The Life of Albus Dumbledore
Fan Fiction By: Miguel Rivera
Chapter 1-Conquer
Albus ran into the forest clearing, sweating profusely. He did not keep running however, as he just spotted two werewolves waiting for him in the center of the clearing. Albus heard the rustling of trees behind him and saw out of the corner of his eye Elphias running up and almost colliding with him as he tried to stop.
"I think we lost them Albus-" he started saying before the view of the additional two werewolves constricted further speech. Both werewolves started growling as they inched forward towards the two boys slowly.
From behind Albus and Elphias, two more werewolves jumped out from the dark trees. As the two boys moved to face their backs to each other, the four werewolves started pacing slowly around them in a large circle. Albus pointed his wand at one werewolf and then another, thinking of a way to get out of this mess.
"You know, it's our luck that on the one time we decide to brave the forbidden forest it happens to be the full moon," said Albus as he look up towards the night sky and spotted the large full moon. "It's the story of our lives," said Elphias in his wheezy voice. "So any ideas on how we are going to get out of this debacle?" he asked with a little more bravery than he felt at the moment.
"Not really," said Albus tentatively. He raised his wand and pointed it at the ground. Instantly a wall of dirt and soil surrounded them, shielding them from the hungry werewolves. With another wave of his wand the wall started moving very fast counter clockwise. "That might buy us some time. I can't keep it up for long though," he added. One of the werewolves attempted to go through the tall wall and fell back in pain as the fast moving soil collided with its face.
Albus could almost hear Elphias' mind working franticly behind him. Although he valued his friendship with Elphias very much, he knew that he wasn't one of the brightest students at Hogwarts.
Thinking very hard, he took a glance around him for inspiration. Several plans sparked in his head at once.
"Hey El," he said without taking his eyes off the werewolves. "Think you turn that rock next to you into a dog?" he asked. He felt Elphias turn his head and look at the rock Albus had just mentioned. "Yea shouldn't be too much of a problem. You have any particular breed in mind?" added Elphias pointing his wand at the slightly large rock near his foot.
"The biggest breed you can think of," said Albus as he raised his own wand and prepared to lower the wall protecting them. "When I say go, make it attack one of the wolves. Start running as fast as you can the way we came from. I'll take care of the other three."
Albus gripped his wand more tightly and hoped that he could execute the plan he just formulated. "GO!" he yelled at Elphias as he lowered the shielding wall. Albus felt the rock next to their feet transfigure and head towards one of the werewolves. In one fluid motion, he waved his wand and two of the trees next to them sprang to life. The branches started to twine themselves around two of the werewolves, holding them back.
Aiming his wand at the remaining werewolf he yelled, "Confundus!" and the spark of orange light hit it straight in the face. Not looking back to see if it had worked he tore after Elphias who had already dived through the trees they came out of. He could hear the pine of El's dog as he continued to fight off one of the werewolves.
They ran for what seemed like five full minutes before he heard more legs keeping up with them to his right. He turned his head to see if it was another werewolf but it was impossible to tell through the thick wad of trees. He heard the same pair of legs increase in intensity then collided hard with Elphias, who had stopped abruptly. They both fell to the ground hard, dirt mixing with their sweat. Albus looked up to see why Elphias had stopped and saw the werewolf he thought he confunded growling menacingly in front of them.
The two boys struggled back up as the werewolf prepared to pounce. Albus fumbled with his wand as he struggled to think of a spell that could possibly save them from turning into hideous beasts every month. Next to him he heard Elphias send a stunning spell at the werewolf. The spell bounced off its magically strengthened hide and hit a nearby tree, showering them with bits of wood.
Elphias' stunning spell clicked something within Albus and he remembered something he learned a very long time ago…
It was almost seven years previously and Albus had been called out to the backyard by his father. Percival was a kind faced man with dark brown hair. His long legs made him tower over most other wizards but he was also very thin.
"You called me papa?" asked the eleven year old Albus. His father looked down on him with a smile and knelt on his knee to become level with him.
"I sure did son," started Percival. He handed Albus his wand and looked at a scarecrow they had near the shed that they used to practice spells on. "There's a new spell I want to teach you. It's very advanced magic, son. I don't expect you to be able to pull it off right away. Even wizards who have graduated school have trouble with it."
