Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter.
A/n- I want to thank everyone that Reviewed, I hope that you continue reading my story.
Chapter 19
Harry was able to fall asleep around four o'clock in the morning. By that time, the rest of Gryffindor house had gone to bed, and any thoughts about that little Slytherin boy had left Harry's mind.
Harry woke up later than usual the next morning. By the time he got out of bed, all of the Gryffindor fifth years had left the dormitory. They were either at breakfast, or in the common room looking at the wizard's duel chart.
Harry let out a small yawn as he got out of bed and marched his way into the bathroom to start his day. He felt very well rested that morning. It had been the first time since his encounter with Voldemort that he was able to have a good night's sleep. He didn't understand it, but maybe it was the atmosphere; maybe being surrounded by people who cared about him, gave Harry back some of the spirit that he lost when Voldemort came back.
Harry looked closely into the mirror concentrating mostly on his eyes. They definitely looked better, thanks to the potion that professor Snape had given him the other day. His black bags were gone, and the red cracks surrounding his emerald green irises were gone too. He looked a little closer (which was hard because of his glasses) to try to see if anything had changed inside of his pupils. Sadly nothing had.
"A potion can only do so much I guess," he said to himself in a low voice. He looked back in the mirror and said, "One day at a time. Soon Dumbledore will put a stop to Voldemort's evil plans, and then when everyone is at peace again, maybe I can once again be the same person I used to be."
"I hope so," the mirror said.
Harry just nodded and continued with his morning routine.
After he was finished he headed down towards the Gryffindor common room to find that almost every single Gryffindor student was down there. Most of them were just relaxing, and talking to each other, while a few of them were packed in a group looking at a piece of parchment that hung on the wall.
'That's probably the schedule for the wizard's duel,' Harry thought to himself.
Harry ignored the sign and started looking around for his friends. When he found Ron, Hermione, and Olivea sitting together around a table, he immediately headed over to them. He was obviously curious about which division they were in, and whom they were going to be up against.
Harry wasn't even halfway there, when he was once again stopped by a very annoying voice.
"Hiya Harry!"
Harry turned and realized that it was Colin Creevy once again, standing in front of him and blocking his way. "Hello Colin," he said quickly, while trying to wheel around Colin.
"Guess what Harry?" Colin said with enthusiastically.
"What Colin?" Harry sighed exasperatedly. This was the first time he had gotten a good night sleep in months, and Harry really didn't feel like starting the day with Colin or anyone else idolizing him.
"You and I are in the same division!" Colin said ecstatically.
"What?" Harry gave him a quizzical look.
"Isn't it great! Wouldn't it be neat if we got to face each other soon?"
"That would be great," Harry said shortly. He was finally able to wheel around Colin, and started to walk off in a bit of a hurry, before Colin could block him again. "Well I have to go, bye." He called back to Colin.
"Ok see you later Harry," Colin called after him.
'Poor guys finally lost it,' Harry thought to himself, as he headed towards where his friends were sitting. 'This whole Harry Potter obsession has finally driven him over the deep end.'
"Hey guys," Harry said when he arrived, and sat down next to them. "What are you all doing?"
Ron looked up and said, "You look well rested. Of course I'm not surprised. You slept like a log the entire night."
"Really?"
"Yeah," Ron continued. "When I tried to wake you up this morning all you did was mumble some words and then rolled over and continued sleeping. You looked so cute!" Ron ended with a chuckle.
"So what kind of things did I mumble," Harry said, trying to keep the conversation going.
"I don't really know?" Ron stopped for a moment and tried to remember what he heard. "Something like memorichi or something, does that ring a bell?"
Harry eyes immediately widened and his skin grew a little paler. 'He means Memoritia,' he thought to himself. 'I can't let them know about that yet. Looks like I'm going to have to try and be more careful.' He noticed that Hermione was giving him a weird look, so he quickly decided to change the subject.
