Coup de Foudre [Fred Weasley] [5]

⚡️ Chapter 77 ⚡️

The sun was rising properly now. There was a rim of dazzling orange visible over the mountains and the sky above it was colourless and bright. The light fell upon Dumbledore, upon the silver of his eyebrows and beard, upon the lines gouged deeply into his face. Vega sat still in her place, looking at Dumbledore in wonder of where this was going.

"I guessed, fifteen years ago," Dumbledore spoke up. "When I saw the scar upon your forehead, what it might mean. I guessed that it might be the sign of a connection forged between you and Voldemort,"

"You've told me this before, Professor," Harry said bluntly.

"Yes," Dumbledore said apologetically. "Yes, but you see – it is necessary to start with your scar. For it became apparent, shortly after you re-joined the magical world, that I was correct, and that your scar was giving you warnings when Voldemort was close to you, or else feeling powerful emotion,"

"I know," Harry replied wearily, and Vega glanced at him briefly.

"And this ability of yours – to detect Voldemort's presence, even when he is disguised," Dumbledore said. "And to know what he is feeling when his emotions are roused – has become more and more pronounced since Voldemort returned to his own body and his full powers.

"More recently, I became concerned that Voldemort might realize that this connection between you exists. Sure enough, there came a time when you entered so far into his mind and thoughts that he sensed your presence. I am speaking, of course, of the night when you witnessed the attack on Mr. Weasley,"

"Yeah, Snape told me," Harry muttered, and Vega could now see Dumbledore's expression conforming into that of sadness and tiredness.

"Professor Snape, Harry," Dumbledore corrected him quietly. "But did you not wonder why it was not I who explained this to you? Why I did not teach you Occlumency? Why I had not so much as looked at you for months?"

"Yeah," Harry mumbled. "Yeah, I wondered,"

"You see," Dumbledore continued heavily. "I believed it could not be long before Voldemort attempted to give him more incentives to do so. I was sure that if he realized that our relationship was – or had ever been – closer than that of headmaster and pupil, he would seize his chance to use you as a means to spy on me.

"I feared the uses to which he would put you, the possibility that he might try and possess you. Harry, I believe I was right to think that Voldemort would have made use of you in such a way. On those rare occasions when we had close contact, I thought I saw a shadow of him stir behind your eyes... I was trying, in distancing myself from you, to protect you. An old man's mistake..."

Vega's thoughts trailed off to the conversation that she had overheard between Harry and Sirius in the pantry at the 12 Grimmauld Place, and the look that had overtaken Harry's eyes when they had used the Portkey that night.

"Voldemort's aim in possessing you, as he demonstrated tonight, would not have been my destruction. It would have been yours. He hoped, when he possessed you briefly a short while ago, that I would sacrifice you in the hope of killing him.

"In a similar attempt, Vega was also attacked – however, unlike yourself, she has a much better control of her mind space. It may be confusing for you, Vega, why you were not taught how to be an Occlumen and you may have wondered about it, and I will come back to that and explain everything to you in just a minute,"

"Yes..." Vega mumbled, trailing off.

"Sirius told me that you felt Voldemort awake inside you the very night that you had the vision of Arthur Weasley's attack," Dumbledore continued. "I knew at once that my worst fears were correct: Voldemort from that point had realised he could use you, Harry. In an attempt to arm you against Voldemort's assaults on your mind, I arranged Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape,"