Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Harry Potter, except for copies of the books and movies. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully the enjoyment of others.
IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have changed chapter two around a bit, so I would advise people who have read this story through to PLEASE go back and reread chapter two! I apologize, but it was just itching at me to change it. I read it again and just cringed. So anyway, I am sorry that I didn't write over the last few weeks, but you try going to school, then right after go to a grueling hour and a half of swimming, and then try to get your homework done! So come on, people! Review, or I won't write as fast (two words right there being operative)!
The Uprising
Chapter five: Conversations
"P-Professor Dumbledore? What are you doing here?" Harry was a sleepy, but seeing someone he hadn't expected to see for at least another few days that was rarely seen by anyone else staying at Grimmauld Place, he felt as if he had been awake for a few hours.
Dumbledore got up from his place at the table and walked over to the fireplace where he conjured more flames to it. "Ah, Harry, come, I wasn't expecting you to get up so early."
Harry did as was told, and said without thinking, "I had another dream." Dumbledore stared at him intently, giving Harry more incentive to talk. He told him all about it; the room, what was said, what he thought about it, everything. When he was finished, Dumbledore said simply, "All right. I will look into it as best as I can."
"Now, there I came here to talk to you, and the moment has presented itself. As you know, Professor Lupin has informed you of certain things. You are going to begin training with various teachers, and you will become part of certain meetings. I would like to discuss your schedule with you, and what you will be studying. I have talked with many Ministry members and have come to a conclusion that you may start learning things more…..earlier than when otherwise circumstanced. You will have to learn to Apparate, make certain things such as Portkeys. I have made out a schedule that would be good to accommodate you and your normal school schedule," he conjured up a piece of parchment and gave it to Harry.
Harry searched over it and looked over a lot of new things. He was to have Occlumency with Dumbledore on Tuesdays and Fridays, a more advanced Dark Arts lesson with Snape (which was to be said that he would take remedial potions again) on Mondays and Thursdays, and only very few Wednesdays would be spent with Professor McGonagall with miscellaneous needs. He then thought of something.
"Professor, why do I only have every other week with Professor McGonagall?" He thought it odd, to just have every other week with someone when he was taking every thing he learned at the best and fastest pace he could.
"Well, I thought you could do with some time to coach your Quidditch team." Harry froze. He thought his lifetime ban would last, but then thought about what Umbridge did over the last year, and how the Ministry would also know about that too. But him, captain! It was something he never really thought about, but he was so shocked and ecstatic to be given the position. He was speechless from such shock and question.
"As much as it might cloud some of our teachings to you, we thought that it was best that you carry on with something that you are so talented at, and you might be able to blow off some steam." Dumbledore smiled a big and wide smile that was the first true smile Harry had seen in months.
Draco walked back inside to find his mother sitting at the kitchen table, eating out of a very small bowl of porridge. She looked up and smiled at him. "So, how did it go?" she asked. Draco didn't need to know what she meant by "it."
"I am learning very fast, according to MacNair," Draco replied as resolute as he could. "I hope that I will learn enough to show father how advanced I have become."
"Your father has already seen it, but will not tell you of it in fear of him thinking that you will neglect trying harder because of your confidence," she said to him with a deep look of something that Draco couldn't quite place in her eyes. She never did speak like this, nor as much as she just did. Her eyes were a deeper blue than Draco's, and they always had something behind them that was hidden. Her pale skin was even paler in the cold weather they were having in the region, and it made her look almost ill. He then noticed that her face looked a lot more sagged and white.
"Mother, are you all right?" he queried, in concern for her. All though he was now a Death Eater and didn't have much time for family, he needed to protect his mother in any way possible.
"Yes, fine dear. I just have a bit of a cough. I'll get Hundy to brew up a cold potion for me, and I'll get some rest later," she said hurriedly, dismissing anything that had to do with her health away as best as possible. He knew that she felt somewhat responsible for his father's imprisonment, and didn't want to include any of her woes into the web of problems that they were already facing.
"So, you're going to meet with MacNair a little later, I assume?" she asked, attempting and succeeding at changing the topic.
"Yes, and I must go upstairs and get some rest to prepare for it, so I will see you later," he said as he rose slowly from his chair, as his medicine was wearing off, and gave his mother a quick and respectful peck on the cheek before climbing the steps behind where his mother was sitting. He made his way to his room, and just as he sat on his bed, he immediately collapsed into dreamless rest.
Harry had already had a nice and refreshing conversation with his headmaster about hippogriffs, and was finished with his breakfast, so without consulting any of the grown-ups, he went upstairs to go play a few games of Exploding Snap with Ron and Ginny.
"So, Ginny," Ron said in a somewhat agitated voice, "Have you heard anything from Dean Thomas?" Harry couldn't help but snort. Ron was not handling the fact that one of his good friends was interested in Ginny in a way other than plain friendly very well at all.
"Actually, I got a letter from him the day before we came here," she said with a shy smile growing on her face. "He was just checking up on me, and wanted to see if we could meet up at Diagon Alley before school starts up again," she answered quickly with a slight tinge of pink on her cheeks. She put down her card which snapped! Ron's hand that was close to the pile they were playing on. He jumped back a bit from the pain, as he hadn't been paying attention to the game, but his sister with a look of horror on his face.
"You know that we can't go to Diagon Alley this year, mum and dad won't let us!"
"That's exactly what I told him when I wrote him back. He'll understand. But you, I think you'll need to watch out this year, the girls will be chasing our king around, what with his newfound talent," Ginny retorted with a satisfied voice at her strong comeback.
Harry just played his card and looked out the window. He couldn't help but think about Luna during Ginny's and Ron's now heated argument. She had left him in a nice note the last time he saw her. He knew that she was a little different, but that was what he liked. She didn't care if she got ridiculed about thinking that there were such things as Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, and she didn't talk unfairly about other people.
"Harry?" He looked back at the two red-faced siblings staring at him.
"What?"
"Do you agree with Ron or me?" Ginny said in a rather impatient voice.
But before Harry could even attempt to get himself out of this sticky situation, there was a knock on the door. It came to be Lupin who slightly opened it so that he could see all three of them. "Um, I don't mean to interrupt, but I'm going to need Harry for a while." Harry stood up and looked at the other two as if to say, "I have no idea what's going on" and walked out of the room without another word. They silently went down the stairs, and Harry followed Lupin into the drawing room.
Instantly the first thought that came into Harry's head was Sirius and his bag of dead rats last summer on the same chair that he was looking at. He looked over to Lupin who was looking back, and smiled at him warmly as if to let him know that he knew and wouldn't interfere with his memory.
Harry then spoke up. "So…."
"Oh, I thought you had some questions about your parents last year, and unfortunately, we couldn't let you know the whole story, so I asked Dumbledore if I could borrow his Pensieve, and he was absolutely thrilled to let me. I put in some of my memories of them and how they got together, and some things that I thought you would find interesting. So, would you do the honors of going in first?" Lupin gestured at the silver box, and Harry stepped slowly to it. He would finally get to see what happened to his parents.
A/N: I am sorry that it is more boring and short, but it was setting up more plot for chapter 6! I promise that you'll not be disappointed with the next chapter! And again, sorry for not updating, and thanks a bunch to Slate_One for making me get back into the swing! I will most likely get the next chapter out next weekend, but on Saturday I have to go to an audition for an orchestra. Maybe I'll get something written in the hangtime I have there.