039.lyx

#LyX 2.1 created this file. For more info see http://www.lyx.org/
\lyxformat 474
\begin_document
\begin_header
\textclass memoir
\use_default_options true
\master hpmor_volume2_16x23.lyx
\begin_modules
initials
\end_modules
\maintain_unincluded_children false
\language english
\language_package default
\inputencoding auto
\fontencoding global
\font_roman times
\font_sans default
\font_typewriter default
\font_math auto
\font_default_family default
\use_non_tex_fonts false
\font_sc false
\font_osf false
\font_sf_scale 100
\font_tt_scale 100
\graphics default
\default_output_format default
\output_sync 0
\bibtex_command default
\index_command default
\paperfontsize 11
\spacing single
\use_hyperref false
\papersize custom
\use_geometry true
\use_package amsmath 1
\use_package amssymb 1
\use_package cancel 1
\use_package esint 1
\use_package mathdots 1
\use_package mathtools 1
\use_package mhchem 1
\use_package stackrel 1
\use_package stmaryrd 1
\use_package undertilde 1
\cite_engine basic
\cite_engine_type default
\biblio_style plain
\use_bibtopic false
\use_indices false
\paperorientation portrait
\suppress_date true
\justification true
\use_refstyle 1
\index Index
\shortcut idx
\color #008000
\end_index
\paperwidth 8.25in
\paperheight 10.75in
\leftmargin 0.5in
\topmargin 0.875in
\rightmargin 0.625in
\bottommargin 0.875in
\secnumdepth 3
\tocdepth 3
\paragraph_separation indent
\paragraph_indentation default
\quotes_language english
\papercolumns 2
\papersides 2
\paperpagestyle default
\tracking_changes false
\output_changes false
\html_math_output 0
\html_css_as_file 0
\html_be_strict false
\end_header

\begin_body

\begin_layout Chapter
Pretending to be Wise, Part I
\end_layout

\begin_layout Initial
\begin_inset Argument 2
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout
W
\end_layout

\end_inset


\begin_inset Argument 3
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout
histle.
\end_layout

\end_inset

 Tick.
 Bzzzt.
 Ding.
 Glorp.
 Pop.
 Splat.
 Chime.
 Toot.
 Puff.
 Tinkle.
 Bubble.
 Beep.
 Thud.
 Crackle.
 Whoosh.
 Hiss.
 Pffft.
 Whirr.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Professor Flitwick had silently passed Harry a folded parchment during Charms
 class that Monday, and the note had said that Harry was to visit the Headmaster
 at his convenience and in such fashion that no one else would notice, especiall
y not Draco Malfoy or Professor Quirrell.
 His one-time password for the gargoyle would be “squeamish ossifrage”.
 This had been accompanied by a remarkably artistic ink drawing of Professor
 Flitwick staring at him sternly, the eyes of which occasionally blinked;
 and at the bottom of the note, underlined three times, was the phrase DON'T
 GET INTO TROUBLE.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
And so Harry had finished up Transfiguration class, and studied with Her\SpecialChar \-
mione,
 and eaten dinner, and spoken with his lieutenants, and finally, when the
 clock struck nine, turned himself invisible and dropped back to 6pm and
 wearily trudged off toward the gargoyle, the turning spiral stairs, the
 wooden door, the room full of little fiddly things, and the silver-bearded
 figure of the Headmaster.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
This time, Dumbledore looked quite serious, the customary smile absent;
 and he was dressed in pajamas of a darker and more sober purple than usual.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Thank you for coming, Harry,” said the Headmaster.
 The old wizard rose from his throne, began to slowly pace through the room
 and the strange devices.
 “First, do you have with you the notes of yesterday's encounter with Lucius
 Malfoy?”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Notes?” blurted Harry.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“
\emph on
Surely
\emph default
 you wrote it down…” said the old wizard, and his voice trailed off.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry felt rather embarrassed.
 Yes, if you'd just fumbled through a mysterious conversation full of significan
t hints you didn't understand, the 
\emph on
bloody obvious
\emph default
 thing to do would be to write it all down immediately afterward, before
 the memory faded, so you could try to figure it out later.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“All right,” said the Headmaster, “from memory then.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry sheepishly recited as best he could, and got almost halfway through
 before he realized that it wasn't smart to just go around telling the possibly-
crazy Headmaster everything, at least not without 
\emph on
thinking
\emph default
 about it first, but then Lucius was 
\emph on
definitely
\emph default
 a bad guy and Dumbledore's opponent so it probably 
\emph on
was
\emph default
 a good idea to tell him, and Harry had already started talking and it was
 too late to try and calculate things out now…
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry finished his recollections honestly.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Dumbledore's face had grown more remote as Harry went on, and at the end
 there was a look of ancientness about him, a sternness in the air.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Well,” said Dumbledore.
 “I suggest you take the best of care that the heir of Malfoy does 
\emph on
not
\emph default
 come to harm, then.
 And I will do the same.” The Headmaster was frowning, his fingers drumming
 soundlessly through the inky black surface of a plate inscribed with the
 word 
\emph on
Leliel.

\emph default
 “And I think it would be most extremely wise for you to avoid 
\emph on
all
\emph default
 interaction with Lord Malfoy henceforth.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“
\emph on
Did
\emph default
 you intercept owls from him to me?” said Harry.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The Headmaster gazed at Harry for a long moment, then reluctantly nodded.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
For some reason Harry wasn't feeling as outraged as he should have been.
 Maybe it was just that Harry was finding it very easy to sympathize with
 the Headmaster's point of view right now.
 Even Harry could understand why Dumbledore wouldn't want him to interact
 with Lucius Malfoy; it didn't seem like an 
\emph on
evil
\emph default
 deed.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Not like the Headmaster blackmailing Zabini… for which they had only Zabini's
 word, and Zabini was wildly untrustworthy, in fact it was hard to see why
 Zabini 
\emph on
wouldn't
\emph default
 just tell the story that got him the most sympathy from Professor Quirrell…
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“How about if, instead of protesting, I say that I understand your point
 of view,” said Harry, “and you go on intercepting my owls, but you tell
 me who from?”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“I have intercepted a great many owls to you, I am afraid,” Dumbledore said
 soberly.
 “You are a celebrity, Harry, and you would receive dozens of letters a
 day, some from far outside this country, did I not turn them back.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“
\emph on
That
\emph default
,” Harry said, now starting to feel a bit of indignation, “seems like going
 a little too far 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset

”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Many of those letters,” the old wizard said quietly, “will be asking you
 for things you cannot give.
 I have not read them, of course, only turned them back to their senders
 undelivered.
 But I know, for I receive them too.
 And you are too young, Harry, to have your heart broken six times before
 breakfast each morning.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry looked down at his shoes.
 He 
\emph on
should
\emph default
 insist on reading the letters and judging for himself, but… there was a
 small voice of common sense inside him, and it was screaming very loudly
 right now.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Thank you,” Harry muttered.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“The other reason I asked you here,” said the old wizard, “was that I wished
 to consult your unique genius.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Transfiguration?” said Harry, surprised and flattered.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“No, not 
\emph on
that
\emph default
 unique genius,” said Dumbledore.
 “Tell me, Harry, what evil could you accomplish if a Dementor were allowed
 onto the grounds of Hogwarts?”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Quote
\align center
\begin_inset Graphics
	filename fleur.png
	scale 50

\end_inset


\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
It developed that Professor Quirrell had asked, or rather demanded, that
 his students test their skills against an actual Dementor after they learned
 the words and gestures to the Patronus Charm.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Professor Quirrell is unable to cast the Patronus Charm himself,” said
 Dumbledore, as he paced slowly through the devices.
 “Which is never a good sign.
 But then, he 
\emph on
volunteered
\emph default
 that fact to me in the course of demanding that outside instructors be
 brought in to teach the Patronus Charm to every student who wished to learn;
 he offered to pay the expense himself, if I would not.
 This impressed me greatly.
 But now he insists on bringing in a Dementor 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset

”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Headmaster,” Harry said quietly, “Professor Quirrell believes 
\emph on
very
\emph default
 strongly in live-fire tests under realistic combat conditions.
 Wanting to bring in an actual Dementor is 
\emph on
completely
\emph default
 in character for him.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Now the Headmaster was giving Harry a strange look.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“
\emph on
In character?
\emph default
” said the old wizard.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“I mean,” said Harry, “it's entirely consistent with the way Professor Quirrell
 usually acts…” Harry trailed off.
 Why 
\emph on
had
\emph default
 he put it that way?
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The Headmaster nodded.
 “So you have the same sense I do; that it is an excuse.
 A very 
\emph on
reasonable
\emph default
 excuse, to be sure; more so than you may realize.
 Often, wizards seemingly unable to cast a Patronus Charm will succeed in
 the presence of an actual Dementor, going from not a single flicker of
 light to a full corporeal Patronus.
 Why this should be, no one knows; but it is
\begin_inset space ~
\end_inset

so.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry frowned.
 “Then I really don't see why you're suspicious 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset

”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The Headmaster spread his hands as though in helplessness.
 “Harry, the 
\emph on
Defense Professor
\emph default
 has asked me to pass the darkest of all creatures through the gates of
 Hogwarts.
 I 
\emph on
must
\emph default
 be suspicious.” The Headmaster sighed.
 “And yet the Dementor will be guarded, warded, in a mighty cage, I will
 be there myself to watch it at all times 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset

 I cannot think of what ill 
\emph on
could
\emph default
 be done.
 But perhaps I am merely unable to see it.
 And so I am asking you.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry stared at the Headmaster with his mouth open.
 He was so shocked he couldn't even feel flattered.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“
\emph on
Me?
\emph default
” said Harry.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Yes,” said Dumbledore, smiling slightly.
 “I try my best to anticipate my foes, to encompass their wicked minds and
 predict their evil thoughts.
 But 
\emph on
I
\emph default
 would never have imagined sharpening a Hufflepuff's bones into weapons.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Was Harry 
\emph on
ever
\emph default
 going to live that down?
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Headmaster,” Harry said wearily, “I know it doesn't sound good, but in
 all seriousness: I'm not evil, I'm just very creative 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset

”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“I did not say that you were evil,” Dumbledore said seriously.
 “There are those who say that to comprehend evil is to become evil; but
 they are merely pretending to be wise.
 Rather it is evil which does not know love, and dares not imagine love,
 and cannot ever understand love without ceasing to be evil.
 And I suspect that you can imagine your way into the minds of Dark Wizards
 better than I ever could, while still knowing love yourself.
 So, Harry.” The Headmaster's eyes were intent.
 “If you stood in Professor Quirrell's shoes, what misdeeds could you accomplish
 after you tricked me into allowing a Dementor onto the grounds of Hogwarts?”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Hold 
\emph on
on
\emph default
,” said Harry, and in something of a daze trudged over to the chair in front
 of the Headmaster's desk, and sat down.
 It was a large and comfortable chair this time, not a wooden stool, and
 Harry could feel himself enveloped as he sank into it.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Dumbledore was asking him to outwit Professor Quirrell.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Point one: Harry was rather fonder of Professor Quirrell than of Dumbledore.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Point two: The hypothesis was that the Defense Professor was planning to
 do something evil, and in that subjunctive case, Harry 
\emph on
ought
\emph default
 to be helping the Headmaster prevent it.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Point three…
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Headmaster,” Harry said, “if Professor Quirrell 
\emph on
is
\emph default
 up to something, I'm not sure I 
\emph on
can
\emph default
 outwit him.
 He's got a lot more experience than I do.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The old wizard shook his head, somehow managing to appear very solemn despite
 his smile.
 “You underestimate yourself.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
That was the first time anyone had ever said 
\emph on
that
\emph default
 to Harry.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“I remember,” the old wizard continued, “a young man in this very office,
 cold and controlled as he faced down the Head of House Slytherin, blackmailing
 his own Headmaster to protect his classmates.
 And I believe that young man is more cunning than Professor Quirrell, more
 cunning than Lucius Malfoy, that he will grow to be the equal of Voldemort
 himself.
 It is he who I wish to consult.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry suppressed the chill that went through him at the name, frowned thoughtful
ly at the Headmaster.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard

\emph on
How much does he know…?
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The Headmaster had seen Harry in the grip of his mysterious dark side, as
 deep as Harry had ever sunk into it.
 Harry still remembered what it had been like to watch, invisibly Time-Turned,
 as his past self faced down the older Slytherins; the boy with the scar
 on his forehead who didn't act like the others.
 
