Chapter 28: Tedious Talks

Bloody buggering bollocks! This wasn't a smart move. He had been so impressed with himself that he'd gotten both men bound by unbreakable oaths. He thought it was such a coup, and it was. However, now he realized that he'd actually given away access to the Chamber of Secrets. He was such a fucking genius. He hadn't even considered that this could happen. He'd been careless, arrogant even, with the wording of his oath and was now paying for it.

Now that he'd thought on it more, he wondered if she'd even be able to access the information. The books hadn't been forthright and accessible for him. Would she even be able to read any of the books? Harry didn't have all of the books unlocked to him yet, many were still blank, and there was a mechanism of control that he had no clue how to operate or even how it even worked.

It frustrated him, immensely.

The Chamber of Secrets was always releasing the next bit of information,only when he needed it. It never gave him enough materials so that he could read ahead and see what would be upcoming in his education. He couldn't ask an older student, or someone who was further along, with Salazar's curriculum. He just gets what is given, no more, no less. Not that it was the most annoying thing he'd dealt with recently.

Though the meeting with the Delacours, well just Patrice, wasn't annoying, Harry had found that it was beyond tedious. The first hour was discussion on trade. Licenses, imports, exports, muggle tax, magical tax, joint ventures, ownership schemes, and after an hour of just this single term being talked about, Harry had excused himself. Fleur and Apolline had chosen to spend more time with Gabrielle and Harry wondered if they were even invited to come along.

After he left, he reflected that they may have been trying to deliberately bore him, they knew he'd had a busy few days and wasn't versed in economics. He had to ask for clarifications, multiple times, and he understood that his presence was serving more of a nuisance than benefit. If it was going to be a longhaul negotiation, and given the details, and depth of discussion, it would be, they more than likely preferred to not have a principal party in the negotiations, at least until it was nearly complete.

Harry was fine to beg off and let his advisors handle it. He was focusing on magic, on staying alive. Slughorn and Greengrass were far more capable of working those terms towards his favour than he would have been able to do himself. Retiring for the night was simply prudent, he'd be better served getting back into his routine than staying up late and negotiating. With the study locked down, he had no worries about leaving the three men. He'd accomplished the only thing he was concerned about, he didn't want news to leak as to what was being discussed.

Patrice hadn't had an issue with signing documents to not disclose anything about the negotiations and he had some of his own for them to sign, again just protecting the privacy of the negotiations. The penalties were not loss of magic. If the terms were breached the contract would show it and major financial penalties were paid by the party that breached it. Apparently it was pretty standard. Ackerly had sent the documents back over quickly, Harry had appreciated the turnaround time.

But now, at this early hour, he was going to be trying to bring Daphne into the Chamber of Secrets. If she made it in, she'd be the first one to be brought in since he'd gone after Ginny in his second year.

Harry made his way to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. It was where he'd told Cyrus he would meet Daphne today, the two had some form of communication and he would let her know to make her way there discreetly. He had been rather eager to get his daughter into contact with the Slytherin library as soon as possible. There she was. Looking perfect and chipper, as if it wasn't five in the bloody morning.

"Harry." She greeted him neutrally but he could see the excitement in her posture, she was almost bouncing in anticipation. She was obviously eager to see him, no doubt her father told her what she'd be getting access to.

"Daphne" He neutrally responded, mimicking her greeting.

"Well, where are we going?" Harry almost laughed at how eager she was. He was really tempted to force her down the pipe.

"You came in your cloak?" Harry had demanded that Daphne had an invisibility cloak, so she could move through the school without being tracked.

"Of course, father was quite annoyed you forced him to provide me one. I, on the other hand, thank you. It should be quite useful." She beamed at him.

"Good." He hadn't seen her show up, she had beat him here and, more than likely, had been early, waiting for him. He didn't really care that she had the cloak now, he just didn't want to be found out. He hadn't been caught accessing the chamber, but that might just be because of his own amazing cloak.

Harry went right to the sink, casting a look around, he had been surprised not to find Myrtle around.

"You do know this is a lavatory for females, right Harry?" Daphne asked, her teasing tone surprised him, it caught him off guard because it was so early. He wondered if she had taken a pepper up potion to be this awake.

Harry ignored it and heard her footsteps behind him. He hissed at the sink and it opened. Although he had a stairs option, to get back up, he wanted Daphne to experience the slide. She'd probably hex him, after she figured out that she wouldn't have had to take the slide, no doubt in his mind that she'd figure it out.

Daphne gasped when the hole opened up.

"Ladies first." He smirked at her, enjoying the astonished look on her face.

"You expect me to jump in there?! You've lost your bloody mind, Potter! It's filthy!" She objected quite strongly to the idea, her arms crossing beneath her bust.

Oh yes, he was so going to be hexed later for this, but for right now, it was worth it. Besides, being hexed was future's Harry Potter problem, not his.

"If the Greengrass heiress doesn't wish to take advantage of my offer, to provide access to priceless knowledge on rituals, then feel free to decline and leave. I'm only oathbound to offer to provide access." He knew he had her. He could see she was still leery but his words had egged her on.

She walked up to him, and Harry felt something poke him below his stomach. "If this is some joke, you'll find I have some very inventive spells for this region." She growled at him, her eyes boring into his.

Harry just laughed, slightly forced. "I'd never dream of it, dear Daphne."

His words had an effect again, she nodded and stepped forward, putting her wand away, she braced herself from falling in as she tried to look down the pipe.

