An hour later, Harry was sitting across from Dumbledore in what used to be the sitting room on the first floor. They had just finished scooping out the interior and were now taking a break in the armchairs Dumbledore had conjured up. The inside of the Manor was magically enhanced, so even though from the outside it looked like the left wing only had a single floor on top of the ground floor, it actually had three.
All three floors were divided into three sections: a left and a right wing that had been built onto the centre tower, which functioned as the centre section. On the ground floor, the left wing held the kitchen, a laundry room, and according to Dumbledore it also used to house the House Elves. The right wing held the Potter-Potion lab, further establishing how intertwined potion-making was with the Potter family history.
The second floor could be reached by the stairwell in the entrance hall, which was the centre room of the ground floor. On the first floor, this room held the Floo Access, a bathroom, and three stairways to the three rooms on the second floor. To the left of this hall, in what used to be the ballroom, the space had been divided into a sitting room and a dining room. Most of the bedrooms, with private bathrooms, were in the right wing of the second floor.m
The master bedroom was on the second floor, also with its own bathroom. On its left side were a library and a study. The right wing functioned part of the second floor was used as storage. By continuing on the stairs past the master bedroom, the roof terrace was reached.
Harry could not stop himself from comparing the manor to Grimmauld Place and the Burrow. All three buildings were thoroughly steeped in magic. Both the Burrow and Grimmauld Place were much larger on the inside due to the significant use of Extension Charms. On the contrary, it looked like some of the rooms in Potter Manor had actually been shrunken rather than Extended. On the inside, it did not feel like a Manor at all, but rather just a large house. Harry supposed that his grandparents had shrunken some rooms down to get rid of the empty space they probably had with only his father as a child.
As far as the upkeep of the house, structurally it seemed perfectly fine but having been uninhabited for over 15 years had left its marks. However, compared to how filthy Grimmauld Place was, Potter House was practically clinical. According to Dumbledore, most of the filth in Grimmauld Place could be blamed on the long exposure it had had to Dark Magic. Potter House did still show signs of long-term neglect of course, but it would not take that long to clean.
During the tour, Dumbledore had, with Harry's agreement, immediately began casting, and explaining, the necessary protective charms. The Notice-Me-Not charm was strengthened. Next, he cast the hex-deflection charm, Salvio Hexia, which would prevent the casting of hexes in the area and also prevent people currently suffering from hexes from entering the area. A Protection Charm was placed on the house as a whole, to strengthen it from outside attacks. Dumbledore also showed Harry a variation on the Silencing Charm he had learned last year, the Noise-Cancelling charm, Sonitus Inrita, which prevented sound from leaving the house. The House was also made un-plottable, preventing the location from showing up on maps.
After some discussion, a Muggle-Repelling Charm was also done. Harry, following Dumbledore, agreed that he wasn't a fan of the Charm. In normal circumstances, he would rather not have the charm, but Potter House needed to be as secure as possible. He figured he could remove the charm later on.
Another point of discussion was a Fidelius Charm. Harry had a vague understanding of the charm, as "hiding a secret inside someone". But he hadn't a clue how that actually worked.
"The first thing to realize is that are two types of knowledge when choosing to perform a Fidelius", the Headmaster explained, "the first type is of a personal nature. If we would try to hide your identity in a Fidelius, you could not be the Secret Keeper. It is impossible to be the secret keeper of something about yourself. The other type is impersonal knowledge, like the location of a house. Such a secret can be kept by someone who lives at that house, as the secret is about the location of the house and not whether that person lives there or not."
This confused Harry, "Then, why did my parents choose Wormtail as their Secret Keeper rather than themselves?"
Dumbledore smiled sadly. "Because we chose to hide the fact that they were living at the cottage in Godric's Hollow rather than hide the house as a whole." At Harry's inquisitive look, he continued, "We could have chosen to do so of course, but can you guess what the problems with hiding the house as a whole are?"
