Here's my next chapter, and thanks a lot for all the favorites, follows, and reviews. And big thanks for trying to see past the horror that is my grammar. Good news is that I have finally found beta! Bad news is that I haven't heard from him for a while. Which means this chapter is unbetaed! I will re-post first three chapters sometime this week as they have been betaed! (big thanks to beta).

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

The Magic Weaver

Chapter 12

The fireplace in Headmaster's office blazed to life in green flames, startling Fawkes, and two figures stepped out.

Harry thanked the Headmaster and quickly made his way towards the doors but Headmaster, who now calmly stood behind his desk, stopped him.

"You have overstepped your boundaries, Harry."

Harry whirled around and looked at Headmaster with narrowed eyes. Dumbledore indifferently gazed back and stepped out so that he now stood next to his table.

"Wizengamot is a place for experienced Lords and Ladies, Harry, not for mere school students. It's a place where laws are discussed and set. A place where hundreds of subtle power plays take place within one session. One wrong move, one wrong word and you can get more enemies than you can handle. Wizengamot is a place of backstabbing and bribery. Of false pleasantries and politeness. A charade that leads the wizarding world."

Harry made a step forward "It is my birthright as the last Lord of my family!"

Dumbledore smiled "Ah, the last lord of the house of Emrys. Direct descendant of Merlin. Also inheriting other well known bloodlines. It makes me wonder why James nor Charles, your father and grandfather, both of whom I knew personally never inherited them. How is it possible that your blood is purer than theirs?"

"Magic," Harry cheekily replied.

"Of course. Black magic, perhaps?" Dumbledore said, disappointment colouring his voice. "You have enormous political power, and even more magical power, I give you that," he nodded as if confirming something "You are above your peers in terms of magic and only few can match your political power. But you are a mere student. You are young and inexperienced. You have no knowledge of how the world works, of how everything is done; of what makes people tick. More experienced lords and ladies could easily manipulate you and abuse the power you have," Dumbledore paused here and peered at Harry through his glasses "Power comes with a great responsibility which you're not even aware of. You don't know how to behave in a high pureblood society even though I need to commendate on your pureblood persona you developed over the summer but books will only get you so far," Dumbledore saw the anger in Harry's emerald eyes "You should enjoy your life while you can, be a kid and not try to play an adult."

Something burst within Harry after those words, something that he thought he already got over "Enjoy my life while I can? Have a childhood?" Harry hissed as he put his hands on the table "You stole all my childhood when you placed me with Dursleys, Dumbledore. They beat me, starved me, ridiculed me, and made me do all the chores in the house as soon as I could walk, and if I didn't complete the chore or messed up then it's another punishment! I was raised a slave! And what makes it worse is that you knew about what was happening in that house, about my health, yet never helped. But why would you when it was you who made Dursleys the way they are?"

"So is it vengeance then? Is that what feeds your anger?" Dumbledore calmly asked.

"No-"

"Ah, but for me it seems that it is. You need to let go of your anger," getting no response he carried on "I did what I had to do for the sake of the wizarding world. For the Greater Good."

"Did what you had to do? Explain how abandoning a toddler on muggle doorsteps, and then ensuring that said muggles treat him like freak of nature is for the sake of the wizarding world? And then also proceeding to lie your way through legal authorities so they would leave me alone. Not to mention stealing my family's gold! And all the blocks you put on me that put my life in danger!" Harry shouted finally letting out all of his frustrations and anger.

Dumbledore frowned for a second before replying "You seem to know a lot, my boy, but no matter. I see that your scar is fading and whatever evil presence, or rather a fragment of evil, that was inhabiting in it is gone-"

"You knew what's in my scar?" Harry shouted.

"I had my suspicions when I first saw that scar, it's just something I sensed as the Light Lord. So I did some tests and did some research. Adding the fact that I knew exactly who gave you that scar it wasn't hard to come to a most likely conclusion."

"And you did nothing to remove the piece?!"

Harry was angry and magic reacted to the emotion and started to leak out of him in waves without him even noticing. With his willpower alone Dumbledore managed to contain the magic close to Harry's body so that it wouldn't unexpectedly lash out and destroy something.

Dumbledore looked at Harry with hard, unreadable expression "Your response suggests that you know what it was. I wonder how you can know about something that is a result of blackest of magic," Harry kept silently fuming without saying anything "No matter. With the fragment gone it means you are no longer crucial in my plan of vanquishing Voldemort forever. I did what I had to do and I don't need to explain myself to a kid."

"I'm no longer crucial in your plan? If you ever had a plan of finishing off Voldemort that involved me then why not consult me about it? It's my life on the line after all!"

Dumbledore smiled and his eyes twinkled merrily, a contrast to his face expression a second ago. He spread his arms as he said "My boy, simple minds would never be able to understand or even comprehend the complexity of a greater mind. I didn't and still don't expect you to understand the sheer magnificence that was my plan," he then regained his neutral posture "You were supposed to grow up as a hero of light; my champion. Someone who would throw their life in danger if it meant saving someone or doing something for the greater good. A martyr. I needed you meek and malleable who would follow what I would say no matter what."

"A pawn," Harry breathed, shocked.