Albus kept silent as he always did when his father was teaching him magic. He wanted to soak in as much information as possible. He was very advanced for his age and this was the main reason that his father took it to teach him magic before he even attended Hogwarts.
"Now, you see the scarecrow? I have added extra protection to it. A couple of shield charms and some protective enhancements of my own invention," started Percival, standing up and staring at the silent dummy. "I want you to try any spell you can think of and try to break through the enchantments I have placed."
Albus frowned in concentration. He waved his wand and sent a stunning spell towards the scarecrow. It bounced off it before it even reached it, ricocheting and hitting the shed door, which burst apart.
"Very good stunning spell son," remarked Percival, eyeing his son with extreme pride. "However, do you remember what we discussed about stunning spells and shielding charms?"
"Yes father," answered Albus. "Stunning spells are classified as a level two offensive spell. Shield charms are capable of deflecting anything that's either a level two or one spell."
"Correct," said Percival. "You'll find that a lot of wizards will attempt a shield charm on themselves before even attempting any offensive spells, thus rendering it much more difficult to penetrate their defenses." Percival walked around to the other side of Albus and continued talking. "Not only that, but most magical creatures, especially the dangerous ones are protected by such mundane spells. With time you will learn special techniques one can use to lower these defenses slowly and gradually. If you wish to end such encounters much quicker there is a spell that will usually do the job."
Percival walked behind Albus and kneeled down again. He grabbed Albus' wand arm and made it do a little flick with his index finger. "That is the wand movement required for the spell," said Percival. "Now for the incantation, repeat after me please: Conquarious!"
Albus repeated the word without using the wand movement. "Very good," said his father. "Pronunciation is key, as we previously discussed. Now when you feel up to it, attempt to break through the scarecrow's defenses with this spell."
Albus gripped his father's wand harder and concentrated on the task at hand. With a yell of Conquarious! he flicked his wand at the scarecrow and prepared for the spell that would surely come out of the tip of the wand. It did not come however. He looked up at his father in surprise. It was the first time that he had failed to do any spell his father had taught him. Percival on the other hand did not look surprise.
"Like I said Albus," started Percival again, "the Conquer Spell is extremely advanced magic, way beyond N.E.W.T level. Even most aurors cannot do the spell properly. However, practice does make perfect, so keep at it son. I will be inside with helping your mother with dinner, keep practicing until it's time to come in."
Albus practiced and practiced but did not advance any farther than he had the first attempt at the complex spell. He was forced to come inside for dinner feeling failure for the first time in his life. At dinner, his father could read the emotions going through his mind.
"Do not worry son," said Percival reassuringly. "It's not failure if you don't give up. You can try tomorrow, and the next day and so on. If it takes you a year, then you still have done proud by all of us. Failure is a part of life. It makes us stronger, teaches us not to give up."
"I can do it," said Albus' little brother Aberforth from the seat next to Albus. Percival chuckled a little and said, "I'm sure one day Ab you'd be able to do it no problem. In the meantime however keep to practicing your disarming. You have yet failed to successfully disarm the scarecrow."
Aberforth mumbled something about if he had his own wand he could do much better. "Well son you do not get a wand for another three years. Albus on the other hand is getting his own wand tomorrow."
Their mother, Kendra paused from cutting up Ariana's potatoes. "I meant to tell you something about that today. Read it in the prophet. Effective next summer, all underage wizards who have been issued a wand will no longer be able to do magic at home during breaks."
Percival looked scandalized. "Why on earth would the ministry do something like that?" he said across the table to his wife.
"They feel underage wizards need to be properly supervised until they come of age," she said starting on her own potatoes. "They feel as though parents cannot successfully look after and control their children's magic."
"How are they supposed to know underage wizards are using magic at home?" asked Percival inquiringly. Kendra did not answer right away but finished chewing the bite she had in her mouth. "They are making a charm called a Trace. It's supposed to track magic that is done around underage wizards. It's going to be more effective with muggle-borns since magic is not usually done around them."
They all digested this bit of news while continuing to eat their dinner. They all set off to bed after dinner, Albus to his own room and Aberforth and Ariana to their shared bedroom. Albus lay awake determined to try the Conquer Spell again tomorrow with his own wand…
The next day Albus found himself entering Diagon Alley with his father and walking into Ollivander's Wands. The place was dusty and damp as it always was. The air inside seemed thick with magic as they walked up to the front counter and ringed the bell. An old man with wispy white hair came out from the back to greet them.
