Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs NOT to me, of course.
AN: Not a bad time, right? I made it within a month! (Within half a month actually?) I should have been revising, though . Now the pile of lecture notes is haunting me relentlessly. Poor me.
Responses to my wonderful reviewers:
Kungzoune: glad that you like the last chapter! Hope this one is as good for you as the last one!
Marguerida: thanks for offering to help again! (I'm in fact waiting for your reply…) There were still hints hidden back in the previous chaptersss(perhaps they're too un-obvious?) hope that someone will catch them too… : )
Hoshihikari: thanks for reviewing again!(n hope that you will keep returning to this fanfic!)
Wolfawaken: hope this chapter will be equally enjoyable to you!
Eternal Cosmos: Thanks for reviewing!
Dount Man: really sorry about the mistakes… I will try to eliminate them the best I can… hope it won't affect the story too much… I will try to maintain the quality of the chapters, though of course I will need comments and suggestions from you all to help me do so!
Jonna594: well, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!
Now, onto the chapter! Read and Review!
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Chapter 12 Underneath the Surface
Harry woke to the sudden awareness that someone had been sitting on his bed.
Without the need to open his eyes, Harry knew who it had been.
/Sirius, you are finally back. Had a nice day yesterday, huh/ Harry said groggily through the link while groping blindly in the dim light for his glasses on the bedside table.
Through the bond, waves of tiredness, contentment and hunger seeped through.
/Of course. I had quite an interesting reunion with the Hogwarts grounds, the forest, the lake, everything. And I'm now positively starving. /
The grinning face of the dog came into focus as Harry put his round-rimmed glasses on.
/Ok, ok, as if I can't tell that you are hungry by the way that your stomach is growling. I'm going to get you something. /
Sirius trotted along behind Harry with eagerness, his tail wagging non-stop, as Harry did his wash up and put on his school robe.
When Harry left the dormitory, it had been so early that none of the other boys even stirred a bit from their peaceful slumber.
Harry left the Gryffindor tower and strolled in the faint light of dawn, inhaling the clean cold morning air. He couldn't help but walked with lightness as if there had been a spring in his steps. It must have been the bond, making him reflect his godfather's current good mood.
As the headed towards the kitchen, Harry told Sirius what happened yesterday with the meeting with McGonagall, while Sirius chatted about how wonderful it was to be able to roam the Forbidden Forrest again.
/It's almost like old time… it was different from the time back in your third year, when I was bent on killing… I couldn't let myself simply enjoy being back here… anyway, I proved my suspicion last night./
/Which was.../
/That animals can see me. At least for the magical ones. As far as other animals, they can as least sense my presence./
/It this a good thing? You can be detected by animals…/
/Yes, I can achieve a lot more if I can communicate with other beings in the forest. They will not betray me./
They had finally reached the portrait with a dish of fruits on it. Harry tickled the right places.
And in no time at all, Harry left with the piles of food that the house-elves enthusiastically hailed him the moment they saw him standing outside the secret opening.
They strolled to the lake and sat down on the grass. With a piece of toast in hand, Harry watched in amusement as Sirius wolfed down the food.
Harry wondered if it was so wrong of him to feel so happy and contented, while a war was raging outside the safe haven of Hogwarts.
/Don't be silly. You deserve to be happy./ Sirius said, as he lowered his head on his paws, lying in comfort next to Harry.
"I don't know, Sirius." Harry said aloud, staring at the sparkling lake surface that was caught in the glamour of rising sun. Unlike the previous day, there was the promise of a bright new day in the air.
"Hey, I want to tell you something." Harry said, his hands unconsciously landed on Padfoot and his fingers ran through the soft, comforting black fur on Padfoot's back.
/Fire away. /
"I want to be an Auror. "
/Why mention this all of a sudden/
"Cause I have to choose subject for the NEWTs now, and I have to take my future career into consideration when I choose. I just want to ask for your opinion on this…"
/Do you really want to be an Auror/
"Yes, I do."
/You do/
"I do."
Sirius stared at the lake in silence.
"Why don't you question my reasons? Wouldn't you think that it is too dangerous a job?"
/When I was at your age, Harry, I was thrown the same task of contemplating my future. I just understand perfectly how you feel. Sometimes you feel so powerless to what is happening out there, and you just want to make a difference… /
Harry nodded, glad for Sirius's acceptance.
/Auror training will be good for you, if God forbidden, the war is still out there when you graduate. /
Harry knew very well that he had to receive all the training possible when he could.
