Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling and her various corporate partners. I own nothing, and I am making no profit by my little ventures into the shadowy realms of fanfiction. I do so purely for enjoyment. I would, however, like to thank JKR for allowing us all to play in her sandbox.
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Harry Potter and the Knight of the Radiant Heart
III
The next morning, Harry was able to convince Madam Pomfrey to release him before Ron or Hermione regained consciousness and also before Luna, Neville, Ginny or anyone else for that matter, thought to come and pay a visit.
After he had changed out of his hospital gown and into some of his normal clothes, Harry was making his way out of the infirmary when he saw another occupied bed near the door. In his frenzied and chaotic state the night before, Harry never even noticed that someone else had been injured in all the fighting and admitted to Hogwarts' medical wing. The sight at first made his blood run cold as his mind quickly ran through the most likely candidates to be lying motionless in one of Madam Pomfrey's sickbeds.
Hermione and Ron are already here, thought Harry, Luna, Neville and Ginny were released last night. It could be Lupin or Moody, Tonks or Shacklebolt. Surely Dumbledore wouldn't have brought any of the injured Death Eaters back to the school for treatment.
Then his eyes widened as a new thought struck him.
Maybe he didn't die, maybe they found Sirius and they brought him back…
With a new sense of energy coursing through him, Harry hurried over to see just who was lying in the bed in question. His hopes were dashed, however, when he discovered the squat figure and toad-like face of Deloris Umbridge.
"Bitch…" Harry whispered to no one in particular. Umbridge was unconscious, unaware of her angry visitor. For a moment, Harry couldn't think of why Umbridge would need to be recovering in the hospital wing, but then he remembered the centaurs carrying her off to who knows where.
"They should've killed you," Harry spat at the unconscious witch, "you don't deserve to be here when Sirius isn't."
With that, Harry left the hospital wing and made his way to Gryffindor Tower. It was still pretty early in the morning, and he managed to make his way up to his dorm room without running into anyone, a fact that Harry was very grateful for. He went to his trunk, and so as not to disturb his slumbering roommates, silently rifled through its contents in search of two particular items. Once he found his invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map, Harry quietly made his way out of the dorm and exited Gryffindor Tower.
He made his way to the Great Hall, hoping to grab a quick bite to eat without running into anyone he knew. He was just placing a few pieces of toast into a napkin to be carried off elsewhere when an unwelcome voice addressed him from behind.
"Potter," began the oily drawl of Harry's least favorite professor, "the headmaster desires to speak with you. You are to make your way to his office at your earliest convenience."
Harry simply turned and glared at Snape for a moment before nodding his head in silent acknowledgement of the message before turning back to gathering his toast.
With a dramatic swirl of his cloak, Snape left the Gryffindor table. Harry followed suit a few minutes later, albeit in the opposite direction, leaving the Great Hall and the interior of the castle altogether.
He made the long trek to the far side of the lake before throwing his cloak over his head and sitting down to eat his meager breakfast. Harry stayed in that spot for several hours. He passed the time by either staring out at the lake and the castle beyond, or watching the various members of the population of Hogwarts go about their business on the Marauder's Map.
He noticed the new name 'Keldorn Firecam' on the map a couple of times and assumed it to be the old knight that he kept running into. Once, Keldorn was in the Headmaster's office along with Dumbledore, and another time Harry found him near the Gamekeeper's hut along with Hagrid.
Harry also noted that 'Hermione Granger' and 'Ronald Weasley' stayed put in their places in the hospital wing.
He found Neville and Ginny visiting the hospital wing and its current occupants, and it seemed that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had also made the trip to Hogwarts to visit their injured son.
Luna seemed to occupy her time walking in circles around the Whomping Willow or hiking through the edges of the Forbidden Forest.
Glancing upon names like Malfoy or Umbridge often served to ignite Harry's capricious anger, at which point he would throw down the map and stare out at the lake. In his calmer moments, Harry was curious as to how the mere thought of such loathsome people could now drive him into a rage. Malfoy was definitely a git, and Umbridge was just about as bad as they came, but the mere thought of them had never garnered such a reaction from him before.
It was well past lunchtime when Harry finally stirred himself from his position and made his way back toward the castle. He had no real desire to meet with the Headmaster, but he knew that there was no way that he could put the meeting off for long. Harry was sure that Dumbledore could find him no matter where he tried to hide if the Headmaster really wished to do so.
