It was with an unsteady gait that Minerva McGonagall, Pomona Sprout, Poppy Pomfrey, and Irma Pince made their way toward Hogwarts from their pre-school year afternoon tea, the tea having been liberally enhanced with Fire Whiskey and McGonagall family Scotch. It gave them a chance to gripe about their individual concerns about the direction that Hogwarts was heading, and certain staff behavior, without having Albus look at them with his 'I am disappointed in you' look version 3. Especially since as usual, it was Severus Snape and his unprofessional behavior that the conversation turned to with frequent regularity, and what the Headmaster was thinking by keeping him around. As they approached the gates that served as the official entrance onto Hogwarts grounds, it was Pamona who brought the pile of trash that had been dumped on the side of the drive to the group's attention.
"The house elves must not have been out this far today, leaving trash just sitting here like this."
"When we get to the castle, I will send Hagrid or one of the elves to dispose of it." Minerva said with a slight slur in her speech. "I would banish it now, but I fear maybe I am not drunk too much to do it right, and I am possi, possoti, pissitan; I am sure I was taught not to spell cast when I am drunk." Minerva looked pleased with herself as she finished her train of thought with only a few minor derailments.
"I will take care of it till we can get it taken care of by someone else." With that thought firmly in place, she hiked up her robe and the skirt underneath it, to reveal pointed boots which would have been the envy of every wicked witch that hailed from the depths of a Frank L. Baum novel. She drew back her foot to kick the trash off the road, and then paused as she lost her balance and almost fell. Pomona came over and stood beside her to give her support, and this allowed Minerva McGonagall to put all the force her sturdy highland bred frame could muster behind the kick, hoping to make it clear the gorse bushes that grew alongside the road. With a meaty thud, her fast travelling foot came to an abrupt stop, and a high pitched scream split the air. Minerva and Pomona feel back onto their rears in surprise and Minerva showed her command of invective taught to her as a child living among the men of the Highlands. If any of her students, past or present, had been there to observe the situation, they would have been shocked at the words coming from their prim and proper professor.
Moans began to emanate from the pile of debris, and it became obvious that what they had mistook as a pile of dirty rags and other detritus, had in fact been some kind of vagrant. Poppy, who was the least intoxicated of the group, pulled her wand out and stunned the pile, silencing the distracting moans and groans that emanated from it.
"What are we going to do with this person? We can't be letting a vagrant hang around the outside of the school once children arrive, it could put them in danger." Pomona asked the others.
"I will take him up to the infirmary, and get him patched up from Minerva's attempt to launch him all the way back to Hogsmeade, and then we can send him through the floo to the Leaky Cauldron with a couple of Galleons to get a bite to eat." Poppy informed them. When everyone agreed with her plan, it was decided that they would all accompany her there, for her protection of course. It had nothing to do with her being the steadiest of the four, and the one the others were relying on to stay upright and mobile. With a casual flick of her wand, the derelict lifted off the ground and followed them as they very slowly made their way to the castle.
Arriving at the infirmary, Poppy called her personal elf assistant Verity to her and gave her instructions to give the drifter a thorough bathing, using the medium brush to make sure everything was nice and pink and void of dirt. Verity gave a wide smile to her mistress and popped away with her new charge, determined to do exactly what Miss Poppy had instructed, no matter the protests given by her charge. Poppy busied herself checking Minerva's foot and ankle, to make sure that everything was okay and she hadn't hurt herself with that tremendous kick, and also giving her friends sobering draughts to clear their heads. If she had known what her commands had started, it might have been more likely that she would have led her friends back to the Three Broomsticks to get right properly smashed.
