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Chapter 15

Hogwarts was heavy with the atmosphere of fear.

Ever since the Triwizard Tournament's closing ceremony had been interrupted by the Aurors, the tension was palpable.

Of course, the Gryffindors showed it the most. It had been one of their alumni, who had been stupid enough to mouth off to the Dark Lord. And the fact that four of them had left early just added to the heavy feelings in the air.

Harry felt he could see it, the way people were walking around in groups, the way the teachers were often talking to one another in low voices.

The way everyone perused the Daily Prophet, wondering if they were going to be the next one to have their head of house come over to them.

They were terrified.

And Harry couldn't help but enjoy it.

Oh, a part of him was horrified, shouting in his mind about how the wizards killed had done nothing to him, hadn't deserved to die, had been wizards and witches, not stinking muggles.

He ignored it, reveling in seeing others in fear. He could remember all too well, how he had been treated in his second year. He could remember all too well, what he had heard Weasley saying in his first year.

'If they really think we're all so evil, then they should have to live with the consequences'

'Are you crazy?! This is evil!'

In the Slytherin Common Room, things were far more relaxed. Of course, people had a nasty habit of cutting off their conversation as soon as they saw him walk into the room. It was only to be expected, to be honest. They had no way of knowing which side he really was on.

In fact, it was good. It meant that his acting had been good enough to fool them, to fool the people who lived with him and saw the most of him.

Still, though, it rankled.

'I'll just have to suck it up. Until I can go public. And that will definitely be amazing'

Dumbledore looked older than Harry had ever seen him being before. His face was more lined, his eyes darkened by the large bags below them.

Dumbledore's phoenix, likewise, was more frantic than usual. It hadn't stopped making clicking noises since Harry had walked into the office, and it kept turning its head from one side to the other.

'I wonder if they can even be killed? Permanently, that is'

"As you have no doubt heard, Voldemort has returned"

Harry nodded.

'No shit'

Dumbledore sighed. "The time has come. I must tell you something that perhaps I should have told you four years ago"

"What's that, sir?"

"The truth. You were too young to hear it when first we met, I told myself. Your world had already been flipped upside down that day, I thought. But now, now the time has come"

'The prophecy. It's got to be'

"You asked me, did you not, why Voldemort targeted your parents, ?"

Harry nodded, heart pounding.

"I told you, that your parents opposed him. This is the truth. But it is not the full truth"

Dumbledore sighed again and rubbed his brow.

"There was a prophecy," he said softly. "A prophecy, of which half was heard by a spy, and taken to Voldemort. This prophecy spoke of a child, who would be a threat to Voldemort's reign"

"Me?" Harry said, trying to sound baffled. It still was baffling, how anyone could possibly think that he could be a danger to the Dark Lord.

Dumbledore nodded.

"The wording of the prophecy was rather explicit"

"Can I-do you know it? Can I hear it?"

Dumbledore closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies. And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not. And either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives"

"And-and that's me?"

"At the time, there was ambiguity. But Voldemort's actions proved it. He chose you"

"But-but I'm not his equal! How could-how could I-"

"He marked you" Dumbledore interrupted, "when he attempted to kill you. He bestowed upon you some of his abilities. Is it not strange, that Parseltongue does not run in either of your parents' families and yet you are a Parselmouth? Even your wand shares a core with his. He marked you as his equal, and it affected the course of your life"

'He hasn't Marked me. Not yet, at least'

"Even your childhood shared similarities with his. Both of you half-bloods, though he denies it. Both of you grew up in muggle orphanages, with no knowledge of the wizarding world"

"And I-I have to kill him?"

The tremble in Harry's voice was not feigned. The very idea of attempting to fight the Dark Lord made him want to vomit.

"Have to? You have to do nothing! Harry, you must understand this! The prophecy itself does not, cannot force you to do anything! But tell me, had I not informed you of its existence, how would you feel about Voldemort?"

'Be very, very careful'

"I would hate him. He killed my parents"

"Precisely!" Dumbledore stood up and began pacing behind his desk, his agitation clearly visible.

"The prophecy does not change anything, not for you! It only has meaning because Voldemort gives it meaning. In doing so, he has created you, the one who can be his downfall!"

"How? It says I have a power he doesn't, but I don't! I can't-I'm not-"

"Voldemort cannot love. You, Harry. You who have lived a life so similar to him on a superficial level, you can!"

"I can love. So that's how I can beat him" Harry said dubiously.

"How do you think you survived the Killing Curse as a baby?"

Harry opened his mouth. Closed it, when he realized he had nothing to say.

"Your mother sacrificed herself for you. He offered her to stand aside, but she did not. In doing so, she called upon one of the most ancient and powerful magics in existence. The magic of love, and sacrifice. This saved your life!"

