Apprentice Potter
An Interesting Meeting
By Draco664
An Interesting Meeting
Tonks and I finally managed to leave Fred and George's shop, still with our two anonymous shadows. Moody had indeed been pleased with Tonks, even going to the extraordinary lengths of not criticising her decision to take refuge, nor offering another suggested course of action. From Tonks' beaming face, I'd hazard a guess that any non-critical review from Moody was the equivalent of sheer praise from anyone else.
The two faceless aurors who Tonks spotted didn't get away anywhere near as easily. I was seriously on the verge of getting Fred to make us some popcorn, but after Moody reamed Dumbledore, his caustic remarks towards someone I didn't know didn't leave me with the same sense of satisfaction.
My disposition was much improved after our little detour, so much so that Tonks even started to relax into her usual unconcerned, bantering mode. The stroll down to Gringotts was punctuated by bouts of chuckling from both of us at her jokes and observations. By the time we reached the bank, I actually felt better than I had ever since that night.
Given how late in the afternoon it was, it appeared that Gringotts was on the verge of closing for the day. For all the bad press the goblins get for all the rebellions they participate (read initiate) in, they do put in a full days work. I made my way to the shortest queue and stood patiently as a fat old witch argued with the goblin behind the desk that she definitely had more galleons in her vault yesterday than was there today.
"This could take a while." grunted Tonks unhappily, staring daggers into the old fart's back. "Perhaps we should get into another line."
I gave her a grin. "Perhaps you are right. There must be a reason this is the shortest queue. Perhaps everyone else got the idea that she was going to be a while." I said, making no particular effort to keep my voice down.
The old witch turned on her heel and glared at me, no doubt overhearing my offhand comment. I gave her a cheeky grin.
"Young man, you had better watch your manners." she said with not a little hostility.
"Or?"
She gave me her own smile, revealing all three of her teeth. "I may be old, but I can still curse you so badly that you'd wish you were never born."
I snorted, leaned forward and whispered clearly point blank into her face. "Voldemort."
The old woman's face blanched quickly and she gave a short, startled yelp at my blasé use of Tom Riddle's pseudonym. She grabbed her bag and bolted from the bank. Tonks punched me in the arm.
"There was no need for that." she said, looking all the world as though she couldn't decide whether she should be angry or amused.
I shrugged and gestured towards the goblin behind the desk. Though I'm not an expert, he definitely had a relieved expression on his face.
"Welcome to Gringotts, my name is Halanishyurteth, but you may call me Halish. Can I help you?" he asked, rather sincerely.
I nodded. "I'd like to see my vault please, Halish." pleased at the decidedly less syllable intensive nickname.
"See?"
Huh? "Yes, I need to find out how much is left."
Halish gave me a small smile. "Do you intend to make a deposit or withdrawal?"
I frowned. "I hadn't. Why?"
The small smile turned superior. "There is no need for you to visit your vault in order to determine the balance. If you have your key, I shall determine the current balance immediately."
Ah, of course. "Thank you." I said, handing over the small key Hagrid gave to me on my eleventh birthday.
The goblin accepted the key graciously. "Thank you. Please bear with me a moment."
I watched curiously as he drew out a small, dark slate board. It was a little bigger than the palm of my hand, and it had a tiny dollop of what looked like mercury clinging to the bottom half of the face. Deftly, Halish pressed the key into the silvery material sideways, obviously imprinting the key's teeth onto the malleable substance. A few moments later, chalk numbers swirled into view on the slate.
"Hm, most curious. Mr. Potter, I presume?" he said quietly enough that it was highly unlikely that he would be overheard.
I nodded, not expecting a goblin to be so accommodating. "What is curious?"
"Your vault includes a recent inheritance, one which has not been signed for."
My anger again flashed irrationally, but Tonks gave my hand a squeeze, calming it almost instantly. "My godfather passed recently."