"A weapon," Dumbledore merely smiled "You were coming along quite nicely until this year. Something happened and you changed. Drastically. And whatever it was also removed any trace of evil in your scar which was actually the key reason why I needed you. But now with it gone I no longer need you in my plans and can move on..."

"So now that my scar has lost its usefulness you're just discarding me as a broken tool? If I was to be your weapon have you ever even considered tutoring me in magic so I could stand against Voldemort when he comes back? I always wondered why I didn't get any help from you when I was exposed to danger every year since I came to Hogwarts."

The Headmaster gave a very uncharacteristic snort before replying "Tutor you in magic? My boy-"

"Duke Emrys," Harry angrily hissed.

"- I didn't need you to be good or powerful, merely adequate enough not to die too early."

"Not to die too early? Your plan involved me dying? I wonder how many more have been in the same situation as me and how many times have it turned out ugly."

"You have to make sacrifices for something to work, but not many are willing. So I took that burden on myself. I only did what was for the greater good of the wizarding world."

There was a moment of silence where Harry and Dumbledore stared at each other. Harry was completely shocked at what he learnt today and it's definitely not how he expected the day to end.

"Why are you telling me all this now?" Harry asked "Aren't you afraid I will take all this information to someone?"

Dumbledore smiled, again, and it was already getting on Harry's nerves "What happens in Headmaster's office stays in Headmaster's office." Dumbledore waved his hand a various runes flashed into existence around the office, engraved in walls, bookshelves, and floor. Harry looked around, his eyes wide, trying to see what were those runes but he could hardly recognise them despite being almost a genius in the subject. The runes pulsed once before fading from view. Harry looked back at Dumbledore only to find him still smiling as he linked his arms in front of him "And there are not many things I'm afraid of, my boy. And even if you could share with someone of what happened here today, no one would believe you. Furthermore, I am a Light Lord. All I do is for the sake of the light and wizarding world. There is not much you could or can do."

There was another tense silence before Dumbledore spoke, all lightness gone from his voice "As I said earlier, leave Wizengamot and the Ministry to me."

"Is that a threat?" Harry asked.

"Just a suggestion that you should follow," Dumbledore replied "I am more than qualified to have the fate of the Wizarding World on my shoulders. I pulled it through the dark times before and I shall do so again."

"Qualified?" Harry laughed "Maybe qualified for child abusing and manipulation, but certainly not to be responsible for the fate of the Wizarding World. All you do is restrict the dark and in a way you are restricting the light. I bet you never have actually tried helping the dark! You're not even trying to help people of the light as there are many who still suffer!"

"I am-"

"A Lord of Light," Harry shouted as he leaned even further over the table "And as a Light Lord it's your job to uphold the balance of the light side. Too much light is blinding. You are not a bloody warlord!"

"You have a lot of nerve questioning me, my boy," Dumbledore calmly said as he unlinked his arms "You don't even know the beginning of what I do and what is my job. All I do is for the sake of the Wizarding World's well-being. I will conquer the dark and keep the balance by having light as the only choice, the only side there is. I will lead witches and wizards into a new age of Radiance."

"If that was the case, if that was what the world needed then I wouldn't be here!"

"Is that so?" Dumbledore asked.

Fawkes whipped his head around and looked at Dumbledore and furiously screeched "Don't! Oh you motherfucker!"

Suddenly a magical shockwave burst out from Dumbledore lifting Harry in the air and pushing him, and all nearby objects, slightly away. Fawkes flashed out before the shockwave reached him. Harry managed to regain his footing as he was lifted off the floor just barely. He then looked up at Dumbledore and was shocked at what he saw.

Dumbledore stood where he stood before, his robe, hair, and beard fluttering as invisible magic energy swirled around him. His whole eyes were glowing golden, releasing a trail of golden smoke from the sides of the eye. A golden halo of pure magic formed around Dumbledore's head making his whole body to radiate a faint glow. Even the light itself was bending around the Headmaster making barely visible distortions that appeared and disappeared.

The power that Dumbledore radiated was enormous. His magical reserves easily dwarfed Harry's. It was like being exposed to a great storm in the ocean with only a small boat to keep you above the water.

And Harry knew in that moment what true fear was.

Then Dumbledore spoke and his voice was so laced with magic it carried a booming echo with it "I am Lord of Light and you are in no position to question or judge me. It is my decision alone on how to protect the light and the world. Your actions and words imply that you are against the light," small pause "For you I only have one word."

Harry didn't even realise Dumbledore had a wand in his hand until it was already pointing at him. Small part of Harry's mind was screaming "MINE!", but he was too terrified to pay any attention to what was he thinking. The only thing he knew for sure is that he was standing in front of a magical titan and he is about to die.

"Lux." Dumbledore calmly intoned, releasing a thick, smoky beam of golden light from his wand.

The effect was instant - one moment he was in the middle of the office, next he was lifted off the ground and pushed against the opposite wall. The waves of light kept coming and crashing against him and it felt like he was exposed to an immense heat. He imagined that's how the hottest of deserts felt like. Harry still had his staff in hand but there wasn't much he could do.

