Chapter 17
Harry and Ginny were shocked to learn that the Bloody Baron, the Slytherin ghost, had been around at that point as a wizard, and had gone after her when her mother had fallen ill, and wanted to see her daughter again.
"I was too proud to admit my mistakes," Helena Ravenclaw sniffed. "In his anger over my refusal to return, the Baron killed me. When he saw what he had done, he turned his sword on himself. All these years later, he wears his chains as penance."
Harry frowned. "What about the diadem?" he pushed gently, hoping she wouldn't just leave.
Helena looked suddenly fearful. "I can't…" she whispered.
Harry suddenly understood. "We're not the first ones you've spoken to about this," he said gently. "You told another student about the diadem."
Helena's misty eyes widened. "He was so kind and charming," her voice broke. "I thought he cared."
Harry nodded knowingly. "It's all right," he reassured her. "Tom Riddle was good at making people tell him what he wanted. Thank you for sharing this with us."
Helena sniffed and glided away. Harry turned to look at Ginny. "So it looks like Voldemort found the diadem," he said grimly.
Ginny shrugged as they headed back up to the main levels of the castle. "Yeah, but it still doesn't tell us where it is."
Harry agreed, and they headed outside to join their friends for a study session by the lake, as they were tired of spending all their time inside.
XXX
A week later, Hermione, Ron, Susan, and Blaise all said goodbye to Harry, Neville, Daphne, Ginny, and Luna, and met up with Twycross in order to go take their Apparition test. As Harry, Neville, and Daphne were not seventeen yet, they could not take the test until the summer. Daphne was particularly upset, since she would be turning seventeen in just two weeks. Harry and Neville, with several months to go yet, were not quite as annoyed as they wished their friends luck, and headed outside shortly after the group of hopeful seventeen year olds left. As limitless as the Room of Requirement was, they were feeling a little pent up, and decided to spend some time exploring the Forbidden Forest.
They returned to the castle later that afternoon, feeling much calmer; it definitely did Ginny and Luna some good, to get away from the schoolwork and exam preparation for the day.
Hermione, Ron, Susan, and Blaise met up with them at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, and they all ate together as they told their friends about the test. Fortunately, they had all passed, though according to Ron, it was a close thing for him.
Hermione shook her head fondly. Sometimes her boyfriend rivaled Harry for the biggest inferiority complex.
They all congratulated the foursome, and Ron preened a little as Ginny reminded him that Charlie had needed to take the test twice, which put him ahead of his older brother.
The others prompted her for the story, so Ginny told them about how on Charlie's first go at the test, he had apparated on top of an old lady doing her shopping, five miles away from where he was supposed to end up.
They were all roaring with laughter by the end, and spent several hours talking as dinner ended and the room emptied out, until they had to leave or get caught out after curfew.
All in all, Harry felt it had been a pretty good day.
XXX
The end of the year seemed to be getting closer with alarming speed. By the time the end of May rolled around, Harry felt he had gotten a good grasp on Legilimancy, and would be able to try his theory out on Neville's parents. He actually felt pretty confident about it, but didn't tell Neville, because he didn't want to build false hope. He had exchanged several more letters with the Healer Jason had put him in touch with, and she thought his angle for a cure was theoretically possible, if far-fetched. She prompted him to spend some more time working it out further, to ensure success, and promised to give it some more thought as well. She did, however, think he might be able to put the theory into action over the summer.
Harry was nervous, but excited. He really wanted to give Neville his parents back. It was one thing he and the other boy really shared: an unspoken wish to be reunited with his parents. Though Neville never really mentioned them after they had caught him at the long-term ward in Saint Mungos, Harry knew what it was like to ache for your parents. To be willing to give anything just to hear their voices again, to have them look at you with love and kiss you good night. It wasn't possible for him to have his wish come true, but there was still hope for Neville. Shortly after their happenstance meeting at the hospital, Neville had told him in private that he would never give up hope, as long as his parents were still breathing. He had figured if there were no hope at all, they wouldn't still be drawing breath.
Harry hoped Neville was right, because what he was trying to do was near impossible, in the views of most witches and wizards.
But Harry wouldn't give up. He didn't believe it was impossible, and he was looking to revolutionize the wizarding world. He'd figure out how to reverse the effects of the Cruciatus Curse, he'd find a cure for Lycanthropy, he'd give the goblins the respect and recognition they deserved, he'd change the Ministry and redesign their ancient and obsolete laws. Of course, he knew he'd need a hell of a lot of help with all of this, but he was certain that together with his friends, they would change the world.
