Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot. So don't sue me. All Harry Potter™ characters and settings are the sole intellectual property of JK Rowling, Warner Bros. and various others who all aren't connected to me in any way. No money is being made with this fanfiction and no copyright infringement is intended.
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Chapter 5: Finding Hope
As Harry remerged from the dark clove from were he disappeared from earlier this morning, his invisibility cloak still hiding him from view. The sudden smell of dinner being served waft over him making his stomach growl hungrily. But not being particularly in the mood to eat in the Great Hall, Harry decided to visit the kitchens instead.
He tickled the pear on the portrait, once inside he was immediately pounce upon by a rather over excitable House-elf.
"Hello Dobby," Harry greeted as he gently tried to loosen the vise grip the small creature had on him.
"Dobby is so happy to see Harry Potter, sir!" Squealed a voice from somewhere around Harry's navel. "Dobby was hoping to visit Harry Potter before Harry Potter left Hogwarts for his summer. Headmaster Dumbledore said you needed watching. But Dobby is knowing Harry Potter is a good wizard and wont wonder off again." Harry stiffened at the elf's words.
"Don't worry Dobby, I won't wonder too far." Harry said with forced calm. "Hey Dobby, If it's not much trouble, do you think I could get a bit to eat? I sort of wanted to avoid the Great Hall right now."
"Of course Harry Potter, Dobby will bring you your missed dinner, Dobby will get it right away." said the little House-elf as he popped away to gather Harry's meal. Pushing the other elves out of his way in order to fore fill Harry's request.
Harry didn't have to wait long before Dobby reappeared in front of him, carrying a basket full of food and a canister of pumpkin juice. After thanking Dobby, Harry cased a quick feather-light charm on the heavy basket and then made his way up to the seventh floor, taking the corridors less used by the main populous of the school.
Coming to the stretch of wall opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, after casting a Confundus charm on it for it couldn't spy on him, Harry concentrated on calling forth the Hall of the Founders. After his third pass he noticed a highly polished black door with no handle appear before him, in the middle of the door was a highly detailed mental carving of the Hogwarts school seal. Placing his right hand over the seal, Harry closed his eyes in concentration and spoke the words Salazar had given him. As soon as he finished the last phrase Harry felt a strange prickling sensation in his right hand. He tried to pull back but his hand had become stuck to the seal. Just when Harry was about to panic he felt a familiar jerk somewhere behind his navel, pulling him onward in a swirling of color.
Harry felt his feet slam onto the ground a moment later, making him fall forward at the sudden feeling of nausea that swept over him. Merlin, he hated portkeys. Harry raised his head, taking in his new surroundings.
The room Harry now found himself standing in was a little smaller than the Great Hall, but was made completely out of pure white marble which glittered brightly from the light of the crystal orbs that were floating above his head, while the ceiling was enchanted to show the cosmos of the night sky. There were no windows, doors, or House tables in the room, only a large bookcase that was built in to each of the four walls. Which looked like they housed thousands of books, journals, and scrolls. There were even a couple of cabinets that storied potions. To Harry's right, seated right between the book cases was one of the largest fire places he had ever seen in his life, it was just as tall as he was. On each of the four walls hung one of the Houses banners; under each banner was the sleeping portrait of the Houses Founder. And in the middle of the room was a large rug that housed the rooms sitting area, with lots of elegant but comfortable look leather sofas and chairs. A wide coffee table sat in the center, which was engraved with the Hogwarts seal.
Harry looked around the room in complete awe. Suddenly a burst of power leaps from each of the four House banners. Swirling around the room in a creation of red, yellow, blue, and green light. The colors of light collected in front of Harry, swirling faster and faster. He had to cover his eyes as a blinding white light exploded before him. When he uncovered his eyes, a lone tall figure stood before him.
Harry hadn't known what to expect when the Hogwarts Lady first appeared before him. Her form looked more solid then the form of a ghost but still not complete. She was tall and graceful looking, her face was a soft square shape, with her hair pulled back into one long elaborate braid that reached down to the small of her back. She had big expressive eyes that seemed to be filled with tears of joy, while a lovely smile graced her face. She wore a beautiful pair of wizarding robes that clung to her hourglass figure.
"Hello Harry," She spoke without actually taking. Harry felt a warm motherly voice ghost it's way across his mind. He could do nothing but stand in complete shock at the almost solid specter before him. She smiled at the look on his face. "I'm sorry if I startled you Harry. That's just how I'm use to communicating with others most times. It's a form of telepathy that the Founders created for me when I'm not able to take a physical form."
"Come take a seat. I know you must have a lot of questions that you're just bursting to ask." She said as she led him over to one of the sofas by the fireplace. The fire roared to life as soon as they took their seats.
"Um... How do you know who I am?" Harry asked in a small curious voice.
"I know every child that has ever walked through my halls. I watch throughout all their triumphs and their failures. Through true love and broken hearts. Betrayals and Forgiveness. But some people that come here stand out too me more then others. Those who do are very special. They are my Children. They are the ones with the deepest connection to the Realm of Magic. Your mother was one of my Children. I was every pleased to find out that you are one as well. Though it is a shame at how long it took for us to finally meet. But it was not your fault, that was Dumbledore's doing I'm afraid." Said the Hogwarts Lady sadly.
"What do you mean?"
"I have been trying to communicate with you for some time now. Since you first stepped foot off the Hogwarts Express. After all that time, you had finally returned to Hogwarts. You had finally returned home. But the wall Dumbledore placed around your mind blocked you from me." She explained sadly.
"Did he place other spells on me?" Harry asked with just a little fear.
"Yes my Child, he has. Most of them are monitoring charms that link you to different devices that are guarded in the Headmasters office. There is a strong glamour charm on you that has hidden the state of your malnutrition and abuse you have suffered over the years. There is also a Compulsion Charm placed on your glasses that makes it almost impossible for you to just throw them way. Your glasses are the reason you never tried or wanted to tell anyone about the way the Dursleys' really treated you. And your school robes are fitted with small magical suppression bands. Though, the Headmaster only started using them on you during your fourth year, which is why you had so much trouble performing magic that year. Sadly, you are not the only one that he has done this too. There is another in this castle who is also under the suppressive control of a mental ward." She said softly, gazing into the fire, her eyes filled with pain and sorrow.
"Who?" Harry asked, "Who else is he controlling with that thing."
"Neville Longbottom," She said softly. Harry was shocked. Why Neville, of all people Harry wonder. Was it because Neville could have been the child of the prophecy too? Was Dumbledore making sure he had a spare weapon under his control if he broke the first one, like he had done with Riddle? Harry was a little stunned at how sad the Hogwarts Lady seemed.
"Because I am what you could call a living consciousness, it is quite easy for me to perform legilimency on the people within my castle. Though the Headmaster can block me at times, I have seen what plans lies within his mind for you. He believes that your life must be sacrificed in a battle against Voldemort in order for the evil that has plagued the wizarding world to end. He has been trying to force the final battle between you and Voldemort since your first year. He wanted it to end before either of you became any stronger and the final battle was out of his control."
