Dumbledore however nodded thoughtfully at Harry's non-answer. Dumbledore's voice was musing, "I am rather surprised I must admit. I had no idea the Flamel's adopted someone. I can't see them adopting a non-magical child. I suppose it's possible that you are a muggleborn, if they had taken in someone from a muggle orphanage. I expect that, if they did so, it was probable that their attention might have been drawn by a case of accidental magic or something of that nature. But I try and keep an eye on any mentions of weird occurrences around orphanages in the muggle papers. So I'm uncertain where they might have heard about it." Dumbledore's tone was half musing and half questioning as he looked at Harry.
Harry frowned and shrugged slowly. He was well aware that this was a tactic Dumbledore sometimes used. Making comments that would lead to a conversation and him giving up more information than he expected, before he realized it. "I've never been in an orphanage if that was what you wanted to know. I didn't quite catch an actual question in what you just said."
Dumbledore frowned thoughtfully and he steepled his fingers while he observed Harry intently, "Your accent tells me that you're from England. Your age gives me a relative idea as to when you were born. The Death Eaters killed off a lot of families, muggle, pureblood, and everything in between. Most of them were families I knew personally. There were a number of orphans after the last war with Voldemort. I know and ensured that all of them went to members of their extended families. As a matter of fact, I can't recall any out of family adoptions. So, since I'm relatively certain you're not muggleborn, I'm rather curious as to where you came from, not to put too fine a point on it."
Harry couldn't help a quick scowl that flickered across his face, nor could he help the sarcastic comment that slipped out. "Of course. Orphans going to extended families is always the best thing for them. Even if that family isn't fit to raise dandelions or goldfish, much less children." Harry quickly gained control of himself and once more cursed his own loss of control.
Dumbledore's eyebrows raised at that, and he regarded Harry thoughtfully. "I'm afraid you have me at a loss, would you care to elaborate?" There was a great deal of bitterness in Harry's tone.
Harry sighed a bit and tilted his head as he considered. He could point blank refuse to answer the man's questions. But that would just make Dumbledore more determined and suspicious. Harry was also relatively sure that Dumbledore was able to tell when he was prevaricating, and being caught in a lie would probably be worse than outright denial. Besides, one thing he hadlearned from Dumbledore was that sometimes general truths could be used to lead people toward desired conclusions, which were no where close to reality.
Finally, when Harry spoke, his tone was polite but carefully controlled. "I was orphaned when I was very young. I was sent to live with my aunt and uncle, who… did not approve of magic. At all. Denied it's very existence to me for years and… punished me for any bursts of accidental magic, which was something that happened with some regularity. Needless to say, my experience was less than… pleasant while growing up with them."
Harry kept his voice level and careful. He felt there was no further need to go into his home life or provide details of the outright abuse he suffered at the hands of his relatives.
A look of surprise and sorrow crossed Dumbledore's face as Harry related the story, though it was quickly calmed as he observed the boy in front of him. He read between the lines of Harry's statement and could almost shout that there was abuse involved.
Harry shrugged his shoulders, lithely. "Nicholas and Perenelle found me and were kind enough to take me in. They were kind enough to do what they could to make sure I was healthy, and passed on what knowledge they felt they could. Later, they made the decision to adopt me as an heir." Harry kept his voice calm and bland as he spoke, and was very proud of his composure, as he observed the old man's reaction
Dumbledore's brows furrowed at Harry's explanation, as he tilted his head thoughtfully, nodding slowly. "Do you mind me asking what your family name was before you took the Flame's last name?"
Harry smiled a little bit, though it was a brittle smile "I prefer to keep that to myself. I am here as Ares Flamel, that is all that matters to me."
Dumbledore frowned, "You have no interest in your family's history? I am sure it could be procured for you, so you would at least know all of your roots."
Harry's face turned into an outright scowl, and he suddenly had no desire whatsover to continue playing the old man's game. "Headmaster, I grew up for the first several years of my life thinking my name was "Freak". Unless that is a venerated wizarding name, I ask that you drop this line of questioning."
Dumbledore's eyes widened at Harry's statement, and the slight surge of magic he could feel the boy give off as his anger rose. Dumbledore made no move to keep the shock off of his face.
It was several seconds before the man gathered his thoughts and nodded his acquiescence to Harry's demand. "Very well. My apologies for prying, I did not mean to press on an uncomfortable topic. What of the Flamels? Why did they chose to send you here for school all of a sudden? Any particular reason why this year?"
Harry hesitated a moment, "You heard what Nicholas told you. I believed he said that it was to interact with students my own age."
Dumbledore nodded again, and stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I had simply wondered if there might be other reasons as well."
Harry frowned a little bit. He knew Dumbledore was fishing. Thus far, Harry had made nothing but true statements, but Harry knew that if he kept up answering questions at the headmaster's discretion, Dumbledore might be able to catch him in a lie. So instead he decided to rock the Headmaster's composure a little bit.
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