Ginny looked up at him from across the room where she was doing revisions for her exams, and smiled. Damn straight, Harry. We're going to give all those stuffy purebloods something to think about.
Harry smirked. They won't know what hit 'em.
XXX
A few days later, Harry received yet another summons to Dumbledore's office. He considered ignoring it, but didn't think he should outright defy the headmaster just yet. He could still pretend that the old man had some authority, though he couldn't say with any certainty that he would be able to do so for much longer, unless Dumbledore had had a huge change of heart lately. Somehow, he doubted it.
Once more, Dumbledore offered Harry a lemon drop and a seat, and once more, Harry refused, privately reveling in the chance to make the old man uncomfortable and annoyed.
But Dumbledore forced those feelings down, and just smiled genially. "Thank you for coming, Harry. I know you must be busy studying for your end of year exams."
Harry nodded silently.
Dumbledore's smile tightened minutely, but Harry caught it, and internally smirked. "I must congratulate you on your class standing, Harry. I believe you will have many people after you for a job this time next year."
Harry's mental smirk turned into a frown. It was subtle, but he thought he could sense something like a lie in the headmaster's words. Did Dumbledore not think he would get a lot of offers? Or did he not think he'd be graduating?
Harry said nothing, and after a moment, Dumbledore continued. "I wished to apologize for my actions a few months ago. I was merely trying to help you succeed."
Harry grit his teeth, and when he was sure he could respond without yelling, he did so. "Professor, I understand your goals, but you need to stop. Stop trying to insert yourself into my life, because I will never trust you the way I did before I learned everything you're responsible for." Dumbledore made to speak, but Harry kept going. "Have you even looked at the report Madam Pomfrey compiled after I left the Dursleys?" Dumbledore blinked, startled. Harry smiled grimly. "I didn't think so. I would suggest taking a look, sir, and perhaps you'll understand just a little of what you put me through."
He started to turn around, when Dumbledore managed to find his voice. "You need my help, Harry. To fulfill the prophecy. You can't do it alone, there are things that only I know."
Harry raised an eyebrow, and glared. "I think I'll manage."
He spun on his heel and left the office, seething. He knew the headmaster didn't think he had revealed so much, but he hadn't counted for what Harry already knew.
In his mind, Ginny's voice calmed him slightly. Harry, come to the Room of Requirement. I'll meet you there. Just don't curse anything until you get there, all right?
Harry nodded mentally, and waited until he reached the Room, asking it to provide him with a training room, complete with dummies for him to destroy.
That was how Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Neville found him five minutes later. Ginny had tried to come alone, but as soon as she had said that Harry was upset, they all insisted on joining her.
They watched from the doorway while Harry turned seven dummies to dust within the span of three minutes. When the room was devoid of opponents, Harry straightened up from his fighter's crouch, to the sound of applause. He looked over and blushed slightly to see his fellow Gryffindors in the entrance, watching him.
They all moved in and closed the door. Ginny raised an eyebrow. "What's this about, Harry? What did Dumbledore say?"
Harry growled slightly, his eyes hardening. "He knew." They all looked confused.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, mentally asking the room to provide sofas for them to sit, which they all did a moment later.
Harry grit his teeth. "He tried to tell me that there were things only he knew, so only he could help me fulfill that damn prophecy. Don't you see it? He knew about the horcruxes. He's probably known at least since he saw that diary."
Ginny's eyes hardened. "He probably had an idea before that, but the diary would definitely be proof for his theory. Damn it!"
She slammed a fist against the arm of the sofa she was sitting on.
Harry nodded. "He's had all these years to solve the problem. And he knew how! But he waited for me to do it for him. All because he puts so much stock in that stupid prophecy. How many people did he doom to die because he didn't do anything? If he had done something, anything, we wouldn't be faced with the problem of hunting down all these horcruxes based on flimsy theories and what little we can find on Voldemort."
Ron let out an animalistic growl that reminded them all of his dog form. "Bastard."
Hermione looked like she wanted to reprimand her boyfriend's language, but couldn't manage because she completely agreed with his assessment.
Neville shook his head at the audacity of the headmaster. "Somehow, it doesn't surprise me. We all knew he was too forgiving, too willing to put his 'greater good' ahead of the real people. The question is, what are we going to do about it?"
Harry looked startled for a moment, before he grinned. "I can think of a few ideas," he said mischievously. "Living with two of the Marauders, being friends with Fred and George, I think I've definitely expanded my prank repertoire."
