The Intelligent Potter

*** Hogwarts, Present

The year was going on as well as it could with the heir of Slytherin on the loose, threatening to petrify/kill somebody.

Hermione and Harry had done a fair bit of research on the heir of Slytherin and according to the school records, Hagrid had been expelled for releasing the beast.

"I can't believe it Harry! Hagrid is always so nice, there isn't a harmful bone in his body." Hermione protested.

Harry rolled his eyes, "It is highly unlikely that Hagrid of all people is the heir of Slytherin, personally, with the timing of the event, it was probably around the time when Voldemort attended school, so my money is on him… though I guess we can't discount Hagrid, not after how sneaky Quirrell managed to be…" Harry said thoughtfully, "Maybe we can go down to him and-"

"Harry Potter, Professor Dumbledore wants you in his office."

*** Dumbles' office

"So what DO you know about the boy?" Arcturus asked Dumbledore.

"He is extremely intelligent, he excels in all his classes, has excellent wand-work, lives with muggles and understands their world." Dumbledore said.

"What about our world. He IS the Heir Potter and if things go sourly probably the Heir Black too."

"Well… in the interest of not letting him get too big of a head, I haven't informed the boy about his expansive vaults and influence in magical Britain."

"You are a goddamn fool; the boy needs to know his power if he truly is going to be the one."

Dumbledore sighed, "Very well, it seems like I have a lot that I need to make up for…"

Dumbledore briefly exited his office and got a passing student to call Harry for him.

"There, he should be here in a few moments." Dumbledore said, even as the password gargoyle relayed Harry's arrival.

"Let him in." Dumbledore said.

Just a second later, the two old men heard sharp raps on the old wooden door to the headmaster's office.

"Come in Harry!" Dumbledore called out.

Harry entered the room, noting the unknown man who seemed to be about Dumbledore's age.

"Professor Dumbledore." Harry nodded.

"You might be wondering why I've called you up here…" Dumbledore trailed off, unsure of what to start with.

"Yes." Harry supplied an answer to the question.

"… Well there was a prophecy made about you, one I was hoping to keep from you for at least a few more years to preserve your innocence… however certain friends of mine…" Dumbledore glanced over at Arcturus, "certain friends of mine have opened my eyes to the fact that you need to know now so you can be prepared."

Dumbledore looked Harry in the eye and slowly recounted the entirety of the prophecy.

Harry frowned, "Wasn't this prophecy fulfilled the night that Voldemort attacked my parents and I?"

"I'm afraid that the wording of prophecies is never to be pondered over or relied on, which is why I didn't want to tell you but since Voldemort is still after your blood, it would seem that you will be in some way important in the coming war anyway."

Harry frowned, "Why are we so sure that there WILL be a war, can't we stop Voldemort while he's still a wraith."

Dumbledore and Arcturus exchanged glances, "Well, Voldemort has used dark rituals to anchor his soul to this world. It is a disgusting piece of magic by the name of a horcrux… He made seven of them but we don't know what they are. Since the end of last year, I have been searching for them with absolutely no success, but while the horcruxes exist and Lord Voldemort's followers still exist, war is likely. However, much more so than that is the fact that Darkness is rising at an alarming rate which means that war is basically imminent."

Harry raised his eyebrows, "But dark magic is just magic. Why do you talk of it like it is sentient?"

Arcturus took over the explanation, "What the idiots at the ministry classify as dark magic is just magic, there's nothing really dark about it. Actual dark magic, or The Darkness as many call it is a sentient being that used to have a vice-hold on this planet at some point, however with all the magicals in this world combined, Darkness was vanished as a whole into the void but it's tendrils remained to snake out into our world and remain present, trying to return to our world. What we know as necromancy is basically a summoning spell that pulls little bits of the Darkness back from the void, bits that then reside in the Necromancers that use them, at least Grindelwald, as dangerous and evil as he was, was smart enough to not mess with necromancy and drew a large amount of his magic purely from himself instead of intoxicating himself with the nigh endless power of the Darkness, however the one you know as Voldemort recklessly brought huge chunks of the Darkness back to strengthen himself."

Dumbledore nodded gravely, "Currently, by my estimate, approximately 2% of Darkness is residing in our world and about 1.9% of that is because of Voldemort."

"Actually Albus, make that almost 9% in the world." A smooth voice cut in from Dumbledore's fireplace.

"Nicolas! Not you too!" Dumbledore g.r.o.a.n.e.d.

"So… Can I come on through?" The Alchemist asked.

Dumbledore merely waved his hand and the famed Alchemist came through the fireplace.

"Any other old friends of mine who are coming back to life?" Dumbledore g.r.o.a.n.e.d.

"Not that I know of, Al." Nicolas grinned jovially.

"Uh… I'm sorry if I'm interrupting something but in this entire mess neither of you have given me names." Harry said.

"Lord Arcturus Black, me and Albus will be training you up, and trying to free my grandson."

"My name is Nicolas, Albus used to be my apprentice, a couple years ago."

Harry made the connection immediately despite the lack of a last name, "Nicolas Flamel! But you were declared dead!"

"I didn't really destroy the stone; this just gives me and Perenelle an extra layer of security." He said before turning to Albus seriously, "Me and Perenelle have removed ourselves from all wizarding conflict since we became immortal but I have a feeling that our help will be sorely needed, especially as the war generals from the last wars are getting especially old, and the 'one' as you call it is just a boy still."

"Why do you keep calling me 'the one'." Harry asked suspiciously.

"While most wizards participate in our wars to an extent, a war is really only fought by a few big figures. For example, in the Grindelwald war, your grandfather Charlus, Albus and Arcturus were the main figureheads of our side and the war was only won when Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald one-on-one despite overwhelming victories for our side in many battles. This is because unlike muggles, who can arm themselves en masse but are restricted by what they can do, magical power tends to be heavily concentrated in a select few, and only those of that few who choose to fight end up being the deciding figures." Nicolas explained.

"So, because of the prophecy, you think I am the 'one'?" Harry air-quoted the 'one'.

Dumbledore nodded gravely, "If not THE one then at the very least, one of the important figures in this war like your grandfather before you… and if Nicolas is right about the 9% then there is no avoiding war."

"Of course I'm right about this Albus, you of all people should know how well I can detect the darkness."

Albus nodded then turned to Harry, "Arcturus and I have decided to start your training slightly smaller, your schedule has been edited so that you have two hours free after breakfast every day, you will report to us then for some physical training, then after all your classes, you will report to us at 5 through 7 for some magical training, we will make sure that your homework is not compulsory as I know it can take up all your free time to complete it… of course, all of this is only if you agree to it, but with the upcoming war, I strongly suggest that you do, but if you do then you're in it for the mong haul, including 5 hour sessions on Saturdays and 3 hour sessions on Sundays. Are you okay with that, Harry?"

Harry held Dumbledore's gaze for a long while before nodding.

"Excellent, we can begin just after breakfast tomorrow."

*** End of Chapter