Then the temperature of the spell unexpectedly changed and Harry felt like he was drowned in a cold ocean. And then it changed again. And again. And again. If felt like eternity, Harry felt exhausted beyond belief and was gasping for air. Dumbledore was still channelling his spell and it made Harry's whole body to start shaking. He felt bloated, immense heat raising from inside him as if ready to burst out. Small golden tendrils separated from the spell and started to enter Harry through his pores and Harry couldn't help but moan in discomfort. He is about to die, he though.

Young Emrys recalled his new friends. Each one of them. Of his new determination he obtained at the beginning of the year. Of his better grades. Of his ancestry. Of his power and ever growing knowledge. His allies. The Heart of Hogwarts that he got attached to. Of his new status. Of Magik's Chosen. Of his wishes to better the world. To better the world. To help magic to prosper. Yes, Harry mused in haze. That was his purpose, his goal, he knew it. To help magic.

He felt drunk. He never has been drunk but he imagined that's how it felt like. Everything was blurry. The spell cast at him was now only a huge, yellow smudge. But what was he thinking? Ah, yes. To help magic.

To help magic.

To help the light. To help the dark.

To punish the wicked. Restore the balance.

That's his duties, right? His goals, right? He didn't know for sure. But he knew.

He knew. He knew.

He was Magik's chosen. The Magik's chosen.

He was no threat to the light. He was it's saviour. As he was the dark's. There can't be light without the dark. No dark without the light.

He was Magik's chosen.

The Chosen One.

The yellow of the spell was now getting white. Harry felt like he was getting blind. But if that's the price he had to pay to help.

To heal. To save.

Then he would. Someone has to make the sacrifices, right? Isn't that what Dumbledore said? But the sacrifices needed to be the right ones. He will sacrifice a part of him to help the magic. Because he was the Magik's Chosen and that was his path.

Because magic is a life worth cherishing no matter the manifestations it had.

A moment of deathly silence and stillness.

Then vision returned to Harry and he gasped, feeling like he was just hit with a sledgehammer. Harry noticed that he couldn't move a muscle. He also observed that he was still pinned to a wall by a beam of golden light that originated from Dumbledore's wand. The man itself was standing there, looking at Harry with blank face. There was dust in the air. Pages and quills frozen in the air that got picked up from the spell's force.

Wait, what? Harry took a double take. The spell that Dumbledore was casting seemed... frozen. It did not travel, didn't wave or move in any way. The pages and quills too were just there in the air, unmoving, as if someone picked them up and hanged them there. Dumbledore didn't even seem to breath. His hair and beard frozen in time too in their fluttering state. The Headmaster's robes too were frozen with wrinkles and folds as they were pushed back. Even his burning eyes and glowing halo seemed like a part of a statue. Harry even noticed that dust generated from the spell and picked up from the old bookshelves were frozen. It created a rather surreal, if not beautiful, scene.

Harry concluded that he too was frozen in time, if that's what it was. He tried to move a muscle to no avail. He even tried to focus on breathing and even though he felt that he was breathing, his chest seemed to tell a completely different story seeing, or rather feeling, that it is not moving at all. Somehow his mind was experiencing the stopping of time, if that's what it was. Or his brain started to work in such overdrive that everything else has slowed down to a stop. Or he was going crazy. Is this how the afterlife is like?

Everything was calm. Serene even.

To Harry, it felt like hours have passed in this state and he wished it would never end. He relished every moment.

But then he felt it. It was sudden and unexpected; It changed the feeling of serenity into that of abstraction.

It was a feeling first, like intuition. Harry felt like his brain is telling that a storm is coming, in a literal sense. That feeling as if he was standing on a beach and looking at colossal wave approaching him that made him gasp for breath.

And then the noise came. It was distant and originated somewhere outside the castle. Harry couldn't place what it sounded like. To him it was a cry. A distant cry of something. Like a distant cry of a whale mixed with an echo and laced with magic. Harry felt at ease once again, that noise was so familiar. So frustratingly familiar. He knew it, he had heard it somewhere but he couldn't remember where.

The noise got a bit louder. Still distant but there was a definite wail to it. It was crying, sad. And somehow Harry understood it.

"...yes," he breathed. His mouth didn't move. No voice escaped his lips, no breath. Yet his intent, his response resonated all across. It echoed as a whisper.

Another wail, this time sounding doubtful. Scared. Alone.

"I know. I will."

Hopeful. Still unsure. Crying.

"I know how it is. Please, don't cry," something was swelling inside Harry's chest. He felt compassion to the level that he has never felt before.

Another wail in the distance, that echoed over the hills and fields. It was still doubtful. But not crying.

"I promise. I swear," Harry said "I won't let you suffer."

Happiness. Joy. Hope. And then anger. Lots of anger.

Harry felt his muscles come to life a bit. Time slowly started to resume it's normal course but it was still crawling.

"Yes, I know."

Compassion. And then more anger. This time it was righteous anger, fury even, and it was booming as if someone had blown a war-horn.

"We will," Harry said, and then he shouted the next part "Because I am the Magik's Chosen!"

As he shouted it his eyes flashed blue and a massive sphere of blue magic, streaked with purple and green tendrils, exploded from Harry like a shield and effectively blocked Dumbledore's spell which harmlessly enveloped the sphere as if trying to find a hole before quickly dissipating in the air.