And so, as the hour was nearing dinnertime, Harry found himself removing his invisibility cloak as he stood before the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Harry scratched his head, at a loss for what the password might be when the statue simply moved aside.
Apparently he was expected.
The rotating stairway delivered Harry to the inner doorway, which was already open. Harry slowly walked into the room to find a serene Albus Dumbledore seated behind his desk with elbows resting on the tabletop among the many oddly shaped silver instruments which were spinning and twirling in every direction while simultaneously emitting strange noises and puffs of multicolored smoke. The old man's fingers were tented before his chin.
"Harry, my boy," began the Headmaster with a kind smile, "do come in and have a seat. Would you like a lemon drop?"
No mention of Harry's delay in answering his summons was made.
"No, thanks," replied Harry as he took his seat in the large armchair across the desk from one of the world's most famous and powerful wizards. Harry simply stared at the Headmaster in silence.
The silent staring contest went on for a few moments before Dumbledore finally broke, "I asked you here today to talk about what happened at the Ministry yesterday."
At this, Harry's eyes left the old wizard in favor of examining the floor.
"I figured you might have some questions for me. Or perhaps you just might want to talk about what happened."
"What's there to talk about?" Harry questioned with some heat in his voice, "I stupidly led my friends into a deathtrap. Now Hermione and Ron are lying in the hospital wing and Sirius is…" Harry's voice trialed off as his throat closed up. "I don't think there's much to talk about."
"Harry, what happened yesterday was not your fault…"
"Save it!" interjected Harry, "I don't want to hear it."
"Voldemort has fooled many…"
"I said save it!" erupted Harry, rising to his feet. "I don't want to hear it!"
Dumbledore fell silent and resumed staring at his student as Harry fumed, breathing heavily. A few moments later, Harry slowed his breathing and retook his seat.
"Well then," started Dumbledore, "what would you like to hear?"
"You're the one who asked for me to come up here. You tell me."
The old Headmaster let out a longsuffering sigh and removed his half-moon spectacles with his right hand.
"I'm sorry, Harry, I truly am. If I could take back what happened yesterday I would. If I could undo this entire past year I would. But, alas, such things are beyond even my capabilities. I believe I have failed you this past year more times than I can really count, and for that I am truly sorry."
Harry just remained silent, staring down at his own hands clasped in his lap. The silence stretched on, broken only by the noises made by the Headmaster's ridiculous silver instruments. With no response forthcoming from Harry, Dumbledore moved on.
"I thought you might want to know about the prophecy that you retrieved from the Department of Mysteries."
At this, Harry's head snapped up and he looked intently into the old wizard's eyes.
"You once asked me why Voldemort came after you on that Halloween night so many years ago." Harry's heart began racing as Dumbledore continued, "Well, I believe the answer is found within the prophecy that you retrieved but ultimately lost last night."
"But it was destroyed," responded Harry.
"Well," replied Dumbledore, "there just so happens to be another copy of this particular prophecy. Would you like to hear it? You, above all, have the right to know what it contains."
Harry simply nodded his head, and Dumbledore waved his wand to summon his Pensieve, which in turn floated over to land upon the desk between Harry and the professor. Several of the silver instruments scurried out of the way on their own.
"Before I show this to you, Harry, I just want to say once more that I am utterly and truly sorry." And with that, Dumbledore tapped the surface of the silvery liquid in the Pensieve with the tip of his wand.
An ethereal, miniature version of Professor Trelawney emerged from the Pensieve and began to speak in a deep, ominous voice.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for in this world such Light and Darkness cannot both long survive.... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."
As the figure of Trelawney sank back into the Pensieve, Harry squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists.
"You knew," Harry growled out between clenched teeth, more as a statement than a question.
"Yes," replied the old man in a weary voice.
"How long?"
"Professor Trelawney fell into a trance and spoke that prophecy to me during a job interview shortly before you were born. A spy managed to obtain the first two lines of the prophecy and reported them back to Voldemort. That is why he attacked you as a child. But he has never learned the rest of its contents, and his desire to do so led to last night's chain of events."
