A Reflection of Himself

At first, Dumbledore did not reply. Keeping his blue eyes firmly on Harry, Harry felt the heat of that penetrating stare go right through him. Harry knew that Dumbledore was a master Legilimens, and as Harry stared unblinkingly back, he allowed the aged wizard full access to his mind if he so wanted it.

Dumbledore, however, was not trying to read Harry's mind.

"How do you know this?" came the words finally.

"Don't be mad at her, sir, but Tonks accidently slipped on her words this morning," Harry said feebly.

Some relief came across Dumbledore's face, but then, putting two and two together, of which Dumbledore was perfectly capable and excelled at doing, the relief left him as quickly as it had come. Voldemort's insane happiness and a secret Order meeting occurring on the same night were too much to be a mere coincidence.

"I wonder, Harry, if I might glean something from your mind."

Now, Harry was sure that Dumbledore's suspicions were much as his own had been. He was not too thrilled at the prospect of having his mind read, for it was unnerving, no matter who was doing the reading, simply to have an outsider peering into one's mind was unsettling. On the other hand, Harry's curiosity had risen to an unthinkable height by this point in time, and so, it was with reluctance and anxiety simultaneously that Harry eventually surcame with a simple, short, "Yes."

Unlike Snape, Dumbledore did not need to employ his wand to perform the necessary spell, nor did Harry even hear Dumbledore utter the incantation. This proved once again just how powerful Dumbledore truly was, and any time Harry had witnessed the old man's awesome powers, he stood in amazement and also somewhat in fear. Great power, no matter who yielded it, was both a wondrous and terrible thing.

Memories Harry didn't know he had surfaced, but they were disjointed and blurred. It was as if he had been intoxicated during the process of them and that they had happened years ago and had long since been forgotten. Dumbledore knew what he was probing for what he had entered Harry's mind, and as the scenes played out in front of him, Dumbledore's suspicions were confirmed. There was enough evidence.

"It is as I thought," he said gravely. "You have seen the visions, Harry."

"Yes, but... sir, I honestly don't remember even doing that..."

Shaking his head, Dumbledore said, "That is because Voldemort has Oblivated your memory, Harry, of him having possessed your mind last night... having possessed your mind just long enough to gather the information he needed."

"But how?" Harry asked in shock. "How could he have known where I was, what was going on, how to get through the protective spells?"

"Voldemort is gaining in power by the day, Harry," Dumbledore sighed, rubbing his temples wearily. "I am afraid that not even I can totally protect his victims from attack. His network of connections infiltrates the Ministry and the wizarding society as a whole, and if he was able to penetrate the wards on Grimmauld Place, then it is only a matter of time because he figures out how to penetrate the wards that protect Hogwarts."

"But," Harry sputtered anxiously, standing up from his seat and beginning to pace, "how- how can you say that?! Are you admitting defeat already? Sir, with all due respect, that is the most absurd thing I've ever heard you say. If you know that he's overheard your meeting, then can't you outsmart him and place additional wards on Hogwarts that you didn't mention at the meeting?"

Dumbledore frowned. "Harry," he said gently, "please sit down."

"No!" Harry exclaimed, his eyebrows arched in anger. "We've got to do something! We've got to act! We can't just sit here waiting for him to attack us!"

"Harry," Dumbledore said firmly, "take your seat, and we will discuss this rationally."

The anger not leaving Harry's face, Harry reluctantly sat back down in the chair. Harry's behavior reminded Dumbledore much of Snape's.

"Even though I will, in fact, place additional wards on Hogwarts that I had not made mention of during the meeting," he said all-too-calmly, "that will only be buying us more time. I have known for years, Harry, there a day would come sooner or later when Voldemort would grow so powerful that his power would exceed mine. I am old, Harry, but you are young." Taking a very deep breath, Dumbledore said, "There is something I must tell you that I should have told you long ago, Harry, and of anything I told you over a year ago, this is perhaps the gravest of them all. You had to be prepared, though, to hear it... to be a man, and you are a man now, Harry."

This sudden change in the course of their conversation threw Harry, and schooling his eyes on to Dumbledore, he asked hollowly, "What is it?"

"Harry, you are the Heir of Gryffindor."

