A/N: Sorry again about not updating, I've been busy.
"I Don't know what that is," Harry admitted.
"I would be surprised if you did, not many bother to learn about them, considering their rarity. It used to be taught here, during the early days of Hogwarts when they were still common," Dumbledore sat down again, reading the information in the book, "An Obscurial is a wizard or witch who develops a dark parasitical force that resides in your core because of physical or psychological abuse invoked on the host because of their magical abilities. When under strong emotional distress, you turn into what is known as an obscurus and based on the description you gave me on what happened to you and what you turned into in Azkaban, you transformed into an obscurus."
"So, because of the Dursleys abusing me, I have a parasite that's in my core?" Harry asked, still confused.
"Yes and no, the Dursleys abused you before you realized that the strange things you do were magic, and that alone was not enough. You must make a conscious attempt at suppressing your magic, so when you hated magic and wanted nothing to do with, enforced by the abuse of the Dursleys, the parasite formed," Dumbledore answered with a sigh at the end, "The first full-body transformations are always the most impactful on your body. Normally, you would have been relatively fine."
"An obscurial," Harry repeated to himself, of course, it had to be him, "I've been under distress there my whole childhood, why didn't I release it then?"
"It may have something to do with the blood wards I instilled onto you when you were a baby, they prevented anyone who intended to harm you to enter the Dursleys household. When you turn into your obscurus, there's a high possibility of you not turning back and dying. The wards may have recognized it as an entirely different entity that meant to harm you and the Dursleys and therefore stopped you from turning into it," Dumbledore explained.
"Oh.. I mean, it can't be too bad right? I'll live.. right?" Harry took a small gulp, fidgeting with his fingers.
"It's incredibly adverse Harry, it could spell quite a short life for you or even instant death if it becomes too much for you to handle," Dumbledore looked at him apologetically and Harry's blood froze at that. Death? He always found himself easily acceptant of it, sure he would try and avoid it, but it wasn't something he could say he was truly scared of. But that was before his life was the mess it was now, with Daphne and everything.
"There has to be some cure, I mean, there's a cure for everything with magic, isn't there?"
"There is, but it's more likely we'll get you killed then getting it out of you. Although that would be the best-case scenario; for you to actually die. If not, you will live a life of pain and suffering," Dumbledore said, making Harry give a perplexed look.
"Are you telling me that you want to end my life? You can't be ser-"
"Calm down Harry, I mean nothing of the sort. I only give you a warning that your life will be one of suffering," Dumbledore interrupted, shaking his head. The idea was propitious, "How long you live will depend on the amount of Power your core has."
"So, any day now," Harry hung his head, why did everything have to be hard for him?
"Not exactly. Your core is going through a change in Azkaban, it's... different. It seems to be growing, slowly but surely."
"How do you know about this?" Harry raised his head.
"Mage Sight. No one knew what they were looking for that's why it was near impossible to see it before, now the parasite is very visible," Dumbledore replied.
Harry nodded slowly, "Does this all mean I'll survive?"
"Yes, but your lifespan won't be one of the average wizard or witch. It will be shortened drastically," The headmaster explained, "I don't know where to begin on explaining how difficult life will be for you, Harry."
"It's always something to me, isn't it? Why is it that all the unpleasant things happen to me? You tell me that I'm going to die and-"
"Not die, your life will just be shorted," Dumbledore interrupted
"It's the same thing Professor!" Harry clenched his fists, "I could die to tomorrow for all we know or even tonight. You don't know how hard things are for me, a powerful maniac is out for my blood, this Obscurial thing and I'm supposed to be a father. Me, a father. Something that I've never had or even seen, how am I supposed to pull that off? If that's not enough if I don't die because I'm an Obscurial, The Dark Lord will make sure I do because I killed him when I was a baby, a bloody baby," Harry held his hair with both hands like he wanted to pull it out and Dumbledore could have sworn he saw him distort for a moment, "I'm condemned."
"You are not Harry, you can prevail-"
"With love? Don't repeat the same speech you gave me after the tournament, maybe it was the case with my mother's sacrifice, but magic doesn't always work like that. Look at Voldemort, he doesn't believe in such and he's the most powerful dark lord known to magic!" Harry leaned back in his chair, "Things can't get any worse."
"Perhaps if you sought to try and understand my wording before you make such assumptions," Albus shook his head, "I was not going to imply love Harry, as I mentioned before, your core has grown and is still growing. Perhaps not as fast as I'd like, but it is. The Obscurus is stealing your magic but the growth of your core is compensating for the lost power," Dumbledore said to the frustrated boy.
"I'll be fine?" Harry asked, making Dumbledore shake his head again.