"Still, he's so much more powerful, and the prophecy says he can kill me, and-"

"The prophecy only had any meaning because he prescribed meaning to it! At its heart, the prophecy tells us how events could fall out, not how they must! But he acted upon it, giving you the desire for revenge, giving you your mother's sacrificial protection! He created the one who can defeat him!"

'I've seen him angry. There's no way I could beat that'

"The prophecy does not force you to do anything! But he, who believes in it, will continue to act upon it! He will keep attempting to kill you until one of you are dead! You represent his greatest failure, his greatest setback, he cannot allow you to live. And since you are not one to blindly go to your fate, so you will fight with everything you have! Hence, neither can live while the other survives!"

"But-he still is so much stronger. How could I fight him?"

Dumbledore stopped his pacing, dropping back into his seat, breathing heavily.

"Over the summer, you will receive training. Not so much in dueling, but in fighting. In dueling, there are rules, regulations. Voldemort obeys no rules. Additionally, you will have extra security over the summer. At Hogwarts, you will be safe. At home, you may be in danger"

"What-what type of security?"

"The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is located at number 12 Grimmauld Place"

Dumbledore's words, spoken in a calm and measured tone, echoed around Harry's mind before coming to a stop. Suddenly, he could remember where Sirius' lived. Where he lived.

'The Fidelius'

"You will be living at headquarters. I know Sirius has spoken to you a bit about the Order, and our actions in the last war. Headquarters are protected as much as possible. It is under the Fidelius Charm, for which I am the secret keeper. There will always be people around. But I don't want you to leave on your own, at least for the summer"

'Fuck. I fucking knew it'

Still, he tried.

"Even-just to see my friends?"

Dumbledore shook his head regretfully.

"It is simply too dangerous. Far, far too much of a risk"

'Fuck!'

"Not even, just to see my girlfriend?"

Dumbledore closed his eyes again.

"Perhaps," He said softly, "Perhaps she can visit you? If you wish, I will inform her of the secret. Someone will have to apparate with her, but it could be arranged"

'It's something at least' he thought glumly.

"Harry. I don't believe this will come down to a climactic battle between you and Voldemort. But he believes that it will. In a way, that is all that matters"

"Sir? You said I'd get-training? Who will be teaching me?"

Dumbledore smiled.

"Primarily next year's Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Augustus Shriner. I myself will give some aid, as will Alastor Moody, and Sirius. My own teaching of you will primarily be done over the school year. In our lessons, we will not be focusing so much on fighting. More on-Voldemort's continued existence"

"What-what do you mean?"

"I will explain more, next school year. I have more research I must complete, before then"

'This could be very interesting'

"So I can do magic over the summer?"

Dumbledore's eyes sparkled as his smile reached them. "Behind the wards of Headquarters, you may"

Harry was just standing to leave when Dumbledore spoke again.

"Harry. Even though Hogwarts is safe, Hogsmeade is not. Over the next year, it would be best if you do not visit the village"

"But-you gave me that Portkey? Isn't that enough?"

Dumbledore shook his head.

"Usually, it would be. But security will be very heavily upgraded at Hogwarts, and Portkeys will not work here"

'Good to know'

"I will see you over the summer"

Harry nodded and walked out of the office.

Shortly after Harry's footsteps faded off into the distance, a man appeared in the corner of Dumbledore's office.

He strode over to the recently vacated chair, and sat down, staring at Albus.

"It is good to know," he said, "that your abilities of manipulation have not weakened"

Dumbledore winced.

"But you are a fool if you place your trust in a child. Especially one such as he"

"I meant what I told him. I do not believe the war comes down to him versus Voldemort l. The problem remains, that Voldemort does. And if so, the prophecy will be fulfilled"

"Unless you are wrong. Unless Voldemort has cast aside his views on the prophecy"

"Unlikely. He is most paranoid"

"Regardless, you should not trust the boy. He makes me itch"

"I will take that under consideration"

"You mean, you will ignore it"

Dumbledore smiled.

"Ignore? No. But you will have much time to examine him, to explore what is causing your discomfort"

"You want me to examine his scar," Gellert said flatly.

"Yes. The connection is there. The nature of it, though. That remains to be seen"

Something heavy passed in their gaze. "And if you are right?" Gellert whispered.

Dumbledore sighed. "Then I will do what I must. As I always have"

"So Dumbledore basically said that I'm gonna have to stay in that fucking house in the whole summer"

Daphne stroked the back of his head, her fingers trailing down his neck.

"The whole time?"

"That's what it sounded like. And it's under the Fidelius. He said he'd tell you the secret, so you can come to visit"

"How gracious of him," she said, voice icy.

