A/N: Here is part 3 (Chapter 12) of Rising Storms! I hope you enjoy it. Uploaded on 11/14.
Rising Storms
A Harry Potter and Percy Jackson crossover
Part 3
Chapter 13: Clash of Powers
Harry
Before Harry could respond, a new voice, powerful and imbued with a commanding presence, cut through the noise. "Enough of this charade!" The crowd parted, and to everyone's shock, Albus Dumbledore stepped forward, his eyes not twinkling with warmth as they once did, but burning with a fierce intensity.
"Dumbledore?" Harry gasped, his mind reeling. Harry's gaze hardened at Dumbledore's presence, a reminder of a past fraught with manipulation. From the moment he had set foot in Hogwarts at eleven, Dumbledore had tried to mold him, even attempting to sever the strong ties between him and his father, James. The man Harry once saw as a mentor had revealed himself to be controlling, intent on shaping Harry into a tool for his own purposes.
When Dumbledore, who was supposed to have died in Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts, stepped forward, a chorus of gasps rippled through Diagon Alley. Harry felt no sympathy stir within him for the man he now saw clearly as manipulative. Instead, his resolve steeled.
"Yes, Harry. It is I," Dumbledore declared, his voice resonant, cutting through the growing whispers of the crowd. "And I must stop this dark path you've chosen to walk."
The audacity of Dumbledore's words struck a nerve. "My path was never dark, Dumbledore. It was you who tried to guide me into the shadows," Harry countered, his voice echoing through the alley, strong and clear.
Dumbledore's eyes narrowed, and without another word, he launched a spell directly at Harry. Instinctively, Harry raised his hand, and a shield of shimmering, divine energy materialized, deflecting the spell with ease. The crowd murmured, their eyes wide with a mixture of fear and awe.
Molly, seizing the moment, shouted from the sidelines, egging Dumbledore on. "See! He's dangerous!"
Ron, standing beside his adoptive mother, chimed in with equal fervor, his face red with anger. "You can't fool us, Harry! We know what you are!"
Harry glanced at Ron, seeing not just anger but fear—fear of what Harry had become, something beyond their control or understanding. He turned back to Dumbledore, prepared for another attack.
Dumbledore, undeterred by the public display of Harry's power, prepared another spell, more potent than the last. "I cannot let you continue, Harry. For the greater good, I must bring you in."
"The greater good?" Harry retorted, feeling a surge of anger. "Whose good, Dumbledore? Yours? Because you want to be the hero, the Light Lord?"
As Dumbledore cast another spell, Harry met it with a blast of wind, his new powers as a god manifesting with raw intensity. The spell dissipated before it could reach him, and Harry advanced, his every step resonating with the newfound authority of his divine heritage.
Dumbledore hesitated, his expression betraying a flicker of doubt. Yet, he steeled himself, casting yet another spell, this time a complex binding curse aimed to immobilize Harry. But it too failed, crumbling against Harry's divine shield.
The crowd watched, silent now, their earlier murmurings replaced by a tense anticipation. It was clear to all that Dumbledore, despite supposedly being dead, was driven by a desperate need to reclaim his status, to be the hero once more.
Harry, now standing mere feet from Dumbledore, lowered his hand. "I'm not your puppet, Dumbledore. Nor am I the monster you or anyone else wishes to paint me as. I am Harry Potter, a wizard and a god, and I am neither dark nor evil."
Dumbledore looked into Harry's eyes, searching for a sign of the boy he once sought to control. Finding none, he finally lowered his wand. "Perhaps I was mistaken," he admitted, though his voice carried a weight of reluctance.
Walking back to his family, Harry was confident that he could protect his family from Dumbledore. He just had to find out how Dumbledore came back from the dead. Surely he wouldn't do the thing that he accused Harry of, right? But, that would be the only thing that made sense...
Hearing gasps, Harry whirled around to see Dumbledore shoot a spell in the direction of Daphne and Susan! He quickly cast a shield over them that absorbed the spell. Then he moved towards Dumbledore angry beyond belief. As he walked, his body stretched and grew to seven foot tall, then eight foot, before he stopped, not knowing how everyone would react. As it was, everyone was staring up at him in shock and fear.
"Don't show your true godly form," Apollo cautioned. "You don't want anything to happen to your wives."