Thank you for waiting for this chapter. I know it took me forever to post, but I have gotten to a point in the story that plot devices must be placed just so, and I have written ahead to make sure everything is in its place. I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter, how sad.
Chapter 19
Decisions
Harry found Dumbledore sprawled half across one of the study tables in the Common Room executing a rather loud and impressive whiffling snore. He had stacks of Battle spells and Hex books scattered in haphazard towering piles that looked like they could fall over with just a soft breeze. His dark hair was mussed and the shadowy bruises under his eyes lent the Head boy a sense of childish frailty. It startled Harry to see the vulnerability of the young man so evidently exposed. He didn't look at all like the powerful master wizard of his memory. Harry's approach must have jostled the sleeping wizard making the snoring young man wake suddenly with his fist grasping his wand in his befuddlement.
"Whoa! It's me! No need to hex me to death!" Harry cried pulling away from the startled sleeper.
Harry cautiously pushed the pointed wand's tip away from his body with his finger and sighed with relief when Dumbledore merely closed his eyes again and put his head back on the table with a moan. Wearily he stuffed his wand down his back pocket and faintly waved Harry away with his hand.
"Goway." He murffled.
Harry grinned then purposely noisily pulled out a heavy chair just across from him. Shuffling and knocking a few books to the floor to get them out of the way he grabbed the notepad on which the other boy had written copious scrawlings the night before. Words like, `extreme freezing,' and `I liked that rooting thing of Harry's', and `protection spells?!!!" were all scribbled with notes of specific curses scratched out and rewritten around them. Harry snorted when he saw several rude drawings underneath the parchments. Apparently Dumbledore was a lot like Harry in more ways than the boy had ever realized.
"So. Are you ever going to tell me what that attack was all about? Who would attack that village and try to hurt so many people?" Harry was so frustrated. When he saw the Dark Mark he was sure Voldemort had somehow tracked him down. He had experienced a moment of freezing fear until he had forced himself into action. Very subtly he had asked a few students and no one had ever heard of the Dark Lord Voldemort.
Dumbledore winced in weary irritation then finally sat up with bleary eyes notably reddened by loss of sleep. He ran his hand through his hair and with just a few pats he looked perfectly presentable. Whatever empathy Harry had been harboring for the other student promptly vanished in his envy of instantly arranged hair. He couldn't help but rub a little at the messy mop on his own head self-consciously before snorting and shoving his hands into his pockets. Dumbledore pretended not to notice and leaned back comfortably in his chair.
"Grindlewald. That's the name of the moment. We've heard whispers and rumors of the dark wizard and his need to push his agenda of Wizard Domination. No one knows who he is but his message has been made perfectly clear. He wants Wizards as a ruling entity with him as the head of the class. He thinks Muggles and even Squibs are merely in the way and he not only wants to remove them from the immediate Wizarding area, he believes they should become our slaves! His thoughts on half-Muggles don't appear very imaginative either. He considers them an abomination and preaches their removal from the Wizarding World completely. The madman professes the desire for world control by Wizardkind! Can you believe it?"
"What is the Ministry doing about these attacks?" Harry asked quietly.
"Not much. It seems they miss the mark and arrive only in time to mop up the mess. Like the poor witch who lost the bookstore. It was destroyed because she was half-Muggle. She had finally succeeded in getting most of the shopkeepers in Hogsmede to accept her and this happens. I know her pretty well since her daughter was a graduate last year. I actually spent a lot of time in that little bookstore holding her daughter's books." He smiled slightly in remembrance.
"I wonder if they will stay or if Grindlewald will win by forcing them to leave." Dumbledore said in a monotone.
Harry sat back in a slump with so many terrible images of the recent and future Hogsmede attacks running though his head.
"Well, the bookstore is still there in my year, I don't know if the same family runs it but at least you know some of the things don't change." Harry shrugged.
Dumbledore sighed heavily rubbing his forehead with the palm of his hand. So many people had been hurt and even killed in the last year. He felt that somehow, someway he was missing something very important that would be vital to bringing this dark wizard from succeeding at his goal. He stretched his shoulders pulling one arm back then the other to pull the kinks from his body from sleeping in such an odd position.
"Harry, I know this is terribly disturbing news. I am sure in the future you never have to deal with such megalomaniacs as this nightmare wizard, but sometimes these things happen. It is hard to comprehend that such Evil could really exist."
Harry's mouth dropped open and he shook his head in disbelief. "Never have to deal with…?"
