Choosing sides

Some might invoke that obscure magic called "chance" and say that third time's the charm. But the truth is that since he had started to learn about Occlumency, Harry had, at the same time, tried to put words on the torments inflicted by his scar. He had understood two things, among others, about the connection. For every loss of control he had experienced, a pain from his scar had preceded it. The other thing was the importance of precision in magic was fundamental. Therefore, it is only natural that he had started to assess the different pain he could sense in the attempt to recognize any symptoms on the connection.

Like a musician reading his partition and perfecting it, he had started to classify every detail he could notice. The small itches, the burns and sometimes worse. It was always a progressive pain. However, when he had crossed Dumbledore's look the first time, he had been completely caught off guard. There had been no steps in the pain but the direct impression of having his forehead being pierced by an arrow of pure molten steel. There was also this thing… this monstrous alter-ago lurking so deep inside of him he had never noticed it before. He should have taken this warning more seriously. Because the second time it happened, a few minutes ago, his exhaustion had erased every shield available. The pain had surprised him again, but this has been nothing compared to the thirst of violence he had felt.

However, he was now more prepared. He had anticipated the pain and was ready to receive the monster. He refrained a groan of sorrow and stood against the wave of rage overwhelming his instinct.

Through this torrent of emotion, he found the memory of Salazar's voice. He sought refuge in it, remembering every advice he had received from the founder. Suddenly, letting go became meaningful. Right now, he was battered in a flood of feelings. Feelings that were his but darker. As if they had been corrupted. If he had to let go of the deluge he just had to step aside. He had to remove himself and watch those emotions flow before him.

In only a few seconds Dumbledore witnessed the green eyes shine with pure hatred and then fade to a calmer glimmer. We were still far from inner peace, but he knew the boy was in control. He was learning fast, and it impressed him.

Harry took a deep breath.

'I think I'm alright Sir.' He rubbed his forehead a bit. He would have given a lot for Dumbledore's hand to come ease the pain again. But now wasn't the time to whine. 'Voldemort can exploit the connection I have with him through my emotions,' he declared with a steady voice. 'But why is it so strong when it comes to you, Professor?'

Dumbledore tilted his head. He didn't know how Harry had figured out so much already, but he knew that from now on, he owed him the truth. He offered Harry a seat and the boy took it gratefully. He was exhausted and thought that a glass of the same water he had been offered last time would be exactly what he needed. Under Dumbledore's mesmerized eyes, he raised his hand and transfigured it out of thin air and started to drink like it was the most natural thing in the world.

The Headmaster froze. He had seen no wands and heard no spells. And the glass was the exact same one as those stored in his desk. Same material, same shape. He could have expected such magic from one of his Professors or the most gifted seventh-years… but a fifteen years old. He blinked and realised that his behaviour had severed many ties between him and Harry.

This had never been part of the plan. He wished he would have been the one to train Harry and he wished they could have started last summer. But because he had been… a coward, Minerva was right, the boy had found another mentor. He didn't know who and it didn't really matter. He sat and crossed his fingers. Where to begin?

'Our last meeting was interrupted before I could answer any of your question. It is regrettable, to say the least, but I think we will be undisturbed tonight.' He started with his usual composed voice. 'The pain you are experiencing are because you and Voldemort share many emotions, like you already guessed. This connection,' he said while briefly pointing towards Harry's scar, 'is from a branch of magic I am still trying to decipher.'

'It's a bridge between his mind and mine,' said Harry with a blank tone.

'Very well put, Harry,' replied Dumbledore. 'And it is the reason I left you in the dark lately. This is why I have tried to keep my distances with you.'

'You are afraid He might cross the bridge to use me against you,' reformulated Harry. 'Like He just did.'

'That is one point,' nodded Dumbledore. 'I don't know how well versed you are in mind magic, but every time he accesses yours, he gains knowledge about you. He learns about your strengths and weaknesses.,

'Are you saying that this was your way of protecting me?' Asked Harry with a frown.

'It was obviously a mistake,' replied Dumbledore trying to appease the boy. 'I have tried to manage the situation the best way I could, and I realised too late how wrong I have been. I sincerely apologize for this Harry.' He paused a few seconds pushing his manipulative self far away. Not with Harry. Never again. 'It is the truth you have come to seek by accepting my invitation last time. You deserve it since you set foot in this school. And I am the one who kept it away from you all this time.'

