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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 78: The Talk
He wondered for a moment if Dumbledore was still the same man he knew, albeit some sixteen years younger. For what little he had seen of him, that appears to be the case, but now, he was going to have a chance for a proper conversation with the old Headmaster.
"Come in, Mister Potter."
James heard the Headmaster's voice from upstairs.
He felt a lot of nostalgia walking these familiar stairs. As Harry Potter, he had come to this office very often...probably many more times than any other student.
Everything looked very similar to what he remembered from his past. Even the Headmaster had not changed much.
With some quick math, he could estimate his current age. He knew that Dumbledore was 116 years old when he died because it was written on his tomb.
This happened in 1997. So now, in 1975, he should be around 94 years old. So he was still an old man.
James felt some movement near one of the shelves, and when he looked, he found the familiar phoenix standing on his perch and glancing at him with interest.
"Hello there." James greeted Fawkes. He wasn't expecting the creature to recognize him, but by the way that he was being stared at, someone could think otherwise.
The phoenix was one of the most mysterious magical creatures in existence, so who knows? Maybe they can perceive something that no one else can.
"It seems like he has taken an interest in you. That's very rare…" Dumbledore muttered. "His name is Fawkes, by the way."
"Hello, Fawkes. Nice to meet you. I am James."
The phoenix let out a happy cry.
Dumbledore observed the interaction with much interest, and James could tell what he was thinking.
A phoenix is an extremely pure being, so they usually react poorly to those who can be considered evil or those who have dark intentions.
It was a clever move by the Headmaster to always keep his phoenix at his side when meeting someone new. That way, he could use the creature as a test of character.
And James was sure that it was not a coincidence that Fawkes was here now.
"Did I pass?" he asked Dumbledore, revealing that he knew his intent.
The old wizard smiled, and a twinkle appeared in his eye. "You are a very interesting young man, Mister Potter. I kept hearing about you since the summer." He made a gesture with his hand. "Please, sit down. We have a few things to discuss."
James sat down. "So, am I expelled?"
"I have not decided that yet. There are a few things that I would like to know before that."
James decided not to point out the obvious lie. Dumbledore had already decided that he was not going to expel him, otherwise, he would have worded it differently.
The real test had been Fawkes.
'He must have picked up something that interested him from the remnants of my lab. Detection magic was one of his fortes, and he is also a Master Alchemist himself. Now he is just fishing for information.' James concluded.
"That secret room that Mister Snape and the other two Slytherin students destroyed… what were you using it for?" Dumbledore asked.
"You already know the answer to that one. A small lab to brew a few potions during my free time." James answered.
"Yes, I did know that. I just wanted to start with an easy question," Dumbledore responded. "But what I truly want to know is...why were you brewing potions in a secret room?. Surely you could do plenty of that during classes and from what I heard from Professor Slughorn, you didn't need any extra practice. He already considers you his best student. So what is the purpose behind it?."
"Why must there be a purpose? Maybe I just did it for fun." James answered.
"You were brewing a batch of Felix Felicis for fun?" Dumbledore was apparently not buying it.
"Why not? It felt like a challenge." James said. He might not be sure how much Dumbledore knew, but he couldn't exactly admit to having been selling potions and pretending to be a Potions Master. That could get him into a lot more trouble than just getting suspended or expelled from school.
" Mmm, we all have heard about your sudden awakening as a genius pioneer, Mister Potter." Dumbledore said. "I have seen many geniuses coming and going from this school. I taught many of them personally. And I understand that normal classes may seem boring for those who are… gifted. But I hope you are well aware of how dangerous what you were doing really was."
"I am, yes."
"Of course… I suppose what happened today should have made it clear. You were all very lucky to have made it out of there unscathed. That explosion was felt in the entire castle." Dumbledore pointed out.
"I feel very fortunate." James nodded.
"But it was more than just luck, wasn't it?" The twinkle returned to his eyes. " It would take a massive amount of magic to damage one of the castle walls in the way I saw today."
"If you knew what I did… no… you know. Of course you do." James wanted to roll his eyes. This man liked these mind games a bit too much. He hadn't asked a single question that he didn't already know the answer to.
"As a fellow alchemist, you should be aware… there are some ways to detect the traces of alchemic flames. They leave behind very peculiar marks."
"Knowing a bit of alchemy is not against the rules, is it?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "It is not. However… for someone that young to be able to use alchemic flames is something unheard of. I was in my fifties when I managed to control my first one. And I'll let you know that I was once considered a genius as well."
James shrugged. To be fair, he was in his sixties when he managed the same. "You think I used some nefarious methods to acquire my skills?"
"No… if you did, Fawkes would have already attacked you. And we would not be having this conversation right now." Dumbledore stated.
"Then...what now?." James said. "Are you going ask me about the magic I used? Or where did I learn it? "
Dumbledore shook his head slightly. "I am merely curious about you, Mister Potter. But this old man is not going to pry into your secrets, so you can rest at ease. I just want to make sure that you are not a danger to this school and its students… after all, every single child in here is under my protection." There was a warning in those words.
"I appreciate the vote of confidence," James said.
" Now, because you solved this situation yourself, and no one was seriously hurt...I can be more lenient with your punishement." Dumbledore said.
James nodded and waited for him to continue.
" I still need something from you. I want you to promise me that what happened today… will not happen again… ever. If you can do that, I will let you go with a warning. You won't even get detention, since the purpose of detention is to teach someone what they did wrong, and you already know that. " Dumbledore said.
"That's very generous." James meant that. This man was a bit too forgiving… this was something that would come to bite him in the ass.
"I am a very generous man. Most of the time, at least. "
James nodded. "Very well, Headmaster. You have my word that this will not happen again." He would just have to be more careful with his next lab.
"I'm glad to hear that. It would be a shame to lose someone with so much potential as yourself, Mister Potter. You could accomplish great things in the future and I would not want to put a stop to that. However...what I'm offering you now, is a one-time deal. If you ever put this school in danger again, you won't find me being so kind as I am now. Everyone deserves a second chance, and that is exactly what I am doing right now... don't squander it." The tone of the Headmaster showed how serious he was with his words.
He made it very clear to James. If he was caught with another secret lab, he would be out of the doors immediately.
James still felt lucky to have made it out relatively unscathed. However, this was going to have some consequences.
Dumbledore may have said to him that he was not going to pry into his secrets, but he knew the man better than that. From now on, he will have to act with the notion that he was going to be watched more closely.
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