I am 15 chapters ahead on my patreón, check it out if you are interested.
https://www.patréon.com/emperordragon
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Harry saw as his words struck Dumbledore at his core, it seems like the old wizard is sinking in his own chair under the weight of Harry's words even though Dumbledore hardly moved.
Harry couldn't help but feel for Dumbledore, yes he made mistakes but he always had good intentions no matter how twisted and convoluted means he used. Dumbledore's mistakes might have ruined Harry's childhood and most of his Hogwarts years but those mistakes made Harry into the man and the wizard he is today.
Harry sighed, it would be so easy to just blame Dumbledore for everything that happened, everything that went wrong, but that doesn't make it true. Even with all of his magical powers and skills, Albus is not infallible, he is still human, prone to mistakes and weaknesses just like the rest of us. It took a long time for Harry to finally accept that fact.
While Albus is directly or indirectly responsible for a lot of awful parts of Harry's life but he is also responsible for a lot of the good parts. Dumbledore has saved Harry's life on multiple occasions and even gave his life for Harry.
So seeing Dumbledore like this bothers Harry in ways he doesn't fully understand, the headmaster and Harry have had a close but complicated relationship from the beginning.
"Headmaster, I am curious. I basically told you that I travelled through time and you just accepted it. You with all of your vast knowledge and experience with magic should know that is impossible" Harry said while giving Dumbledore a questioning look, he said this partly because he is genuinely curious and he doesn't want Albus to just keep brooding in front of him.
Albus weakly nodded "I know when people lie to me, Harry. I picked up that skill in my younger years after being fooled one too many times by one of my closest friends"
Grindelwald Harry realised even though Albus didn't say it.
"And it makes far too much sense to be a lie. From your very first day, I saw how powerful your magic is, it's not as strong as Tom's but that's to be expected since you didn't have your second maturity yet. With magic this strong you should have at best be above average, as you surely know how difficult it is to control powerful magic. But you somehow displayed magical skills and control beyond your age" Dumbledore continued.
"It's all of these little things about you that didn't really fit together before but now it all makes perfect sense"
Harry smirked, it really wouldn't be a Hogwarts year without the Headmaster watching and meddling in his life.
"You never thought about the Dark Lord taking possession of my body or something along those lines?" Harry couldn't help but ask.
Albus shook his head "I know Tom's magic better than anyone, his arrogance and greed has led him to the very depths of the dark arts. In his quest for power, he has tainted his magic beyond repair. Your magic on the other hand is the complete opposite, I have never seen such pure magic. That's also one of the reasons why it's so easy for me to trust you, Harry"
"Only someone like us knows how difficult it is to achieve this level of power without succumbing to the allure of the dark arts" Albus went on.
Harry couldn't help but nod in agreement.
"How old were you Harry before you came back in time?" Albus asked.
"I was 38"
Albus looked surprised just for a moment, no doubt he expected Harry to be far older than that.
"And when did you ascend to being a Mage?"
"A decade before that. Even in my teenage years I already had the magical power it just took me a little longer to get the proper skill and control down. You being responsible for most of that" Harry answered without missing a beat.
Albus just nodded, the Headmaster obviously understood what Harry meant by that. Him also being a mage, so he knows what a wizard or witch has to go through to attain this level of power at such a young age.
Dumbledore looks remorseful and guilty after hearing this.
"Harry from your answers it seems that our relationship in your time was a close one but also very strained. I am truly sorry about that. But can you at least tell me what I did wrong? so can I strive to make amends" Albus spoke with a weight in his voice.
"I wish I could answer that question Dumbledore. But our relationship was far too complicated, you saw me as your friend, a surrogate son and even just a pawn in your grand plan" Albus went silent after hearing that.
"You actually wrote a set of books just to guide me after your death. In those books, you wrote to me all about your grand plan. You purposefully sent me to grow up with my muggle relatives fully knowing that I would be neglected and suffer under their care" Harry explained.
"You were expecting me to be a copy of Tom Riddle when I arrived at Hogwarts. You were going to train me just enough to kill Tom while at the same time dying at his hand. You were going to sacrifice me for the sake of the rest of the wizarding world"
"But in your own words you didn't expect a kind and caring boy to walk in through that door. You acted like a fool just like Tom said you would. You actually started caring for the pawn you meant to sacrifice. So because of your love for me, you tried to end Tom on your own. You don't need me to tell you what happens to people who try to mess with a prophecy"