Chapter 9
Reading
"Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to come visit me, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said politely from his portrait as I stood in front of it.
"Of course, Professor," I replied, unbelievably curious about the purpose of our meeting. The late Headmaster had often requested the presence of Harry, Ron, and I to instruct us along our Horcrux hunt, but this was the first time that one of us had been called out separately.
"Perhaps, it would be best if we went on and hit the nail on the head."
I nodded in assent.
"Very well. If you look at the bookcase to your left, you will see an assortment of Muggle cookbooks halfway down the third shelf. The spine of one reads A Taste of New Orleans for the Southern Traveler. Remove it."
Not stopping to debate why Albus Dumbledore would have kept a collection of non-magical cookbooks in his study, I hastily went to the bookcase, located the tome, and gave it a heave. Though the force behind my tug was great, the book did not budge from its place.
"Ah, I feared that would happen. No matter' tap it thrice with the tip of your wand and say Aspherise."
After carrying out his instructions, the book slid easily off of the shelf. With it clasped tightly in my hands, I went back to my position in front of the portrait.
"Between pages 134 and 135 you should find a small gold key. Use this key to unlock the bottommost drawer on the right-hand side of Minerva`s desk. Inside is a file which I feel the two of us should discuss."
It took mere seconds for me to obtain the file. The ink on the front of the folder shone up at me, spelling out an all too familiar name.
"Professor--"
"Pull up a seat, Miss Granger. This, I believe, is something that may require a bit of listening."
Confusion filled me as I sat in on of the cushioned chairs next to the bookcase.
"As only you probably know, more of my time than everyone believes is focused on the life of our Mr. Potter. I knew from the moment he was born that he was destined to be powerful, as the son of Lily and James Potter could only be. His first confrontation with Voldemort reinforced my belief, as did the ones following some eleven years after. However, in the past few years, some other factors concerning Harry's magic have come to my attention. You have learned in Charms, of course, about a witch or wizard's core element and how it plays in the person's life."
I nodded. Professor Flitwick had revealed our elements to us just days before.
"Then you have undoubtedly found out that the elemental cores of most wizards remain dormant and that they usually cause no problems or disruptions with said wizard's lifestyle. However, very few wizards and witches in history have possessed an elemental core so strong that it can be potentially problematic. Two, to be exact. Their names and significance are neither here nor there but I have reason to believe that Harry may be one of these wizards."
"Professor," I began carefully, "with all due respect, wouldn't Ron and I have noticed something this...unordinary?"
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily behind his half-moon spectacles.
"A wise question, Miss Granger, but no. I don't believe that either you or Mr. Weasley would have paid any attention to this. The changes here have been undeniably subtle. Though, without a doubt, you are observant to a fault, I do not think that even you would have noticed this slight development, since this problem lies centrally in Harry's magic.
"Obviously, I have informed Harry of my findings, though I have not indulged to him what I believe to be the severity of his case. I don't feel the immediate need to lay yet another burden on his shoulders. Rather, I have been trying to teach him to control the fire within him without telling him directly about the possible side effects of a total loss of mental or emotional control on his part.
"That file you hold is documentation of every occurrence of Harry's idiosyncrasy that I have witnessed."
My fingers idly stroked the cover on the thick file. "But Professor, what would I need this information for?"
The Headmaster eyed me thoughtfully for a few moments before he answered, "You know as well as I that we are nearing an end to the war. With all of the Horcruxes destroyed or in our possession, the Dark Side will stop at nothing to obtain information on any of Harry's weaknesses. If the contents of that file were to be found out, the consequences would be a devastating blow in their favor. Miss Granger, the protection of this information is of the utmost importance. No one must know of our conversation here today. You will speak of this to no one. This must be kept confidential until after the war is over. Even then, try to put what you will read in that file out of your mind. I am giving this to you with the request that you guard it with your life. Do I have your word?"
Though Dumbledore's spirit is present only in magically realistic oil on canvas, it didn't stop his crystal eyes from burning into mine. I stared right back, unable to keep my fingers from tracing Harry's name on the cream parchment.
"You have my word."
Now, six years later, my eyes gaze down at the dulled ink scrawling miniscule words across pages and pages of parchment. I flip the first few sheets over and come to an entry dated a few days after the death of Sirius.
June 2
The time I have spent in effort to understand fully the events that occurred in the Department of Mysteries has been wasted until today. I have repeatedly recalled the memory of the scene to no avail, yet I believe I have finally isolated part of the confusion.
Harry spoke once to me that, during his possession by Voldemort, he felt a burning sensation unlike any other, as if he were being pulled into the bowels of Hades itself. I, however, have come to believe that this feeling was, in all actuality, Harry's pyro-elemental instincts acting in his defense. Through his connection with Voldemort, he too felt the pain that the reaction was causing his enemy. This has also caused me to think that the element responds instinctively to an extreme feeling of threat, pain, panic, or, quite possibly, love. This is the first solid evidence I have found that demonstrates the abnormal power of Harry's element.
"Herm?" Ron's voice startles me, causing me to jump and spin my chair around to hide the parchment spread over my desk.
"Yes?" I question breathlessly.
Ron eyes me suspiciously. "You've been in here for a while. Are you alright?"
"Yeah, yes, of course. Just finishing up some last minute reports. Did you need something?"
"I felt a shift in the anti-apparation wards. I think Harry's back."
Mustering up the best smile that I can, I nod back in response. "I'll just tidy up here, then perhaps I'll see if he can explain what happened."
You already know what happened.
"Yeah, I think that would be good," Ron replies quietly, shutting the door behind him, leaving me in silence.
A/N::: So sorry for the late update everyone. I know this chapter wasn't all that exciting, but I hope it answered a few questions. And no major cliffe...just to ease your minds. Anywho...please, Please, PLEASE review!! I love knowing how everyone feels about where I'm taking this.
Toodles,
Mandy
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