Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

:Mindspeech:

-Parseltongue-

Chapter Three: A Meeting With Dumbledore

Harry sat on his bed with the trunk in front of him.

-Open- He hissed, tapping one of the silver snakes decorating the suitcase. He really needed to think of a more original password now that there was another Parselmouth around…

Harry heard a lock click and opened the trunk, eyes brightening as he peered inside. The first thing he saw was a pile of battle robes. They were made with dragon hide and, as he discovered upon quickly trying them on, they still fit perfectly. There was also Salazar's two favorite wand holsters and an assortment of other little things that had once been important to him.

He was slightly disappointed to discover his favorite daggers were not there. Two of them were long enough to be considered short swords really and the other three were weighted throwing knives, their tips covered in basilisk poison. They were silver and inlaid with emeralds, and had been what Salazar had used to kill himself all of those years ago.

Harry was snapped out of his musings when he heard the doorbell ring. He cursed under his breath (in Parseltongue of course); he should have noticed someone approaching the house. He knew that if that had been a Death Eater, he would be in trouble. Harry didn't have very much faith in the wards centered on blood/love magic; he knew that Voldemort shared his blood now, so he could probably get in if he wanted to.

He smirked; that type of magic was, or at least used to be, considered dark magic, as it often involved a sacrifice of some sort. It might not be any more though, as love could hardly be considered dark and it involved a willing sacrifice. Still, the thought of the Head of the Order of the Phoenix using such magic was an amusing one to say the least.

A second ring interrupted Harry's thoughts and he reached out with his magical senses to see if it was anyone he knew as he crept soundlessly down the stairs. Matching the magical signature with people he knew, he was unpleasantly surprised to find that it was Professor Snape.

Harry disliked the professor; he knew that Snape had a reason to dislike him, even if it was based upon narrow-mindedness and prejudice, but that was no excuse for the professor's treatment of him. The way that Snape had attacked his mind was wrong and uncalled for; if Harry hadn't discovered a way to shield certain memories, Snape could have found out some very private information (Harry had developed a completely different type of Occlumency, where he put up shields of fake memories surrounding real ones. He knew that Snape didn't expect him to learn Occlumency and he didn't want to do anything else that made him special, so he hid his personal memories behind fake ones. When Snape stumbled across a memory, he saw something completely different from what flashed through Harry's head).

On the other hand, Salazar knew that there were few people better qualified to teach his Slytherins than the Death Eater turned spy. Harry blinked and shook his head. Not his Slytherins, dammit, the Slytherins! They weren't his any more!

Back to the matter at hand...It was very possible that Dumbledore had noticed that Harry was outside of the wards in the few minutes extra it took to get back. It was also very possible that Dumbledore sent Snape to try and make them stop fighting. Harry rolled his eyes. Goodie, he thought sarcastically, just what I need to cap off my great day.

Harry hastily checked that his appearance was back to normal and his glasses were on while making sure his magical signature was appropriately masked. Once sure he was ready, Harry opened the door just as the doorbell rang again.

"Hello Professor Snape," Harry said, as sweetly as he could without making his voice higher pitched than could possibly be natural, "Would you like to come in?"

Snape scowled, he had hoped Potter would gape for at least a minute, but he almost seemed to expect him. But then again, Potter had appeared to know who he was before he even opened the door. Snape put the question aside for a minute; he had other things he needed to deal with at the moment.

"Potter, get your things," Snape snapped, irritated that Potter didn't even have the foresight to make sure that he was him instead of a Death Eater in disguise, "The Headmaster is moving you somewhere else."

Harry just shrugged and headed upstairs, shoving everything in the trunk for sorting later. He put Hedwig's cage in the room of the truck (Hermione had borrowed his owl at the beginning of the holiday) and headed back downstairs, stopping in front of Snape.

The potions master frowned at the trunk: it seemed familiar but he couldn't remember…He concentrated, but it danced at the edge of his memory, teasing him.

"Where are we going, Professor Snape?" Harry asked, pulling up his Gryffindor mask, smile and all.

"Hogwarts, the Headmaster wants to see you," Snape said, noticing Potter's smile falter slightly, but chalking it up to imagination or an early onset of the mental instability that spending any time in the boy's presence was likely to bring about.

Harry, meanwhile, was panicking silently. He had an excuse to get inside the wards but he wasn't sure if they would be reasonable, after all, they reflected the founder's personalities and Harry was sure that they wouldn't be at all happy to see him. Well, there wasn't much he could do.

