October 28, 1981 Hogwarts Castle
Albus Dumbledore reached forward and stroked the beautiful plumage of his ever-present companion, Fawkes, as he considered the momentous steps that he would take in the next 24 hours.
He had lived a long and fruitful life thus far and had gained tremendous prestige in the British Wizarding World. However, he had failed those who counted on him. The rise of Tom Marvolo Riddle or Lord Voldemort, was his responsibility. The Headmaster had seen the talent of the young Half-blood individual when he had taught him Transfiguration many years ago. Albus had believed that the blacklisting of Riddle from the Ministry would be enough to prevent him from gaining any level of prominence in the Wizarding World.
Unfortunately, his former student was able to gain an impressive following through other avenues than the Ministry. The Death Eater organization, headed by Lord Voldemort, was now a large threat to the stability of Wizarding Britain and anyone with less than pure blood. The Headmaster had reacted to the unanticipated rise of the pure-blood supremacists by establishing the Order of the Phoenix and recruiting the best witches and wizards he had taught and overseen at Hogwarts.
Recently, former Hogwarts student Severus Snape had come to Albus with dire news informing the Headmaster and erstwhile Leader of the Order of the Phoenix that some of his brightest young members and former students, James and Lily Potter, would be targets of the Dark Lord himself because of a prophecy spouted from the lips of Sybill Trelawney, as Albus interviewed her for the open position of Divination Professor. The prophecy stated that the child of those who opposed the Dark Lord three times and was born as the seven month dies, would hold the power the Dark Lord knew not and would have the potential to defeat him.
Regrettably, Severus had served witness to part of the prophecy as well as the Headmaster and chose to inform his new master the Dark Lord of the portions of the prophecy he heard, namely that the "Chosen One" would be born of those who thrice defied him as the seventh month dies. In predictable fashion, the Dark Lord planned to attack the families of the two children who could classify as the other participant of the prophecy. Severus had chosen to betray his new master, in worry that his old love Lily Potter would fall prey to the Dark Lord's wand. Albus had notified both the Potters and the Longbottoms, who also could be targeted of the prophecy and told them to hide as best they could. He knew that the Longbottoms chose to stand behind the long-standing protections of the Longbottom Manor while the Potters had decided to hide under the Fidelius Charm, a spell that Lily Potter knew well as a Charms Mistress.
The Longbottoms and Potters had been bunkered down for some time now since Dumbledore informed them of the potential danger. In the meantime, the Headmaster had done what he did best, research in the various and esoteric magic tomes he had access to for a solution to the Herculean task before him. Despite his thorough research, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot was not able to find any magical method of protection or deception to keep the Dark Lord at bay. However, he had found a solution to the overarching problem that he faced as the Headmaster and a pivotal figure in the Wizarding World.
It was an obscure spell, found in an obscure text, that required the greatest sacrifice of all. It required the intentional sacrifice of the user in order to utterly banish the target from the plane of being whatsoever. The spell was powerful but held a tremendous cost one that no doubt many had rejected in the past. Unfortunately, Albus was operating at a crossroads for the future of the Wizarding World. Voldemort and his power and influence represented one extreme future that could soon come to be, if the Dark Lord was able to destroy the prophesied champion. On the other hand, so tempting, was the idea of a world where Tom Marvolo Riddle no longer existed and the Wizarding World could continue on in a modernizing pace.
The Headmaster had serious concerns as to whether he could defeat the Dark Lord in a duel not only because of the prophecy but, just based on Riddle's magical prowess. His former pupil had a right to feel so powerful and invulnerable after his defeat of multiple experienced Aurors and his apparent prolific use of Dark magic rituals.
While the Dark Lord would surely expect a fatal attack on the part of Dumbledore, as he was the one wizard in the country who still gave Lord Voldemort pause, he would not expect or anticipate the obscure exile spell that Albus had discovered. If the Headmaster could get the drop on the Dark Lord he could erase him from existence, even if it came at the loss of his own life. It was a tremendous decision but in his heart, Albus knew that if he stood by and did nothing that the Longbottoms and the Potters would be dead as Voldemort would stop at nothing.
So, Albus had committed himself to the course in front of him. The next evening, he and the Order of the Phoenix would draw the Dark Lord and his loyal Death Eaters into battle in Diagon Alley. There he would engage Voldemort in the fight that his former pupil desired and would unleash upon him the ultimate exile from this very world.
The gray-haired wizard sighed and stroked his faithful companion once more. "I am afraid, Fawkes, that I will soon have to bid you farewell long before I had thought." The bright red phoenix crowed a seemingly morose call in return and nuzzled further into the Headmaster's palm.
The Headmaster sighed and lifted himself from his seat at his desk and moved toward his personal Pensieve that stood on its own altar in his office. If he was to go through with his current plan, then his successor Professor McGonagall would need an explanation and as much direction as was possible. He had to be prepared. It was time that he took care of the problem he had allowed to fester in Hogwarts' halls so many years ago. All of his power and reputation meant nothing if he could not stop the Dark Lord. He lifted the Elder Wand to his temple and withdrew a shimmering strand.