Harry landed on his feet but fell to his knees, his breathing shallow and rapid. He then defiantly looked up into Dumbledore's glowing golden eyes with his own glowing blue eyes and said "And I have all the right to question you."

Harry noticed straight away that while he still felt Dumbledore's titanic magic power, he was no longer consumed by fear. Now he only felt righteous anger. The same anger he 'heard' before.

Dumbledore was calmly standing where he stood before, his posture neutral, his wand by his side. He impassively regarded Harry.

Young Emrys then slammed his staff on the ground with the blunt end and slightly leaned on it to catch his breath while still kneeling.

He then suddenly springed on his feet and slashed his staff diagonally at Dumbledore, releasing a wave of pure, visible, bluish magic. Dumbledore didn't even lift a hand. The magic slash harmlessly passed around Dumbledore, making his hair flutter, before colliding with a wall behind the old man and destroying a chunk of the wall.

Dumbledore then brought his hands to his nose and sniffed before letting the hand drop "It is as I suspected," he calmly said in his booming voice "We do not need to be enemies. Contrary to what I believed you are not a threat to the light."

"And how can you be so sure?" Harry shouted, his eyes blazing. His anger seemed to be dissipating "For all you know I might be plotting with Voldemort!"

"If that was the case, my boy, you wouldn't be standing here. You would, in fact, be a pile of dust."

"What?" Harry asked shocked.

"The spell I used on you was specially designed and created by me. It is very complicated and intricate spell whose purpose is to target the beliefs, purpose and intentions of the wizard or witch. The bigger threat they are to the light, the more adverse are the results."

The righteous anger came back with full force and Harry's eyes blazed released same smokiness that Dumbledore's did.

"You what?" Harry shouted, unconsciously releasing a pulse of magic from himself that pushed all nearby objects away from himself "It could have killed me!"

Dumbledore nodded "It would've been unfortunate but necessary for the greater good."

What happened next happened too quickly, within seconds. Harry screamed in rage and with a wave his free hand drew, or rather conjured, a simple, small red circle in mid-air with runes for fire, burn, intent, target, intent, shape. Intent and target were inside another smaller circle and both linked together with a linking line. So was the intent and shape. Both smaller circles were then connected with the fire and burn which were drawn within a larger circle.

Harry then sweeped his staff across the rune and red tendrils infused the black onyx, turning the focus into a dark red orb. Without stopping or readjusting his staff he put his palm on the orb, gathered as much magic as he could safely afford, intoned "Ignis!" and spread his arms wide releasing a massive, scorching white and red fire wave that burnt everything on it's path leaving scorch marks on the floor as it rolled forward. It easily towered above Dumbledore and the heat was abysmal.

Dumbledore was impressed at the spellwork. Using runes was ingenious and amplified the spell's power. The Lord of Light waved his wand in a circular motion, taking control of the approaching wall of fire, and melded it into a massive ball and held it at bay. He was shocked to realise how much control it took him to do so even in the amplified state he was in. And he also felt the fire was desperately trying to break free of the control as if it has a mind of it's own.

Realising that he can't dissipate the fire as the power was too much to simply vanish, and that he won't be able to hold it back much longer, Dumbledore came to a conclusion that he needs to release the power in the most safest way else the ball will combust there on the spot and destroy the whole office, taking Harry and himself with it. The space was too little for the magnitude of such offensive spells.

Dumbledore whipped his wand to the right effortlessly throwing the ball of destruction which then collided with the window. The fire ball exploded with a massive boom that shook half of the castle. Dumbledore was still pointing his wand at the explosion and pushing as much pure magic as he could and spreading it all over the fireball forcing the fire as well as the force of the explosion to go out, rather than back in. Yet the damage was done and third of the office was destroyed.

"That was impressive spellwork. Powerful and rather ingenious," Dumbledore calmly said as he faced panting Harry.

"I can do it again if you want," Harry spat, a bit miffed that Dumbledore didn't even look tired or out of breath. His own anger diminished as he put a lot of it into the spell.

The Lord of Light shook his head "That won't be necessary." The old man's eyes stopped glowing and returned back to normal, icy blue colour. The halo around his head also dissipated, and the light distortions vanished. "You don't want to be my enemy, my boy."

"Neither do I want to be your ally," Harry stated, his eyes still glowing.

"You should reconsider," Dumbledore said as he walked around the ruins of his office, a chilly breeze coming from a massive hole in the wall and crawling under his skin. But he did not shiver. He then looked Harry in the eye but did not dare to try to enter his mind, especially not while Harry was in that state "We could be great, you and I. Heroes to the wizarding world. Beacons of hope."

Harry couldn't help but hysterically laugh "Funny. Voldemort said exactly the same thing to me in my first year." Without saying anything else Harry whirled around and left the office before the Headmaster managed to spike his anger again. There were too many revelations today, too much stress and he desperately needed some rest.

Yet headmaster still managed to have the last word just as Harry left "Welcome to the game, Duke Emrys." It made his blood boil again and he quickened his step.

