Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Anything recognizable from the series belongs to J.K. Rowling; none of it is mine.
Chapter 4: The Deceit
"What's going on?" Harry asked, surprised by the throng of people looking at him. Besides Tonks, there was Lupin, Moody, Kingsley, Hestia Jones, Dumbledore, and a couple of witches and wizards Harry had never met before. Harry noticed that Dumbledore was still avoiding his eyes. Instead, he looked pointedly at Kingsley's hat.
"Tonight will be the night we expose You-Know-Who," growled Moody. He stood next to the table as his blue eye surveyed Harry intensely. Seeing Harry's baffled expression, he continued. "Listen, kid, we're about to execute a plan, and you're a vital part of it. We don't have much time, so Dumbledore will give you the full explanation afterwards. You got it?"
"Er — yeah, okay," Harry responded, more perplexed than ever. "What's the plan?"
Remus Lupin stepped forward. "Harry, Voldemort sent you a vision of Sirius being tortured in the Department of Mysteries. His motive was to manipulate you to go into the ministry to retrieve the weapon we've mentioned before. The thing is, Harry, only you are able to retrieve the weapon, and Voldemort does not expect you to find out that your vision was fake."
"How come I'm the only one —"
"Questions later!" Moody barked. "Continue, Lupin."
"Thank you, Alastor," Lupin said calmly without glancing back at Moody. "Like I said, Voldemort fully expects you to turn up at the Department of Mysteries to rescue Sirius. We suspect that he will be having quite a few Death Eaters present to ambush you and force you to pick up the weapon."
Lupin paused as if collecting his thoughts. "You must understand that the weapon is of no real importance. However, that is not what Voldemort thinks. He will do anything to get his hands on it, so while you are holding it, his Death Eaters will not dare to hurt you. Voldemort will not be at the Ministry, as he won't risk being exposed, so what we want to do is to goad Voldemort into the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic, which by that time, the Aurors will have come to a distress call we will send out. A mere glimpse of Voldemort and his followers will be enough to refute Fudge's denials. It would be enough for the Ministry to announce the start of The Second Wizarding World, where they finally acknowledge Lord Voldemort's existence."
Harry nodded, and Lupin continued once again. "Your safety, Harry, is of the utmost importance to us. While you retrieve the weapon and meet Death Eaters, the Order will be disguised and we have plans to capture, hopefully, most or all of the Death Eaters present. We cannot, however, promise that you will remain unharmed throughout the entire scheme. This is why we must ask for your permission first to involve you with this plan."
"My permission?" Harry asked, bewildered. "Does that mean letting go of this opportunity to expose Voldemort to the Ministry if I refuse?"
"Possibly," Lupin answered, a hint of a smile on his face. "But you must understand that you, above all, are our first prio —"
"Of course I'm willing to do this! Anything to make Fudge stop spewing libel every time I'm mentioned."
A small ripple of laughter went around the kitchen. Lupin, who also chuckled slightly, spoke again. "Very well Harry. We'll have to inform you of things to keep in mind about the Ministry, and how we expect this to play out. Come, sit at the table."
Harry walked over to the wooden table, slightly uncomfortable as everybody — except Dumbledore — was watching his every single move. He spotted an empty chair next to Hestia and sat down. Sirius came to sit down next to Harry.
Lupin sat down across from Harry on the table. "Very well. I believe Albus knows the plan best, as he was the one to predict Voldemort's actions and formulated a way to deceive him to show his face. Would you like to start, Albus?"
"Thank you, Remus." Dumbledore looked pointedly at Harry's shoulder. "What Voldemort wants to you to retrieve, Harry, is a prophecy — that is the weapon he has been pining for the past few months. I cannot reveal much right now, but we will talk about this later. First, when you arrive at the Ministry, you must pretend that you are still worried about Sirius so the Death Eaters will not suspect anything. To enter the Ministry — I believe that you are familiar with the red telephone box?"
Harry nodded. "Yes, sir," he said.
"The code for it is six two four four two, remember that," Tonks chimed in.
Dumbledore nodded. "Thank you Nymphadora," (Tonks held back a scowl) "Once you are in the Ministry, you are to head to the Department of Mysteries. Do you need me to remind you how to reach that certain department?"
Harry shook his head, "I know where the Department of Mysteries is, sir, it's on level nine, and I've dreamed about going there all the time, so I know the way to the room with prophecies too. What should I do after I get there?"
