There will be no bashing in this fic and Dumbledore is not a dark lord in disguise, withholding information to wreak havoc upon the wizarding world. His character may have minor differences in contrast to the canon Dumbledore.

The pairing will be Harry/Daphne/Fleur.

Disclaimer: Destiny is like fog. It drifts in the way the winds of fate blow and only a fool believes that he can determine its direction.

I do not own Harry Potter.

"How did I get the Stone out of the mirror?'

"Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to find the Stone — find it, but not use it — would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life. My brain surprises even me sometimes…Now, enough questions. I suggest you make a start on these sweets. Ah! Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit-flavored one, and since then I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them — but I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you?"

Dumbledore smiled and popped the golden-brown bean into his mouth. Then he choked and said, "Alas! Ear wax!"

But Harry was not fooled by the subtle diversion of topics and his thoughts revolved around the brilliant tactic that Dumbledore had employed. The immense curiosity that he had quelled to fit in the wizarding world and find friends of his own for the first time in his miserable life, lashed out from its dormant state with unmatched vigor.

For the second time in his life, Harry's emerald eyes were alight with unrestrained intellect and inquisitiveness. The first time being when he gazed upon the Hogwarts castle in its majestic glory. The curiosity had slowly but steadily ebbed away when he tried to fade away from the sight of the people to escape the confinements of his glory and fame. To evade the gaze of the people who expected a hero and a prodigy but found an abused and inept child in his place.

"Are you implying that Voldemort wouldn't have got the stone even if I hadn't interfered?" Harry concluded, his eyes downcast at the realization. 'Of course. The Headmaster would never leave anything to chance.'

The grimace from the bean on Dumbledore's visage abated for a moment as he tried to peer over his half-moon spectacles to glance at the bright eyes of Harry. He shifted his blue eyes to gaze out of the door, probably to make sure that there weren't any eavesdroppers and promptly conjured a chair with a flick of his wand. Before Harry could ponder over the sudden appearance of the wand, Dumbledore sat on the comfy looking chair and stared at Harry for a few moments. Harry stared back, somehow feeling that meeting the eyes of the Headmaster would help him to make his point but even with his new found determination, his fists clenched around the hospital sheets in anxiety at the sudden scrutiny from the Headmaster.

Dumbledore finally gave a tentative nod, as though deeming him worthy of his time and Harry released the breath that he didn't know he was holding.

"You underestimate", Dumbledore started but gave a sudden wince and popped out the bean from his mouth before vanishing it with another flick of his wand.

"You underestimate the value of your valor, Harry. There are not a lot of people who can face Voldemort and come out alive and express disappointment after the fact, much less, guilt. Voldemort is not hailed as the greatest dark wizard born in a century because of his evil deeds or his loyal entourage."

Dumbledore paused for a moment, his eyes distant as he reminisced about the regretful past. "Though it pains me to say, Tom Riddle or as he is known in the recent times, Voldemort, was one of the many students who roamed these Halls just like you and I did, and for a fact, he was hailed as the brightest wizard to ever grace this school in the past century."

"What!" Harry could not suppress the shout that threatened to escape his mouth. The image of a pale-skinned, slit-nosed, red-eyed boy running through the corridors in Hogwarts uniform because he was late to class disturbed him to such an extent that he had to blink a few times to get rid of it.

Dumbledore released a throaty chuckle. "Yes, my boy. Though it might come as a surprise for almost everyone in the wizarding world, it is true that the feared Dark Lord was a normal student, albeit highly charming and had an intellect that rivaled those of the professors themselves. It seems that he has altered his appearance to such an extent that he is unrecognizable to anyone but a selected few who truly knew him before his days of villainy."

"Ah, but we are diverging from the main issue", Dumbledore gently stroked his lengthy beard as he sighed. "What I want to convey is that though my tactics may appear fool proof to those around me, even I cannot argue that I am as fallible as any other mortal and Voldemort is someone who ascended to greatness by thriving on such weaknesses. I, myself, cannot say for sure that he couldn't have gotten past the web of illusions surrounding the mirror and if what I inferred is true, he almost did."

