Well, to get things started I'm posting more than one chapter. Normally it'll be a lot longer between updates, obviously, but I'm trying to do what I can to hold you over, not to mention I won't be doing any writing at all this weekend due to having an FTX from 1800 Friday to sometime Sunday afternoon. So anyways, here we go.
[Reformatted Version] Well, after getting back and seeing that I had so man reviews, thank you for the comments by the way. I haven't read all of them yet, but I'm taking them to heart and considering revising a few things because of the logical problems a few of you came up with. [IE: America running the Unspeakables.] I realize now, after it was pointed out, that it may seem a bit preachy. Same with a few other things such as using some more military tech and explaining some of the military terms, since it appears they may have confused some people which wasn't my intention. Thanks again for the reviews, and I'll endeavor to read the rest of them tonight. Hopefully I'll have a new chapter out by the end of the week.
Also, tried to fix the formatting problems, I didn't realize that it was underlined or bolded. In fact it didn't even show up Microsoft Word. But I reloaded it to a new document and the re-uploaded it, so hopefully it worked. For those of you who just started reading, I suppose this wasn't important for you, but I appreciate you still reading this. With that said, onwards we go.
What's Left of the Flag
Chapter 2
Harry smiled to himself as he walked out of the Ministry of Magic, his face once again hidden by the shadow charm on his now dark gray cloak. His briefing with General Horace had gone fairly well, considering that the man had been pissed off at first when he had heard that Harry Potter had left Britain, even more so when he was informed that he'd joined the United State's Army, rather than his own. However upon his promotion to an Unspeakable, and therefore under his command, he had been absolutely thrilled and forgot his former frustration with the seventeen year old.
Potter was sitting in a nearly empty room, the only exceptions being the table with a packet lying on top of it, and the two chairs that were placed on either side of it. Harry sighed as he waited, wondering how long it would be, and knowing it was pointless to ask such questions, considering the military's policy of 'Hurry up and wait".
Before he could change his mind's own topic though, the door opened, drawing his attention. He immediately snapped out of his chair and stood at attention as he saw General Horace walk through the door in his dress uniform, "Good morning, Sir!"
Horace had stopped and stared at him for a moment, as if sizing him up before nodding and walking over to the table, and taking his own seat, "Take a seat, Corporal. How are you doing today?"
Potter nodded as he sat down, "Good, Sir, how are you?"
The General shook his head, "It'll be better when this is over, Potter. Now, let's get down to business. I've got a lot to do today, and we both know how busy your day is going to be."
"Yes, Sir."
"Good, now, first of all I want to say congratulations on joining the Unspeakables and making your way back to Britain, Potter. Truth be told you've been sorely missed by the general public, not that you would have done much good if you had just been sitting around over here anyways, but they don't care about that little fact. I'm sure you've been told your Rules of Engagement, but I'm going to repeat them again. Try not to seriously hurt any of the students unless you are attacked first, and then you are only to use necessary force. If they start hurling the Avada Kedavra at you, then by all means kill them, but otherwise disable them and move on. The same goes with the Order members, but to a lesser extent. Everything else is to your own discretion…this doesn't mean that you can go around just killing everybody you come across, Potter. You don't seem like the type, but then again they never do…you've been warned."
Harry nodded, "I understand, Sir. Thank you for reminding me of my RoE's."
Horace rolled his eyes, "Yeah, sure. This folder-" He said, pushing the manila folder in the center of the table towards the Corporal, "Has everything you will need to get into your seventh year of Hogwarts, so that you can carry out your mission. We may contact you from time to time with new information, or we may request you for a mission. You don't have to take these missions if you're in a tight spot in your mission, but if you're able to then it would be best, as how much you help us will have a direct effect on how much we're willing to help you out on your mission. Remember that your current mission is to infiltrate the school and the Order. If you get the chance to fight against Voldemort, and you think you can take him on, then by all means do it…but don't get yourself killed. You may be the one to take him down, but that doesn't mean you should try and fight the war on your own. Other than that all I have to say is good luck, and happy hunting. Have a good day, Corporal."
The two of them stood up at the same time and walked towards the door together, "You too, Sir."
