Now you got me all confused on whether or not this will be a Draco/Harry story. I considered it, but it just doesn't work with the plot I have.
I don't own Harry Potter or other related persons. I do own Adel and this story.
Thanks go to fairytopian, Sweet-single, Wolf05, DanceswithHippogriffs, Freak in Corner, Brookslocklear, Night-Player, giosseppe, and AmandaBurke76 for reviewing!
As he stepped through the doors, the first thing he saw was Professor McGonagall. Her lips were pursed and her face was pale. Her arms were crossed over her chest.
"Mr. Potter. To the Headmaster's office. Now."
Harry followed her silently. He wasn't sure whether or not he should be scared, Dumbledore was sure to be furious with him. He almost laughed when he thought of what Dumbledore's face looked like when Ron and Hermione told him that he decided to take a swim before going to the feast.
Beside that point were the rumors that were surely going around about why he had gone. Almost the entire student body had seen his dive into the lake. He really didn't want to make the front page of the Daily Prophet before school even started; but it was just his luck that he would.
They walked briskly towards the headmaster's office that he had probably been in more times than many of the worst pranksters. He wasn't sure if Fred and George had been in the headmaster's office more than once or twice.
McGonagall stopped in front of the stone gargoyle, but before she could bark out the new candy name/password, the gargoyle stepped aside and Harry came face to face with a scowling professor Snape and a sneering Draco Malfoy. Malfoy's eyes became slit with concentration, but he didn't say anything and the two of them stood staring at each other for almost five minutes.
"Mr. Potter has an appointment with the headmaster, so if you two would clear the corridor…"
Malfoy's eyes snapped away from Harry's and he looked at Snape, surprised. "Sorry, sir" he mumbled and the two walked off toward the dungeons.
"Mr. Potter," professor McGonagall chided. He must have been standing there instead of going up the stairs.
McGonagall knocked on the door, then opened it. Harry could not help but notice the missing and replaced trinkets that he had destroyed last year. Dumbledore sat at his desk, his hands were folded under his chin and he looked thoughtful. His eyes were not their usual, twinkling blue, but dull.
"Thank you, Minerva" Were the only words that he said. Harry almost feared that the headmaster would refuse to look at him, like last year. But now, Dumbledore's eyes were boring into his. Harry quickly looked away, fearing that he would be using legilimency on him.
"Professor, I-I'm sorry," Harry tried to stutter out, but Dumbledore held out a hand to stop him.
"Harry, my boy, what has happened earlier today has caused quite a stir among the students and staff. I must ask what in Merlin's name you were thinking!" His voice did not rise, but Harry could hear the anger growing and his eyes almost blazing with newfound fury.
Harry seriously considered telling the headmaster what was going on; him being a merman would be a serious disadvantage in a battle, if they happened to be around water. However, according to Adel, if he never went back to the lake or mer society, he would eventually lose his ability to change. Dumbledore did not need to know; Harry would just wait it out.
Dumbledore sighed, "Harry, I know that last year was a tough time for you and you must miss your godfather a great deal; but you must understand that there are people counting on you. It is a lot of pressure; so much so that I tried to keep the truth from you. But now you know the truth and you must be more responsible. Voldemort is no longer in hiding. Now that you are aware of your part in shaping the future, you are aware that from now on every action that you take has a consequence."
With every word, Harry felt the weight returning. No, it was not an option to stay with a family that would care for him; he had to save the world from an evil maniac. Right now he wished in his heart that he had stayed with Adel, away from the pressure of being the Savior, but he knew in his mind that he had no choice but to kill Voldemort. He didn't know if he could handle it.
"I'm sorry, Professor. Really, I am."
With that, Harry turned to leave the office, but the headmaster called him back.
"Harry, wait," Harry stood at the door, but didn't turn. Dumbledore was not desperate or stupid. "You are hiding something. You are entitled to your privacy, so I won't push you for information unless it starts to affect the war. I do, however, encourage you to tell your friends about your problems and fears. That is what friends are there for."
Harry left the office, barely hearing Dumbledore telling him the new Gryffindor password. He ran through the halls of Hogwarts. He wasn't running away from his destiny. He just needed some time to separate from it. He would come back; it's just that in that office, he felt as if he was suffocating.
He stopped running and looked around; he had brought himself to Gryffindor tower, but he didn't want to stay there this night so he continued to walk. At this point he didn't really care about Filch or Mrs. Norris finding him.
He was in a place that he had never seen before. The paintings around him were not the typical portraits and still lives, but they were landscapes. There were pictures of mountains and forests and lakes and the ocean. Right here, he could almost pretend that he was anywhere else in the world instead of Hogwarts. He could look at the pictures and be standing on the beach.
He sat, staring at the ocean; his back against the cold, hard rock of the castle walls. He could almost feel them humming with life. It wouldn't surprise him if Hogwarts was a living being. Looking at the ocean, Harry suddenly had questions that he wished he had asked Adel. Did merpeople live in the ocean too? What was it like?
A noise from his right alerted him to someone's presence. It wasn't Dumbledore, with his way of always knowing where he was. It wasn't Ron or Hermione out at night; they wouldn't be looking for him there.
It was Snape.
He wasn't snarling or glaring at him. He was looking over his shoulder, at the ocean behind him. Snape ended up walking towards him. Harry considered glaring, but decided it wouldn't do to make bad situations worse. Snape sat beside him and they both stared at the painting. Harry wondered what Snape was thinking about. If he hadn't come to harass him, then why was he here? And how did he know where here was? He didn't ask though, it would ruin the peace, which was something Harry desperately needed right now.
"You do have a choice, you know."
And Harry understood.
I'm not sure what you will think of this chapter, it's not very exciting and very likely not what you were expecting. Please review anyway.
