The Chamber of Secrets, or more pertinent, the chamber of unravelled secrets. That would be a more apt name for his home. Harry was in the midst of a maelstrom and every time he paddled out, he would get sucked back in, further and deeper.
The carriage ride he had with Natalia. Was that another lie, an elaborate deception? Was the bearing of her inner motivations a lie?
Harry pulled out the small booklet she had given him for his Yule gift, one that was connected to hers. Its function was to transmit what was written, instantaneously.
We need to talk. ASAP. In-person. Harry wrote.
It wasn't the kind of thing he would normally consider writing, but he needed to sort this out. Fleur was interested and he had clicked with Natalia. Yet, as attractive of an option dating either might be, he had more pressing issues.
He needed to get an update from Madame Bones. To see if they could share anything about Voldemort and his lack of demise. He still had to find out why Voldemort was after him in particular and what kind of connection they had. He wanted to find out more about the Potter and Black families. He wanted to sort out his status there.
A talk with Dumbledore was necessary to sort out his education. How useful could Flitwick and McGonagall be? What about professors like Babbling and Vector? He still had time to figure that out and it would sure be nice to not be stuck in the chamber day after day, all alone. Meeting the headmaster would lead to meeting with Sirius, Remus, Weasleys and anyone else they roped along. He had to deal with that soon too.
Another ball to attend… he'd need proper clothing, again. He knew he couldn't wear the same clothes. He'd need to rely on Lacroix, Natalia or Fleur.
There was one bright spot. He knew, for sure, that their dragons were not like his black and bronze minion. He hadn't expected they would be but he now had confirmation. They were models, like the one he got at the task. His stealing of the model, the night before, and the dragon ritual had done something.
Rituals are built off of intent. What was he thinking when he underwent the ritual. What was his express goal when it happened?
It was hard to remember. He was exhausted and a bit delirious from blood loss. He'd returned to the prepared ritual chamber. Very few rituals required him to strip out of his clothes and this one had not. Only magical items. He never kept magical items in his pockets. He'd taken off his wand holster and left his outside the room like he did every time except this time. Cuddles was in his pocket and he had forgotten to remove her.
The point of the ritual was to absorb power, the essence of the dragon, to make his magic denser. Rituals responded to intent. How did they mix? How did he end up with Cuddles?
His thoughts were broken by a response.
I'm free today. Is something wrong? When and where? I need to talk to you too.
Harry picked up the quill again and after dipping it in the inkpot he wrote his response.
Lacroix's open today?
He didn't have to wait long as she had awaited his response.
Yes.
That was good. They could meet and he could see about last-second robes and a date. Fleur would go but he wanted to be cautious. The Delacour's were very comfortable. He'd been so at ease, and that bothered him, greatly. He'd never been so familiar with a family as he had with them. It felt wrong. It didn't seem false but he was willing to hedge his bet by bringing Natalia. There was no love between the two families. The way the two girls sniped at each other, at the Yule Ball, had no felt anything less than ardent.
Can you meet there in 15?
When he got the affirmative response, he groaned.
Today was going to be a bother.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Why don't we do anything else, Harry? All we've ever done is walk and talk around here." Natalia was teasing the entirely too stoic guy walking beside her. It was obvious something had happened. They hadn't talked since the ball but something had changed. They weren't picking back up where they'd left off. He was more reserved, he stood further and there was no kiss at their greeting.
He'd talked with Lacroix before she got there and hadn't really said much.
It was a wonderful winter day. Slightly above freezing temperature with the sun beating down providing warmth for those out in the elements. The frigid air contrasted wonderfully with the warmth the sun's rays provided on their exposed skin.
Harry looked at her with a somewhat pained expression.
He kept silent until they made it to the bench they were familiar with, though the space between them was not.
"I've been invited to the Delacour Ball; it's tonight. Do you want to be my date?"
"Of course I'd love to." She replied. She closed the distance between them and hugged, Harry, didn't return it. She gave him a questioning look.
Harry exhaled deeply. This wasn't going to be fun.
"I read the file." Harry wasn't looking at her; he didn't want to see the deceit.
"The file?" She parroted back in confusion.
A chill hit her. She wasn't used to the space between them, the lack of warmth was unkind in this weather.
"The one that details how to get close to me, all the background information and how to manipulate me to get what you want." The hardness in his voice did was not unnoticed.
Natalia sunk in her seat. She felt like the bench had lowered itself to the ground. The revelation explained the cold demeanour.
Harry didn't need to hear her respond; he'd seen it all in her defeated body language. His thoughts had been plagued by what action he should take since he found out about the file. He'd decided upon this path as he physically worked out earlier in the morning.
"Was any of it real?" He queried softly to the girl that was still slumped beside him on the bench.
She put the palms of her hands on the bench and lifted herself up, back into proper posture. Her head was still bowed and she did not respond right away. She had vacant eyes staring down at the ground. Her eyes did not look up as she answered. "No? Yes?..." She paused and looked at him now. "I don't know."
Harry scoffed at her. "You don't know?"
He mockingly replied. "You expect me to believe that?" He asked, exasperated at her non-answer and his next sentence was growled out at her.
"You think I'll fall for that?" His anger had grown with each successive line, though he'd kept it within himself. The worst of his anger, and feelings of betrayal, were dealt with in the chamber.
He hadn't been sure how she would respond but he thought denial was most likely, followed by crying and anger. Instead, he saw none of those. She sat there, calmer than he would have ever bet on for a situation as tense as this.