**XF**XF**XF**XF**XF**XF
Albus Dumbledore had had such a terrible two weeks, that he stopped listing his other names and titles, even in his internal monologue. After making it out of the slums of Singapore with only two beatings and a few people throwing rotted fish and fruit at his wonderful new robe in their fits of jealousy, he arrived in the magical section of Singapore and got a temporary wand and some money from the Goblin bank there. He then went to the International portkey office, to arrange his way home. When the portkey activated, Albus caught a flash of white out of the corner of his eye, and then he spun away toward Surrey, United Kingdom. His arrival was anything but smooth, as he appeared several feet above the ground, and fell awkwardly, landing on his temporary wand and snapping it in half. When he looked around to get his bearings, it quickly became apparent to him that he was not in Surrey, and he was pretty sure he was not in Europe at all. A group of young men were walking past the mouth of the alley he was in, and he decided to get some information from them so he could decide what to do.
"Boy! I say, you; boy!" Albus shouted to the five swaggering young men who were all wearing red and black clothes, and hats turned to the back. "I was wondering if you would be so good as to tell me where I am as I seem to have lost my way and ended up in this filthy alley."
"Did you just call me boy, you cracker mother ****er. I ain't no boy, you racist piece of shit." The leader told Albus belligerently as his friends egged him on. "My non-slave name is Kimbe Otumbo in the traditions of my free African ancestors, and I ain't nobody's boy!"
Albus had been on top of the wizarding world and unquestioned in his authority for so long, that his survival instincts had long ago atrophied. If they hadn't he would have apologized for his offense, and have tried to pass himself off as a frail and confused old man. Unfortunately for him, he believed that he was untouchable, the beatings in Singapore notwithstanding, and he knew that he was in America somewhere based on the accent of the young men. It was just a shame for him that he had last been in America in the fifty's in the deep south during the height of the Jim Crow Laws. Now Albus didn't care what color your skin was, but he thought that the laws in place during that time were wonderful, and had mirrored some of his own laws after them in regards to where half-bloods, werewolves, magical creatures, and muggleborn were allowed to sit and what jobs they were allowed to have. It would soon become painfully obvious to him that things had changed in the thirty plus years since he was last in America.
"I beg your pardon. I am only asking you for directions out of this slum, and back to proper civilization, where I can be on my way to my original destination. If you are incapable of giving me directions out of here, maybe you can direct me to where I can get a white cab?"
It was only the shock that this old man would dare say something like that to anyone in Detroit, let alone their gang that kept Albus from being knifed or shot immediately. "Are you for real cracker? You just be asking for a beat down on your faggy, stuck up, white English ass, ain't ya. Is you from one of them hidden camera shows that sets up a brother, and then gets the popo to sweep in and save your lily white ass and get us arrested?"
"I assure you Kimmy that I do not have anything to do with any cameras or this popo. I just want to find my way to a more palatable area where I may find transportation and be on my way. The sooner you direct me, the sooner I will be away from here and out of danger of soiling my clothes."
"And just what is wrong with our hood, old man? Are you too good to be seen here wit us low lifes in south Detroit? You know what, **** it. Get him; I'm tired of his lily white ass." Albus didn't have a prayer of out running the angry youths, though he did try. They quickly found his bag with twenty eight Galleons in it, and instinctually knew that this was the score that would get them paid. They decided to beat him a little more out of principle, but the blip of a siren approaching made them scatter.
When Albus Dumbledore of the many names, titles, and awards awoke, he found himself strapped down to a bed with leather restraints, and tubes stuck into his body in uncomfortable places. The door to the room opened and a woman in white came in, accompanied by a man dressed in an unfamiliar uniform. The woman fussed over him, tutting under her breath as she took his vitals and then motioned the officer out of the room with her. Albus had many years of doing small wandless charms, with his focus mostly on those that could be used to further his agenda while remaining unnoticed. He was adept at minor compulsions, switching spells, basic temporary enhancements like hearing and sight, and unlocking spells. Anything that needed more power or control though, required a wand or foci. He quickly did a wandless listening charm, and then focused to hear what was being said about him by the two standing outside his room.
The nurse started her report to the man. "As near as we can tell, he is a deranged old man, possibly someone's grandfather who has a severe case of dementia as well as a possible case of Alzheimer's. He has been out since you brought him in two days ago, though every once in a while he starts talking about making the stupid muddles pay for not knowing they were beneath him, and showing him the respect he deserves. He also keeps yelling in some form of bastardized Latin, which our charge nurse recognized because she went through a medical program that required her to learn Latin. We expect him to wake up today, but the Doctor who is in charge of his case said it would be smart to keep him restrained, for his own good since he is suffering so. She was so concerned, and she showed such great care in diagnosing his conditions. We are very lucky that Dr. Herwig is visiting us this week and can help us take care of our poor Grandpa Doe in there."
