Updating Friday night takes me back to when I updated things regularly on Fridays. Although it's not technically Friday anymore…
Sweet Tarts are not an English candy - they're used as the password to indicate that Albus gets sent candies from abroad/that he has contacts in the magical world outside of England. The books kind of ignored that, sadly.
Also, a character voice beta/pre-reader would be lovely, if anyone's so inclined. Having someone to bounce ideas off of does help me get writing done, too.
Harry wasn't the first, second or even the third student called up by the Deputy Headmistress during lunch. According to Ron, she was telling everyone about Career options they might not have thought of, so they had some idea of the variety of things and how to figure out what they might want to study a few years later when they could choose electives.
So he followed her out of the great hall, and down the staircase that appeared after she said, "Sweet Tarts," to a stone gargoyle.
"Harry!" the handsome old wizard said cheerfully, waving by a chair next to the Headmaster's desk, where Headmaster 'Call me Albus, it's not technically school yet' Dumbledore sat twinkling at them.
"Now," Albus said once the door shut behind Minerva, "You've probably heard a bit about what happened when you were a baby." He gave Harry a regretful look. "Gellert thought it might be best for us to sit down and have a talk with you about it, so you weren't relying on hearsay."
"Hermione read me the stuff in the history books, although Draco said a lot of that's rubbish," but even though Harry had heard about it from them, he still moved forward trying to hide how eager was to sit at the chair in front of the Headmaster. He wanted to hear more about his parents.
"Well…" Albus started.
"Yes," Gellert interrupted. "The textbook-makers want to sell to the American wizards, who don't allow enchanted printing presses because they're no-maj technology, but also refuse to teach children history that urges contact with non-wizards. The real historians are gathering interviews and documents but don't want to write about the war until enough time has passed to be able to analyze its effect on society, and the people who have written firsthand accounts don't want to publish them until they can give all those who fought beside them credit by name without inviting their assassination. So even a witch as bright as Hermione who doesn't have family who fought in the war she can ask as Draco does is stuck with English Wizarding History books that give it a brief half-chapter summary at best."
"That rather sums it up," Minerva agreed, looking disapproving at the state of things for a moment. "Gentlemen, if I may?"
"Of course, Minerva." Albus nodded his head. "It's yours to dispose of."
"Mr. Potter, stand up."
Harry Potter stood up straight quickly. "Yes, Professor."
She took out a piece of fabric and swirled it around his shoulders. "Wicked," Harry breathed when he realized he could see through it.
"Mr. Potter," she said, and Harry straightened up when she addressed him, "What I have just given you is an invisibility cloak. The invisibility cloak. It was given to me by your father so that in the event of his death it would find its way to me and could be used to rescue you, if it came to that. Now it is yours. It has been passed down in your family from the time when the Potters were the Peverells."
"The Peverells?" Harry asked, pulling the cloak off his head so that she could see him looking at her.
"Like in the book I brought you," Gellert agreed. "It was a project of mine and Albus' when we first met, to track down the Deathly Hallows." He held up his wand, and the headmaster held up his hand. On the same finger as Aunt Petunia's engagement ring was a ring with a large black stone. "Unfortunately, we made enough noise while looking for them that others began to take their existence more seriously."
"The magic within them is unique and very tied to karma," Albus went on. "Killing and injuring others builds up negative karma, until fate is so tilted against the bearer of the Elder Wand that no matter how hard he tried to hold on to it, it will be taken from him and he will die by the sword he wielded. Commanding the souls of the dead to appear without thinking of their welfare is disrespectful at best, often cruel. The third brother could have used the cloak for foul purposes, but instead he only used it to prolong his life, and in the end sacrificed it and his life for the sake of his child."
"In other words, boy, use that cloak to harm someone instead of protect them and," Gellert mimed slitting his throat. "But, your father gave it to Minerva hoping that would save your life, and it may very well have. I myself would probably be dead by now if this thing and Albus hadn't force me to consider my actions very carefully."
"What do you mean about my father?" Harry asked.
"The cloak is the least dark of the three Hallows by far, and that may be because generations of Potters have given up its power for the sake of their children," Minerva told him. "It was too reckless to give something like this to an infant, when they might lose track of you, so they used a ritual to make sure that you would have the benefits of having the cloak passed to you, while I held on to it for you."
"How would that save my life?"
Minerva looked at the two men. "I'm afraid that groundless theorizing isn't my field."
Albus smiled. "Minerva's wonderfully practical," he agreed. "Gellert and I each have a theory: it could be either, but most likely both factors were at work."
"The Dark Lord of Running Away from Death tried to cast a magic that works by seeking the soul and binding it to death on the child of a family whose magic has been entwined for generations with a magical artifact that conceals them from death itself. When he cast Avada Kedavra on you, the spell might have worked perfectly well, but death simply wasn't able to take you. That's an oversimplification," Gellert said, flicking his fingers. "I can lead you through the logic once you've taken some arithmancy and Ancient Runes. The correspondences give you a very solid advantage over his magic."