"I've told you about much of my life Harry." She stopped looking at him. She looked out over the landscape as she spoke in a hollow voice. "I'm Natalia Pavlova. I'm the unneeded daughter, the extra bride to find a suitable match for. The disappointment that could do nothing as well as her siblings. I'm merely a ballet dancer." The final two words were inflected in a way Harry guessed as her imitation of something she'd been told many times.
"I'm the frigid bitch upholding the family name at Durmstrang. I've got it perfected. The 'I'm a Pavlova and you're beneath my notice' attitude, the glare as well. I'm the socialite at parties ensuring our family is well thought of and everyone is enamoured by my beauty, charm and intelligence. And I'm the failure, the one that can do nought but dance." She laughed at herself with a low void chuckle.
"The first time they've told me they were proud of me was when they saw the paper yesterday, or at least since I can remember." Her gaze found his. "Our picture, it was on the front page. They congratulated me for finally acting like a Pavlova." She wasn't crying but her tear ducts were close to spilling over, her body still slightly slumped and distraught.
"I was taught to wear different masks ever since I can remember. Dependant on who I was with, where I was and what role I was to play it dictated which one I wore. I've worn masks my whole life; I don't even know who I am beneath them. What's real? What's not?" The self defeatism in her tone was abundantly clear to Harry.
Harry wasn't sure what to make of this girl. Was this true? Was this a mask? Was she playing her part well again or was this genuine, the real McCoy.
The pause brought some clarity to her mind. A question came to the forefront of her mind in the silence. "Why did you ask me to the ball first?" The thought, turned into her vocalized question, gave her hope it may not be over. He engaged her to continue seeing each other first and then aired grievances, odd.
Harry gave her a sardonic look. "It's at the Delacour's invitation and I'm either escorting Fleur or yourself. I don't really know the Delacour's and though we have some shared history I don't know their true intentions towards me." There was little harm, in Harry's mind, revealing the information. It showed there was, at minimum, minor levels of trust between them.
"Are we okay?" Natalia cringed as she asked. She felt like a little girl asking for parents if they still loved her after a scolding. Her voice still uneasy.
Harry shrugged. He really didn't know what to say to her. He didn't trust her as much as he once did. Between the revelations at the ball and what the Delacour family had done, it was egregiously eroded. "No? Yes?... I don't know?"
She caught his lazy smirk and the repetition of her previous answer. She pushed his shoulder and he snickered in response.
"You think you're so funny." She replied, caustically.
His easy-going demeanour returned a little with the familiar interplay between them. They'd sat here on more than a couple nights and had gotten to know each other better, how well Harry did not know.
"You realize if you're going with me tonight, you'll need a dress. Lacroix is already arranging a few outfits for me so I don't need to ask her for any help for a while." He laughed at the look of her that had dawned on her face.
"You go get ready, how about we meet at Lacroix's in five hours?" He grinned stupidly at her, enjoying the diffusion of tension between them again.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Harry had decided today was a good day for confrontations. Mention the file to Natalia, go to another ball and before that, talk to Dumbledore. Taking Natalia was strategic; the Delacour's would believe he was still interested in her and would be very wary around her. Putting them out of their comfort zone might reveal something. Dumbledore though, he had no idea what to expect meeting the headmaster. He wasn't that worried Dumbledore would do anything overt to wrestle control of himself back to him. He was still worried he would be out of his depth and brought along a familiar comfort Cuddles. Nobody knew of the dragon and it would cause one hell of a shock if he needed to reveal her.
He trudged up the stairs to the headmaster's office and knocked on the door.
"Come in Harry." Came the muffled, yet strong, voice of a man he once considered a pseudo grandfather.
He strode into the room and seated himself in the chair in front of the powerful wizard, he sat and awaited him to begin the conversation.
The man presented himself far less in the grandfatherly, patronizing, way he usually had. Harry wondered if it was more of the real man sitting here now than he'd ever seen before.
"I'll begin with a two-fold congratulations. First, in your outmanoeuvring of myself, and others, to achieve your status as an emancipated minor. You reached far beyond where I had expected and flanked the roadblocks I had put in place, though not without assistance. It is a congratulation because your actions have shown me how far you've grown and that is to say it surpassed my expectations. And secondly, your scores were not merely adequate as your previous grades here would suggest. I've seen the memory of your tests and your skills have come a long way, so I applaud your hard work."
This was not what Harry was expecting. How foolish was he to consider he could come close to even match the prowess of the man before him. He wasn't the head of the governmental bodies of the UK and ICW for lack of skill. How naive and silly was he to think he could even stand on the playing field with such a man.
"Thanks." He tried to keep his burgeoning cynicism under control, to not let it lead out his mouth.
Dumbledore put on a wan of a smile before jumping to his next topic. "I've seen your reports of your tutelage under Madame Lacroix," He gave a piercing look to Harry, one that told the younger man 'I know' before he continued. "And I'd like to give some advice. There are three people alive born to the Black family: Sirius Black, Narcissa Malfoy and Andromeda Tonks. Sirius was removed from his training as the Black Heir when he rebelled and joined Gryffindor. Narcissa is not someone I'd think you'd do well to closely acquaint with and that leaves Andromeda. The Black sister that was taught as a revered Black until she broke away from the family. She'd make an excellent choice in learning your role as the Regent Black."
As much as he attempted, the shock showed and Harry slumped back in his chair. He had no idea about it and Lacroix said she only knew because of the contract she had with the Black family. Perhaps it shouldn't surprise him. Dumbledore knew his parents and their parents. He knew every able-bodied witch and wizard that went through Hogwarts for decades on end.
