--Reviews--
Dark lil Hiei- Wai! Thanx!! I am also a big YuYu Hakusho fan!! Especially Hiei!! He's just sooooo cute!!(grin)
Pure Black- Yes...I know... Sorry Draco.
Lyla Hayden- uhh...umm.... oh damn..
mischeif-maker- I've continued. Do I get something??
so....- You're a fan of time travel fics? I love'em too, but it's so complicating;;
velze- I thank you so much for that correction. It was a BIG help, believe me.
You may find this funny(I do), but on my old HP fics, I actually had McGonagall's name right.(lol)
Siv, the Elf- Damn it, I did!!
Svetlana Lvova- Is it unusual?? There are so many HP fics that I thought it was already done. But that's good news!
melissa ivory- Posted... posted... posted... posted... posted... posted... posted... posted... posted... posted...
Thank you very much!!
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Part 4
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August 18th, 1994. 1:35am
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Dumbledore and Hadwin James,... or Harry Potter, sat quietly in the office. Dumbledore had listened to Harry's story without interrupting and knew right of way the man was indeed the Boy Who Lived.
"So, ......our Harry will be safe in Severus' hand?"
Dumbledore asked.
"Yes, hard to believe, I know... But look at me, I'm the living proof."
Harry presented himself.
Indeed the man was a definition of health; Tall, well built, and very handsome. The large set of eyes made him look a little boyish, but Dumbledore saw the calmness and wisdom beyond the man's age in them. The usual untidy hair was neatly kept in a ponytail, though slightly curled at the tips. His skin wasn't pale any longer for it radiated with a golden glow.
Dumbledore nodded with approval, very content to see his favorite student had turned out so well. Harry smiled back while trying to cover his yawn.
"I am sorry for not realizing how late it is, Harry. You must be exhausted."
Dumbledore shifted to stand.
"Oh, it's quite alright. I also need to tell you one other thing before I—"
Before Harry could finish, the door slammed open.
"Professor!!! He wasn't there!!!"
A giant man rushed in, blood draining from his face.
"His bloody relatives said a professor came to pick him up for school and-.."
The giant detected another presence in the office and turned to Harry.
"Oh...sorry 'bout that.... Didn't know you had a guest..."
The man bowed to Harry while trying to calm his breath.
"That's quite alright, Hagrid... and I am sorry I had asked you to go see Harry after his departure."
Dumbledore conjured a teacup and poured some tea for the confused giant.
"You see, after you left, Mr. James here had arrived to tell me Harry's house had been attacked."
"Attacked!!? By the Death Eaters??! What 'bout H'arry!?"
Hagrid almost dropped his tea.
"He is safe and unharmed, Hagrid. The Aurors appeared just in time to retrieve him and fought off the Death Eaters. The Obliviators used the charm on his relatives, but unfortunately, Harry had to be removed from the house."
Dumbledore calmly explained as Hagrid took a deep breath and sat on the chair next to Harry.
"I apologize for arriving late," Harry followed Dumbledore's story, "but I assure you, the boy is safe and sound."
Hagrid looked at the man sitting next to him and then back to Dumbledore.
"Ah, Hagrid. Meet Mr. Hadwin James, a member of the Aurors."
"Former member," Harry corrected and extended a hand to Hagrid, "again, I am sorry for all the trouble I've caused, Mr. Hagrid?"
"The name's Rubeus Hagrid. You can call me whichever one you like."
Hagrid took the smaller hand with a genuine smile.
"Call me James, Hagrid."
Harry smiled back at his first wizard friend.
"Now that we're properly introduced, I would like to recognize Mr. James as our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for this year. You are the first among the staff to know, Hagrid."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.
"That's great!! I would love to show you around the castle, James."
Hagrid patted Harry's shoulder.
"That is a grand idea. No one knows the layout of the school more than Hagrid here, Mr. James."
"Wanna bet?"
Harry thought amusingly as he raised a brow at Dumbledore. Nevertheless, he nodded gratefully at Hagrid.
"I would love a tour of your beautiful campus, Hagrid.... That is, if you don't mind?"
"Not at all, James! I'll show you 'round after breakfast if you want."
Hagrid sounded more excited than Harry.
"Perhaps, Mr. James would like to sleep-in for he must be very tired, Hagrid."
Dumbledore suggested.
"No,no. After breakfast is fine. Let's say about 8 or 8:30?"
Harry looked up at Hagrid.