Harry sat there with so many things he wanted to say. But he couldn't. If only he could tell Dumbledore what he was going to have to deal with in the future. Just give the man a hint of the terrors the Death Eaters wrought or even to tell him to take special care of James and Lily Potter. The instant he thought of his parents his throat thickened and he closed his eyes to help him hold back the flood of questions and information he wanted to shout out loud.
Hermione had walked into the conversation and merely stood there with one eyebrow raised. "You've got to be kidding! You wouldn't believe all the terrible things that have happened! To Harry's parents! I know of complete families killed by Volde…Murrphhh." Harry had jumped up and capped her mouth with his hand. She looked indignant at first, then the realization of what she had almost told widened her eyes and she nodded at Harry in agreement.
"I'm afraid we can't really discuss that." Harry noted the look of intense concentration on the face of Dumbledore and Harry promptly shuttered his thoughts and could feel Dumbledore's surprise at the refusal to his mind.
"That wasn't very nice." Harry's eyes narrowed as Dumbledore frowned and snorted.
"Well, you can't blame me for trying. So you know Occulomency? That's something my father taught me, they don't teach it here. Too bad. I might have found out a few interesting things and you'd be none the wiser. Pity."
"How very Slytherin of you." Harry hissed causing the Head Boy to narrow his eyes then look away, grinding his teeth to keep himself from saying something further in front of Hermione.
Hermione gasped indignantly and was going to say something else when Harry pulled her back and started toward the door.
"We'll see you later. We have a few things to discuss." Hermione huffed then turned and followed her boyfriend out the door. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it as they walked down the dark hallway that led to the stairs.
"When did you get so smart? I could have told him everything and really did something damaging. I heard him talking about Grindlewald. You know I know everything about that. It's all in Hogwarts, A History. He doesn't know who Grindlewald is! Maybe this is why we are here! Should we tell him or not?" She said all this in one breath turning to Harry expectantly.
"Whoa! What do you mean you know who Grindlewald is?" Harry stopped quickly at stared at Hermione with his mouth open in surprise.
"Harry, don't you remember the Sorting Hat? In his song this year it was about what is happening right now. It can't be a mistake or just a fluke of fate! We are here to save Wizardkind! If Grindlewald is allowed to continue, who knows what our future may be! We might not ever meet…Or since I am Muggle-born, I could be a slave like the house-elves...It's got to stop!" She shuddered and unconsciously inched a little tighter into Harry's embrace.
Harry pulled her in closer with his chin resting on top of her head. They didn't say a word, but merely stared out the enchanted window that allowed them to see the softly falling snow but not feel the bitter coldness of an open casement. His brow furrowed as he grimly considered what she was saying. It makes sense. He thought. Maybe Hermione was actually led to pick up that blasted Hogwarts ball after all, just to send us both back here to correct this situation. He paused and looked down at her worried face.
"If I had to choose to tell something about the future I would tell about this. To lose at this point would cause everything we know to disappear. I think you're right, `Mione. This is what we are here for. And if it isn't right, then no one else will know anyway, so why not! But do we tell Dumbledore or Nigellus?" He grinned widely to win a small smile for her face. He pulled her back into a small pillared balcony and sat down on an old stone seat built for two.
Hermione smiled and scooted in snuggling under his arm and raising his hand to drape around her shoulders. With her head fitting right under his chin she sighed and relaxed her body into his. Their fingers met and intertwined as he rubbed his thumb across hers. With her warmth and closeness he could finally feel his body's tenseness and anxiety start to die away.
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The next day bloomed bright and cheerful. The snow glittered and bounced the sunlight everywhere like scattered diamonds. The leaves had abandoned the trees ages ago, and the thin fingers of the limbs brushed the sky in a grey brown wave. Harry had bundled himself up with an enormous muffler while wearing a mismatched knitted hat that Hermione had made for him. He personally found it eye-searingly ugly, but the delighted squeal she gave when he plonked it on his head sunk him and he knew he'd be wearing ugly hats for a long time. They were taking a walk around the grounds and found themselves staring at Hagrid's cabin. It was much newer and was being used as a sort of barn to house several kinds of fowl. The sight of their friend's hut sent both of them a pang of homesickness. He softly held her hand in his and sighed quietly to himself.