Harry had no idea how to respond.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he filled in the gap, due to the lack of vocal response, Harry had left vacant. "I've made mistakes and I want you to know I'm not against you. Perhaps it is my old age that overlooked some things as trivial that you believe are real grievances. I've only worked towards your benefit since the moment I gained your guardianship and now that I no longer have it, it will not stop me from willingly assisting you."
Harry finally regained his threshold after being mentally incapacitated by the stunning direction the one-sided conversation had taken. "How would Andromeda Tonks be of help?" He asked gently.
Dumbledore seemed pleased with the response as he answered in a more lecture-like manner. "She is no longer a Black but she was trained to take on the duties of her parents before she abruptly eloped with her boyfriend, against the match her family had set for her. She is older than Narcissa and it was well known Bellatrix was not a stable young woman. Andromeda was the choice and was prepared as such. Sirius was too young to have learned much and, though I cannot confirm it, I expect he has been barred from taking up his birthright as the Headship of the Black family. She, and her husband, are both lawyers of considerable skill and would be able to assist too. This is without mentioning the Tonks family knew your parents as well."
Harry could see how pleased Dumbledore was with the pathway of this conversation. The last comment was a typical barb. Oddly enough reading his own file allowed him to understand other's manipulations of him. Give him information, build his self-worth, extend trust, let him have power to make his own decisions, and appeal to his longing for family. It was all there in the file. He had hated just how right it was. It took some time to occur that many of the ways to manipulate him, the things he thought were faults, were actually normal. Everyone wants community, they want to be recognized for their achievements. He was not at fault for being human.
"Do you mind telling me why you are concerned with me taking up the Black Regency? I'd come here to talk about education and you've led us astray from the get-go." Harry inquired, deflecting away from the family comment. He couldn't beat Dumbledore in all this bullshit half truthed dialogue. He wasn't strong or experienced enough and that left him one option: evasion.
Dumbledore seemed to take his sweet time getting around to answering.
"The Malfoy's have usurped quite a lot of the economic and political influence because Narcissa was the only adult Black left, even though she is not a Black anymore. With the return of the Black family, they will lose prestige and influence which I think we can easily agree is mutually beneficial." Harry didn't like the way Dumbledore phrased that. Mutually beneficial was a rather different phrasing to something like 'good thing'. Did he not see it as good? Just better than the alternative?
"What do you know about the connection between Potter and Delacour?" If the man wasn't going to hit on the reason he'd come, perhaps he could pump him for some information.
Dumbledore's eyebrows furrowed for a second before his face lit up in recognition. "Ah, you've met Patrice? Are you attending their ball this evening? Alas, my duties will keep me from attending this year." He let out a light chuckle as he spoke, his eyes twinkling merrily.
Was the old man just putting on a show of just how much more informed he was than Harry? He was going to ignore it. "I was trying to ask if you knew much about our families connection. Aside from what Patrice told me, I know very little."
"I presume he told you of your grandparents and his own father?" Harry indicated he had with a bob of his head. "Well, there's little more to say really. The three remained close until their deaths and I believe your father and Patrice stayed in regular contact until they went under the Fidelius charm. Beyond that, I was not privy."
Well, it was good to at least have it confirmed. He could use Natalia's family to expose the dirt on the Delacour's. They had no problem painting the Pavlova's in a negative light to get closer to Harry and he supposed the reverse would be true too.
"Thanks." Harry smiled when he saw Fawkes flash into the room. One more item to ask about. Cuddles was beyond him. He'd puzzled over just what she was and had come to virtually nothing useful. "There is something I'd like to ask you about before we get to the academic discussion." He could see Dumbledore's interest as the man focused on him sharply. "I've gained a familiar of sorts and wondered if you would be able to share any advice or insight as to what I might expect. You're the only wizard I know with a magical creature as your familiar after all."
Seeing the dumbfounded expression, even if it was a very brief moment, was the icing on the cake. He reached into his pocket and withdrew Cuddles. The dragon stretched and took in the two other occupants of the room. She gave a withering look to her favourite playmate Fawkes.
Dumbledore scrutinized the small dragon in front of him. He drew his wand and sought Harry's permission before casting anything. Harry nodded his assent and watched as Dumbledore mumbled out detection spells of various sorts, or what he assumed they were as he did not recognize the exact spells. Dumbledore's eyebrows were furrowed further as he continued, Harry thought he might be getting somewhat frustrated by the results.
"This is your... familiar?" The way he asked made it clear he was unsure of what word to use, the heightened inflexion in his tone when speaking the word after a pause.
His deep blue eyes lacked the twinkle as the intelligence hidden behind them took in every detail they could possibly garner, from both the dragon and boy. "I've never seen this species before…. And though I may not be as knowledgeable about the intricacies of magical creatures as my celebrated colleague, Newt Scamander, I am thoroughly versed in the various species… none of which are in front of me." He paused and watched the young wizard closely before he continued.
"If I had to guess, I would venture," he used his wand to prod the dragon to get a look at the underbelly of the dragon, "this is an offshoot of a Hungarian Horntail. The physique is similar but its shading is too dark. There is a bronze sheen, seen easily in reflections from light, but it is not a purebred horntail, that is not mentioning the obvious size issue."
Harry watched as Dumbledore recomposed himself back toward the headmaster he'd been familiar interacting with. "Though there is one prominent feature that I have not mentioned that make it a rather startling discovery. Do you know what it is my boy?"
Harry had been aware of the species being dissimilar to the textbook descriptions of a Hungarian Horntail. He had assumed it was the presence of the other two dragon's essences from the ritual. He theorized if it was just the horntail it would have stayed just like that, though he wasn't sure if it would have enough power to do whatever it was that made Cuddles a sentient being instead of a model.
