The Crucible
by Jardyn39
Part Two of "The Apprentice Piece"
Chapter 5: The Crucible
Harry woke to find himself propped between the edge of the bed and the chair. He blinked and immediately realised that was the only thing he could do without hurting. Every muscle almost screamed in pain from sleeping so awkwardly.
He only let go of Hermione's hand when he heard a gentle cough behind him. Harry looked up to see Albus Dumbledore smiling down at them.
"Did she sleep?" he asked quietly.
Harry nodded.
"Good. I'd like to see both of you in my office before lessons start this morning, but it can wait until Hermione is properly rested."
*
"I'm fine, Harry, honestly," Hermione said for the third time after she'd caught him looking worried at her again. She was pale and her hands still shook slightly, and Harry was convinced she would collapse at any time. He wanted to be sure he would catch her in time.
They knocked on the Headmaster's office door and entered.
Dumbledore stood and asked, "Hermione, are you feeling better? This could have waited."
"I'm fine," she said smiling.
"Please sit down."
Harry waited until Hermione was safely seated before sitting himself.
"First of all," began Dumbledore, "I'd like to apologise for what happened yesterday. To be honest I didn't think she could resist testing Harry but what she tried with you, Hermione, is quite unforgivable. I would, however, like to assure you that Perenelle is indeed a friend."
At that moment the flames in the fireplace roared and out stepped a tall, thin, bald wizard wearing dark green robes. He looked incredibly ancient.
He turned and as soon as he saw Harry and Hermione said, "My Dears!"
Dumbledore stood up again and smiled, "May I introduce Perenelle's husband and my good friend, Nicholas Flamel. Nicholas, this is Hermione Granger and Harry Potter."
They each shook hands with the smiling wizard. Harry realised the old man wasn't quite as frail as he looked at first sight. His handshake was firm and his eyes were alert.
"I am so sorry for what happened. Perenelle can be impulsive at times," he said apologetically.
"Why did she hurt Hermione," Harry demanded.
The old man turned to Hermione and said, "Perenelle has a headache today as well, I'm afraid. Otherwise she would be here to apologise in person. I performed Legilimency on her myself and I have modified her memories. She remembers nothing of what she learned."
He glanced at Harry and then looked back to Hermione. "I think it was obvious what she was looking for, but if you need any further explanation we can talk in private."
"Thank you, but from the things she made me recall, I know what she wanted to know," said Hermione.
"You should feel much better tomorrow. If you are feeling in any way out of sorts please tell Albus and he will summon me."
She nodded and smiled. He turned to Harry and gave him an appraising look.
"I see you've grown since the last time I saw you, Harry," he said smiling. He then threw himself back and Harry suddenly realised the old man was about to fall to the floor. To his relief Flamel landed on a comfortable high backed chair that none of them heard being conjured.
"Are there any other questions you would like to ask?" he said.
"Yes," said Harry, "When did you last see me?"
"When you were a baby, just after Voldemort attacked you. Hagrid got you out of the house at Godric's Hollow and brought you to Dumbledore. You were briefly taken by the Unspeakables to London before Perenelle brought you to our home. You were with us for only a few hours, unfortunately. Hagrid's memory was modified slightly, so he only remembers removing you and taking you to Dumbledore in Surrey."
"Perenelle pointed at me and said she could see something. What did she mean?" Harry asked.
Flamel glanced casually to Dumbledore who nodded slightly.
"I have told Harry about why I placed him with his Aunt and Uncle, but I didn't tell him about what I asked you to help me with," said Dumbledore.
Flamel considered this carefully before answering Harry's question.
"When you arrived, we did the same tests that the Unspeakables did. Like the Unspeakables we found the tests to be inconclusive, but we did theorise what might have happened and what the consequences for your future might be."
"What were your conclusions?" asked Hermione.
"Well, that we were only guessing, to be honest," said Flamel. "However, we did decide to do something to try and help Harry in the future."
"Something besides placing me with the Dursley's?" asked Harry.
Flamel looked at him blankly.
"That's Harry's Aunt and Uncle, Nicholas," said Dumbledore.
