Dumbledore and Harry Chat
When everything was decided, Dumbledore excused the champions, as well as the others. Harry, on the other hand, did not budge. Dumbledore motioned for him to leave once again. Harry shook his head.
"Professor, I would like a word with you." Harry told him. Dumbledore looked confused.
"Harry, I'm sure whatever it is can at least wait until morning. You had a stressful night. Get some rest." Dumbledore ordered. Harry shook his head again.
"No, Professor. I need to talk to you tonight." Harry demanded. Dumbledore sighed.
"Of course. Come to my office, Harry." Dumbledore motioned for Harry to go in front of him, and the boy did so. They walked in silence all the way to Dumbledore's office, though the headmaster had tried to strike up a conversation a few times. Harry had just ignored him. He was already thinking how this conversation had to go in his head.
Once they arrived at their destination, Dumbledore took a seat behind his desk. He motioned for Harry to take a seat in front of him. Harry sat down, trying to keep his gaze with the headmaster. The silence in the room was deafening.
"Why?" Harry spat. Dumbledore was taken aback. He shook his head.
"Why what, Harry?" The older man questioned. Harry sneered.
"Why me? Why my life? You have so many other people's lives you could be ruining. Why did you have to choose mine?" Harry inquired, almost pleadingly. Dumbledore sighed.
"Harry, what makes you think I am trying to ruin your life?" Dumbledore asked him, a strange look overtaking his face. It seemed like he was holding back triumph, or fear, or a mixture of the two. He looked like he was watching as his plans almost came to fruition, but were about to be altered ever so slightly. Harry wondered what was behind the look.
"I lived my life abused. I know you knew about it. I know Arabella Figg is your spy. I know you planned my entire first year around the Philosopher's Stone so that I would go after it. You knew Quirrell hid Voldemort, but you wanted me to face him, didn't you? It seems like my entire life has become one big deathtrap, Professor. I'm sick of it. Why didn't you defend me tonight? Why am I still signed up for a tournament that I didn't even qualify for? I don't meet the requirements necessary to even compete…" Harry ranted.
"Harry, what makes you say that?" Dumbledore interrupted.
"I'm not seventeen!" Harry shouted. He jumped from his chair and started pacing. "I'm not seventeen. I'm not old enough to sign a legally binding contract. I didn't sign the contract, someone signed it for me! Yet, here you are, forcing me to compete. I don't want to fight, Headmaster. I want one yearwhere something isn't out to maim, torture, or kill me. Is that too much to ask?" Dumbledore sighed and looked around his office, as if bored. This annoyed Harry further. "You don't even seem to care that I've been entered into a life-threatening competition! I am your student. I am your responsibility. If I die, you're the one who will have to answer to my godfather. Merlin, it's like you want me dead or something!" Harry shouted. He stopped.
No, it can't be true, Harry thought to himself. He knew Dumbledore had told Snape Harry had to die to save the wizarding world, but had he really wanted to kill Harry? Harry began to shake his head in disbelief. He began to hyperventilate and he had to sit down.
"No. No, no, no, no, no. You want me dead, don't you?" Harry interrogated. Silence rang out for a long time. "Don't you?!" Harry screamed at the man.
Dumbledore looked at Harry apathetically. He sighed and hunched his shoulders slightly. Then, he got up and looked out his office window. All Harry could do was shake his head in disbelief. His anger began to rise and he began to pant heavily.
"Why? Why didn't you kill me back then? You had the chance. You had the opportunity. I was right there! You could have dropped me! You could have put a pillow over my head and ended it! Why did you raise me to die?" Harry growled. The headmaster turned back to Harry.
"Are you quite done, Mister Potter?" Dumbledore questioned. Harry snorted.
"Breathing? Not yet." Harry retorted. He jumped out of his chair.
"Harry, I knew you were destined to die the moment I heard the prophecy. I learned not to form attachments to lost causes years ago." Dumbledore started. Harry clenched his teeth. "Yes, you will die. Whether it be by my hand or by Voldemort's is yet to be seen. I believe a lot of it has to do with what you decide. You can go out like a hero or a tragedy can occur. It really is up to you."
"All this time? Every year? All you tried to do was kill me?" Harry asked, half-hurt, half-livid. Dumbledore shrugged.
"I figured what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. You need to be strong if you want to defeat Voldemort." Dumbledore added. Harry huffed.
"I could run away, right now. I could take Sirius, Mione, Draco, even Professor Snape, and we could all run away. We could go anywhere. It doesn't take much to get lost. A little plastic surgery and my scar's gone. You would never be able to find us." Harry threatened. Dumbledore cocked his head to the side.
"You wouldn't really do that, would you Harry? You wouldn't let the good wizards and witches of England suffer at the hand of a delusional man just so that you could live a cushy life on the continent somewhere." Dumbledore replied.
"Either way, the wizarding world is screwed. You're turning out to be a not-so-hot option, as well." Harry attacked.
"Do you really think you are more valuable than all of England? All of the world?" Dumbledore continued, ignoring Harry.
"You made sure I didn't think that way. You had my uncle and aunt torture me so that I would think of myself as less than I am." Harry accused. Dumbledore lifted his hands in surrender.
"I only take credit for knowing they would not be kind to you. I did not tell them to specifically abuse you, nor did I instruct them on how to do it. I'm not a monster." Dumbledore joked. Harry shook his head.
"No, you are worse than a monster! What? Were you planning on having me attack Voldemort, dying, and then you stepping in to finish him off?" Harry queried snidely. Dumbledore considered this.