"So what were you guys doing before I came here?" He said, trying desperately to sound casual.
"We were examining the wizard's duel schedule. I used a spell to copy everything from the parchment on the wall to a parchment of my own. That way we could take our time examining it."
"We wanted to go and look at it at breakfast, but you hadn't woken up yet. Good thing it's a weekend, or else we'd have to go to class soon."
"Well you guys didn't have to wait for me, you could've gone by yourselves." Harry said matter of factly.
"Well we wanted to ask you something," Hermione stated.
"Why didn't you tell us that you wanted to enter the wizard's duel?" Olivea asked.
"Is that what you were waiting to ask me?" Harry asked.
All three nodded.
"Well I didn't. I never entered," Harry said giving them all a quizzical look.
"Yes you did," Ron said a little sharply. "Here," he picked up the parchment and flashed it in front of Harry's face. "Your name is right here, next to Neville's," he finished pointing at a spot on the parchment.
Harry immediately grabbed the parchment out of Ron's hands and started examining it closely.
"When Neville found out that he was facing off against you in the first match, he became very upset," Hermione said, while Harry read the parchment.
"Well I think that it's better for him to face off against someone like Harry, instead of a seventh year Slytherin; which by the way, is who I'm facing," Olivea said matter of factly.
After looking at the parchment for about a minute, Harry slowly put it down on the desk.
"Malfoy," He said. "Malfoy entered my name in the tournament."
"He couldn't have," Ron said, shaking his head.
"Didn't you see the way he looked at me in the great hall the other day. He obviously wants to fight me. Probably wants to finish me off for his master!"
"Harry, don't be silly, you know Dumbledore would never allow that. Besides, I spoke to professor McGonagall the other day.
"I was also suspicious about the way Malfoy was acting, so I asked her about what would happen if a student entered another student's name in the cauldron, and she said that all the entrees were scanned and those that weren't legitimately entered would get tossed out.
"So that means the only way that Malfoy could've entered you is if you signed something for him. Did you?"
Harry thought for a moment, and then it came to him. That little Slytherin who asked Harry for his autograph the other day must've done it on Malfoy's orders.
"Darn it!" Harry snapped. "I should've never trusted that kid!"
"What kid?" Ron asked.
Harry immediately told them what happened when he went to send Sirius a reply letter, choosing his words very carefully, so as not to let anything important slip out in front of Olivea. He used the word Snuffles whenever he was referring to his godfather.
The group waited until Harry was finished before they said anything.
"Why didn't you tell us that snuffles sent you a letter?" Hermione said after he was finished.
"Why the heck did you reckon you could trust a Slytherin?" Ron said about a second after Hermione was finished.
"And who in the world is snuffles?" Olivea asked after Ron was done.
"I wanted to, but things kept getting in the way," He said facing Hermione.
"I thought the same thing myself, but he looked really sincere," he said facing Ron.
"And snuffles is an old friend of ours," he said facing Olivea.
"Was he the one who went you that personal letter you were talking about?" Olivea asked.
Harry shook his head and said, "No that was something else," Obviously trying to give her as little information as possible.
"So what are you going to do about the wizard's duel?" Hermione asked trying to change the subject to anything else besides Harry's godfather.
"Simple," Harry said as he once again picked up the parchment and started looking at it. "I'm just going to go tell Dumbledore that I quit the tournament. I mean, it's not like I signed my name in blood or anything. I'm sure Neville will be happy."
"Yeah, and I'm sure that Malfoy will be unhappy," Ron added in.
"I think that he'll be unhappy either way," Olivea stated. "Harry's in the western Division, and Malfoy's in the Eastern division with you Ron. They wouldn't be facing off against each other until the finals, that is if they both manage to make their way up there."
"And there's no way that's going to happen," Ron said triumphantly. "Because I'm going to take him out of the duel, before we even get past the preliminaries."
"Just like you did on the train?" Hermione snorted.
