Chapter 2: Here, There, and Everywhere
Harry stood very still with his eyes closed tight. He felt nothing and he briefly wondered if the severing curse had sheared off all the nerve endings in his legs along with the limbs themselves. But it couldn't be so, he thought. He was still standing up…
Cautiously opening his eyes, Harry was almost immediately overcome with a wave of exhaustion so fierce, he swayed on his feet. He blew out a troubled breath, thankful that he still had feet. A quick check proved that all of his visible limbs were still intact.
Sinking down to his knees, Harry lifted his head to make sure the curse hadn't passed him and hit Moody. The clear, starry sky startled him and he scrambled back to his feet immediately. He was outside.
There was some sort of decrepit machine a few feet from Harry's right, which he quickly identified as a cooler. He was standing on a dark, tarred surface that looked for all the world like the top of a roof. Harry blinked in confusion.
He could see a low wall about thirty feet in front of him. With his wand still in his hand, he crept forward quietly. He knelt down in front of it before peeking over the edge. Looking down, he could see a paved commons beneath him, with a jungle gym and a short football field roughly drawn in chalk.
Even with the scant light provided by the moon, Harry immediately recognized his location. It was a very long time ago, but Harry distinctly remembered being chased by Dudley and his friends at his old school before closing his eyes and finding himself inexplicably on the roof of the school kitchens. Looking over to his left, Harry saw the old brick chimney that he had appeared on at the time.
Standing up and lowering his wand, Harry wondered what was going on. Had he been knocked unconscious? Was he dreaming?
Peering back over the ledge, Harry estimated it was about a twenty-five foot drop. He remembered quite clearly that one of the teachers had to call the fire department last time he was up here since there was no way down without a ladder. Of course, he was twice the size now that he had been then, but a twenty-five foot drop onto pavement would still present a major problem.
He sighed and backed away from the ledge to think. When he was a young boy, he had been so surprised and confused to find himself up here. Now he understood that it must have been a burst of uncontrolled magic. He wondered whether he had somehow managed to apparate.
A soft hoot startled him, and he turned around to see his beautiful owl Hedwig land on the cooler and look at him curiously.
"Oh, Hedwig," Harry said. He was terribly relieved to see his loyal friend. "How did you find me?"
Hedwig cocked her head as if his question was silly, and he grinned at her in response. "Right, sorry. I'm glad to see you, Hedwig."
Puffing out her feathers, Hedwig lifted her wings and swept off her perch, alighting gently on his shoulder. Harry winced as her talons sunk into his muscle through his thin t-shirt.
Hedwig adjusted her position until she was firmly perched and Harry stroked her feathers absently as he considered what to do. "Do you reckon you could lift me and carry me down like Fawkes?" he asked her cheekily.
Hedwig didn't seem to find this amusing and puffed her chest out imperiously.
"Sorry, sorry," he muttered. A sudden thought occurred to him. "Did you come from the house? Is everyone all right? What's happening?"
Hedwig hooted softly in response to his rapid-fire questions, but that did nothing to quell his sudden anxiety. He needed to get back to Privet Drive.
Harry strode back to the wall and peered down. He supposed he could try to levitate himself, but he had never done so before. He could levitate people, but controlling them was another issue altogether. Locomotor Mortis would levitate a person along behind the caster, but at a set height, and there would be no one to control where he was going if he was the one being levitated.
Different forms of Leviosa could levitate an object, and although he had never tested it, he imagined it would work on a person. But again, he would have no way to control his descent. He could banish himself over the wall, but if he attempted to banish himself to the ground, it was more than likely he would end up careening into the pavement face-first.
Harry considered conjuring a length of rope that he could tie to a pipe and then use to climb down, but his confidence in the strength of his conjured objects was not high. He would not risk his rope melting beneath his hands while he was halfway down.
After speculation, Harry decided a cushioning charm might be his best bet.
A sinking feeling began to curl around inside his stomach as another problem occurred to him. Even if he had the most perfect spell in the world to get himself down, he wouldn't be allowed to cast it due to the underage magic restriction. The same restriction that he had broken earlier when he sent whoever it was in his kitchen crashing into the basement and then later conjured a mirror.
He wondered if he had a letter from Mafalda Hopkirk at the Improper Use of Magic Office waiting for him at the house. He hoped that the fact that he was defending his home would keep him from having his wand snapped, but he assumed that now that the danger had passed, the laws would be in effect as usual.
