Harry Potter and the Order of the Hidden Flame

Chapter 3

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Supreme Mugwump, Chief Warlock, et cetera, scrutinized the boy sitting in front of him.

The Headmaster's wizened face was arranged in friendly lines, his eyes twinkling merrily, in stark contrast to the maelstrom of thoughts and emotions that whirled in his brain.

Albus had lost years off his life when young Harry Potter had disappeared, the Dursleys having been completely negligent in their care of him. He had quickly realized that entrusting the care of the Potter scion to those Muggles had been a grave error. The boy should have been kept close at hand, not so far outside his control. Why hadn't he listened to Minerva, and later Arabella, when they had warned him about the Dursleys?

He felt great relief at seeing the return of Britain's greatest weapon against Voldemort, at this seeming miracle. Whatever ambiguity over the role of Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter in Sybill's prophecy had existed when the prophecy had been given had vanished when young Harry survived Voldemort's Killing Curse.

He also felt great joy that Harry Potter was alive. He had lived a long life and regretted many things, but failing James and Lily, both in keeping them alive and in keeping their child safe, was high among them. The two of them had been a shining light in dark times, perhaps the easiest Head Boy and Girl selections ever made.

Yet growing apprehension also gnawed at Albus's gut. Harry's eye's hadn't wavered from the patch of skin directly between the Headmaster's eyes. The spot was starting to itch, and it took a measure of Albus's control to prevent his nose from twitching to relieve the feeling.

Now, there wasn't anything inherently suspicious about this, not in theory. Many Pureblood children were taught this basic defense against Legilimency. Occlumency took many years to master and families needed their secrets protected in the meantime. Many parents themselves never fully mastered Occlumency. The arts were obscure enough that only the more paranoid families paid them much mind.

This obscurity meant that even with training, most witches and wizards were rather lax in applying these precautions. While avoided prolonged eye contact, most couldn't avoid quick glances. Eyes conveyed a great deal, and it was natural to seek this information during a conversation.

Extremely cautious wizards like Lucius Malfoy tended to employ a variety of strategies to avoid making these errors. They'd look around, study objects, pace, anything to avoid directly facing a skilled Legilimens like Dumbledore for very long. They also aimed to keep such interactions as brief and infrequent as possible.

Harry Potter, on the other hand, seemed frozen in time. His posture was erect, relaxed, not making any contact with the high backrest of his wooden chair. He didn't fidget or look around, simply sat there with back straight, shoulders back, fingers interlaced in his lap, feet planted flat on the ground, all as still as a Muggle painting.

Albus could have believed him Petrified except that when Albus himself moved in any way, Harry's eyes, and only his eyes, moved smoothly to track the spot between Albus's own eyes, as if attached by a taut invisible rope. This level of discipline would have been unsettling in an adult; it was quite unnerving to see from a fourteen year old.

There was something about that unwavering stare that triggered dusty but vivid memories, from a time of conflict and madness long past, long won, consigned to a great many history books and a single lonely, impregnable fortress.

Albus wasn't sure why he was being reminded of those times. Harry Potter had nothing to do with any of that. Still, he trusted his instincts; there was something oddly familiar about the boy's odd, almost… military demeanor. Albus almost frowned, then schooled his expression.

Finding those answers would take some time with his Pensieve. He'd let this silence stretch long enough. Harry clearly wasn't going to speak first, having silently accepted Albus's invitation to take a seat. How had he gotten into the castle and found Albus's office? He'd only just returned to his office after the Welcoming Feast and sat down when the portraits had told him that none other than Harry Potter himself was standing outside the gargoyle.

"Harry, my boy, what a delightful surprise it is to see you at Hogwarts, a delightful surprise indeed!" Albus's face crinkled, eyes twinkling fiercely, and he spent a moment beaming at Harry, inviting him to speak. Silence. Albus let his expression shift into one of sadness.

"I must apologize to you, Harry. I failed you, failed your parents, who put you on the books for Hogwarts right after you were born. Everyone in Britain was shocked when you disappeared. I had taken a number of precautions aimed at keeping you safe, but in hindsight they were quite clearly not sufficient, and I have always deeply regretted this shortcoming."

Albus paused again, face contrite, staring at his desk as if in a reverie. Still the boy was silent. After a long moment, Albus flicked his eyes back up at Harry's, but Harry was utterly impassive. He would not, it seemed, be caught off guard for even a moment, or respond until actually asked a question. Very well, Albus thought, and grinned broadly.

"Of course, I have a great many questions for you, my dear boy. A great many questions! One can only ask one question at a time though, of course, and the most important is apparent. You've always had a place here at Hogwarts. It is my duty as the Headmaster to inform you of this now, tell you what the letter we couldn't deliver should have. Will you accept? Harry, my boy, please make an old man happy and tell me you have come to be a student at Hogwarts."

Albus inhaled, out of breath from his speech, then waited with bated breath for Harry's response, watching his face. Harry was silent for a few heartbeats, his stoic expression not changing, but then - to Albus's relief - the bottom half of Harry's face broke rank with the rest of him and began to move as he opened his mouth and began speaking.

"Good to meet you, Headmaster. I realize my arrival was unorthodox; my guardians wished me to test the security of Hogwarts. I will be up front with you. So far, I've seen no evidence of any security; I've passed unopposed and undetected. As such, I've only been authorized to reveal extremely limited information. Will this be a problem, sir?"

Harry's tone was flat, his English fluent but with an indeterminate accent, with only a vague British inflection on predominantly American sounds. Albus didn't like this. Didn't like the idea that Harry was being influenced, controlled, authorized, but some other force. Didn't like that Harry was testing the defenses of Hogwarts, didn't like that he'd found them lacking.

