Harry awoke with a start early the next morning in a strange bed. Looking around, he noticed that Albus was sleeping in a comfy chair in the corner, Fawkes and Hedwig were cuddled together on a bird stand next to Albus's chair. The events of the previous evening slowly came back to him. Ginny's kidnapping, finding the Chamber, fighting the basilisk, dying, talking to his mom, resurrecting, being expelled, taking on Albus as a tutor... expelled!?
Harry involuntarily shouted a loud expletive. Well, his mouth opened, and his vocal cords vibrated appropriately. But no sound was made.
"I don't know about your beautiful owl" spoke Albus, though his eyes never opened, "but I know from extremely painful experience that it is very foolish to startle Fawkes from a deep slumber. He can be very... cranky. Signal me when you are done with your tirade, and I'll lift the silencing spell."
Harry smiled. Honestly, he had only felt the need to curse the one time. But since he had the chance...
Ten minutes later, he waved his hand towards an apparently asleep Albus. The man didn't respond. Harry grunted experimentally and noticed he could now hear himself.
"Thank you, Prof... Albus. Where are we?"
"I'm hoping you feel better getting that out of your system. We are currently at Saint Mungo's Hospital. I brought you here from Hogwarts to have you checked out. You did get bit by a basilisk and died for a bit, so it seemed like a reasonable precaution to have a medical profession provide a cursory examination at the minimum. The stress of the apparition was a bit too much for you, I fear, so you passed out when we arrived. Now, since you're hearing this, I am still asleep. Feel free to stand up and wander the room, but please be quiet and let me rest a while longer."
Harry stared at the sleeping old man and chuckled silently. Looking around the room, he realized there wasn't much to see, so he relaxed into his bed. He dwelled on his memory of talking with his mother, his heart filling with a sense of peace, and slowly drifted back to sleep.
A few hours later, Harry awoke gently. He felt more rested than he had in months. Looking around, he saw that Fawkes was wide awake, while Hedwig dozed on a new bird stand next to his bed. Albus sat at his chair, reading a newspaper which he held upside down.
"Good morning Harry. How are you feeling this morning?"
"Much better. Though, it was odd dealing with your... what do you call that thing you used to answer me while you were asleep?"
Albus put down his newspaper, to give Harry his full attention. "It's the magical equivalent of a non-magical answering service. I invented it a while back so that I could get some rest in the repetitive meetings one must attend as a Headmaster. It's set up to respond based on what people say. If they say something that can't be handled automatically, it sends a jolt that wakes me up so I can respond appropriately. Pleasantly, since your arrival at Hogwarts, I have rarely needed to be awake for a meeting with Severus, as it always 'Potter blah blah Gryffindor blah blah Potter blah blah Potter'. Hmmm. With your departure, I wonder what he will find to fill his conversational void."
"Ignoring Snape for the moment, you ended a silencing spell on me. How did you cast magic while asleep?"
Albus grinned. "Excellent Harry!"
"What?"
"You didn't say it was impossible to cast magic while asleep. Just remember, nothing is impossible when it comes to magic, there is just that which has yet to be achieved. As for the sleep-casting, that will be a later lesson. For now, just think on it and see if you can figure it out on your own."
Harry nodded slowly. He would wait and see if Albus would follow through on his promises to truly teach.
"OK. So, how long do I need to stay here?"
"You're free to go whenever you are ready. The healers provided you with some basic healing last night but found nothing wrong that couldn't be solved by rest and a good diet. Are you ready now?"
Harry stood and stretched. "Let me use the loo, and I'll be ready."
Albus smiled. "Feel free to use the shower while you are in there. I'll clean up here, take care of the paperwork, send Fawkes and Hedwig on to my residence, and we'll be prepared to head on off. I'm thinking we can have a nice breakfast, then make you a large fortune off the basilisk carcass, and finally end the day's activities with causing light psychological damage to be inflicted upon the Dursleys."
Harry couldn't help but whistle a happy tune as he took a languid shower.
After an excellent meal at a non-magical restaurant, where Harry ate in silent contemplation, Albus took them to a small village that Harry did not recognize. As they walked down the street, Harry was surprised to note that village was primarily populated by goblins.
"Albus, where are we?"
