79 Chapter 79 Talks

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The withering curse, the cave leaching his magic, the draught, the inferi, the escape, the magical exhaustion, the dark mark bait, etc all of the unfortunate coincidences happening one after the other clearing shows how much the potion twisted the luck that was in play that night.

Just that curse alone would have killed most people instantly but it still took so much, so many bad things to happen one after the other to weaken the man enough that he could finally be killed. But even then Dumbledore still could have fought but chose not to, to protect Harry and to keep the elder wand out of Death Eater hands.

Harry watches Albus calmly sitting in front of him just drinking but Harry could see the weight of his revelations pressing down on Dumbledore. Even though the old wizard is trying not to show it but it is clearly there.

Even after all the mistakes that Dumbledore made Harry still can't help but feel for the Headmaster. Yes, Albus lied to him and kept things from him, but what was Dumbledore supposed to do, tell an eleven year that the strongest dark wizard this world has ever seen is hell-bent on killing him and he only survived the first time was because of his mother's sacrificial ritual.

Tell a twelve-year-old that the dairy that almost killed Ginny, that he has something similar on his forehead and there is no way to remove it without killing him. Tell a thirteen-year-old that he can't stay with his uncles because one of them turns into a mindless murderous beast once a month and the other is still very mentally unstable due to his stay in Azkaban and on the run from the ministry.

The list goes on, and even if he could just be honest with Harry, how was he supposed to tell a teenage boy who is trying his best just to survive that no matter what he does it is useless because he still needs to die anyway.

All of this still doesn't justify Dumbledore orchestrating his death but Harry can see where the old wizard was coming from. And Albus did change his mind after getting to know him and that led to his own death.

"There is no need to talk about death be it yours or mine. Though mine didn't stick but let's just move away from this morbid topic. Don't you have any questions for me?" Harry said trying to get rid of the depressing air around them.

Dumbledore chuckled "No Harry I am fine. I rather like not knowing, it makes life more mysterious and maintains a sense of wonder"

Harry smiled and nodded. Dumbledore then took out the resurrection stone from one of the many drawers in his desk and handed it back to Harry.

Harry took the stone "Why are you giving it back, Dumbledore? You have been searching for this stone for decades. One of the reasons you died last time was because of your desire for this stone and now you are just giving it back after just a few days?"

"Finally seeing my sister after so long made me realise that the stone won't give me any peace. With the stone, I am disturbing her rest and this is my burden to carry not hers. I have to go through this on my own" Albus answered with missing a beat.

Harry nodded and twirled the stone in his hand "The stone is really the most vicious of the hollows. While the cloak and the wand can still cause their own problems but at least they are still useful. The more you actually use the stone the deeper you fall into its trap. To the point that death becomes far more preferable to living. I am glad to see that you didn't fall prey to the stone as countless others have before"

Dumbledore gently shook his head "As much as I would like to accept your praise but I can't. It was all Ariaana, even in death she is still guiding me. Even with all of the knowledge and experience I have gathered in more than one and a half centuries, she is still the wise one amongst the two of us"