A/N: Hey everyone! After the crazy last chapter, I think it's time to ground things once again, so I've come back to Harry. The next chapter is going to be Gellert again, but it's going to be dark, not fun. This chapter isn't fun either. Seems like I'm establishing a pattern where chapters are either lighthearted or super angsty. I hope that I'm doing an okay job at portraying Dumbledore. I think teenage Albus and Harry Potter era Albus are two very different people, and I hope that's coming through. But I see Harry Potter era Albus as someone who still carries scars and self-hatred from a long time ago. He never got over summer 1899.

You might also notice that this chapter is again called "Harry (Again)" Just like Red Furry Demon predicted, the chapter titles are going to be repeats. I'm doing this because I want it to be easy for people to jump to the topic they like. I know some of you are reading for Albus and Gellert interactions, and I know others are reading for Albus and Harry interactions. Others are reading for everything. So yeah, you can easily find what you want, I hope. There's Snape in this chapter, but it is Dumbledore's relationship with Harry that is the focus here, not Snape, so Harry (Again) is the title.

mangoarcher1802 - Oh, I definitely think Gellert had respect for Albus. He knew how powerful Albus was. But I like to think he did not truly have respect for him until Albus turned against him. I think Gellert fled Godric's Hollow after Ariana's death because he was a bit afraid of Dumbledore at that point. It was the first time Albus was a potential threat to him. As for why Gellert lied to Voldemort - I think it was for multiple reasons. I think Gellert for one hated Voldemort and his movement; they might both be considered dark wizards, but Gellert is way different than Voldemort. I also think Gellert had come to regret the things he had done, both to the world at large and to Albus. But this took place in the 1990s after Gellert had been sitting in a cell since 1945. At the time Gellert was - er - friends with Albus, I don't think he cared about Albus at all, really. He had a lot of time to sit around and think about what he'd done.

Red Furry Demon - Nooooo, not Not Quite Utopia, noo. I am very glad you like my writing, but I doubt anyone could like NQU. The scene I was referring to was really brief and it was from Stay Alive, when Gellert meets Aberforth and tricks him into thinking he's robbing him. As for Hell Hath No Fury, LMAO, no, I had not read it, but it's hilarious. I love the way she tied canon into it, even though it's totally messed up. I think Aberforth and his goats are just a hilarious running joke that never gets old. Whether or not it's true, I don't know, but I hope it's not, and I think Albus would agree with me!

"Dumbledore keeps a distance between himself and others through humor, a certain detachment and a frivolity of manner. ... Terrible to be Dumbledore, really, by the end he must have thought it would be quite nice to check out and just hope that everything works well."

- JK Rowling, 2010

'And Dumbledore had known that Harry would not duck out, that he would keep going to the end, even though it was his end, because he had taken trouble to get to know him, hadn't he? Dumbledore knew, as Voldemort knew, that Harry would not let anyone else die for him now that he had discovered it was in his power to stop it.'

- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, pg. 693 (US)

Albus didn't really know what to expect from Harry Potter. Harry had eventually stumbled out of his office and retreated into the Gryffindor Common Room where he stayed, refusing to attend the end-of-the-year feast. Albus did not think this was a good sign.

One of the many amazing things about Harry was his resilience. Albus had admired it time and time again. He was more resilient than Albus himself ever was. Harry had endured emotional abuse from the Dursleys, yet he had bounced back and turned out to be a polite, normal boy. Harry had learned the truth about his identity and went from being a nobody to a celebrity whose parents were murdered by an evil dark wizard, yet he bounced back and let neither his fame nor his parents' murders get to his head too much. Harry became fixated with the Mirror of Erised and Albus knew he had to take the mirror away. Harry had not brooded over the loss of the mirror; he bounced back. He faced Voldemort, bounced back. He faced Tom Riddle, bounced back. He suffered from hearing his parents being murdered when he came into contact with dementors, he bounced back. He failed to reveal his godfather's innocence, but he bounced back. Fighting dragons, merpeople, and the anti-Potter movement throughout the school during the Triwizard Tournament? Bounced right back. Fought being slandered by Rita Skeeter? Bounced back. (On a side note, Albus was one of the few who immediately knew that Harry was not going around crying over his parents like Skeeter claimed. This wasn't because Harry didn't love his parents, of course, it was only because it wasn't in his nature to go around crying over the past.)

But things changed after Voldemort came back. Fifteen-year-old Harry Potter was different. He wasn't able to bounce back like he had in the past. In place of Harry's hopeful innocence had emerged an angry, reckless teenager. He wasn't the same after Voldemort's return and now his godfather, the closest thing he had ever had to a parent, was dead too.

