Obituary he had been forced to recognize that he had barely known him at all. Never once

had he imagined Dumbledore's childhood or youth; it was as though he had sprung into

Being as Harry had known him, venerable and silver-haired and old. The idea of a

Teenage Dumbledore was simply odd, like trying to imagine a stupid Hermione or a

Friendly Blast-Ended Skrewt.

He had never thought to ask Dumbledore about his past. No doubt it would have

Felt strange, impertinent even, but after all it had been common knowledge that

Dumbledore had taken part in that legendary duel with Grindelwald, and Harry had not

Thought to ask Dumbledore what that had been like, nor about any of his other famous

achievements. No, they had always discussed Harry, Harry's past, Harry's future, Harry's

plans… and it seemed to Harry now, despite the fact that his future was so dangerous and

So uncertain, that he had missed irreplaceable opportunities when he had failed to ask

Dumbledore more about himself, even though the only personal question he had ever

Asked his headmaster was also the only one he suspected that Dumbledore had not

answered honestly:

"What do you see when you look in the mirror?"

"I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."

After several minutes' thought, Harry tore the obituary out of the Prophet, folded

It carefully, and tucked it inside the first volume of Practical Defensive Magic and its

Use against the Dark Arts. Then he threw the rest of the newspaper onto the rubbish pile

And turned to face the room. It was much tidier. The only things left out of place were

today's Daily Prophet, still lying on the bed, and on top of it, the piece of broken mirror.

Harry moved across the room, slid the mirror fragment off today's Prophet, and

Unfolded the newspaper. He had merely glanced at the headline when he had taken the

Rolled-up paper from the delivery owl early that morning and thrown it aside, after noting

That it said nothing about Voldemort. Harry was sure that the Ministry was leaning on the

Prophet to suppress news about Voldemort. It was only now, therefore, that he saw what

He had missed.

Across the bottom half of the front page a smaller headline was set over a picture

of Dumbledore striding along, looking harried:

DUMBLEDORE – THE TRUTH AT LAST?

Coming next week, the shocking story of the flawed genius considered by many

To be the greatest wizard of his generation. Striping away the popular image of

Serene, silver-bearded wisdom, Rita Skeeter reveals the disturbed childhood, the

Lawless youth, the life-long feuds, and the guilty secrets that Dumbledore carried

To his grave, WHY was the man tipped to be the Minister of Magic content to

remain a mere headmaster? WHAT was the real purpose of the secret

organization known as the Order of the Phoenix? HOW did Dumbledore really

meet his end?

The answers to these and many more questions are explored in the

Explosive new biography, The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, by Rita Skeeter,

Exclusively interviewed by Berry Braithwaite, page 13, inside.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 786