Dysfunctional

4 - The Prophecy

...

"That power took you to save Sirius tonight," Dumbledore nodded at Sirius, who was squeezing Harry's shoulder again.

"That power also saved you from possession by Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he detests. In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you."

Harry closed his eyes, remembering the intense pain, worse than he had ever experienced in his life that had taken him when Voldemort had possessed him. He remembered the agony he had endured and involuntarily shuddered. The weight of Sirius' hand on his shoulder kept him grounded.

Sirius was here, safe and alive.

Not exactly safe, seeing as the entire Ministry had just seen him in the open. Anxiety rose within him and more to just stave off the inevitable, Harry asked, "The end of the prophecy... it was something about... 'neither can live...'"

"'...while the other survives,'" said Dumbledore.

"So, does that mean that... that one of us has got to kill the other one... in the end?"

"Yes," said Dumbledore.

Harry looked away and watched the sun rising, hearing voices outside the office, perhaps of students going to the Great Hall for an early breakfast. He felt miles away from those people, and for a moment he selfishly wished he was one of them, without the burden of a prophecy and a murderer hell-bent on killing him.

"I feel I owe you another explanation, Harry," said Dumbledore hesitantly. "You may, perhaps, have wondered why I never chose you as a prefect? I must confess... that I rather thought... you had enough responsibility to be going on with."

Harry looked up at him and saw a tear trickling down Dumbledore's face into his long silver beard.

Abruptly, Harry stood up. Sirius looked startled but Harry wanted to get away from this room; he wanted to get away from himself, he wanted nothing more than to be away from it all.

"I'm going for a walk," he mumbled and before Sirius could get up, he had walked away from the office, the door clanging shut.

oOo

Dumbledore watched Harry scrambling to leave the room. He perfectly understood Harry's need to be alone. Sirius got up immediately and went to the door. He turned the doorknob but it remained shut. He turned to look at Dumbledore inquisitively.

"I believe his accidental magic made it so, that we would not follow him," said Dumbledore, resignedly.

Sirius, still with his hand on the doorknob, said, "He shouldn't be alone right now. There's no saying what is going on in his head."

Just then, an owl swooped into his office from the open window and dropped an official-looking envelope on his desk. Dumbledore opened it and read through the letter. It was an official summons for Sirius and also the date of a trial had been decided.

He relayed the information to Sirius, who looked as if he had forgotten what the consequences were to his little trip into the Ministry.

"I promise you, Sirius, I will do everything in my power to get your name cleared. I owe you and Harry that much at least," said Dumbledore with quiet conviction.

Sirius was looking at him with a faraway look in his eyes before he nodded. Dumbledore waved his wand and the door to his office opened. Sirius left without a backward glance.

Dumbledore sighed as he put his face in his hands. He knew how much Harry meant to Sirius and he to him and felt a pang of guilt. The decisions he had made in regard to Sirius and Harry were no doubt two of the biggest mistakes he had made in his life. They had been far too alone and deprived of each other and that was partially his fault. Lily and James would not have approved of what he had done so far in regards to their son.

He stood up from his chair and walked towards the window, taking in the beautiful view of his school. The grounds were empty and the trees in the Forbidden Forest swayed gently, its leaves rustling.

He felt so old and burdened, but it was a burden he had to take, if Harry would ever have a chance at a normal life. He owed it to Harry after everything he had put him through. Harry was already growing up and it would be foolish to deny him his godfather any further.

Even as he thought so, his mind was leaping to what the consequences of Sirius being freed and getting his legal guardianship would do to his plan. He had no doubt it was something the both of them would want. Harry would lose the blood protection from his mother if he left the Dursleys. But, he could not deny that the blood protection was a barrier that Voldemort had overcome last June. It certainly did not protect him from Dementors last summer. He could not deny what Sirius had insinuated, the neglect Harry was facing at his house. Was it worth risking Harry's safety?

He gazed at the Black Lake, mesmerized at the dance of sunlight in the sparkling water. He watched a lone figure walking up to the lake. He had no doubt who that was and it saddened him deeply to see him walking hunched forward, his hands in his pockets. One boy should not have the weight of the world on his shoulders.

A loud bark echoing across the grounds caused Harry to turn around and the familiar bear-like dog bounded up to him. It sniffed his hands, and Dumbledore watched as Harry absent-mindedly scratched behind its ears, both of them walking silently up to the lake. They didn't return for a long while and Dumbledore made up his mind.