Chapter 8: Someone was There

Albus looked up from the latest letter from the minister as the door to his office slammed open, and strode in an enraged Severus Snape. Feeling it would be best to confront such anger with grace, he said calmly, "Good evening, Severus. Won't you sit down?"

"That—boy," fumed Snape, "is exactly like his father. He—"

"When you say 'that boy' might I assume that you are speaking of Harry?" Albus interrupted placidly.

Severus shot him a look full of frustration. "Who else would I possibly be talking about? Of course I'm talking about Potter."

Albus sighed and put away the letter from Fudge, appeasing the persistent ministry owl with a treat. "Do we have to go on about this again? What has Harry done this time?"

"The boy's cheek is intolerable. If he cannot show respect for his teachers—"

"Severus," Albus said gently, "I think you are confusing your image of Harry with your memories of James. You must realize that they are not the same person. From what I've seen so far, he acts much more like Lily than James."

Severus glowered for a moment, before finally sinking into the chair that Albus had offered in the first place. "And now Minerva tells me he's to be on the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

"Yes," Albus answered, peering at him closely over his half-moon spectacles.

"Headmaster, if you allow Potter to bend the rules about first-years not having brooms or playing Quidditch, it will go to his head even more than his fame already has. From what I hear, Minerva only discovered his flying talents because he was breaking the rules. If you allow him to get away with this, Potter will start thinking that he can break the rules whenever he likes." Severus had calmed down and was speaking in a cold, unemotional voice, but Albus could see that he was still angry.

"I have been watching Harry very closely for a long time now Severus. I've also had several of the portraits reporting back to me on him, as I'm sure that you are aware, I observed his classes the first week. Invisibly, of course." Albus registered Snape's nod, then continued, "I do not think that this will go to Harry's head. I've told you several times before that Harry is not James, Severus. James arrived at this school the only child of doting parents, and Harry has been neglected for most of his life. I agree that the sudden fame will—and has already—helped to change his personality, but we will have to wait and see the outcome of those changes."

Snape opened his mouth, about to say something else but Dumbledore cut him off. "Please, Severus. At least wait a little longer before you decide on who he is."

Before anything else could be said, the office door swung open again, this time letting in a tabby cat with spectacle markings around its eyes.

"Ah! Good evening, Professor McGonagall," Albus said graciously as the cat changed into his transfiguration professor.

"Good evening, Albus, Severus," she replied to them with a slight nod as she said their names, though she didn't look as thought it was a 'good' evening. "I need to discuss something with you. I overheard it just now in the Great Hall. It's about Potter and Malfoy."

"Indeed," Severus said, and Albus would've gambled everything he owned that Snape was already planning a detention for Harry. "As it just so happens," Snape said, "The headmaster and I were just discussing Potter; in particular, his lack of respect for his teachers."

Minerva closed her eyes, as though biting back a retort, before turning back to Dumbledore. "Albus, I have just heard that Potter was goaded into accepting a challenge for a Wizard's Duel. By Malfoy," she added with a certain amount of severity towards Snape.

"If Draco challenged Potter to a duel, it was most likely because Potter made a remark he shouldn't have made," replied Severus coolly. "But nonetheless, I highly doubt he intends to go through with this as dueling is against school rules."

"Well, why would he challenge him if he doesn't intend to act on it?" Minerva countered. "Unless, of course, it was simply to get Potter in trouble, which mean…"

"Both students are to blame for even agreeing to duel," Albus interrupted. "But don't forget that nothing has happened… yet. There is a possibility that neither student will go through with it." The other two teachers looked as though they doubted this, but Dumbledore went on. "Did they say where to meet, Minerva?"

"Apparently, Malfoy said to meet in the trophy room at midnight tonight."

"I will take care of this matter," Albus said, surprising them both. "You two can rest assured that there will indeed be punishments if they are deserved."

Minerva nodded in approval, but Severus continued to look cynical. Dumbledore noticing this merely said, "Trust me, Severus, I will handle this."

