Butterbeer
Harry woke up in a new room at Grimmauld place. He looked out the windows; it was a fairly good view of a cloudy day. He yawned. The green wallpaper was all right, he supposed.
Harry went to the Leaky Cauldron via floo, to go to Diagon Alley for a bit of light shopping. It was definitely time to send Elyna a present. Something simple like a scarf or something.
She'd wear it and look pretty. Harry's chest felt … warm at the thought. Well, and the thought of snogging her silly.
Harry was looking in Gladrags for scarves when he met a witch he recognised. Tracy Davis, in a sensible, maybe even serious robe.
"Mr Potter" she said rather formally" Can I help you?"
"Davis?"
"I work here Potter. Well… first job and all that. I can probably help you" said Davis.
"Um" said Harry "I was looking for a scarf. For my um, girlfriend."
Tracey's brown eyebrows shot up her face "Oh. The blonde in France?"
Harry felt mildly irritated. "She decided not to go on a date with me again after Daphne Greengrass fought her in Pont-le-Baton."
"Oh" said Tracey, looking off to one side, "and you got another girlfriend, just like that?"
Harry glared at her "Oddly, given that seventh year had eighty plus witches, and I didn't have your friend hexing me… I found it quite easy to get dates. And Elyna's lovely. She's not a blonde and never hexes anyone."
Tracey smiled very awkwardly "That's… good for you" she said. "So um… before Daphne hexed your date, you um… you didn't fancy Daphne did you?"
Harry held in a sharp, rude remark and said instead "I find the idea of Daphne Greengrass in the same room as me … disturbing. I have been hospitalised by her, I'd have to be bonkers to like that."
Tracy nodded mechanically "and you're not" she said. There was a rather long awkward silence. "Slytherin was different without you there." she said.
"How… delightful" said Harry.
"Nott really flourished- he's aced NEWTs" said Tracey.
"How… nice for you." said Harry and Tracey scowled "I'm not ever going on a date with him again."
"You went. On a date with That?" said Harry "You're not that ugly Davis. And don't have the sort of temper found in a nesting mother dragon."
"Are you hitting on me?" asked Davis incredulously.
"I have a perfectly nice witch who likes cafe, pain-au-chocloat and has a little… swagger." said Harry.
Davis looked at Harry very oddly. "You're … pathetic." she said. "And where is she?"
"At her parents farm, helping with the sheep" said Harry. He smiled at the memory of Elyna.
Davis blinked. "Harry Potter's dating a shepherdess?" she said, her mouth pursed. "How… quaint."
"I like women who aren't prone to violence" said Harry "A bit weird of me you might think, but most witches at Beauxbatons use… words not hexes. It was… quite nice. I wish I've never gone to Hogwarts."
Davis nodded "Fine. What's her skin colouration"?
"Faintly olive skin with black hair, eyes the colour of warm butterbeer" said Harry.
"Mmm." said Davis "Does she like pinks?"
Harry was leaving with a thin pink scarf covered in white paisley wrapped in brown paper, when Professor Dumbledore stepped in, in magenta robes and a tall hat covered in crescent moons.
"Harry, good to see you. You look well" said Professor Dumbledore.
Harry's hand crinkled the paper wrapping the scarf.
"Professor Dumbledore" said Harry.
"Harry, I have been thinking, and I would like to have a chat with you" said Professor Dumbledore.
"A chat?" asked Harry. That sounded… well Harry just disliked Dumbledore.
"The Hogs Head at one." said Professor Dumbledore. "An opportunity for you to be rewarded for your hard work."
"Hogs Head at one" said Harry "I'm not sure I want to" he added.
"And congratulations on your NEWT marks. Most excellent, your parents would be very proud" said Professor Dumbledore.
"I don't have my results, and no memories of my parents" said Harry "So I'd never know; how did you see my results?"
"Madam Maxime forwarded your English language exams to the WEA, and Griselda Marchbanks; head of the WEA floo called me; you have done… rather better than most people. I'm most intrigued that you got an Exceeds expectation in Divination, of all things. I didn't know you had any talent for it"
Harry blinked. Dumbledore had fingers everywhere, but... still to get an Exceeds in Divination. His practical had been awful, mostly a failure.
