Chapter Fifty-Four
Albus Dumbledore was so far out of his depth that he wondered if he wasn't finally experiencing symptoms of senility that many insisted her must suffer from.
Minerva, bless her soul, had kept from pestering him after the conclusion of the Second Task, despite his obvious pale complexion that he knew he was sporting without even having to glance into a mirror. He had known for quite a while now that there was something off about Harry Potter, ever since that incident within his first year where the boy had been hospitalized for seemingly no reason. Many, many other incidences had piled up over the years that further alluded to something be off, yet he had always assured himself that whatever it was, it couldn't have been harmful. Not with a herd of unicorns so at ease with young Harry around, let alone being brought into a small family of them personally by the mother. Things like that didn't happen to a person without the purest soul.
What the Merpeople had whispered into his ear at the end of the Second Task, though, still had his heart stopping inside his chest.
Celestial, they'd whispered through the spokesperson. Not in fear or even anger, but reverence. As if one of the old gods themselves had designed to walk the Earth in their presence.
It was a tone Albus himself had once shared with his closest friend and the love of his life during a long-forgone past that only ever reached him in the saddest of dreams. Hallows, their words echoed in his head, even now.
It frightened him, in a way that Albus had never truly be frightened before. What did one do when confronted with something powerful enough to gain that sort of response from the Merpeople? What was the procedure for dealing with something that could only be of a Higher Power that took the form of a child?! Was it even Harry that looked back at him from those green eyes or had the boy disappeared from the world entirely at the age of eleven? Had he allowed himself to be blind all this time to a danger that wandered the halls of his school with the face of a celebrity?
Albus didn't know. As he looked at the group of three that entered his office, Albus had no clue how to go from here. Did he want to know? Should he know? He did not have the best history when it came to making decisions in relations to beings of a higher power. (Hallows, two children whispered inside his mind).
So he sat there and stared at them, mind racing in circles upon circles as everything he'd thought he'd known for the last three years suddenly came into question.
The stoic face of Albus Dumbledore greeted them when they entered the office. The man was pale, face uncharacteristically pensive.
They stood there in silence as the door slowly shut behind them, Sirius and Remus to their right and left respectively. Their godfather twitched a minute into the silence that sat heavily in the room as no one spoke, likely all just as unsure as to how to proceed with the rest.
With Hermione, it had been easy. She had been their friend since the beginning and had always known that there was something more to them. Ron, they suspected, would be just as easy once the redhead was further along in Occlumency.
It wasn't Ron or Hermione, however, that they had to contend with now. Albus Dumbledore could either be their greatest ally or the greatest threat to their existence. As Gabriel, their instincts screamed that this man could be trusted, that they could rely on them. Yet, as Harry, they could analyze his actions. Actions that screamed that this man was dangerous and playing a game that did not always lean in their favor. They had yet to pin down whose favor these games were geared towards, but it was not theirs and that could spell disastrous consequences for them if this did not go well.
"Please tell me that one of you are going to speak soon," a portrait complained from their viewing on the wall. "It's dreadfully boring watching this staring contest."
"Oh, be silent Dippet!" The portrait of what could only be a Black snapped. "I want to watch this! I've never seen Albus so out-of-sorts before!"
"Shhhh!" the rest of the portraits agreed.
"I suppose we will not be able to proceed like this," Dumbledore murmured and motioned for the three of them to sit. They glanced at Sirius and Remus before moving forward. They would prefer to get this over with.
Sitting down, they closed their eyes. Harry took a calming breath as Sirius and Remus joined him, Gabriel still hovering just under the surface, only far enough back to distinguish between themselves. It was Harry that they needed at the forefront of this right now. "Ask away, Headmaster."
Albus could have sworn that every portrait in the room drew in a sharp breath, hanging onto their every word and movement. His predecessor hadn't been incorrect in that Albus had never behaved like this before. He'd never been confronted with something that rocked the very foundation that he stood, not even that moment when he'd realized what Gellert had done.
Bracing himself, Albus pushed back all his fears and focused on Harry. There was no use in pondering over anything before learning the facts. That was the purpose of this meeting as well, to learn once and for all what was going on with Harry Potter. Everything else was secondary.