Harry took a moment to think. "Well, Grimmauld Place just kind of slowly pushed its way in between the neighbouring houses when I was made aware of the location." He messed up his hair with his right hand, thinking hard. "Maybe it has something to do with the neighbours…," he thought out loud.
Dumbledore made a noise of agreement, "Consider the following situation, Harry. You have lived in the same house for the last decade, as have your neighbours. Then, you wake up one morning and the neighbour that used to live at the next house over is now your next-door neighbour. Now, of course, the Fidilius Charm will make you forget that this is not how it used to be. But compare that to the situation in which the house remains there, but the same neighbour just never finds out that someone is living there."
Harry could see what he meant, in the first situation there were many breadcrumbs left, so to speak. His parents had chosen to hide their living in the house rather than the house itself. He vaguely remembered what ex-Minister Fudge had said that time in his third year. Something about that Voldemort could stand with his nose against the sitting-room window and still not see the Potters. Harry wondered whether Voldemort had had a nose back then. Another question for Dumbledore, he decided.
"There are no neighbours here though, so we don't need to worry about that, right?" he asked his Headmaster, who confirmed this. "Indeed. Moreover, you are not yet living here so when cannot hide that knowledge, as it does not exist. So, we will hide the knowledge of the location of Potter Manor inside a secret keeper. I propose that person to be you, Harry."
"Me?!" Harry exclaimed in surprise. "Why can I be my own secret keeper, while my parents couldn't?"
"It's to do with the difference in what we are trying to hide. In your parents' case, the Fidelius hid the fact that they were living in that house, rather than the house itself. They were part of the secret, which prevents them from being the keeper. In your case, however, the location of Potter Manor is the secret. You could tell anyone that you live at Potter Manor, but they wouldn't be able to find the house. The knowledge would be quite useless."
"Makes sense," Harry agreed.
Dumbledore smiled and chuckled. "However, before we decide, I must ask you, Harry. Has your scar hurt at all this summer?"
Unaware he had instinctively raised his hand to touch it, Harry shook his head in wonderment. "No, actually. I haven't felt anything since… since the battle."
Dumbledore looked happy at this news. "That's good news. I think we can assume that Voldemort is now using occlumency against you. The bond you share can, in potential, be detrimental for him, of course. He wouldn't want you to listen in on his scheming."
"Well, you won't hear me complaining," Harry said, even as he realized that it meant that his nightmares were just that: nightmares. It was a sort of reassuring, to have "normal" nightmares, even if the subject matter was so traumatic.
"No I can imagine," Dumbledore said while twisting his beard around his finger, "a secondary reason I asked, Harry, is that, while normally knowledge under a Fidelius is protected from Leglimency, we cannot know for certain whether that is also true for the bond you share with Tom. But if he is now protecting his mind from you, that point is moot. So, if you agree, let us go outside to perform the charm."
-In Her Memory-
Half an hour later, after Dumbledore explained how the charm is cast and why they had to cast the charm outside, Dumbledore finished the charm with a flourish of his wand. Nothing seemed to happen.
"Did it work?" Harry questioned.
Dumbledore chuckled. "As I am the one who cast the Fidelius, the knowledge is still within me. However, if it has worked only you will be able to speak the actual location out loud." His eyes twinkled and he took the stance of someone about to proclaim something very important. "The location of Potter House is not important." Harry looked at his headmaster questioningly.
Dumbledore tried again: "Potter Manor is located somewhere on Planet Earth." He chuckled. "As you have just seen, I can not speak the actual location of Potter Manor out loud, meaning the charm is indeed functioning."
"You cannot even speak the location to me?" Harry asked bemused.
"No, only the Secret Keeper can ever speak the Secret," Dumbledore said. "But I suggest you never actually speak the secret or write it down. If you want to bring someone in on the secret, I suggest you apparate toward the clearing behind us, and take them across the wards yourself."