"Hogs Head at one; you could bring my results" said Harry.
"I will do so Harry." said Professor Dumbledore, and he swept into the room.
"Ah miss Davis. I'm here to look at … ahem… socks." said Professor Dumbledore.
Harry left the shop and walked down to the owl post office, fingering his moneybag. It felt like he had parcel postage to France.
-==0==-
The Hogs Head still smelt of vomit and stale beer as Harry stepped in out of the summer rain.
He cast a drying charm on himself and looked around the dimly lit pub. Behind the bar the tall, bearded, broad old bartender looked over at him; and bright blue eyes, like Professor Dumbledore's almost, shone at him.
"You're here to see Albus then" said the bartender in a deep, rumbly voice. He jerked a thumb at the arch in front of the rickety looking staircase. "Up the stairs, Second door down. Don't be noisy, there are paying guests, not just freeloaders."
Harry held the bannister firmly as he climbed the creaking stairs. He thought about what to do; and once he got to the landing, he cast a basic wearable shield on himself, and conjured up a throwing knife, and slipped it into his pocket.
Harry opened the second door, and was surprised to find a parlour, rather old-fashioned but well-dusted, with a small fireplace, and with Professor Dumbledore, in subdued robes and hat, sitting in a chair by an occasional table set for tea. A teapot and a jug sat next to a teacup and an empty plate. The teacup was clean and unbroken. An empty armchair with a clean antimacassar sat near the table. Within tea-drinking distance.
Harry closed the door, and sat down on the chair.
"Tea?" asked Professor Dumbledore "There were biscuits, but alas… I missed my lunch."
Harry shook his head gently. "No."
"What I am about to tell you is of course, not public knowledge." said Professor Dumbledore. Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes at this blatant attempt to suck him in with secrets.
"I am here, not as Headmaster of Hogwarts" said Professor Dumbledore. Harry waited for the dramatic pause to end.
"But as Supreme Mugwump of the ICW" said Professor Dumbledore.
"The ICW?" said Harry.
"The ICW would like to extend an invitation to you, to come to Lucerne in Switzerland, and attend a meeting of the ICW" said Professor Dumbledore.
"Why" asked Harry bluntly.
"The ICW will offer you a position" said Professor Dumbledore.
"A what!" exclaimed Harry. Harry hadn't even thought about the ICW, not really.
"Harry, you're a powerful wizard, with an impressive array of NEWTs" said Professor Dumbledore. "And one of the few wizards alive who has, and ever could again, defeated a Dark Lord." he added.
"Again?" said Harry "I'm done."
Professor Dumbledore nodded "I was… unwilling to take to the role myself at one time." he said.
"You?" asked Harry.
"I was offered the role in the nineteen-thirties" said Professor Dumbledore. "There was… trouble in Europe."
"Grindlewald" said Harry quietly. Professor Dumbledore nodded.
"I… I was a school teacher" said Professor Dumbledore "It was not until the Auror office came and dragged me out of Hogwarts that I … that – "
Professor Dumbledore fell silent and looked off to one side "That I went to war" he said, with a catch in his voice.
"I had an essay on it last year in History" said Harry "Many people have wanted to know why it took you so long. Why you let Grindelwald do so much damage."
Professor Dumbledore unexpectedly took off his glasses, drew a large, purple paisley handkerchief from his sleeve and dabbed at his eyes.
"I …. It was difficult to do" said Professor Dumbledore "Gellart was a friend… before… he went back to Europe."
Harry crossed his arms "Well, I doubt Hermione Granger or any of my French girlfriends are going to be a dark lady; and body-binding Greengrass and sending her to Azkaban wouldn't be a strain."
Professor Dumbledore put his glasses back on and fixed Harry in a steely blue glare "You will be offered a chance to be an associate of the ICW. It is a great honour, and not one to be dismissed flippantly." He sounded… angry yet sad, and the look he was giving Harry was… Harry had no idea why Dumbledore was taking this all so personally. Grindelwald was all ancient history anyway.
"Well, where's my Order of Merlin?" asked Harry flippantly.
