"Why is it so cold in this place?" Harry asked as they entered the big building, their wands ready to cast at any moment.

Dumbledore cautiously looked around, still standing in the entrance besides Harry.

"I believe this is a factory in which Muggles used to make ice-cream," the Headmaster mused, as much to Harry as to himself. The black-haired teenager stared at all the machines that were scattered around the massive building. They were all covered in a thick layer of dust, making Harry want to sneeze.

"Try not to sneeze," Dumbledore said, not looking in Harry's direction. "It might trigger a trap of some sorts."

"Do you sense any danger, professor?" Harry asked, not willing to move until his mentor deemed it safe.

It took a minute for the Headmaster to reply. "I think we're safe, at least for now," he said and took a careful step forward. When nothing happened, he motioned for Harry to follow.

They walked around for a bit, curiously looking at the machines and searching for anything that seemed out of place. Harry shivered, still cold in his casual clothing.

Wait, he thought. This doesn't make sense.

"Professor?" Harry said to get the older man's attention.

"Yes, Harry? Did you find something?"

"Why is it cold here? I mean, the factory is clearly abandoned and the machines don't work, so why is it still freezing inside?" Harry voiced his confusion, making Dumbledore look at him with a hint of pride.

"Yes, I'm happy you noticed that, my boy," he said as he continued his walk. "It has nothing to do with the machines or this place in general. I believe it has to be connected to the Horcrux we are looking for," he explained and Harry nodded.

"So … do you have any ideas about what the Horcrux actually is?" Harry asked.

The Headmaster only shook his head. "I don't. But I think it's an artifact of some sorts. Something that makes the area around it colder," the old man mused.

As the pair walked, they noticed a door at the other side of the building. "Probably an office, or something like that," Harry voiced his thoughts out loud.

"Yes, the Horcrux might be there," Dumbledore said. "Harry, be ready for anything. We don't know what kind of protection Tom used here."

As they were only a few steps from the door, the Headmaster raised his hand, telling Harry to wait a few metres behind him. "I'll try to find any traps and dissolve them," he said and aimed his wand at the door, holding it lightly with his wrinkled hand.

The Headmaster started to cast revealing spells, muttering the incantations under his breath, tracing invisible patterns with his slim wand.

Harry caught himself staring at his mentor, his eyes fixed on the way he gently moved his wand across the closed door. Harry was fairly sure he could cast most of the spells Dumbledore was using, but he didn't think he could ever be as graceful as the old man.

After a few minutes filled only with hushed whispers of incantations, Dumbledore finally stopped casting and turned around to check on Harry. "It's surprising, but I don't sense anything," he admitted.

Harry looked at the door again, shaking his head lightly. "That makes me even more nervous," he said. "He must have protected the Horcrux somehow."

The Headmaster nodded. "I agree, but there's nothing we can do apart from actually opening the door right now. If there are any traps, and I'm sure there are, they must be inside the room."

Harry sighed. "I don't like this, professor," he said. "But we have to destroy the Horcrux."

Dumbledore nodded and motioned for Harry to come a little bit closer. "I'm almost certain that the Horcrux is in this room, but I don't sense any other magic," he said. "I'll go first, Harry, please be careful."

The teenager smiled nervously, his throat getting dry. "You too, professor."

The Headmaster only smiled at him and turned around to face the door. He walked up to them, but spoke again before entering. "I think it's better if I actually open the door by hand," he told Harry with his back facing the nervous boy. "Using magic could trigger something inside, so we'll try the muggle way first."

Before Harry had the chance to respond, the Headmaster delicately opened the door, making them squeak loudly. As Dumbledore looked inside, he chuckled lightly, making Harry confused.

"What's going on professor?" he asked, his view of the room blocked by outrageous robes his mentor was wearing.

Dumbledore chose not to respond, only muttering under his breath. "Tom, you cheeky bastard," the old man said and turned to Harry. "Come in, Harry, there isn't any danger."

Harry walked inside after his Headmaster, looking around the room with curiosity. His wand was still raised in case of any danger they might have missed. When he finally noticed the Horcrux, he couldn't help it and a chuckle escaped his mouth.

"Well, Tom was always … creative," the Headmaster said, walking around a small table at the centre of the room.

Harry stared at the big bowl of ice cream, a feeling of danger barely noticeable to his alert senses.

"Is the Horcrux at the bottom of the bowl?" Harry asked as his mentor looked around the room for a second.