Halish nodded absently. "I see. This is most irregular. Normally, funds allocated from a deceased's estate are cleared for use immediately. For some reason, there has been a hold placed on your access and use of these funds."
Tonks spoke up. "We can sort that out later. My friend would like to know exactly how much he has available."
He nodded sagely, wiping the slate clean with his sleave and handing back my key. I noted with interest that the impression my key left on the silvery substance quickly faded. "All totalled, you have close to thirty thousand galleons available, though that figure will be adjusted once the hold on your inheritance has been removed. For a small fee, I can provide you with an exact breakdown of the specific number of coins in your vault if you desire, both available and held."
I shook my head. "No thank you. That is all I needed to know."
"Excellent. Thank you for your custom."
I put the key back in my pocket. "Oh, one last thing. Do you know where Bill Weasley is working?"
The goblin's expression immediately turned sour. "You are a friend of that... person?"
I couldn't stop the expression of surprise registering on my face. I had thought that Bill was pretty much universally liked. "Um, not exactly. I'm friends with his brother and an acquaintance of his girlfriend. I was just wondering if they were here, I thought I'd say hello."
Halish grunted, but raised a warty hand and pointed towards a corridor. "He and his veela are down that corridor. Sixth and eighteenth door on your right, respectively."
"Thank you." I mumbled, not a little troubled. Tonks asked the question that was on my own tongue.
"Why don't you like him?"
Halish gave her a sour look. "He is a little too lucky at cards." he said shortly, before pointedly calling out to the person behind us in the queue.
~~~
Bill laughed at my story as we left his office to go and visit Fleur and Gabrielle. "Halish is just upset that I won about two weeks pay from him a couple of days ago." he said easily.
"Won?" I asked.
Bill shrugged. "Chess. For some reason, the goblins are obsessed with the game."
I laughed loudly. "Ron would have a field day."
Bill smirked. "Who do you think taught him?"
That stopped me. Mr. Weasley, as much as I love the man, is not the most strategic thinker in the world. Mrs. Weasley is ruled by her emotions and couldn't build a strategy to save her life. I don't know much about Charlie really, and what I know of Percy would indicate that he wouldn't have had the time for Ron in the first place. Fred and George playing something that didn't explode doesn't bear thinking about. Ginny may have taught him, but she would have had to be taught in turn.
"I suppose I never really thought about it. Are you any good?"
Bill nodded. "I was pretty good before I taught Ron, but he picked it up so quickly that I soon had to improve my own game just to stay competitive. But I haven't won a game against him in years." finished Bill, stopping in front of another door. Reaching out, he gave the wooded door a quick rap.
"Oui?" came a voice, muffled by the heavy door.
Bill smirked. "You are here to work on your English, remember."
The door swung open quickly. "William!" said Fleur, throwing her arms around his neck. She released him enough to look in our direction. "Oh, 'Arry, take off those glasses." she laughed.
I nodded, removing the massive things with relief. I slipped on my own glasses, grateful to see the world in focus again. Blame Rachel." I said sourly.
Tonks hit me again. "Introduce me properly."
I rolled my eyes. "Tonks, this is Fleur Delacour. Fleur, this is, um, Tonks. Just Tonks. She doesn't have a first name. None whatsoever. Don't even ask." Under Tonks' gaze I continued. "She's an auror, and has been given the task of keeping me un-mobbed today."
Fleur covered her mouth again and giggled. An angelic young girl appeared behind Fleur, obviously unsure about the new arrivals. Fleur looked down and smiled. "Gabrielle, this is Tonks." she said, gesturing towards my bodyguard with a grin. "And I think you know this young man."
Gabrielle looked up at me, and her eyes widened. "Je vous remercie de m'avoir sauver la vie." she said softly.
Fleur smiled at her. "Do you want to say that in English?"
Gabrielle shook her head, her expression almost one of terror.
"Gabrielle's English is not, um, proficient. She is unsure of herself. She said 'Thank you for saving me."