"Where does this go?" She asked, curious and not looking back at him, still inspecting the pipe.

"Nowhere all that special, just the Chamber of Secrets." He airily commented.

Daphne's head whirled around, her eyes seeking to know if he was being sarcastic or if it was true.

"What will I drop down into? Will I need to cast a spell?" Harry noticed the change in demeanor, she was serious and had taken his words as the truth.

"You won't need your wand. Jump down and I'll follow after counting to six." According to the way he counted in his head, counting in anything less than multiples of three, in french, was wrong, so he went with six. He just had to repeat un, deux, trois twice.

Daphne just nodded her head, indicating she understood and then went down the pipe. Harry quickly followed her, after completing his counting.

After landing, Harry moved quickly, seeing Daphne was standing and was casting cleaning charms at her clothes.

"Follow me." He simply said and began to make his way to the chamber.

He moved in silence, until they got to the spot where the cave-in had happened. Harry was in the lead, by a good six feet, when he heard rumbling from the cavern roof. He looked up and rocks were falling. Large ones and dangerously, at that.

Harry's wand was in his hand within a half second. He threw up the strongest shield he could manage and yelled at Daphne to back up. As soon as she'd gotten a few feet away no more rocks fell.

Was the cave a defensive mechanism? He'd thought it was the result of a spell, but fallen rocks were barricading the entrance, once again. Did Harry make it through each time he entered and exited the chamber, because he was a parseltongue, or a possible descendant of Salazar Slytherin?

The rocks shouldn't be unstable. Harry was frustrated and frowned as he began to clear them, again. This time he was levitating the rocks so that they would help support the roof. He didn't see where there could be issues but he tried anyway, there were already quite a lot of rocks piled to the roof of the cavern.

When the path was clear he moved back to Daphne.

"Are you trying to get me killed?" She asked, her eyebrow arched and a harsh expression on her face.

"It's never done that to me." He responded levely, ignoring Daphne's ire.

"But it has done it to others?" She challenged back, apparently hearing the omission of information that he'd not disclosed, purposefully.

Harry's free hand rubbed his face. "I don't know. A cave in happened once before, in second year, but a spell hit the roof before it happened. I thought it was that."

Daphne wasn't impressed by his explanation, her arms were crossed and she was glaring at him.

Harry reached into his pocket, he had planned to give it to her once they reached the library but he thought this might fix the issue.

"I'll have an oath from you that you will not reveal information about the Chamber of Secrets and anything you learn without my explicit permission and, further, that you will not leave the Chamber of Secrets, or it's entryway, without returning to me Slytherin's Locket." He withdrew the locket on the chain and held it in his hand, so she could see it.

"You've already given an oath you will provide access, I'll swear no such thing." Her eyes were locked on the locket when she spoke firmly.

"Access is not a fully defined term, there are no qualifiers for what kind of access. I'm providing access, to you, today, but on my terms. If magic finds them unfair, that I broke the intent of my oath, then I'll deal with the consequences of it." He was going to broker no terms on this. This was the Chamber of Secrets, an incredible resource that should not have been given out carelessly.

Daphne smirked at him, "I'm glad you're learning." The way she said it made Harry feel like she would have patted him on his cheek if she could haven't gotten close to him without the roof caving in.

She withdrew her wand and provided an oath Harry could find no fault with. He handed her the locket and let her put it on, the long chain it was on didn't require the clasp to be opened to be put on.

"Ready to try again?" Harry asked, now that she had the necklace on.

She kept her wand out and walked forward. Harry waited with bated breath, his wand pointed over her head, to shield her if it started coming down again.

Timidly she stepped forward, taking small step after small step, he body ready to run back the way she came at the sound of any disturbance. She got passed where Harry thought she had been when it triggered and slowly made her way to him. When she reached him, she grabbed onto him, hugging up against him.

"Never do this to me again, Potter." She hissed at him. "Gryffindors are built for this recklessness," she spat the word, "not Slytherins."

Though he wanted to hit back with a sarcastic reply, about this being the chamber built by Salazar Slytherin, he thought better of it and kept his mouth shut. Harry was used to these kinds of harebrained schemes, she clearly wasn't. He really had no idea if the locket would let her in but it made enough sense to get her to try it.

"Come this way, we'll get into the chamber properly."

She didn't release her grip on him and held him as they advanced to the main door. Harry wondered how she would have reacted to the shed skin if he hadn't had Dobby move it into the main chamber. Harry vividly remembered seeing it when he was on the way to rescue Ginny.

They got to the door and harry hissed 'open' in parseltongue.

Daphne looked at him, bewildered, just after he said it. "That was so strange! I heard hissing but… kind of knew… that it meant open, am I right?"

He nodded, "Yes. Can you say it as well?" He recalled that they thought it let the wearer understand and speak parseltongue but Harry thought the latter seemed less likely.

"How do you do it? I don't even know how to try."

"I look at a snake and try and speak in parseltongue, it was hard at first but it's easy now that I've had practice." He told her.

"Ssssss, sss, sss, ssss. Did I say something?" She was excited, it must be a dream come true for a Slytherin student to speak the serpent language for which their founder was famous for speaking.

Harry cackled, "No. You just hissed in english." He managed to say between laughs. It was pretty funny to hear her just randomly hissing. Who'd have thought he'd see a dignified girl like her doing something so silly, not Harry.

"Ow!" Harry exclaimed when a stinging hex caught him in the ribs. He'd felt it coming but not until it was far too late to react, she was far too close. Essentially, he just felt a flash of magic and then light pain.