Harry tried hard as he could to hold back the burning tears that were gathering in his eyes. He didn't think he could feel any worst than when he had read about the Claustrum Captivus and what it was for. But now that he knew, without a shadow of doubt that Dumbledore was actively trying to kill him, his earlier anger and pain increased ten fold. Causing his hatred and anger to become frozen in his gaze and on his face. Harry stanched his eyeglasses off and with brutal force through them into the fire, causing them to break into small pieces. The Hogwarts Lady could see plainly how much suffering her Child was going through and without hesitation she gathered Harry in a loving embrace while he silently cried out his anguish.
"He has sinned against you greatly, my Child." She spoke in a soft but firm voice. "Your godfather's imprisonment was not a mistake. Neither was Pettigrew's betrayal of your parents unknown to Dumbledore before their deaths. After all, Pettigrew lived in my castle for almost seven years as a pet rat of Percival Weasley and then Ronald Weasley before you were able to uncover the truth.
"Dumbledore was the main wizard who helped create that monster Voldemort. He broke that boy long before the child entered Hogwarts castle fifty years ago. When he tried to mold and shape Tom Riddle in his own ideal image, he helped turn that boy darker than he already was. And he is making the same mistakes with you, my young Child.
"He has betrayed the Light. He has lost sight of the true path in which magic travels, and the path of those gifted with magic must protect. He has become selfish and corrupt with gaining power for power sake. Dumbledore believes too heavily in his quest ' the greater good '. He has sacrificed the childhoods of hundreds of witches and wizards for no other reason than the fact he did not trust the lineage in which they were born to. Or the fact that they would be more powerful than him if they were able to reach their full magical potential and maturity."
The Hogwarts Lady gently lifted Harry's chin so that she could look directly into his soulful green eyes. "I promise that I will help you bring him and all those who seek to destroy you and our world to justice. The castle will protect you and aid you in any way we can, my Child. You are no longer alone." After Harry had claimed down some the Hogwarts Lady continued to explain about the other things that had been concealed from him.
"The Founders gifted me with the ability to sense what type of magic flows within those that reside within my halls. I can feel what magic has touch them and read and recognize the magical signatures of any and all those who have come in contact or passed through the wards of Hogwarts.
"The Headmaster has taken much from you my Child. Year after year, He as wiped away your memories of his and others crimes against you. I could give you back your memories, but my powers are bound, and so, I have not the power to do so." She said softly, lowering her head in shame.
"Who bounded you."? Harry asked.
"Dumbledore. A year before you came to Hogwarts, the Headmaster cast a binding spell on me. He wanted total control of the on goings of the castle and it's wards. He did not want me to help you stay away from the dangers that he had allowed into the castle. Little by little, he has been taking complete control of the castles magic. Over fifty years ago Dumbledore placed binds on all the ghosts and portraits that resided in this castle without Headmaster Dippet's knowledge. Dippet had never truly understood the magic behind Hogwarts castle. He was more concerned but his public image than anything else. He had given most of power of holding the wards to Dumbledore by the time Riddle opened the Chamber of Secrets. Though, it was Tom Riddle who bound the new ghost of Myrtle Triste so she would not be able to tell who had had a hand in killing her. But it was Dumbledore who put bindings on the reset.
"To my shame, I was unable to tell Headmaster Dippet what they had done. Riddle had the blood of the Founders in his veins, and because of that, I was bound by Oath never to reveal his secrets to anyone but those who also had the Founders blood."
"Dumbledore and Riddle were allied?" Harry asked sharply with a dangerous fire in his eyes.
"No, Dumbledore was never an ally of Tom Riddle." She said tensely, clearly feeling the power that had aroused in the boy. "Until the age of thirteen, Dumbledore was able to hold some control over Riddle with the mind cage. But when Riddle found out what Dumbledore had done, he sought to destroy everything he believed Dumbledore falsely stood for. When Riddle opened the Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore was the only one that suspected Riddle. But Riddle knew too many of Dumbledore's dark little secrets and threatened to reveal them to the ministry if Dumbledore openly fought against him while he attend school. Dumbledore put the binds on the ghosts and portraits to ensure his own secrets stayed hidden." She said in disgust.
"What secrets was Dumbledore trying to hide?" Harry asked in a dark tone.
"Because Dumbledore is the Headmaster now I am unable to share those secrets, unless I am free from my binds and only you have the power to free me, to free all of us."
"But how, how can I free you?" The Lady of Hogwarts proceed to explained to Harry that since he was a living descendant of one of the Founders he had the power to free the ghost and herself from their magical binds. With a little helpful instruction, it only took a few minutes before Harry was able to release the castle and all the ghosts from Dumbledore's control. Along with removing the block on the castles portraits so that Salazar could travel freely once more throughout the Hogwarts portraits.
After she was free from her binds, the Lady of Hogwarts seemed much more solid and powerful. No longer did she resemble a ghost. She now looked more like a magical creature that was surround by a thick aura of magic.
"Thank you, my Child. You don't know how good it feels to be free again." She said stand up and giving a big stretch. She even gave a happy dance joy.
Once her happy dance was over, she became much more precise about what Dumbledore had been up to in regards to his manipulations of the young Slytherin Heir and the wizarding world. As it turned out Dumbledore was every skill full with obliviation. He had used it quite a few times over the last five years in regards to him.
Harry was amazed when she told him that now that he had removed the binds, she would be able to cast the Agnitio Charm on him. She explained that the Agnitio charm was the counter-charm to the Obliviation Charm. It was very difficult for most wizards to cast, and was on pre with the Patronus, plus the caster had to know exactly what memory had been erased in order to restore the lost memory. Which explain why no one in St.Mungo's mental ward had been cured yet.
Harry's heart plummeted. "What? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"
"Quite," She agreed. "The Agnitio charm is seriously limited in that respect. This is why the Obliviate spell is so incredibly dangerous. The only way to restore a memory that has been erased is by performing the charm while thinking of the proper memory, or through means of extreme physical or mental stress. But you are in luck, since I'm a thousand year old living consciousness I can restore the memories that you have lost while living in Hogwarts castle over the past five years without a problem. I will even teach you how to cast it yourself. But it is by no means an easy spell. Many wizards never master it.
I must warn you my Child; magic of the mind and memory is a tricky, dangerous thing. There is no fairness in it, and little logic. An improperly focused Obliviate, for you must know precisely what you are intending to erase, could possibly effect the brain's ability to process and retain new data. The same goes for try to restore them."
Harry nodded in understand.
An hour and a half later, Harry slumped back into the chair, exhausted but satisfied. The Hogwarts Lady set down beside him a twinkle of pride sparkled in her eyes. On his part, Harry could not suppress his jubilant smile. The spell was hard, no doubt about that. It required a level of focus and concentration akin to that needed for the Patronus spell. Indeed, Harry suspected that his experience with learning and performing a difficult spell like the Patronus aided him enormously in learning the spell. As they worked, speaking quietly to him as he cast again and again. He had gotten nothing at first, then a diffuse blue mist, which slowly solidified into a more proper spell. The stonewall of hall stood unmoved by the repeated expenditure of magic, but Harry was pretty sure that if he directed his wand at a person now, and summoned the correct sort of focus coupled with knowledge of what he wished to restore, he could really get something done.
