Harry Potter and the Time of Shadows

- Chapter Sixteen-

The Order of the Phoenix

"I still can't believe it," said George in Ron's room an hour later. "Percy? Getting married?"

"I think that it's really romantic," said Ginny, avoiding Harry's eyes. "I mean, they love each other and want to commit their lives to each other. They want to be together forever, and that's really nice."

"I think we should put her in St. Mungo's," said Fred flatly, shattering the mood.

"Fred," said Ginny. "She is not insane just because she wants to marry our brother!"

"I think that's for the people at St. Mungo's to decide," said George, while Fred started to shake with laughter.

"Oh honestly, you two," Ginny said, sounding frighteningly like her mother. "Why do you always make fun of Percy?"

"Because he's an uptight idiot who would follow stupid rules even if it killed him," George replied.

"But he's your brother!" Ginny protested. "You love him really, don't you?"

"Maybe," said Fred. "I'm not sure."

Ginny made a tutting noise with her tongue.

"Anyone up for a game of Quidditch?" Fred suggested, leaping to his feet.

"Are you kidding?" said Ron. "It's pitch black out. We'd lose the bright red Quaffle, never mind the Snitch!"

"Oh yeah," said Fred, getting back on the floor.

"Speaking of Quidditch," said George. "Malfoy's top-of-the-line Firebolt Evolution is wrecked! Professor Flitwick and Madam Hooch tried to repair it, but they said it was no use. Bet he's sorry he made those two dipsticks Beaters!"

Harry laughed. "So he's back on his old Nimbus Two Thousand and One! Although that's a really great broomstick," he added, noticing Ron give him a sideways glance.

"And also," said Fred. "About Quidditch, we've found out who the new Hufflepuff Seeker is!"

"Really?" said Harry, trying not to think of Cedric. "Who is it?"

"He's in your year Harry. His name's Finch, or Fletchley or something like that."

"Justin Finch-Fletchley?" Harry asked. "He's the new Seeker?"

"Well that's OK Harry," said Ron, slapping him on the back. "You can beat him any day."

"You've never even seen him fly," Ginny pointed out. "He could be great for all you know."

"Oh come off it!" said Ron. "Does he really seem like the Quidditch type to you?"

"Well, no but --"

"Is he gonna be captain too?" Harry asked.

"Nah, it's only his first year on the team. I think one of their Chasers'll be captain, Robinson."

There was a knock on the door.

"Harry!" Mrs Weasley called through the door. "Time to go."

Everyone in the room groaned. "Can't he stay for a little while longer?" Ron asked.

Mrs Weasley opened the door. "No, it's too dangerous to have Harry staying anywhere but Hogwarts right now."

"Oh come on mum," said Fred. "Do you honestly think that You-Know-Who's waiting in the attic, waiting for Harry to go to sleep?"

She suddenly looked very stern. "I'll have no more talk like that!" she said shrilly.

"It's OK Mrs Weasley," said Harry, getting up to leave. "I understand. I should go."

He said goodbye to everyone, and walked out. Ron followed to see him off. They bumped into Percy on the way to the kitchen.

"Harry!" he said, his arm still around his fiancée. "Are you leaving so soon?"

"Yeah," Harry replied. "I've got to be back at Hogwarts tonight, I can't stay."

"Well, I have to agree with Professor Dumbledore there," Percy said, sounding like his old self. "It is not safe for you to be out at night these days."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Harry, we wanted to ask you something," he said. "Penelope and I would love it if you would come to our wedding."

"O course I'll come!" Harry said, his voice suddenly becoming high, like an excited toddler. "When is the wedding?"

"August," Penelope replied. "We haven't set the date yet."

"All right, I'll be there," Harry told them.

"Excellent," Percy said, brushing some hair out of Penelope's face. "Harry Potter at our wedding!"

Harry wished them luck, and walked to the kitchen, to Floo back to Moody's house.

Moody took some powder for himself, and shouted into the fire "Retina Lodge!" and he was gone.

"See you back at school Harry," Ron said.

