Harry pulled himself back quickly and gasped. The conversation inside stopped.
He ran to the opposite wall as the door opened and did not even dare to breathe as the students checked outside, using spells and threats. He did not know for how long he stood there without breathing, but once he was sure that those people were nowhere near the hallway, he ran.
He kept the cloak on himself and ran towards the headmaster's office.
Standing in front of the eagle-statue, Harry said the names of every sweet he knew, both muggle and wizarding, but the statue did not budge. He started hitting it with his fists and then spells but still there was nothing. Harry contemplated going to McGonagall when he saw Dumbledore walking towards him.
"Headmaster!"
"Mr. Potter? Are you alright?" The man looked ridiculous in his bright yellow and green robes at this time of the night.
"The Dark Lord– Voldemort– he's– I heard them say. Dark Mark darkening–"
"Mr. Potter, breathe." The headmaster was holding his shoulders and peering down at him. "Why don't we talk in my office? The walls here have a terrible habit of eavesdropping."
Harry nodded and let the man led him to the statue.
His heart was beating too fast. Everything felt cold.
The Dark Lord was returning.
_________________________________________
A cackle of high-pitched laughter. Cold voice.
A hissy, cold voice spoke.
"Stand aside you silly girl ... stand aside now."
_________________________________________
Harry was staring inside a brightly lit office. There was a huge phoenix sleeping on its perch near the window. There were several paintings covering the walls of the office. Though nobody seemed to have noticed him.
Headmaster Dumbledore waved his wand, and every painting inside the room froze.
"Come inside and have a seat, Mr. Potter."
Obediently, Harry sat on the chair opposite to the headmaster's seat. Dumbledore pushed forward a bowl full of bright, yellow-colored candies.
"Sherbet lemons?"
"No, thank you, sir." Harry realized the absurdity of the situation, and his panic returned. "Sir, Voldemort– I heard some students say that he's returning. If that's true, he'll hurt Jason and my family. Sir, please, you need to inform them. They need to be safe–"
"They are safe, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore said, though there was an odd note in his voice.
"How can you know, sir? They can be in danger right now! Voldemort and his bloody Death Eaters might be marching towards the manor–"
"I checked on them personally a few minutes ago, Mr. Potter."
Harry stopped mid-sentence. A sinking feeling formed inside him. "Wha–"
"When did you come upon this information, Mr. Potter?"
"What do you mean 'a few minutes ago'? Why–" Was he too later already? He should've listened to his guts all these months ago. Merlin, what had he done--
"When did you come upon this information, Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore repeated his words, ignoring Harry's desperate questions.
Harry froze and stared at the old headmaster in disbelief. Was the man being serious right now? Biting back a snark remark and a curse, he answered in a quiet voice, "I came here as soon as I heard about it." Harry looked at the headmaster pleadingly and continued, "Sir, my family. Why did you meet them at this hour–"
YOU ARE READING
A Tale of Two Brothers
FanfictionON HIATUS They both had a clear view about what they had to do with their lives. Harry knew that he'd have to live with the choices he had made. There was nothing he could do to change his fate now. Jason's fate was already decided for him. He chos...