I smiled at the young girl. "My pleasure. You look much prettier without dirty water in your hair."
She blushed ferociously, and stepped a little further behind Fleur. "Merci." she whispered.
"You know, Potter, you seem to have this effect on prepubescent girls." grinned Bill. "Can you teach me?"
I rolled my eyes, remembering how Ginny reacted when I appeared at the Burrow that morning with Ron and the twins. "Shut up, Bill." I said, feeling my face heat up.
Bill, Tonks and Fleur laughed, while Gabrielle and I blushed.
~~~
We spent a rather pleasant hour with Bill, Fleur and Gabrielle before giving our goodbyes. Though Gabrielle looked uncomfortable with me there, she did seem to be a little upset that I had to leave. Gringotts had closed before we left, so Bill escorted us to the entrance.
The trip home was uneventful, even though Tonks baited the muggle police at every chance. She'd speed past one at what felt like mach two, daring to be chased. Once the police were on her tail, she'd nip round a corner and change the outside of the car.
I honestly don't think I'd laughed as hard in a long time. By the time we'd reached Little Winging, my sides hurt just breathing. I waved goodbye to Tonks, not even letting her leave the car. As much as she has the ability to blend into whatever situation she is in, whenever grace and poise are not necessary at any rate, I wouldn't wish on her my family's bigotry.
As I walked down the short path, a faint premonition gathered in my mind. Even before I opened the front door to my relative's house, I knew I would not enjoy the reception that awaited me. An unwelcome sensation hit me as soon as I'd entered the house, that of thick tension in the air. Well, this looked like it was going to be more than moderately unpleasant.
Still, ten seconds after I closed the front door behind me I wondered why my eardrums were still intact. In the past, when something abnormal happened around me, my fault or not, I got about the amount of time it takes a fat, forty-year-old to draw a deep breath before getting a blistering sample of my Uncle's halitosis delivered at one hundred and twenty decibels. Oh, that and his projectile spittle. Ugh, that's a horrible thought. You know, since he shoves his ugly mug a few centimetres from mine whenever he shouts at me, I do believe that four of my five senses are being assaulted. Thank the gods that I don't have to lick him too.
The place was eerily silent. I fingered the end of my wand in my sleeve, noting that it was starting to become a nervous habit. Something was wrong here.
A slight clink came from the lounge. Like a cup on a saucer.
I rolled my eyes and groaned to myself. The sun was still up, though it was quite red and sinking quickly to the south-western horizon. Moody had given me until sundown, and I got here before that. Why was he here, terrorizing my relatives, already?
Feeling a little better, since I seriously doubt my Uncle would raise his voice at anything in the vicinity of a madman with a very threatening gaze, I walked into the lounge to announce my return.
Moody wasn't there.
My Aunt and Uncle were sitting with such stiff backs that I'm sure they'll be searching the phone book for local chiropractors within the hour. The coffee table had three cups of tea and a half empty pot arrayed on its glass surface. Dudley was nowhere to be seen.
Remus was sitting on the couch opposite my Aunt, staring straight at her.
"Hello Harry." he said coolly, without looking in my direction.
"Remus." I replied as I looked him over, realising that I was probably going to get into another spat with someone from the magical world. His eyes looked tired, with dark rings deepening the shadows around them. He looked haggard and drawn, even more than usual, an impression emphasized by the patched and well worn robes he wore.
I made a few mental calculations, and sighed in sympathy. The full moon was the day before yesterday. "Rough couple of nights?" I asked lightly, then winced when I realised just how that sounded.
"Rough couple of weeks." the werewolf retorted. He stood slowly, and I raised my eyebrows at how painfully thin the man was. He looked half starved.
"I think we are overdue for a chat, Harry."
I closed my eyes and took a long breath. My good mood was disappearing quickly. "Fine, but let's go up to my room." I turned to my Uncle, who looked about to burst from the strain of appearing welcoming to someone who had not three weeks ago not-so-transparently threatened him.
