Harry Potter: Lethal Injection

Chapter 2: Toxic Travel (Part 2)

Albus Dumbledore seated himself heavily in the ornate chair behind his imposing desk, turning it so he could gaze out over the starlit grounds of Hogwarts. The pale luminance of the full moon was reflected by the icy waters of the Great Lake, lighting the willows that dotted its banks with a solemn silver radiance. The elderly sorcerer's mind was far from the beauty of the school he was so honoured to call his home, however, it was instead focused on a dark-haired boy with piercing eyes. In many ways, the boy reminded him of the pale boy he had met in a muggle orphanage so many long years ago, but, in many others, the two could not be more different. Where Tom had been cold and calculating, Harry was fiery and a little brash. Where Tom had coveted power, used it to oppress and punish his former tormentors, Harry had used it to protect himself and escape.

Still, the boy's attempted manipulation, for Dumbledore had spent far too many years teaching young witches and wizards to fail to recognise the boy's request to learn occlumency for what it was, was worrying. It was precisely the sort of thing young Tom Riddle might have attempted, but, at the same time, he couldn't help think James Potter would've been more than willing to do the same. The only difference being that James would have sought to learn to better his pranks, and Tom to increase his power and control. To what end would Harry turn his knowledge? Unfortunately, it was a question without answer, only time would tell whether Harry's interest in mind magic was for good or ill, particularly when combined with his obvious love for combat magic.

Although that could easily be chalked up to his mother, who had been a duelling champion before being forced into hiding by Voldemort. Dumbledore could remember more than one pureblood ending up in the hospital wing for disparaging her 'inferior' birth. Alas, the prophecy, that damned prophecy, weighed heavily on his tired mind: And the Dark Lord shall mark him as his equal, it said, but what did that mean? An equal in power? Conviction? Evil? Could Harry Potter be destined to be the new Lord Voldemort? An equal to that monster in depravity as well as strength? From his perch, Fawkes let out a soothing snatch of Phoenix song, the melody serving as a balm to his wariness and weariness both.

"Thank you, old friend," Dumbledore told the phoenix, gratefully. All that could be done was to wait and see: that was a large part of why he had agreed to the boy's request to learn Occlumency. Not to mention the boy would someday have to face Lord Voldemort, a little training before the boy knew to recognise it would not go awry. Particularly when there were new threats to consider, as well as old. Dumbledore's piercing blue gaze drifted to the sealed cupboard, wherein dwelt the creature. It was intelligent, that much he knew. Jameson's ramblings after the creature had been separated from him were almost incomprehensible, but the creature's will had been easily discernible.

"It needs to feed!" The man had whispered, huddled and shaking on the ground. "So hungry. So ravenous! It's going to devour us all. It's going to bring more! I saw them. I saw them in my head, an endless tide of multicoloured monsters, all hungering. It's going to find them and bring them back here!" Dumbledore had been forced to stun the man for his own safety, so disturbed had his rantings become. He'd had to remove the memories as well, no Muggle could be allowed to see and know what that man had known. This way Jameson could live a normal life rather than being haunted by an alien monster left shaking in a mental asylum until the end of his days.

With a flick of his wand, Dumbledore sealed the entrance to his office. It wouldn't do for anyone else to discover what Lucius Malfoy had- and there was another worry for the endless list: Malfoy. Even in his time as a student the man had been problematic, always scheming and manipulating, his drawling voice inciting more violence than Dumbledore cared to recall. Violence both directed at the drawling boy and toward those he and his lackeys derided as being of 'lesser stock.' The boy and his compatriots had been common victims of Lily's righteous temper, despite being several years older than the fiery witch. Dumbledore had suspected the man of supporting Voldemort before he even left Hogwarts, doubtless introduced to him through his father, perhaps when Abraxas Malfoy had been hosting the monster. Indeed, the aged headmaster could think of few individuals he would less liked to have discovered the alien creature, even if the man had only seen it, and not learned anything of its powers.