Hermione had written up a list of what was acceptable to tell the Head boy about Grindlewald. It was sadly very short. Harry had argued to tell him about the future threat of Voldemort citing the many lives that would be saved, but Hermione had stood her ground and finally convinced him that telling the essentials was the only way. It was a half-hearted argument anyway. Harry knew it was the right thing to do, but in his heart he could still imagine a fantasy of his own where his family survived and he lived in a home full of love and happiness. Harry smiled grimly and with resolution. He had people that were counting on him. Even the people that he didn't even know were expecting the Boy-Who-Lived to save them from the menace of the Dark Lord. He had decided that for once he was going to go into this with his eyes wide open. The weeks of good sleep uninterrupted by the nightmares and visions sent by Voldemort had strengthened him greatly. He was now able to step away from the muddled thoughts and desperate feeling of fear and exhaustion and look to the fight with a clearer mind. Hermione was a great help, also. He felt strong with her. Not just that, but he really felt optimistic for once. It was thrilling to actually live in a mindset that for once included hope! For so long the Prophecy hung over his head like the Sword of Damocles. No longer.
They approached the little wooden and stone house/barn and leaned up against it. It was pretty cold, and they huddled against each other to block the wind. This is where they had arranged to meet with Dumbledore. In hindsight, the common room fire seemed a much more intelligent option, but they were already here and they could see the Head boy coming down the hill with someone.
"Now, what was the reason we are out here in the blasted cold? Oh, yeah. My idea. No snoops. Well, you ready to change history?" Harry whispered through his muffler.
"Maybe we aren't changing anything at all, Harry. Time is funny that way. I feel in my bones that we are doing just what we were meant to do." She smiled and blew on her chilled hands.
Dumbledore ambled over to the two students suited up in his regular robes looking toasty and warm. He actually had opened his robes and untied his tie to relieve the apparent warmth. He had cast a warming spell a little too strongly and was sincerely considering going back up to the dorm to fetch his swimming costume. He was accompanied by a tall, imposing fellow whose red hair was peeping out from beneath a rather posh bowler and a warm coat of sleek fur. The man reeked of precision and perfection and an attitude that expected no less from anyone else.
Fanning himself, Dumbledore and his friend reached the hut and hailed the two students. Harry looked suspiciously at the other person, and nodded at them both in greeting. He was surprised that Dumbledore had brought someone else. Dumbledore introduced his good friend as Edmund Prewitt, graduated last year who was visiting for the weekend.
Hermione was starting to feel uncomfortable as Dumbledore's companion was staring at her. His eyes were boring into hers and she could distinctly feel the dislike the man felt for her. He hid it well by greeting them nicely and hiding behind a polite smile; but the girl could see the calculations that were spinning behind his eyes.
Dumbledore left his friend off to the side and walked a space with the two students. His friend waved off his exclusion with a shrug, but Hermione could tell he was vexed to be kept from the information. His body was tense and he looked to her to be barely concealing his apparent anger. His eyes narrowed as he caught her watching him so she quickly turned away to focus on Harry and Dumbledore. Having him stare at her back did nothing to relieve the feeling she had that Dumbledore's friend was trouble.
She caught up to the boy's conversation just as Harry was beginning their list of what was acceptable to tell him. Dumbledore looked anxious and almost ready jump out of his skin. He didn't know what was coming, but by their expressions he could discern it was going to be bad.
"We don't know the true name of Grindlewald, just that you fought him and defeated him. We know that his group attacked Hogsmede a few weeks ago, so the timeline we can remember starts pretty soon. He attacks Hogwarts with a large group of dark wizards who try to take over the school to train up more followers. The castle is a fortress and he wanted a new more defensible place of operations. He also had the idea of starting his own little Junior Nazi group or something." Harry paused at the confused look on Dumbledore's face with the Nazi reference, but waved it off as unimportant.
"He created several spells that are terribly powerful and deadly. For one, he created the Crucio curse which as Harry can attest is the most horrible curse that doesn't actually kill you. At least, not right away." Hermione paused and looked back at Harry for confirmation before revealing more.
Dumbledore looked at them expectantly. "That can't be all. That tells me nothing. How can I defeat this man with just this?"
Harry grimaced and pursed his lips and began. "We know very little about Grindlewald. But what we do know concerns you in particular. The first of term the sorting hat sang a song about you. About all the houses really, but the main idea of the song was Dumbledore and Grindlewald…and how they were best friends."
Harry watched as Dumbledore stood perfectly still. His eyes never wavered from Harry's as he tried to take in the information. "That can't be true."
"My only best friend is…" Dumbledore looked over to the hut quickly to find his best friend gone.
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