"Well, Harry, based on the residents you've seen, I'm sure you would easily guess that the village's name is a word in Gobbledegook. Am I correct in assuming you cannot speak the language?"
"Yes sir"
"Ah, in that case, then allow me to teach your first words in Gobbledegook."
Over the next ten minutes, Harry practiced reciting a string of rough guttural sounds. Harry was pleased by his progress, as the few goblins he passed smiled in response to his attempts.
"Excellent, Harry. When we meet my contact, bow and say, 'Thank you for welcoming me to' and then repeat what I taught you."
Harry nodded, as they stopped in front of a building that smelled strongly of death and beasts. Albus conjured a bench near the door and indicated for Harry to join him. Harry sat down, wondering why they were waiting outside the building.
"How are you feeling Harry? Do you feel well rested, fed, and mentally relaxed?"
Harry looked sideways at Albus with curiosity. "Yes, I feel fine. Why?"
Albus sighed and looked straight forward towards the horizon. "I am sure you are aware of this, but fear tends to bring out the worst in people. When the students and staff were afraid being petrified themselves, they needed to blame someone and being a Parselmouth made you a convenient scapegoat. When you disappeared shortly after Miss Weasley, Minerva was terrified that she now had two student deaths on her hands. When you appeared, she became irrationally angry at you for making her feel that fear. It was reminiscent of times I have heard parents say, 'My child better be dead or injured, or I will kill him myself for making me worry'. Of course, it didn't help that your body language put her on the defensive by making it clear that you didn't seek help because you had no faith in the staff's ability to provide said help."
Harry's jaw tensed. "Is that supposed to excuse their behavior?"
Albus shrugged. "I am simply explaining the behavior, it is your choice to decide if the explanation excuses the behavior to your satisfaction. What I primarily wanted to tell you is that when the danger passes, the fear haze will lift, and people will find themselves thinking clearly again. A fair number of people will look back on their actions with shame and regret. While I don't know if your friend Ronald will repent, I do know that Minerva will have started regretting her actions within five minutes of arising this morning."
"Good! They should regret what they did to me! What is your point?"
"I could take you back to Hogwarts right this moment, and Minerva would certainly rescind your expulsion immediately. I could then press the Board and be reinstated within two days."
Harry paused. He felt somewhat tempted, it was Hogwarts... but what was Hogwarts? It was where he had made his first friends, but they really weren't great friends anymore. It was where he could connect with magical people, but he somewhat hated the people in the castle. It was where he could learn magic, but Albus was offering to let him continue learning. What should he do?
Harry spoke tentatively. "Are you having second thoughts about quitting Hogwarts and being my tutor?"
Albus chuckled. "Not at all. I am quite excited to venture on this journey with you and would prefer to do so."
"If that is what you want, then why even give me the choice?"
Albus paused and closed his eyes for a moment. After several seconds and a deep breath, he opened his eyes and answered.
"I could tell you that it is your choice, and it is only right that I let you make it. That is a portion of the truth, and it sounds reasonable. Another part of the truth is that a twelve-year-old is not often given the chance to make big life choices, but you have more than earned the right by single-handedly defeating a Dark Lord and a Basilisk. That is also part of the truth and would have the benefit of boosting your ego. The real reason, I am afraid, is much more selfish. With your connection to Tom destroyed, I am overwhelmed by how thrilled I feel to finally be free to speak to you truthfully. It is a miracle that I can finally build a deep trust between us, and I can't build that trust by hiding inconvenient truths from you."
Harry felt stunned. The idea of an openly honest Dumbledore still seemed very foreign to him, but it was appealing. He thought about staying with Albus, and then though about going back to Hogwarts. His heart gave him the answer.
"I'll stay with you."
"Are you sure? You won't have much opportunity to bond with people your age."
"If I go back to Hogwarts, would I be able to quit whenever I want?"
"No."
"Would I be under the authority of Snape and McGonagall?"
"Yes. And I would be required to correct you so that you use the title of Professor. Since you are currently not a Hogwarts student, I feel no compulsion to correct your choice in how you address them."
"Then, I'm certain I don't want to go back."
Albus smiled broadly and stood. "Wonderful! Now let us go meet our basilisk contact."