Harry simply remained silent as he processed this new information. The last day and a half had been nothing but a series of blows to the fifteen year-old boy, one after another, and he wasn't sure how he was supposed to react to this.
"It may be of interest to note that you were not the only possible child that the prophecy might have referred to." Once again Harry's eyes met the Headmaster's. "Your friend Neville Longbottom was born the day before you were, and as such, could have been the subject of the prophecy. It is why his parents were attacked by the Lestranges as they were. It is also the reason why you've had to return to Privet Drive every summer. I was able to extend the protection that your mother's sacrifice gave you by tying it to the blood of her sister, your Aunt Petunia. The wards this magic created kept away any Death Eaters that might have come after you, as they came after the Longbottoms. Your return each year kept the wards charged and active."
Harry's right hand reached up to his forehead and rubbed his scar.
Marked as his equal, Harry thought to himself.
Once again, anger began to boil within him.
"Good," said Harry, "I'm glad it's me."
"Harry…"
"I'm glad because I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill that bastard any everyone who follows him."
"Harry," hastily interjected Dumbledore, "don't go down that road, it only…"
"I'm going to kill them all!" screamed Harry, leaping to his feet. "And you don't get to tell me no! You knew this the whole time, and you never said anything! You never did anything! This entire year you've ignored me, stood by as the Toad tortured me, or pawned me off to that bastard Snape. You knew about the dreams, you knew he was after the prophecy. All it would have taken was for you to say, 'Harry, don't go to the Ministry, Voldemort needs you to steal a prophecy.' But no! You never did one fucking thing!"
With that, Harry spun around, picked up the armchair he had been sitting on, and threw it with all his strength against the wall where it knocked into a cabinet which in turn spilled out several unidentifiable and apparently fragile magical objects.
Harry remained still and silent for a few moments, breathing heavily and looking at the over-turned chair and the crushed and broken belongings of the Headmaster that littered the floor.
"You're just as bad as they are," Harry whispered without looking at the old wizard. "And you don't get to tell me no."
After a moment, Harry finally turned back to look at Dumbledore. Gone was the visage of the powerful, omniscient wizard and in his place sat a tired, weary old man. Tears stained his cheeks as they ran from his anguished blue eyes down into his white beard.
There didn't really seem to be anything left to say, so Harry left the office, slamming the door shut behind him. He had no idea where to go next. He wasn't hungry and had absolutely no desire to join his classmates in the Great Hall for dinner, so he once again went out onto the grounds, heading in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. He passed Hagrid's hut and stopped about twenty paces from the edge of the forest.
All of a sudden, Harry's wand was in his hand, and before he really knew what he was doing, he had pointed it at the trees and cried out, "Reducto!"
Harry put so much power into the spell that when it struck the base of a fifty foot tall pine tree, the bottom of the trunk exploded as if it had been hit with an artillery shell. The great tree toppled to the side and landed in the clearing before the forest with a thunderous crash. The effort of putting so much power into a single spell left Harry bent over with his hands on his knees, panting for breath.
"Blimey, Harry," the surprised voice of Hagrid came from behind and to Harry's left, "what'd yeh go an' do tha' fer?"
"Don't ask, Hagrid," the now weary young man replied, "just don't ask."
"Alright Harry, alright. No harm done. But yeh can't jus' go about blowin' up them trees like tha'. Yeh could'a hurt someone."
Harry straightened up and closed his eyes.
"I won't do it again."
Without another word, Harry wandered off, leaving the Gamekeeper puzzled. Harry drifted aimlessly for a while, not bothering to keep track of the time, until well after darkness had fallen. He pulled out the Marauder's Map once more and a quick promise to do no good had him once again looking after the occupants of the castle.
Dumbledore was in his office, pacing back and forth.
Keldorn was at the top of the Astronomy Tower, standing motionless.
Harry discovered that Professor McGonagall had returned to the castle and was walking through the halls, likely on patrol for students out past curfew.
Hermione and Ron hadn't moved from their places in the hospital wing.
With a sigh, Harry cleared the map and put it away. He then ducked under his cloak and began the long trek back to Gryffindor Tower. If he was lucky, he would be able to barricade himself within his four-poster bed without having to speak a word to anyone else.
