Disclaimer: I am a starving college student - I own nothing.
Chapter 6: Hide and Seek
Harry Potter was exceedingly pissed off.
Harry Potter was not thinking clearly.
Harry Potter went and retrieved his invisibility cloak.
Harry Potter went to Hogsmeade.
Harry Potter summoned the Knight Bus.
Harry Potter went to a nearby Muggle city.
Harry Potter went to a night club.
Harry Potter had a few drinks.
Harry Potter didn't notice as a dark-haired girl of about Harry's own age approached his table.
"Excuse me," the girl said.
Harry Potter was pulled from his broodings by a female voice.
"Would you mind if I sit with you? Only that Obnoxious Male over there simply will not leave me be, and I was hoping that if I was sitting with someone I could find a bit of peace." The girl seemed unsure of Harry's reaction.
Ever the Noble Gryffindor, Harry rose halfway, gesturing toward the chair opposite him.
"Yes, of course," said Harry, embarrassed at having been caught lost in his own thoughts. "Please, have a seat."
Harry sympathized with the girl's plight. He understood quite keenly the annoyance associated with unwelcome attention. Harry nearly shuddered as he thought of Colin Creevy.
"Thanks," the girl said as she seated herself, "I really appreciate it. My name's Neta." The girl held out her hand, and Harry shook it. "Mine's Harry, nice to meet you."
"Likewise," said the girl.
Harry noticed for the first time that the girl held a scrap of plain paper in her left hand as the girl unfolded it, pulled a pencil from behind her ear, and continued working on an odd-looking sketch.
Harry watched the girl draw. One part of the sketch looked oddly like an intermediate stage of the transition from tree to dog. Harry assumed he was in an intermediate stage of the transition from Relatively Psychologically Stable to Raving Lunatic.
Harry was quite glad that the girl didn't want to engage in inane chatter. He didn't quite feel up to going through the motions of the disingenuous pleasantries people tried to pass off as politeness.
Harry was absentmindedly watching the drawing progress into a fuller picture when he caught sight of a flash of blond hair and black robes through the tinted glass front of the pub. The figure was heading toward the entrance to the pub.
Glancing around the pub quickly, Harry saw that peoples' attentions were elsewhere. Harry slipped under the table and pulled his invisibility cloak over himself.
Lucius Malfoy, Almighty Arrogant Arse, Sneering Aristocrat, and Death Eater, condescended to enter a Muggle pub, his cloak flowing, his cane in hand. Harry's stomach clenched as Malfoy's gaze fell on the table he was hiding under and he took the few short steps over to it. For a second Harry feared that Malfoy could see through invisibility cloaks, but when Harry heard Malfoy speak the man was addressing Neta.
"Have you seen a young man - dark hair, glasses, green eyes, scarred face?"
Bloody Hell. Harry knew he was in for it now.
"No," the girl replied simply, not sparing the strange man in front of her another glance. If the situation had not been so serious, Harry would have laughed at the sight of Malfoy being summarily dismissed by a Muggle.
Harry feared that Malfoy might react badly to the girl's curtness, but time was apparently of the essence as the man turned heel and left the pub without another word.
"Do you do that often? Disappear into thin air, I mean." Harry was shocked to hear Neta address him. She was looking at the spot he had occupied before putting on his invisibility cloak. She glanced around the table and spotted his school bag, which had hidden his invisibility cloak earlier.
Shit thought Harry. He hadn't the foggiest idea how he was going to extricate himself from this mess. He couldn't grab his bag and walk away, Neta was staring right at it. At least she had been looking elsewhere when Harry had slipped out of view. Harry couldn't just leave the bag either, as the contents were decidedly non-Muggle. Besides, this girl had very likely just saved his life, leaving without a word would be extremely rude.
Harry had an idea. He slowly picked up the pencil the girl had been sketching with, the cloth of his invisibility cloak covering his hand, and wrote 'Thank you' on the bottom of the scrap of paper.
