CHAPTER 3 – Dumbledore
Harry suddenly felt himself drop onto a hard wood floor, unable to stay on his feet. He kept his eyes shut tightly and his teeth gritted for only a few seconds before he felt comfortable enough to ease himself into his new surroundings. When he opened his eyes and was once again on his feet, Harry surveyed the room. It took him no time at all to realize that he was in the drawing room of Grimmauld Place, and by himself. Not two seconds later, however, there were two loud pops next to the entrance and he was joined by Lupin and Kingsley.
"Well, here we are," said Lupin cheerfully. "Welcome back, Harry." For the first time that afternoon, however, Lupin found himself privy to a flash of darkness that coursed its way through Harry's eyes. His previously content demeanor had quickly changed to one of grimness.
"I don't want to be here. You of all people should understand that. Why were you told to collect me from Little Whinging? Why have decisions regarding my life been made, without so much as even asking for my consent?" Harry nearly growled through his gritted teeth.
Obviously realizing that the situation was more delicate than he had previously thought, Lupin was careful with his response. "I am sorry that you are upset. You have every right to be. And yes, I do understand why you might wish not to be here. But, there are reasons for your having to return." Harry began to open his mouth to retort, but Lupin cut him off. "I assure you that all of your questions will be answered as soon as Professor Dumbledore arrives," he quickly stole a glance at his watch, "which should be any time now. Why don't you have a seat on the couch? Kingsley can take your things upstairs to your room and I will go put on some tea. Alright? Good. Sit now and we'll be right back." With that, both men turned on their heel and retreated from the room. They had cleared out so quickly that Harry hadn't even had the chance to express his agreement with the idea before they were out of sight.
He was left standing in the middle of the room, astonished by what had just happened. Eventually, though he took Lupin's advice and sank himself onto the aging brown couch. He was just about to get up and walk around, when in walked Professor Dumbledore.
"Hello Harry. I see you arrived without any complications," he stated matter-of-factly.
"Er—hello sir," he replied. Harry found he was still slightly embarrassed for the way he had acted in the headmaster's office the last time they had spoken. However, he had just realized this, as he was finding it difficult to look the man in the eyes. Harry felt awful. The situation was already awkward, and they had only been in each other's presence for all of 10 seconds. Feeling a mild surge of his Gryffindor bravery make it way through his body, he decided he should say something. "Uh, sir, I...about that night...I didn't mean to –"
"You need not apologize. All is forgiven and forgotten. You see, that small incident is in the past now. It is time to move forward. I'm not just talking about what happened in my office, though." He walked to a chair adjacent from the couch where Harry was planted, and sat. "This is one of the reasons you have been brought here to Grimmauld Place. Harry, I realize that I haven't always made the right decisions, and for that I apologize. But, now I need you to look past my mistakes. I need you to move forward...and to trust me again."
Harry sat there, his eyes fixed on the man. This was very different from the last time they spoke, when Dumbledore had taken quite a while to get to the point. This time he just dove right in to things. Something was refreshing about this new approach the old man had, though. Harry sensed that he was finally being taken seriously, and almost felt that he was being treated as an adult, merely by the way the professor spoke to him. At this thought, he felt as though a small weight lifted from his shoulders. "I trust you, sir," he said firmly.
"Good. Now that we have resolved that issue, it is time to get down to business. As I said, now is the time to move forward. I realize that your emotions are still a bit frail with regard to recent events, but I need you to be strong so that we can progress. That being said, the reading of Sirius' will is to take place three days from now in this very room. As the executor of his will, I can tell you now that Sirius mentions you; but, at this time I can reveal nothing further. Since you are named in the will, you will be expected to attend."
Harry's expression had yet again gone sour. It was bad enough that he was gone, but now Sirius was going to make him sit through a reading of his will. This was definitely not something he wished to be present at.
Sensing what was going through Harry's mind, Dumbledore said, "You must be strong, Harry. We need you now more than ever. I need you to be strong. Sirius would most definitely not want you to sulk over him."
As much as he wanted to sit there and slip even further into his grave thoughts, something about the bluntness with which the headmaster speaking to him was intriguing. Again, he felt as if he were being treated as an equal, and with respect. "I know. It's just so hard. But, I think you are right." Something was beginning to awaken inside him. "No, I know you are right. I can be strong. I will be strong. It is what Sirius would want. He was a fighter."