"No, this is only temporary. Once your core reaches its capacity size, it will stop. Whether or not it will regrow if your obscurus continues to rob you of your magic then, I am unsure."
"I have magic?" Dumbledore could hear the excitement dripping off Harry's now less angry voice.
"Not a lot of it yet but yes, you do," Dumbledore gave him a small smile, making Harry smile back
"That's the second-best news I've had all year," Harry said, surprising the old wizard.
"Is that so? I would assume that it would be the first, considering how much you've wanted it," The ancient wizard replied.
"A year ago, it would have been," Harry shrugged, "I'm sorry about the little outburst before. I'm glad I might be able to protect myself and my unborn baby," Dumbledore noted his exclusion of Daphne but said nothing. Instead, he contemplated letting Harry know about the prophecy. Considering Harry's small outburst earlier on, it was not the best time but when was it going to be the best time?
Dumbledore had kept it a secret for years and he was almost certain that Harry would be somewhat angry. Though the choice was down to prolonging the war and risk even losing it completely or try and fit in a little training with the Harry's growing magic, unfortunately for him, Dumbledore knew the chances of Harry beating Voldemort now was near zero.
Logically speaking, it really was impossible. The Dark Lord had more than forty years of training over Harry and even training him now was going to make little difference. Then there was the problem of having to wait until Harry had the energy for more advanced spells, Dumbledore knew personally that he was going to need them. No simple spell was going to make them win the war.
The fireplace roaring to life interrupted any further conversation, Rufus Scrimgeour stepping into Dumbledore's office with a panicked expression.
"Dumbledore-" He stopped in his tracks, staring at the sitting boy, his anxiety disappearing and being replaced with shock and mild curiosity. How had he survived Azkaban? Thinking back on it now, they never found his body. Only the other prisoners. It only made sense that he had survived somehow, or maybe it was he who had destroyed it. He held his wand in its holster, just to be safe.
"None of that Rufus," Dumbledore said sternly, making the ministers head turn to him.
"What is he doing out of prison?" Scrimgeour asked curiously.
"Azkaban isn't a factor of imprisonment anymore, where else would he be if not free?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.
"Perhaps, but why was his survival not reported upon discovery?" Rufus retorted, "Even more, how is it he survived? None of the prisoners are alive."
"That, even he is unable to answer." Dumbledore started, lying and making Harry look at him thankfully, "Take a seat, so we can discuss this," he gestured to the seat next to Harry, which the minister reluctantly took; still gripping his wand in its holster.
"Explain this to me Dumbledore" Rufus demanded, making Dumbledore smile. The man was eager.
"Harry isn't sure what truly happened. He was asleep during the incident, he doesn't even recall coming here."
"That raises suspicion. Out of everyone, the one responsible for destroying Portree is the only one to survive the killings of all the prisoners and the destruction of the detainment center itself. Using such an excuse makes it even worse." The minister didn't bother to hide his own misgiving.
"It wasn't-" Harry started, but Dumbledore motioned for him to stop. He disobeyed, "It wasn't me. I didn't do anything to anyone that night. I was sitting here with Dumbledore. during the incident."
"If I remember correctly, you admitted to the crime," Rufus protested, making Harry nod.
"I did."
"Then was is it are you trying to say?" The minister was starting to look annoyed.
"I said I was guilty of destroying Portree. It was a lie. I didn't do anything that night-in fact, I didn't know what was happening until the court case. Dumbledore and I were speaking about-" Harry caught himself, almost letting the personal contents of their conversation slip," -something personal when Auror Tonks' Patronus came in, requesting an urgent meeting with him, thus ending our conversation and making me go back to the dormitories, where I slept until awoken by Fudge," he continued, figuring Scrimgeour knew about the order. He was quite sure everyone did at this point.
"If that were true, then why is it did you say you were responsible?" Rufus questioned, making Harry look a bit sheepish.
"I don't know really," he confessed, looking at Dumbledore for a little help, who looked like he would rather say nothing.
"This is ridiculous, I'm going to get the Aurors," Rufus got up, but Dumbledore's voice stopped him.
"Allow me to explain to you why that would be the most terrible idea I've heard to date," Dumbledore said, stopping the minister for a moment and making him look at him with a raised eyebrow. This also got Harry's attention.
"Do explain," Rufus relented. Dumbledore sighed, it would be killing two birds with one stone in a sense.
"Have you never thought of why Tom would want to kill you as an infant?" Dumbledore turned to Harry when he asked this.
"I have, the best I could come up with was that he is a psychopath," Harry said, mention of the night ceasing the joy he felt of being out of Azkaban and of having magic; making him lean back down on his chair, perturbed. He was curious about what this had to do with the conversation.
