"What do you think Dumbledore's going to say?"

Harry frowned at Ron discreetly. The redhead was being annoying and frankly getting on his nerves. What, with all the chess challenges and inane games from the redhead Weasley he was frankly getting a headache.

He wondered whether he was this annoying in his younger days.

'Not bloody likely. Besides, who plays chess of all things to pass time? It's an old man's game.' Harry thought with a neatly concealed scoff.

He was more of a football and volleyball fan. He liked games that demand effort from the body rather than just the mind. Chess was a game for lazy people in his opinion. While a good outlet for the mind it didn't contribute anything to the benefit of the body.

"I don't know Ron. I will know when I actually meet Dumbledore." Harry said patiently for the umpteenth time.

"Maybe he is going to offer his help with Sirius' situation."

Harry ignored that comment in favour of concentrating on the parchment in his hand. Not just any parchment but a parchment that held written notes made by Voldemort himself. He nicked those notes from the Chamber and he had to say some of the books and notes in the Chamber were interesting, to say the least.

The parchment in his hand carried several good pointers on Occlumency. The mind arts was something Voldemort was more than proficient in even as a Hogwarts student. That was a moot point as Tom Riddle was someone who made a Horcrux in his Hogwarts years.

Occlumency would be something Voldemort learned the first chance he got and it'd seem the Dark Lord took lessons in the Chamber. This was extremely fortunate for Harry who had limited access to books on the matter. Getting access to the Restricted Section would be too public as he did not want Dumbledore to get wind of any of his activities. The only other venue to pursue Occlumency was in the Room of Requirement.

Unfortunately, Harry could not take out the books from the Room. This left him to take notes in the Room and then take them out into his room to study at his leisure. The notes from Voldemort on the other hand was far more useful and they held many helpful tips.

He had no idea that a perfect Occlumence required mastery of their magical aura. Fluctuating magic will always disrupt the construction of Occlumency shields to protect the mind from cognitive attacks. That was the good news.

The bad news is, magical aura for a young wizard or a witch settles down only on their sixteenth birthday.

Harry could not afford to wait that long for constructing strong barriers around his mind. As it happens, Tom Riddle also came to this same epiphany long ago. The Dark Lord could not let someone else access the secrets in his dark mind. To that effect, Tom Riddle researched a ritual from Slytherin's repository of books in the Chamber.

It was a simple enough ritual for those who are well versed in runes. Harry would have to learn the art of drawing runes and most importantly he would have to collect some special ingredients. The listed ingredients were grounded unicorn horn, the essence of moonshine and hair from a Sphinx. While ingredients could be bought somehow the issue of drawing the ritual circle remained. It was for this reason he was studying Ancient Runes.

After learning to draw the ritual cycle he would have to calculate the planetary arrangements. The ritual can't be done on a whim. The position of Sun, Moon and Jupiter has to be aligned in a certain way to enhance the ritual's effectiveness. And there are only so many days in a year that the arrangement suited for the ritual would appear.

"Maybe Dumbledore wants to congratulate you. You fancy a round of chess?" asked Ron

And that was Harry's limits of patience. He packed all the parchments and books into his bag before taking his leave from the Common Room. On his way out of the Gryffindor tower, he encountered Hermione at the entrance.

"Harry!" Hermione screeched excitedly as she came across him at the entrance as the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open. "The most amazing thing has happened. You've got to see this – please."

Before he knew what was happening he found himself dragged away from the tower all the way to the Entrance Hall. Reaching the bottom of the stairs she took a left and Harry realized where she was taking him.

"Oh hang on…don't tell me you are dragging me off to see the House Elves?" Harry groaned as he rubbed his face tiredly. This was the last thing he wanted to happen this day.

"Of course, I am. Don't you want to see the House Elves?" asked Hermione with excitement shining in her eyes.

"Sure but what is your plan once you see the House Elves? What are you going to say to them?"

"I'll talk to them and inform them how their life could be better if they are free. They must have rights and must be properly paid for their labour." said Hermione.

"Have you ever thought why they bound themselves in servitude to wizards and witches?"

"Of course they didn't. Wizards must have taken them as slaves." said Hermione

"Just because that's how slavery happened in the muggle world doesn't mean that's how it happened in the wizarding world."

"Why not? How else could the House Elves be turned into slaves?"