\emph on
Of course
\emph default
 the Headmaster would have noticed something odd about the boy in his office…
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
And Dumbledore had concluded that his pet hero had cunning to match his
 destined foe, the Dark Lord.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Which wasn't asking for very much, considering that the Dark Lord had put
 a clearly visible Dark Mark on all of his servants' left arms, and that
 he'd slaughtered the entire monastery that taught the martial art he'd
 wanted to learn.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Enough cunning to match 
\emph on
Professor Quirrell
\emph default
 would be a 
\emph on
whole
\emph default
 different order of problem.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
But it was also clear that the Headmaster wouldn't be satisfied until Harry
 went all cold and darkish, and came up with some sort of answer that sounded
 impressively cunning… which had better not 
\emph on
actually
\emph default
 get in the way of Professor Quirrell's teaching Defense…
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
And of course Harry 
\emph on
would
\emph default
 go over to his dark side and think it through from that direction, just
 to be honest, and just in case.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Tell me,” Harry said, “everything about how the Dementor is to be brought
 in, and how it is to be guarded.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Dumbledore's eyebrows rose for a moment, and then the old wizard began to
 speak.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The Dementor would be transported to the grounds of Hogwarts by an Auror
 trio, all three personally known to the Headmaster, and all three able
 to cast a corporeal Patronus Charm.
 They would be met at the edge of the grounds by Dumbledore, who would pass
 the Dementor through the Hogwarts wards 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset


\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry asked if the pass was permanent or temporary 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset

 whether someone could just bring in the same Dementor again the next day.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The pass was temporary (replied the Headmaster with an approving nod), and
 the explanation went on: The Dementor would be in a cage of solid titanium
 bars, not Transfigured but true-forged; in time a Dementor's presence would
 corrode that metal to dust, but not in a single day.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Students awaiting their turn would stay well back of the Dementor, behind
 two corporeal Patronuses maintained by two of the three Aurors at any given
 time.
 Dumbledore would wait by the Dementor's cage with his Patronus.
 A single student would approach the Dementor; and Dumbledore would dispel
 his Patronus; and the student would attempt to cast their own Patronus
 Charm; and if they failed, Dumbledore would restore his Patronus before
 the student could suffer any permanent damage.
 Past dueling champion Professor Flitwick would also be present while there
 were students near, just to add safety margin.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Why just 
\emph on
you
\emph default
 waiting by the Dementor?” said Harry.
 “I mean, shouldn't it be you plus an Auror 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset

”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The Headmaster shook his head.
 “They could not withstand the repeated exposure to the Dementor, each time
 I dispel my Patronus.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
And if Dumbledore's Patronus did fail for some reason, while one of the
 students was still near the Dementor, the third Auror would cast another
 corporeal Patronus and send it to shield the student…
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry poked and prodded, but he couldn't see a flaw in the security.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
So Harry took a deep breath, sank further into the chair, closed his eyes,
 and remembered:
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard

\emph on
“And that will be… five points? No, let us make it an even ten points from
 Ravenclaw for backchat.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The cold came more slowly now, more reluctantly, Harry hadn't been calling
 much on his dark side lately…
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry had to run through that entire session in Potions in his mind, before
 his blood chilled into something approaching deadly crystalline clarity.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
And then he thought of the Dementor.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
And it was obvious.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“The Dementor is a distraction,” Harry said.
 The coldness clear in his voice, since that was what Dumbledore wanted
 and expected.
 “A large, salient threat, but in the end straightforward, and easy to defend
 against.
 So while all your attention is focused on the Dementor, the real plot will
 be happening elsewhere.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Dumbledore stared at Harry for a moment, and then gave a slow nod.
 “Yes…” said the Headmaster.
 “And I do believe I know what it might be a distraction 
\emph on
from
\emph default
, if Professor Quirrell means ill… thank you, Harry.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The Headmaster was still staring at Harry, a strange look in those ancient
 eyes.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“
\emph on
What?
\emph default
” said Harry with a tinge of annoyance, the cold still lingering in his
 blood.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“I have another question for that young man,” said the Headmaster.
 “It is something I have long wondered to myself, yet been unable to comprehend.
 
\emph on
Why?
\emph default
” There was a tinge of pain in his voice.
 “Why would anyone deliberately make himself a monster? Why do evil for
 the sake of evil? Why Voldemort?”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Quote
\align center
\begin_inset Graphics
	filename fleur.png
	scale 50

\end_inset


\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard

\emph on
Whirr, bzzzt, tick; ding, puff, splat…
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry stared at the Headmaster in surprise.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“How would 
\emph on
I
\emph default
 know?” said Harry.
 “Am I supposed to magically understand the Dark Lord because I'm the hero,
 or something?”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“
\emph on
Yes!
\emph default
” said Dumbledore.
 “My own great foe was Grindelwald, and 
\emph on
him
\emph default
 I understood very well indeed.
 Grindelwald was my dark mirror, the man I could so easily have been, had
 I given in to the temptation to believe that I was a good person, and therefore
 always in the right.
 