With the Fidelius in place, they headed back into the sitting room. Dumbledore took out a pocket watch. Harry could see it had revolving planets rather than normal hands. Apparently, Dumbledore understood it perfectly, however, as he clapped his hands together and jovially called out that it was time for lunch.
Before Harry could even wonder where they were going to get lunch from, he heard a pop and a high, squeaky voice saying "Harry Potter, sir!".
"Hello, Dobby." Harry greeted the enthusiastic House Elf in return. He smiled a little, he had become kind of fond of Dobby over the years, even if the sight of Dobby wearing a badly knitted woollen hat made his heart contract painfully.
"Professor Dumbledore asked Dobby to bring Harry Potter lunch", Dobby said with clear happiness at being able to serve Harry.
The Headmasters' eyes twinkled as he looked at Dobby and Harry. "Thank you, Dobby. Now, before you head back to Hogwarts may I ask you to join us for lunch?"
"Join you? Oh yes, Dobby has never been so honoured!" the Elf answered, with huge eyes and blush. With a snap, he conjured a small chair for himself and looked up at Harry and Dumbledore with wide eyes. With another snap, the picnic basket he had brought floated up from the table and the table was set magically. Plates, cutlery, food, everything was placed gently on the table, after which the basket seemingly banished itself.
"Tuck in!", Dumbledore said.
After ten minutes of small talk and loading their plates with food, Dumbledore cleared his throat.
"Now we are in a secure place, I think we can discuss some of the issues that need to be resolved. The first deals with what you have inherited from Sirius. I believe Remus has explained a few things already about the problems with the inheritance?"
At Harry's nod, he continued. "Sirius left everything to you, including a fair amount of Galleons, his personal effects, and 12 Grimmauld Place. As Remus has explained, there is a question of whether the Black family magic allows this inheritance to take place, as you're not a family member in the strictest sense of the word".
"What does that mean, Professor? 'In the strictest sense of the word'?", Harry inquired.
"One of the great problems with the Pureblood doctrine is that as time goes on, there is an increasingly small number of families considered "Pureblood". This is because, if you were to trace British Magical genealogy far enough back, almost every Magical family is related to each other somehow.
In your case, your great-grandfather, Henry Potter, his brother, Charlus Potter, married one Dorea Black, who was Sirius' Great-Aunt. Whether that is the only link between the Potter and Black families, I can't be sure. Then we also have the fact Sirius is your legal Godfather. This issue is quite complex, however, luckily there's a very easy way to test this."
Harry who had been looking quite confused, sighed in relief.
Dumbledore continued. "You see, if you have indeed inherited 12 Grimmauld Place, you will also have inherited Kreacher. If you have, he will have to obey your commands. You only have to call him here to confirm whether the inheritance has been successful."
Harry's stomach turned. He didn't want to inherit Kreacher. He loathed the idea of being responsible for the House Elf that had betrayed Sirius. On top of that, the idea of owning a House Elf didn't sit right with him in general. But what choice did he have? Kreacher had already betrayed them once, and he wouldn't hesitate to do it again. If he took ownership, at least he could stop it from happening again.
Steeling his resolve, he took a breath and called Kreacher.
The sound of a small explosion echoed through the house, directly followed by the livid screams of the House Elf in question.
"No, no, no, no! Kreacher belongs to the Blacks! Kreacher belongs to Miss Bellatrix! Kreacher doesn't want to the Potter Brat, no, no …"
Before he could continue his lamentations, and before Harry and Dumbledore could do anything, a blur of ears and woollen hats raced across them and attacked Kreacher.
"Kreacher shall not insult the great Harry Potter!" The two House Elves were brawling. With a bang, they were split apart.
"Quick, Harry give Kreacher the order to stay silent. Dobby, please remain seated." Dumbledore quickly gave his orders.
"Kreacher, be silent!", Harry ordered the old House Elf. Kreacher looked murderously at both Dobby and Harry before dropping down on the floor and banging his fists in a silent temper tantrum.
