The bell over the door to Ollivander's shop rang as Harry followed McGonagall inside. He had been trying for the last twenty minutes to convince her that he didn't need a wand, but the infuriating woman wouldn't budge. She had told him that Dumbledork had told her to get all his supplies for school and they were going to get all his supplies.
Ollivander appeared suddenly out of the back area of his shop and caught sight of McGonagall. "Minerva McGonagall. Eleven inches and hair from a sphinx, correct?"
"Yes, Mr. Ollivander," McGonagall agreed, used to his method of identifying people by the wands he'd sold them. "We are here to get a new wand for Mr. Potter."
Ollivander looked around for the young man and found him standing in the corner in the shadows. His lips quirked in a smile at the words on the t-shirt the boy was wearing: "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups." It was a sentiment he agreed with, especially these days.
He'd been around a long time. With their current prejudices against any they considered non-human, he was glad that the last wizard who had known what he was had died a thousand years ago.
During his lifetime he had seen the rise of wizard kind and was now living through its rather rocky decline. He didn't know what had caused the situation, but wizarding kind thought they were at the pinnacle of development, but they weren't.
There hadn't been any real change here for over two hundred years. The wizarding world was currently stagnant. If they were going to survive, then what the wizarding world needed was something or someone to jumpstart another period of growth.
What he did know, having lived through the rise and fall of several civilizations, was that if nothing happened to change the situation, then one day, probably within the next couple of hundred years, then the wizarding world would disappear forever.
Who knows, he mused, maybe the catalyst for change will be young Mr. Potter.
Bringing his mind back to business at hand, Ollivander commented. "I was expecting to see you last month Mr. Potter."
"I didn't see the need to get a new wand." Harry told the wandmaker. "I tried to explain to Professor McGonagall that I no longer needed one, but she wouldn't listen." He looked up at the ceiling and muttered loud enough to be heard, "not that she ever does listen to anything I have to say."
"I always listen to what you have to say, Mr. Potter." McGonagall replied through gritted teeth.
"You may hear it, but you either don't listen, or you don't believe it." Harry countered.
"Name one time, you told me something that I didn't listen to or believe." McGonagall challenged him.
Harry took up the challenge.
"First year, I and two others who shall remain nameless, told you that someone was going to go after the Philosopher's Stone the day Dumbledore was sent off on that wild goose chase to the Ministry.
I believe you told us something along the lines of: 'rest assured the stone is too well protected, no one can possibly steal it' and when I kept insisting, you said 'I know what I'm talking about.'
You even threatened to take points from Gryffindor, when we were trying to protect the stone. And what happened later that night? Someone did make a try for the stone and if it hadn't been for me, Quirrell or should I say Voldemort would have had the stone.
The protections you had in place a first year could get past, or rather three of us did. If they were that strong and that impenetrable, then we shouldn't have been able to get past even the first of them. But that wouldn't have suited Dumbledore's purpose which was to mould me into the perfect weapon to take out Voldemort, now would it."
McGonagall stood there speechless for several moments as Harry marked off one point in the air. "How dare you accuse the Headmaster of trying to harm you? He has always done his very best to try and protect you and all the other students at Hogwarts!"
"Reeeeaaaallllyyy," Harry drew the word out, the sarcasm very evident in his voice.
"His very best included hiring at least two incompetent teachers for Defence Against the Dark Arts. There may have been more, but I can only count the years I was there. Allowing two, count them, two followers of Voldemort free access to Hogwarts and no I am not counting Snape in that group, though I should.
Forcing a fourth year student to compete in a competition that was clearly meant for seventh year or higher students. Allowing a Ministry employee who was masquerading as a teacher to torture his students without making any moves to stop it and neither did you come to think of it.
Allowing me to be condemned to Azkaban without a fair trial. And wait, I saved the best for last. Dumbledore, who was the executor of my parents' will, violated the terms of it, by placing me with the Dursleys. If that is the very best that Albus Dumbledork can do, then god help us when he does his worst."
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