It's a matter of whether he would kill or be killed.
Moreover, being an Auror had the privilege of assessing the most ancient and invaluable collection of books and scrolls on magic there were in the world.
Harry was sure that if he couldn't find the solution to Sirius's condition in Hogwarts, he would find it there.
Harry sat in companionable silence with Sirius until it was time to get back to the great hall to meet the others.
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"Where have you been, Harry?" Ron said as Harry sat down next to him.
"I woke up early and couldn't sleep again, so I just decided to have a stroll outside." Harry automatically reach out and could feel that Sirius was again happily roaming the Forest.
Harry helped himself with a glass of pumpkin juice when Hermione sat down next to him.
"Good morning, Harry, Ron. How did the meeting with Professor McGonagall go?" Hermione greeted them, her hands unconsciously running through her bushy brown hair as if trying to smooth them out.
"You won't be believing this, Hermi- " Ron leaned a bit over Harry and launched into an excited account of what had transpired in McGonagall's Office.
"Oh! Really? Congratulations to you both! " Hermione said with a bright smile on her face.
"Thanks!" Both Ron and Harry beamed.
The three of them chatted animatedly over breakfast at what they were going to achieve this year, especially for Ron, who kept talking about how they were going to win the Quidditich cup.
The atmosphere at breakfast seemed much more relaxed than that of the previous night. Most students, especially the newcomers, looked excited to start their new lessons. Owls flew in and out of the great hall, dropping letters and parcels and forgotten stuff from home to the students.
A post owl landed next to Hermione. It quickly flew away after Hermione took the Daily Prophet tied to its claw and put the fee in the little bag it carried. Hermione then started to unfold the newspaper and read.
"Anything interesting? " Harry said, nipping on a toast.
"Actually, yes. It seems that Fudge is under a lot of pressure now. He will not stay where he is long… Look at this. " Hermione folded the Daily Prophet and handed it to Ron and Harry. They leaned over the article Hermione pointed out in interest.
Victory or Dead End?
- Is Fudge already out of his depth?
Daniel Robinson, Special Correspondent
"… You-Know-Who's return surely is a terrible event. However, all of the Magical community can rest assured that the Ministry is doing everything in its power to stop the Dark Lord from gaining the control he had during the last war. We will have everything under our control in no time. Please place your faith in the Ministry once again and stand strong together.We will surely match towards victory..."what The Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, had said( on the day after the news of the Dark Lord's return has broken out) surely is still fresh on the mind of many of us. Yet, it is blatant that his words have not stayed true.
Ever since the dire news of He-who-must-not-be-named's return, the British Magical World has been thrown into a hurricane of dismay and chaos. Unexplained disappearance and 'accidents', rising domestic and work place dispute and violence out of the terror rising within the society, magical creatures normally tried their best to stay out of the ways of human beings attacking people – the Ministry hasn't seem to be able to deal with any of these. What have our dear Minister done except the blank talk? How in the name of Merlin can anyone believe what the Minister has said? How can we not lose faith in face of the darkness that it sure to come?
"The current situation is unacceptable. If something is not done soon, it will be too late for our salvation. The Ministry is not taking us in a right direction. It's too passive, waiting for opportunities to fall from the sky, which they won't. And it's still refusing to reach out to all of the magical society to repair broken links. " a Ministry high ranking official (who was unwilling to disclose his identity to public) said during an interview.
The magical society surely has had enough. No one who has lived long enough to remember how it had been during the reign of terror would ever want to experience it again. Fingers are now pointing towards the Ministry of Magic, and in particular our supposed leader, the Minister for Magic, for their inability in turning the tide. The situation has already spun out of anyone's control.
Well, perhaps it is not out of everyone's control yet. At least there is still a group of people who are willing to stand up and are capable of this vital task. The Order of Phoenix, led by none other than the legendary Albus Dumbledore, appeared to be the Magical World's last barrier against the dark force. This organization can be dated back to the time of the Hogwarts founders. It is formed by the most powerful and resourceful light wizards and witches of the time when the need arises, and it works independently of the Ministry. The Order's working is a mystery to all who are outside of it. The only thing known about it currently is that its leader's identity. It is working diligently and boldly against the mounting dark forces. It is not confined by ordinary beliefs or prejudice. When the Ministry is still busy shunting the less respected minority groups of the society, the Order has already reached out to them to prevent them from joining and adding to the force of the dark side. It is believed that some sort of deal has been reached with certain minority groups that they have agreed not to join with the Dark Lord for the moment being, and efforts are being made to take the temporary truce into an alliance.