"Another possibility is that by your father giving up the cloak to protect you, and by your mother defending you to the last, both of your parents' gave everything so that you would live and be safe, Harry," Albus told him gently. "Love is one of few powers stronger than death, and the mystical correspondence to the passing of the cloak could have channeled that power in a way that let them save you."
"You're saying it like… why would he kill them to get to me?" He was just a baby, when his mother was a brilliant witch and his father a brave wizard.
"There was a prophecy that could have applied to any number of children, but only two of them were likely targets. He likely chose you as his nemesis because your mother spent her childhood outside the wizarding world…"
"Lord Coward comes from a line that was practically squibs for so many generations you might as well consider him a half-blood," Gellert interrupted, rolling his eyes.
Albus paused and gave him a look. "Really? Rolling your eyes at a half-blood?"
Gellert winced. "Sorry, dear."
"I know that wasn't how you meant it, but you still said it as though half-blood is an insult. We've been having this conversation for decades. You are a role model, you know. Don't encourage people to act the ways you find so idiotic and then complain about how those attitudes would have been stamped out already if other wizards weren't such fools."
"Yes, that is the problem with being geniuses like us. The mind is the ultimate weapon, and the sharper it is the more damage you do if you cut yourself," Gellert said, tapping his fingers together thoughtfully.
"In any case, Mr. Potter," Minerva said, a slight crease between her eyebrows indicating her annoyance. "You survived the Killing Curse that has been certain death since the time of the Ancient Greeks, and the backlash somehow took down a wizard with a level of power only seen a handful of times in a century; the charisma to convince some deluded old fools that he could get their heirs to come back into line; the intelligence to puzzle out the darkest of magics and the complete lack of not just decency but sense required to split his soul into fragments."
"Voldemort is not dead, I'm afraid," Albus said, and it was the first time Harry had heard anyone just come out and say his name. "He fled to the continent, to one of the many conservative wizards there. Ah, some background… Almost three quarters of a century ago now, Gellert and I led progressive movements in Britain and Eastern Europe. The young wizards and witches who joined us in working towards ending the abuse of people who couldn't defend themselves against magic and eventually having open and honest relations with our neighbors have grandchildren now, but wizarding folk can live a very long time."
Gellert tapped his fingers on his wand holster. "And some children saw advantage in currying the favor of their parents by being outspoken about their desire to pick on people not their own size, or wanted to keep buying into an ideology that told them that they were born superior, even though that meant they never had truly had the chance to become great on their own merit, if it was simply what was expected of them."
"England has advanced so far that I've had the pleasure of my students pointing it out when I fail to do a good enough job of defying the way I was brought up," Albus said, sparkling. "But we managed to escape some of the Continent's social problems thanks to Helga Hufflepuff. Classism in Wizarding Britain was equally entrenched but far less severe, partially because the pureblood mania caused even the most 'common' families to be desirable marriage partners. Growing up treating some wizards as worth less than other wizards makes it harder to get people to stop treating non-wizards as worth less than wizards. Those poor people who grow up thinking they're near the bottom of the social ladder can feel like they're losing power if the rung below them is no longer below them, instead of seeing it as destroying the system that keeps them down as well."
"Wonderful woman, Helga Hufflepuff," Gellert said, smirking. "Clever, evil, effective woman. If she was alive I might leave you for her, Albus."
The headmaster propped his chin on his hand, looking thoughtful but with one side of his mouth turned up in a smile. "Yes, that would be understandable," he agreed.
"Gentlemen, the boy is eleven." Minerva folded her arms.
"No flirting in front of the children, Minerva?" Albus raised an eyebrow in slight surprise.
"When have I ever said that?" She demanded. "Keep flirting in front of the children, how are they supposed to learn how to make a marriage work for a century or more without examples? Stop turning this into another discussion about your social movement, Gellert, and let Albus simplify it for Harry."
Albus sighed. "Let me try that again. Lord Voldemort still exists, although he is no longer alive and much reduced in power. Your mother's family's love for you kept you safe and hidden when you were younger, Harry, but you are now at the age where your magic is shifting over from devoting all its power to protecting you to giving you conscious command over it and no longer acting on its own." Harry saw worry in eyes that until now had seemed young even in an old face. "That will make you increasingly vulnerable until you learn how to protect yourself. Because it was built to shepard children through those years, Hogwarts is the safest place in all of Britain, and Gellert will also be staying here as much as possible and commuting to handle both his duties and some of mine that aren't related to Hogwarts so you have one more protector."
"Oh?" Gellert asked, when Harry frowned, puzzled. "Go ahead, ask. You don't need to raise your hand in here."
"Hagrid said that too, that Hogwarts is the safest place in Britain. Wouldn't it be the bank?" Not that Harry wanted to be locked up in a bank vault.
Gellert and Professor McGonagall chuckled. "You're a sharp little one, wondering what's so safe about this place and its death forest, greenhouses and pens full of things that will kill you and Rowena Ravenclaw's attack staircases." Gellert smirked.