"Yeah. The upside is, that since it's their Order's headquarters, I should be able to get lots of info"

"Always a silver lining. And what was that about training?"

Harry snorted. "A few of them are gonna train me to fight. They think the Dark Lord wants to kill me"

"Makes sense, from their point of view. Especially with that prophecy involved"

"Still. I'm not gonna say no to extra training"

"I'd hope not. Good to know Dumbledore trusts me. Enough to let me in on the Secret"

"Yeah. Also good, cause otherwise, I'd have a summer without you. Don't think I could handle that"

They kissed.

"Liar," She said as they separated. "You'd be fine. You've got your hand, haven't you?"

"It's not the same. Besides, that's not all I like you for"

"I know. You also like having someone as crazy as you around"

He laughed. "Basically"

"Whatever it is, I'll be there. Maybe just for a few days, here and there, but I'll be there"

"Thanks, babe" he buried his face in her hair, inhaling her scent. "I really don't know what I'd do without you. I'd lose it completely, I'm sure"

"Well, we'll simply have to make sure that doesn't happen, won't we?"

"Yeah," he said, voice cracking slightly on the word.

The Great Hall was decorated-slightly differently for the end of year feast.

It had all the house flags up, of course. But they were all hanging side by side, on each wall. And next to them, was a strip of long black cloth.

Behind the staff table, in addition to the Hogwarts crest, were large Beauxbatons and Durmstrang flags. Also with black cloth hanging next to them.

The feast seemed to go on for much shorter than usual before Dumbledore stood up to begin his speech. Immediately, the Hall fell deathly silent.

For a few minutes, Dumbledore simply swept his gaze around the hall, while he gripped the podium. Then he nodded.

"We should be celebrating. Not only should we celebrate a Hogwarts victory, but all of us" he nodded towards the Ravenclaw table, where the Beauxbatons students sat, and then to the Slytherin table, to the Durmstrang crowd, "all of us should be celebrating a successful run of the Triwizard Tournament, after a two hundred year gap"

He paused, focusing on the Gryffindors.

"And yet, we cannot celebrate. For a night which should have been our cause for joy, a cause for great happiness was instead turned into a cause for mourning and fear"

'For some. For some of us, it still gave a cause for joy'

"It was not by chance, that Voldemort chose that night to announce his return. It was not simply due to the lessened security at the Ministry of Magic, no. Evil does not build. Evil does not create happiness. And when evil sees happiness, it seeks to destroy it. Remember this. Some of you,"

His eyes flickered to the Slytherin table for a moment.

"Some of you may have difficult decisions to make. I ask you to remember, that evil seeks to destroy all that brings joy. I ask you to remember thirteen wizards and witches, murdered for Voldemort's demented pleasure. I ask you to remember a boy whom many of you knew, who's siblings many of you are friends with. A boy who defied Lord Voldemort with his last breath"

'An idiotic, pompous cunt'

"Percy Weasley. Our Head Boy, last year. He showed such promise, displayed kindness, thoughtfulness, and bravery. And he was murdered by Lord Voldemort, simply because he was at work when Voldemort decided to attack"

'He was killed for being stupid. He should have just shut the fuck up'

"Hogwarts will remain open. Our security will be strengthened. But we as a group, are only as secure as our weakest link. I ask you all, I beg of you. Please, come together as one. We will defeat Voldemort, as evil is always defeated. But we can only do so as one. Hogwarts will always remain open for those who require assistance, whatever their country of origin. We must remain united, or we shall all fall"

'You will fall'

He raised his goblet.

"To Percy Weasley. To the others killed alongside him. And to the happiness that was snatched away from us"

The Gryffindor table was the loudest, but everyone joined in.

The echoes shook the Hall.

'I wonder who'll raise a goblet for you?'

As the train pulled in to King's Cross station, Harry gave Daphne one last kiss.

"He told you, right?"

"For the fifth time, yes, he did"

"Sorry. Just anxious. I'm not looking forward to this summer"

Her expression softened as she stared into his eyes.

"Oh, Harry. I'm more worried about the rest of next year"

"I'll deal with it all as it comes"

And he got off the train, pulling his trunk behind him, saying goodbye to Draco and Theo and Blaise.

It would be months until he could see any of them again.

'At least I don't have to deal with Weasley. God, imagine that'

Sirius waved at him. He walked off, into the tight, bear hug.

'Whatever happens. I'll deal with it as it comes'

AND THAT'S YEAR 4 COMPLETE

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I HOPE TO START POSTING BOOK 5: HP AND THE DIRGE OF HOPE, SOME POINT THIS WEEK. SEE YOU THEN.