Harry sighed and settled down to sit with his back against the low wall. He stretched his legs out in front of himself and stared absently at the length of skin at his ankles where his trousers were too short to cover. His mind was racing with thoughts of what had happened. Harry could not fathom why Mundungus was in the house. Perhaps he had seen the Death Eater breaking in and had come to help? But thinking back now, he could not be sure that the figure he had seen was a Death Eater. Harry winced and hoped he hadn't blown the floor out from under an Order member.
Once again, he began to smooth his fingers over Hedwig's feathers while he thought. Turning his head sideways, he watched her preen out of the corner of his eye. It suddenly occurred to him that he could use her to send a message to someone for help.
He stood up so abruptly that she flew off his shoulder, startled, and landed on the wall. "Hedwig! Can you get a message to Dumbledore for me? I just need-oh, sod it! I don't have anything to write with."
Harry pressed the tops of his fists against his forehead in frustration. He could conjure a pen and parchment, but he would run into the same magic restriction that he would have with any other spell.
If there were Death Eaters at his house, he had to believe that the Order members would already be subduing them. However, this thought did little to settle his nerves. What if there were too many of them? What if there were more attacks taking place? Thoughts of Ron and Hermione's homes being invaded swirled in his mind.
"Oh, bugger it all," he muttered, making a decision. "Let them expel me."
Harry leaned over the wall again and peered down. The moon provided plenty of light to see the ground below him, and he took careful aim with his wand. He concentrated hard to put as much power as possible into his spell. "Insolidus!"
The ground where his wand was pointed seemed to swell towards him for a moment before settling and looking just as it had before. Satisfied, Harry stepped up onto the ledge and jumped.
~: --------------------------- :~
With the ground rushing up the meet him, the 25-foot fall seemed to only take a fraction of a second. When his trainers hit the pavement, he felt the earth beneath him depress under his weight, and he sunk in nearly to his knees before the ground snapped back like a rubber band.
The force behind it expelled Harry nine feet back into the air and he wind-milled his arms wildly as he found himself flying forward. He landed with a heavy thump on his side and the wind was knocked out of him. His hands and chin scraped hard against the pavement, and his spectacles skittered out into the darkness.
Harry groaned as he pulled himself into a sitting position and worked to even his breathing. The potency behind his cushioning charm had obviously been a little much. He spared a moment of regret for not conjuring a rope.
Harry stood up and slapped at his trousers to free them of dirt before looking around for his spectacles. Seeing the moonlight reflecting off the lens behind him, he picked them up and set them back on his face. The thin, wire frames had been severely bent, and one lens was sitting considerably higher than the other. Sighing, he plucked them off again and held them in front of his wand before pausing. He imagined that he might be able to explain using the cushioning charm to the Ministry, but a Reparo would probably seem frivolous. Harry decided not to push his luck and he bent the frames back as best he could with his hands.
Replacing his spectacles, he looked up to see Hedwig on the jungle gym, staring at him in concern. "Go home," he ordered. "I'll meet you there."
Harry jogged over to the front gate of the school and quickly scaled the bars, dropping down on the other side. He broke out running as soon as his feet hit the pavement.
Navigating his way through the empty streets at a dead run, Harry considered what he should do when he made it home. He had confidence that Moody, Dung, and whoever else had been on duty tonight had taken care of the problem, but there was always the possibility that returning to the house might be a trap. He supposed he would make up his mind about what to do when he got there.
His long stride ate up the distance between the school and Privet Drive a lot faster than he remembered from childhood. He paused at the corner of his quiet street and gripped his wand tighter.
"I'm thoroughly relieved to see you are all right, Harry."
Harry started at the voice behind him and turned to see Dumbledore - wearing garish purple robes and a tall, thin hat - standing quite serenely in the center of Privet Drive.
"Your disappearance caused quite a stress on this old man's heart," he continued. His eyes squinted fractionally as he took in the state of Harry's face. "But it appears you did not return from your ordeal unscathed."
Dumbledore's wand appeared in his hand and Harry stood mutely as his headmaster cleaned his face and fixed his spectacles with two simple flicks.
"Professor Dumbledore, what happened?" Harry asked anxiously. He glanced back over his shoulder at his house down the street, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. His wand was still clenched tight in his hand. "Was it Death Eaters?"