I turned to face my Uncle. "I'm sorry about this, but within about half an hour, Alastor Moody will be arriving here. I couldn't do anything to dissuade him, but I'll make sure he won't stay too long."
"Who?" Uncle Vernon asked, his confusion almost masking his anger.
"The grumpy fellow with the blue eye." Remus supplied, curiosity evident in his voice. The werewolf missed the sudden loss of colour my Uncle's face experienced, but I certainly didn't. "Why is he coming here, Harry?"
I shrugged. "Not too sure, he just told me that I was to meet someone." I quickly turned and left the room to forestall any questions about this mysterious someone. I was particularly interested myself.
With a few bounds, I ascended the stairs quickly, three at a time. That put me out of Remus' line of vision, so I could enter my room and have a quick look around for anything I didn't want him to see. Given my Aunt's vocal histrionics when I don't keep my room tidy, as usual the room was spotless, except for the two texts I had been studying this morning. I scooped them up and deposited them in my trunk. Nothing was out that would have embarrassed me if Remus saw it.
I pulled out the single chair from behind the table I use as a desk, and placed it so it faced my bed. Remus entered my room solemnly, and I gestured to the chair. He sat down, shifting his meagre weight in a misguided effort to get comfortable. Fat chance, the Dursleys wouldn't have given me that chair if it was comfortable.
I kicked off my shoes and sat down, cross-legged on my bed with my back against the wall. "Does Dumbledore know you're here?" I asked.
Remus shook his head. "Albus has been keeping me busy in an effort to keep my mind off recent events. I had meant to visit as soon as I had the chance, to have a talk with you about Sirius."
I tilted my head back so my scalp lightly thumped against the wall. "Must you?"
"Judging from your recent behaviour, I'd say it was overdue."
"My recent behaviour?" I asked sweetly.
"The way you treated Minerva and Kingsley."
"I do believe I'm not at school at present. Dumbledore has been quite insistent that I live in the muggle world during the holidays. Exactly how is my behaviour any business of the wizarding world?" I asked levelly.
He ignored my taunt. "It's not your fault."
"Huh?" I frowned.
"Sirius' death. It's not your fault." he clarified patiently.
I sighed. "Everyone keeps telling me that, yet for some reason, it doesn't stop the nightmares." I said sourly.
Remus scratched behind one ear. "No, I don't expect it does. From what I remember as your teacher, you always accepted more responsibility for events than warranted."
The familiar sensation of a heavy lump of guilt settling in my stomach returned. "Perhaps you could enlighten me as to whose responsibility it was?" I snapped, trying to keep from crying.
"Voldemort's?"
I shook my head. "If I'd used the bloody mirror Sirius had given me, I'd have found out that he was safe. We wouldn't have gone."
"Bellatrix's?"
"You don't get it! If I wasn't there, Sirius would be alive!"
"How can you be sure of that?" he asked me in a whisper.
I could feel my anger bubble dangerously close to the surface. "Did you get hit in the head recently? If I hadn't been there, there was no reason for Sirius to go there."
It was Remus' turn to sigh. "Harry, why did Voldemort want you to go to the Department?"
All of a sudden, I had a flashback to the interrogation this afternoon, and I was determined not to fall for another trap like that, even if there was no 'punishment' to look forward to. "To get the prophecy."
Remus nodded. "Albus finally told us what he was after, but not the words of the prophecy itself. I assume he has told you?"
I nodded guardedly.
"Good. Don't tell anyone, not even Ron or Hermione. Not even me. From what Albus said, the longer the contents remain a secret, the longer we have an advantage."
Again, I nodded.
"Good. Now, assume you'd managed to contact Sirius and discovered that he was safe. What would you have done?"
I blinked a few times. "Well, I wouldn't have gone charging off to the Ministry in the first place." I said sarcastically.