"That was the general outline, I do admit. Harry, don't you wonder how I knewVoldemort would return? Or better yet, did you ever think to ask the question how he didn't die that night?" Dumbledore wondered. Harry sighed.
"How?" He asked defeatedly. He had to admit, he was running out of steam. All of his worst fears were being realized and he did not even begin to know what to do.
"Harry, have you ever heard of a horcrux?" Dumbledore probed. Harry lied and shook his head. "It is an awful piece of magic. It is something created when a person splits his soul and places part of said soul in a container. That container keeps the soul and tethers the person to this earth. While they might not have a physical body, they are still alive. The only way to split one's soul, however, is through murder. Killing splits the soul and allows the person to create their own immortality. Usually, the person who wishes to create one only creates one. However, Tom Riddle was always exceptional and did not want to change that. He created seven, Harry. One of them, I'm almost sorry to say, is you." There was a beat of silence. Then, another. Harry waited for more explanation. He waited for Dumbledore to say he was disheartened to find out this was the case. He waited for something to happen that would restore his faith in the man that stood before him.
"I'm guessing, then, that for the person to die, the horcrux must be destroyed? So, the reason I have to die is because I have a horcrux in me?" Harry queried. Dumbledore nodded. Harry brought it back full circle. "So, the reason you allowed my name to be entered into these games and have not argued for my elimination is that I have a piece of Tom Riddle's soul inside of me and the only way for me to get it out is to die, preferably in these games so that you can get the glory of defeating Riddle? Did I get that right, sir?" Harry snapped. Dumbledore considered this.
"That is about the short and long of it, yes." Dumbledore confessed. Harry shook his head once again. This could not be happening. This was a nightmare. He would wake up at any moment and find this all to be a bad dream. Harry got up to leave. "Oh, and Harry, I would suggest you not tell your friends about this. Not that you could, now that I think about it. This plan has been under Fidelius Charm since the day after your parents died. Alastor Moody knows and Miss Figg knows. Other than that, I do believe the occupants of this room are the only ones who know what I have told you tonight." Harry felt defeated. He nodded.
"Of course, sir." Harry turned and opened the door. He turned when Dumbledore spoke one last time.
"Remember, Harry. In the end, we are doing this for the greater good of the wizarding world." Dumbledore purred. Harry nodded numbly. He walked through the door, closed it, and…ran into thin air? Harry did a double take. He felt the air in front of him and hit something. His eyes widened in understanding. He pushed the mass in front of him to move them. They all headed toward Gryffindor Tower.
As soon as the door closed, Draco and Hermione dropped the invisibility cloak.
"How much did you two hear?" Harry asked. Hermione was shaking and Draco was red.
"We followed you out of the atrium." Draco replied through gritted teeth.
"Oh," Harry muttered. Before they could say more, Dragon came prancing down. He whined at Harry and motioned for him to head up to bed. "In a little bit, Dragon. I need to talk to Mione and Draco, okay? It's kind of private. I'll talk to you about it when I can." Harry promised. Dragon whimpered, but licked Harry's hand and pranced off toward the dorms. As soon as they were sure they were alone, they once again began talking.
"I can't believe Dumbledore!" Hermione shrieked. Draco and Harry both widened their eyes in surprise. Yeah, they were mad, too, but Hermione Granger neverdisrespected a professor before, let alone the headmaster.
"Yeah, Harry. I…I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything I did to you last time. I'm sorry for anytime I was a prat this time. I'm just…sorry." Draco apologized. "You have enough on your plate." Harry sighed.
"Guys, please don't take pity on me. It's nothing we didn't know before. It's just now we can't put blinders on and pretend the problem doesn't exist." Harry explained. Hermione sighed.
"Yes, but since we have to face it, that makes it more real. Harry, everyone besides Sirius and Professor Snape is officially out to kill you." Hermione stated. Draco shot up.
"Hey! We don't want to kill him!" Draco reminded her. Hermione blushed.
"Of course we don't want to kill him. Luna doesn't, either. We three are a given." Hermione snapped. "Harry, anyone who is a part of the Order must now be seen as a potential threat. They probably don't even know that they are. But if they are following Dumbledore's orders, then they are a threat to you." Harry groaned.
"Maybe this was easier when we were oblivious." Harry moaned. Hermione patted him on the shoulder.
"Everything will be okay, Harry." She promised. He looked at her disbelievingly.
"Really? How do you suggest we get the horcrux out of my head? We've ignored this problem for three years and now it is coming to bite us back in the butt." Harry pointed out. Hermione sighed.
"We'll figure out something. I will not let you sacrifice yourself for the greater good of the wizarding world. We tried Dumbledore's way before and we know it doesn't work. Now, we will do things the Harry Potter way." Hermione decided. Draco smiled.
"I'm in. I have found that the Harry Potter way usually gets us to the same place as the Dumbledore way, but with more style and a better conscience at the end." Draco joked. Harry and Hermione smirked. Hermione grabbed Harry's hand.
"Whatever way that is, we'll take it together. You're not alone in this, Harry." Hermione promised. Then, she went in and hugged him. Harry hugged back, trying not to let the tears fall from his eyes. When Hermione finally let go, Draco punched him in the shoulder.
"We're in this together, Harry." Draco agreed. He looked over his shoulder. "We should probably head to our dorms before Dragon comes back down and herds us up there." All three agreed. They walked out of the common room the way they did all things, arm-in-arm, together.