way things turned out between your father, Sirius and I. The war tore apart our friendships and forced us to be suspicious of everyone. We need new blood, to bring vigour and hope back into the effort and I believe that with the right training you will make a fine leader of our faction"
"Thank you, Remus and you Sirius, it means a lot to know I have you in my corner" Harry intoned gratefully.
Sirius, Remus and Harry turned towards Tonks who had been suspiciously silent the entire time. She was still sitting in her chair nursing a hot cocoa but fast asleep. She had just worked a twelve-hour shift standing guard in Hogsmeade and had come to Grimmauld place dead tired.
"Tonks!" Sirius whisper-yelled.
"Huh? What?" Tonks mumbled confusedly as she came back to reality
"What do you think? About me leading a side in the war" Harry said, amused at the current state of his god-cousin.
"Oh. Yeah, totally whatever" she mumbled again, falling back to sleep.
The three men shared a hearty laugh before Harry went off to send a letter that four people were expectantly waiting for.
"Father, he says to meet him at Gringotts, this Sunday, eleven in the morning to discuss 'the future of our great houses' signed by Heir Black" Daphne said reading the professionally written letter that arrived moments ago.
"Then your actions were a success, well done daughter. We will meet with him then so that I may get a measure of the man too. If what you said is true, then he's exactly what we're looking for." Damien Greengrass said hopefully. After all, if this should fail then his empire could come crashing down on him.