Severus hesitated for a moment before he reluctantly nodded and mumbled, "Very well, headmaster."

"Good. Now that's settled, would you be so kind as to excuse me? I have a letter to finish," Albus beamed at them, and watched as they left the room.

Once the office was empty, Fawkes gave a melodious cry and flew onto Dumbledore's shoulder so that he could pet him. Albus gently stroked the bird's head, causing the phoenix to close his eyes lazily, as he then turned back to replying to Cornelius' latest note.

But Dumbledore wasn't paying much attention to the letter, however. He was lost in thought about the person that he had made his self-appointed duty to watch over… Harry Potter.

He had watched Harry during the first week of classes, tailing him invisibly, nearly everywhere he went. Some might have said that these precautions were extreme, but Albus felt that they were necessary. If the prophecy had any bearing on future events, then making sure that the boy's character was good was absolutely important. Once he was sure, Dumbledore could leave the boy well enough alone.

Albus finished the letter, and gave the ministry owl another treat for waiting so patiently before tying the parchment to its leg and letting it fly up and out the window. He relocated Fawkes to his normal perch by the door and went to retrieve the Pensieve from its cabinet shelf. Prodding at its contents with his wand, he watched sadly as the familiar silver figure rose from it.

He must have listened to these words a thousand times by now… and yet it never failed to send shivers up his spine—especially the line: "And either must die at the hands of the other, for neither can live while the other survives…"

Fawkes flew back over to his shoulder and rubbed his scarlet head against the side of Albus' face, demanding that he pay more attention to him. As Dumbledore continued to pet the scarlet and gold plumage, he became lost in his own thoughts.

Most people would consider the prophecy to have already been fulfilled. Voldemort had chosen to attack Harry, but the killing curse had rebounded and was sent flying back towards the caster. It was simple right? Voldemort faces baby Harry, Harry wins, and Voldemort dies.

But Dumbledore knew better than to think that it could possibly be all that simple. He knew what that dark force deep in the forests of Albania was… although Professor Quirrell had told him that he'd seen no sign of anything that seemed like dark magic when he had visited Albania. "The th-thing m-m-must have l-l-left," he'd stuttered. But something seemed wrong with that.

For some reason he couldn't, in good conscience, bring himself to trust Quirenius's word. Something told him to keep a close watch on him.

"You know, Albus, if you're going to catch those two troublemakers, you'd better be going," said the sluggish voice of Phineas Nigellus from his picture frame. "If you leave them on their own, they might even wander off to that third floor corridor. Then they'd really be in trouble… if not dead."

"I didn't think time had passed that quickly," Albus murmured, peering at the grandfather clock in one corner. He paused, considering Phineas' words. He stood up, leaving Fawkes on his perch, and with a wave of his wand, he became invisible. He left his office and headed straight towards Gryffindor tower.

*Later*

Albus had been waiting patiently outside the Gryffindor common room. He'd left early enough that he would be able to follow them from there.

He'd been wondering for some time now how Harry might deal with pressure or peril. He was coping as well as can be expected in his classes, but there are some lessons that can't be taught in a classroom.

'If you leave them on their own, they might even wander off to that third floor corridor. Then they'd really be in trouble… if not dead,' Phineas' words circled around Albus' mind. He didn't think Harry and Ron would be so foolish to try to force their way through that door, seeing how they had mistakenly tried to get into the corridor on their first day. But when they were caught by Argus, they were reluctant to go anywhere near it again. He could tell that Harry was someone who preferred to avoid trouble enough that he would not try a second time to get through that door. Unless…

This was the perfect test of character, really. And he knew that nothing could possibly go wrong, as he, himself would be there to make sure it didn't.

After a few more minutes, the Fat Lady's empty portrait opened. Harry and Ron climbed out followed by—Dumbledore couldn't help but grin—a furious Hermione Granger, who was thoroughly scolding them about being irresponsible and how selfish they were.

