[HP]Timepiece Countdown

For the first time in many years, Harry wanted to spend Christmas alone.

True, although he fell into Voldemort's trap at the end of the Triwizard Tournament, he returned unharmed to his family and friends.Except for the changing letters on the chest, there are no traces left.

This is certainly a good thing, since he managed to escape Voldemort's grasp; it's also a bad thing, since he can't trade the fact that he's Voldemort's soul mate for public trust in his claim that the Dark Lord is back.

"It's no use in the slightest other than to hang yourself on the gallows."

Hermione's evaluation can be described as hitting the nail on the head, but when she said this, she was sad and desperate, and tears rolled in her eyes.

Even though Harry was extremely annoyed, he couldn't deny that his friend was right.It was much easier for everyone to take their anger out on the other half of the Dark Lord—that is, himself—than the Dark Lord hiding in the shadows.In addition, if this fact is made public, not only will he become the target of public criticism, but he may also put Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix in a dangerous situation——

The true identity of the savior turned out to be the destined partner of the Dark Lord?So is the entire wizarding world doomed to bow and kneel under the Dark Mark?

Ron and Hermione didn't dare say that to Harry's face, but Harry could guess.In fact, he doesn't think he can play any pivotal role in this dark and raging war; but this does not mean that he can confess everything without scruples, even in a world where most people think he is a liar. case.

After experiencing the stubborn attitude of the Ministry of Magic in refusing to face reality from Umbridge, Harry chose to keep his mouth shut even more firmly.Dumbledore believed in him, and had to bear too much pressure for this, and he didn't want to see the headmaster bear more for him——

Although they didn't even look at each other after being rescued by Fawkes the Phoenix, Harry guessed that it was because Dumbledore had noticed that behind his green eyes, there was another pair of evil red eyes. The eyes are always watching secretly.

Of course he would love to talk to Dumbledore about the anomaly that happened to him, the latest situation, the actions of the Order of the Phoenix, or whatever; everything--

As a soul mate, since Harry could see the black sea at Voldemort's feet and the tower in front of him in his dreams, how could Voldemort not see what he was facing?

Realizing this, Harry tried to avoid the others as much as possible, and tried hard not to look them in the eye.This worked in the first place, besides making him a loner.

As if his soul mate never showed up, Harry hypnotized himself, thinking that was all there was to it.But what he didn't expect was that the side effects came subtly and violently——

At first, he didn't notice it at all, until Hermione couldn't help reminding him not to lose his temper for the third time; then he found out himself, because Seamus spoke a little louder, and he almost got into a physical confrontation with him (Had Ron not stopped him, not nearly); then there were more and more frequent nightmares, the least scary one was that he saw Voldemort's flat snake face in a cracked mirror; The method of sleeping to avoid receiving the movement of the other end of the connection, the result is that I can't concentrate at all in class...

All in all, it's been a rough six months for Harry.

Back to the topic of Christmas.Going to the Burrow might hurt the Weasleys, and going to Grimmauld Place might reveal the Order's secrets; as for his aunt's house on Privet Drive, he didn't want to see Darling again, not to mention how annoying they were. Rick had encountered a dementor because of him—his cousin wasn't bad enough to deserve a kiss from a dementor.

In this way, Harry has no extra paths to choose from.He consoled himself inwardly, enjoying the roaring fire in the Gryffindor common room to himself, which sounded much better than the above situation, didn't it?

Ron and Hermione were apprehensive about Harry being left alone, but they had nothing better to do.On the first day of the holiday, Harry dropped them off at the school gate, and met Dumbledore on the way back.

"... sir?" Harry stopped after a few steps, carefully staring at the drooping white beard.In fact, he wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing; perhaps he should just pretend he didn't see it and walk away?But the temptation that Dumbledore might have been waiting for him on purpose was too great for him to hold back.

The Headmaster must have noticed why Harry was looking down, because it took him a long time to sigh and he didn't ask why. "Harry," he said, as if trying to change the situation with a brisk tone, "would you like to accompany me to Hogsmeade for a drink?"

There was simply no way Harry could refuse the invitation.

Soon, the two walked to the wizarding village and walked into the Pig's Head Bar one after the other.I don't know if it's because of the holiday or other reasons, but the whole bar is extremely deserted, and there is not a single customer.Hearing the sound of someone entering the door, the waiter behind the bar straightened up.After seeing that it was them, he grabbed two dirty glasses on the shelf, filled them with butterbeer, and disappeared behind the curtain with a rag in his hand, without saying a word.

Harry looked around in some surprise.Although he guessed that Dumbledore might have prepared for today's conversation, he really didn't expect to need to clear the room beforehand.He hesitated to pick up the glass of butterbeer next to him, took a sip, and cleared his throat: "So...do you have anything to tell me, sir?"

Dumbledore didn't answer right away.He rubbed the stem of the glass soundlessly - Harry could feel the other's gaze resting on his forehead - as if thinking about something. "Harry," he answered irrelevantly, "I'm sorry."

"What?" Harry looked up in surprise, and suddenly remembered the fact that he couldn't look at each other, and he barely let his gaze fall under the long curved nose. "Why are you apologizing, sir?"