"You too," said Harry, picking up his cloak that he had put next to the fireplace. He threw the powder into the fire and shouted "Retina Lodge!". He disappeared in a blaze of emerald flames

Harry found solid ground again at Moody's house. It was past ten o'clock by then, and it was very dark. Moody waved his wand and lit some lamps. The room looked very different cloaked in the flicking light. The long shadows danced around the room, and Harry was eager to leave the house as soon as possible.

"Are you staying at Hogwarts for the rest of the holidays?" Harry asked, watching Moody light up the room a little better.

"Nah," he said. "I think I'll just stay here in my quiet home. You get used to the solitude really, it's comforting. Of course I'll take the train back with you. We can't have you riding that thing all by yourself."

"So you're going to take the train for an hour up to Hogwarts, and then you're going to come back here?"

"Exactly," said Moody. "It would be so much easier if we could just Apparate everywhere. Of course that would make it easier for the Dark wizards too."

They rode the train back to Hogwarts, by the time they got back it was well past eleven o'clock. The Entrance Hall was pitch black, and Harry had a horrible feeling that Filch would not have a high tolerance of his excuses if he caught him out of bed.

"Lumos," Moody muttered, illuminating the hall ever so slightly.

"Well goodbye then Moody," Harry said to him. "Hope I'll see you again sometime."

"Thanks Potter," said Moody, the light under his face exaggerating the scars. "I hope so too. Oh, you'll send my best wishes to the Longbottom boy, and my apologies."

"Of course," Harry said.

Moody left the castle, and Harry was left on his own to find his way back to Gryffindor Tower.

Thankfully, he did not run into Filch on his way, although he did have to explain the whole story to a very disgruntled Fat Lady.

When she eventually swung forward, he entered the Gryffindor common room, which was utterly deserted.

He traipsed up the stairs to his dormitory, expecting to find Seamus and Neville asleep in their beds, but they were still up when he came in.

"Harry!" Neville said when he opened the door. "You're getting in late aren't you?"

"Travelling took a while," he explained.

"How was Christmas at Ron's?" Seamus asked.

"Great, Ron's brother Percy's getting married," Harry told them, dipping into his bag of Chocolate Frogs that he had received from Hermione.

"Really?" said Seamus. "That was the brother that was Head Boy, wasn't it?"

They discussed Percy and the wedding for a while, before the subject of presents came up.

"I got ten Galleons from my Uncle Algie," Neville said. "And my grandma send me a Wizarding Wireless."

He pointed to his bed, where there was what looked like an old-fashioned Muggle radio. Neville turned a knob on the front. And music started to play that reminded Harry of the Weird Sisters from the Yule Ball.

"What about you Harry?" Seamus asked. "Did you get anything good from the Weasleys?"

"Yeah, I got a whole load of one of Fred and George's inventions, the Jumbo Snack. They're crisps that make you really fat. And Charlie gave me this model of a Hippogriff." He took it out of his pocket and let it fly around the room.

"And Ron gave me this wizard hat." He took that out of his inside pocket. It was black, and so shiny it reflected his face when he looked at it. It was patterned with several silver stars, and it had silver lining around the rim.

"Did Ron like that Broomstick Kit you got him?" Neville asked.

"Yeah, he loved it. He used it on his Nimbus."

They talked until late in the night, when Seamus collapsed on the floor. Harry and Neville changed into their pyjamas, and got into bed.

"Harry," Neville said through the darkness. "Can I ask you a question? I mean, you might not want to answer it."

"All right Neville," Harry said. "What is it?"

"Do you think about your parents a lot?"

Harry thought about his answer carefully. "Yeah, I do. I try not to sometimes, when it's too painful. But I think about them most when I really need them. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yeah," said Neville. "I know exactly when you mean."

Harry closed his eyes, and fell asleep...

He was running down a narrow lane. It was twisting and turning in all different directions. He finally reached the end of the path. In front of him was a long row of houses, small houses. The cottage nearest him stood out the most. It was a complete wreck. There was a gigantic hole in the roof, two of the walls were badly burned, and the whole thing was covered in thick ivy. The night cast a curtain of darkness over the landscape.

