chapter - 100 : Chasing Shadows and Facing Demons part - 2

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"Cornelius, I am ready to fight your men, and win, again!" said Dumbledore in a thunderous voice. "But a few minutes ago you saw proof, with your own eyes, that I have been telling you the truth for a year. Lord Voldemort has returned, you have been chasing the wrong man for twelve months, it is time you listened to sense!"

"I don't…well" Fudge inflated in indignation, but deflated just as rapidly. "Very well, Dawlish! Williamson! Go down to the Department of Mysteries and see… Dumbledore, you need to explain exactly what happened tonight."

"We can discuss that after I have sent Harry back to Hogwarts."

"Harry? Harry Potter?" Fudge spun around to face Harry, who had by then climbed back to his feet and was leaning tiredly against the wall. "What is this all about? What are you doing here, boy?"

"I was kidnapped," Harry said coolly, "by one of your Aurors; and brought here to retrieve something for Voldemort."

"But that will all be discussed later." Dumbledore said firmly. "Harry, come here, my boy."

Harry, who was too tired to protest either the epithet or the orders, simply shuffled over to the Headmaster's side and accepted the portkey the man had just illegally made in front of the Minister.

"I shall see you in half an hour," Dumbledore said, then quietly began counting down until the portkey activated "Three…two…one."

The moment the portkey deposited Harry in the headmaster's office, the illegal portkey fell to the ground with a heavy thunk and his legs attempted to give out on him, only sheer stubbornness kept him on his feet long enough to pull up a chair and collapse bonelessly into it. As he sat stewing in the near silence of the office, all of the events of that night caught up to him and grief attempted to overwhelm him, but this was neither the time nor the place to break down so he ruthlessly blocked off his emotions with his mental shields and tried his best to focus on anything but that night's events.

Suddenly, emerald flames roared to life in the previously empty grate, and from them stepped an exhausted looking Dumbledore. The man's sudden arrival startled the previously slumbering portraits of deceased headmasters awake, the moment they caught sight of the man they immediately began calling greeting and expressing how delighted that they were he had returned.

"Thank you," Dumbledore said softly, but his eyes remained glued to Harry's still form, slowly, he crossed the room and sank into the chair behind his desk.

"Harry." Emerald eyes snapped up, and for the first time in a long time, they were free of any animosity, or even the slightest hint of dislike, but Dumbledore would have rather seen the intense hatred than the broken, absolutely desolate look that stared up at him from the young Slytherins eyes. "I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that none of the Order was injured during tonight's events." Dumbledore said softly. "They all made it safely home."

"All but one."

The aged headmaster flinched at the emotionless response. "Yes," he agreed, "all but one. And I feel that I must apologize-"

"Don't," Harry cut him off before he could get much further into his apology. "With all due respect, I don't need nor want your apologies, Headmaster. There is nothing you could say or do to make me feel better, so, please, don't even try."

"Harry, I know that you and I have had our differences in the past, and I know that I am mostly to blame for this, the things I have done to you, whether directly or indirectly, are absolutely inexcusable. I have wronged you on so many different levels, and for that I am sincerely sorry,"

"I know you are," Harry said. "Any decent man would be, and, despite what I may have said in the past, and despite your misdeeds, I don't doubt that somewhere, beneath the hubris that has grown like a parasite since your defeat of Grindelwald, you are a good man. But that in no way excuses your actions towards me and towards my godfather."

"You are correct." Dumbledore said solemnly. "No amount of apologies on my part will ever right my wrongs. But I will try, I will try to make amends, I will try so very hard to atone for my sins, and in doing so I must stop treating you like a child, as, much to my chagrin, you were never given much time to be a child, and I must tell you the truth, the whole truth."

Harry didn't respond, he simply sat in his seat, barely breathing, and waited for Dumbledore to continue speaking.

"Voldemort tried to kill you when you were a child because of a prophecy made shortly before your birth. He knew the prophecy had been made, though he did not know its full contents. He set out to kill you when you were still a baby, believing he was fulfilling the terms of the prophecy. He discovered, to his cost, that he was mistaken, when the curse intended to kill you backfired. And so, since his return to his body, and particularly since your extraordinary escape from him last year, he has been determined to hear that prophecy in its entirety. This is the weapon he has been seeking so assiduously since his return, the knowledge of how to destroy you."

Harry slowly looked up from where he'd been staring intently at his hands to lock eyes with the headmaster. "Will it?" he asked softly. "Will it tell him how to destroy me?"

"Not destroy you, but it will certainly give him insight on how to go about any future attacks."

Harry reached into his pocket and placed the still warm prophecy onto the desk. "How do I activate it?"

"There are several different ways to activate a prophecy, but I find it simplest just to smash it."

Harry happily complied and watched impassively as the ghostly figure of Sibyll Trelawney, ex-Divination teacher and self proclaimed seer, floated above the shattered remains of the orb and spoke in a husky voice that was vastly different than her usual mysterious whisper.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to she who has thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"

"Either must die at the hand of the other," Harry recited softly as the ghostly figure lowly faded away into nothing, "for neither can live while the other survives. So that's it, that's my destiny, kill or be killed." He laughed bitterly. "I can't say I didn't see that one coming."

"If I could lift this burden from your shoulders and bear it myself, I would do it without a second's hesitation."

"But you can't, so there's no point in dwelling on things that can never be."

"Harry-"

"I need time to think," Harry interrupted, "I just need a bit of time to myself."

Dumbledore hesitated for a moment, but then nodded in agreement. "Of course."

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Loving the story so far? There's a whole world of magic and mystery waiting for you with over 85+ chapters still to come! By supporting my Patreon.

You not only get early access to new chapters but also exclusive content, behind-the-scenes insights, and special perks just for fans like you.

Join us on this enchanted journey and help shape the future of the tale. Your support makes all the difference—discover more and become part of the adventure today!

http//patreon.com/Kun_kanshi

(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)

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