"Continue as you were. It appears you have been given a gift, Harry. Take advantage of it." Dumbledore instructed. "You have the potential to be a powerful force for good in our world, try not to let that opportunity pass you by. Now I suppose you are eager to leave and I will not take up any more of your time. Have a good day, to all of you." With that the Headmaster left the room, leaving the three students alone. Each of them was thinking about what they had learned. None of them were very happy with how little actual information they had been given. Hermione saw it as a puzzle to be solved and knew that she was missing a lot of the pieces. Daphne wondered about the ritual that Professor Dumbledore had refused to name. The number of rituals that required a human sacrifice had to be small, didn it?
Harry, meanwhile, was trying to come to terms with the news Dumbledore had given him regarding his own special brand of training. It meant he could rapidly improve. It meant that perhaps one day he would be able to match Voldemort's power. It meant that he could protect his friends and loved ones. Most of all, it meant that he might actually survive the upcoming war. Harry had never really feared for his life, but still he knew that it was constantly at risk and that trend showed no signs of ending. Now that he knew his training wasn't hurting him he swore to himself that he would push himself as far as he could go.
"Harry, I'm going to go. We'll talk later about our project ok?" Hermione said as she stood up. Dumbledore's talk had not dulled her desire to head to the library and work on her own ideas. Harry nodded and waved good-bye leaving Harry and Daphne alone in the room.
"Let's take a walk." Harry suggested. "I'm sick of this room." Daphne grinned and took his hand as they walked out the door. Harry led them outside, away from anyone who could be trying to listen to the conversation. A quick check of the Marauder's Map confirmed that Rita Skeeter wasn't in the area either.
"Well, what do you think?" Harry finally asked. Daphne paused to consider her response.
"No one can know about this, Harry." his girlfriend answered. "Don't tell anyone else unless it is a life or death situation. Not even your godfather."
"Don't you think that is just a bit paranoid?" Harry asked.
"No. Think of what could happen if someone found out. At best you would spend the rest of your life having tests run on you to find out why you're different." Daphne replied. "And this means that one day you could be one of the most powerful wizards alive, meaning that if anybody wants you dead they should come after you as soon as possible. This is just too important to tell anyone else."
"I see your point, but I still think I should tell Sirius. He can help me with this, I know he can."
"Just wait until you see him, ok? The mail isn't always trustworthy." she said. Harry knew she was right on this, but hiding the information from those closest to him still went against his natural instincts. "I don't trust Dumbledore, either. He's hiding something."
"He always is." Harry answered. "Lots of strange people are constantly coming in and out of the castle to see him and he wouldn't tell me what Voldemort was trying to do the night he murdered my parents. Maybe he shouldn't be expected to spill all of his secrets to a student, but there are things that do affect me that he isn't telling me."
"According to my father that's just the way Dumbledore is. He doesn't seem to think anyone but himself needs to know all of what is going on. That's one of the reasons so many people refused to side with him in the last war. Something's happening, Harry. Something big, and we're not being let in on any of it."
"I get that feeling too." Harry admitted. "But what can we do about it? For the moment, nothing. So we trust Dumbledore to do what's best until we are in a better position and actually know what is happening."
"For the most part you're right." Daphne agreed with a sigh. "How about a less frustrating subject. Next week is a Hogsmeade weekend and you owe me one free of Dementors and Draco Malfoy."
"That's true." Harry said with a laugh. "I'm sure we can be attacked by something far more entertaining this time. How about a mountain troll?"
"You've already done that." Daphne answered, shaking her head. "You need something new and different. How do you feel about manticores?"
"No thanks. We could always just skip Hogsmeade and wonder around in the Forbidden Forest, I am sure that there are all kinds of dangerous things there that we haven't ever thought of." Harry said jokingly. Daphne laughed at his suggestion and soon Harry was laughing too. They spent the rest of the afternoon together in similar fashion, each enjoying the company of the other and trying to ignore the suspicion that soon things would be changing in ways they could not imagine. The fact that they spent the day away from the rest of the student body also ensured that it was not until later that night that they heard about the special edition of the Daily Prophet that was beginning to stir up a lot of controversy.
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