"If we are to survive this war, it's time everyone of us to think about the direction we need to take. We need a strong leader to act as the cohesive force of the society. Don't be afraid to voice your opinion, when you still can. It will make a difference. " The ministry official ended the interview with this advice.
"Fudge surely is in a lot of trouble." Ron said.
"If he is not before, he will be after this article is out." Harry said.
"Well, I think the one in trouble might be the reporter who wrote this… Fudge won't like this. Not a bit." Hermione said, frowning slightly as if worrying for the bold reporter.
After the breakfast, the Gryffindor Six Years headed to their first class of the day. In fact, the first week will be the adjustment week for all the Six Years. They must attend all the introductory courses of the subjects they were interested in taking in NEWTs during the week and make their decision at the end of the week.
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Three very exhausted Gryffindors dragged their feet out of the Transfiguration classroom and headed towards the great hall for lunch.
"Can you believe what she has made us do? I'm not going to take this class! There're so many complicated spell works, so much to memorize, so draining -"
"- so advanced!" Hermione cut Ron's rant sharp off. "The magic involved is such a high level. Couldn't you see how perfectly McGonagall transfigured the bird into a quill? That's so much more than what we've done in the past. I can't wait for the lessons to really start! " Hermione was bright-eyed with the prospect of learning advanced magic.
Harry could feel Sirius chuckle in his mind. Sirius had sneaked in the classroom in the middle of the class, and had watched in amusement as the Gryffindors were being bullied into doing all sort of exhausting and difficult transfiguration.
Harry simply signed in exhaustion, too tired to join in their conversation/ bickering.
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The rest of the week passed in a blur. For each subject, the teacher behaved somehow like trying to impress them with the most difficult and most astonishing aspect of their subject. Even Remus, whom Harry thought was not much into show-off, started the lesson with an impressive demonstration of some defensive spells.
This meant all of those lessons were so ridiculously draining.
By the end of Thursday, the Sixth Year students were near to the point of collapse. Most of them were too terrified to acknowledge the fact that they still had got two more years of this sort of exhausting curriculum ahead of them.
/Of course it's exhausting. Or why do you think they call it 'Nastily Exhausting' for/ when Harry complained of the strenuous lessons, Sirius simply waved it off as if it was a more than blatantly obvious fact.
On Friday, they had the morning off for them to make their choice before submitting it to their head of house before dinner.
Harry didn't really have to consider anymore, as he goals were clear to him from the beginning. He would take all the subjects pre-requisite for getting into Auror training.
At lunch break, Harry was strolling with Sirius out around the lake again. Both Hermione and Ron were preoccupied with their consideration and hence retreated back to their room after lunch.
The weather outside was mild, with a few pieces of cloud drifting lazily across the sky, screening off most of the blinding midday sunny, yet still bright enough to give a radiant glow to the scenery outside.
Harry just couldn't resist walking out, enjoying the caress of the light breeze on his skin.
Harry traced the familiar path leading to the giant lake, then started strolling around its bank.
At the edge of the lake closet to the Forbidden Forest, Harry saw a familiar short figure throwing pieces of toast down onto the lake.
The person turned at the sound of the approaching footsteps.
It was Stanley Nott.
For a moment, Harry thought about turning back and going inside. He didn't really want to contemplate on the issue of whether Stanley Nott, the son of a Death Eater, was trustworthy enough to talk with. However, his feet carried him along as if with a mind of their own.
It was only after Harry stopped just a step away from Stanley that he noticed something amiss. The boy seemed so much subdued compared with the last time Harry had met him. There was a slight soberness in his youthful expression.
"What are you doing?"
"Feeding the giant squid."
"But it's not here."
"Of course it's not. I just want to try. My brother used to show me how to do it when I just get to Hogwarts. "
"He can get the giant squid out?"
"Of course he can! " with a large turning motion, he threw the last bit of toast out to the lake. Something fell out of his robe pocket in the process. It was a piece of crumbled parchment.
"Hey, you've dropped something… " Harry said, bending to pick it up.
Stan's gaze followed that of Harry's down onto the ground. His eye widened at the sight of the parchment. He jumped down and snatched the parchment away before Harry could touch it. He quickly shoved it inside his pocket. He kept grabbing the parchment as he shot a glare at Harry.
"What's that? Why are you so… touchy about it?" Harry tilted his head to regard the boy in front of him. Where had all the cheerfulness gone?
