And so the Headmaster once again tested Harry's mental barriers. He was methodic in his efforts. Where Snape used brute force to batter against his shields, Dumbledore poked around looking for weaknesses. Harry concentrated on the man's presence and worked on reinforcing the barrier in front of the Headmaster's position.
When the Headmaster finally struck, it wasn't anything at all like the battering ram Snape seemed to employ. The Headmaster stabbed his barrier like a knife quite suddenly, and before Harry knew what was happening, he was tearing a hole big enough to enter through. Harry quickly rallied to the cause and met his presence at the breach. He concentrated with all of his might at expelling Dumbledore from his mind. He left without much of a fight.
After a couple minutes where both regained their breath and thoughts, the Headmaster spoke. "Your mental shields are strong, but as you could see they are not impenetrable. You did react quickly, however. I did not fight to stay in your mind, but even if I had, I don't think I would have been able to remain for very long before you managed to expel me. I am rather impressed at your progress. It normally takes one over a year of study to achieve this level."
Harry smiled appreciatively. "Thank you sir."
"I would like to continue working with you," the Headmaster continued. "If the date and time are agreeable to you, we could continue meeting Thursday nights after supper until you are able to withstand my assault."
"That would be great," Harry replied honestly.
"Excellent," he returned warmly. "Now you best be off to enjoy some time with your friends. I daresay that by tomorrow evening there may be some divisions among the students."
"Oh?" Harry questioned curiously.
His eyes were positively sparkling. "Yes, I have an announcement to make. I imagine about half the school will be delighted, while the other half may not be quite as excited at the prospect."
"I see," Harry replied carefully. "I don't suppose you'll give me any hints as to what that announcement might be…." He left the statement lingering in the air.
Dumbledore chuckled heartily. "I think you'll have to wait and find out with the rest of your peers. You may be an Assistant Professor now, but I think this is one thing that you should hear with everyone else."
Harry nodded his head. "Alright, I guess I can live with that. Good evening Headmaster."
"A goodnight to you, my boy," was the genial reply as Harry opened the door and left the Headmaster's office.
Harry was pleased that their relationship was no longer as strained as it had been when he left the office last week. He was still upset with the Headmaster for not keeping him informed on the progress of the war and the Order, but that was a battle for another time. If the twins had not yet managed to infiltrate the Order, then he had little hope of doing so any time soon. It was too bad, really. The twins might be immature, but they were really brilliant. Given a little direction, they could use that creative genius of theirs to really further the war efforts. And that thought gave Harry one of his more brilliant ideas.
Oddly enough, Harry received an owl from the twins the next morning. It was an update on their shop, which seemed to have done quite well during its first month in existence. Harry was not a business man, but he knew numbers as well as the next person. The twins left out most of the business terms and just sent him the raw numbers of their costs versus their profits, and they were very much in favor of the latter. He resolved to write them back later that night both to congratulate them on their success and to let them in on the idea he had thought up the night before.
Professor Caldwell praised him after DADA that afternoon for his help in grading the essays. He said that he read through several of the essays and looked at the comments Harry gave and the grades he assigned and claimed that he couldn't have done a better job himself. Harry blushed predictably at the acclaim but otherwise took it in stride. The professor promised that he would be requesting his help again in the future, to which Harry could only grin ruefully.
He really didn't mind the grading that much. It was relatively easy to do; it just took him time to get through all of those essays. And by the time he had finished, he was entirely sick of the subject matter. He just hoped that the professor didn't ask for that kind of help too often.
When dinner rolled around, Harry found himself becoming anxious. The Headmaster promised an announcement that day, and if he planned on making due of that promise, it would be coming at dinner. He was sitting with Hermione, Ron, and Neville who all noticed that he was preoccupied, so he let them in on the secret. They spent the rest of the meal discussing what it could be. None of them guessed correctly.
Shortly after the main course disappeared and the deserts took their place, the Headmaster stood from his central seat at the Head Table and tapped his glass with his fork. "If I could have everybody's attention please." The noise in the Great Hall abruptly died down to nothing. "Ah, thank you. I have an announcement to make." Harry could make out the sparkle in the man's eyes quite clearly even with the distance between them. "Your professors and I have been discussing this for awhile and it has been decided that over the holidays we will be hosting a Yule Ball for all students fourth year and above."
Excited chatter broke out amongst the four house tables in the hall, mostly from the female population, while a less vocal grumbling could be heard from the male students. After a minute, Dumbledore raised his arms and the noise level tapered off. "Thank you. I see that many of you are quite excited at the announcement, and rightfully so. We encourage all students to remain at the castle over the holidays to celebrate. The ball will be held on Christmas day. We will also be providing many activities for our younger students to participate in as well which will include sledding and ice skating among other things. Any suggestions for additional activities should be provided to your heads of house. As before, any student below fourth year will only be allowed to attend the actual ball if invited by a student in fourth year or above."
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