Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 59: I Came Here To Collect
Under the watchful eyes of the Hogwarts students, Harry was escorted by the professor outside the hall.
"I'm sorry for the reception, Mister Potter. The students can get overly excited sometimes."
"It's fine, Professor. It is my fault for coming here without warning. I was hoping to speak with the Headmaster in private."
"Have you finally decided to attend our school? There is much you could learn at Hogwarts," McGonagall asked with a warm smile.
Harry could feel that this woman had nothing but pure intentions with her offer.
However, he had no interest in spending his days attending classes.
He had already studied the entire Hogwarts curriculum when he was trying to learn how much magic had changed over the years, and he wasn't exactly impressed with it.
Harry found it all too basic and was curious about how modern wizards and witches could be satisfied with just this superficial knowledge of what magic could offer them.
According to Morgan, this was the fault of the Ministry of Magic, and Hogwarts used to teach much more interesting subjects in the distant past.
"I appreciate your concern, Professor. But my answer remains the same. I only came here to speak with the Headmaster," Harry responded.
"But… don't you wish to pass your O.W.L. exams next year? Without that licence, the Ministry won't even let you use magic outside the school."
Harry lifted his hand and produced a sphere of light. "I can use magic just fine."
McGonagall frowned. "I meant legally, Mister Potter. But that was a very impressive demonstration of wandless magic. I would be very interested in meeting the person who taught you that."
"I can't say that I learned magic from a single person. I had many teachers in the past. But mostly, I learned from nature itself," Harry explained.
"Nature?… what do you mean by that?"
"I mean that if you were to stop and observe the natural phenomena occurring all over the land, there is much that you could learn from that. After all, magical energies are also part of nature." Harry shared some insights he had gained over his long life journey.
Before McGonagall realized it, they had reached the Headmaster's office. She had been attentively listening to Harry speak, and for a moment, she felt like she was back in the position of the student.
"Password?" the gargoyle requested.
"Ehm… Twix!" The professor had gotten a bit distracted and almost forgot about it.
The gargoyle moved out of the way, revealing a set of stairs.
"I should get going then. It was nice to meet you, Professor…"
"McGonagall," she responded.
Harry nodded. "Perhaps we can talk more on my next visit." He went up the stairs and entered the Headmaster's office.
"Mister Potter, welcome." The old wizard sounded much more polite now, compared to their previous meeting, when he treated Harry like a small child.
"Thank you, Mister Dumbledore. I received your message and came as soon as I could. I presume everything is ready to collect?"
"Indeed! Everything is currently stored next to the Groundskeeper's cabin. There was not enough room in my office." Dumbledore smiled.
"I appreciate your assistance on this task. I hope I didn't give you any headaches because of it," Harry said.
"Not at all." Although he couldn't say the same for Severus Snape.
"But there is something that you want from me." Harry smiled. "I can see it in your eyes."
"You said that I had to earn your trust before you answered my questions. There is still much I wish to know about you…"
"Fair enough. Since you were so helpful, I'll answer one question," Harry offered.
"Just one?" Dumbledore didn't seem satisfied with that.
"Just one. So you should think about what you want to ask," Harry suggested.
Dumbledore remained silent for a few seconds. "For these past years… where have you been living?"
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Is that really your question? I thought you would have figured that out by now."
"I thought I saw the face of Madam Yafel on the communication artifact you were using the other day." Dumbledore frowned. "I have not seen her in a very long time, but I do remember what she looked like."
"Well, she is a beauty. Hard to forget, right?" Harry smiled.
"I don't understand… how did you end up living with someone like Madam Yafel? She may be considered the most dangerous person in all Magical Britain."
"Oh, she is definitely the most dangerous person in all of Britain. You can be sure of that." Harry nodded. "So don't think about visiting me."
"Harry, you still haven't told me how you ended up there," Dumbledore pointed out.
"No, but I did answer your first question," Harry responded.
"But… no, that i—"
"For all these years, where have you been living? That's what you asked. So yes, I have been living there. To be more specific, in the house next to the shop. It's small but cozy." Harry stood up from his seat. "Now, let's go pick up my materials. I should be returning soon."
"Won't you even consider answering a follow-up question?" Dumbledore insisted.
"Perhaps on another occasion," Harry said.
In the end, he didn't give the Headmaster any more information, and after collecting the materials from the two red dragons, Harry left the school grounds with the promise that he would be back before the first task of the tournament.
Right now, there was something more important on Harry's mind. After recovering the black tome, he was looking forward to taking some time to study it properly.
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