So who was Harry now?

Albus didn't know what Harry was going to be like when he saw him next. He worried that Harry was going to be deeply troubled. Albus didn't really know how to fix it. He knew the next time he sees Harry, Harry might be angry, depressed, suicidal even... or he might encounter a Harry who had bounced back and was as strong as ever. Albus simply didn't know. He was a bit scared, to be honest. Albus had never been good at comforting anyone. He had never been very skilled at being in the emotional arena. Albus was a thinker; he belonged in the world of academics and books and newspapers. Harry was emotional and he felt each and every emotion deeply. Sure, Albus completely loved Harry to death, but he wasn't exactly good at saying that. A large part of him wanted to run to Privet Drive, beat down the Dursleys' door, and tell Harry that it wasn't his fault, that he was loved... but Albus unfortunately did no such thing. He kept his distance from everyone and he was as detached as possible. Albus knew everything personal about everybody, but nobody knew anything personal about him.

Harry was stronger than he because Harry did not - could not - shy away from emotion. That's why Harry could not master Occlumency. Albus had mastered Occlumency because he could avoid feeling. Harry couldn't. Normally, Harry dealt with matters astonishingly well... but there's only so much one person can take before he cracks. Harry's emotional nature might be his self-destruction. So yes, Albus was pretty worried about Harry right now. How much could Harry take without jumping off the deep end if he wasn't already there? What was Albus going to do if he found Harry in a complete mess? Damned if Albus knew. That night that Sirius died... Albus had told Harry "I know how you are feeling." Harry became infuriated. That wasn't really Albus' intention. He had meant to comfort Harry, but instead, Harry demolished his office. Granted, it had at least gotten Harry talking, which Albus was trying to achieve, but it did not unfold the way he had planned. Albus was not cut out to help someone, even when he desperately wanted to.

It wasn't the first time Harry had worried him. Albus actually worried about Harry a lot, but this time was different somehow. He was scared that he had hurt Harry too deeply this time.

Albus had been called to the Ministry of Magic shortly after it was announced Rufus Scrimgeour would replace Fudge as Minister. He did not exactly like the Ministry, but he was not rude enough to refuse discussion with the new Minister. He walked out of the elevator door and rounded a few corners before he found himself in front of Scrimgeour, who was sitting at the desk that had just been Fudge's a short while ago.

Scrimgeour jumped to his feet and extended his hand. "Professor Dumbledore, thank you for coming -"

"You are no longer a student, Rufus, please call me Albus," he said as he shook Scrimgeour's hand. Albus had this conversation with everyone.

"Of course," said Scrimgeour with a smile. "Please sit down."

Albus did so and Scrimgeour sat across from him. Albus waited for him to speak.

"We're very disadvantaged," Scrimgeour finally said. "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has gotten a head start of an entire year, something that you worked tirelessly to stop from happening. I do not blame you if you have little faith in the Ministry. We haven't exactly been intelligent this past year."

"It is all water under the bridge," said Albus. He was not encouraged that Scrimgeour had not called Voldemort by his name. 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named' was only a fancier way to cover up the fact the speaker was afraid to say 'Voldemort.' Nevertheless, Albus continued, "It doesn't matter what happened these past months. Certainly, the best time to begin to battle Voldemort was a year ago, but the next best time is now. The Ministry is full of capable witches and wizards. If you can unite everyone to work together, then I do not doubt the Ministry has a fighting chance."

"Yes," agreed Scrimgeour with a sigh. "I hope you are right. This actually brings me to my point in wanting to meet with you. Your Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter... I think we need to all work together, to all stand alongside each other."

"The Order is its own separate entity," Albus said calmly. "It does not become involved in the Ministry because the Ministry is prone to infiltration and corruption. However, we have always respected the Auror department. Whenever we can, we hand matters over to the Auror department after our work is done, but we do not plan together. I hope you can understand why this is. Unfortunately, I am afraid there either already is or soon will be spies in the Ministry, and if we involve the Ministry in our secret plans, we may very likely be handing information over to Voldemort inadvertently. The Order largely keeps to itself to protect itself. Also, Harry Potter is neither a part of the Order nor a part of the Ministry, and I intend for this to stay this way. The only person I intend Harry Potter to work with is me."

Scrimgeour gave him a very hard look. "I heard Potter wants to become an Auror."

"And I am sure he will be an excellent one someday once Voldemort is gone, but for now, he is not. He is still underage and he is still a student."

"Albus, I would like to meet with Potter."

"No," said Albus sharply. He gave no further explanation. Just that infuriating "no" that he gave people sometimes.

"He is a big boy, Albus," Scrimgeour said. "He should be able to decide what he wants to do and who he wants to work with."

