.Chap 25: Merry Christmas?

"You ready?" Harry asked as he took Cho's hand.

It was the 2nd week of December and to both Harry and Cho's delight, there was one last Hogsmeade weekend scheduled for the year, allowing Harry and Cho to spend time in the snowy landscape of Hogsmeade, something that Harry reckoned made Hogsmeade more beautiful than usual. Though Harry and Cho were going out for a date, they would have an important meeting to attend later in the day at Three Broomstickswhere they would meet Mr Chang and discuss Cho's sponsorship with Marcus. Harry truthfully did not have to be there but as Cho's boyfriend and friends with Katie and Angelina, he wanted to be there for them as negotiating sponsorship contracts which could define their careers was nerve-wracking. Meeting Cho at the gates of Hogsmeade, both skipping breakfast at the Great Hall to eat their breakfast at Hogsmeade, Harry was once again greeted by the only girl who can effortlessly make him blush. Today, Cho was wearing a blue puffer jacket with jeans and a beanie, applying simple makeup.

"Mhm, let's get going, I'm famished," Cho said as they moved towards the carriages, opening the door for Cho, they both entered the carriage set for Hogsmeade, Cho snuggling into Harry like she always does.

"What do you want to eat?" Harry asked.

"I don't know, probably something on the lighter side," Cho shrugged.

"Didn't you say that you were famished?"

"I did, but I'm a small girl with a small stomach."

"Unless it is Chinese," Harry teased.

"Unless it is Chinese," Cho agreed.

"Excited for the sponsorship?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, it would be amazing, getting a shit ton of money while setting up myself for a career, thank you very much."

"I'm so proud of you Cho," Harry said, kissing her on her head.

"Thanks for making it possible with the Firebolt," Cho responded, looking up to give Harry a peck.

"Only helping you to reach your max potential, it would be cool to have a Quidditch star for a girlfriend as well," Harry joked.

"Still a girlfriend by then?" Cho teased.

"At the start of your career? Probably," Harry asked truthfully, "but by the middle of your career, perhaps that title will change slightly."

"Perhaps only?"

"Ok, definitely then," Harry relented, making Cho laugh.

When they finally exited the carriage, Harry stroked the Thestral pulling them as a thank you, before walking alongside Cho to a nearby French Cafe.

"Still very odd to know that they are there but not being able to see them," Cho commented as they walked.

"I hope that you will never have to see them for a long time," Harry sighed, internally understanding that that was unlikely with war on the horizon.

"How have you been dealing with it," Cho asked broadly, Harry however, understood exactly what she was talking about.

"I'm doing better," Harry answered, "I think Occlumency is helping a lot with the nightmares, without the nightmares, that night do not haunt me as much."

"That's good," Cho smiled in relief, "I'm proud of you Zhu, you have done a lot this year."

"I have, but I would not have been able to do all those without Hermione, Ron, Sirius and so many other people, especially you," Harry said softly, "Just to think that 1 year ago I was nervously asking you out to the Yule Ball is crazy to me."

"That day was incredible," Cho chuckled, "the way that you absolutely butchered the first attempt at the question."

"What can I say, asking Aphrodite to the Ball itself is a rather daunting task," Harry laughed.

"Oh I think you got the Aphrodite wrong, that was definitely Fleur, you should see the way that so many boys asked her out," Cho shuddered, "they were definitely traumatised for life after that."

"I've heard," Harry answered, "but my Aphrodite was never her, she was beautiful and all, but I reckon when Cupid shot the arrow at my heart, he was thinking about another goddess instead."

"Flatterer," Cho snorted, blushing a little.

"And you love it," Harry teased, "Come on Psyche, let's eat."

"That's sticking isn't it," Cho lamented, before being pulled into the French Cafe.

After a brilliant French breakfast, with both Harry and Cho sharing a variety of bread and both getting a lovely coffee each. Harry paid for the breakfast despite Cho's protest to split the bill, with Harry using the excuse that he was the only one earning money at the moment, making it more suitable for him to pay which Cho reluctantly agreed to. They then left the Cafe and took to the streets, hand-in-hand, enjoying each other's company on the outskirts of Hogsmeade where there were fewer students to bother them. After a short detour at a clothing shop where Cho insisted on getting Harry to try on a few new outfits to expand his wardrobe which Cho deemed unacceptable (granted, most of the clothes that Harry had were Duddley's old clothes), Harry left the shop with 10 new shirts and 10 pairs of pants to go along with it. Satisfied, Cho continued pulling Harry around Hogsmeade, taking occasional short breaks at different stores to look for gifts for Christmas, Harry, who already had his list planned out and given to Hermione to help him obtain (a favour Hermione owed him for the DA meeting), was tagging along happily, providing suggestions to Cho.

