Chapter 20

Harry had never liked being Godric's Hollow, but the countryside had always been a magical place. The hills surrounding Godric's Hollow allowed you to see just about everything the small village contained, and if closely looked at, you could just barely see the tip of the refurbished Potter Cottage. Even now, Harry had to admit the view of Godric's Hollow filled him with a sense of awe.

"The first thing you should know is that Slughorn is safe with Aberforth. He was prepared once Riddle rose to a position of prominence,"Dumbledore said.

Harry ran his hands through the grass as he sat next to Dumbledore, "I was worried Riddle had gotten to him."

"No." Dumbledore said."Slughorn is no slouch when it comes to having an exit strategy. He will be assisting in the remaining horcrux hunt since he has an precise understanding of what we're up against."

"Good. We could use all the help we can get." Harry said. "And Aberforth? I'm assuming he is not pleased with me."

Dumbledore chuckled, "He is irate, but I'm most exuberant that you saved me from his ire this time around."

Harry sighed. Of course, this was to be expected, He knew Aberforth was going to be angry at him for saving the Greengrass girls. He wasn't looking forward to seeing him tomorrow.

"I wouldn't let it unnerve you, Harry. The Greengrass girls are a good judge of character."

"I'm sure you agree, you did make the final approval of Daphne as my prefect partner," Harry said with a smirk.

Dumbledore gave an innocent shrug,"It was happenstance."

Harry could see the usual spark in Dumbledore's eyes, forever the humble Mastermind. Before Harry could question further, Dumbledore had begun speaking much to Harry's annoyance.

"For now, there have been three objectives on my mind. Gathering and destroying the remaining horcruxes, staying one step ahead of Voldemort, and lastly, finding and securing allies." Dumbledore said. "At this point, I suspect we have destroyed all but three horxcruxes. The diadem, the diary, and Nagini. The diary will be the hardest to locate, followed by the diadem which I suspect is located in Hogwarts, but I must humbly confess that Voldemort explored Hogwarts in such a way that I can't not be ascertained as to where it would be."

Harry thought for just a moment before saying, "Maybe Riddle might be able to lead us to it?"

Dumbledore stroked his beard, "That's not a bad thought Harry. if you can provoke him then you can potentially get him to lead you to these locations."

"I'm his number one target; I'm sure it wouldn't be an issue."

"Number two." Dumbledore said cheerfully. "Voldemort has been desperately trying to get information on my whereabouts. I'm sure a part of this current ploy was fueled by his desire to figure out my whereabouts."

Dumbledore was right. Even with the advantage they had now, Voldemort and Riddle rarely made outright assaults.

"There's also an intuition that I believe there is or will be a brewing discordance between Riddle and Voldemort." Dumbledore said as he titled his head inquisitively, "Especially when it comes to the Ministry."

"Really?"

"I figured it would only be a matter of time before both their ego's would grow against each other." Dumbledore said, " Horcrux Riddle still has the temperament of his younger ideologies; widely flamboyant in his approaches unlike who he becomes. "

"What do you mean?"

"I was of the opinion that Riddle would be focused primarily on Hogwarts, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore," Dumbledore said as Harry thought carefully about the news over the past months. "I have a fair suspicion Riddle is looking to create a coup and present himself as the new Minister for Magic. From all accounts from Severus and my own understanding of Voldemort, this is a different plan than the one espoused by Voldemort. "

"I don't know, "Harry said hesitantly, "What about Amelia Bones? The W.A.A act?"

"Madam Bones was a distraction as I'm sure you were aware. It's a tactic he employed in the last war to gather inferi without much notice. Riddle just used it as a way in. Unfortunately, the W.A.A act is just the outcome of actions by frail egos that's being co-opted.

Harry gazed out to the countryside; Since the beginning having two different versions of Voldemort had been difficult. Voldemort had used this to his advantage; keeping his orders broad with Riddle to ensure that Dumbledore would always spend time thinking about two different sets of strategies.

"With so many moving parts; it's hard to keep up with it all." Harry admitted. "especially when Voldemort's entire plan at this moment is making sure you're dead."