Dumbledore sighed and his face became grave. "You will be relieved to hear that it was not. I believe we both have a number of questions that need answering tonight. Perhaps we should return to your house to discuss them? There are others there who are anxious to see you, as well."
Harry frowned at this response, but didn't put up a protest. Dumbledore placed his hand on Harry's shoulder and they walked quietly side-by-side back to Number 4. Harry's stomach churned with confusing emotions at being so near his headmaster again after that fateful day in his office when the Prophecy was revealed. It seemed like ages ago.
When they reached the footwalk leading to his front door, Harry stopped and turned towards Dumbledore with a serious look. "Professor, I-," he said haltingly before pausing. Looking up at the headmaster, Harry straightened his back. He wasn't going to be made to feel like a misbehaving child over this. He continued in a stronger voice. "I've done magic. At least three spells tonight."
Dumbledore regarded him with a sad smile. "Your use of magic this evening is understandable. I'm confident we will be able to smooth things over with the Ministry without much delay. Their position concerning you has changed greatly as of late."
Harry nodded and the knots in his stomach uncurled slightly. Turning back towards the house, he discovered the door had already been returned to its hinges and looked as it always has.
Striding forward, Harry wrapped his hand around the doorknob and stepped inside.
A cacophony of noise greeted his entrance, and he was immediately set upon by Remus who looked as tired and anxious as Harry had ever seen him.
"Harry! Thank Merlin you're all right," Remus declared, gripping his shoulder tightly. "What in the world happened? Where have you been?"
Mrs. Weasley appeared out of nowhere and nearly suffocated him in a hug. Harry stared down at the top of her head awkwardly. "Oh, Harry dear! Oh, it's so good to see you safe!" She nattered on with more soothing nonsense for a short while before stepping back and placing her hands gently on his cheeks. "Goodness! You look a fright! I'll floo home and have one of the boys send over some salve for that scrape. You poor, poor dear!"
She gave Harry another fierce hug that he endured mutely before bustling off, presumably to use the floo.
Dumbledore stepped inside behind him and nodded towards the lounge. Taking the nonverbal cue, Harry followed Remus down the hall. He slowed when he reached the entryway to the kitchen where he had blown a massive hole in the floor earlier. There was not a single mark to betray that it had been a gaping, crumbling pit not an hour before.
Noticing his look, Dumbledore smiled down at Harry, his eyes twinkling madly. "Ah, magic is a wonderful thing, is it not? I must confess, this particular repair took a bit more exertion than usual."
Looking past the pristine floor into the kitchen, Harry was surprised to see the pale, stony faces of his relatives. They were all sitting stiffly at the kitchen table in their nightclothes. Vernon's face turned a bright purple when he saw his nephew and Dudley was fidgeting nervously. Harry turned his gaze towards his Aunt and found her staring back at him with an unnerving intensity.
Kingsley Shacklebolt was standing quietly in the corner with his arms crossed and his wand pressed against his bicep. He nodded at Harry silently.
Harry turned away and continued into the lounge. The lights were all on and Moody, Mr. Weasley, Arabella Figg, and Professor McGonagall were sitting anxiously on assorted pieces of furniture. He assumed some of the extra chairs must have been conjured.
Remus sat down on the couch and offered Harry a tired smile.
"Good to see you still have all your bits, lad," Moody commented, standing and limping into the center of the room with his magical eye spinning strangely. "Thought he might've taken a chunk out of your hide."
Harry blinked at the ex-auror. "I thought he might've, too."
Moody nodded slowly. "Aye, the curse took out a bit of the foyer when you did your little disappearing trick," he muttered. He seemed to be considering Harry very closely. "Good instincts, that. I don't know exactly what you did, but it's always best to avoid a curse altogether if you can. Shield spells don't always work the way you expect!"
"Yes, it's quite fortunate that you were not injured, Harry," Dumbledore said, giving Moody an unreadable look. "A severing curse is a very dangerous spell. It is also fortunate that Alastor was able to conjure a shield for his own protection."
Moody snorted in response, rolling his magical eye. "Fortunate, my arse."
Dumbledore moved to the center of the room and conjured two velvet-backed chairs with a flick of his wand. He sat in one and gestured towards the other. "Please have a seat, Harry. I'm sure you must be tired and we still have much to discuss."