Dobby had sat back down, glaring back at Kreacher. "Kreacher shall not insult Harry Potter in front of Dobby, sirs, or Dobby will teach him not to!"
"Well," Dumbledore said, smiling at Dobby's loyalty, "that answers that question."
"Do I have to keep him with me?" Harry asked. A horrific image of sitting in class with Kreacher next to him, muttering insults under his breath, popped into his head.
"Not if you do not want to. If I may suggest two options? You can send him to work at Hogwarts, where the other House Elves can keep an eye on him. That might also help resocialize him. Otherwise, you might want to order him to clean Potter Manor."
He thought about it for a moment. The house did need to be cleaned, but he had seen how effective Kreacher had been in 12 Grimmauld Place. He also didn't trust Kreacher to not somehow lead Bellatrix Lestrange to the house.
His thought process was interrupted by Dobby's squeaky voice.
"Harry Potter needs to have his house cleaned?" The House Elf did not try to hide how much would like to get that job.
Dumbledore chuckled. "Well yes, that's another solution. Send Kreacher to Hogwarts, and I'll send Dobby to clean up Potter Manor. Unless…" he trailed off with twinkling eyes. "Unless you would like Dobby to come work for you full time?"
Harry looked over at Dobby, who had fallen out of his chair because of his uncontrollable excitement at that idea. Even though he was against the idea of owning a House Elf, he wouldn't own Dobby, would he? Dobby was and wanted to be free Elf, he was sure of it. He knew that Dumbledore paid him 4 Galleons a month and he got a free day each month. And, if he was honest, House Elves were incredibly useful. However, he could imagine Hermione's outrage at his having two House Elves.
Dobby looked at him hopefully. Kreacher was also looking at him, with a look in his eyes that Harry couldn't place.
Harry came to a decision: "Yes, I think it would be a good idea to send Kreacher to Hogwarts but I'll have to think about whether or not I can employ Dobby." At Dobby's devasted look, he crouched down to him so he could look him in the eyes.
"It's not that I don't want your help Dobby. Even if it has been dangerous for me in the past", he said, trying to lighten the mood. "It's just that … Do you know about S.P.E.W.?"
Dobby nodded, his ears flapping back and forth. "Harry Potter's friend came to talk to Dobby a lot about Elf culture and Dobby being a free Elf. Dobby was very sad to learn about what happened," he squeaked, big tears dribbling from his blue eyes.
Harry swallowed heavily. "Can you understand why I'm hesitant to take another House Elf into my service?"
Dobby nodded gravely, "Dobby understands, sir."
Dumbledore spoke up, with a teary look in his eyes. "Why don't you take some time to think about it, Harry? In the meantime, Dobby, I would ask you to clean Potter Manor anyway, is that okay with you? And with you, Harry?"
Dobby looked happy with that compromise, so he nodded enthusiastically. "Can Dobby come to visit Harry Potter if Dobby has questions?"
"Of course, Dobby. Can I just call for you if I want to speak with you?"
Dobby agreed. Harry gave Kreacher the order to go work in the Hogwarts kitchens with the other House Elves, and Dobby immediately started work on the house.
-In Her Memory-
Harry and Dumbledore finished their lunch mostly in silence. Harry wondered what else the headmaster had in store for him. He also had some questions he wanted to ask.
"Sir? The last week I have been thinking a lot about, er… well everything, and I have some questions I'd like to ask you?" Harry asked a bit hesitantly. Even though he told himself to be more proactive, actually doing it was not as easy.
"Ask away, my boy!" Dumbledore beamed.
"er… well firstly, I was wondering what happened to the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry questioned.
"Ah!" Dumbledore said, clearly not expecting that question. "The Chamber has remained closed since the last time you were there. You are, of course, the only person in the school who can open it. However, as you know, Fawkes can enter the Chamber. I travelled alongside him to take a look around and clean up the corpse. Why do you ask?"