The girl raised an eyebrow. "You're welcome," she said. "He didn't seem a man of good intentions."
That, thought Harry, was the truest thing he had heard all day.
"Best way to leave the city unnoticed is a car service at the train station run by a bloke named Anton," Neta added as an afterthought. "He's skilled in the art of discretion." The girl spoke quietly, looking nonchalantly at the tabletop as she spoke so as not to attract attention.
Harry briefly wondered how the girl knew of this and why she would have ever had the need to leave the city surreptitiously, but he quickly shrugged off the thought, covered his bag with his cloak, grabbed hold of it, and headed out the back door.
* * * * *
Harry stoically approached the gates of Hogwarts. He really was not looking forward to this.
Harry had had Anton drop him off a several miles away from Hogsmeade and had been walking under the cover of his invisibility cloak for the last tow and a half hours.
Harry was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted as he once again set foot on the Hogwarts grounds. Reliving the death of his Godfather, being hunted by Death Eater's, and having to stalk invisibly through the night did not leave Harry in the best of moods.
I won't apologize to them, Harry told himself as he stepped through the gates.
Harry opened one of the heavy castle doors and purposefully made his way to the headmaster's office.
"Pipsqueak," Harry said, and the gargoyle jumped out of his way. Harry would never understand the workings of Dumbledore's mind.
"Honestly Albus, you simply cannot be serious!" Harry heard Snape's voice address the Headmaster.
"Severus," Dumbledore said calmly, "Harry can be anywhere right now."
Ha! Wouldn't people be shocked to learn that Dumbledore doesn't know everything that goes on in this castle, Harry mused.
"And when we find him,"
"If we find him," interrupted Snape.
"When we find him, sending him back to the Dursleys' is the safest option available to us."
"Safest for whom?" countered Snape, exasperated with the direction of this conversation.
"You cannot send him back there, he will hate you for it, and I, for one, would not blame him."
Harry decided that he had heard enough. He knocked loudly on the door and the sound of voices came to abrupt halt.
Without waiting for an invitation, Harry opened the door to Dumbledore's office and stepped inside.
"I expected you might want to see me."
Harry was surprised to see Lupin and Tonks in the room as well, as he hadn't heard their voices.
"Harry!" Remus Lupin was the first to react to Harry's entry. He took an instinctive step toward Harry, then checked himself.
"Harry," Remus repeated sadly. "What on earth possessed you to run away like that?"
Run away? Harry had only wanted a well-deserved, in his opinion at least, break from them.
"I didn't run away," said Harry.
"Then what exactly were you doing, Harry?" Dumbledore asked quietly.
"I needed some space to breathe. I'm tired of having my every move controlled by someone. I was doing something I wanted to do for once, and for my own reasons." Harry hadn't meant to vent all of his frustrations with the Headmaster tonight, but Dumbledore had opened up the perfect opportunity for him, and before Harry new what he was doing, the words were coming out of his mouth.
"Your meddling, Professor Dumbledore," Harry said as he glanced pointedly at Professor Snape, Harry's voice and features now tired rather than irritated, "seems to have backfired."
The only person in the room who didn't look stunned that Harry would speak to Dumbledore in that way was Snape, who appeared rather amused by Potter's outburst, though thankfully nobody was paying attention to Snape. It wouldn't do to have people see his amusement.
Snape quickly schooled his features. "Do you realize the consequences of your actions, Potter?" Snape asked calmly."
"I realize that everyone is upset with me. I realize I took a risk, I realize that I survived that risk. And I realize, Professor, what Sirius must have felt like being caged the way he was."
Harry turned to Dumbledore. "Headmaster, I will not allow you to direct my life. I mean no disrespect, Sir, but making my decisions for me isn't any better than keeping important information from me."
Dumbledore nodded sadly. "I understand where you are coming from, Harry, but the risks are to great."
