Harry Potter and the Legend of the Twelve

Truths and Lies

Harry walked out of the castle and towards his destination beside the lake. The night was cold, and Harry was only wearing his Muggle clothing under his professor's robes, but he didn't care. He was so numb he couldn't even feel the cold.

The same thoughts that had blazed through his mind in the office, continued. His sense of betrayal as he thought of Dumbledore was beyond intense. Dumbledore was perhaps the greatest wizard since Merlin himself, he had to have known about this prophecy, and about the Legend of the Twelve. How could he not? Dumbledore had to have lied to him once. He had to have lied to him again.

Harry seethed with anger, and by the time he stood before the marble tomb, mere inches from it, his anger had turned to blind rage.

"How could you?" Harry screamed. No one was there to hear him this late at night, as it was approaching ten o'clock. His anguished cry echoed eerily off the water.

Harry's tone started angry, but became more pained with each passing word. "I thought you cared about me," said Harry, as tears began to fall from his eyes. "I thought you stopped lying to me. You had to know about this. My children are in danger. If I had known, I would have raised them as Muggles far away from here. I could have protected them. Now what am I supposed to do? Take them away from everything they know? You had to know about this. You said it once. You said it was important to fight and fight again and keep fighting. You said for only then could evil be kept at bay though NEVER QUITE ERADICATED! Instead of telling me, I got riddles and clues! You should have warned me! You owed me that!"

"Why?" Harry cried over and over as he beat his clenched fists on the marble tomb, having lost all control of his anger. He didn't feel the pain when the bones in his hands started to break, or when his skin split open, nor did he see the marble turn crimson, as his blood splattered on it. He didn't hear the footsteps running up behind him, and Harry barely registered the arms engulfing him, and trying to pull him back.

"Harry, stop," yelled Sirius.

Sirius pulled Harry to the ground beside the tomb, and held his arms tightly around him pinning Harry's arms so he couldn't move them. Harry struggled against his grip, but Sirius held fast.

"He didn't know, Harry," said Sirius. After a few moments, Harry stopped struggling, and Sirius loosened his grip. "I didn't know what he meant, but I do now. Dumbledore said to tell you he didn't know, he would have told you if he did. He said he was sorry."

Harry let the words sink in. The throbbing pain in his hands started to seep into his consciousness, but Harry ignored it. "Why, Sirius?" asked Harry. "Why can't I be happy? All I ever wanted was a family, and I had it taken away from me over and over again. They are everything to me I can't lose any of them. I can't."

With that Harry broke down completely. The thirty-seven year old wizard cried like a baby in his godfather's arms.

After a few minutes, Harry calmed down, and sat up against the side of the marble tomb, now streaked with his own blood. Sirius took out his wand and conjured two towels, and wrapped them around Harry's bloodied and broken hands.

"I'm sorry," said Harry slowly. "I shouldn't have doubted him. I made that mistake before. I wish he were here. He would know what to do. Dumbledore made his fair share of mistakes, but in the end, he always knew what the right thing to do was. I wish he were here so I could apologize."

"He knows you're hurting," Sirius reassured him. "I'm sure you were forgiven before you even left the castle. Don't worry about the children, we'll all be here to protect them, and prepare them for what's to come. I promise you, nothing bad will happen to them."

"You can't know that," said Harry softly.

Harry knew Dumbledore would have forgiven his outburst. Harry thought he had forgiven Dumbledore for lying to him a long time ago, but that was the first thing he thought of when he realized there was another prophecy. Maybe he never had really forgiven Dumbledore for lying to him.