Chapter 9
He made his way to the headmistress's office. He didn't even
get to knock on the door, it opened all by itself. The
headmistress was nowhere to be seen. Harry quickly made his way
to the portrait of Dumbledore. As he approached he found
Dumbledore was not asleep but smiling at him happily.
"Hello, Harry!" Dumbledore greeted. "I could sense
your troubled feelings and felt you coming. What so worries you,
Harry?"
"Professor," Harry began, "everyone's saying
Hermione and I will get married, that someday I will be the head
of Hogwarts. Professor, I don't think I'm worthy! I will never be
as good as you. I'm afraid I'd make all kinds of mistakes and not
do well for the students. And I don't want Hermione to feel
pressured. I want her to want me for me, and not because we're
going to be the head of the school."
Dumbledore smiled. "Harry," he began, "from the
first day you and Hermione met you knew and she knew you could be
partners throughout your lives. Do you think Hermione could ever
be coerced into doing anything? She loves you, Harry, and you
love her. This has always been and it will always be. Don't tell
her I told you this, but she came to me expressing the same
worries about you, that she didn't want you feeling that you were
forced into the relationship. That is the greatest sign of true
love, Harry, and I think you're old enough to understand that
now."
Harry returned Dumbledore's smile. "As for the other thing,
Harry, all the years that I served as headmaster I worried every
day that I was not worthy. When you stop worrying about it that's
when you became a bad headmaster."
"Yes, absolutely!" another voice put in.
"Quite right!" another said.
"You tell him, Dumbledore!" another said.
Harry looked around to see that all the former headmasters were
awake.
"May I put in something?" a portrait from some distance
above commented.
"Of course!" Professor Dumbledore answered.
"Harry," the former headmaster continued, "I saw
the school through a very troubled time. The world was radically
changing. Science was quickly displacing magic among the muggles,
and people thought that we should do something to stop the spread
of science and to keep magic in sway. I said no. Magic and
science had to exist side by side for the sake of muggles both
had to continue to exist. I won out, Harry! You're going to be
leading the generation of wizards and warlocks that will be
leaving the boundaries of this world, going places even we never
dreamed of! As long as you can lead with the understanding,
Harry, that change is inevitable, and that we must not fight
change, but embrace it, you will do well!"
"Thank you, professor!" Harry answered. "Thank all
of you! Hermione really came to you?" Harry asked
Dumbledore. Dumbledore smiled and nodded. "Harry,"
Dumbledore continued, a little bit more somber, "there will
come a time when you will have to let those you love find their
own destinies, choose their own path. Never regret that you do
that, Harry! Never question yourself. You cannot make other
people's decisions. You have to give them all the information you
can to help them make the right decisions. But you cannot make
those decisions for them! When it is time for them to choose you
have to let them choose for themselves."
Harry smiled. "I understand, professor!" he answered.
"I'd better go get to bed."
"Good game tomorrow, Harry!" all the professors cried.
"Thank you!" Harry answered, as he headed for the door.
As he exited he found the headmistress coming in. He hesitated a
moment but before he could speak she spoke.
"No, Harry, Professor Dumbledore and I were always good friends. I was never
his lady. But I knew her, and she was an extraordinarily special
woman!" Harry returned her smile. "She would've had to
have been!" he answered, and headed off to bed.
In the morning as they were headed for breakfast Harry looked at
Hermione. Finally she looked at him crossly and asked
"What?"
"Nothing!" Harry answered. "I'm just thinking how
exceptionally glad I am that we were both in the same year, that
we came together."
Hermione returned his smile. "Me, too!" she answered.
"So VERY glad! Remember that first time on the train and the
smudge on Ron's nose?"
"Well, if he doesn't I do!" came Ron's voice from
behind them. They turned and saw his grin and all three of them
burst out in laughter, and they hurried on to breakfast.
Harry had a feeling things were only going to get more and more
interesting.
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