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A pig for slaughter

Summary:

Lying has never been so hard.

Notes:

“(…)Well, it appears that Rufus found a way to corner you at last.”
“He accused me of being ‘Dumbledore’s man through and through.’ ”
“How very rude of him.”
“I told him I was.”

{Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince}

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

 

 

It’s not often that I’m rendered speechless, but his declaration of loyalty has touched me deeply, as soothing as the soft cry Fawkes is chanting to fill in the silence.

He trusts me. 

It fades in an instant, though, the sweet illusion to be worthy of his unconditional faith.

A lonely tear runs upon my cheek while my mind recalls the unforgiving destiny I so carefully planned for him, while I picture the moment my lies will be unveiled.

“I am very touched, Harry.”

Lying has never been so hard.

 

 

 

Notes:

For the record, the second part of the previous quote, that tells the same scene from Harry's pov, is:

"Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak and then closed it
again. Behind Harry, Fawkes the phoenix let out a low, soft, musical cry. To Harry’s intense embarrassment, he suddenly realized that Dumbledore’s bright blue eyes looked rather watery, and stared hastily at his own knees. When Dumbledore spoke, however, his voice was quite steady.
“I am very touched, Harry.”
[Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince]

Since I love Dumbledore and I love his duplicity, I liked to imagine there was more than simple commotion in his (shed? unshed?) tears.

The title is from a HP quote as well:
"(...)Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter—”
[Severus Piton, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]

I struggled a bit translating the first sentence (I'm not sure the syntax is correct, tbh), so feel free to jump in with corrections ^^ I'll be very happy to read them and learn something!

I think I've said it all, so thanks for reading, and feel free to drop any feedback, suggestion, correction about the story or the translation, opinion about headcanons and so on ^^
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