Professor Dumbledore's beard twitched "These things take time Harry," he said pompously.
Harry was suddenly aware that Professor Dumbledore had just implied that… "You're joking." said Harry.
"The Ministry are very obstructive, and obviously, your efforts in defeating Tom are… rather secret, so it takes time. There was a lot of opposition to awarding you your order of Merlin before you had a single NEWT." said Professor Dumbledore, in his typical 'aren't I just a nice old man tone', but in this case… explaining about spending ages trying to get Harry an award, a huge one, for his efforts. Harry found the idea that Professor Dumbledore could do gratitude… odd. And unsettling, and unbalancing.
Harry fell back on defensive sarcasm, rolled his eyes "Oh yes, after all, just because I defeated a bloody dark lord before I sat my NEWT's of course I shouldn't' get one" he said, extremely sarcastically.
"I said very much the same thing" said Professor Dumbledore mildly, "Perhaps less sarcastically. But I had to take ministry decision makers and Wizengamot members off for a quiet chat, over tea and biscuits, one at a time, and persuade them to keep it quiet, and I am a little busy with three full-time jobs."
"Oh. Must be so difficult" said Harry eyeing the tea.
"The tea is good, Aberforth still buys the same brand mother did" said Professor Dumbledore, apropos of nothing.
Harry poured some tea and lifted the milk, and poured in a little.
"Sugar?" asked Professor Dumbledore.
"Accio sugarcube" said Harry, and let one shoot in though the window, breaking a pane with a crash, and the cube fall into his tea.
Professor Dumbledore flicked his hand at the window and the pane reformed with a tooth-grating crunch.
"There is sugar here" said Professor Dumbledore blandly.
Harry sipped the tea, and it tasted odd. Like the milk was… weird.
Harry put the tea down, and pulled out his bezoar and choked it down it with his hipflask of water.
"It's goat milk, it's not poisoned" said Professor Dumbledore. "You're well prepared" he added.
"Mr Moody is an inspiration" said Harry drily.
Harry sipped the tea. He just wasn't sure about the taste of goat milk.
"Aberforth has a jar of bezoars in the kitchen" said Professor Dumbledore "You can get a refill on the way out."
"So, I get pat on the back from the ICW?" asked Harry after some more tea. It was good tea, thought Harry.
"Oh no" said Professor Dumbledore "Associate of the ICW is not pat on the back. It's a job. A… part-time, ad-hoc job."
"Part time?" asked Harry.
"In the event of a Dark lord popping up, if the ICW is asked for help, an Associate would… go and …"
"Deal with it" said Harry "I'm kind-of over Dark lords. It's never been a career goal. Sounds like Auror, only worse."
"Unlike Aurors, there's no pay" said Professor Dumbledore.
"You're really not convincing me" said Harry, seeing a pointless argument coming his way, he should never have come here, he thought to himself.
"There are… perks" said Professor Dumbledore, vaguely.
"Perks?" asked Harry, resisting the urge to sigh.
"As a part of the ICW, you would get priority treatment for Ministry interactions, across the entire ICW… globally." said Professor Dumbledore "And… less … scrutiny of your use of international portkeys."
"Less?"
"Effectively you're a diplomat" said Professor Dumbledore "Not that you'd have immunity from prosecution in the … day-to-day course of affairs." he said suggestively "But… you are unlikely to be arrested unless the state you are in is breaking ranks with the ICW."
"But…" said Harry. There was definitely a but, Harry could sense it.
"When you were … working… you'd be the hand of the ICW. Many… international regulations would be relaxed for you… and… local law enforcement would… be extremely cooperative."
"Extremely cooperative?" asked Harry.
"I was given the status of Associate of the ICW on the way to Germany in nineteen-forty-five" said Professor Dumbledore.
Harry involuntarily felt his eyes widen. Associate was… it was a carte blanche. A shiny, gold-edged carte blanche.
"Carte blanche at work then" said Harry, wondering if Dumbledore had some new awful wrinkle on this offer.
"Officially no" said Professor Dumbledore. "I am… getting too old to do it. Someone quite helpful called me a geriatric arse."