"Well", Harry answered, "It was one of the discussed locations to hold the DA meetings last year, but we decided against it. I guess that would have been very hard on Ginny anyway…" he trailed off. "Anyway, I was just wondering, whatever happened to the skeleton? Maybe we can find more information about Voldemort in the Chamber!"
"It certainly wouldn't hurt to take a second look," Dumbledore answered thoughtfully.
Harry had not expected the headmaster to agree so readily. "Er … okay great! I have also been thinking about the DA a lot."
"On whether to continue it, I presume?" Dumbledore replied. At Harry's confirmation, he continued. "What reasons do you see for disbanding or continuing the DA?"
"First of all, even though I was the teacher, it was Hermione's idea." Even though Harry could now casually mention Hermione without chocking up, his stomach still turned with guilt. "I'm also not sure whether it will be necessary? With Umbridge gone, I mean. I guess it depends on the new Defence teacher."
"If I may so free to allude to another reason, you haven't mentioned? It is my understanding that Mr Longbottom told you that they, Ms Weasley, Ms Lovegood, and Mr Longbottom that is, were coming with you because that is what they were training for in the DA?"
Harry nodded, not liking where this was probably going to go.
"I hope that that is not one of your reasons to disband the DA, Harry" Dumbledore said, giving Harry a penetrating stare.
Harry squirmed in his chair. Of course, that was the main reason. He didn't want the DA members to think they were ready for combat, because they weren't. Letting Ginny, Neville and Luna come had been a huge risk.
Dumbledore let out a sad sigh. "I had hoped you would not blame yourself for Sirus' or Ms Granger's death."
Harry cringed physically at the reminder, which Dumbledore took note of.
"May I remind you of the conversation we had after the events in the Shrieking Shack?" he began. Harry tried to think back but he couldn't remember what Dumbledore was talking about.
"You said it would be your fault if Voldemort would rise again, because you stopped Remus and Sirius from killing Peter Pettigrew, as you had heard Professor Trelawny predict his comeback that same day. I told you then that the consequences of our actions are so complicated, so diverse and also so dependent on an unmeasurable number of variables, that thinking about what would have happened if is folly. You will only drive yourself insane by doing so."
Harry understood what the Headmaster was saying, but he still felt like he bore most of the responsibility. Dumbledore realized as he continued: "I would like to just say one other thing about it. I'm not entirely sure about Ms Lovegood, but I am quite certain that Mr Longbottom and Ms Weasley would have wanted to help you regardless of whether or not they were DA members. If that had been the situation, at least you gave them a better chance to defend themselves."
Harry did not respond. He didn't want to think about it. After a few moments of silence, Dumbledore said: "I would support your decision either way. However, if you do decide to continue with the DA, may I suggest a name change? While I'm flattered by the amount of trust you place in me, I wouldn't feel right condoning an organization named after me with which I have nothing to do."
Considering Ginny had come up with the name specifically to piss off the Ministry, Harry wasn't keen on changing it but he also realized that it might be a difficult position for the Headmaster, so he said he'd think about it. Dumbledore smiled and asked Harry if he had other questions.
Harry thought about it for a moment and came up with three. He decided to start with the Ministers' visit.
"Did you know that Scrimgeour visited me at the Dursleys last week?" Harry questioned.
Something flickered in the Headmaster's eyes, and he frowned. "I did not," he said.
"Oh," Harry said, momentarily stunned that Dumbledore did not know about the visit. "Well, er, yes he came to try to talk me into becoming some sort of Ministry puppet, said it was my duty to provide hope for the people by giving them the idea that he and I were working closely together."
"Indeed" Dumbledore mumbled. "Of course, that idea is not Scrimgeour's own, it was actually Fudge's plan, as a last-ditch effort to save his position," he informed Harry. "Considering your chosen expressions, I deduce you declined this offer?"
"Yes. Like I said before, I have been thinking about a lot of stuff over the past week. As I told Scrimgeour, he could not have come at a worse time as I had just finished a mental list of all my grievances with the Ministry."
Dumbledore chuckled. "Let's hear this list then!"
