The Dimensional Portal

After reading the same article for himself, Dumbledore so mightily scowled at it you would think he was trying to burn the offending piece away from, not just the newsparchment in his hands, but the minds of everyone who even thought of reading it.

The loss of Daedalus was upsetting. However, in war, soldiers die. He was doing his best to save everyone on both sides, but death in combat was as inevitable as the sun rising in the east each morning; no matter what he did to try and minimise it happening. Still stuck in the infirmary, he sent a messenger Patronus to both his deputy and young... Lord Longbottom.

'That boy is becoming far too independent for my tastes,' he mentally sighed.

When both entered, together, he tried to be his normal genial self. "Ahhh... Good morning!" Looking to McGonagall, he pleasantly said, "I wonder if I may bother you to erect the anti-listening and -spying charms, this morning, Minerva."

Without a word, McGonagall did precisely that; making sure to include the old man, Longbottom and herself within the field she erected.

"What do you need, Albus?" she asked.

Longbottom just stood there, looking both dejected and annoyed. "Ah!" he muttered. "I wanted you here so that, next time I spoke with young Neville, he―"

That was as far as Dumbledore got before Neville moved. He drew his wand and snapped off a very quick stinging hex that nailed the old man in his cheek before Dumbledore even had a chance to raise his wand and fend it off.

Dumbledore had his wand in his hand, but resting on his bed, as the two walked in and had only managed to start to lift it in reflex before Longbottom's stinger hit him.

"Argghhh!" Dumbledore exclaimed in pain, quickly closing his eyes for a moment and raising his offhand to lightly touch his cheek as he winced.

After the wince he opened his eyes and lowered his hand to see Longbottom aiming his own wand, right between his eyes; with his arm at full extension and from a range of only four feet from wand tip to him. The look on the young man's face was murderous.

"Sorry!" Dumbledore was quick to blurt as he watched the young man's very steady wand tip glow with the dark orange of a blasting hex.

"No, you're not," said Longbottom, with the flatness of Occlumency in his voice. "You deliberately had Madam McGonagall here because you assured yourself I would not react violently in her presence. You were wrong. You are notsorry you once again addressed me so disrespectfully, you are sorry you read the situation wrong; you are sorry you, yet again, made a mistake that cost you."

After a very quick glance at McGonagall he turned his attention back on the old man and said, "I told you that if you ever so condescendingly cavalierly addressed me as Neville again, let alone as 'Neville, my boy', I would make a magical oath on my magic and my life that I will flatly refuse to go after You-Know-Who until I have certifiable proof that you, old man, are dead first."

"Mister Longbottom!" gasped McGonagall.

"It's Lord Longbottom, Madam McGonagall," he snapped. "Has Mister Dumbledore's deliberate disrespect of others now infected you, too?"

"M-my apologies, Lord Longbottom," she returned. "I was just so shocked... well, I apologise."

"Is there a problem here, Lord Longbottom?" asked the senior of the two aurors who were stationed in the infirmary that morning. Though Dumbledore, McGonagall and Longbottom were under a privacy bubble at the time, both aurors could still see through it and had seen Longbottom's wand raise, snap-cast curse and remain up to point at the old man. They'd come forward to see what the issue was. "Nothing that concerns you, aurors," said Dumbledore.

"Something that very much concerns you, aurors," Longbottom corrected. "You see, I told Mister Dumbledore late yesterday afternoon that if he didn't stop addressing me in such a condescending manner, I was going to make a magical oath that I would not go after You-Know-Who until he... MisterDumbledore, that is... is certifiably already dead first.

"What that means is... seeing as you all believe I'm supposedly the Chosen One to save everyone from You-Know-Who... Dumbledore will have to die first before I go after the man.

"And, just a few moments ago, Dumbledore yet again was condescending towards me by refusing to address me as Lord Longbottom, as you know I must be addressed and as youaddressed me. "So, as you can see, it very much concerns you... doesn't it?"

"Mister Dumbledore," asked the senior auror, having turned to the old man. "Are you truly that big an idiot? Besides doing something so monumentally stupid as casting Fiendfyre in the middle of Diagon Alley and letting it loose, that is."

Dumbledore scowled, huffed and imperiously said, "I have always talked to people as if they are kin. I have done so for almost a century. I am too old to change now."

"Change or be killed," the auror simply stated. "Once it becomes known that Longbottom has made a magical oath he will not go after You-Know-Who until you are dead, the witches and wizards of magical Britain are going to hunt you down and kill you. Do not doubt that. "You have spent the past three and a half years convincing one and all that Lord Longbottom is the Chosen One; that only he can kill the dark lord. Well, congratulations, they believe you. As such, if it means killing you is what it'll take to get Lord Longbottom to go after the dark lord, then that is what they will do."

Longbottom lowered his wand, but it wasn't because he'd changed his mind. He'd lowered his wand because his arm was becoming too tired, in part, to continue holding it thrust out like he had it.

"I honestly do not believe I am this supposed Chosen One, anyway," he sighed, slumping a little where he stood. "Not after Lord Peverell smacked me about as if he wasn't really trying.

"And let's look at what we know of Lord Peverell, shall we? He's roughly the same age as me. Do we know when his birthday is? Do we know if his parents defied the dark lord three times? No; we know none of that. If he was born as the seventh month dies and his parents defied the dark lord three times... then it's almost certain that it is he who is the Chosen One; not me."

Turning his attention more fully on the old man again, he demanded, "But... have you bothered to check, MisterDumbledore? Did you even bother to think to ask him before you demanded of us to attack him? No, you haven't, have you; you didn't, did you.

"As Professor Lupin said at the time of the first attack on him, you refuse to provide any proof the man is a dark wizard. You have simply decided he is, because he has access to the Potter vaults in Gringotts. Well, news alert, Mister Dumbledore; so did Harry. And, once upon a time, so did you. Does that mean Harry was a dark wizard? Does it mean you are a dark wizard?

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