\emph on
For the greater good
\emph default
, that was his slogan; and he truly believed it himself, even as he tore
 at all Europe like a wounded animal.
 And him, I defeated in the end.
 But then after him came Voldemort, to destroy everything I had protected
 in Britain.” The hurt was plain now in Dumbledore's voice, exposed upon
 his face.
 “He committed acts worse by far than Grindelwald's worst, horror for the
 sake of horror.
 I sacrificed everything only to hold him back, and I still don't understand
 
\emph on
why!
\emph default
 
\emph on
Why
\emph default
, Harry? Why did he do it? He was never my destined foe, but yours, so if
 you have any guesses at all, Harry, please tell me! 
\emph on
Why?
\emph default
”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry stared down at his hands.
 The truth was that Harry hadn't read up on the Dark Lord yet, and right
 now he hadn't the tiniest clue.
 And somehow that didn't seem like an answer the Headmaster wanted to hear.
 “Too many Dark rituals, maybe? In the beginning he thought he'd do just
 one, but it sacrificed part of his good side, and that made him less reluctant
 to perform other Dark rituals, so he did more and more rituals in a positive
 feedback cycle until he ended up as a tremendously powerful monster 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset

”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“No!” Now the Headmaster's voice was agonized.
 “I can't believe that, Harry! There has to be something more to it than
 just that!”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard

\emph on
Why should there be?
\emph default
 thought Harry, but he didn't say it, because it was clear that the Headmaster
 thought the universe was a story and had a plot, and that huge tragedies
 weren't allowed to happen except for equally huge, significant reasons.
 “I'm sorry, Headmaster.
 The Dark Lord doesn't seem like much of a dark mirror to me, not at all.
 There isn't anything I find even the 
\emph on
tiniest
\emph default
 bit tempting about nailing the skins of Yermy Wibble's family to a newsroom
 wall.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Have you 
\emph on
no
\emph default
 wisdom to share?” said Dumbledore.
 There was pleading in the old wizard's voice, almost begging.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard

\emph on
Evil happens,
\emph default
 thought Harry, 
\emph on
it doesn't mean anything or teach us anything, except to not be evil? The
 Dark Lord was probably just a selfish bastard who didn't care who he hurt,
 or an idiot who made stupidly avoidable mistakes that snowballed.
 There is no destiny behind the ills of this world; if Hitler had been allowed
 into architecture school like he wanted, the whole history of Europe would
 have been different; if we lived in the sort of universe where horrible
 things were only allowed to happen for good reasons, they just wouldn't
 happen in the first place.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
And none of that, obviously, was what the Headmaster wanted to hear.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The old wizard was still looking at Harry from over a fiddly thing like
 a frozen puff of smoke, a painful desperation in those ancient, waiting
 eyes.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Well, sounding wise wasn't difficult.
 It was a lot easier than being intelligent, actually, since you didn't
 have to say anything surprising or come up with any new insights.
 You just let your brain's pattern-matching software complete the cliche,
 using whatever Deep Wisdom you'd stored previously.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Headmaster,” Harry said solemnly, “I would rather not define myself by
 my enemies.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Somehow, even in the midst of all the whirring and ticking, there was a
 kind of silence.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
That had come out a bit more Deeply Wise than Harry had intended.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“You may be very wise, Harry…” the Headmaster said slowly.
 “I do wish… that I could have been defined by my friends.” The pain in his
 voice had grown deeper.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry's mind searched hastily for something else Deeply Wise to say that
 would soften the unintended force of the blow 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset


\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Or perhaps,” Harry said more softly, “it is the foe that makes the Gryffindor,
 as it is the friend that makes the Hufflepuff, and the ambition that makes
 the Slytherin.
 I do know that it is always, in every generation, the puzzle that makes
 the scientist.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“It is a dreadful fate to which you condemn my House, Harry,” said the Headmaste
r.
 The pain was still in his voice.
 “For now that you remark on it, I do think that I was very much made by
 my enemies.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry stared at his own hands, where they lay in his lap.
 Maybe he should just shut up while he was ahead.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“But you 
\emph on
have
\emph default
 answered my question,” said Dumbledore more softly, as though to himself.
 “I should have realized that would be a Slytherin's key.
 For his ambition, all for the sake of his ambition; and 
\emph on
that
\emph default
 I know, though not 
\emph on
why
\emph default
…” For a time Dumbledore stared off into nothingness; then he straightened,
 and his eyes seemed to focus on Harry again.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“And you, Harry,” said the Headmaster, “you name yourself a 
\emph on
scientist?
\emph default
” His voice was laced with surprise and mild disapproval.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“You don't like science?” said Harry a little wearily.
 He'd hoped Dumbledore would be fonder of Muggle things.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“I suppose it is useful to those without wands,” said Dumbledore, frowning.
 “But it seems a strange thing by which to define yourself.
 Is science as important as love? As kindness? As friendship? Is it science
 that makes you fond of Minerva McGonagall? Is it science that makes you
 care for Hermione Granger? Will it be science to which you turn, when you
 try to kindle warmth in Draco Malfoy's heart?”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard

\emph on
You know, the sad thing is, you probably think you just uttered some kind
 of incredibly wise knockdown argument.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Now, how to phrase the rejoinder in such fashion that it also sounded incredibly
 wise…
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“You are not Ravenclaw,” Harry said with calm dignity, “and so it might
 not have occurred to you that to respect the truth, and seek it all the
 days of your life, could also be an act of grace.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The Headmaster's eyebrows rose up.
 And then he sighed.
 “How did you become so wise, so young…?” The old wizard sounded sad, as
 he said it.
 “Perhaps it will prove valuable to you.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard

\emph on
Only for impressing ancient wizards who are overly impressed with themselves,
\emph default
 thought Harry.
 He was actually a bit disappointed by Dumbledore's credulity; it wasn't
 that Harry had 
\emph on
lied
\emph default
, but Dumbledore seemed far too impressed with Harry's ability to phrase
 things so that they sounded profound, instead of putting them into plain
 English like Richard Feynman had done with 
\emph on
his
\emph default
 wisdom…
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Love is more important than wisdom,” said Harry, just to test the limits
 of Dumbledore's tolerance for blindingly obvious cliches completed by sheer
 pattern matching without any sort of detailed analysis.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The Headmaster nodded gravely, and said, “Indeed.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry stood up out of the chair, and stretched his arms.
 
