He could see that his words were impacting the older wizard to some degree – there was a flush of embarrassment perhaps even shame across Albus's cheeks along with a muscle twitching in his jaw, a strange tension in his body as he absorbed the point Sirius was making.
"Setting Harry aside," Sirius pressed on, "I am an adult. It is certainly not your place to decide what I should know or should not know when it pertains to my son, and given my current position, what I should or should not know when it pertains to the war effort."
Albus sat back, defeated. He nodded slowly. "I confess that I had not considered my silence about the prophecy in the light of our changed positions." He made a small tsking sound. "I forget that I am…"
"Part of a team?" suggested Sirius when Albus failed to complete his sentence.
Albus gave a huff of what might have been agreement.
Sirius took a deep breath. "Let's talk about the prophecy. You've had longer to think about the wording, to try and understand what it means. I'd like to know your view."
He was almost amused that Albus seemed surprised that Sirius wanted his input. Sirius reached for his tea and indicated the abandoned muffin in front of Albus. Albus took the hint and started to eat again, chewing slowly and evidently thinking about what he was going to say.
"Obviously, the first part indicates that a vanquisher approaches and provides the clue to their identity." Albus began. "I considered many different variations of what the words meant – the seventh month, those who thrice defied, and so on – but at the end of July it was clear that Harry and Neville were the candidates, with Harry as the younger possibly being the one."
"Only Voldemort had to mark one as an equal." Sirius said.
"He did not know that part of the prophecy, of course, otherwise it may have deterred him from going after either of them. But he marked Harry as an equal the moment he chose to eliminate Harry as the potential threat, to make Harry the sacrifice for his next horcrux." Albus agreed, rubbing his fingers on the napkin and picking up his tea. "And he chose not the pureblood child but the one that shared a muggle heritage even if for Harry it was once removed."
"So he chose the one who most closely resembled him – a half-blood – because he believed they were the more likely threat." Sirius mused out loud.
"Exactly." Albus confirmed, wrapping his hands around the teacup. "I suppose others might point at the literal scar that Harry received but for me it was the moment the choice was made that marked Harry; his life would never be the same regardless of the outcome of that night."
"No."
"I also believe that night at Godric's Hollow was never meant to be the moment of prophecy – of vanquishing – but the moment of marking." Albus continued. "Tom stood in front of Harry that night believing he would eliminate his prophesised vanquisher and instead created him, literally making Harry his equal in the accidental transference of a shard of his soul."
"And you believe the vanquishing that day wasn't the prophesised vanquishing?"
"Oh no," Albus shook his head, "Tom wasn't vanquished that night, merely reduced to a true equal state with his nemesis. And while no doubt Harry's innate power helped to save him from the Killing curse levelled at him, I think you and I both know James and Lily played a part in his survival. However, from a mark as an equal perspective, Harry was still a baby and the events of that night resulted in Tom assuming a similar helpless condition; after that night, they were equal in all ways."
"And as Harry grows in strength and ability, so too does Voldemort." Sirius thought out loud. It wasn't something he and Remus had explicitly debated.
"Yes," Albus agreed, "so as Harry returns to the wizarding world, so too does Tom. And then this year; Harry gains allies and support, and so too does Tom. Destiny has kept a balance between them."
"But 'neither can live while the other survives,'" murmured Sirius, his hand clenching around the teacup with enough force that he thought it might crack the china.
"Indeed," Albus replied softly, "metaphorical more than literal as both are living as in alive, but to fully live their lives without the threat of the other? No. Until the prophecy is resolved, neither will have the life they want; they will merely survive, eke out an existence." He frowned. "Unfortunately, the prophecy is also open-ended as to who will be the victor between them. Harry has the power to defeat Tom but 'either may die at the hand of the other' and thus the outcome is uncertain."
It was the part of the prophecy that Sirius hated. He wanted it to say Harry would be the one to live; to defeat Voldemort.
Sirius sighed. It was time, he mused, for him to address the main reason for their discussion. "And 'the power he knows not'?"
"Ah, well, I rather thought it had something to do with the ancient magic Lily had invoked," Albus admitted ruefully, stroking his beard, "but I had forgotten the Potter family magic." He raised his eyes to meet Sirius's. "Harry seems to have an affinity for using it and the other family magics allied to him."
Sirius nodded, unable to deny it after the Wizengamot sessions.
"I recall a tale that suggests the most powerful wizard of a generation could call upon all of the family magic?" Albus asked tentatively.
"We've heard the same tale and Harry thinks it's a possibility that he could in dire circumstances call all the family magic to him." Sirius admitted bluntly. "But he believes that he would forfeit his own life in the calling of it."
"Oh." Albus's face fell. "Well, then…"
"As you can imagine, both Remus and I have discouraged Harry from thinking that the family magic is therefore the power Voldemort knows not." Sirius stated briskly.
Albus looked at him understandingly. "Do you think there is another option?"
It was the perfect opening.
"What about the Hallows?" prompted Sirius. "Harry is the last of the Peverells. The Hallows are also a power that Voldemort wouldn't know or have personal experience with."
"I thought we had agreed that the Resurrection Stone should be locked away?" There was a sharpness in Albus's tone that gave away his concern at the subject.
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