Harry smirked. "Okay well, some are rather obvious." He showed Dumbledore the scars on his hand. "Of course, the fact that they send Sirius to Azkaban without a trial. My own trial last year," Harry was getting into it now. "The way Fudge immediately punished Barty Crouch Jr. with the dementor's Kiss, even though they could have interrogated him on how he escaped from Azkaban. They were still looking for Sirius, how stupid do you have to be to immediately kill the only person who might be able to tell you how Sirius escaped! The fact that Umbridge has the position she has! Either the screening process is crooked, or they didn't see any red flags, I'm not sure which is worse. Not to mention the way they treat people like Remus, Hagrid, and Madame Maxime! And then last week, the slimy way Scrimgeour cornered me while I'm coincidentally not at the Burrow!" He had worked himself up to quite a frenzy but deflated as he asked: "Has anything even changed since before the first war?"
"I'm impressed, Harry," Dumbledore said, and he looked it, too, "I completely agree with all your misgivings, I would even add a few. And to come back to your question. I'm afraid that you're right, not a lot has changed in the political landscape. The breeding ground for a pure-blood dictator is still there."
He looked at Harry for a moment. "I did not expect you to take an interest in politics, I must confess."
Harry smiled. "Me neither, professor. But I told Scrimgeour that I didn't want it to seem like I agree with the Ministry in every way, which I gave as the reason I declined."
"In other words, you do not think the Ministry's policies are acceptable, and you do not want to aid in the normalization of what you deem to be morally wrong tendencies," Dumbledore said.
Harry scratched his head, "er… I guess?", he answered sheepishly
Dumbledore chuckled again. "Did you have any other questions?"
"er…" Harry then realized something Scrimgeour had said. "Scrimgeour said the Ministry was watching me, do you think they followed us here?", he asked, suddenly a bit nervous.
"Do not worry, Harry. I was aware of that fact" Dumbledore, still clearly annoyed by the fact that he didn't know Scrimgeour has visited me. "They won't be able to follow my apparition trail."
"Great," Harry said in relief. "The last question I had, Remus mentioned you wanted to use Potter House as a Headquarters?"
"That is one of the options yes. We had to leave Grimmauld Place due to the inheritance issues. In the meantime, we have been meeting at Hogwarts however, which is safe enough for now. Remus told me you were displeased at the idea of me just deciding that it would be so?"
Harry's cheeks reddened. "er… yeah…" he muttered embarrassedly.
Dumbledore sighed, and looked at Harry gravely.
"I will be be honest with you, Harry. I can understand why you would be annoyed at me just deciding to do so, as I have often just decided what we should do, without asking for your opinion. Recent events… recent events have forced me into self-reflection. I did not always like what I found. Not every decision I have made has been great obviously, and as I have told you before, great people make just as many mistakes as any other person, but the consequences are much greater."
Harry shot a glance at Dumbledore's blackened hand and wondered what these 'recent events' were. Besides the events at the Ministery, of course.
If Dumbledore noticed, he did not say anything. He continued: "If we decide to move headquarters, I will personally ask you whether you'd allow us to use Potter House. Ultimately, we will have to, considering you are the Secret Keeper," Dumbledore said, his moustache twitching in what Harry thought was a small smirk.
Harry laughed, "that's right!"
They stayed silent for a moment. Suddenly, Harry let out a snort. At Dumbledor's questioning look, he explained. "I just realized that this is only the second time we have had a conservation that did not take place in the direct aftermath of something horrible happening. I much prefer it this way."
"Indeed." The headmaster smiled fondly at him. "If you are ready, I would like to ask you for help. It seems that once again, Hogwarts is short a professor. I would like to ask your help in recruiting a new one."
"How can I help with that, professor?"
"Well to be quite blunt, Professor Slughorn really enjoys the company of famous people."
Harry groaned, understanding what Dumbledore meant. "Okay," he reluctantly agreed.