"Oh, I see," said Flamel, "Well, yes, it was besides that."
Flamel sighed and said, "Perenelle was totally against us doing anything. We had the most terrible row about it. In the end we decided to proceed without telling her."
"Er," said Harry, wanting them to get on with telling him, "so what did you do?"
"We placed a charm on you. It was intended to dull the connection, if it existed, between yourself, Harry, and Voldemort. It was designed to break when you became old enough to defend yourself, but would hide you from him should he come back earlier."
"Is the charm completely broken now?" asked Hermione.
"No, but it has been largely ineffective for some time now," answered Flamel.
"So what did Perenelle see, then?" Harry asked, feeling a prickly anger grow inside.
"Another charm. Probably the crucible."
"Crucible?" asked Hermione. "It sounds like you were bottling part of Harry up."
Harry snorted at this notion but realised that Hermione was looking at Flamel very seriously.
"That's exactly what we intended."
"But he was just a baby," she said, "what could possibly need to be bottled up?"
"Is it what Fides showed me?" asked Harry seriously.
"It seems likely," said Dumbledore, "although that's not what we set out to do. All we wanted was to suppress the darker side of your nature, the part that Voldemort affected, until you were old enough to control yourself."
"Actually," said Harry, now looking at Hermione, "I was thinking about the other things Fides showed me."
"Oh," said Flamel.
"Well, that was more of a fortunate accident," said Dumbledore.
Hermione placed a hand on Harry's forearm, clearly expecting him to react angrily to this statement.
"A fortunate accident?" Harry managed to say, "Don't you think I might have had an easier time defending myself if I was able to do those things?"
"You would have been dead long ago if that were true," said Flamel.
"Harry, Voldemort has wanted you alive. If you were that dangerous, he would have had you killed. Of course, his priorities may have changed now," said Dumbledore.
"I do wish I knew what you three were really talking about," said Hermione with a sigh.
Harry smiled at her.
"You know that Harry was affected when Voldemort attacked him. Apart from the link between them, Harry can speak Parseltongue, for instance," explained Flamel. "This indicates that some of Voldemort's influence escaped our Crucible. In addition, we managed to trap some of Harry's natural abilities in the same Crucible."
"Without the influence of the Crucible, Hermione," said Dumbledore, "I'm quite convinced Harry would have simply replaced Voldemort as one of the most feared Dark Wizard for generations."
"That's ridiculous," said Hermione, looking at Harry and expecting him to have the same reaction.
Harry looked back at Hermione as he vividly recalled his experiences with Fides when he was introduced to the darker side of himself. After a long moment Harry said sadly, "I'm not so sure it is ridiculous, Hermione."
They sat in silence for a moment before Harry asked, "So when will the Crucible break?"
"That is up to you," said Flamel smiling. "We couldn't agree on an appropriate age so instead it is triggered by a series of minor events." Harry felt he was stopping himself explaining more fully.
"Unfortunately," said Dumbledore a little hesitantly, "there are a couple of problems."
"Naturally," said Harry dryly.
"Firstly, we can't tell you what the trigger is," said Flamel, "because if you knew you'd only try to force it rather than letting time and nature take its course."
"And secondly," continued Dumbledore, "the Crucible might itself be affecting the trigger."
"What is the nature of the trigger?" asked Hermione. "Could you tell me privately what it is?"
Flamel looked at her, clearly impressed.
"If we were to tell you," said Dumbledore, "you would have to swear not to reveal it to anyone."
Flamel frowned a little and warned, "The information might not be your interests, either."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Well, suppose Harry had to see you humiliated in some way," said Dumbledore, "or hurt."
"Then I'll never break the Crucible then," said Harry angrily, "because there's no way that's going to happen."
"I think that was just an example, Harry," said Hermione smiling at him.
"Actually," said Flamel, "it was a rather good example, though. Could you really act so selflessly?"
"Harry, I think Nicolas and Hermione may need to talk some things through before we decide whether or not to bring her into our confidence," Dumbledore said smiling. "Why don't you and I take a stroll?"
Harry looked at Hermione who looked lost in thought for a moment. Then she nodded slowly and Harry reluctantly stood to leave.