"How are we getting to Hogwarts, Professor?"

"We need to get out of the wards surrounding the house, and then I will use the Portkey that the Headmaster gave me to get to the castle. We'll walk to the school, as the wards have been modified to exclude Portkeys." The walk out of the house was silent, Harry's happy energy replaced by dark brooding, although Professor Snape didn't seem to notice the sudden change. They apparated right outside the Hogwarts wards and Snape started walking to the castle, not seeming to notice Harry's hesitation.

:You: The first ward that noticed him was the lion::You're not allowed here, leave: Behind the lion stood a badger and an eagle circled overhead like a bird of prey waiting to swoop, which, of course, it was. Salazar didn't have a ward as he had been the original need for such protection. The other founders had assigned them to watch him, though they were banned from Slytherin territory. The lump in his throat reappeared, and, once again, he was forced to fight back tears.

:The Headmaster invited me and I am accompanied by a professor; I'm allowed in.: Harry stated as calmly as he could, using mindspeech.

:The Headmaster is manipulative and sly, he does not hold the wards to this school.: The eagle stated. So, the wards had already rejected Dumbledore? Interesting…Harry bit back a comment, knowing that if he stated his dislike of Dumbledore, the wards could say he was a threat and use that as an excuse to get rid of him.

:Nevertheless, the Headmaster is still the Headmaster of this school, and, even if he no longer holds the wards, he controls them, to an extent.: Harry said, keeping to facts, knowing that they couldn't reject him. The lion opened its mouth to reply, but a phoenix landed on Harry's shoulder, interrupting him.

:I, Fawkes, phoenix familiar of Godric Gryffindor, invite Salazar Slytherin, now known as Harry Potter, into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, giving him temporary entrance through the wards.: Fawkes chirped formally. Even the stubborn wards couldn't deny Harry entrance after that; they sulked off to continue prowling the castle.

As he crossed the wards, Hogwarts, the ward-spirit that was Hogwarts, greeted him with a sort of magical/mental equivalent of a hug. As he felt the magic wash over him, he gave a small smile. Hogwarts herself had always been with him, always believed him.

"Potter, quit dawdling!" Snape snapped, not having noticed anything.

"Sorry, sir, Fawkes was just saying 'Hello'," Harry said, thankful that the phoenix had rescued him, even if she was Godric's familiar. :What are you doing here:

:Godric left me behind to watch the castle and keep it safe.: Fawkes replied as Harry started to walk towards the castle. :Which was hard to do after your heir set your snake on the school, I might add.:

:That man is no heir of mine: Harry hissed:: He may bear my gifts, but that does not make him my heir. As for Serphenia: he paused, narrowing his eyes against the wave of pain that slammed through his soul::Tom Riddle will pay for turning her against me.:

"Potter, hurry up!" Snape snapped, pulling open a door and disappearing inside the castle. Harry hurried after him, struggling a bit with the heavy door, and ran up the marble staircase and after Snape. He got there just in time to catch the gargoyle before it closed and sprinted up the spiral staircase to catch up with his teacher.

"Severus, Harry, come in," Dumbledore called through the door, and Snape pulled it open, not bothering to open the door for Harry, who managed to slide through it. Hatred swelled up at the sight of the Headmaster but Harry caught it quickly, pushing it behind the sturdy Occlumency walls he had managed to construct.

"Hello Professor Dumbledore," Harry said in the same sickeningly sweet tone he had greeted Snape with. Suddenly noticing the person sitting in one of the chairs in front of Dumbledore's office, he continued, "Greetings Malfoy." He cursed inwardly; he had nearly called Malfoy (for that was who he was, now that his father was no longer present as well) Draco, and that would have been a big clue to their mysterious rescuer, the kind of clue that would be roughly akin to attaching a large neon sign to his head that said 'yes, I did save his life'.

Harry's eyes traveled around the room; it had been Godric's once. He studied Draco for a minute and did a double take at a small symbol in his aura. Draco Malfoy was the reincarnation of Godric Gryffindor? But they looked completely different: Godric had reddish-brown hair and amber-brown eyes. Harry looked at the aura, studying the symbol, not that he had any experience with that particular sign, but it seemed…dormant. Did that mean that the student didn't remember being Godric?

