Lightning Strikes Twice Ch. 14 (Harry Potter) (Patreon)

A/N: Harry spins Albus' head around. The Headmaster would be so proud if it wasn't being done to him~

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“Ah, Harry… please have a seat. Lemon drop?”

“No thanks, Headmaster.”

He could have technically met Dumbledore’s eyes and known beyond a shadow of a doubt that the older wizard wasn’t in his mind. His Occlumency was more than powerful enough to block even the most skilled Legilimens from accessing his thoughts. Hell, he hadn’t had a single ‘bad dream’ from Voldemort so far this year for a reason… though he might turn around and use that connection to the Dark Lord later on for his own purposes.

Regardless, it wasn’t until after the Headmaster’s death in the original timeline that Harry had realized just how much the man must have used Legilimency to skim the surface thoughts of those he spoke with in order to maintain that all-knowing façade of him. Diving deeper to get at the really juicy stuff was probably out of the question, but just some light surface-level reading could tell Dumbledore an awful lot and help him steer any conversation he wanted in any direction he wanted to seer it.

That said, Harry didn’t want to give the Hogwarts Headmaster even the slightest inkling of his Occlumency Shields. After all, Harry Potter, Fourth Year Student, wasn’t supposed to HAVE Occlumency Shields. And while he could have gone ahead and created a facsimile of what his mind should look like to try and fool Dumbledore, that wasn’t a guarantee. The Headmaster wasn’t known as one of the greatest wizards of all time for no reason.

In the end, Harry didn’t have to try and fool Dumbledore… he just had to have an excuse outside of mind-reading for why he wasn’t willing to meet the Headmaster’s eyes. Thankfully, Harry had a ready-made excuse… one that the original Fourth Year version of him never would have thought up, but with enough time to mull it over in the years since, had felt more than appropriate.

“Harry my boy? Is something the matter?”

It’s rather out of character for him and Harry knows that… but nevertheless, he offers a half-hearted shrug, continuing to avert his gaze and not speaking immediately. He can imagine Dumbledore’s brow furrowing in consternation. He can also imagine the Headmaster changing tacks. Whatever he initially called Harry up here for, whether it was Rita’s article or any of the other strange things that have happened so far this year, Dumbledore knows full well that his relationship with Harry is paramount to making sure the boy does exactly what he wants him to do.

… Though that’s a fairly uncharitable impression of the Hogwarts Headmaster and Harry knows it. As manipulative as Dumbledore is, he’s not a bad person. He’s not evil in the same way Voldemort and his Death Eaters are. But he is… neglectful. And as previously mentioned, manipulative. In all fairness, the death of the Wizarding World had come long after Dumbledore’s demise, so one could argue that it wasn’t his fault what had ultimately ended up happening.

But one could also argue that it was Albus Dumbledore’s decades-long soft grip on the power structures of the Wizarding World that had ultimately left them all too complacent to react in time. He, along with many others, had been ignorant of the dangers that the Muggle World represented. Harry wouldn’t make the same mistakes they all had, now that he had this second chance.

“Harry… if I’ve done something to upset you, please let me know. I care about you greatly, I hope you know that.”

The funny thing is, Harry believes him. Dumbledore does care about him. He cares about all of his students, even the ones all but guaranteed to turn out to be bad eggs. However… that doesn’t mean Dumbledore wouldn’t sacrifice Harry at the drop of a hat to remove the horcrux from his cursed scar. It doesn’t mean the old man won’t do some dastardly things for the sake of his Greater Good. Yes, Dumbledore cares. But that’s irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

Still, he couldn’t stay quiet forever.

“… I just don’t understand why my name got pulled out of the cup, Headmaster.”

Moderating his tone so its just the appropriate amount of mulish and hurt, Harry makes a point of looking down at his hands and frowning in contemplation. Albus, meanwhile, is quiet for a moment before speaking.

“That should never have happened, Harry. I believe that you didn’t put your name in the cup you know. You couldn’t have gotten past my Age Line I’m sure.”

Harry scoffs at that, remembering something else Albus had said that night.

