3) What to do?

Luna Lovegood joined the discussion in the late afternoon. All of the friends wanted Harry to become the new Headmaster and they had a lot of good reasons. Harry wasn't convinced at all, but the next day he took the train to Hogsmead. He could have just apparated or taken the Floo, but he was longing for the slow trip through the landscape. Since the weather was very bad he just sat there for hours to watch the raindrops sliding of the window.
He was kind of glad that it was still raining when he got off the train, because it gave him the opportunity to stroll through the town wearing his rain cloak and therefore not being recognized by the inhabitants.
When he reached the castle the first ray of sun made its way through the clouds. He knocked on the entrance door.

"Well, if this isn't the troublemaker?" Mr. Filch opened the wooden door, looking as grumpy as ever accompanied by his red eyed cat.

Harry didn't reply, slipped through the door and in the entrance hall. Nothing had changed since his last visit something about four years ago.

"Hallo, Harry! I thought I had heard a knock." Dumbledore was standing up on top of the stairs. Harry didn't belief a bit that Dumbledore had heard him arrive. The Headmaster had other ways to know exactly who was entering the castle. Harry had the superstition that the old man had been waiting for him.
Dumbledore let Harry to his office where he was greeted by all the paintings on the walls of the round room. Fawkes sat on his golden perch next to the desk greeting Harry with his marvellous singing. The talking hat was on top of the highest bookshelf.

"Albus, I hope you don't take my coming for a yes. I am still struggling with myself, but I was hoping to make up my mind coming here."

"I am glad that you are so wise to consider it carefully. It would be a very severe change in your live and our worst decisions are made in great haste." He was referring to one of his own faults during the war that nearly had cost Harry's life.

"Have you talked to your friends jet?"

"Indeed, we were talking about it just yesterday afternoon and a good bit during the night. Oh, before I forget I am bringing happy news! Hermione is pregnant!"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's wonderful! I shall pay her a visit as soon as possible. Is she all right?"

"Well, that elf thing quite took her down, but she is fine now. She will be delighted to see you."

Harry spent the afternoon walking around the nearly empty school, checking on all the places he liked best in his schooldays. He even had a look in all the secret passages he had used back then. And slowly, very slowly, as he sat on a windowsill looking over to the Quidditch Pitch the decision was made. He would do it! It was the right thing, it just had to be!

When Dumbledore returned from his brief visit to Hermione the two of them were discussing the questions that Harry had about the school and his new duties.

"There will be two new teachers this year. As professor Flitwick regretfully died last year Professor Wallace will take over Charms."

Harry remembered the service he had attended for his teacher.

"And secondly we have found a new herbology teacher at last. I was afraid that I had to give you the responsibility to find a decent teacher, but luckily you won't have to worry about it."

"I heard you asked Neville?"

"Yes, but he is still rather shy. Regretfully he declined."

"Well, he is as happy as he can be, like he is living now. You know he got his parents move over to his place, I look for him once in a while. It is rather tiring for him, but he doesn't want any help."

"He is very brave. In his own way."

There was a moment of silence before Dumbledore returned to their conversation.

"There will be a staff meeting in two weeks, they will have a look on the students records, fill you in with the ones that are resident and talk about the new ones. There are quite a couple of muggle-borns this year. They all have to be visited, everything has to be arranged with their parents and they have to get to Hogwarts save. That is always a lot of work."

"Wait a moment! There is a teacher coming to fill them in? Why did nobody turn up when it was my turn? I remember that I got my letter a bit... late."

"I did think at that time that the Dursley's told you. I couldn't imagine how they could have not. Well, as the first letter didn't reach you I was proved wrong. So I had Hagrid come to get you. I kind of knew the Dursleys would be afraid of his appearance and it would be no problem for him to get hold on you. The only thing I hadn't foreseen was that pig tail he gave you cousin."Dumbledore chuckled.

"You knew?"

"Of corse I did."

Harry could have sworn that, as the train started moving late that night he saw a tear tickling down Dumbledore's face.

Harry had asked Ginny to meet him in a small muggle restaurant this evening. When he arrived there, she was already waiting for him. He could see that she wanted to burst out with questions, but was too polite to do it. So he ignored her eyes and buried his nose into the menu.

After a few minutes he looked up laughing: "Why don't you just ask?"

"You git, why don't you tell how it went? You know I am dying to know!"

The waitress came over and Harry took extremely long to choose his dinner. He even let the waitress tell him all the salad dressings they offered. Ginny was furious and didn't even realize that she actually ordered snails for starters.
When the waitress was gone Ginny was so red in the face that Harry had to grin and before she could fire jinxes at him in the middle of a muggle restaurant he said: "I am going to become Headmaster."

Ginny seemed to have expected a different answer, because she realized what he was saying when she was already halfway trough telling him that he shouldn't be so stupid to let this opportunity pass.
At last, when the snails arrived she couldn't help to join Harry's laughter.

When Lupin finally came up again, tired, with scratches all over, he was surprised and pleased to hear the news. But he couldn't resist teasing Harry a bit.

"Oh, you will have lots of fun! Finally you will find out for yourself how much trouble magical students can cause."

"You know exactly that I never meant to get in those situations." Harry smirked. "In the end I found our adventures great, well until the forth year." Harry's smile froze, when he remembered Cedric dying.

"Do you know how it works with the Muggle – born?"