Halfway down the stairs he suddenly clutched his chest and fell on his knees, his mouth open in a silent moan of pain, staff clittering next to him. He finally noticed the pain. Blunt, massive pain in his chest that was spreading to his whole body. It appeared there after he broke free from Dumbledore's spell, but then the anger dulled the pain. Harry didn't know what was happening. Did Dumbledore's spell work?

He barely managed to get his staff and stand up. After few deep breath he was confident enough he could walk so he began to slowly descend the Gargoyle staircase, flinching with every step.

After some painful minutes Harry finally reached the bottom of the stairs only to run into someone. He cried out in pain and almost collapsed if not for strong arms catching him in time and supporting his weight.

"Are you alright, dear?" asked all too familiar voice and Harry couldn't help but groan. Great, now he will need to deal with this barmy bat.

"I am fine, Professor. Just really tired and feel slightly ill. But otherwise I am fine," Harry replied and tried to let go of Professor Trelawney and stand on his own two feet. He managed, even if he was swaying. "I just need a good night's rest."

The Divination Professor nodded "Ok."

Harry couldn't help but stare at the Professor in shock. Was she really letting him go?

Trelawney stared back. Both of them silent. To say Harry felt awkward would be an understatement. Young Emrys winced in pain as another wave of pain washed over him and he started to leave.

"Tsk tsk, Dumbledore sure is a fool. You are not ready for this. Though I wonder if I can use you as Christams lights now? Hm, probably not. You will need more eyes before you're suited for that," Trelawney said confusing the hell out of Harry. She made a popping sound with her mouth and poked Harry on the forehead. At once Harry's eyes stopped glowing and returned to their normal state with emerald colour. Some pain also went away but it was still there, gnawing from the inside.

"What did you do, Professor?" Harry asked.

"I just turned you off," Trelawney replied. She then snorted and started to laugh as if she got the joke she herself had made. When she calmed down, the seer said "Now follow me." and then promptly turned around and stormed off.

Harry sighted. Of course he wouldn't be let off so easily. He quickly caught up with the Professor despite his pain and asked "Where are we going?"

Trelawney looked at Harry as if he was the dumbest person she knows "To my classroom, of course. Where else?"

"Of course," Harry replied "But why? I am tired and just want to have some sleep."

"You'll have enough sleep when you're dead." that was a bit grim but said with a firm voice "We are going to reverse what Dumbledore did to you. What he awakened."

"You know what he did?" Harry asked surprised.

"Not really. Do you?" came the nonchalant reply.

Great, Harry mused. He felt a massive headache incoming.

"He awakened, or rather forced, the abilities and magic of a Lord within you, and the special conductive form that Lords can assume. Hence why the Christmas Eyes," she let out a full blown laugh before resuming what she was saying, her voice manic "But since you're not a Lord, the new magic inside you is alien - it can't find a harmony with your own magic, or any similarities for a starting ground for merging. Lord's magic is a result of magical growth and a process of evolution that only the chosen ones can undertake. The Lords magic inside of you recognises your magic as a sibling of sorts but since there can only be one it tries to flush your magic out so that only it remains. Even though technically it also is your own magic. I still wonder how Dumbledore managed to accomplish this and whether it was deliberate or an accident," she finished and muttered under her breath "A complicated weaving and manipulation of magic stream and the time has to be involved. I wonder if we can accomplish the same and secure ourselves a lifetime supply of, what is it called nowadays? Sherry? Yes, sherry..."

"What?" Harry asked.

Trelawney shook her head and looked at Harry and deadpanned "What?"

Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose. Just keep cool, he kept repeating himself but it was difficult with such pain accompanying him "How do you what's happening inside of me, Professor? I didn't even share anything."

She bellowed "The inner eye sees and knows everything."

"So you know what happened in..." Harry couldn't get the words out "In... Inside... With..." he let out a frustrated growl as he remembering about the secrecy runes.

"In the office?" Trelawney elaborated. Harry wanted to nod but couldn't even do that. She shrugged "Not a clue."

Harry really wanted to facepalm. But he suddenly collapsed from the sudden burst of pain and was frantically breathing.

"Duke Emrys!" Trelawney exclaimed.

Harry lifted his head only to receive a huge quantity of some sort of black powder in his face that made him cough. As some of it managed to get into his mouth he realised it had chicken taste. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't really know!" Trelawney frantically exclaimed. "I just found it in my pocket! Are you alright?"

Harry incredulously looked at the Professor not sure whether to laugh or be angry. Surprisingly whatever the crazy witch did, it helped – the pain dimmed for the moment and turned into uncomfortable itch all over his body "Yes. Lets go."

"Don't dare to call me crazy! You're the crazy one with magic that doesn't yet exist!" she shouted, her eyes wide, and stormed off.

Harry barely managed to catch up but they finally reached the classroom and the young Emrys felt so exhausted and in pain that he felt like just passing out. "So what are you going to do?"

"Some of this, some of that... Sit down, My Lord."

Harry wasn't reassured but complied and sat down in one of the chairs near the window and put his staff against the wall while Professor disappeared behind the doors that probably lead to her own private office. The room was eerily lit with candles which was unsettling Harry. He prided himself in his control of emotions, ignoring the fact that he lost it during confrontation with Dumbledore. Yet Sybill always managed to creep him out.

