Chapter Twenty: Dumbledore Tries Again

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Saturday morning when Harry stumbled down to breakfast, he received a note from the Headmaster.

Draco was never content to allow others their secrets and so attempted to read the letter from across the table. "Dumbledore?" he asked with a frown. "Why's Dumbledore want you to meet him in his office after breakfast?"

"Does the letter look like it tells me why?" Harry asked rhetorically.

"You're the one being summoned," Draco pointed out. "From what I've heard, students almost never get to go in there and certainly not first years."

"Lucky me then?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"I doubt it," Pansy told him. "You're probably just in a lot of trouble or something. Why else would Dumbledore be involved?"

"But I haven't really done anything to be in trouble about," Harry protested. "Well, aside from that whole troll thing but you're the one who killed it and we didn't get punished for that."

"So you really have no idea?" Draco asked, disappointed. "How boring."

"Well I might tell you about it afterwards," Harry replied.

"Only might?" Draco complained.

Harry shrugged. "No promises."

"Maybe he's trying to talk Harry out of being a Slytherin," Theodore suggested.

"Nonsense," Draco scoffed. "The Sorting Hat put Harry in Slytherin so he's a Slytherin."

"Harry's a celebrity," Theodore said as if that explained everything. "You've got to account for the special treatment."

"Well…Why didn't Dumbledore try anything the first two months of school then?" Draco demanded.

"Maybe this kind of a situation has never come up before and he needed to find a way to switch Harry's house," Theodore suggested.

Pansy giggled.

"What?" Harry asked her.

She shook her head. "Oh, nothing."

Draco switched his attention over to her. "Come on! Tell us!"

"I just got a mental picture of Dumbledore threatening the Sorting Hat," Pansy explained before bursting into another fit of giggles.

The others laughed as well.

"So is he physically threatening him or just using words? Or magic?" Harry asked.

"Dumbledore punching out the Sorting Hat!" Draco exclaimed.

"Dumbledore tying up the Sorting Hat and threatening to leave it there until he either cracks or next year's feast!" Theodore added.

"Dumbledore tying the Sorting Hat to the railroad tracks," Harry offered. "Like those villains in old muggle movies."

Pansy nodded. "Oh, the Hogwarts Express tracks! And there won't be a train there until December!"

Daphne just rolled her eyes at them. "Oh, please. He would totally hold it upside down outside of his window and shake it until he got his answer."

When Harry entered Dumbledore's office – the password being "skittles" – his eyes were immediately drawn to the shabby old Sorting Hat. He hadn't seen it in awhile but while he didn't think it looked noticeably worse than it had the day of his sorting, there was no denying that the thousand-year-old hat could very well have been put through any number of the things that they'd been talking about earlier.

He quickly glanced away from the Hat because it probably wouldn't impress Dumbledore if he found out that they were wondering just what he had done to that ancient Hogwarts treasure. One more reason not to look into Dumbledore's eyes then.

Harry noticed the occupants of the room for the first time. Dumbledore was there, of course, but he wasn't alone. Snape, Gilderoy, and – surprisingly – Remus and Sirius were all standing near Dumbledore's desk and staring at him.

"Sirius, Remus, what a lovely surprise," Harry said brightly, smiling at them. "But I'm afraid I don't understand what you're doing here."

Snape snorted. "Typical. You drive the adults in your life half-mad with worry and you don't even understand why they're here."

"I'm not half-mad with worry," Gilderoy spoke up.

Dumbledore frowned disapprovingly at him. "So I've noticed."

Blithely, Gilderoy continued. "But then, I have a great deal of faith in Harry. It stands to reason that since I know him better than anyone that I'd know that he can take care of himself when he finds himself in situations that might be too much for normal students."

"Yes, but still," Dumbledore said, his frown deepening. "Young Harry is only a first year."

"With all due respect, Professor," Harry began, well-aware that whenever anyone started a sentence with that they were about to say something that was anything but respectful, "by the time that anyone knew that I had been facing the troll it was already dead and so it's perfectly reasonable for my father not to be too worried about something that didn't happen after the fact."

"That is true," Dumbledore conceded. "But my dear boy, when strong emotions such as love come into the mix then all the logic in the world can't stop the worry." The look he gave Gilderoy suggested that he found the lack of worry on his part to be highly suspicious.

Sirius took that moment to jump in. "Honestly, Snape, James died ten years ago! Can't you just let it go and not hate a child over a petty schoolboy grudge that he knows nothing about and has nothing to do with?"

Snape raised an eyebrow disdainfully. "Must everything come back to that for you, Black? Can't I simply like or dislike the boy based on his own actions?"

"Evidently not," Sirius muttered.

"Sirius, you said you wouldn't start trouble," Remus said quietly.

"Who's starting trouble? Not me," Sirius said innocently. "Snape's the one who just said that he disliked Harry and since Dumbledore's here we can be pretty sure that he really means 'hate.' Why is this monster allowed to be anywhere near children?"

