Harry Potter and the Last Goodnight

Chapter 29: Professor and Student

As Harry sat at breakfast the next morning, he couldn't help but wonder what he had gotten himself into. Sure, Legilimency was new to him, and it would be somewhat exciting to be able to read people's emotions memories. Perhaps he would find some satisfaction from breaking into Snape's mind, just as Snape had done to him for the past year. But he was more afraid of what he would find. The last thing he wanted to know about was some twisted triangle that had existed between Snape and his parents. Harry shuttered at the thought.

"Where were you yesterday afternoon?" Ron asked, taking a seat next to Harry in the Dining Hall. "You disappeared after Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Oh... I was in detention," Harry said quickly. He briefly wondered if studying Legilimency would make him a better liar.

"In the afternoon?" Ron questioned. "Wow, I never thought Professor Avis would be that strict."

Harry shrugged and spooned some oatmeal into his empty bowl. "Wasn't too bad." When he finally did arrive back at school, he could have gone to the rest of his afternoon class, but instead he took the opportunity to retrieve the invisibility cloak and map when the halls were deserted.

A few moments later, Hermione joined them at the table. She took a seat next to Ron, who poured her a glass of juice and helped her to some oatmeal. "Honestly, would you two get a room?" Harry muttered.

"Shut up, you git," Ron muttered. "Remember our little agreement?"

"What agreement?" Hermione questioned.

"Nothing," Harry and Ron both said at the same time. She wasn't going to buy it, but just as she opened her mouth to question them, the owls swooped inside the Great Hall, carrying the mail.

Harry didn't bother to hide his joy in seeing Hedwig, who dropped two letters in his lap. He pet her affectionately. "Glad you're all right. I was beginning to worry." She gave him a peck on his arm and helped herself to some of the juice in his goblet.

"It's so odd that there are scarcely any owls," Hermione said. "I haven't seen a Hogwarts owl in over a month. I wonder what's going on."

"You know," Harry said, lowering his voice, "I saw Malfoy up in the Owlery. I bet he has something to do with it."

"I wouldn't put it past him," Ron agreed.

"Better be careful," Harry whispered to Hedwig before she took off from the table. The owl from The Daily Prophet flew over to Hermione, and she put a few coins in the purse attached to its claw. She helped herself to a copy.

Harry continued to eat as he inspected the letters in his lap. One was from Remus, he recognized the handwriting. But the second one he didn't recognize. His name was written elegantly on the front. It was feminine.

There was only one girl who would be writing to him.

Harry quickly shoved the last of his breakfast into his mouth. "Harry, what's the rush?" Hermione questioned.

"Oh, er, I forgot to proofread my essay for McGonagall. I've got to go put the finishing touches on it before class." He grabbed a piece of toast from the plate on the center of the table. "I'll see you in Transfiguration!"

Harry grinned and winked at Ron as he hurried out of the Great Hall. He didn't want the risk of someone else seeing his letter from Eva. Plus, there was something appealing - exciting about their secret relationship, even if it was only friendship. He now fully understood the thrill that Ron and Hermione had talked about in keeping their relationship a secret. Even though it wasn't exactly an intimate relationship, Eva hadn't kissed him without a reason. Sometimes, when he closed his eyes right before he went to sleep, Harry could still feel where her lips had touched his cheek.

Once he was safely back in the boys' deserted dormitory, he gently opened the letter, careful not to tear the envelope in the wrong places. He quickly unfolded the parchment and read eagerly.

Dear Harry,

I hope that you're feeling much better than the last time we met. I know that you were having a rough night and I'm honored that you came to me. It feels wonderful to know that you trust me enough to come to me when you need someone to confide in. I really appreciate it, and I hope that one day you will do the same for me.

Speaking of friends, my fellow Muggle, David - the Black Knight from the Royal Realm - has been trying to get me a job with another theatre company. He's had no luck, as my reputation has been tarnished by my "alcoholism." He's been very sweet and understanding about this whole situation. However, there is good news.

The Ministry has taken Mr. Weasley's suggestion and hired me as a full-time employee! My research has really taken an exciting turn. I wish that I could talk about it, but as Arthur says, "It's classified." I started Monday and everything worked out fine. I finally met Mrs. Weasley when she stopped by to meet Arthur for lunch. She was very generous and invited me over for dinner next week. I'm quite nervous about it. I hope that you and her son have made up. Friends are a terrible thing to lose.

But when I'm not working, I daresay that I'm a little bored and a little lonelier. I hope you'll stop by again soon. Please keep an eye on Nora and make sure she stays out of trouble.

Write back soon,

Eva Finnigan

Harry felt a warmth inside that he hadn't felt... well, since Eva had given him that kiss on the cheek. He quickly reread the letter. He couldn't have asked for better news. However, he couldn't help but notice how she talked about David. Sweet? Understanding? Harry could be sweet - he could definitely be understanding.

He didn't realize that she had other friends. In retrospect, it was a ridiculous assumption. But Nora said that she didn't really know anybody else. Apparently, Nora didn't really know about David.