"No, I'm not sure." He responded after giving it some thought. Dumbledore's eyes bored into him and Harry felt uneasy about the exchange. The impromptu staring contest lasted for mere seconds but Harry thought it was minutes. The steely look from the aged professor did not fade as he spoke.
"Curious. I trust you've found some irregularities with your… familiar?"
"Yes." Came the soft simple reply from Harry.
"Please describe them," Dumbledore asked in a manner that reminded Harry of McGonagall's requesting a student do something more akin to a thinly veiled command, though he noted it was not malevolent at all. Harry surmised it was more Dumbledore needing to confirm his suspicions or gain a new variable to solve the equation.
"Well, I've found her mannerisms are not wholly draconic. At times she acts just like I would think a dragon would… and then she acts as she does now. She's a dragon perched happily in my hand content to spend time cuddle up on me. Everything I've read makes it kind of clear dragon's aren't normally tactile creatures, especially with humans." Harry would not be giving away the incident of the parseltongue; he did not want Dumbledore to be aware of that.
He was honestly at an impassable chasm. Dumbledore's overwhelming magical knowledge was his hope to bridge the gap and understand more about his dragon.
Dumbledore slowly stroked his index and middle fingers in a pinching motion with his thumb through his beard rubbing his chin as he rolled the new information over in his mind. His eyes seemed distant, lost in their own world, and his face had a look Harry had not seen before. There was a calm look with strong hints of enjoyment. It reminded him of Hermione finding out new information and the sheer joy she had to work on a theory in her mind. It was the first time he could say he'd seen the man enjoying himself. He'd laughed and had found enjoyment in other things before, such as the twins' pranks, or when he had the mischievous twinkle in his eye awarding all the points at the end of his first year, but they were enjoyment at something outward. He hadn't seemed to have this sort of unguarded expression in the past around Harry. It was something he filed away for future consideration.
"Yes… I believe…" He stopped his mildly audible muttering and cast a few more spells, his eyebrows rose on his face and his eyes widened with the last spell. A look of accomplished insight came across his face before he turned his focus back to Harry. "As sure as I am that this dragon is a new species, or at the least a subspecies, I am certain this is not wholly a dragon." His eyes twinkled as he saw Harry's shocked expression.
"N- no- not fully a dragon?" He asked, bewildered at the very thought, with no inclination on what the could possibly even mean.
Dumbledore smiled widely at him, it was so rare, these days, he was able to find something entirely new in the magical world. "That's correct. One of the first things I checked was to see if it was, in fact, a dragon- and it is. You'll have no issues registering it as a miniature dragon familiar with the ministry. The reason I asked further was that I could sense it's magic, it's human magic."
Harry blinked, then blinked again. "What?"
Seeing the corners of Dumbledore's mouth rise was a clear indication that the man enjoyed this moment. "From what I can tell it is a dragon, but it is infused with your magic as well."
"I used the word 'familiar' in a rather loose sense. A familiar is normally bonded to their companion." He peered over at the perched Fawkes. The majestic phoenix preened and then flapped its wings to making its way over onto the desk beside his bondmate. The headmaster ran his hand along the length of the bird eliciting obvious happiness from the bird. "Fawkes and I share a magical bond, however, you and your dragon do not. It's more than a bond as a part of your magic is in the dragon. It is as close to being an extension of yourself as it is to a bonded familiar." The man seemed far too happy with just how ridiculous this was all sounding as he lectured Harry. "In fact, I'd say this is the most unique magic I've encountered in decades." He spoke with unbidden gaiety.
If Harry's eyebrows were any more scrunched up they would be touching they would be. "I'm not sure I understand…"
"I dare say there isn't a soul on this earth that would." Harry looked up at the elder man sharply at the proclamation. "I believe this is a unique phenomenon. Whatever method you used is unseen in the magical world. A miniature magical creature that is infused with a wizard's magic… it's astonishing to think about…" Harry was uncertain of just what he meant by that. Hopefully, it would be explained next.
"I would theorize you should be able to connect to your… familiar. The exact effects you would need to explore yourself. For bonded familiar's, the wizard, or witch, gains something. Fawkes, for instance, can tell if I need him. When I call out for him, it resonates within him and he flashes to my side. He has an instinctual habit of knowing what I need. In battle, he has taken curses meant to kill me when I was unable to evade them. I don't gain Fawkes' magic, his abilities or anything from the bond. Just what I've described and the use of the phoenixes capabilities.
"Now your situation is different. Think of my bond with Fawkes as a string that connects us. We can say or think things that resonate from one to the other. But, it is an outward connection. None of my magic permeates Fawkes and none of his is within me. It's like an addition that if it was missing wouldn't change the physical structure. Like an umbrella in a meadow to protect you from the sun, it augments the meadow, it is not a part of it. Your connection is different. Your magic is within the dragon. Your connection should be… more. My belief is the discrepancies between how a dragon should act and how it is acting is due to your subconscious will. Right now you wish for it to be acting as she is and so she is."
Both of their eyes watched the dragon. It was calmly sitting in his hand and had not once made an issue of having spells cast on it nor had it gone away from him on some sort of feral fire torrent rampage.
"I will caution your line of thought. This is still a dragon. It has an infusion of your magic but there is no doubt it is still a dragon. I would wager it has all the instincts and behaviours of a dragon but your magic is able to… temper them. As to any abilities or attributes, you will need to experiment and work on that."
Harry just sat in his seat. His mind churning over and over. The ritual had created something totally unexpected, even for one such as Dumbledore. It was incredible, fantastic and scary.