"It's your turn now Harry are you ready?" she asked kindly.
"Yes, I'm ready." Harry swallowed nervously.
Reaching out with her hand she gently touching his forehead and whispered the incantation.
"Agnosco Commoneo!"
It struck him full in the face, and for a few moments Harry was too dazzled by the flash of light to realize what was happening. But then his vision cleared and he realized that something was very, very wrong.
Harry stood stock still for a brief moment, and then crumpled out of his chair and onto his knees, his wand rolling away from slack fingers. He dimly heard her calling his name in alarm, but it was little more than a distant echo. His senses were overloading, his mind nearly buckling under the onslaught, as a flood of memories was unleashed, cresting through his consciousness like a tidal wave, and carrying Harry along with it.
Some of the memories that had come back to him were the memories that Dumbledore had altered to a small degree, while others were completely new to him.
May 1992
Harry would have screamed, but he couldn't make a sound. Where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a face, the most terrible face Harry had ever seen. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake.
"Harry Potter..." it whispered.
Harry tried to take a step backward but his legs wouldn't move. "See what I have become?" the face said. "Mere shadow and vapor... I have form only when I can share another's body... but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds... Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks... you saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the forest... and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own... Now why don't you give me that Stone in your pocket?"
"LIAR!" Harry shouted suddenly.
Quirrell was walking backward at him, so that Voldemort could still see him. The evil face was now smiling.
"How touching..." it hissed. "I always value bravery... Yes, boy, your parents were brave... I killed your father first, and he put up a courageous fight... until Snape cursed him from behind. That man never did like fighting his enemies face-to-face... But your mother needn't have died... she was trying to protect you... Now give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain."
Harry had never remembered Voldemort saying anything about Snape being there that night, this could only mean to Dumbledore had altered his memory.
"NEVER!"
Harry watch himself sprang toward the flame door, but Voldemort screamed "SEIZE HIM!" and the next second, Harry felt Quirrell's hand close on his wrist. At once, needle-sharp pain seared across Harry's scar; his head felt as though it was about to split in two; he yelled, struggling with all his might, suddenly a warmth spread over his skin while a low familiar hissing echoed in his mind, and to his surprise, Quirrell let go of him. The pain in his head lessened– he looked around wildly to see where Quirrell had gone, and saw him hunched in pain, looking at his fingers– they were blistering before his eyes.
"Seize him! SEIZE HIM!" shrieked Voldemort again, and Quirrell lunged, knocking Harry clean off his feet, landing on top of him, both hands around Harry's neck– Harry's scar was almost blinding with pain; but he could still hear the snake hissing louder within him, making Quirrell howl in agony.
"Master, I cannot hold him– my hands– my hands!"
And Quirrell, though pinning Harry to the ground with his knees, let go of his neck and stared, bewildered, at his own palms– Harry could see they looked burned, raw, red, and shiny.
"Then kill him, fool, and be done!" screeched Voldemort.
Quirrell raised his hand to perform a deadly curse, but Harry, by instinct, hissed in angry defense; as quick as a viper, he reached up and grabbed Quirrell's face–
"AAAAARGH!"
Quirrell rolled off him, his face blistering, too, and then Harry knew: Quirrell couldn't touch his bare skin, not without suffering terrible pain– his only chance was to keep hold of Quirrell, keep him in enough pain to stop him from doing a curse.
Harry jumped to his feet, caught Quirrell by the face and head once more, hanging on as tight as he could. Quirrell screamed and tried to throw Harry off – the pain in Harry's head was building– his vision changed somehow he could see the heat of the burns in different colors of intensity. Quirrell's terrible shrieks grow louder as Harry's hands grew hotter causing the man's skin to turn to ash under his fingers. Voldemort's yells of "KILL HIM! KILL HIM!" echoed off the walls.
Harry gasped in surprise as large burst of magic flowed through his hands causing Quirrell's body to incinerate within seconds killing him instantly. A cloud of grey shadows rouse quickly and fled from the room.
"Harry! Harry!" a voice cried from behind.
Quirrell's body crumbled beneath his hands, leaving only the man's robes behind.
A thousand questions and thoughts ran through his mind. He had just killed one of his teachers, would he be expelled. Why couldn't Quirrell stand to touch his skin? What was the hissing he had heard within his head? Voldemort said Snape had helped kill his father.
He soon realized that someone was still calling his name.
"Harry, are you alright my dear boy." Dumbledore asked urgently as he turned the boy around to face him.
"I'm all right I think." he said dazed looking up at his Headmaster. "Sir! The Stone! I found the stone. It was Quirrel! He couldn't touch my skin! He was going to kill me! I keep hearing a hissing sound in my head when my hands touched him. And Voldemort said that Snape hated my Dad and helped kill him."
Harry's eyes were now full of angry and sorrow. The older man eyes turned somber when he looked into the boy's eyes.
"Calm yourself, dear boy–"
"You can't let him teach here. You can't let him get away with it!" Harry cried out in anguish.
"It is true that Professor Snape and your father did not get along while they were in school together. Not unlike yourself and Mr. Malfoy. But what really happened that night is a mystery to many people Harry. But I know that Professor Snape as been forced to do things that he deeply regrets having to do. Whatever he might have been in the past he is on the side of the light now."
"How can you say that!"? Harry screamed in outrage. "How can you defend him, he helped kill my parents. I don't care what you say, that bastard is evil. He hates me just like he hated my Dad. Will you forgive him if he kills me too." Harry hissed angrily, eyes once again allowed him to see only the heat around him. The Headmaster gasped in shock at the snake like slits of the boys green eyes.
"Oh dear," Breathed out Dumbledore. "Tom what have you done." He whispered to himself.
"What--" Harry began, seeing the fear flash across Dumbledore's aged face.
"Everything will be alright," Dumbledore said gently. "Things have just taken a surprising turn, that's all." He withdrew his wand, and Harry felt a sudden unknown fear grip him.
"It will be alright," Dumbledore said with an eerie calmness, lifting his wand. "I'll make things right again. I will not lose another to the darkness. "Claudmo Uni!"
It felt like a piece of him was being taken and sealed away. He tried to run away but his strength was being drained somehow. "Stop! What are you doing to me?" Harry asked fearfully.
"It is for the greater good Harry, Obliviate!"
Something gold was glinting just above him. The Snitch! He tried to catch it, but his arms were too heavy.
He blinked. It wasn't the Snitch at all. It was a pair of glasses. How strange.
He blinked again. The smiling face of Albus Dumbledore swam into view above him.
"Good afternoon, Harry," said Dumbledore.
June 1993
Dumbledore reached across to Professor McGonagall's desk, picked up the bloodstained silver sword, and handed it to Harry. Dully, Harry turned it over, the rubies blazing in the firelight. And then he saw the name engraved just below the hilt.
Godric Gryffindor
"Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the hat, Harry," said Dumbledore simply.
For a minute, neither of them spoke. Harry traced the two words again and again, the cold knot of dread that had been clutching for months finally releasing.