Harry did not the answer the underlying question regarding what had happened down there. Though it seemed that the Headmaster came to his own conclusions and from what he heard, it's accurate. It was a humbling thought that Voldemort could infiltrate the safest place in Britain without being found for an entire year and almost succeeded in nullifying the protections set by the Headmaster himself. Now that he thought about it, the entire scenario appeared to be a foolish action on his part as it not only placed him in danger but also the lives of his best friends. He simply voiced that. "Now that I knew who was behind it, I feel rather stupid for simply running head along into something I had no clue about."

"Bravery is the kindest word for stupidity", Dumbledore uttered with a genial smile and Harry nearly cringed in shame at the blatant ridicule. "In that sense, even I can be considered as stupid but alas, this world has a need for stupid people like us for the peace to prevail. If no one has ever told you, my boy, that you are a brave and honorable person, then let me be the first."

If Harry was feeling any less exhausted, he would have blushed like a bride on her wedding day. So Harry had to settle with a shy smile and a distinct feeling of pride, along with the thought that this topic was far too close to comfort. "Professor, do those...um, protections around the mirror come under charms work?"

It took a few agonizing moments for the Headmaster to answer. "I was hoping we could avoid that discussion", Dumbledore exhaled heavily, though he did not seem to be drowning in guilt as he did a few moments ago. "But well, I guess I can tell you enough to sate your curiosity. Consider this as an apology for not answering your previous question about the reason why Voldemort tried to kill you."

Harry tried his utmost to hide his glee at that statement and considering that Dumbledore did not comment further, it was likely that he succeeded.

"There are a few branches of magic that while cannot be considered as Dark, they do not fall under the light category too. They are far too securely anchored to the gray region that whether they are dark or light depends entirely on the person who wields them."

Dumbledore stressed the last past and Harry nodded fervently in return. If caution was what the Headmaster desired, then there was no reason for Harry to ignore the wise advice.

"They are three of such forbidden magics: Mind magics, Rituals and the most dangerous of all, the Reality distortion magics or commonly referred to as Illusion magics. Even in the modern era, Mind arts and Rituals are frequently practiced in the Pureblood families and though the extent to which they are being exploited has thankfully declined, they still do not come under the branch of Lost Magics or Ancient Magics."

"But, Reality Distortion magics? They are an obscure art lost to the sands of time but there are still a few sorcerers who practice that art and I so happened to be a protegee of two of such practitioners."

"The Flamels?" Harry guessed and Dumbledore appeared startled for a moment before he began smiling widely. "It seems that someone was hiding his intellect all along. I wish that you do not find the need to undermine yourself in your classes any further and Merlin knows, Miss Granger needs some competition."

Although Harry ducked his head out of embarrassment, he accorded the Headmaster with a slight incline of his head. "Very good, then", Dumbledore nodded to himself. "Yes. The Flamels. These arts were not out of practice due to unavailability of tomes of knowledge or the lack of practitioners but because these magics consume the wielder entirely. Mind magics may be an important tool to those who are prudent enough to stay within the boundaries, they lead to the instability of mind of those individuals who exploit them carelessly. They devour the sanity of any individual who is weak enough to fall to the temptations of abusing its power."

"The Ritual magics entice the individual through a promise of unimaginable power and not a few people lost their lives by delving too deep into its secrets. As the muggle saying goes, Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Am I right?"

Harry could only nod in return. "It's perfectly apt for elucidating the immeasurable number of dangers involving Ritual Magics."

"Illusion magics... They bring the worst of these two arts into play and any witch or wizard who is foolish enough to believe that they can command these magics to their will, they are bound to perish. You cannot control reality as you wish, Harry. The people won't even realize that they are lost until they perceive the claws of Death itself on their shoulders."

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live", Harry parroted and the apprehensive frown on the Headmaster's face vanished.