Harry felt a flicker of annoyance at the subtle order, but it faded quickly. The rage he had felt at the headmaster that day in his office had drained away to a dull ache. He knew Dumbledore had been put in an awful situation and had tried to do the best he could. He had made mistakes - terrible mistakes - but so had Harry. The future was looking particularly bleak as of late, and he knew that he would need Dumbledore's help in the coming months.
He sat down quietly and rubbed his palms against his trouser legs, careful not to aggravate his scrapes. He looked over to his right to see Mrs. Weasley kneeling in front of the fireplace fiddling with the electric controls in confusion.
Dumbledore followed his gaze. "Ah, Molly, the fireplace in this home is a modern version that runs on electricity. A most ingenious invention! Alas, it is also not connected to the floo network under ordinary circumstances due to security concerns. I'm afraid you will have to wait until we return to Arabella's home before you can retrieve your salve."
Mrs. Weasley did not seem pleased at this and pursed her lips. She looked as if she wanted desperately to run over to Mrs. Figg's house immediately, but Mr. Weasley stood up and led her quietly to a loveseat where she sat down with obvious reluctance. She glared quite heatedly at Moody when she passed him, but he didn't seem to take any notice.
Harry's curiosity could no longer be contained. "Right… so what happened, then? Who was that man in the hood? And what was Dung doing here? Is he all right?"
"I should hope he isn't!" Remus growled. Several other people nodded their heads in agreement.
Dumbledore sighed and rubbed his beard wearily. "I'm afraid that Mundungus and an… associate of his entered your house tonight during his watch in an attempt to relieve your relatives of some of their possessions. Nymphadora has taken them both to a secure location until I can speak with him."
Harry could not believe what he was hearing. "Are you telling me that Dung and that hooded bloke broke in here to rob us?" he asked darkly.
"Yes, I believe that is indeed the case," Dumbledore replied. "I assume he did not expect you to be awake at such a late hour."
Mrs. Weasley looked as if she were about to fly into a rage and Mr. Weasley patted her hand awkwardly. "How could he even think of doing such a thing to Harry?" she blustered. "Oh! That horrible man! "
Remus looked even angrier, if such a thing were possible. "How is it that thief is even still allowed anywhere near Harry, let alone on watch, Dumbledore? His incompetence last year nearly got Harry killed. And again tonight!"
Dumbledore looked pained and closed his eyes briefly before answering. "I believed Mundungus to be sincerely contrite over his actions last year. The Order has been stretched quite thin as of late, and I thought it wise to give him an opportunity to redeem himself. Obviously, I have made a grievous error."
"An error?" Remus roared. Harry stared at him in shock. He had never seen the normally mild-mannered werewolf in such a state.
Dumbledore regarded him calmly. "Even I make mistakes, Remus."
"What's going to happen to him then?" Harry asked. "Is he going to be arrested by the Ministry?"
"I'm afraid that is not possible, Harry," Dumbledore replied quietly. "Mundungus must remain amongst the Order."
Remus shot to his feet. "You can't be serious! Why do you insist on protecting that scum?"
"Remus, please! Calm down this instant!" Professor McGonagall snapped. "You're not helping."
Remus looked instantly contrite and sat down grudgingly. Harry bit back a smile. Professor McGonagall had a way of making you feel like a little boy no matter how old you were.
"Despite his unfavourable characteristics, Mundungus provides a service to the Order that no other member can offer," Dumbledore explained. "He has contact with and conducts business amongst the less savoury element of the wizarding world. These contacts provide us with information directly relating to dark activity. This information has been invaluable on more than one occasion. I assure you he will no longer be permitted through the wards of this home and he will no longer be privy to any sensitive information. Additionally, I've instructed Severus to prepare Veritaserum for the purpose of discerning if he has already compromised any of our secrets in any way. I will administer the serum myself when I visit him tonight."
"It might be wise to question all the members under Veritaserum every once in a while. Best to not take any chances this time around," Moody put in. His magical eye swiveled around the room to examine everyone as if he were judging their trustworthiness himself.
"Honestly, Alastor. You are as paranoid as ever!" McGonagall retorted.
"Better paranoid than dead," he muttered coolly.
