"Mr Potter will be meeting with me in my office. I believe you have enough to do but you may contact him through my office." The Auror gave a nod and joined his partners in collecting the captured Bendith.
"I will take Mr Board to Madam Pomfrey," Professor Flitwick offered. A casual flick of his wand had the sleeping boy floating along-side him.
"An excellent idea, Filius," the Headmaster said. "Please let me know when your student wakes up. I will be most interested in hearing of his experience." With a nod of acceptance the wizard was off with his student floating along behind him.
"Please come up to my office, Harry. I believe we have much to discuss." Harry nodded his agreement. The old wizard gestured with his wand and transfigured the Bendith bodies into blocks of wood before calling some elves to clean up the area. Within five minutes there was nothing to indicate a fight had ever occurred there.
....
The walk to Dumbledore's office was silent; neither wizard looking to talk where others might hear. The gargoyle guardian leapt to the side with Dumbledore's approach and they proceeded up to the office. Dumbledore moved not to his desk chair but to one set near the fireplace. Harry took the other open chair next to him. It was subtle but Harry caught the message this was not a meeting between headmaster and student.
"Tea?" Dumbledore asked.
"Water, please," Harry answered. Almost immediately a cup of tea and a glass of very cold water appeared on the small table between them.
"First, may I say 'thank you' for assisting Professor McGonagall tonight?" Dumbledore said. "From Minerva's description it is doubtful she would have survived another attack."
"I was trying to pick up their scent," Harry explained. "I never picked one up but I heard the sounds of the fight."
Dumbledore looked curious. "Do you have their scent now? Can you track them?"
"Mostly. Their scent is similar to Professor Flitwick - part human and part goblin, maybe with a little something more thrown in. It might sound weird but their scent was 'cold' somehow; like snow." A disturbed look came to Harry. "It makes me wonder what they are using the children they take for."
"Indeed," the professor agreed. "I have done my own research on these creatures and there are too many conflicting tales to draw a firm conclusion. It does not seem though it is for… feeding purposes so I maintain the highest hope that we shall recover our two missing young witches safely." Harry could only nod his agreement.
Both wizards sat quietly for a moment with their drinks. Dumbledore was surprised how calm Harry appeared. After the events only four days ago he half expected Harry to appear and destroy his office in a fit of rage. This Harry was calm, but it was the calm of a predator waiting to pounce.
"It is good to see you well, Harry," Dumbledore offered after taking a sip. "I apologize for not keeping more control that night. I am most unhappy that the staff present did not intervene." Harry nodded his acceptance of the apology.
"It was a rough night all around," Harry replied. "Dobby got me set up somewhere safe that I could work off my energy."
"And will you be returning to class tomorrow?" There was a pause before Harry replied.
"I honestly don't know." Harry took a drink of his water and considered his thoughts. "I've learnt a few things that make me a bit more tolerant of what happened in the Great Hall. Merlin, it put a lot of my life into a new perspective, but that doesn't mean it'll get any better. I'm considering withdrawing from Hogwarts and going abroad for the rest of my education."
Dumbledore paled at the thought of Harry Potter leaving Hogwarts. Harry was a major symbol of the nation. Losing him to a foreign school would do significant damage to the school's image. If the reason why got out it would be even worse. However, the old wizard had to concede that it might be best for Harry's education to do so given all that had happened. Yet, there was another reason that thought of Harry leaving Hogwarts scared him. Something told the wizard that he would get one chance at this.
"Harry, there is something you must know before you make any decision," Dumbledore said. "Before you were born there was a prophecy made about the fall of Voldemort. I can show you a memory for the exact wording but it identified someone that had the power to defeat Tom. It also provided a way of identifying that person. In the end it came down to two children, yourself and Neville Longbottom. The final identification came when Tom gave you that scar. He 'marked you as his equal,' as it were. According to the prophecy, you are the only one that can stop him."