50 Christmas conspiracies
"Headmaster?" Harry called, forcing the old wizard to acknowledge the boy as he stood in front of the gargoyle guarding his office. Standing patiently beside him were his wife and Madam Bones.
"Yes, my boy?" Albus forced his grandfatherly smile onto his face as he cursed their timing. He had almost succeeded in avoiding the lad to deny him the chance to schedule their upcoming meeting. He had hoped that if he could avoid scheduling it, he could avoid attending and thus, not give up any information before he thought it pertinent.
"We need to talk, we have a meeting we must attend to," Harry spoke evenly, watching the elder wizard as he gave the password to his office and started up the stairs.
"Unfortunately, now is not a good time for such a meeting," Albus told the group as they followed him. "I'm afraid I am a very busy person and have many demands upon my time."
"Then how about the 22nd?" Harry countered, engaging in their planned response to his obvious evasion.
"Let me think, no, no that won't work either. I'll be in Geneva for the ICW then," Albus lied, even as he saw the others' faces scrunch as well.
"Odd, I thought the ICW was in recess for the rest of the year?" Amelia's tone made the statement a question.
"It is, as a whole, but there are meetings between members and other negotiations still to deal with," Albus provided.
"I see," Harry said with a disappointed air. "I'm assuming you'll be there on the 23rd as well… We have our own plans for the 24th and 25th. Boxing day?"
"I'm afraid I have pre existing appointments then," Dumbledore fought a smile as he neglected to mention the appointment he was referring to involved himself and a bottle of Firewhiskey.
"And what of the rest of that week?" Harry asked, already anticipating the answer.
"As I have mentioned, I am a very busy person, and have many meetings scheduled for that week."
"I see," Hermione spoke for the first time, her grin almost feral. "Headmaster, may I remind you of something before you dig much further?"
"What is that Miss Granger?" The old man's tone wasn't quite a snarl, but it wasn't far off either.
"First off, yet again, it's Mrs Potter," Hermione's clipped tone gave Harry shudders even though it wasn't aimed at him. "Secondly, while you may think it's acceptable to try to delay this meeting, it doesn't change the oath you took. In case you have forgotten the wording I will remind you that you swore, on your magic, to inform us of all knowledge, plans, or theories you are acting upon regarding Harry and Lord Voldemort before the end of this year's Christmas break. Delaying this does nothing but put your magic at risk. You want to play your games and delay telling us? Fine. We shall find you after the returning feast to help your magicless old ass to the nearest retirement home."
The trio turned to leave, and Dumbledore's face went ashen. They were correct, he had specifically said this year's Christmas break.
"Wait." Hermione's hand paused just before grabbing the door handle. "I believe I can make time for you on the 27th if I move a few meetings."
Looking at her husband, they communicated silently before glancing at and receiving a nod from Madam Bones.
"That shall work. Does one in the afternoon suit you?" Harry agreed, moving back into the room.
"I think I can make it work," Albus agreed, though the rest knew he was considering changing it last minute just to screw with them. "I shall see you then. I believe you know your way out?"
"Such a casual dismissal," Madam Bones snorted. "We still need to agree on where."
"Why, we shall meet here of course," Dumbledore indicated his office.
"I think not," Harry disagreed. "For one, it is far less secure than you think it is. Any of these portraits could pass information on, as could anything sent here as a gift with a listening charm or similar upon it."
"My boy, there is no more secure place than Hogwarts." The 'trust me because I know best' tone made Harry want to hurl.
"Recent incidents point to the contrary, sir. You employed a Voldemort-possessed teacher here our first year. Who knows what charms or devices he left behind, possibly even in this room. Then there is the fact that you also employ a Death Eater and he holds inordinate levels of trust from you. Or the Death Eater disguised as your best friend all of last year."
"Unfortunate examples to be sure, but that doesn't change the fact-"
"That doesn't change the fact that you've been back in your office for five minutes and have yet to acknowledge the man in the invisibility cloak two steps to your right," Hermione countered, cutting off the old man's assurances.
"Wha-" Albus turned, and saw Neville Longbottom pulling off an invisibility cloak, grinning at him.
"You see, Headmaster, Hogwarts is nowhere near as secure as you claim." Turning to the still grinning Neville, he took back the cloak and smiled. "Thanks again Neville, see you at dinner?"
"Sure thing Harry, glad to help," Neville winked, heading for the door.
"Mr Longbottom, I'm afraid that I shall have to assign you a week's detention with Professor Snape for breaking into my office," Albus sighed, making the boy pause in the doorway.
"I think not, Headmaster. You did let him in, after all," Hermione countered, the lad's shoulders sagging in relief. "And he was acting with the knowledge and direction of the Director of the DMLE for security checks. Checks which you failed by the way."
"Be that as it may be, he still broke into my office."
"No, once more, you let him in," Harry countered. "He did nothing since he entered except stand two steps to your right as he was directed to by Madam Bones."
