Chapter Eleven
Harry walked ahead of Dumbledore to his office. Albus stepped into the room and waited politely while Harry lit the lamps. He looked around the room.
"I see that you have made some changes, Harry," he said. "That's good."
"So you are here on the eve of your own funeral." Harry sat in the comfortable chair next to a fire he'd just started. Albus was looking out the window at the falling snow.
"Yes, I'm sure it is peculiar for you," Dumbledore said sitting down.
"You know I think it would be so much easier if you didn't look the way you do," Harry said.
Albus asked, "Younger? Yes, I suppose it is disconcerting."
"Are you going to tell me what this is about?" Harry was feeling disgruntled. The whole day had been awful and he wasn't in a good mood.
"Harry, I cannot stay very long," he answered. "There is a transition time and I must leave soon. I will say again that I come at my own peril and yours, although I am not especially concerned about myself."
"What did you do to make this transformation Albus? Did you use dark magic?" Harry watched the man before him. He was once again feeling angry with the man who had deceived him on more than one a occasion. "And what is the purpose for doing it? Is it greed? Wanting more years? Or something else?"
The man with the dark brown hair and beard shook his head. He stared at him with sadness in his blue eyes. "No, Harry, I did not use dark magic. Right now what is important is that I give you some information. I'm afraid your questions will have to wait." He held up his hand, and said, "I will return to you. I have told you already that I am trying to correct a mistake that was made many years ago."
"Alright then Albus, I will listen," Harry said.
"You are a member of the Order of the Phoenix, as I am. You took an oath years ago. Do you remember that oath- the words that you swore to?" Albus asked.
"Yes, most of it," Harry was puzzled.
"Good, good. I, too, took that oath. It is for that reason I cannot tell you everything. I will tell you that you will have a visit. The members of my Order and yours will pay you a visit. The Order of the Phoenix was developed many, many years ago for a single purpose. That was to guard a treasure, a secret. And so we are called Guardians and those that protect us are…"
"Protectors. How well I know that, Albus," Harry said, it dryly.
He nodded. "The people of this group are above the concerns of everyday wizards, Harry. Their minds are set on achieving outcomes that will not occur for generations. They are gifted Seers; brilliant wizards and witches."
"What you're telling me is they manipulate what's going on around us . They are the ones that did the magic that made me the assassin for Voldemort. They did it to my mother, and through her- me, an unborn, innocent child. As a result, Daniel was also affected. Oh, I know this old story, Albus," Harry was on his feet pacing and barely holding back his wrath. "And you say there is no dark magic involved. If that is not dark, what is?"
Harry turned to look at the man who was even younger than he, and spit out, "Now you're telling me that the Guardian guards a treasure. It's always half-truths and lies I hear. My life is a web of them. I was told that you guard an evil, that you keep it entrapped- safeguarding the world. My guess has always been that it is within Hogwarts. That this is the citadel, the fortress. Only it keeps whatever it is your guarding in. The walls are not to keep something out."
"You are partially right, Harry," Albus nodded. "The treasure is within Hogwarts. But it's not something that is in a room or a treasure chest. You see Harry, men have not always had magic. There have not always been witches and wizards. Centuries ago there was a war. It was fought with the elves and other creatures who held magic. It was taken from them, taught to other men and our world was created. Hogwarts was formed by the four greatest of magicians, to teach that magic. They were the ones who took it and brought it here. The treasure that lives and breaths in these halls is- magic. So you see what you were told was not entirely true or false. Magic can be both a treasure and an evil."
Dumbledore stood and walked to the fireplace, his hand on the mantel. "We have fought ever since to keep a balance of power going. Magic can be used for evil purposes and for good. Salazar Slytherin chose to use his for evil. We fight on two fronts; one to maintain the good and to keep the elves from fighting another war with us. They were enslaved to steal it from them you see and to stop Salazar Slytherin from using it in a destructive way. Either way if we fail in our endeavors, our world- the wizarding world may crumble and fall."
Harry sat staring at the man who turned his eyes on him. So that was what happened! he thought with disgust.
"Remember, I told you once that it was our choices that make us who we are. Salazar Slytherin embraced the evil side of magic and we have thus fought its' use in that way ever since."
"Are you trying to argue that what you have done has not been evil?" Harry asked jumping to his feet. "You stole it from these creatures. No wonder they hate us! And your Order manipulates behind the scenes; they meddle in people lives!"
"Harry, I agree that what your saying is true. But we have done many, many good things," Dumbledore said softly. You have lived with an evil man and yet you are not evil. One must embrace evil. We have not. The choices made have been to benefit our people. We cannot go back in time, Harry and undo what we have done. In any case it is not just my Order, it is yours as well."
Harry gasped. "Now what? What does the Order want from me? I am already a Protector, tied to the School by this magic you all performed so many years ago with my mother. What more do you want?" He spun on his heels and circled the room like a caged animal. "Nadya was right. She was wiser than even I have given her credit. She told me one night that we wizards force our magic, we 'summon it and command it'. Those were her words. That's because it never was ours, it never came naturally." Harry stopped and turned to the man standing motionless at the fire. "The Rom are different aren't they, Albus? They have a natural magic, they are accepted by the elves."