'But why?' Blurted Harry. 'I thought you trusted me!'

'And I do,' said Dumbledore. 'I do, my boy, and more than that, I care about you.'

Harry felt a warm sensation fill him. Those were words he had been craving for. But he wouldn't let Dumbledore off the hook so easily. The Headmaster had manipulated the game since he was eleven years old. Maybe since his birth. What if it was still manipulation?

'But those are just words,' continued Dumbledore seeing he hadn't convinced the boy at all. 'I will therefore try to explain why I have postponed what I should have told you the very first day you arrived at Hogwarts.' He sighed. The night would be very long.

'Sixteen years ago, the professor McGonagall and I had a serious conversation about whether she should keep Divination in our curriculum or not. Since I had an appointment already planned with the descendant of a famous and gifted Seer, I thought that I would courteously attend it but not follow up. As expected, the meeting was a disappointment. But as I was leaving, something I didn't expect happened.' He stopped and stood up to pick up his Pensieve.

Harry saw him motion his hand above the translucent liquid lingering in the basin. A ghostly shape emerged from it and Harry immediately recognized the Professor Trelawney. As she spoke, Harry immediately remembered the ethereal and mystical voice she had used during his third year at Hogwarts:

'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ...'

As the silence followed the strange statement, Dumbledore revoked the figure and focused back on Harry.

'What was this?' Asked the boy.

'This is a Prophecy,' answered Dumbledore while putting the Pensieve back in its cupboard. 'A Prophecy that has been made between Lord Voldemort and you a few months before your birth.'

Harry wanted to protest, but because of a detail he had caught in the Prophecy, he knew Dumbledore was telling the truth. There was only one child that had been marked by the Dark Lord before his fall. He was The-Boy-Who-Lived, it was undeniable.

'So, all of this… because of a stupid Prophecy?' He asked blandly.

'There is one thing about Prophecies that elude a lot of wizards and witched, Harry, even the most brilliant ones,' replied Dumbledore quietly. 'If I tell you that many Prophecies have been made over the past centuries but that not all of them were fulfilled. What could you make of that?'

'A Prophecy can lie?' Tried Harry.

'In a way,' chuckled Dumbledore. 'Fates are intertwined by Prophecies. But they might never join. Just because a Prophecy has bound your Fate and Voldemort's one, doesn't meet they had to meet.'

'Then why did it happen anyway?'

'Had I foreseen that the Professor Trelawney had any gift at all, I would have never chosen the Hog's Head for our encounter. It isn't the safest place for secrets and that day, a spy was among the pub clientele. The eavesdropper immediately joined his master upon hearing the Prophecy and told him everything he had caught. My only good fortune was that this spy had only grasped a fraction of the Prophecy. The Dark Lord is only aware of the first part.'

'Neither can live… while the other survives,' repeated Harry, thinking as hard as he could. 'Voldemort isn't aware that, in the end, we will have to fight?' Formulating his doom raised a wave of fear that he barely managed to contain. He was no match to the Dark Lord. 'But… wait a second…' Forgetting his fear, he buried his gaze in Dumbledore eyes. 'How do you know all this?! How do you know what he understood and what he missed?'

Dumbledore sighed.

'You know who the eavesdropper is,' said Harry livid.

'I know who that person is indeed,' answered the Headmaster. 'But I dealt with them personally as soon as I found out,' he continued with a tone that did not allow for any reply. 'This is why I was able to organize the protection of the families which had a child born at the end of July.'

Harry remained quiet. He knew about that part of the story. Pettigrew had betrayed his parents and was the only one to blame for their death.

'So all of this because Voldemort believed the Prophecy,' he said with a sad smile, correcting his former statement.

He contemplated his empty glass for a few seconds, letting the silence fill the office.

'What's going to happen to me?' He asked eventually completely discouraged by the situation.

'Voldemort will stop at nothing to hunt you down. He might have not heard the Prophecy completely, but he understands you are an obstacle to his growing power,' replied Dumbledore with a heavy voice. 'We can wait for him to align his forces and endure the attack when it will come. Or…'

Harry raised his eyes to his Headmaster. The blue eyes had regained their sparkle.

'Or we can counterattack?' Asked the boy. The warmth of hope filled him. If this is what Dumbledore was suggesting, maybe there was a way to make it out alive.

'Precisely,' replied Dumbledore with an intense gaze.