We Lie Because We Love

Hogwarts Hospital Wing, June 8 th

"Welcome back, Mr. Potter."

With a muffled groan, Nathan slowly opened his eyes to see the Headmaster sitting on the edge of his bed with a bright smile on his face. All around him were assorted pieces of candy, get-well cards, and even flowers. He abruptly noted that he was in the hospital wing. Slowly, the memory of what happened came back to him, and he immediately sat upright. "Sir, the stone! It was Professor Quirrell and...and You-Know-Who, sir!" Nathan said frantically.

"Relax, my boy, please, or else Poppy will have me thrown out," Dumbledore said soothingly. "Do not fear, Quirrell did not manage to get the stone from you. I arrived in time to prevent him from taking it. Though, when I saw the state you were in, I feared the worst."

"You were almost too late, sir, I couldn't have held Quirrell off for much longer," Nathan replied as the memory of Voldemort's face in the back of Quirrell's head crept into his mind.

"Oh my dear boy, no. I was not concerned for the stone, but for you. When I arrived you..." Dumbledore trailed off as a haunted looked spread across his face. "Well I feared the worst."

Several tears fell down Nathan's face and he hung his head. "I-I couldn't let him have the stone, sir. Not when it was him trying to come back to life."

Dumbledore placed his hand on Nathan's shoulder, causing the boy to look up. "A true Gryffindor to your very core Nathan."

"Did you stop him, sir? Is You-Know-Who gone now?" Nathan asked hopefully.

"Call him Voldemort, Nathan," Dumbledore said strongly. "Fear of a name simply increases fear of the person. And, unfortunately, no. When I arrived, I dispatched Quirrell and Voldemort fled. Left with the options of chasing down a specter that I may or may not be able to harm or getting you medical aid, I made the only decision I could have lived with myself making, and I rushed you to the hospital wing. So, yes, while Voldemort is still alive, though, I hesitate to call him that, he is less than a shadow, incapable of affecting the physical plane of existence without possessing another being."

"Will he be able to return, sir?" Nathan asked hesitantly. "Couldn't he just try again?"

Dumbledore removed his glasses and looked deeply troubled. "There are ways, Nathan, yes, but you prevented him from succeeding this time, and should we continue to prevent him, Voldemort might never be able to return."

Trying not to think about Voldemort returning to power, Nathan asked, "What happened to the stone, sir?"

"After speaking with its rightful owner, it has been decided that the stone needs to be destroyed in order to keep Voldemort from ever attempting to gain its power ever again," Dumbledore said solemnly.

"But doesn't that mean your friend, Mr. Flamel, will die?" Nathan asked aghast.

"You know about Nicholas?" Dumbledore asked in surprise. "My, you did go about this properly, didn't you? Yes, Nathan, Nicholas and his wife will die, and while that might seem incomprehensible to one as young as you, for Nicholas and Perenelle, it is merely like going to sleep after a very long day. Now, enough talk about such grim topics. I must alert your parents that you have awakened. I'm sure that your brother will be very pleased to hear of your recovery."

"Harry knows about what happened?" Nathan asked, dreading the answer.

"Yes. I understand he was less than pleased to find out what happened to you. Your brother was here yesterday, and he had a rather loud confrontation with Mr. Weasley in the Great Hall. He seemed to be of the belief that it was somehow young Mr. Weasley's fault that you went after the stone. There was a bit of a confrontation, and I'm afraid I've had to temporarily ban Harry from Hogwarts. After all, I cannot have a student from another magical school threatening to curse one of my students."

Nathan's eyes widened. "Harry threatened to curse Ron?"

"Do not judge your brother too harshly, Nathan. He was, understandably, distressed at the time, and I confess, even I played a small role in furthering his ire. I foolishly sought to abate your brother's fears by telling Poppy to only inform him of the superficial nature of your injuries. The last thing I wanted to do was to tell Harry that you had been severely injured by a man possessed by Lord Voldemort. Unfortunately, in my haste to protect Harry from the truth, I overlooked something very important."

"What sir?" Nathan asked curiously.

"That your brother is an incredibly intelligent young man," Dumbledore replied. "Harry quickly called Poppy out for not telling him the whole truth, and when she revealed that she was unable to tell him much more information, he went about the castle looking for Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger. The story about what happened between you and Professor Quirrell has made its rounds among the student population, though the true nature of who was behind the deed is not. As you can tell by the number of get well tokens, it was not difficult for Harry to deduce what happened. Do not worry about it, Nathan. I'm sure it was simply out of fear for your condition that led your brother to such actions. Harry cares a great deal about you."

