Warning: For Mature readers only!
Harry hid the smirk that wanted to escape. It might not be evident to any of the others, but to him, it might as well have been a gigantic signboard announcing that Greengrass was staring at him.
Harry was happy that it seemed like sleep had escaped her last night. The more Greengrass was out of sorts, the better he would feel. After all, it was likely that her mind was far too busy thinking of ways to get the items in the Room without his permission.
Harry was willing to wait for Greengrass to go through all her options, then come to him after she failed to think of anything. Not only would that put him in a position of strength, but the look on her face would almost make it worth the wait on its own.
Still, it had only been one day since Harry had revealed and opened up his treasure. He didn't expect her to come to him any time soon. If she did, Harry would be highly suspicious about why she had given in so quickly.
"Potter, mind if I take a seat?"
Harry looked away from the book he was pretending to read and gave Zabini a curious look. He never thought this was the person that would first break the house-imposed isolation on him. Even Greengrass separated from him before entering the common room last night because she wanted to make a statement by letting Harry sit next to her in the Great Hall, or so she said.
"Feel free," Harry motioned to the chair in front of him. After Zabini took a seat, Harry asked, "You do know that half of Slytherin's staring daggers at you?"
"I'm aware, but I don't care."
Harry raised an eyebrow, wondering when Zabini suddenly grew a pair. This was so out of character that he considered the possibility that the Polyjuice potion might be in play.
"You're too close to Daphne for this to last much longer. Speaking of… what's going on with both of you? Daphne has been spending more time with you than she ever has before. Is she interested in you?"
That made much more sense to Harry. Going out of his comfort zone to show off wasn't a stretch if Zabini was willing to pay a small fortune for the simple knowledge of what Greengrass liked. Harry wondered what Zabini would be like after Greengrass was done with him.
"Don't worry, Zabini," Harry said drily, "It takes a special wizard to gain her affection, and I'm afraid I won't make the cut."
When Zabini looked relieved, Harry thought of Greengrass's smile when she broke the protection around the Nullification Ring. He could see why so many wizards were in lust with her. Daphne Greengrass was a witch blessed with looks few could match.
"So, what did you need to speak to me about?" Harry asked, getting that dangerous thought out of his mind, "It must be important. Especially since you couldn't wait for more privacy."
"Right," Blaise fiddled with his wand and cast the ever-useful Muffliato Charm, "I looked into the auction you mentioned, and I'm going to have some trouble getting what Daphne wants."
Harry stared at Zabini blankly, wondering why he was telling him this. "Zabini, I hope you're not asking for a loan. I'm a broker of information, not a goblin."
"No, it's not money," Blaise shook his head, "I can't get to it, Potter. There's no way I can leave Hogwarts to attend the auction, and mother would refuse to help."
"I still don't know how I'm supposed to help here. I don't operate outside Hogwarts for—"
"Potter!"
Harry immediately discarded Zabini and stared at Snape's presence in the common room with shock. It was not a usual sight.
"Follow me! Your presence is… required."
Snape's cloak billowed impressively as he strode out of the common room without waiting to see if Harry would follow him. Of course, it wasn't like he had a choice.
Harry woodenly stood up and followed Snape after giving Zabini a distracted wave. He and Snape had an understanding. One in which they had both silently agreed to ignore the other. Harry was never sure why his head of house so obviously despised the sight of him, but he was more than happy that Snape never did more than give him strange looks.
Harry had to jog to catch up with Snape's large strides. He eyed the passing halls as he tried to guess where they were going, but as they went on an unfamiliar path, Harry couldn't hope to predict their destination.
He settled to ask the man directly. "Professor, where are we going?"
Harry saw Snape's eyes glance at him momentarily before looking away. "The Headmaster has summoned you, Potter."
Harry's heart dropped as he suddenly felt like he was walking to his doom. He had never met Dumbledore privately and wanted to keep it that way until well after graduation.
Harry was confident that few could trouble him one-on-one among the student population.