-In Her Memory-
Roughly an hour later they were standing in a sitting room in the muggle village of Budleigh Babberton. Harry had just been introduced to Slughorn. His first impression stroked with the image he had conjured up in his head after Dumbledore's explanation of what Harry's role was to be. Slughorn was a man who enjoyed the finer things in life, and a lot of it, judging by his resemblance to Uncle Vernon. Even the moustache looked similar, albeit grey.
"So, this is how you were planning to convince me, Dumbledore? Well, the answer remains no!", Slughorn was saying.
He decisively moved past Harry but he held the expression of someone having to resist something very tempting.
Dumbledore convinced Slughorn to share at least a drink, being old colleagues and friends after all. Slughorn kept glancing over at Harry. After some small talk and Dumbledore trying to scare the man into acceptance, Dumbledore got up to use the facilities, leaving Harry with the prospective professor.
"Don't think I don't know why he brought you," Slughorn said to Harry.
Harry hid a small smile.
"You look like your father"
"So I've been told", Harry said.
"Except for your eyes. You have – "
"- my mother's eyes, yes," Harry said, a bit annoyed at the fact that people seemed to assume he hadn't been told that a thousand times already.
"Hmm. Yes, well, as a teacher you aren't supposed to have favourites, but she was one of mine. Your mother." Slughorn added, seeing Harry's questioning look. "Lily Evans. One of the brightest students I have ever taught. Such a lively spirit, you know? Very charming girl. I sometimes told her that she really should have been sorted into my house and she'd give me a cheeky retort," he said fondly reminiscing.
"What was your house?"
"I was head of Slytherin," Slughorn said, "Oh tut", he added seeing Harry's face, waving his finger admonishingly. "Don't think badly of me because of that. You're probably a Gryffindor, like her? Yes, house sortings are often the same throughout generations. Not always of course. Have you heard about Sirius Black? You probably have – many reports about him have been in the papers recently – he died a couple of weeks ago…"
Slughorn kept talking but Harry didn't pay attention as an invisible hand had been squeezing his heart. That night. He obviously could not yet handle it if it was referenced unexpectedly. Visions of Sirius and Hermione unwillingly swam in front of him.
"… Regulus when he went to Hogwarts, but I would've liked the set." Slughorn continued, unaware of the painful look on Harry's face.
"Your mother was muggle-born of course. I couldn't believe it when I found out. I was convinced she was a pureblood, as skilled as she was." Slughorn said.
Harry's temper flared up immediately. "What do you mean by that? Are you saying you believe that muggle-borns are somehow less skilled?" he demanded angrily. Slughorn's face paled, his eyes widening in shock and confusion. "Because let me tell you that that is complete bullshit."
"Please don't think I'm prejudiced! No, no, no! Didn't I just tell you your mother was one of my favourite students? And what about Dirk Cresswell…" Slughorn continued his defence of himself. As if knowing muggle-borns would prove he was not a pureblood supremacist. Slughorn, apparently unable to stop himself, seamlessly moved on to boast about how connected he was.
"And all these people know where to find you?" Harry remarked. If you're hiding from Death Eaters, that seemed like a glaring security issue.
Slughorn's smile disappeared from his face. "No, of course not. I haven't been in contact with anyone for over a year!" He seemed shaken by this realization.
"But well… in these dangerous times, the responsible wizard lays low. Dumbledore can talk all he wants, but if I were to return to Hogwarts. Well, that would be paramount to openly supporting the Order of the Phoenix! I'm sure they are all upstanding and brave people, but the death rate is a bit high if you ask me…"
"You don't have to be a member of the Order to teach at Hogwarts," Harry remarked, not caring to hide his snide tone. He didn't like Slughorn. It was impossible to feel any sympathy for the man if he compared the man's situation on the run to the way Sirius had to live on the run: living in caves and eating rats, or trapped in the one house he couldn't stand to stay in. "Most professors are not members and none have died. Well, except for Quirrell of course, but he got what he deserved for aiding Voldemort."
