Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 21: Sanity
"What?! Time-Turners can do that?" Dumbledore looked pensive for a moment. "I have read about some incidents occurring while experimenting with the 'Time Sand', but nothing on the scale that you just described. I mean… a frozen world?"
"I heard this story from Harry's lips way too many times to count. But I was created while inside the frozen world, so I never got to see how it started," the hat explained.
"Mmm…" Dumbledore muttered something under his breath.
"You don't seem very convinced. Just ask Harry when he wakes up."
Dumbledore got startled when he saw Harry stand up from the couch and walk towards them.
"Harry!"
"Don't bother, his mind is still away," the hat said as Harry picked it up and placed it on his head. "It just gets a bit uncomfortable for me to spend too much time at the table."
It was then that Dumbledore made an unsettling realization. "You are controlling his body?" That would explain why Harry's eyes looked so lifeless.
"Again… you keep jumping to the wrong conclusions, old man," the hat said with a tone of annoyance. "Harry's consciousness is currently occupied with another task, so his body is basically moving on muscle memory. His mind is clouded and reacting by instinct, but I can also use our connection to send requests to his body, and this one usually complies. I do not control Harry. I merely suggested that he come here and put me on his head."
Dumbledore could not deny that there was some logic in the hat's words. After all, if the hat was in complete control of Harry, that outburst from before would have never happened.
But then again, this hat was created using a fragment of Voldemort's soul, so it wasn't like the Headmaster was too willing to trust it.
As if he could read Dumbledore's mind, the hat formed an expression of displeasure. "You keep judging me for being someone I no longer am. The Dark Lord and I are two completely different beings now."
"Completely different?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "That is nonsense. You are one and the same."
"You would be surprised how much one can change if given enough time…" the hat said.
This made Dumbledore take note of something he was yet to learn. "You said that Harry was trapped inside this frozen world for a very long time. But how much time are we talking about?"
The hat remained silent for a long moment before speaking again. "I don't have the answer to that question. And before you ask him… neither has Harry."
"How can you not know? Did neither of you keep track of how much time was passing?" Dumbledore didn't think it would have been too hard to at least make a vague estimation.
"Oh, I know exactly how much time has passed since my creation. But I cannot speak of how much time Harry had already been trapped before that moment. And your question was about him, not me."
Dumbledore frowned. "Fine then… how much t—"
"As I said before. Fifteen thousand, three hundred and sixteen years, nine months, and six days have passed since the day I became what you see before you."
Dumbledore froze. "That… that can't be right."
"My mind is much superior to that of a human. Keeping track of how much time has passed is something trivial for me," the hat added. "I am very confident in my answer."
"Fifteen thousand years?! That's ridiculous. No mind could remain sane for such a long period of time while trapped inside a place like the one you described to me," Dumbledore stated.
As someone who had already lived for over a century, he could not imagine what it would feel like to be around for so long.
"Sane? What makes you think Harry is sane? His mind is more fractured than you could possibly imagine."
"But then…" Dumbledore recalled the previous night. "He looked mostly normal at the Ministry. There was clearly something off with him, but at least he was talking to me with no issues."
"That is because the events at the Ministry of Magic were what Harry called a 'planned scenario'. "
"Mmmm?" Dumbledore looked confused.
"It is something that Harry often did to keep his mind occupied. Many times, he planned about what he would do if he could return to his point of entry. You know… how to save his friends and how to better deal with the Death Eaters who were present. He must have gone over that same scenario millions of times, trying to find the most optimal paths. What you saw back then was Harry replaying one of these rehearsed paths."
"I see, but now…" Dumbledore glanced over at Harry as he began to understand the issues plaguing him.
"Now is something new. He could never plan completely for what to do next because he couldn't predict the future," the hat said.
"And what is Harry doing now?" Dumbledore asked. "What is his consciousness trying to accomplish by entering this meditative state that he is in?"
"To me it's different because I don't have a human mind, but just imagine for a moment…" the hat said. "Imagine spending tens of thousands of years with no human contact. Would you immediately know how to interact with other people if your situation suddenly changed? His broken mind is currently adapting once more. Trying to piece together something resembling what Harry once was. The only reason he can do this much is because of his mastery of Occlumency and because I am here."
"Occlumency?... I see." Dumbledore could tell how beneficial the mental arts could be for someone in Harry's situation. Without it, Harry would have likely forgotten about the real world a long time ago.
"That makes some sense at least, but what do you mean by 'because I am here'? What exactly is your connection with Harry now?"
"I am the only thing keeping Harry somewhat functional."
A.N: - Remember to comment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it.
You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. You can also find characters images to view for free in Collections/Time Images
-patreon.com/Kriogenix
For donations and commissions, go to ko-fi.com/kriogenix