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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 88: Where is He?
"Tell me what happened." Harry's tone was firm, and his eyes hard as steel. His previous jovial demeanor was now gone.
"Perhaps it would be best to discuss this at my office first. I have already called some other members of the Order so we can put together a team that can handle the situation after we discuss the best way to—"
"No. There is no need to involve more people in this. V and I will go by ourselves," Harry said.
Dumbledore was clearly not pleased by this, but not truly surprised by Harry's urgency. "That is not a wise approach, Harry. Severus paid with his life to find the whereabouts of the Dark Lord, hoping that he could do it before this one was completely prepared."
"And?"
"And it was too late. The resurrection was complete, and Voldemort is whole once more." There was a lot of sadness mixed with wariness in the Headmaster's voice as he related the details to Harry.
Snape was able to get in contact with Bellatrix and convince her that he wanted to be of some help to the Lord.
As a Master Potioner, Snape's skills had always been of great value to Voldemort, so he was eventually allowed into a secret location where the resurrection took place.
Unfortunately for Snape, the moment the Dark Lord was back on his feet, he immediately saw through his true intentions and killed him, but not before Snape managed to send one last message.
Harry listened attentively to the Headmaster speaking. "Give me the location."
"Harry, j—"
"I understand your position, Professor," Harry interrupted him. "But with all due respect, the members of the Order will only get in my way. Professor Snape is already dead, there is nothing we can do about that, but there is no need for anyone else to die."
"Hmm…" Dumbledore glanced up at the hat on Harry's head. "Does V have nothing to say about this? I would like to hear his opinion."
"Now you want to hear what he has to say? I thought you didn't trust him." Harry sounded bitter.
It was then that Dumbledore realized there might be another issue. "Is something wrong with him?"
"There is nothing wrong with V. He is just being a bit less talkative than usual." Harry was dismissive of the question.
Dumbledore narrowed his eyes, knowing that Harry was now hiding something important from him. "Harry… if this has something to do with his return, we should be concerned about it. After all, they are both the sa—"
"V is my concern. I will handle it, not you." Harry snapped, immediately cutting him mid-sentence. "As soon as I get rid of him, then everything will go back to normal. V will be fine then."
Dumbledore was not so sure about that. V and Voldemort were both parts of the same soul. While he didn't doubt that the magical hat's intentions were good, and that his friendship with Harry was genuine, some things might be outside of his control.
"We have everything planned. I know how to kill him for good. I just need you to give me the location," Harry insisted.
"Harry…" Dumbledore was still hesitant.
"Don't make me take the information by force. I have become really good at the Mind Arts." Harry stepped closer to the Headmaster. There was no hesitation in his eyes. "I don't want to use this on you, Professor. But I will, if that is what it takes."
Dumbledore could tell that Harry was not bluffing. He could feel the desperation in his voice. A desperation to end this conflict once and for all.
"Fine…" he eventually relented to the demands, despite fully knowing how risky this move was. Dumbledore concluded that there was no way for him to convince Harry to wait any longer.
"On the south coast of Ireland, there is a small harbour town called Kinsale. On a piece of headland overlooking the harbour, there is an inconspicuous abandoned castle, or what remains of it. That castle used to belong to the Ancient House of Gaunt. I had no idea it was even existing until today. And probably, other than the Dark Lord, no one did. That's probably why they didn't bother placing any powerful defenses. You should have no trouble finding it, but… I don't know what will await you inside."
Harry took a few seconds to absorb all the information. "Thank you."
"Gate." He made a circular motion with his hand, creating a portal. "Leave the rest to me." Without one more word, he crossed the conjured gate, leaving the Headmaster behind by himself.
Dumbledore was gritting his teeth to show his frustration. He knew how cautious Voldemort was, and that he would not have shown himself again to any of his other followers if it wasn't because he was confident in winning this time.
This was the man who broke his soul apart to guarantee his survival. A feat that no one else would have dared to do.
Voldemort would stop at nothing to get what he wants.
But what worried Dumbledore the most was actually the magical hat that Harry had, and the message that left with him during their previous conversation.
"I have to do something…" Dumbledore muttered. His eyes went back to the Weasley house, and he began to walk towards it at a brisk pace.
If Harry was walking into a trap, then he must hurry.
When he opened the door of the house, he found the family still sitting at the table, and they all got startled by his sudden reappearance.
"Albus? What happened?" Arthur asked. They had all assumed that the man had already left.
"Where is Harry?" Ginny quickly noticed his absence.
"Sorry, Arthur, but I need to use your fireplace to send some messages," Dumbledore said while already moving towards it.
"The fireplace? But you told us that it was not safe to use," Molly said. "What if there is someone—"
"I know what I said," Dumbledore interrupted her. His voice was ragged and showed how stressed he felt right now. "But there is no time. I must call everyone right now, or it will be too late."
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