Chapter 2
Harry settled into the armchair. It was hard to think of this as an office, he had spent so much time here. He heard the door behind him open and shut.
"Mr. Potter, as nice as it is to see you, I didn't expect you for some two months. In fact, I believe you were staying at the Weasley household last I checked." Albus Dumbledore made his way behind his desk, giving Harry a rather indecipherable look.
Harry had seen the headmaster since that night, but still couldn't quite determine what the old man thought. Maybe Dumbledore didn't even know.
"Professor, I couldn't stay here. They're going through so much with Ron-" He just couldn't say it, but Dumbldore knew what he meant.
Dead.
Ron was dead and Harry just couldn't surround himself with mourning Weasleys. But there was more to it. "I mean, as much as they say I should stay, I feel I'm unwelcome."
"Unwelcome, Harry?"
Harry remembered his day at the Weasley's. It had begun with Ron's funeral. Harry hadn't spoken, he just didn't feel it was his place. Then Mrs. Weasley had insisted he come home with them. They had all acted very nice, but Harry knew.
They blamed him.
And they had every right to. Ron should still be alive, by all rights. If it hadn't been for Harry, Ron would never have been there. If it hadn't been for Harry, Hermione wouldn't have disappeared. Two of the best people he knew, one dead, one...well, she might almost be better off dead.
As much as he knew all of this, he didn't need to be told. Dinner was bearable, Mrs. Weasley had tried to make conversation, but she failed miserably. Bill had arrived late, in the middle of the meal. He had missed the funeral, but he knew what happened, Ginny had sent him a letter in Egypt. At sixteen, his youngest brother had died. As the family found renewed grief, Harry found backs turned to him. Percy hadn't as much as looked at him, bar a glare, since he arrived. Fred, George, and Charlie, while much more accepting of Harry's presence, were still as yet unable to include him in their mourning. It seemed only Ginny was there to share it with him.
After some immeasurable amount of awkward time, Harry had left and gone upstairs to the room he was to share with Percy. He got changed and started to go to bed, but couldn't sleep. His mind kept turning the events of the past few days over and over.
Then Percy came up to bed. Harry tried to pretend he was asleep but, of course, he suddenly really had to go to the bathroom. Why did that always happen when he tried to pretend to sleep? Finally, he gave up and got up, trotting down the hall to the toilet. When he returned, Percy was sitting in bed awaiting him, venom in his eyes.
"Why did you come here?" The question was sharp, piercing.
Harry deliberately misinterpreted. "Your mum asked me to-"
"No. Why did you come? Did you come to laugh at us? To mock my dead brother's memory?"
"No, I-" He didn't know why. To offer comfort, he guessed, but he hadn't been doing a particularly good job of that. To help out? There wasn't much he could do with all of the Weasleys home too. To get away. He was here because he didn't want to go home, couldn't go home. The Dursleys were more than he could deal with after all of this. He felt miserable, admitting it to himself. He couldn't tell Percy. He just looked at his toes and let the man draw his own conclusions.
"I thought so. Well, then, be proud of yourself, we're hurting. Happy?" With that, Percy rolled over and huffed into silence.
Harry, too, was silent. He climbed into bed and soon entered his fitful sleep.
But how could he tell all of that to Dumbledore? The kindly old man sat smiling at him over his spectacles. "Unwelcome, sir. It...it was just a feeling."
Thankfully, the old man seemed to accept that. "Well, then, how can I help you?"
"Actually..." Harry worried his hands together, "I was wondering if I could stay here for the rest of the summer. I...I can't go back to the Dursley's."
He knew he was asking for a lot of understanding, but Dumbledore seemed to be in a generous mood.
"I suppose that can be arranged." The old man mused for a moment. "But I can't have you in Gryffindor Tower, or any of the other dormitory areas for that matter. There would be no way to ensure supervision. Even a single student is still the school's responsibility." Dumbledore began to walk toward the door, so Harry stood and followed him. "No, no, can't have you off on your own. You'll have to stay just down here."
The headmaster abruptly turned down a corridor next to the Great Hall Harry could have sworn hadn't existed a moment before. It was lined with highly decorative doors which they passed several of. Harry wondered briefly at the purpose of this wing before Dumbledore began to explain.
"This is the faculty wing. There is a living establishment in this wing for every professor at the school. Most of them have returned home for the summer, so the majority are empty. But we can't have you mussing up someone's quarters, now can we? Good thing a few subjects have been removed from the curriculum since the founding of the school."
The decorations on the doors were getting darker and dustier from disuse. "Ah, here." The headmaster threw open a door, revealing a rather comfortable, if dusty, apartment. "I trust this will do? You may find some quirks, but I doubt anything will bite. The password is 'Constant Vigilance.' Make yourself at home."
"Hey, that sounds like-"
"Alastor Moody, yes. Perhaps I should have shown him this room before...but we all made our sacrifices, Mr. Potter."
"Yes, we did. Thank you, Professor, for letting me stay..."
"I would have to say, it's my honor." With that, the headmaster turned and walked back off down the hall, leaving Harry to become acquainted with his new living quarters.