"Because he's not a monster and is a wonderful potions master," Dumbledore explained patiently.

Harry still wasn't quite sure why he had been called there. Sirius and Remus wanted to see him after what had happened with the troll? But they weren't his guardians and it wasn't like the others had gotten a letter about their parents being there. And if nothing else, from the things he had heard about Draco's parents and Blaise's mother they would most definitely have jumped at the chance to come.

Sirius laughed incredulously but Remus quickly stepped on his foot so he closed his mouth again. After a moment he said, "Well why is he here now then?"

"As Potter's Head of House I have every right to be here," Snape said calmly. "And I never said that I disliked Potter."

"Oh?" Remus asked, intrigued. "Does that mean that you two are getting along?"

"I am fond, in my own way, of each and every one of my Slytherins," Snape declared.

Harry seriously doubted that this really applied to him but contradicting a teacher in front of these people about something stupid like that wouldn't be in any way a good plan.

Harry decided to get the conversation back on track. "So you two were worried about me and came down here in order to see for yourself that I was okay?"

Remus nodded. "Yes, we did. We read about what happened in the Daily Prophet and so contacted Dumbledore immediately."

"And we're not pleased that we had to hear about this from Rita Skeeter," Sirius said grimly.

"Rita Skeeter is a very lovely woman and a dear friend," Gilderoy said loyally.

"Well I've never met her but I know that she's a sensationalist writer and after reading all about that, how could we not be worried?" Sirius demanded.

"It's different for you because you were able to see for yourself that he was alright the minute you heard," Remus explained. "We're sorry if this visit is inconveniencing anyone but we just had to see."

Harry felt a slightly flash of guilt. Sirius and Remus might not be his guardians and he might not know them very well but they did care about him and they had been worried. Maybe he should have let them know in advance? It hadn't occurred to them that they might like to know but now it seemed kind of obvious. "I'm sorry, I had no idea that it was going to make the front page of today's paper."

"There were several pictures of you and Pansy Parkinson in the article, including one where you're posing with the troll!" Sirius exclaimed.

"I-I'm sorry, I've never really done anything to end up in the newspaper and so I must not have realized what a big deal that was," Harry apologized. "And I would have let you know only…I didn't want to worry you. I'm fine. Really, everyone's making a far bigger deal out of it than they should so it sounds worse than it is. Pansy got to the troll before it could go anywhere near me."

Sirius immediately softened. "Well, yeah, I can understand that. I never liked letting my parents know when I got up to anything exciting either though that was for completely different reasons and it was never anything like killing a troll."

"We appreciate your concern, Harry," Remus agreed. "It shows that you're a very thoughtful young man but it's not your job to protect the adults around you and in the future we'd like to know, even if you think that we'll only worry."

Harry looked down. "I will. I promise." Well, he would if it made the newspaper again, at least. Lesser things like his stunt with the broom a few weeks back really didn't need to be mentioned. It wouldn't make them happy and he might have to put up with a lecture or something.

"Well I'm glad to see that that's been settled," Gilderoy said cheerfully, clearly looking to get rid of the pair. He liked Remus well enough but Sirius and his eerily accurate accusations about him and his desire for Harry's guardianship rubbed him the wrong way.

"Yeah, I suppose," Sirius agreed reluctantly. "Harry, we will see you over Christmas, won't you? I know that Lockhart must have a house for you here in Britain but I know you've been abroad for most of your life so perhaps it's not quite a home."

"I'd be happy to spend some time with you over the break," Harry agreed, ignoring the annoyance that flashed briefly over Gilderoy's face. The way Sirius had asked hadn't really left him any way to refuse and it wasn't like he'd really mind spending a few days with friends of his father. He wouldn't mind spending them with friends of his mother, either, but he only knew of two and Snape was right out. Maybe Neville could introduce him to his mother at some point?

"Gilderoy, if you'd show Remus and Sirius out? They could probably find their own way but I don't want to start the precedent of allowing non-staff members to wander the halls unaccompanied," Dumbledore explained sensibly.

Gilderoy hesitated, clearly torn between his desire to get Sirius out of there and his reluctance to leave Harry alone with Dumbledore. Eventually, he nodded and left, Sirius and Remus bidding Harry farewell before trailing along behind their appointed escort.

"I've got essays to grade," Snape declared the minute Gilderoy had left and swept from the room leaving Harry alone with Dumbledore.

He didn't mind, really. He'd never really been alone with his headmaster before but he doubted that the older man would do anything illicit like forcibly attempt to read his mind or anything.

"Was that all, Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked politely.

Dumbledore shook his head slowly. "I'm afraid that I must ask you to spare me a few more minutes of your time, Harry."

"Certainly," Harry agreed pleasantly.

"So you've been at the castle for two months now. My, the time really has flown, hasn't it?" Dumbledore asked fondly. "So how are you liking Hogwarts so far, Harry?"

