`Is.there.a.defence?.I.defy.anyone.who.has.watched.you.as.I.have.‐.and.I.have.watched.you.more.closely.than.you.can.have.imagined.‐.not.to.want.to.save.you.more.pain.than.you.had.already.suffered..What.did.I.care.if.numbers.of.nameless.and.faceless.people.and.creatures.were.slaughtered.in.the.vague.future,.if.in.the.
here.and.now.you.were.alive,.and.well,.and.happy?.I.never.dreamed.that.I.would.have.such.a.person.on.my.hands..
`We.entered.your.third.year..I.watched.from.afar.as.you.struggled.to.repel.Dementors,.as.you.found.Sirius,.learned.what.he.was.and.rescued.him..Was.I.to.tell.you.then,.at.the.moment.when.you.had.triumphantly.snatched.your.godfather.from.the.jaws.of.the.Ministry?.But.now,.at.the.age.of.thirteen,.my.excuses.were.running.out..Young.you.might.be,.but.you.had.proved.you.were.exceptional..My.conscience.was.uneasy,.Harry..I.knew.the.time.must.come.soon.….
`But.you.came.out.of.the.maze.last.year,.having.watched.Cedric.Diggory.die,
.having.escaped.death.so.narrowly.yourself.….and.I.did.not.tell.you,.though.I.knew,.now.Voldemort.had.returned,.I.must.do.it.soon..And.now,.tonight,.I.know.you.have.long.been.ready.for.the.knowledge.I.have.kept.from.you.for.so.long,
.because.you.have.proved.that.I.should.have.placed.the.burden.upon.you.
before.this..My.only.defence.is.this:.I.have.watched.you.struggling.under.more.burdens.than.any.student.who.has.ever.passed.through.this.school.and.I.could.not.brin.myself.to.add.another.‐.the.greatest.one.of.all...
Harry.waited,.but.Dumbledore.did.not.speak.
.`I.still.don.t.understand...
`Voldemort.tried.to.kill.you.when.you.were.a.child.because.of.a.prophecy.made.shortly.before.your.birth..He.knew.the.prophecy.had.been.made,.though.he.did.not.know.its.full.contents..He.set.out.to.kill.you.when.you.were.still.a.baby,
.believing.he.was.fulfilling.the.terms.of.the.prophecy..He.discovered,.to.his.cost,
.that.he.was.mistaken,.when.the.curse.intended.to.kill.you.backfired..And.so,
.since.his.return.to.his.body,.and.particularly.since.your.extraordinary.escape.from.him.last.year,.he.has.been.determined.to.hear.that.prophecy.in.its.entirety.
.This.is.the.weapon.he.has.been.seeking.so.assiduously.since.his.return:.the.knowledge.of.how.to.destroy.you...
The.sun.had.risen.fully.now:.Dumbledore.s.office.was.bathed.in.it..The.glass.case.in.which.the.sword.of.Godric.Gryffindor.resided.gleamed.white.and.opaque,.the.fragments.of.the.instruments.Harry.had.thrown.to.the.floor.glistened.like.raindrops,.and.behind.him,.the.baby.Fawkes.made.soft.chirruping.noises.in.his.nest.of.ashes..
`The.prophecy.s.smashed,..Harry.said.blankly..`I.was.pulling.Neville.up.those.benches.in.the.‐.the.room.where.the.archway.was,.and.I.ripped.his.robes.and.it.fell.…..
`The.thing.that.smashed.was.merely.the.record.of.the.prophecy.kept.by.the.Department.of.Mysteries..But.the.prophecy.was.made.to.somebody,.and.that.person.has.the.means.of.recalling.it.perfectly..
`Who.heard.it?..asked.Harry,.though.he.thought.he.knew.the.answer.already.