"You aren't working with Harry," Albus said, feeling himself getting slightly impatient. "You only want to use him just as Fudge had planned. You only want him to be popping in and out of the Ministry to make it seem like the Ministry has the famous Harry Potter working with it. I will not let you use Harry in that way. He has dealt with enough. He doesn't need you using his name and fame for your selfish benefit."

"Selfish!" Scrimgeour said. "I am not being selfish - this is for the good of all wizards everywhere! Now, Potter wants to become an Auror and we could very easily arrange that in exchange for his assistance. I want to speak with him."

"Rufus, it is not happening," Albus said, his voice calm but strong. He was not exactly enthused that his first meeting with Scrimgeour was becoming an argument. "Accept this straightaway so we can move on."

Scrimgeour switched tactics. "Why was He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in the Ministry in June?"

"Why does Voldemort do anything?" said Albus offhandedly. "He was here because he thought he could gain something by doing so."

"And what was that? What did Potter have to do with any of it?"

"I'm afraid that is confidential, Rufus. The Order does not want the Ministry to know that, and since you are a part of the Ministry, I cannot tell you."

Scrimgeour fixed Albus with a glare. "All right then, was there a prophecy about Potter in the Hall of Prophecy?"

"I'm afraid that is also confidential," said Albus lightly. "Though the Hall of Prophecy, along with the entire Department of Mysteries, is, in fact, a part of the Ministry. Did you try asking the Unspeakables?"

Scrimgeour's expression was stony. "I did try asking the Unspeakables. They denied the very existence of the Hall of Prophecy. I told them I know it exists and then they got into an argument with me, telling me that no one can ever truly know if anything exists or not."

Albus laughed. He had already known the Unspeakables would say something like this because that is the kind of peculiar people they are, but it still amused him greatly to hear Scrimgeour's answer. Scrimgeour did not laugh with him.

"Well, that sounds like something the Unspeakables would say. Better luck next time, perhaps."

"Is Potter the Chosen One?" asked Scrimgeour sharply, clearly not amused.

"Is that what he's being called these days?" asked Albus, his voice still light. "I suppose the Boy Who Lived does get old after a while."

"You know what I mean, Albus. Is he the only one that has any chance of killing He-Who-Must-Not-"

"My dear man, I have no idea," Albus lied. "I do not work in the Hall of Prophecy."

Scrimgeour was getting very impatient now. "I want to speak to Potter," he said slowly, weighing his words, as if doing so would scare Albus.

"No," Albus said again.

"Don't you think Potter is old enough to make his own decisions in regards to who he wants to speak with?" Scrimgeour said, sounding quite angry now.

"Harry is a very vulnerable being," said Albus calmly. "I need to keep him away from people who would only do him harm, including you. You are not going to bribe him, lie to him, and use him. It is not happening."

"Oh I see," said Scrimgeour, his face being flushed in anger. "So you think you are protecting him, is that it?"

"Certainly," replied Albus calmly.

"Well," Scrimgeour said nastily, "it seems you haven't always done a very good job doing that, have you? Why start now?"

Everything screeched to a halt in Albus' brain. He was no longer amused. This had all been so much fun up until now. The room seemed to have dropped several degrees. Albus did not have many weaknesses and he was generally unfazed by criticism, but not this time.

"Rufus, you are not going within fifty meters of Harry Potter. I am not going to tell you again. We are moving on. If there is anything else you wish to discuss with me, now would be the time. Otherwise, I will be leaving."

"I'm the Minister of Magic!" exclaimed Scrimgeour. "Who are you to say I can't meet with Potter? Don't you know that I can look up his address and show up on his doorstep? I thought I was just being polite by asking you to introduce us, but since you are being so irrationally stubborn, I will sidestep you and go straight to the source. Where does he live? Little Whinging, isn't it? I will look it up and I will speak to him."

Albus considered Scrimgeour thoughtfully. Amazingly, Albus did not appear as angry as he had just seconds ago.

After several seconds of uncomfortable silence, Albus said, "Well, I am sorry, Rufus, but you actually will not. I suppose no one has told you about the conditions in which Harry Potter is living? I did not merely drop him off at his aunt and uncle's home and wish him good luck. His home has been given the most powerful protective enchantments known to wizardkind. You cannot simply stop at his house and ring the doorbell. Good gracious, he would be long dead by now if any witch or wizard could. Didn't you know a Death Eater went after him when he was a toddler? He survived because the enchantments worked beautifully. The Death Eater couldn't even step onto the front lawn. I think you will find you will be unable to as well."