\emph on
Well, I'd better go off and love something, then, that's bound to help me
 defeat the Dark Lord.
 And next time you ask me for advice, I'll just give you a hug 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset


\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“This day you have helped me much, Harry,” said the Headmaster.
 “And so there is one last thing I would ask that young man.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard

\emph on
Great.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Tell me, Harry,” said the Headmaster (and now his voice sounded simply
 puzzled, though there was still a hint of pain in his eyes), “why do Dark
 Wizards fear death so greatly?”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Er,” said Harry, “sorry, I've got to back the Dark Wizards on that one.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Quote
\align center
\begin_inset Graphics
	filename fleur.png
	scale 50

\end_inset


\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Whoosh, hiss, chime; glorp, pop, bubble 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset


\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“
\emph on
What?
\emph default
” said Dumbledore.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Death is bad,” said Harry, discarding wisdom for the sake of clear communicatio
n.
 “Very bad.
 Extremely bad.
 Being scared of death is like being scared of a great big monster with
 poisonous fangs.
 It actually makes a great deal of sense, and does not, in fact, indicate
 that you have a psychological problem.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The Headmaster was staring at him as though he'd just turned into a
\begin_inset space ~
\end_inset

cat.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Okay,” said Harry, “let me put it this way.
 Do you 
\emph on
want
\emph default
 to die? Because if so, there's this Muggle thing called a suicide prevention
 hotline 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset

”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“When it is time,” the old wizard said quietly.
 “Not before.
 I would never seek to hasten the day, nor seek to refuse it when it comes.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry was frowning sternly.
 “That doesn't sound like you have a very strong will to live, Headmaster!”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Harry…” The old wizard's voice was starting to sound a little helpless;
 and he had paced to a spot where his silver beard, unnoticed, had drifted
 into a crystalline glass goldfish bowl, and was slowly taking on a greenish
 tinge that crept up the hairs.
 “I think I may have not made myself clear.
 Dark Wizards are not eager to live.
 They 
\emph on
fear death.

\emph default
 They do not reach up toward the sun's light, but flee the coming of night
 into infinitely darker caverns of their own making, without moon or stars.
 It is not life they desire, but 
\emph on
immortality;
\emph default
 and they are so driven to grasp at it that they will sacrifice their very
 souls! Do you want to live 
\emph on
forever
\emph default
, Harry?”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Yes, and so do you,” said Harry.
 “I want to live one more day.
 Tomorrow I will still want to live one more day.
 Therefore I want to live forever, proof by induction on the positive integers.
 If you don't want to die, it means you want to live forever.
 If you don't want to live forever, it means you want to die.
 You've got to do one or the other… I'm not getting through here, am I.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The two cultures stared at each other across a vast gap of incommensurability.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“I have lived a hundred and ten years,” the old wizard said quietly (taking
 his beard out of the bowl, and jiggling it to shake out the color).
 “I have seen and done a great many things, too many of which I wish I had
 never seen or done.
 And yet I do not regret being alive, for watching my students grow is a
 joy that has not begun to wear on me.
 But I would not wish to live so long that it does! What would you 
\emph on
do
\emph default
 with eternity, Harry?”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry took a deep breath.
 “Meet all the interesting people in the world, read all the good books
 and then write something even better, celebrate my first grandchild's tenth
 birthday party on the Moon, celebrate my first great-great-great grandchild's
 hundredth birthday party around the Rings of Saturn, learn the deepest
 and final rules of Nature, understand the nature of consciousness, find
 out why anything exists in the first place, visit other stars, discover
 aliens, create aliens, rendezvous with everyone for a party on the other
 side of the Milky Way once we've explored the whole thing, meet up with
 everyone else who was born on Old Earth to watch the Sun finally go out,
 and I used to worry about finding a way to escape this universe before
 it ran out of negentropy but I'm a lot more hopeful now that I've discovered
 the so-called laws of physics are just optional guidelines.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“I did not understand much of that,” said Dumbledore.
 “But I must ask if these are things that you truly desire so desperately,
 or if you only imagine them so as to imagine not being tired, as you run
 and run from death.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Life is not a finite list of things that you check off before you're allowed
 to die,” Harry said firmly.
 “It's life, you just go on living it.
 If I'm not doing those things it'll be because I've found something better.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Dumbledore sighed.
 His fingers drummed on a clock; as they touched it, the numerals changed
 to an indecipherable script, and the hands briefly appeared in different
 positions.
 “In the unlikely event that I am permitted to tarry until a hundred and
 fifty,” said the old wizard, “I do not think I would mind.
 But two hundred years would be entirely too much of a good thing.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Yes, well,” Harry said, his voice a little dry as he thought of his Mum
 and Dad and 
\emph on
their
\emph default
 allotted span if Harry didn't do something about it, “I suspect, Headmaster,
 that if you came from a culture where people were accustomed to living
 four hundred years, that dying at two hundred would seem just as tragically
 premature as dying at, say, 
\emph on
eighty
\emph default
.” Harry's voice went hard, on that last word.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Perhaps,” the old wizard said peacefully.
 “I would not wish to die before my friends, nor live on after they had
 all gone.
 The hardest time is when those you loved the most have gone on before you,
 and yet others still live, for whose sake you must stay…” Dumbledore's
 eyes were fixed on Harry, and growing sad.
 “Do not mourn me too greatly, Harry, when my time comes; I will be with
 those I have long missed, on our next great adventure.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Oh!” Harry said in sudden realization.
 “You believe in an 
\emph on
afterlife
\emph default
.
 I got the impression wizards didn't have religion?”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Quote
\align center
\begin_inset Graphics
	filename fleur.png
	scale 50

\end_inset


\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Toot.
 Beep.
 Thud.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“
\emph on
How can you not believe it?
\emph default
” said the Headmaster, looking completely flabbergasted.
 “
\emph on
Harry, you're a wizard! You've seen ghosts!
\emph default
”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Ghosts,” Harry said, his voice flat.
 “You mean those things like portraits, stored memories and behaviors with
 no awareness or life, accidentally impressed into the surrounding material
 by the burst of magic that accompanies the violent death of a wizard 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset

”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“I've heard that theory,” said the Headmaster, his voice growing sharp,
 “repeated by wizards who mistake cynicism for wisdom, who think that to
 look down upon others is to elevate themselves.
 It is one of the silliest ideas I have heard in a hundred and ten years!
 
\emph on
Yes,
\emph default
 ghosts do not learn or grow, because this is 
\emph on
not where they belong!
\emph default
 Souls are meant to move on, there is no life remaining for them 
\emph on
here!
\emph default
 And if not ghosts, then what of the Veil? What of the Resurrection Stone?”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“All right,” Harry said, trying to keep his voice calm, “I'll hear out your
 evidence, because 
\emph on
that's what a scientist does.

