Disclaimer: I don't won Harry Potter, or any of it's characters, so don't sue me!
Pairings: H/D and N/? so far…
Plot: Harry, a.k.a.; Guy, is coming back home. After the war and Voldemort was defeated, Harry walked away from his life and the after-effects of the battle, seeking refuge from the world in his persona - Guy. Now, it's time for him to face the music, and that which manages to scare him, when Voldemort always managed to fail.
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Chapter Four
Dumbledore slowly blinked at the young man sat opposite him at his desk, "So…you don't want people to know who you really are?"
"Correct." Dipping his head slightly, Harry puzzled over the Headmaster's bumbling. Whilst the old man thoroughly enjoyed playing up to the idea of an incompetent old man who should be in a nursing home or a mental institution, as opposed to running a school, Harry had never seen the man so obviously play for time.
Meeting Dumbledore at the bottom of the stairs had certainly surprised the old man, especially when he didn't have any problem recognising the young man he'd long thought dead. The offer of a cup of tea, and a lemon drop had quickly been issued, and gently rejected. When Harry had broached the topic of him becoming a teacher at Hogwarts, Dumbledore had been thrilled with the idea, quickly offering him the position as Professor of Muggle Studies.
Harry had been pleased that Dumbledore hadn't offered him the Quidditch or Defense Against the Dark Arts posts, which he'd always been considered best at before. Muggle Studies was something he could definitely do though, and would hopefully keep him grounded in the wizarding world.
As soon as Harry had brought up the topic of keeping his real identity hidden though, the Headmaster had clammed up with the speed of a shellfish about to be eaten. Unable to understand his reasoning, Harry subtly probed the Headmaster with his eighth sense. An abating sadness immediately rose to meet him, accompanied by new hope, as well as a slight disappointment. What was the Headmaster disappointed about? That Harry had run away? That Harry wasn't dead?
As Harry's brain was trying to analyse the Headmaster's emotions, a sense of anticipation suddenly overran the other feelings, and Harry picked up the faint sound of the spiral staircase rising through the office door.
"Headmaster? It was…hard enough, to come back. To face everybody though…" Allowing his mask to slip, Harry showed Dumbledore his uncertainty, and the bone-deep urge to flee, in an attempt to get the Headmaster to keep his identity secret.
"Fine." Dumbledore looked disappointed for a moment, but mischievousness soon rose up in his emotions, although the only sign of it on the outside was the twinkling of his eyes. "I don't like it though, and as such I will make no attempt to hide your identity, aside from not announcing it publicly. If they happen to figure it out from…hints, or such, then so be it."
Mind rapidly calculating the risk involved with that agreement, Harry barely managed a nod of agreement before the door to Dumbledore's office was opened from the outside.
Standing, glowering in the doorway, loomed the ominous figure of Professor Snape. His mouth open, no doubt to deliver a stinging comment to the Headmaster, Snape abruptly closed it when he got a look at the occupants of Dumbledore's office. Taking a look at the stunned expression his resident potions master was sporting, Dumbledore then turned back to Harry, a smile of blatant satisfaction turning his lips upwards.
Or, at least, he turned to where Harry had last been. Perched primly in the self-same seat the missing Harry Potter had been occupying, a sleek black cougar blinked innocent green eyes up at the two gawping wizards.
Casually licking one black paw, Harry smoothed down a patch of fur, enjoying the feelings of shock emanating from both men. Briefly looking in the Headmaster's direction again, Harry slowly closed one green eye, an expression of feline satisfaction crossing his face, before he lightly jumped off his chair and sauntered out of the still-open door.
Halfway down the staircase, Harry reverted to human form, unable to control his slight snicker of amusement when he recalled the way Snape had jumped out of the cougar's way. He should have realised returning wouldn't be as easy as he'd hoped. Instead of teaching at Hogwarts and checking up on how everyone was doing, as an unimportant, unknown Professor, he'd have to keep an eye on Dumbledore to remain incognito. Maybe arriving cloaked in a glamour would have been a better idea, or just briefly spying on everybody.
No. No matter how much he wished he could deceive himself, Harry knew this was the only method available to him. Ascertaining people's mental and emotional health was a lengthy task, as such a quick spying job wouldn't be enough. And coming in disguise, whilst the easiest solution, would definitely make people suspicious and curious about him. Still, Dumbledore could have been a bit more accommodating. Yet, for whatever reason, the old man obviously disapproved of Harry not telling people who he really was. Oh, well. Hard ways are not necessarily all that bad, and if Dumbledore thought Harry was going to get caught out so easily, he had another thought coming.
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A silence of epic proportions descended in the Headmaster's office, as both men stared at the open door in shock.
"Albus," Snape finally said, turning to Dumbledore at last. "Were you having a conversation with that cat?"