"Ah, you remember", Dumbledore beamed, with his sapphire blue eyes twinkling like Christmas lights. "But I believe that it's prudent to explain one such encounter where I witnessed the true horrors of Illusions magics. There was a wizard, Harry. Astonishingly brilliant one at that. I have already met him a year ago at a conference for Alchemists and he was one of the dignitaries who was awarded a distinguished research scholar award for his discovery of phase transition in the process of multi-layered Rune transfiguration."

Harry drew a blank as he tried to comprehend what the Headmaster had just spouted and at his scrunched up eyebrows, Dumbledore waved his hand. "Do not mind the musings of an old man, my boy. That is something even the scholars usually do not understand."

"Now where was I? Yes, brilliant individual. At that time, I had no idea that he was dabbling in the art of Reality Distortion but after a year had passed, I had seen him once again. Oblivious to the world around him and slowly dying. I still remember his answer to a question I posed, 'The illusion has become my reality. Who are you to say otherwise?'"

The hospital wing was eerily silent as the two wizards pondered over the topic of conversation. In a way, the Headmaster had merely informed him of the dangers of the magic instead of explaining what the art itself was. It was definitely a deliberate action on the Headmaster's part but after all this, Harry knew that he couldn't blame the Headmaster for not divulging the secrets of some lost art. It might be a crime for all he knew. But one thing was certain; he was inexplicably intrigued by what he heard and although he would surely exercise caution, at least for the sake of the Headmaster who believed in him, it didn't mean that he would not pursue his interests. Above all, it's only natural of him to rush after the danger.

"Now there are only seven people in the world who are proficient in all three of these forbidden arts and..."

"Voldemort is one of them", Harry finished and the peculiar thing was, it only hardened his resolve to pursue his goal.

"Yes. Now do you understand why your intervention helped in foiling the plans of the Dark Lord?" Dumbledore asked, with his eyes twinkling behind his glasses. Harry had no idea how the Headmaster's eyes were glowing like lanterns in the dark but he merely chalked it up as one of the forbidden arts. After all, it was damn unsettling.

Before Harry could answer, Madam Pomfrey rushed into the Hospital wing with that stern gaze of hers and whatever Harry was about to say, it was lost to the wind.

"You've outstayed your welcome, Professor Dumbledore", Pomfrey remarked the moment she reached his bed and Dumbledore's only answer was a hearty laugh. 'Maybe he did lose his mind and was not aware of it', Harry mused.

"I apologize, poppy. I was simply educating a student."

"Your only excuse is that you are the Headmaster of this school", Pomfrey retorted and Harry had to wonder if the Headmaster had no authority over the matron. Her tone certainly reinforced his theory.

Dumbledore turned to Harry and added a final passing remark. "Remember, Harry. Humans have a knack for choosing precisely the things that are detrimental to them. For what it's worth, in the end, your choices are what defines you."

With that puzzling remark, the Headmaster strode out of the room while whistling to a song that was probably as old as him, leaving Harry with a myriad of conflicting thoughts. Well, all in good time.

Harry was discharged from the Hospital wing much earlier than he had anticipated; probably because he was complaining all throughout the day about the injustice and Madam Pomfrey finally decided that if he was healthy enough to whine like a petulant child then he was healthy enough to get discharged.

But instead of dashing straight to his friends, he took a little detour to procure his invisibility cloak. He wanted to obtain an object that wouldn't leave his thoughts since the chat with the Headmaster and it would be extremely helpful if no one caught him in the act.

The third-floor corridor was still creepy as hell but after facing a freaking three-headed dog and the Dark Lord himself, the shadows did not frighten him. Much. The door to the room where the Cerebus had resided was blasted out of its hinges – probably the handiwork of the Headmaster – and luckily, the three headed dog was evidently out on a tour as the room was glaringly empty. The trapdoor was unscathed and Harry wisely cast a cushioning charm before jumping down the hole. His march to the final chamber was uninterrupted but he did pause at a few places to think back on their adventure. He warily entered the desolate room, his gaze drifting from one corner to other as though Voldemort might jump at him at any moment.