Albus was unhappy about his circumstances, and was determined to escape from these barbarians who were holding him here against his will. He had heard about the horrors they did to people at muggle hospitals and sanitariums when he was a young man. What was even more frightening to him was the fact that he had heard that they no longer used leaches and spirits to treat ailments. To give up proven medicine, passed down from generation to generation in favor of using ekeltrisissy and new teknolgy was the height of irresponsibility. You would think that their leaders would be intelligent enough to know that slow and regulated progress was the way for the world to thrive. This was exactly why any right minded wizard knew at an instinctive level, that the muggles needed to be ruled by wise and beneficent wizards, and the woman kept in their rightful place, at home minding the hearth and children.
A quick alohamora opened the restraints on his right arm, allowing him to have more freedom; three more freed his legs and left hand, and he undid the strap across his chest with his hands while plotting his next move. The windows were barred so that avenue was closed, and it was dangerous to apparate within three days of using an international portkey because your magic had to settle and adapt to the local ley lines. Plus, he still felt weak because of the multiple beatings he had recently received. Albus cautiously looked out the observation window in the door, and noticed that the man and woman had moved further down the hall, the man flirting with the woman while she checked her other patients. Another alohamora, and then another as he was not rested enough for the drain he was putting on his magic, and the door was open and he had a straight shot to the door marked stairs. When he arrived at the door, he found it locked as well since this was a psychiatric ward, and it took him another four alohamoras before the door opened. A beeping set off at the nurses' desk behind him, and he rushed out and down the stairs, knowing that he was the cause and they would soon be looking for him. Albus descended three flights before entering the nearest door, and then searching for an empty room where he could rest before moving on. He used his last bit of energy to place a mild notice-me-not charm on the door, and then collapsed onto the bed to rest as three floors above him, his absence was discovered and the hospital echoed with a voice informing all of a code 918A, escaped mental patient.
It was another two days before it was noticed that the intern/on call room on the fifth floor seemed to have disappeared and had caused the internists to not be able to nap and had reduced their efficiency. A nurse who was a squib called in her cousin, who was a witch, to investigate and the charm was soon dispelled. By that time, Albus had left the hospital and had made his way to the local magical community and had once more arranged for a backup wand and some money, and then very carefully watched the International portkey made to ensure that he would arrive back in England and not somewhere else. When he was satisfied that it was correct, scanning it twice before he was even willing to take it from the woman. Just before he could grasp it, a cloud of fire and ice enveloped him, and when he could see again, it was definitely not England. As far as the eye could see stretched red clay, sand, and scrub, and the heat was oppressive. About one hundred yards away lay a copse of trees, and Albus figured that he could plan out his actions once he reached the shade and was able to cool off.
He reached the edge of the trees, and there in a tree back in the shade was the bird he had come to hate. He did not care anymore whether or not it could possibly damn him if he succeeded in killing it; it had interfered with his plans for the last time. He raised his wand surprisingly quickly, and was about to blast the bloody bird with a spell he had learned from Morgana's personal Grimoire that she designed to destroy Merlin's phoenix familiar. The spell was on his lips and ready to be unleashed, when he noticed that his nemesis was not looking at his wand, but at his arm further up. He glanced down, and instantly wished he hadn't since there on his arm, was a creature that only lived in one place in the world, and that was deep in the magical Outback of Australia.