Her protestations of their stupidity and recklessness were only broken when she turned around and realized that the portrait had swung shut behind her and the Fat Lady was gone.

"Now what am I going to do?" Hermione wailed.

Ron, with a look of severe irritation, told her it was her problem now as he and Harry swiftly walked away.

Albus had a sudden burst of inspiration. Harry and Ron wouldn't know how to get through the door to the third floor corridor, but Hermione, being the keen student she was, would.

Hermione leaned huffily against the wall. She seemed to be quite determined to let Harry and Ron face the consequences of their own actions, and to stay put until the Fat Lady returned. She bit her lip; her resolve wavering. She looked at Harry and Ron's retreating backs, back up at the Fat Lady's empty canvas, and finally she tore off after the two boys.

Dumbledore chuckled to himself as he followed her, checking to be sure his presence was a completely silent one. He caught up with the three just in time to hear the end of Hermione's justifying argument.

"—If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up."

Ron was both furious and indignant. "You've got some nerve—"

"Shut up, both of you! I heard something." Dumbledore was proud to see that Harry had been cautiously looking around rather than getting involved in what was fast becoming a loud argument.

The three turned to see that it was another first year boy, who was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, and snoring in a noisy, yet in a muffled way. It was almost understandable that Ron mistook the noise for that of Mrs. Norris, Argus' cat. When they came near, Neville Longbottom woke up and began talking with them.

Dumbledore watched interestedly as Harry sorted out whether Neville would come with them or not. Neville was frightened of being left alone, and though Harry gave in, Ron issued a stern warning to both Neville and Hermione that they had better not get them caught. If they did, he wouldn't rest until he learned the 'Curse of the Bogies' that he heard about in class.

Dumbledore smiled faintly at this fervent threat. Little did they know how guarded they were from being discovered by Argus tonight.

The headmaster followed them invisibly to the trophy room, only once pausing to send Mrs. Norris off in another direction so that she would not discover the nighttime wanderers. The four were being quite helpful; they didn't make a sound as they proceeded towards their destination.

When they entered the out-of-bounds room, they noticed something more than just moonlight and shadows—Malfoy wasn't there yet.

Albus considered this for a moment. He had a very good idea that the Slytherin boy wouldn't show up, but he rather wanted to get the group to leave so that he could direct them where they needed to go. But how was he supposed to get them away without them noticing where they were going?

He performed a quick spell and waited for a moment for it to take effect.

"Maybe he's chickened out," Ron suggested in a whisper after a few more minutes.

A sudden noise made the four jump, and Dumbledore smiled knowingly. The furious caretaker had just arrived and was outside the room, speaking with a slight wheeze to Mrs. Norris. That got them moving.

But in their hurry, Neville tripped into Ron, which caused them to knock over a suit of armor. With the speed of a much younger man, Dumbledore was able to put a silencing charm on the door so that, while Filch came running, it was not the immediate capture it might have been. He likewise blocked Harry's yell of "RUN!" from Argus' ears.

Then they were off. Dumbledore managed to keep pace with Harry though it was just barely; the boy was faster than he looked. He was quite sure that Harry had no idea where he was going, which was excellent for guiding the foursome inconspicuously.

At each crucial turning, Dumbledore gave a slight flick of his wand, making one passage less obvious so that the running students often overlooked it. Once he even made sure that the tapestry to a hidden passageway, which he knew Harry had never seen before, fluttered invitingly, ensuring that the fleeing students took it.

Finally, the need for a air and the relative safety of being away from the trophy room made the gang pause. Although grateful for the breather, Dumbledore immediately cast around for a way to get them moving again. But this time, he didn't have to summon anyone.

Peeves suddenly came shooting out of a classroom, squealing gleefully when he saw the four students. "Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty," he sang, cackling madly.

Dumbledore always knew he liked that poltergeist.

"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please." Dumbledore shook his head and suppressed a chuckle. Even after only a week, Harry really should know better by now than to ask something of the poltergeist directly.

