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Chapter 8 The Confrontation
Albus Dumbledore appeared out of nowhere, at the end of Privet Drive and immediately pulled out his wand and began testing the wards guarding the entrance to the tiny suburb street. Thankfully, he took care of things many years ago, so Harry would never be visited by any wizard friends. The anti wizard wards that he casted here were borderline illegal, but who could blame him, he was protecting the boy-who-lived. Imagine his surprise when Harry was found missing just before the start of his second term. Who knew Arthur's wonderful flying car invention, would completely bypass such strong magical wards.
After several minutes, Albus discovered just what he assumed, No witch or wizard has been on Privet Drive since his last visit. Stowing away his wand, Albus made the short walk down to number four while thinking over the information he recently gathered at Flourishes. There was strong magical residue in one of their most costly private suites, which of course the pure blood Death Eaters were all to fond of renting. Something was telling him that he needed to check on that magic that was emanating from Harry's room, he now had a few ideas upon how to enter. This was his main reason for returning to Privet Drive, what he was not prepared for, was the teenage wizard sitting on the backyard porch.
Not sure how this was possible, Albus's mind jumped to a number of possibilities, all of which started with the fact that this could not be the real Harry Potter, it must be a trap. Albus pulled his wand and instantly sent a quick blast of orange light towards Harry who dodged to the side as Albus' spell blasted into the back door, sending tiny bits of the screen door flying across the porch. Harry, coming out of his roll, withdrew his wand, using will magic, Harry thought of his strongest stunner. Blocking out all other distractions, Harry's focus became so clear that he could actually see magic in the air and Albus seemed to be coming at him in slow motion. Harry didn't over react, he paused and waited for the perfect moment to strike.
Dumbledore sent out a magical pulse towards Harry, as the wave of magic got closer to Harry, it rippled as it got displaced and shot right trough him. Albus was dumbfounded, in all of his life, he had never seen some one who could displace that particular spell, shield it, or deflect it, maybe, but to manipulate it enough to allow the spell to pass right through you, was absolutely unheard of. He was so startled by this amazing feat, that he never heard or saw any movement before the purplish gold spell was seconds upon impact. Albus raised a powerful shield, and thinking quick of what to cast next, he made up his mind as Harry's spell hit his shield. Unfortunately for Albus, he never got a chance. Harry's will power stunner flew straight through the Headmaster's shield, slamming into Albus' chest, knocking him backwards, stunning him completely.
Albus slowly woke up and opened his eyes. Looking about, he was not sure where he was or how he got here. Cursing himself for getting into this situation, he just sat there, magically tied to a chair. He tried to send out a pulse of magic, but nothing happened. Trying to look around as much as he could, he realized there was a magical suppression charm placed around his chair. As he looked around more and more, Albus recognized where he was, the question was how did he get here and why? For now he found himself trapped and tied up, in the Shrieking Shack. Albus relaxed, thinking of his options for escape, he was interrupted by a voice coming out of the shadows.
"Who are you and why have you attacked Harry Potter?" said Harry stepping out of the shadows, facing Albus.
"Harry Potter…. I think not, the real question is, who are you and what have you done with the real Harry Potter?" returned Albus maliciously.
Harry laughed as Albus just stared dangerously at him, getting tired already of this banter, Harry decided to just get right to it. Walking closer to his prisoner, Harry stopped right before him and pulled something out of his pocket as he knelt down so he could look at Albus in the eye.
" Well, we will see just who you really are, I think you are aware of this little potion." asked Harry as he dangled the little vial of truth potion in front of his eyes. "I don't have the time or patience to wait to see if you are using polyjuice potion, plus, if you truly are Albus Dumbledore, I have a few questions that I would love the truth on."
" Harry? Is that really you?….your magical signature has changed….that is why I didn't recognize you…..had I known….I would never have attacked…..but you have been missing….we assumed you were kidnapped by Voldermort and…."
"Enough….I am sorry, if you are the real Headmaster or not, I am doing this, I am no longer putting my life in the hands of others." Harry interrupted.
Albus started to fidget in his seat, he was extremely nervous, if this was the real Harry, the secrets he could let slip under the influence could ruin everything. Years of hard work was slipping between his fingers as Harry popped the top of the vial off, and reached towards Albus' face to administer said potion. Running out of time, Albus tried one more tactic.
" Harry, my boy, ….not to worry…it is I….there is no need to administer that truth potion, the consequences of dispensing that potion by an unqualified, under-aged wizard, is a major violation. You have to use reason, I know you don't want to spend time in Azkaban, think about what Sirius would want for you." Albus finished as he gave his best, Grandfatherly look as his eyes were twinkling madly away.
