Second summary: Voldemort is banished, Dumbledore is surprisingly alive and wanting to oversee Harry's life again. Unfortunately, Harry has grown up. Granger!bashing as well as Dumbledore. This ended up being a really short one, so I'll just update it right after the first.

Ch2. How it might've gone

"Hello Harry, do come in," Dumbledore stated, sitting on the other side of a table in the Grimmault place library.

"Headmaster," Harry nodded, looked around and then walked to stand next to the window nearby. He leaned against the windowsill. "What's this about?"

Dumbledore seemed to sigh and close a book in front of him. Then he turned slowly sideways in order to look at Harry more. His eyes were crinkled.

"I've grown very fond of you Harry, in the years we've known each other. We've had ups and downs but I had hoped you would've come to trust me as I have trusted you. Recently I've noticed and heard that you have changed, my boy. I just wanted to have a chat with you to see if everything is alright?"

Harry thought Dumbledore looked a bit like a cow with his wet eyes. It was disturbing.

"-Ah." Was all he bothered to answer. He knew very well where this interrogation was coming from. Frankly it was time for him to have this conversation out of the way. He knew Dumbledore couldn't help but stick his nose into his life once again.

Dumbledore was trying to look both puzzled and disappointed at the same time. It was not an expression good for a man as old as him.

"Harry, I must say I am worried. Worried that while you are growing up, you are aiming at goals not necessarily good for you."

"And what do you know about my goals?" Harry raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"What we do speak louder than words, my boy."

Harry was getting ticked off with all the fakery. My boy indeed. Dumbledore's puppet more likely.

"Take your friends for example. I've noticed that you have grown distant with them. They have been your friends through thick and thin. For years you have shared your life and pulled through some amazing adventures. You fought together as brothers in arms. Molly seems to regard you as her 8th child!" Dumbledore already sounded pleading.

"That says nothing from my goals in my life, headmaster. My goal certainly isn't being friendless." Harry shifted to a more comfortable position and took a deep breath. He knew he sounded exasperated but he was simply fortifying his occlumency barriers.

"I did not mean that, my boy. It was just an example of a change not altogether welcome," Dumbledore straightened. "Ms. Granger sounded worried for you this morning…"

"So this is about her. I see," Harry interrupted the old man.

Dumbledore didn't bother to deny it, but marched onwards. "She is one of your oldest friends and now you are pushing her away."

"She said I was pushing her away? Really?"

"Not so directly no, but one couldn't help but see it when she unburdened herself and her worries. Worries that are valid, if I may say so."

Harry tisked. "Really headmaster, you would raise this issue after only hearing her side of things?" He shook his head and continued without giving the old man time to start. "I have some idea what she has been complaining about. She certainly has been complaining to everybody, hasn't she. As if that would make her opinions have more weight or make them right. The sad fact is, headmaster, that she is too immature. She is throwing a tantrum in the ways she knows how. That won't make her seem to me any less pitiful."

"But Harry, surely…"

Harry held up a hand. "You began this conversation so let me finish it. Firstly, about Granger. I have grown up. In the last year I have learnt that I have more duties than the average wizard. I visited my family vault, read my grandfather's diary and talked with the goblins. I am a lord of an ancient house and that means I have responsibilities. Responsibilities that I, unlike my father, decided to take up and honor. That means I had to do a lot of thinking and organizing, I had to take stock of my life and I found it lacking. I couldn't afford to just skate by and let others do the thinking for me," Harry looked at the old headmaster and stood up from leaning against the wall.

"She was interested in boys, Ron in particular, whole last year. Her marks came down and now she is trying to overcompensate by trying to control everything. I have been more than patient with her but my family finances have nothing to do with her. My position and political views have nothing to do with her. She certainly isn't allowed to say what I should do with my money. She is free to earn her own wealth but with her ideas, I am not holding my breath. She can also apply to any ministry position on her own merits, she is not allowed to expect me to change my views and back her ideas up, especially without discussing things with me."

Harry then reached a pocket inside his robes and took out a small letter. "This was her latest idea, after which I was forced to have a stern talking to with her. She had mailed a letter co-signed by me to a ministry department head and shamelessly said I would back her up in this position. A position that was not open nor is she in my opinion anyway qualified to have. I have also thrice caught her at my trunk taking things without any permission, once she was reading a personal letter and twice I have had to have Kreacher search for things missing and they've been found in her possession. I also pointed out to her that thievery is not acceptable. She of course has her own opinions on everything, her arguments seem juvenile and she actually stomped the ground the other day when she didn't get what she wanted. Summarized, she has been rude, pushy, caught lying many times and that is only the tip of the iceberg. This is all leaving out her actions and behavior in the last year. She has shown herself to be petty," Harry lifted a fingers to count. "Nosy, childish, pushy, manipulative… If this is her grown up then I don't want to count her as a friend no more. I do not have time anymore for the likes of her anymore."

"Surely Harry she was justified in thinking you would support her when she looks for a career of her choice," Dumbledore looked at him pleadingly and Harry wanted to hit his head at the wall. "You will see that supportive friends are worth more than gold when you grow older." Dumbledore's smile was leery.

"I don't see you flocked with your school friends, headmaster." Harry pointed out, irritated. "Maybe it's useless talking to you." Harry sighed. "Well, I didn't see what right you had to critisize my views in the first place. You are my headmaster and this is my last year. After the book about your history came out, your sermon about morals is leaking, badly. Next year we will hardly see each other, except in the Wizengamot meetings."

"You are thinking of reclaiming your family seat?" Dumbledore asked surprised.

"Reclaiming is a wrong word. I'm claiming it. I already have actually. As well as the Black seat and the Peverell seat. They have always been ours, mine. I just have not known I had them."

"But your votes…"

"Yes, I heard it will create a small problem, seeing they have been used as a deciding votes on some laws and matters when I haven't ever had appointed legal guardian and all. The Wizengamot secretarial section is looking into the matter as we speak and I think they said they'd make a decision on it by the twelfth."

"Today is the fourteenth…"

"Oh, would you look at that. Maybe the weekend has postponed them from publishing their decision," Harry pondered, enjoying Dumbledore's expression. He had been far too forgiving, far too naïve. It was amazing what having a leech pulled out of your head did to your thinking capacity.

-oooo-

Obviously this was inspired by all the independent!Harry stories around. I just wanted to do it with a really adult like twist with slytherin!Harry.