Reading the mood he made a snap decision to not try and terrify her. "Remember, Daphne," he made sure to have her attention and did his best to convey that his next words were sincere and correct, "anything you see in the chamber is already dead. The rock slide was the only dangerous thing that will attempt to harm you. Just keep the locket on and you'll be fine. The giant ruddy snake is already dead, remember that."

They stepped into the chamber and he could feel Daphne tense up against him. "I- is, is… that… a b- basilisk?!" She had a hard time getting the words out of her mouth.

They were at the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets and while they had the whole chamber between them and the snake, it was still incredibly intimidating, even dead. Harry had become used to its presence, he walked past it so often it had lost any sense of it being a spectacle to him.

"Yeah. I killed it when I was twelve." He grinned, knowing what kind of reaction that would cover.

"The year of the petrifications." She whispered. Her head was on a swivel, she was roving her sharp eyes over the entire chamber, her feet frozen.

She let go of him and moved slowly over to a statue of Salazar. "You know, most every Slytherin alumni would kill me to be here in my spot."

Harry quirked his head at the change in phrase. They'd kill her, not kill to be where she is and sadly her specific choice of words was probably more correct.

"This was Slytherin's basilisk?" She asked, though it was merely just seeking confirmation on what she knew to be correct.

"Yes." He humored her with a response. She'd made her way up to the basilisk and was just reaching to put her hand on it.

"Merlin… a real basilisk…. Slytherin's even." She was totally in awe of the creature.

Harry heard the screech, before he saw Cuddles. She was in her normal small form but she was coming out of one of the side tunnels, more than likely returning from a successful rat hunt, how she seemed to love those.

"Potter!" Daphne called out, irate that there was something decidedly not dead.

"Relax," he said dismissively, "it's just Cuddles."

Harry looked to see he was correct in his assumption. In her talons was a rat, still alive and trying to wriggle free. The miniature dragon loved to play with her food.

Cuddles flew overhead and dropped the alive rat in the few feet between Harry and Daphne. Harry closed his eyes, for a full second, his familiar was trying to get him in trouble with Daphne. What kind of moronic move was it to drop a live rat right beside a girl.

Daphne, to her credit, didn't shriek. She was angry, not scared. She watched the rat scurry away, back toward the entry and then, when it had gotten well past Harry, she rounded on him.

She jabbed her finger into his shoulder, "You told me everything was dead. Everything! What is that? Is it Cuddles?" She prodded him every time she finished a sentence too, she was abusive when upset.

"Cuddles is a she," he said stepping back from her, "and she's my familiar." He boasted, he was actually quite proud of her. The only thing he didn't like about her was how she didn't like Hedwig all that much. The owl was permitted to be around but Cuddles wanted all the affection, not that Harry gave in to her wishes.

"I kind of forgot she was off hunting, she does that in the nights…" He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He didn't mind taking a little abuse, nothing she'd done was remotely harmful.

"What is she?" Harry was amused that curiosity won over the anger or fear that she might have. Even in her small size Cuddles was flying around and spitting fireballs after her prey.

"Officially she's a miniature dragon. I've registered her with Madame Bones. I think she buried the file, or kept it under lock and key, nobody knows about her that I've not told directly, at least that I'm aware of." He was quite grateful to her for that. With her move against Fudge it was a good thing he had established a good working relationship with her. Getting to know Susan better couldn't hurt too. If Daphne and Susan were as close as he thought, then their families, the Bones and Greengrass, might be as well.

Daphne was gobsmacked. Harry wasn't really sure why.

"A magical creature for a familiar." Her eyes were glued to his familiar, even when she swooped down and bit into the charred neck to the rat, it wouldn't live long with the blood leaking out of its neck.

She looked at him searchingly. "You don't get it, do you." Seeing the lack of comprehension she clarified, "What it means to have a magical creature as a familiar."

Harry shook his head. To his knowledge, only Dumbledore had one other than him. He'd heard Riddle had a large snake familiar but it wasn't a basilisk. It might be magical but not a true magical creature, which he assumed Daphne understood it the way Salazar had explained it in his writings.

"Sometimes I forget you can be as clueless as a muggleborn." She said resignedly, softly shaking her head.

Harry shot her a dark look. He didn't like anyone looking down on muggleborns, his own mother was one.

"Don't take that wrong, Harry." She chastised him. "You don't understand these details because you weren't raised in the magical world, like muggleborns. I forget that just because you are from two old families doesn't mean you will understand. House Greengrass isn't for the bigotry against muggleborns," she grinned, "it's bad for business."

Harry rolled his eyes at her last comment. "Sorry, I'm just a little sensitive when Slytherin students talk about anything muggle."

"We're not all Draco." She teased back, keeping the levity between them.

"So what does it mean? What don't I know?" Harry asked after Daphne didn't pick back up on what sparked the minor tiff.

"Only truly remarkable wizards, or witches, have a magical creature as a familiar. Dumbledore is the only modern example, with his phoenix. Salazar Slytherin had a basilisk, Herpo the Foul as well. Merlin was said to have had a Dragon familiar. There are other, dotted through the centuries, but they are only even found with incredibly powerful people."

Harry was a little embarrassed, he still wasn't great at taking compliments but he was buoyed by the fact he was incredibly proud of his familiar. He had thought Hedwig might be one for him but it was nothing like what he had with Cuddles.

