Harry sat with his head in his hands for several minutes. He was willing the tears to stay away. He had done it. He had told the ones he loved the awful truth. He had let them know in no uncertain terms that he was a marked man and that he had to face this horrible task at some time or another. He must become a killer or be killed himself.
It seemed like something out of a movie. He had a hard time reconciling the idea in his own mind. He had told them that he understood that he may die, but did he really? Did he know, truly, what he had to do? Was he even capable of doing what he knew he must? Doubts began to creep into his thoughts.
How does one kill when he hated death? How do you find the malice of heart to finish off another human being? Where would he find the strength to deliver the final blow? All of these thoughts began to race through his mind at top speed. He could feel his pulse quicken and a knot tighten in his stomach. What now?
His thoughts drifted back to a time when he did kill, the time when he and his friends had saved the Sorcerer’s Stone in his first year. He looked at that differently, however. It had not been his intention to kill Quirrell, only to stop him. It had been purely chance that what he had done had ended a life.
Harry sat back and looked up at the sky. Darkness had fallen while they had eaten dinner. A three quarter moon was beginning to rise in the east. It caused the edges of the few clouds in the sky to glow silver against the ebony of the starlit sky. The thought struck him that in another week Remus would have to suffer a full moon. He felt sorry that his friend and adoptive godfather would have to suffer through that alone.
He did not know how long he had sat there when he heard the crunch a shoe on the path behind him. He looked up to see Professor Dumbledore walking toward him. He started to stand up to greet the wizened man.
“Please stay seated, Harry.” The professor said politely. “I have a couple of things to discuss with you before I depart for the evening.”
“Of course, Prof…I mean, A-Albus”, it felt awkward to use the man’s first name. Dumbledore smiled and showing a nimbleness of a much, much younger man, plopped down on the grass beside the bench.
“A beautiful night, is it not, Harry? I often sit on the grass by the lake at Hogwarts during the summer and look up at the stars. I find it peaceful and relaxing. There are times I wish, however, that I could read the stars as the centaurs do so that I might find some meaning in this world. Alas, I do not have that talent, so I must try to deduce the outcome of events the old-fashioned way, by trying to puzzle them out.”
Harry sat quietly. He was used to this man saying things cryptically, and knew that he would get to the point eventually.
“I can sense your despair. I can feel that you do not know how you are going to accomplish this great task that had been set before you, am I right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“That is understandable, Harry. I had those same feelings when I knew I had to face Grindelwald. I did not know how I was to defeat a man such as that. I spent many days and weeks trying to figure that out, and I was considerably older than you are now. I had years of study and training under by belt, but I still felt that perhaps I was not ready. Then I realized something.”
Harry got a hopeful look in his eye.
“I realized I did not have to do it alone. There were people willing to fight with me, beside me. There were people I could trust to stand with me until the end. You have that as well. I hope you gain the understanding that nothing like this can be accomplished alone, and that you have friends that will stand with you regardless of the out come.”
Harry sighed and looked out across the pond like he was studying the stillness of the surface. “I only want them to be safe.”
“You cannot make that choice for them, Harry. All you can do is give them the option and let them make the decision. If they choose to stand with you, then accept that help.”
“I will try, sir. There is a part of me that hopes they will pull back, though. I guess it is part of what Hermione calls my ‘saving people thing’.”
At this, the professor chuckled, “Every hero has that, Harry, and whether or not you want the title, that is what you are. It is, as I have said before, the difference between doing what is right, and what is easy, and you have always tried to do what was right.”
“Not always, sir. I did not do the right thing in leading my friends into danger. They could have, and rightly should have, been killed. I did not do the right thing in not trying harder with to learn Occlumency from Snape.”
“Professor Snape, Harry”
“Yes, sir. I also did not treat you right once we were back in your office that night. I feel bad about the way I behaved, and wanted to tell you that I am sorry. I guess I still have a long way to go with learning to control my emotions.”
“Harry, you put way too much upon yourself. If I may be so bold, you do not have the highly strategic mind that your friend, Ronald, has, nor do you have the vast intellect that your other friend, Hermione, does. Not that you are deficient, but they are better in those areas. They, however, look to you as their leader. Why is that?”
“I don’t know.”
“It is because that they trust you, even more than themselves, to do what is right at the time. They approached you to teach the D. A. Yes, I know about that. Why? Because even with Hermione's vast knowledge of spells, the other students would not have been as eager to learn from her as they were from you. They knew that even the other students looked to you, Harry Potter, as a leader.”
