A/N: I don't plan to flood this fic with author's notes so I'll get everything out of the way right now. First of all this is a very mature story featuring sensitive and disturbing topics such as but not limited to abuse, self-harm and sexual assault. Don't worry I haven't crammed all of this in to appear edgy or whatever. I've handled them sensibly but this is just a slight warning before you read the story. Although the first chapter is kind of short due to it being an introduction, the rest of the chapters and story will be quite long and I'll try to respond to each review I get as I really appreciate any contributions to this story by all of you. This story doesn't have any bashing but there will be pairings later on. If you want to recommend a pairing for Harry as well as a pairing for Hermione then I'm all ears. Dumbledore's personality is what you see him to be in this and I'll leave it up to the readers to think if he's truly evil/manipulative/good or not... Starts at 4th year:
Hogwarts had always been seen as a safe haven. Protected, the castle itself felt a cage that couldn't be accessible from the outside if it was locked from the inside. Considering the amount of guards, magical forcefields and vantage points, it was quite safe to say that no typical enemy could penetrate it's defences if the whole school were united in fighting back against them. Even the most inexperienced students would be shielded by the 'living statues' that only awoke when true danger was coming. It was quite safe to say that as of now, the school was impenetrable and well defended against any threats from outside...
Unfortunately, this veil of protection didn't entirely cover the interior of the school. While the stairs casually shape-shifting into slides was definitely an irritating hazard to newcomers and the fact that a boggart had been let loose after a painfully disastrous 'Defence against the Dark Arts' lesson made the inside of the castle not as secure or as free of danger than many would like it to be, the real problem was the students. Care-free, adventurous and full of spirit, most of the students were feeling happy and energetic about their education, always wondering what they would find out next or what spell could allow them to break the laws of nature that they once deemed to be unbreakable. Despite the Slytherin's bullying tendencies, actual serious harm was very rare and the school's reputation was at an all time high, even after the notoriously malicious Rita Skeeter had reported the hiring of an actual werewolf to teach unaware students in the previous year.
However rare these harmful incidents were, they still occasionally happened...
Older students were prone to lots of feelings and certain ideas. They were overly curious, quicker to argue, more emotionally-charged but the most damaging of all was them falling in love. At first, it didn't seem like a big deal at all since crushes and romantic feelings were seen as cutesy and comedic to most people. Students didn't really take things like that with much seriousness, often making jokes about their classmates falling in love and how 'dumb' it all is. Yet sometimes you can love someone too much and will go to any lengths to have them. That's where memory charms comes into all this...
Memory charms are spells that makes you forget. Who you are, your past, your present and the people you loved and cared about. The Ministry of Magic had authorised this spell to be taught to the second year students and mastered on the fifth year. Dumbledore, at first, saw no problem with this due to the fact that he was very busy with handling certain plans. After all, they were only teaching the first and second stage of memory charms by directly following the rules the Ministry had laid out for them:
1st stage: Memory Loss for: 1 minute. Taught in 2nd Year. Must be for exactly a minute.
2nd stage: Memory Loss for 1 hour. ONLY taught in 5th Year. Must be for exactly an hour. Do not allow passing grade if twenty minutes below or above the specific time given.
3rd stage: Memory Loss forever OR for specific time longer than a day. Forbidden to teach.
Dumbledore was one of the few wizards who could perform the third stage of the memory charms. Due to it's unteachable nature, he had learnt it himself without any help provided. He hadn't, until then, planned to ever use it. He compared it to the infamous Dementor's kiss. In ways, they were actually quite similar. While you don't lose your soul, it feels like you have as you can't remember anything about yourself. You become a walking hollow shell that's desperately trying to recover even the simplest of emotions. You can't remember what joy feels like or why tears are falling down your face. You can't understand why people are gathered around you or hugging you. Honestly, it's frightening for even the great headmaster to think about but this one particular student had deserved it. Not even Dumbledore's forgiving and kind nature would allow such a student to continue with his unforgivable actions. The incident had taken place two years before Harry's arrival, in which a Hufflepuff boy was discovered with an infatuation of a beautiful and popular Gryffindor girl that were both in the final year. To say that he was smitten with her was a severe understatement. Despite the boy's previous appearance of a smart and honest genius, he revealed himself to be a monster in such an unexpected turn of events: He cornered the innocent girl in an empty Charms classroom and without any hesitation, shoved his lips against hers. This escalated to inappropriate touching, pinning her down to the ground and abuse her. When he was finished and she was crying so much that she was teetering on the edge of fainting, the boy cast the first stage of 'Obliviate' onto her, whispering the sickening words into her ears. He would then do it again and again, not tiring of watching the girl suffer. He repeated this until some paintings nearby overheard the frightened cries of the poor girl. Obviously, the staff were present immediately after...