Albus knocked on the door of the building and spoke in Gobbledegook to the goblin who answered the door.
Harry bowed. "Thank you for welcoming me to..." and then faithfully repeated the Gobbledegook phrase he had been taught by Albus.
The goblin looked at Harry for a moment, then looked up at Albus whose eyes were sparkling with joy. When he spoke to Harry, it was in clear English. "Can you repeat that?"
Harry frowned and concentrated. He repeated the phrase precisely, then spoke in an uncertain voice. "That is how you pronounce the name of the village, isn't it?"
The goblin looked back up at Albus and rolled his eyes. "The name of the village is Dewbrook. What you just said was 'Goblins are Awesome'. To be fair, we are awesome. Come on in."
Harry looked up at Albus in shock. "I thought you wanted to build my trust."
Albus's eyes sparkled with blatant mirth. "Pranks don't count. Come on, let's make you a fortune."
Harry watched Albus walk into the building. He stood there, torn between shock and amusement. Eventually amusement won out and he was chuckling as he walked into the building.
He definitely needed to stay with Albus now. How else would he learn enough to prank the old man back?
As they entered the building, the smell of death assaulted Harry's nostrils so forcefully that he almost found himself stumbling at the stench. He covered his nose in desperation and looked up at Albus. The man was looking around serenely without even the smallest hint of disliking the odor. Albus simply walked over to a desk, spoke a few quiet words, and then sat down on a bench near the door.
"We will have to wait a few minutes. Shan't be long."
Harry, nose firmly pinched, sat down next to Albus.
"Albus, how are you not reacting to this... stench?"
"Hmmm? Oh yes, I had forgotten how aromatic it can be here. I have a bubble of air constantly being refreshed around my head, which I applied as soon as we entered the village."
Harry stared at Albus, an activity he found himself doing on an alarmingly frequent basis. "You didn't think of telling me?"
Albus glanced at Harry, raising an eyebrow. "You didn't think of asking me about the odor before we entered the building?"
Harry glared at Albus, though the effect was lessened by the hand pinching his nose.
Albus took a purposefully deep breath before slowly exhaling. He then spoke in an overly magnanimous tone. "I suppose I could put a bubble around your head, if you desire."
Harry nodded rapidly but was cut off from speaking by Albus raising a hand.
"Or, I could teach you how to do it for yourself. Which would you prefer?"
Harry was torn between his desire to receive his first magic lesson from Albus, and his desire to breath fresh air right away.
"How long will it take to learn?"
"The simpler method would take a few months for you to properly learn. The more complex method would take five to ten minutes for you to achieve the desired result."
Harry was sure that Albus had mixed up that sentence but was game to spend five minutes on learning a new spell. "I'll do the five-minute version."
Albus smiled happily. "Excellent. First, take out your wand and start twirling it around. Picture yourself slowly filling the wand with your magic, swirling the magic so it is evenly distributed. It might help to think of how you feel right before casting a spell. But, do not think of any particular spell nor try to cast anything."
Harry looked at his wand incredulously, shrugged, and began twirling it in the air. Albus stared at the wand intently, while occasionally offering advice that Harry would obey promptly.
"Hmmm... you're not allowing any magic to trickle into your wand. Try a few flicks to begin the flow... that's good! Stop flicking, and swish for a while to even out the flow... very good Harry! Now, point downwards and slowly twirl, as if you are stirring a potion. No, just use your wrist. There we go, the magic is starting to even out now. Flick up once and switch directions on your twirl. Very good!"
Harry was starting to understand why this was the more complex technique. He had no idea what he was doing, but he could feel... something happening with his wand. It had a similar feel to casting a spell, but indescribably subtly different.
"Now, keep twirling your wand while you picture a bubble of fresh air surrounding your head, protecting you from the outside world. See the stale air being constantly replaced with fresh invigorating air. Keep twirling the wand, let your body take over the action while you create the bubble in your mind. Nod when you can picture your bubble."
Harry concentrated on the bubble, while slowly letting his wrist twirl as if of its own accord. He could feel a slight pressure building inside of his body but shunted that thought to the side as he focused on the bubble. Slowly, he nodded.
