The Potter Twins and the Half-Blood Prince {6}

2. Horace Slughorn

"I shoulder his legacy with pride, I used to hear him say that some day I'd blow us all away" ~ Blow Us All Away, Lin-Manuel Miranda

Despite the fact that we have spent every waking moment of the past few days hoping desperately that they would indeed come to fetch us, it almost feels awkward as we set off down Privet Drive. Being with Dad and Sirius, of course, is fine, but we've never had a proper conversation with Dumbledore outside of Hogwarts. There was always a desk between us or a set conversation topic which we did not stray from. It doesn't help that our last encounter with Dumbledore was so embarrassing. Harry had shouted a lot, and I had been in tears for a part of it. Not to mention that Harry broke some of Dumbledore's possessions. 

Dumbledore, however, seems completely relaxed.

"Keep your wand at the ready," he says brightly.

"But I thought we weren't allowed to use magic outside school, sir?"

"If there is an attack," says Dumbledore, "I give you permission to use any counter-jinx or -curse that might occur to you. However, I do not think you need to worry about being attacked tonight."

"Why not, sir?"

"You are with us," says Dumbledore simply. "This will do."

He comes to an abrupt halt at the end of Privet Drive.

"Now, you obviously haven't done your Apparition test yet," Dad says knowingly

"Don't you have to be seventeen?" I ask. 

"You do," says Dumbledore. "So you will need to hold on to my arm very tightly. My left, if you don't mind--as you have noticed, my wand arm is a little fragile at the moment."

All four of us grip Dumbledore's good hand tightly. 

"Well, prepare yourselves," says Sirius. "Here we go."

I feel Dumbledore's arm twist away from me and I redouble my grip; the next thing I know, everything goes black; I'm being pressed very hard from all directions; I can't breathe, and it feels as if there iron bands tightening around my chest; my eyeballs are being forced back into my head, and my eardrums are being pushed deeper into my skull and then -- 

I gulp great lungfuls of cold night air and open my streaming eye. I feel as though I've just been forced through a very tight rubber tube. It takes a few seconds for me to realise that Privet Drive has disappeared and that we now appear to be standing in a deserted vilage square. 

"Are you all right?" asks Dumbledore, looking down at us solicitously. "The sensation does take some getting used to."

"I'm fine," Harry says rubbing his ears. "But I think I might prefer brooms..."

Sirius smiles proudly. "You did well. Some people vomit the first time."

"I can't imagine why."

Dumbledore smiles, draws his travelling cloak a little more lightly around his neck, and says, "This way."

He sets off at a brisk pace, past an empty inn and a few houses. According to a clock on a nearby church, it is almost midnight.

"Have your scars been hurting?" Dad asks. 

I raise my hand to my forehead for a moment and trace the outline of the small lightning bolt scar.

"Not really," I reply. "It's strange, we both thought that they would hurt more now that Voldemort's getting powerful again."

I glance up at Dumbledore, to see him wearing a satisfied expression. 

"I, on the other hand, thought otherwise," he says "Lord Voldemort has finally realized the dangerous access to his thoughts and feelings you have been enjoying. It appears that he is now employing Occlumency against you."

"Well, we're not complaining," says Harry. I think it would be impossible to miss the dreams we had last year, let alone literally being inside Voldemort's mind. 

We turn a corner, passing a telephone box and a bus shelter. Dad begins to pull at the collar of my jacket meticulously, making Sirius chuckle as he continues to impishly pester me