"Which makes it easy to win against an opponent when you know his sole obsession." Dumbledore said calmly, "As for now it's me, and it will be you next. Use that to your advantage. Voldemort, for however intelligent, is often short-sighted. "

Harry looked over at Dumbledore. Even for how brilliant he was, the truth was that he wasn't going to be around much longer. Soon Harry would be alone. He would be the one planning these strategies. People would live or die based on his strategies.

"Lastly, resources, I've managed to attract small pockets of supporters and pledges that I've acquired, and I've secured a very powerful ally in the east," Dumbledore said vaguely. "But I must warn you that they are a brutish bunch and they come with some unsavory terms. I will leave that negotiation up to you and Aberforth."

Harry narrowed his eyes, "How can I do that if I'm at hogwarts?"

Dumbledore stood up, stretching before he looked down at Harry, "Seeing as Tonks will be representing you when she can; I think it's only fair if you spend your time between Hogwarts and the Headquarters. I still have a lot to teach you yet."

Harry grinned as he jolted up in excitement , "Seriously?"

"There's just one thing?"

"What? Anything?" Harry said eagerly.

"You have to forgive yourself."

Harry's eagerness withered.

"Would you like to know the reason I decided to keep you all those years ago? I'm sure it's happened upon your thoughts ever so often."

It was Aberforth, ultimately, that had been the reason Harry was trained, but Harry had always wondered why Dumbledore made that decision to begin with.

"Once before, I made the mistake of not attempting to help a troubled young boy, "Dumbledore said firmly, "Out of my own young pain, anger, and fear, I embraced his rhetoric."

Harry began, "Dumbledore-"

"Then again, I made the mistake of not attempting to help a troubled young boy. Fearing that I would enjoy fostering a gifted but easily exploitable young mind, I let him suffer alone….I never knew love, Harry. My intentions were to always give you away to the Dursleys, this time watching carefully to observe that I had not made the same mistakes, but holding you I had an epiphany." Dumbledore said as he looked over at Godric's Hollow. "I remembered a young couple I had met that personified love. In the midst of so much gloom, they found joy in everything good around them and it struck me, Harry. I had never made a decision out of love….So I had a choice. Let you stay with your aunt permanently out of my own fear, or keep you and try my hand at...loving... a child."

He chuckled slightly.

"So I kept you, and I was miserable...I was not sure what to do with you. How to talk to you. What to do when you cried. I could barely look at you because I was so fearful of my decisions; past, present, and future. In all of my genius and cleverness, I had never felt so absurd."

Dumbledore caught Harry's eyes; His expression paternal.

"Harry, love and forgiveness have something in common I've learned." Dumbledore said. "Time, to let difficult moments happen, and patience, to watch as they happen. You have experienced time, and now you must be patient with yourself, Harry."

Harry stood still as the wind blew around him, "Don't let it intimate you" Daphne had said just hours ago. He could even hear Blaise's snarky words. He hadn't realized it until he saw something drop to the ground...water. Harry felt his cheek and could feel the wetness. Tears. He had been crying?

"I wish you could have seen them, Harry. Your parents loved each other, and they loved you above all else. Throughout every tough decision, they embraced the joyful moments of them all. Even if I had never trained you, I'm confident the love they had for you was more than enough for the trials ahead."

Harry lowered his head as he began to wail. Harry felt a warm hand wrap around him, and Harry lowered his head into the comforting body as he began to sob.

"So honor them" Dumbledore whispered in his ear. "By defeating Voldemort, in war and in your heart."

Harry wasn't sure how long it was he wailed, but he finally, he fell away from Dumbledore, quickly wiping away his very wet face.

"I promise I will." Harry said, his voice hoarse. "For my parents, for Ginny, for Sirius, for Tracy, and For you. I swear, by Merlin I will." Harry bent his head back to stare into the clouds as Dusk settled , finding solace in the sky above.

"Then you'll discover just how powerful you truly are," Dumbledore said as silence fell between them both as they listened to the breeze blow through the countryside. Harry smiled as he closed his eyes because for the first time in a long while...he felt...energized.

"I can't say it got any easier raising you, or the difficult decisions got easier, but I'm proud of us both." Dumbledore said. "We keep moving."

As the seconds flew into indistinguishable amounts of time, Harry finally looked over at Dumbledore, "You're the only father I've ever known. I won't let you down."

"I know, Harry."