In the book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, there is an entire section dedicated to the fact that no sane wizard should ever travel to Australia for any reason, but if they did they should stay out of the Outback at all costs. This was because there were creatures there that fed on magic, and felt that wizards were tasty treats to be hunted down and savored over long periods of time. One such creature that had almost an entire chapter dedicated to why it should be avoided was the Colexis Anteris Nesting Arachnid which was described as having a body the size of a remember-all covered in red and white stripes over a black background. Its nickname was the puppet master spider; because it could with one bite, control the reality of its chosen host. It would feed of the magic inherent in its host, and use the host to travel great distances in search of a nice river or stream to live near, while it hid itself in comfort underneath the clothes of a wizard. Once it had used you to move itself to its new chosen environment, it would release the wizard to fend for itself. Many a wizard did not survive being released, because they were thirsty, and went to the nearest river for water. Wizards, being fairly oblivious to their surroundings and the danger the natural world could hold, would kneel down and stick their faces in the water to quench their tremendous thirst. The last thing many a wizard saw after being host to one of the puppet master spiders was a very long row of teeth directly above and below their head before they knew no more.
It was with dawning horror that Albus Dumbledore watched the spider on his arm lunge toward his wrist and the exposed skin that was there. Knowing it was too late for him to avoid the bite, Albus decided to release the curse he had prepared at the cause of his woes. The spell shot from his wand, but since it was not really his wand, his release of so much power had unintended side effects. The spell was off by about six inches, missing the phoenix completely, and blasting apart a tree that had stood in that area for more than five hundred years, releasing a spirit that the aborigines had trapped there for causing mischief and harm to their tribes. She, for lack of a better description, followed the magic back to its source, and since the puppet master spider had by now taken over her new host, decided to grant her savior a gift. All at once the Spider became conscious, with desires and wants that she never would have fathomed seconds before, and the spirit of mischief moved on looking for new adventure.
For the next week, odd occurrences happened all over Australia that were strange and unexplained. In one town three banks were robbed by a man wearing a fake beard and a dress, and calling himself Betty. In another town, that same character made off with an entire warehouse worth of silk fabric, and then another two banks were robbed. The crime spree continued, and spread to major cities, with the list growing to bizarre and staggering proportions, always money and some object that made no sense, since it was not easy to transport, nor easy to fence. Finally, the crime spree ended, and though the police still hunted for the criminal, they had no real leads. In Sydney, there was a new luxury resort that had just been completed, and the condos overlooking the surf of one of the best beaches in Australia went on sale. What made this resort special is it catered to magical and mundane, with each having their own separate areas for those who could not blend in with the regular folk.
Sales agent Marjorie Hannigan was bored since there had been no one to come in in three days. She was debating closing the office and taking a long lunch down on the beach when the door opened and in walked a bizarre sight. A slightly lumpy woman wearing a full burka only showing her eyes to the outside world walked in and sat down.
"May I help you ma'am?" Marjorie asked, thinking that this foreign woman was lost.
"Yes, you can." A slightly masculine voice that was pitched low and soft answered. "I would like to buy up all the condos on one of the magical floors preferably in the middle, and I will use them for guests I choose."
Marjorie was excited. This might be just the boost they needed to get others to come in and buy. "Certainly ma'am, let me just get the details of what floor is completely open, and then we can go over finances."
Three hours later, Marjorie was excitedly calling her husband to tell him that she had sold an entire floor at a significant mark up, and the strange 'woman' was looking over her new domain. With it being near the ocean, she would get the moisture in the air that she needed, and she would be able to feed off the visiting tourists' magic without harming them. She had the central condo decked out in draped silk and rope, with other various materials that she had her helper pick up while she planned this. She was so happy with her puppet, and what he had done, that she decided not to just abandon him. Her last instructions to him were to embed the coordinates of where she had met with him, and for him to use his magic to go back since that is where he obviously wanted to be even if he didn't think so. With a crack and a rushing of air, he left Betty to enjoy her new life of comfort and luxury.