"It's none of your business." Stan said, lowering his gaze down onto the grass.
"What's happening? The last time we meet we chatted so happily. Is it that your brother forbids you from hanging out with people like me?"
"No. It's not like that. My brother would do no such thing. It's just that… it's a letter from home. "
"From your father?"
"From my mother. I don't want to talk about it. " He kicked at the grass at his feet sullenly.
Harry couldn't help but be reminded once again that Stan's father was a Death Eater. Harry couldn't help but want to distant himself from the boy in front of him.
"You like your father?"
" 'Course I do. Why ask?"
"Don't you know that he is a Death Eater? Don't you know what he had done to innocent people, what he cruelty he is capable of, and what cruelty he will surely inflict upon the innocence soon?" Harry wanted to shout at him, but he refrained from doing so.
Dumbledore's words echoed through his mind.
"I have confidence in all of you, that you have the ability to see through the surface and look at what is underneath, and judge for yourselves whether something is genuine or not."
Being the son of a Death Eater had not been Stanley's choice. Just like being a Black had not been Sirius' choice either.
/Yes, this youngster still stands a chance of not walking the same path as his parents, if he dares to make the choice himself. /
No matter how, Stan was Stan, his father was his father… Stan was a Ravenclaw. He would be brainy enough make the choice for himself.
/Just don't let your guard be down completely. No matter to anyone. /
Harry nodded, feeling the tension in his muscles on first noticing Stan leaving him.
"Care to talk about what's troubling you? May be I won't be able to help, but talking about it would make you feel better. " Harry said, casually lowered himself down on the comfortable grass. Padfoot also stretched his dog body out beside Harry.
Stan sat down on the other side of Harry.
"I… it's nothing, really. I'm used to it. Thanks for offering anyway. " the mischievous light in Stan's eye seemed to be reignited.
"Well… perhaps you can help me." There was a suppressed smirk not unlike those from the sneaky Slytherins who were planning to play nasty tricks on Gryffindors.
"How? "
"By letting me experiment- no, I mean examine- your scar! I'm sure I can find a way to cure it. " It was really hard to not notice the boy's enthusiasm over healing.
"No. No one in their right mind would let some stranger poke and mess with their head!"
"Well, I thought we were friends!"
"Who told you so?"
They spent the remaining of lunch break joking with each other, while Stan kept relentlessly bombarding Harry with questions about his scar.
As Stan left for his afternoon class, Harry stayed at the lake side to enjoy the mild sunbath a bit before heading back to the Gryffindor common room with Sirius. It was about time to check on the progress of his friends and then hand in the completed course selection form to Professor McGonagall.
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"Have you really made up your mind? No changes?" McGonagall said as she studied the parchments the trio had handed in.
"Yes, Professor. Although I don't really want to give up on Ancient Runes… I can't give up the other subjects. " Hermione said.
"I understand how difficult it is to part with pursuing knowledge that you are interested in… I believe you will do just fine with the other subjects," McGonagall smiled almost indulgently at Hermione, before turning her gaze to Harry and Ron, "What about you two?"
"We're sure, Professor." They chorused.
McGonagall nodded and put their parchment away into her desk drawer.
"You will receive your new timetable this Sunday. Now, off you go to dinner."
Hence, the trio made their way to the Great Hall while chatting lightly about what they would do for the coming weekend. Ron was all enthusiastic about planning the Quidditch tryouts and planning the strategies for the upcoming season. Hermione, on the other hand, expressed her eagerness to read the text books for this year, which she had no doubt already read through once.
Just before they turned the last hallway that would lead them into plain sight of the oak door leading to the Great Hall, someone called from behind.
"Harry!"
"Remus- I mean, Professor Lupin, " the three of them turned to find Remus walking towards them with a pile of parchments and books in hands, no doubt just finished his last lesson.
"Have you handed in your selection form?" Remus asked.
"Yes, we've just handed it in. How's your day, Professor Lupin?" Hermione said.
"Well, it has been fantastic," Remus said with an exasperated sigh and a shrug of his shoulder, "those Year Ones… they are too energetic for me."
The trio chuckled at Remus' words.
"I have to drop these-" he tilted his head towards the pile in his hands, "before getting to dinner. Why don't you three go first?"
"Ok, then, see you later." Ron said.
They were turning to leave when Remus called out to them again.
"Hey, I nearly forgot. Harry, Professor Dumbledore told me to tell you that he wanted you to meet him around nine o'clock at his office. "
"Ok… "
"Ok, then, see you later!" Remus then turned to leave.