"This is a curious thing," Dumbledore said, standing up and standing in front of the young Gryffindor, taking the sword from him and examining it again. "It has been hidden away for a very long time."
"In the hat," Harry said, glancing over at the unassuming black lump of cloth on the desk. "Who do you suppose put it there?"
"Why, Godric Gryffindor himself, I would imagine," Dumbledore said. "His powerful sword has been part of the many legends surrounding him and the rest of the founders for years. It is not known whether he himself forged it, or whether he got it from someone else." He smiled gently at Harry. "If you wish to find strange similarities, Harry, perhaps you would be better suited comparing yourself to the founder of your house. He, too, led an unusual, sometimes dangerous life."
"Really?" said Harry, curious.
"Yes," Dumbledore said. "I must find an opportunity for you to examine the Founder's history more closely, someday. It is important, I think." He frowned distantly for a moment longer, as if studying something only he could see.
"What about the diary, though?" Harry asked. "That was more than just a book of Tom Riddle's memory, he was able to pick up my wand. Almost like Pevees, a poltergeist, he could move real objects." Harry's eye widen in understanding, muggle movies showed this type of thing all the time. "Professor do you think the diary contained a piece of Riddle's soul."
Dumbledore gaze sharply at Harry, the normal twinkle in his eyes had completely vanished. "That is a interesting theory Harry. Yes, it is possible for wizards of extreme power to leave behind pieces of ones soul in objects. But that type of magic is every dark and every dangerous." He stared at Harry with cold piercing blue eyes. "My I asked how you came upon such understandings of that type of magic, I hope not on any late night wanderings into the restricted section." He said calmly, but Harry could feel the coldness hidden behind those words and chose his own words carefully.
"No sir, I was just reminded by a muggle movie I once saw, there was a necklace or something that had a piece of an evil warlocks soul imprison within it. If someone wore the necklace, he could drain energy from his or her soul, the more energy the necklace drained the more control the warlock had over him or her. He could control them and after he collected enough energy he was able to break free from the necklace and take human form. This was almost exactly the same thing." Harry finished.
"Ah, I see" Dumbledore seemed to understand this, and winked conspiratorially. "And was the evil warlock able to be stopped, like you were able to stop Riddles return."
"Yes, there was this guy who found out he was the reincarnation of the Sorcerer of that imprisoned the evil warlock centuries ago, and by the end of the movie had the power to destroy the necklace for good." Harry explained, "What the Sorcerer didn't know was that the warlock left another piece of himself in another object so he might be able to come back."
Harry noticed that the Headmaster was staring distractingly into the flames of the fireplace. A solemn expression on his lined face.
"Professor, do you think that's what Riddle did, I mean do you think there could be another diary or something out there." Harry asked cautiously, staring at the sword in his hands, for some reason he knew he was treading on dangerous ground.
A touch on the shoulder roused Harry from his intense concentration. "I think," Dumbledore said, "that will be enough talk on such a subject. "
Harry blinked, looking around the room to reorient him to warmth and safety. He looked back down at his hands, and was greatly surprised to find them bleeding some from the tight grip he was holding the sword with, he hadn't even been aware of the sword cutting him.
"Sorry," Harry said, flushing a little.
"Do not worry," Dumbledore said, patting his shoulder again. "Nothing of great importance can be done now anyway."
"Alright," Harry said, a bit dubiously. He had the idea that it was just the opposite.
Dumbledore seemed to read that thought, for his gaze was piercing as he examined Harry. He seemed to be debating something for a long moment, his mouth set in an unhappy line.
"Oh dear," he murmured. He looked from Harry's confused face to Fawkes, still perched contentedly on the mantle, to the sword in Harry's hands. "Well, there's nothing for it," he said finally, decisively. He turned back to Harry and smiled a little sadly. "I must apologize, Harry," he said, "for the great trespass I am about to commit upon you."
"I'm sorry?" said Harry.
"Everything is alright," Dumbledore said gently. "I am only a foolish old man who wants to keep the disillusion of truth at bay a little while longer in his old age." He withdrew his wand, and Harry got a sudden, chill tingle of fear. "Some things can't happen in their own time," Dumbledore said, though Harry got the impression he was speaking more to himself than anything. "I mustn't rush too much, that would be the worst thing I could do to you."
"What--" Harry began.
"It will be alright," Dumbledore said, lifting his wand. "You will not remember this anyway, hopefully. Obliviate!"
Harry blinked. He felt a little fuzzy, suddenly. It must be the exhaustion, he thought. Every muscle and bone in his body felt like lead weights, the exertions of the day finally catching up with him.
Then Dumbledore pulled open one of the drawers in Professor McGonagall's desk and took out a quill and a bottle of ink.
What you need, Harry, is some food and sleep. I suggest you go down to the feast, while I write to Azkaban -- we need our gamekeeper back. And I must draft an advertisement for the Daily Prophet, too," he added thoughtfully. "We'll be needing a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher... Dear me, we do seem to run through them, don't we?"
April 1995
This time he had little chance to take stock of his surroundings, for he seemed to be moving. Or rather, he realized, the world had not entirely stopped moving around him. He was floating, almost gliding, down an oddly familiar stone corridor. The effect was strange, as if the corridor were flowing by him, for Harry himself was not physically walking.
Glancing to his right, Harry felt somewhat relieved to find Dumbledore there, though it took him a moment to adjust to the sight of a noticeably younger Dumbledore, much less silvered, and with a greatly shortened beard. He was striding along with great purpose through what Harry suddenly recognized as the halls of Hogwarts. But the Headmaster's (was he the Headmaster in this memory? Harry didn't think so), shoulders were slumped, his head bent. The brief glimpse Harry got of his face as they turned a corner revealed an agonized expression, grief-stricken and regretful. He was moving almost resignedly, as if he had a horrible duty to carry out which he was determined to do as well as he could.
Harry followed along as Dumbledore maneuvered through hallways and up staircases Harry had never seen before. Finally, they arrived at an out of the way corridor with a single door at the end. Dumbledore strode up to it, paused for the briefest of moments, and then knocked.
The door was flung open as if someone had been waiting right on the other side. A woman stood framed in the opening, backlit by a healthily roaring fire and the steady glow of magical torches.
"Alice," Dumbledore said, reaching for her.
"Don't you dare touch me!" She snapped viciously. "How could you leave Harry with that muggle garbage. You know as will as I do what Lily and James will stated in regards to who their son would be raised by."
"It is the best protection that I can gave him. The blood protection is the strongest protection he could have and will shield him from the Death Eaters that are still hunting for him. You must realize that Alice." Dumbledore pleaded.
"What I realize is that my godson is living in a home with people that quite obvious don't wont him or love him. Blood protection or not. That is not the environment that a child should be raised in Dumbledore." She snapped at him venomously
"It's the best place for him," Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."
"A letter?" repeated Alice Longbottom in disbelief, sitting down in one of the chairs by the fireplace. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you explain all this in a letter? Those people will never understand him! Unlike you, I've met that piece of filth Lily had for a sister, she will do everything in her power to make his life a living hell. I would be less appalled if Harry was given to the Malfoy's then Petunia Dursley.
