Sorry this took me so long. I got momentarily stumped. :-) BTW, Yes, I know
Aberforth is supposed to be illiterate and odd. . .and he is. Just, not in
the way you're all expecting. *grins* Well, read on, read on.
Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue, or I'll sick Severus on you.
Morbane - LOL. Yes, it was short. I was tired at the time and decided to keep it short. Now I'm sick and have a desire to write, so I have a feeling this chapter will be abit long-winded. :-) More Albus coming up! Yay! I was trying to make the angst thick, but not so much as to be unbelievable. Thank you for letting me know I succeeded.
Minerva of Tortall- LOL. I love your reviews. They amuse me, and yes, your quite close. Not invisible. Let's just say the castle gets abit. . .antsy. . . *grins*
PhoenixPadfoot89- My curiosity got the best of me, and I went to read some of your fics. I adore the way you portrayed Dumbledore in one of your fics, as a fatherly figure to Harry. Eventually, Albus and Harry will be reconciled to one another and then the fun and other angst begins. LOL. BTW, Rodenbachus and Aberforth have a penchant for getting into trouble. And sad to say. . .Albus usually bears the brunt of their pranks. Although, he enjoys being turned blue-whoops! Did I just give that away?!?!?! ;-)
Bellatrix- Hehehehehe. I'm glad you think so. When I first saw your name, my first thought was, "Poor Sirius! I'll get Bellatrix for this!" lol. Still, once I stopped to think about it, I started laughing. *g* Aberforth shall be interesting. I promise.
Silver Fantasique- So glad you reviewed! Yes, poor Dursleys. There was one point in book five that I actually started to like Petunia, however, Vernon and Dudley will never be able to win their ways into my heart. NEVER!!
Chapter 3- And then there was chaos. . .
Harry stared at the man for a moment before speaking.
"You're Professor Dumbledore's brother!"
Aberforth chuckled. "I am at that. Sad to say. . ."
Harry blinked, before adjusting his glasses. "Sad to say. . .?"
Aberforth looked quite amused, chuckling before he opened his book once more. "A figure of speech my good lad! He and I were rivals, once. Of course, that was the Sorting Hat's fault-"
"Aberforth, with all your ranting, I'm surprised you haven't sent the boy into insanity. No one cares about the fact that you were a Slytherin and Albus was a Gryffindor." Rodenbachus stepped into the room, and moved over to the other chair beside Harry's bedside. "And what in Merlin's name are you attempting to read? You can't read!"
Aberforth peered over his spectacles, and for a moment, Harry watched as the two began to bicker and banter like two little boys. Aberforth stuck out his tongue and replied nonchalantly-
"Can too."
"Cannot!"
"Too!"
"Not!"
It was all Harry could stand. The idea of two elderly gentlemen, and friends of Dumbledore at that, bickering like children sent Harry over the edge. All of this had to be a dream. Dumbledore, though slightly mad, would never keep company like this, would he?
Harry had never laughed so hard in his life. A little while later, Harry wiped the tears from his now rosy cheeks, and cleaned his glasses of the spots where some tears had dried. Both wizards were looking immensely pleased with themselves, and with Rodenbachus' blue robes, he looked like a very prideful peacock.
"Well," Bachus said after a moment of content silence. "Mission accomplished Aberforth."
Aberforth glared over the edge of the book before replying gruffly. "Mission accomplished."
Harry placed his glasses back on his face, and sat up fully, turning to look at Aberforth. "What are you reading?"
Aberforth's cheeks tinged a delicate pink, before he muttered about having to see to a potion of sorts, snapped the book shut and marched out of the room. Bemused, Harry looked to Bachus, who seemed to be having a hard time controlling his laughter.
Harry raised a brow in question. "What was that about?"
Rodenbachus grinned, his grey eyes sparkling. "Aberforth couldn't read if his life depended on it. Granted, he can read Runes like no one else can, and all of his texts at Hogwarts were written in Runes just so he could attend there. Still, the subject is slightly delicate."
Harry smiled. It felt good to do so, and now was the first time he had actually felt like smiling in a long while. "Can I get up, or am I confined to bed?"
Rodenbachus eyes him for a moment. "Against my better judgement, I think you can get up for awhile. As a matter of fact, you should go and see Albus. He's been moping about ever since you arrived."
Harry felt his spirits sink as soon as the last word had fallen from Bachus' lips. Frowning, he shrugged slightly.
"Probably moping because he's stuck with me now. . ." Harry muttered.
Rodenbachus shook his head, a delicate frown now tracing his lips. Stormy eyes suddenly serious peered down at Harry, as if trying to convince him of something.
