Dumbledore stroked his beard. "And which subjects do you want to pursue?" he asked.
"Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Charms, Potions and Transfiguration," said Harry briskly. "I have already written to Professors Vector, Babbling, Flitwick, Slughorn and McGonagall and they have all agreed to take me as their apprentice."
"What about Defence Against the Dark Arts?"
"No, I wish to do a research project and earn the degree on my own in that field. There is nothing I will learn more than I already have from the teachers at school. So, what do you say?"
"Alright, Harry," Dumbledore smiled. As a teacher, he couldn't in good conscience deny such an opportunity to a boy as talented as Harry. He also hoped that it would help the students of Hogwarts, considering the new Defence teacher they were to have this year. "If that is what you want, I will allow you to stay at Hogwarts as an apprentice to all these professors. You will be assigned your own quarters like any other apprentice and you may have to teach the lower years if your mentor asks you to."
Harry blinked in surprise as a hint of an amused smile formed on his lips. "I'm disappointed in you, Professor. I expected more of a fight. I was so looking forward to blackmailing you again, but you took that pleasure away from me."
Dumbledore chuckled, his blue eyes twinkling in amusement as the people around them gasped.
"You blackmailed Professor Dumbledore?" asked Remus, his voice clearly displaying the anger he felt within.
"I did, but I managed to get into the accelerated program without his help so it wasn't strictly needed," Harry shrugged casually. "If Mum and Dad had not taken me to Madam Marchbanks, I'm sure Professor Dumbledore and I would have come to blows."
"Oh, I'm sure you're exaggerating, my boy," Dumbledore waved it off, but he was a touch peeved that he still did not know how the boy knew of Severus' involvement in the prophecy. It continued to irk him.
"There is another matter I wish to discuss with you," said Dumbledore. "I was wondering if you would like to join the Order of the Phoenix as a member."
There was deathly silence in the room when Molly Weasley shrieked. " What? Albus, you can't be serious! He's just a boy! He shouldn't be made to fight in the war, he's just fifteen years old! This is madness!"
"She's right, Albus," Remus frowned. "Harry is still very young and we can't expect him to fight in the war. I agree that he's talented, but he just won't be able to understand the risks and dangers associated with it. James, Lily, Sirius and I were twenty-three when we joined the Order the last time and James and Sirius were fully qualified Aurors back then, with Lily working in the Department of Mysteries. We can't expect a fifteen-year-old boy to fight for us."
"There is also the issue of security," said Moody gruffly. It was clear that he did not trust Dylan Lestrange one bit.
Harry looked ahead and met the grey eyes of his adoptive father, seeking permission. He and Sirius had definitely not expected this offer from Dumbledore, but Amelia had judged the aged headmaster's actions correctly. Both of them had given him the choice to decide for himself and he had finally arrived at the answer. Sirius discreetly nodded to his son, telling him to answer the question.
"Thank you for your offer, Professor Dumbledore, but the answer is no," said Harry quietly, surprising many. Everyone thought that Harry would fight tooth and nail to join the Order. "I do not want to join the Order because, for one thing, we are bound to clash on our policies. You and I have a very different outlook on how the war should proceed and our methods would clash, so no, I cannot join your side."
" Your side?" said Emmeline Vance incredulously. "Don't you mean our side?"
"No, I meant your side, meaning Dumbledore's side," clarified Harry. "I do not fight to save the British magical world from the oppressive evil that is Voldemort. Every side has a story and I am not blind to the faults of the 'light', as people call it. I will fight, but it's for me, my parents, the girl I love, and for my brothers Dylan and Rigel, and if that means I need to cripple Voldemort's forces, then so be it. You would not agree with my methods, so while I will work with you, I will not serve under your command."
"Have you truly gone so dark, Harry?" asked Dumbledore, looking old and weary.
Harry's eye twitched in annoyance; he did not bother dignifying that question with a response. He had answered the same question before. He was never light to begin with, so how could he go dark ? As far as he was concerned, he followed the will of Magic, nothing more. Classification of light and dark was a human invention and that was not how magic in its natural state existed.
"Would you actually kill the Death Eaters if you are fighting them?" asked Dedalus Diggle, his voice trembling slightly.
"If I hadn't been nearly tortured to death by Bellatrix and Rodolphus, then yes, I would have killed every single one of them there including Voldemort himself if I could," said Harry without batting an eye. "You would see it as slaughter, I would see it as ending a war before it started. I did not ask them to kidnap me, nor did I start the war. It was their fault for being marked by Voldemort in the first place and I will not be blamed for defending myself and my family."
"You are just a child!" said Molly Weasley furiously. "You shouldn't be speaking like this! I don't know what you have learnt during your childhood, but this is no way to speak to the headmaster! He is a wise man and you should listen to him!"
"What I learnt during my childhood?" Harry repeated as his face darkened. "I learnt that there would be nobody around to help me in case I was in danger. I learnt that people only look out for their own interests. I learnt that everyone has a secret agenda if they are helping me. I learnt that if I do not stand on my own two feet, others would crush me. Granted, some of my views changed after Mum and Dad took me in, loving me as their own son; Daphne and Dylan changing my views some more, but I will never forget what I learnt back then. I have been living alone in a fortified castle tutored by ghosts and portraits since I was seven years old, Mrs Weasley. I never had anyone to tell me that I should enjoy my childhood. I spent every day since my seventh's birthday constantly studying and practising magic; there is a reason I was a Ravenclaw and there is a reason I qualified with an Outstanding in all my seven N.E.W.T.s with extra credit at the age of fourteen."
"As for me not being able to understand the risks and dangers, I have faced a seventy-foot long basilisk at the age of twelve, Remus. I willingly went into the Chamber of Secrets alone, knowing that I might not make it out of there alive. I was tortured under the Cruciatus Curse by Voldemort, Bellatrix and Rodolphus. Dear Aunt Bella used my body as a knife sharpener. Rodolphus whipped me fifty times and I still managed to duel Voldemort and escape under his nose. I understand that I'm only fifteen years old; you're right, I've never experienced war for me to know what it's like. You all have survived the last war but point out to me one person in this room who has gone through as much as I have before the age of fifteen. I may not openly tell people of my achievements or pain, but don't mistake me for a weakling. I have never had a childhood to be considered a child at all. I have seen and experienced quite a few horrible things in my life, some of which you can't even digest."
'I have personally seen the atrocities committed by Voldemort. None of you can even comprehend what I have seen in his memories. None of you can begin to imagine the torture I underwent at the graveyard. None of you…'
There was utter silence in the room. Moody's eye was swirling in its socket as he considered training the boy as an Auror. Dumbledore looked thoughtful, not really worried about the other things Harry had said. He was now quite curious about the memory of the graveyard. There was something in that memory which Harry did not want him to see; he was now sure of it. What was it? Maybe he should ask Severus to ask Lucius Malfoy or someone else to provide the memory.
"May I leave, Father?" asked Harry formally. Remus flinched slightly at the term but the teenager ignored it.
"Of course, Harry," said Sirius quietly, his face stony, but eyes glistening with tears. His precious little boy had suffered so much in his life and there was nothing he could do to help him get over the pain.
Back upstairs, the teens were listening to what was going on using the Extendable Ear. Hermione had been mentally ranting about how it was unfair that Potter was able to get an apprenticeship, but she was slack-jawed like everyone else when they heard him speak. The silence was broken when Dylan took out his mirror.
"Daphne Greengrass!"
....
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