Voldemort was standing in front of the house. He was wearing a look more horrible than Harry had ever seen on his face. It was as though he had become Death itself.

Wait a second, Harry thought. He could see Voldemort, he could distinctly see everything around him. He knew who he was. He was Harry Potter. It did not make any sense. Usually when he had a dream like this, he had had no idea who any of the people were, or where they were. There was something else at work here tonight, he thought, a powerful magic.

He heard footsteps far away. Voldemort turned his head sharply, and so did Harry. He did not want to turn his back on Voldemort, but knew that he could not hurt him, because he was not really there.

The source of the sound was getting closer. There was a dark figure coming down the path he had just run. He was tall and thin, silhouetted against the moonlight. He came closer, until Harry could see his face.

It was Dumbledore.

Harry gasped. Dumbledore was meeting with Voldemort? It made no sense, Voldemort would kill him the second he had the chance. Dumbledore had that look on his face, that cold, furious look that he remembered from the end of his fourth year, when Dumbledore had stood over the Stunned form of Crouch.

Voldemort took a step towards Dumbledore, he did not look at all afraid, as people had said he would be. Instead he had every bit as much fury in his movements as Dumbledore. He drew out his wand, and held it lazily between two fingers.

"Dumbledore," Voldemort hissed. The icy voice sent a bigger chill down Harry's spine than ever before.

"Good evening," Dumbledore said calmly.

Dumbledore did not take out his wand, and this surprised Harry very much. Voldemort was armed, and Dumbledore was not responding. They were both silent, pacing around each other, as if sizing each other up.

Voldemort gripped his wand more tightly. The darkness was casting a shadow over his face, making him seem even more dangerous, even more murderous. The night was clearly showing the lines on Dumbledore's ancient face.

Voldemort was completely alone. He did not have Wormtail at his side, or his snake slithering around his feet. He wanted it to just be him and Dumbledore.

"Why did you want to meet me here of all places Dumbledore?" Voldemort asked, breaking the eerie silence.

"I don't know," said Dumbledore, turning his head to look up at the ruined house. "Maybe to bring back old memories..."

"If you are trying to intimidate me," said Voldemort. "By bringing me to the place where I first met my downfall, it has not only failed, it is pathetic."

They continued to prowl around each other, and Harry had a horrible feeling in his stomach that something bad was going to happen.

"I am not trying to intimidate you, certainly not to scare you," said Dumbledore amiably. "I know you are not a person who is easily scared."

What's going on? Harry thought. Why were they being so civil to each other? Shouldn't they be trying to curse each other or something?

"Well?" Voldemort cried impatiently. "I take it you wanted to meet me for a reason?"

"Yes," Dumbledore replied, his voice not wavering at all. He was as firm as a rock. "Yes I did."

"Then out with it!" Voldemort shrieked. He was definitely not reacting as calmly as Dumbledore, and Harry thought that he was beginning to show signs of his fear.

"I came here to ask you, what do you plan to do now that you have returned?"

Voldemort sighed. He suddenly did not seem like the Dark Lord, who killed a countless number of people, and whose name everyone was afraid to speak. He now seemed to Harry like a child, speaking to his least favourite teacher.

"What do I plan to do? What kind of an idiotic question is that Dumbledore?" Voldemort said, his eyes not moving away from Dumbledore for a second.

"You know what I mean," Dumbledore said firmly. "You are being discreet this time around. You are not taking the credit for what you do. That is not like you."

"It is small sacrifice," Voldemort replied. "If that fool, Fudge, still does not know that I am back. You can understand that, surely."

"Of course I understand," Dumbledore said. "I just did not expect it."

"Was that it?" Voldemort spat. "You brought me here just to ask me that. You're despicable Dumbledore. I always knew you were a fool, a Mudblood-lover, and as common as muck. And you're too scared to do anything worth while, you just sit there in that school of yours, pretending to be someone."

