Dumbledore and Harry's Adventures

Preparations

Harry awoke with a start early the next morning in a strange bed. Looking around, he noticed that Albus was sleeping in a comfy chair in the corner, Fawkes and Hedwig were cuddled together on a bird stand next to Albus's chair. The events of the previous evening slowly came back to him. Ginny's kidnapping, finding the Chamber, fighting the basilisk, dying, talking to his mom, resurrecting, being expelled, taking on Albus as a tutor... expelled!?

Harry involuntarily shouted a loud expletive. Well, his mouth opened, and his vocal cords vibrated appropriately. But no sound was made.

"I don't know about your beautiful owl" spoke Albus, though his eyes never opened, "but I know from extremely painful experience that it is very foolish to startle Fawkes from a deep slumber. He can be very... cranky. Signal me when you are done with your tirade, and I'll lift the silencing spell."

Harry smiled. Honestly, he had only felt the need to curse the one time. But since he had the chance...

Ten minutes later, he waved his hand towards an apparently asleep Albus. The man didn't respond. Harry grunted experimentally and noticed he could now hear himself.

"Thank you, Prof... Albus. Where are we?"

"I'm hoping you feel better getting that out of your system. We are currently at Saint Mungo's Hospital. I brought you here from Hogwarts to have you checked out. You did get bit by a basilisk and died for a bit, so it seemed like a reasonable precaution to have a medical profession provide a cursory examination at the minimum. The stress of the apparition was a bit too much for you, I fear, so you passed out when we arrived. Now, since you're hearing this, I am still asleep. Feel free to stand up and wander the room, but please be quiet and let me rest a while longer."

Harry stared at the sleeping old man and chuckled silently. Looking around the room, he realized there wasn't much to see, so he relaxed into his bed. He dwelled on his memory of talking with his mother, his heart filling with a sense of peace, and slowly drifted back to sleep.

A few hours later, Harry awoke gently. He felt more rested than he had in months. Looking around, he saw that Fawkes was wide awake, while Hedwig dozed on a new bird stand next to his bed. Albus sat at his chair, reading a newspaper which he held upside down.

"Good morning Harry. How are you feeling this morning?"

"Much better. Though, it was odd dealing with your... what do you call that thing you used to answer me while you were asleep?"

Albus put down his newspaper, to give Harry his full attention. "It's the magical equivalent of a non-magical answering service. I invented it a while back so that I could get some rest in the repetitive meetings one must attend as a Headmaster. It's set up to respond based on what people say. If they say something that can't be handled automatically, it sends a jolt that wakes me up so I can respond appropriately. Pleasantly, since your arrival at Hogwarts, I have rarely needed to be awake for a meeting with Severus, as it always 'Potter blah blah Gryffindor blah blah Potter blah blah Potter'. Hmmm. With your departure, I wonder what he will find to fill his conversational void."

"Ignoring Snape for the moment, you ended a silencing spell on me. How did you cast magic while asleep?"

Albus grinned. "Excellent Harry!"

"What?"

"You didn't say it was impossible to cast magic while asleep. Just remember, nothing is impossible when it comes to magic, there is just that which has yet to be achieved. As for the sleep-casting, that will be a later lesson. For now, just think on it and see if you can figure it out on your own."

Harry nodded slowly. He would wait and see if Albus would follow through on his promises to truly teach.

"OK. So, how long do I need to stay here?"