"Harry," Dumbledore said gaining the boy's attention back from his introspection. "I do have other commitments today and we have two more topics to cover." Harry focused back on the headmaster; he could experiment later.
"The main reason for you seeking me out was to discuss your education here. You mentioned you would not be willing to be a student but would like to interact more. Did you have an idea of what you wished for?" He asked back in the familiar guise of the wise and caring headmaster.
"Uh, well not fully. I'd like to take some meals here so I and socialize and it would be helpful to have access to the library and talk with professors. Is something workable like that?" He asked hopefully.
Dumbledore hummed and hawed for a moment considering the request. "It would be permissible. The foreign students have those privileges so they could be provided to you as well without issue. But, I'd like to hear about your future educational plans. Will you attend here next year? Your ancestors have all attended this institution of magic since its founding. I'd dare say none of your esteemed ancestors attended elsewhere since the gates of Hogwarts have opened. It would be a shame to break from that tradition." The half-hidden smirk let Harry know Dumbledore knew that he knew exactly what he was doing. But if he knew, that Harry knew, would that mean he knew and therefore it made what he knew irrelevant? Harry knew he didn't match up to the political acumen of the man in front of him.
"I think I will return next year to finish my studies but a lot can happen between now and then. I know I'm now ahead in the wanded classes but I need to catch up in the others and I will need practical experience that is difficult to attain without facilities like the Hogwarts greenhouses." He shrugged at the end, Dumbledore was a headmaster and obviously would know all this.
"I hope you still know I'm not your enemy Harry. I've treated you as a naive child and not provided explanations for my actions regarding your person." Harry could feel the familiar ire for the man building within him, specifically from leaving him with his so-called family. "It is only just recently that I've seen maturity. Just so it is plainly clear, I knew of the loophole Marchbanks suggested. Only a determined student would have impressed her so; you don't have the prerequisite knowledge to be aware of that option on your own. There is a difference in learning by being told what to do versus learning by resolving problems with guidance. I'm pleased to see you are taking the initiative to grow, to mature and to better yourself."
Harry's ire had been depleting itself the more he listened. He'd been so focused on the past actions that he'd not considered much of the man's reasoning for his actions.
"Visit as often as you'd like. I know your friends and many faculty have been wanting to speak to you and stay updated on your progress. Speaking of which, when are you able to visit the Weasleys, Sirius and Remus? I know they have been very concerned without being able to see or communicate with you."
Harry laughed inwardly. He could well imagine an irate Mrs Weasley flooing Dumbledore and sending howlers for having 'lost' Harry Potter. Sirius and Remus he could understand but to lesser degrees as well. Neither had deigned to ensure regular contact beyond intermittent and measly letters so not a whole lot would have changed in reality. It would appear different, as they had no contact with him, but they wouldn't have missed much.
"I'm at the Delacour Ball later today and tomorrow but the day after I'm free. Would it be possible to visit Sirius and Remus then the Weasley family?"
"Sirius is free for any time you are available. He's in a rather secure, but inhospitable, location and told me you can visit any time, day or night. Remus is staying with him helping make the place more... friendly. In fact, here, read this."
Harry watched as he took out a piece of parchment and put it in front of him. It had an address of a home on Grimmauld Place in it.
"Do you understand the importance of what I've done?" Dumbledore asked as he took the parchment back and slid it into his robes.
Harry shook his head.
"I'm the secret keeper for the home. I've shared the location with you so you may now visit. I understand you have an apparition license." Harry sighed at the casual dropping of information the man could obtain on him, with apparent ease. "The rest of the Weasley family is actually back in town as well, both Bill and Charlie too. In fact, Charlie would be rather interested in looking at your familiar."
A dragon handler interested in a new breed of dragon; he sure would. Harry saw Dumbledore pull out a form of some kind and he began to fill it out. Harry watched as he whirled through it before holding it out before Harry with aplomb. "If you send this to your friend, Madame Bones, she can sign alongside me, the Chief Warlock, to confirm your status as having a bonded miniature dragon familiar. Perhaps, I'll send it along with Fawkes to her. Please sign here." He indicated a spot for Harry to sign and handed him a quill. Harry read through the form, not willing to blindly trust him by signing it immediately, and when he had completed his read through, he signed in the aforementioned spot.
Dumbledore didn't take it as a sign of ill content between the two. "Another good sign of maturity. Had I placed a form like that before you last year, I expect you would have just signed it." He smiled but Harry thought it didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Take the floo to visit Sirius anytime in the morning. I'll inform him you are coming and let Molly know you'll be coming for lunch. My door is always open to you."
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"You acquitted yourself quite well at dinner. I thought my family would drive you sparse!" Natalia whispered at him while leading him to their informal sitting area. Tonight was the third night in four days she was able to spend with Harry. The Yule Ball, Delacour Ball, and tonight with her parents. They were taking a quick stolen moment together before she would usher him to the informal sitting area the Pavlova family regularly used after dinner parties with close friends, or family.
Harry let out a deep breath but didn't respond right away. Meeting the powerful family in person he had been warned about was not as he expected it to be.
"It wasn't that bad, right?" Natalia asked hoping it would elicit a response this time, beyond the deep breathing the last comment had.
Harry scrunched his face together as he answered her. "I think so; I've never done anything like this. I was pretty quiet and your family appeared to have done what they could to not focus solely on me, or even what is or isn't going on between us." He shrugged, "It's kind of hard to say, but I think so."
Natalia gave him a reassuring smile and hugged herself to his right arm. Her confident demeanour faltered noticeably. "Is something wrong?" Harry asked.