"Is it always that size?" She asked, watching Cuddles barbeque the remains of the rat before chomping down on a part of it that was still aflame.

"No, Cuddles is what saved us. She can grow to the size of a small adult dragon, probably larger soon." Harry knew Cyrus had the full details and he would be allowed to tell his heir information that is crucial. Daphne had already provided an unbreakable oath, witnessed by Slughorn, so she was fine to be a little loose lipped around.

"What are you going to do with the basilisk?" She asked, tilting her head in the direction of the beast.

"I don't know, I should probably have it harvested soon. At some point it will decompose and it's probably worth quite a bit of galleons." He hadn't really thought too much about it. Cyrus was running his finances now and he didn't need money immediately. The Potters had a lump sum, which was now being put to good use and the Blacks had gold and several property. He wasn't incredibly wealthy, based of on the gold sitting in the vaults he controlled, but he was well off, for liquidity, and his long term assets were immense, many were just underutilized after not being managed for so long.

"No!" She told him forcefully. "You aren't letting someone else harvest it and sell it all off in parts. Don't you understand mercantilism?!"

"We're English! It's in our blood!" Daphne exclaimed. "Didn't you go to muggle school?! Don't they teach you anything useful there?" She asked incredulously.

Harry shrugged, he wasn't going to get into any topic that might turn into the Dursleys.

"You don't sell raw materials, you buy them! Then you work them into finished goods and then sell them."

Harry stared at her blankley. He kind of got the concept, maybe?

"Okay, an example. Britain has a colony in the Americas. The colony sell beaver pelts, from beavers they trapped. The smart merchant purchases them, brings them back to Britain, makes them into shiny top and and then resells the same hat back for even more pelts, but each hat is bartered to sell for multiple beaver pelts! You buy raw materials for a low cost, rework them, and then sell back the finished goods, for a high profit."

Well that made more sense, Harry thought. He'd heard Vernon complaining that it only cost around sixty percent of the cost of the car for the raw materials and auto parts. The other forty percent was grand larceny!

"So I should harvest it and turn it into finished goods?" He playfully replied.

"No. You have a revered potions master as an advisor, and my father, who is a well connected business man. Let them handle it. You don't need to do everything yourself. You've improved a lot but now you have people you can trust and they would help you."

Harry didn't mind not being the strong personality in the room. Often he was glad he wasn't. He was more introverted than most would expect. He grew up in a broom cupboard and had never been comfortable with his fame in the magical world. Daphne had a strong personality, she liked to have her opinion on things known, Fleur too, to a degree. Natalia wasn't though, she was more reserved and he had to take the lead with her, and he didn't think that was an act, not at all.

He could be assertive, he could be the leader here, he could have told her he knew that the basilisk would take at least a decade to begin to decompose. It was on his mental checklist but wasn't a priority. He'd done some preliminary research and realized just how rare and valuable it was.

"As much as I'd hate to admit it, the Delacours and Pavlova's might have good contacts. There hasn't been a live basilisk for a half century. The last one the ICW allowed to be bred was sickly. It's venom wasn't what it should be, it's eyes didn't kill. You'll probably have to claim that one of your families had it stashed away somewhere, in stasis. The Blacks were always a little mad, they'd be a good choice."

Harry nodded, he hadn't thought of that part yet and he enjoyed letting others give advice. He could act ignorant, sometimes, and get away with it. He already knew how rare having a magical creature for a familiar was. But sometimes he learned things by keeping quiet and letting others talk, educate, and give advice.

"Well, let's get on with it. You'll want to see if you can read any of the books and I've got reading and training of my own to do." Harry moved over to the entry into the hidden area of the chamber and opened the door. He stepped through and Daphne followed him in.

"Thanks Harry. That was… magical… and the knowledge… I'll need to study it a lot more but it might help. So thanks, it wouldn't be possible without you." Daphne said after they emerged from back into the second floor lavatory.

Harry could feel his privacy spells, from early that morning, were still active, he didn't need to worry of being overheard, or seen.

She stepped forward, closing the gap between them, and hugged him, her lips finding his cheek. She let her lips linger and maintained her balance on her toes as she whispered into his ear, "I'll take the stairs down, next time."

Harry heard the words and then yelped. She'd shot a point blank ranged stinging hex just under his waist and just over where it would have seriously hurt.

"I won't miss next time, remember that." She said, with Harry not failing to hear the dangerous edge in her voice,

Harry grinned, "You sure you don't want to take the slide? You look pretty cute with a little dirt and grunge on you."

Daphne sniffed, "I always look gorgeous and cute, don't I?"

"Whatever the lady says must be true."

It had been a nicer morning than Harry had anticipated, and it was nice to not be so solitary. Normally he was alone, and for the most part, he still was when he was doing his own reading and spell work. However, there was now someone else with him in the Chamber, even if Daphne had been too engrossed in her reading.

Hadn't that just thrown him for a loop and he'd had a little more power in his target practice, working out his frustration. Daphne only had a single book to read in the entire library. She only had one glowing and it was one which showed blank to him.

He could read the books unlocked to him but he couldn't read the one she had access too.

The locket had worked, as far as comprehending parseltongue, not that he'd told her exactly what it meant for her to be reading in parseltongue, though, for all he knew, it may not work the same since she's not a native speaker.

Regardless, she was reading a book that had a more academic understanding of rituals but apparently didn't have any specific rituals for her to try, unlike the material on rituals he had gained access too.