Albus appeared where he had left, and looked around, relieved that he had been unaffected by the puppet master spider and eager to get on his way. He looked around, and since he knew he was in Australia, he knew where he could apparate to. Albus gathered his magic around himself, and then apparated away to Brisbane which he had previously visited. While that was his intention, what really happened, was that he tried to apparate to the same spot that he was in, since those were the coordinates that were stuck in his mind. A little known fact about apparition is that for a millisecond, a wizard will exist in the place that he is apparating to, and the place he is dis-apparating from at the same time. The resulting explosion of Albus occupying the same place in space and time twice over caused sensors all over the muggle world to go off as the accusations of illegal nuclear testing flew from government to government. Hedwig was forced to save him, mostly because she knew that he was needed in the future for her Harry's development. It seemed as if every bone in his body was broken, and it was his magic that was keeping him alive, and healing him slowly. When Hedwig flashed him back to Scotland, she noticed the group of teachers and the healer leaving the village, and so dropped her burden off where he would be found and cared for.
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After Poppy turned what she thought was a derelict over to her elf, she went about organizing her infirmary for the coming school year, and didn't notice the time passing. Verity was an elf that had been assigned to her mistress by the St. George Medical School when she graduated as a fully certified healer. Verity was proud to be a fully trained medical assistance elf, and had gladly served her Mistress Pomfrey for many years. Over those years that they had spent together at Hogwarts, Verity had seen her mistress belittled and abused by the man in charge of the school. When she was called to the infirmary to clean up their new patient, her joy was practically radiating off of her in waves. She thought she had better clarify her orders so that she would be safe from any punishment, though anything short of clothes would be worth it to her for the ability to follow through with the plans she had going through her mind.
"Mistress wants me to take this man away and clean him thoroughly?" She asked with a hint of joy that Poppy translated as happiness at having a job to do.
"It appears as if he has been without a bath for a long time. It is probably for the best if you were to scrub him a few times, and also delouse him. Who knows what he has picked up in his time among the fringes of magical society? It has been my experience that a good scrubbing can make you feel like a new witch and also too once again be a productive member of our society."
Verity was practically jumping up and down in excitement at her orders; this would be a great story to tell her cousin Dobby the next time she saw him. She saluted her mistress, and then popped away with the bundle of moaning dirt and rags that she recognized as the man who had more than once denigrated her mistress in front of others. The last thing Poppy heard from her assistant was a comment about what bristles were needed, wire or badger hair.
If there were students in the castle, and they happened to be passing anywhere near where the prefects' bath was located, they would have heard screams as if a soul was being tortured by the foulest demons out of hell. Things like, "No, not there, owwwwwwwwww," and "Not my beard, I need my beard. Noooooooooo." Outside the door, the resident poltergeist Peeves, floated with rapt attention as he listened to what was happening behind the closed and warded door. It was amazing to him that a house elf could be that sadistic and all at her mistress's unknowing orders. Peeves wished at that point that he could take notes, if he could write, or read for that matter. This time was instructional on so many levels, and he would hate to miss any of it.
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Many painful hours later, a glowing pink man was delivered to Poppy Pomfrey's tender care, while Verity gave her report. "Man is clean and scrubbed, with a nice clean shave and haircut since it was too matted to save. I is having to wash his mouth out since he be saying vile things about mistress, her family, and elves, and I finally stopped him from talking using elf magic. I volunteer to take him to Diagon Alley for you after you have treated him, though he may need to go to St. Mungo's because he is seeming to be delusional." With her piece said, Verity busied herself with getting what her mistress would need to treat the old fool.
Poppy felt sorry for the old man she had laying before her stunned since he would not hold still for her treatment. His face was worn and old, with several patches of irritation where his face was recently shaved. He had an air of familiarity about him, but she could not think of anyone that she knew who had fallen upon such hard times. His family must have abandoned him once he became an embarrassment to them because of the ravages of old age. It was a shame that pureblood families treated their elders in the same way they treated those they thought were squibs; neither having any worth in magical society according to them. Why, they treated Headmaster Dumbledore as if he was senile, and he was the greatest wizard since Merlin, just ask anyone. Well she would do her best to treat this patient, and then she would have Verity take him to St. Mungo's long term care ward, since she was owed favors there, and they might be able to stabilize his mental state so he could go home. She casually stunned her patient again as he was stirring, and then set about feeding him the potions that would heal his body while he slept from the dreamless sleep potion she poured down his gullet.