"I've read the file on my family and there is something you should know… the file has one thing backwards… It's a very closely kept secret. Everyone is led to believe my father is the one that is the domineering patriarch. He'll come across as strong, stern and as the undisputed leader of the family. My mother is seen as the soft family matriarch, the socialite, a bit airheaded and fully submissive to her husband. While it's not the total opposite, it is virtually the opposite. I know-" She exhaled deeply and snuggled up as best she could to the young man standing beside her, "I know we aren't on the… best of terms. I could have been more honest and I do want this to work. So, I'm trying to help still, just as I told you in the carriage." Her demure posture and shining eyes were almost too much for him to bear.
Before anything could happen, she spoke up. "We'd better get going. I was supposed to have taken you straight there and this is where things really will take off. Dinner was polite discussion, any kind of business is kept until after dinner. I won't be able to help; I have to play my part." She shot him a regretful look and Harry didn't bother responding. He followed her lead into the formal sitting area where he was relieved to find it was just the four of them. Her parents and the two of them. He was immensely grateful it did not include her older brothers and sister too.
Ivan and Sylvia, as Harry had been instructed to call the patriarch and lady of the family, were waiting for them already seated on a loveseat. Across from them, separated by a rich mahogany coffee table, were two chairs. Harry took Natalia to be seated in the one across from her mother and he took the one across from her father.
"I do hope you've enjoyed yourself so far tonight, Harry. Can I get you anything else?" Sylvia asked, indicating the array of drinks displayed before them.
"A butterbeer would be great." He responded, having seen one readily available on the table.
He took a seat and felt an air of awkwardness descend.
"We were so surprised when we saw the paper on the 26th. Our daughter," Harry didn't like the way in which she said the word, somehow it came across as condescending, "on the front page dancing with yourself. It was so shocking and yet so wonderful to see our daughter does live up to her name." The casual whim in which she spoke negatively about Natalia stoked his ire.
"I've not seen so much owl post in my life. We had floo calls coming in all day asking about it. I had to scold her for not informing her parents for such an important event she failed to inform us that she was attending. I was almost an embarrassing disaster! Reporters, politicians, friends, and everyone else wanting to know just how we pulled off the coup. It put us in such a spot of trouble. It almost makes one think Natalia did it for schadenfreude." She spoke animatedly, her hands' motions in exaggerated circles as she explained all the types of people that had contacted them and her voice inflected all over the place matching her gestures.
"Yes, it was quite the shock our daughter finally found a way to make those ridiculous ballet lessons worthwhile." Natalia's father added gruffly. "Attending the Delacour Ball with my daughter was a nice gesture. "
He put on a false bright small before responding. "She caught my eye with how wonderful she danced and specifically just how dedicated she was to her craft. It was obvious and the primary thing that attracted me to her in the first place. Without seeing her practice, I doubt I would have wanted to escort her." Harry tried to calm himself from getting worked up. He was making mistakes already. They were probably trying to prod him and get him to react emotionally. In fact, this could have been designed to push him towards their daughter further.
"She certainly is rather dedicated in that part of her life." Sylvia returned his smile, showing approval for his words. It didn't match the scowl on her husband's face though.
"I was wondering just how close you are to the Delacour family. We know of course of the closeness between your two families but it had appeared you had wisened up to their fall from grace, marrying a veela of all things." He growled the last bit out, his voice rumbled low before it with a dour look on his face.
"I've recently been reacquainted and spent a day with their family. They seemed rather pleased to be back in contact with the Potter family. My grandparents were close to Antoine Delacour."
"I'll bet they were pleased…" Harry heard Ivan grumble, more than likely not meaning for it to be loud enough for Harry to overhear.
"Is there an issue with veela?" Harry bit out in retort, knowing full well Natalia already disliked Fleur for her heritage and seeing it was a familial trait.
"An issue? The women who seduce any powerful man they can get their filthy beaks on! The beasts that try to steal all of the top male partners! Tell me, did that Delacour veela even look at you before you showed yourself as a rising star? Did she try and make physical advances and push you away from our beloved Natalia? Did they not tell you of the real veela history? The one they try and hide away and hope we will all forget. We know you were not raised in a magical world and it's best you get a real history lesson, not what Hogwarts teaches." Ivan was a stable concoction of lividity and control. His face had taken on a red hue, and he was sitting forward and attempting to crush the scotch filled tumbler with his bare hand if the white knuckles were anything to go by.
Harry glanced over at Natalia. She was hiding a scowl behind her cup while she took a deliberately slow drink. He was going to get no support from her in front of her parents, it seemed. "I did not grow up in the magical world so whenever I can get another perspective and broaden my horizons, I take the opportunity. I'd be thrilled to hear about what you are referencing.
Ivan took a moment and calmed himself down, but a glance at his wife and he let her take the lead.
"Veela are found today in France and Bulgaria. At the turn of the century, they were also a population in Russia, where our family hails from. The Russian Empire's downfall was due to the veela." She spat the word out like her mouth was on fire just for forming the syllables of the treacherous word.
"They poisoned the ruling class from within. Within two generations of their emigration, from Bulgaria to Russia, the Tsar had fallen and magical were driven out by the communists. It wasn't until Grindelwald that the exiled Russian magical were able to slowly begin to regain their former stations. Russia became desperate when their muggle forces were being crushed by the Germans. The Blitzkrieg was unstoppable with Grindelwald's forces. After desecrating everything magic for decades, they begged for us to come back like we always knew they would."
There was something there that Harry was missing. He didn't know what it was but there was something that was just off the edge he couldn't place. He listed with rapt attention as Sylvia waxed on further about a topic he should have known so much more about. He was struck speechless while wondering why the twentieth-century magical history wasn't taught at Hogwarts.