With the blood rushing through his veins, he crouched down on the wrecked stony floor but not before glancing back one more time out of unease. The floor was littered with broken shards of the mirror, while some parts were scorched due the spells Quirrel fired and Harry carefully held one of the glass shards in hand. Even in its broken state, the mirror was working perfectly, proved by the happy couple in the mirror who were watching him with such love that Harry had to struggle to abate the tears that were threatening to fall. Dangerous indeed.

After pocketing seven of such remarkable pieces, which he hoped that the headmaster would not notice, he rose to his feet. He had no idea of why he felt that he should procure these shards but he was sure that this mirror was definitely related to the reality distortion magics he had heard about.

Just like his invisibility cloak.

After everything he had witnessed, it was not hard to deduce that his cloak and the mirror of Erised were one of such artifacts that might help him in his pursuit of learning the forbidden magic. His cloak could render him completely invisible and sometimes, he had a nagging doubt in his mind that his cloak could accomplish much more than simply hiding him from sight.

The fact that the mirror could store a tangible and immensely powerful artifact like the sorcerer's stone within it, without any indication or clue that an object was in there, was a clear proof that it could be employed as a medium for reality distortion and the Headmaster himself had said that there were people who wasted their lives by staring at the mirror. It seemed like a roundabout way of telling that this was one of such dangerous objects he should steer clear of. Not that he heeded those words.

This castle must be hiding a lot of such artifacts within its doors, considering that it had a history spanning a millennium, and he had six more years to unravel the mysteries in this seemingly innocuous school. In his opinion, it was enough time. His friends might be able to help him but he was still indecisive of whether he should drag them into another life threatening situation. In fact, the major problem was that they wouldn't even think twice before following him. Definitely not a good idea.

After making sure that all the shards were obscured from sight and secured properly, he began his return journey to his house. He was so deeply lost in thought that he didn't even perceive the fact that one of Malfoy's lackeys was heading towards him and it was only when he heard the annoying sound of Goyle's voice did he notice him.

"What are you doin' here, Potter?" Goyle sneered and for one terrifying moment, Harry was shocked that Goyle could talk. And properly too! He would have spent more time pondering over this info if not for the growing smirk on Goyle's face.

Oh, damn. He definitely didn't want to know what was running through the brute's mind or whether he was even capable of thinking but he was sure that if Goyle was here, then Malfoy and Crabbe must be roaming around in this corridor.

One troll, he could handle. But two trolls and a snake? It would be an unfair match. How the hell did he even forget to wear his invisibility cloak? It just proved that him thinking in any situation would never end up being good. He should just leave that part to Hermione and stick to fighting trolls, wraiths or dark lords in disguise.

Clutching his wand in one hand, he dug his other hand into his pocket to clench his fingers around one of the mirrors. He only had one shot at this. Flashing the mirror with a speed that could put a racing broom to shame, he fired the one spell that Goyle would never expect. "Lumos!"

The results were astonishing. What he assumed was that the mirror would reflect the light from the spell and by using the momentary distraction, he could disappear using his invisibility cloak. But what had happened was something he would have never even dreamed of.

The light that reflected off the surface shone a bright red before hitting Goyle directly on the face. Like a water drop leaking out of a tap, Goyle landed on the floor. Apparently unconscious.

It took Harry a few seconds to even comprehend what had happened. It was obvious that this was not the effect of his awesomely cast Lumos spell but the result of the light that the mirror reflected. It was a widely known that normal mirrors reflect white light when they were hit with white light, duh, but somehow the light clearly altered into an unpredicted red.

Was it because of what he was thinking? Somewhere in his mind, he was hoping that Goyle would drop down unconscious but did the mirror actually turn his desire into reality?

