Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to him or his story. Anything you recognise, I probably don't own.
Times Past
Chapter 3
"Wake up, Harry. Wake up."
Harry grunted and did his best to ignore the voice that had invaded his subconscious.
"Harry, you need to get up." Ron never knows when to quit, thought Harry sleepily. "Dumbledore's here to see you."
These words woke Harry immediately, but, in truth, he wasn't too sure that he wanted to see the headmaster of Hogwarts, even though – or perhaps because – the last time Harry had seen him the old wizard had been finally explaining why Voldemort was after him.
"Come on," said Ron, sounding rather impatient.
"Alright, alright, I'm coming," groaned Harry as he sat up, glaring at Ron. "I'll meet you down there."
Ron shrugged. "Fine. You'd better hurry though. He's in the kitchen."
Once Ron had gone, Harry got out of bed and walked slowly down towards the kitchen, trying to work out why Dumbledore would want to see him. There couldn't be anything more about his life that had been hidden from him, could there? Lost in his thoughts, Harry wandered into the - almost - deserted kitchen. Sitting in one corner was Dumbledore, eating bacon and eggs.
"Professor?" asked Harry quietly. "You wanted to see me?"
"Ah, Harry. I trust you slept well?"
"Yes, professor." Surely, Dumbledore had not simply wanted to see him to wish him Good Day.
"Sit down, Harry." As he did, Dumbledore continued, "I need to speak with you about your Occlumency. I know you do not get on well with Professor Snape and so, this year I will teach you. But you must promise to apply yourself. You cannot learn Occlumency unless you truly try."
Harry knew he was right. If he had concentrated last year, there would have been no need to go to the Ministry of Magic. No need for the fight; no need for Sirius to die.
Dumbledore peered solemnly at his student. "Grieving is a natural reaction, Harry," he said gently. "Just do not let grief and vengeance take over your life. If that happens you may become as bad - or even worse - than the late Tom Riddle."
"Late? He's alive. Alive and happily murdering anyone who has the slightest relationship with me," said Harry bitterly.
"Are you sure? The man who has named himself Lord Voldemort is certainly not the young and eager Tom Riddle who first came to Hogwarts. But that is not my point. Surely you do not wish to become a terror to the entire wizarding world." Dumbledore sighed. "I was hoping I would not have to do this but you need it - that much is obvious."
"Do what?" Harry asked apprehensively.
"I will tell you more later. First, you must work on your Occlumency. You need at least some skill before you can visit," said Dumbledore
"Visit where?"
"I will tell you once your Occlumency is improved. There are reasons, Harry," Dumbledore told him, his eyes not twinkling but misty, as though he was recalling the past.
"There are always reasons!" burst out Harry angrily. "But nothing is ever explained until we've worked it all out!"
Dumbledore didn't seem to hear him. As Harry was about to repeat himself, the headmaster asked, "Would you like to start your Occlumency today?"
Harry hesitated at first but then shrugged. "May as well, Professor."
"Very well."
Without warning, Dumbledore struck.
A flash of green light.
"It is too late, you understand me?"
'…has resulted in your expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'
"No one lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you"
Harry tried to push Dumbledore away, but to no avail. The wizard continued to shuffle through his memories, ignoring Harry's attempts to escape.
"How did you survive?"
"There's nothing you can do, Harry… nothing … he's gone."
"Me. I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Potter."
"Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts."
"I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as – as – abnormal"
"Sirius Black. 'Course 'e was on the muggle news, Neville. Where you been?"
"MORSMORDRE!"
"Insane, Mad…"
If only he could find a weakness. Suddenly, something was different. Something had surprised Dumbledore, leaving a crack in his defences.
Harry hesitated for only a second before striking at the gap, trying to push away from the invading presence. He blinked and was surprised to discover he was no longer scrolling through his memories but instead standing in the kitchen, pointing his wand at Dumbledore – a Dumbledore whose legs were dancing of their own accord. His eyes twinkling, he performed the counter-curse on himself, not speaking until his feet were standing still.