“No… but I could have had someone else put my name in for me, is that it? That’s what they all think I did, even if you don’t Headmaster. But… why?”

Another pause as Dumbledore no doubt furrows his brow.

“Why, my boy?”

Nodding, Harry looks off to the side, specifically at Fawkes the Phoenix. Some claimed that Fawkes was Albus Dumbledore’s Familiar, but Harry knew better. Fawkes and Albus were life long friends, but not familiar and master. Otherwise, Albus might have been able to use Legilimency through Fawkes’ eyes. Knowing that he couldn’t, Harry felt safe in pretending he was a hurt young man talking to the phoenix instead of Albus.

“Why was that possible in the first place? It doesn’t make sense, Headmaster. Everything I’ve heard about the Triwizard Tournament says it’s supposed to be dangerous. Incredibly so. That’s why you put an age limit on things to begin with, right?”

“… Yes, though you must understand that the Goblet of Fire is an ancient magical artifact, Harry. It has existed since long before our modern day sensibilities. The Age Line was supposed to keep anyone too young from putting their name forth and thus being made to participate…”

SLAM!

Suddenly standing up, Harry slams his fist into the Headmaster’s desk and then immediately turns away, making it seem as though he’s doing so to avoid hitting the desk further or breaking anything. Pacing the length of the room, Harry lets some very real anger leak into his voice as he demands answers from an aging Albus Dumbledore.

“But WHY?! You say the Goblet of Fire is an ancient magical artifact! Are you saying it was designed with the intention of allowing just anyone to submit anyone else’s name to it?! If this so-called ancient magical artifact is so damn powerful that it can take my magic if I don’t participate, then why is there such an obvious loophole? Why can’t it discern precisely who put in a name and force THEM to take part in the tournament instead?! And more than that, how the hell did I get submitted as a fourth school in the first place?! Obviously Cedric Diggory is the Hogwarts Champion… so what the fuck am I supposed to be?!”

Finally coming to an end, a little out of breath and barely having to fake his anger, Harry keeps his back turned to Albus and his fists clenched at his sides. There’s a much longer pause this time, before he hears Albus rise from his chair. Harry stiffens at that, causing the Headmaster to stop and hesitate for a moment before speaking from behind his desk, not immediately moving closer.

“… Initial reports suggest that the Goblet was… confounded, Harry. I suspect that was how someone was able to submit your name for you in your stead, and how they managed to convince the Goblet that there was a fourth school competing in the tournament.”

Harry scoffs at that. That was the explanation last time too. And hey, maybe it was even the truth. But honestly… how the fuck did that even work? How did a washed-up Death Eater who’d spent over a decade in captivity under the Imperius Curse confound a supposedly ancient magical artifact? How had Barty Crouch Jr. done it? Did Voldemort give him some special piece of magic that made it possible? Harry didn’t know… nor did he really care.

The truth was, he was only as bound to the Goblet of Fire and this inane tournament as he wanted to be. Being a participant suited his interests for the time being, so he’d maintained the connection forced upon him by the draconian magical contract that having his name shoot out of the Goblet had somehow created. But Dumbledore certainly didn’t need to know any of that.

“So much for an ancient magical artifact. If it can be confounded to let my name be put in the Goblet in the first place, then it can be confounded to let me go, right? And besides, isn’t it literally called the Triwizard Tournament?! There shouldn’t even BE a fourth school allowed to compete!”

As Harry rants with his back turned to Albus, he feels the Headmaster slowly begin to approach. He pretends like he doesn’t notice Dumbledore until the Headmaster puts a calming hand on his shoulder, at which point Harry pretends to nearly jump out of his skin in response. He tenses up, ready to make a big show of storming out of the office regardless of what Albus said next… but to his surprise, the Headmaster manages to actually catch him off guard and make him go still.

“I’m sorry, Harry. I’ve failed you. If there’s anything I can do to make it up to you, please let me know.”