"That's fine with me. If you two don't mind, I'd like to go back to my hut since I left Eznik there alone."
"Eznik?"
Both Harry and Dumbledore questioned in unison.
"Uhh...err... he's a snake....a boomslang I found when I was traveling to Burk-.. I mean Africa… you know, since they're African snakes."
Hagrid stood up and was ready to head back to the stairway.
"You know they're extremely dangerous, Hagrid... You shouldn't be keeping them as a pet."
Dumbledore warned cautiously, although he knew the giant kept even more dangerous creatures before.
"Oh, no... of course not, headmaster..... Prof'essor...Snape helped me remove the venom... in return for its skin.... you know... for the.... the.."
"Polyjuice Potion?"
Harry aided his blabbering friend.
"Yes!! The Polyjuice Potion, yes! He needs the skin for the Polyjuice Potion so he helped me remove the venom while it was asleep... You know... with that potion...."
"Sleeping Draft?"
Harry helped once more.
"Yes, with the Sleeping Draft! We knocked it out by giving the Sleeping Draft and we removed the venom...."
Hagrid was now taking his first step on the stairs.
"Well, goodnight, prof'essors…. And see you two at breakfast."
With that, the giant wizard swayed left and right down the stairs.
The remaining wizards looked at each other and laughed. They both knew Hagrid was a very bad liar.
"How did you know that I wanted the DADA position, professor?"
Harry asked, though he wasn't surprised at all. Dumbledore is a living legend in the Wizarding World after all.
"That was the other thing you wanted to talk about, am I correct?"
Dumbledore smiled.
"Yes.... But, you haven't offered to anyone yet?"
Harry bit back another yawn.
"I did ask Alastor Moody for the position, but I think he would be grateful to be relieved from that task... The Ministry is keeping all the Aurors busy these days, I am afraid..."
"Even the ex-Aurors?"
Harry asked. He didn't know much about Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, but he was pretty sure the man had long since retired.
"We have.... reasons to believe that the Death Eaters are increasing its size, Harry... And the Ministry needs all the help they can get… including highly skilled ex-Aurors."
Dumbledore's twinkle in his eyes seemed to dim somewhat.
"Well, if he doesn't mind... I don't want to sound too proud, but I am more than qualified for the job, headmaster."
Harry gave a cocky grin.
Dumbledore raised his eyebrow at that and smiled. He didn't know where or when the boy developed such cockiness, but it was a good look on him.
"Well, I am sure you're more than qualified since you are an Auror."
"Ex-Auror, headmaster... I had to retire to be a full-time DADA instructor."
Harry reminded him again.
"Yes, an ex-Auror.... Well, it does not matter since you're experienced nonetheless."
Dumbledore stood up. Harry followed.
"It's good to see you've turned out to be a great wizard, Harry. But we both know very well to keep this a secret from everyone."
Dumbledore guided Harry down the stairs.
"Of course, headmaster. Even if I did tell, I doubt anyone would believe me. With the exception of you, that is… You're the only one crazy enough to."
Harry smiled.
"I've seen many strange things in my days, Harry," Dumbledore smiled with his glowing eyes, "but I know honesty when I see it. Especially in those green eyes... They're exactly like your mother's."
Dumbledore held Harry's chin and smiled.
"Thank you, Albu... I mean headmaster.... Sorry, it's a habit."
Harry shrugged sheepishly.
"Indeed?" Dumbledore asked, "then you may call me Albus, James."
"Thank you, Albus... Not just for believing me… but for everything."
Harry hugged the older wizard. Dumbledore patted Harry's back.
"I believe you know your way to your room?"
Dumbledore asked, jokingly of course.
"I believe I do, Albus... I've only been living in this castle for years," Harry laughed, "but if I ever get lost, I'll ask Hagrid."
"Speaking of which," Dumbledore remembered, "keep an eye on Hagrid, would you James? I am sure he will be alright, but just in case."
"Roger," Harry saluted, "goodnight, Albus."
"Goodnight, James."
Dumbledore smiled and went back upstairs.
As he watched the stairs descend, Harry turned to exit the castle. He wanted to rest immediately, but he had to retrieve Hedwig from the Leaky Cauldron. He had rented a room for Hedwig(his favorite room11), for people might wonder if he showed up with Harry Potter's snowy owl. Especially someone as observant as Snape.
"I hope she isn't mad..."
Harry thought as he disapparated.
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