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Dumbledore roared. "You're the one who's despicable! What kind of monster tries to kill a boy who is only just one year old? You've done some disgusting things in your time, and you're the one who's pretending to be someone!"

Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it at Dumbledore's heart. His hand was shaking slightly, but Dumbledore was as steady as he had ever been.

Dumbledore laughed a laugh every bit as cruel, and merciless as Voldemort would. He took a step closer to Voldemort, so that they were less than three feet apart.

"Put the wand down Tom," he said. "You know that you cannot hurt me, just as I cannot hurt you. You would be stupid to even try."

"Really?" Voldemort snarled. "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Harry almost jumped out of his skin as Voldemort screamed the Killing Curse. Dumbledore had not moved a muscle. The blinding green light issued from Voldemort's wand. It sped toward Dumbledore, but less than two inches away from his chest, it suddenly cracked into a thousand tiny pieces, that scattered themselves along the ground silently.

"Have you not learned by now Tom?" Dumbledore laughed. "You cannot harm me."

What was that? Harry thought. How did Dumbledore block Avada Kedavra without even moving? Voldemort and Dumbledore could not hurt each other. But why? And why was Dumbledore calling Voldemort by his Muggle first name?

"I thought that after being reborn, I would be able to break through the charm," Voldemort said, as though justifying a wrong answer in his homework.

"Well you cannot, and you will never be able to change that. You know why."

"Yesss," Voldemort hissed, lowering his wand but not putting it away. "Of course I know."

"And I in turn, know why I cannot hurt you," Dumbledore said, once again turning mindlessly to look at the destroyed cottage.

"Because I am immortal," Voldemort said with some satisfaction.

"You are not immortal Tom," Dumbledore said, still gazing away from him. "You have merely protected yourself from curses."

"I see no difference," Voldemort retorted.

Dumbledore opened his mouth to say something, but it seemed like he had stopped himself from saying it.

"What about Harry?" Dumbledore said after some thought. Harry listened hard, determined not to miss a word.

"What about him?" Voldemort said carelessly. "You want to know how I intend to get him?"

Dumbledore was silent.

"Do you really expect me to tell you that? You want me to warn you about how I am going to get Potter to me, so you can protect him?"

Dumbledore still did not speak, but fixed his trademark piercing look on Voldemort.

"Well why don't I just tell you all of my plans?" Voldemort cackled.

"And what makes you think I do not know your plans?" Dumbledore asked, a crooked smile appearing on his face.

Voldemort looked genuinely shocked. "You cannot possibly know anything. Only my followers know that."

Dumbledore stood a few more steps forward, so that even his quietest whispers could be heard by Voldemort. Harry ran closer, so he could hear what they were saying.

"Who says that all of your followers are loyal to you?" Dumbledore uttered.

Voldemort backed away. He held his right hand to his opposite arm, where all the Death Eaters wore the Dark Mark. His forehead was wrinkled in concentration, and his red eyes blazed.

Were there Death Eaters who served Dumbledore? Harry wondered. Spies who reported things about the meetings of the Death Eaters. No, if there were then Dumbledore would know more than Harry told him about each vision.

"So you have agents within my circle? You have managed to turn some of my Death Eaters into operatives during my absence? Well, confessing this was monumentally stupid! Now I will simply use Veritaserum on all of my Death Eaters and verify that they haven't betrayed me."

"But Veritaserum can be fought, you know that Tom," Dumbledore said coolly. The corner of Voldemort's mouth seem to twitch whenever he was called 'Tom'. He obviously thought that the Muggle name was beneath him.

"Yes, and many of them can, I taught them myself. No matter, there are other ways to get the truth out of a person."

"Ah, you are referring to torture, I'm sure," said Dumbledore.

"Yes, the classics never die," Voldemort laughed, and the hairs on the back of Harry's neck were standing on end.

Dumbledore shook his head. "If you have a weakness Tom, it is that you put too much faith in those who serve you."