"That was just a fluke." Ron said, ducking his head to hide the crimson in his cheeks.
"What are you talking about, you were on the floor screaming!"
"Malfoy did something to you guys on the train?" Harry snapped, with a hint of worry and anger on his face.
As Hermione went into the details of what happened on the train, Harry noticed that most of the other students were leaving to catch the last few minutes of breakfast.
"We'd better go down and get some breakfast," Harry interrupted Hermione just when she was about to tell him about Goyle and the head-shrinking potion. "You can tell me the rest there."
"And you can talk to Dumbledore there as well," Ron said, as he got up and started stretching a bit.
With that, they all got up and headed down to breakfast.
By the time they entered the great hall it was packed with students. Apparently they weren't the only ones who got held up because of the wizard's duel schedule posting.
"Hey Harry look over at the Slytherin table," Ron gleamed as they all sat down at the Gryffindor table. "From the look on Malfoy's face, you'd think that Christmas has been cancelled or something."
"In Malfoy's case, I don't think that would matter," Olivea pointed out.
Harry nodded in agreement. Malfoy definitely was not a person who enjoyed festive events, unless they resulted from a tragedy. However Harry did have to agree with Ron as well, Malfoy did look extremely upset.
"It's probably because you and him are in opposite divisions," Hermione stated. "I mean, if after all that work, he didn't even get what he wanted. I guess I'd be upset too."
"Well, looks like I'm only going to have to upset him even more," Harry said. He looked up at the teacher's table trying to find Dumbledore among all the other teachers, only to find that he wasn't there.
"That's another meal that Dumbledore has missed," Harry thought out loud.
"Well you can't blame him," Hermione said. "He has a lot on his plate right about now; what with the duel, and you-know-who and all. Why don't you talk with professor McGonagall about it? I'm sure she'll be able to help you out."
Harry nodded and said, "That's a good idea. I'll be back in a second."
Harry got up and headed over to the teachers table.
"Make sure not to take too long," Hermione called after him. "I wanted to start with our first arithmancy tutorial sometime today!"
"Okay," Harry called back.
"What is it Potter?" Professor McGonagall said in her stern voice, before Harry even opened his mouth.
"Er… well you see, my name has been entered by mistake…again, and-"
"And you want to withdraw from the duel, is that it?" professor Mcgonagall asked.
"Yes professor," Harry quickly answered.
"Professor Dumbledore said he was expecting this," professor McGonagall said.
"Really? But how did he know?" Harry asked. He always believed that Dumbledore more or less knew everything that goes on in Hogwarts, but it was times like these, that Harry got the suspicious feeling that Dumbledore was able to read minds as well.
"He told me to send you to his office when you came to me," professor McGonagall said with a small nod. Clearly she was thinking the exact same thing that Harry was. "The password is 'sherbert grape'. If you want to resign then you'll have to speak with him about it; that is what he told me to tell you."
"Thank you professor," Harry said.
"He is in his office right now so if you wish to speak with him about quitting the duel, now would be the best time, being that it's the weekend and all."
"Yes professor, I'll go immediately." Harry turned around and started to leave, but was stopped by professor McGonagall's voice.
"And Potter!" she called after him.
Harry turned around and said, "yes?"
"I have spoken with Professor Vector," professor McGonagall said in her usual stern voice. "And I tell you this now, I don't want to hear that you are slacking off, do you understand?"
Harry just nodded and headed back to his friends.
"Well what happened?" Hermione asked, as soon as Harry had reached the Gryffindor table.
"She said that I have to speak with Dumbledore himself about it," Harry responded. "And she said I should go right now."
"I'll wait for you in the common room," Hermione sighed.
"Sorry about this," Harry said in a low voice.
"The only person you should be apologizing to is yourself," Hermione said matter of factly. "You're the one who needs this not me."
"I'll be there as soon as I'm done speaking with Dumbledore."
"See you then," Hermione said.
