Chapter 2

Harry sighed. Snape seemed to be the one to see always right through him.

"Albus, if I might suggest something? We should question him with Veritaserum, if you consent?"

"But...", McGonagall spluttered, shocked. "You cannot do that, Albus. It's strictly forbidden by the ministry. You could get a month in Azkaban."

"But Minerva, it is simply an obligation for the sake of our students safety. Or do you mean to tell me, that we should just let him attend the school, hoping, that he would not betray us?

I must agree with you, Severus. I underestimated Mr. Masao a little here. I thought it was true, what he told me before the start of school term and didn't even verified it.

Minerva, please find an adequate room for this interrogation. Severus, you may look for Draco, seeing as he was his partner, he might have some information too. Then take a vial of Veritaserum along and we will start.

Mme Pomfrey, I would ask you to stay, so that you might be able to help, should there arise complications. You, Mme Sprout can help Professor McGonagall and later on you might go to your quarters and rest. We will inform the rest of the teachers tomorrow. Kiyoshi, would you please come along. If you do not consent to answering our questions you are free to leave Hogwarts."

/I have to stay. It's Hogwarts where the next attack will most likely take place. I will have to stay here to be able to protect them. And here are books, that might help me to destroy him… forever./

"First, I would ask you to not ever call me again 'Kiyoshi'. It's Mr. Masao for you. Secondly I agree, but I do not consent it."

Dumbledore nodded silently and then lead him back to the castle, five minutes after all the professors were gone. He had of course placed different charms on him to ensure, that he was not going to attack any one.

Shifting ever so slightly Harry, Minerva and Dumbledore anticipated the return of the rest of the teachers.

They were in a cream-coloured room, which contained only few chairs and one large table in the middle. It really did look like some room made for interrogations.

The teachers' whispering was interrupted by a loud pop.

"Dumbledore, Sir, me is really glad serving you!", Dobby, the Houseelf of the kitchen. He knew a little about him. "I have – Oh! Kiyoshi! Master! How ever can I be at your service?", Blinking with this big round eyes of his, he stared at the black haired Ravenclaw in front of him.

"Thank you, Dobby, there would be something you could do for me. Visit you-know-where and see, how they're fairing. Make sure, that not even houseelves may be able to follow you.", Bowing again, the elf happily accepted his orders, before turning to the now frowning Headmaster once again. "The cacao, the coffee and the teas as Mme Pomrey me told."

"Thank you, Dobby.", With another pop the little creature disappeared, leaving only the floating tray behind.

"Albus?", Pomfrey entered swiftly. She had a first-aid-kit taken along with her and a … blanket? "Ah, there you are.", then she walked over to the true Harry Potter in disguise, laid the blanket over his shoulders, conjured a chair up and gave him a cup filled with cacao. "Here you go, Boy.", she patted his head, before she went to Minerva and sat down.

"Ahm, thank you", he inclined his head towards her, his surprise dissipated.

Just then the door opened once again, revealing a tousled blonde and a glaring potions teacher. He placed the vial with the Veritaserum on the desk, where the tray already stood.

"Albus, I suggest, that we ask Mr. Malfoy first about the happenings of this morning; - the truth spell should be working here too."

The white bearded wizard nodded, and gestured for Draco to take a seat.

"So, Mr. Malfoy… Lemon drop?", Groaning the teachers shook simultaneously their heads. Not even in a situation as vital as this one, he could keep his beloved sweets out of it.

Bewildered the headmaster looked around, before justifying himself. "What? I think, they taste good!", Slytherins head of the house luckily motioned for him to go on.

"Well, Mr. Malfoy, would you please retell us the happenings of yesterday evening and this morning?"

The blonde nodded curtly, shooting a concerned look to the Ravenclaw, who sat relaxed in his chair.

"Well… We started our project, as we were told… and then we … ", opening and closing his mouth without uttering a single sound he looked furiously at Dumbledore.

"You can only speak the truth, Draco.", his Godfather reminded him gently, albeit curious as to what he considered worthy to hide it from them.