"They tried to bribe us back into saving their sorry necks. All of the nobility that was hunted like criminals. They stole our wealth, our homes and then they begged us a few decades later. Nobody heard their pleas and their cries fell on deaf ears. Not until they bled their sons dry, did we deign to even negotiate. All of us, The Russian Oligarchs, that had protected and guided the country faithfully for centuries, were not sought after again. They'd butchered families in the dead of night. When we negotiated back our rightful place, it was for far more than just what we had lost."
Sylvia paused as she took a quick break to parch her dry throat. She allowed the tension to build, and to let Harry's mind process the information. When she had wet her dry throat, she continued.
"The families that condemned us for aiding Grindelwald never pay attention to the reason why we fought for him in the first place. All of us old families, that were driven out when the Tsar was overthrown, were aiding the German Grindelwald so we could return home in the first place! We are ridiculed for being a turncoat, while all we wanted was to reclaim our heritage. The war began to turn because all of us defected. We cut a deal and were allowed to be Russian magicals again, without fear of reprisals on our lives.
"The greatest weakness of the Axis war machine was the two-front war. The only reason there was one was because we demanded it in the first place! They needed our finances to get out of their depression, they needed our economic brilliance and our political expertise. While we readied our armies to retake our homeland, the rest of the world was in economic turmoil, the Great Depression. Their economic hardships sapped their resolve to fight before they could not stand up to the Blitzkrieg.
"When the crucial point came, we threw back the foreign invaders in Stalingrad. We assisted the muggle war machine and financed their counter-attack. When it was all said and done, the war was decided by our assistance. Dumbledore had the gall to degrade us, to blemish our bloodshed and lineage. The man sits in his ivory tower and ensures our ilk are degraded for our sacrifice. All so he can retain his power. The man sat in his protected castle and only came out to defeat a broken man with a routed army. He got all the acclaim and then tried to make himself something he's not. When it failed, he became what you see him as to this day, the veneer of an eccentric teacher hiding immense magical power and potent political acumen."
Harry took the pause to pose a question of his own. He wanted to hear more about their viewpoint. Exiled Russian oligarchs return to the motherland to vanquish a foe they had been fighting for. Quite the take, instead of dishonourable turncoats and bandwagon jumpers.
"Can you elaborate on Dumbledore? What do you mean by your 'veneer' comment?"
"I'll take this one dear." Harry turned his attention to the man who'd let his wife dictate the conversation thus far. The man had a nasty gleam in his eye and looked thoroughly pleased to get onto this topic.
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"Time has gotten away from us, it would be best to move onto the final topic," Ivan stated shifting their long conversation on politics, governance and worldview into a new direction. "We were rather blindsided by your association with our daughter," he raised his hand to placate any notion of response at this time, "and that is not to say we are anything but pleased with her. However," the man's face gained a hard edge to it, "Pavlova's do not date. If you wish to pursue my daughter, you will court her."
With a nod to his wife, she withdrew some paperwork and placed it on the table in front of him.
"This is a contract outlining the terms and acceptable behaviours for a courtship. There is no need to sign it now. We will allow the association between the two of you to continue but it will need to be signed soon or your relations will come to an end." By the look of the man, not to mention his forceful tone, there was no brokering of arguments to be had at all.
With his peace said, the man stood, signalling the end of the conversation, and helped his wife out of her seated position. He exchanged parting words with Harry and asked his daughter to show him back to the floo exit.
The two made their way back through the incredibly impressive home; it was a short jaunt.
"I'm sorry Harry. I had wished to aid you but I have to be very careful here. There is little tolerance for my dream to be a ballerina... Until our involvement came to light, I was almost an outcast here. In front of my family, I'll wear this mask but I'd like to meet and discuss how things went and anything I can to help. Do you have time tomorrow?" She asked with a hopeful look, the more confident aspect of her personality come back.
"No, I'm meeting with some friends of my parents and then the Weasley family had invited me over." He was interested to know what she planned to discuss with him, about this evening. He'd thought it had gone rather well, all things considered. The family was different than the Weasley and Delacour's. The sense of aristocracy and wealth abounded around him. He could easily see them getting along with the haughty purebloods he had seen, though they hid any cruelty well.
"Are you really going to bring the veela along? You'll spend the day with Fleur?" Her tone, and remark, left little to the imagination, the disdain and contempt she felt for the idea. She'd given him a sour look when he'd accepted Fleur's offer of wanting to join him that day. She thought the reasoning was beyond flimsy; it was just a poorly disguised attempt to ingratiate herself to him.
Harry sighed, he knew she would hate it. Natalia and Fleur got along like oil and water, but he had enjoyed his time with Fleur's family, and he'd have someone in his corner if things got ugly with the Weasleys, he wasn't worried about Padfoot and Moony.
She gave him a quick peck goodnight and walked away from him. Just before he stepped into the floo, he looked back at her. "I'm not free tomorrow but it's not that late yet. Would you be able to come out now for the talk you wanted to have tomorrow?"
Natalia bit her lip and looked over both shoulders. She quickly pulled out her wand and summoned warmer clothing off the wall. She approached him and took his arm.
"Where did you want to go?" He asked.
"Same place we normally go to? I like to think of it as our spot, a place for the two of us to get away from everything." She smiled at him after responding, the happy innocent young lady look that clung to her every time she was genuinely happy.
It didn't take long to floo and then apparate to their park location. They began walking and Harry started the conversation, while they held hands. "So were you raised with a political education like that?"