"Do you remember the row that you saw Sirius near?"
"Ninety-seven, sir."
"Good. You are to go to that row (while keeping up the act that you are worried for Sirius, of course) and find a certain prophecy that is labelled under your name. I am assuming the Death Eaters will arrive and coerce you to hand it over, but the Order," Dumbledore gestured to the crowd of people sitting and standing around him, "will arrive right after you do, under Invisibility Potions and apprehend the Death Eaters. Right after that happens, I want you to smash the prophecy and run away."
"But what about —"
"We'll be alright, Harry, you only need to worry for yourself," Sirius cut in. "After all, we'll all be coming," he added. His face did not betray any sign that suggested he was bitter at not being able to join the action.
"Are you also coming?" Harry felt torn; on one hand, he knew Sirius would not tolerate not being able to join in on the action. On the other hand, Harry did not want to risk Sirius getting arrested in the Ministry — especially not after just finding out he wasn't under the mercy of Voldemort.
"We need as many people as we can gather tonight, so it's an exception today. Even Dumbledore agreed that I could come. Besides, we'll all be invisible," Sirius said with anticipation glinting in his eyes.
Harry nodded, still unsettled that so many people, Sirius included, were about to risk their lives, but could not think of anything to say. He turned back to Dumbledore, who continued talking.
"You will smash the prophecy and run, but do not worry about others. The Order will also purposefully leave a few Death Eaters unStunned so they will be able to relay information of their sudden attack. I believe Voldemort will be enraged that his plan has gone to waste and that his Death Eaters will have failed him. As you can tell from the vision he just gave you, Voldemort is not free from mistakes. As shrewd as he is with plans, he will undoubtedly turn up at the Ministry to punish his Death Eaters." Dumbledore paused, then continued again. "The Death Eaters will undoubtedly pursue you when you leave, so there will be members of the Order running after you to stop them from doing any harm. I want you to run to the Atrium where I will be waiting, and hopefully, Voldemort will be there, and the Aurors and anyone coming in for work will be there as well to catch a glimpse. I believe that Voldemort is smart enough to Disapparate once people see him, thus eluding capture; nonetheless, at least people will finally open their eyes at his return."
"Alright," Harry agreed. He thought that he would be anxious over hearing Dumbledore's plan, but he knew it would not be as bad as last year when he faced Voldemort in the graveyard: this time, the Order and Dumbledore would be by his side, and Harry knew that he was in good hands.
"Harry," Dumbledore said gravely, "I must ask you this again: are you sure you want to be a part of this plan, now that you have heard the details?"
Harry sat up straight to show he did not have any qualms whatsoever. "Yes, I'm very sure."
"Very well, Harry."
"Harry," Tonks spoke again, "when you go into the room in the Department of Mysteries, make sure you do not close the door; leave it wide open. Otherwise, the whole room will start rotating, so you won't be able to tell which door leads to the prophecies."
"Which door? There are multiple? Whenever I dream of it there is only one."
"Good thing you brought that up, Tonks," interjected Lupin. "Yes, Harry, there are multiple doors. Twelve, in fact. I think Voldemort only showed one because that was his main focus. The door that you should enter is the sixth door to the entrance, so you should go right across."
"Oh, thanks," said Harry, grateful that Tonks had spoken. "So, should I leave now? And how?"
Dumbledore replied. "We will have Buckbeak fly you over to the Ministry. Hippogriffs have a great sense of direction, so he should be very trustworthy. Nymphadora will be riding along with you in case anything unexpected occurs. However, you will have to wait a while before you leave. We must fool the Death Eaters into believing that you have travelled all the way from Hogwarts; if you arrive too quickly suspicions may be raised."
A couple hours later Buckbeak, whose gashes had been healed nicely with a flick of a wand from Kingsley, landed next to a seemingly abandoned red telephone box with Harry and Tonks sitting on top of him. Buckbeak, who had been cooped up inside Grimmauld Place along with a gloomy Sirius, was more than happy to oblige when he was finally taken outside, seemingly excited at the chance to spread his wings.
Harry followed after Tonks and stepped down from Buckbeak. He stroked the hippogriff's exquisite plumage. "Thanks, Buckbeak," Harry murmured. "You know how to head home, right?"
Buckbeak chirped softly in Harry's ear, and instantly took off into the sky again, his wings leaving a strong gust in Harry's direction.