"I do not believe that to be necessary, Alastor," Dumbledore responded seriously. "The people in this room have proven themselves to be quite trustworthy. The possibility of betrayal weighs heavily on all of us, but we've taken a number of precautions this time around to prevent such a tragedy."
"What sort of precautions?" Harry questioned crossly. He wasn't feeling terribly confident in the Order after having a member attempt to steal off into the night with his Aunt and Uncle's silverware earlier in the evening.
He thought briefly of Peter Pettigrew and clenched his fists. A quick glance at Remus showed that his former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was clearly thinking along the same lines.
Mr. Weasley decided to answer. "Many things have changed since we've reconvened, Harry. The people in this room are only a small part of the Order, one that Dumbledore has entrusted with the most - er, sensitive information concerning you and the Order's goals. We all know where you live, for example, and we can all pass through the wards here. The majority of the Order works in the periphery, being given assignments without knowing exactly what their purpose is, or what anyone else in the Order is doing. It's also a secret from each member exactly who else is in the Order. That way, if one of us is captured or betrays the group - Merlin forbid! - they will not be able to give away any truly harmful secrets."
Dumbledore nodded politely in agreement. "There are a few other members who are able to pass through the wards here, and with whom you may trust sensitive information: Nymphadora Tonks, Bill and Charlie Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Severus Snape, Emmaline Vance, and, of course, Filius Flitwick, who cast many of these wards himself nearly 15 years ago.
There are many other members in the Order who are risking their lives to help us achieve our goals, several of whom you had occasion to meet last year. Their duty and service is essential to our operation. However, it is only those whom I have named that are knowledgeable of our most guarded secrets. It is my sincere hope that these precautions will allow us to operate without such fear of duplicity."
Harry looked rather ill at the prospect of Snape having access to his house, but he pushed that thought aside. "If only a select group of people are able to pass through the wards here, how did Dung manage it? Not to mention his friend? I'm assuming that he must be allowed through because he was one of my minders, but how did the other bloke get in? How exactly do the wards work?"
"Your 'minders'? Dear me, is that the term you use for them, Harry?" Dumbledore asked softly. Harry favoured him with a long look and the headmaster sighed in response. "You are correct that Mundungus was given access through the wards so he would be able to reach you in the event that you needed assistance. The wards are quite intricate, with a complicated mechanism. If a Death Eater were to learn of your address, he could walk up and down this street for years without ever finding your house."
"Like the Fidelius charm?" Harry interjected.
"It is a derivative of that charm, yes, but not exactly like it. Your mother's research into the Fidelius Charm has been an extraordinary boon to us over the years, and a tribute to her legacy. But no, it doesn't work exactly like a true Fidelius," the headmaster explained. "You see, Harry, the circumstances of this home made it impossible to cast the charm in its normal manner. When it is erected, the house it is protecting vanishes from view. This is not a problem with a wizarding home, since only wizards and witches would care to enter, and even then, only those who were told of its location by a secret keeper.
"However, you live in a muggle home, and your relatives have lives that had to be taken into account. If your house disappeared from view, their friends and neighbours would never be able to call upon them. Any post they were sent would, of course, go undelivered. It would be unconscionable to ask it of them. Also, it was quite clear after observing them that they would respond to such an overtly magical intrusion in their lives by reneging on the blood-pact forged between your mother and your aunt. This, of course, would be unacceptable.
"Professor Flitwick and myself instead devised a series of layered wards which would not only hide you from the many who were searching quite relentlessly for your location to satisfy their own curiosity, but also protect you from witches or wizards who would wish to cause you harm. The blood protection created by your aunt and mother provided an excellent base for these wards. They have held exactly as we had hoped, and will continue to hold until your 17th birthday."
Harry noticed that nearly everyone else in the room seemed as absorbed by this explanation as he was. Something niggled at him, however. "Wait…. you said the wards would protect me from witches or wizards who want to cause me harm. What about muggles?"
Dumbledore peered down at Harry through his spectacles with a surprised but pleased look. "Very perceptive, Harry. Yes, there is indeed a distinction between muggles and wizards pertaining to the wards. If a non-magical being wished you harm, they would not be deterred."
Mrs. Weasley looked aghast at this. "How can that be allowed?"
"Our reasoning was such that a non-magical person would simply have no interest in Harry, and neither Voldemort nor his Death Eaters would ever seek to employ one."