But the keyword there was student. Dumbledore was not that. He was arguably the greatest wizard alive. More importantly to Harry, he was also a wizard that was rumored to be talented at the mind arts.
"Headmaster Dumbledore?" Harry was proud his voice wasn't shaking, "What's this about, Professor?"
Snape led Harry to a gargoyle, which he tapped firmly before saying, "He will tell you himself. Go on, Potter. He's waiting."
The gargoyle moved to reveal a spiraling staircase. Harry saw that Snape didn't intend to humor him, so only one option was left.
To hope Dumbledore wouldn't try to break past his occlumency shields.
It might be possible to stop any attempts at legilimency if Harry made a concerted effort to avoid eye contact, however might was a very important word there. For all Harry knew, Dumbledore might be skilled enough to only require being in the same room. Plus, it would also be far more suspicious to blatantly avoid eye contact with the Headmaster.
The better choice for Harry was to do what was natural during a conversation and avoid raising any flags within Dumbledore's mind.
He took heavy steps to the Headmaster's office and raised his hand to knock before Dumbledore's voice interrupted him.
"Come in, Mr. Potter."
Harry paused at hearing Dumbledore say his name before pushing the doors open. The moment he stepped into the office, the eyes of countless headmasters and headmistresses of the past locked onto him, staring curiously at the student that entered.
He looked around, taking in the strange trinkets and magical artifacts that littered the room. In the middle of it all, Dumbledore sat behind his desk, with his piercing blue eyes staring at Harry over his half-moon glasses.
"Er, hello, Headmaster," Harry said cautiously, trying to hide the nervousness that filled him.
"Take a seat, Mr. Potter. There's nothing to fear. You are in no trouble," Dumbledore chuckled.
Harry returned a wan smile as he took the offered seat. "I apologize, Headmaster. I'm not used to meeting with teachers."
"Ah, yes," Dumbledore brightened, "I would guess not. You have done quite well in your classes."
"I suppose," Harry muttered, "But Hermione still has the top spot."
"Hermione Granger is undoubtedly an exceptional young lady. However, grades are not the only measure of a person's talent. I believe you would agree with me on this," Dumbledore said knowingly.
"Uh, Thanks?" Harry chuckled nervously, "But I'm not sure what you mean, Headmaster."
"Miss Granger spoke highly of your quick thinking in a dire situation that potentially saved Mr. Ashwood's life. Moreover, she mentioned that you utilized an advanced spell not typically taught to students your age. I must say I am quite impressed."
"Oh," Harry's look of surprise wasn't an act. He had almost put Ashwood out of his mind since he hadn't considered him a priority. After all, it wasn't like Ashwood would suddenly get back to full health in a few days.
"Yes," Dumbledore smiled, "I wanted to commend you for your actions and having knowledge far above what we expect of students. Furthermore, I wanted to take this chance and apologize for not having met you sooner. I had considered introducing myself to you at the start of your schooling, but I observed that you were already well-adapted and did not wish to burden you with additional complications."
"That's alright, Headmaster," Harry reassured, more than happy he was left alone. He was already disliked in Slytherin at the start, but it would have been unimaginable if it was known that Dumbledore had paid him any attention.
"I'm sure that your forgiveness would hold plenty of weight to gain your parents' forgiveness in, hopefully, the distant future," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, "They were truly exemplary students, and they would be proud to see you following in their footsteps. I must say, however, that James would have probably grumbled about you not being sorted into Gryffindor until Lily set him straight."
Harry didn't hear much of his deceased parents, so he couldn't deny that he was curious to hear more about them, but not to the point of wanting to spend more time in Dumbledore's presence.
"Thank you, Headmaster," Harry made his eyes glisten as if he was about to tear up, "It's comforting to hear that from someone who knows them."
"Of course," Dumbledore waved him off, "I encourage you to visit me anytime if you wish to hear more about your parents. I have numerous stories from their time as students, and I would be delighted to share them with you."
"Now," Dumbledore glanced at the clock, "I shouldn't keep you for longer. It's been a delight speaking with you, Mr. Potter. I am eagerly anticipating the future that awaits you."