"What do you think about this potion book for Daphne?" Cho asked, picking up a book named, 'Advanced Book of Unique and Less Known Potions'

"I think that it will be brilliant, she does really love potions after all," Harry replied, having immense knowledge of Daphne's love and at times, obsession with Potions after Daphne had tutored him at Potions, helping him to improve immensely, now only behind Hermione and Daphne in Potions Classes.

"I think so too, might help her at her mastery as well," Cho thought out loud, like Harry, Hermione and Cho, Daphne was also taking up a mastery, this time for potions rather than Transfiguration or Charms with her expressing the desire to pursue potion-making as a future, who she worked for she didn't care, as long as she was brewing potions for life.

"Yeah, she would definitely love it," Harry confirmed.

"I would get this then," Cho said delightfully, placing it into her basket, "Oh yes, how are things going between her and Neville."

"Pretty well I reckon," Harry whispered, not wanting anyone to overhear him, "I think that they are going out together today, Daphne really took my advice to heart when I told her to go on the offensive in this relationship."

"Indeed, it's adorable really, her trying so hard around Neville, the poor boy doesn't know what to do with a beautiful blonde chasing after him," Cho laughed.

"Yeah, it's crazy to think that Daphne herself was scared that Neville would not like her," Harry admitted.

"What did you say to convince her otherwise?" Cho asked curiously.

"I convinced her that she was amazing herself and the reason that Neville had not shown any interest in her before that was because he thought he was way out of her league."

"Honestly, he kinda is," Cho shrugged, "nothing against him, but Daphne is really a different league, if I did not see how nervous you were when you first asked me out to the Yule Ball, I would probably be afraid that you would fall for her during your Prefect patrols."

"Really?"

"Mhm, she is a 10 in terms of looks after all and is pretty fun to be around."

"She is cool and all but she would never compare to Psyche herself," Harry teased, "you should ask her the number of times I told her that she was amazing but you are just better."

"There is no way you actually say that to her face."

"I have, a few times actually," Harry admitted.

"And how did she respond?"

"She called me a simp."

"She's not wrong you know?" Cho said, suppressing a laugh.

"Yeah I know," Harry answered with a playful smile, making Cho burst into laughter.

"Come on you simp, let's go and sign me a contract," Cho said, grabbing Harry's hand and walking towards Three Broomsticks with him.

After greeting Madam Rosmerta and being led to the private room, Harry and Cho entered the room to be greeted by Marcus and 2 other Nimbus employees, to both Harry and Cho's delight, Mr Chang was there as well.

"PA!" Cho exclaimed, running towards him to embrace her father with a hug. After a few exchanges in Chinese, something that Harry understood bits and pieces of with his limited Mandarin, Mr Chang turned to greet him.

"Afternoon Harry," he said warmly.

"Afternoon Mr Chang, great to see you again."

"Likewise, I've heard a lot about your antics in school recently," he said, raising his eyebrows a little.

"Nothing new I guess, I can never have a boring year of school after all," Harry shrugged, making Mr Chang laugh.

"At least you do not have a Dragon to fight this time round."

"And no Ball to ask a brilliant daughter out to," Harry joked.

"Indeed, I must imagine that asking her out was scarier than facing the Hungarian Horntail."

"Oh very much indeed, I would rather face the Horntail 3 times than ask her out to the Ball again," Harry replied.

"无聊," Cho muttered in Mandarin, resulting in Harry and Mr Chang roaring with laughter.

After waiting for a few more minutes, Katie and Angelina finally arrived with their parents by their side as well, to Harry's amusement, Fred came in together with Angelina. When they both saw Harry's expression, they shot Harry a glare, warning him to never mention that night in front of Angelina's mother.

"Alright, everyone's here," Marcus said excitedly, let's get into the discussions, shall we? I presume that Harry has told all of you why you are here?"

There were simultaneous nods throughout the room, all of whom looked nervous but excited.

"Fantastic, but as a confirmation, you are all here to discuss contracts with Nimbus Racing Broom Company to join our Youth Development Programme," Marcus announced, "As you already know, Nimbus has begun sponsoring Hogwarts' players in hopes that it would help propel their career forward in the Professional field while benefitting Nimbus in terms of sale, at the moment, Harry is the only one on this programme but we are planning to expand this a lot more."

