Chapter 49: Chat and Work
Harry walked with a small smile through the entrance to Hogwarts Castle. Beside him, Professor McGonagall walked slowly as they chatted briefly. Dumbledore had asked Harry to come to the castle when they met to talk with the Gringotts Goblins.
Now that it was another day, Harry came, curious to know what Dumbledore wanted. Although the older man liked to chat, he knew that at times like this, when Voldemort was still lurking, he wouldn't exactly call for that. Even if he rambled a bit, he always had a purpose when he invited someone without the intention of making friendly small talk.
"By the way, Professor, how were lessons?" Harry asked, curious to hear about Hogwarts classes. After all, a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher hadn't been planned with Umbridge out of the role.
"The Headmaster appointed Severus as the DADA teacher, and contacted the former Potions professor, Slughorn, for that class. Unfortunately, even with Severus's drive to teach that class, his personality isn't the best for it."
"He used to be harsh, but his mastery certainly wasn't for nothing. He knew about his classes; now, however, he's stricter with the students."
"Hmm..." Harry murmured a little. He had no doubt that Severus Snape knew about his Potions. There was a reason Voldemort had recruited him. Harry didn't know the reason why Severus was stricter now. Perhaps it was because Voldemort had returned.
"Does he know the reason the Headmaster called me?" Harry asked again.
"Yes, but you'll have to discuss that with him. I just hope he thinks carefully about what the Headmaster wants to tell him." McGonagall smiled gently, surprising Harry a little. He knew the woman was mostly expressionless or had a stern expression on her face. The number of times he'd seen her smile as broadly as she was now could be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Now Harry was beyond curious.
When they reached the entrance to the headmaster's chambers, McGonagall gave the gargoyle the password and let Harry in before she left. When the door opened at the top of the stairs, Harry saw the headmaster smiling a little, his eyes twinkling. But when he saw Fawkes, he paled a little. The moment he saw the bird, he remembered Hedwig. She had left him here at Hogwarts while he traveled. Chances were she'd be angry, and Harry would get a few scratches from the owl.
"Welcome, Harry. Please take a seat."
"Thank you," Harry nodded and sat down in front of Dumbledore's desk. "I'm curious, Headmaster. Why did you call me?"
"Before we get to that, I'd like to ask something."
"Go ahead," Harry nodded.
"I've had this question since yesterday, when I found out Voldemort ambushed you. Why didn't you... end everything then? Voldemort's last Horcrux was destroyed by you then. You could have ended his life then."
Harry sighed a little and nodded.
"Of all the people in this world, I may be the one who knows the most about magic and the soul right now. And you're right, I could have killed him and ended it all."
Harry's gaze grew more serious, and a flash of coldness appeared in his eyes. "But I didn't want to give that privilege to Tom Riddle. His goals and motivations; the things he did to try to achieve them... he doesn't deserve a quick death."
Harry closed his eyes for a moment as he continued: "The ritual that gave him a new body was actually perfect; there were no flaws in it. However, the Horcruxes are one for him."
"What do you mean?" Dumbledore asked with a hint of disbelief. Those things kept Voldemort's soul on this plane, so why would they be a problem for Tom? He wondered in his mind.
"A Horcrux splits the soul, Director. And while one seems like a small amount, it's actually ideal. The soul is essential to any living creature. It's part of a person's psyche. Can you imagine the problems a single Horcrux would cause? Voldemort began to lose his mind little by little with each Horcrux he made. And, at the same time, he completely mutilated his soul."
"And as I said before, his ritual to obtain a new body was perfect, but creating more Horcruxes isn't something you can call perfect. With each new one he made, his soul split more and more, causing his body to begin to fail. Do you really think that even with the protection my mother left behind, he couldn't dodge that rebounding Killing Curse? Damn it, even you could dodge that, even with how close you were."
"Voldemort was already losing all feeling in his body, his perceptions and senses failing; only the connection he had with his soul in His Horcruxes were holding him up. And now that he no longer has those connections, his body will begin to fail to the point where it will slowly break down."