As Dumbledore looked Harry in the eye, Harry felt that now-familiar rising of hatred and anger within him. He wanted to kill the Headmaster. He wanted to bite the Headmaster.
"He will be mine." Harry heard himself say.
"Potter! Clear your mind. Force him out!" Snape barked.
Harry heard Snape's voice in the distant recesses of his mind, and pushed the intruder out of his mind the same way he would have done if it had been Snape in his mind during an Occlumency lesson.
Snape paled at the realization of what he had just done.
They didn't know exactly how the link worked.
Tonks turned to Snape, noticing his reaction. "Well, Snape, looking for a new career? You could always join us Aurors."
Snape growled. Harry had always thought that Snape's most loathsome looks were reserved for him alone, but apparently the thought of working for the ministry as an Auror was even more despicable to Snape. Harry imagined there was good reason for Snape's dislike of Aurors.
"We don't know that the Dark Lord can see through Potter's eyes, and I am perfectly content with my present occupation, Nymphadora," Snape hissed, emphasizing Tonks' given name.
"We will discuss this privately," Dumbledore said to Snape, his eyes utterly twinkle-free.
"Harry, I have arranged for Professor Lupin and Auror Tonks to give you dueling lessons. I'm sure she would be happy to discuss the details with you."
Harry knew a dismissal when he heard one, and bid the Headmaster goodnight before leaving Dumbledore's office.
Well, that went smoothly, thought Harry sarcastically.
Harry wasn't about to argue with Dumbledore about not being consulted regarding the defense training with Lupin and Tonks after that little scene, though. Besides, this was something Harry could enjoy.
* * * * *
Harry collapsed onto his bed the moment he entered his room. Why do I always screw everything up? he wondered.
Harry knew that it was his fault that the Order had likely just lost its only spy, he was only thankful that he hadn't actually gotten Snape killed. Yet.
What if Voldemort had summoned Snape to assist in the search for him, Harry, and found out that Snape had known and hadn't informed him that the Boy-Who-Refused-to-Cease-Existing had been staying at Hogwarts? Why hadn't that occurred to Harry before?
The last thing Harry wanted was more blood on his hands.
But what if Snape returned? What if he went to Voldemort the next time he was summoned despite the risks?
"Well then it's his fault for being a bloody stubborn fool," Harry mumbled to himself. He had picked up the habit of doing that recently.
Harry heard something crash by his bed, followed by the sound of a yelp. Harry instinctively reached for his wand. Harry's heart was beating rapidly as he pulled aside the drapes surrounding his bed.
"Dobby!" Harry exclaimed in surprise as well as relief. "What on earth are you doing in here, Dobby?"
"Dobby is sorry Mr. Harry Potter, Sir. D-Dobby is wanting to check on Harry Potter,"
Dobby said, a little bit nervously.
Harry narrowed his eyes at Dobby. He could tell Dobby was hiding something.
"What aren't you telling me, Dobby?" Harry asked, arms folded across his chest.
Dobby twisted the ends of an overlarge frilly white apron that hung from his waist to his knees and looked like it belonged on a French maid rather than a house elf.
"Dobby is being a good elf and looking out for Harry Potter, Sir. Dobby is not wanting to see Harry Potter get hurt," Dobby blurted out in a rush.
"Dobby," Harry warned. Dobby fidgeted some more.
"Dobby is being a good elf, Harry Potter, Sir. Dobby will do as he is being told and look after Harry Potter, Sir."
Now they were getting somewhere. "Someone told you to spy on me, Dobby?"
Dumbledore, Harry thought. It has to be.
"Not spying, Sir, Dobby is never spying on Harry Potter, Sir. Dobby is only to be following Harry Potter, Sir, and keeping watch over Harry Potter, Sir, and making sure that Harry Potter is not getting into trouble, Mr. Harry Potter, Sir."
Well, as long as he's not spying on me, Harry thought sardonically.