"Ahh, Percival," he said glancing at his father. "A Very long time it's been since you've been in here. I remember it plainly, tricky customer you were too. Fifteen inches, Kingwood and the tail of a unicorn. Magnificent wand it was. And this must be..?" he asked glancing at Albus for the first time.
"This is my first son, Albus." said Percival putting an arm around Albus' shoulder. Ollivander strode around the front desk to get a better look at Albus. He took out a tape measure and it started measuring Albus on its own. "You're very tall for your age, something you get from your father no doubt," he said as he looked through the many boxes of wands. "You're about my son's age as well. He is starting Hogwarts this year too. His name is Alcott Ollivander if you ever run into him at school."
found a wand he was looking for and took it down from the shelf. He took it out of its box and handed it to Albus. The moment Albus took it in his left hand he felt warmth spread through his body like his father's wand never had done. The candles in the little shop flickered and red sparks shot out of the tip immediately.
His father broke into a wide smile and Ollivander clapped. "Oh bravo, bravo. I hardly get a customer whose first attempt is actually successful," said Ollivander. "What you have there young Albus is fourteen inches, Elm and containing the tail feather of a phoenix!" He wrapped up the wand and Albus' father paid for it. Albus left the store with his spirits high and couldn't wait to get home to try it out.
Albus expected the first thing he was going to do when he got home was to try the Conquer Spell again. His parents on the other hand had other plans for him. It was his turn to do the weekly chores and forced to do them before being allowed to try out his new wand. The Dumbledore's made their sons do the weekly chores without magic, as to teach them the valuable lesson of manual labor that most wizards did not learn.
Halfway through his chores however he heard a girl scream from several houses away. He saw his father tear out of the house in the direction of the scream. Albus began to run after him but his father yelled at him to stay at the house. Fifteen minutes later he saw his father carrying Ariana in his arms into the house. He ran in after them.
Percival lay down his daughter on the sofa and Kendra came up running to inspect her daughter. "What happened Percival? I was doing the laundry and heard a scream," she asked her husband as she put a hand to Ariana's forehead.
"She was attacked by three muggle boys a couple of houses down," said Percival. Albus noticed that his father was sweating and his hands were shaking. He looked more angry than Albus had ever seen him before; he did not even look like his father anymore. "They caught her doing magic. They forced her try and repeat the feat and when she couldn't…"
Percival stood up and continued to stare at his daughter's body. "They got carried away. I just got there in time to pull her off them before they –
He could not finish the sentence. "How do you know that's what happened, Percival?" asked Kendra as her eyes darted to her husband's hand, which was clutching his wand.
"Legilimency," said Percival, his voice shaking. He stepped back from all of them. "I'm sorry dear. I shouldn't have done it. I saw what they were doing to her and I… I lost control." His voice was shaking more now. He no longer looked angry but scared. "What did you do Percival?" started Kendra but was cut off as two loud cracks sounded just outside the house.
The sound seemed to have acted as a stimulant to Percival. "Kendra, you must do as I say as quickly as possible. You must take Ariana upstairs. She is very fragile and I do not want the ministry to take her to 's. She will be better off here, where she cannot be questioned about what happened to her," he stared into his wife's eyes and continued, "I have done something terrible. I will probably be sent to Azkaban."
There was several hard knocks at the door. They all jumped and turned around. "Kendra, please! Quickly!" yelled Percival to his wife. Kendra picked up Ariana and went upstairs, Aberforth following in pursuit. Albus however remained behind as his father went to the door and wretched it open. Two ministry officials in black traveling cloaks stood on the threshold. Albus could not hear what they said but a moment later Percival moved back to let them in the house and closed the door behind them.
"Nasty business, Perc" said one of the men looking gravely serious. "Why did you do it?" Percival did not answer right away but steeled himself, his mind working fast. "Those damn muggles! Filthy blood, that's what it is! Pretending they're better than everyone else yet not knowing their true place in their world!" he screamed in a rage of fury.
Albus was about to protest. He knew his father did not think like this, that this was surely a ruse… Percival however shot a look at Albus and he knew exactly what it meant: stay out of this, let me handle it!