Harry remembered Dumbledore saying that Voldemort had weaknesses on the first day of term. That must have been one of them, faith in his supporters.

"Yes, well I made that mistake once," Voldemort muttered, more to himself than Dumbledore.

"Severus?" Dumbledore said, checking his watch. Harry wanted to know what time it was as well, but evidently he had not dreamed a watch on his wrist.

"The deserter," Voldemort said coldly. "The one who turned his back on me."

"Who realised the error of his ways," Dumbledore commented.

Voldemort raised his wand again, as though really desiring to curse Dumbledore, but of course he could not.

"He will be mine as well," Voldemort threatened. "As well as the traitor. They will be taken care of."

"Mmm," Dumbledore said absentmindedly. "We'll see."

"And you intend to stop me?" Voldemort laughed. "You and your little group of embarrassments."

"You should not judge people on appearances Tom," Dumbledore said. "You should know for yourself what a person is capable of."

"Yes, well you know what I am capable of," Voldemort warned.

"And you know what I am capable of," Dumbledore responded.

They paced around each other again, and Harry started to wish that he could wake up from the dream. He tried slapping himself in the face, but could not even feel it.

"If you know my plans," said Voldemort. Harry was sure that he was testing Dumbledore. He was sure that Dumbledore was bluffing, and was worried that Voldemort would now know it. "Then you would surely know what my next move will be?"

"Yes, I would," said Dumbledore. "But I know to never let my opponent know more than absolutely necessary. It's like a game of chess."

"How profound," Voldemort said lazily. "And I will not let you know more than necessary. But I tell you this, all of my enemies will be eliminated. And you are my enemy."

"Enough of these empty threats," Dumbledore said. "It is pointless."

"But it is the truth. You shall be my defeated foe. I will see to it personally."

"That I do not believe," Dumbledore smirked.

"Yes, well you people have a tendency to not believe the truth," Voldemort said slowly. "Take your friend Fudge, he simply refuses to believe that I have brought back the Time of Shadows."

The Time of Shadows! Harry had heard that somewhere before, but what was it?

"Yes, well that I do not deny," Dumbledore admitted. "He is blinded. But this, Time of Shadows as you call it, will not last. Mark my words."

"I would rather mark your tombstone," Voldemort whispered malevolently.

"Very witty Tom," Dumbledore said, forcing a sarcastic smile. "But you will not get the chance."

"We shall see."

"Yes, we will."

Harry had the feeling that the conversation was over. Sure enough, Dumbledore turned his back, and walked away. Voldemort raised his wand, pointing it in the direction of Dumbledore's figure. But then, he lifted it to the sky and screamed "MORSMORDRE!"

The Dark Mark erupted from the wand, hovering over the house, casting a green light over the scene. Harry could still see Dumbledore walking calmly away, as though the sign of death was not over his head.

Voldemort screamed furiously, and Harry felt the scream, around him and inside of him. It became a force that he had to get out. He started to yell himself.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Harry! Harry!"

Harry sat up in his bed, sweat dripping from his face. His scar was burning worse than it ever had from a dream before. He lifted a finger to his head, tracing the lightning-bolt shape there.

He wrenched the hangings away from around his bed, Neville was staring back at him from his bed, his hangings already pulled to the side. It seemed that Seamus was an unbelievably heavy sleeper, because he was still sound asleep and snoring loudly

"Are you OK Harry?" Neville asked, his face full of concern.

"I-I'm fine," Harry stammered, wiping the sweat from his cheeks. "I just had ... a bad dream, that's all."

Harry got up out of his bed, and put his glasses on. He was not sure what he should do. Under normal circumstances he would see Dumbledore about what he had seen, but he had ample evidence that Dumbledore was nowhere near Hogwarts. He would also have written to Sirius, but Sirius was in Azkaban.

He threw on some clothes, finally deciding to see McGonagall. He thought that he should take his Invisibility Cloak, in case he ran into Filch on the way. He hid it under his shirt, telling Neville he was going to the hospital wing about a bad stomach.