Harry paused for a minute as he looked into the face of the Headmaster, what he saw, was the smug grin that was hidden just under the surface. Harry began to truly ponder the consequences of his actions, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized he could justify his reasoning to any disciplinary board. Making up his mind, Harry smiled as Dumbledore's grin slowly disappeared. Albus began to use advanced Legilimency as fast as he could, trying desperately to hide as much information as he could before Harry tilted his head back, and emptied the entire vile down his throat.
It didn't take long for the effects to take place, The Headmaster's face grimaced as it appeared he was trying to fight it. Harry had a small list of questions prepared, what he wanted most was the truth, and this seemed the only way to get that. As Albus' eyes began to cloud over, Harry knew it was time to face the music.
Stepping closer to the Headmaster, Harry began, " please state your full name?"
"Albus Dumbledore" replied the Headmaster in a very raspy voice.
Harry, who glanced over to the side table where a quick-quotes pen was scratching away, thought to himself, "that is odd, I thought his full name was much longer?" shaking that thought away, he continued.
"Why did you attack me earlier today?"
"Your magical signature is not recognizable, therefore I came to the only conclusion that makes sense, that you are an imposter and not Harry Potter."
Harry smiled, for at least he was telling the truth about that. Now the real fun is about to begin, thought Harry as he knew what was to come.
" How do you know when I leave Privet Drive and why?" asked Harry.
" I placed several alarm charms through out Privet Drive, as well as a locator charm placed on your magical core, but that has stopped working as of late." Albus finished as it looked like he was in pain.
Harry knew he was capable of something like that, but to have spells casted on himself, without him even knowing it. Harry wondered how he did that, then he thought off all the times he laid passed out in the hospital wing. Getting angry Harry asked, " is the locator spell, the only spell you actually casted on my person?"
"No" replied the Headmaster in a sad, raspy voice.
"Tell me every spell you have casted on me, especially the ones that are still active." demanded Harry in an angry tone.
Albus grunted….as he paused from answering the question….he began grinding his teeth….then suddenly he let out a small cry of pain…then began to speak rather fast and very quietly. Harry just stood staring at the Headmaster as he rambled on, several minutes later, he finally stopped. Albus just looked up to Harry sadly as he began to cry, Harry wasn't sure if those were tears of remorse or tears of pain.
Harry wasn't sure how to proceed, this was unexpected, he was going to ask the same question, but demand he speak slower. Then a thought came to Harry and he turned and made straight for the quick-quotes pen and looked down at the paper. Listed out and numbered was everything the Headmaster just said, briefly looking over the list, Harry glanced down to the bottom of the page, where he was astounded to see the last one was numbered twenty seven .
Harry was starting to get angry, but now was not the time for it, he had many more questions that he wanted answered. Letting the quick-quotes pen get back to work, Harry walked back over to the crying Albus, without showing any concern, he continued.
"Why do you force me to return to the Dursley's every summer?" asked Harry who was prepared with his follow up question after the Headmaster gave his standard answer of blood wards.
" Because that is the safest place for you to stay, I placed many wards protecting not only number four, but the entire street." Harry simply nodded, he could understand that, but couldn't those wards be placed at any place he stayed in, why does it have to be with people who hate him.
"Why do the Dursley's hate me so much?" asked Harry, he wan't sure why he had asked this question, this was not on his list, how could the Headmaster know why they hated him, but it just came out. Harry was not prepared for his answer.
" Because, with all the wards placed on that street and on that house, it would affect any wizard living in said residence. Thus the need to place you in the muggle world. I also needed them to keep you inside most of the time, for your protection."
" Wait, what about me, I am a wizard, how does it affect me, and how did you get the Dursley's to keep me inside?" asked Harry trying to understand the Headmaster's reasoning.
Albus, once again, grimaced as he hesitated in answering Harry's question, until again, he let slip a barely audible scream, followed by more tears as he answered. " You are not affected by the wards because of the magical suppression charms I placed on you, as for Dursley's……I had to put a mild aggression charm on them…..it was the only way…..they would not other wise keep you inside…..I..I.." but Albus lowered his head in shame as the tears started to leak from Harry's eyes.
" So…they don't truly hate me….they've been forced to treat me the way they have. That does make sense….for sometimes when they would lock me in the cupboard…they would have this look in their eyes….and when Vernon would hit me….the same thing." Harry said as he reflected on all the times the Dursley's hurt him over the years. As the reality of what the Headmaster had done to him began to sink in, Harry just looked at Albus with the most disgusted look on his face.