"Hermione you know as well as I do wizards and witches of the past were not that magically strong. Even with the discovery of wandmaking helping wizards to channel their magic better they were decentralized for a long time." Harry said with a sigh.

"What's that got to do with liberating House Elves?" asked Hermione

"Do you really think wizards of the past were strong enough to enslave an entire race of magical beings that could wield magic with far more potency? House Elves can teleport through wards, they can perform magic that outperforms a wizard and they don't even use a wand. They never get tired of using magic and all my research points out that House Elves do not face magical depletion."

"But…but…that's not relevant!" said Hermione with a frown. "I want to free them."

"It is relevant. We must know why they are serving wizards and witches. Why have they not bound themselves to Goblins? Surely, the Goblins have a lot of work in their mines and House Elves are cheap labour. Plus, you already know Goblins have a sort of caste system inside them. They literally keep a portion of their kind as slaves. So, why have they not used House Elves?"

"Maybe, the House Elves didn't want to serve the Goblins or maybe wizards forbid House Elves from serving the Goblins." reasoned Hermione, suddenly intensifying her glare to McGonagall levels.

Harry knew that look. It was the look his bushy-haired friend would get when she decided to staunchly defend something.

'Opinionated teenage girls are the worst!' Harry thought in the confines of his mind.

"Wizards do no such thing. Well, at least that's what I found out in my brief searches of some history books."

"Wait! You looked into history books?" asked Hermione in surprise.

"You don't have to be that much surprised. I am interested in seeing House Elves getting fair treatment, a good wage for their hard work and dignity. So, of course, I looked into their history as much as I can in a short time."

"That's good Harry. But, Don't you think you are reading into this all wrong? Dobby is a free elf and nothing has happened to him." Hermione pointed out.

"Well, Dobby is not free per se." he said somewhat lamely.

"What?" Hermione blinked in surprise.

"Dobby bound himself to me."

Hermione looked horror struck as if he slapped her.

"Harry – you! How could you?" Hermione screamed.

"Oh, don't throw out your morals at me. I pay him for his work." said Harry, which somewhat settled Hermione's concerns.

"How much do you pay him?" asked Hermione, now somewhat calm but still looking at his suspiciously.

"Ask him yourself. Dobby!"

With a pop Dobby teleported in between Hermione and Harry.

"Harry Potter sir called Dobby?"

"Yes, Dobby. You remember Hermione, don't you?" Harry knelt beside Dobby and pointed at his bushy-haired friend.

"Dobby knows Harry Potter's friend."

Hermione perked up and smiled at Dobby.

"It's good to meet you Dobby. I heard you are working for Harry."

"Dobby loves working for Harry Potter sir. Harry Potter sir pays Dobby. Dobby gets a Galleon a week and one day off a month!" Dobby squeaked or happily.

"That's not very much!" Hermione shouted indignantly while glaring at Harry who rolled his eyes.

"Do you know how much trouble I went through to even force Dobby to take one Galleon a week and a day off on a month? My first offer was ten Galleons a week and a day off each week. But he wouldn't take the offer. That's another headache for you Hermione if you are serious about liberating House Elves. You've got to teach them how to negotiate an employment contract." said Harry

"Dobby has too much gold miss with nothing to spend on. Harry Potter sir gave Dobby too much gold to buy hats and clothes for Dobby. Dobby knows not what he will spend his wages on?" said Dobby

Harry looked at Hermione pointedly. "You see. And Dobby is one of the most reasonable elves. Wait till you deal with the rest of them. They won't even hear you out."

"That's cause they don't know any better. With Dobby's help I can help other House Elves to demand payment for their work." said Hermione

"Well, good luck on that! I still think we should study more about the House Elves before jumping to conclusions. Take Dobby for instance. He still can't speak badly of the Malfoys without punishing himself." said Harry, shrugging helplessly. "There is magic involved in their enslavement. And wherever magic is involved logic has little hold on the situation."

"Cockroach cluster."

The Gargoyle that stood guard over the Headmaster's office moved aside to show the stairs to Dumbledore's office. Harry climbed the stairs and as usual, the door swung open before he had a chance to knock.

"Hello, Harry." said Dumbledore who was sitting behind his desk petting Fawkes. "Come in, please."

Harry walked inside and was glad to note Professor McGonagall was also present just as she promised. The room was filled with portraits of old Headmasters of Hogwarts and many of them were not welcoming going by their expressions. It was understandable as last time he may have come across as quite unhinged.