Harry tried to squash the jealousy he felt in the pit of his stomach. He was reading too much into her letter. After all, hadn't she invited him back to the Hog's Head? Didn't she urge him to write back soon? He was being stupid. He would just have to make sure that Eva knew he thought of her as more than a friend.

He would not let his jealousy get the better of him again. He was still paying for the mistake he'd made the last time.

* * *

That afternoon, after Potions, Snape called Harry up to his desk after class and told him that their Remedial Potions lesson was cancelled that night. With an arrogant sneer he said that Harry would report to Professor Avis's office for detention instead.

Harry couldn't help wondering what his detention would entail. He had already turned in his essay about the field trip on Monday. Maybe she would make him write another? Or perhaps read another Muggle book? The books he didn't mind so much - they reminded him of his days back in primary school. Or perhaps he'd be stuck making photocopies of all of their class handouts with her Muggle machine. Or maybe she'd want to ask him questions about his life as a Muggle.

No matter what it was, he hoped it wasn't too complicated. He knew that he deserved whatever kind of punishment she was going to administer to him, but he'd been so stressed lately he'd be grateful for a break.

As he trudged down the first-floor corridor, his mind wandered to Eva's letter. He'd stashed it beneath his pillow hastily before Transfiguration that morning, and he didn't have an opportunity to sit down alone and write a letter back to her. He wondered how she was fairing at the Burrow, having dinner with the Weasleys. The idea of her sharing mince pie at the dining room table with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and the twins was enough to make him laugh out loud.

Harry reached the painting of the owls on the telephone wire, who were all hooting softly, and entered the classroom. The door to Professor Avis's office was near the crackling fireplace, and when he knocked on her office door, he could feel the heat on the back of his neck.

"Come in." Her voice rang cheerfully from her office.

Harry opened the door and stepped inside. Professor Avis was hunched over a stack of open books. She peered through her glasses at him and stood up from her desk. "Oh, Harry dear. What are you doing here?"

Confused, Harry checked his watch. Perhaps he'd gotten the time wrong. "I'm... I'm here for my detention, professor."

"Didn't anyone tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Harry asked.

She rushed forward to him, ushering him out of her office. "You were to report to Professor Dumbledore's office at once!"

"But... what for? Professor Snape told me..."

Professor Avis practically pushed him out the door. "He was supposed to send you to the headmaster's office," she interrupted. "You'd better hurry or you'll be late."

"Late?" Harry questioned. "Late for what?" Professor Avis didn't give him any reply. He mumbled an apology and quickly left the classroom. What did Dumbledore need to see him for? Was there something wrong? Was it Remus?

Had his own prediction of his fate come true?

Harry broke into a jog and hurried up to the second floor to the empty corridor with the statue of the gargoyle. "Ton-tongue toffee." He nearly shouted the password. The stairs couldn't appear fast enough. He ran up the stone steps and burst into Dumbledore's office, forgetting to knock and quite out of breath.

"Ah, Harry, I was wondering when you'd arrive."

"What happened?" Harry demanded. "Is it Remus? Did something happen to him?"

Dumbledore's confusion mirrored his own. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

"Snape sent me to Professor Avis for detention and she told me to come here at once. She didn't tell me why. Did something happen to Remus? To the Weasleys?"

"Sit down, Harry. Everyone is fine. I'm afraid that you may have misunderstood the situation." After Harry plopped into one of the chairs in front of his desk, Dumbledore sat down as well. "I take it you don't know why you're here?"

Harry gulped. "Am I in trouble again?"

The old wizard smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Not yet. Harry, I'm not sure you realize the enormity of what happened yesterday afternoon at the Ministry. A license to practice Legilimency is not something that the Ministry hands out like those clever pins in the telephone booth." Dumbledore sat back in his chair and intertwined his long, boney fingers. "In fact, you are the youngest licensed Legilimens since Voldemort himself."

Harry felt his insides churn at the sound of the Dark Lord's name. So another power had been passed to him from Voldemort's attempt on his life. "Why?" Harry questioned. "I don't understand why I was hauled out to the Ministry in such secrecy. I don't understand why I'd even be considered for a license in Legilimency. I've only used the spell once - and that wasn't even really on purpose. I've been practicing Occlumency for a year, not Legilimency."

"The two kinds of magic are intertwined," Dumbledore replied. "Sometimes it is impossible to study one without studying the other. You have demonstrated that your level of Legilimency is worthy enough of an investigation that the Ministry has authorized you to practice it."

"But how did I do it?"

"You really don't know?" Dumbledore questioned. "Think hard, Harry. Have you been interpreting people's feelings lately? Have you had a strong sense of intuition when you interact with people, particularly when you look them in the eye?"

Harry raised his eyes to Dumbledore's level. Nothing. He didn't sense anything. However, it had been different with others. Especially with Snape, after he had used Legilimency. "I... I did see a memory of Snape's. The one they made me recall at the hearing."

The headmaster nodded. "Your last Occlumency lesson worked out quite well. On a hunch, Professor Snape pulled the memory from the Pensieve, and was anxious to see if you would use the spell on him. Though you say that you used Legilimency on accident, I'm afraid he would disagree." He grinned. "Professor Snape seems to think that consciously - or subconsciously - you wanted to see what memory he had dangled before you. And you said the incantation and got exactly what you wanted."