Harry reached McGonagall's office. He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Of course, Harry thought. It was Christmas, at three in the morning, she would be asleep. He headed for the staff quarters, not sure if he should really be going there.

He climbed the stairs to the right room, taking off the Cloak and tucking it into his pocket, and was about to knock, when he remembered something Dumbledore had said to him during their last meeting. "I hope that you will keep the little you do know to yourself."

He also thought of the talk he had overheard between Dumbledore and Snape. He had said that Snape was the only one who knew of their meeting, and to not tell the other Professors. But Harry really wanted to tell someone.

The door next to McGonagall caught his eye: Snape's. Did he dare disturb Snape while he was sleeping? He really needed to talk to someone about his vision, even if it was Snape. Harry climbed higher up the stairs to the next door, and gently knocked on it.

"What?" Snape screamed instantly. He must have been awake already. Harry was silent, wishing he could un-knock. He considered running away, but he could not go that far before Snape opened the door and saw him.

Snape flung the door open, and leered at Harry as soon as he saw him standing there.

"Potter!" he yelled. "What are you doing here?"

Snape paused, smiled, and looked down from Harry's face. For a wild moment, Harry thought that he was making some kind of perverted advance. But when he looked down himself, he saw the reason. He had dressed in the dark, and was wearing the shirt that Mrs Weasley had made; the one with himself on.

"Famous Harry Potter," he sneered. "You even put your own face on your clothing!"

"I need to talk to you," Harry said, stepping forward, forcing himself into the room. He took a quick look around, it was decorated much the same as his office. It was dingy, with lamps hanging from the ceiling on chains. It also had a number of slimy things in jars. Harry could never sleep in a room like that, from fear that one of the things would come to life and attack him.

"Talk to me? Talk to your head of house for goodness sakes boy! Why bother me?"

"It's important, and you're the only one I can talk to." Harry shuddered at the thought that he was coming to Snape for anything.

"Well I do not care," he said simply, putting his hand on Harry's shoulder and guiding him firmly out of the door. "I have some work to do and a lot of things on my mind."

"Like Dumbledore's meeting with Voldemort?" Harry said, gripping the doorframe to stop himself from being shoved out.

Snape froze. He eased his grip on Harry' shoulder and took a step back.

"How did you know about that?" he whispered, beckoning Harry in and closing the door behind him.

"Do you know about my scar?" Harry said slowly, brushing his fringe to one side.

Snape shook his head silently. He had a look of utter contempt on being taught something from his least favourite pupil.

"Well, when Voldemort's feeling really angry, I can see what he's doing in dreams. I had one just now, and I heard their whole conversation."

Snape did not move a muscle for a while. "Tell me everything," he said without infliction.

Harry explained everything, while Snape remained silent. He was not totally sure if he could trust Snape, but Dumbledore did, and that was good enough for him.

He reached the part about Dumbledore's spies within the Death Eaters, and it was the first time when he had ever seen Snape look genuinely shocked. Harry told him that he thought it was just a bluff, and Snape nodded, but still did not speak.

Then he talked about Voldemort planning to kill Karkaroff and him, Snape. He did not bat an eyelash. Harry finished his account of the meeting, and started to walk towards the door, briefly stopping to mentally register his disgust at Snape's mouldy bed sheets.

Just before he closed the door behind him, he heard Snape whisper "Tell no one."

Harry threw the Cloak back on and sneaked back to his dormitory. He took it off in the common room, so Neville would not notice it. made up a quick cover story of what had happened in the hospital wing, and sank back in his bed, half afraid to go to sleep.

The next morning, Harry decided to go to Dumbledore. He had to talk with him about what had happened. He went up to his office, giving the password to the stone gargoyle and boarding the staircase. He hoped that Dumbledore was back by now. He had no idea where they had met, only that it was a place that could "bring back old memories".

The place of his downfall! They had been at Harry's old home! That was one more question he had to ask when he got up there.

He reached the top of the stairs, and knocked firmly on the door.

"Enter," he heard Dumbledore say lazily.

