Dumbledore's Visit
Chapter 17
Saturday, August 3
Dumbledore Apparated straight outside the gates of Potter Manor. He pushed open the gate as he took off the Disillusionment Charm on himself and walked forward, admiring the view.
It was a tranquil place, with its lush green grass and the tall pine trees surrounding the plot. A light breeze shattered the silence as it rustled the leaves of the trees and a few birds chirped at the early hour. Dawn was just around the corner as the hidden rays of light fell upon the rippling blades of grass.
Dumbledore could make out a hippogriff flying down and landing on a patch of grass to the side of the house which had to be Buckbeak. Cheerfully swaying daffodils at the front of the house that had not been there the last time he had visited made the house look more welcoming. He walked up the driveway, and for a moment, forgot his many troubles as he breathed in the homely scent of pine trees which reminded him of his beloved school.
He tapped the front door with his wand and the door clattered open. The sound of loud music filled the house incongruously at the ungodly hour as he entered the apparently empty drawing room, which looked warm and welcoming.
He walked into the living area and noticed certain things that had not been there before. There was a bottle of red wine labelled Cabernet Sauvignon on top of the mantelpiece with a set of wine goblets and a couple of books lay on the coffee table. A stack of the Daily Prophet was lying on a desk and also an envelope that lay open with its contents in disarray.
Dumbledore, wondering if he had arrived too early, moved forward and inspected the pictures which had been inside the envelope. They were muggle photographs of Harry and Sirius presumably taken on their recent trip. He had always found the still quality of muggle photographs very endearing – they almost made it look timeless. He wondered who had taken the beautiful pictures when a loud crash made him turn immediately towards the sound.
He found himself amused to see it was Harry in his pyjamas, who seemed to have missed the last step on the staircase and fell into a heap at its bottom.
Harry was cursing under his breath as he put on his glasses "—a racket at six in the morning! How many times do I—"
He promptly yelped, jumping a foot back when he laid his eyes on Dumbledore.
"Professor! What are you doing here?"
"I assume Sirius did not inform you that I was coming?" said Dumbledore a little loudly to be heard over the thumping music.
"No, he didn't!" yelled Harry as he went to the gramophone and turned it off. "How long have you been waiting here?" asked Harry in a normal tone, running a hand through his bed hair trying to make it look somewhat presentable and failing miserably.
"Not more than five minutes, dear boy," said Dumbledore.
Harry motioned towards the dining area. "Do you want to have breakfast while Sirius takes time with his shower? I swear he takes more time than a girl!" said Harry.
Dumbledore chuckled as Harry led him and called for Twitchet, who had snapped her fingers and immediately laid the table with nothing short of a feast.
Dumbledore sat and gestured for Harry to join him while he surveyed the food choices before him with interest. There was the usual toast, fruits, cereal, sausages and eggs, but also croissants, a pot of lavender honey and a tub of creamy blue cheese, probably something they picked up on their holiday.
"How has it been living in the Potter Manor?" asked Dumbledore politely by way of making small talk while he buttered his croissant and drizzled the fragrant honey over it.
Dumbledore couldn't help but notice how healthy Harry looked. Harry had always been rather pale and shall he daresay, peaky, especially during the start-of-term, but now he looked like a normal healthy teenage boy. He felt saddened to realize that Harry's less-than-stellar home life was due to his own actions and he inwardly thought that it was good of Sirius to have taken Harry on a holiday. It would be a long time before that could happen again.
Harry, who had been observing his blackened hand, instantly lit up at the question and Dumbledore felt guilt wash over him at the bright, youthful expression on Harry's face. "It's been wonderful. I love it here!"
Dumbledore beamed. "I am pleased to hear that, Harry."
"Sir, what happened to your hand?" asked Harry, frowning.
Dumbledore smiled but said in a tone of firm conviction. "It is a story for another time, Harry. It is a thrilling tale and I wish to do it justice. I assure you, I will tell you soon enough."
Harry nodded and left it at that before asking, "Not to be impolite sir, but what are you doing here?"