Unfortunately Harry's first stop was one of the few places he wanted to be less than Hogwarts right now. He had managed to break in to Number Four, Privet Drive, before he left the country so that he could stash some of his supplies in the hiding spots in his bedroom. He had high hopes that he would be able to avoid meeting the Dursleys ever again in his life, but today was a Saturday, and it seemed he would have to stomach their presence for at least a few more minutes today.
He sighed as he stepped off the bus onto the sidewalk, and began making his way through the cookie cutter neighborhood. He was slightly annoyed by the fact that everybody was staring at him, though incredibly relieved that they didn't seem to recognize him. He supposed that it was to be expected, wearing his Class A's in public, but he hadn't yet bought any new clothes since he left the States. He had gone from AIT to training to become an Unspeakable for a year, to his briefing this morning, with barely enough time for him to get his high and tight hair cut before his flight. If nothing else, the Dursleys wouldn't be able to tell him that he looked like shit for once.
What remained of his already low hopes of avoiding his only living relatives were crushed as he saw both Vernon and Petunia's vehicles in the drive way. Shaking his head, he took a deep breath and squared his shoulders before ringing the door bell and waiting for the inevitable shit storm. It took approximately one minute for Petunia to open the door, looking surprised to see an obviously American soldier on their door step. "Can I help you, sir?" She asked, curiously, staring at his face as if she was having trouble placing it.
Harry chuckled mirthlessly, "Are you seriously saying that you don't recognize me after fifteen years of raising me, Ma'am? I'm hurt, I really am." He replied sarcastically.
Petunia's eyes shot to his name tag before widening, "Vernon! Come here now! It's the boy!" She turned and shouted before glaring at him.
Vernon's gigantic form came lumbering towards the door, "What the bloody hell are you talking about, Petunia? What boy-" The huge man froze as he saw Harry, this eyes flicking to his name tag before his face began to color, "What the bloody hell are you doing here boy? And better yet what the fuck are you doing wearing that uniform? Probably killed some American soldier with your freakishness and stole it you did. I oughta-" Before he could finish, Harry had pushed his way past Petunia and slammed the door shut.
"Sir, I suggest shutting your mouth right now. I'm going to try and be civil this one time. If you don't then I have no problem kicking your ass and stuffing you in the fucking cupboard before I leave. And just so you know, I've worked my ass off for this uniform and I will not have you of all people undermining my accomplishments like you have the rest of my life."
Both of the adults, now in the kitchen, stared at the seventeen year old in disbelief, this man wasn't the same kid they had seen at the beginning of his fifth year of Hogwarts. Especially if he was telling the truth about earning his uniform, and so far it appeared he was. "You still haven't told us why you're here, Boy." Petunia spoke up, after noticing that Vernon was still speechless.
Potter glared at the two of them as he tucked his beret into the back of his belt under his jacket, "I'm here to get what few belongings I left here. After this you'll hopefully never have to see me again, seeing as how you seeing me would include me seeing you, and I don't have any intentions of seeing either of your ugly faces for the rest of my life, however short that may be."
Vernon seemed to have finally found his voice again after that, "Don't you dare insult me in my own home, you little brat. How the hell do you still have anything left in my house? You haven't been here in more than a year and we already cleared out your room. We were hoping you were dead." He said, believing that his comment would make Harry lose his temper, or at least hurt his feelings, and was disappointed when he heard the boy laugh.
"That was the point, fat-ass. And as for my stuff, I guarantee that it's still up there. Now move, so that I can get up there, get my stuff, and leave." With that, Harry pushed past Vernon and started ascending the stairs. He quickly found his last stash of galleons, his miniaturized trunk with his previous years school supplies in it, he'd paid a man in Diagon Alley to shrink it for him, and the few sets of clothes he had left from his time in this room. He considered putting them on before flicking his wrist, bringing out the right-handed half of his dual wand set and incinerating them, inciting a shout and screech of fear from his audience. He smirked at them as he turned around, not at all surprised to see that Dudley was coming out of his room to see what the commotion was.