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The next morning, Harry once again rose early and after a brief stop in the Great Hall just long enough to steal a few pieces of toast, he once again found his way out onto the grounds. Unlike the day before, Harry was not content to sit and stare out across the lake. Instead, he found himself aimlessly wandering around the boundaries of the grounds away from everyone else. He counted himself lucky that he had no classes to attend as O.W.L.s were finished and the term would be coming to a close in just a few day's time.
Harry spent the rest of that day as well as the next few days either wandering about the grounds or sitting in some secluded spot, generally avoiding all contact with any other human beings. The little food that he ate was had either out on the grounds, like his morning toast, or taken in the kitchens by himself. Going to bed late and waking up early helped him avoid his housemates.
With ever-growing frequency Harry found himself getting angry. Sometimes the smallest things would set him off. A word or a mere thought were enough to throw him into a lather and have him ready to start cursing whatever was in range. Thankfully, he had had no further explosive outbursts since he blew up the pine tree near Hagrid's hut, but it was probably only a matter of time.
His thoughts dwelled on the battle at the Department of Mysteries, on the serious injuries that his friends had received, and on Sirius. Rather than make him sad, Harry only found anger. He wanted to break either something or someone.
Hermione and Ron were eventually released from the hospital wing. Harry knew this because they had come looking for him on the third day of his self-imposed exile from the Hogwarts community and each day thereafter. Any time he heard them coming or spotted their approach on the Marauder's Map, Harry simply slipped under his cloak and waited for them to leave.
He wasn't really sure why he was doing this, but he did it all the same.
On one such occasion, Harry was hiding under his cloak down by the lake when his two best friends walked by.
"Give it a rest, Hermione," said Ron as the two students came into view, "Harry'll show up when he's good and ready."
"Don't be ridiculous, Ron," replied the brown-haired girl, "we have to keep looking. We're his friends and Harry needs us."
"What Harry needs is a break from all the trouble that's nagging him."
"Oh really? Is that what I am then?" Hermione shot back as her eyes glinted dangerously. "I'm just out here to nag him and heap more trouble on his back, am I?"
"Come on, Hermione, you know I didn't mean it like that."
"Oh? Then how did you mean it? All you ever do is complain about how I nag you and Harry to do your homework or finish your reading assignments. Who else am I supposed to think you're referring to when you say someone's nagging Harry?"
"Just because you nag us about homework doesn't mean I'm talking about you every time I use the word, you know."
"Gah! You're such, such a… Why don't you just go back to the castle and play Exploding Snap with one of the other idiots in the common room? Get away from the big bad nag!"
Hermione then stormed off, leaving Ron standing there shell-shocked. After a few moments, Ron began moving once again, but instead of turning back to the castle, he followed after Hermione.
Harry wasn't sure what to make of the exchange, but in the end, he chose not to reveal himself to his worried best friends.
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The day before the Hogwarts Express was set to leave, Professor McGonagall managed to trap Harry in the entrance hall of the castle. Harry was a bit lost in his own thoughts and reentered the castle without first concealing himself with his cloak. McGonagall was waiting for him.
"Mr. Potter," barked the stern voice of Hogwarts' Deputy Headmistress.
Harry was startled by his Head of House's appearance, but once he recovered, he simply walked over to her, resigned to whatever punishment he would receive for being out so late past curfew.
"Come with me."
Harry followed obediently as McGonagall led him through the hallways to her office. Once inside the spartan and rather sparsely decorated room, McGonagall seated herself on the hard, wooden chair behind her desk and motioned for Harry to have a seat on one of the wooden stools clearly meant for student use. Harry took his seat and simply waited for the professor to begin.
"Mr. Potter, first of all I would just like you to know that contrary to whatever you may be thinking at the moment, you are not in trouble."
This statement left Harry more confused than anything else. He drew his eyebrows together in puzzlement.
"Then why am I here?" Harry questioned.
"I am well aware of the events which took place during my absence from the school and that role that you and your friends played in them."
Mention of the battle at the Department of Mysteries, even in this cursory way, put Harry on the defensive, but he remained quiet and listened as McGonagall continued.
"For that reason, the Headmaster has asked the staff to be rather lenient with the six of you as you all deal with the repercussions of that night. As such, you are not in trouble for staying out past curfew tonight or during the past few days.