"Albus has always wanted you to be happy, Harry. He's not moping because he's 'stuck with you', as you put it, but rather. . ." Rodenbachus paused, weighing his words carefully. "I think he's afraid that you hate him. He cares so much about you Harry-"
"If he cared, he would've been there for me last year." Harry spat as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Instead, he decided that if he cared, he'd be putting me in danger. Fat lot of good that did. Instead, I ended up getting Sirius killed, and then he decides to care."
Harry got up and stalked over to where his clothes and robes were waiting. His trunk, laying open near the wardrobe, was open and his clothes and robes were spilling out in all directions. Angrily, he gathered his things and headed for the bathroom. As he did, he muttered, and Bachus almost didn't hear his words.
"Doesn't matter now. All I have to do is finish the job. . .then he'll be rid of me forever."
It was then that Rodenbachus decided that Dumbledore and himself needed to have a little chat.
*~*
Albus stared up into the sky, from the top of one of the towers of his castle. He never got sick of the view that his summer home presented him with. He thought that perhaps this was because the castle enjoyed moving about so much. It seemed as if, when the castle got tired of its present location, it simply got up and moved. One hour it was here, the next it was off in some unknown part of the world. The only time Albus had found it unpleasant was when it had ended up in Iceland. He had had to go inside immediately, staying there until he saw that the castle had moved back into England.
From behind him, Albus heard a rustle of robes, and with an inaudible sigh, turned to his friend.
"Rodenbachus," he greeted wearily. "What brings you up here?"
Rodenbachus gave a faint smile. "Harry."
Albus' eyes dropped to the ground. Albus had never been able to hide how he felt from Rodenbachus. Sometimes it even seemed that Bachus knew more than he did, so Albus never bothered to hide how he felt. It was a welcome reprieve from the front he often had to present to keep people from being unhappy. A small price to pay for the happiness of others. . .
"Still in there?"
Albus' head snapped up, and he gave Bachus a sheepish smile. "Getting lost in my thoughts again."
Rodenbachus chuckled. "Heaven forbid. Please no, or I'll never find you again."
Albus smiled. "Now, you said that your reason was. . .?"
"Harry." Rodenbachus replied, his smile fading away. "I was with him a few moments ago. . ."
Rodenbachus recounted the details to Albus, and by the end of his story, Albus was frowning deeply.
"This has, perhaps, affected Harry more deeply than I could have imagined. I will speak with him shortly. I'll let him explore abit first. Let him ease his anger abit. Then I will go and find him, and we will straighten this out once and for all. For I am to blame. . ."
Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue, or I'll sick Severus on you.
Morbane - LOL. Yes, it was short. I was tired at the time and decided to keep it short. Now I'm sick and have a desire to write, so I have a feeling this chapter will be abit long-winded. :-) More Albus coming up! Yay! I was trying to make the angst thick, but not so much as to be unbelievable. Thank you for letting me know I succeeded.
Minerva of Tortall- LOL. I love your reviews. They amuse me, and yes, your quite close. Not invisible. Let's just say the castle gets abit. . .antsy. . . *grins*
PhoenixPadfoot89- My curiosity got the best of me, and I went to read some of your fics. I adore the way you portrayed Dumbledore in one of your fics, as a fatherly figure to Harry. Eventually, Albus and Harry will be reconciled to one another and then the fun and other angst begins. LOL. BTW, Rodenbachus and Aberforth have a penchant for getting into trouble. And sad to say. . .Albus usually bears the brunt of their pranks. Although, he enjoys being turned blue-whoops! Did I just give that away?!?!?! ;-)
Bellatrix- Hehehehehe. I'm glad you think so. When I first saw your name, my first thought was, "Poor Sirius! I'll get Bellatrix for this!" lol. Still, once I stopped to think about it, I started laughing. *g* Aberforth shall be interesting. I promise.
Silver Fantasique- So glad you reviewed! Yes, poor Dursleys. There was one point in book five that I actually started to like Petunia, however, Vernon and Dudley will never be able to win their ways into my heart. NEVER!!
Chapter 3- And then there was chaos. . .
Harry stared at the man for a moment before speaking.
"You're Professor Dumbledore's brother!"
Aberforth chuckled. "I am at that. Sad to say. . ."
Harry blinked, before adjusting his glasses. "Sad to say. . .?"
Aberforth looked quite amused, chuckling before he opened his book once more. "A figure of speech my good lad! He and I were rivals, once. Of course, that was the Sorting Hat's fault-"
"Aberforth, with all your ranting, I'm surprised you haven't sent the boy into insanity. No one cares about the fact that you were a Slytherin and Albus was a Gryffindor." Rodenbachus stepped into the room, and moved over to the other chair beside Harry's bedside. "And what in Merlin's name are you attempting to read? You can't read!"
