Chapter 42

[T/N: YOU GUYS MADE IT!!!!! Only one more chapter coming out tomorrow!]

Harry reappeared in his room at Hogwarts, it was the only place safe enough to reflect on what had happened. First of all, he tried to calm down as quickly as possible, he had to think about important things and if he continued to be as nervous as he was, he wouldn't be able to do anything. To do so, he called a house elf and asked for a cup of strong tea, then he sat down to reflect.

He had known for months that this day would come, in fact, he knew more or less when it would happen and where… no matter how he looked at it, he knew that he should have been prepared to be discovered, and even so, it was still a hard blow for him. He took a sip of his tea, before thinking about how he should act from that moment on.

He wasn't stupid, he knew that Dumbledore was desperate. The war had lasted too long, twenty four years was a long time and the magical community was too weak and tired to last much longer. He had known for a long time that the only reason why the Ministry had not lost the war was because of the Order and because Voldemort himself had not decided to apply himself with force, he still did not believe he could completely defeat the community, and failure was something he had never allowed himself to do. The Headmaster knew all that too, and he wanted the war to end before that happened, but... instead of wanting to form a partnership with the wizards who could help him, he wanted to lead them, he wanted to be the King in the great chess game that was that war and for everyone else to be the pawns, because on his board there were no rooks, no knights, no bishops and no Queen, only him to lead them all in his comfortable Hogwarts tower from where he sends his pawns to battle.

He refused to be a pawn, and he refused to associate with the manipulative old man. For many years, he had watched the old man make his family his own. He had watched as he had boosted Brian's already considerable ego, and then abandoned him after learning that he was not the pawn he needed. He was not going to give him that power over himself, the old man would have to understand that he was an independent agent, by fair means or foul.

With that in mind, he left his shelter and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. After all that happened last night and all the terrifying thoughts that plagued his mind during the night, it was no wonder he barely slept.

As soon as he entered the Dining Hall, there was a loud silence at the Professors' table, as they stared at him. There were a large number of members of the Order within the faculty, and after what happened the night before, they couldn't believe it despite knowing about his abilities and power beforehand, but it had still taken them by surprise.

Ignoring the stares, Harry headed to his old table where he had the habit of taking his meals, and sitting down with his old companions he began to eat breakfast quietly. He was aware of the stares and although they made him nervous, there was little else he could do.

" Mr. Potter, I would like to speak to you in my office as soon as you finish breakfast. I'm sure your master won't mind. " the headmaster said as he passed by him after breakfast. That wasn't a request, but an order and it had been arranged in such a way that he couldn't refuse it.

" Very well." He replied through clenched teeth, and seeing that he did not give him any other instructions, and that he was leaving, he added." Excuse me, Headmaster, but you have not given me the password."

" Oh yes, how careless I am... The password is Kojak."

" Thank you."

The Headmaster had just left and his friends turned to him with curious expressions. To be honest, he didn't really feel like explaining what had happened, since his own carelessness filled him with indescribable rage. Even so, he began to tell them what had happened the night before, under the watchful eyes of his friends and the rage of having been discovered by people who cared so little for the well-being of their friend.

After finishing breakfast, the boy headed to the Headmaster's office almost as if he were heading to the gallows, and in reality, at his point of visit, such an idea was not far off the mark. Luckily, to his relief, his Master found him on the gargoyle that led to the office, obviously wanting to give him all the support possible.

When they entered the room, it was more crowded than he thought possible, since he was met by all the leaders and advisors of the famous and at the same time cursed Order of the Phoenix, who had just passed through the door and looked at him as if he were an appetizing prey.

" Ah, Harry… and Severus, please take a seat. We were waiting for young Mr. Potter to finish his breakfast."

" What did you want to talk to me about, Headmaster? As you know, I'm quite busy."

" We just wanted to know... " the old man began, suddenly becoming serious. " how come you were in Godric's Hollow last night, in the middle of a Death Eater attack."

" Why are you asking what you already know, Headmaster? " The boy answered in turn.

That answer made the vast majority of those present begin to reproach him for his words, while the Headmaster adopted a hurt expression, not that that fooled the boy, nor Snape, who gave everyone present his already famous look. "I'm going to cut you into little pieces and use you as ingredients, if you don't stop right now."