"Mum, Dad, what's going…." His sentence ground to a halt as he saw Harry standing in his former room with his wand out and ashes lying on the floor at his feet. "What the bloody hell are you doing here, freak?"
Harry resisted the strong urge to turn his whale of a cousin into a pig, instead of just the tail he'd been given when they were eleven. "I was actually just leaving, Dudders." Turning to his aunt and uncle he glared at them, "I would honestly like to say that it's a shame to be leaving you two for the last time, but I can't even try to lie that much. You're lucky that Voldemort never figured out that I used to live here, or he would have slaughtered all three of you by now, and despite the fact that I'm sorely tempted to put false evidence out there that says I'm staying here again, I'm not going to. Not because I care about any of you, but because I know that neither my parents nor my chain of command would approve of it. So count yourself lucky for that as well. Like I said, this will hopefully be the last time we see each other. If it isn't then I guarantee that you won't like the circumstances, because they'll probably be me trying to save your worthless asses from the terrorist I told you about, and in all honesty, I'm not sure I'm ready to beat him yet. Now…do your best to ignore the fact that I was ever here, and have a good day." With that he pushed past all three of them again and made his way out of the home for the last time. It was time to go shopping. First for some muggle civvies, and then to Diagon Alley to pick up his school supplies.
Harry spent what was left of Saturday shopping, both in muggle London and Diagon Alley. For the most part it was rather uneventful, although Diagon Alley was strangely empty and quiet, those that were there kept their heads down and moved quickly from shop to shop. He attributed it to the war that was now acknowledged throughout all of Magical Britain, although it seemed that not much had been done to defend the country from Voldemort. There were barely any victories against his forces, it seemed, and the few that they did manage to win were at the cost of a large number of Aurors and civilians, and were for largely unimportant areas. Thankfully Azkaban, Hogwarts, and Diagon Alley were still out of Voldemort's reach. He wished he could say the ministry was as well, but he knew better than to believe that he didn't have his little death munchers influencing, if not directly controlling parts of the ministry. Speaking of the ministry, it seemed as if they had finally kicked Fudge out some time last year, having elected a man by the name of Rufus Scrimgeour as the Minister of Magic. He was apparently the former head of the Aurors, but seemed to be doing little better at his job than Fudge was.
It was a shame that the world was tearing itself apart so quickly, but he knew better than to hope it would be different, after all the wizarding world was ass backwards during normal times. He doubted it would be any better during war times. He couldn't understand how the wizarding world had fucked themselves over so badly as far as technology or even culturally, but he imagined it had something to do with depending so heavily upon magic. He knew that many of the other countries' wizards were far more embracing of technology and followed the world's events just as well as the muggles did.
He sighed heavily as he walked back into the Leaky Cauldron and towards Tom, to rent himself a room for the night. He figured he might as well get at least one more good night's sleep before his life descended into the chaos that he seemed destined for. As he laid his head down on his pillow he reflected that between spending the rest of the year with a bunch of teenagers and going to war, he honestly couldn't figure out which was worse.
Nymphadora Tonks was having a bad day. It was six o'clock in the morning…and she was already having a bad day. Well, to be fair waking up at six in the morning was always something that annoyed the hell out of her. But that wasn't all of it, four months ago she had been assigned to be one of the Aurors designated to guard Hogwarts in case of an attack by Voldemort…not that she thought that the four of them would be able to do much against the madman's forces if he managed to breach Hogwarts' defenses, but orders were orders. Even if they were stupid ones. On top of that, Dumbledore had been annoying her as well, what with his continuous policy of waiting for an attack to happen before responding to it and inevitably being too late to help anybody at all. If he would just let them actually launch an offensive maneuver or two against Voldemort then the war might be going at least a little better than it currently was. On top of everything else, the old man was still complaining about the fact that they hadn't found Harry Potter. He insisted that the seventeen year old was still somewhere in England, and that he was alive, but they hadn't found any sign of him since he disappeared almost a year and a half ago.