After saying goodbye to Ron, Hermione, and Olivea, Harry rushed off towards the statue of the gargoyle, gave the password and climbed the spiral staircase.
'I've been here more times this year, than all my previous years combined,' Harry thought to himself as he approached the door to Dumbledore's office.
As he was about to open the door, Harry heard voices coming from the room. One voice belonged to Dumbledore, while the other belonged to someone Harry hadn't met yet. Harry knew that it would be wrong to listen in, but curiosity got the best of; plus he didn't want to interrupt Dumbledore's conversation.
"So when will you be able to transfer it?" Dumbledore asked.
"We are doing our best Albus," the unfamiliar voice answered. "But even then, it will still be a few weeks. It looks like you'll just have to be more careful with it Albus."
Harry's eyes widened a bit when he heard this. 'Careful with what?' Harry wondered. 'Is Dumbledore keeping something?'
"I'm afraid that's no longer an option," Dumbledore said. "Young Harry Potter claims he's discovered a book of dark arts. I haven't been able to confirm this though.
"So it can mean one of two things. Either, what Harry says is untrue, and I highly doubt that; or that this book came directly from Voldemort himself."
Harry was beginning to feel his insides turning. At this point he wanted to let his presence be known to Dumbledore, but something inside of him held him back. It was as if Harry felt that he deserved to hear this.
"But if that book really belongs to Voldemort," The unfamiliar voice said, clearly not being afraid to say Voldemort's name. "Then that would mean-"
"Yes, Darias. That we may have a spy here at Hogwarts."
'So this persons name is Darias,' Harry thought. 'And whoever he is, he's not afraid to say Voldemort's name. He must be one of the people that Dumbledore was talking about in the previous year. He must have been one of the people, that Dumbledore wanted to gather together.'
"With all due respect Albus," Darias spoke up. "I think it would be best if you kept your eyes on the Slytherins. According to your reports, many of their fathers are in league with Voldemort."
"I have already checked them out," Dumbledore said. "It seems that they are completely clear of any connection with the dark lord."
Harry was completely stupefied when he heard this. He was completely sure that Malfoy had something to do with Voldemort. 'He has to have some kind of connection!' Harry thought frantically. 'He even more or less told me that he did last year on the train! How can Dumbledore think that the Slytherins were clean! Especially after I found that book!'
"Well keep looking Albus, I'm sure you'll find him," Darias said.
"I will be most grateful for your speed Darias," Dumbledore said.
"Albus, I have one more question," Darias said slowly.
"What is it?"
"Well I'm not going to beat around the bush about this, I'm just going to say it; we're not going to make it are we?"
Harry felt an incredibly cold feeling inside him when he heard this. He moved in even closer to the door in order to hear better.
For about a minute Harry heard nothing, and then he heard a small sigh come from inside the room; although he couldn't tell whom it was coming from.
"If this was fourteen years ago, then the answer would have probably been: 'no'. However now we have a new weapon on our side," Dumbledore finally said.
"You don't mean the Potter boy, do you Albus?" Darias asked.
"I do," Dumbledore responded.
As soon as Harry heard this, his knees gave way, and he fell to the floor, on account of shock.
"If you don't mind me asking Albus," Darias continued. "What is so special about him? What makes him different from his father?"
"Not now," Dumbledore said. "It appears we have a visitor waiting for me outside."
Harry heard the sound of Dumbldore's footsteps getting closer to the door.
"Very well Albus, I shall contact you soon."
The door slowly opened, and Harry saw Dumbledore looking down at him.
"Uh, I'm sorry sir, I wanted to talk to about the tournament, and I was…I'm really, really sorry about eavesdropping…and-"
"Harry," Dumbledore frowned down at him. "You know what they say: 'curiosity killed the cat'."
Harry just lowered his head and nodded slowly.
"But," Dumbledore continued, his face contorting into a smile. "'Satisfaction brought him back'."
Harry slowly got up and faced Dumbledore once again.