\emph default
 But first, Headmaster, let me tell you a little story.” Harry's voice was
 trembling.
 “You know, when I got here, when I got off the train from King's Cross,
 I don't mean yesterday but back in September, when I got off the train
 then, Headmaster, I'd never seen a ghost.
 I wasn't 
\emph on
expecting
\emph default
 ghosts.
 So when I saw them, Headmaster, I did something really dumb.
 I 
\emph on
jumped to conclusions.

\emph default
 I, I thought there 
\emph on
was
\emph default
 an afterlife, I thought no one had ever really died, I thought that everyone
 the human species had ever lost was really fine after all, I thought that
 wizards could talk to people who'd passed on, that it just took the right
 spell to summon them, that wizards could 
\emph on
do
\emph default
 that, I thought I could meet my parents who died for me, and tell them
 that I'd heard about their sacrifice and that I'd begun to call them my
 mother and father 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset

”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Harry,” whispered Dumbledore.
 Water glittered in the old wizard's eyes.
 He took a step closer across the office 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset


\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“And 
\emph on
then,
\emph default
” spat Harry, the fury coming fully into his voice, the cold rage at the
 universe for being like that and at himself for being so stupid, “I asked
 Hermione and she said that they were just 
\emph on
afterimages,
\emph default
 burned into the stone of the castle by the death of a wizard, like the
 silhouettes left on the walls of Hiroshima.
 And I should have known! I should have known without even having to ask!
 I shouldn't have believed it even for all of thirty seconds! Because if
 people had souls there wouldn't be any such thing as brain damage, if your
 soul could go on speaking after your whole brain was gone, how could damage
 to the left cerebral hemisphere take away your ability to talk? And Professor
 McGonagall, when she told me about how my parents had died, she didn't
 act like they'd just gone away on a long trip to another country, like
 they'd emigrated to Australia back in the days of sailing ships, which
 is the way people would act if they 
\emph on
actually knew
\emph default
 that death was just going somewhere else, if they had hard evidence for
 an afterlife, instead of making stuff up to console themselves, it would
 change 
\emph on
everything,
\emph default
 it wouldn't 
\emph on
matter
\emph default
 that everyone had lost someone in the war, it would be a little sad but
 not 
\emph on
horrible!
\emph default
 And I'd already seen that people in the wizarding world didn't act like
 that! So I should have known better! And that was when I knew that my parents
 were really dead and gone forever and ever, that there wasn't anything
 left of them, that I'd never get a chance to meet them and, and, and the
 other children thought I was crying because I was 
\emph on
scared of ghosts 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset


\emph default

\begin_inset Quotes erd
\end_inset


\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The old wizard's face was horrified, he opened his mouth to speak 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset


\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“So tell me, Headmaster! Tell me about the evidence! But 
\emph on
don't you dare
\emph default
 exaggerate a single tiny bit of it, because if you give me false hope again,
 and I find out later that you lied or stretched things just a little, I
 won't ever forgive you for it! 
\emph on
What's the Veil?
\emph default
”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry reached up and wiped at his cheeks, while the glass things of the
 office stopped vibrating from his last shriek.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“The Veil,” said the old wizard with only a slight tremble in his voice,
 “is a great stone archway, kept in the Department of Mysteries; a gateway
 to the land of the dead.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“And how does anyone know that?” said Harry.
 “Don't tell me what you believe, tell me what you've 
\emph on
seen!
\emph default
”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The physical manifestation of the barrier between worlds was a great stone
 archway, old and tall and coming to a sharp point, with a tattered black
 veil like the surface of a pool of water, stretched between the stones;
 rippling, always, from the constant and one-way passage of the souls.
 If you stood by the Veil you could hear the voices of the dead calling,
 always calling in whispers barely on the wrong side of comprehension, growing
 louder and more numerous if you stayed and tried to hear, as they tried
 to communicate; and if you listened too long, you would go to meet them,
 and in the moment you touched the Veil you would be sucked through, and
 never be heard from again.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“That doesn't even sound like an 
\emph on
interesting
\emph default
 fraud,” Harry said, his voice calmer now that there was nothing there to
 make him hope, or make him angry for having hopes dashed.
 “Someone built a stone archway, made a little black rippling surface between
 it that Vanished anything it touched, and enchanted it to whisper to people
 and hypnotize them.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Harry…” the Headmaster said, starting to look rather worried.
 “I can tell you the truth, but if you refuse to hear it…”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard

\emph on
Also not interesting.

\emph default
 “What's the Resurrection Stone?”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“I would not tell you,” the Headmaster said slowly, “save that I fear what
 this disbelief may do to you… so listen, then, Harry, please listen…”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The Resurrection Stone was one of the three legendary Deathly Hallows, kin
 to Harry's cloak.
 The Resurrection Stone could call souls back from the dead 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset

 bring them back into the world of the living, though not as they were.
 Cadmus Peverell used the stone to call back his lost beloved from the dead,
 but her heart stayed with the dead, and not in the world of the living.
 And in time it drove him mad, and he killed himself to be truly with her
 once more…
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
In all politeness, Harry raised his hand.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Yes?” the Headmaster said reluctantly.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“The obvious test to see if the Resurrection Stone is 
\emph on
really
\emph default
 calling back the dead, or just projecting an image from the user's mind,
 is to ask a question whose answer 
\emph on
you
\emph default
 don't know, but the dead person 
\emph on
would
\emph default
, and that can be definitely verified in this world.
 For example, call back 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset

”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Then Harry paused, because 
\emph on
this
\emph default
 time he'd managed to think it through one step ahead of his tongue, fast
 enough to 
\emph on
not
\emph default
 say the first name and test that had sprung to mind.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“…your dead wife, and ask her where she left her lost earring, or something
 like that,” Harry finished.
 “Did anyone do any tests like that?”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“The Resurrection Stone has been lost for centuries, Harry,” the Headmaster
 said quietly.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry shrugged.
 “Well, I'm a scientist, and I'm always willing to be convinced.
 If you 
\emph on
really
\emph default
 believe the Resurrection Stone calls back the dead 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset

 then you must believe a test like that will succeed, right? So do you know
 anything about where to find the Resurrection Stone? I got 
\emph on
one
\emph default
 Deathly Hallow already under highly mysterious circumstances, and, well,
 we both know how the rhythm of the world works on that sort of thing.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Dumbledore stared at Harry.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry gazed equably back at the Headmaster.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The old wizard passed a hand across his forehead and muttered, “This is
 madness.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
(Somehow, Harry managed to stop himself from laughing.)
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
And Dumbledore told Harry to draw forth the Cloak of Invisibility from his
 pouch; at the Headmaster's direction, Harry stared at the inside and back
 of the hood until he saw it, faintly drawn against the silvery mesh in
 faded scarlet like dried blood, the symbol of the Deathly Hallows: a triangle,
 with a circle drawn inside, and a line dividing them both.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Thank you,” Harry said politely.
 “I shall be sure to keep an eye out for a stone so marked.
 Do you have any other evidence?”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Dumbledore appeared to be fighting a struggle within himself.
 “Harry,” the old wizard said, his voice rising, “this is a dangerous road
 you are walking, I am not sure I do the right thing by saying this, but
 I 
\emph on
must
\emph default
 wrench you from this way! Harry, 
\emph on
how could Voldemort have survived the death of his body if he did not have
 a soul?
\emph default
”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
And 
\emph on
that
\emph default
 was when Harry realized that there was exactly one person who'd 
\emph on
originally
\emph default
 told Professor McGonagall that the Dark Lord was still alive in the first
 place; and it was the crazy Headmaster of their madhouse of a school, who
 thought the world ran on cliches.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Good question,” Harry said, after some internal debate about how to proceed.
 “Maybe he found some way of duplicating the power of the Resurrection Stone,
 only he loaded it in advance with a 
\emph on
complete
\emph default
 copy of his brain state.
 Or something like that.” Harry was suddenly far from sure that he was trying
 to come up with an explanation for something that had 
\emph on
actually happened
\emph default
.
 “Actually, can you just go ahead and tell me everything you know about
 how the Dark Lord survived and what it might take to kill him?” 
\emph on
If he even still exists as more than Quibbler headlines.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“You are not fooling me, Harry,” said the old wizard; his face looked ancient
 now, and lined by more than years.
 “I know why you are truly asking that question.
 No, I do not read your mind, I do not have to, your hesitation gives you
 away! You seek the secret of the Dark Lord's immortality in order to use
 it for yourself!”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Wrong! I want the secret of the Dark Lord's immortality in order to use
 it for 
\emph on
everyone!
\emph default
”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Quote
\align center
\begin_inset Graphics
	filename fleur.png
	scale 50

\end_inset


\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Tick, crackle, fzzzt…
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore just stood there and stared at Harry
 with his mouth gaping open dumbly.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
(Harry awarded himself a tally mark for Monday, since he'd managed to blow
 someone's mind completely before the day was over.)
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“And in case it wasn't clear,” said Harry, “by 
\emph on
everyone
\emph default
 I mean all Muggles too, not just all wizards.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“No,” said the old wizard, shaking his head.
 His voice rose.
 “No, no, no! 
\emph on
This is insanity!
\emph default
”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Bwa ha ha!” said Harry.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The old wizard's face was tight with anger and worry.
 “Voldemort stole the book from which he gleaned his secret; it was not
 there when I went to look for it.
 But this much I know, and this much I will tell you: his immortality was
 born of a ritual terrible and Dark, blacker than pitchest black! And it
 was Myrtle, poor sweet Myrtle, who died for it; his immortality took sacrifice,
 it took 
\emph on
murder 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset


\emph default

\begin_inset Quotes erd
\end_inset


\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Well 
\emph on
obviously
\emph default
 I'm not going to popularize a method of immortality that requires killing
 people! That would defeat the 
\emph on
entire point!
\emph default
”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
There was a startled pause.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Slowly the old wizard's face relaxed out of its anger, though the worry
 was still there.
 “You would use no ritual requiring human sacrifice.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“I don't know what you take me for, 
\emph on
Headmaster,
\emph default
” Harry said coldly, his own anger rising, “but let's not forget that 
\emph on
I'm
\emph default
 the one who wants people to 
\emph on
live!
\emph default
 The one who wants to 
\emph on
save
\emph default
 everyone! 
\emph on
You're
\emph default
 the one who thinks death is awesome and everyone ought to die!”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“I am at a loss, Harry,” said the old wizard.
 His feet once more began trudging across his strange office.
 “I know not what to say.” He picked up a crystal ball that seemed to hold
 a hand in flames, looked into it with a sad expression.
 “Only that I am greatly misunderstood by you… I don't 
\emph on
want
\emph default
 everyone to die, Harry!”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“You just don't want anyone to be immortal,” Harry said with considerable
 irony.
 It seemed that elementary logical tautologies like 
\emph on
All x: Die(x) = Not Exist x: Not Die(x)
\emph default
 were beyond the reasoning abilities of the world's most powerful wizard.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The old wizard nodded.
 “I am less afraid than I was, but still greatly worried for you, Harry,”
 he said quietly.
 His hand, a little wizened by time, but still strong, placed the crystal
 ball firmly back into its stand.
 “For the fear of death is a bitter thing, an illness of the soul by which
 people are twisted and warped.
 Voldemort is not the only Dark Wizard to go down that bleak road, though
 I fear he has taken it further than any before him.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“And you think 
\emph on
you're
\emph default
 not afraid of death?” Harry said, not even trying to mask the incredulity
 in his voice.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The old wizard's face was peaceful.
 “I am not perfect, Harry, but I think I have accepted my death as part
 of myself.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Uh huh,” Harry said.
 “See, there's this little thing called 
\emph on
cognitive dissonance,
\emph default
 or in plainer English, 
\emph on
sour grapes.