“Regardless of what was being said in the Daily Profit, the other students still believed in you enough to lead them in that act of rebellion. They did this not because you are “The Boy Who Lived”. They did this because in the time they have known you they have learned to trust you. It is because they have always seen you try to do the right thing.”
“I want you to understand this, leaders make mistakes. You will never have all of the answers, and in those times you have to go with your instincts. It was your instinct, Harry, which allowed your friends to survive that night. It was what you had taught them that gave them enough skill to hold the Deatheaters off until help arrived.”
“As to going there, you were tricked in a very calculated way, covering a large period of time. More experienced wizards than you yourself have fallen victim to it. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
“As to your outburst in my office that night, you needed to get that out of your system. I am not upset about it as long as my candy dish survived, and it did. Besides, half of the things you destroyed, I have no idea what they were for.”
Harry smiled weakly. “Thanks for understanding, Sir. You know that despite what I said that night, I have nothing but respect for, don’t you?”
“It warms my heart to hear that. I was afraid that after what I told you that night, about my decisions concerning you, that I had lost that.”
“Never, sir.”
“Good! Now, on to other things. I said before that I had a couple of things to discuss with you. First off, I will tell you that the ban on you playing Quidditch has been lifted, so I expect to see you flying well this year.”
Harry’s heart gave a leap at this news. He had hoped it would happen, but still harbored some fear that it would not.
“Secondly, I wish to tutor you in some private lessons this year. I hope they will give you some insight into what you must do in the future. These will be above and beyond you academic studies. I hope this is acceptable to you.”
“Yes, sir. What kind of lessons will I be learning?”
“It will not be so much lessons, as giving you information that may help you not only complete your task, but maybe survive it as well. I will let you know the time of each session.”
“And lastly, I hope that next weekend I can ask you to accompany me in visiting an old friend to try to persuade him into joining us on staff at Hogwarts this year. I think that if you go with me, it will give him the…ah…incentive…to take time out of his schedule to help broaden the young minds of you and your peers. Will you help me with this?”
“If you think it will help, I will try. Sir.”
“I do. I think only someone of your standing will coax him.”
“I will do what I can.”
“Excellent. I will return to collect you next Saturday at 7:00 P.M. Now, I must be off. There is a cave on the coast I have been wanting to explore, and as I have nothing terribly pressing, I think I will take a couple of days and do just that.”
“Ah Harry, it ha been good to see you, but it is almost time for me be off. Besides, I believe that Miss Weasley would like few words with you.” Dumbledore’s eyes sparkled in the moonlight as he said this.
Harry looked up to see Ginny walking down the path. He felt his breath suck in at the site of the moonlight on her hair, and the glow the light created on her skin as she walked toward them. He could hear the professor chuckling behind him.
Dumbledore had once again displayed a surprising nimbleness as he sprang to his feet. “Harry, I will see you next Saturday. I bid both of you goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Professor,” they both said as he started up the path to the house. They watched him walk for a moment then Harry turned and sat back down on the bench. Ginny walked over and sat beside him. They both looked across the pond for few moments, neither one wanting to break the silence.
Finally Ginny spoke, “You know, I’m trying to figure whether you are incredibly noble, or very thick.”
Surprised, he looked at her. “How do you figure?”
“I’m talking about what you said. Either you’re very noble, or you haven’t a clue,” she said simply.
“I’m still not sure what you mean.”
“Okay, for now we will go with ‘haven’t a clue’.” Her eyes were twinkling as she said this. Harry knew he was being teased, but didn’t know what to make of it at this point.
“Come on, It’s time to get back up to the house. You have played the tragic hero enough for one night. Besides, you need to get some sleep. Letting out your emotions like that can be tiring. Just remember, you promised to have a little chat with me tomorrow, and I will hold you to that.”
With that, she got up and started to head back up to the house. Harry followed closely behind her. She did not turn to look at him or speak until they got to the door of the kitchen. Once there, she turned to face him.
“Just so you know, you may be clueless, but there is still some noble in there.”
Before he could do anything but look confused, she disappeared inside.
“What!?!” he said to himself as he shook his head. He swore that talking to girls was more confusing than trying to figure out the twin’s next prank. You never knew where they were coming from.
