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Chapter 14

Mistakes

"Miles Potter? This is for you."

Miles was startled in Transfiguration class by a girl who looked about in her third year standing in the doorway, holding a scroll tightly in her hand. He looked at Minnie, who nodded her head and walked up to her, taking the scroll. He took it back to his desk and read it. The year was almost over, and he knew pretty much everything, so he tuned out the lesson. 

Dear Mr. Potter,

                                I regret to inform you that your brother, Harry Potter, is in the hospital wing following an encounter with Voldemort. I understand that you will want to visit him immediately, but first I need to meet with you to discuss the events that caused him to be in the condition he is now.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

Miles jumped up from his seat and practically sprinted to the door. 

"Mr. Potter! What do you think you're doing?!"

"Min- Professor McGonnagal, Harry's in the hospital wing and I need to meet with Professor Dumbledore and-"

"Oh dear, well, you're excused from class Miles."

He didn't wait another second before sprinting out of the classroom, all the way to Dumbledore's office. Breathless, he gasped out the password, and ran up the moving stairs, then barged into Dumbledore's office. 

"Miles my boy, good to see you," the old man said pleasantly, as though Harry wasn't lying alone in the hospital wing.

Miles got straight to the point. There was no time for formalities now. "What is it that you wanted Professor?" 

"Sit down, and I will explain."

Miles sat down and impatiently fiddled with the hem of his robes. 

"Miles, while you are the Boy Who Lived, it seems that the Killing Curse directed at you may have  affected Harry indirectly." 

"What? How's that possible?"

"Magic works in mysterious ways, Miles. Now, as I was saying, Harry seemed to have been able to sense Voldemort's presence in the castle, and went out looking for him with two of his friends."

Miles was shocked, but asked, "Who were they?"

"Mr. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger."

"Hermione was with them? Is she okay?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Ah yes, I'm aware of your and Ms. Granger's friendship. Yes, Miles, she is perfectly fine." 

Miles hesitated. "And Ron?"

"Mr. Weasley suffered a severe concussion, but it was nothing Madam Pomfrey couldn't sort out. He'll likely have to take it easy until the end of term."

"That's good." Miles got up. "Is that all?"

"Sit down, Miles." 

Miles huffed and sat back down, glaring at Dumbledore openly. 

"You see Miles, you're the Boy Who Lived. That is why I would have expected you to undertake this endeavor against Voldemort. However, you aren't as rash as your brother, which is why you didn't face him this time around."

"Hey! Harry didn't do anything wrong! If it weren't for him we could all be dead right now for all we know!"

"I'm not saying that. I'm saying, how is it that your brother was able to face Voldemort and come out of it alive, despite him not having your magical abilities?"

"I- I'm not sure. Did you ask him?"

"Harry has been unconscious since his encounter with Professor Quirrel."

"Professor Quirrel?"

"He had been sharing his body with Voldemort," Dumbledore said casually, as though it was a perfectly normal occurrence.

Miles sat there, stunned, taking in the news. He hadn't thought such a feat could be possible. What shocked him more, however, was that Dumbledore could dismiss this breach so casually.

"How was he able to keep that facade up for so long? Right under your nose!"

"My dear boy, I suspected Quirrel from the beginning."

"And you still hired him?!" Miles knew his voice was dripping with incredulity, but he didn't care. What was Dumbledore playing at? 

"I believed he wouldn't dare make a move this year, Voldemort's condition being as weak as it is."

Miles got up. "That's it, I can't- I need to go see my brother, professor. You have a good day."

And he stormed out of the office, fuming. Harry was lying in the hospital wing after an encounter with one of the most powerful dark wizards of all time. Dumbledore had hired a dark wizard who could have harmed the entire student body for the most part of the year. Now he was saying that he knew Quirrel's true intentions the whole time, which didn't help his case. 

And on top of it all, he now had some ridiculous theory that Harry had been able to stop Voldemort wasn't because of his magical ability, but because he'd been in the same room that the Killing Curse was cast. Honestly, Miles would have believed him more if Dumbledore told him Harry was the real Boy Who Lived. 

Miles paused on his way to the hallway. Harry may not have been the Boy Who Lived, but he could still have magical abilities that rivaled his own. He knew he had a very strong magical core, and even Dumbledore said it was very likely Miles would grow up to be even more powerful than him, which was a lot coming from the old man, whose ego had no limits.

No one had bothered to notice what level of magical ability Harry had thought. Their parents hadn't bothered learning about his magical core and just assumed that since Harry wasn't the Boy Who Lived, there was no way he could have been powerful.

But if Voldemort had gone up to Harry's crib instead of his own, there was a very high chance he would be in Miles' position right now. He knew his brother was powerful. He'd been excelling in all of his classes except History of Magic and Potions. He was a star in classes like Transfiguration and Charms, with his fantastic spellwork. Hermione had told him that Harry had managed to learn spells in charms before she did, which was quite a feat. 

He made up his mind. He would go to the hospital and visit his brother, but the moment Harry woke up, Miles was going to need to have a word with him. They'd bring their case to Dumbledore and make him see that Harry and Miles had equal magical abilities. It was a stroke of luck that Voldemort had chosen to perform the Killing Curse on Miles, and if Harry was chosen instead, the same reaction would occur. 

With that in mind, he ran to the hospital wing. There would be time for all that later. Right now, he needed to make sure Harry was okay. 

Hey all. I'm sorry about the late update. School's been pretty hectic, with some of my teachers seemingly under the impression that they're the only ones that give homework. Never mind the 4 others that do the exact same thing. Can anyone else relate to that? Let me know in the comments! Until next time :)

- Max