"He told me not to go after the stone," Nathan admitted.

"And yet, had you not, there is a chance Quirrell would have solved the mystery of the Mirror of Erised and Voldemort would have returned to power," Dumbledore said gravely.

"So I did the right thing?" Nathan asked hopefully.

"In life, Nathan, there are very few times when there is a definitive right or wrong," Dumbledore said wistfully. "All that we can truly control is whether we are good or evil. Your actions in regard to the stone were firmly on the side of good, and, therefore, I believe you did right, my boy. Your brother might not understand why you put yourself at such a risk, but someday he will realize that it is often harder to do what one considers right than to do what is easy."

Nathan nodded his head, pleased that Dumbledore believed he did the right thing. "Thank you, sir."

"You are welcome, my boy," Dumbledore said kindly before looking sadly at the boy in front of him. "I was going to wait to ask this of you when your parents arrived Nathan, but I suppose it would be best if I simply do so now."

"Sir?"

"Outside of a few trusted individuals, you, your parents, and I are the only people who know Voldemort is still alive, and, after speaking with your parents, we believe it would be in your brother's best interest to not know of Voldemort's role in this ordeal."

"What?" Nathan asked in shock. "Why?"

Dumbledore turned away from Nathan and gazed out of a nearby window. At first Nathan thought Dumbledore wasn't going to answer him, but, after a moment, Dumbledore quietly said, "There are few times when I have been utterly fooled in my life Nathan, but Voldemort succeeded in doing so this year. The fact that he was able to possess one of my teachers for most of the year..."

"It wasn't your fault sir," Nathan said adamantly, "Everyone thought he was dead, and we stopped him! He didn't get the stone."

"Yes Nathan, we did indeed stop him from achieving his goal, but Quirrell did a lot more than just plot to capture the stone." Dumbledore looked particularly pained as he turned back to Nathan. "Among my many foolish actions this year, I count not reaching out to your brother as among the most severe. While I felt it was my duty as a Headmaster to keep my distance from you and Harry this year, I should have recognized the problems your brother was having. Had I known or perhaps seen the level of magic he commanded, maybe it would have stopped Harry from going to Quirrell for help."

Nathan looked at Dumbledore in shock. "Sir," he said hesitantly, "what do you mean he went to Quirrell for help?"

"After I defeated Quirrell, I asked Professors Snape and McGonagall to search his quarters for anything that might reveal information about Voldemort to us. Inside of a journal, Severus found several entries relating to the personal tutoring he gave to Harry in the Fall. It seems after numerous professors refused to give advanced lessons to your brother, Quirrell stumbled upon Harry practicing by himself in an unused class room. While we are not certain of his motivations, Quirrell began periodically tutoring Harry in various fields of magic."

With a look of dread on his face, Nathan asked, "Do you mean Harry was being trained b-by Voldemort?"

"We don't know Nathan." Dumbledore said, rubbing his temple tiredly. "It is possible that Voldemort only possessed Quirrell after the Christmas holiday for failing to capture the stone in the fall; however, I doubt we will ever be certain."

"Is that why Harry wanted to transfer?" Nathan suddenly asked hopefully. "Did Quirrell put a spell on him? Can he come back to Hogwarts?"

"No," Dumbledore said emphatically, causing Nathan's hopeful expression to falter, "I would have sensed any overt magical influences on your brother when we discussed the situation at Christmas, and your mother has already informed me that she could find no lingering passive magic that might have been used on him. Furthermore, according to your parents, Harry has been nothing but happy about his experience at Durmstrang. He has built several friendships and has expressed nothing but his enjoyment with the school."

With a confused look on his face, Nathan said, "I still don't understand why we shouldn't tell Harry the truth."

"Nathan," Dumbledore sighed, "the truth is a wonderful, yet dangerous thing. Your brother is already dealing with the fact that one of the few people he was close to at Hogwarts nearly killed you. Your parents and I agree that Harry does not need to know he was likely manipulated in some manner by Lord Voldemort. It would only serve to increase the guilt he already feels. So, I ask you again Nathan, please do not tell your brother about Voldemort.

"I still think Harry deserves to know, sir," Nathan said solemnly, "but I won't tell him."

"Thank you Nathan. Now, I had best alert your parents that you have awakened."