Noticing that his eyes had been on Draco for a little too long, Harry tore his gaze away, his eyes wandering about the room again before falling on Godric's sword. Should he take it? He had promised to try and get all of their things, but did he dare? Reinforcing his Gryffindor golden boy mask with a look of awe, he gaped at the sword.

"Wow," he said, letting his hand hesitate over the sword, asking silently for permission from both Dumbledore and the sword. Finding no answer, he tentatively let his hand rest on the sword for a minute before picking it up. Bright red rubies glittered from the gold handle, and it looked highly polished.

His eyes stared burning again; being in Godric's office and actually holding his sword, not to mention sitting close to his reincarnation with his familiar perched on his shoulder, released a tide of memories that Harry didn't particularly wish to consider. It took all his willpower to force those memories and the depression behind his Occlumency walls and keep up his masks.

"I mean, I saw it before and all, but I was kinda distracted and…wow!" Harry repeated, trying his best to look clumsy with the sword, like someone with no experience with sword fighting.

"Take it, Harry. It looks like it was meant for you, anyway," Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling. Harry bit back a snarl at Dumbledore's use of his first name and Snape snorted. Being an excellent sword fighter himself (most purebloods were), he knew that Harry was holding the sword all wrong and had a hard time believing that the sword was 'meant for' Harry. Harry turned towards Dumbledore, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"What do you mean, Headmaster?" Harry said with the barest hint of a snarl in his voice, "Are you hiding anything else from me?" He was having a hard time making his Gryffindor mask angry, as he needed to keep the anger relatively mild compared to Salazar's blazing fury.

"Well, Harry, since you've become of age, magically, I can tell you!" Dumbledore said, acting as if he was giving Harry the greatest gift in the world, "You two," he paused, almost dramatically, gesturing towards Harry and Draco, err, Malfoy, "are heirs of Hogwarts!" Harry fought the urge to raise his eyebrow, but instead put up a well-measured mask, made up mostly of surprise and confusion.

"We're whats?" Harry asked, annoyed at the Gryffindor mask he had to wear. He already knew of course: he had helped design the relevant wards and enchantments, the ones that chose the 'heirs'.

"Every once in a while, we're not sure the exact date, an heir is chosen from each house to act as the heirs of Hogwarts, although nobody is quite sure why the Slytherin heir still exists after the founder was banished. The sorting hat picks them, but I managed to convince the sorting hat to tell me years ago." Harry bit back his glare with great difficulty: the sorting hat wasn't supposed to tell anyone but the heirs themselves. Then again, the sorting hat was also supposed to be impartial and it had been broadly hinting that Slytherins were evil for quite a while now.

"Slytherin was banished?" Harry asked, looking puzzled.

"The founders realized that Slytherin was corrupting the school and banished him. After that, they tried to get rid of the Slytherin house and heir but found themselves unable to."

"Pity," Harry said under his breath, for the sake of his Gryffindor mask. Dra-Malfoy and Snape glared at him and Harry was having a hard time keeping his masks up; hearing everything like that pulled a lot of memories through the Occlumency shields.

"Anyway, this year, we have quite an unusual situation. Harry, you were originally going to be the heir of Slytherin," Harry did the best to look shocked, while both Snape and Malfoy looked stunned, "but, since you didn't want to, and the sorting hat was designed so it couldn't go against direct thoughts like that, he was put in Gryffindor.

"The place for Slytherin heir went to Draco Malfoy, who was originally meant to be the heir of Gryffindor," Snape and Malfoy simultaneously choked at that and Harry pretended once again to look suitably shocked, "so we had a bit of a mix up. You two were made a sort of half heir of each house." Harry couldn't take it any more; he started laughing. He laughed so hard he fell down, and started rolling on the ground, howling with laughter.

"Any idea where I can get my life fixed?" Harry choked out in-between hacks of laughter, "Whoever's in charge of it messed around with it a bit too much, and now the controls are broken. One of the levers is stuck somewhere in between drama and angst, while the irony button is stuck all the way pushed in. Can I have a refund? Could I get a new one if I ask nicely enough? I'd go after the person who gave me this one, but I don't remember who it was." And of course my last one was just as screwed up…I should have gotten a refund…or at least a medal…

"You will, of course, need to attend a ceremony to accept the positions, in the Great Hall, on Halloween." Dumbledore continued as if he had never been interrupted. By now, Harry had stopped laughing and had managed to pick himself up from the floor.