After some painful minutes Harry heard a loud "Aha!" and saw the crazy Professor return with a glowing sphere in her hands. She looked too joyful with a skip to her step, her eyes fixated on the sphere.

"A crystal ball, Professor?" Harry sceptically asked.

And suddenly Trelawney was in his face again. Only the crystal ball separated his and her's face. Harry could see Trelawney's huge eyes through the ball that was further enlarged by the Professor's thick glasses and again, he saw the stars and small galaxies in those pupils and unwillingly got mesmerized.

She spoke in a misty tone, her voice a whisper and full of reverence. Gentle and soft that you could easily mistake it for a breeze "The crystal balls are not some simple trinkets made by mundane wizards, no. They are great tools in the hands of a seer. They hold the secrets of the universe. Images of faraway lands. Flashes of different times, memories of people that never existed. Just like the seers, magic cannot comprehend the crystal balls and thus does not recognise it. They exist beyond the time line. Laws do not apply to them. One only needs to know how to use them to accomplish great deeds." there was a moment of silence where Harry wasn't sure whether to believe what was said or not. It's something that he will need to research.

Then Trelawney was back in the middle of the room and looked at Harry with blank stare. Harry didn't even notice her move. Was she apparating?

"We are going to extract the Lord's magic and keep it within this crystal ball. Perhaps even shatter it," she said in a serious, deep voice.

"Have you ever done this before?" Harry cautiously asked.

The Professor then giggled breaking her serious persona "Done it before? My Lord, what kind of Lord would ever allow to do it? Your situation is unique."

Harry couldn't believe it. "So you've never done it before?"

"Nope. But I have a general idea," she said popping the 'p'. "And that's the reason why you shouldn't worry."

This was just priceless, Harry summed up.

"With an idea and some luck, anything can be done," Trelawney finished.

"I don't think I've been so lucky in my life."

Trelawney then rolled her eyes and drawled "Oh please. All Harry's are as lucky as three sevens. It's almost constant. You shouldn't be different."

"What if I refuse?"

The Professor shrugged "You probably don't feel it right now but the Lord's magic would probably take over your normal magic and since your body and mind has not been prepared and grown to accommodate such magic, the magic would then turn you into a suitable vessel destroying your physical body in the process. You would look something like a glowing, floating, blue apparition with no human will, only the driving force of magic," She said and after a brief pause added "I think. Or you could just combust into blood and gore. Or ashes. I don't know."

Blue apparition. Same as 'Lily' was? He looked down where the tattoo of Lily used to be and to his shock he saw that there is a faint outline of the tattoo again. Curious, Harry decided to think on it later as Trelawney's last phrase registered. "You think? You don't know for use?"

"Nope," she cheerfully replied before angrily hissing "No one knows the future, that's why it's the future. Anything can happen!"

Still not used to Professor's random mood swings, he cautiously asked "Isn't the inner eye supposed to see and know everything? Can't you use it to see?"

Trelawney hummed as she shook her head "Yes, the inner eyed sees everything. No. No on can command the inner eye, it just is. Besides, we have a strict business arrangement."

"Business arrangement?" Harry asked bewildered through his growing pain. Seeing Trelawney just nod, Harry let out a frustrated sigh. "Okay, just get on with it then. I have no wish to become a mindless force of magic or to die."

Before Harry managed to even blink, Trelawney was already next to him with her arm with the orb fully extended and a serene look on her face. Realising too late as to what is about to happen, Trelawney swung her arm with all the strength she had and smashed the crystal ball against Harry's chest.

Harry cried out in immense pain and fell back from his chair as the ball shattered and some pieces embedded themselves in his skin making him bleed. He laid on the floor barely managing to restrain the tears of combined pain from magic inside him and the blow. But he was strong. And also confirmed that Trelawney has completely lost it.

He chanced a look at the Professor, and even though his vision was getting blurry he still managed to see a complete and utter confusion marring Trelawney's face. It's like she had no idea what just happened. Or what was supposed to happen.

Then her eyes glazed over and then quickly brightened as she let out a simple "Oh." Apparently she had a moment of enlightenment.

She quickly vanished in her office again and Harry chanced to sit up, a feat he managed with great struggle. He sat against the wall and chanced a look at his chest. It was heavily bleeding but what he found curious is that the crystal ball's shards started to melt into cerulean smoke. The smoke, however, didn't dissipate. It formed neat tendrils and threads that started to knit and heal Harry's flesh making him want to scratch his whole chest as it felt really itchy.

Then Trelawney returned with a new crystal ball. Harry now looked at her warily.

"You are not going to do that again, are you?" He asked.

"Of course I am!" Trelawney exclaimed, clearly offended. Harry was ready to run for his life. "This time, however, I will perform a spell on the ball. Apparently I forgot to do so the first time. I say I wasn't well informed the first time." Harry just closed his eyes and wished for the day to be over. He literally couldn't move.

He then heard Trelawney chant under her breath something. It was long winded, sounded complicated and Harry didn't recognise the language. He got goosebumps from the chanting as it sounded very... how to put it. Ancient.