She looked rather unconvinced. "How can you be so certain of that?"
Harry answered before he could respond. "They don't think of muggles as people, or even tools. They're less than beasts to them. Dumbledore is right… I don't think the idea would even occur to a Death Eater."
"That is my thinking exactly, Harry," Dumbledore said quietly. "Despite this, we have maintained a watch on your home all of the years you have been here, as an extra precaution. Arabella was installed in a nearby house to monitor your safety, and her kneazles have been patrolling Privet Drive since you were an infant."
"Her kneazles?" Harry murmured, looking over at Arabella Figg who was smiling at him affectionately. "So that's how you knew what happened with the Dementors last year? You mentioned a 'Mr. Tibbies'. That cat…?"
Mrs. Figg puffed up proudly and nodded. "That's right! Mr. Tibbies is quite dedicated to his work! He warned me as soon as he spotted trouble."
"Extraordinary creatures, kneazles!" Professor McGonagall added. "They are exceptionally intelligent. They are also usually overlooked due to their rather ordinary appearance. This makes them ideal spies."
Harry wondered whether Professor McGonagall, whose animagus form was a cat, might be a bit biased towards the creatures. Then again, Crookshanks seemed to be that clever and then some.
"None of this explains how Dung's friend got into the house, though," Harry stated, getting back to his original topic. "He wasn't a muggle. He had a wand."
Dumbledore nodded and again stroked his fingers through his beard. "Yes, yes. When a person who is not allowed through the wards is accompanied by someone who is, the wards allow them to pass. It is how we were able to bring such a large guard contingent to your home last summer following the Dementor attack. Without their escort, those members who were not normally allowed through the wards would not be able to find this house, nor name its location, despite their having been here previously."
"So because Dung was allowed, he only had to walk in with his friend for him to be admitted, too," Harry stated.
Remus looked like he was about to start another rant. Harry was again surprised by his fury. He could not recall a single instance before this night that he had seen the werewolf truly lose his temper. "It is a disgrace he was not removed from the wards last year! How is it-"
"Professor Lupin-" Harry interrupted. He didn't need people standing up for him when he was perfectly capable of doing so himself. "I can fight my own battles."
Remus seemed startled by this and looked at Harry quite seriously for a long moment. "Yes. Yes, of course. Forgive me, Harry."
Harry smiled at him tiredly and shook his head. "It's all right, it's just- we still have a lot to talk about."
"You're right," he replied. His lip ticked up in an answering smile. "But please call me Remus from now on."
Harry felt rather uncomfortable and made a small noise of protest. "Err…"
Moody stomped his wooden leg on the floor suddenly, and half the people in the room jumped at the unexpected sound. "That seems like asking for trouble to me, having a security hole that lets unknowns past the wards!"
"It relies on the people who are allowed through the wards knowing who should or should not enter. I've made it clear that no one is permitted to bring another person through these wards without my knowledge, except under the most extreme circumstances," Dumbledore responded evenly. "I will reiterate this point with the utmost ardor during our next meeting. Now, I believe we should move on. We've established Mundungus's unfortunate motive for being in the house. Harry, would you please detail from your own perspective what transpired this evening?"
Harry nodded and carefully described his cleaning of the attic, and the scraping noise that had alerted him. He talked about seeing the shadowed figure enter the house and his own belief that it was a Death Eater. When he recounted how he had blown the hole through the floor underneath the man, Moody interrupted him.
"An impressive bit of magic that was, lad! It takes a lot of power to blow a hole that size through a solid floor. A lot of power, indeed, and it certainly knocked the one out of the fight," he stated before leveling Harry a dark look. "But where was your head? The noise brought the other one right to ya!"
Harry bristled at the criticism. "I didn't realise there were two of them! I only saw the one."
"Constant vigilance!" Moody barked immediately. Harry cringed, knowing he had walked right into that. "Where there's one Death Eater, there's bound to be more!"
Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes at the ex-auror's histrionics. "There was a notation on your O.W.L. results that you were quite adept at stunning spells, Mr. Potter. Why did you decide not to use one in this instance?"
Harry was surprised to hear that his O.W.L.s had already been graded, and that his teachers had been made aware of his results. He wondered if he would be receiving them soon. Harry considered asking her how he had done, but decided to stick to the matter at hand… he wasn't sure he wanted to know. "It was dark and I didn't want to miss. The floor seemed like an easier target."