"In front of everybody?" Harry asked, pretending to be nervous. He knew that wasn't a real requirement, but couldn't really bring himself to care.

"Yes, of course." Dumbledore replied, eyes twinkling, "And these new powers seemed to have had an adverse effect on the wards on Privet Drive. I'm afraid that I need to move you somewhere else."

"As interesting as this conversation is, I have potions to pack and Draco needs to find somewhere to stay," Snape cut in, impatient to get out of the Headmaster's office and Potter's company.

"I'm sorry but your presence will be required here for a little longer, Severus." Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling like crazy. Snape had a bad feeling about this: Dumbledore's eyes twinkled like that when he was about to do something really crazy. Harry seemed to sense it too as he stopped laughing abruptly, looking around at the group with what seemed to be dread.

"No," he muttered, "He wouldn't…Oh, never mind, he would…Oh, I can't believe it, that-" At this point the boy seemed to realize that he was thinking out loud because he stopped muttering abruptly, blushing slightly, though of course it was all fake.

"What, Potter?" Malfoy and Snape snapped at the same time.

"Think about it. First thing to remember is this is Dumbledore we're talking about. Then remember that Dumbledore wants us all to get along. Then remember that, apparently, both Malfoy and I need a place to stay this summer, and Dumbledore wants Sn-Professor Snape to stay here for the remainder of the conversation. I think you can put them together yourself." Harry explained, shooting a (relatively mild) glare at Dumbledore at the end of his speech. Malfoy looked horrified and Snape was looking ready to kill the aged Headmaster.

"Indeed." Dumbledore said, "Severus, I need someone to look after both Mr. Malfoy and Harry this summer. You are the only one with nothing to do during the holidays and the protection provided by your wards will be more than sufficient. You don't have as many responsibilities anymore; surely you can manage to look after two boys." The threat of taking away further responsibilities lingered in the undertone.

"Fine," Snape snapped, "What do I need to do?"

"Oh, nothing much…Just make sure they're well cared for, that they have their school supplies by the beginning of the school year, and that they make it to the train station on time," Dumbledore said.

"I can take in Draco, but Potter? I won't look after that spoiled brat," Harry was amused, but pretended to be offended, "can't Lupin? The Weasleys? I'm positive that there are swarms of people who would be more than willing to take care of your golden boy!"

"Severus," Dumbledore warned, "Remus is still grieving, and the Weasleys are busy, along with everybody else. Besides, your house has some of the strongest wards in Britain."

"Fine! Draco, Potter, be in the Entrance Hall in an hour," Snape snapped, robes billowing behind him as he made to leave the room.

"Wait Severus, one last thing," Dumbledore called, before Snape left the room, "I'll need you to continue teaching Harry Occlumency while you have the chance."

"WHAT?" Snape and Harry burst out at the same time. Harry's action was, of course, faked, but he knew Dumbledore expected it.

"I don't have time to deal with that brat! I have things to do," Snape shouted, glaring at Harry.

"I thought…Professor, didn't you say that it was a mistake to make him teach me? Please don't make me!" Harry practically wailed, quite proud of the mix of desperation and anger that he managed to project.

"Severus, I'm sure that you will be able to find the necessary time and Harry, I know that it was a mistake last time, but situations change and it's the best we can do at the moment," Dumbledore said, his voice obviously trying to be soothing. Snape turned and stalked out of the room, the office door slamming darkly behind him.

"I thought you weren't going to manipulate me any more," Harry said sadly.

"Harry…" Dumbledore seemed to be at a loss of words; Harry had to admit to himself that he was a remarkable actor, "I'm only trying to do what's best for you."

"I know, but…why do I have to do this with Snape of all people? I mean, we hate each other," Harry said, sniffling and wiping away faked tears.

"I'm sorry," Dumbledore said, "But on a brighter note, I'm proud to give you these." He said, pulling two badges out of his desk: those of the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain and of a Prefect. Harry internally grimaced at the obvious attempt to win his trust back. He looked at them for a minute, studying the way that the sunlight pouring through the tall windows glinted on the reddened metal, before turning back to his Headmaster.

"I'm sorry Professor, I couldn't," Harry said, "I'm probably going to be even busier this year than last year, even without the OWLs. Anyway, aren't prefects chosen in our fifth years? And I couldn't possibly train the Gryffindor team, now that you tell me that I'm representing two houses...Or play." He pretended to look worried, "Do you think it will be alright if I play on the Gryffindor Quidditch team?"

