Chapter 1
November, 1926. The suddenly empty hallway struck Dumbledore as slightly odd and left him standing with a perplexed, expression. He wrinkled his eyebrows. "That's odd." He mumbled. The door to his office, where he stood, was now the only occupied space. As he gazed down the long expanse, he could see and almost feel the dust still moving from the frantic motion of students rushing to classes just moments ago.
As he gazed into the distance, pondering. He gradually became aware of another presence. An apparition emerging in the distance took the form of a face peering around the corner at the far end of the corridor. As Dumbledore watched, the figure proceeded to emerge from the side passageway, appearing first to lean, then to stumble into view. Maybe it was more of a dance than a stumble, but of someone so constantly distracted by his surroundings that his course was continuously changing. Ben Adarwayne, whose recent series of mishaps and absences had been strange, even for a professor of divination, made his way down the hall. He made his way toward Dumbledore's office as if half in a trance, and half studying his own footsteps, but when he brushed his hand over a window sill, a small, fossil brachiopod shell was left on the surface. The meandering path he traced down the straight hallway seemed intentional at some points, while at others, it seemed like a random wander. Some pauses resulted in brief contemplation of a surface or an empty doorway. Twice he reached out and left a stone on a sill or bench.
Moments earlier the hallway was a bustling throng of activity that Dumbledore was pretending to observe as he pondered events punctuating the recent crisis. It isn't uncommon for the halls to clear out as classes start. This current emptiness was odd because of its immediacy and the sudden, total lack of stragglers… and now, the immediate appearance of just the person with whom Dumbledore needed to have a serious conversation. He just didn't want to, especially not at this moment. He had been beginning to appreciate the moment of solitude. He'd rather have used it to ponder if there were a way he could get himself to New York City to try to defend his friend from what is clearly an unjust sentence for a trumped up accusation. It was almost as if a slight breeze blew in and hurried all the students into their classrooms.
As Ben approached, his eyes paused on Dumbledore's silhouette, but there was no acknowledgement until a few more brief stops were made and he stood before the door to Dumbledore's office.
"Albus, we need to talk."
"Ben, it's good that you came out of hiding. You rarely come out of that tower. We were beginning to consider sending Stella in to see whether you had entranced yourself with one of those crystal balls."
Ben squinted his eyes and raised an eyebrow. "There will be a time that you will wish that you could ask me a few simple questions about what the hell is going on." He curtly walked past Dumbledore and into the office. "It's also good that you are worrying about Newt. He will be an important friend and ally in the struggles that are unfolding. For now, don't worry. It is to his gain. His current predicament will help ensure that he is better prepared for the test ahead." As Ben turned to face his friend, his expression solidified from a far-off look, to then focus on Dumbledore.
"Are those prophecies?" Dumbledore replied with a tinge of irony. "It has taken me a number of years to get used to your sense of humor and non sequitur responses. How is it that you are aware of Scamander's predicament?"
"You use the word prophecy like it is synonymous with the absurd. Please forgive me if I'm frequently not focused on the present." Ben paced a circuit around the room and breathed a word that resulted in a flash of expanding glow.
"Ben, I have nothing but the utmost respect-"
"Stop Albus, I work hard to make it all seem as uncertain as possible… so I can't blame you for your prejudice." Ben was now smiling with a strange aura of confidence. "Let's cut the crap. You need to listen to me. First, take this and put it in a place that it will always be with you." Ben handed a small, coiled ammonite fossil to his colleague.
With eyebrows raised in surprise, Dumbledore held the ammonite up in his fingers. "Ben, I intended to call you here to have a conversation about why you've been cancelling your classes and why part of the stairwell to your tower collapsed. Several professors would like to resolve whatever issues are precipitating before some of us feel the headmaster needs to get involved. There are people that think that the study of divination isn't a worthwhile endeavor." He made sure that Ben could observe as he slipped the ammonite into the pocket of his robe.
Ben nodded and smiled as he continued. "I assure you, Albus, that I have the full confidence of the Headmaster and I would have the full confidence of his successor, should I decide to remain that long, although as far as the discipline… his successor will have second thoughts about replacing me. But even then, it won't be until many years after I've left the position vacant."
"You say that as if you know that, but you're not putting on the 'seer' act."
"Well, not this time, but hey, don't knock a good theatrical show. I usually charge extra for those sorts of frills. We spend years perfecting some of those affectations and watching can be quite amusing for the audience." Ben paused with a smile. "Don't mock some of those poor folks that receive their messages unbidden. Some of them really do get possessed by your odd spirit or two and… well… that's just downright gives me the willies."
"But Ben, that's your discipline."