"Lunch then?" Daphne asked, putting her arm out to be escorted to the Great Hall. They were coming a little late to it but both had had a busy and productive morning. The way Daphne could lose herself in reading a book reminded him of Hermione.

There were some regrets that he had this year. Handling his friendship with Hermione was one of them. She'd been stalwart, she'd been a rock, since the troll incident. He didn't think she'd fit into the advisory team, nor would she fit in great with all the politics. But, aside from questioning him putting the cup in, and berating him for disappearing, he didn't feel, anymore, that she'd done enough to warrant his silence.

It wasn't intentional, in so much as to be callous, as it was just an oversight. He'd gotten so busy, studying magic, learning to dance and everything else since the Yule Ball. He hadn't seen her in the Great Hall and he'd not been around the castle, nor even stepped foot in a classroom, since he'd stopped being a student.

Just before they stepped out of the privacy charms, he planned on removing them after they'd left, Harry stopped Daphne. She would be in classes with Hermione and he could just ask her.

"I haven't seen Hermione for a while and wanted to talk to her. Has she just been spending all her time in the library? I never see her at meal times, whenever I'm there."

Something flashed across Daphne's face. Harry didn't know if she disliked Hermione or not.

"She's… not here any longer." Daphne said, slowly.

"Not here? What does that mean?" Harry asked, his eyebrows furrowing and a frown forming.

"She transferred, to Ilvermorny… She was attending classes here, for a while, since Yule, but that just stopped. I'd heard she was regularly leaving the school but I haven't seen her since just before the task." Daphne gently told him.

Harry's brain crashed. He was trying to figure out if he heard what he thought he had just heard. Hermione had left Hogwarts? Without even letting him know? No way.

"No. She wouldn't leave without sending a letter, at the very least." Harry stated resolutely.

Daphne gave him a pitying smile. "Ask McGonagall or Dumbledore? They'd know for sure. You can ask them at lunch."

Harry nodded and moved forward, with Daphne, in a daze. This wasn't something he expected to hear.

The second they got out of the bathroom there was a house elf standing in front of them, as if on watch duty for the entrance. The two of them stopped, abruptly, making sure to not run the little creature over.

"Headmaster be having you see him right aways. It be open to yous." It said to the two of them.

Daphne and Harry shared an ominous look. By silent agreement they would be going to Dumbledore's office.

"Thanks, we'll go there now." Harry told the elf and it popped away.

They didn't exchange any words as they quickly made their way to their destination. Harry knew the Chamber had some way of keeping itself secret and Daphne's oath would cover her ability to divulge information about it. This left just him and Harry was becoming quite skilled at occlumency and not giving away information.

They climbed the stairs and Harry felt his anxiousness build with every step, the sound of their feet padding on the stones and their breathing was all that was to be heard. When they reached the door Harry knocked.

"Come in." Harry heard Dumbledore's voice come from within.

He opened the door for Daphne and ushered her in first.

"Father?" Daphne said, before she even got to taking her second step into the room.

"Ah, yes, do come in, Miss Greengrass." The headmaster called out, gesturing to two open chairs.

Harry made his way in and saw Cyrus was sitting there already, the man looked like he'd been having a bad day.

Once both teens were seated Dumbledore began speaking. "I had you summoned here because Miss Greengrass has appeared to be missing since shortly after five in the morning. When your father showed up, claiming you were missing, about an hour ago."

Daphne looked down at her hand and she took off a ring that was on her pinky finger, a smaller delicate ring. She handed the ring to Cyrus and he silently asked Dumbledore for permission to use his wand. Once it was received, he cast a few spells at it before delivering the results.

"It's inert. The tracking charms are gone. They've been stripped, we'll have to get this fixed, immediately."

He stood and gestured for Daphne to do the same. "We'll be off, I'll return my daughter later today." Cyrus stated abruptly.

"Harry" Cyrus said, as he exited the room.

Daphne hugged him, awkwardly as he was sitting, and she stayed bent over so she could whisper in his ear. "Thanks for today. Be careful."

When the two had exited the office Dumbledore looked at Harry, he somehow was aware that Harry wanted to ask about what had just happened but he would be the one to initiate it.

"Cyrus was concerned because Daphne's ring with a tracking charm stopped functioning?" Harry guessed at the situation, opening the conversation between the two of him.

Harry didn't feel like the man in front of him was some kind of great enemy but the trust he used to have in the man had been replaced by wariness. He wasn't sure what Dumbledore had been trying to do with him and knew he was brilliant, both at magic and politics. He felt apprehensive in his presence, he hadn't been exactly kind to Dumbledore in his press conference remarks…

"Most of the pureblood families make those rings for their children. They are more than just a tracking charm, though that is one of their functions." Dumbledore began to explain. "The rings function as a monitor, they are designed to ensure the parents can monitor their health and can find them at will. Some are charmed to be able to do more elaborate things, like tell if they are in trouble or not. The Weasley clock is an example of something similar."

Harry had always been impressed by the Weasley clock. Being able to tell where family members were, and whether they were in peril or not, was rather useful.

"Are they just charms then, sir?"

Dumbledore stroked his beard before answering. "Charms, runes and rudimentary blood magic. Miss Greengrass will need to willingly give blood and runes are used to connect her, and her ring, to the monitor."

"And it stopped working today? Is that common? Wouldn't they be more… robust?" Harry couldn't really understand how the magic would have failed so poorly today.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled when spoke his last query. "Indeed, they usually are. Most curiously this is the fourth time this has occurred since you've been at Hogwarts." He mused aloud.