"It is a small sacrifice that must be made for the greater good Alice."
"It's amazing how small the sacrifices seem when you're not the one personal paying for them." Alice sneered hatefully. "Is that the same small sacrifice you envisioned when you allowed Lucius Malfoy to bribe Crouch into letting Sirius take the fall, so whoever your little Death eater spy was wouldn't be sent to Azkaban instead."
"Alice Longbottom, that is enough!" Dumbledore shouted heatedly. She did not so much as flinch at the powerful wizard before her.
"I know what you and those Ministry morons are trying to do Dumbledore and I will not stand by and allow you to use my godson as a pawn in your little chess game. I will have full custody my godson, and you cannot deny me that right. I don't care what's for the greater good. My only concern is for what's best for Harry and living with the Dursley's is not good for him. The will is a binding legal document and Lily's wishes while be carried out regardless of what you want Albus." Alice stood, gathered her cloak. "Good-Day to you Headmaster." With that, she flooed back home.
The swirl of her robes seemed to transmute into the room itself, causing everything to spin and swirl around Harry, fading just as all the other scenes had. Harry now found himself watching the trail of Barty Crouch Jr.
"You are no son of mine!" bellowed Mr. Crouch, his eyes bulging suddenly. "I have no son!"
The wispy witch beside him gave a great gasp and slumped in her seat. She had fainted. Crouch appeared not to have noticed.
"Take them away!" Crouch roared at the dementors, spit flying from his mouth. "Take them away, and may they rot there!"
"Father! Father, I wasn't involved! No! No! Father, please!"
Harry shivered, enormously glad as the scene melted away around him. Crouch's' cries, both the vengeful and the desperate, still rang in his ears, and it took him a moment to notice that the world had once again reformed itself around him.
"Well," he said, "this has certainly been a surprising afternoon."
Harry frowned, confused. He had heard the man speak; yet his lips had not moved. Harry glanced around and started violently. There was an Albus Dumbledore, still seated on the lowest bench, gazing thoughtfully at his hands, and an Albus Dumbledore behind Harry, looking directly at him.
"Professor," Harry gasped, "I know I shouldn't've - I didn't mean - the cabinet door was sort of open and -"
"That's quite alright," Dumbledore said. He regarded Harry for a moment, and then continued; "You have seen some very interesting things today. Some, which I think you needed to see to better, understand what is happening, what will happen in the future. Other things, other things are very private, even secret." Dumbledore said gently. "You have never been in a Pensieve before--you had no control over where it took you." He frowned abstractedly. "Interesting selection, though," he added, almost to himself.
"Why did you leave me with the Dursleys', if you know how they would treat me." Harry's tone turned ice cold now that his shock was over.
"My answer, is that my priority was to keep you alive. I know you had a difficult time of it--" Dumbledore said slightly calmer.
"A difficult time?" Harry interrupted. "I have a difficult time with Snape. I had fourteen years of abuse from the Dursleys'. Fourteen years." He couldn't stop the tears from coming to his eyes. "And all this time you knew. A difficult time my ass, you don't have any idea what it was like do you?"
"Harry I couldn't interfere. That was part of the agreement. You needed the protection..." Dumbledore said sadly, his face very gray.
"Was leaving my godfather to rot in Azkaban for twelve years part of the agreement my godmother spoke of as well." Harry interrupted in a snarl.
"That is of a different matter," Dumbledore said, frowning irritability. "However, I'm afraid I must take a few precautionary measures. It makes me greatly uncomfortable to do so, but the risks of leaving things be are too great." He sighed and withdrew his wand. He touched the wand to his temple and murmured a charm as he drew it away. A long, silvery strand came with it, and Dumbledore lifted it into the air, murmuring another charm. The scene dissolved as the rest had, and Harry expected to find himself back in the Headmaster's office. To his surprise, however, and no small confusion, he once again found himself seated up on the highest bench, though this time there was a Dumbledore on either side of him. The scene was very familiar, as well--six Dementors were in the process of dragging four captives out of the room. The thin, wasted frame of Crouch's wife lay slumped over the bench, and the screams of her son echoed about the room.
"Why have you brought me back here?" Harry asked the "real" Dumbledore.
"Because," the Headmaster said, "it is necessary that I do something once again which I find difficult, even abhorrent. Something I had hoped not to have to do ever again now that you are growing up."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, perplexed and more than a little fearful.
"Obliviate!"
Harry winced, almost wishing to cover his ears and block out Crouch's desperate pleas.
"I think, Harry, it is time to return to my office," said a quiet voice in Harry's ear.
More memories came back to him of events during his fourth year. Crouch Jr. had been giving him secret lessons after hours in his office. Teaching him a wide variety of low-level dark art spells. This set of memories revealed that he was a natural at performing all the spells Crouch Jr. had taught him. Despite the suppression bands the Headmaster had secretly sown into his school robes. Crouch had given him many books that he had secretly studied throughout the school year. When he was sleeping in the hospital wing after returning from the graveyard, Dumbledore had spent the night removing all his memories of Crouch's secret lessons and the knowledge of the dark arts he had learned. The Headmaster had also stolen all the dark arts books Harry had been given, hiding them in his office.
The last sat of returned memories revealed that Dumbledore had known full well that Snape wasn't teaching Harry occlumency, but instead using the lessons to help his master gain easier entry into his mind. During their first occlumency lessons Snape had forced him to drink a Psyche Linking potion, causing the connection between him and Voldemort to strengthen and weaken his minds natural defenses over time until he would be nothing more than a puppet completely under Voldemort's control. The potion master had then obliviated Harry's memory of what he had done.
It took nearly an hour for Harry to sort through all his newly returned memories. It warmed his heart greatly that his godmother had stood up to the Headmaster about him being left with the Dursleys'. He couldn't help but wonder now if in some way Dumbledore and Snape had help stage the attack on the Longbottoms. He would need to get his hands on those books Barty Crouch Jr. had given him somehow. It also scared him at how easy it was for people to violent his mind without so much as a second thought.
Harry shuddered uncontrollably for over two hour after regaining his stolen memories. It wasn't that he was deeply traumatized from remembering, it was the fact that he had lived for years not knowing that something had been done to him and taken from him. Harry felt like he had been robbed or rapped. There was really no other way to explain it. He could handle physical torture but the thought of someone going into your mind and altering your memories…
He knew he was probably overreacting but he couldn't help it. Voldemort had been messing with his head since the end of his four-year trying to convince him to seek out what was down in the Department of Mysteries. And the fake vision of Sirius being tortured was the bait that finally lured him right into Voldemort's and his Death eaters' hands. That wasn't going to happen again. Harry was determined not to let Voldemort win. He didn't care if he had to hunt every last Death eater down himself. He was not going to let Dumbledore and the Ministry let them get off scott free again.