"Congratulations, Harry," he said quietly. "But you need to be able to do that straight away – and without having to curse your adversary. When you have perfected Occlumency you should see anything at all, but simply remain where you are."
Harry nodded. "Should I try again?"
"No. You need to eat. You didn't have breakfast before coming to see me, did you?" Dumbledore shook his head. "No matter. Harry, practise every night. Professor Snape explained how, I believe?"
Harry nodded again.
"Well, just remember to practice."
Suddenly there was a loud crash, sounding as if it came from upstairs. Harry walked over to the kitchen door cautiously, wondering what had caused such a racket. Poking his head out the door, he winced as all the noise came in full volume. If he came back within the kitchen all was quiet, but of he ventured out, the noise was overwhelming. He could hear Mrs. Black's screeching and wailing, along with all the other portraits as well as shouting that sounded like some of the Order members.
Harry walked up the stairs, towards the source of the commotion. When he reached the top of the stairs, he saw Ginny arguing with George. Ginny had George at wand point and was yelling at him furiously. Harry moved towards them carefully, ready to dodge any hexes that might come flying towards him.
"Ginny? George? What's going on?" Harry asked, still prepared to duck or jump aside if necessary.
"This – This – idiot, he and his – his – idiot of a brother planted all their trick candy at the Order table" shouted Ginny angrily. "And of course everyone ate it – well, everyone except Moody and now they're all giant birds and – and lobsters and other creatures that my brother's utterly demented minds came up with."
"Okay. Ginny, calm down," Harry said, trying to do exactly that.
"CALM DOWN?" she exploded. "He did the bat bogey curse!"
"So?" asked Harry, getting more confused as the conversation continued,
"SO? SO?" Ginny shrieked. "Mum thinks I'm the only one who can do that curse! Why, I don't know but I do know that I'll get the blame!"
"Does she get like this a lot?" Harry asked George quietly.
"You have no idea," he replied fervently.
Harry turned to Ginny. One look at her face told him all he needed to know. Turning back to George, he shrugged.
"Sorry, but I've got to be going. Bye," said Harry, avoiding George's glances for help. He walked away as fast as he dared, painfully aware of his unprotected back. Just as he rounded a corner and breathed a sigh of relief, he ran into Ron.
"Harry! I've been looking for you," said Ron breathlessly. "You've got to see this."
"See what?" asked Harry curiously.
"The Order! Fred and George played some sort of trick on them – they're all different animals," said Ron excitedly.
"I know, I met Ginny on the stairs. She looks like she's about to kill the twins."
Ron shrugged. "I wouldn't worry; she's always like that for some reason or another. Come on, they're going to work out how to get the spell off soon."
"Fine."
Harry followed Ron over to the dining room, where an astounding spectacle met his eyes. Instead of the Order of the Phoenix sitting orderly around the table, it was a menagerie. Above the table, large green and slimy things were flying around. Harry grimaced – he didn't want to even think about what they might be. Even so, he stared in wonder at the chaos Fred and George had managed to cause. As he was gawking at the scene, Fred came up behind him.
"You like it?" he asked, grinning broadly.
"It's amazing," answered Harry. "But Ginny is ready to kill you. She's probably finished with George by now."
"Oh," said Fred. "I suppose I'm supposed to save him?"
"I think that's the general idea," replied Harry, grinning just as broadly as Fred.
Fred walked off, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, "I swear, she's turning into Mum."
Harry shook his head. He was watching the Order, smiling faintly, when Ron tapped him on the shoulder.
"We better get out of here," Ron said quietly, although he was grinning too. "They're starting to turn back. See," he said, pointing, "the lobster is getting a human hand again. I doubt they're going to worry about who really did it."
"You're right," said Harry regretfully. "We better go."
They turned and began walking towards the stairs. Just before they rounded the corner, they heard a shrieked "RONALD WEASLEY!"
The boys looked at each other and immediately started running.
"Just don't look back," panted Ron. "They can't blame us… can they?"