"Well said, young man. Well said indeed," Dumbledore said as he stopped clapping and strode forward, leveling a stern gaze at the trio of Marauders. "As for you, Mr. Potter, I had expected better of you. You know full well you are not allowed to use magic outside of school. I also had believed that you possessed better judgment than this."
"Sorry, Professor," James muttered contritely.
Based on Harry's knowledge of his father's school years, he vaguely suspected that James was more upset with the fact that he'd been stopped rather than feeling any kind of real remorse.
Dumbledore sighed. "Seeing as you're not in school at the moment, I can't really discipline you, but I warn you, Mr. Potter. Don't let anything like this happen while you're at school, or there will be consequences. The last thing we need is people causing trouble."
"Yes, Headmaster."
"Now, Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin, how about you take Mr. Potter to get some ice cream? I find it cools hot tempers quite effectively."
Sirius and Remus both grinned at the idea as Dumbledore handed them a galleon each from his voluminous robes and smiled benignly. "Here you go, gentlemen. Please, do enjoy yourselves. You are on your holidays after all, and Christmas is coming up."
"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore!" Sirius and Remus chorused after they had gotten over their surprise. "And have a great Christmas, Headmaster!"
The headmaster chuckled and waved as Sirius and Remus dragged James off to the ice cream parlor. "Merry Christmas, you three!"
Dumbledore turned his attention to the two still remaining. He had readily identified Bellatrix Black from where he had observed the attempted duel, but the fading light of dusk had made it difficult to see the young man with her.
Now that he was up close, Dumbledore observed that the stranger possessed an appearance remarkably similar to that of James Potter. With the exception of the piercing green eyes, his face shared Potter's features, even on up to the messy black hair that had long been a Potter trademark. On the other hand, the stranger sported a paler complexion, slighter build, and shorter height.
"Miss Black," he inclined his head in greeting, not really surprised that he only got a curt nod in reply. "And Mister…"
"Ashworth," Harry said perhaps, too quickly. He fought down the sudden urge to panic when he realized that he had just inadvertently attracted the attention of one of the few people he really didn't want to run into yet.
Harry knew that Dumbledore was far too canny and experienced for Harry to get away with vague or poorly crafted lies. Though he was perfectly aware that he would one day have to coordinate whatever efforts he decided to make against Voldemort with Professor Dumbledore, he just wasn't ready yet. Further, the thought of walking into Dumbledore's office and announcing that he was from the future just seemed too ludicrous. He'd be locked up in St. Mungo's he could say anything else.
"Mr. Ashworth," Dumbledore acknowledged amicably, "I'm pleased to make your acquaintance."
"Likewise," Harry replied, trying to come off as neutral as possible.
If Dumbledore noticed that Harry was uncomfortable, he didn't show it. He smiled toward Bellatrix before redirecting his attention to Harry. "I was rather impressed with your handling of the situation just now, and your comments about the houses we have at Hogwarts. You seem to know a lot about my school."
Harry shrugged noncommittally. "It's a famous school. We hear a lot about it, even back at home."
"He's from Australia," Bellatrix supplied when Dumbledore looked at Harry quizzically, holding up her end of the collaboration bargain.
"Ah," the headmaster said jovially. "Would you two care to join me for supper? I hear Tom has a new recipe for shepherd's pie and that is said to be rather good."
"That's quite all right, headmaster," Bellatrix replied.
Dumbledore smiled benevolently at her. "You are not off the hook yet, Ms. Black. You nearly came to blows too. I would greatly appreciate it if you would join us."
Bellatrix looked as though she wanted to turn him down anyway when he continued, "And I wouldn't mind talking to Mr. Ashworth for a little bit-just to get to know him a little better."
Harry almost blurted out why? He composed himself quickly, then thought about turning down the headmaster as well. He didn't want to talk to him so soon; for fear that he might slip and reveal something he shouldn't. On the other hand, if he refused now, Dumbledore would just become all the more intrigued, at least if he was anything like the Dumbledore he knew in the future.
He weighed his options and concluded that it might be better to just bite the bullet, talk to him now, and get him off his back. He would have to be very careful about what he said, so that he didn't spark the headmaster's interest any further.
"Sure. I'm hungry, and it's been a long trip."
Dumbledore stroked his beard as his eyes twinkled. "Fabulous! The Leaky Cauldron is just over this way. I would very much like to hear the tale of how you two encountered each other."
Oh boy, Harry groaned mentally. Bellatrix decided to take pity on him and nodded sharply, indicating that she would come along, though her eyes made it clear that she'd rather not. The headmaster clapped his hands together in delight, and the trio set off for the Leaky Cauldron. The entire way, one thought occupied both Harry and Bellatrix's minds: How in Merlin's name do we explain meeting each other?
The Leaky Cauldron was busy as usual, though Tom was able to show them to a vacant table. Dumbledore, Harry, and Bellatrix sat down and nodded a polite thanks to Tom. They quickly ordered, and Harry took great care to not seem familiar with the menu of the place.
"Ashworth…" Dumbledore began slowly, before chuckling. "Ah! I have heard a great deal about your family… very influential in the past, no?"
"We had a little pull, but that was a long time ago, when we were still here in Britain," Harry replied cautiously.
Dumbledore nodded sagely. "Ms. Black mentioned that you were from Australia-most of your family resides there now, don't they? I knew one of your distant relatives, I think. A Lewfidius Ashworth." The headmaster chuckled to himself as he delved into the memory. "Quite a bit of a prankster, but a good man. Fiendish sense of humor. I don't suppose you know him? Probably not. I understand that there are a lot of Ashworths down that way."
Harry and Bella glanced at each other. The conversation was light and it carried on for a few minutes about inconsequential topics until the food arrived. When it did, Harry let out a sigh of relief, grateful for the pause in conversation as the three of them ate. The lull would give him some time to think about what to say should Dumbledore ask about anything he didn't want him to know about. It also gave his frayed nerves a break as he kept expecting the ancient wizard to suddenly pull an about-face and ask something he didn't have an answer for. At times, Dumbledore had seemed as if he could see right through Harry, and he was sure even a two-decade younger Dumbledore was still capable of it.
"So," Dumbledore asked between two forkfuls of shepherd's pie, "how did you two meet? I'm assuming you are new in town, Mr. Ashworth?"
Grasping on to the straw that had just been handed to them, Bellatrix nodded. "I was just showing him around Diagon Alley. He needed to purchase a few things in order to get settled in."
"We bumped into each other at the bank," Harry shrugged. It was close enough to the truth to not be a lie. "She ended up offering to show me around to some of the shops I needed to visit." He then decided to rib Bellatrix a little bit. "It was very sweet of her to do so."
Harry was promptly rewarded with a violet-colored glare.