Harry as Dumbledore: An Explanation in Action by 14hf
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and I'm not making any money out of this at all. I'm just an obsessed fan who enjoys speculating and writing.
“How did he do it though?” Ron asked. “The prophecy said only ‘the one’ could kill Voldemort…”
“Maybe Dumbledore wasn’t Dumbledore after all,” Hermione said thoughtfully. “Maybe he was someone else.”
“What?”
“Maybe he was someone else, maybe even from another time…”
“Mad,” Ron said. “She’s finally lost it Harry… you wait… she’ll be off about spew again next…”
“Well think about it,” Hermione said clearly, ignoring the S.P.E.W comment. “It would make perfect sense…”
“You’re mad,” Ron interrupted; Harry thought he had the right idea. “Dumbledore’s… well… Dumbledore. How can he be anyone else?”
“Just listen to me!” Hermione shouted, the pressure of the last few hours finally beginning to show. “If the person who was Dumbledore had realised that he was Dumbledore, he would have realised that he needed to go back to be Dumbledore!”
Ron looked completely confused, but somehow, Harry understood.
“Say that again?” Ron asked.
“If Dumbledore in our time knew that he was Dumbledore, he’d also know that meant that he had to go back in time and become Dumbledore…”
“… And he’d know everything,” Harry added, suddenly seeing things clearly. “It would explain why Dumbledore always seemed to know everything… because he already knew what was going to happen!”
“Exactly,” Hermione said, looking pleased with herself. “You see Ron, Harry understands perfectly.”
“But, how?” Ron asked. “It’s impossible…”
“A time turner,” Harry answered quickly. “Dumbledore would have needed a time turner.”
Hermione nodded. “And a polyjuice potion, to change his appearance… and he’d need to be a very powerful wizard to begin with, to take on Voldemort “ shut up Ron!”
“It sounds like he’d need to be bloody perfect,” Ron shuddered. “And… I’m not saying I believe you… but how was he supposed to get hold of a time turner anyway? The ministry don’t just give them away you know.”
“What if he was close to the ministry, or worked in the Department of Mysteries?” Hermione said. “Then he’d be able to get a time turner.”
“And the polyjuice potion? How’d he make himself into someone who’s never actually existed?”
Hermione had to think for a long time about that one. “If he was by Dumbledore when he died, and then he decided to go back in time, he could take some of Dumbledore’s hair with him…”
“That’s disgusting,” Ron said, horrified. “Holding onto Dumbledore’s hair for fifty years?”
“It could work.”
“What if,” Harry said, stopping their argument from every starting, “He never used a polyjuice potion at all. What if… he just looked like Dumbledore anyway?”
“We’d recognise him,” Hermione said quickly. “Unless he only made small changes to his appearance. The colour of his eyes, certain features…” Hermione seemed to be looking at Harry in a new light. “I expect we can work out who Dumbledore was anyway. It’s not hard, now you think about it.”
“Who was he then?” Ron asked, playing along with what he considered to be a very twisted joke.
“Well, he’d have to be powerful. And he’d have to be someone we know, from this time, otherwise he wouldn’t know nearly enough to play as Dumbledore and defeat Voldemort… oh shut up Ron! It’s only a name!”
“You shouldn’t say it,” Ron argued, shuddering.
“Well, anyway, he’d have to know an awful lot about the past six years. Enough to be able to tell Harry, in detail, everything he knew he needed to say. So he’d have to be a student, here, at Hogwarts.”
“You mean… we know him?” Ron asked, scared. He seemed to finally believe what Hermione was saying.
“Oh, I think we know him very well.”
Harry thought about saying how Ron was probably Dumbledore, mostly just to see the look on Ron’s face, but then he realised what Hermione was actually implying.
“Well, who is it then?” Ron asked impatiently. “If you’re so perfect, tell us!”
“It’s me,” Harry whispered, and Ron and Hermione looked at him, Hermione with pity, Ron with complete confusion.
“You?” Ron laughed. “You’re joking.”
“Shut up Ron,” Hermione said.
“Oh come on Hermione, this isn’t even funny any more…”
“It’s not a joke Ron!”
Ron looked at Hermione, and then Harry, and then back to Hermione. “Bloody hell… you’re serious.”
Harry barely heard him. Ron’s voice sounded completely distant, as if he was whispering…
How could he be Dumbledore? It was impossible… wasn’t it? It was completely absurd, the very idea made Harry want to laugh like Ron… and yet it made sense. He could understand now, why Dumbledore had always seemed to know what was happening before it happened. He could understand why Dumbledore had finally defeated Voldemort, and not Harry… because Dumbledore had been the one… he had been Harry…
“Wait a second,” Ron said. “If Dumbledore was Harry, how about all those times, on the map, when it said ‘Albus Dumbledore’? I thought the map could never be fooled?”
“Dumbledore… I mean Harry… well he was, I mean is… the most powerful wizard in the world Ron. I think he’s powerful enough to trick a map, especially seeing as he’s owned it for so long…”
“I get it,” Harry said. “I can understand now… everything makes sense.”
“I’m so sorry Harry,” Hermione said. “This must be horrible…”
“No,” Harry interrupted her. “It’s a relief, I can finally understand everything. Like why Dumbledore never tried to kill Voldemort in the Ministry… because he knew that he was going to kill him later. I understand how Dumbledore knew about Sirius and how we had to rescue him, he was me… so of course he’d know.”
“So how come he never tried to stop things from happening,” Ron asked. “Like saving Cedric… or stopping Wormtail escaping… or…” Ron looked carefully at Harry, “saving Sirius.”
“Because you can’t mess around with time,” Hermione answered. “It’s wrong to change things, Dumbledore had to let things happen. It’s just how it works.”
Ron shrugged. “Sounds stupid to me.”
“When am I supposed to go back then?” Harry asked, looking at Hermione. She sighed, trying to think, which was hard as Ron was muttering something under his breath.
“I don’t know, any time I suppose. Though you’ll probably be older, and more powerful. You’ve got to learn how to change your appearance, and you’ve got to get a job in the Department of Mysteries “ so that you can get a time turner.”
“And you’ve got to learn some powerful spells,” Ron added. “To help you defeat… well you know.”
“Voldemort,” Hermione shouted. “Voldemort!”
“Don’t say his name!”
“Why not Ron? He’s dead! Voldemort, Voldemort…”
“Hermione!”
“Get over it Ron! Voldemort’s dead! Harry won! It’s all over!”
“For you two anyway,” Harry said sadly.
“Well… for you I guess it’s not over,” Hermione said. “For you Harry, it’s only just begun.”