"Yes, Harry that's true," Dumbledore nodded.
"So why are you here? Why not just disappear as you have so many times in the past? Harry asked walking over to him. "What are you trying to undo? It's about me, isn't it?"
Dumbledore nodded. Harry gazed into the face, wanting very much to see the old man who he had trusted and loved. He could almost tolerate this information from the older Dumbledore. Instead, he was hearing from this young man- a stranger to him.
"What is it they have done, Albus?" Harry asked, feeling the terror rising to his throat. His voice was husky. "Is it, Daniel?" Dumbledore remained silent. Harry dropped to the sofa his head in his hands. "Why can't you leave us alone? When will this end?"
"Even with our many gifts, Harry, we could not foresee that Daniel would be used as an instrument to the downfall of us all. He is uncorrupted, his magic is pure and he is the first of his kind, born of a muggle half-blood, Romani, born of the Boy-Who-Lived, the Slayer of the Dark Lord," Dumbledore he murmured and sighed deeply. "There is a war brewing Harry and the outcome can go either way. He is being trained as a warrior even now." Dumbledore wandered to the desk where the only clock left in the room was standing.
"Are you saying the fate of the world rests in the hands of a twelve year old boy?" Harry shouted. "What d'you mean he's being trained? Who's training him?" he asked and then he knew. "Sadie Pullard!"
Albus nodded and looked at the clock.
Harry turned and reached for the floo powder. He threw a fistful into the flames and stuck his head in, "Severus come to my office right now and if you can find Sadie Pullard bring her with you!" He stepped back and turned to Dumbledore. Standing before him was an old man with white hair and a white beard. The clock began to chime midnight.
"My life is forfeit now, Harry," Dumbledore said. "I have broken my oath to the Order."
"Will they take him from me?" Harry asked his heart pounding in his throat, ignoring what the man was saying. "Please tell me they won't."
"He will have a choice, Harry," Albus said. "That is what I came to tell you and something they would not."
Severus stepped into the room and immediately behind him Sadie Pullard stepped in. They were dressed in very casual clothes.
"Headmaster, I must protest about invading my privacy…" Severus said as he was turning. Then he spotted Dumbledore and stopped, speechless.
Sadie Pullard stepped up beside him, "Albus, what have you done?" she asked quietly.
Severus looked down at her and then at Harry, puzzlement written in his eyes.
"Tell Severus what you told me, Albus," Harry commanded.
Sadie Pullard remained silent while Dumbledore spent the next five minutes repeating what he had told Harry.
"I want you to stop teaching Daniel," Harry said striding towards her with anger etched in every muscle in his face. Severus stepped in front of her.
"Calm down, Harry," Severus said still trying to make sense of what he had heard.
"I'll not calm down!" Harry shouted. "She's one of them! They want Daniel. Get out of my way, Severus!"
Sadie stepped around and confronted Harry, "It is too late Mr. Potter. It is now more dangerous to stop the training then it is to continue."
Severus was staring at her and Harry was about to burst from rage. "What do you mean?" Harry was spitting, his face flushed vividly red.
At that moment the door to his office opened and Minerva McGonagall stepped in, "Harry, you've got to come quickly there is a wolf roaming the halls of Hogwarts!" She stepped into the main office and stared at all of them. She saw Dumbledore and reached for her throat, "Albus?" she mumbled and then fainted dead away. From a distance they could hear the howls of a wolf as it moved through the castle.
Sadie Pullard tilted her head to listen. There was a slamming of doors somewhere and the howls were outside. Harry stopped to listen and knew that the wolf was now in the blizzard beating against his window pane.
"It is too late Mr. Potter. That was Daniel." She stood straight staring back at him.
The wind was blowing snow against the window, howling almost as loud as the wolf that was running from the castle.
Harry grabbed for his cloak and Sadie Pullard stopped him by grabbing his arm. Her strength was phenomenal. "I am the only one that can find him. I am High Senseve. You must let me go for him. You cannot hope to find him in this storm."
Harry stood back yanking his arm from her hand and snarled, "You…you go after him? Hardly!"
"He's going into the forest. When he changes back he will be in his human form and he will be in danger, from the creatures there and from the cold. His transformations are imperfect and he has little human intelligence while he's in his animagi form."
Harry looked at Severus who was staring at Sadie as if he had just seen her. He turned to look at Harry and nodded, his face a mixture of pain and sadness.
Sadie glanced at the tall man at her side and reached to touch his face. He pulled back and she smiled gently and said, "I am all of these things. I am one of Them, but I am still a woman. I am sorry that you are hurt." She dropped her head and then before their eyes she shifted into her animagi form, the black panther and turned away from them heading for the door.
Just as she was going by the prostrate form of McGonagall, the older woman raised her head and stared into the face of the cat. With a soft sigh she fainted once again.
Harry stared after the black sinewy body that disappeared through the door. He turned to the fireplace once again and threw the floo powder in. "Hermione! I need you right now!"