Ginny chuckled. "I think we can certainly help out with that," she agreed. "Growing up with the twins is very good for coming up with creative punishments."
They all put their heads together for the next couple of hours, and by the end of their impromptu session, had several ideas to put into place to give the headmaster a hard time. Hermione was fine with pranking the old man as long as he wasn't seriously injured, something they all agreed to. They didn't want to harm him, just make him miserable.
Once they were finished, Harry went to go put the first part of their prank into play. He made his way down to the kitchen, and asked for the head elf.
A moment later, a pop in front of him showed a proud looking elf looking up at him with awe. "What can Barsto do for Master Gryffindor sir?"
Harry was momentarily startled to hear himself called that. "You all know who I am?" he asked curiously.
Barsto nodded eagerly, his large ears flapping. "Master Gryffindor is the heir to Master Godric, sir. All elves be knowing who he is. All elves in castle will follow Master Gryffindor and obey his commands."
Harry smiled slightly. "Thank you, Barsto. I would appreciate it if you would call me Harry, though. I don't want people knowing my status as a founder's heir."
Barsto nodded again. "Of course, Master Harry. How can we be serving you today?"
Harry took a deep breath. "Barsto, the headmaster has been trying to insert himself into my life for too long. My friends and I are planning a series of pranks to play on him. Would you be willing to help?"
Barsto nodded for a third time, his large eyes widening as the corners of his mouth tilted upwards. "Of course, Master Harry. What can we elves be doing to help?"
Harry smiled. "All right. You know how Dumbledore loves his lemon drops?" Barsto nodded yet again. "I'd like to make sure he can't have them. If you could ensure that any he has disappears, that would be great. He has that bowl in his office, can you make it so that any he puts in the bowl vanish?"
Barsto actually beamed at this. "Of course, Master Harry. Barsto will place spell on bowl, and headmaster's private everfilling pouch tonight. Pouch will not work anymore, and any drops that are put in bowl will vanish."
Harry grinned. "Thanks, Barsto. If I need anything else, I'll ask you."
Barsto's mouth stretched, if possible, even wider in a smile. "We being happy to help Master Harry in all his endeavors."
Harry nodded and left the kitchen after thanking the elf once more.
Ginny's mental laughter rang in his head. Dumbledore's going to be so shocked, she chuckled.
Harry smirked. This is just phase one, he reminded her. He's going to regret ever meddling by the time we're done with him.
True to their word, over the next week, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Ginny all did their part to make Dumbledore miserable. Even after one day, Harry could tell that the old man was missing his lemon drops. He only really appeared for meals, and looked slightly haggard and twitchy, almost like he was going through withdrawal.
They slipped a potion into his pumpkin juice that made him cluck like a chicken for an entire day; made it so that he spent an entire day stuck in the Entrance Hall, by charming every door so that whenever his magical signature passed through it, he would end up back in the Hall; and had his fuzzy bunny slippers spend a morning attacking him wherever he went.
The house elves were ecstatic to help out, and were majorly responsible for keeping the headmaster in the Entrance Hall, as well as getting the potion into his drink. Barsto had proudly brought the slippers to Harry to charm when he had asked.
The next weekend, Harry met with all his friends in the Room of Requirement, and almost flinched under the gazes of Blaise, Daphne, Susan, and Luna.
"Spill it, Potter. Why have you spent this whole week pranking Dumbledore to within an inch of his sanity?" Blaise asked, raising an eyebrow.
Harry shrugged and explained about the conversation he had had with the headmaster the previous weekend, and what they had inferred.
Blaise let out a low breath. "Damn," he commented. "Need any help?"
Harry chuckled, and the others laughed.
Daphne shook her head. "I can't believe the audacity of the old man. He could end up killing us all because he put so much stock into that stupid prophecy."
Harry nodded seriously. "The more I think about it, the more I wonder if he meant me to survive at all."
Hermione let out a gasp. "Harry, I know he's got a lot to answer for, but –"
Harry looked at her, cutting her off midsentence. "I know it might seem horrible, Hermione, but the first thing he did when I showed up at his office was to congratulate me on my class rank and tell me how many people would be offering me a job this time next year." He looked down briefly. "The thing is, I could tell that he was lying. I don't think it was about how many people would be offering me a job, if for no other reason than I'm the bloody Boy Who Lived. But what if he was talking about me surviving to get any job offers?"