"Should tell Filch, I should," Peeves continued, in a would-be moral voice, "It's for your own good, you know."

Dumbledore, of course, knew that Peeves would do no such thing. The funny little man made it his life's mission to cause as much trouble and misery for the bad tempered caretaker. He knew that the day that Peeves would help Argus was when Severus awarded points to Gryffindor of his own free will. The four panic-stricken students, however, hadn't realized this.

Ron was the first to lose his patience. "Get out of the way!"

That did it, of course. They were forced to flee as Peeves bellowed at the top of his lungs to the whole school. "STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

Dumbledore made sure that the only place for them to go was the door right at the end of the corridor—locked, as he knew it would be.

Ron moaned something about them being doomed when he tried to pull the door open and it wouldn't budge. Hermione snapped at them to get out of the way as she performed the Alohomora charm just as Albus took off the more advanced spells, and the lock clicked open.

They rushed in and practically slammed the door shut again—Dumbledore only just managed to get in behind them. Harry, Ron, and Hermione pressed their ears to the door, the only thing on their minds was getting away from the fast approaching trouble that was Argus Filch.

That left Neville as the only one to look around to see what was behind them.

Dumbledore was suddenly glad that the trio had brought Neville along, if they had left without even noticing what he wanted them to see, and then this whole excursion would have been for nothing. Neville froze in terror as Dumbledore quickly cast a spell over the giant, three-headed dog to keep it from reacting too quickly. He stayed that way for a few minutes while the others made sure that Filch had disappeared, and then tugged frantically on Harry's sleeve.

The invisible headmaster watched the horrified faces of the first-years intently. Would Harry freeze, as Neville had done? The spell was wearing off now, but Harry didn't move a muscle…

And then, by instinct, Harry yanked the door open; the other three fell outside with him. Dumbledore quickly stepped over them before Harry slammed the door shut.

None of them said a word as they all ran back to Gryffindor tower, but Dumbledore was at least pleased at the way Harry had reacted. He smiled when the Fat Lady swung open at once as Harry gasped the password at her.

Inside, Neville went up to bed as the trio sat in chairs in front of the fire, trying to get their breaths back. Ron was the first to speak after several tense minutes. "What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school? If any dog needs exercise, that one does."

Dumbledore actually pondered this for a moment. Perhaps he should have Hagrid take Fluffy for a walk every couple of nights. He certainly didn't want to neglect the animal's well-being.

"You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" Hermione snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"

Ah, that made Dumbledore very glad of the girl's presence indeed.

"The floor?" Harry asked. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads."

"No, not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something."

'Yes, a good thing indeed that Hermione Granger had come along,' Dumbledore thought. Now if only the girl could teach Harry to notice these sort of things even in a moment of danger.

He watched Harry's expression as Hermione went up to bed, and could practically see the wheels turning in his head. He'd listened to a conversation between Harry and Ron about the article that had turned up in the newspaper on the Gringotts break-in, and of course he knew Harry had been with Hagrid the day he'd retrieved the Stone from vault 713. Harry was putting two and two together, Dumbledore concluded with pride.

He waited until both boys went up to bed before he finally left and retreated to his office for the night; he thought once again about the night's events. Many of the teachers would undoubtedly claim that it was careless of him.

Which was why, of course, they wouldn't find out. Dumbledore knew very well what he was doing and what needed to be done. It had long since occurred to him that if any Dark wizard in history could want the Stone hidden in his castle, it would be Voldemort. And the unsettling events that Nicholas had described in the way of visitors just happened to match with the disappearance of the dark force he'd been watching in Albania all this time.

Harry would be all right. Dumbledore would make sure of that. He firmly believed that if someone had the ability to uncover any knowledge, he or she was worthy of the trust and judgment that came with that knowledge.

He did not need to interfere with Harry's life, for a while anyway, Dumbledore decided. He would wait to see what Harry did with what he'd found out.

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