For a moment, Harry was at a loss for words. He sat there, gaping at Dumbledore, unable to formulate a response, but then, finally, he sputtered, "What- what does that mean, exactly?"

"You remember the Prophecy, Harry?"

Harry nodded.

"Well, when it stated that Voldemort would mark someone as his equal, that meant that person was also the Heir of Gryffindor. You already know that Voldemort is the Heir of Slytherin. Since you are both the heirs, that makes you also equals. You may have noticed several things in the past that all signified you were destined to become the Heir of Gryffindor. When you first received your wand, red and gold sparks were emitted from its tip when it chose you - the very colors of Gryffindor. When you were fighting the basilisk, you pulled the sword of Godric Gryffindor out of the Sorting Hat. I told you at the time that only a true Gryffindor could have done so, and my suspicions regarding your destiny were confirmed yet again. You may also remember that the name of the village where your parents lived was called Godric's Hollow. All of these things, Harry, point to your fate as the true and rightful Heir of Gryffindor."

"But I... I can't... surely, sir, that just can't be," Harry stuttered. Everything Dumbledore had told him made sense, too much sense, but the realization of it had not yet struck Harry. This was more than he had ever expected in his life.

"This whole battle between good and evil has been going on for thousands of years," sighed Dumbledore, his back easing into the cushions of the chair. "Something grander than our comprehension is at work in the world, and you may ask how I know such things. Just by simple observations, Harry. When you have lived as long as I have, you realize that there are many things that occur that are beyond both your comprehension and control. I understand that it angers you greatly to know that I, viewed as the most powerful wizard of the age, can just sit and watch things pass by, but I have learned, Harry, that there is a time and a place for everything. The torch is being passed, my boy, from me to you. My flame is slowly dying, and yours is just beginning to truly come alive as you continue to grow into the man you were meant to become."

Dumbledore paused, then continued heavily, "Many wizards and witches look up to me, because I am old and have experienced much on this earth, but, Harry, I am not invinsible. I, too, have my limitations, and I am only wise if I realize that there is much I don't yet know or understand about the ways of this world. It is human nature to want to act on emotions and allow them to drive our actions, but you are in control, not your emotions, not Voldemort, not me; you are in control of your thoughts and mind if you so choose to be. Do not place your trust and hope in the magical abilities of your wand; rather, place your trust and hope in the magical abilities that are within you, as that is their true origin, and of any magic, love is the greatest power of all. Your mother's love for you left Voldemort in a state near to death, for love is something Voldemort can never understand or grasp. Use that to your advantage, and then, my boy, you will know that it means to have true wisdom and true power."

Harry nodded absently, not sure what he could possibly say to quell the emotions he felt building up inside himself.

"But remember this, Harry," he concluded gravely. "Only you can do this for yourself. Powerful as I may be, I cannot do this for you. That lies in you, Harry; that lies in you."

Nodding once again, Harry's mind was whirling with thoughts that he couldn't form into rational words or phrases. The entire, enormous weight of every single word Dumbledore had uttered now rested upon his already worn mind, and as he gazed across the short distance between Dumbledore and himself, Harry thought that Dumbledore appeared older and more tired than he had ever seen him before, and this unnerved Harry. A part of him wanted to go over to the old man and literally shake some sense into him, tell him that he was wrong and insane to think that he could just give up, for that is what it sounded like to Harry.

I can't do this, Harry thought. It's all too much.

His anxiety reached a breaking point, for it had stewed and boiled for a long time, and standing up, Harry hastily excused himself and darted out of the office. All of this was pure and utter insanity. Time and again, Harry had been told that he was the one who had to defeat Voldemort, and it was a thought that was always with him, whether he consciously acknowledged it or not. But this whole conversation with Dumbledore had not eased his mind one bit. By going to Dumbledore in the first place, Harry had expected to come away in solace.

Harry angrily kicked the front door open and left the castle in haste. Marching determinedly down the stone steps, Harry paused when he came to the bottom.

"Who was I fooling?" he whispered to himself. "Only myself. Only myself..."

Looking out over the darkened landscape, Harry's disbelief began to falter.

