AN:

Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Season 8

This fic is AU taking place in the HP universe

Round: Round 5

Team: Puddlemere United

Position: Beater 2

Task: Detective Alonzo Harris (Training Day) - Write about someone corrupt abusing their position of power.

OPTIONAL PROMPTS

[dialogue] "That's the difference between us, isn't it? I'm not afraid of my demons."

[dialogue] "It isn't that simple."

[dialogue] "I'm not sure that I can forgive you after this."

Word count:1863

The Untold Truth

Albus Dumbledore was the greatest wizard to ever live; he was powerful, smart and had a large following. And most of all, he held the Elder wand, the most powerful wand to ever be crafted, though the identity of this wand and the story behind it would remain a secret for a while now.

"ALBUS DUMBLEDORE! What the hell were you thinking?!" Exclaimed an irate Minerva McGonagall, barging into the Headmaster's office, breaking him out of his musings. The woman looked furious; the anger was radiating off of her. Deciding to play coy, Dumbledore smiled.

"Minerva, lovely to see you on this fine day," he said jovially.

"Drop the act old man, what the hell were you thinking?" She retorted angrily.

"I'm not sure what you are referring to Minerva," he responded.

"How can you allow Mister Potter to enter the tournament? He is not yet of age!" She asked, her voice going up an octave as she spoke.

"Ah that, I am sad to say that it is out of my hands, there is nothing I can do about it," he told her, smiling.

"Of course it's in your hands! You are the Headmaster of this school. You have a responsibility to protect your student. Letting a 14 year old participate goes against our vows."

"It isn't that simple."

"Please do tell how this isn't simple. He is 14! He has no business being in a tournament where the age limit is 17. How isn't it simple?" She was getting more agitated as she spoke.

"The Goblet is never wrong; his name was placed in the cup making him eligible to participate." Albus knew that the boy had not placed his name in the goblet; he also knew that Barty Crouch Junior was masquerading as Auror Moody. The two men had been friends for a long time and thinking that he wouldn't have noticed such a thing was just unimaginable. He didn't know the details behind Crouch being out of Azkaban, but he had his suspicions. He had also helped the man without him realizing it, once he found that the Death Eater was trying to tamper with the Cup, he had lent him a discreet hand. Whatever the plan was, he knew it had to be completed for the greater good. Harry was supposed to defeat Tom, and for that to happen, the Dark Lord needed to be resurrected; he knew that much. The Horcrux was proof that the deranged wizard was still alive; now all he had to do was set up the pieces so that He could be defeated when the time was right.

"Do tell, Headmaster, how a mere 14 year old could get past your wards. Even the greatest wizards and witches have died trying," she asked, her tone full of distrust.

"Maybe he had help. That Miss Granger is quite the scholar, she may have found a weakness in them," he offered, his eyes twinkling.

"Oh stop with the nonsense, do you think I'm an idiot?! Miss Granger may be the smartest witch of her generation, but she has a lot to learn before she can reach such a level of mastery. Your wards are comparable to those of the school Albus. I'm not sure what you are playing at with this, but it needs to stop. I will not permit Mister Potter to enter the tournament; I've read the rules, he can be dropped out from it due to his age and being the sole heir to one of the most Noble houses," she told him decisively.

"I'm afraid Minerva I can not permit you to pull him out." he responded, his voice grave.

"I do not need your permission. I am his Head of House. Decisions of this magnitude fall under my jurisdiction not yours," she told him triumphantly.

"Ah you make a good point, but you are missing one vital piece of the puzzle: I am Harry Potter's magical guardian, and as such, I have given permission for the boy to participate." A smirk appeared on his face as he spoke the last word.

Minerva was fuming. How had Albus managed to become Potter's guardian? She knew for a fact that Lily disliked the man and would have never allowed such a thing to happen. She had assumed that since he had been raised by Muggles, she would have been appointed as his magical guardian once he was sorted into her house. But no, the Headmaster had somehow meddled and took the position. The man was as corrupt as it comes; she knew that he liked to manipulate things in order to achieve what he called the 'Greater Good'. Oh, how she hated those two words! He would go on rants sometimes, claiming that what he was doing was to ensure the future. She hadn't figured out what future it could be to be honest; she had a suspicion that the man had gone mad.