"Would you be able to tell me who the others were, sir?" Harry was curious, something was nagging at him within his mind, and he felt like he was missing something here, though he had no idea what.

"Normally I cannot say," his eyes were shining with unmasked amusement, "however, I can tell you that you are one of them."

"You had one of them on me?" Harry demanded to know, he didn't feel comfortable with that idea.

"In a manner of speaking… You see, Harry, the only way to make them is with direct familial connections. Your parents had one made for you and I was able to make use of it until it stopped functioning at the end of your second year." Dumbledore talked in an even tone, almost like he was giving a mild lecture to the class.

"Was that why you didn't bother to check on me growing up?" Harry wasn't sure it was the time for such a tactless question but he'd wanted to know.

Dumbledore sat back in his chair and waited before he answered. "Yes and no." He answered after a half minute, the waiting was killing Harry.

"I didn't once fear for your life, however, I did have you watched. Mrs Figg would even babysit from time to time. She was my contact and she was paid to keep an eye on you. As a squib, she fit right into the muggle neighborhood…"

"Mrs Figg, the lady with all the cats that would baby sit me, she's a squib?" Harry couldn't believe it. The batty old cat lady, that everyone knew was at least a little off, who babysat him, occasionally, was paid to check up on him. If she was supposed to check up on him, why didn't she ask him questions or report the abuse of his aunt, uncle, and cousin?

"I've since come to learn her mental facilities are not quite right. She's actually in the Janus Thickey Ward for long-term spell damage. In the previous war she was a valuable coordinator, skilled with noticing details and she had a knack for finding things others wouldn't." Dumbledore commented, his tone somewhat weary, as if the memory was weighing on him.

"I see…" Harry thought the Headmaster had just dumped him on the doorstep and never checked up on him, well he had… but there was more to it, even if it was still negligent, if not criminal. As much as he might like to pursue that avenue of legal action against the man, it was probably better to hold that card then to actually play it. He doubted it would come to much, on its own, but an ace in the hole, to couple with something else in the future… Harry thought that was better.

"Do you mind if I ask what happened to her? She's in a spell damage ward…"

"It was public knowledge at one point, not that many would now recall. She was caught in a Death Eater raid, a random one, not one targeted for any more than wanton destruction. She was tortured until resistance showed up." His eyes had darkened when recounting the incident.

"I have made mistakes, Harry. I'm not infallible. The consequences of my mistakes are often not borne by me. I knew you'd be in for a long first decade of your life. Your aunt and your mother didn't get along but what choice did I have?" The way he asked either meant he was an incredible actor or truly genuine in his regret. He took off his half-moon spectacles and wiped his eyes.

"After that night, it was chaos. Death Eaters were turning themselves in, claiming to be imperiused victims, attacks on the Longbottoms and others. Pettigrew dead, Sirius a betrayer and Remus broken by the loss of all his close friends. The Bones family losing Edgar and his wife, the McKinnons wiped out and where you'd be placed in the wizarding world was unpredictable. While many good families would try and claim your guardianship…"

"I had a double check on you. If either should fail the other would have ensured your safety. I thought I had two coverages and didn't take into account the shortcomings of both. Your monitor was for location and would only notify me if you were in critical condition. The magic never felt your life was going to end, without assistance, and the location was fine. With Figg's reports I believed you to be having a normal life. You attended school and were seen regularly…" He trailed off before adding one final thought.

"It may not have been the best home but you were alive and safe. I've investigated your upbringing since and am beyond ashamed at what I found. I do need to apologize to you, Harry, my failure ensured you had a more difficult life than I'd have wished."

Harry thought Dumbledore was sincere, he was affected by his own words and Fawkes had taken to softly crooning on his shoulder.

"What families might have taken me in?" Harry asked.

"It's hard to say… It should have been Sirius or the McKinnons. After them it's murky. Normally an orphaned child goes to the next of kin that is magical. But you were the last Potter and your mother a muggleborn. The ministry may have looked at a member of the Black family but that is not clear either. Lucius had been 'imperiused' and they'd never have put you with a suspected Death Eater. Andromeda was removed from the Black family so she might not have been considered either. It would have come down to politics, and possibly bribery."

Sadly Harry didn't think it would have been different than Dumbledore was saying. With Sirius out of the picture he didn't have any close relations. Arcturus was known to be in poor health and retired from public life. It might have been the best option…

"What about Arcturus Black, we he considered?" Harry asked, curious to how Dumbledore would respond. With all of his family members being known Death Eaters Harry couldn't imagine it was a possibility.

"Arcturus?" Dumbledore parroted it back as a question, his chen moving back and his eyes bulging slightly when Harry asked about the previous Head of the Black family.

"He made me a Son of House Black. Would there not have been a claim there?"

"Not with his health, no. He'd have a strong claim if he could have proven suitable as a primary caregiver." Dumbledore frowned as he considered it. "He didn't press for it, that I'm aware of…"

"I just wondered…" Harry was fishing for information. He didn't like that Dumbledore was leading the entire conversation. "He set me as the Regent Black in his will. I'd have thought he might have liked some say in my upbringing if he was choosing me over other candidates that many would consider better options…"

For all Harry knew, he wanted nothing to do with his upbringing after raising children who joined a mad man.

"Hmmm… I can't say with certainty… but I'd think he wanted to change the image of his family. Having you lead it would be a complete break from the previous generations that had tarnished them. He'd allied with the Potters and had been moving their political viewpoint toward neutral. There had even been speculation on aligning closer to the Potters."