Scrimgeour was turning redder by the second. "I am no Death Eater! What, have you made it impossible for even the Minister of Magic to pay him a visit?"

Albus continued to look thoughtful. "Well, no, I had not, but you can bet my enchantments are now going to guard him against the Minister as well. It is not exactly difficult for me to tweak."

There was a nasty silence as Scrimgeour looked like he was trying to unclench his jaw. When he finally opened his mouth, he said, "You've been reinstated as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot."

"I thank you for that, but I am afraid I will, regrettably, not have time to serve on it."

"Why?" demanded Scrimgeour.

Albus gave a little smile. "I am working on the Voldemort problem and, coincidentally, there is somewhere else I need to be tonight."

"Where is that?" asked Scrimgeour, looking curious despite his anger.

Albus stood up and Scrimgeour reluctantly did the same.

"No where you would know, Rufus," said Albus heavily. "Should you require my assistance about anything other than Harry Potter, you can always contact me. Good night, Minister."

That was the night the date of Albus' imminent death was revealed: about a year left. No more.

Albus sat with a blank piece of parchment in front of him. He had been slightly avoiding this.

He raised a quill and wrote, 'Dear Harry,'.

The colossal blank space following these words was filled with so many possible words and sentences that it was almost laughable. There was so much that he could say - should say. Albus still didn't know how Harry was going to respond. He didn't know Harry's current mental state. Albus could say I am sorry. That would be a good start. I'm sorry I couldn't save your parents. I'm sorry it's my fault Sirius is dead. I'm sorry I kept the truth from you for so long. I'm sorry I'm still continuing to keep the whole truth away from you. I'm sorry I'm going to ask you to walk to your possible death one day. I'm sorry I left you with the Dursleys. I made so many mistakes in regards to you. All these were good possible words. Or how did teenagers these days say 'I made a mistake'? Albus briefly remembered overhearing a student apologizing to a female companion shortly before summer, probably a girlfriend by the looks of it... he had said, 'I'm sorry, I fucked up, all right?' Yes, that would be a good letter to send to Harry. Dear Harry, I'm sorry, I f-ed up. Sincerely, Albus Dumbledore. That would look good on parchment. At least, it would be honest.

Albus snorted and ran his un-cursed hand over his forehead. What else could he say? Oh yes, he could say I'm sorry, but I'm actually dying now, not that I'm going to bother telling you though, because I'm too much of a coward. How awful of a conversation would that be, to tell Harry that Albus only had about a year to live? That would be an emotional conversation and Albus avoided emotion because he had to keep everyone at arm's length.

No, he couldn't say that either. Becoming serious now, Albus instead wrote:

'If it is convenient to you, I shall call at number four, Privet Drive this coming Friday at eleven P.M. to escort you to the Burrow, where you have been invited to spend the remainder of your school holidays.

If you are agreeable, I should also be glad of your assistance in a matter to which I hope to attend on the way to the Burrow. I shall explain this more fully when I see you.

Kindly send your answer by return of this owl. Hoping to see you this Friday.

I am, yours most sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore'

That was more like him, completely formal, devoid of real emotion, no sense of apology. He knew, however, that he would have to say something about Sirius when he saw Harry in person - he owed Harry that. Albus sent the letter and waited.

He knew that it was possible his letter was not going to be received well by Harry. Harry could ignore it, or set it on fire, or write something nasty in return, or he could write back an agreement. Albus had a feeling Harry was going to write back an agreement, but nothing would surprise him at this point. As he waited for Harry's reply, he ran through every possible scenario in his head, which was always a very stupid thing to do. Albus already knew that, even if Harry ignored his letter or sent back a refusal, he was going to go fetch Harry anyway. What if Harry had sunk into a deep depression and he was sleeping all day, refusing to eat? What if Harry had decided that he absolutely hated Albus Dumbledore and he was never going to talk to him again?

But the next morning, an owl arrived, bearing Harry's signature. It simply read, 'Yes, please. Harry.' Then Albus was left to ponder why Harry had sent such a short reply. It could be because he is angry. It could be because he is embarrassed by what happened in his headmaster's office at the end of the year. It could be because he simply did not know what else to say. Albus knew Harry was not very good with words.

Albus let out a sigh. All he could do was wait and see. Well, whatever Harry's condition, Albus knew he was going to let the Dursleys know he wasn't exactly happy with them. He might even have fun doing it.

"He accused me of being 'Dumbledore's man through and through.' ... I told him I was."

How did Harry manage to do this to him? No one else could do this to him. The world was full of people who were loyal to him, but none of them impacted Albus like that. Hearing that come from Harry was different than it coming from anyone else.

It was awful.

