It was nearly midnight by the time Harry decided that sleep was not going to come. He needed to talk. He had calmed down enough to be very ashamed of his behaviour, and it weighed on his mind as well as everything else.

"Dobby," he said clearly, climbing out of bed and lifting the level of the lights with a flick of his wand.

The house elf popped into being almost instantly.

"Good evening," Dobby greeted cheerfully, "is Harry Potter feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you, Dobby," Harry replied apologetically, "I'm sorry I shouted at you when you came to clear away the dinner things. I find it difficult to control myself sometimes."

"Dobby is understanding," the elf replied graciously, "Headmaster Dumbledore is explaining everything to Dobby when he is volunteering for this job."

Harry smiled at the small creature gratefully. He only hoped he was not about to annoy more people.

"I was wondering, Dobby," he said quickly, "do you know if Professor Dumbledore will still be up?"

"Dobby will check for Harry Potter," the elf said instantly and disappeared before Harry could do anything about it.

With a resigned sigh, he walked over to the desk and waited for Dobby to return. Taking a quill, he scribbled a quick note to Dumbledore apologising for his behaviour and asking the headmaster if he would mind visiting, hoping all the while that Dobby would not wake Dumbledore to ask him if he was still up. Sometimes house elves could be very peculiar in their reasoning. A few moments after he finished the message Dobby reappeared.

"Headmaster Dumbledore is still being in his study," the elf said, very pleased with himself.

"Thank you, Dobby," Harry said politely, "I was wondering if you would mind delivering this to him for me."

And with that he handed the house elf the note.

"Not at all, Harry Potter," Dobby replied brightly, taking the scrap of parchment. "Would there be anything else once Dobby is delivering the message?"

Shaking his head, Harry sat down on the desk chair.

"No thank you," he said, rubbing his eyes and trying to clear his head, "that's all."

Dobby disappeared a second time and Harry was left to hope that Dumbledore would be available. He had never timed how long it took to walk from the headmaster's study to the Room of Requirement, and he stood up again after only a minute or so and began pacing. It felt like an age but could only have been about fifteen minutes when a sleepy Jeremy appeared in his second frame.

"Please let him in," Harry said without even waiting for the portrait to speak.

Jeremy just nodded and disappeared again.

"Good evening, Harry," Dumbledore said pleasantly as he walked in, "how may I be of assistance?"

"How did they take it?" Harry asked, having worked himself into quite a panic.

With a benevolent smile the headmaster conjured two chairs and indicated that Harry should sit down.

"Perhaps some tea," Dumbledore suggested and summoned his usual pot and cups and saucers from thin air.

Harry really didn't want tea, he wanted to know what had happened when the headmaster explained what had occurred to Hermione and Ron, but he sat down and accepted the cup anyway. Remaining calm was his biggest aim, losing it a second time would not be productive.

"I believe Miss Granger intended to go straight to Professor Snape and offer her assistance with his work," Dumbledore said as he poured the tea, "Mr Weasley wished to know when he could visit you and Mr Longbottom offered to research rare plants and their use in treating such conditions as lycanthropy."

For a moment Harry sat very still, quite aware that the headmaster was not lying to him, but not quite able to comprehend what Dumbledore had said either.

"They what?" he finally asked rather lamely.

Dumbledore gave him a patient smile.

"All three wished to do everything they can to help you in your new situation," the headmaster explained slowly. "They all expressed a desire to see you, but Mr Weasley most of all. I believe his reasoning being along the lines that while Miss Granger and Mr Longbottom have expertise to offer useful to the situation, he would like to keep you company when he can, until such time as you are able to leave here."

"You're not going to let them," Harry said as the absurdity of the whole idea hit him, "are you?"

From the expression on Dumbledore's face it was quite obvious that the wizard was entertaining such ridiculous thoughts.

"I'm a dark creature, Professor," Harry said vehemently, "I'm deadly. Look what I did to Draco. I could kill them, or worse."

He shuddered at the mental images his own thoughts sent him. If he hurt any of them, he would never forgive himself.

"Your crimes against Mr Malfoy were so heinous that the moment he was released into the school he made his way here," Dumbledore said kindly, but firmly. "Your response to normal provocation has been to damage a little furniture, and when offered the opportunity to revenge yourself on the Aurors who were undoubtedly about to take Mr Malfoy to his death, you took it upon yourself to protect him and refrain from killing anyone."

"I turned a man to stone," Harry persisted, "and put another two in St Mungo's."

"Where you could quite easily have killed all three," the headmaster seemed quite positive in his argument.

Leaning back in the very comfortable chair Dumbledore has conjured for him, Harry sipped his tea and tried not to think too black thoughts. The whole idea of letting his friends anywhere near him, scared him witless.

"I couldn't bear it if I hurt them," he admitted in little more than a whisper.

The headmaster fished in his pocket and handed Harry a chocolate frog, which he took without thinking. Only with the wrapped confectionary in his hand did he come to a halt and look at the object in confusion.

"Chocolate always makes me feel better," Dumbledore offered in way of explanation.

Harry really didn't know what to say.

"I will not try and pretend there is no danger, My Boy," the headmaster continued as if their interaction had not suddenly taken a major left turn. "You are a most powerful individual and the instincts which drive you can be very dark, but in my long life I have met no other man, woman or child who fills me with as much faith as you do. Already you have overcome more than any human being to have ever come to my attention. The hardest part was maintaining your humanity after what Tom did to you. That there is any of you left at all is a marvel and that you can control what you have become is in no doubt in my mind."

Unwrapping the frog, Harry avoided looking at his mentor for some time. When he finally did, he saw such confidence in Dumbledore's eyes that it made the breath catch in his throat. How was he supposed to protest in the face of such belief?

"There is also the question of the Ministry," the headmaster continued eventually. "I have exerted my influence and a hearing has been arranged for after the weekend, where we will settle the matter of their control over you. Cornelius will undoubtedly try and have you classified as a dangerous dark creature, rest assured this will not happen."

The tone Dumbledore used gave Harry no choice but to accept everything the headmaster said as fact. He had the feeling that when Dumbledore wanted something, nothing could actually stop him.

"However, I am sure Minster Fudge will insist that the hearing be held at the Ministry," the explanation went on. "The more people you have come into contact with before that time, the easier the transition will be on you."

"That man's a pompous idiot," Harry said acidly; at least he had a valid target on which to take out his ire. "He would use anything but me showing up as an excuse to lock me up forever, wouldn't he?"

Dumbledore nodded, not that Harry was not sure that in this case that course of action might not be a bad idea.

"Unfortunately, I believe that Cornelius is far more worried about public opinion than he is about you," the headmaster said regretfully. "I believe he does not think our world will react well to their hero being so afflicted, and hence wishes to hide you away. It is time, however, for our society to grow up; they have been coddled long enough and hiding reality from them will not help. You will be rewarded for your bravery and dedication, Harry, not punished, that much I promise you."

The bitter laugh was impossible to stop as it made its way out of Harry's mouth; he would have settled for normal obscurity any day.

"There is already a pile of letters for you in my office," Dumbledore continued calmly; "they have been arriving non-stop since a special edition of the Prophet announced your defeat of Voldemort this afternoon. Tomorrow is to be an official holiday across the whole of the British Wizarding world. You have done us a great service, Harry, and all our people thank you."

"Until they find out what I am now," Harry replied with less bitterness than he expected. "I am not sure Fudge is wrong."

"It is a matter of perception, My Boy," the headmaster said kindly, "and we shall just have to make sure they perceive the real you."

If Harry had been sure what the real him was, he might have found that comforting.