During the war of Grindelwald, she had fought beside the man; he had been young and charismatic, full of charm. He had been the polar opposite of what had become Grindelwald. The two were the two faces of the same coin. They both possessed so much power and knowledge that any duel between the two could finish at a stand still. But something had changed the day Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald, he had changed. She couldn't figure out what it was, but she could see him fall little by little into madness. He had so much power, he controlled so many people that sometimes she thought that he considered himself to be a God playing with people like they were pieces on a chessboard. He had this vision of this future greater good, and he would do anything, manipulate anyone, to achieve it. The thing that always baffled her was the fact that he had the power to do as he pleased No one wanted to oppose his orders.

"How did you manage to get the guardianship; his parents would have never let you have that much power over him." Her temper was showing; she was glaring at the man in front of her.

"You would know that; you were quite close to the couple, but you know that I have my way. Harry needs to be in the tournament, end of the story." The glint in the old man's eyes scared the Professor; something was definitely wrong.

"Why is Harry so important to your plans Albus? Why on earth would you go to such lengths to control him? He is just a child!" she exclaimed.

"He is the only person that can defeat Voldemort. No one else can; he has to be the one to kill him."

"So what, you are setting up a child to become a murderer?" The anger was rising more inside of her.

"I am not setting him up to be a murderer. On the contrary, he will be held as a hero. The Hero. Everyone will want to be him, know him, and he will become the greatest wizard known to men. He will lead the sheep of this world and they will follow blindly." He was talking as if no one was there, as if he was seeing something invisible to everyone else.

"So you want to turn him into you? Have you ever thought that maybe he didn't want that? He didn't want to kill for glory. You are mad Albus, ever since the war with Grindelwald, you have been falling more and more into madness," she told him angrily.

"Do not say his name. No no no, you do not get to say his name, my Gellert!" He shouted angrily, standing up fast and making his chair fall with a loud crash. Minerva was startled by the action of the usually jovial man. The madness she had always suspected was there was showing now. His face was contorted into a snarl, he was bearing his teeth at her; if she didn't know better she would have thought that a low growl was emitting from him.

"Are you afraid of hearing his name? The name of the man you killed? You are no better than him Albus, you are nothing but a mad manipulative fool," her Gryffindor courage was showing now; anyone else would have run when facing such a powerful man.

"No no no stop talking, stop talking! Gellert, Gellert, stop talking Gellert!" Dumbledore was mumbling now, completely lost in his mind.

"Are you afraid of him, Albus? Are you afraid of the man you defeated, or is it because of your sister? Does she still haunt you?" the woman shouted, losing the last bit of control she had left.

"Stop talking, stop!" He snarled.

"That's the difference between us, isn't it? I'm not afraid of my demons. Gellert, Ariana, they both haunt you, haunt your every waking moment. I faced my demons a long time ago; I destroyed all that held me back and moved forward. But you, you held on to those demons, they drove you mad, the greater good you so love to imagine, is a future filled with death and desolation. You are leading us all to our doom. I will not let you. I will stop you here and now."

Minerva took out her wand and fired a silent Incarcerous.

But to her surprise, the curse hit a ward or shield and returned to her, hitting her square in the chest. She went rigid, hit by her own curse.

Dumbledore seemed to wake up at that exact moment and realized what was happening. A smile spread on his face; it terrified the woman. She was done for.

"Do you honestly think I wouldn't have protections up? You will not stop me. No one will. I will lead the wizarding world into a new era and Harry Potter will be my champion. There is a prophecy about the boy, did you know that? The prophecy says that only Potter can defeat Tom. I'm placing all the pieces on the board and watching the game play out. I hold all the cards; I'm the master of this game. I'm doing this for everyone, for a better life, for the greater good. Potter will have to die before he can defeat Riddle though, did you know that? He is a Horcrux. He'll come back to life though, he will be the master of death then. Yes, yes, the master of death," he told her, making his way towards her.

"But unfortunately, I can not leave you with such knowledge. I'm debating, do I wipe your mind or Imperius you. What a choice, what do you say, which one?" He asked her, sending a spell towards her enabling her to speak again.

"You really are mad. You will pay for what you are doing, you will," she spat out.

"Imperius it is then," he announced gleefully.

"I'm not sure that I can forgive you after this," the man just laughed at her words.

"You don't need to forgive me; you will do as I say without question," he told her before sending the Unforgivable towards her.