The entire situation made her mad. The fact that Harry had ran away when they needed him safe the most, not to mention the fact that he had left both her and Remus alone to their grieving as it seemed that nobody else particularly cared about Sirius' death. She realized that he probably felt just as bad about his godfather's death as they did, but it still hurt that he wasn't there for the only two that actually cared for him as much as he did. She was also annoyed at him for being able to outwit her, seeing as how for the first two weeks that he had been missing it was both her and Mad-eye that had spear-headed the effort to find him, only to come up with nothing. She was mad at both Ron and Hermione when they had admitted to breaking their ties with him, which she believed to be a major reason he had left, not to mention Dumbledore's own treatment of him. She wasn't blind. She had seen what the Dursleys were like, and she had complained to him multiple times before Harry had ran away, she could actually understand him running from them, at least.
But what had pissed her off the most about the entire situation was that Harry had been her own friend as well. Sure, not nearly as close as he had been to Ron and Hermione, but he had confided in her a few times, and they seemed to get along fairly well, they even seemed to have a spark between them a couple of times. She ignored that of course, seeing as how he was only fifteen at the time…hell even now he'd only be seventeen, but still. In the end, it didn't matter how much she sat and complained about the situation, it seemed as if Harry was gone for good, and if the last year and a half showed anything it was that no matter how much their world needed him, Harry James Potter was not likely to show up any time soon.
So, ignoring how tired she was, she continued about her daily routines, convinced that this day was going to be the same as any other day in the last four months.
Harry smiled warmly at the young Asian woman who brought him his coffee as he sat in the Three Broomsticks at seven in the morning. He had woke up at five and done his daily PT, although he had cut his normally four mile run short due to how cold it was this morning, and then gotten himself dressed in his fairly nice civvies before apparating to Hogsmeade for some breakfast before he would go to the castle.
"Thank you, Ma'am. How are you doing this morning?" He asked as the girl set the cup on the table, next to his eggs and bacon.
The woman smiled back. "I'm alright, still waking up, I guess, but definitely not bad." She was about to continue when she suddenly took a double take at his forehead, more specifically his scar, which was now plainly visible thanks to his high and tight. "H-Harry? Harry Potter? I thought you were dead!" She said quickly, although it came out barely above a whisper due to her shock.
Harry sighed and shook his head, "No…although I'm curious as to where that particular rumor came from, I've just been away in America for a while, Ma'am." He said, trying to be as polite as possible, but quietly wishing he had found a way to hide his scar from the general public, especially since he'd had corrective eye surgery, nobody would know it was him if it weren't for that.
The girl's head dipped towards the floor, and she seemed to be trying to hide either tears or embarrassment, perhaps both, from him, "You…you don't remember me, do you, Harry?" She asked quietly.
Harry looked at her strangely, trying to understand what she was asking, when suddenly it him, "Cho? Cho Chang? Wow! I…I'm sorry that I didn't recognize you earlier. I've just been really busy these last couple years and it's taking me time to remember some people's faces. I swear that it's not because I forgot about you, Cho." He said, in his best comforting voice, which admittedly wasn't that good. He hadn't had much comforting in his life, especially not the last year and a half, and so didn't have much experience in administering it to others.
Cho shook her head, "But you acted like you didn't know me at all…you called me Ma'am, Harry! I'm only a year older than you are…" She looked him over again, taking in his matured image, " I guess I don't really look older than you any more, I suppose, but still. Where have you been all this time?"
Harry chuckled self-consciously at that before shaking his head, "I can't really tell you where I've been, Cho. And before you get the wrong idea, it's not because I don't trust you. It's just that I'm not supposed to say anything about it until I'm told to. I swear that the next time we meet I'll tell you everything, assuming that I've been allowed to indulge that information, okay? As for calling you Ma'am, it's really more of a habit that's been pounded in to me for the last few years. I'm definitely not saying you look older than you are, in fact you look just as stunning as always. If not more so." He explained, putting on his most charming smile towards the end.
Cho blushed at the compliment before smiling a little at him, "Alright, Harry. I'll take your word for it…but don't ever call me Ma'am again." She joked lightly.
Harry grinned back at her, "Of course, Ma'am. Thank you for the coffee, by the way."
Cho light slapped Harry on the shoulder before laughing, "You're such a suck up, Harry. I don't know where you learned it, seeing as how last time I saw you, you could barely put two words together around me, you were such a cute little fifth year."