"Come inside," Dumbledore said, as he turned on his heal and walked back to his desk.
Harry slowly entered expecting to see another man in the room, but strangely he didn't.
"Uh, sir," Harry started. "I heard another voice in here."
Dumbledore nodded. "I was talking to him through this," He pointed towards what looked like a crystal ball that was sitting on his desk. "It's almost the same as talking through a fireplace, but this way it's more private."
"What is it?" Harry asked as he walked in closer to examine it better.
"It's my own magical invention. It isn't out on the market yet, so it has no name. But I can explain how it works." Dumbledore said, as he sat down behind his desk.
Harry sat down and front of it and waited for Dumbledore to continue.
"You see Harry, when a witch or wizard speaks, thinks, or initiates motion of any type, he gives off magical energy. That is why words are used when casting spells. And that is also why you must pronounce every spell correctly. Because every different sound that leaves your mouth carries a different kind of magical energy, as does your thought, and your motion. This magic object picks up on these magical energies and converts them back to original sounds, and motions somewhere else. It can't however pick up magical thoughts, since they are too weak. When two people use this form of communication, they would be able to not only hear each other, but see each other as well."
"That's amazing," Harry said in an exasperated voice.
"Thank you," Dumbledore said with a hint of gleam in his voice. "I don't want a being like Voldemort to use this for his twisted schemes, so that is why I haven't introduced it to the wizarding market yet."
Harry just nodded.
"But I trust that, that is not the reason that you have come to see me today, is it?"
"No sir," Harry responded. Just as Harry was about to tell Dumbledore the reason he came by, Dumbledore once again surprised him.
"You came here because you wish to withdraw from the school wide wizards duel, is that a correct assumption," he said.
Harry nodded, and asked, "How did you know?"
Dumbledore just smiled at him for a second, and then said, "I knew that it was not you who put your name in the cauldron. If my guess is correct, Mr. Malfoy probably put it in. His aversion towards you seems to be much greater than normal. Perhaps he believes that by beating you in a duel, he'll be able to satisfy it."
"I think the same thing," Harry started. "But if you already knew that I never entered, then why did you put my name on the list?"
Dumbledore slowly sighed and said, "Harry, I trust that by now you have already figured out what this duel is really about."
Harry didn't say anything here, he just stayed silent and let Dumbledore continue.
"This duel is only a preparation for the future. For I as well as many others believe that it will all come down to war. And in this war, Hogwarts will be a very big casualty if the students aren't properly trained to defend themselves.
"The Wizards duel is only the beginning, I have many other things planned for the year following this one."
"Sir," Harry said. "Do your really think it will become necessary for the students to become involved with this war?"
"Not only will it be necessary, it will be essential to our victory over the dark lord."
"Is that why you put my name on the list?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Dumbledore nodded. "I want you to get as much of an experience out of this as everyone else, maybe even more than everyone else."
"Why?" Harry asked.
Dumbledore sighed again. "I trust that you have heard my a great deal of my conversation?"
Harry sheepishly nodded.
"Then you must have heard what I said about you?"
"You said that fourteen years ago we would not have been able to defeat Voldemort. Why? Why am I so important in this war?"
"There are two reasons why you are important to us. The first reason is the reason why Voldemort tried to kill you in the first place, and I'm sorry to say Harry, but I cannot give you that reason yet.
"The second reason however, I will be able to be able to tell you."
Harry just nodded, and waited for Dumbledore to continue.
"Fourteen years ago, after Voldemort met his defeat; I received a message from some old friends in America. They said that they found something that might be connected to Voldemort.
"I immediately set off to America to investigate these findings. And what I found had truly been the last thing that anyone would expect, although we all should have."
"What did you find," Harry asked out of fear, as well as curiosity.
"We found a factory where a few death eaters were manufacturing some very powerful weapons for Voldemort," Dumbledore said slowly.
"What kind of weapons?" Harry asked.
