"Harry!"
Harry turned his head to look back, his feet not break stride. Seeing who it was that was calling him, he slowed down so Ron could catch up.
"Hey Ron," Harry greeted when Ron finally caught up to him. He didn't stop walking and they rounded a corner. "Dumbledore call you too?"
The tall red head nodded. "Interrupted some much needed sleep too." Ron rubbed his eyes. "Whatever it is he wants, it better important enough for his assistant to wake me up at 3 am."
Harry laughed. "You should know by now not expect anything when it comes to Dumbledore." They walked down the hall swiftly, each knowing that if Dumbledore had summoned them, it must be bad.
"Have you heard the latest Grey Dragon story?" Ron suddenly asked, trying to alleviate some of the tension.
"Hmmm...?" Harry murmured, his thoughts still on what it was Dumbledore wanted them for. "What?"
"The Grey Dragon?"
Harry blinked. Remembering a snatch of what Ron had asked him, he replied, "Oh! The Grey Dragon. No...I don't think I remember hearing the latest story." Seeing that Ron what looking at him expectantly, he mentally sighed. "What's the latest story, Ron?"
Ron grinned and launched into a story of the Grey Dragon and how he foiled one of Voldemort's latest plans to gain control of Southern Asia and effectively the Pacific Ocean. When he finished, Harry couldn't help but chastise his friend. "How could you believe in that..." He searched for a word, "Hogwash? You know as well as I do that there is no proof that the Grey Dragon really exists."
"That's the point, Harry! Even though there's no proof he really exists, there isn't proof that he doesn't exist. This war has been hard on all of us." He grabbed Harry's arm, halting them. "We need something to get us through. You know as well as I do that stories about the Grey Dragon have been circulating even before we graduated. That a spy could infiltrate You Know Who's inner circle is somewhat inspiring to the rest of us. Do you know what I mean?"
Although it was a bit odd to him, he knew that hope was a much needed thing in times like these. If people wanted to believe in a most likely fictional character to get them through there days, who was he to disagree? "I suppose," Harry admitted reluctantly and they resumed walking, the subject being closed -- for now.
They slowed down as they neared the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Harry nodded to Mistia, Dumbledore's assistant, knocking the on the door they swiftly entered the room.
What greeted them was a dark room and a grim Dumbledore, both Harry was certain to be ill omens. Dumbledore was rarely so occupied and he couldn't remember a time that his chamber's has ever been this gloomy. Frankly, the whole allure was a bit disconcerting.
"Ah...Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley," he acknowledged. "You're late."
Taken a back, Harry regarded his old Headmaster with uneasiness. Dumbledore had never cared much for punctuality before. He gave Ron a glance and Ron sent one back of confusion. He didn't seem to know what had Dumbledore riled up. The two took seats in front of Dumbledore's desk and waited for him to speak.
When moments past and he still didn't say a thing, Harry started to really worry. Dumbledore was staring straight through him with dazed eyes and it seemed as if he didn't know they were even there, his earlier greeting aside. Harry cleared his throat, hoping to do the trick. It seemed to work as Harry could see the glassy look fade from his eyes and Dumbledore regard him with focused eyes. "Sir?"
Dumbledore blinked. "Harry..." he whispered, but almost immediately he shook his head and looked over Ron and Harry.
"Are you okay?" Ron asked, giving a questioning glance at Harry.
"Fine," he answered brusquely. "I know you are probably wondering why I call you here today and you know that I wouldn't call you in so abruptly if it wasn't important." He sighed. "Boys, we have a problem on our hands."
Harry leaned in close. His feeling of dread was worsening and when he spoke, he couldn't quite mask the apprehension in his voice. "What's wrong, Headmaster?" Although Dumbledore was much more than Headmaster of Hogwarts now, sometimes the title slipped out of Harry's and other students' who had known the man as the Headmaster of their school.
Dumbledore fixed a hard look on his two ex-students. "I assume you've heard of the Grey Dragon?"
The Grey Dragon? Harry thought with bewilderment. What does that fake story have to do with anything?
"Of course. Everybody's talking about him," Ron answered enthusiastically. "There's probably a hundred stories about him going around for almost a decade."
The Headmaster snorted, which in itself was odd of him. "Yes, well, they were never supposed to get out in the first place."
Harry mentally started. Did he just imply the Grey Dragon is...for real?
Almost as if he could hear his thoughts, Dumbledore replied, "Yes, Mr. Potter. He's real."
Harry gaped as Ron gave whoop of laughter. "See! I told you he was real!" Ron cried as he smacked Harry on the arm. Seeing Dumbledore's raised eyebrow, he calmed down, hurriedly saying an apology.