It was Harry's turn to blush, and he glared at her playfully, "Well, thanks a lot for destroying all of the confidence I've gained in the last two years. You really know how to hurt a guy's ego you know that?"
Cho smirked back, "I know, Harry. If it helps, you really were cute, although I doubt that's what you wanted me to call you at the time…or even now, probably." She giggled at the indignant look on his face, "So can you tell me why you're here of all places after all this time, at least?" She asked, now curious by both his refusal to answer her previous question and his new attitude.
Harry shrugged, "I decided that I might as well come back for one last year in Hogwarts. I went to school here for five years after all, why shouldn't I come back to graduate?"
Cho looked at him with disbelief written all over her face, "You know that I'm smarter than that, Harry. I wasn't put in Ravenclaw for nothing. I understand if you don't want to or can't tell me, but you could at least admit it to me."
Harry just smiled as if he were unconcerned with her seeing through his rather transparent lie, "Too true. Not only are you still beautiful as ever, but you certainly haven't lost your smarts either, Miss Chang. That's good. I'm afraid that you'll likely need the latter in the coming days. The former is just a bonus to both yourself and all those around you."
Cho blushed again, "You really have changed, Harry. But I think it's for the better." Looking around she noticed several other customers waiting to be served and sighed before turning back to him with a sad smile, "Well, it was good to see you again, Harry. I hope that you'll stop by sometime during the Hogsmeade weekend…or just a regular weekend. You and I both know that you never were one for following the rules."
Harry just laughed, "Alright, Beautiful, have a good day."
Cho's blush brightened but she ignored it as she smiled back, "You're not too bad looking yourself, Harry." She smirked again as she saw a light blush return to his face, "Have yourself a good day, Handsome."
Harry just shook his head and smiled as he turned to his breakfast and began to eat. At least some things were worth coming back to, even if they were rather unexpected, he sure as hell wasn't about to ignore any chances to have a good time with a nice girl this time around. He'd been cooped up around a bunch of guys for nearly a year and a half now, the only female contact he'd been having was with other soldiers, and invariably every one of them were either married, dating, or uninterested in dating a seventeen year old kid. Not that he could blame any of those three categories, but it did leave him feeling ready to have some more 'interesting' female company.
After finishing his food he stood up and dug out his coin pouch. After pinching four galleons out of his pouch and setting them on the table for Cho's tip, a whole lot more than what the meal itself cost, he went up to the counter and paid for his food. "Hey, Cho, before I go can I get changed in the latrine?"
Cho looked at him oddly for a moment before she realized what he was talking about and nodded, "Of course, Harry. Have a good day." She smiled.
Harry smiled back, "Thanks, Cho. And assuming things go alright down at the castle I think I might just take you up on your invitation to come down here this weekend. Can I send you an owl if I'm able to come?"
"Of course, you can, Harry." She laughed, as if the idea of asking her permission to talk to her were amusing to her…which he supposed it was for most people.
"Alright, I'll talk to you later." He grinned, before walking into the latrine and expanded his trunk. Approximately one minute later he was already out of the bathroom in plain black Hogwarts robes. He wasn't sure if he would have to be resorted or not, but had a suspicion that even if he wasn't required to, he might want to do it anyways.
As he headed towards the door he tossed a smile Cho's way one more time, as she approached his former table, and hurried his way out before she discovered exactly how much of a tip he had left her. He had plenty of money…he might as well help others out with it, it's not like he needed all of it anyways. Stepping outside he was slightly annoyed to see that it was snowing. Ever since he had been a kid snow had been a bad thing, seeing as how the Dursleys liked to lock him in the back yard for hours while it snowed, before bringing him in and throwing him in the cupboard. Unfortunately joining the Army had just made his impression of snow even worse, considering that he'd often have to deal with being in it for long periods of time without warming spells, seeing as how they were easy to detect. In the end though, he supposed it was all worth it, because the short walk to the gates of the school grounds seemed significantly less cold than he remembered in the years past.