"While that may be true, there was no reason for him to be so specific. Your parents took you into hiding because of a prophecy made by Sybil Trelawney. It referred to a child who would be able to vanquish him being born at the end of July, and at the time, it could be only you or Neville but it could not be both of you. The dark lord himself had to mark one of you as his equal and by making an attempt at your life that night, he made you the child of the prophecy," Dumbledore explained to the two-gapping people.
"W-What?" Harry was unsure of how to process it all. He was being hunted down by the dark lord since the fourth year for a reason he didn't know and know he was being told that he was born to fight and kill him, why hide it from him for all this time? He could have prepared... somehow, "I've been living in danger my whole life and you only tell me the reason for this now?"
"I wanted for you to live a normal life. You were never in any danger Harry, you were always being watched," Dumbledore answered and Harry felt a sense of anxiety rush through him.
"Then when were you going to tell me this? When I was six feet under?"
Dumbledore shook his head, "Of course not. I had planned to let you know upon your return form the Christmas holidays. Only then would we devise a plan on how to make it possible for you."
Harry sighed, he didn't feel angry, just betrayed. He believed Dumbledore was always truthful with him, but it seemed not. If he was honest with himself, having received this information. There wasn't time to fight amongst themselves, but he needed a moment. "Do you have my wand with you?"
Dumbledore pointed to a box on one of his shelves with an understanding look. Harry walked to it and upon opening the box, he exhaled and turned to the headmaster, box still in hand, "This isn't it."
"Yours was snapped by the ministry, I apologize for its appearance," Dumbledore said, making Harry turn back to the boney colored wand. It almost looked like Voldemort's, but it just lacked the small hook and it didn't look as rough carved as the dark lords. With a small intake of breath, he grabbed the wooden grip of the wand and heard the Minister gasp as he saw how it looked. Harry felt the familiar adrenaline sensation of the wand accepting him, but what happened after was unfamiliar to him.
Small sparks emitted from the tip of the wand and a gentle breeze made his hair and Robes sway, he gave out a light smile, remembering the reason. He had magic, or it at least he was starting to get more of it. He pocketed the wand and made for the exit.
"Where are you going, Harry?" Dumbledore's questioned.
"I have a girl to see and then, well, somewhere that's for me," Harry exited the room without any further explanation. As soon he had descended the statue and it blocked the stairway. He leaned against the wall next to it, using it as support as he brought himself down to the floor and cover his face with his hands. He was going to die. There wasn't a scenario where he could imagine himself living through this.
His head kept on repeating 'Condemned' and he didn't want to believe it, how could he? Even with his supposed growing core, how was he supposed to beat someone who's had years of experience and skill, someone who has easily killed even the best duelists, while the highest experience Harry had was killing a large snake, and even that was with a sword, just barely surviving it. Thinking about it now, he might have knowledge of different spells, but he hadn't even practiced a single one, maybe some of the light stunners but not the more advanced ones, and the lack of necessity made him forget some of them.
Harry let out a breath, it didn't matter. 'I have nothing to live for any-' he shook his head, stopping the thoughts. He had something to live for, someone he would have to live for. He might have no cared for anything before this year, but now he had someone he was going to have to protect. Or is going to have someone to protect. He let out a small inaudible scream into his hand.
Everything had to be so hard... He had the different type of reasonable doubts, but he was sure of something now. He had to make sure he survived everything and if he even dreamed of that, training was needed. A lot of it.
"Harry?" A voice made him raise his head slowly in surprise. No one had even tried to utter a word to him, until now that is. When the voices speaker had come into his vision, his jaw slackened, and his eyes widened to a small degree. Daphne stood there, with Blaise helping her walk. The first thing Harry noticed was that she looked pregnant... Very pregnant. Appearance wise she was glowing, but she did look strained and she practically emitted an aura of vulnerability, and it made some of the anger he held for her disappear, his inelegance started it all, although she took it to another level.
"Hey," he regarded, getting up and walking towards her, not taking a moment to glance at Blaise, who was still eyeing him. Once he stood in front of her, they stared at each other in the eyes and Harry found it surprising that she stood the same height as him, which meant she must have grown nearly three inches since he was gone. 'Is that natural?' he thought, but any further contemplation was stopped by her sliding her hand off Blaise's shoulder and putting her arms around his neck, hugging him as closely as she could without hurting herself or the baby.
"I missed you," She whispered and sounded sincere. He didn't return the hug for a moment, but he put his hands on her waist and returned it silently. He wanted to be angry, he really did, but she wasn't in the best state for him to call her out. Blaise stood there, feeling a bit awkward as he watched the two continue to embrace in the middle of the silent corridor.