Marcus then passed out pieces of parchment to all 3 of the players, all of whom were reading it carefully.

"As you would see on the parchments, these are the contracts that we are offering you all, Ms Bell and Ms Chang, your contracts are the same in terms of monthly wages, while the bonuses are different, they largely amount to the same thing with the only difference being that they are catered to your positions, Ms Johnson, your contract is different as you are in your final season, we adjusted your contract to make it more focused on helping you go professional." Marcus explained, "As said in the contract, this will last till the end of the season before we decide to renew, for benefits, you would get a free Nimbus Lightning 1 and we will provide you with the upgraded version when it comes out, since this is an exclusivity contract, you would not be allowed to use any other companies' broom during games, other than that, your Hogwarts jersey will also have a Nimbus emblem and we will be allowed to use your for marketing and you would have to attend some media events here and there to promote the brand."

"Do you earn that much in your contract?" Cho asked Harry silently, showing him her contract.

"Er… I actually earn more," Harry said awkwardly, Cho was earning 800 galleons per month with the same bonuses as Harry, "the bonuses are the same but I earn 1000 galleons per month

"Merlin's beard," Cho muttered in amazement, "they are really splashing the bag on us then."

"Yeah, but the league is attracting numbers at the moment, they are going to earn back the money they spend on us regardless."

"Still though, 800 galleons per month… I can spend money freely and it won't even make much of a dent in that paycheck, especially if I get the bonuses."

"You would not be recklessly spending even though you are earning a bag now," Mr Chang said firmly, "but admittedly though, this paycheck is actually crazy, you are earning similar to what I earned when I first joined the ministry."

"But you are earning a lot more than this now aren't you?" Harry asked curiously.

"Oh yes, obviously I am," Mr Chang smiled, "As one of the highest ranking Aurors, I earn a lot more than this per month."

"Flex," Harry laughed, "wait till I join the Auror office, I would be up there with you in no time."

"I look forward to it," Mr Chang smiled earnestly.

"Anything that you want to clarify about your contract?" Marcus asked the group, all of whom happily shook their head, clearly impressed with their deal.

"Alright then it's settled, I will be the agent for all of you and provide you with information from Nimbus, I would like to say that I am very qualified for this but if you have any doubts, you can ask Harry, I have been happily working with him for quite a while now," Marcus said, pointing at Harry who chuckled.

"Marcus is very capable, you would not be disappointed," Harry said truthfully, earning him a grateful smile from Marcus.

"Alright, let's sign the contracts then," Marcus said cheerfully.

"That's it for today guys," Harry announced to the crowd, "great job from all of you today, I think we are on track to start on the Patronus when we come back after the holidays."

The crowd erupted into excited cheering as everyone started discussing how cool it would be to be able to conjure their own Patronus. Harry's eyes found Cho's in the crowd who gave a knowing smile, they both were the only ones who could conjure a Coporal Patronus. Harry had spent a total of 2 weeks helping Cho master the Patronus Charm, to both of their delight, Cho could consistently conjure her slivery swan at will now without Harry having to snog her.

After dismissing them group by group, Harry was left in the Room of Requirement with Cho once again. It had become a habit of theirs, spending a few minutes of happy alone time after every lesson, allowing them to talk without anyone listening in and snog without anyone watching.

"That was an impressive session," Cho remarked, "mastering Protego Duo is rather impressive."

"Agreed, can't believe that everyone is progressing that fast, even Matilda and the newcomers have largely caught up."

"Well, when their teacher is so brilliant, that's the least they can do," Cho teased.

"Couldn't do it without amazing assistant teachers," Harry replied, pulling Cho closer to him.

"Hermione is pretty impressive," Cho said, feinting to be deep in thought, "Ron is decent as well."

"You are missing one more."

"Am I… I'm not sure who you are talking about, remind me of that person," Cho teased.

"Let's see, she is hot as fuck, she is talented and also gets really feisty for me."

"I see, should I be jealous of this girl?" Cho asked.

"Everyone should, she is brilliant," Harry replied.

"Hm, perhaps I should make my move before she steals you away," Cho replied playfully, wrapping her arms around Harry.

"She already has."

"Too bad for her then, there is a mistletoe above us right now," Cho said, looking up at the mistletoe dangling above their heads that Harry swore wasn't there a minute ago.

"You conjured it up didn't you," Harry said, eyes narrowing on her.

Cho moved her right arm away from Harry's body and showed him the wand in it, smiling playfully at him.