Now see, that was interesting. Because as old as Dumbledore was, he still had plenty of power. It was like having a genie offer to grant you a wish. You didn’t just turn down such a thing. Especially seeing as Harry could hear the genuine contriteness in the Headmaster’s voice. Whether Harry’s ranting and raving had been enough to prompt Dumbledore to take a good long look at what led them to this point or he was just feeling guilty… it didn’t matter.

There was a lot Harry could ask for. There was also a lot he couldn’t ask for. He needed to be careful not to alert Dumbledore to his true intentions… but he couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this. Another might not come along soon enough for his tastes.

“… I want an investigation. A proper one by the DMLE, Headmaster. I want to know that the Head of the DMLE herself is aware of what’s going on here and that someone is trying to kill me this year… again.”

He can feel Dumbledore rock back in surprise at that. After all, involving the Aurors was the last thing Albus wanted to do.

“Harry-!”

Timing it perfectly, Harry jerks his shoulder out of Albus’ hand, taking an aborted step towards the door out of the Headmaster’s Office. That shuts the older wizard up for a moment, forcing him to reconsider his approach. Harry is fully ready for Albus to say no, of course. But… it would be an excellent step in the right direction if he could get alone with Amelia Bones. After all, while he’d only learned about it after her death in the previous timeline… in this timeline he could make use of the woman’s secret, just as he had Aurora’s.

But if Dumbledore won’t cave, then Harry will just have to find another way to-

“… I’ll see what can be done, my boy. You must understand though, with visiting foreign schools, bringing British Aurors on campus could be seen as… provocative.”

Harry, because his back is hidden from the Headmaster, allows himself a small smirk at that.

“Of course, sir. Wouldn’t want to upset them, would he? Not like they’re already upset because they think we’re cheating by having me compete or anything like that…”

Dumbledore goes quiet again at that before letting out a long, drawn-out sigh.

“As I said Harry, I’ll see what I can do.”

It’s about as best as Harry is going to get, all things considered. So he nods his head without ever turning to look at Albus, considering his time here done.

“Then I think that’s all we have to talk about for the time being, Headmaster.”

And with that he just walks out. Dumbledore is so stunned that he doesn’t even try to stop him or call him back. Or maybe the older man is just so taken aback by the conversation he had that he needs a breather as well. Either way, Harry has successfully managed to deflect from whatever Albus ACTUALLY wanted to talk about, at least for the time being.

Eventually, he’s sure that the Headmaster will come back around to him, either mustering up the courage for another harrowing encounter with a mulish and angry Harry Potter, or something else. Whether Albus will actually come through regarding the DMLE investigation or not… whether Harry will actually get a face to face with Amelia Bones or not… well, that’s very much up in the air.

And somehow, Harry suspects its unlikely to happen before the First Task two weeks from now. All things considered, two weeks isn’t long at all for much more to happen save for the First Task itself. Then again, Harry had made a bet with Fleur Delacour. A bet he had every intention of winning. He didn’t quite know what he was going to do with the beautiful veela yet of course… nothing too humiliating, he would make sure of that. But even still, he wasn’t going to let her beat him. That just wasn’t in the cards.

However, that did mean Harry had a decision to make. He COULD go out and rush the conquest of one more witch in the next two weeks. There were a couple of options in Hogwarts itself that would prove to be child’s play to bind to him, either because they were largely weak-willed or because they were already loyal to him in the first place.

That said, there was technically no need to rush. Harry knew the First Task like the back of his hand. He knew he was up against dragons and if everything stayed true to form, he would be up against the worst of the lot, the Hungarian Horn-Tail. But Harry wasn’t afraid. Even with just two bindings, he was far more powerful than he had been at this point in the original timeline. And far more knowledgeable as well. As well, if he fucked Aurora and Bellatrix more over the next two weeks he could further solidify the bindings so to speak, giving him easier access to their magic.

It wouldn’t be resting on his laurels to just… relax for these next two weeks. It would be preparing for the First Task in the same way going for a third binding would be. They were just two different paths and Harry had to choose. Get ready to make Fleur eat his dust by letting the bindings he already had settle a bit more… or go for a third binding to up his power right before the First Task arrived?