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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 85: Invitation
"Thank you for coming on such short notice." Dumbledore was waiting at the entrance of his office when Harry arrived.
"You didn't specify the motive. But I assumed it was important," Harry responded. "I hope it was, because I am quite busy."
"Let's talk inside." Dumbledore guided him into his office and offered him a seat.
Harry noticed a leather bag resting in the middle of the table, on top of some papers.
Dumbledore sat in his chair and made a gesture with his hand toward the bag. "Let's start with that. You can take it."
Harry leaned forward and examined it more closely. Inside the leather bag were countless gold coins. "Money?"
"Five thousand, six hundred and fifty Galleons. Or at least, that is what I have been told. The bag has a Dimensional Charm and a Featherweight Charm, so you can carry it around," Dumbledore explained.
"And you are giving me this money because…"
"Oh, this is not coming from me. I am not as wealthy as you may think. If you look at the paperwork beneath the bag…" Dumbledore pointed. "Those are receipts for the rewards that you are receiving today. The Ministry of Magic wanted to give them in person, but I warned them it was a bit difficult to meet with you. I also presumed you didn't want more attention from the press."
Harry moved the bag and read the papers. "This is for those werewolves I took care of."
"Indeed. All those men were highly wanted individuals. Criminals that the Ministry had been trying to capture for many years. Especially their leader, Fenrir Greyback. I believe that a large part of that reward came from him alone," Dumbledore said.
'Well, this should make Morgan happy for a while. She always complains I don't bring any coin into the relationship,' Harry thought as he stored the bag.
"Thank you, Mister Dumbledore. This will be put to good use."
"I'm sure of it." He nodded. "But that is not the main reason for calling you here."
"I guess it's about this Dark Lord fellow, then. Got any news?"
The Headmaster's expression grew dimmer. "You guessed right. I'm not sure if you remember, but during the attack, there was this other individual, Wormtail. He—"
"He took a sample of your blood and escaped. Yes, I do remember that."
"Yes, well… I have reasons to believe that Voldemort has made use of my blood to make himself a new body to occupy. A vessel powerful enough for him to unleash his dark magic upon us. Over the past week, many of his followers have begun acting."
"And how can you be sure? Do you know where he is?" Harry asked.
"A trustworthy associate of mine is a former follower of the Dark Lord. He was recruited by me at the end of the last war. Now, he has been feeding me information about Voldemort and his plans. As much as he can without raising too much suspicion," Dumbledore told him.
"You have a spy inside. I see…" Harry pondered for a moment. "And what else has this spy told you?"
"Now that he has a proper body to use, he is in the process of reforming his forces. During the first war, he had many wizards and witches at his side. As well as other dark creatures. If he is allowed to completely recover… he could put us all in a terrible position."
"And what is his goal exactly? What does he want? Other than killing me." Harry was aware of the prophecy and had read a bit about the previous war, but still had a very shallow understanding of this dark wizard.
"His true motivations were never revealed to me, I must admit. But I can tell you that the last time, he attempted to gain control over the Ministry of Magic. If he were to accomplish that, he could essentially rule Magical Britain," Dumbledore said with a tone of unease.
"Who are these followers of his? How many are we talking about?"
"They all made sure to hide their identities. Although many of them were revealed and judged by the Ministry. A good number remain in Azkaban."
"A good number, but not all of them?" Harry found that odd. Why wouldn't they want to arrest everyone who helped this Dark Lord in the past? That's just asking for trouble.
Dumbledore made a complicated face. "The thing is… some of these men were, and still are, very important members of our society. We are talking about the Lords of ancient wizard houses. Members of the Wizengamot."
"I see. I understand the concept of a corrupt government. That would explain why this is happening again. Your Ministry was not able to deal with the situation properly the last time around."
Dumbledore couldn't quite deny that accusation, even though he was also part of that government.
"And what would you want me to do?" Harry asked. "Do you know where he is, or what his next move is going to be?"
"Not yet, that is something we are working on. What I wish to know right now is if I can count on your cooperation in this. After all, you are also involved. Voldemort will go after you once he feels ready."
Morgan had told him the same thing before. This Dark Lord appeared to be obsessed with the prophecy that said that only he could kill him.
He nodded. "Aye, you can count on my cooperation for now. I also want to get rid of that man."
"Good. There is a small group that I have personally formed to help deal with the situation."
"A group?"
"As you said before, the Ministry of Magic has too much corruption in its ranks. We cannot trust them completely. Not when so many high-ranking members have already joined Voldemort's side. So I selected a few individuals whom I personally trust. We already worked together during the first war, and…" Dumbledore's eyes rested on him for a moment. "Your parents were part of it. We called it the Order of the Phoenix, and I would like to invite you to join us."
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