Harry watched Remus' retreating back in puzzlement. Why would Dumbledore suddenly want to meet him? He hadn't talked to Harry face to face ever since the confrontation they had after Sirius' supposed death.
Hermione and Ron exchanged a quick gaze with each other, but neither of them commented on the incident.
Harry was too preoccupied with the thought of speaking to Dumbledore again that he didn't notice the pale eyes of the person hiding under the shadow of a nearby statue. Neither did Ron nor Hermione.
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When the trio left the Great Hall, they had their stomach stuffed with delicious food. Hermione had talked Harry and Ron into accompanying her to her favourite place – the library.
They walked just out of the door to find several unwelcome people standing beside the door.
Malfoy, with a goblet of what appeared to be pumpkin juice in hand, was chatting with a bored expression with two Slytherin girls that were younger than they were.
Hermione frowned in disdain at the obvious tactics of the two girls to attract Malfoy's attention. They were both wearing glossy makeup, leaning outrageously close to Malfoy as they whispered and giggled into his ears.
"Hey, Potter. " from the tone of voice, Malfoy was definitely in a good mood. However, that would not mean that he was not looking for trouble. Hence Harry decided to just ignore him. Harry didn't want to waste his energy on him. With a nod of his head, he motioned Ron and Hermione to just walk on.
"How dare you ignore Draco when he speaks to you!" one of the girl squeaked.
Harry then felt cold liquid being spilt onto the back of his head, dripping down his hair. He turned reflexively and glared at the girl who had snatched the goblet of pumpkin juice out of Mafloy's and was shaking it at Harry threateningly.
"What's the problem with you?" Hermione snapped at the girl before Harry could burst out. "Five points from Slytherin for attacking a Prefect."
The girl and her friend shrank back from Hermione's dead glare.
However, Malfoy had not. He didn't even seem to care that Hermione had just deducted points away from his house. The girls were trying to clutch to his robes, but he just swept their hands away as if they didn't exist at all.
He stepped closer to the trio.
"What do you want -" Harry cut off Ron with a firm wave of his hand.
"Malfoy, I don't want to waste my time with you."
"Really? Scared of me now Potter?"
"Very funny, Malfoy." Harry chuckled dryly.
"You will be scared of me soon. I've said that you would regret what you have said before. And you will. "
Something was different in Malfoy's tone. Instead of the usual stupid smugness that make one want to punch his arrogant fact, there was true menace in his demeanor.
"You be careful of what you say Malfoy," Ron said in a low hiss, "we can all hear what you say. If anything happens to Harry, we'd know who to blame."
"Harry… let's go and get washed up." Hermione poked his arm gently while shooting Mafloy the dead glare that was only reserved for him.
Mafloy laughed as the trio walked away.
"Harry, you better really watch your steps from now on." Ron said, while looking around every now and then as if to spot any hidden dangers.
"You don't really reckon he would dare to do anything stupid right under Dumbledore's nose, do you?" Hermione said.
"It's Mafloy we're talking about, Hermi. Even I really hate to admit it, he is not stupid. Not to mention he has a source for learning dangerous dark magic back home…" Ron muttered darkly.
"You two have to be careful too. Now… we would never know for sure if there is infiltration into the school already. Probably there is."
Harry didn't really want to bring up the topic. But he knew deep at heart, the three of them knew for a fact that there were people like Malfoy that would have already joined the rank of Death Eaters. And you never knew who would be the next.
The thought of Death Eaters setting foot on his beloved home, Hogwarts, was really a tormenting thought to Harry. He just hoped that… if only they wouldn't accept students into their rank yet, even if it only meant putting off their joining the Death Eaters by months.
They fell into a contemplative silence as they made their way back to Gryffindor tower.
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Soon, it was time to meet Dumbledore. Sirius accompanied Harry to walk to Dumbledore's office.
/Keep your wits with you, Harry./
/Ok… I just feel… nervous. I'm not sure if I will be able to treat him calmly though. I just couldn't… /
/Just try. Meet you afterwards, ok/
/Ok. /
After Sirius had wandered off, Harry suddenly realized that he hadn't got the password. As he raised his hand to try to knock on the statue, it moved away on its own accord. Harry quickly went up the stairway and knocked on the door to Dumbledore's office.
"Come in, Harry."
Taking a deep breath to try to quench the reluctance to meet the headmaster behind the door, Harry pushed it open anyway.