Albus had sworn to himself that he was not going to get attached to Harry - he had sworn he would always stick to keeping Harry as little more than a pawn, because he knew how Harry's story might end. Albus was to remain out of Harry's life as much as possible; the only time Albus would talk to Harry was when he absolutely had to. He was going to remain as emotionally distant as he could. He thought he had done a fairly good job at it. He hadn't even talked to Harry until Christmas his first year and he had kept it brief. He had congratulated himself; the boy had no idea that, to this day, he was walking around with enchantments placed on him by Albus Dumbledore. Then Harry had asked Albus about himself. Albus had balked, but he managed to do what he usually did when someone asked him about himself: he cracked a joke and then made Harry go back to bed without a real answer. Albus had thought he had done so well. There would be no him getting close to Harry or Harry getting close to him.

But it had already begun. Harry had asked him in June why Voldemort wanted him dead in the first place. Albus refused to tell him. He told himself he refused to tell Harry because he was only eleven, but that was a lie... he didn't tell Harry because he wanted Harry to remain happy and carefree.

Then, at the beginning of this school year, Albus had told himself that he was going to a) not become more attached and b) become increasingly detached. Albus was a dead man walking and he knew he had to see his plan through: he had to set the plan in motion for Harry to go walk to what he thinks will be his death. But of course, here was proof that Albus had failed. Just a few words from Harry and Albus is on the verge of tears, his heart filling with emotion. He had to see his plan through. How could he see his plan through?

"You have kept him alive so that he can die at the right moment?"

Severus Snape was looking at Albus with a shocked expression on his face. Despite Albus' despair, he felt a rush of bizarre satisfaction and savage pleasure. Finally, someone was seeing Albus Dumbledore for what he truly was. Severus was looking at him like he was a drowning man waiting for Albus to throw him a life jacket. Albus didn't comply. He just looked back at Severus with malice. Finally, someone else could know that Albus was a cruel, twisted, manipulative person who did evil things in the name of good. He was sending Harry Potter, a boy he claimed to love, to his death. Albus didn't bother telling Severus he thought he would survive. He didn't bother because he felt that Severus should finally see what Albus really was. What Albus was doing to Harry was only one of the many crimes he had committed over his lifetime. It was only the tip of the iceberg.

"Don't be shocked, Severus," Albus said, his voice unbearably bitter. "How many men and women have you watched die?"

"Lately, only those whom I could not save," said Severus.

Oh, Severus. You are so much of a better person than I.

"You have used me," stated Severus.

I know I have. I use everyone. You were so easy to use, Severus.

"Meaning?" said Albus coldly.

"I have spied for you and lied for you, put myself in mortal danger for you. Everything was supposed to be to keep Lily Potter's son safe. Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter -"

"But this is touching, Severus," said Albus, momentarily taken aback by Severus' admission. "Have you grown to care for the boy, after all?"

This made Severus very angry. "For him?" he shouted. He raised his wand. "Expecto Patronum!"

The doe pranced around Albus' office. He watched it fly out the window.

"After all this time?"

"Always."

Albus hated himself and now someone else could hate him too. Everything Severus had done for the past sixteen years was for love. Everything Albus had done for the past sixteen years was for the greater good, and it didn't matter to him how many people got hurt in the process. Do the ends justify the means or is Albus just as evil as Gellert Grindelwald? Grindelwald's official charges, the reason he is still sitting in a cell, is for 'crimes against humanity.' Look at all the crimes Albus had done to others. Harry. Severus. Sirius. The entire Order. Harry.

After Severus left looking stricken, Albus placed the Resurrection Stone in the golden snitch. He wrote I open at the close on it. It was demented; it was cruel. He was sending Harry to his death and his only gift could be the Stone. It didn't matter if Albus thought Harry would survive. He wasn't going to tell Harry he would probably survive because the benefits that could come with not knowing might be enormous. As far as Harry would know, he would be walking to his death with his loved ones (Albus wouldn't be one of them) beside him. Harry would do it. He would do anything to stop Voldemort. And Albus had used that. Albus had even managed to ensure he would check out before Harry would be asked to die. Albus wasn't even going to be around to see the look on Harry's face when he's told he will have to let Voldemort kill him. How perfect. Albus would die a hero in Harry's eyes and he would be spared from having to give Harry the big news himself.

That's great, Albus, he told himself spitefully. Really spectacular. Your plan, so far, has unfolded perfectly, just like you knew it would.

This is what Albus Dumbledore was, he was certain. Manipulator. His only equal was Gellert Grindelwald, one of the most evil persons to ever walk the face of the earth. Scheming. Cold. The ultimate Machiavellian figure disguised as a good person. It was about bloody time someone else knew the truth.