Remus appeared not to notice my tone. "Exactly. Now, what would Voldemort have done?"
I looked up at the ceiling with a frown. "Well, I don't know. I suppose he'd have tried another way to get me to go there."
Remus sighed. "Harry, if you'd managed to contact Sirius, he would have known what Voldemort was trying to get you to do. Once you'd been told too, you would never have gone in the first place, no matter what incentive Voldemort gave you."
"What is your point?"
"Who could have retrieved the prophecy?"
"Well, me. And Voldemort." I said.
Remus smiled. "Exactly. Once he determined that there was no way you were going to go there, he would have had to go himself. And we would have known."
My head snapped down to stare straight into his eyes. "That's what those Order members were doing there! Setting wards or something!"
"Not quite, but you have the idea. Suffice to say that we would have known if Voldemort went to the Ministry, and we would all have struck when he arrived. Including Sirius. There is nothing to say that he would have survived anyway, Harry. He may have been destined to die by his cousin's hand."
~~~
Remus' presence instilled a strange dual emotion in me. With his announcement that Sirius' death may have been fate, we settled into a rather uncomfortable silence. As comforting as it was to have one of my father's friends nearby, the fact that I had contributed to his best friend's death still made my intestines feel like they were twisting around on themselves. In an effort to take my mind off the uncomfortable sensation in my belly, I finally spoke up.
"What did Dumbledore have you doing?"
"I can't really tell you that. But I just got back to Grimwauld place a few days ago to learn how you treated Professor McGonagall." he said evenly, judging my reaction.
I fought the urge to smile. "If she thinks I treated her badly, have her talk to Snape, then ask her again."
"Harry, I haven't spoken to Minerva, I learned what happened from Kingsley."
I gave up resisting and let a self-satisfied grin spread over my face. "Then go and talk to Dumbledore about today's events, and then decide if I treated her badly. Well, relatively badly."
Remus frowned. "What happened?"
"Snape." I said simply, losing my smile. "He happened."
Remus sighed. "Severus has been under an intense amount of pressure over the last few weeks. People are bringing up old accusations of his support of Voldemort. He doesn't need any more stress at the moment."
I shrugged. "Too late."
He raised his eyebrows expectantly and leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms over his thin chest. "Do I want to know?"
"I daresay you'll find out sooner rather than later. Especially if the twins get the photos developed quickly."
Remus closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with his fingertips. "What did you do?"
I stood up off the bed. "Nevermind. You'll see the pictures at some point soon. Right now, I have to pack."
"Pack?" Remus blinked, confused.
"Putting clothes and things into a trunk or bag. It is what people do when they want to travel."
He ignored my sarcastic reply. "Why?"
"Because Dumbledore has completely stuffed everything up. I'm leaving."
"Don't be absurd. You are safe here." scoffed Remus.
I stared at him. "From who?" I asked, truly surprised.
Remus frowned and opened his mouth, but I waved my hand through the air between us and cut him off.
"Two dementors were sent by the Ministry last year, so I'm not safe from anyone there who are trying to save their own idiotic skins." I spat with a snarl, opening up my trunk at the foot of my bed. "Since given the appalling security there, everyone at the Ministry knows where I live; therefore, I have to assume that Voldemort knows too, since Malfoy's dad was on such chummy terms with our dear, incompetent Minister. The Order knows where I live, so it isn't exactly a secret now, is it?
"Voldemort took my blood to give himself both a new body and to neutralise the protection my mother gave me. So living here isn't safe at all, given my location is known and the magic protecting me is weakened." I finished, throwing an armful of clothes from my wardrobe into my trunk.
Remus pursed his lips together tightly. "Albus knows what he is doing, Harry. You need to stay here."
I threw my hands up in despair and scoffed. "Why the hell do people keep saying that? He has no idea!" My underwear and socks disappeared into the wooden trunk.
"Harry, listen to me." he said sternly.