"I have some matters to discuss with Sirius. Also, I came to deliver this," said Dumbledore, as he produced an envelope out of his pocket.
Harry took it from him and gasped seeing the Hogwarts insignia. "Is this our OWL results?" he asked nervously.
"Yes," said Dumbledore, eating his croissant. "Normally, the school owls will deliver it of course, but since your house is under the Fidelius, it is not easy to do so and I was coming here anyway, so I saw fit to bring it to you."
Harry was still staring at his envelope with dread and Dumbledore chortled. "You do not have to open it here with me, Harry. I understand your worry, although it is misplaced."
Harry seemed to be gathering his courage as he opened it with shaking hands. He spent a moment reading his results, his eyes flying across the parchment when Sirius entered the room in his dressing gown.
"Ah, Dumbledore! You're here early," said Sirius casually, plopping into his chair. Dumbledore had to admit he was slightly amazed at the massive difference in Sirius in under a month. It went to show just how important happiness and a good home were for a person's health, more than just having food to survive.
Dumbledore thought it fruitless to point out that it was Sirius who was always perpetually late and he merely inclined his head. Sirius was looking at Harry. "What's that, Harry?"
Harry seemed to have gone deaf and Sirius leaned over his shoulder to read the parchment, his eyes widening. "Blimey! Will you look at that? After everything you do at school which is completely unrelated to schoolwork, you manage to get seven OWLS and an O in DADA! And I knew you were lying when you told me you were hopeless in Transfiguration. Good job, Harry!"
Sirius ruffled Harry's hair affectionately and Harry tried in vain to flatten it down.
Harry smiled weakly. "I wonder what Ron and Hermione got."
"I dunno about Ron, but knowing Hermione, she probably got straight O's in everything!" said Sirius, laughing.
"You are quite right," said Dumbledore, smiling. "Mr. Weasley secured seven OWLs too. Although, if I remember correctly, there was only one student in your year that got an O in Defence Against the Dark Arts."
Harry's eyes widened as Sirius clapped him on the shoulder with distinct pride in his voice, "That's my boy!"
Harry looked down rather sheepishly as he ate in silence and Dumbledore did not miss the faint pink that tinged his cheeks. He said kindly, "I believe you haven't quite looked carefully in your envelope."
Harry was puzzled as he searched inside his envelope and his eyes widened. He took out the Quidditch Captain badge, gaping at it.
Sirius gave a hearty laugh. "Oh, this is marvellous! Quidditch Captain, just like his father! I've seen you fly, Harry and nobody deserves it more!"
The grin that lit up Harry's face was brilliant.
"So, what brings you here, Dumbledore?" said Sirius as he finished his breakfast.
"Rufus wants to meet with you," said Dumbledore sighing and noticing Sirius' skeptical expression added, "I have tried, more times than I can count, to tell him that you will not agree to whatever he says Sirius, but he is adamant. I doubt anything, other than you meeting him personally, can placate him."
"What does he want with me?" said Sirius gruffly.
"You are Harry's guardian and Rufus seems to think Harry needs top-security, which includes a dozen Aurors to protect him when visiting Diagon Alley and King's Cross Station from here."
"I will be with Harry," said Sirius hotly. "That's all the protection he needs! And besides, we can't reveal our location to the Ministry. We have no idea who can use that kind of information."
Dumbledore sighed. "I did tell him the same. But as you are Harry's guardian, he expects to hear personally from you."
Sirius was scowling. "Fine. I'll have a word with him if that's what he wants."
Harry finished his breakfast and stood up to take the dishes to the sink, Twitchet bustling in and taking it from him, even though Harry assured her it was fine.
Dumbledore was saying, "I have some other matters to discuss with you, Sirius. And it needs to be private."
Sirius' eyes darted towards Harry who nodded in understanding before leaving the room.
Dumbledore cast a silencing charm at the closed door before turning to look at Sirius, who was looking at his arm.
Dumbledore sighed exasperatedly at his intrusive stare. "I will tell you what happened to my arm soon, Sirius."
Sirius nodded after a moment, conceding. "What is it then?"