"Why am I apologizing?" Dumbledore repeated softly, as if amused. "Do you think I was right to keep you aside on purpose these past few months, Harry?"

Suddenly hearing his conjecture confirmed by himself, Harry felt a lump suddenly appear in his throat.He took another sip of butterbeer, trying to swallow the lump. "Actually, I think I can understand your behavior, sir."

Dumbledore gave a dry laugh, not without bitterness. "Thank you for your tolerance, Harry. But if I ask you, understanding is not the same as being right. I should have found a better way to deal with it than this."

Harry was sure Hermione had scoured the entire Hogwarts library, but couldn't find a way to get rid of those soulmate side effects other than physical contact.Even if Dumbledore has more knowledge than the library, "should" can't be used to describe finding a way that doesn't know whether it exists or not. "I don't think that's what you said." He firmly denied it.

"Harry..." Dumbledore whispered, as if choking.

Recognizing the feeling, Harry couldn't hold back his eyes.He saw Dumbledore's half-moon lenses, and the blue eyes were gazing intently at him from behind; the sight was so long gone that he felt a little relief; but before that relief reached his brain, another A terrible feeling emerges——

He wanted to smash him, he wanted to bite him, he wanted to attack him, in any way that could hurt him.

Harry shuddered all over, and hurriedly looked away, cold sweat dripping out of his back uncontrollably.This wasn't the first time he met someone else's eyes in half a year, but it was the first time in half a year that he clearly felt that another person was inside him, ready to attack at any time.

"So that's it." Dumbledore's voice sounded unsurprising, "I guess he won't react so obviously when facing others?"

The question was almost an affirmation, and Harry nodded with difficulty. "I think I might..." he stammered, wanting to jump off the high chair and get as far away from Dumbledore as possible, "maybe I shouldn't..."

But before Harry could finish speaking, Dumbledore pressed one of his shoulders. "It's all right, Harry," he said reassuringly, "that's why I'm here today."

Harry stopped struggling and opened his mouth wide. "...you finally found a solution?"

"Part of it."

Harry's ecstasy was knocked back just as it peaked, but not all of it. "How?" he asked at once, with the greatest hope of all these days.

"Occlumency," said Dumbledore.Seeing Harry's confused face, he continued to explain: "This is an unpopular but very useful branch of magic. After you learn it, you can get rid of the thoughts in your head that don't belong to you, and no one else can detect your thoughts."

"In other words, as long as I learn this, I can sleep well?" Harry suddenly became happy.

Dumbledore nodded. "I hope we can start our first class after the Christmas break." He paused, then added, "Sorry, I couldn't make up my mind."

But Harry couldn't care less about complaining. "Why after the holidays?" he asked impatiently, "I feel like I could start today!"

Dumbledore fell silent uncharacteristically.

Harry wanted to see the expression on his face, but the lesson from just now was still in front of him, and he didn't want to ruin the atmosphere.After waiting patiently for a while, he heard the principal say: "Occlumency cannot solve the side effects of long-term separation of soul mates."

Uh, that means he will still be furious over such a trivial matter?

As soon as Harry's heart sank, he knew it was not that simple. "It's okay." He reluctantly maintained the happy tone before, "It's better to solve one of them than none at all."

"You are right, but..." Dumbledore paused again, "Occlumency is a long-term process, and it requires a lot of emotional control."

Now Harry read between the lines.If he was still in an uncontrollable rage, he couldn't learn Occlumency well. "This is an endless loop." He pointed out sharply, and suddenly became unhappy.

"That's exactly what I'm going to say next," Dumbledore said.However, there was an unusually long silence after that, as if the words he was about to speak made it difficult for him to speak. "I've contacted Tom and tried to persuade him to spare a few days for you."

"... what?!" Harry couldn't have dreamed of such a development. "Why do you want to do this?" He objected strongly, arched his back nervously, and clenched his hands involuntarily, "Even if he also has to face side effects, he will not easily agree! We must do this Pay him what he wants! What if we can't afford it? What if we shouldn't pay him?"

Dumbledore's hand rested lightly on Harry's fist resting on the bar. "You've thought about this, haven't you?" he asked calmly. "I noticed you used 'we' . . . You don't want to hurt anyone at all, do you?"

Harry had to admit that Dumbledore was right. "Yes," he said, suddenly dejected - if Dumbledore had guessed why he was refusing, he must have had a reason ready to convince him.

"In fact, Tom agreed to a secret agreement. He also agreed to my conditions - no spying, no harm." Dumbledore went on, "In contrast, he has only one request."

Although Harry felt that he should turn his head away and put this ridiculous proposal behind him, the warmth on the back of his hand reassured him, prompting him to listen to it all before making a decision. "What is it?" he asked, not without caution.

"He wants you to agree. 'I don't want to find Harry knocking on doors in my absence again', if you want to know the exact words."

Hearing such words suddenly, Harry's face turned red to the base of his neck. "It was different back then!" He couldn't help defending himself.

Dumbledore didn't smile, and didn't say anything, he just squeezed Harry's hand a little harder.

Harry lowered his eyes, feeling a strange surge of relief in his body.To his own surprise, he figured it out quickly. "I agree." He stared at his protruding hand bones, and said in a gloomy tone, "After all, you can't solve any problems by escaping."