"No, you listen!" I snapped, losing patience. "With no one's permission, he took me from my legal guardian as a baby and put me in a place he knew I would be unwelcome. I spent my childhood unloved, unwelcome and unhappy. Once I turned eleven, I loved spending my time at Hogwarts, but every summer, no matter what I wanted, he kept sending me back here." I took a deep breath.
"There was another student a few years ago at Hogwarts. His mother died and his father disowned him as a child. He spent his childhood growing up unloved, unwelcome and unhappy. Once he turned eleven, he loved his time at Hogwarts, but no matter what he wanted, Dumbledore kept sending him back to the orphanage during the summer." I slammed the lid of my trunk shut and spun to face my old professor.
"So perhaps you can ask your infallible Dumbledore exactly what he was thinking when he decided to interfere and make my life a mirror of Voldemort's." Remus' eyes were wide, but I kept pressing. "Perhaps it was some sort of twisted experiment, designed to discover for himself just how badly he fucked up all those years ago." A thought struck me. "Or to justify to himself his actions and decisions back then; maybe he wanted to prove to himself that Tom Riddle made his own choices." I finished softly.
Remus stood, and took a few steps over to me. He gently reached out and placed his hands on my shoulders. "Harry, as angry as you are, you are not thinking clearly. The hearing in front of the Wizengamot proved that." He gently turned me to face him. "Sirius gave his life for your safety. I would give mine to keep you safe. So would Albus, and many others. Is it too much to ask that you at least listen to us?"
I covered his hands with my own, and stared straight into his haunted eyes. "You just don't understand, Remus. The last thing I want people to do is to die for me. As for listening to you all, I have been manipulated, lied to and used far too often by Dumbledore for me to ever be comfortable listening to him ever again. I'll always wonder what his intentions are, what he hopes to accomplish, what he is keeping from me."
"He only has your best interests at heart."
Instead of a flash of anger, I simply felt an empty chill. "No, Remus, he doesn't. A year ago, I witnessed someone being murdered in front of me, and I felt keenly responsible for his death. Dumbledore sent me here and promptly forbade my friends from writing to me. Can you honestly look me in the eye and say that was the course of action of someone who had my best interests at heart?"
"There were safety concerns-"
"Oh, bollocks. There is such a thing as a telephone, and I'm almost positive Hermione has at least a passing familiarity with one. Pig is small enough to go by unnoticed at night, and a simple disillusionment charm would have made it all but impossible to intercept him. All I needed at the time was to talk and write to my friends about my feelings, to let out my sense of responsibility. Nothing incriminating need ever have been passed, but a total communication blackout was imposed on someone who was quickly falling into depression. However great he is as a wizard, he is a complete failure as a guardian."
Remus tilted his head to one side, and I got the impression that I'd at least partially convinced him. "You are determined to do this? Have you thought your way through it completely?"
I shook my head. "I'm meeting someone."
"Who?" Remus pressed.
A gruff voice interrupted us. "You don't need to know, Lupin."
Remus almost jumped out of his skin. "Alastor? What are you doing here?"
"I've come to organise an introduction for young Potter here, and hopefully have an arrangement in place tonight."
I blinked at that announcement, wondering what sort of arrangement he could mean. I opened my mouth to ask but Remus got his question in first.
"What is going on?"
Moody stomped up to the werewolf. "Potter is a target. Right now, every man and his kneazle knows where he lives, even though it is supposed to be a secret. If he wants to turn sixteen, he needs to hide."
My indignation at this was again cut off by Remus. "He is safe here!"
Moody gave a snort that was reminiscent of the broken washing machine my Aunt kept in the garage. "That's some definition of the word 'safe' you've got there, Lupin. I don't recall the last time someone being guarded with this much effort had to fight of a pair of dementors alone."
Remus growled with frustration. "You know what I mean! With us watching him..."
