Dumbledore's Advice (Part One)

Harry felt as though he had fallen into darkness.

No, he could not even be sure whether his eyes were still open.

He was like a ghost now, as though he had never existed.

If his eyes were open, then why had Hephaestus's fiery form vanished from before him?

In its place came voices that grew ever clearer.

"He can summon a Phoenix just like Dumbledore! I saw it with my own eyes!"

"He has a body as robust as Heracles's."

"Prrr! I want to lick those muscles gleaming in the sun so badly—"

"He must possess even stronger Dark Magic, so—that's why he wasn't blown to pieces as a baby!"

"He is the Bane of Dark Magic! His Patronus is a Phoenix too!"

"He's a dragon! I knew it! Even the Manticore said so! I've watched the match replay a hundred times! I knew I wasn't wrong!"

"He is the destined nemesis of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named! The child from the prophecy!"

These voices began to echo ceaselessly in Harry's ears.

Then, amid those voices, he noticed a vague, elusive force that seemed both present and absent.

He saw his soul!

Golden mist began circling his gray soul.

Those voices became even more distinct.

He himself began inexplicably forgetting everything around him.

It was as though only his soul and the voices emerging from the golden mist remained.

Then, voices hidden beneath those positive words began to reveal themselves as well.

"He's just a puppet Dumbledore put forward!"

"He's arrogant and conceited, nowhere near as good as everyone says! He even founded a Harry Potter Fan Club!"

"Every summer, he goes to Azkaban under Dumbledore's arrangements and improves his power by killing Dark Wizards!

That's why Azkaban disappeared and the new prison—Cage—appeared."

Before even more disgusting and vile baseless speculation could emerge,