Dumbledore just sighed slowly and continued, "Voldemort has many powers, but these weapons were specifically made for one of those powers. A power that only he possessed, which was extremely underrated I must say. If he were to combine this power with the weapons that his death eaters were manufacturing, then we would not be here talking now. Underestimating this power was a very big mistake on our part, and this time I made sure not to make it again."
"So what kind of weapons were they?" Harry asked again. "And what kind of underrated power did he have that could be combined with these weapons?"
"A power that you now also possess," Dumbledore said.
Harry's eyes immediately widened and his face turned pale white when he heard this. He already knew what Dumbledore was talking about. He opened his mouth to ask what Dumbledore meant by this, hoping that Dumbledore would tell him anything but what he was thinking, but no words came out.
"That's right Harry," Dumbledore said gravely after a moment of silence, sensing that Harry has already figured it out. "The power of parseltongue."
When Harry finally found his voice, he said, "Then that means…"
"Yes," Dumbledore nodded. "The weapons that I am talking about are the basilisks. We found one hundred dead baby basilisks there."
Harry didn't say anything for a while he just sat there, completely alarmed by what he had just heard.
"As you already know, breeding a basilisk isn't very hard; all you need is a chicken egg, a toad, and someone who speaks parseltongue."
Harry still didn't say anything; he just sat there in complete shock, from what he just heard. Everything that he just heard came as a complete surprise to Harry, although he knew that he should've expected something like this.
"A few weeks after Voldemort returned, I received a message saying that there might be another one of these basilisk making plants somewhere in the forests of Brazil.
"I sent three people to investigate this. It turned out, that it was true. There was a plant there."
"What happened there?" Harry said weakly.
"They were able to destroy the plant. They snuck in and planted a few muggle explosives there.
"The explosion was more than enough to destroy the plant and the basilisks that were inside. However, no death eater bodies were retrieved.
"My guess is that, that wasn't the only plant around, I am sure that there are many more, in other countries."
"Is that why I am so important in this war, because I can speak parseltongue?" Harry asked, his voice still weak.
Dumbledore nodded. "However, you can be sure that if you encounter the basilisks, you will also encounter Voldemort himself. And you must be ready for that when that time comes. That is why you must take part in the duel. It will give you some kind of preparation for when that time comes."
"Do you know when it will come?" Harry asked, his voice still broken. "Or if it will come? I mean raising a basilisk takes many years, maybe you can stop them before that happens."
"I do not know if that's the case anymore Harry. Normally it takes years to raise a basilisk, but the death eaters seem to be experimenting with a new type pf aging potion."
"Aging potion?" Harry looked up at Dumbledore quizzically.
"It is not the same as your friends', the Weasley twins tried to use last year. That would not have any effect on something so large and magical."
"Is it even possible to make such a thing?" Harry asked, his voice breaking even more. "A potion to age a Basilisk, I mean?"
"Yes," Dumbledore answered. "I'm afraid it is."
"So you already know how to make it?"
Dumbledore nodded.
"So then it's only a matter of time before he finds out too, isn't it?"
"I'm afraid so," Dumbledore said in a low voice. "Now do you understand why you are so important in this war? Now at least we have some type of hope in defeating the dark lord.
"Imagine what it would be like if we didn't have you. A never-ending army of basilisks, all under the control of one man. We would get wiped out in a few days."
"But if only Voldemort can control the basilisks, then how did the death eaters manage to keep the babies under control?" Harry asked.
"Simple," Dumbledore said. "They used a tape recorder, and recorded Voldemort's voice on it. Baby Basilisks are so dependant, that they probably obeyed the tape recorder without question."
Harry just nodded his head for a moment. "Of course," he said, his voice now more broken than before. "The wonders of modern technology, huh?"
"Harry," Dumbledore said softly. "I know that this must be very hard to take in all at once-"
"No it isn't," Harry said. "I don't know why I didn't expect this before?"