Harry tried not to salivate. Carte-Blanche to persecute some dark wanker… but… work.
"How... often do you get called to work as an Associate?" asked Harry.
"In the last fifty years, I have been called on twice" said Professor Dumbledore. "I think we would both hope that in the next century, you might get called on once."
"Next… century." said Harry slowly. That sounded like a long time.
"Well, I'm not going to live to be two hundred and twenty" said Professor Dumbledore. "I have… lived less healthily than some."
"How… many associates are there?" asked Harry.
"Why one, of course." said Professor Dumbledore.
Harry sighed "Being a diplomat?" he asked.
"Your baggage is… often… ignored" said Professor Dumbledore "When it's not being portkeyed and delivered for you. Portkey fees are reduced to… well knuts not galleons. I have to say most Mugwumps have quite excellent catering, spare suites, and are… well they do fawn a bit."
"But that's because you're Chief Mugwump" said Harry.
"And that was a … I took to helping out the Mugwump for Britain, so I was at the meetings, and … was a voice of reason" rumbled Professor Dumbledore.
"You went from Associate to Supreme Mugwump?" asked Harry.
"Frankly, they just wanted someone to yell louder at meetings" said Professor Dumbledore "I wouldn't recommend it."
Harry snorted. Professor Dumbledore shrugged slightly.
"So, Harry? Would you come to Lucerne? The catering is quite good. Especially of you like chocolate." asked Professor Dumbledore.
Harry shook his head "It still sounds like more dark lord business that gets in the way of … " Harry cast about for something to say that Dumbledore would understand, that was at least mostly true. "Learning magic" he finished.
Dumbledore drew and envelope from his robe sleeve like a conjuror and laid it on the table.
"Your exam results, early" said Professor Dumbledore.
Harry took the envelope and opened it.
'Harry James Potter
In the National Extended ...Wizarding... Trials Has achieved the grades of
Alchemy: Outstanding.
Ancient Studies: Exceeds Expectations.
Ancient Runes: Exceed Expectations.
Arithmancy: Exceeds expectations.
Astronomy: Exceeds Expectations
Care of Magical Creatures: Exceeds Expectations
Charms: Outstanding plus.
Defence Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding Plus.
Divination: Exceeds expectations.
Herbology: Acceptable
Muggle Studies: (by examination only) Outstanding plus.
Potions: Exceeds Expectations.
Transfiguration: Outstanding.'
Harry looked up from the parchment to find Dumbledore was looking intently at him.
"And how do your marks make you feel?" asked Professor Dumbledore.
"Well they exceed expectations" said Harry blandly.
"Even William Weasley, cursebreaker got less NEWTs than you" said Albus.
"Well" said Harry "I got lucky on the Muggle Studies exam. The questions weren't complete tosh, and I must have guessed right about which answers the examiners wanted. Instead of … say, actual facts. Of course, having attended Hogwarts, I couldn't enter any of the courses Beauxbatons offers that Hogwarts does not."
"Which rather simplified your examinations" said Professor Dumbledore "as otherwise you would have to sit the exams in French."
"I am quite fluent in French, and according to the German speakers at Beauxbatons, my German is good for a foreigner. And my Latin and Greek is apparently quite good. Now I have time, I'll get some practice in Sumerian and Chinese, I seem able to read texts, but alas, even very expensive language potions don't give a perfect accent. Of course, I'll keep an eye out for other useful languages."
"The ICW will look very favourable on you being a polyglot. There is a language allowance for staff… you may make some money off that" said Professor Dumbledore.
"Well, as long as it's not too many days a year" said Harry.
Professor Dumbledore picked up a teaspoon, tapped it with has white wand and said "portus!". The teaspoon glowed briefly.
"Next Thursday, at noon, the portkey will take you to ICW Lucene." said Professor Dumbledore.
"You just made an international portkey" said Harry.
"As I said to you, Harry" said Professor Dumbledore "The position has it's perks."
Harry took the teaspoon and left. Once he was out of the building he allowed himself to think about the convenience of being able to just make his own international portkeys, and not worry about visas. Even for magical China. Where there might still be peaches of immortality somewhere. Hmm.