Harry opened his eyes and saw that the mad seer's eyes have rolled back, and there was a misty smoke forming at the top of the ceiling which got thicker and thicker with each second Sybill was chanting. Then she began to wave her hand around the orb and all the smoke rushed into the crystal ball. It changed colour to light grey and was letting out a glowing pulse every other second. Within seconds the whole procedure stopped.

Sybill calmly approached Harry and asked him to lay down. Harry complied while still eyeing her with apprehension. He gave her benefit of doubt though as he clearly saw something magical happening moments before.

"It's not gonna hurt, I promise, My Lord," she said with a maniacal grin as she extended her arm again and swung it down. Harry's eyes widened.

This time however, the crystal ball dissipated into smoke halfway down and the only thing that slammed into Harry's still bleeding chest was Trelawney's palm full of light grey smoke.

The seer twisted her palm and all the smoke entered Harry and swiftly spread in his body. All his veins turned grey as he himself start to glow light blue and his eyes blazed into glowing flames once again.

Then with a battle screech, for it was a screech and not a shout, Trelawney started to raise her palm from the Harry's chest. To the seer it felt like peeling skin off the rock. Quite impossible if you look at it from normal view, but then again, normal laws didn't apply to her.

There was a layer of blue magic mass attached to her hand and Harry's whole body and that's exactly what she needed to get out of the boy's system and she be damned more than she already is if she fails.

She was halfway through when she felt resistance. The Lord magic was pulling back now and Harry moaning in pain, still conscious. Sybill's nose started to bleed.

"Oh no you parasite that's not so parasite if developed properly!" she murderously whispered and with her free hand summoned another crystal ball. Sybill's eyes heavily faded as she started to mutter a spell in an ancient tongue. She then crushed the crystal ball and it turned into blue magic tendrils. She guided the tendrils to her hand connected to Harry's magic, letting them envelop both of her arms. Sybill then proceeded to guide the remaining magic tendrils to the magic blanket that enveloped Harry. This allowed her to twist her main hand connected to the Lord's magic and grip it in a more tighter and secure way as if it was a rope. Then with her other arm she gripped the magic in the middle between the palm and Harry's chest and she pulled it like a rope.

Sybill thought with amusement that this whole process looked like dementor's soul sucking.

The extra grip allowed her to pull more easily and she almost had extracted it all but then the Lord's magic did a desperate move. Harry's eyes snapped even wider and the flames in them intensified. The young Emrys started to glow and radiate an ethereal feeling.

At first nothing happened but Sybill didn't lose her guard. She wasn't a seer for nothing! And then it came as she expected. But it wasn't what expected. At first it felt like a wave was incoming, and next second she felt as if she was drowning in a storm. The power was unrealistic. She was gasping for breath. Her eyes rapidly changing from scared, to manic, to indifferent, to happy, to angry, to normal, to enlightened, to fanatic, to lovable, to scary. All these emotions all at once and she felt like all that she was and will be were choking her at once. She felt the time itself coil around her, prepared to strike the hammer of judgement that's been awaiting her.

Harry was screaming in pain, his arms raised and pointed at Sybill. The Lord's magic was gaining more and more ground back. It was winning!

But there was still fight left in Sybill. The small part of her, the true Sybill that was not affected by the time magic. She took control of the body and with all the strength she could muster she pulled and at the same time kicked the wall and screamed "Help out will you, you old hag!"

A fiery flash and Fawkes landed on one of the chairs. "For the love of all that is holy, what the fuck is happening here?!" he exclaimed.

Sybill shot him a glare and hissed "How does it look like, you glorified chicken? Just another day in the life of the mortals," she pulled some more "Help me pull this thing out. It's too strong for me alone and if we don't do it soon, we will loose Duke Emrys!."

Realising it's Harry there, Fawkes got overtaken by a righteous anger. The same anger that Harry felt earlier "That fucking old motherfucker did it after all? I swear on Merlin's balls I will transform into Ariana and parade naked in the old coot's bedchambers every Merlindamn night and accuse him over and over again!"

"Can you even do that, chicken?" Sybill exclaimed.

"No, but I could find a way. But there is no time to lose now."

Fawkes then closed it's eyes and concentrated. After a short while he spread his wings and burst into a massive crimson fire vortex that quickly separated into two fire beams and rushed towards Sybill. On the way the fire beams transformed into two huge hands that grabbed the Lord's Magic and together with Sybil they pulled and pulled all the while ignoring Harry's cries. After some very tense minute they finally managed to extract the magic that was thrashing madly in Sybil's hands.

"It's not normal," she calmly said as she regained back all that she was "The magic is twisted."

The two fire hands that was Fawkes merged together and in a flash there stood the Phoenix again. Fawkes looked very tired, his feather pale and rapidly falling out "Of-fucking-course it's twisted! That type of magic is not supposed to appear like it did. Our esteemed Lord of Light probably used -that- spell, and forced Harry into a powerful inner expulsion of accidental magic due to the stress and shock -that- spell is capable of. And since Harry is so close with magic itself, Magik did the only thing that ensured his survival. Which means a fucking influx of accidental time magic inside Harry forcing him to awaken as Lord way before his time. It was a magical paradox inside Harry's magic. I will castrate the grey geezer! Destroy that abomination, you alcoholic!" And then he promptly burst into flames and all that was left was ashes.

