Harry found himself in Dumbledore's office, looking as it always had everything in its place repaired. The headmaster and headmistresses were snoozing in their frames, heads lolling back and forth or against the edge of their picture. His gaze made it to the window. There was a cool line of pale green along the horizon: Dawn was approaching.

The silence was killing him he wished someone would say something, but he didn't know what to say all he could think was 'It's my fault Sirius had died…It was all his fault, Sirius's death his friends what happened to his friends?'

"Ah…Harry Potter…" Phineas Nigellus gave a long yawn, stretching his arms as he surveyed Harry out of shrewd, narrow eyes.

"And what brings you here in the early hours of the morning? This office is supposed to be barred to all but the rightful headmaster. Or has Dumbledore sent you here? Oh don't tell me…" he said yawning. "Another message for my worthless great-great-grandson?"

Harry could speak he could bring himself to say it aloud. To say it would make it final, absolute, irretrievable. A few more portraits had stirred now. Terror of being interrogated made Harry stride across the room and seize the doorknob. It wouldn't turn he was stuck.

"I hope that this means," said a corpulent, red-nosed wizard who hung on the wall besides Dumbledore's desk, "that Dumbledore will soon be back with us?"

Harry didn't say anything he just stared at the immovable doorknob. "Oh good, it has been very dull without him." The wizard said before settling himself back on his throne like chair. "Dumbledore thinks every highly of you, as I am sure you know. Oh yes, holds you in great esteem."

The guilt filling the whole of Harry's chest like some monstrous, weighty parasite now writhed and squirmed. The empty fireplace burst into emerald-green flame, making Harry leap away from the door staring at the man spinning inside the grate. As Dumbledore's tall form unfolded itself from the fire. The witches and wizards woke and gave cries of welcome.

"Thank you," said Dumbledore softly. He did not look at Harry at first, but he walked over to the perch besides the door and withdrew, from and inside pocket of his robes, the tiny, ugly, featherless Fawkes, whom he placed gently on the tray of the soft ashes beneath the golden post where the full-grown Fawkes usually stood.

"Well Harry," Dumbledore said finally turning away from the baby bird, "you will be pleased to hear that none of tour fellow students are going to suffer lasting damage from the night's events."

He tried to speak, he tried to say "Good," but he couldn't. It seemed to him that Dumbledore was reminding him of the amount of damage he had caused by his actions tonight, and although Dumbledore was looking at him for once looking at him directly, and though his expression was kindly rather than accusatory, Harry could not bear to meet his eyes.

"Madam Pomfrey is patching everybody up now," said Dumbledore, "Nymphadora Tonks may need to spend a little time in St. Mungo's, but it seems that she will make a full recovery."

Harry nodded at the carpet unable to look at Dumbledore and those blue eyes that seemed to see everything, know everything.

"I know how you feel, Harry."

"No, you don't," Harry said his voice was suddenly load and strong. White hot anger leapt inside him. Dumbledore knew nothing about his feelings.

"You see Dumbledore? Never try to understand the students. They hate it. They would much rather be tragically misunderstood, wallow in self-pity, stew in their own…"

"That's enough, Phineas," Dumbledore said. Harry looked out the window over at the Quidditch pitch remembering how he had seen Sirius there.

"There is no shame in what you are feeling, Harry," Dumbledore said. "On the contrary… the fact that you can feel pain like this is your greatest strength."

"My greatest strength is it?" said Harry, his voice shaking as he stared out at the Quidditch stadium, no longer able to see it. "You haven't a clue…You don't know…"

"What don't I know?" he asked calmly.

Then Harry started to shout destroying everything thing Dumbledore owned, "Let me out!" Harry finally said.

"Not until I have had my say," Dumbledore said.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY!" Harry Roared. "I don't want to hear anything you've got to say!"

"You will," Dumbledore said sadly. "Because you are not as nearly as angry with me as you ought to be. If you are to attack me, as I know you are close to doing, I would like to have thoroughly earned it."

"What are you talking…?"

"It is my fault that Sirius died, or I should almost entirely my fault…I will not be so arrogant as to claim responsibility for whole. Sirius was a brave and clever, and energetic man, and such men are not usually content to sit at home and hiding whole they believed others to be in danger. Nevertheless, you should never have believed for an instant that there was any necessity for you to go to the Department of Mysteries tonight. If I had been open with you, Harry, as I should have been, you would have known a long time ago that Voldermort might try and lure you to the Department of Mysteries, and you would never have been tricked into going there tonight. And Sirius would not have had to come after you. That blame lies with me, and me alone."

It seemed like the world had come to an abrupt stop, "Please sit down."

"Am I to understand," said Phineas Nigellus slowly, "that my great-great-grandson, the last of the Blacks… is dead?"

"Yes, Phineas."

"I don't believe it," and with that Phineas was leaving his portrait.

From there everything had been explained to harry, why Voldermort had tried to kill him why, Dumbledore had been distant with, everything but one thing.

"Sir, who was that at the Ministry?" Harry asked thinking about the masked girl with her long blond hair and bizarre eyes.

"A last, that is something that I cannot answer," Dumbledore said with a sigh.

"How was she able to do those things without a wand and why didn't she kill Voldermort…She had the skills," Harry asked.

"I have many theories on that and why she didn't kill Voldermort there are two logical answers, one she couldn't or two she didn't want to or maybe both," Dumbledore answered.

"But why would she not want to kill him?"

"I think it is the same reason that we hadn't seen her until just then, she doesn't want people to notice her," Dumbledore said but when he saw Harry was still confused he continued to explain, "You see Harry if she were to have killed Voldermort or even continued to fight him when the Aurors should up questions would have arisen about who she was. And I believe the point of wearing that mask is to avoid that question."

"But why was she there is she wasn't there to kill Voldermort?"

"I thought that would have been obvious, she was there to protect you, and that is why she showed herself, she did it only when she saw no other option."

"Could she have been able to save Sirius?"

"It is possible, and if she wished it likely considering her great speed and skill," Dumbledore said.

"Then why didn't she? Why did she let him die?"

"Again I cannot be sure…but… it could have been there were too many people to show herself…or…she was only interested in keeping you alive, and since it wasn't you who was going to die she did not act."

"How can someone be so heartless that they just watch someone die when she could have saved him?" Harry said anger building within him once more.

"Harry do not be angry with her she did what she thought was right, but the hour is late or rather early you should get some sleep." Harry walked from out to his dorm.

A few minutes later Snape appeared, "you called me Headmaster?"

"Yes, someone has a Shinobi following Harry and ANBU if I remember correctly," Dumbledore said.

"Who do you think it is?" Snape asked coolly.

"I don't know, I don't know how long she has been fallowing him," Dumbledore said showing his age as he sat at his desk. "I have a feeling this next year will be of great importance."

"I will do my best to find out who hired the Shinobi, Headmaster," Snape said leaving the room. A few steps away from the office he stopped to speak, "you did well."

"Thank you Snape-San," a voice whispered from the shadows.

Next chapter the polls will be reduced to the top three pairings so until then let your voices be heard