After several seconds past, Harry had to get more answers, he was running out of time. He would have time to get upset and vent later, but now he needed to stay strong. Harry stepped closer to the Headmaster and spoke in a troubled voice, " Why? What good could possibly come from having my only living relatives beat me into submission on the regular? Why have them hate me?" Harry finished assertively.
As Albus looked at the defeated Harry, he tried to formulate an answer without revealing the second prophecy, he had made it this far without letting it out. "…That night….that tragic night….Tom accidentally transferred part of his magical core into a temporary vessel before he was vanquished, that vessel Harry was you. Tom Riddle has corrupted his magical core so drastically that it is almost pure evil, so much so, that if you were shown too much love, it could react violently with your magical core. There is not much documentation on this type of dark magic, I did what I thought was best, what would keep your magical core intact." Albus finished somberly.
Harry just stood there for a second before he asked, "Did you experiment, how did I react as a baby to love? What about as I got older, like when I was five? Seven? What made you assume that this so called piece of Riddle's magical core that is supposed to reside within me, would react negatively to love?" As Harry finished he noticed the Headmaster look even more downcast then before, he then realized that he had never thought about any of that until he heard it seconds ago from Harry.
Albus was on the verge of spilling too much, gathering his thoughts as much as he could, he spoke. "Harry….you don't understand the type of magic we are talking about, it is very dark magic thus making it extremely unstable. There were not many options available too me at the time and I did the best that I could to keep you safe."
"Safe…..safe….I have been a lot of things over the years….but safe was rarely one of them. It seems to me….I have been in more danger with you making decisions on my behalf then I would have been left at an orphanage."
Albus was a little hurt by this revelation, he had made a few mistakes along the way, but he was truly doing what he thought was best to keep Harry safe and alive. Looking at Harry's crushed look on his face, Albus spoke quietly. " Harry, you don't know what life in an orphanage is like, I wouldn't wish that on anyone."
"No, but you would wish that I be locked up in a tiny cupboard and beaten regularly, with no friends and no family that cared about me. At least at an orphanage, there would be someone to look after me, and I might even have slept in an actual bed instead of the cold hard ground inside a cupboard and maybe made a few friends other then the spiders and rats that frequented my living quarters." Finished Harry in a cruel tone.
Albus had never really heard the stories first hand how Harry was raised, he only monitored his magical core to make sure that Tom's portion was still stable, but hearing Harry talk like this, made Albus realize just how wrong he had been. Trying to bridge the gap between them, or at least start too, Albus chose his words carefully. "Harry, I am truly sorry for how things ended up, I never wished any of this to happen to you, but the fact of the matter is, it is Tom Riddle that is to blame for your troubled life, not I. Lord Voldermort is the reason your life got so messed up, once we put an end to him, you will live the rest of your days in peace."
" That is where you are wrong Headmaster, you had the resources and the power to make things different for me. You could have placed me with a loving family and had me trained properly. I could have gone through extensive physical training as well as magical training, and could have entered Hogwarts on my eleventh birthday ready and prepared as possible. Who knows what would have happened if that Harry met professor Quirrell down in that chamber, I may have ended things right then and there. Or what about the other three times I have met him before his return. No you thought it would be much better for me to be uneducated, beaten regularly, have a bad case of malnutrition , and basically unloved and unwanted. I can see you really thought things through." Harry finished angrily.
As Albus listened to Harry speak, he was feeling worse and worse to how he handled things. He was about to speak again when Harry interrupted him.
" As of now Headmaster, you no longer have any say in my life. Seeing how well you have done with the first sixteen years of my life, I have decided to take the few years I have left, into my own hands. I will still fight this war on Voldermort, but on my own terms, I will not follow your lead any longer." Harry said assuredly.
The shocked look on the Headmaster's face was priceless, it took him almost a minute to realize what Harry had just said before answering, "Harry…as much as you hate me right now…you are still underage and as such, it is my responsibility to take care of you. I have taken many liberties to make sure of your safety, if you would only follow the rules I have made, you will be fine."
"You don't seem to be understanding me Albus, I am no longer under your control, I will not be a pawn in your master chess game any longer. If I have to, I will withdrawal from Hogwarts and leave the country all together, if that will help get my point across" Said Harry with a little venom.