"Yes, we were all tutored and taught things like history, politics, acting, etiquette, argumentation and lots more. Ever since I was five there were extra lessons, many from my older siblings, they didn't need a special tutor for their second daughter." The way she stressed the word led him to believe her older sister had warranted the hiring of specialized tutors.
Not wanting to touch that topic, Harry continued toward his original intention. "Is that really how Dumbledore is seen or does your family really despise him?"
"It's kind of hard to say really." Her answer had an air of uncertainty to it. "I was raised with that belief and understanding. Dumbledore sat in his ivory tower and waited until the end of the war to use his prodigal skills to fight a man who knew his end was near. He then turned it into unprecedented political power ascending to the top political positions at the ICW, Wizengamot and having control of Hogwarts. The trifecta makes him nigh unassailably and he's cultivated an eccentric persona to distract from his magical and political power. He claims to be progressive to maintain his public image while he is actually for the status quo and works to bolster his own image and legacy. During the civil war, against Lord Voldemort, the true political progressives were almost wiped out and the balance of power was solely between two factions with the same overall goal: the aristocracy ruling. Their dissension is on how to treat the commoners. One wishes benevolence and the other varying degrees from extermination to exploitation." Her monotone answer made it obvious she'd said that more than once before. "Pretty well a summary of what I was taught and forced to regurgitate."
They took a few more steps before Harry responded. "It's kind of hard for me to see that. He's always been that old wise grandfather type who enjoys the odd joke. A political mastermind who controls from the shadows is just hard to conceptualize with how I've seen him, not that I doubt it, given how manipulative and controlling over my life he has been."
"There are a couple of things I should mention. First, there is something I doubt you're aware of with a courting contract. It is pretty much seen as an engagement. You'd need a very good reason to end it in any other way than engagement and marriage otherwise it is seen as incredibly offensive. You'd be publicly insulting my family and relations between our families would end for generations. Those kinds of insults are not forgotten."
Harry's deadpanned expression wasn't something normally seen when it was just the two of them. His look mirrored his inner turmoil. Here was Natalia telling him things she didn't have to, all to assist him. The same debilitating thought returned. Was she playing the part to seduce him or was this all real? He didn't think he could hold it against her for using information she had on him to make their connection work better at the start.
"Thanks, was there something else too?"
She let go of his hand and pulled herself close to him. She wrapped her arm around his and guided them to sit at a park bench. "Yes, my family is now pressuring me to get you into the courtship contract and have told me to do it by any means necessary." Her sardonic delivery was not lost on him.
"They have modified a clause in the agreement. Normally a girl of my stature would be required to be pure through the entire courtship phase." Her cheeks were beyond a light blush. "Normally a non-virgin would be damaged goods but to gain you as a son-in-law, they are willing to chance it. In fact, I bet my mother is hoping I'm getting into your bed tonight." The waspish way she spoke compiled with her deep red cheeks gave her something close to a feral look, something Harry had not seen.
Harry didn't make a move to physically comfort her. He wasn't sure how that would be taken; he didn't want to risk making her angrier. "And that's quite upsetting?" He immediately felt foolish for saying that but he didn't want things to drag on.
"Upsetting?" She asked acidly. "Why would it be?" Her voice dripped with sarcastic venom as she elaborated. "I'd finally have purpose! Seduce the Boy-Who-Lived and bear all his little babies. Push the political and business interests of the Pavlova family into a whole new front that has been untouchable for them for all their past generations. I'd finally be worth something to them, why wouldn't I want to give up my ambitions to whore myself out for their political and financial gain?" She'd worked up quite a bit of steam and let out some with her acerbic comments.
"Oh, is this it then?" Harry asked in a small voice, totally unconfident.
Her head whipped around and her eyes caught his. "What?" She half-shouted. "No! I just loathe what my parents want me to do!" She turned and wrapped him in a strong hug. "I'm with you because I want to be." She stared into his eyes and willed her sincerity to bore through his eyes and sink into his head.
Her voice was soft when she continued, "It just hurts. I know they would never have done this to my siblings. It's because I don't care about their goals. I just love to dance and be myself. And now, I love being with you." She'd dropped her head when she admitted how deeply the emotional pain went. Her eyes had leaked moisture down her face. She brought her chin back up and brought her soft, wet, and salty lips to his. The kiss was not chaste and it lingered longer than she'd anticipated. Harry snaked his arms around her. When it ended, she snuggled into him as close as she could. A comfortable silence descended upon them while they basked in each other's presence.
After some time, Natalia broke the quiet. "Do you really have to spend time with Fleur tomorrow? Aren't I enough?" She challenged.
Harry laughed, it was not the response she expected. "The Delacour's have been friends with my family and they can tell me about them." He replied neutrally. "Fleur is around my age and it is expected I'd get to know her as a friend. It's not like we are doing anything close to romantic. She's visiting a family I've been close to since Hogwarts. They live very simply and with six boys and one girl they have more than a housefull. Just imagine all those kids and only one shared bathroom!"
She shuddered involuntarily. She could imagine just how horrible that poor girl's life was! She'd always had her own personal luxurious bathroom.
"Imagine if I brought you along, a bit of a culture shock?" He asked mischievously.
"I'd imagine it would be," she carefully replied unsure of where he was going with this.
"Fleur says she wants to be my friend. You've seen her, all prim and proper." The lopsided grin was now fully plastered to his face, "I'm taking her to a place where the brothers enjoy throwing garden gnomes, smashing table together, and pranks. A place where manners are a suggestion and not a necessity. I'm putting her in the antithesis of her normal environment at a time where I haven't seen them in months and things have been strained. It should be entertaining." He chuckled wondering just how tomorrow was going to go.
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