"It's been a great experience," Harry replied. "I really like my classmates and the classes are pretty interesting."

"Except History of Magic?" Dumbledore asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

Harry, who thanks to the system he and the other Slytherins had in place hadn't attended many of the actual classes, shrugged. "I don't mind it all that much."

"That's good because I'm afraid that there is really no escaping it until at least after your OWLs," Dumbledore replied. "And I'm so glad to learn that you are fitting into Slytherin well. I had worried about your making friends there but now I see that there was no need to."

Harry wondered what Dumbledore would say if he asked him why he was supposed to have problems in Slytherin. He probably wouldn't openly call Slytherin the evil house or blame the relatives of Death Eaters for their actions. In fact, he wasn't sure of any politically correct reason he could use.

"And how does it feel to be sharing a castle with your father?" Dumbledore inquired.

"It's great," Harry replied, smiling. "I really wanted to come to Hogwarts but I was worried about missing him and now I have an extra year with him. Plus, I know that the fact there's always a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor means that you don't always get the best teacher and I know how talented my father is."

"Good, that's good," Dumbledore replied, also smiling. "We've had professors with children here before, you know. It's not common because being a Hogwarts professor is a much larger time commitment than most other professions and so our staff often don't have families but every so often a Defense professor will come by or someone whose youngest child is off to Hogwarts will join us. I'm glad to report that I haven't heard any accusations of favoritism."

"I'm glad, sir," Harry said politely, waiting for Dumbledore to get to his real point.

Sure enough, Dumbledore leaned forward then. "Harry, my boy, have you given any more thought to that discussion we had over the summer about your living arrangements?"

It unnerved Harry a little that Dumbledore persisted in calling him 'Harry' and 'my boy' when he didn't seem to address any of the other students like that and the only professor to do so was his father. It made him feel like Dumbledore was trying to claim some sort of control over him and, more to the point, his living arrangements.

Harry scrunched his face up. "I'm sorry, but I don't quite remember."

Dumbledore nodded understandingly. "Yes, I suppose it was quite some time ago. I myself am unsure how much I told you but what you need to know is that even though Voldemort has been defeated and missing these past ten years, he is most assuredly not dead. He'll have heard how everyone believes that you as a baby killed him and he will come after you. His followers either ended up in Azkaban or denounced Voldemort entirely but that doesn't mean that their loyalty is gone. At any moment a Death Eater or some other dark wizard might decide to come after you and I'm sorry, Harry, but you're simply not ready to stand up to even a mediocre adult wizard, let alone one with any talent."

Harry swallowed hard. As far as he could tell, nothing Dumbledore had said was false and – memory charms and glamours aside – his father wasn't really the best with magic so he couldn't be counted on to protect him if it came to that. "So you're warning me to be careful?"

"I can promise you that within the walls of Hogwarts you will always be safe," Dumbledore said solemnly. "But what about outside of Hogwarts? You can't stay here forever."

"My father's house already has some of the best security charms on it," Harry told him.

"That won't be enough if they're really serious," Dumbledore said apologetically. "And it won't be any good if you're not in the house anyway."

"Then what do you suggest?" Harry inquired, keeping his voice as steady as he could.

"You have an aunt," Dumbledore reminded him. "She is a Muggle but her house is anonymous and because your mother died to save you, as long as you're under the same roof as her or your cousin then no magic can harm you and no one magical seeking to harm you can get in."

"I…understand your concern for my safety, sir, and don't think that I don't appreciate it but my aunt has already signed away all her legal rights. She really doesn't want me," Harry said frankly.

Dumbledore waved his hand as if this were merely a trifle to be dealt with at some later date. "I'm sure that she can be made to see reason. It is your life at stake, after all."

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm going to have to decline your offer," Harry said, hoping he sounded sufficiently sincere. Dumbledore might be scaring him a little but he was in Hogwarts now and he knew he could never survive at 4 Privet Drive even should his aunt accept him.

"But Harry, think of your safety," Dumbledore protested.

"I am. But I'm also thinking of my family and of my happiness and I think that I can be safe enough the way things are now," Harry told him firmly. "I've been safe enough so far so either the threat to my safety isn't as bad as you feared or my father has managed to do a good job of protecting me. Either way, I'd like to stay with him."

"Harry, please be reasonable," Dumbledore implored. "You're making a mistake and I don't want to see anything happen to you."

"It won't," Harry said with more confidence than he actually felt. How many mysterious evil-doers that he'd never seen any indication of could there possibly be out to get him? He knew that once he left the office he'd feel much better. "Now, I'm sorry sir but I'm supposed to meet my friends in the library. We have a project…"

"Oh, of course," Dumbledore said graciously, nodding his acquiescence. "Do think on what I've said, Harry, and make sure to let me know the minute you should change your mind."

"I will," Harry promised, knowing that there was zero chance of that happening.

He glanced at the Sorting Hat again and wondered what he was going to tell his friends. Chances were, Dumbledore was refusing to feed the poor thing.

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