"Well," said Tonks, "I better depart. I need to go back to tell the others to come to the Ministry. We'll come in right after you, don't worry." She grinned. "Good luck, Harry."
"You too," Harry said. "Tell the others I wished them good luck as well."
"Will do. See you, Harry. Don't forget, the code's six two four four two." She turned and Disapparated with a crack.
Harry stepped into the telephone and dialled six two four four two into the receiver. He had remembered the combination from when Mr. Weasley used it before his hearing, but Tonks' reminders saved him from a moment's hesitation.
The familiar female voice that Harry recognized from months ago spoke inside the box. "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."
"Harry Potter and I'm here to save someone."
A badge slid out of the metal chute. Harry stuck his hand in the chute to grab it.
"Visitor to the Ministry, you are required to present your wand for weighing at the security desk." The telephone box began descending through the ground.
"Alright," Harry agreed. He was immensely grateful that Sirius did not need saving but still felt a twinge of annoyance at the formalities.
The telephone door opened, and Harry quickly shuffled out and past the Fountain of Magical Brethren in the Atrium. He spotted the desk of the security man who weighed wands. The desk was empty, and Harry realised with a pang in his chest that Death Eaters must have disposed of the security man.
Harry stepped into the lift area and pressed the down button to a random elevator, which appeared after a few moments. He stepped in and pressed the level nine. The elevator began descending.
Once it stopped, Harry stepped out and stared at the black door — the familiar sight that plagued his dreams for months — for a few moments and marched toward it, the door swinging open on its own accord. He stepped over the threshold and left the door open wide, as per Tonks' orders.
The room he stood in was unlit except for blue flames that flickered above multiple candles. Harry recalled in his dreams that he had always walked right across this room to reach the door, never noticing eleven other doors besides the one he pursued. Indeed, as Harry looked around, there were twelve doors in total, as Lupin had promised. Harry recalled that Lupin had told him he should enter the sixth door, and as Harry counted the doors, he realised the said door was exactly opposite where he was currently standing. He strode over and opened it, and was greeted by the familiar, blinding light. Inside the room, he noticed clocks of different types, shapes, and sizes covering every inch of the walls. The Time Room. A large bell jar that was the source of the light stood at the other side of the room. Harry immediately made his way towards it.
Harry kept moving forward and finally stepped in front of the door that he knew led to the Hall of Prophecies. For this first time since he had talked to Sirius through the mirror, his heart filled with dread; he knew he would be facing Death Eaters once he entered through the door but was slightly reassured by the fact that the Death Eaters would not dare to do anything while the prophecy was under his mercy. What made his dread abate even more was the fact that a majority of the Order members would also come after him as they had promised under Invisibility Potions.
Harry faced the door and closed his eyes for a few moments; he had to be under the guise that he believed Sirius was in danger. Harry opened his eyes again, lit his wand, and shoved the door open, feigning franticness in his footsteps as he scurried down the shelves full of orbs.
Harry also thought to make his breathing sound more shallow and sharp. He started running, hoping that the Death Eaters nearby would see his panic-stricken form. The view in front of him became a blur of white as he passed shelf after shelf laden with orbs. Harry slowed down when he reached row ninety.
"Sirius?" He shouted out. Harry finally reached row ninety-seven and stopped. "Sirius?" he called again while pretending to look around.
Under the guise of looking for his godfather, Harry discreetly scanned the shelf of orbs. As he craned his neck to check the higher shelves, he finally spotted the prophecy that Dumbledore mentioned. Tilting his head upwards, he read the yellow label under the orb:
S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D
Dark Lord
And (?) Harry Potter
This is it, Harry thought to himself. Any moment now, Death Eaters would appear and coerce him to hand the prophecy over to them.
He kept shooting furtive glances at the yellow label. Then, right behind Harry came a drawl that was Lucius Malfoy's voice.
"Excellent, Potter. Now pick up the prophecy and give it to me."
Harry whipped around, the light from his wand illuminating Malfoy's sneering face. Behind him emerged black shapes out of thin air, forming a semi-circle around Harry and Malfoy, blocking off any chances of Harry escaping.
Malfoy raised his eyebrows Harry, who showed no sign of obeying his recent order. "Well?" he said. "Did you hear me, Potter? Hand over the prophecy."
"Where's Sirius?" Harry stalled. He hoped the Order would be showing up any minute now.
