Chapter 3-Time for Questions
DISCLAIMER: Blahst!! Remind me again why I couldn't have been born JK Rowling...ah, well, that's how the story goes...just not my story...hehe. Oh, and I got the whole time thingy from a movie...Clockstoppers, I think it was called. WHY couldn't these be MY original ideas, WHY WHY WHY???? You'll see what I mean about the time in due time. (haha-that's punny D)
Harry awoke next morning unwilling to open his eyes. It was all a dream. There was no way it could be real. When Harry opened his eyes, he would still be at Privet Drive, moping in his bed, as usual. He had not been taken to Grimmuald Place, he did not have his own luxury suite, and he definitely did not see a portrait of his godfather the previous night. It had all been such a wonderful dream. Wait a second, Harry thought, I don't have good dreams. He quickly popped his eyes open to find himself laying comfortably on the sofa in his bedroom. He smiled to himself contentedly, wondering at his momentary happiness.
A sudden knock on the door broke him out of his reverie. It was Dobby, looking slightly unsure.
"Dobby is sorry to be disturbing you sir. The headmaster is sending Dobby to wake Harry Potter. He is wishing to see you, sir."
"Thanks, Dobby."
Harry literally rolled off the couch and onto the floor. I hate getting up. He walked over to the door, looking for his trunk, but saw that it was no longer there. Of course. Probably already put away. He walked over to the closet doors and opened them. His belongings barely took up a quarter of the space. He got dressed hurriedly and, before taking his leave, glanced once more at the moving painting above the fireplace.
Dumbledore was waiting for Harry in the kitchen. As Harry stepped out from under the staircase, he took note of how quiet and uncrowded the so-called Order Headquarters was. He made his way over to the closed kitchen door and reached out to open it only to find that it had done so of its own accord.
"Harry." Dumbledore was looking at him with that characteristic searching gaze. Once again Harry got the feeling that Dumbledore knew what he was thinking.
Harry voiced his thoughts before Dumbledore had a chance to answer them without Harry asking. "Why isn't anyone here? Isn't this supposed to be Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix?"
"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about." There was mild surprise in his voice. "As it is, you are now the sole beneficiary to the Black family fortune. Anything that was theirs is yours now. The Order cannot use this house without your permission, even though you are underage."
"Right. Well, you didn't need to ask really. You already know my answer. Of course you can use it. What good would this place be otherwise?"
"Excellent, Harry, excellent. Now, I would like to sort out a regular time for your lessons."
"Lessons, sir?" And then Harry remembered. "Oh!-occlumency, you mean?"
"Right in one. I was thinking that three times a week should suffice. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays would be most convenient. What do you say?"
"Sounds great to me. But won't it cut into your time?"
"Ah, yes indeed it would, if not for one thing that, even I must say, is quite ingenious." He took out his wand and aimed it at his watch. After a complicated little wave, and a whispered incantation, he showed Harry his watch.
"It's stopped," Harry said after about 10 seconds.
"Not quite. You see, we've been made to go quite a bit faster than everything else in the room, so the watch appears to have quit working. Actually, we're going too fast to notice its motion." Harry glanced back at the watch and studied it more closely. He could just barely see the slightest bit of movement in the second hand.
"So...We work for an hour, our time, and everything else goes through...53 seconds?" Harry said this without thinking, as if it had just popped into his mind.
Dumbledore frowned. How did Harry know that? And such an obscure number? He thought it best not to point out to Harry how remarkable his pronouncement had been. Instead, he said. "Yes...that is the number I assigned. I am quite fond of that number, although I could never fathom why." He gave Harry a sly wink and grinned his 'I'm-a-crazy-batty-old-man-who-you-wouldn't-expect-to-joke-but-does' grin.
Harry shook himself out of his own thoughts. How had he known that? He quickly decided that his subconscious had heard Dumbledore mutter the number while casting the spell and dismissed it. He grinned back at the headmaster. Not the kind of person you'd expect a joke out of, but all the same. Dumbledore tapped his wand to his watch and they returned to normal speed.