"we… Well…", the blonde blushed heavily, mercury eyes trained onto the floor, fidgeting a little. "kissed…"

Now everyone blinked. This was definitely not what they had expected. Kissed? No cursing or other things? No secrets revealed?

"Go on", Dumbledore finally urged.

"We slept. When I woke up the other day, he was showering. … To cut it short: Just in between our last kiss, he pushed me off and ran off, as if he was chased by a thousand Dementors.", frowning, as he remembered this scene, grey eyes turned to green ones, questioning.

"'Last Kiss'?", Snape quoted. Normally the blondes flings would last for a week at least.

"Yes… he said, that he did not know me and that we were better of as 'friends'.", pouting slightly he glared at the green-eyed boy.

"Thank you. Now, Mr. Masao, you may take three drops of this vial.", blue eyes surveyed him closely, as he took said amount of the Serum.

He already felt his blood run cold, the potion cursing through his system, until it settled.

Nodding, eyes closed, he showed them to start to questioning him.

"Okay, just to prove the information I got at the beginning of the school year. State your name."

"The name, that I am called by, is Kiyoshi Masao."

"And the name you were given by birth?"

"Is protected by a wizarding oath. I cannot tell you."

"A wizarding oath?", the teachers looked clearly surprised. Very few people ever took such an oath, because it bonds you not only to the fulfilment of the promise, but a wizarding oath made you accomplish the pledge at all costs. It bonds you with your life and your magic.

"In which way does it stops you from telling us your name?"

"It … is a name, that would be connected to certain things and endanger the lives of many persons through it."

He hadn't yet bothered to look at them, keeping his eyes closed to concentrate on formulating his answers.

"Why did you decide to go to Hogwarts?", Snape inwardly grinned, when the headmaster asked this question. He knew the answer.

"To read."

The rest blinked now, confused.

"Read? And what would that be?"

"What could it possibly be…? Hmm… I don't know, Books maybe?"

"That we know! Which books?"

"If you know it, then why bother asking? And maybe you should prepare your questions beforehand, so that I might be able to answer as you wish me to.

Interesting books"

"What are the books about and why do you want to read them and why here?"

"The books are about protection spells against dark magic, the background of dark magic, spells to counter most of the dark spells, dark curses and their consequences on both user and victim, war magic, war strategy… I want to read them to be able to protect people from DeathEaters, to defend myself and to kill Voldemort. And here, because the most important books cannot be bought anymore."

"Aren't you scared of his name?"

"No, it is a name, and only that. Of what should I be afraid?"

"Why do you think yourself strong enough, physically and psychically, to defeat Voldemort? Don't you think, the Aurors, the teachers and Harry Potter can do that?"

"To put it frankly, no. Neither the Aurors, nor you and the rest of the teachers – Professor Snape excluded – are doing anything. And the person you call 'Harry Potter' is not worthy of this name. He is a coward and a egoistic fool. No superhero.

I think, I have enough strength to do it. Why? Well, I watched for the last 15 years how none of you did anything to stop him from rising again – out of Professor Snape once again – and I am willing to stop him at all expenses. I do not want to wait for the war; in fact, I do want to evade a war. I will kill him, before the real war begins, even if it should cost my life."
"Why are you willing to sacrifice so much? For whom? Why are you willing to give up your future, your freedom, your happiness, your Innocence?"

"Because, dear Headmaster, I already have. I have already sacrificed anything that I can give. My magic and life is bonded to my only goal: Destroying Voldemort before a war escalates."

Pomfrey and Minerva McGonagall were crying, the rest looked shocked, sad, empathetically.

"Why..", clearing his throat, Dumbledore started again. "You do know though, that this will cost your life, even if Voldemort will survive it?

And how are you justifying it? How do you justify killing him, his followers?

How do you know, that what you do is right and not wrong? And what did you mean, when you said, that you're responsible for their deaths? And how ever did you knew, that this attack would happen?"

"I will kill him, and I will die by doing so, most probably; but even if I did survive by some wonder, I won't have anything worth living for, nor should I be alive.