Wait a minute, wasn't there a spell that could make people lose consciousness? Some stuffer..stupid...Ah, Yes, Stupefy. According to what he heard with a half ear while Hermione was ranting some of the interesting spells she found in some book, Stupefy was a red colored spell.

So, he had the knowledge about the spell but he had no idea about the execution. Did the mirror extract the information from his mind without him knowing? The scary part was that it was entirely possible. He didn't even have any idea of how his parents looked but the mirror extracted that piece of information which was hidden so deep in his subconscious, as he had last seen them when he was one year old, and presented it to him. If it could achieve that level of magic, this must be child's play.

Oh, god. He was carrying seven pieces of reality distorting mirrors in his freaking pocket! This raised the danger level to critical. He could almost hear the alarms blaring loudly in his head and the disappointed look in the Headmaster's eyes was flashing behind his irises.

OK. Time to calm down. Now that he had seen what these innocent little things could do, he definitely couldn't resist the urge to learn everything about them. So, returning them to the chamber was not an option. Come out clean and let the Headmaster deal with them? Nope. That would only lead to the Headmaster losing his trust in him. Strike out.

He could keep them to himself without anyone knowing and pretend that everything was fine? To be honest, that seemed like the only option he had.

Well, he already had one otherworldly object with him, which was the invisibility cloak. What's seven more? And it's not as though he had to make a decision now. He could experiment on them for the whole summer and then determine his course of action. Damn. He was getting frighteningly good at forming plans.

So, with one last glance at the unconscious form of Goyle, he continued his stroll to the Gryffindor common room. Only to find it empty. Where the hell did all the people vanish off to?

1. 2. 3...Dear Merlin, the end of the year feast!

Harry barged into Great Hall without a hint of subtlety; which was already full and decked in Slytherin green colors. All conversations came to an abrupt halt at the sight of him and the whispers spread like wildfire as he slowly ambled down to the Gryffindor table. They were people pointing fingers at him as though they had never seen him in their whole life and some of them were craning their necks to sneak a glance. Wait a minute, why did he feel like he had already experienced this? Ah, the sorting. It was as though nothing had changed after an entire year. Morons.

The hushed noises of people conversing about him were grating on his already frayed nerves and in that rush of unquenchable annoyance, he had a moment of epiphany. It must be noted that this supposed epiphany hit him when he was barely thinking of anything but how fucked he was and annoyance was never proclaimed to be a great feeling. So, it was highly probable that this was one of his suicidal ideas. Like strangling a professor or performing a dive on a school broom to catch a stupid remembrall. It was not as though Neville couldn't buy another one if it broke. His life on the other hand? Now that was something that couldn't be found in Diagon Alley for a flash discount sale.

But well, no one ever blamed Harry for being sane.

He abruptly altered the direction he was walking in and headed straight towards the high table. All the professors were staring at him with barely restrained curiosity, including the Headmaster. Well everyone except Professor Mcgonagall and Snape. Professor Mcgonagall was already palming her face in frustration and sadly, this time, her feeling was justified. He just wished that she wouldn't murder him with her kitty claws after what he was about to do. Snape was staring at him with the usual dosage of unconcealed disdain, with his lips curled and face blank. Even his feelings were justified, since what Harry was planning involved him.

With no emotion visible on his face, Harry stood before Snape and bowed deeply. "Thank you for accepting me into the prestigious Slytherin House, Professor Snape. I only hope that I will reach up to your expectations."

Snape choked on his pumpkin juice and amidst the startled pin drop silence behind him, he heard the surprised squeak of Malfoy and the enraged shout of Ron. Life was good.

Author's Note: A token of gratitude to Arnold Devillena for reviewing my every story. Thanks, Bro. Or are you secretly a girl? It's so confusing with all these pen names on Fanfiction.

Can you faithful readers take out a little bit of time for me and post a Review? Even a simple 'Good story' will be sufficient. Thank You.

Do not worry, my cute followers. I am not abandoning my previous stories to post a new one every day. I am definitely not a kind person but cruel is not the term people usually use to define me.