Harry walked in, and noticed at once that Dumbledore looked more tired and old than Harry had ever seen him. He was slouched in his chair, and his breathing seemed slightly irregular. Even Fawkes looked tired, even though he looked as magnificent as ever, so he was not about to go through a Burning.

"Harry!" said Dumbledore, regaining his composure. "Whatever are you here for?"

Harry walked in, not sure how he wanted to start the conversation. He noticed the Pensieve was sitting to the side of the desk.

"Er, I had another dream last night," said Harry hoping Dumbledore would guess the rest from there and he would not have to explain anything more.

"Ah," he said simply. "Did this vision feature me in any way?"

Harry nodded slowly, and Dumbledore sat up even straighter.

"Then I take it that you must have several questions that you want answering. Go ahead."

"OK," said Harry. "I heard you and Snape talking about it before the holidays. That was what you were talking about wasn't it?"

Dumbledore nodded, and motioned for Harry to continue.

"Well he said that it was your idea? Why did you want to meet him?"

"There were a number of things I wanted to discuss. Did you hear the whole meeting?"

"Er, I think so. I heard from the time you first got there to the time when Voldemort fired the Dark Mark into the sky," Harry said, wondering if there could have been more after he had woken up.

"And that place you were at -- that was my parent's house, wasn't it?"

Dumbledore nodded again. "Yes, that was your old house in Godric's Hollow."

"Godric's Hollow?" Harry repeated, the name sounding vaguely familiar. "I thought that Hogsmeade was the only wizard village in Britain?"

"Yes, it is," Dumbledore replied. "Godric's Hollow is very close to Hogsmeade. It is not really a village, more of a long road."

"And the Time of Shadows," Harry continued. "What does it mean?"

Dumbledore paused. He got up out of his chair, and started to pace around the room.

"The Time of Shadows," he said, his arms crossed behind his back. "Was what Lord Voldemort called the period that he was in power fourteen years ago. Now that he has returned, so has the Time of Shadows."

Yes, that made a lot of sense, given what he had already heard about it. They were once again in the Time of Shadows.

"The Time of Shadows lasted eleven years last time right?" Harry asked.

"Yes, until you defeated Voldemort."

"Hmm ok," Harry said, racking his brains for another of the questions he had thought of. "Er, why did you meet with Voldemort anyway? You told Snape that you wanted to find some things out, but it didn't sound like he told you anything important."

Dumbledore hesitated before he answered, and when he did he spoke very slowly.

"Harry," he started. "Telling you this is against my better judgement. I only hope that I am not putting you in danger by telling you this. Do you remember when I told Voldemort that not all of his followers were loyal to him?"

Harry nodded silently. He did not say that he thought it was a bluff, or that Snape had thought the same thing.

"Is it true?" he asked tentatively.

"Yes and no," Dumbledore replied impassively. "The fact is that now that Professor Snape is no longer inside Voldemort's circle, I do not have any Death Eaters as my spies. But whether they report to me or not, there are many Death Eaters who are not loyal to Voldemort. When they felt their Dark Mark burn, they returned to him out of fear.

"I have planted a seed of doubt into Voldemort's head. Now he is unsure if I have people operating inside his circle. Influencing every Death Eater with Veritaserum will almost certainly prove who is not faithful to him."

"OK. Another thing -- during the time you and Voldemort were talking why didn't you try to curse him?"

Dumbledore stopped pacing, and stood still in one place, in front of his phoenix.

"If you witnessed the entire conversation Harry," said Dumbledore. "Then I trust you saw Voldemort attempt to use Avada Kedavra against me."

"Oh yeah," said Harry remembering the curse splitting into lots of little sparks, and falling away harmlessly. "How did you stop that curse?"

"I did not do anything," Dumbledore answered.

"But then, why can't you and Voldemort hurt each other?"

"The fact that I cannot harm Voldemort is an entirely separate issue from the fact that he cannot harm me."

"Well then, why can't you hurt him?" Harry asked.