Ginny's eyes widened, and then narrowed. "You think he's interpreted the prophecy to mean that your death will bring down Voldemort." Harry nodded, grasping her hand tightly. She huffed, gritting her teeth. "Not going to happen," she stated surely.
Harry nodded, agreeing. "I'm not planning on going anywhere."
Daphne pursed her lips. "I'm up for a little payback," she growled.
Luna tilted her head to the side. "Tell me what I can do to help." Her voice was so steely that it took them all aback for a moment. Luna just smiled, though it could not be taken as reassuring for anyone on the receiving end of it. "No one gets away with hurting my friends."
Harry smiled. "Thanks, guys. Here's what we've got so far."
They spent another hour planning, and Harry was glad to have a few Slytherins involved; their ideas were creative, and in some cases, a little frightening.
After a while, they switched over to other pursuits. Harry asked the Room to provide them with a few more amenities, and they all broke up to separate tasks.
Ginny and Luna had brought their book bags and started doing more revising for their exams, while Hermione, Ron, Neville, Susan, and Blaise continued doing some research for their Horcrux hunt.
Harry and Daphne went over to the potions lab section that the Room had given them, and started working on brewing Veritaserum. The potion was incredibly difficult, and would take a month to complete, but Harry and Daphne were confident that, together, they could get it right, and just in time for the term to end. They also worked on a several potions to use for their pranks. After the first one was complete, Luna took it down to the kitchen to put into use, before returning to the Room.
They all worked the day away, only emerging when it was time for supper.
They felt like it had been a productive day, and looked forward to implementing some of their plans for Dumbledore. Indeed, they were looking forward to dinner.
If anyone was confused by the group's excitement as they all sat together at the Gryffindor table, they didn't say anything.
It wasn't until there was a bang and a puff of smoke up at the head table that anyone had any idea of what the group may have been waiting for.
They all looked towards the noise, and started laughing. Where a moment earlier Dumbledore had been sitting, there was now a rather shocked goat. He had a long goatee that reached to the floor, and horns that curled slightly at the tips.
After a few minutes, Minerva finally managed to control her laughter enough to stand up. "Calm down, everyone, please!" It didn't work. The entire Hall was laughing loudly at the headmaster, and wouldn't be stopping any time soon.
Minerva shrugged and sat back down, glancing over at Snape who was sitting next to her. The Defense professor wasn't laughing, but his eyes were amused, and there was a constant twitching of his lips, so Minerva knew it was taking all of his restraint to hold back. "Well, I tried," she muttered, chuckling under her breath.
Snape nodded austerely. "It was a commendable effort," he replied.
It took another fifteen minutes for people to calm down enough to pick themselves up off the floor. Dumbledore had apparently had enough after ten minutes, and had cantered quite quickly down the aisle and out of the Hall, something that only once more set off those who had been close to getting themselves under control.
Finally, the room started to empty out, as people left for their common rooms or other parts of the castle, still chuckling about the wonderful prank, and wondering who had done it and how they had managed to get something that big passed the headmaster. No one had been oblivious to the number of pranks that had been played on Dumbledore over the last week, and were enjoying it immensely.
When the Great Hall was nearly empty, Minerva removed herself from the head table under the pretense of going to get some grading done. She passed by the Gryffindor table, where Harry and his friends were all still congregated, now eating ice cream sundaes like nothing had happened. Harry had to stop himself from smiling when Minerva muttered under her breath as she passed, "Fifteen points to each of you for your excellent potions work."
None of them reacted, knowing that if Dumbledore got actual proof of their involvement, he would insist on punishing them. Under the table, Harry reached a hand out to Blaise, who was sitting next to him. Blaise smirked and slapped his hand. The goat idea had been his, after all.
XXX
Albus sat at his desk in the early hours of the morning, doing something he had done quite frequently over the last few years. Thinking about Harry Potter. While he didn't have any evidence, he was certain that the boy was behind the multitude of bad luck he had experienced over the last week. He had spent the entire day yesterday as a goat, for Merlin's sake!
He knew Harry was upset with him, but why couldn't the child just see that he was trying to do what was right?
Harry was essential to winning this war, but only Albus had the key to destroying Voldemort, once and for all. But how could he guide Harry if the boy wouldn't listen to him?
For the first time, Albus considered the possibility that maybe he was going about this the wrong way. He recalled Harry's challenge for him to look at the report from Poppy. What could be so bad that Harry would carry that much hate around? Albus was glad that Harry had his friends to focus on, since he knew just what that hate could do to a person, if they didn't learn to let it go. He worried a little, regardless of how happy Harry seemed, because that anger could be dangerous.