"Accidental magic is also known as subconscious magic, while spellcasting is conscious magic," Professor McGonagall explained. "Having magical threats nearby keeps subconscious magic from slacking off, so it will keep protecting you as long as possible. In addition to that, when a young witch first encounters a danger, it's normal for her to freeze or panic. When she encounters the same danger a second time, however, she'll know it's possible for her to handle the matter, so she won't have to wrestle her emotions into submission before she can deal with the problem. Experiencing dangers for the first time while still protected by strong subconscious magic allows children to learn to handle them with confidence. Your parents were Gryffindors, Mr. Potter. By the time they graduated, they had the composure of veterans, able to fight without a second's warning or hesitation even in the face of a Dark Lord."
"Right now you could jump off a cliff and while your subconscious might allow you to get banged up a bit to teach you not to do that again, you would not suffer any permanent damage," Gellert said, shrugging. "The Coward Lord used Avada Kedavra on you because it takes magic that strong to kill a baby wizard."
"Young wizards are very like dragons," Albus agreed. "Dragons are very resistant to spells even though they can't cast any of their own, because all their magic goes into keeping them safe from their own magical fire and allowing them to fly. It takes so much magic to overcome that resistance that even the strongest spells are weak enough they're nothing but nuisances by the time they penetrate a dragon's skin. It takes very powerful magic to permanently harm a wizarding child even as old as thirteen. During the school year, Hogwarts is the safest place in Britain because in addition to the wards and the Founder's other precautions, in addition to the professors, myself and Gellert, there are also five hundred wizarding children thirteen and younger under this roof, their powers constantly working to make this place safe for them."
"That protection goes away during the age of fourteen for most purposes, but it's not until fifteen that a witch can hurt herself with her own magic, or her magic can be turned against her."
"There is a condition where a young wizard's magic can turn against them," Gellert added. "It will lash out at things around them, but it can't actually hurt them until they turn ten or eleven and the first loose fragments of their magic are no longer incapable of harming them. Not that this applies to anyone in Britain," he added when Minerva glared at him for going off-topic.
"As soon as the school year starts, you'll be taking Defense with Professor Lupin. Who, it just so happens, knew your father." Albus smiled. "By the time you reach fourteen, even outside Hogwarts and your step-parents' home you should be able to protect yourself until an adult can reach you. According to the prophecy, just by existing you severely weaken Voldemort, so hopefully the aurors will be able to deal with him well before you graduate."
"What if I don't want someone else to deal with him?" Harry wanted to know.
Gellert and Minerva looked at each other. "Gryffindor," Gellert said, smirking. Minerva just loosened her reserve enough to allow a flicker of a smile.
"I mean, there is a prophecy, right?" Harry added sheepishly. "If I'm supposed to defeat him, then wouldn't people just get killed if they try to fight him instead of me?"
"Look where paying too much attention to prophecies got Lord Vol de Morte," Gellert pointed out. "Not that I know where he is right now, or I'd be there instead of here…"
"I promise that I'll discuss the prophecy with you after your fifth year," the headmaster told him. "If matters haven't been resolved by that point, that's when you'll start needing a firm grasp of Defense Against The Dark Arts, and if you take divination you'll be able to interpret the prophecy yourself. Gellert is right that reacting without thinking right after hearing a prophecy tends to lead to the worst interpretation coming true. Try to avert a prophecy and you're opposed by very powerful magic. If you think carefully and work to fulfill the prophecy in the way that best suits you, then it's possible to harness that magic."
"He will not get away with what he did to your parents, Mr. Potter," Minerva said coldly. "We can promise you that, even if I'm afraid that if you want him to fall by your hand, you'll have to get in line."
AU where Albus and Gellert were dragged to a World's Fair and hit upside the head with the clue bat re. just how much it sucked (for them) that wizarding society excluded muggles and magical beings. Instead of the Wizarding World War 1 leading right into Voldemort, you had the Wizarding Sixties. Voldemort, well, I'll go into it more in actual fic text instead of A/N.
It was their experiences with the Elder Wand that made them go 'yeah how about no' to completing the set, because the magic is very clearly malicious and Gellert thinks that traps should be sprung by someone who is not him but on the other hand he doesn't want someone not him or Albus getting the power if they survive, while Albus has the job of vetoing things involving innocent people.
Canon Gellert had the Elder Wand. Maybe he threw the duel (and the war) only for Albus' sake, but it's equally likely that he realized too late that he'd lost his only source of intelligent conversation by pursuing an idiotic philosophy… (There's a Korean webcomic called Noblesse I love for laying out exactly why good will always triumph because evil is, by its very nature, incompetent.)
This Gellert figured out that 'other people matter' much earlier and he's had a lot of time to work on brainhacking himself into seeing other people as people instead of mistaking them for things. He still lacks natural empathy, but actual compassion is a learned thing, not an inborn one. With Gellert figuring out the whole 'precious person' concept before starting an actual war, he and Albus ended up a strategic power couple, more politically than in warfare until Tom came along. Finding out that his hippie Transfiguration Professor was secretly badass was not a pleasant surprise for Voldemort (well, they needed to test out just how invincible the Elder Wand really was, you see…).