Dumbledore rubbed his chin in thought. "It's possible he didn't want to interfere, but who's to say?"

Harry didn't mind the lull in conversation. It gave him an opportunity to bring out Cuddles. His little dragon loved to spend time with Fawkes. He thought she might enjoy seeing him again.

Fawkes took flight and lunged at Cuddles, whom had just taken off, grabbing the smaller dragon with his talons. Both of them disappeared in a flash.

Harry blinked, shocked that his familiar was now missing.

Dumbledore was smiling, genially. "Well isn't that something. The wonders of magic."

"Did you know Fawkes could do that to a miniature dragon?" Harry asked, still stunned by what he'd seen.

"No," the headmaster responded, "but Fawkes does transport myself and other magical objects."

That made sense, though Harry did think that magic doesn't always make sense so it's a bit of an oxymoronic thought to have. He wondered if Fawkes could do that to her when she was a large dragon…

"It's probably for the best. There were a few things I was hoping to discuss, Harry, if you wouldn't mind, of course." Dumbledore had sat a straighter and had leaned forward while asking, his friendly tone remained.

Harry's eyes narrowed. He could feel some tension in his gut. "What were you hoping to discuss?" Harry asked, he had to work to keep the evidence of their strained relationship out of his voice.

"Do you mistrust me so?" His efforts hadn't hidden it from the old, distinguished politician. "Does my mere presence put you on edge?" He sat back in his chair.

"I know I'm responsible for many things that have been for ill but none have been malicious. I've always sought to aid you. With Voldemort gaining strength, I hoped to assist you and give you advice. We'll have to stand against him. By working together we can defuse his plots and end him for good."

There was a portentousness to his delivery that Harry was having a hard time placing. Was it a sense of foreboding or a more serious statement of fact? Was he trying to use fear and the threat of Voldemort coming back to bring him closer or was it a statement made from pragmatism, giving way to a logical conclusion, of them working together against a common foe?

"What kind of advice, sir?" He'd been careful to show respect and deference. Albus Dumbledore was a man who should not be underestimated. Though many did not like him, none dared to seriously cross him. They might play at politics, or push him now and again, but nothing too serious. Lucius working to get him sacked, during the attacks in second year, were about the most blatant, and even that attempt was short lived.

"Your education to start with." He smiled at Harry.

"My education? I thought it was going rather well, to be honest, sir."

"From the results you've achieved I would say it is. However, we do have some of the foremost experts working within the castle. Even if you are not regularly attending classes I would have expected you to have at least taken the opportunity to request to work with them directly. McGonagall and Flitwick had been most perturbed by your lack of enthusiasm in working with them in the last staff meeting." His eyes shone with amusement when delivering the last part.

"I will speak with them. It's just been rather busy of late." It was true and, yet, not true. He'd been really busy, he just hadn't prioritized it. He had thought more towards finishing all his OWLs and then talking to them.

"Yes, so I've seen." Dumbledore reached into his desk and grabbed a stack of newspapers, splaying them out on the desk in front of Harry.

Multiple Deaths at Triwizard Tournament

Shocking news out of Hogwarts as two high ranking Ministry of Magic Officials have been confirmed dead. Sources have indicated that….

MInister Fudge Under Fire

Following the deadly Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament Minister Fudge was under fire for abuse of authority and miscarriages of authority. Lucius Malfoy, a well known patron of the man, was, himself, caught up in the controversy. Harry Potter gave live testimony that the Minister had Rubeus Hagrid, Hogwarts' Care of Magical Creatures Professor, incarcerated and that Sirius Black was his godfather and innocent of the crimes he was imprisoned for.

Minister Fudge's office has been unreachable and has not given a direct comment. Amelia Bones, the Director of Magical Law Enforcement indicated all the claims will be reviewed. As Harry Potter was not under oath his statements are not considered testimony….

Potter's Probe Proving Pivotal

Harry Potter is once again in the limelight but not for something to do with exceptional grades or the offing of a Dark Lord. No, this time he is acting reminiscent of a young Charlus Potter. The man revered across Europe for bringing aid to the war against Grindelwald's tyranny. Charlus Potter famously fought and left the ICW forces after a highly distinguished service record. But it wasn't his on-the-battlefield actions which endeared him to the people of Europe…

Harry didn't get to fully see the names of who wrote which articles and which papers they were with. Dumbledore had over a dozen on display in front of him. He'd tried to read some of the articles but hadn't been able to read beyond the opening sentences in each article.

"Have you kept up on the papers? They've had quite a lot to say."

Harry looked back up at the headmaster.

"If you were trying to reinvigorate the Potter name across the wizarding world, you've done that. Is that your goal? More fame, familial reverence?"

"Familial reverence? I don't even know what you are getting at." Harry didn't like the sound of more fame. He wasn't doing anything to gain attention.

"No? The Potters are famous for it. Charlus lambasted the Wizengamot for failure to assist with Grindelwald. He was just carrying on the legacy of your answers. I know you've claimed headship, you haven't learned your family history?"

Harry shook his head, not answering the question. It wasn't Dumbledore's business if he'd been studying his family history or not. He could criticize what he said if he wanted but he had no right to answers about his family business.

"Are you doing it for power? You've ensured Amelia Bones will be Minister now. I know you'd met with her." Dumbledore's tone was sharp now.

"For power? How could you think that?!" The words were unsettling in his mind.

