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When Harry awoke from his nap he found that Severus was gone, his lap-cum-pillow replaced with an actual pillow. On the table he found a note with a hot cup of tea. Picking up both he sipped the tea and began reading the note.
//Harry, I'm sorry to leave you still asleep, but Mdm. Pomphery needed more potions than I had anticipated and needed to get into the lab quickly. The Headmaster wished to speak with you, but I believed sleep was more important in your condition. If you still feel tired after waking, don't worry about it just yet. However, seeing him before the term begins is probably wise. If you decide to go, be sure to drink the tea on the table before you do. It will prevent the sickness and dizziness while giving your body the nutrients it requires. It would also be wise not to tell him about the baby before our bonding. ---Severus//
With a slightly leery look, Harry sipped and was surprised to find that the tea was sweet and a little fruity tasting. Smiling, Harry felt his stomach, which hadn't really settled in days, calm. After the tea was gone, Harry rose and was happy to find he wasn't dizzy or sick.
Exiting the room quietly, he began making his way to the Headmaster's office. //What does that old man want... I almost afraid to know...//
With ease, he moved through the castle that had been his home for so long. "And it will be your home too, Siri." Harry whispered to his stomach as he walked down one of the portrait-less corridors. Upon reaching the statue that would allow him into the office of the Headmaster he stopped and was about to start going through all of the candy types he knew, when the statue jumped aside. He couldn't help shaking his head about the seemingly omnipotent man and his parlor tricks that made him seem that way. Upon reaching the headmaster's office he bowed slightly to the old man behind the desk. "Headmaster, sit is a pleasure to see you again. Severus informed that you wished to speak with me?"
"Yes, dear boy... Come in. Please have a seat... Sherbet lemon?" Dumbledore offered with a smile, all the while studying the young man in his high quality green travelling robes.
"No thank you. If I may be blunt, I would like to get to the point of this meeting as soon as possible. I have things that need to be prepared before the beginning of the term." Harry stared at the Headmaster's nose, never looking him directly in the eyes.
Dumbledore's eye-twinkle faded slightly before it came back stronger than ever. "I just wished to see how you were getting on with all of the children... See if you needed any assistance."
"Thank you but no. My servants are more than qualified to see to the children's care. Is that all?"
Sighing a little, Dumbledore shook his head. "No, not entirely. I would like to tell you that a number of Gryffindors have chosen not to return to Hogwarts this term. Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Ginny Weasley just to name a few. I believe these were the worst of your... opposition inside of Gryffindor. Perhaps now with their refusal to return you would like to return to you true house?"
Standing sharply, Harry's eyes narrowed and he barely held his temper. "I am in my true house. The one that I wasn't manipulated into. I will stay in Slytherin and I will proudly wear green and silver to my graduation. As for their not returning... well that isn't really surprising, since it seem that they're dead-set on becoming their own version of Voldemort and his Deatheaters. I am now going to go prepare to intrigrate back into the school life."
"I have been informed that you're only taking Advanced Defense theory, Advanced Transfiguration Theory and Advanced Charms Theory. Why so few classes? Don't you wish to become an Auror?" Dumbledore knowing full well that he'd promised Severus that he would look to Harry for his DADA instructor for the year following his graduation.
Harry snarled a little in his head, but remained mostly calm on the outside. "I have never felt the need to be an auror. Ever. I will do my few classes and I will take my NEWTs in everything I feel comfortable in. Then, perhaps after all of my Slytherins have graduated or at least gotten older I will apply for the Defense position... who knows, I might even break that curse. Good day, Headmaster. I will see you at the opening feast." Turning with a proud swirl, Harry walked out, feeling very good about his reactions.
Watching him go, Dumbledore frowned even more, but knew that he couldn't do anything. The boy was at an age where it was not possible for him to act openly against him. With a sigh he turned to a small mirror. Inside it, Hogwarts was supposed to show him anything he wished to know, but for some reason it refused to show him Harry or the Slytherin dungeons anymore. Sighing, he set the mirror aside and leaned back in his chair. Looking to the ceiling he frowned before addressing the castle. "Are you protecting him from me, old girl?"
tbc...