Sybil rolled her eyes and muttered something about stupid chickens. Before she resumed her job. Now that the magic was outside Harry it wasn't much of a threat as long as she didn't let it go. She did observe though that the piece of magic she was holding, as surreal as it sounds, was getting black pigments all of it that rapidly expanded.

Sybil summoned four crystal balls and positioned them in a square on the floor. Her eyes faded out again as she chanted. With a harsh wave of her hand the balls shattered turning into purple smoke and started to swirl in a circle getting faster and faster until it formed a purplish vortex in the floor. Sybil kneeled next to the vortex and put her hand holding the Lord's Magic above it letting the vortex do the work and sucking the magic in.

After the last sliver of paradox magic was sucked in, Sybill muttered one phrase and the vortex collapsed on itself and with a soft pop and thud where was vortex now lay a purple crystal ball with black swirly mass inside of it. Sybil then used that crystal ball as a source of her next spell and after another set of chanting and waving her hands, the purple crystal ball shook a bit before sucking itself in and disappearing forever. Sybil grinned at the brilliance of such magic tools. Crystal balls, just like seers, existed outside the time-line and thus magic didn't quite sense them. To make a crystal ball to fade from existence is as simple as knowing the proper incantation, the magic weave pattern, and how to utilise the ball's unique magic that's held within them.

"Did you just speak to Fawkes?" Harry groggily asked.

"Does it look like I can speak bird?" Sybill drawled.

"I suppose not, I must've dreamed." Harry said and winced as he tried to sit up. His whole body felt sore "Did it work?"

"It appears that it did," Sybill laughed and stood up "Now go to sleep, Duke Emrys. It's been a rough day. I will take you to the infirmary. You still have many challenged ahead."

Harry just nodded, not even protesting about the infirmary, and drifted off to dreamless sleep.

Sybill had a maniacal flash in her eyes before she levitated the young Emrys with her wand and made her way towards the infirmary.

When she will get back she fully intended to down some dozen sherry bottles and take a bath.

Meanwhile Dumbledore was still in his destroyed office tried to salvage as much as he could completely unaware of the consequences of his actions.

It was a risky and rather brash, uncalculated move to reveal his true power to Harry. He actually came up with it on the spot - he needed a way to know for sure, to make the boy to show his true self and not that pureblood persona that he had made. He started by trying to provoke the young boy with facts fully knowing what to say that hurt the most. That was easy but did not yield results. So he had to step it up a notch. Thankfully the risk paid off and he learnt more than he gave away. Even with all the changes the boy was still easy to manipulate.

And Dumbledore really needed to know if the boy was a threat to the light as everything Harry had said and the way he behaved implied that he very much so was. He didn't want to kill the boy, oh no, but as he said earlier it was a sacrifice he was willing to make. He let out a frustrated huff – if only other people knew how to make the right sacrifices and the right decisions then he wouldn't need to make them himself. But common public was too naive and stupid to think for themselves or to even have such responsibility on their fragile shoulders.

It's concerning that Harry is Magik's Chosen, but he supposed that at least one of his theories regarding Harry's sudden change have been confirmed. He'd rather if it was actually something else but since his spell didn't reduce Harry to dust he was quite sure the boy is going to be an asset rather than hindrance. He was indeed brilliant by creating such spells.

He learnt quite a bit today from the boy too. He will need to research further as to where could Harry get such information. And he also needed an emergency fund withdrawal from Gringotts.

He also mused that just because Harry was Magik's Chosen didn't automatically mean he will become Lord of Magic. He knew for a fact him or Tom could also acquire the title and all that goes with it.

But still, Harry proved to be unpredictable in the past so he needed some sort of contingency plan to at least have something up his sleeve to fight whatever it is Harry will come up with.

He smiled joyfully as he found a bag of his beloved lemon drops. He picked it up and put one in his mouth savouring the taste. He then nodded to himself. Yes, he officially welcomed Harry into the game and so another figure has appeared on the chessboard. He was curious and amused as to what a kid can do when other two players are seasoned war veterans. He chuckled, Harry was resourceful. He will think of something. And he was more than sure that Harry will mostly aim at Tom and in time they will be able to be allies. Maybe it's time to move on and regard the boy as potential war ally in the future and not regard him as a child. He had to admit that he stole all the childhood the boy could ever had but oh well. One must do what he must do.

He brandished his beloved Elder Wand and with one sweep intoned "Reparo Maxima!" Everything that could be repaired, repaired and went back into it's original place. Anything that couldn't be repaired was repaired to what could be salvaged. In no time the office looked decent enough. Apart from the massive hole in the wall, of course, but he already saw Hogwarts working it's magic and knitting the hole shut.

He sat behind his desk, ignoring the evening's cold. "Now, to write some letter. And contingency plan," he mused for a second and after popping another lemon drop in his mouth his eyes brightened and merrily twinkled, and he picked up some parchments and a quill.

Somewhere very deep in an unknown location, in an unknown forest. In a cave hidden by dozens of wards, curses, traps and spells.

A pair of purple eyes snapped open and regarded their surroundings with suspicion and confusion.