Ben laughed outright, throwing his head back. "Oh my goodness Albus, you and your bloody sarcasm. Most of the practitioners of my discipline… the people you are thinking of, focus on interpretation of external signs… and get it mostly wrong." He said while waving his arms around." Let's just say I don't need to put on an act. I live with the future constantly looming before my eyes." He made a wavy, circular motion with his hands in front of his eyes. "It's less about speculative interpretation and more about visualizing a probabilistic framework, influencing outcomes, and planning ahead."
Ben continued as he stopped roaming the room and stood still. "I don't want to have to fool you to get your trust and consideration, but be assured, I do need to have your confidence. With my help, you will gain a more profound understanding of such complex systems and how to affect a result with the least invasive of surgeries."
"Ben, you are jumping topics again and skipped prefacing this new conversation with adequate explanation. From what I can follow… that is… what I presume you are speaking about, is not a new concept for me. You have to admit, however, that you average quite a bit less than one hundred percent in your predictions."
Ben smiled, as if proud of his successful ruse. "The path I walk requires a certain amount of anonymity, and because of that, I hide out in the open by acting somewhat less than competent." Ben winked an eye. "Why would our enemies worry much about a bumbler."
"I would never even consider that you were anything but one of the top seers of our time and you expertly guide our pupils in understanding the art. What I have need of, for now, is to have a serious conversation with you. I intended to cross examine and lecture you about your recent problems, but you are steering our conversation in a very odd direction. You don't have to defend your record."
"I certainly do not. Although, I will say, I doubt you think there are many, if any, true seers. Be that as it may, tonight you will join me in my conspiracy whether you like it or not."
"What's going on, Ben?"
"How much can I trust you?"
"What are you getting at that would require you to pose such a question? We are acquainted with one another as well as one may expect, considering we are both professors here of more than a few years, including serving on committees and close interaction in research. Not to mention a good number of pints and bottles down the gullet. I feel confident that we strive for similar ends and we thus share a great deal of mutual trust in one another. Let's say I trust you as much as you trust me." Dubledore paused for several seconds. "What's your game?"
"OK. All right. Here's the deal. Dark wizards are going to destroy our society and hundreds of millions will die and muggles and everyone opposed to the dark wizards will be enslaved." Ben finished in one breath.
Dumbledore stood silent for several additional seconds, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Whew." He breathed out. "That's all you've got? You can't come up with anything more pressing? The sun isn't going to explode? You know that I'm doing what I can to help in the capture of Grindlewald."
As Ben began to speak, he slowly turned and began to pace a slow, measured circuit around the room. "You're right… it sounds crazed, but hear me out. I've been watching a very long game unfold before me and there has always been a way to fine tune events along the path to bring about a fair and just result that would be in good faith." Ben paused for a few seconds while pondering his words and scanning the edges of the ceiling around the room. "That is to say… that suits my sense of right. I don't want to say that I am enforcing my will upon the world, but I just want to do the right thing, and I think you and I have a similar sense of what is fair and just and in good faith. To put your mind at ease, I've never felt that I had to do anything that would seriously affect peoples' lives, except in a very general way for the best… and there have never been innocent lives directly at risk."
Ben paused for several seconds before continuing. "I now see every possible outcome leading to a death spiral in which the dark wizards succeed."
Dumbledore walked slowly around his desk, contemplating his response. "Ben, I know it may seem hopeless in times like these, but the problem is just in a minority. The greatest majority of wizards will not abide the hell you think you are seeing. The wizarding world will not sit by and let that happen. We've got to keep our heads and common sense will eventually take hold."
"Albus, you don't understand what that minority, as you call it, is willing to do. We've already gone past the tipping point. The playing field is no longer fair and the board is no longer set up in the way you think you perceive it. You will lose your head, literally. In a meaningless way."
"If that is the case, then what do you propose?"
"I have to forge a new array of possible outcomes. In order to enable new possibilities, I have to create a path by which we can propagate new variation. The resulting futures may still all be bad, but I've run out of choices." Ben paused, considering his next words.
"The tricky thing," Ben continued, slowly. "is that I need you to cover me, but you need to remain mostly ignorant of my toil and deny any involvement, no matter what apparent imperatives may arise."
"Ben, you are sounding delusional. We are doing fine… and are on the verge of capturing Grindlewald and many of his minions. Maybe you need to take some time off."
"We're not doing fine. You have no idea where Grindlewald is. We've already lost. Tonight I will save your arse." Ben banged his hand on a side table as he said this.
"I'm mainly committing this next act because there are several items involved that I need… and it will postpone some of the dark times. Your involvement is an added benefit because it will hopefully also convince you that I am not a charlatan and you will support and help conceal my work."
"Ben, Please get a…"
The conversation stopped because Ben disapparated. Dumbledore's expression turned from one of bewilderment, to amusement, to stunned disbelief.
"Now, how the hell did he do that?"