"Stunning spells don't always get the job done, anyway," Moody muttered. "If you only get to stunning people in a real combat situation, you'll be dealing with the same enemies all night when they cast ennervate on one another."
Harry remembered this exact same phenomenon happening during the disastrous raid on the Department of Mysteries and he nodded solemnly.
"Please continue, Harry," Dumbledore instructed.
Harry dutifully recounted how he had heard the voice in the lounge and ducked behind the end table for cover. His description of the hand mirror that he had conjured to see the hallway without exposing himself earned a favourable nod from Moody. Finally, he detailed the ex-auror's sudden appearance, and his stepping in between Dung and Moody in an effort to stop their spell casting.
Moody thumped his wooden leg against the ground again. "Foolish stunt you pulled there, lad! He nearly cut you in two! Never jump in front of a live wand!"
"It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't blown the door down and startled the both of us!" Harry defended heatedly. "Can't your eye see through solid objects? Why didn't you just look through the door at what was going on and then open it like a normal person?"
Moody regarded him silently for a moment. "Aye, that it does! And I knew Mundungus wasn't supposed to be there, not to mention the unknown who was out cold in the basement! If someone is acting like a dark wizard, best to treat them like a dark wizard! And Mundungus was acting like a dark wizard!"
Harry worked to hold in his temper. He finished describing how he had seen the spell erupt from the wand, and how he knew they were too close together for him to have time to cast a shield spell. He trailed off with a vague explanation of how he had closed his eyes and when he opened them… found himself somewhere else.
Dumbledore looked quite thoughtful at this and slid his spectacles further up his nose with a push of his finger. "And what do you believe happened, Harry?"
Harry scratched at his chin in thought before wincing when he brushed one of his scrapes. "Well, it seemed like… I apparated," he explained haltingly. "But Professor, I thought this house had anti-apparition wards placed?"
"There are indeed, Harry. The anti-apparition wards extend 150 feet in every direction from the house and prevent people from apparating either in or out," Dumbledore stated. Harry noticed that behind his glasses, his eyes were twinkling madly again. "The wards here are tied to several instruments in my office, and when you cast your reductor spell, I received a warning and notified the other members. Alastor was the closest and the first to arrive at your home. I arrived only moments after, but you had already disappeared. When I questioned him, Alastor reported the events that had taken place. What he described did indeed sound like apparition… which I'm sure you can imagine, concerned me greatly. I took the initiative to test the anti-apparition wards immediately to verify that they were down. They were not, Harry."
Harry sat back in his chair in confusion and noticed that the others in the room seemed to look as bewildered as he felt.
"What do you mean, they weren't down? Then how did he apparate?" Mrs. Weasley questioned anxiously.
"An excellent question!" Dumbledore replied, beaming. "Harry, do you have any ideas?"
Harry stared at him blankly, quite confused why Dumbledore would think he had any clue what had happened.
"Harry, when searching for an answer to a problem, one needs simply to eliminate all the answers that cannot be true. The only one left when you've discarded all others must be the correct answer, no matter how unlikely," the headmaster hinted gently.
Harry furrowed his brow in thought. "So, if the anti-apparition wards were functioning correctly but I was still able to pass through them, then I suppose it must mean that… I didn't apparate."
Dumbledore nodded at him brightly and looked very pleased. "Yes, Harry. That is the only conclusion we can arrive at."
"But what did he do, then? He disappeared in one place and appeared in another. That is the very definition of apparition!" Professor McGonagall asked, staring at Harry in askance.
"Ah, but that is another question entirely and one I am afraid I have no answer for."
Harry sat back dejectedly, not having noticed that he had been leaning forward in his seat in anticipation of hearing the headmaster's response.
"Where did you go when you disappeared, Harry? And how did you injure yourself?" Remus asked suddenly.
Harry appeared slightly embarrassed. "I ended up on the roof of my old primary school. I misjudged the trip down a little. It's just a few scrapes, though."
Arabella Figg stared at him in surprise. "The school on Oak Drive? But… why? You had such an awful time there."
"I'm not sure," Harry answered slowly. "Actually, it happened to me once before."