"I didn't want to see that," Harry said quickly.

"Indeed. Sometimes, a Legilimens is forced to see things they do not wish to. Things they didn't even know existed in the mind of man." He said it more as a warning than an observation. "Legilimency is both a gift and a burden, as most skills are."

"Did you say that was my last Occlumency lesson?" Harry asked. He tried not to sound too overjoyed.

"Yes. You have proven through your last vision of Voldemort that you are no long susceptible to feeling pain when he is particularly powerful. Though your experience leaves some questions unanswered, the Wizengamot, as well as the Ministry, has agreed that you are now ready for the offensive part of your training. Occlumency was your defense; Legilimency will be your attack." Dumbledore leaned forward in his chair. "You will attend to your detentions for Professor Avis for the next two weeks. Then you will have a much desired break until after the holidays, when your training in Legilimency will begin."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "So I won't have to meet with Professor Snape until after we come back from break?" It was a dream come true to be able to stay away from the dungeon for a few weeks.

"I'm afraid you will not be returning to the dungeon for your lessons."

"I won't?"

"Professor Snape will no longer be helping you."

Harry tried not to jump out of his seat and cheer. "Who will be?"

Dumbledore's grin grew wider. "I will be your new instructor."

"Really, professor?"

"Yes, professor," Dumbledore replied. "After all, haven't you ever wondered why they call me Professor Dumbledore instead of Headmaster Dumbledore?"

"Er... not really," Harry said honestly.

"Well, now you know." Dumbledore suddenly grew more somber. "I trained Tom Riddle myself some fifty years ago when I was only a professor and he was the star pupil. I will train you, as well Harry, and I will do my best to ensure that you are at least his equal." He sighed. He suddenly looked much older. "The Ministry has taken many steps to ensure that only the right people have been able to practice Legilimency after the terror Voldemort caused. Now that they have deemed you worthy, you will finally be able to train at his level."

Dumbledore's words earlier that term rang in Harry's ears. Once he learned to control his visions, he would prove to be invaluable to the Order.

'You are our weapon, Harry...'

* * *

By the time Harry got out of Dumbledore's office, it was nearly ten o'clock. He wanted nothing more than to retreat to the comfort of his four-poster and compose a letter to Eva. He had already started writing it in his head, but he just couldn't find a way to say what he had to say without sounding jealous.

Didn't she know what she did to him every time she walked into a room? Their chance meetings meant so much to him. He wanted to tell her that, but he was pretty sure she would think he was crazy. Her words about someone else had woken the green monster of jealousy inside of him. He didn't realize there was competition.

He just didn't understand women. How had Ron, someone who was inexperienced and a little immature, managed to have such an incredible relationship with Hermione? How had he turned their friendship into something more? Perhaps he should ask Ron for advice...

But that would mean that Ron would want to know details, and details were not something Harry was ready to give yet. He could ask Hermione about it, but she was not an ordinary girl.

When he walked into the Gryffindor common room, he didn't even notice Ginny sitting on a couch in front of the fireplace until she called out to him. "You look terrible."

Harry turned around and swiped his hands through his hair. "Thanks." He sighed. "I'm going to go up to bed."

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" she questioned.

"Definitely not," Harry replied automatically. But then as he turned to the stairs the led to the boys' dormitory, he realized that perhaps Ginny would be the best person to ask for advice in this situation. She seemed to have the most dating experience out of all his friends. And he knew that if he kept all of his emotions bottled up inside, they'd only explode again like they did the weekend before.

"Actually, I think I need some advice." He walked over to the couch and sat down on the opposite end. "Girl advice."

"Oh really?" Ginny said with a raised eyebrow. "Anyone I know?"

"Nope," he replied honestly. "Er, just girls in general."

"Well, go ahead," she said. "Ask away."

Harry took a deep breath. "How do you change a friendship into a relationship? I mean, you and Michael were friends before you dated. Ron and Hermione were friends before they started dating. How do you suddenly take the step to the next level?"

"It's pretty simple, really," Ginny replied. "You just talk to her about it."

Harry groaned in frustration. "But when I'm around her - I mean, girls - it's hard to talk about anything related to the subject of dating. I'm always making an ass of myself. I try to be there for her, to rescue her, and it all just blows up in my face."

"Whoa, slow down." Ginny held up her hands. "Not every girl wants a knight in shining armor. I certainly don't. Most girls just want someone to be there for them - you know, after they're done saving the day. Someone to hold her hand and be her last goodnight."

"Last goodnight?" Harry questioned.

She nodded. "You know, the last person she talks to before she falls asleep. The last thing on her mind and the first when she wakes up in the morning." Ginny smiled and leaned back on the couch, reminiscing. "And when you say that last goodnight, instead of talking about taking it to the next level, you just do it."

Harry didn't need to ask how. He could see that particular method had obviously worked on Ginny. He was really surprised at her maturity and knowledge of the subject. He didn't feel awkward with her as he had after their kiss. There was a bond between them - a friendship. It was a strong one.