Several Death Eaters behind Malfoy laughed. A female Death Eater said, "Oh, baby Potter, did you really believe what you dreamed of?"
Harry ignored this. "I'm guessing he's with Voldemort?" he said, trying to sound nonchalant.
The laughter stopped immediately. The Death Eaters made animal-like snarls at Harry.
"You dare speak his name?" the same witch replied.
"Yeah, but that's not the point," Harry continued recklessly. "Is he here tonight? Because I'm not giving out any prophecies unless I know where Sirius is. Besides, what do you need the prophecy for anyways?"
Malfoy chuckled at Harry's words. "None of your concern, Potter, and it's time you learned the difference between life and dreams," he said. "Now, unless you want to be hit with twelve wands at once, take the prophecy off the shelf and hand it over."
"You won't hit me," Harry stated, noticing warily that a few Death Eaters already began drawing the wands at him. "Who else will be retrieving the prophecy for your dear master?" Harry clenched his jaw and silently prayed for the Order to appear at any second.
Malfoy's teeth were bared now, into a sick smile. "I suppose you've forgotten, Potter," he started, lifting his wand, barely keeping glee out of his voice, "that a little pain can do wonders. Cruc —"
"STUPEFY!" At least a dozen jets of red light exploded from behind the Death Eaters, knocking most of them out. Three Death Eaters from the semi-circle who remained standing looked around wildly behind them, confused as they looked for their perpetrators, who were currently invisible. Malfoy, who was not hit by a Stunning Spell, took his eyes off Harry to look at the scene behind him. At the moment he turned his back, the familiar voice of Remus Lupin came from Malfoy's left.
"HARRY, AND DO IT NOW, AND RUN!"
Harry snatched the prophecy off the shelf at the same moment Malfoy aimed a spell toward Lupin's voice. The spell missed, as the red light that came from the wand fizzed out after hitting nothing.
Harry turned, and hurled the orb toward the ground with all his might; the prophecy shattered, and a pearly white figure of a woman that strangely reminded him of someone rose into the air. Trelawney? Harry bemusedly recognized the figure. The mouth of the woman was moving, but Harry couldn't hear her over the duelling that was currently occurring between the remaining Death Eaters and Order.
He took off and began running towards the door. Footsteps pounded quickly behind him. He turned his head around and saw Malfoy and the rest of the Death Eaters that were unStunned had escaped the fight and were now chasing him from behind, leaving their fellow unconscious Death Eaters scattered on the floor behind them. As he glanced at the scene, Harry noticed wands, held up by invisible figures, were conjuring ropes to tie up the fallen Death Eaters. The scene grew smaller as Harry ran. Harry hoped that some invisible Order members were running along with the Death Eaters as promised. The moment Harry turned his head back to face the door leading out to the Time Room, the witch who spoke earlier aimed a spell at him.
"Stupefy!"
"Protego!" Harry gasped, pointing his wand behind him without even looking back. A blue shield erupted just in time to take the hit for the Death Eater's curse.
"I know you have the prophecy, Potter! Hand it over and we'll be done with this!" yelled Malfoy from behind Harry.
"I haven't got it! I smashed it to pieces!"
"Liar!" screamed the witch. "Accio Prophecy!"
Nothing came flying to her hand. She let out a shriek of frustration.
"You won't be getting away with this, Potter!"
"Oh yeah?" Harry retorted.
The door to the Time Room was now just a few yards ahead of Harry. He glanced behind his shoulder, still running, and noticed a considerable amount of distance between him and the Death Eaters. Without thinking, he pointed his wand at a shelf of prophecies he ran past. "Reducto!"
The shelf toppled over behind Harry, obstructing the way for his pursuers. The orbs smashed as they hit the ground, leaving a cloud of sparkling dust and smoke, while a cacophony of voices from the prophecies joined in the sound of Death Eaters stumbling over the mess.
Harry did not even turn around to look at the diversion he created. He ran, faster than ever, toward the door that led to the room of clocks. A spell whizzed an inch past his ear. Harry threw up his shield again to prevent the next one from hitting him but a loud bang erupted from behind him. Almost near the door, Harry turned his head back to see a Death Eater's crumpled form lying next to the shattered orbs, while Malfoy and the remaining two Death Eaters began duelling the translucent figures of Moody, Kingsley, and a witch from the Order that Harry did not know the name of; the Invisibility Potions seemed to have started wearing off.