"Excellent! Keep twirling your wand, while holding that picture in your head. Now, breath deeply. Inhale the foul odors of this building, and revel in your disgust. Let your desire to escape the stench to become your sole goal. Let it grow past a mere desire. Let it become a need. Not just a need, but a base necessity. You need the stench to disappear as a matter of survival. Feel your body struggle between fleeing or fighting the odor. Demand your body to fight. You have fought a Dark Lord! You have fought a basilisk! You will not surrender to a mere odor. It will fall to your might! Feel it!"
Harry was feeling it. He almost hated the odor. He wanted to shout that he was a wizard who not be felled by a mere stench! The pressure in his body was now almost unbearable. It felt like he was inflating like a balloon.
"Keep twirling your wand to keep your wand's magic evenly distributed. Keep feeling that need to fight the stench. Bring that picture of the air bubble to the front of your mind. When you know you are ready, know it to the very depths of your soul, touch the tip of your wand to your head and let the bubble be created. This bubble is your birthright! When the time is right, claim what is rightfully yours!"
Harry's body felt like it was swelling to bursting. His wand had become an extension of his magic. His body craved victory over the stench. His mind could see the air bubble with perfect clarity. He was ready! He could do this! There was no question, this was inevitable. His hand rose of its own accord and tapped his head.
Harry gasped. He felt spent. His wand felt oddly foreign in his hand. His mind felt empty. His body felt like he had just run a marathon. He breathed deeply, and slowly felt his energy and focus returning to him. His wand was regaining its sense of familiarity. After two minutes of slow breathing, he realized that the air was fresh and clean. He had done it! He whooped in joy.
"Congratulations Harry, you just managed to cast an alternate version of a sixth-year spell in only eight minutes. Well done!"
Harry grinned like a loon. This had made all his previous spells feel like pale reflections of true magic. This was amazing!
"Albus... why don't they teach us like this at Hogwarts?"
Albus's eyes sparkled with mirth. "Are you sure you want to hear right now? It may put a damper on your good mood."
Harry shook his head, almost drunkenly. "There is nothing you can say to lessen how good I feel. Why don't they teach it?"
"Well, there are two reasons. The first is simple. I invented this method and have never taught it to anyone before today."
Harry's eyes widened in disbelief. "Really?"
"Really."
"Best tutor ever!"
Harry raised his hand for a high-five, which Albus bemusedly reciprocated.
"The second reason is that it is absolutely critical for you to distribute the magic properly in your wand, perfectly picture what you want to happen, and fully feel the need to achieve success. If you fail on any one of those steps, the results can be... quite unfortunate."
"How so?"
"At best, the spell simply fails. Slightly worse, the generated effect is wrong and possibly harmful. In your case, you forget to have the air refresh and end up suffocating. Even worse, your wand explodes in your hand. And at worst, based on a close call from my youth, your wand and intrinsic magic get in a cascading battle loop of increasing power eventually theoretically leading to an explosion that liquifies your body and destroys everything within at least a few dozen feet. I have had all of those occur, though I obviously managed to stop the cascading before being liquefied. In that last case, I was merely put into a coma for five months. Luckily, Nicolas and Perenelle were there to care for me."
Apparently Albus was correct about his answer putting a damper on Harry's mood, as Harry's good mood had just been thoroughly damped. He felt his throat dry up with retroactive nervousness.
"Why would you let me do something so dangerous?"
Albus shrugged. "I have long since learned how to see and understand the flow of magic. I could clearly see your magic and saw you properly pulling the three elements together. I was prepared to stop or stun you if need be. It's how I was able to give you notes on how you were filling your wand. You were never in any danger. Though, if you desire to avoid liquification, you may want to avoid using this technique without my supervision. At least until I confirm you have mastered the technique."
Harry nodded numbly. "Yeah... I think I'll take that advice."
The sound of a throat being politely cleared shocked Harry. He had honestly forgotten that they were in a waiting room.
"Hello Albus" spoke a pleasant looking goblin, "as amusing as it is watching you perform the impossible, perhaps we can first finish up discussions of last night's impossible feat your student performed when he killed a basilisk with a sword. Shall we?"
Albus smiled serenely as he stood. "Of course, come along Harry."
Albus and the goblin stared at Harry, as he remained sitting.
