Chapter 87 - Truce?
As Professor Dumbledore listened to me, he was silent for a few moments, then smiled faintly.
"A simple wish," he murmured.
"The most important ones usually are," I replied.
He nodded slowly.
"I would like to have your trust more, Arthur," he said. "But the points you have raised and the concerns you have are not entirely within my control. Even if I want to leave many of my positions, others would not let me. The world would not simply become balanced on its own."
He folded his hands behind his back.
"There are responsibilities that cannot easily be put down."
I nodded.
"I understand that, Professor."
Dumbledore smiled faintly.
"Still, I respect your way of thinking. I respect your point of view and the way you choose to act. But I reassure you once again, I have no intention of harming Harry, nor would I willingly allow harm to come to any student of Hogwarts."
I looked at him.
"I have no doubt about that, Professor."
And that was the truth.
There were many things I disagreed with him and I distrusted, but I never doubted that Albus Dumbledore genuinely wanted children to be safe and happy.
The problem was that wanting something and succeeding at it were often two very different things. And specially when the situation demands sacrifices from few people for the greater good of the world, he would do it.
"Very well," Dumbledore said. "It is late now. Both of you should return to your beds."
Then he looked directly at Harry.
Then Dumbledore looked toward the Mirror again.
"The Mirror of Erised," he said quietly, "shows us the deepest and most desperate desires of our hearts."
Harry immediately looked back toward his parents in the reflection.
Dumbledore's expression became serious again.
"But men have wasted away before this mirror. Entranced by what they saw."
He turned toward Harry.
"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."
Those were the exact words from the original timeline.
Harry listened carefully.
"The mirror will be moved tomorrow," Dumbledore continued. "And I ask both of you not to search for it again. Do you understand, Harry?"
I nodded calmly.
Harry hesitated, but finally nodded too.
"Good," Dumbledore said kindly, his eyes softened.
"Now off you go."
I motioned toward the door and Harry followed me. We stepped away from the mirror and headed toward the exit. Just before we crossed the doorway, Harry stopped and looked back. His eyes were fixed on the Mirror of Erised. The sadness on his face was clear to see.
For a few moments he simply stood there.
For Harry, the mirror was not simply a magical object. It was the closest thing he had ever had to seeing his parents.
I placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, Harry. They're always with you."
Harry looked at me and blinked.
"They are?"
"Yes."
I smiled slightly.
"They live in your heart and your memories. And they live through you."
For a moment Harry did not speak.
Then he nodded.
"I know."
"Good."
He took one last look at the mirror. Then he turned away. This time he did not look back again.
Together we stepped out of the room. The door closed quietly behind us.
Harry pulled the invisibility cloak over both of us once more. The corridor outside became slightly blurry again. It was still strange looking through the cloak.
We walked through the silent corridors of Hogwarts. The castle was asleep. Only the occasional torch flickered along the walls.
Neither of us spoke much. Both of us were thinking about different things.
Eventually we reached the Gryffindor Tower. The portrait entrance stood quietly before us.
Harry stopped.
For a few seconds neither of us moved. Then I remembered something important.
"Harry."
He turned back.
"Yes?"
My expression became serious.
"Do not share what you heard tonight with anyone."
Harry blinked.
"You mean about the mirror?"
"Everything."
His eyebrows rose.
"Everything?"
"Yes."
I nodded.
"Not with Ron, Hermione or even Dudley. Not with anyone."
Harry looked conflicted.
"But they're my friends."
"I know."
"And Dudley's our brother."
"I know that too."
Harry scratched the back of his head. He clearly wanted to argue. But after seeing my expression, he stopped himself. Some things were simply not meant to be shared.
At least not yet.
"Okay," he finally said. "I won't tell anyone."
"Good."
I smiled.
"Good night, Harry."
"Good night, Arthur."
"And don't spend all night thinking about the mirror."
He laughed weakly.
"I'll try."
"That's all I ask."
Harry stepped through the portrait entrance. A few moments later the portrait swung shut behind him.
I stood there for a second.
Then I turned around and headed back. I raised my wand again and recast the charms.
It never hurt to be careful.
A few minutes later I reached the Hufflepuff dormitory. I slipped inside unnoticed and made my way back to my room.
I changed into my night clothes and lay down on my bed.
Sleep should have come easily.
Instead, my thoughts returned to the conversation with Dumbledore.
The old man was complicated.
Far more complicated than most people realized.
Many saw him as a hero, a legend, the greatest wizard alive and they were not wrong.
But very few people thought about the burdens he carried, the mistakes he had made or the regrets he still lived with.
I knew some of them.
The phrase I had spoken tonight lingered in my mind.
For the Greater Good.
Three simple words.
Three words that had changed lives.
Three words that had haunted Dumbledore for decades.
He had learned the hard way that noble intentions alone were not enough.
A person could believe they were saving the world, that they were doing the right thing and still end up causing terrible suffering.
That lesson had shaped him for the rest of his life.
I understood that and I respected it.
I respected many things about Albus Dumbledore.
Before the First Wizarding War, he had stood against Grindelwald and stopped a conflict that could have engulfed both magical and non-magical people.
He had prevented countless deaths.
For that alone, history would always remember him.
Yet some problems still remained.
The relationship between the magical world and the Muggle world had never truly healed.
The fear, mistrust and separation was still there.
The two worlds continued to exist beside one another but not truly together.
Dumbledore had managed to keep them from colliding and prevented disaster by force and power.
But preventing disaster was not the same as building understanding.
It was like holding together a cracked wall. The wall stayed standing. But the cracks have never disappeared.
Eventually someone would have to repair them properly or else it would lead to a disaster.
I knew the problem existed and one day I would have to think seriously about it.
The future was coming, whether I wanted it or not.
Voldemort would return, the wizarding world would face another storm and many difficult choices would follow.
But those were problems for another day.
My last thought before sleep claimed me was simple.
No matter what happened in the future, no matter how powerful the people involved were, no matter how large the conflict became, I would never forget my priorities.
Family first.
Everything else second.
With that thought firmly settled in my mind, I finally drifted off to sleep.
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End of Chapter 87 - Truce?