Unexpected
Albus Dumbledore was a master manipulator.
He hated doing so, but often, he had found, it was necessary. After all, he had the best interests of the Wizarding world in mind, and who else had lived long enough, had fought long enough, to know what was best for them all?
…well, there was Nicholas, but he was in France, at any rate.
And Nicholas didn't know Harry Potter like he did.
Apparently, Dumbledore admitted to himself with a tired sigh, he didn't know Harry Potter like he thought he did, either.
He wished so very desperately that there was a way to save the world without hurting Harry, but alas, that was not to be. The boy had to live with his relatives – despite the emotionally abuse they would certainly have heaped upon him by now – despite Minerva's protests.
Turning on his heel, he cast a quick invisibility spell upon himself and left the castle.
Dumbledore stood in a small corner of the compartment, shielded by a keep-away spell, and smiled in triumph. Yes, boy, tell him about my card, he thought happily. Tell him all about me, make him trust me –
But his glee was short-lived. The compartment door slid back and Dumbledore straightened, his brow furrowed in confusion as he gazed at the small, bushy-haired girl. Who was she?
"Has anyone seen a toad?" she asked immediately. "Neville's lost one."
And Harry Potter looked up, and Dumbledore knew he had lost.
Years later, the Headmaster sat at the head table, watching the Gryffindors laugh. Silently, he recalled the events leading up to Harry's first year. The Weasleys had been told to befriend the boy, and they had happily – and without question – done so. He remembered being thrilled about that – who better to correctly influence the boy than the kindly, trusting Weasleys? And Hagrid – sending Hagrid to retrieve Harry had been a stroke of brilliance, he admitted – turning Harry toward Dumbledore and away from Slytherins before he had even arrived at the castle.
Watching the Gryffindors carefully, Dumbledore's eyes fell on one girl, with bushy brown hair and sparkling eyes. She was whispering hurriedly to the two boys sitting across from her, and smiled brilliantly when they nodded.
He'd never seen her coming.
It was strange, how easily the best-laid plans could be ruined. One Muggleborn girl, going to two boys for help – and those two boys, later charging in to save her from a mountain troll – had changed everything.
Hermione Granger had single-handedly placed Harry far outside of Dumbledore's sphere of control.
Smiling brilliantly, Dumbledore watched as Harry Potter laughed and joked with his friends like a normal teenage boy.
He had never been so relieved to lose in his life.
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LIZ