"Mr. Potter" spoke the goblin with an amused tone, "if you are going to let your mind break every time Albus redefines everything you thought you knew about magic, he's likely to start hanging signs on you to let people know that you are unavailable due to brain overload."
Harry felt his stupor lift as he laughed lightly.
"Thanks, that was a good one. And, you can call me Harry."
The goblin smiled in return. "You are quite welcome. I wasn't joking about the sign, but I'm still happy to give you the laugh. Oh, and you can call me Jeff."
Harry raised an eyebrow as he stood and followed the duo. Albus and Jeff.
Jeff the Goblin.
Seriously... Jeff!?
Jeff's office was a simple room. It had a desk, a filing cabinet, and some old chairs to sit on. For some reason, Harry was expecting something a bit more interesting for a goblin's office. It was just so... plain.
"Not what you were expecting?"
Harry focused in on Jeff, who had just spoken. He felt embarrassed to be caught out like that.
"No... no no... no! It's a wonderful office."
Jeff raised his eyebrow with a clear look of disbelief.
Albus chuckled. "I believe young Harry is feeling a bit surprised by how underwhelming your office and name are."
Jeff turned from Albus and looked at Harry expectantly.
Harry wished he could crawl into a hole and hide, but there was no place to escape. The stupid office didn't even have a coatrack or umbrella stand to duck behind. Looking at Albus, he decided that this was likely another of Albus's pranks. He resolved to learn as much as he could as quickly as could, so he could prank the man back.
After a deep breath, Harry spoke. "It's not underwhelming, it's just not what I expected. However, I am curious about your name. Is Jeff a normal name for a goblin?"
Jeff smiled in a friendly manner. "Well, in Gobbledegook, my name is" followed by a harsh guttural string of sounds. "But that is a bit hard on non-goblin throats, so I go by Jeff for short. What sort of name were you expecting?"
Harry's mind went back to the first goblin he had ever met. "Well... Griphook for example."
"Griphook from Gringotts?"
"Yes."
"He's a slimy git! The little bastard has never met a deal that he wouldn't try to renege on while only technically meeting the letter of the deal. It's why he's still only a cart driver. Is he still lying about there being only one speed for the carts?"
Harry felt a bit embarrassed as he nodded. He had liked Griphook. Well... there was the fact that Griphook seemed excessively pleased to tell an eleven-year-old child that the bank employees are happy to let attempted thieves starve to death in their vaults. In that light, Harry may have just been too excited about joining the magical world and viewed nearly everyone through rose-colored glasses.
"As for the names" continued Jeff, "humans tend to expect aggressive or harsh names like Griphook, Tendonripper, Spleenextractor, and the like. As such, Gringotts has its employees go by harsh names as a form of customer service. I worked there for a summer, and I was called Heartcrusher. But the work was boring and so here I am. I work with fewer humans, and those few tend to be well-traveled ones who won't bat at an eye at my preferred name."
Harry nodded. That did make a sort of sense.
Jeff clapped his hands together. "Now, with that out of the way, let's get to business! We've already rendered the basilisk down to its most valuable components, and have buyers lined up for the initial batch. The rest of the component will be put into stasis and sold later, to avoid flooding the market and decreasing profits."
Harry nodded slowly.
"Of course, you impressed me by killing a basilisk that large. As such, I am going to offer you a deal that I rarely offer to anyone. I'm willing to let you receive half of the profits. What do you say?"
Harry looked to Albus, who was looking back at Harry with curiosity. He looked at Jeff, who was smiling pleasantly. He shrugged. "Well, you're doing all the work of selling it. Fifty-fifty sounds fair to me."
Jeff groaned and handed a Sickle to a smug looking Albus.
Harry looked on with confusion. "What was that about?"
Jeff shook his head. "Albus bet me that I could offer you an excessively insulting offer, and you would accept it without negotiating. I figured that no person who would challenge a basilisk with just a sword would also be that much of a pushover. Fifty-fifty is nowhere close to fair because you did all the hard work. And now I am down a Sickle."
Harry looked at Albus in shock. "You set me up?"