Harry turned his head back just as Kingsley dodged a jet of green light that came from the witch that spoke earlier. He ran and finally reached the door to the Time Room, which he flung open.
To his horror, the voice from the same witch rang a few feet behind him; she seemed to have chased after Harry.
"Impedimenta!"
"Expelliarmus!" Harry countered. In the split moment he fired the spell, he regretted not having cast the shield charm. Before he was able to chant the incantation to bring a shield, however, his Disarming Spell hit the witch's Impediment Jinx, causing both to ricochet off each other: Harry's spell hit a cabinet that shattered and fell, causing time-turners to spill out and crash to the floor, leaving a pile of glass shards and sand; the witch's spell bounced off a wall, ultimately hitting her own back.
She stopped, her mouth half opened as she was in the middle of forming another hex. It looked as though her whole body was stuck in slow-motion. She had taken her hood off during the chase. From the heavy-lidded eyes and thick, black hair, Harry recognised the witch as Bellatrix Lestrange.
Harry took off, hoping to reach the Atrium before another Death Eater caught up with him. He finally reached the circular room and dashed straight through the door he left open. He reached the elevators and frantically jammed his thumb to the button, hoping Dumbledore was waiting for him there. The elevator was too slow, in Harry's opinion, and he waited facing the circular room in case anyone came through. The grilles of the elevator finally opened, and Harry stepped inside, breathing a sigh of relief. Not even a split second later, he felt his stomach twist with worry. How is the Order doing? Have they subdued most of the Death Eaters? He then realised that Bellatrix was bound to follow him after the jinx wore off. He could have sworn he heard footsteps approaching the elevators on the floor below him as he ascended.
The elevator finally reached the Atrium and opened its grilles. The moment Harry left the elevator, he was greeted by the sound of Dumbledore's voice, however, he was not speaking to Harry.
"It was foolish to come here tonight, Tom. The Aurors are on their way."
"When they arrive, you and Potter will be dead, and I will be gone!" Lord Voldemort shrieked. "Now tell me, where is the boy?"
Voldemort had barely finished his sentence when his eyes darted to Harry, who stood frozen near the grilles.
"So the Prophecy is smashed, Potter? Yes, I know what you have done, Lucius informed me so. He and the others will pay, of course, but only after I have killed you. From what I've gathered from tonight, Dumbledore has planned this for a long time. You and the old fool have been in my way for far too long. It's time something is done about it." He pointed his wand at Harry. "AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Harry jumped out of the way as the Killing Curse hit the wall between two elevators, the exact place Harry stood a moment ago. The wall crumbled as the curse struck, leaving a deep dent. At the same time, the statue of the wizard from the fountain jumped to life and leaped in front of Harry, the arms splayed wide, blocking him from any further spells.
"Dumbledore!" screeched Voldemort furiously. He turned to him and shot a jet of green light at the wizard. "Do not interfere with my plans!"
Dumbledore retaliated and blocked the curse with a flick of his wand. "Tom," he said loudly. "You must understand that if you wish to harm Harry you must get through me first."
"You're saying that as if it is difficult to end your pathetic life!" Voldemort cackled. "And I have other ways to get to the Potter. Watch this, Dumbledore!"
Before Harry could comprehend what happened, a blinding pain hit him, starting from his scar and expanding over his body. Harry heard a scream and realised it was coming from himself.
He felt himself locked in the coils of a creature with red eyes. The creature grasped his body so tightly, he could no longer tell his own body apart from the creature. As he lay on the floor struggling in agony, he felt the creature speak through his own mouth.
"Kill me now, Dumbledore…."
If Dumbledore didn't kill Harry, this surely would. The pain he felt was intense beyond the Cruciatus Curse; he was bound to die, and Voldemort would make sure of it. He heard the sound of Bellatrix yelling, but it was very distant. His jaw moved again.
"If death is nothing, Dumbledore, kill the boy…."
Just kill me Dumbledore, Harry thought. Death is nothing compared to this…. Just let me die….
Just as the thought ran through his mind, the faces of Ron and Hermione flashed before his eyes. He then thought of Sirius. Tears prickled in his eyes as his heart was filled with regret of never being able to say goodbye….
The creature suddenly let go of Harry, and the pain vanished. Harry lay on the wood floor, trembling badly.