Above all, Albus didn't like that he couldn't express any of this displeasure. He needed Harry Potter at Hogwarts, and didn't want him to vanish as suddenly as he'd appeared. He would proceed with caution.

"Well, Harry, I am concerned for your welfare and I hope to one day gain your trust, but I admit that I do not have it now with good reason. I must disagree with you about the security of the school. Hogwarts is not protected against you, or any other student who has been accepted. Your presence was something we hoped for, not something we guarded against, my dear boy!"

Harry didn't speak, and Albus felt a tinge of irritation. The boy was waiting for a direct answer. The careful evasiveness he had cultivated in his long years as Headmaster and Chief Warlock would not serve him here. He capitulated.

"I will not pry into any details you do not wish to disclose, Harry. Is that acceptable? What can you tell me of how you came to be sitting in my office this evening?" Albus asked, and Harry responded immediately.

"My guardians informed me that I'm a wizard at the beginning of the summer. They are not wizards themselves but knew a little bit about my situation. They assessed my security and found it lacking, and decided to extract me from the Dursleys and take me in."

Again Albus had to suppress a frown. He didn't bother interrupting Harry, as he was clearly correct, in at least one very important sense. All of the protections Albus had placed on Harry and the Dursley household, through Lily Potter's sister Petunia, had been aimed at those who intended to harm Harry. If these mysterious guardians had truly only been concerned for him, the protections would have been entirely ineffective at preventing them from abducting Harry. Or extracting him, as the boy phrased it. Harry continued with his recounting, his tone clinically precise and lacking any emotional prosody.

"While not focused on England, my guardians monitored the terrorist known by the nom de guerre Voldemort. This was how they became interested in me. They recently have obtained and verified intelligence indicating that Voldemort is not dead, or at least not… fully so."

Albus was somewhat relieved, as Harry's slight pause indicated he was not comfortable with the idea of someone being not fully dead. This was the first indication of any sort that Harry had any feelings whatsoever. However, Albus's relief was short lived as it became increasingly apparent just how much Harry knew about the Dark Lord. Attempting to steer him, even gently, would be difficult.

"My guardians felt the best course of action with Voldemort out of the picture was to keep me separate from magical society. Voldemorts followers, the so-called Death Eaters, would not have the tenacity to hunt me down. However, my guardians felt that Voldemort himself would not rest until he found me and extracted revenge for his defeat, which was credited to me. Hiding would have been presented too much risk and was no longer an option."

"That it why I am here, Headmaster. My guardians agree that the lesser risk in this case is a direct assault, a preemptive strike. Voldemort is weak, his remaining forces complacent and disorganized. Our intelligence suggests most still believe him dead. This is to 0ur advantage, and my guardians do not squander advantages. Unfortunately, my guardians are not Wizards and they cannot teach me how to use my magic, how to navigate the society I was born a part of."

"This is what I am authorized to tell you. My primary objective is to confirm that Voldemort is still alive and then eliminate him if he is. My secondary objective is to learn how to use magic, for which I have been given three years to study at Hogwarts. I will comply with the rules of the school while here but will be free to leave during breaks. I will not disclose my location when I'm not at school, and will not be able to receive communication through the usual avian channels."

Albus waited, but it appeared that Harry's monologue was over. Albus had thought his mind had been a maelstrom before Harry had spoken, yet it had been a mere ripple compared to the fierce storm of thoughts that now raged through the canny old wizard's mind. Yet Albus Dumbledore's face remained calm and kindly, if slightly baffled, betraying nothing of the inner turmoil. Albus had faced a great many trials in his life, and little could ruffle his outward disposition. For now, he would continue to tread carefully.

"I'm saddened that you should see it as your responsibility, at such a young age, to take the life of another, even one as evil as Lord Voldemort. I hope you'll allow me attempt to dissuade you from this idea, to help you explore other potential options. There is little I can do to shield you from the consequences should you break the rules of Hogwarts, or from the Ministry if you break any laws. With those caveats, I accept your conditions."

With this said, Albus rose and walked over to the shelf on his wall where the Sorting Hat reposed for most of the year. He picked up the frayed artifact.

"Every student must be Sorted, Harry. On the rare occasions when students are admitted to Hogwarts after their first years, they are Sorted before the Welcoming Feast, after the present first year group. Since you've missed the Sorting, and your circumstances so… unique, I think it best if we get this taken care of in private. Your presence here will not remain a secret outside of the castle for long, but we need not provide a spectacle to give the rumors fuel."

In truth, Albus simply wanted to get a hook into Harry. The boy was entirely too independent, too committed to his mysterious guardians. The Sorting more than any other event was what marked the beginning of a student's time at Hogwarts. Though Albus knew the Hat would never share details of a student's mind with him, he hoped the Founders' relic could pierce through Harry's unshakable equanimity.

Harry nodded, which Albus took as invitation to place the Hat on Harry's head.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The Hat's sudden shout rang out stridently in the quiet office after about a minute's silence. Did Albus detect a slightly satisfied upward tilt to the boy's lips? He couldn't be sure, but he thought so.

"Ah, wonderful, my boy. I am confident that your parents, James and Lily, would be proud that their son is following in their footsteps as a Gryffindor. Now, you have a wand, I assume? We'll need to get you into some Hogwarts robes before your first class in the morning…"

Albus bustled on, in his element. The boy simply sat there, accepting it at all, nodding or shaking his head when appropriate. That was enough for Albus, enough for now. Despite the concerning irregularity of Harry's enigmatic arrival at Hogwarts, the Headmaster was glad to finally have the Boy-Who-Lived at the school, where he belonged.

He'd be able to figure everything else out on the fly, as he'd done many times in the past.