Harry was about to try and open the gates himself when he sensed two people behind him using some kind of disillusioning spell that he assumed let them blend in with their environment, otherwise he would have seen them. Honestly he was surprised that he could sense either of them, as both signatures were very faint. He immediately flicked both of his wrists, drawing both of his wands and spun around, pointing his wands at in the two people's general direction. "Show yourself now or I'll reduce you both to bloody chunks." He ordered in a powerful voice, the same voice his Drill Sergeants had used in Basic.
There was a split second before the two people phased into existence, he immediately recognized one of them, the black man, as Shacklebolt who was one of the Aurors in the Order, but couldn't recognize the woman until her hair started alternating colors, finally settling on an angry crimson. He immediately lowered his wands and used a bit of wandless magic to recall them to their holsters. "Who the bloody hell are you, why are you in unmarked Hogwarts robes, and what are you doing here?" Tonks asked angrily, still point her wand in the general direction of Harry, but not directly at him as he had put his own away, she saw Shacklebolt doing the same."
Harry sighed as he went at ease, out of habit, "I'm honestly surprised and a little hurt at how very few people are recognizing me, Ma'am." Turning to Shacklebolt who was staring at his forehead in disbelief he shrugged, "If you still haven't figured it out, I suggest you ask your partner. I believe that he's figured it out, am I right, Sir?"
Both of the Aurors looked at the teenager in surprise, and recognition lit up in Tonks' eyes as she saw his scar, "Harry? What the bloody hell? I…"
Harry grinned. "It's good to see you too T-ugh!" he said, interrupted in the middle of his sentence by Tonks slugging him across the face.
"Where the fuck have you, been, Potter? Do you know how hard we looked for you? How hard I looked for you? You just up and disappear one day, don't tell anybody where you're going, in the middle of a bloody war at that, and then you just show back up a year and a half later expecting everything to be alright? NO! That's not how it works, Harry!" She shouted at him, anger clear in her features, but tears also welling up in her eyes.
Harry looked down at the ground, still at ease. He knew that he should have expected this, but he was more excited to see Tonks than he thought he'd be, and he was hoping that she would understand. It looked like he might have more explaining to do than he thought he did. Looking at Shacklebolt he could see the older Auror glaring at him as well, but there also seemed to be a slight softness in his features, as if he at least half-way understood how he was feeling right then. Not to mention the fact that he seemed to take in Harry's more disciplined air before Tonks did. The fact that she was still shouting about him being gone and how they thought he was dead was evidence enough of that.
After about three straight minutes of her shouting, Harry decided it was time to interrupt her. "Ma'am…" Still shouting, "Ma'am!" Not even slowing down, Harry sighed, "Damn it, Tonks! Shut the fuck up and listen to me!" That got her to stop shouting, although it looked like it just pissed her off more, and it looked like Shacklebolt couldn't decide between angry at him shouting at his partner or amused that he managed to stop her rampage. "Tonks, listen. I understand that you're upset that I left, okay? I understand that I probably should have told somebody, and I understand that you, and many other people, were worried about my well being. However I guarantee you that I've been as safe as I possibly could for as long as I've been gone. I can't tell you what's going on right now. Not now and not here, but later, I can tell you at least some of it, alright? I promise to tell you what I can…just stop shouting at me…please. If you don't then you'll find out that I can shout back, and I really don't want to shout at somebody I consider my friend." He said, loud and forcefully, making sure to get his point through to not only her, but Shacklebolt as well.
Shacklebolt nodded, and looked at Tonks, as she seemed to still be taking in the fact that she'd been interrupted, he chose to speak to for her, his deep voice disturbingly similar to Drill Sergeant Ferelly's. "Alright, Harry. So…what are you doing here, exactly? When you ran off after fifth year, we assumed it was because you were mad at Dumbledore and didn't want to go to Hogwarts anymore." He asked, trying his best to ask questions that wouldn't spark another outburst from Tonks.
Harry rolled his eyes, "Sir, with all due respect, I'm sure Dumbledore came up with that so called 'reason' himself. Sure I was mad at Dumbledore, and still am, but he's giving himself far too much credit by suggesting that I would leave the country because I was pissed at him."
Tonks' eyes widened, "I knew it! I knew you'd left Britain, but Dumbledore insisted that you were still here. Said that you couldn't have possibly made it out of Britain on your own."