He suddenly heard Moody's voice, but it sounded very far away and distant. Then, a crowd of voices slowly joined in with Moody's, the jumble of voices sounding increasingly confused. Harry forced his eyes open, and through his blurry vision, he saw something silver and glowing vanish beside Dumbledore. Dumbledore began making his way to where Harry was lying. He spotted his glasses on the floor near his hands. He put them on and raised his head an inch to find Dumbledore's face inches away from his own.
"Are you all right, Harry?"
"Yes," said Harry, though his violent shaking contradicted his words. "Yeah — did Voldemort leave? What's going on — oh... they came..."
There was a large crowd gathered in the Atrium. People stepped out of fireplaces or Apparated with a crack, and joined the massive throng that was headed by Cornelius Fudge, who was hurrying over to where Voldemort was previously standing.
"You-Know-Who! He was there!" a man shouted, pointing to the place where Fudge was headed towards. "I saw him Mr. Fudge, and I think you did too! He just Disapparated! And I saw Bellatrix Lestrange too! She was standing near the elevators and Disapparated after him!"
"Yes, Williamson, I know, I saw him as well!" Fudge replied. He stopped near the vacant area where Voldemort had previously stood and stared stupidly. "Merlin's beard — he was here! And alive! In the Ministry of Magic, of all places! How — how is this possible? How did this even happen?"
"If you proceed downstairs into the Department of Mysteries, Cornelius," Dumbledore said, "you will find several escaped Death Eaters contained at the entrance of the Hall of Prophecies, bound by an Anti-Disapparition Jinx and awaiting your decision as to what to do with them."
"Dumbledore!" Fudge exclaimed, just noticing him. "You're here!"
He turned to face the Aurors behind him, and yelled, "Arrest him!"
"Cornelius, I am ready to fight your men — and win again! But just a few moments ago you saw proof, with your own eyes, that Harry Potter and I have been telling the truth for a year. Lord Voldemort has returned, and it is finally time you open your eyes and acknowledge this!"
Fudge looked dumbfounded at Dumbledore's words but grudgingly sent Aurors to see the Death Eaters at the Department of Mysteries. When Fudge bewilderedly questioned the remnants of the duel that littered the room, Dumbledore answered, "We can discuss that after I have sent Harry back to Hogwarts."
Dumbledore turned and headed towards Harry, ignoring Fudge's bewildered and ignorant shouts.
"Professor," Harry said, leaning against the wall for support, keeping his voice quiet so only Dumbledore could hear. "Did the Order get out fine?"
"Yes, Harry, I have received word from Alastor that the Order was able to leave with minimal injuries." Dumbledore picked up a detached arm from the wizard statue, which had somehow broken off during the chaos, and muttered "Portus," as he pointed his wand at it.
"Take the Portkey, Harry."
Harry took the golden arm in his hands, and despite still feeling a little shaky from his recent possession, he felt relieved — more relaxed than he had been in a year. Fudge finally acknowledged Voldemort's existence, Harry was no longer going to be called a nutcase in the Daily Prophet, and the Order members, especially Sirius, were alive and safe.
Harry felt the tug of the Portkey — a feeling he experienced a few hours before. He could barely stop himself from smiling slightly as he flew forward to wherever the Portkey dragged him.
A/N - Hey everyone! Thank you for reading! I just wanted to let you all know that I won't be publishing a chapter where Dumbledore explains everything because not much would be different. When you read the next chapter, it is going to be assumed that Dumbledore and Harry already talked as written in the books, with the exception of 1) Harry is not upset over Sirius' death and 2) Kreacher is not discovered to have contact with the Malfoy's since circumstances in this AU is different (Sirius never delegated Kreacher the task of telling Dumbledore everything). Though be sure of it, this won't be the last you hear from Kreacher!
Another note - To be a little frank, I didn't want to have this chapter because there would be no reasonable way for The Battle of the DoM to happen if Harry knew his vision was fake. However, I wanted to make sure all the ends would be tied together — for instance, Voldemort being revealed to the world or Harry being possessed causing Voldemort to realize that he can't deal with Harry's emotions, etc. — and I couldn't think of any other way for this to happen, so I decided to make Harry go through DoM nonetheless. I feel like if I were to be faithful to the characterizations, NOBODY in the Order would risk Harry just to expose Voldemort, but admittedly, I'm not creative enough to think of something else (lol). So please, forgive me for any clunkiness in this chapter.
Or you can always write a hate review — nobody ever said you can't (wink wink)