How I can justify killing someone? That's easy. I can't, I cannot justify it. There is no way, that one could ever justify killing someone, however vile, cruel, cold and how much more of a creature than human he might be…

I know, that it is not right, to torture someone, for any reasons. I know, that is not right, to kill, to torture, to enjoy screams and all… I know… That is how I distinguish between right and wrong. And when this is all over, I'm worth no more than Voldemort. The last two questions cannot be answered because of the Wizarding oath."

Nodding tiredly Dumbledore sank on his chair, feeling incredibly old.

"What have you already sacrificed?"

"Everything; my innocence, my love, happiness, my feelings in general, my future, my self, my soul and heart, my mind, my magic and my life, the chance of ever having friends, a lover, anything that would have made me happy… I have sacrificed everything I had, everything I have and I might could have had.

There's nothing more left. Nothing…"

His Transfigurations teacher gasped, slowly sinking onto the ground, her eyes never leaving the form of the 18-year old boy in front of her. How ever could that have been allowed? How?

Mme Pomfrey was shocked, when she finally saw a little bit of whom he was really. And here they had assumed he was a DeathEater!

Snape discovered, that this student of his was more of an enigma, than he had ever imagined him to be. When he thought he knew him, he was forced to realize, that it had yet been just another layer that lay over him.

And Draco… Draco just looked at the green-eyed boy, who yet had to react. He expected him to cry, shout, be angry, sad, happy, anything, just not… so emotionless while talking about his own doom, about his own death, his own sad fate.

Dumbledore sat stiff… Another sacrifice for the good… But it was willingly made, wasn't it?

"Where have you been the last 15 years?"

"I can't say, where I have been, which country, which city, by whom I was… But I can tell you as much. I was a prisoner, since I was three. Last winter, was the first time, for 15 years, that I have been outside, seen the sun, the snow, other people, children, laughing… the first time, that I could use my magic again, …"

He was interrupted, by a shrieking McGonagall.

"For the first time you could use your magic again?" If a wizard was somehow prevented from using his magic, he could easily become insane.

Not even in Azkaban that was allowed… It was the worst thing… for a wizard to live without his magic… or having it in him, but not being able to use it.. he could even kill himself by doing so… the magic could become to much and take over…

"Yes. You see, I lived for 15 years in a little stone cell, without windows or anything really. It was covered in a spell, that suppressed my magic.

When you are little, a baby if you will, and you have had a nightmare, you unbeknownst to yourself summon something to make you happy again… you let sparkles fly, for example, with your magic…

And even then in the cell I could feel it… a pool of magic, deep inside of me… I could see it, had a distinct impression of its feeling, but I couldn't actually feel it. It was out of my reach. A part of me was away… I had nothing to console myself with, nothing to make me feel better, nothing… "

"Tell me who it was.. He will get a life-sentence in Azkaban, if you want."

"I cannot, because I simply don't know who it was. One minute I fainted – because of a spell – then I woke up in the cell. Outside there were the guardians…

15 years and I never saw the sun shine, never felt the grass… never smelt anything like fields of flowers, never tasted something like chocolate… All I got was a piece of bread and a bit water… if they had not forgotten me… which happened regularly."

"Oh, well you do look quite good for it."

Raising an eyebrow, he turned to Mme Pomfrey, saying the thing, that shocked her probably the most; seeing, as she as a mediwitch should have seen it nonetheless.. "Concealment charm and a little bit of magic here and there."

"Kiyoshi - may I call you that?", Dumbledore allowed him indirectly to call him by his first name, which in turn meant, that he was considered equal. "If you wish, Albus."

"You can stay at this school, if you wish. But, one last question; How do you plan on defeating Voldemort?"

"I don't know yet. It has to be some spell, that strips him of his power, his soul, and his body… So that he may never ever be able to return… I have two of these three spells. Once I've found the third, I will have to invent a new one…"

"Albus, may I ask another questions too?

Kiyoshi, could you please lift these spells?", Mme Pomfrey had her wand lifted, ready to heal him... But nothing could prepare her, for what she saw then...