"We put his safety into the hands of a group of untested and untried people." Moody finished flatly. "Enthusiasm, courage and good intentions do not a professional make. Putting someone the Weasley twins look up to as a guard was asking for trouble. Albus has always had these little failings, wanting everything to look like nothing is wrong, believing the best of people. Well, Potter here no longer has that luxury."
Remus shook his head in denial. "Has Albus approved this?"
Again, Moody snorted. "Albus is still trying to get Snape to wake up. He will not find out until it is too late for him to mess up any further."
"I can't let you just take him!"
"I don't think you have a choice." dismissed Moody. "I've had a chat with his relatives, and they were more than happy to have him out of the house. Sirius' estate hasn't been executed yet, so your claim of guardianship is not yet valid. Regardless of how you feel responsible for the lad, you don't have a say."
"Damnit! The blood protections-"
"Are useless." spat Moody. "If Albus was as confident of the protection as he claims, he would not have had twenty-four hour surveillance on the boy. The more I see, the more I think that Albus isn't as sure of the blood magic as he claims. He had people apparating in and out for weeks, but wouldn't let an owl near the place. Given how much danger Potter has been in over the last few years, I'm inclined to believe that the plan of bringing him back to Hogwarts at all costs is fatally flawed."
Remus seemed to deflate. "So what do you suggest?"
Moody looked over to me. His scarred visage twisted into an expression of indecision. "I'd prefer you didn't know, since the whole idea of this move is so no one knows where he will be. I've even organised to be obliviated afterwards, to further obscure his location."
"What about Hogwarts? How is he going to continue his education from a cave?"
"I'm arranging an apprenticeship for him."
If I was surprised, Remus was shocked. "An apprenticeship? There hasn't been an apprenticeship in over half a century!"
Moody nodded. "Exactly. No one will expect it. Not the least, Riddle. If Potter ever faces him again, he'll expect the lad to have the equivalent education of a fifth-year drop out."
Remus sat back down, his face slowly returning to its normal colour. "Maybe, but I'm not sure. Has this person ever taught before?"
Moody nodded. "He's taken an apprentice or two before."
"When?"
I laughed. "Over fifty years ago, I'd guess."
Both wizards turned to face me, Remus with a slightly put out expression, Moody with a small smile that looked way out of place.
"Thank you Harry, but I was after a rather more specific answer." the werewolf growled.
"Too bad." said Moody with finality. "That is all you need to know. Potter, have you got everything?"
I shook my head, and grabbed a few things from under the loose floorboard; my photo album, some owl treats and a quill. "I think that's it." I said, looking around.
"Good. Come on." the ex-auror said.
I hoisted my trunk over my shoulder with a grunt, giving my room a quick going over in my mind for anything I'd forgotten. Remus stood in front of me.
"Harry, are you sure about this?"
"What else do you suggest? I can't go back to Hogwarts, because the governors will expel me. I can't stay here because everyone knows where I live. This seems like the best alternative."
Remus swallowed, and put a hand on my shoulder. "Promise me one thing."
I raised my eyebrows, waiting to hear what he had to say.
"Keep in touch, and be safe."
~~~
The trip from Privet Drive was interesting in its randomness. First of all, Moody began chewing me out for just leaving with him, and not confirming his identity. I pointed out that he had known that the twins were part of the Order, that he know that I had been protected twenty-four hours a day last holidays and that he suggested the same course of action both at the twins' store and at my relative's house.
That seemed to calm him down, but we spent about half an hour flooing from one place to another, starting from Mrs. Figgs. I honestly couldn't begin to retrace our trip, given that at one stop the sun was streaming though a rather grimy window, and it was all but snowing at another two.
Finally, we arrived at a quiet pub. It was quite obviously a muggle establishment, but I could feel the charms on the fireplace, encouraging the muggles to ignore the comings and goings through the fire.
A tall, distinguished gentleman stood at one end of the bar, wearing well-made, but old style robes. He focused on us at our arrival, and casually strolled over to a booth along one wall of the room. Moody looked ant me and tilted his head towards the man. We entered the booth ourselves, Moody without hesitation, myself with a little trepidation.