"What happened to you before, Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"That I appeared on the roof of that school - it happened once before," Harry stated. Everyone in the room appeared interested in this, so he elaborated reluctantly. "I was being chased by Dudley and his little gang when I was about eight. They ran me down a dead-end at the school and I closed my eyes, hoping they wouldn't find me. When I opened them, I was on the roof."
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips and muttered something about 'the worst sort of muggles'. After a moment of thought, she straightened up and addressed the headmaster. "Albus, do you have any theories?"
Dumbledore smiled gently in response. "I always have theories, Minerva," he stated mysteriously. "Harry, you and I might discuss this further another night. I think it would be best if we could meet once a week privately. During that time, we can converse with each other about whatever may be on our minds and continue your training and preparation. Would this be agreeable to you?"
Harry marveled internally at how much had changed. A year ago, he would have barely been able to contain his excitement at an offer like this. Being able to meet with Dumbledore would have allowed him to keep abreast of any news involving Voldemort or his Death Eaters and the prospect of new training outside of the normal - and generally disappointing - curriculum would also have been welcome. But now, he found that his excitement was tempered, at best. His seclusion from the wizarding world had been a welcome, if temporary, relief for once. He wasn't sure how he felt about going back to it. His agreement was reluctant, but if Dumbledore noticed, he didn't let on.
"Excellent! I will send Fawkes tomorrow with the details of our first meeting. Now, it is rather late and I believe it would be best to conclude. The events of this evening were certainly disturbing, but I'm sure we can all agree that they could have turned out much worse. And Harry, I must once again apologise for my oversight concerning Mundungus. I will be dealing with him tonight."
Harry gave him a long look but said nothing.
Professor Dumbledore nodded as if expecting this non-response before standing up. "You conducted yourself quite admirably tonight, Harry. My confidence in you has only grown each day I am in your company."
Harry coloured a little at the unexpected praise. The rest of the room followed the headmaster's example and soon all the conjured chairs had disappeared and the group began making its way to the door. Harry was stopped along the way by a hand on his shoulder. He looked behind him to see Remus staring at him with an unreadable look.
"How are you really doing, Harry?" he asked quietly. "And I don't just mean because of tonight."
"Fine," Harry answered automatically. He could see Remus was not satisfied with this, though, and his shoulders slumped. If anyone deserved to know the truth, it was Remus. "I miss Sirius. And I feel… foolish."
Remus shook his head and his hand tightened on Harry's shoulder. "I miss him, too. James and Sirius gone… I can hardly believe it. But you mustn't feel foolish, Harry. You went there to save his life. There is no action more honourable than one in defense of a friend. He would be very proud of you, of that I am certain."
Harry nodded glumly, but the familiar squeezing around his heart when he thought of Sirius didn't dissipate. "Professor Lu-"
"Remus, Harry."
"Sorry… Remus- Sirius was my godfather and I miss him more than I can say, but I'm well aware that he was also your best friend. You knew him a lot better and a lot longer than I did. I can't imagine what you must be feeling now. I'm- you can't know how sorry I am."
Before he was aware of what was happening, Harry had been pulled into a tight, long hug. He stood frozen for a moment before wrapping his arms firmly around Remus's shoulders and choking down the burning in his throat. His eyes watered and he squeezed them shut, angry at himself.
After a few minutes, they each pulled away and Harry didn't comment on the wetness beneath his former Professor's eyes. Remus nodded at him encouragingly and attempted a smile. "You have nothing to be sorry for," he said firmly. He stared across at Harry for a long moment and grinned. "Merlin, Harry, you're as tall as me now! Every time I see you, you seem a year older."
Harry shook his head, trying to collect himself.
Remus nodded absently. "Well, it's been a long night. I will write you soon. I feel I've quite neglected you in the past year, and I'm sure there's a lot for us to talk about."
Harry was genuinely happy to hear this and a true smile appeared on his face. "Thank you, Remus."
"You won't thank me when you're feeling guilty about putting off writing me back, I suspect," Remus stated knowingly. "I was a teenager once, too. Goodnight then, Harry."
With a few short goodbyes to the others and a promise from Mrs. Weasley to send over the salve in the morning, Harry was soon left with only his relatives, who marched silently past him back to their rooms. They had obviously been ordered not to bother him and he was grateful for it.
Turning off the downstairs lights, Harry followed behind them a few minutes later and returned to his room. Hedwig was waiting for him on her perch and he placed a few treats for her before settling down and drifting to sleep.