\emph default
 If people were hit on the heads with truncheons once a month, and no one
 could do anything about it, pretty soon there'd be all sorts of philosophers,
 
\emph on
pretending to be wise
\emph default
 as you put it, who found all sorts of 
\emph on
amazing benefits
\emph default
 to being hit on the head with a truncheon once a month.
 Like, it makes you tougher, or it makes you happier on the days when you're
 
\emph on
not
\emph default
 getting hit with a truncheon.
 But if you went up to someone who 
\emph on
wasn't
\emph default
 getting hit, and you asked them if they wanted to 
\emph on
start
\emph default
, in exchange for those 
\emph on
amazing benefits,
\emph default
 they'd say no.
 And if you 
\emph on
didn't
\emph default
 have to die, if you came from somewhere that no one had ever even 
\emph on
heard
\emph default
 of death, and I suggested to you that it would be an 
\emph on
amazing wonderful great idea
\emph default
 for people to get wrinkled and old and eventually cease to exist, why,
 you'd have me hauled right off to a lunatic asylum! So why would anyone
 possibly think any thought so silly as that death is a 
\emph on
good
\emph default
 thing? Because you're afraid of it, because you don't 
\emph on
really
\emph default
 want to die, and that thought hurts so much inside you that you have to
 rationalize it away, do something to numb the pain, so you won't have to
 think about it 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset

”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“No, Harry,” the old wizard said.
 His face was gentle, his hand trailed through a lighted pool of water that
 made small musical chimes as his fingers stirred it.
 “Though I can understand how you must think so.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Do you want to understand the Dark Wizard?” Harry said, his voice now hard
 and grim.
 “Then look within the part of yourself that flees not from death but from
 the 
\emph on
fear
\emph default
 of death, that finds that fear so unbearable that it will embrace Death
 as a friend and cozen up to it, try to become one with the night so that
 it can think itself master of the abyss.
 You have taken the most terrible of all evils and called it good! With
 only a slight twist that same part of yourself would murder innocents,
 and call it friendship.
 If you can call death better than life then you can twist your moral compass
 to point 
\emph on
anywhere 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset


\emph default

\begin_inset Quotes erd
\end_inset


\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“I think,” said Dumbledore, shaking water droplets from his hand to the
 sound of tiny tinkling bells, “that you understand Dark Wizards 
\emph on
very
\emph default
 well, without yet being one yourself.” It was said in perfect seriousness,
 and without accusation.
 “But your comprehension of 
\emph on
me
\emph default
, I fear, is sorely lacking.” The old wizard was smiling now, and there was
 a gentle laughter in his voice.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry was trying not to go any colder than he already was; from somewhere
 there was pouring into his mind a blazing fury of resentment, at Dumbledore's
 condescension, and all the laughter that wise old fools had ever used in
 place of argument.
 “Funny thing, you know, I thought Draco Malfoy was going to be this impossible
 to talk to, and instead, in his childish innocence, he was a hundred times
 stronger than you.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
A look of puzzlement crossed the old wizard's face.
 “What do you mean?”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“I mean,” Harry said, his voice biting, “that Draco actually 
\emph on
took his own beliefs seriously
\emph default
 and 
\emph on
processed
\emph default
 my words instead of 
\emph on
throwing them out the window
\emph default
 by smiling with gentle superiority.
 You're so old and wise, you can't even 
\emph on
notice
\emph default
 anything I'm saying! Not understand, 
\emph on
notice!
\emph default
”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“I 
\emph on
have
\emph default
 listened to you, Harry,” said Dumbledore, looking more solemn now, “but
 to listen is not always to agree.
 Disagreements aside, what is it that you think I do not comprehend?”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard

\emph on
That if you
\emph default
 really 
\emph on
believed in an afterlife, you'd go down to St.
\emph default

\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout


\backslash
 
\end_layout

\end_inset


\emph on
Mungo's and kill Neville's parents, Alice and Frank Longbottom, so they
 could go on to their
\emph default
 next great adventure
\emph on
, instead of letting them linger here in their damaged state
\begin_inset space ~
\end_inset


\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset


\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
Harry barely, 
\emph on
barely
\emph default
 kept himself from saying it out loud.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“All right,” Harry said coldly.
 “I'll answer your original question, then.
 You asked why Dark Wizards are afraid of death.
 Pretend, Headmaster, that you 
\emph on
really
\emph default
 believed in souls.
 Pretend that anyone could verify the existence of souls at any time, pretend
 that nobody cried at funerals because they 
\emph on
knew
\emph default
 their loved ones were still alive.
 Now can you imagine 
\emph on
destroying
\emph default
 a soul? Ripping it to shreds so that nothing remains to go on its next
 great adventure? Can you imagine what a terrible thing that would be, the
 worst crime that had ever been committed in the history of the universe,
 which you would do anything to prevent from happening even once? Because
 
\emph on
that's
\emph default
 what Death really is 
\begin_inset ERT
status open

\begin_layout Plain Layout

--
\end_layout

\end_inset

 the annihilation of a soul!”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The old wizard was staring at him, a sad look in his eyes.
 “I suppose I 
\emph on
do
\emph default
 understand now,” he said quietly.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Oh?” said Harry.
 “Understand what?”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Voldemort,” said the old wizard.
 “I understand him now at last.
 Because to believe that the world is truly like that, you must believe
 there is no justice in it, that it is woven of darkness at its core.
 I asked you why he became a monster, and you could give no reason.
 And if I could ask 
\emph on
him
\emph default
, I suppose, his answer would be: Why not?”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Quote
\align center
\begin_inset Graphics
	filename fleur.png
	scale 50

\end_inset


\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
They stood there gazing into each other's eyes, the old wizard in his robes,
 and the young boy with the lightning-bolt scar on his forehead.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Tell me, Harry,” said the old wizard, “will 
\emph on
you
\emph default
 become a monster?”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“No,” said the boy, an iron certainty in his voice.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“Why not?” said the old wizard.
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The young boy stood very straight, his chin raised high and proud, and said:
 “There is no justice in the laws of Nature, Headmaster, no term for fairness
 in the equations of motion.
 The universe is neither evil, nor good, it simply does not care.
 The stars don't care, or the Sun, or the sky.
 But they don't have to! 
\emph on
We
\emph default
 care! There 
\emph on
is
\emph default
 light in the world, and it is 
\emph on
us!
\emph default
”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
“I wonder what will become of you, Harry,” said the old wizard.
 His voice was soft, with a strange wonder and regret in it.
 “It is enough to make me wish to live just to see it.”
\end_layout

\begin_layout Standard
The boy bowed to him with heavy irony, and departed; and the oaken door
 slammed shut behind him with a thud.
\end_layout

\end_body
\end_document