Disclaimer: You know the drill. Do I really have to say this again? JK is the genius behind HP, not me.
Chapter 8- More Questions
Harry had to wait nearly three days to ask Dumbledore all the questions that popped up since his birthday. As it were, this gave him plenty of time to stew over them. He practically had a list of questions memorized by the time for his lessons finally came.
Dumbledore arrived at around 6:00 and requested to see Harry, as usual. Ron and Hermione wished him a good couple of minutes, and Harry rushed out of the room.
"Hello, Harry. Are you ready to begin the lesson?" Dumbledore asked after performing the charm.
"Yes and no, sir. I have a few questions I want to ask, if you don't mind."
"Ask away."
Harry had a list of questions he was planning to ask, but when it came time to do the asking, he was overwhelmed. Trying to organize his thoughts, he asked the first question that popped into his head.
"Firstly, I was just wondering about that watch you gave me. Could you tell me how it works? Does it have anything to do with the charm you perform when we meet?"
"I can't tell you how it works, because it has everything to do with the charm I perform."
"So is that how the Ministry regulates the usage of the charm? They decide who gets the watches?"
"Exactly, Harry. I had to tell them that I lost my old watch in order to get that one."
Harry was stunned. Dumbledore went out of his way, breaking a magical law, in order to get Harry his gift. He was almost speechless. Almost. He quickly moved on to the next question.
"Professor, could you tell me what an ever-changing aura is?"
Dumbledore waited a second before answering Harry, taking the time to fix him with the penetrating gaze that Harry knew him for. " Let me explain to you a few things about auras, firstly. Every witch and wizard has a core to their magic; the core is partly key to that aura. You see, the aura is basically a display of what kind of person the witch or wizard it is, and the extent of the power in that person. The aura has two factors-color and brightness. The color is what tells the personality, so to speak. The brightness is equal to the power; the more powerful the core, the brighter the aura." He said all of this slowly and deliberately, making sure that there were no gaps in his explanation. Harry was sitting in the chair Dumbledore conjured, taking in every bit of information as if his brain were some sort of spongy material. "Most auras never fluxuate, except to gain intensity as the witch or wizard gains power throughout schooling.
"There are exceptions, however. One wizard has been through changes that have heightened his power, experiments that make his most unique."
"Voldemort. But why is it unique?"
"Well, you would expect his aura to become brighter each time he gained power. This is not the case. Instead, his aura did quite the opposite. It got darker and darker, to the point where it became pitch black.
"I believe I still have not answered your question?" Harry nodded at him, straightening in the chair. "The ever-changing aura is the other exception. It is exactly what it sounds like: an aura that changes a lot. But the reason behind it is what makes it so unique. Essentially, it changes with the wizard's mood. Whatever the wizard with an ever-changing aura is feeling gets displayed through his aura."
"Gives new meaning to 'wearing your emotions on your sleeve.'"
Dumbledore chuckled. "Now, may I ask you a question? What is it that prompted you to inquire about such a thing? It is such a rarity that very few people bother to know about it."
Harry hesitated before answering. Ever since he found out how much his headmaster had been hiding from him he had been weary of telling him every detail of his life. He decided to ask a different question before answering. "Professor, do you know what a beauvol is?"
"I do. I believe that it is a type of bird that accompanies a witch or wizard with an ever-changing aura. Is it just coincidence that you are asking about both at the same time?"
Harry shook his head. It was no use keeping this secret, Dumbledore was bound to find out about Avii. "No, sir. Can I show you something? I think you'll have to take off the charm for a second." Dumbledore did so and waited. "Avii, could you come here?" His voice was just over a whisper, yet the beauvol was on his shoulder a few seconds later. Dumbledore replaced the charm and looked at Harry expectantly. "This is Avii. She's my beauvol."
If Dumbledore was surprised, he didn't show it. "When did you get her, Harry?"
"She came during the night on my birthday. She had a note," he ruffled through his pockets, "here."
The headmaster took it but did not read it. Instead, he was staring at Avii. "Go ahead," Harry told her. The bird returned Dumbledore's stare, and after a few minutes it turned into a brilliant, pure white color, its usual pearly luster replaced by a blinding light.
"What did she just do?"
Harry was a little taken aback when Dumbledore asked this; he was not accustomed to explaining things to his headmaster. "She read your aura and changed to its color."
Dumbledore nodded. "Do you mind if she did it to you now?" he asked.
Harry took Avii off his shoulder and placed her on the table. They had a temporary staring contest before the bird changed to the emerald green; she stayed that color, only she began to glow, until she was nearly too bright to look at. Harry reached out his hand and put her back on his shoulder.
"Harry, I think that we have had enough for today. We will continue with occlumency on Thursday, but for today, I believe we've had enough excitement. I need time to think things over." He twiddled his wand and the time charm was released. "Until Thursday."
"See you then, professor."
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