In comparison to everything that he had discovered about the Headmaster actions towards him, it came as no great surprise when Harry learned that the old man had been screening his mail all these years. The Lady of Hogwarts told him of the wards that redirected any mail from someone the Headmaster had not pre-approved to a small room that was located in the south wing of the castle. The ward had been in place for nearly fifteen years, which was no surprise to Harry, otherwise, he was sure he would have been receiving owls his whole life while living at the Dursleys'.
But since Harry had removed her binds she could by-pass the wards that surrounded the room his missing mail was kept in and summon it all to the Founder's Hall so he could read it without Dumbledore's knowledge. At first, Harry decided to wait on opening his lost mail, not knowing how long he would be able a to stay with out being caught out after curfew. That is, until the Hogwarts Lady explained that the room was built within the magic dimension it's self. While inside a magical dimension. One could not physically age normally. If a person were to spend one year living inside the Hall, they would only physically age twelve days. When in the Founder's Hall time did not pass normally either, it could be both faster and slower than the time of the outside world. The four founders were able to create a Counter-Turn for the room, which would allow them to control how fast or slow time would pass inside the Hall and the Room of Requirements, while outside the room, time would remained normal.
To Harry the counter-turn looked more like a cross between a large old fashion skeleton pocket watch and a sundial, then the time-turn that Hermione had used during their third year. With a little help from Hogwarts, Harry sat the Counter-Turn only allow ten minutes to pass outside the room, while to him two and a half weeks would pass. Once the time was sat, Harry spent the next couple of hours going through all the large piles of letters and gifts people had sent to him over the past fifteen years.
The Lady of Hogwarts divided the piles by year received, then by matters of importance. It was more than a little disturbing to read some of the letters that the people of the wizarding world had sent to him over the years. Some people seemed to think he was the reintegration of Merlin, who was sent to save them from Voldemort's evil. They donated money and magical trinkets to him, grateful people that remembered his birthday since the age of two, had sent him small or large tokens of thanks each year. Some people even celebrated the anniversary of the loss of his parents, marking October 31, as some kind of Holy day of remembrance. While little girls wrote him love letters that pictured him as their Knight in shinning armor of their child hood fantasies. What really disturbed him was that a lot of the letters were written by some of his classmates or those in a higher or lower year than him, he even found some that had the name Ginny Weasley written on them in crayon. But Harry's heart swelled when he found tons of gifts and letters from many of his parent's old friends and distant relatives. He even found some letters from Remus, asking his muggle relative for permission to visit him when he was little.
Some of the newer letters were from different wizarding shops and companies asking him to endorse their latest products, while others sent him free samples. Some offering future intern and apprenticeships positions. Other letters were on the same thread as the letters he had gotten after he did the enter view with The Quibbler. People that believed his story and people that thought he was an attention seek loony. He was surprised to see three letters addressed to him from Gringotts Wizarding Bank asking for a meeting with him to discuss some irregularities they had found in dealing with his account recently. Harry wondered what the goblins could have possibly found odd about his account, but promise to contact them as soon as possible anyway.
While Harry ate a little food that Dobby prepared for him. The Hogwarts Lady, (who liked to be called Helen when in physical form), warned him that Hermione had been informing on him to McGonagall all year until she was injured. Which made Harry a little upset but after reviewing the past year inside a pensieve, understood that with the way he had been acting this past year he couldn't rightly blame Hermione for try to look out for him by going to McGonagall. At least she had not gone directly to Dumbledore. But Harry was beyond furious when he learned that Dumbledore had placed an enchantment all the Hogwarts: A History books given out to the muggle-borns in order for them to remain loyal to the Headmaster and the teachers that were in the order while at school and after they graduation.
Helen also explained that since the beginning of his fifth year the House-elves were also ordered to search through his belongings once a month for 'improper influences', if any items were found they were to alert the Headmaster at once. But recently, Dumbledore had ordered all the paintings, status, suits of armor, as well as the Houses-elves to keep an extra close watch on him after Harry had left the Headmaster's office earlier that morning. Due to all the instruments that usually tracked and monitored his movements during the year were all destroyed when Harry had wreck the Headmaster's office.
Harry's blood froze at this knowledge. Emerald eyes turned dangerously cold.
"I see," Harry, hissed softly, just barely in control of his anger. In truth Harry had been wondering if any of his friends was informing on him to Dumbledore throughout the year. Ever since first year the bushy headed know-it-all had made it clear that she was more than willing to rat him out to their teachers if she didn't approve of his actions. Hermione was one of his best friends, and truth be told she had probably been a better friend to him over the years than Ron had, but her devotion to authority bordered on the frightening more and more. Harry knew that until he was able to destroy her enchanted Hogwarts: A History, he would have to be extremely cautious about what he said or did in front of the girl.
But what really burned him was that someone was searching through his private belongings. It was underhanded. It was unfair. What had he ever done to warrant such treatment Harry asked himself for what seemed like the hundredth time that evening? What was the cause of such irrational suspicion? Such unwavering mistrust against him? Events of the past five years were largely outside his control, yet he was still scrutinized and suspected of every wrongdoing. He was being treated like a common criminal. Harry was receiving the same treatment he had always gotten when living full-time at the Dursleys'. Guilty until proven innocent, and most of the time him being proven innocent of something only made his muggle relatives hate him even more. Was it the same for Headmaster? Was Dumbledore resentful of his innocents?
So far Dumbledore had only been alerted once. Dumbledore had the house-elves bring him the package Sirius had given to Harry right before returning to Hogwarts after the Christmas holidays. Until now Harry had forgotten all but the package his godfather had given him. Harry remembered Sirius sneaking it to him just inside the front door of twelve Grimmauld Place hopes to Mrs.Weasley wouldn't notice, he had placed it in the bottom of his trunk and had not thought about it since. The fog that had controlled his mind had suppressed the memory until now. Harry asked Helen was the package still within the castle and if so could she summon it like she did with his mail. She agreed and within seconds Harry held the forgotten package within his hands.
' Use it if you need me, all right? ' The voice of his godfather echoed in his head. Harry unwrapped the package carefully wonder why Dumbledore had seen fit to take it from him. Out fell a small. Square mirror. It looked old; it was certainly dirty. Harry held it up to his face and saw his own reflection looking back at him.
He turned the mirror over. There on the reverse side was a scribbled note from Sirius,
This is a two-way mirror. I've got the other. If you need to speak to me, just say my name into it; you'll appear in my mirror and I'll be able to talk in yours. James and I used to use them when we were in separate detentions.
And Harry's heart began to race. He remembered seeing his dead parents in the Mirror of Erised four years ago. He was going to be able to talk to Sirius again, right now, he knew it–
Harry raised it in front of his face with trembling hands and said, loudly and clearly,
"Sirius."
His breath misted the surface of the glass. He held the mirror even closer, excitement flooding through him, but the eyes blinking back at him through the fog were definitely his own.
He wiped the mirror clear again and said, so that every syllable rang clearly through the room, "Sirius Black!"
Nothing happened. The frustrated face looking back out of the mirror was still, definitely his own...
Sirius might not of had his mirror on him when he went through the archway, said a small voice in Harry's head. That's why it's not working...