The next day, Verity appeared at St. Mungo's with an old man in tow and a letter for Poppy's friend Nicole Preuson who ran the ward that held those with mental issues due to age or magic. In the note, Poppy implored her friend to help the old man to get over his delusions, so he could get back to his family as soon as he could. Nicole looked over this new charity case that Poppy had sent her, and didn't know if there was much hope. She described him in her intake notes as a man of about six feet tall, extremely elderly, with signs of trauma in several places, mainly focused in the region of his groin. He had what the muggles would call a buzz cut, and was clean shaven with no hint of hair anywhere else on his body. He had blue eyes that appeared menacing to everyone around, as they blazed with hate for the treatment that his family must have given him before they turned him out, most likely with a confundus charm to make sure that he could not be traced back to them.
Nicole called two of the hospital's elves to help her, and had them bring her newest patient into the long term care ward, which housed only six people most of which rarely got any visitors. The two who were exceptions had one of their two normal visitors with them that day, and Nicole waved cheerfully as Lady Longbottom sat between the bed of her son and daughter-in-law, talking softly to them both. After she got her newest patient strapped down with magical restraints in case he had any flares of magic, Nicole came up with a wonderful idea. Though Lady Longbottom was nowhere near as old as her new patient, she did seem to know everyone in magical society, and so she might be able to identify the old man and help the healers to help him recover his memories.
"Lady Longbottom, I was wondering if you could do me a favor." Nicole looked hopefully at the woman she had come to see as a surrogate grandmother over her years at St. Mungo's. "I have this new patient that was sent to me by Poppy Pomfrey, and was hoping that you could take a look at him and tell me if you recognize him. He is of advanced age, and we want to help him to recover as much of his memories as possible. If we can identify him, then we can probably get his family to at least pay for his treatment."
"Sure dear, I have plenty of time since Neville is being watched by his uncle Algie today. Just let me say goodbye to Frank and Alice, and I will take a look." Lady Longbottom turned back to her son and daughter-in-law, and Nicole was called out of the ward to deal with a patient that was demanding special treatment. When Augusta Longbottom made her way over to the bed to see if she recognized the old man, she at that moment began to once again believe in the God she had been taught about in her youth as she attended church with her family. There in front of her, lying helpless and strapped to the bed with magic inhibiting straps was the man she blamed for the condition of Frank and Alice Longbottom.
On that day long ago, she had been at the ministry to see about getting Harry Potter and taking him to be raised by Alice as Neville's brother since she was his godmother and Lily and James had named Alice as the one to raise Harry if anything happened to the Potters. Albus had said that it was not safe for Harry in the magical world, and had used his position to seal the will of the Potters, all for the safety of Harry Potter. When the alarm went off saying that the Longbottoms house was under attack, Dumbledore pointed out that the Dark Lord was gone, and that people had been forgetting to tell the ministry that they were deactivating their defensive battle wards, which kept setting off the alarms at the ministry. When Augusta went to leave to check on her family, she was stopped because Dumbledore had made it a closed session, and no one was allowed to leave until all the measures were examined and passed or denied. It was almost two hours later that Augusta arrived home, only to find four death eaters in various shape, while Alastor Moody tried to quiet her grandson, his visage marred by one of his eyes missing and cuts across one side of his face. She scooped up her grandson, and wondered why Moody had not called in help, when she noticed that his familiar peg leg had been blasted off at some point during the battle he had, and there was a jagged piece of wood that was pinning him in place through his thigh.
Before he passed out from his blood loss, Moody looked her in the eye and said, "I am sorry Augusta; I didn't get here in time. They tortured Frank and Alice, and were about to do something to Neville when I arrived. It was a ritual involving a chalice, but Rodolphus was able to banish it before he went down, so I don't know what it was they were doing. I stunned Alice and Frank, because they would not stop screaming." With his report done, Alastor Moody collapsed into oblivion, and Augusta hurried to the floo to summon help, all the while swearing to herself that someday she would enact revenge on the man who dismissed her family's safety. Now that day had come, and she would start with letting him know.