"A mistletoe is a mistletoe regardless," she said.

"Naughty girl," Harry said, before pulling her in for a nice and long kiss.

After over 10 minutes of pure snogging, Harry finally broke apart from her, both laying on a bed which Harry had willed the room to create. Cho's normally well-dressed look was now gone, her hair in a little of a mess and her clothes dishevelled, courtesy of Harry's hand wandering all around her body.

"You are a violent snogger," Cho commented, now lying on Harry's chest.

"Says the one who conjured the mistletoe to start it off," Harry replied, "you love it when I do that."

"Guilty as charged," Cho giggled.

"Anyways, what are you planning to do during Christmas?" Harry asked.

"I don't know, my family don't really do much, we don't celebrate Christmas like that," Cho replied.

"Really?"

"Yeah, we celebrate Chinese New Year instead,"

"When is that?"
"Oh it varies," Cho replied, "It changes every year because it follows the Lunar Calender or what we call the Chinese calendar, next year it will be on February 19."

"I see, what do you do on that day then?"

"Nothing much really, most people would visit their relatives but since our relatives are in China, we don't go visiting, we instead just spend time with the family, eat something called tuan yuan fan or in English, Reunion Dinner the night before."

"But it's during the school term no?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, so, unfortunately, I can't celebrate it with my parents, but it's fine, Ma always sends me Dim Sum for breakfast on that day and owls me my Ang Bao as well."

"Ang Bao?" Harry asked confusedly.

"Oh yes, Ang Bao means red packet in English, elders in the family would give the younger ones it and there would be some money inside," Cho explained.

"Fascinating, how else would you celebrate Chinese New Year then?"

"Well, one tradition I love doing when I was younger is to sleep as late as possible, it is said that sleeping later will bring prosperity and longevity to the parents, it's a load of bullshit but I used to use it as an excuse to sleep later as a child, I still continue the tradition these days in Hogwarts to just celebrate my culture, I would also wear red pyjamas that night and the next, red means good fortune in Chinese culture, I would also wear a red ribbon throughout the day itself, last but not least, I would set off a miny firework because it's something Chinese people traditionally do on Chinese New Year, there is a whole myth but I won't go into it."

"That's pretty damn fucking cool," Harry remarked, "the Chinese culture is honestly pretty damn crazy as a whole."

"Mhm, a shit ton of superstitions that makes no sense," Cho agreed.

"But it's pretty cool regardless, the emphasis on family is also really nice."

"Mhm, pity that I can't celebrate it with my family," Cho remarked dejectedly.

"I can celebrate it with you," Harry replied, "We can even stay up late if we happen to schedule our prefect patrols that day."

"True, you would do that?" Cho asked hopefully.

"Anything for you Cho, you are my Psyche after all," Harry replied, "but I would have to request that you ask your mom to make more Dim Sum so that I can eat with you, her cooking is amazing."

"Agreed," Cho laughed.

"We can plan the finer details after Christmas, I would assume that you are heading back to your family's house during Christmas?" Harry asked.

"Mhm, I would spend the first week there then I would come over to Grimmauld Place to spend the rest of the holidays," Cho replied.

"You don't want to spend more time with your family?"

"I do, they will visit me at Grimmauld Place, what I really want to do is to spend time with you outside of Hogwarts where we can't do so many things."

"I don't think that Mrs Weasley would allow us to freely explore our… let's say our artistic tendencies," Harry said, making Cho burst into laughter.

"She won't but whatever, I just want to spend time with you, why are you so against it?"

"I'm not," Harry hastily replied.

"Good, then shut up, I want to spend a few more minutes snogging, you down?" Cho asked, Harry did not have to answer the question as his lips once again found Cho's.

Harry's head was throbbing in pain as he left McGonagall's office. It was a rather unpleasant night for Harry as he battled against McGongall's attempts to infiltrate his head. Reaching the latter stages of his training, McGonagall decided to really push him to his limits, violently and relentlessly entering his mind, pushing his defences to its limits. To their delight, Harry was able to expel McGonagall out of his mind time after time, each time doing it faster than the last. While McGonagall was excited and satisfied with his progress, she still told him that he wasn't at the level Dumbledore wanted him yet, telling him that he was approximately required another month of training to perfect his craft and become close to a Master Occlumens. To his surprise, McGonagall said that he was essentially already a capable Occlumens, able to expel a Master Legilimens of McGonagall out of his mind. Dumbledore however, wanted Harry to be able to fight against Voldemort, a powerful Legilimen who exceeded the capabilities of a normal Master Legilimen. While Harry was delighted with his progress, he could not deny that the amount of pain the training caused to his head was starting to frustrate him. Taking a quick shower, Harry immediately went to bed, utterly exhausted.