"But that is not the reason I asked to speak with you. The Headmaster believes that it would be in your best interest to stay here at the castle for the summer holidays. He has even gone so far as to preemptively obtain permission from your relatives. The decision however, is up to you. If you would prefer to return home for the summer, you may do so, but the Headmaster thought that you might prefer an alternative."
"Oh, so now he thinks it will be that easy for us to kiss and make up, does he? Just offer poor Harry a carrot and he'll be back on the Dumbledore bandwagon!" Harry replied spitefully.
"Do not take that tone with me, young man," McGonagall returned with without pause. "Whatever your quarrel with the Headmaster, you will remember your manners and show proper respect when speaking to me. Understood?"
Harry was instantly cowed by his stern Head of House.
"Yes, Professor."
"That's better."
A few moments later, Harry had another question, this one without his earlier petulance.
"What about the wards, the blood protection that needs to be renewed?"
"The Headmaster believes that you are now old enough to make your own decision as to whether or not the benefits of the wards at Privet Drive are worth the ordeal of returning there. After all, they did not prevent the events which recently took place. The wards here at the castle should be sufficient to keep you safe. Some of the staff will also be staying for the summer, Hagrid and myself included, as well as the Headmaster of course."
Harry sat and thought for a few moments. Staying at Hogwarts really was a better alternative than returning to the Dursleys. And he didn't really feel like staying at the Burrow; that just seemed, well, awkward to Harry for some reason. But did he really want to be within such close quarters with Dumbledore for the entire summer?
In the end, the decision was rather easy; Hogwarts would win out over Number Four any day of the week.
"I think I'd like that," replied Harry.
McGonagall nodded her head once, but showed no further emotion at having Harry around for the summer.
"In that case you will still reside in your dormitory in Gryffindor Tower. You may have free reign about the normal areas of the castle, but are expected to adhere to the rules, especially curfew starting tomorrow night. You must also remain within the castle grounds at all times. If you should need to leave at some point, you will need permission from either myself or the Headmaster, as well as an escort. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Professor."
All in all, Harry thought he was making out pretty well in the exchange. A summer free of the Dursleys and he would be able to use his magic since he would be on school grounds. He had no real desire to venture beyond Hogwarts' gates anyways.
"Good," replied the Deputy Headmistress. "I have one more item to discuss with you, however. Normally I would not interfere with the social life of my students, but I believe this to be a rather special case. To put it bluntly, your friends are very worried about you." Harry squirmed in his seat as McGonagall continued. "Miss Granger in particular is quite concerned. She came to me twice in the last two days, worried that she hasn't been able to find you anywhere in the castle. Might I ask why you've been avoiding them?"
Harry simply remained silent.
After a few moments, McGonagall went on, "Whatever the problem is, avoiding them is likely not the answer. You cannot run away from your problems forever, Mr. Potter."
"They'll be fine," Harry quietly responded to his Head of House without looking directly at her.
"At the very least, I think you should consider wishing them farewell tomorrow, as you won't be traveling on the train with them. I imagine that Miss Granger might become quite distraught if she were to be unable to find you. Merlin only knows what her imagination might lead her to conclude about your unexplained absence from the train."
"I…" began Harry, "could you tell them that I'm staying here for the summer for me? I just… could you? Please?"
At that, McGonagall's face softened as much as Harry had ever seen.
"Alright, Mr. Potter, just this once. But I will not have one of my lions running away from his problems forever. Whatever is off between you and your friends, I expect you to deal with it soon."
Without anything else to discuss, Harry was dismissed and returned to his dormitory for the night.
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AN: Phew! I had a lot more planned for Chapter III, but it ended up being twice as long as it should have been. I'm trying to keep the chapters within a manageable size, so I decided to split the monster.
Note that the exact wording of the prophecy has been changed, so if you skipped over that paragraph, go back and look again. Remember, this story is AU, so not everything is the same.
Thank you to all who added this to their favorites this or put it on alert. It's humbling to know that a few of you enjoy what I have to write enough to come back for more.
Extra special thanks to everyone who left a review. You're all wonderful.
Keldorn Firecam is from the game Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn. If you want to know what Keldorn looks like, just Google his name and you'll find his portrait from the old video game.
Now for the begging. Please leave a review on your way out. I want to know what you think.
Thanks for reading!