"Hello Albus, funny to see you here in the same ward with Frank and Alice. I am sure that I am probably one of the few people who has seen you without your beard, and I am sure that it will be so much fun to see what treatments they use to 'help you recover your memory,' since when you claim to be the great Albus Dumbledore, they won't believe you. They will check your magical signature, against the one they have for you on file, and then will double their efforts to help the poor deluded man. I see you looking at me with questions, and I intend to give you answers, though just like Frank and Alice, you won't remember the conversation I am having with you. I am sure you remember that though my married name is Longbottom, my maiden name is Lethe and I still remember all the family spells. For my first spell, I think that I will add a little bit of confusion to your speech so that we can have some fun. What this means to you is that you can tell them who you are all you want, but they will hear you claim to be Merlin, Morgana, Suaramon, Gandolph, Flamel, one of the founders, and Albus Dumbledore. Next I think should be a nerve stimulation curse. Nothing like a few nervous ticks to make you appear even more unstable. And to complete this round, I think that you hitting on any female above thirteen and under thirty should be good for a great laugh. It's really too bad you won't remember who did this to you, as it would be extremely satisfying for me to know that you knew you had been bested by a woman you sanctimonious, sexist, bigoted ass."
With a final wave of her wand, Augusta cast her last enchantment on the hated man, making sure that he would not remember the previous three or so minutes, and then she went back to her son's bedside. She was thankful for the spells that she had memorized from her family's Grimoire as a young girl, since they were untraceable and un-reversible, unlike obliviation. They were designed by her family with medical practices in mind, as you could do a procedure that was extremely painful, and then make the patient forget that they ever experienced the pain in the first place. There were few secrets held more securely than those family spells, since you could make anyone forget anything up to ten minutes before you cast the spell. It was with feigned regret that she informed her friend Nicole that she had no knowledge of who the man was that they were trying to treat.
The following week was a week filled with joy for Augusta Longbottom as she watched him scream at the healers that he was Merlin, or Albus, or Nicholas or one of the other big names in magical history. Each time they would shake their heads sadly at the poor man's mental state, and then one of them would suggest a new treatment to help the poor deranged old man. They even tried some muggle treatments that the muggle studies professor suggested as the latest breakthroughs in muggle medicine for treating the mentally ill. He even told them that Bethlem Royal Hospital had become world famous for their treatment of the mentally ill and even had a nickname associated with its success; bedlam. The treatments he suggested and they tried were things like hydrotherapy, sensory focusing, purgative procedures, and even externally powered nerve stimulation. For those who were behind the times and not up to the vagaries of progress, those treatments were in simple terms bathing him in ice water, placing him in the dark with no ability to feel or sense anything, giving him flushing potions to empty out any toxins in the body, and good old fashioned shock treatment. It was when they began to discuss drilling holes in his head to relieve the pressure or a lobotomy that Albus became motivated and finally escaped by stealing one of the healer's wands and then blasting a hole through the wall and getting himself outside the anti-apparition wards.
It took Albus almost a day to lose the wizards and witches pursuing him, for his own health of course, and arrive at Hogwarts where he snuck in to go into hiding in his office, spending most of the remaining time before school started crafting a glamour that would hide the fact that he no longer had the look of Merlin or Gandalf. He was sure that it would not be good for the sheep to see him without his carefully crafted kindly grandfather persona in place, that and the posters that had popped up all over magical Britain and the Daily Prophet asking people if they had seen the poor deranged old man who escaped from St. Mungo's and was possibly a danger to himself and others. In all of his trials and his musing about what he would do to get revenge on all those who had unknowingly slighted him, Albus Dumbledore forgot about going to visit his personal social experiment and making the last and soon to be final scion of House Potter's life even more painful than it already was. This would give Harry some much needed time to grow into the realization that he was not only someone special, but someone who deserved love and friendship.
AN: Sorry this took an extra week to get out. I had a few health issues, and then a computer issue. This is kind of an interlude chapter, as I decided to torture APWBD a little more before moving on. Hope you enjoy, and as always, Thank you for reading. I do ths not for money since I don't own HP, but for the people who read it most importantely my daughter.