" Harry, I don't think you realize how important it is that you have so much power, or that you can transform into a white phoenix. Thirteen years ago..."

" Thirteen years ago, a prophecy was made about the white phoenix, and that's nothing new to me. It's also not new to me that he thought it was my brother Brian, and that it was because of that prophecy that everyone ignored and neglected me."

" Harry! " exclaimed a present Lily Potter. " Don't talk to the headmaster like that! Apologize!"

" I have every right to speak to him like that, since he was the one who encouraged and encouraged with his behavior that I be treated the way I was treated. And you have no right to tell me to apologize."

" I am your mother!"

" Only in name. You never acted like one towards me. Now that you remember that I exist, do you want me to consider you my mother? Ginna has been much more of a mother than you, and let's start with Father. " He said when he saw the man open his mouth. " Ignoring me and discrediting me. James Potter has never been a father to me, but Uncle Remus has."

Silence had fallen over the office as James and Lily paled dramatically. Harry looked around at everyone present and adopted a look of disdain.

" Now, now the Headmaster has discovered that the prophecy was talking about me, and he has realized that he played his cards very badly... Well, I'm very sorry, because I won't allow him to manipulate me and I won't be his perfect little weapon."

" Harry, I don't think you understand..."

" No, I understand very well. According to the prophecy, I must defeat Voldemort, and believe me, I will. " Seeing the smile that was forming on the old man's face, he added. " But remember Dumbledore, I am an emancipated minor, I am not accountable to anyone except my master and only in matters related to my studies. I will do this, but in my way, not yours."

After that, the teenager stood up and with all possible dignity, he left the Headmaster's office and made his way to his Master's rooms... If he was starting to get to know the man, he would soon be with him to talk about what had happened.

Just as he imagined, he didn't have to wait long, just fifteen minutes later he walked through the door and sat down right in front of him.

" Why didn't you tell me anything about all this?"

" I didn't want anyone to know before I could be free... my 'parents' would have done everything possible to control me in order to continue being the parents of the child of the prophecy."

" So that's why you asked for emancipation."

" Yes sir."

" You knew this was going to happen, you knew you were going to be discovered, and yet you still went to stop the attack."

" I couldn't allow innocent people to die… so I took the appropriate measures."

" You'll have to be careful, when I left, I left Dumbledore talking with your parents about how to get you to agree to do what they want."

" Prf! Good luck getting that. They have nothing to catch me on… they don't know me and the only ones who could make me consider it is on my side. So, they have it bad."

Thus, if the young wizard had been rather elusive before, it was nothing compared to the following days, where the only place where he could be seen was during the potions lessons he gave with his Master. His friends, accustomed as they were to seeing him during their meals, found that from then on if they wanted to see him they had to come and visit him in his personal room, because outside of it it was almost impossible to see him.

Of course, he wouldn't have been so elusive if the headmaster hadn't tried to drug him and force him to follow his orders and those of his followers. Of course, the plan failed miserably, not for nothing, the boy was the youngest apprentice in the last thousand years. He was also a recluse, since when the drugging failed, what the old man tried to do was hex him... well, saying the old man wasn't correct, because despite being urged by the headmaster, it had been his own 'father' who raised the wand against him and tried to curse him.

He also learned a week later that the old man had contacted Remus in a desperate attempt to convince the teenager to submit to his control. Something that also failed completely, since, as expected, Remus refused clearly and categorically.

It was getting to the point where the boy was considering confronting that crazy psychopath once and for all, if only to have some peace and quiet and he would surely have done it, if it hadn't been for the fact that it was a potentially problematic and very dangerous idea, but if they continued to bother him in this way he would consider it much more seriously.

[T/N: Dam...this was actually quite good if I do say so myself, if you find any mistakes don't hesitate to tell me. If you enjoyed this chapter then leave a comment, write a review, and drop some stones. If you can't wait to finish the book then check out the final chapters on P@treon and Ko-fi. If you enjoyed this book, maybe you'll like my other book, check out A Gamer in Game of Thrones.]

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