"I'm sure that it will be fine," Dumbledore said quickly. Harry internally smirked; the headmaster wanted the Gryffindor Quidditch team to win as much as McGonagall, which was saying a lot. "Very well then," Dumbledore said, putting the badges back in his desk. Harry noted Malfoy studying him and ignored it best he could. He hated it when people stared at him. They were quiet for a while, each waiting for the others to start the conversation.

"So Professor Dumbledore, the sword's mine?" Harry asked, impatient to get away from everything remotely Gryffindorish.

"Of course, Harry," Dumbledore said.

"Okay, good bye then," Harry said, standing up and walking to the door after putting the sword in the 'trunk' part of the trunk, which was now disguised with a couple of illusion charms, "Err, I meant you to, Fawkes." Harry said, trying to get the phoenix off his shoulder, but she wouldn't budge. "Uh, Professor, he won't get off." And he had to pretend that he thought Fawkes was a boy! He fought the urge to roll his eyes, and Fawkes chirped angrily.

"I think Fawkes wants to stay with you right now," Dumbledore said in an amused voice, his eyes twinkling.

"No!" Harry said; he did not want Godric's phoenix following him around! "Professor, don't you need him to send letters and stuff?" Harry asked, still trying to dislodge Fawkes, whose talons were digging painfully into his shoulder.

"But this all works out!" Dumbledore exclaimed, "Fawkes can keep you out of trouble!"

"Not bloody likely," Harry muttered; scowling at the bird perched on his shoulder. :If I kill you, it's all your fault.: He warned the phoenix mentally.

:I'm immortal: Fawkes reminded him::You can't kill me.:

"Fine, I'll take him," Harry said, scowling, "Bye then, Professor." Harry turned and walked out the door, his feet taking him towards the Chamber of Secrets; Salazar always went there when he was upset. Noticing Malfoy following him, Harry headed towards the dungeon entrance, planning to lose him in the dark corridors.

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So there's chapter three, earlier than planned, but whatever; I'm sure you don't mind!

About Wards and Mindspeech

Wards:

Wards come in different types, like the type at Privet Drive or the ones at Hogwarts. The Privet Drive ones are like anti-Apparation wards; they just stop people from doing things (in that case, Apparation doesn't work to, in, or from Hogwarts). The animated types are the very, very old fashioned types. Animated ones each have an animal after which they take shape. Non-animated ones are simple and dome shaped.

Animated ones aren't really wards, though, more like keepers of wards. They control the wards and the general magic in the house and don't have any more abilities than from the non-magical (even though there is no such thing; everything has at least some magic, but here I mean with lower levels of magic, so normal or Muggle) animal who's form they take. They are, however, made of magic, so only aura-seers can see them.

So a lion ward is basically a normal (though intelligent) lion who guards a place and can't be seen by anyone apart from aura-seers because he/she's made up of magic. They can also lead people around the area they're guarding, and have access to secret passageways, as they control the magic of the house.

Hogwarts herself is a ward-spirit, a different branch of the animated types of wards. Some houses have them, but only very magical homes have ward-spirits. Ward-spirits don't have a form, but are made up of the magical energies in a very magical place. They are sort of…not exactly vague, but not exactly primitive or childish. They are a sort of general sort of personality…you'll see what I mean. It's impossible to hold a conversation with one, but they can send you a feeling of comfort if you're sad or something.

Spirits:

First of all, Harry could talk to Draco in the 'dream' because he was a spirit (meaning not in his body and not a ghost). Spirits can occasionally communicate with the living (even though Harry was living, he wasn't in his body at the moment, so that sort of counts). Being an angel helps to. Angels are elves, after all, and are in tune with nature, sometimes able to call upon the elements and talk to animals (with mindspeech). Humans are animals, anyways.

Harry could talk to the wards because wards, as animals, can use mindspeech. All animals can use mindspeech to communicate to each other, but there are limits. Though humans are animals, humans have become very different, so only certain humans can communicate to animals. Wards, created by humans, can contact any humans that can see them. Yes, Harry can, but only in certain circumstances, because he's an angel. The really magical animals are easiest, like phoenixes. Fawkes being a familiar helped a lot, because he is/was connected to a human. And of course, Parseltongue is a gift that allows him to understand and speak the snake language, and is completely different.

A bit confusing, I know, but that's how I figure it…

Reviewing is really encouraging to writers, you know…