Harry remained quite still for a moment, and then hurled the mirror into the wall on the other side of the room where it shattered. He had been convinced, for a whole, shining minute that he was going to see Sirius, talk to him again. Disappointment was burning in his throat. It was like losing his godfather all over again in losing the hope that he might be able to see or speak to him once more. But what really tore him apart was the fact that the whole fiasco at the Ministry could have been avoided if Dumbledore hadn't stolen Sirius mirror from him in the first place. He could've used it instead of having to break into Umbridge's office to use that hag's floo. He could have spoken to Sirius and seen that the vision was false, there for he would've had no reason to go to the ministry that day. A whole new level of loathing was born in Harry's heart towards Dumbledore and his meddling.
After calming down some, Helen clued Harry in on another one of Dumbledore's many secrets. Apparently, all children entering the magical school system have a basic monitoring spell placed on them, as ordered by the Ministry of Magic, who also places monitoring charms on all wands bought from Ollivander's Wand Shop. But ever since Dumbledore had become Headmaster of Hogwarts, all the students are given a potion to ingest as well. It served the same monitoring purpose, but was far harder to over come.
It was quiet brilliant actually; Harry had to admit on some level. At the beginning of the year feast, all the pumpkin juice and other beverages are laced with the potion. It lasts about a year, and is reinforced at the start of each term. The potion not only let Dumbledore track students magic usage during vacations but also able him to monitor them throughout the school year as well. Which was why the old man always seemed to know who's been up to what.
With the help of the Helen and the library in the Founders Hall, Harry was able to cancel both the Ministry's monitoring spell and Dumbledore potion. He had no luck in finding out how to cancel the spell to the monitoring charm on his wand, but vowed to either find the counter charm or buy a new wand from another wand maker.
What really surprised him was that the four Founders were able to step outside their portraits into the physical plain while inside of Founders Hall. When they built the hall they made a magic mirror that would allow them to walk through it into the physical world. Salazar was the first one to step out of the mirror to greet Harry. He was about 6'2" in height and gave off the commanding presences. Which made Harry feel like a little kid since he was fifteen and only 5'4". Godric was also tall around 6'4" his build was wider than Salazar's. He had a strong square face with sparkling golden amber eyes; his hair was a mix of brown and golden blonde that flowed over his shoulders of the red and gold battle robes he was wearing, making him look like a mighty lion. Rowena stood only about 5'8" in height; she had pale cream skin with a slender figure that reminded him of Professor Sinistra, though her face was a lot less stern looking then his Astronomy teacher. Rich blue colored robes draw Harry's eyes to notice her oval shape face and matching sapphire blue eyes that seemed to hold a certain mystery and intelligence to them, while long thick black hair was pined up in a rather elaborate bun. Helga was out visiting another one of her paintings that were stationed around the world so Harry was not able to meet her with the others. But Salazar promise to introduce him when she got back.
With the room being able to prove for all of Harry's needs he was able to spend about two and a half weeks in the Founders Hall, preparing him for what he would need to do once he left the room. And with the help of the four Founders and the Lady of Hogwarts, Harry now at least had a game plan on which to go by.
For the most part Harry focused on learning how to protect his mind from intrusion. The knowledge of both occlumency and legilimency that Riddle had helped a great deal with his own basic understanding of the two difficult art forms, but it was from his tutoring with Rowena Ravenclaw's portrait that truly helped Harry. Along with practical help from the Hogwarts Lady since she was a living consciousness, it was easy for her to perform legilimency. Rowena teaching style was very thorough in her techniques, managing to even clear up some of the things that had confused even Voldemort since he was never properly taught and had learned his skill the hard way through trial and error. Now Harry completely understood the theories and techniques behind both skills rather well.
Occlumency had absolutely nothing to do with physically defending one's mind from attack. The art of occlumency was based on the clarity of thoughts and emotional desires. It was more about the organization and understanding of a person's own mind and THEN learning how to control your own thoughts and emotional direction, so you gave nothing way to an outside observer. It was impossible to really teach someone how to physical defend their mind because every person's natural mental defenses were different and unique to the individual. The will power of the individual was what determined the minds defensive strength. Harry had no doubt that his will was strong; he had been able to throw off the Imperius Curse from both the fake Mad-Eye Moody and Voldemort. Along with winning the dual of Priori Incantatem that tested the will power and magical strength between two wizards. But he knew that the organization of his mind was rather poor, and those fake occlumency lessons Snape gave him had only served to weaken his natural mental defenses.
Much to Harry's surprise, learning occlumency was far easier when learning legilimency along side it as well. Knowing exactly what happened to his mind in a legilimency attack made it far easier for Harry to defend his mind against one. Occlumency was little more than a mental discipline to recognize foreign forces within the mind. The more organized and logical the mind is, the more effective Occlumency is. Eventually occlumency can be so developed that no mind affecting magic will work on the person. When Snape had told Harry to clear his mind, what he meant was to control one's emotions so that the person does not concentrate on relieving memories but instead focus's on the task at hand, namely repelling the invading mind. Legilimency only worked when the people could not detach themselves from the memory being ripped from their mind. That's why Snape kept baiting Harry; he wanted him to get angry so he could attack his mind.
Training his mind provided to be the most time consuming and emotional difficult subject he had every learned. Harry's progress with both went slowly but smoothly. Within a week Harry had learned enough that he could sleep at night without having any Voldemort induced nightmares. Not to say that he didn't have nightmares, they were just products of Harry's mind. The books that the room provided for him helped a great deal, they gave many different methods for mastering Occlumency. A different scholar, including a man named Kalus H. Potter, developed each method. Harry tried most of them, and eventually settled for a combination of the ones that came easiest for him. Which allowed him to sharpen his minds natural defenses both offensively and defensively.
Defensively, to begin, Rowena had Harry picture a physical representation of his mind. After that he placed the image in a pensieve, which would allow him to see the physical placement and organization of his memories while he sort through them. Harry chose the image of a spare with three separate barriers.
The core barrier housed all his important thoughts, emotions, and deepest secrets. The parts of him that Harry didn't want others to know. Like the knowledge of the prophecy and all the information he got from Voldemort. The second inner barrier housed all of his practical knowledge. Things that mattered but weren't top secret. Like his current dueling skills and the things he learned over the past five years, or what feelings he had for different family members and friends. The outer barrier housed only superficial memories; so intruding legilimens would think that they had passed Harry's mental defenses and wouldn't think to search deeper until it was to late and were already expelled them from his mind.
The only thoughts that would exist between the two barriers were unimportant, nonsense memories. The type of things that wouldn't matter if someone found out about. Things like what he ate for breakfast, what grade he had gotten on a quiz, Quidditch statistics, etc. Anything that was impersonal; something that he didn't mind someone like Voldemort, Snape, or Dumbledore to know about, Harry left in the outer later of his outer mind sphere. To an outside observer it would seem like the random thoughts of a normal teenager.
After he had his barriers setup that's when the time consuming part of occlumency came in. Especially at first, Harry literally had to sift through and categorize every one of his memories. Then he had to file them away into the different subsection of his core, and inner or outer spheres.
