Chapter 307: Visiting the Headmaster
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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 307: Visiting the Headmaster
The next day, during the early hours of the morning, Harry visited the Headmaster's office.
He apparated in the hallway and walked to the gargoyle.
Harry was waiting for it to request the password and speak some nonsense in return, but to his surprise, the statue moved aside without saying a word and allowed him to pass. When he entered the office, he found the old Headmaster in his usual seat, writing something on a parchment.
"Your gargoyle is broken," Harry told him.
"No, it is not," Dumbledore answered without lifting his eyes from the parchment.
"It didn't ask me for a password this time."
Dumbledore stopped writing and placed the quill back on its stand. "I have given you full access to my office, so the gargoyle has no need for a password."
"Mmm… you ruined my fun." Harry then heard a loud cry coming from the other side of the office. "Hello to you too, Fawkes."
The phoenix made some cheerful noises in response.
"Wait, so this means I'm a fully-fledged Headmaster now?" Harry asked.
Dumbledore chuckled. "As far as Hogwarts is concerned, yes. But legally, you are still a normal student. Why? Are you interested in the position?"
"Not at all… sitting all day in that chair, writing and reading stuff. That's really not my style," Harry said in a joking manner, though he knew the real reason behind the Headmaster's actions.
He was making preparations for the worst-case scenario.
"With that out of the way… can you tell me now? What were you doing at Gringotts yesterday?" Dumbledore was very curious about what could be so important as to risk turning the goblin nation into enemies.
"The Fourth Deathly Hallow," Harry answered.
"There is no such thing," Dumbledore muttered, not entirely sure if Harry was just trying to test him in some way.
"Hey, you don't know everything, that's fine." Until yesterday, he had no idea either.
"And you found this unheard-of relic in Gringotts?" The Headmaster did not look very convinced yet.
"Inside the Peverell vault," Harry said.
"Indeed?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "I would love to see it."
"I thought you would." Harry distanced himself from the large table and moved to a less crowded place in the office.
He closed his eyes for a moment and focused.
"What?!" Dumbledore stood up from his chair and stared in shock at Harry.
A black substance seemed to emerge from inside his body and covered him completely.
"What is that?" Dumbledore asked.
The fabric of the robes was fluttering around, despite there being no wind inside the office. It covered Harry's body from head to toe, and
Dumbledore could barely see him at all, except for a pair of green eyes, which made the whole look more unsettling.
"Harry?" Dumbledore called for him with a hint of wariness.
As he had done with Daphne, Harry removed the hood and revealed his face. This time it was easier, and he was much more aware of what he was doing. He had time for a few hours of practice last night at home.
"That's… not what I was expecting." Dumbledore continued to observe the robes with great interest. He wasn't as knowledgeable as Xenophilius when it came to the Deathly Hallows, but he had seen enough depictions of Death to recognize how much these robes resembled them. "The robes of Death…"
"That's what Xeno said. What do you think? Still doubtful?" Harry asked.
"And you found them inside the Peverell vault? How did you… right." Dumbledore was about to ask how Harry managed to open a vault belonging to another house, but now the charges from the goblins made more sense to him.
The Headmaster sat back down in his chair. "Now that I have it in front of me, I do not doubt the artifact's authenticity. But your method of acquiring it could have been a bit more discreet…"
"Yes, well… things didn't go according to plan."
Dumbledore smiled. "They usually don't, my boy… So, what does this Fourth Hallow do? The other three all offer powerful abilities. I cannot imagine this one to be any less."
"Haven't had much time to test it. But I think I've learned about the nature of this artifact and the abilities it offers. It is a bit more complicated than the other three," Harry explained.
"Is that so? Care to elaborate?" the Headmaster asked with interest.
Harry pointed to a ceramic cup resting on top of the Headmaster's table. It was the one he used for his morning tea; the elves hadn't removed it yet.
"I'll do a small demonstration… keep your eyes on the cup," Harry said as he focused.
All of a sudden, a pitch-black circle appeared next to the cup.
The circle was just floating in the air, and it was so dark that it almost seemed as if someone had removed a piece of space itself, leaving behind an empty void.
Dumbledore was already surprised by this, but then… a hand appeared from inside the black void and took hold of the cup, dragging it inside before disappearing.
Dumbledore's eyes moved to Harry, just in time to see him pulling his hand out of a similar black hole.
Harry was holding onto his cup.
"Pretty nifty, huh?" Harry said with a grin before moving closer to the desk and placing the cup back in its original place.
The black circles vanished from existence, and everything returned to how it was before.
"Space manipulation…" Dumbledore muttered.
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