"Yes he was. He was a very brave man. I find it funny that he had such an influence on you, in such a short amount of time. You, much like him, are extremely smart, caring, and strong-willed. What's more evident, though, is the immense amount of bravery you have already exhibited since learning that you are a wizard. He was a brave man; But, I doubt there are many witches or wizards alive that possess as much bravery as you."
Harry could feel the warmth radiating from the man. He didn't even find it difficult to keep eye contact while the man praised him and caused his cheeks to turn slightly red. Harry knew at that very moment that he would never again question Dumbledore's motives.
"So, can I count on you to be present at the reading?" asked the Headmaster.
"Yes, "he replied simply.
"Excellent. Now, we must now discuss your living arrangements for the remainder of the summer. Rather than have you go to the Burrow, I would like you to remain here. I know you would prefer to be with your friends, but I have my reasons, and among them is your safety. This house is much more secure than the Burrow. Your safety is virtually guaranteed while you are here. Now, this brings me to another matter altogether. I would like you to begin training everyday. Only, I would like to keep quiet the fact that you will be preparing yourself. The less people who know, the less of a chance there is that Voldemort will find out." Dumbledore paused for a moment after this last comment. When he continued, Harry immediately recognized the seriousness with which he spoke.
"It is my belief, Harry, that you are destined to be a magnificently powerful wizard. I have felt this since the first time I ever laid eyes on you. I always assumed, though, that you would grow into your destined greatness. I can see now, that you were not meant to travel down that particular path. No, I am afraid that the time has come. With my help, as well as that of a few others, you are going to acquire the knowledge and the know-how to defeat Voldemort, as I believe you are destined to do."
Harry was speechless. He was clueless as to how he should respond. Sure, he knew that in the end, either he or Voldemort would die. Until now, though, Harry had never considered the fact that he might actually be the one to win. He still wasn't confident about such a result, but when he considered Dumbledore's words, he certainly felt a little more hopeful about the whole thing. Dumbledore was the greatest wizard of this age, after all. If he was going to oversee Harry's training, then surely the odds weren't completely in Voldemort's favor. Intrigued by this notion, Harry suddenly felt inclined to speak.
"Sir, how can I beat him?" he asked.
"I would be lying if I told you I knew the answer to that question. What I do know, is that when the time comes that you must face him again, he will be caught completely by surprise. You see, he still does not know what the prophecy contained. He does not know that he marked you as his equal, as the prophecy states. And as you know, he still believes after all of your encounters, that you are no match against him. I assure you, Harry, that the next time you face Voldemort, he will quite shocked at your development."
"Okay, so who knows what I am doing this summer?"
"Myself, Mr. Lupin, Mr. Shacklebolt, Mr. Moody, and Professor McGonagall," he replied.
"What about the Weasleys?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Ah, well, I feel that for the time being, we must keep them in the dark about this. There are several reasons, and among them is their safety. The less they know, for now, the less danger they are in. Also, I'm sure that Molly Weasley would insist upon the family relocating here for the summer, in order to keep you company. I'm sorry, but I wish you to have no distractions while you train."
"Can I at least tell Ron, Hermione, and Ginny?"
"I would prefer you not, at least for now."
This was too much. He couldn't even tell his best friends? He knew that if he wanted to be treated as an adult, though, he needed to act as one. Thus, he decided against arguing, and instead concentrated harder on what his professor was saying.
"But eventually, I can tell them? I mean, they are my best friends. I have to tell them eventually."
"Yes, you can tell them at a later time." He replied. "What other questions do you have?"
Harry never ceased to be surprised by the intuition of Dumbledore. How did he always know what Harry was thinking?
"Well, sir, I was curious about my training. What will I be doing, exactly?" asked Harry.
"First and foremost, your Occlumency lessons will resume." Harry couldn't suppress a frown, which Dumbledore glimpsed, and then added, "This time I will be your teacher, though. I will come by every other evening for your lesson. We will continue with the lessons until you are able to completely block out potential intrusions into your mind."
With that, Harry remembered about his dream. Should he tell Dumbledore about it right now? Before he had the chance to say something, however, the professor continued.
"I am confident that after only a few lessons you will have it mastered. Now, during your days here Mr. Lupin will be putting you through an intense workout, which will include not only advanced defensive spells, but some offensive spells as well. Plus, you will begin a physical workout, which you will quickly discover to be a great help if ever in battle."
"What sort of physical training, sir?" he asked.
"I believe Mr. Lupin will have you jogging every day in order to build your stamina. I'm sure you will also be learning various muggle forms of hand-to-hand combat. We want you to be prepared for any situation." He paused before continuing. This leads me to the next aspect of your training. You will learn to apparate."
