When the Roses Bloom Again by TheBlack'sResurgence

Chapter 2

Wish Me Luck as I Wave You Goodbye

"How is he doing, Armando?" Albus asked.

"I have not seen him these past two days," Dippet sighed. "He is eating, however. He has been visiting the kitchens regularly."

Dumbledore chuckled.

"He knows his way around the castle," he said amusedly.

Armando nodded.

"I take comfort in it. At the very least, Hogwarts is familiar to him. He needs that right now."

"He does," Albus agreed. "I cannot even imagine what he is feeling."

"No. It is bad enough that he has endured what he has. With what has happened, it can only have made it harder for him. I do hope he comes to us, when he is ready. It would be unwise for him to bottle it all up."

Dumbledore gave the headmaster a sympathetic smile.

Armando Dippet was one of the most caring men he had met. It was what made him an excellent headmaster and afforded him the respect he had earned from the rest of the staff.

"Would you like me to speak with him?" Albus asked.

Armando shook his head.

"Not yet. Give him time, Albus. I do not wish for him to think we are prying into his affairs. He is grieving, we must allow him to do that."

"Of course," Dumbledore replied with a bow. "If there is anything I can do for him, let me know."

"Thank you," Dippet returned with a grateful smile. "I don't suppose you've had any luck with the time-turner?"

Albus shook his head.

"Nothing," he answered. "Without testing it, I do not believe anything else can be learned from it. All appears to be as intended. The rune work is flawless, though I cannot identify what the sand within is. I can only imagine it is something that we do not know of."

"I feared as much," Armando huffed. "Well, if nothing comes to light by the end of the summer, I would have you destroy it. We cannot afford to have such a device in the castle with the students here. Were it to fall into the wrong hands, the results could be disastrous. We are fortunate that Mr Potter does not harbour ill-intentions."

"I agree," Dumbledore returned. "Will you tell him?"

"Of course," Armando said immediately. "I will not lie to the boy, Albus. I would like to earn his trust."

Dumbledore nodded.

"We have the entirety of the summer for that. When he is ready, perhaps we should give him something productive to put his time into," he suggested. "He is going into his sixth year, and we have no OWL results for him."

"That is not a bad idea," Armando mused aloud. "I will offer to tutor him, and you can help too, if you have time. We can have Marchbanks come in and assess him during the last week of summer. Her workload will have eased by then."