"Oh," Harry was a bit thrown off at the abrupt end to the conversation, "Thank you, Headmaster."
"Severus will lead you back to the Slytherin common room," Dumbledore smiled gently and said, "Now, off you go."
Harry muttered a goodbye and climbed down the spiral staircase. The walk back to the common room was silent, and neither wizard was keen to break it. As Harry entered the common room, he wondered what the point of that meeting was.
All Dumbledore did was praise him for what he did to save Ashwood. Harry loved to be praised. He didn't shy away from that, but for the Headmaster to call him to do only that was a stretch even to the most narcissistic wizard.
However, Harry couldn't think of any other reason why the meeting had happened. Perhaps some guilt toward his parents might have influenced the decision to meet him, but that was highly doubtful since Dumbledore put it off for four years with no issue.
"Potter? Can we continue?"
Harry blinked, realizing that he was sitting in the chair he previously occupied before Snape pulled him out. The entire trip was like an odd dream that Harry could barely believe was real. He rubbed his eyes to avoid the drowsiness and tried focusing on Zabini.
"Sorry, what was that, Zabini?"
"The auction in Paris. Can we finish talking about it?"
Harry frowned at Zabini after remembering his problem with the auction. "There's nothing to talk about. I don't see how I can help you here."
"Look, I know you probably can't help, but if you can find a way, I'm willing to pay ten thousand galleons. And that's just to show up at the auction. If you actually win the item, I'll double it."
"… You are generous," Harry said with surprise, "And what about the cost of the auction item? Surely you don't expect me to cover that?"
"Of course not," Blaise denied, "I'll provide everything needed. So be it if it's not enough to win what Daphne wants. I won't put that on you."
"That's a hard offer to decline, Zabini," Harry sighed as he rubbed his forehead, staving off a headache while slowly starting to realize something had gone terribly wrong in Dumbledore's office, "Look, I still can't say yes, but I'll try and find a way to get it done."
"Great," Blaise said with relief, "That's all I can ask."
"Now, if you'd excuse me," Harry stood from the chair, "I'm going to turn in for the night."
Harry didn't wait for a reply and quickly made his way back to the privacy of his room. He wasn't an idiot, though Harry had to reconsider that after taking so long to realize what had happened. The sudden exhaustion and aches were symptoms of something familiar. Harry had only seen them in others before. It was an aftermath he observed after he used legilimency on someone.
The thing that scared him the most was that he wasn't able to detect it at all until now. The only positive was that Dumbledore hadn't shackled him to the chair in his office and called the Aurors. Harry wasn't sure why he was attacked… Unless, that was the reason he was called to the Headmaster's office in the first place.
Nonetheless, Harry knew he had to figure out how far Dumbledore had gotten in his mind. What had he seen? While all of the contracts and the things Harry had done to fulfill those contracts had their secrecy enforced by magic, that wasn't true of his thoughts.
Especially what Harry had done to Ashwood. Sure, he had saved the boy, but that would have never had to happen if Harry hadn't put Ashwood in that state to start with.
Harry ignored Nott cowering as he walked by and closed the door to his room behind him.
*SLAM!*
Harry clenched his teeth as he almost broke his fist from punching the door after closing it. It had been the first time his mind had been violated. And he hadn't been able to do anything about it. He had been helpless and, even worse than that, clueless.
What Harry feared most had come to pass, and he knew there was nothing he could have done that would have changed what had happened. He wasn't a fool to believe that he could out-magic Dumbledore of all people.
Harry exhaled to try and release his anger before attempting to clear his mind, using the most basic method to regain control of his emotions. When the bedside table cracked in the middle under his anger, he knew this would be impossible.
It wasn't the smart thing to do, especially since it was best to lay low after what happened, but Harry knew the best way to rid himself of the anger was to exhaust his magic. He pulled his cloak over his head and headed to the Room, except this time, he would use it as a training field instead of staring uselessly at his treasures.
This story is 8 chapters ahead for my patrons
P atreo n . com (slash) MarkusEllis (Remove spaces)