"I have seen many things in my life that could be described as wonderous and fictitious in nature. I had come to think that there was nothing that could surprise this old man," Albus closed his eyes, trying to find the right words. "Yet in all my time, I have never heard of anything that explains what I learned from the Merpeople. So, I find myself wondering, what and who you are and how this came to be."
He watched gravely as Harry took a deep breath. "It began when Hope convinced me to follow her into the forest alone one day during my first year."
As he listened, Albus could feel himself becoming more and more entranced in young Harry's tale.
Reincarnation was not a subject that Albus was unfamiliar with. In fact, he and Gellert had theorized many times during their younger years when things had yet to fall apart. He'd considered the topic a few times in the decades since then, though he had never truly delved into the subject to understand the small intricate details that played a role in the process. What Harry was describing, however, was unlike any reincarnation that Albus had ever heard of.
His suspicions were confirmed as Harry continued with his story. He'd always known that certain events didn't line up in any sort of logical sense over Harry's school years. It was fascinating, listening to Harry describe his conversations with Gabriel. The mere thought that memories could form an independent personality when left alone was something that seemed far-fetched, though Albus could not see even the slightest hint of deception on Harry's face.
Harry paused, his teeth grazing his lip in the first obvious sign of discomfort that he had shown throughout his story. "It was after I checked into the Leaky Cauldron that I finally learned the truth about what Gabriel was. What I was."
Harry stood then, walking slightly away from the desk and chairs until there were no immediate objects beside him. Before Albus could ask what Harry was doing, he watched as two beautiful gold and green wings appeared behind the boy, slightly transparent yet still visible. "Our name is Gabriel, the Messenger, and Archangel of Justice."
And suddenly, everything Albus knew about the world was ripped from underneath his feet.
'Wow, he's taking this much better than I thought he was going to,' Gabriel commented as the Archangel pulled further back from the surface. It was clear that Dumbledore wasn't going to react negatively at this point so there was no point to be so on guard.
Despite that, Harry couldn't help the longing that came when he was once again separated from the other. He'd always thought that he'd miss the way things were when he and Gabriel finally finished merging into one being. Now though, he was almost dreading having to wait years before that would happen. Sharing control with Gabriel, their thoughts mixing together almost as if there was no difference between them? It had been like regaining a lost limb that he'd never known was missing. There was an ache that seemed to be centered at the core of his very existence that Harry was only just noticing.
What would it be like, he wondered, to be whole? To be able to feel the entire universe around him, exist on levels that humans couldn't comprehend? Would he look at the world differently, see the people he loved in a new light?
He was both excited and afraid of the answer to his questions. 'Don't think about it too hard,' Gabriel interrupted. 'We need to focus.'
Right, Harry couldn't worry about the future. They had come here to bring Dumbledore into their plans, there really wasn't time to have an existential crisis at the moment and they were heading dangerously close to that sort of breakdown.
As it was, the Headmaster seemed to be well on his way to his own breakdown. Harry allowed his wings to fade back out of existence and reclaimed his seat. Remus and Sirius had taken over explaining things as well as they could to the man while Harry kept quiet. They both had a relationship with the man outside of student and Headmaster, which was why he had known he'd have to bring them since the beginning. Well, that and he just enjoyed having two of his family in the room with him. He never claimed he couldn't be practical and selfish at the same time.
'It is one of our best abilities,' Gabriel agreed, a hint of humor that Harry didn't really understand in his voice.
Harry focused his attention back on Dumbledore, carefully watching the elderly man's face change as he took in everything that Remus was saying, Sirius, had given up on the more difficult concepts of the whole thing and was just adding in his own thoughts here and there. Dumbledore was slowly showing more and more amusement as the two started their normal bickering after Sirius started getting bored.
'Sometimes familiarity helps.'
"Come on Remmy, you're exaggerating!" Sirius huffed, eyes glittering with humor and mischief.
"You stacked a bunch of unstable boxes to spy on him from the barn window!" Ah, so that's what they were talking about.
"The look on your face when I caught you," Harry laughed. "Remind me what age you're supposed to be? 12?"