Dumbledore nodded and sighed, his face suddenly looking tired. "I guess the ice cream is poisoned, and we'll have to eat it," he said. "But let me check to make sure."

Harry looked with some interest as the Headmaster cast a few spells at the bowl, most likely looking for signs of magic and poison. After one of the spells, a green colour flared above Albus' wand, startling Harry.

Dumbledore only nodded solemnly. "It is poisoned," he confirmed their guess. "And we can't get rid of it in any way I can think of, apart from eating it until the Horcrux emerges," he said and looked at the ice cream with resignation.

Something seems off, Harry thought as he looked at his mentor. Dumbledore stared at the bowl full of ice cream, his eyes twinkling.

Harry also looked at the bowl, for the first time noticing the colour of it.

Yellow. That means …

The teenager walked up closer to the bowl, his movement seemingly going unnoticed by the Headmaster who was still mesmerized by the ice cream. Harry sniffed the air above the table, trying and failing to be discreet about it.

Lemon flavour, he confirmed his guess, starting to get nervous. Dumbledore finally broke out of his daze and looked at Harry with furrowed eyebrows.

"Harry, this bowl of ice cream is mine," he said, his tone unusually cold. "We can't risk you being poisoned."

"Professor, calm down, we need to think about this. Do you know what kind of poison Voldemort used?" he asked, trying to give the Headmaster something to think about instead of lemon flavored food. However, Dumbledore only looked at him angrily, too enchanted by his favourite flavour to think straight.

"Harry, stay back, I'll eat it," he said and pushed Harry away from the table, making the teenager fall on his back with a groan.

Shit, I really need to do something.

Harry quickly got up and noticed that Dumbledore was already going in for a bite of the ice cream. Thinking on his feet, Harry tried the first thing that appeared in his mind.

"Depulso!" he cast the banishing charm, aiming it at his Headmaster.

It was partially successful. Dumbledore blocked the spell with a wandless shield, but at least that got his attention away from the bowl. Harry was relieved, but only for a second.

Oh, come on, Harry thought, panicking when the Headmaster aimed his wand at him.

He didn't have a chance to properly access the situation, as a spell escaped his mentor's wand, coming straight for Harry's chest. The teenager didn't know what spell it was, as the Headmaster didn't use any incantation, but he decided not to risk trying to block it and simply ducked to the left.

His knees made contact with the cold floor painfully but he had to move instantly again if he didn't want to get too familiar with his professor's repertoire.

As Harry rolled away from the second spell, he remembered something that seemed suspicious earlier.

He didn't actually check if we had to eat the ice cream, did he?

Harry quickly turned his wand to the bowl, before his mentor had the time to cast again.

"Evanesco!" he cast, hoping for the ice cream to disappear. He didn't have a chance to see if it worked, as a horrible pain erupted from his chest and his vision went black.

"Harry, are you awake?" he heard the familiar voice ask him and he opened his eyes, shutting them immediately afterwards when the light hit him.

"Ugh …" he groaned and the familiar voice chuckled.

"Take it easy Harry, my boy," Dumbledore said and Harry opened his eyes again, this time slowly.

"How are you feeling?" the Headmaster asked, looking at him with concerned eyes.

Harry tried to smile. "I'm okay, I think," he said, not really feeling any pain. Could be the numbing potion.

"That's great to hear, Harry," Dumbledore said. "You did very well, I'm proud of you."

Harry finally remembered why he was injured in the first place. "What happened?" he asked, the memories coming back to him.

"After you vanished the ice cream, I was finally able to think straight," the old man explained. "The Horcrux is destroyed."

Harry smiled. "That's good."

The Headmaster chuckled. "Yes, Tom didn't think anyone would defy my orders if I told them to step back while I eat the poison," he mused. "Now, Harry, you must rest some more. You should be fine after a good night's of sleep."

Harry nodded. "Then I will grab some sleep, if you don't mind," he said.

The Headmaster stood up and looked at him with a twinkle in his eye. "Caramel?" he offered, a caramel candy in his wrinkled hand.

Harry chuckled. "Why not a Lemon Drop?"

"I think I needed a change, for once."

A/N: This was written for the second round of The Houses Competition, year 4.

House: Gryffindor

Year: 2

Category: Standard

Prompt: [Speech] "Why is it so cold in this place?"

Word Count: 1709