"Sir, how am I going to learn to apparate, or even perform magic outside of school? I am still underage."
"You need not worry about that. I have taken care of the legal matters. You are being granted special permission to use magic this summer. As far as your apparition skills...well, we just won't tell anyone yet," said Dumbledore with a bit of a magical grin buried beneath his beard. "As I already told you, I'd rather not many people know about your training for the time being." With this, Dumbledore turned serious yet again.
"I cannot express enough to you how important it is that we keep all of this quiet." He said.
"I understand, sir. You don't need to worry about—"
But Harry was cut off. Dumbledore seemed to feel the need to pound this message into Harry's head. He was now noticeably less calm as he spoke.
"I must apologize. I know I keep talking as if you are the one that might let slip this secret. That is not my intention. You deserve to know the truth. Voldemort has his ways of gathering information, and I would be lying if I told you that our ranks are impenetrable by spies. Unfortunately, we are uncertain as to whether there is someone feeding him information, since he has yet to make a move. We can only assume, however, that eventually he will get to someone and use them against us. Therefore, we must keep certain issues under wraps. The less people who know, the less chance he has of finding out."
"Constant vigilance," Harry muttered to himself.
Dumbledore seemed to quickly regain the slight bit of composure he had lost.
"Alastor has the right idea. He may be slightly extreme at times, but he knows the other side's capabilities. You would do well to listen to him. He will be assisting Remus occasionally with your training. Pay attention and you will learn a great deal."
There was a moment of silence, in which neither spoke. Finally, standing up, Harry looked to the headmaster, "I will professor. I promise. Is that everything?" Harry was beginning to get hungry, and wondered where Lupin was with the tea.
"Actually, Harry, we have one more item on the agenda."
"Oh, okay. What is it, sir?" he asked as he returned to his seat.
"This concerns the Order of the Phoenix. After much deliberation, we have decided to extend you an invitation to join."
Harry was struck hard by this statement. He could not believe his ears. Finally, he was being treated as an equal and not some irresponsible little boy of eight years old. Before Dumbledore could even continue, Harry blurted out the words, "I accept."
Dumbledore chuckled lightly. "I figured as much. But, I must tell you that even though you will become part of the Order, once school begins you will be expected to continue to fulfill your academic obligations. You must not allow any information you learn at a meeting to overtake your mind, and lead you away from your responsibilities as a student."
"I won't professor. I can handle the schoolwork. If I begin to fall behind, I can always have Hermione help me," he said reassuringly.
"Yes, I know. Speaking of Miss Granger, I must also tell you that your friends are not being given the same invitation that you have received."
Harry's heart suddenly halted. He hadn't thought about that. He had just figured that since he was going to join the Order, his friends would be there with him, too.
"But, sir –,"he began.
"I apologize, but it was the general consensus of the members of the Order, that they not be allowed in with you. We are already going against one of our most firm rules by allowing you to join while still underage and in school. However, given the circumstances, one exception can be made."
"I'll just tell them everything anyway. You may as well let them hear it for themselves," he tried.
"Several members figure that will be the case, however, I have a feeling that your stance on this subject may change once you have sat through a meeting. In order to protect the ones you love, sometimes you must keep them in the dark. However, I cannot and will not make you keep the information you hear, to yourself. I will, though, request that you not tell them you have been asked to join the Order, until after your first official meeting as a member. That will be next week sometime, barring anything unexpected."
"I can't even tell them I'm a member?" he asked outraged.
"Again, I will not force any decision upon you. I am simply asking you to at least wait until after you have experienced one of the meetings for yourself."
After thinking this through for a moment, Harry decided that it was a reasonable request.
"Okay. I won't say anything for now. But, I won't change my mind. They are my friends, and they are in this with me. They deserve to know."
"Very Well," he said as he stood. "Now, I must go, for I have some other work in which to attend. I shall return tomorrow night for your first Occlumency lesson of the summer. Goodbye Harry."
"Goodbye professor."
Dumbledore turned, and strode out the door, leaving Harry alone on the couch, with many things to think about. This summer was definitely going to be different, he thought to himself as he leaned back against one of the large pillows.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I promise the next one will be more interesting. Things will actually begin happening. I probably won't be able to post for two or three nights, though. I still have to go through and edit the chapter, and I am going to be swamped with school and work the next couple of days. If I can find some time, though, I will work on getting it finished. Please remember to review! Thanks