As he expected, Slughorn shuddered and he gasped a shrill cry at the mention of the name.
"If you ask me, there is no safer place to be than in Hogwarts. They always say that Dumbledore is the one wizard Voldemort of afraid of."
Slughorn looked at Harry for a moment, thinking about what he had said.
"It's true that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named never directly sought the confrontation with Dumbledore. And you could argue that having been on the run from the Death Eaters already put me in his bad books", Slughorn muttered to himself. "And I would be lying if I said the death of Amelia Bones two weeks ago hasn't shocked me. If even the head of the MLE isn't safe…"
At that point, Dumbledore came back into the room.
After some more small talk, they said goodbye to Slughorn, only to be stopped on their way out by Slughorn giving in, but only if he was paid more.
Dumbledore and Harry walked back into the village. "Tell me, Harry. What did you think of Horace?"
"I don't like him," Harry answered immediately, having already decided that. "He rubbed me the wrong way."
"Indeed. I can imagine that most of what makes Horace is something that you find reprehensible. As I said, he likes to 'collect' famous people, and he will undoubtedly try to do the same with you. 'The Chosen One' would be the showpiece of his collection." Harry groaned. "I will be upfront with you. For reasons I cannot yet explain to you, I will ask you to do let him"
"Let him collect me?" Harry groaned again. "Isn't it bad enough that I'll have to sit through Defence Against the Dark Arts with him?", he asked rhetorically.
"Oh, have I not mentioned?" Dumbledore said smiling. "Horace teaches potions, not Defence Against the Dark Art."
Harry's snapped up to look at the headmaster. "Really? But who will be teaching Defence?" He felt a dreadful sense of foreboding.
"Professor Snape will take over Defence Against the Dark Arts this year. Now, listen to me Harry," he added, preventing Harry from loudly protesting this decision. "It was absolutely vital that we convinced Slughorn to come to Hogwarts, which meant we had to find a different place for Professor Snape." Dumbledore suddenly stopped walking.
"This seems like a good place. If you will hold onto my arm, Harry, I'll apparate us to the Burrow."
Having done so, Dumbledore took Harry to the shed. "I still have a couple of things to tell you, before I leave you tonight." At Harry's nod, he continued: "First of all, every time you leave The Burrow I want you to bring that marvellous cloak with you. That includes Hogwarts. Understand?"
"Yes"
"Secondly, I take it you haven't told anyone about the prophecy?"
"No, but Remus mentioned he knows"
"Remus, and most of the Order, have a general and vague idea of the prophecy but do not know the exact contents. Only you and I know these exact words. Not telling anyone is a wise decision, and I especially understand if you're reluctant to tell Mr Weasley."
Harry swallowed deeply.
"I'll just advise you that I think he has proven time and time again to be trustworthy and a true friend. I'd think it would be a disservice to not tell him, but I'll understand, considering recent events, if you decide to wait a little longer."
Harry nodded again, not knowing what to say.
"Thirdly, I want you to take private lessons with me this year."
"Private lessons – from you?" Harry said surprised, after a beat of silence.
"Yes, I think it's time for me to be more directly involved with your education."
"What will you teach me?" Harry asked eagerly.
"Oh you know, a bit of this, a bit of that," Dumbledore said lightly. "During these lessons, I'll also disclose to you the reason why Horace plays such a vital role."
"Does that mean my occlumency lessons won't continue?"
"Yes, it does."
"Great, because they were –"
" – an unmitigated disaster," Dumbledore said while nodding. Harry laughed.
"Lastly, I'm glad to see you're doing okay, but I urge you to use the remaining weeks to speak with Remus, and also with Miss Weasley"
"Ginny?" Harry asked surprised.
"Yes, if there is anyone of your age you can speak to who knows a thing about recovering from traumatic experiences involving possession by Voldemort, it's Miss Weasley," Dumbledore said gravely.
With that, he said his goodbyes and left Harry standing in the shed.