Offensively, to begin, Harry had to select what type wall an intruding legilimency would encounter when he tried to drive them out, for the moment Harry decided to picture a thick concert wall. Once he had that Harry selected certain memories that would help his minds natural defenses block and help drive away a legilimens who tired to break into his second barrier. The first memory was of bright green light and the pain cause from it when it hit him as a child, or the memory of the pain from the Voldemort casting the Cruciatus Curse on him, and the memory of the pain that consumed him when Voldemort over took him at Ministry. He doubted anyone would want to be forced to relive any of those three memories.
With all that in order, Harry was now able to store and organizes the memories in his mind like files in a computers hard drive. He had memories by section within sections and even more detailed sections within those sections. Many subsets of different sections over lapped each other. Although it took quite a bit of time and effort to correctly organize or in the case where Riddle's memories were involved, reorganize two separate life experiences. Harry's mind was now very well organized and controlled.
Another aspect to Harry's occlumency training was something Lady Ravenclaw called 'Introspective Exercises' in which Harry was instructed to use the pensieve to view all of his memories from his life, than with Rowena and Salazar's help; try and understand how that particular event effected him or helped to shape the views he had towards himself and others. He was then instructed to keep a journal of his thoughts and emotions to help work out his personal issues. Harry didn't like this part of his training, he really didn't want to know just how screwed-up he really was, but understood that he needed to fully understand his own conscious and subconscious thoughts and reasoning for his actions so they couldn't be used against him.
Legilimency, Harry learned, was not the opposite of Occlumency. Legilimency was purely offensive and akin to a violent attack if not done very carefully. Subtlety was a top requirement of a good legilimens, as one usually does not want the victim to realize what is happening to them. If a person was not versed in occlumency it was possible with even a low level Legilimens', like Snape who needed to do a keyword type search in order to gain any information from his target, to slip into their mind unnoticed. All he would need was to project the incantation Legilimens with his eyes and then once inside his subjects mind, project the subject word or question, allowing him to receive information concerning that keyword or phrase while everything else was overlooked and pushed into the background. Powerful Legilimens users, which Harry now knew he was - just like Voldemort and Dumbledore - were able to perform a sort of 'download' of the information and could go over it without maintaining eye contact. Legilimency was almost always done eye-to-eye with the target, but if the Legilimens had enough control and will-power they could sometimes perform Distance Legilimency, which allowed the legilimens to enter someone's mind even if they were across the country. With this knowledge Harry now understood that with the help of the Psyche Linking potion Voldemort was able to perform his distance legilimency attacks against his mind.
Along with his studies of Occlumency and Legilimency, Harry also viewed most of Riddle's memories in the pensieve. It was with morbid fascination that he slowly watch the evaluation of a curl and hate filled orphan change into the cunning and hateful Tom Riddle and finally morphed into the pure evil monster known now as Lord Voldemort. Harry could see why people followed the handsome strategist who promised glory. Tom Riddle cultivated a charisma that dazzled his audience into submission. With his Muggle upbringing Harry knew little about the unofficial politics involved in the last war. But now had a front row view of why most of the wizarding world cannot bear to even speak the Dark Lords name.
Power and Fear.
There had been many Dark Lords that had risen and fallen throughout the world. Even at the height of Grindewald's reign, people did not fear to speak his name. But Voldemort was not a normal Dark Lord, he had undergone so many dark rituals, so many transformations that he was no longer even recognizable as the man he once was. Could anyone even consider him human anymore Harry wondered.
It was clear that one of the main reasons why Voldemort was feared so much was because he could command so much raw magical power; he was able to easily destroy the wards protecting most houses. He did not need to waste time using curse breakers to slowly try and wear the wards down in order to enter. He could destroy all the magical wards protecting the house before the occupants even knew he was attacking, his Death Eaters would then enter the house and torture, rape or murder everyone inside.
The second reason was that even though Voldemort had an incredible amount of power and an extreme amount of knowledge of the Dark Arts, he had never believed it was enough. He spent a great deal of time gaining more knowledge and undergoing more rituals, during his last reign. Rare books were stolen from most collections through out the wizarding world. He gained many ancient works and artifacts that were long thought lost, scholars would even willingly give him their most precious works when he, or a Death Eater, came to them. To say no to Voldemort or if you were a Death Eater and failed him in some way, not only sentenced yourself to death, but sentenced your family, friends and loved ones to torture and a very slow and painful public death.
Voldemort made sure that it was well known that if someone were to lie to him or his Death Eaters the repercussions would be even worse than fighting against him. Those conditions allowed him to work freely throughout the wizarding world. Harry had learned during his first year that Voldemort was a master Legilimens; even if you were to lie to him, he would know it and would break into your mind to find the truth.
The third reason why the fear was so extreme was that Voldemort did not settle for power in one area, he did not just spread terror in England, but through out all of Europe and many other countries around the world. There was no safe haven people could flee to; he was able to tract you down and attack anywhere, and at any time. If you were not one of his Death Eaters, you were an enemy. Even other dark wizards, murderers, assassins and other such unsavory characters feared him. He killed several up and coming Dark Lords, he destroyed any dark wizard that refused to serve him or who could become a threat to him and his power.
It was truly sickening at just how many people were under his influence. It was not just the Death Eaters or people under the imperious curse that the people were afraid of, it was the informants, and as far as anyone knew they could have been anyone. If a person gave Voldemort worthwhile information, the Death Eaters would spare them, and their loved ones for a time. However, they had to continue to feed them information to gain that protection.
The true destructive power of Voldemort's army during the last war did not lay in the Death Eaters alone, but the Inferi, Dementor's, Quintapeds, Lethifolds, Vampires, Werewolves and Giants that he was able to employ. These creatures were drawn to him by the darkness and power of his magical aura. He was the alpha male to many nocturnal creatures and allowed them to have no boundaries to their dark nature under his command.
Harry was more than a little relieved when he discovered that recruitment for Voldemort's forces was going slowly because of the need to lay low this past year and those that once sided with him last time were more wary because he was unable to up hold the promises he had made to them during his first reign. The fact that he failed before a mere baby did not help to hold faith in his power.
It had taken Harry almost three whole days, non-stop to untangle Voldemort's most resist mass of memories from this past year. The memories were so closely tied together that they sometimes seemed to over lap each other three or four times. When Harry finally did get them straighten out a feeling of euphoria washed over him.
It would appear, that Voldemort had the attack at the ministry more planned out than anyone could have every thought possible. The veil that stood in the Death Room had been switched. Before Voldemort sent Harry the vision of Sirius being captured, which he knew would compelled Harry to leave the safety of the school, he had Lucius Malfoy and Augustus Rookwood (who were under invisibility cloaks) go down into the Department of Mysteries and put a fake veil right in front of the real one. This fake veil was in truth, a direct portal to one of their many prison cells. It also served as a direct and unrestricted portal into the most closely guarded secrets of the Ministry of Magic. Voldemort had told all his followers to knock as many people as they could into the veil, as it was now the most efficient way to get prisoners. This way no one would think to try and find the prisoners because they would automatically think them dead and non-retrievable. The only person they managed to get through was his godfather.
Which meant Sirius Black was alive!
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To be continued...
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