"As you might know, I am one staff member short and I have plans to hire Horace Slughorn."
"But…" said Sirius, frowning. "Doesn't he specialize in Potions? That must mean…"
"That Severus is the Professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts this year," finished Dumbledore.
"That git finally got his wish, eh?" said Sirius scowling, before adding, "What's this got to do with me?"
Dumbledore refrained from chastising Sirius on his language. He had no time or patience to argue with Sirius, so he ploughed on to the important matter at hand. "I need to ask a favour of Harry. Horace is proving to be quite elusive and he needs some…persuasion to take this offer at Hogwarts."
"Persuasion," said Sirius slowly. Dumbledore could practically see the cogs in his brain working furiously. "You mean to show-off Harry in front of him. Use him as bait…"
"You are quite aware of his tendency to want to teach the famous, Sirius," said Dumbledore quietly.
Sirius nodded. "But why ask someone to take up the job when they don't want it? Surely, there must be plenty others qualified to fill in?"
"Not in the current scenario, no," said Dumbledore with a sigh.
"But that's not the only reason you are specifically asking Slughorn to join, is it?" said Sirius.
Dumbledore chuckled. "Very observant as usual, Sirius. I assure you, you will know in due course."
"And why can't I have that information now?" said Sirius, raising an eyebrow.
"Sirius," said Dumbledore, exasperatedly, "it would take me an entire month to explain it sufficiently. And neither of us have the time for that. Voldemort has already made two attacks— on Amelia Bones and Florean Fortescue. We need to collect as many fighters as possible and train them before the war can begin to escalate. And I need Horace within the safety of Hogwarts as soon as possible."
Sirius nodded before he spoke again, "So, you want to take Harry with you to meet Slughorn? You see, I can't let you do that."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow in question when Sirius replied, "Harry is a person of his own. As his guardian, I do not approve of you using him for your own needs. If you want Slughorn so badly, you coax him somehow, but leave Harry out of it."
Dumbledore was surveying him with new interest and Sirius was looking back at him unwaveringly when suddenly Dumbledore said, "I see. Then, I think it would be better if you came along with me to meet Horace instead of Harry."
Sirius looked rather taken aback. "Me?"
"You," said Dumbledore simply.
"What do you think I can do to bring him around? I can barely tolerate him!" exclaimed Sirius.
"But, you were one of his prized pupils. And, not to mention, you are Harry Potter's godfather," said Dumbledore.
Sirius was still baffled with what Dumbledore was asking of him. "Regulus was his favourite, not me. But if this keeps you off of Harry's back, then I will agree."
"You have my word, Sirius," said Dumbledore and Sirius reluctantly nodded. "When do we meet him?"
"Why, now of course!" said Dumbledore, clapping his hands as he stood up. Sirius' eyes darted towards Dumbledore's blackened arm once again before he said, "I'll get changed. And, I need to inform Harry too."
"Excellent!" said Dumbledore as he watched Sirius leave the room. Dumbledore strode to the living area again and sat on the armchair waiting.
He would be mistaken to say he was not disappointed in the change of plans which was quite unexpected of Sirius. But Dumbledore could not argue with Sirius, who seemed to have more concern for Harry than he had originally thought. It was rather heart-warming to know Harry had someone to look after him even when he would be gone by the end of the year.
Sirius entered, dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans with a travelling cloak thrown over him, looking effortlessly handsome, not as he once was but ultimately still good-looking and more like the Sirius that Dumbledore remembered during happier times. He was talking to their house-elf, "— have an eye on Harry at all times. It's completely safe here, but if anything happens, take him and Apparate straight to Number 12, Grimmauld Place and tell Harry to have his mirror with him. Uh…What else?"
He looked positively flustered, running a hand through his hair, when Twitchet squeaked, "Twitchet will look after Young Master. You need not worry, Master Sirius."
Sirius exhaled loudly. "Why am I like this? I feel more nervous than when I sat my NEWTs! And I wasn't even really nervous then!"
Dumbledore laughed good-naturedly. "Welcome to parenthood."
Sirius sighed and shook his head. "Let's get going."