"Easily, don't think I've failed to notice the changes in you. Engaging in rituals, taking major leaps in your magical ability, and you're suddenly involved with politics." He quickly rattled off three major changes in Harry.

"People have already noted the Black family holdings are active, more than they've been in decades. Lawsuits have been launched to capture funds from using your likeness and name without permission. You've dropped your friends longtime friends, refused the Weasley Christmas invite and begin associating closely with the Delacour, Pavlov and Greengrass, that's not even mentioning the Bones and Abbott girls too."

Dumbledore didn't pause, he kept going, not giving Harry a chance to respond.

"You're building your brand across Europe, destroying careers with callous words and the reason that Crouch, Bagman, and Karkaroff are dead."

Harry had been getting angrier and angrier at all these out of context accusations. The last one though, stopped that. He blinked, once, twice and a third time. What had Dumbledore just accused him of? Being the reason those three were dead?!

"How do you figure that? I didn't force them to make the oaths, I didn't plan the task and I didn't force the spiders to try and murder helpless hostages and teenage students." Harry spat back with vehemence.

"Oh, but you did." Dumbledore stated smugly.

Harry stared at him confused yet still simmering in indignation.

"Aragog knew you had to believe it was real. What kind of task would it be if there wasn't any element of danger. The hostages wouldn't be touched but the spiders were permitted to harm you but not lethally. Impede and batter, not maim and harm."

Harry scoffed. "You know…. You make an excellent point. I commanded them to string up the hostages and inject them with a paralytic venom. Then I told them all to attack me. I was just bored and itching for a fight. Really, I mean, Cuddles was hungry and I too was craving roasted giant spider legs. They've become a delicacy for us, you know? I just couldn't deny her." He mocked him back, using speaking sarcastically and rolling his eyes at Dumbledore.

"The DMLE asked for a memory of the event. Amos Diggory convinced his son to provide one, though he refused to give the entire memory. I was fortunate enough to be able to see it… And do you know what I saw, Harry?" Dumbledore was leading him on, he could feel he was building to something but Harry didn't know what it was.

Harry didn't respond, he wasn't going to just play along and dance to his tune. He'd tell Harry or he'd not get his big point across.

"I saw a conversation. I saw you talk with Aragog. Then, then, you murdered him."

Harry was far too surprised by the accusation to respond, his jaw unhinged and he listened in disbelief, the accusation was utterly ridiculous.

"Not a single spider had harmed you, not a single one had taken action against you. Instead of trusting that we'd setup a clean task you killed the leader of the colony. You caused them to go beserk and all control to be lost. It was Cedric cutting the hostages down that caused the venom, embedded in the sacs, to be injected into the hostages."

Harry sat back, deeply into his chair. Was that true? Was Aragog baiting him for the task and nothing more? They had an acromantula acting? Acromantula were certainly intelligent enough but did Harry believe the story?

"It was near your age that Tom Riddle dabbled in rituals; he, too, took unnatural leaps in magical ability. He became active in politics… and began accumulating wealth. He sought to end confrontations with aggressive usage of his wand. It was then that he sought the guidance of Horace Slughorn…" Dumbledore casually threw out the poignant comparison.

"Sounds familiar, doesn't it, Harry?" Dumbledore pressed, his soft voice and cutting.

"You're walking a dangerous path. I hope you know what you are doing with the rituals because they were banned for a reason. Magical imbalance will destroy you." The way the man expressed his concern made it clear he doubted Harry had any idea he knew what he was doing. It was correct, he had no idea, but the designer of the ritual set did.

Harry was seething. Being compared to Riddle… He'd not been aggressive, he'd not been a bully.

"If you'd do your damned job I wouldn't be in this predicament! It is your job to protect your students! It was your job to keep underage students out of this Merlin forsaken tournament! Don't sit here and lecture me, telling me I'm going after power! Comparing me to Riddle!"

Harry wasn't sure when he'd stood but he was now leaning over the desk, his clenched fists on the desk.

"I'm just trying to stay alive!" He shouted at the Headmaster. "You can't protect me, you keep employing Death Eaters! You keep letting Voldemort make attempts on my life. What am I supposed to do?! Huh?! Keep letting him take runs at me until I'm dead, under your watch?"

The anger he had kept suppressed was unleashed, the dam broke and there was no containing it.

"I'm just trying to stay alive." He felt his anger wash out of him as he slumped back into his chair.

Dumbledore didn't say anything for some time. He let Harry collect himself first.

"Many bad deeds have been done with the best of intentions." Dumbledore said gently.

Harry shook his head. He wasn't going to listen to this sanctimonious shite when the man spewing it was directly responsible for forcing him into a position where he's had to fight for himself. Where was this support when the whole school turned on him?

Harry knew, he knew exactly what this was: a guilt trip.

"Aragog was going to kill me. He tried to kill us in second year. He had our escape blocked, the hostages weren't even struggling in their sacs, the paralytic was probably already in their system. A Death Eater was impersonating your friend and I'm finding out my place in this world. I'm taking advantage of opportunities to gain allies. So that if and when Riddle comes back, I'll be as ready as I could possibly be. So that the next plot he has on my life won't touch me. I'm protecting myself because nobody else seems capable, especially you." Harry sneered at him.

He was going to let Dumbledore respond when he had a pertinent thought: why was he still here listening to this?

He stood, interrupting whatever Dumbledore was going to say.

"You're right about one thing though. I am gaining power but it's not for the sake of power. I'm doing everything I can to make sure I'm not the last Potter."