"Actually, I do. It is an awful job, you should give it to someone you don't like. I know, don't say a word, that's not your style so you'll have to find out yourself. The trickiest thing is to decide how you start. If there is a person like your uncle for instance, poor kid, there is not much to do with convincing, you have to use threads more likely. In some families it is good to just apperate inside the living room, while they're watching TV. Others are in a better mood, when you knock Muggle-style. You have to find a way that they can understand. Most of them are worried. They often know that there is something strange going on with their kids, but they will not trust them to a total stranger telling them their kid is a wizard or a witch."

"So how will I know how the parents are?"

"Gracious, Harry! You were an Auror! Just go and spy on them for a while. You will usually find out in no time." Remus got up to put away his dishes. "I heard you have been out with Ginny. Is there anything I should know?"

"Remus, you won't tell me how much is between you and Tonks. Why would I tell you about me and Ginny?"

"There is nothing I can tell you!" shouted Remus. "There can never be anything, it would not be right." Remus did not look at Harry, but he could see the sadness in his eyes anyway.

"You know my opinion about it and Tonks thinks the same. She loves you and it doesn't matter for her that you are what you are." They had been over this several times and it had always ended in a fight. This time Harry was not going to give up that easy. He wanted to see his friends happy, all of them. Especially now that he wouldn't have that much time for them anymore.

"I am dangerous at times Harry! I could have killed you and your friends in your third year and it would have been the destruction of our world!" Remus couldn't sit still anymore. He got up to pace the kitchen. Harry had to be very careful how to set his words.

"You love Tonks." He said very calm. "You don't want to hurt her, but you do every time you turn her down. When she looks at you I can feel her despair." Remus stood thunderstruck. He knew Harry could sense the emotions from people around him, but it never occurred to him that it meant him or Tonks. There was silence for a while and Harry knew he would spoil everything when he said another word.

Slowly Remus came over, facing Harry with horror in his eyes. "You can tell, how she feels, looking at me?"

Harry nodded. He knew what would come next, it was something he never wanted Lupin to know, but it was the only way he could go on.

"Can you..., can you feel when I..., when I transform?" Remus was only whispering now.

"I do." Harry couldn't look at him anymore, the pain he sensed every month was back, clenching his chest, ripping it apart. And as he did every month he fought this with the one thing that would work against it, thinking on how much love he had for his friend and suddenly he was feeling better.

"I am so sorry, Harry. I should not be near you, when it is time for the moon."

"You mustn't. It is not your fault and I would feel it wherever you are. There is no running away, you see."

Remus looked at Harry and couldn't help noticing how much that boy had grown up. He had had a horrible childhood and had faced death already in an age where other youngsters start living. He looked so much like his father, but he was much more mature.

"I am sorry, it should be me giving you advices and a shoulder, not the other way around."

"You did a great job, when I was dealing with Sirius' death. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Partly I did it for myself, too. I needed you to shout at me, to rage. Otherwise I think I'd died myself that summer."

They talked long, while Harry was packing his belongings. He left Remus in charge of the house at Grimauld Place. He would be the keeper of headquarters for the Order from now on. The Order still existed though there were no emergency meetings anymore. They got together once in a while, but mostly they would just visit when they were up to. Harry had found it safer though to keep the house secret. One never knows.

When he returned to Hogwarts a few days later, Dumbledore had already cleared out the office so, except from the headmaster's pictures, the sorting hat and the Gryffindor sword it was empty. There also was a new painting, Albus Dumbledore smiling when Harry looked at him.

Harry started out to put his books in the shelf, but when he was done, not even a quarter of the space was filled. He sighed and went on. When he was finished with the office, he went up the stairs to his private rooms. He had purchased some furniture in Diagon Alley. They had already arrived so he only had to unpack. It took him a while to figure out which spots were best for all the pictures of his parents and friends and, of course, Sirius.

When he looked at the painting of his godfather he got himself frightened as he saw Dumbledore in it, too. That was before he realized that if there was a painting up here, the painted self of Dumbledore would be able to move to this room and so could all the others. Harry wasn't sure if he liked that, but for now he did, because Dumbledore reminded him, not to be late for the staff meeting.

When he entered the great hall all of the teachers were already gathered around the staff table. Professor McGonagall came to greet him first.

"I am so glad that you decided to join us, Mr. Potter!" She did not take his hand, but hugged him tightly. Over her shoulder he saw the other teachers, all except Snape smiling and Hagrid wiping a tear out of the corner of his eye. Ginny was diving under the table and Harry was sure she did it to hide a giggle breakout. After saying hallo to everyone they sat down and Professor Snape took over.

"With your permission, Po... Headmaster, I think we should start first with the problems we're facing this year. There is a huge amount of muggle – borns attending the first year this time. As the new teachers will not arrive until term starts, we will need someone to take over the students families that would have been the duty of the Professors Flitwick, Sprout and McGonagall..."

"I am not dead, jet! I will not have anyone take over my chores, Severus!" bellowed Professor McGonagall. Snape ignored her, what made her even angrier.

"I think I can take over half of them, but what about the others?"

"I'll take care of them." Harry said, and all the teachers turned to face him. "But I also think that Professor McGonagall can still handle her part."

"Headmaster, I don't think it is appropriate to your new position. I thought more of Miss Weasley."

Ginny snorted in disgust: "You know perfectly well that I am from an all wizard family! I'd make a fool out of myself, nobody would want someone teach their children if she is not even able to use a fellitone!"

"Telephone, Ginny." Harry corrected. "Actually, I was kind of looking forward doing it myself, this first time anyway. So that's settled. Next!"

Harry spend the whole rest of the day in discussions about lesson plans, student records, rules and other stuff he had never thought he would have to deal with.

Exhausted he fell asleep that night and didn't even realize that he still had his glasses on.