Harry's eyes narrowed at the Old Man's inaccurate assessment of him, "Of course that's what he said. He's never had any confidence in me before, so why should he start now? Besides he's an old fool that's grown too fond for his power, as far as I'm concerned…something that I'm sure you're about to object to, but I don't want to hear it. You're entitled to your views, and I'm allowed to have mine. If you're at all curious as to where I was, I'll at least tell you that I was in America. More than that I'm not going to talk about here and now. As to why I'm here, I decided that I spent five of my years in this school, I might as well finish my final year and graduate here." He said, using the same rather transparent lie he used on Cho Chang, but ignored their disbelief of it this time.
Tonks shook her head, finally able to find her voice enough to form more than a couple of sentences, " So, assuming you were going to a school in America, and assuming that I believe your story that you want to come back here for your last year." She started, making it obvious that she wasn't buying his story one bit, but decided to play along for now, "Then why did you wait until half-way through the year to come back?"
Harry shrugged, "I was busy, and I had to finish some of the classes I was taking before I could come back here. That at least is the truth, whether you believe it or not."
Shacklebolt raised an eyebrow but didn't show any other emotion other than that, "I see. So what's up with your new attitude, not to mention the fact that you threatened to blow us into bloody chunks when you realized we were here, which is something else I want to know how you did, and why the hell do you have two wands? You do realize that having more than one wand without a license is illegal, right?"
Harry smirked at the questions, he knew they would come out eventually and he was happy to answer them, "First of all, my new 'attitude' as you put it, Sir, is a product of where I've been, as was the promise, not threat, to kill you if you didn't reveal yourself. Not to mention that the country is at war and there were a couple people stalking a teenager that just so happens to be Harry Potter. Forgive me if I seem a little paranoid by telling people to back off. As for how I knew that you were stalking me, I could feel the magical signatures your spells were putting off. They were very faint, but they were still there. Between the disillusioning spells and the warming spells, it was fairly easy to pinpoint your locations. And I do, as a matter of fact, understand that you need a permit to have two wands. It sure is a good thing that I just so happen to have one of those handy dandy permits right here." He said, fishing his wallet out of his pants and showing Shacklebolt his permit, causing the Auror's eyebrows to shoot up in surprise.
"How did you get that, Harry? You're not allowed to get one until you're at least twenty-one! And the magic that you're talking about using to detect our spells is really advanced…far past the level of spells you'd be learning in Hogwarts this year." Tonks said, clearly both impressed and concerned with Harry's explanations.
The seventeen year old just shrugged, "All I can say, Ma'am, is that I have this permit legally, and that I may be able to cast high level spells, but that doesn't mean that I don't still need to graduate, nor do I not want to spend my final year with my 'friends'" He replied, sarcastically.
Rolling her eyes at the sarcasm, "Fine, I get the point that you're not going to tell us where you've been or how you learned what you know…but I swear you better tell me later, Potter." She said, both in a playful, but also dangerously serious tone.
Harry nodded, "I'll tell you what I can once I have the chance, Ma'am. I swear."
Tonks nodded, "Alright, that's good enough for me…just, stop calling me Ma'am already, I'm Tonks, and you know that. Same with the whole 'at ease' thing. Jeez, you'd think that you'd spent the last year and a half in the military or something."
Harry hesitated for a split second, but not enough for Tonks to notice, Shacklebolt picked up on it, though he decided to store it away for later. "Alright, Harry. So, if you're here to go back to school, then I guess that means we need to get you through the gate and to the Headmaster." Shacklebolt said, moving past the two and unlocking the gate, allowing the three of them to walk through and start moving down the winding path to the doors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
It was Eight-thirty in the morning when the three finally reached the school's doors and Harry turned back to the two Aurors. "Thank you for letting me in, Sir…Tonks. Like I said, I'll explain everything I can to you later, but right now you just need to trust me."
Shacklebolt just nodded, but Tonks sighed before offering a small smile and moving in towards him, "It's good to see you again, Harry." She said quietly, pulling him into a soft hug that he found strangely comforting and intoxicating. He quickly returned the hug until he felt her starting to pull away.