Regaining his voice, Harry croaked, "So all of the stories we've been hearing ever since our 5th year are true?"
"Most of them -- although a few had been the creation of a person's overactive imagination -- but for the most part, the stories of the Grey Dragon have been real." Dumbledore's smile grew grim. "But that's our problem. For nearly ten years, the Grey Dragon worked his way up You Know Who's organization, building alliances with witches and wizards who were being bullied to be at You Know Who's side. He's our first line of defense against the Dark Lord and there are countless numbers of things that he's done in keeping the darkness at bay." He drew in a sharp breath. "And he's been captured."
Harry was once more rendered speechless, but it wasn't that he didn't have anything to say -- it was more like he had too much to say and didn't know just how to organize his thoughts. He opened his mouth to say one thing, think of a different thing to say and close his mouth as he tried to think of a way to ask that instead. Glancing at Ron he could see he was having the same trouble speak as he was.
"I can see that both of you have many question and I will try to answer them as well as I can, but time is of the essence. The Grey Dragon is important to our movement, both strategically as well as emotionally. As you've said before, for almost a decade we have heard stories of his exploits. Men and women alike around the world have come to see the Grey Dragon as an icon of hope. To hear that he's been captured or worse killed by Voldemort would strike a definite blow to our moral. The last thing we need now with this war dragging as long as it has is for our people to feel as if we don't have a chance against him."
Harry nodded, feeling almost as if he'd gotten all of his wits together. "What does he know?" In every story told of the Grey Dragon, he had always been referred to as a male, but it had been possible that he could not have been a he, but a she. Hermione had argued it a few times in the past before and being Hermione, she had make believable arguments. But Dumbledore just confirmed the sex of the spy, whether or not he intended to disclose the fact, he didn't know, but Harry did now he was a male.
Typical, Ron thought as he heard Harry's question. Only he would worry about what this guy could say to hurt their movement. For as long as the Grey Dragon had been in existence, Harry had been just a preoccupied with destroying You Know Who for that length of time. Silently cursing, Ron mentally scolded himself for not being able to say his name. Hermione and Harry have both reproached him about it, but damn it they never had to live in a wizarding community or world. They don't know how it was like for him and for the rest of the world. His name is -- was, he corrected himself -- taboo. He had tried saying it before, but most of the time it would get stuff on his tongue and the few times he got it out, it just didn't feel...right.
"I'm afraid to say a lot. He knows more than we do and if they get within his head..." Dumbledore trailed off, the ramifications not lost on both of them. They all knew how the Dark Lord works. Use them, lose them was how the people referred to his tactics now. Once he got what he want, there would be no use to him any more and more times than not, he usually killed them. Rarely would he retain a useless man or woman, unless it was just for his pleasure or if he thought he could use them again. There would be no use for an spy, other than to betray his masters. And most importantly, he would serve as a symbol, not just to those who worked against the Dark Lord, but to those who may entertain desires to deflect, so to speak. However he chooses to kill the Gregon, Dumbledore was sure it wasn't going to be good. That's why he needed to get him out of there as soon as possible.
"You want us to get him out, sir?" Ron tentatively asked. A curt nod confirmed what was both in their minds.
"If you don't mind me asking," Harry began, seeing complications at every turn. "But how exactly are we going to do that? The last time a spy had been caught by Voldemort, he was held at Malos Manor. And for almost a week after finding out Dennis had been caught we tried to find the location of the Manor--"
"Failing miserably, might I add," Ron interrupted. "Harry's right sir. From what we've learned, almost all prisoners are taken to Malos Manor and killed there. In all the years we've tried, we've never found it before." The more he thought about it, he couldn't think of a way the rescue could be successful. It'll be Dennis all over again and remembering how hard Harry had taken to his death made him wary to subject his friend through that again.
Dumbledore reached for his top drawer, murmuring the password to the charm that protected it, it sprang open. He reached in and pulled out a thin scroll. Without speaking he unrolled the paper. It was a map -- of an island to be exact -- detailed to the last tree. Dumbledore tapped the parchment. "That won't be a problem. This is Malos Island. Draco Malfoy passed this on to us two weeks before his capture."
A/N: A little longer this time. I hope I'm not too vague. Oh, just in case you're wondering, Grey refers to the space between Light and Dark. I believe Draco exists in between, leaning towards of the Light. *shrugs* I'm odd.
Jivanna: I know it was short. Hopefully this helps to say if it's good or not. :)
Next part due next week, hopefully. As always, review!