"It is because Lord Voldemort has placed many enchantments on himself, he used very dangerous charms to protect himself. But as a result, no one can use any spell against him. He has protected himself against them all."

"But then how was he defeated?" Harry asked.

"Harry, in the eleven years that Voldemort was in power before, do you not think that nobody had ever tried to kill him? Countless Aurors attempted it. Remember, it was only the strength of his own curse coming back to him that did any damage at all."

Harry took in all of the information. The only person who could successfully curse Voldemort was Voldemort himself.

"Then why can't he curse you?"

"There is a very simple explanation behind that," Dumbledore said, extending his arm, where Fawkes perched himself. "Do you have your wand with you?"

Harry nodded, and took it out of his pocket.

"You know of course that both your wand and Voldemort's wand contain a feather from Fawkes's tail?"

Harry nodded again.

"Well, since Voldemort's wand came from Fawkes, they are connected. Voldemort's power is a part of my phoenix, so Voldemort is a part of me. Of course, then you are also a part of me."

Harry looked deep into the eyes of Fawkes, and began to realise what Dumbledore meant.

"It is Fawkes's wish that the two of you do not harm me, so neither of you can use any spell against me that would harm me in any way. This is only because the phoenix is such a loyal animal, there would be no bond if I owned a unicorn, or dragon. Try it Harry, curse me."

Dumbledore took out his wand, and stood facing Harry.

Harry pointed his wand at Dumbledore, not wanting to curse him at all. He was afraid that nothing would happen as his heart was not in it.

"Expelliarmus," he said, trying to inject some force into the spell.

A thin jet of red light came from the wand, and once again shattered into hundreds of light shards less than two inches from Dumbledore.

He laughed. "Come on Harry. Something stronger than that!"

Harry really focussed. "Stupefy!" he tried. Brighter scarlet light sped towards Dumbledore, but cracked and splintered away.

"You see?" Dumbledore chuckled. "Completely unaffected! It does not matter how far away Fawkes is, or how strong he feels. He could be in Australia in the middle of a Burning, and the strongest Killing Curse would not give me so much as a toothache!"

Harry looked at his wand, and then looked at Fawkes, nesting comfortably on Dumbledore's shoulder. Did that theory work both ways?

"Of course, it does not stop me from harming you," said Dumbledore, as though he had read Harry's thoughts. "And it can't prevent you from hurting each other. It is simply Fawkes's wish that you don't hurt me. I call it the Order of the Phoenix."

"The Order of the Phoenix?" Harry repeated. "So, is that why you're the only person Voldemort's afraid of? It's because you're the only person he can't harm." Harry remembered the words that Dumbledore had said about werewolves being safe in human form. "Man always fears what he does not understand."

"Perhaps," said Dumbledore thoughtfully.

"Well, what if Voldemort took someone else's wand to curse you? Since Fawkes's tail feather wouldn't be in that wand, could he curse you then?"

"No Harry," Dumbledore replied, a crooked smile appearing on his face. "The Order of the Phoenix is very deep magic. Remember, the wand chooses the wizard. Each wand recognises a part of its own magic inside a person, the magic they were born with. You and Lord Voldemort were both destined to be part of me. You both have some of Fawkes's magic inside of you, whether you use your wand or not."

Thinking about the Time of Shadows, and the Order of the Phoenix, a question came into Harry's head. He had wanted to ask Moody, or the Weasleys, but he had not.

"Professor," he said. "I don't hear a lot about what goes on outside Hogwarts, and I wanted to know if a lot more people have been attacked."

Dumbledore put Fawkes back on his perch, and turned back to Harry.

"No, in fact not a single person has been killed at the hands of Death Eaters since I sent Dobby to tell you about Oliver Wood."

"What?" Harry said. "No one?"

"No, perhaps Lord Voldemort has lost his nerve."

Harry paused suddenly, deep in thought. "No, he's focussing, on getting me."

Dumbledore looked straight at Harry, wide-eyed. "What makes you say that?"

Harry thought again. "I don't know."