"It was good to see you too, Tonks. I guess I'll talk to you later, unless you don't have anything better to do than watching me make a mess out of the school and probably infuriating Dumbledore while doing so." He said, lightly, with a half-grin on his face. After observing Tonks' reaction of amusement, Shacklebolt didn't show anything other than a tiny smile at the thought, he turned around and headed through the doors and to the Great Hall. Well, here goes nothing.
Harry sighed one last time and pushed open one of the doors to the Great Hall, stepping through it into a chaotic mess of noise. The loud talking continued for all of thirty seconds after he stepped through the threshold, and then silence overtook the room as everybody noticed the newcomer with completely black robes walking down the middle isle, towards the Staff's table. As he was walking he slung his bag off his shoulder and dug for the folder in it, after quickly finding it he pulled it out and put his bag back on his back. Finally reaching the table he dropped the thick manila folder on the table and stood at ease, staring Dumbledore in the eye, "Sir, I would like to transfer back to Hogwarts. My transcripts are all in this folder you'll find everything you need in there. If there is something missing then tell me and I've got an extra."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he stared back into Harry's eyes. He felt a brief push on his Oclumency shields, but it quickly died off as soon as he realized he was adequately shielded. His face betrayed his surprise for a split second before he smiled, "Of course, Mr. Potter. We would be happy to have you back in our wonderful Hogwarts." He announced loudly. Much louder than was necessary. The old bastard knew that he didn't like attention, and he was doing his best to drown him in it. But Harry wasn't the same kid that was there in fifth year, and ignored the whispers and hushed conversations erupting throughout the hall.
Harry nodded in acknowledgement, "Thank you, Sir. I appreciate the generosity you're showing me by letting me transfer back." He replied, with no small amount of sarcasm, however whether Dumbledore didn't notice or chose to ignore it, he didn't respond to it.
The old man continued smiling, despite the surprised expressions of those around him, not to mention the ever-present scowl on Snape's face. "I'm afraid though, Harry, that you'll have to go through the sorting ceremony again, seeing as how you're a new transfer student." He said, obviously believing that this might embarrass or frighten Harry, but was sorely disappointed when Harry just shrugged in return.
"I understand, Sir. I thought I might have to be resorted, which is why I didn't buy Gryffindor colors for my robes. Do you mind if I take a seat while waiting for the Hat to get here?" He asked neutrally. As much as he wanted to piss the old man off a lot, he wouldn't be much good as an infiltrator if he took every chance he could to sabotage his relationship with the head of the Order of the Phoenix. Upon receiving a nod in the positive Harry walked back down the steps and stood in the middle of the hall where students were sorted.
Thinking about how he hadn't had a particularly comfortable chair for a while, he immediately knew what chair he would conjure. Drawing one of his wands he barely flicked it and a lazy boy recliner appeared in the middle of the great hall. Smirking at the renewed whispers he sat down and reclined himself, until Fawkes burst into existence above him and dropped the sorting hat in his lap before landing on his shoulder. Harry smiled brightly at the mystical bird and petted it's head lightly, "Thank you Fawkes." He said quietly before sitting up straight and placing the hat on top of his head.
Ah, so we're speaking again, Mr. Potter. My, my have you been busy these last couple years, haven't you? Quite a bit of deception you've been able to pull off as far as the wizarding world is concerned, I see.
I suppose that's true enough. It wouldn't have been possible without my instructors though.
Hmm, so you're still loyal, obviously hard working…good traits for Hufflepuff, but you're not interested in that, are you? What you're looking for wouldn't be found easily in that house.
Your decision to run off and do this was courageous, that's for sure. And you've proven yourself a very good Gryffindor in the past, eh?
You've got plenty of knowledge as well…and I see you want more of it…you hunger for it, thirst for it. Am I right?
You are…after all knowledge is power, but knowledge in itself isn't enough for me. You know that. You already know where you're going to place me, so why not go ahead and do it already?
Heh, you certainly do still have that Gryffindor spirit in you, don't you? Very well then. I suppose that it will just have to be….
"SLYTHERIN!"