"HARRY!" Ron exclaimed, shaking Harry awake. Harry clutched his scar which felt like it was on fire.

"Mr Weasley," Harry said, panting, "Ron, Mr Weasley, he is badly injured!"

"Harry! What are you talking about?" Ron asked worriedly.

"Ron," Hary said firmly, taking a deep breath to calm himself down, activating his Occlumency skills, "trust me, Mr Weasley is gravely injured, we need to get to Dumbledore, NOW!"

Hearing Harry's conviction, Ron nervously nodded.

"Neville went to get McGonagall already," Ron said, "you were screaming in pain, we - we did not know what to do."

"It's fine it's fine," Harry replied, praying that McGonagall would arrive soon, "but trust me, we have to get help as soon as possible."

Harry heard the rapid thudding of footsteps and soon, McGonagall appeared at the doorway.

"Harry! Are you alright?" McGonagall asked worriedly.

"Professor, Mr Weasley is gravely injured, I saw it in my dream," Harry said, "just that it isn't a dream, it's the visions you warned me about before."

McGonagall stared at him worriedly, before her expression changed into a firm one.

"Understood Harry, we are going to Dumbledore's Office, Mr Weasley, follow us as well."

They sprang into action, all 3 of them dashing towards Dumbledore's Office, hastily knocking on his door and entering the office.

"Minerve, Harry, Mr Weasley, what happened?" Dumbledore asked.

"It's Mr Weasley, he is gravely injured, I saw it in my dream, a vision," Harry answered.

"By saw it you mean?" Dumbledore asked.

"I saw it from the attacker's point of view, it was Voldemort's snake, I saw it attack Mr Weasley, I was it," Harry answered confidently despite being filled with worry and fear himself. His Occlumency training had taught him to compartmentalise his mind, at this moment, getting his message across and getting Mr Weasley to safety was his sole focus, therefore he pushed all his emotions away.

Dumbledore wasted no time and immediately sprung into action, calling 2 of his portraits to raise the alarm and find for Mr Weasley, Dumbledore then turned to his phoenix, whispering to it that they needed a warning before it disappeared in a flash of fire. He then turned to an instrument Harry did not have a clue about, talking to it before the 2 portraits returned, bringing news that Mr Weasley was found and was brought to St Mungo's Hospital, after sending McGonagall to get the other Weasleys and talking to another portrait which was apparently a Black, Dumbledore turned back to Harry and spoke.

"Harry, McGonagall told me about your Occlumency training last night, she pushed your defences to the limit and that's why you saw the vision tonight, I want you to continue practising your Occlumency, you have done well already but I need you to master it as soon as possible, do you understand?" Dumbledore asked.

"I do Professor," Harry replied before the other Weasley's entered the office. After briefing them about the situation, he brought them to the Portkey which took them away just before Umbridge entered the office.

When Harry finally exited the Portkey, he found himself standing at the entrance of Grimmauld Place, with Sirius standing in front of them.

"What happened?" Sirius asked them worriedly, leading them into the kitchen.

"Mr Weasley got attacked," Harry answered immediately, not understanding how he was still maintaining his cool, "I had a tough night of Occlumency training and it lowered my defences, in my dreams I saw a vision, I saw Mr Weasley getting attacked, by - by me, I was looking through Voldemort's snake's eyes."

The entire group stared at him in a mix of confusion and horror, not sure what to make of it.

"And Arthur is badly hurt?" Sirius asked worriedly.

"Yes," Harry replied, sinking into a chair where his emotions started to eat him alive.

He had no idea what happened, how did he see Voldemort attack, Mr Weasley, from a snake's point of view as well, how did any of this happen? He knew that he was learning Occlumency to defend himself from Voldemort, but there was no way that Voldemort had intended for him to see this, why would he? Dumbledore was hiding something from him, something that he could not know yet, or maybe ever.

Harry watched in a daze as Sirius argued with Ginny and the twins about going to St Mungo's to visit their father, with the 3 of them eventually standing down reluctantly with Sirius raising better points.

After an hour, the door suddenly opened and to Harry's surprise, Dumbledore walked in, face looking weary.

"Dumbledore!' Sirius called out, "Is Arthur… okay?"

