18 The Old Wizard

Harry has always been proud of his physical fitness. But that day he discovered just how weak he was.

'What the hell does she eat, man my wrists hurt. It didn't even hurt this much when I took up martial arts and they literally break your body.'

That's the only thing he could think of as they were climbing the revolving stairs to Dumbledore's office.

As they reached upstairs, Harry was finally able to see the legendary room of Headmasters.

There were portraits of all the previous headmasters of Hogwarts on the walls. All of them were sleeping or at least trying to sleep. Harry knew they liked to eavesdrop on any conversation that goes on inside the office while pretending to sleep whenever someone comes in.

There were many gadgets scattered across the room.

He saw the talking hat on an upper shelf. There were other shiny objects on various shelves which sparked his curiosity. As an engineer in his past life, he was very interested in these kinds of inventions. This was the reason why he wanted to learn alchemy after O.W.L.s as that along with his mastery in Transfiguration he would be able to invent crazy stuff. Many of them could be taken from his past life as this world was still in the early ages of the internet and the information explosion hasn't happened yet.

This would allow him to create many wonderful gadgets.

Then he looked at a stand to the side of the headmaster's table. Actually, more like at the creature on that stand. It was Fawkes, Dumbledore's pet Phoenix. It was a PHOENIX. He couldn't even count the number of times he had dreamt of seeing this creature after reading the first book.

It was a mythical bird and considered to be one of the four divine beasts according to the eastern cultures. They were known to be very proud creatures and would never submit to anybody. So, it really piqued Harry's interest regarding the methods Dumbledore used to tame this phoenix.

He also wanted one if that was possible. But magical creatures like Phoenix don't take humans as their host due to a human's limited lifespan. These creatures could live for centuries or even millennia. So submitting to someone or even treating them as equals when they will live for hundred to two hundred years max doesn't make any sense.

But all that was for later. Right now, he had to deal with the greatest wizard alive.

Dumbledore was sitting on his desk looking at Harry and McGonagall over his half-moon spectacles.

"So Minerva, what can I do for you and young Harry here?" asked Dumbledore in his usual, almost ethereal voice. That was the most distinctive aspect of his personality, he always seemed to know everything and most of the time he did. But today was one of those days when he didn't know everything.

"Headmaster, we have a situation here. I ..."

"Why don't we let Harry tell us? I believe it is somehow related to him. Am I right Harry?" interrupted Dumbledore before McGonagall could begin her story.

'Stop trying to act so cool you old fogy. Hmph, let's see if you can still maintain that smug face of your after I am done' thought Harry.

"Yes, sir. I believe it would be better to show you first and then we can play twenty questions" replied Harry trying to mimic the old wizard.

That earned him a slight twitch on McGonagall's eyes. It was very slight, almost non-existent. But Harry caught it and couldn't help but feel good about himself.

He then waved his hand and the sand timer in front of him floated up and the sand inside started to change in color while flowing backward. It became reddish-golden like the colors of Gryffindor.

As he was doing this, he kept his eyes on Dumbledore's face and activated his mind fortress with full power.

And as expected, the moment Dumbledore saw what he did, he snapped his face towards him and Harry could feel a force invading his brain. It felt like a pinprick and it took Harry every ounce of willpower he had accumulated over the years to prevent that needle from going through his 'wall'.

"You know its impolite to look inside someone's brain without permission," remarked Harry with a sly grin on his face.

Then he saw something only a few have ever had the privilege to see.

He saw 'surprise' on Dumbledore's face.

It was something that shocked even McGonagall. She never expected that the Headmaster would get caught using Legilimency.

'What is this child?' thought McGonagall and Dumbledore simultaneously.

"If you really want to know something you can just ask. Actually, Prof. McGonagall already has the answer to your questions. But I guess I will repeat everything just for this once.

So, what happened was....." Harry went on with the same story that he told McGonagall. But this time he kept things to the point. He knew Dumbledore would smell something fishy if he tried to tell stories. So, he only told what was relevant and factual without involving any of his emotions in between.

By the end of it, Dumbledore just leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes. He was most probably going over the entire conversation in his head and trying to find out loopholes. Harry knew there were places which Dumbledore could point out, but all of them were so subtle that the moment you thought about it, you would be able to get the answer yourself and then realize, it was pointless. For example, even though his aunt and uncle were so anti-magic, why did they support his activities, going so far as to inform him about the magical world?

Although it was a valid question and if you actually took the time to go and investigate, you would find something to contradict his story. But how many would actually take the time and effort to dig through ten years of a child's life?

The most important reason Harry was confident with his answer was that even though the question was important, the answer really wasn't.

Maybe somebody taught him secretly about everything he knew, or maybe he found out about it accidentally like he said, or there could be a hundred different reasons for his extraordinary capabilities. But eventually, it boiled down to an absolutely irrefutable fact that Harry was an extremely talented wizard. No matter the reason, this one fact could not be violated.

And Harry knew that Dumbledore would reach the same conclusion. How he learned magic was not that important as compared to what he planned to do with it. This was the question that truly mattered. Dumbledore didn't disappoint his expectations either.

"So, Harry, I presume there is a reason you are sitting here in my office telling me all this. You could have easily hidden everything with your capabilities. So why did you reveal them? What are your plans?" asked Dumbledore in a serious tone.

Harry could feel a palpable magic pressure in the air. It was at a level that was beyond his wildest imaginations. If Voldemort was anywhere near this level, Harry was dead meat. It would take him at least four to five years to be able to fight against this mana pressure. But even then he would not be able to defeat him, let alone kill him. This just proves that Harry got incredibly lucky in the story for everything to play out the way it did. If a single thing had gone astray, the ending would have been completely different. Now, in reality, things had already deviated from the normal path so Harry was willing to bet his life on the fact that the ending would not be like it was shown in the movies or the books.

'I need to get Dumbledore's trust or my future would look truly bleak' thought Harry after realizing the gap between their abilities.

"Professor, I don't have any concrete plans yet. All I know is that I will be fighting an enemy who is way beyond my abilities or that of anyone around me. Everybody thinks that he is dead, but I know he is alive. I can feel it. I can feel there's a connection between us and that connection is the biggest reason for my current magical prowess.

The day Voldemort tried to kill me, he didn't just give me this scar, he also gave me a part of himself or more precisely, his magical abilities. This is why I can speak Parseltongue, use magic from a very early age, have near perfect control over my thoughts and feelings and an almost unquenchable thirst for magical knowledge.

I know it might be a bit difficult to believe and I don't expect you to take my word for it either. Which is why I want you to ask the question, the real question you have been wanting to ask but couldn't speak it out loud" said Harry looking at Dumbledore.

The old wizard looked at him for a second then said, "Fine Harry, then tell me, how can I be sure you would not become the next Voldemort?"

This was the question that was the root of every doubt. So, Harry gave the answer in the only way he knew Dumbledore would believe him, by telling the truth.

"What I am about to say might sound ridiculous, preposterous even, but I assure you I am not out of my mind and that I have given this enough thought.

Professor, my answer is this - I would rather become a muggle than become the next Voldemort."

Dumbledore seemed surprised again. For a wizard, there was nothing worse than losing his ability to use magic. So what Harry said wasn't something any wizard would say casually. But he now became even more curious about the boy.

"But why not? I mean don't get me wrong. I don't wish for another Voldemort but I can understand the motivation behind wanting to be one. So much power, and the freedom to use it in any way you want. Isn't this what any wizard dreams of? Even I am tempted sometimes.

So please tell me, Harry, why is it that you would rather spend your life as a useless muggle but not get what every wizard out there secretly desires.

Why do you not want to become the next Voldemort?"