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DUMBLEDORE: It was a different time... Voldemort's followers were everywhere, and no-one was sure if he had truly been defeated. Anyone could have been the next target. The Dark Lord tore families apart... I didn't want that to happen again. And if you had not lived with your aunt, you might have lost your mother's lingering protection... I was trying to keep you alive, Harry. You could have been killed... as so many others had been...

The above monologue is spoken by two Dumbledores: One in reality, and one in the mirror. Harry is standing next to the mirror, facing towards it, looking down; Dumbledore is standing behind zem, reaching out one hand, which Harry ignores. Dumbledore is reflected in the mirror, but Harry isn't, so the real Harry is alone and surrounded by two Dumbledores – and both Dumbledores are much bigger than Harry. The mirror-Dumbledore is reaching zir hand towards empty space, or towards the real Harry, depending how you look at it. Dumbledore's eyes are still hidden in shadow.

PAST HARRY: Then you should have let me die. It would be better than what you gave me.

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Dumbledore seems to believe in keeping biological families together. In this case, zir belief in the concept of biological family has caused zem to come to a wrong conclusion. Not all biological families are true families. (And not all true families are biological families.)

What do you think makes a true family? What kinds of relationships should we celebrate or defend?

Approximate readability: 7.13 (304 characters, 61 words, 6 sentences, 4.98 characters per word, 10.17 words per sentence)