The two men looked at each other, surprise in their faces. They raised their wands and pointed them at Percival. "I'm sorry you feel that way Perc. Under the power of the Ministry of Magic you are hereby under arrest. You are to surrender your wand and accompany us to Azkaban where you will await trial," said the tallest of the two strangers.
Percival gave his wand to the other man who had stayed silent through all of this. "I have one request men… If I could please have a quick word with my son, in private? Please Mark, as a last favor to me?" he added in a pleading voice.
The one named Mark lowered his wand. "Very well Perc. You have two minutes. We will put an anti-disapparation jinx and wait outside," he said leading the way out of the house, the other ministry official following him. Once the door was shut closed Percival kneeled down in front of Albus.
"Son, I need you to understand why I am doing this," he started. "Ariana had her rights has a human being violated by those muggle boys. I regret doing what I have done to them, but I also know that I cannot take actions back and must therefore pay for my consequences."
Albus spoke up, "But father, if you tell the ministry the truth they might give you a lean sentence!"
"They probably would. But son, if anyone ever finds out what has happened to your sister… she will be carded off to 's for the rest of her life. From now on she will be damaged beyond repair. Her magical powers will be unstable. She will never be able to go to Hogwarts. It's better for her to stay at home with those she loves with than being cared for by strangers for the rest of her life. Albus do not be ashamed of me. I have made a grave error, but you will find in your lifetime that you too will make mistakes. This is natural. Seeing though as we are both brilliant wizards you will find that our mistakes carry much more weight. Practice that last spell I thought you, and if you ever need to use it, do not hesitate!"
At that moment Kendra came back downstairs. Percival stood up and held his wife's hands in his. "Kendra, I'm so sorry putting you through all of this. I will have time later to explain in more detail. Please keep Ariana safe and hidden. Say that she is ill, but please do not take her to 's. I love you my darling wife," he said as he kissed her on the lips and walked out the front door to meet his fate.
Later that night found Albus laying on his bed, contemplating everything that had just happened. His father, his intelligent good willed father, sent to Azkaban for attacking muggles. And there was the fact that his little sister was damaged, broken. She could no longer go to Hogwarts when she came of age to go. She will never be able to have a normal life again. All because a few muggles were scared of what she was. No. It wasn't just because they were muggles that Albus felt this bubbling anger. It was because they acted on their fear and ruined what life his sister had.
Those muggles would never remember justice for what they did. Albus was sure that by now, the ministry had erased what justice they received from Percival from their minds.
With a sudden upsurge of anger, Albus leaped up from his bed and opened the box that Ollivander had wrapped his wand in. He grabbed his wand and quietly made his way downstairs and out to the back yard. The scarecrow was there waiting for him, almost taunting him to try the spell again. He wasn't sure whether his father's protection was still on the thing or not. He decided to test it with a disarming spell.
His father's charms were still in place. The disarming spell ricocheted off the invisible barriers and hit a nearby tree. Albus screwed his concentration once again and pretended that the scarecrow was a dark wizard…or maybe the muggles that had tormented his sister…
"Conquarious!" yelled Albus raising his wand. The silver white spell that left his wand had so much force behind it that it made all the plants in their garden billow as though in a rough storm. Albus' own hair was thrown to the back of his head as the spell left his wand and soared towards the scarecrow. The spell had worked. It struck the scarecrow with so much force that it blew it up into a thousand pieces. The only thing left was the pole on which the scarecrow had been propped up against. The plants returned to their tranquil position and Albus' hair settled. As he looked down at his new wand that he now admired so much, he couldn't help but hope that he might never need to use that spell again…
It was the present again and Albus stared into the eyes of the werewolf in front of him, teeth out and ready to pounce. He knew what spell he had to use to get out of this situation. With a flick of his wand he yelled, "Conquarious!" and the powerful spell left the wand and hit the mighty werewolf straight in the face.
The spell did what no other could have done. The werewolf dropped to the ground looking dead.
"He won't be like that for long," Albus told Elphias. "He'll be back up in a minute. Let's not give him the chance to bar his teeth at us again." Albus looked behind him, making sure that the other werewolves weren't close in pursuit. He started off back towards Hogwarts, Elphias close on his heels. As they exited the forest and made their way to the oak front doors, Albus' thoughts were again on his father. He hadn't seen him in almost the seven years since his trial at the ministry.
Perhaps it was time he go visit his father again. And tell him thanks for the spell that just saved his life.