Professor McGonagall was standing near the Headmaster's desk, wearing a purple cloak and a large black pointy hat. He could not fathom how people can just walk around with the ridiculous hat all the time.

He found the pointy hats funny and liked wearing them now and then but certainly not all the time.

"We were just discussing some of the arrangements for the coming Christmas week and of course your unique situations also came up. Now, please take a seat, Harry. You too Minerva." said Dumbledore before rummaging around the desk.

As Harry took a seat adjacent to Professor McGonagall with a muttered 'Thank you'. Dumbledore held out a glass bowl full of colourful candy towards them.

"Lemon drops?"

"No, thanks."

Professor McGonagall politely declined which Harry copied readily when he was offered the same by Dumbledore.

"Coming to the matter at hand. The last time we spoke you aired many grievances. I believe you are now satisfied some of them have been dealt with." said Dumbledore

"Some, not all." Harry emphasised.

"I didn't declare your innocence in the matter of your selection in the Great Hall but all other houses have been suitably informed by their head of House in the confines of their Common Rooms." said Professor McGonagall.

"Thank you, Professor." Harry said, nodding thankfully to the Deputy Headmistress before turning his attention to Dumbledore. He had his reservations on that move but he required McGonagall's cooperation. It was not a good strategy to make enemies across the spectrum.

It was now time to change the gear so to speak.

"I would also like to apologize to the two of you Professors for my earlier outburst."

Fuck no he wasn't apologizing for that! But, Dumbledore was a dangerous enemy to have. It was better to play ball for the time being and take what concession he can without sacrificing too much in this game of wits.

"That's good to hear Harry although you raised some valid concerns. If you'd have been patient I'd have told you I was already working several members of the Wizengamot to get Sirius a trial." said Dumbledore.

A blatant lie, Harry thought but he just nodded.

"Now, what you have done with Rita Skeeter is extraordinary. It has pushed on my own efforts in the Wizengamot and Sirius will most likely get a trial next month at the earliest."

"Truly, Albus?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"Yes, Minerva. It seems young Harry's efforts seem to have swayed many opinions in the Wizengamot." said Dumbledore with his eyes twinkling away.

"I wonder why Skeeter of all people is taking up this story. It is not her style to do so." said Professor McGonagall looking quite surprised.

"I think there are quite a few people who'd love to see Lucius never touch the Black fortune." said Dumbledore before eyeing Harry who maintained a poker face lest the man finds out his working relationship with Skeeter.

"Now, there are some issues regarding Professor Snape. You accused professor Snape of using Leglimency." said Dumbledore, and he framed the question in a way that came off as accusing Harry of some wrongdoing.

"I have and I stand by my accusations." said Harry firmly.

"I'd ask where you came by this branch of magic?"

"And I'd ask what relevance does that have in this matter. I felt a clear mental intrusion from Professor Snape and I can swear on my magic or you can use Veritaserum to see whether I'm speaking the truth."

"There is no need for such measures Harry. We believe you and Professor Snape has been reprimanded for his behaviour. I personally give you my word he won't conduct himself poorly." said Dumbledore.

Harry could now glean a bit of Dumbledore's character. The man was what he'd like to call a 'negotiator'. He used that term to pick out people who negotiated instead of having a normal conversation. Mostly this style of conversation was used by those with political and business acumen.

"While you are at it I'd also appreciate Professor Snape no longer bullies me in the classroom. If he reverts back to his old ways, I'll be forced to find ways to oust that man from this school or any school for that matter. I won't tolerate that man if he continues to derogate me and my father's name. If he had problems with my father he should have resolved that with my father when he was alive. I suggest Professor Snape not take his issues against a fourteen-year-old especially when I'm paying him to educate me."

While Harry was open to working with Dumbledore for the time being he was not going to bend over backwards for the old coot or his Death Eater dog.

"As I said, Professor Snape is well aware of what he did wrong and he will behave professionally." assured Dumbledore.

"Thank you, sir."

"Good. Now, there is another matter I wish to discuss with you, Harry. Amelia Bones, the Head of DMLE would like to have a word with you and collect information regarding the events that transpired last year. Would it be okay if I arrange a meeting the day before the Yule Ball?" asked Dumbledore making Harry blink owlishly.

'Oh, fuck! I've got to dance don't I?' Harry thought even as he nodded dumbly.