Dumbledore was sitting at his usual place, looking composed and collected at usual.
It was the same calm expression that drove Harry crazy back in June, when he had tried to explain the mess to Harry.
"Have a seat first, Harry. Do you want a cup of tea?"
"No thanks. " came Harry's cold reply.
"How are you feeling, Harry?"
"I'm fine."
"I understand your grief won't be lightly attenuated… I would understand if you still don't think you are ready to accept my apologies. I was really sorry about what happened."
From the light behind those blazing blue eyes, Harry could tell that Dumbledore was like trying to hand out candies to sooth some children who were throwing tantrum, instead of really being sorry. How dare he mock my feeling for Sirius? What is he trying to play at?
"I'm sure you are sorry." Harry said with barely concealed rage. Not that he really cared to hide it. How come he had trust this cunning old man before? Was he blind?
"I promise that I won't push you into anything this year, nor will I hide facts that are crucial to you neither." He rest his chin lightly on his crossed fingers and regarded Harry with what he probably thought was a grandfatherly gaze.
Harry could tell the almost mockery behind the kind words and gestures. It was as if Dumbledore was testing his sanity with his sugar coated words, to analyze how much sanity Harry had left after 'losing' his godfather, so that he could reevaluate the situation. So that he could decide where to fit Harry into his manipulation game.
"Quit acting that you care! You, of all people, know nothing about care! You and your talk about how we would be as strong as we are united, as weak as we would be if we are apart. But it was you who tore us apart! You and your manipulation and tactics and strategies! You manipulate people to fit into your web, manipulate people to believe you a wise old man, lead people to rely so on you that when, or if ever, they realize that they are being used, they no longer can EXIST without you! " Harry had somehow stood from his chair while he yelled. He panted heavily and slammed his fist against the polished wooden table; his whole body shook as if it had been he, but not the table, that was hit. The expression on Dumbledore's face taunted him so much. Harry swept the content of the table over. And the porcelain tea cup ended in a crush.
Dumbledore continued to stare at Harry with a neutral or even mildly impressed expression. But the intense and purposeful glint behind the half moon spectacles betrayed his emotion. It looked to Harry that Dumbledore was . . . delighted at Harry's outburst. Was he trying to mock him? Fresh wave of anger washed through Harry's delicate frame again. He opened his month to shout again, but snapped it close abruptly as Dumbledore shot him his trademark piercing gaze. Harry couldn't help but slumped back down into his seat the same time as Dumbledore rose solemnly from his seat. There was no haste in his motion, but the aura he gave off was enough to give even Snape weak knees. Harry realized with a jolt that the tiredness and even the somberness that had settled on Dumbledore's face ever since that fateful night on his fourth year had been replaced by a more serene and resolute expression.
Dumbledore regarded Harry for a short while from his formidable height. "So, are you finished with your childish outburst yet?" Harry had to restrain himself from rubbing his eyes; the old mischievous gleam was back to those crystal blue orbs. "Now we will talk like the adults that we both are and tend to the business at hand."
'The business at hand' turned out to be the matter of learning Oculmency again. Dumbledore decided to teach Harry himself this time. However, he wouldn't be able to spare a lot of time for him regularly, with the workload of headmaster and Order's leader on his shoulder. But they would arrange the time and place for the first session soon. Dumbledore had warned Harry not to take it lightly this time, and that he would expect the best effort out of Harry.
Later, as Harry walked out of Dumbledore's office, he was still a bit dumbfounded by the turn of events during the meeting with Dumbledore. It was almost as if he was pleased to find out that there was still fire within Harry.
As Harry left Dumbledore's office, the castle was already empty of students and such.
Somehow, something was wrong. The surrounding was still the same old Hogwarts. The same stone statues, the same portraits, the flaring torches. However, it was just so eerily lifeless. Where were the pearly ghostly figures that roamed the hallways? Why weren't any thing moving in the portrait? Even the normal snoring of the figures that lived in the portraits was absence…
The silence was suffocating.
He was conscious of Sirius fast approaching him. His emotion seemed strangely clouded. But Harry could discern the faint worry that seeped through the bond.
Why the worry, though?
His own footstep echoed eerily as he walked along the empty corridor. He wished so much that Sirius could reach him sooner.
All the warning he received was a pricking at the back of his neck, the feeling of being watched. The feeling of being scrutinized by predatory eyes.
The next moment, it seemed that a solid wall knocked into his back, kicking all the wind out of his body.
Harry screamed.
And the world blacked out.
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