He walked in through the kitchen and started to head up the stairs when he saw everyone sitting in the living room. He was stunned by how normal everything looked. Ron and Hermione were playing chess in front of the fire. Fred and George were listening to a story from Remus. Arthur was reading through some muggle technical magazine. Molly was knitting what looked to be a scarf, but was almost long enough to fit Hagrid. Ginny, who had just come in, was settling down with the twins on the floor.
Harry just stood there looking at them. How could they be so relaxed after what he had told them? It looked like any other normal night at the Burrow.
Ron looked up, “Hey, Harry, want another shot at me after I finish up with Hermione?”
Harry just stood there with a puzzled look.
“Harry, Harry, Earth to Harry.” The twins were now trying to get his attention.
There was still no response.
“Oh, for Merlin’s sake!” Ginny jumped up, walked over a waved her hand in front of his face. “Snap out of it.”
Harry shook his head. “What’s going on with everyone?”
Arthur looked up from his magazine, “What do you mean, Harry?”
“What do I mean? Did you all not hear what I said at dinner?”
It was Molly’s turn to speak, “Yes, we did.” She said, all the while her needles clacking together. “We just decided it didn’t change anything. Now Arthur, you’re not looking to buy more tools are you?”
“No, dear. I’m just looking.”
“What do you mean, it doesn’t change anything?” Harry was getting a little frustrated now.
“What she means is,” This time it was Remus, “It doesn’t change anything.”
Harry started to speak, but was cut off by Remus. “Harry, I have known of this prophesy since right after you were born. When Molly talked to your aunt, she let it slip what you told her. Molly, of course called the rest of the family together to discuss how to approach you about it. The only one that did not know until today was Hermione.”
“And I had figured most of it out already,” his surrogate sister piped up.
“So you see, Harry…” Fred spoke up.
“Even though you may think things have changed…” George’s turn
“You’re still the same…” Fred.
“Skinny, specky, git…” George
“That we know and love.” They both finished together.
“BOYS! Now is not the time.” Molly glared at them.
“Sorry, mum.” Not sounding at all sorry.
Harry just stood there shaking his head in exasperation. “How does this not change anything? Do you really understand what may happen?”
Arthur stood up and walked over to Harry. He placed both of his hands on Harry’s shoulders and looked him right in the eye. “Yes we do. Maybe more than you do. Molly lost two brothers in the first war. Remus lost two of his best friends. I, myself fought with the Order back then. We will still fight, with or without this prophesy. The only thing it changes is that now we know that one of us has a chance to beat him. We wish to Merlin that it didn’t have to be you, but we will never turn our backs on you just because you have this task.”
While Arthur was speaking, Ron and Hermione had walked over. Ron took this time to speak, “Do you remember when we went to save the Sorcerer’s Stone? Do you remember the chess game? I knew even then, somehow, that it would be you. For some reason, it was always you. The only thing is, now we know for sure.”
Harry did not realize until now that Ginny had slipped her hand back into his, and he could feel her trying to will comfort into him as he stood there.
Molly came up on the other side and wrapped her arms around him. “Harry, we said before, that we think of you as family, and this family does not run when times get tough. Even with that messy black hair, you are one of our kids, the same goes for Hermione. Although, I do wish we could do something with that hair to make it lay down.” She tried to pat his hair into place as she said this.
They all chuckled as she said this.
Hermione was next to speak, “Harry, we love you as much as you love us, don’t you see that?”
He nodded, and with that, a great sob wracked through his body. The tears flowed as relief flooded through his heart. He had not known until now that his biggest fear was to lose these people. He cried freely and unashamedly in front of them. It was the tears of love.
After he had settled back down, Arthur turned to everyone in the room. “I think that’s enough for one night. I suggest we all head up to bed. Remus you are welcome to stay in one of the spare rooms.”
“Thank you, but I really must be getting back. Tonks said she wanted to talk to me tonight. Although, for the life of me, I can’t figure out what.”
Harry just grinned, “Maybe it’s your animal magnetism, Moony.”
At this the twin’s ears perked up. “Why did you just call him Moony?”
“You know, as in “Wormtail, Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs,” Harry replied.
The twins just stood there with mouths open.
Remus laughed, “With that I will take my leave. Goodnight all.” At this, he stepped into the fireplace and disappeared.
Everyone else was heading up. Ginny gave Harry’s hand one last squeeze and went up as well. “All in all,” Harry thought, “not a bad day”.
His Greatest Power by deej
Chapter Notes: Harry talks to Dumbledore, and gets the reaction from the Family.