The Secrets of The Sighted (Golden Trio Era) {3}

Clarity

A/N: Happy 100 Chapters!!!! It's still insane to me that I'm over half way through my third book of the Mikayla Black Series. So I just want to shout out two people who have supported my books throughout my literacy journey: armodas and boyzlove2 . Thank you for everything :)

"Harry, that is only because Voldemort made a grave error, and acted on Professor Trelawney's words! If Voldemort had never murdered your father, would he have imparted in you a furious desire for revenge? Of course not! If he had not forced your mother to die for you, would he have given you a magical protection he could not penetrate? Of course not, Harry! Don't you see? Voldemort himself created his worst enemy, just as tyrants everywhere do!" Mikayla sent Dumbledore a warning glare as Harry squeezed her hand, Dumbledore paused for only a second when his eyes met Mikayla, and lowered the volume of his ranting voice.

"Have you any idea how much tyrants fear the people they oppress? All of them realise that, one day, amongst their many victims, there is sure to be one who rises against them and strikes back! Voldemort is no different! Always he was on the lookout for the one who would challenge him. He heard the prophecy and he leapt into action, with the result that he not only handpicked the man most likely to finish him, he handed him uniquely deadly weapons. It is essential that you understand this!" Dumbledore, standing up and striding about the room, his glittering robes swooshing in his wake. Mikayla was picking on flares of acetone, stringer than before, it seems the angrier that Dumbledore got the faster the curse spread.

"Professor, your hand." Harry spoke up, Dumbledore looked down to see that his whole hand was now black and shrivelled up, Dumbledore looked at Mikayla for assistance. 'You're anger is spreading the curse faster, calm down, be patient.' Mikayla thought loudly, sending the thought to Dumbledore's mind unbeknownst to Harry, who was silently watching the Headmaster. "By attempting to kill you, Voldemort himself singled out the remarkable person who sits here in front of me, and gave him the tools for the job! It is Voldemort's fault that you were able to see into his thoughts, his ambitions, that you even understand the snakelike language in which he gives orders." Dumbledore began to ramble.

Harry and Mikayla could see that he was getting more and more agitated, mostly by Harry's confusion and questions. Mikayla knew that it's nobody's fault that Harry is so lost but Dumbledore's, who kept him in the dark far too long. "Harry, despite your privileged insight into Voldemort's world, you have never been seduced by the Dark Arts, never, even for a second, shown the slightest desire to become one of Voldemort's followers!" Mikayla blinked slowly in disbelief at how Dumbledore was acting, "of course I haven't!" Harry said indignantly, his voice raising to match Dumbledore's, "he killed my mum and dad!"

Dumbledore took a few steps away from the pair, Mikayla and Harry had to twist around in their chairs to keep an eye on him. Dumbledore spun around to look at them, "you are protected, in short, by your ability to love." Dumbledore's voice wavered, his jaw was set and he was grinding his teeth in an attempt to return to his calm facade. "The only protection that can possibly work against the lure of power like Voldemort's! In spite of all the temptation you have endured, all the suffering, you remain pure of heart, just as pure as you were at the age of eleven, when you stared into a mirror that reflected your heart's desire, and it showed you only the way to thwart Lord Voldemort, and not immortality or riches."

Dumbledore paused as if to give the two Gryffindors a chance to speak but neither of them said anything. Harry held Mikayla's hand tighter, Dumbledore's attempts to pretend he was calm was only unsettling Harry even more. "Harry, have you any idea how few wizards could have seen what you saw in that mirror? Voldemort should have known then what he was dealing with, but he did not! But he knows it now. You have flitted into Lord Voldemort's mind without damage to yourself, but he cannot possess you without enduring mortal agony, as he discovered in the Ministry. I do not think he understands why, Harry, but then, he was in such a hurry to mutilate his own soul, he never paused to understand the incomparable power of a soul that is untarnished and whole."

"But, sir," Harry began making valiant effort not to sound argumentative, as he feared the Headmaster would snap again, "it all comes to the same thing, doesn't it? I've got to try and kill him, or-" Dumbledore cut off Harry, ""Got to? Of course you've got to! But not because of the prophecy! Because you, yourself, will never rest until you've tried! We all know it! Imagine, please, just for a moment, that you had never heard that prophecy! How would you feel about Voldemort now? Think!" Harry watched Dumbledore striding up and down in front of him, and thought. He thought of his mother, his father, and Sirius. He thought of Cedric Diggory. He thought of all the terrible deeds he knew Lord Voldemort had done.

He looked in Mikayla's eyes, she had nothing but concern swimming in her ocean blue eyes for him. She had lost so much, more than Harry, but she stood by him fiercely ready to do what she had to just to protect him, even though she's risking to lose so much more by being there. For a moment, Harry wondered if Mikayla and him would've become so close without the prophecy. Did she feel obligated to protect him because it was predicted that she would or would she have done it anyway. She's going to see her abusive stepfather in Azkaban for him, because he asked her to, because he needs to find all the Horcruxes to finish off Voldemort.

A flame seemed to leap inside his chest, searing his throat. "I'd want him finished," Harry said quietly, not taking his eyes off Mikayla's, "and I'd want to do it." Mikayla's eyes were glossy, wet from tears that have not yet formed to fall, she smiled at him and Harry knew that she would've been by his side, prophecy or no prophecy. He silently scolded himself for ever doubting Mikayla's unwavering loyalty to him or her self-given responsibility to do whatever it takes for equality for all beings in the Wizarding world. "Me too." She whispered as though she had read his thoughts, and wanted to further reassure Harry that they were in this together.

"Of course, both of you would!" Dumbledore cried after they both confirmed his theory, "you see, the prophecy does not mean either of you have to do anything! But the prophecy caused Lord Voldemort to mark you, Harry, as his equal... and your friendship and love for one another is what called you, Mikayla, to the position of Harry's Great Protector. In other words, you both are free to choose your way, quite free to turn your back on the prophecy, but Voldemort continues to set store by the prophecy. He will continue to hunt you both... which makes it certain, really, that-"

"That one of us is going to end up killing the other," Harry interrupted, this time he sounded very certain of himself. "Yes." Dumbledore confirmed, "and I'll be there to lead the way for you." Mikayla mimicked Harry's confidence, and the dark haired boy beamed brightly at her. They both finally understood exactly what Dumbledore had been trying to tell them. It was that there is a difference between being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking into the arena with your head held high and your friend by your side. Some people, perhaps, would say that there was little to choose between the two ways, but Dumbledore knew, and so did Harry and Mikayla, that there was all the difference in the world.