"Why don't you go back to your dormitory, and rest," Dumbledore suggested.
"Sir, I won't be able to do anything," Harry said quickly. "Voldemort's commands will always overrule mine."
"If you truly believe that Harry," Dumbledore said, looking deeply inside Harry's eyes. "Then that is what will happen."
Harry just stayed silent.
"Harry I know that it might be easier to depend on me or someone else to stop Voldemort, but your must come to the realization that, that is impossible. We all have an important role to play in what is about to happen, and that includes you."
Harry just nodded.
"Harry," Dumbledore said calmly. "If I did not believe in you, then I would not have told you this now."
"Thank you sir," Harry said. "I'll go back to my dormitory now."
With that Harry stood up and left the office without saying another word.
"I look forward to your progress in the duel," Dumbledore called after him.
After Harry left, Dumbledore sighed and looked back down at his crystal ball. "I trust you heard everything?" Dumbledore said.
"Yes I have," Darias responded. "How did you know that I was still listening?"
"Call it an old man's intuition," Dumbledore said.
"You neglected to tell him that Marcus, Relena, and Janus were killed right after they destroyed the basilisk plant," Darias said. "Why?"
"There is no need to tell him of such things," Dumbledore answered calmly.
"In that case, do you think it was wise to tell him everything that you did, he didn't seem ready for it?"
"He already knew too much, what would you have me do?"
"You could have just modified his memory," Darias suggested.
"I will not do that unless it's absolutely necessary!" Dumbledore said sternly.
"Very well, that is your decision Albus."
"Getting back to the subject," Dumbledore pressed.
"I will have it delivered to Hogwarts as soon as possible, however I am still against the other thing you want to do with it. You don't know the long term consequences; we might only end up making everything worse."
"Darias, I seriously doubt that things can get much worse than they already are," Dumbledore pointed out.
"I must disagree, Albus!" Darias said rather harshly.
"Relax Darias," Dumbledore said calmly. "Clam yourself, we have everything under control."
"Under control!" Darias snapped. "Albus, the ministry still refuses to help us! Our numbers grow smaller, while Voldemort's seem to be infinite! None of us has had any sleep in weeks! Even as we speak you are forced to prepare your students for war! And now you want to embark on something that might end up being the end of us all! Do you call that Control!" By now Darias was yelling at Dumbledore.
"Calm yourself Darias, you know I am right," Dumbledore said, still as calmly as before.
"And how can you be so sure of that!" Darias growled.
"Because I am much more in control of my emotions at this time than you are," Dumbledore answered. "When one makes a decision with a cool head, he doesn't end up regretting that decision later; even if the decision he made turns out to be a bad one."
After about a minute of silence, Darias finally sighed and spoke up. "Thank you for those words of wisdom, Albus," he said.
"You should thank yourself not me," Dumbledore replied. "Remember you were the one who told me that to begin with."
"I'll deliver it to you, and you may then do with it whatever you want," Darias said, finally conceding. "Although, I am still against it."
"Thank you," Dumbledore replied. "And there is another thing that I would like you to do for me Darias."
"What is it Albus?" Darias asked.
"Once you deliver it to me, I will tell you," Dumbledore answered.
"Very well, I'll see you soon then. Good bye Albus."
"Good bye Dairas."
The entry to the Gryffindor Common room opened up, and Harry quickly climbed through it.
"Finally, what took you so long?" Hermione asked as soon as she saw that he came in.
"Harry what happened?" Hermione quickly asked as soon as she saw how pale his face was.
"I'll tell you later," Harry said in a low voice. "Right now, I just want to be alone."
"But what about the arithamncy tutorial?"
"We'll do it later," Harry replied with dismissal in his voice. Without another word, Harry headed towards his dormitory.
"What happened?" Hermione said to herself. She hadn't seen Harry look that way in a long time. "Whatever just happened, it must be really big.
"Be strong Harry, and remember we're here for you if you need us."