Sirius turned, face and eyes twisted to portray the maximum amount of hurt, hand covering his heart. "My own godson turned against me!" He wailed dramatically. "See what you've done, Remus? You've corrupted poor, sweet Harry!"
"Oh sure, blame me." Remus sighed, managing to look very put-upon. Harry saw the Headmaster chuckle as he watched, his entire body relaxing and one look at the man's soul told Harry that Dumbledore wasn't going to break down anytime soon. No doubt that had been Sirius' plan when he signaled Remus to begin their bickering.
"While I appreciate what you are doing, I do suggest that we continue discussing what I need to know. I doubt very greatly that this is all there is to the story," Dumbledore cut in. Sirius and Remus gave the man a sheepish look, no doubt slightly embarrassed to have been caught.
"In my second year, I found out more about Tom Riddle's diary than I let on," Harry sighed, diving right into it. While letting Dumbledore in on what Harry was had been an important part of their goal for this meeting, it was far from the only thing that needed addressing. "Professor, what do you know about a Horcrux?"
Dumbledore looked grave. "He did make one." There was a grief there that made Harry wince.
"More than one." Harry sighed. "At least he's made three that we know of so far. The diary was given to Lucius Malfoy, Slytherin's Locket which was with Kreacher, and Hufflepuff's Cup which was given to Bellatrix Lestrange."
"Three." Dumbledore moved to put his head in his hands.
"Worse," Harry told him seriously. "We think seven. I'm nearly positive there's another one that's hidden in this castle. It's not in the Chamber but that's all I've confirmed."
"Dear Merlin," the elderly man seemed to age even more. "Seven. Oh, Tom." There was real grief in his voice, something that Harry was surprised from a man that had never seemed to trust or even like Tom Riddle in the past.
'Not everything is about trust or even liking a person,' Gabriel reminded him. 'Tom Riddle, once upon a time, was an eleven-year-old child. Troubled, yes. Possibly even psychopathic from the very beginning. Psychopaths can learn control, though. Not every sociopath or psychopath becomes a mass murderer or even a normal murderer. To have made this many Horcruxi? That's not normal.'
"You said that the Chamber was searched?" Dumbledore asked at the same time.
"Thoroughly. Luna Lovegood and I have gone over every single inch of it we can right now. There's not a single horcrux in there." Harry confirmed, glad to be getting somewhere now. He had no doubt that the Headmaster was going to revisit the Archangel aspect of this meeting at some point, he was rather impressed that the man was pushing his existential crisis back as well as he was. Harry vaguely wondered if the man had been religious at all before this.
"I see," blue eyes twinkled as the Headmaster spoke. It was the first time Dumbledore seemed to have pulled himself together since the Second Task. "An interesting place to spend time."
"It's better now," Harry nodded.
"I believe I would like to see it myself once we have settled matters here." It was a clear that the Headmaster was offering more than to just accompany Harry down to the Chamber. It was a show of trust. Dumbledore was trusting Harry enough to enter an unknown location that only Harry could get in and out of without trouble, as far as the Headmaster knew.
Something that had been tense throughout the entire meeting eased and Harry smiled at the man, showing that he understood what Dumbledore had been saying. Sirius and Remus glanced at each other, confused as to what has happened.
"We have much to talk about still." Dumbledore flicked his wand, teacups landing in their laps. "Tell me everything I need to know."
Picking up the newly filled teacup in his lap, Harry took a sip. Looking Albus Dumbledore in the eyes, he began talking.
Not going to lie, this chapter was brutal to do. I rewrote so many parts so many different times in the last few weeks. I'm still not completely happy with it but I really want to move on already.
Dumbledore is finally in the know. He's probably going to be having an existential crisis for a while but he now knows everything. I wasn't originally planning let him in on anything when I first started his story but as I wrote more and more, it didn't really make sense to purposely go around his character when he could be much more useful as a device to further the plot.
No guarantees on the next chapter. I'm taking summer classes this term and my Geology class is brutal and maybe the actual worst class I've ever taken in my life. We already had our first test and term started on the 23rd. The test as on three powerpoints that each number 70+ pages. With 13 essay questions. Fuck my life so hard.
As always, feel free to ask any questions you might have and I'll do my best to answer them!
~MisteryMaiden~
