The Heir Of Gryffindor
Chapter 12 - The Contract
Harry ran up to Dumbledore's office and rapped on the door hard, tapping his foot. Excitement flooded through him and Dumbledore came to open the door, a surprised look on his face. "Harry? I thought I said tonight after dinner. What is it?" asked Dumbledore, letting the boy in.
"Sorry sir, but something just occured to me." he said, his voice a little huffed because he had ran - it hadn't been far of course, but still. "The shrieking shack - sir, do you know who owns it? I was thinking - Sirius used it for a hideout, and Professor Lupin did as well under the curse. Voldemort is beginning to gather forces - and I think its time we did the same - I've already heard of Lupin's story before you came with Tess - who else have you-"
"Harry, we can discuss this tonight - Professor Lupin's class starts in two minutes. But, I must admit you are thinking on the right thing. When you have a moment in class, why don't you write down your ideas - I find it to be as wonderful as my pensieve. A quill, ink and parchment can be the best instruments one can have. But, to answer at least one question - I own the shrieking shack. I bought it from a man who was building a house but ran out of money and I bought it from him, finishing it as I thought to add things to it - but then I grew too busy to do anything with it. And then came in students like Lupin, who had secrets that needed to be hidden. And it seemed the perfect way to protect their secrets. Why are you interested?" he asked, his blue eyes twinkling.
"Well, I thought that would be a good place to plan, and to talk about ideas that other students probably shouldn't know about. . ." said Harry. Dumbeldore's eyes twinkled. "Clever indeed. One galleon." said Dumbledore and Harry's eyes widened. "What sir?" he asked. "I will sell you the shrieking shack for one galleon. Is that acceptable?" asked Dumbledore and saw Harry light up.
He dug into his pockets and put one shiny gold galleon on his desk. "But is that really enough?" asked Harry. "Of course. I bought it for the same price years ago and the place is falling apart. You can consider it charms and transfiguration extra credit and I will talk to both teachers about it. It shall be an excellent club house. Oh, but I do have one request. Have one of each room you do in every house colors." said Dumbledore and Harry nodded. "Yes sir."
Dumbledore drew the deed out of a drawer after searching for a few moments before pulling it out, signing the deed now to Harry, and after Harry signed it, tucked the galleon into a pocket, knowing it wouldn't hurt Harry at all to lose one galleon, since he knew his parents had left him quite a fortune. "Thank you for your business Mr. Potter." teased Dumbledore, his blue eyes twinkling.
"And thank you, Mr. Dumbledore." said Harry and the two chuckled before Dumbledore gave him a second piece of parchment, this time with an excuse for class. Not that he would need it, he figured, but still, better be safe than sorry. "Oh and Harry. . . the room of requirement may be helpful to secretly reach it." Dumbledore added and winked, watching Harry leave his office, hearing Harry say thanks. Dumbledore smiled, pleased by the outcome.
~*~-~*~
Finally, he arrived to class as Professor Lupin was speaking. "-is a grayish creature that follows humans around and makes them feel hopeless. Ah, Harry, take a seat." he said, then continued. "They more or less attack muggles, but they have been known to attack wizards too, particularly if famished. After they have a target, they will generally keep following them, draining them of energy until they collapse and will attempt to eat their target. Naturally, these creatures are too dangerous to be allowed in class, but we will be able to practice a spell to undo the effects. Would anyone in the class be able to tell me how to spot a Pogrebin?" asked Lupin, and Hermione and Lily both shot their hands up at the same time. "Granger then." said Lupin.
"A Pogrebin may be spotted by the hairs, even if they curl up in a rock shape." said Hermione, looking pleased. Lily was called next. "Well, the feeling of hopelessness is a sign that one may be around." she said.
"Nice the both of you. Take ten points each." said Professor Lupin. Harry wrote all this down and grinned. He couldn't wait to tell them - Ron would think it was brilliant. Hermione would probably be surprised, and Lily would be excited. And then he looked at Tess. Add her into the group, Dumbledore had requested. Thus, he thought, he would do his best to do, but he'd have to talk about it to the others.
The day passed slowly, irritating Harry but then he brightened as soon as class let out. "Jeez Potter, where are you going so quickly?" asked McGonagall. "Sorry Professor, I'll talk to you later." he said, grabbing Ron by his shirt as soon as he was out, who pulled Lily and Hermione too. "Blimey, what? We just got out of class." complained Ron, who was hungry. "Big news. After dinner, lets grab the cloak and go to the room of requirement." he said. All three nodded.
After dinner, it was agreed that Hermione would come by after her and Ron's prefect and headgirl duties, and Lily and Harry would hide under the cloak. They would discuss Tess' involvement after they arrived. Harry jetted up to his room, watching around. None of the guys were there, so he grabbed his cloak. Then Neville yawned, entering. "Oh hey Harry, I thought you came up." said Neville, then blinked when the room was empty. "Wh-well, I guess I missed him. Maybe that was Seamus." he said and went back downstairs.
"Whew that was close." said Harry, having slipped on his cloak in time. He snuck downstairs, tapped Lily on the shoulder and headed towards the corner of the room - everyone was surrounding the fireplace, so it was rather empty. A swoosh and Lily was under the cloak with him. They slipped out, missing another Gryffindor student as they did so, who was coming in. That was an excellent stroke of luck, as there would be no questions as far as who had opened the door.
They passed both Hermione and Ron, and whispered to them that they were heading towards the room of requirement, and the two nodded in unison, continuing their rounds. And then they spotted Draco, who was working on his rounds as they approached the door. Lily wasn't sure what to do - they rarely got the chance to talk - and Draco was kind - others might not see it, but she did. And then her indecision ended up leaving her uncovered, as Harry approached the room of requirement, not having noticed. . .