Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
$Parseltongue$
Chapter 96: Conversations in a cave
The moment Dumbledore woke up, He felt an intense pain on his left side. When He opened his eyes, He saw nothing but darkness and could hear the sound of water moving around.
After waiting a few seconds to let his eyes adjust, He started to recognize shapes again. He tried to move his right arm to help himself up, but then realize that He could not move his body other than turning his head.
He looked around in a panicked manner and realized how familiar this place was.
"Hello again, Headmaster."
Dumbledore turned his head to face Harry.
"Tom!, why did you bring me to this place?" Dumbledore tried to seem composed, but the nervousness was obvious in his voice. The place where they were at the moment was the cave where Harry had once hidden the locket Horcrux and the place where Dumbledore got his curse.
"Well, I was actually planning on doing this at my old house, but that Ooze that You created ruined the house, so I had to change locations for this next part". Harry said, looking obviously annoyed about the extra work.
"Next part?" Dumbledore then realized that He was not just being restrained. He moved his head with difficulty to look at the ground, there were all sorts of runic symbols written in blood, diverse materials were placed at the external border of the circle, and in the center, was Dumbledore himself, being restrained by several white chains.
"What are you doing to me? Just kill me already!" Dumbledore's voice was filled with anger.
"I am going to use You in a ritual that will allow me to absorb part of your magical power and knowledge," Harry said with a blank expression.
Dumbledores face paled in horror. "Y-you are a monster, Tom."
"I heard that before," Harry said dismissively. "However, I have a deal that may benefit us both, Headmaster," Harry said.
After seeing that the old man was waiting for him to continue, he did so.
"Right now, Voldemort is attacking Hogwarts with a huge army, He is planning on taking over the castle and killing anyone that gets in his way, then He will do the same with the Ministry."
Dumbledore's eyes opened widely.
"What are you playing at? You are Voldemort!"
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Oh…yes, I can understand your confusion. There is someone else using my old name now. He is the one who wants to destroy Hogwarts."
"You expect me to believe that? You have been deceiving us all from the beginning." Dumbledore exclaimed.
"I can see that trust, is going to be an issue here." Harry took out his wand.
"I, Harry James Potter swear in my life and magic that everything I have told Albus Dumbledore since the moment He woke up, moments ago, has been nothing but the truth. I also swear that from this moment until the moment of his death, I will speak only the truth, to be the best of my knowledge. So motte be."
Dumbledore saw the light come from the wand, confirming that the oath has been accepted.
"I can't believe you did that…"
"You left me no other choice. Now, ask what you want to ask, we don't have all day." Harry said, looking a bit exasperated.
"Then, lest start with a simple question, Who are you, really?" Dumbledore asked.
"In the past, I was Tom Marvolo Riddle. After October 31, 1981, I became Harry Potter." Harry answered.
Dumbledore was shocked, He was sure that the oath was real, which means that the man in front of him is unable to lie. But this was too much. How can He be Harry Potter?
"The day I left Harry with the Dursleys, I scanned the baby scar that You left on his forehead. I knew there was something malevolent in there. At the time, I wasn't sure what it was, but after some investigation, I came to the conclusion that it must have been a Horcrux left unintentionally by Voldemort. Are You that Horcrux?" Dumbledore asked.
"What you must have felt back then was certainly me. But that was no Horcrux. Do you really think they can be made by accident? don't be ridiculous. What you discover back then was my actual soul, linking together with the boy's soul. The resulting fusion of both entities is me. Most of my resulting personality is of course from my old identity as Tom Riddle, since the other Harry at the time was only five and has been severely beaten and malnourished. Thanks for putting me there, by the way" Harry said.
Dumbledore flinched at the last part but decided that there was no time to discuss past mistakes. This also threw a new light on the death of the Dursleys, their accidental death may not have been that accidental after all.
Instead, what called Dumbledore's attention the most, was something else entirely.
"A complete soul fusion of two different beings? I never knew something like that to be possible…." Dumbledore was left baffled.
"Yes, well. Me neither. But, it happened anyways." Harry shrugged.
"Then…the other Voldemort. Is he a Horcrux?." Dumbledore asked.
"Yes, that piece used to be inside a diary that I left with Lucius Maloy. You can imagine what happened next. And before you ask. I have already destroyed all of the other Horcruxes."
"You destroyed them?..." Dumbledore was about to ask why, but He then realized what the reason can be.
"They didn't work for you anymore." That was not a question, He already knew it was the only possible explanation. The Tom Riddle He knew would never throw away a key to immortality, unless it became a liability.
"Correct" Harry confirmed.
"And this other Voldemort, you say that is attacking Hogwarts?. How can You know that?."
"You are not the only one with a spy. He brought an army with giants, trolls, vampires, werewolves, and around a hundred dark wizards, most of them foreigners looking for quick riches." Harry stated.
Dumbledore paled. "Then…everyone is doomed. They cannot possibly stop an army like that."
"Now now" Harry shook his hands. "Do not despair just yet, old man. I told You I had a deal for you."
Dumbledore frowned. "What is this deal?"
"Well, you see. This ritual I have prepared is a bit inefficient. If I activated it right now, I estimated that I will only be able to get between twenty and thirty percent of your magical power and some of your knowledge, depending on how much resistance You put during the ritual. " Harry explained.
Dumbledore looked around, trying to understand what ritual Harry had planned, but He had no knowledge of this specific one.
"According to some new knowledge I have acquired, I will be able to make some changes that will give me almost all of your power and wisdom. However, the requirement for this, is that you have to willingly give it to me."
Dumbledore was shocked.
"And, why in Merlin's name, would I ever do something like that? Why would I give YOU more power!."
"Because with that power… I can save them all" Harry left the words to hang.
If it wasn't for the oath, Dumbledore would not believe in a million years that those words came from the one that once was called Lord Voldemort.
Dumbledore then realized something.
"Aren't your friends there too?. I know that you care for those girls at least, am I wrong?."
"I do care for them. But, all I have to do is save them, and leave the rest to die….No one could blame me for not being able to do more than that. After all, I'm just a fourth-year student of Hogwarts, no matter how talented." Harry gave Dumbledore a mocking smile.
Seeing that the old man remained silent, Harry spoke again.
"Do not think about this too much. The ritual takes some time, and I don't think the Howards wards will last more than two hours."
Seeing his hesitation, Harry added more.
"What is there to think about anyways." He pointed at Dumbledres right hand.
"By the looks of the curse, You will be dead in less than a week. Now you have the chance to save hundreds."
Dumbledore looked at Harry intently. "If I do this… I need more than your word that will save them all."
"You know I cannot lie to you…sigh, fine..." Harry took out his wand and pronounced a magical oath. He was careful with the wording, indicating that He will save the innocent lives in Hogwarts in exchange for Dumbledore's full cooperation during the ritual.
Dumbledore nodded. "Very well then...One last thing, when you said that this ritual will take my power…you meant my soul, right?. That's the source of the wizard's magic. What will happen then to me then?, will I just disappear?."
"I will not take all of your soul, You should have enough left to go on your next adventure…whatever that is. I don't have all of the answers about what happens after we die."
Dumbledore closed his eyes in contemplation. When He opened them again, He seem determined once more.
"Then… let's do this…Harry"