"They are right, Mr Longbottom was acting under my instructions. If you wish to take action over it, file a complaint with the Wizengamot over my actions," Amelia smiled. "Though doing so would require you telling them what happened, as well as why I was testing your security."
"Go, Mr Longbottom," Dumbledore grunted, then glared at the trio until the door was closed. "Very well, since you are so dead set against using my perfectly good office, we shall have this meeting at your house Miss Granger."
"Again, it's Mrs Potter, Headmaster, and no we won't," Harry corrected, drawing his attention. "We have recently added very strong and powerful wards to our home, ones that shall insure the safety of our family. We will not trust you with access to that safe place, your track record in that regard leaves much to be desired."
"I'm sure I don't know what you mean Harry, I am most trustworthy."
"My parents' Fidelius was cast by you, meaning you had knowledge of their secret keeper. Yet they were still attacked and you sent the wrong man to jail for it. The Longbottoms, also under a Fidelius you cast, had their secret exposed. Funny how the only time the parchment slip with the address was out of the Longbottoms' possession was when you had it."
"I-"
"No, our house is not an acceptable location," Hermione agreed firmly,
"Then where would you suggest we meet, then?" snark slipped through the very frustrated Dumbledore's tight emotional control.
"Grimmauld place."
"That… That could work, I suppose," Albus granted. "I shall have Alastor Moody be the Auror representative-"
"No."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Alastor Moody is not our chosen DMLE representative, besides which he is retired," Hermione clarified with a grin. "Nor are Kingsley Shacklebolt, Hestia Jones, or Nymphadora Tonks acceptable."
"But they are the only aurors that know the secret," Albus defended. "They are the only ones who can enter."
"Yet here you are, the secret keeper, and here is our chosen representative," Harry waved at the Headmaster first, then at Madam Bones.
"Harry, you know she can't go there, if she does, she will arrest Si...er... the person who owns that place. You don't want him to go away again, do you?" Albus tried to be consoling, but everyone else saw the blatant attempt at manipulation.
"You mean the owner, Sirius Black? The innocent and never convicted godfather of Harry here? The one whose trial you have been working behind the scenes to block?"
"You… but… how?" Albus couldn't stop the dismay from showing on his face now.
"Sucks when people keep things from you, doesn't it?" Amelia answered smugly. "I've known for months that Sirius was innocent. I've even spoken to him and with some help, arranged to have his testimony included as evidence to get him a trial to clear his name. So are you going to tell me the secret, or are you going to be stubborn and let your magic disappear come the end of the break?"
Harry sat in a pillar of eldritch power, letting it wash over him.
The couple had been working on tapping into the magic around them rather than their own personal reserves, and today Harry was trying something new. Each time they tapped the ambient magic, especially in the school, they felt slightly refreshed. It was almost like they were pulling from that magic to recharge themselves, so today Harry was trying to do it on purpose. They had dueled and practiced heavily for over an hour, pushing themselves as hard as they could. Harry had consciously avoided his normal practice of pulling from the surrounding magics, trying as hard as possible to rely only on himself. Now he had felt slightly taxed and had sat down to draw on the energy surrounding him to replenish himself.
Hermione watched anxiously as the power seemed to envelope her husband and for a moment appeared to consume him before it roared again and flowed through Harry once again. It had been months since either of them had tried to differentiate between their personal power and the ambient magics. Honestly, at this point they both felt wrong doing so.
Harry threw back his head as the power raced through him, burning his nerves as it fed him raw energy. He could feel the world around him flex slightly, drawn into him. It was a tiny distortion, but an obvious one. He felt like if he needed to, he could keep pulling, drain everything around him to power whatever he wished.
"Whoa…" Harry let go of the wild magic and watched it sweep back out from them and dissipate.
"What was that Harry?" Hermione slid down beside him, holding him up as he sagged.
"I, I could see the magic. It flowed in towards me, and I could tell I could keep pulling on it if I wished. It was like the whole world's magic was at my beck and call."
"You tapped into the magic of the world?"
"I think so…" Harry looked at her with a mix of awe and fear. "I don't think… we shouldn't do that unless we really, really, really need to."
Three days later they took the train home and relaxed for the first time in months. They had no more DA lessons to worry about, no Inquisitorial squad to evade, and no Umbridge to deal with. It truly was one of the most relaxing rides they'd ever taken. The wards they placed on their compartment door saw to it that only a select few were able to even find their compartment. It was amusing, and a source of minor betting, watching Malfoy and his goons stride back and forth, obviously searching for them.
As the train pulled into Kings Cross, they gathered their things as reality began to settle back upon them. They had a busy break ahead, not just spending as much time with the Grangers and Sirius as they could, but also taking their OWLs in History, Charms, Transfiguration and Defense at Madam Bones' home. There was also the upcoming conversation with Dumbledore to consider.
Sighing, the duo gathered their bags and made their way off the train, skillfully avoiding a waiting Draco and making their way to the muggle side of the station before heading home.