"Hey professor, do you think you could teach me that little trick?"
"I'm afraid that I can't teach it to you, Harry," he said, putting particular emphasis on the word teach. "I'm sure you could find it quite useful, but that spell is heavily regulated by the ministry. They seem to think that it could be dangerous in the wrong hands." He gave Harry another one of his winks. "Is there anything else you would like to know, Harry?"
"Actually, there are quite a few questions I would like to ask."
"Ask away. You realize, of course, that not all of them are certain to be answered."
Harry nodded. "First of all, what was last night all about? Why did you give me the run-through?"
"Well, Harry, that answer is quite simple. I had a busy schedule last night, but I still wanted to check on you to make sure you made it here alright."
"How is the Order doing? And what about the new Minister? You said that it was Amelia Bones...then what happened to Fudge-and-"
Dumbledore cut him off before he could ask any more. "Slow down Harry! The Order is doing just fine. We now have the Ministry with us, so things have gotten a lot smoother. We don't have to be lurking around, keeping secrets from the Ministry anymore. As for the new Minister-she was one of the top witches in the Wizengamot, as I'm sure you remember from your disciplinary hearing from last year. She is a very fair person, so she is a very suitable minister. Cornelius Fudge was taken out of office for his actions for the past year and had to pay a heavy fine."
Harry soaked all this information in like a sponge. He had a moment's hesitation before asking this next question: "Professor, why didn't you destroy all other sources of the prophecy? I mean, you know it, and you can't lose your memory of it. Why keep any other copies?"
Dumbledore thought for a minute before answering carefully."Harry-you remember the circumstances the prophecy in the ministry was under? Only you or Voldemort could remove it from its place in the Department of Mysteries. This copy is much different-" he paused, seeming to be dangerously close to revealing the new source. "Harry, I can't tell you why we haven't destroyed it without telling you what it is. I'm sorry, but I can't completely answer your question."
Harry frowned slightly. He was thinking. What type of source could this be that it can't be destroyed? An idea struck him. "Professor, what about professor Trelawney? If she was the one who gave the prophecy, wouldn't she be a source? In that case, she would be the source."
"Quite right Harry, but we have taken measures to be sure that there is now way she could possibly reveal the full contents, even if she were forced.
"But can't Voldemort break through memory charms?" He had assumed that his headmaster had simply wiped her memory with obliviate. He started again, but paused mid-sentence. "Remember Bertha Jorkins--what about your pensieve?" Where had that come from? The thought of the pensieve had surfaced itself in his mind.
"I don't understand what you are saying, Harry. I told you last night that Voldemort would not be able to get my pensieve, and so the record I have in my memory is safe."
"No, no. That's not what I meant. Couldn't you put Trelawney's memory of that night into the pensieve? That way there would be one less source wandering around."
Dumbledore gave him an appraising look. How was harry coming up with these things? "Actually, we've done just that. There is just that one other source, and Voldemort has found it." He looked down at his watch. "Oh, my. Harry, I'm afraid I must get going, now. I've spent too much time here already. I'll see you next Tuesday, then." He got up to leave, and Harry jumped out of his seat and blocked the door politely.
"Just one more question."
"Make it quick, Harry."
"Was my room always there?"
"Ah, yes, I was wondering why you hadn't asked about that yet. All I know is that the room was a place Sirius created for himself. He couldn't stand the rest of the house, so he made his own space. Really quite incredible, don't you think?"
Harry nodded and turned to leave the room. He walked out, but did a quick double take before heading off to his room. Wasn't the door closed when I stopped Dumbledore? He didn't remember opening the door before exiting the room. He nodded it off. Thinking he would write to Ron and Hermione, he made his way down to his new room.
A/N: So, what do ya think? Things are starting to pick up a little, yes? Please, please, please REVIEW!!