She pulled away and looked at him with a tearful smile, he looked at her for a moment, feeling the tears on his forehead, and then gave her a smile in return. He wasn't cruel, he wasn't going to be angry at her and show it, whether she was sincere about this or not, it wasn't the right time now.
"Where were you going?" he asked her, only now sparring a glance at Blaise
"The hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey wants me to be there until I deliver. Astoria told me that she saw you and that you went in this direction. I knew there was one place you would go to around here, and I just had to see for myself if it was true," She answered honestly, surprise still present in her voice, but it held a tinge of worry.
"I'll take you there then," Harry said, and Blaise seemed like he choked on something behind her, "What's wrong with you?" he looked at the dark boy, who shook his head.
"Nothing. I'll see you two later," Blaise then speed walked down the corridor. Harry shrugged and turned back to the girl in front of him, who was still looking at him with a stupefied, yet quizzical expression. He held her arm and put it on his shoulder, putting he's arm under hers and over her shoulder and moved to the hospital wing, which was now on the second floor.
"How are you feeling?" he queried, not looking at her.
"Bloated, tired, my feet hurt, and I feel like killing you," She answered, making his eye widen.
"What? Why?"
"It's your fault I'm like this," she said honestly. Harry's mouth opened to give a retort, but he closed it again, rethinking and he repeated this before giving off a small laugh.
"I guess," he glared at a group of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, who stopped to gape at them, making them look away and continue walking. They spent the rest of the journey in silence, with Harry stopping a few times to let her take a break. When they were nearly at the hospital wing, she asked a question that caught him off guard.
"Are we okay?" she asked, making him stop and turn his head to her, "I mean, you've been in Azkaban for seven months, maybe you feel different," Harry said nothing for a moment, there was no doubt in his mind that they were not okay, at all.
"Look, Daphne, maybe if things were different and the relationship started off with both of us liking each other. We would have been," he replied, making her raise an eyebrow.
"What do you mean by that?" she asked, her voice only having curiosity. Harry didn't need to think to know that he wasn't going to tell her, he didn't trust her enough, not anymore.
"It's a lot of things really, having that kind of relationship would be difficult for me right now. Maybe after the war," he said earnestly, before deciding on a topic change, "Anything interesting happen while I was gone?"
His attempt at changing the subject did not go unnoticed and she felt that this was some sort of rejection, admittedly she found herself disappointed. I shouldn't care, she thought with a frown. She had planned on coming clean and telling him everything she had planned, hoping that they could start a relationship that wasn't built on lies for the betterment of their baby. Maybe even trying to like him.
"The war, of course. You should have seen the looks on their faces when they read the first article on the dark lord's return," She answered with a small smirk, "Most of the students are sticking to being quiet and not voicing their opinions on the war, with exceptions being those who's parent Dumbledore gave refugee too, making them practically join the light."
"Which side is winning?" he questioned.
"I thought Dumbledore would have told you of this?" She frowned.
"Our conversation was interrupted. So, who seems to be winning?" Harry shrugged, making her stare at him momentarily before answering.
"The Dark Lord."
"Figures" Harry muttered, stopping when they finally reached the door of the hospital wing.
Daphne looked at him confused, having heard what he said. "What do you mean by that?"
"No one can beat him, from what I've heard about the last war when he was in his prime, not even Dumbledore would have faced him alone. The light losing isn't a surprise," He said, making Daphne look to the floor silently.
"Do you think he's going to come here?" She whispered, making him cock his head. He was certain that everyone knew that Hogwarts was at the top of Voldemort's hitlist, come to think of it, Hogwarts was both the worst and safest place to be right now.
"Oh..." Harry wasn't sure what to say to somehow reassure her. She was talking about Voldemort coming after her, or more specifically, the baby. The Dark Lord was bound to find out sooner rather than later. On top of that, her own house also had a sort of hatred for him, she was at a higher risk than him. At least, it seemed that way. While still highly displeased with her, she is to be the mother of his child and he had to make sure she was alive, for the sake of their child.
"I don't have a doubt that he will Daphne," he admitted, making her look up at him with wide eyes but he could tell she suspected an answer of that sort. "I also have no doubt in my mind that he won't lay a finger on you," he continued. She gave him a reluctant smile, one he did not return and before she could respond, a protesting Blaise Zabini was pulled around the corridor while getting an earful from his mother.
A/N:
I know its short, but I had to write this in one day before I wasn't going to be able to get acces to my PC for a few weeks. I hoped you liked it anyway.
B/N:
As always, it's been an honor to beta for Baphiwens. Glad to see him back and stronger than ever.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. See ya soon.