"Harry, you can't be serious, you are still underage, and in order for you to take the kind of control you are wanting, you would have to fill out many waivers and have my signature on them, and I am telling you right now, that I will not grant you that permission to do so. Really, to leave Hogwarts, what about all your friends? You know you would miss them terribly." Albus finished with a slight smile for he thought he had finally beaten Harry.
At hearing the mention of his friends, Harry had to smack himself, for he almost forgot to ask the one question that was eating him up ever since he visited Diagon Alley, his friends. As Harry looked at the smiling Headmaster, he let a little smile of his own slip before he spoke, " Yes, you are right sir, I would have to get your permission to grant me emancipation, unless there were other ways to get that without Ministry permission." said Harry as he put his fingers to his chin to fake that he was thinking of these ways he could do this, when in actuality, he was already emancipated. Albus just looked at Harry as his smile slowly morphed into a frown before Harry spoke again. " Speaking of friends, Have you ever manipulated or casted any spells on any of them in the past? Please list them for me and tell me everything you have done in regards to my friends." Harry finished with a little smile.
Albus started to panic, this was his biggest fear other then letting the second prophecy out, If Harry discovered some of the things he had done in regards to his friends…. Suddenly Albus started to shake out of control, then he let out a monster scream, so loud that Harry had to cast a bubble charm over his head to save his hearing. Albus began to speak very quietly, murmuring really, before he passed out cold.
Harry did a diagnostic charm to see if the Headmaster was okay, all of his vitals were okay, although highly stressed, he would be fine in a day or two. Kicking himself for wasting so much time, he never got an answer in regards to his friends, but he wasn't worried, he would get those answers, one way or the other. Smiling, Harry called out for Dobby, a millisecond later, Dobby was standing before him.
" How did everything go Harry, the girls were very upset that you two left, they wanted to hear and see the interrogation but I told them we had other plans." said Dobby with a little smile.
Harry laughed, this new Dobby was the coolest, where would he be without Dobby. Smiling at his favorite elf, Harry said, "Dobby, it was an excellent idea to do the interrogation in the shrieking shack, anywhere else, someone would have reported hearing those screams." Dobby just beamed back at Harry as he continued. " Dobby, please take the Headmaster back to the castle, remember the plan, you know where to drop him then come right back, okay?" Harry asked and Dobby nodded as he snapped his fingers and Albus magically untied himself then floated over to where Dobby was standing. Dobby reached out as the Headmaster flew towards him, the second before it looked like there was going to be a major collision, they both disappeared leaving Harry slightly shaken before he busted up laughing as he thought, "I love this new Dobby!"
Harry spent the next few minutes cleaning the shack and removing all signs of anyone's presence all together. Waiting for Dobby to return, Harry pulled out the note pad that he stashed before cleaning the room, as he turned towards the back, he thought to himself out loud, "The Headmaster defiantly passed out before spilling everything needed to answer that question, I know it, but he did mumble something." Not wanting to get his hopes up to much, he flipped and flipped until he reached blank pages. Backing up a few, he reached the last page that had writing on it, skimming through the last few paragraphs he found the question, then he read something interesting. Apparently, Albus said a few words in that agonizing scream that almost deafened Harry. Too….. Close…… to…… the….. Prophecy……
Thinking this was very curious, what prophecy was Albus referring too, was this a new prophecy or the same one that got Sirius killed. Did the Headmaster even tell me the truth, no there must be a second prophecy. Wondering which of his friends Dumbledore mentioned before he passed out, it couldn't have been more then one or maybe two, probably Ron and Hermione. Reading the last few sentences, Harry was stunned into silence. This is where Dobby found Harry when he popped back into the shack, standing aloof, holding a note pad, with a complete blank look on his face.
"Master….Harry….are you okay sir?" said Dobby nervously. Harry turned his head slowly towards Dobby as he spoke, "I have been so wrapped up in myself, I never once thought about anyone else, I mean sure, my parents, and Sirius, but that's where I stop. I never once gave a single thought about anyone else, Remus, my friends, even the Dursley's, there are so many people involved in this, and all I was thinking about was myself." said Harry as his blank expression changed into a face of determination. "Well not any more, my eyes are wide open and I am going to start helping my friends, starting with this one." finished Harry as he waved the note pad around.
Dobby reached out for the pad and Harry handed it over. Dobby read the only sentence after the long scream….Magical core suppression……enhanced time release confundus charm….Neville Longbottom. Dobby handed the pad back to Harry and he stowed it away, then he stretched out his hand towards Dobby, who instantly grabbed it and the two disappeared from the spooky and scary Shrieking Shack.