Aberforth peered over his spectacles, and for a moment, Harry watched as the two began to bicker and banter like two little boys. Aberforth stuck out his tongue and replied nonchalantly-
"Can too."
"Cannot!"
"Too!"
"Not!"
It was all Harry could stand. The idea of two elderly gentlemen, and friends of Dumbledore at that, bickering like children sent Harry over the edge. All of this had to be a dream. Dumbledore, though slightly mad, would never keep company like this, would he?
Harry had never laughed so hard in his life. A little while later, Harry wiped the tears from his now rosy cheeks, and cleaned his glasses of the spots where some tears had dried. Both wizards were looking immensely pleased with themselves, and with Rodenbachus' blue robes, he looked like a very prideful peacock.
"Well," Bachus said after a moment of content silence. "Mission accomplished Aberforth."
Aberforth glared over the edge of the book before replying gruffly. "Mission accomplished."
Harry placed his glasses back on his face, and sat up fully, turning to look at Aberforth. "What are you reading?"
Aberforth's cheeks tinged a delicate pink, before he muttered about having to see to a potion of sorts, snapped the book shut and marched out of the room. Bemused, Harry looked to Bachus, who seemed to be having a hard time controlling his laughter.
Harry raised a brow in question. "What was that about?"
Rodenbachus grinned, his grey eyes sparkling. "Aberforth couldn't read if his life depended on it. Granted, he can read Runes like no one else can, and all of his texts at Hogwarts were written in Runes just so he could attend there. Still, the subject is slightly delicate."
Harry smiled. It felt good to do so, and now was the first time he had actually felt like smiling in a long while. "Can I get up, or am I confined to bed?"
Rodenbachus eyes him for a moment. "Against my better judgement, I think you can get up for awhile. As a matter of fact, you should go and see Albus. He's been moping about ever since you arrived."
Harry felt his spirits sink as soon as the last word had fallen from Bachus' lips. Frowning, he shrugged slightly.
"Probably moping because he's stuck with me now. . ." Harry muttered.
Rodenbachus shook his head, a delicate frown now tracing his lips. Stormy eyes suddenly serious peered down at Harry, as if trying to convince him of something.
"Albus has always wanted you to be happy, Harry. He's not moping because he's 'stuck with you', as you put it, but rather. . ." Rodenbachus paused, weighing his words carefully. "I think he's afraid that you hate him. He cares so much about you Harry-"
"If he cared, he would've been there for me last year." Harry spat as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Instead, he decided that if he cared, he'd be putting me in danger. Fat lot of good that did. Instead, I ended up getting Sirius killed, and then he decides to care."
Harry got up and stalked over to where his clothes and robes were waiting. His trunk, laying open near the wardrobe, was open and his clothes and robes were spilling out in all directions. Angrily, he gathered his things and headed for the bathroom. As he did, he muttered, and Bachus almost didn't hear his words.
"Doesn't matter now. All I have to do is finish the job. . .then he'll be rid of me forever."
It was then that Rodenbachus decided that Dumbledore and himself needed to have a little chat.
*~*
Albus stared up into the sky, from the top of one of the towers of his castle. He never got sick of the view that his summer home presented him with. He thought that perhaps this was because the castle enjoyed moving about so much. It seemed as if, when the castle got tired of its present location, it simply got up and moved. One hour it was here, the next it was off in some unknown part of the world. The only time Albus had found it unpleasant was when it had ended up in Iceland. He had had to go inside immediately, staying there until he saw that the castle had moved back into England.
From behind him, Albus heard a rustle of robes, and with an inaudible sigh, turned to his friend.
"Rodenbachus," he greeted wearily. "What brings you up here?"
Rodenbachus gave a faint smile. "Harry."
Albus' eyes dropped to the ground. Albus had never been able to hide how he felt from Rodenbachus. Sometimes it even seemed that Bachus knew more than he did, so Albus never bothered to hide how he felt. It was a welcome reprieve from the front he often had to present to keep people from being unhappy. A small price to pay for the happiness of others. . .
"Still in there?"
Albus' head snapped up, and he gave Bachus a sheepish smile. "Getting lost in my thoughts again."
Rodenbachus chuckled. "Heaven forbid. Please no, or I'll never find you again."
Albus smiled. "Now, you said that your reason was. . .?"
"Harry." Rodenbachus replied, his smile fading away. "I was with him a few moments ago. . ."
Rodenbachus recounted the details to Albus, and by the end of his story, Albus was frowning deeply.
"This has, perhaps, affected Harry more deeply than I could have imagined. I will speak with him shortly. I'll let him explore abit first. Let him ease his anger abit. Then I will go and find him, and we will straighten this out once and for all. For I am to blame. . ."