With a flick of his wrist that belied his age, the old man had his wand out and pointing at Moody quicker than I'd ever believed possible.
"Hello, Zab." the old auror said, not the least perturbed at the situation.
The tall wizard didn't waver, his wand pointed straight at Moody's unmagical eye. "When did you capture Alphonse Rodrigo?" he demanded.
Moody didn't blink. "Twentieth of March, nineteen twenty-eight."
"Who was your favourite instructor at the auror academy?"
Moody grinned. "Alphonse Rodrigo."
"When was the last time we spoke?"
Moody pulled out a pocket watch. "Two hours, fourteen minutes ago."
"I meant before that."
"Why didn't you say? Eight years, four months."
The wizard didn't seem convinced, but his next question startled me.
"Tea or coffee?"
"What are you, a Yank? When did you start drinking coffee?"
The tall wizard let a slow smile appear on his features. "Mad-Eye, it is good to see you again."
"And you, Zab." replied Moody, grabbing his old friend in a brief hug.
"Is this the problem you had?" the new wizard asked, indicating me with a nod of his head.
"Not exactly, but it does involve him."
"And what is it you want from me?" the old wizard asked curiously.
"I want you to take him on as an apprentice."
The wizard called Zab just looked at Moody expressionlessly. For almost a full minute Moody withstood the gaze in silence. To say I was impressed at his nerves would have been an understatement.
"Terms?"
"Pretty standard. Teach over the school year, focus on the requirements for being accepted as an auror. Give him some time to himself during the breaks, allow him to visit his friends occasionally. Only thing I'd insist upon would be that his instruction and location be kept secret, though I doubt you'd have a problem with that."
Still no expression so much as flickered over this man's face. Was he made of stone? I blinked and shook my head slightly. I'd never want to play poker with this guy.
"I'm not sure, Alastor. You know I value my privacy. Secrets I can easily keep, but allowing him unfettered access to come and go as he pleases during school breaks is a security risk I'm not willing to take."
I raised my eyebrows at this. What was he afraid of? I turned what I had seen of this man over in my mind. From the way he greeted Moody, I'd say he was just as paranoid as the old auror. "I know how to keep a secret." I said.
For the first time, the wizard looked over to me. "You will speak when spoken to, boy. If you are to be my apprentice, you would do well to keep quiet until asked a question." he said flatly.
Moody held out a hand, silently telling me to stay quiet. "He's muggle raised, so some of our traditions and expectations are lost on him."
"So you're dumping an orphan who is in danger on me? Some friend you are." he said, though a slight emphasis on certain words gave me the certain impression that he was actually amused at the concept.
"Exactly." Moody turned to me. "Zab here hasn't been in contact with anyone else from the wizarding world for decades. He has no idea who you are, or what you have done."
Something didn't click. I turned to face Zab myself. "May I ask a question?"
He actually smiled. "Yes."
"How did you know I am an orphan, if you haven't heard of me?"
For the first time, Zab actually looked interested in the conversation. "Muggle raised? Interesting choice of words, don't you agree?" he asked me.
Ah, right. "I see. Since I wasn't muggle born, you guessed my magical parents had died. What if they had just abandoned me?"
"It was certainly an intriguing time, during the Dark Lord's last reign. Many families lost loved ones, some proud families were all but wiped out. Adoptions at the time were common, a way of keeping grieving minds occupied with the living."
I smiled at the way this man's mind worked. "If I had been abandoned, another wizarding family would have adopted me. But since I was muggle raised, I was likely sent to live with relatives in the muggle world."
A smile was the only answer I got.
"And you know I'm in danger, because the one thing Mr. Moody insisted upon was something you do anyway." I finished.
Zab turned back to Moody. "Alastor, this young lad has a quick mind. I do believe I will enjoy this."
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