The boy doesn't exist anymore. Just the concept of him is gone. Dumbledore and his fellow staff decided that it would be of the greater good if everyone forgot about him. Including the victim. During a mock Charms exam, McGonagall took everyone to a private room where only herself and Filtwick were present. Together, they performed the spell on every student, making their frightened feelings and shaken up demeanour transfer into a ditzy and oblivious state. Their smiles were so fake. Dumbledore has no idea where the boy is now. He could not even remember his face. All he remembered was that he had been expelled and exiled to a dark, lonely forest where he knew absolutely nothing about himself or anything else. Dumbledore wasn't heartless however. He wouldn't leave someone to die out there. He commanded one of the kitchen-elves to keep watch on him. That's all. The girl has left school by now, completely unaware of what had happened to her. Honestly, why would she want to know something like that? It was definitely the right action to take. For the sake of the poor girl.
Needless to say, 'Obliviate' had stopped being taught altogether. The Ministry was blissfully unaware of the fact that their examiners had removed all questions and tests regarding the spell from the exams, by a special request of the Hogwarts headmaster. Truthfully, Fudge had certainly caught wind of the incident at hand but strangely he seemed to ignore it and in his mind, partially agreed with the actions taking place around him. He was seemingly ignorant to the real problems. Not even Rita had reported on it, which made McGonagall raise her eyebrows in suspicion.
"That vile woman reports on everything yet she ignores something like this? Either we got very lucky or there's something else going on behind the scenes. Wouldn't you say Albus?"
To be fair to her, she was right. However, Dumbledore was too caught up in plans and tactics that he didn't dig any further into the Ministry's problems. They were a bunch of buffoons trying to stay on top of the pyramid of intellect, despite the fact that the headmaster constantly made them look like fools...
The truth is that Dumbledore made Cornelius Fudge forget...
Obliviate isn't an forbidden spell. It isn't illegal or punishable to use. Dumbledore hated the spell with all his heart but all the cards were in the Ministry's hands if they decided to engage in an investigation revolving around the now expelled student. That's why he took a stand against them. During a casual meeting with the two, he quickly cast the spell while Fudge was helping himself to some black pudding. The spell struck him so fast that it was like lightning and he lost all memory of the documents detailing the events he had read an hour ago. Due to his memory loss, the event simply disappeared. Everyone but the staff at Hogwarts forget about it. Dumbledore often wondered if he had went too far with using this spell but then he realised something:
"Harry."
Harry isn't an adult. He's a child. A naive, fearful yet optimistic child. While they were what you could consider 'friends', the truth is that Dumbledore cares more about saving the majority than those close to him. One death is more tolerable than one hundred deaths. That's just common sense. What if Harry forgot what he was fighting for? Who his allegiance was? What if he infiltrated the Death Eater's lair and appeared to have joined them? He could act as a messenger and even a spy to go that far. The 'Hermes' of the battlefield, whispering the weaknesses and plans of the enemy right into Dumbledore's ear. He could find out everything and in turn, save so many more lives than before. Of course, some manipulation was key to success but in the long run, it would benefit him so greatly. Harry's not just a pawn in his game, he was the one who kept the game afloat. Harry wouldn't even have remember that he was ever a Death Eater in the first place. He would forget all of it as if it never happened...
"Severus." Dumbledore spoke calmly, just after explaining his detailed plan. Snape considered something for a moment.
"I understand." Snape responded stoically, scratching his arm in a slow pace as he was deep in thought. "The Dark Mark." "Very well. I will fetch Mr Potter for you. I suggest you not tell him of your real intentions." Dumbledore smiled gently.
"I implore you to do the same." and Snape left the room. Dumbledore took a sip of some ice tea and walked over to Fawkes, his mind floating with thoughts and consequences of his actions. The bird squawked and bowed his head down to his master. He knew this was the right thing to do. The greater good never won through hiding or waiting. It wins by alliance and strategy. Voldemort was one of the two greatest wizards alive and what the Dark Lord would do for power is unquestionable. He will stop at nothing to win...
Neither will Dumbledore. He vowed to protect his students and he will succeed in that, even if some sacrifices will have to be made. That's just the way war works. There's no playing favourites when it comes to your troops. Harry maybe doesn't deserve what's going to happen to him but overall, the lives being saved will make it all worth it...