Sighing wearily, he picked up his wand and fingered it for a moment, remembering the moment he won it from Gelert Grindelwald, all those years ago. The wand was Elder, its core from the tail of a Thestral, a remarkably difficult substance to work with. He had taken it from his old friend, and through the years, tamed it somewhat. Oh yes, this wand had left a bloody trail across the pages of history. The Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny, the legend went that it was won by killing its previous master. Albus knew that wasn't true, the previous master only had to be defeated. Gellert was still alive, and had lived in the prison he had built for his enemies, ever since that final battle fifty-odd years ago.
He drew himself out of his morose thoughts, and sent of a Patronus to Poppy, hoping she would respond quickly.
A few minutes later, he looked up and smiled, forcing himself to act the part of the enigmatic headmaster. "Come in, Poppy."
The mediwitch entered and closed the door behind her. "You wished to speak with me, Albus?" she asked, and he knew he wasn't imagining the thread of hostility in her voice. He hadn't really spoken much with her in the last few years. Not since Harry had moved in with Minerva and Sirius, actually. Whenever they did interact, she always seemed to be forcing herself to remain civil.
He nodded genially. "Thank you for your swiftness, Poppy, please, take a seat."
The healer did so cautiously, and waited for the headmaster to tell her why she was here.
Albus cleared his throat. "I wondered if you could give me some insight to a situation you responded to almost four years ago."
Poppy frowned. "You want to know what happened when Mr. Potter ran away from his… relatives." Albus raised an eyebrow minutely at the venom in the woman's voice when she spat out the word 'relatives' like it was the vilest concept there was.
Nevertheless, he nodded slightly. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, Poppy."
Poppy pursed her lips, before inclining her head. "Perhaps it will do you some good. I will have the documents delivered to you."
She stood up abruptly and was gone before Albus managed to do more than blink.
True to her word, less than ten minutes later, a house elf popped into his office with a stack of parchment.
"Mistress Poppy asked Dinko to deliver this," the elf said, holding out the parchment.
Albus smiled and nodded his thanks, taking the stack in his hands. The elf popped away, and the headmaster settled into his seat, surprised at the thickness of the sheaf of parchment.
Shrugging slightly, he began to read.
It was shocking. He had really thought that the Dursleys were the best option. Yes, he had known that they were not listed on the Potter Will as potential guardians, and he had known that Lily did not get along with her sister, but the Blood Wards made up for any misgivings.
His frown deepened as he read of a broken arm at the age of two, two broken ribs at four, scar tissue that had developed around five, six separate concussions over the years, broken leg, broken wrist, more broken ribs, more scarring…
His complexion became steadily paler as he read down the list. Surely the Dursleys couldn't be responsible for all of this? The Blood Wards should have stopped anyone with ill intent from harming Harry.
… No they wouldn't, he realized with a start. The Wards would have prevented anyone with ill will towards the family from coming on the premise. But if the monsters were already inside, they would have done nothing.
What had Albus done? He had tried to protect Harry, and instead, had fed him to the wolves. He had thought he was doing what was best, but what if Harry, and Minerva, and Sirius were right? Perhaps he hadn't gone about it the right way. He really thought that removing Harry from the wizarding world following the attack at Godric's Hollow would protect Harry from the remaining Death Eaters, while at the same time allowing the boy to grow up free from the fame.
He could admit to himself that he also did not want Harry to get too big a head. He remembered what James was like as a student, and he did not want Harry to be like that. He didn't want Harry to think he was entitled.
… Perhaps he also wanted Harry to be willing to lay down his life for the cause…
Guiltily, he realized that was the case. He had known for quite some time – since the first time Harry had told him about the pains in his scar, if he was being honest – about the horcrux that resided in the teenager's head. Had he been setting Harry up from the beginning to believe that his life was only measured in its ability to bring about Voldemort's downfall? Did he ever care about Harry as a person?
Of course he did, the stubborn part of his mind insisted. He wanted to keep Harry safe!
Or perhaps, the rebellious voice countered, he had just been concerned with keeping Harry alive until he could march to his death.
Stop it, he said firmly to himself. These thoughts would get him nowhere. The prophecy said that Harry would be the one to fight Voldemort, and Albus would make sure that happened. Everyone was wrong. He cared about Harry. He had to.
Didn't he?