Well done, Harry. Dumbledore thought to himself. You've obviously changed quite a bit. Unable to help himself, the old man felt the smile of anticipation spreading across his face, and ignored the strange looks Severus was giving him with the ease of practise. I can't wait to see what else you have up your sleeves.
Realising he was getting no response from his batty employer, Snape left the office, having forgotten his reason for going up there in the first place, muttering under his breath about men who talked to themselves and winking jungle cats.
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Turning a pleading look on the other man, Neville saw the sudden softening in the grey eyes, and felt the exhilaration of winning for the first time in a long time.
"No."
Maybe he'd overestimated his success slightly.
"Why not? You've always said 'no', but you've never said why." Pausing to look at Draco directly, Neville noted the slight tightening of his jaw, glad the conversation was having some impact. Even though he felt more comfortable around Draco, there was no denying that it sometimes felt like he was talking to a brick wall, for the amount of attention paid to him.
"You can pretend with everyone else, Draco. But I was there! I know you two were friends!"
"You were worried about him, that's why you argued so extensively against him fighting Voldemort on his own. I get that, I really do. I was worried too, but I knew it would make no difference what I did. The prophecy set the scene of the battle long before anybody knew a battle would have to take place."
"So tell me, just this once, Draco. Why don't you want to go and find Harry? Why don't you want your friend back?"
For a long moment Draco looked out over the lake, expression unreadable. Finally he turned to face Neville, anger clearly visible in his eyes. Anger at being pushed this far, anger at being vulnerable.
"He left, okay! He left." Turning back to the lake, a frown creased the normally smooth brow, as Draco battled with some thoughts on his own. "What if he doesn't want to come back?"
Suddenly feeling like crap for refusing to leave a sore subject alone, Neville accepted Draco's response and just stood next to the other man, trying to comfort him with his silent presence. Despite feeling bad, Neville knew it was good for Draco to finally open up slightly, and allowed his thoughts to drift to the newcomer they'd just come across.
The hallway had been shadowy, and the stranger's dark clothes had effectively hidden him from view. What little could be seen of his features had been confusing. The man had looked bored and arrogant, yet he hadn't seemed annoyed by their presence, rather he had greeted them both politely. Whoever the man was, he had shaken Draco up enough that it had taken Neville hardly any prodding before opening up, despite that fact that Draco had never opened up before.
"What are you thinking about now? I get worried when you go quiet, you're normally up to something when that happens, and it generally involved me to some degree." Peeping up at Draco, Neville judged the man recovered enough to take some more stirring.
"I was just thinking about that man."
Draco jerked slightly, eyes automatically looking back the way they had just come. "Yeah, he'd worth thinking about, I guess. Obviously a newcomer, given neither of us recognised him, and he didn't appear to recognise us. He evidently hasn't heard about us either, otherwise he'd be a bit more wary of the Professors here, wanting to know who the Death Eater and the werewolf are before befriending anybody. He looks a lot like…somebody else."
Interesting, Neville thought, I didn't even have to clarify what man I was talking about.
"It looked like he was waiting for Dumbledore though, so I guess we'll find out who he was soon enough. And if not, we can always ask for information."
Neville was about to question Draco's interest in the man, when the sound of a fight taking place distracted them both. Muttering something derogatory about feuding students, Draco stormed over to the students in question, doing his best impression of Snape to date.
Leaving his fellow Professor to it, Neville slipped over to the gardens. Flourishing beautifully with as many different species possible, the gardens were avoided like the plague, due to their caretaker, and guaranteed Neville privacy from staring students. Setting the matter of the newcomer aside for the time being, Neville picked up his pruning sheers and headed to the rose gardens. So few people entered Hogwart's official gardens anymore, that very few students were actually aware they had rose gardens.
Sorry it took so long to update - and sorry that this chapter is all over the place! Still, I hope you like it, and I've got something's you should probably know in order to understand this fic better.
As you've probably noticed, Harry is not your usual wizard, this is how he managed to defeat Voldemort, but nobody ever found out how powerful he really is. Here are some - extra - powers of his;
(1) He has eight senses, as opposed to the normal five: 1-sight; 2-hearing; 3-touch; 4-taste; 5-scent; 6-heat; 7-spirit; 8-emotion (as you've probably noticed, he uses the eighth one a lot!) à all of his 'regular' senses are marginally better than a normal person's as well, which makes eavesdropping easier!
(2) He is an animagus, but with no fixed form, although he only has a certain amount down pat so far: 1-cougar; 2-black cat; 3-raven; 4-snake; 5-dragon.
(3) He can turn invisible at will.
(4) He can work wandless magic.
(5) He can apparate.
(6) All of his magic is generally stronger/more potent than a normal witch or wizard's.
Anyway, let me know if you liked this chapter or not, and reviews are always welcome! ^_^