"He is alive," Dumbledore responded, "We are not sure about how severe the wounds actually are yet, but they are able to remove the poison from his body and slow down the blood loss allowing them to replenish it faster than he loses them."

Harry could see the visible relief on everyone in the kitchen despite all of them still being worried about how serious the issue was.

"Harry, I have to talk to you, in private," Dumbledore said, "Sirius, you can come if you like as well."

Sirius immediately stood up and followed both Harry and Dumbledore into Sirius' room, closing the door, Dumbledore quickly muttered what seemed like a Silencing Charm on the room.

"I believe that you have questions for me after what happened today," Dumbledore said, staring intently at Harry who nodded.

"I shall do my best to explain it to you now, it's a sensitive topic, I do not want anyone outside of us 3 and perhaps a few of your closest friends knowing, understood?"

"Yes, Professor."

"I believe that you can infer the reason that I wanted you to learn Occlumency is to prevent something like this from happening," Dumbledore said, to which Harry nodded.

"Good, I asked Minerva to teach you Occlumency because I believe that you and Voldemort have a connection with each other, a deeper and dangerous one," Dumbledore sighed, "the vision you saw today is a result of that."

"Connection?" Sirius asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"This connection is a unique and magical one, connecting both of your souls together, allowing both of you to peek into each other's minds."

"That's why you wanted me to learn Occlumency right, to prevent him from looking into my mind?"

"And to prevent you from looking into his," Dumbledore replied.

"But why," Sirius asked, "Isn't having someone look into Voldemort's mind a benefit to our cause?"

"It might be Sirius, and it has proved to benefit us like saving Arthur's life today, but it's a dangerous one nonetheless if Voldemort finds out about this."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"If he discovers this, he could create false visions to convince you that he might be planning something, creating a diversion for his true attack or perhaps he can create a vision of him holding someone you hold dear hostage, effectively blackmailing you and bringing you somewhere where he can ambush you," Dumbledore explained, allowing Harry to fully grasp onto the connection's danger.

"If it is so dangerous, why didn't you teach me Occlumency yourself or just tell me this fact?" Harry asked.

"There are a multitude of reasons Harry," Dumbledore sighed, "Before this year, I wasn't sure about it myself, there were many clues, like your scar hurting and your ability to speak Parselmouth, but I did see too much of a danger in it until Voldemort came back last year, I then proceeded to task Minerva to teach Occlumency to you which has largely succeeded, as for why I did not want to teach you myself, I feared that weakening your mind in my presence may give Voldemort the opportunity to strike, either by attempting to possess you or trying to read my mind."

"He can possess me?" Harry asked worriedly.

"I fear that he might be able to, henceforth I need your defences to be as strong as possible so that you can prevent him from ever trying and if he does, fight him off, something that I believe you are getting closer to with your sessions with Minerva," Dumbledore replied, "Harry, I need you to continue practising as hard as possible, the sooner you can master it the better, I also want to prepare you for the war against him, to help you to learn about him and to learn magic to defeat him, however, I can only do that when you are able to defend yourself against him mentally, do you understand?"

"I do Professor, I would do my best," Harry said firmly.

"I know you would," Dumbledore smiled, "I'm going to leave for St Mungo's soon, Sirius, is it possible for you to get me some breakfast to eat, I'm rather famished."

"Sure thing Professor," Sirius said before leaving the room to prepare the breakfast.

"Harry," Dumbledore called him before they left, "I know that you are afraid about this connection with Voldemort, believe me, Harry, you are strong enough to fight him off, you are stronger than you know Harry."

"Professor, when I had the vision," Harry asked, taking a deep breath to calm himself down, "I felt hatred, I felt bloodthirsty, I wanted to kill in that moment, I - I was evil in that moment."

"No Harry, you weren't" Dumbledore responded calmly, "you are not evil, you are far from it, you are more good-hearted and noble than most people that have never walked this Earth, despite your connection with Voldemort, you are not him, you are better than him, you were only feeling his emotions in that moment and not yours."

"But what if I am turning into something like him, what if I'm becoming evil, what if everything that has happened to me, all the hatred and despair is changing me," Harry asked worriedly.

"You are not turning evil Harry, you are just someone who has suffered due to the evil of others, the fact that you are worried that you are turning evil and asking me about it tells me that you are not evil, feeling hatred and despair does not turn one evil, feeling them just makes you human," Dumbledore replied, an old and weary smile on his face.

"Thank you, Professor," Harry replied, before heading for breakfast with Dumbledore, feeling relief for once.