Everything I see is an illusion. The world isn't at peace. I knew all along that the time would come when something like this would happen, but I just didn't want to believe it.

Sighing, Harry's shoulders slumped, and he returned to the castle.

As he walked back to Gryffindor Tower, Harry began to wonder what his final year at Hogwarts would be like, knowing that Voldemort could attack at any moment. No matter where they went, no one was safe. Snorting derisively and shaking his head, Harry wondered if his professors would seriously continue to teach classes as if nothing had changed, as if no threat was looming over them. It all seemed like some sick joke, and Harry wanted to kill the joke-maker.

By the time Harry was standing in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, she was regarding him shrewdly. Harry muttered the password, and as she swung open to allow him assess, her eyebrows were raised inquiringly. Harry bit back the urge to tell her to mind her own bloody business.

Once he entered the common room, Harry spotted his friends in their usual place near the fire. Hermione was already reading one of her textbooks, while Ron and Neville played a game of Exploding Snap, and Ginny watched them. Ginny was the first to notice Harry, and she called out his name, motioning for him to join them.

The others immediately turned their eyes on Harry, full of curiosity, as Harry made his way toward them and took a seat.

"How'd it go, Harry?" Ron asked anxiously.

"What did Dumbledore say about your scar?" added Hermione.

Harry frowned. "It didn't exactly go as expected."

"What's that supposed to mean?" insisted Hermione. "What happened, Harry?"

Annoyed at the insistent questions from his friends, Harry glowered and uttered, "I'm rather tired. Maybe I ought to just get going to bed-"

"Oh, no, you don't, Harry," Ginny said firmly, placing her hand on his forearm, offering comfort and keeping him in his seat at the same time.

"Well," Harry sighed loudly, "he basically told me that he's not as powerful as we all think he is... Some nonsense about him passing the 'torch' onto me and a whole load of rubbish. Voldemort's powers keep growing, and Dumbledore won't be able to keep us protected forever. And I'm-"

Harry stopped, taking in the looks of shock and horror that were plastered to his friends' faces.

"What- ?" Neville whispered, his eyes large.

"Are you saying- ?" Ron tried to say, but couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence.

"Harry," Hermione said as steadily as she could muster, "are you saying that Hogwarts isn't safe?"

"I think I am," Harry replied reluctantly. He couldn't bare to look into the eyes of his friends, those who had put so much of their trust, hope, and faith in him to bring them news of reassurance. They, too, had given so much trust to Dumbledore, for it had always been fact that Dumbledore was the only one Voldemort had ever feared.

Ginny gulped and said in a very small voice, "Just then, Harry, at the very end of what you were saying before... You started to say 'And I'm-' You're what?"

"I'm the Heir of Gryffindor, or so Dumbledore's told me. That's why I've got to be the one to defeat Voldemort. That's why I'm his equal," Harry sighed. It seemed he had been doing a lot of sighing lately.

Everyone but Hermione looked surprised. "It makes sense," she observed, only to receive strange looks from the others. "What?" she asked. "Think about it."

So they thought about it, and as much as they wanted to refuse to acknowledge it at first, they all eventually realized that it simply had to be true. By this time, the hour had grown late, and one by one, students in the common room went up to their dormitories to retire for the evening.

"Ron," said Hermione, "we had better make sure the first years are settled in."

With a groan of protest, Ron stood up and joined Hermione, wishing Harry and Ginny good night. Neville did likewise, and soon, Ginny and Harry were the only students left in the common room.

They sat in the silence of each other's company for a while, and Harry stared, transfixed, into the grate as the fire slowly died. When he finally gazed upon Ginny, he could barely see her face, but the red hue from the last remaining glowing embers illuminated her crimson hair, making her even more beautiful to behold.

Harry smiled in spite of everything, for Ginny had become his all and everything in many ways in his life. Taking her smaller hands in his own, Harry whispered, "Ginny, if for nothing else, I would fight this battle for you. You deserve to live in a world that's free of all this evil."

"So do you, Harry," she countered gently, her thumbs stroking the backs of his sturdy hands.

Releasing a single laugh, Harry said, "What I'd give for that... after a life of so much..."

Unable to finish his thought, Harry closed his mouth and felt her lips caressing his lips a moment later.