"I don't have to do anything anymore... he will die alone..."
Dumbledore's eyes were wide open, surprised by this outcome. After a few minutes of staring ahead, he sighed with a little regret before rubbing his eyes while raising his glasses.
"That's... good."
"..." Harry remained silent, watching Dumbledore. He thought his reaction would be different. And in fact, he decided to ask: "Are you all right?... I thought you would be less receptive to his death."
Dumbledore smiled sadly and with a touch of irony.
"I have never considered myself the kindest of people, Harry. In fact, in my younger days I was selfish. My reason for giving some people a second chance isn't simply out of kindness, but because I myself had a second chance."
"Before Grindelwald rose as a Dark Lord, we were friends. We both wanted to change wizarding society, we wanted to change the world. However, one day, my brother came to me while I was talking with Gellert. Well... at that time, we said many things to each other, and a fight started."
Dumbledore's eyes glazed over as he remembered those moments and the death of his sister, Ariana.
"She couldn't control her magic, and she tried to stop the fight between the three of us. At that moment, in that place, she died. And we didn't know who killed her. I've always thought... What if I was the one who killed her? What if it was my brother, Aberforth?"
"From that moment on, I was no longer a friend of Gellert's. And only when I was able to stop him, was I able to have a second chance. But, even then, the damage was done, my sister died and I've never known who killed her."
"I can give second chances because I myself had one and was able to be someone better. But I understand that not everyone can have that chance; Tom is one of them. He has caused so many atrocities..."
"I see...", Harry muttered. Now he knew something else about Albus Dumbledore. He could have read the books Rias gave him. But, reading was different, especially when it was a character written by a person. There could be many discrepancies with what had been written. With each conversation he had with Albus, Harry learned more and more about the headmaster.
And he could say that he was the most human person he had ever met.
Harry didn't know many people, but out of all of them, Albus Dumbledore was the one with the most mistakes. He was full of mistakes, but he tried hard to improve and change, trying to fix those mistakes.
"I understand you better now, headmaster," Dumbledore smiled a little more at that. "But, could we change the subject? I think that would be best."
"Yes...", Albus nodded and pulled out a scroll from one of his drawers."
Harry took it when he saw it handed to him; he opened it and read its contents carefully. And the more he read the more surprised he was.
"What a surprise... even though I'm surprised that you're asking me to be a teacher, I'm more surprised that you want to create a new class... Magical theory?... That really sounds good."
"You want me to teach the students about what ancient magic looked like and how it has progressed to the present time and teach them those theories," Harry was smiling. He really liked this. It was something really good that he would be willing to teach with pleasure.
But he had a small doubt...
"Do you think the students will take it well?... I mean, I'm 15 years old and I'll be teaching people who are a little younger and a little older than me..."
"You'll be fine," Dumbledore said seriously. "You've already stood before scholars who wouldn't listen to those your age and convinced them of your theory of magic and the werewolf curse."
Harry looked at him for a few moments before nodding, "Alright; I accept this invitation from you, Headmaster. When should I start?"
"If everything was normal, I would ask you to start next year. But, with Voldemort still around and people not knowing about him, then your presence would lighten things up a bit. Also, the school term isn't really over yet, so I would ask you to start in a month."
"Then I will fix the schedule and do more research on ancient magic. However, it doesn't actually say here how many years I will be teaching. Will it be an elective class or will it start from the first year?"
"Elective class," Dumbledore replied. "I don't think it's ideal for eleven year olds to start with more complicated subjects when they barely know magic."
Harry nodded, "Then from third year onwards, fine."
"I think I'll retire now, Headmaster; I need to start now, I don't have too much time until September."
"Well... I hope to see you soon, Harry. Although it will be a new experience to be sitting at the staff dinner table with someone who isn't that old!" Dumbledore chuckled a little at the latter.
"Careful, Headmaster; don't let the teachers hear you..." Harry closed the door with a small laugh and headed towards the owlery to find Hedwig.
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