Albus was unfazed by Harry's shocked tone. "Somewhat. Jeff was certainly going to offer you a bad deal as the opening bid, expecting you to negotiate for your rightful share. Though, fifty-fifty is much worse than he would normally start with. I was hoping to lose the bet and prove that your apparent modesty is actually honest modesty instead of a lack of belief in the value of your actions."
"Are you going to keep on betting against me?"
"Harry, the salary I received from you is one Knut a year. I must supplement my income somehow. If you want me to stop betting against you for negotiations, then I guess you will just need to learn how to create an accurate assessment of the value of your actions and what you can offer the world. So, start believing in your self-worth, and you need not worry about me betting against you."
Harry still wanted to be angry at Albus but found himself irritatingly touched by the words. Stubbornly he held onto his outrage. "So, you would have let me be ripped off here?"
Jeff laughed, catching Harry's attention. "Like I would rip off Albus or his student. My grandmother would never give me a moment of peace when she found it."
"Why? And how would she find out?"
Jeff pointed at Albus. "He would tell her." Albus simply shrugged in agreement.
"But, why would she care?"
Jeff looked at Albus expectantly. Albus smiled slightly. "I supplied some assistance to her husband a while back, and she decided that her family owes me a debt. She made it a point of honor, at which point it would be exceedingly rude to deny the existence of the debt."
Jeff barked out a laugh. "Harry, that is how you can be honestly modest. He won't brag about his actions, but he knows how much we value those actions, nonetheless. What the old coot hasn't said is that the 'assistance' was him single-handedly fighting two dozen of Grindelwald's forces to save my grandfather and the rest of the village from being slaughtered. He fought them off for nearly ten straight hours, casting high powered spells for the full duration while ensuring that not a single goblin life was lost. He ended up taking a nasty curse to the leg because he had to redirect a shield to cover my grandfather from a deadly curse. Without Albus Dumbledore, I would never have been born and this village would be nothing but a memory."
Harry looked at Albus with a new level of respect. He had, of course, heard about Albus Dumbledore being the one to defeat the Dark Wizard Grindelwald. It was his first Chocolate Frog card after all, and he had read the card a few times since his first train ride. It was easy to see Albus as a grandfatherly genius. It wasn't even surprising to learn that Albus had a special understanding of magic that left Hogwarts classes in the dust. But it had never really occurred to him that there would be people out there who had concrete reasons for viewing the man as a hero. Looking at the man, Harry saw Albus's cheeks were slightly pinker than they had been earlier.
Albus cleared his throat. "Yes, well that is enough talk about the past. Let's get back to our negotiations. I can teach Harry about negotiating later. For now, my normal rate should suffice."
After that, the terms of the deal were quickly worked out. Harry was shocked by the projected profits and was pleased to know that he would not have any money problems for the foreseeable future. Albus bade Jeff a fond farewell and promised he would make time for dinner with Jeff's grandmother.
As they walked out of the village, Harry saw something he realized he had not noticed before. Harry had been used to being stared at, so he had initially ignored the looks the goblins had directed towards him when he first entered the village. Looking again, with the new information, he realized that the goblins were ignoring Harry and instead were directing their looks of fondness and adoration towards Albus. It was an oddly pleasant feeling to not be the subject of hero worship, especially when the actual person had more than earned the worship.
Before reaching the edge of the village's borders, Harry remembered something.
"Albus, why do you have a normal rate with Jeff?"
"Hmmm? Oh, I occasionally receive calls for help from around the world when an exceptionally dangerous beast is encountered that the locals cannot handle. Usually a nundu, cockatrice, snorkack with uncrumpled horn, or dragon. Normally I can relocate the beasts to a safe area where they are not a danger to anyone. Sadly, sometimes I must put the creature down. When that happens, I call in Jeff to render the body down, so its loss is not just a waste. Over the decades I have negotiated the rates with Jeff's grandmother so that her family finally gets a reasonable cut of the profits. She initially insisted that I receive all the profits, and her children and grandchildren receive a minimal flat fee, and I had to wear her down slowly to reach the current rates. Luckily, the rarity of quality ingredients from most of the creatures I put down allows for Jeff to make a small fortune even with the exceptionally low percentage of the profits he receives."
"... wow"
"Indeed. Now, are you ready to give your relations a headache?"
Harry grinned widely as Albus touched his shoulder and the two disappeared.