This story is based on characters and developed from some situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Machiavellian Knot.
Chapter 1.
The Tangled Web
Summer 1961.
It was all so unjust, at least so far as he was concerned. By now he should have been much further along his plan than he had been allowed to get, they were just too powerful as yet. He sat in his office, within the large castle, deep in thought. It was times like this, when all the students and most of the staff had left for the summer, that he settled into trying to comprehend why society was so ungrateful. He could not understand why, although many had, folk didn't just accept his word on any matter concerning the governance of their society. He was the only one who could see what was needed for the greater good of all, only he knew what that was. Only he was wise enough to be able to guide everyone to achieving it, yet there were too many with too much power and influence, who refused to acknowledge it. There were still too many who questioned him, who failed to respect his infallibility in this and would argue against him, convincing too many people for him to receive the complete loyalty he deserved.
Certainly he had avoided political office, despite being asked to take the top job several times, that was not his style, it was too restrictive, too fragile, too divisive. Politics was to polarising for him to achieve what needed to be. He needed all to be behind him, following his lead, there could be no dissenting voices, he could not achieve that by entering politically charged positions such as Minister. Besides, he knew that post could be taken from him and that would never do, he had to gain power that was not temporary, that would be his to control, his for the rest of his life.
Yet his plan was not progressing as quickly as he had envisaged he would, or should. He was a hero, of that there could be no doubt, he had defeated Grindelwald, consigned him to prison. He had been victorious where no other had been, then having won the fight, he had been merciful, giving the man life rather than killing him as might be expected. Had he not shown all how to be magnanimous in victory? An example he had, he felt, demonstrated and that had been universally accepted as wisdom by all at the time. He thought he had won them over, but the adulation had been short-lived. For a while he had been honoured, his opinion and advice sought, but within a few months he noticed he was not approached as he had been, he was more easily ignored than he had been. He was sidelined by them, he realised in order for his plans to work, he must achieve enough that he could not be pushed aside easily again.
His plan, which he had first thought of while he had been a student here in this school after the unfortunate death of his sister, was essential for the greater good. It had also been the same moment that he had realised, that very few around him were as intelligent as he. The more he had thought of the plan, added detail, began to try to influence people and events, the more he had become assured it was the right thing to do. Some did trust him without question, those who recognised his true value, he had worked to gain that, but could not comprehend those that refused to follow him unquestioningly, could they not see he had their best interests at heart? Surely the greater good was worth abandoning loyalty to them, at least he believed it ought to be. A belief reinforced somewhat, as he had gained a victory, small perhaps, but significant for his overall plan, it was not the first of course, though none had given results he expected. If they had, he had no doubt his plan would be significantly influencing society, bringing an invincible eutopia of light magic to their world
He had become a teacher soon after his year travelling, knowing that from such a post he would be able to influence the students practically unnoticed, so long as he acted subtly. He knew it would mean that through them his influence would reach their parents as well. Alone that would be a long term plan, but he had also been developing his abilities in the mind magic's, as well as grooming those who would be able to smooth the path he had laid out. His old friend Grindelwald had risen to the notice of the worldwide community, quickly becoming influential and threatening the image he had portrayed of himself. His friend knew too much about him, and had become a threat that had to be eliminated. He had managed to influence the public view about his ex lover across Europe, creating the image of him that was widely accepted even to today. Most people still believed that the unfortunate fellow was one of the darkest wizards that had ever lived. In reality all the man had actually done was to stand against him, the rest had been manipulation of the press and how he had been viewed. Then, when the man had called his bluff, he had duelled him to exhaustion, defeating who was seen as a powerful dark lord, even though he was in reality no threat, nor dark, but simply had become a threat to his plan. As it was, it had been an inconvenience, that he had been able to use to strengthen his own position.
Within a week of his victory, he had been made Supreme Mugwump of the international confederation and chief warlock at home. Neither were political positions, though within the political world, encouraging a view of his independence, while increasing his influence. He cemented his sphere of influence a year later, by convincing the governors to put a magical contract in place, ensuring he would replace Dippet as Headmaster at Hogwarts when the man retired only a few years later. Each year since he had been on the staff at the school, he had managed to influence many of the students who were leaving to his way of thinking, especially the Gryffindor's. Once he became headmaster, it became easier to influence those in other houses as well. For his plan to work though, that was not enough and could never be all he desired, he must have the complete faith of all right-thinking members of this community.
Certainly his influence had grown, it was all he deserved after all. He had managed to be appointed to some important posts and had obtained a seat on the Wizangamot for himself, to bolster his position. Even though he officially headed the body, getting his own seat had been necessary and strengthened his hold. Although it was not a senior seat, it had been well worth the gold he had paid to get it, guaranteeing he had a presence and vote there, in his own name. Even now, after all these years of work, he still did not have sufficient sway on society, to achieve what he believed he should. He still needed to work more to gain the position he required, for what he believed was the greater good. Too many still listened to the three families for that to happen, they were far too influential, far too powerful.
It had been obvious to him that it was imperative to the success of his plan for dominance, that he either had the unquestioning support of these three most powerful family's, or that he controlled them. He knew they would listen to what he had to say to them, then go away and make up their own minds. That did not suit him, he needed them to submit to him without question. There was no guarantee that they would follow him at all, why would they? They did not need him, they held all the aces along with the influence he needed. He had to plan to remove their influence, only then was his path to his rightful place clear. They, like anyone else, were expendable to his plan, only he himself was not, only he could achieve it, only he knew what was good for all.
Still, he knew that they had the most influence of anyone, politically, socially and economically, it was plain he had to hold the strings in order for his plan to succeed, the problem was how that could be achieved. They stood in the way of the path he had set for himself and the society that looked up to him, admired him, though not enough. They had stood in his way too often, obstructing his aims, which he firm ly believed were for everyone's good. It was now of utmost importance that his influence had to outweigh theirs, after all how could he control those who would check his instructions with any of the three family heads, rather than simply accept his guidance and follow it without question. It was not enough that he should be elected to office, that would mean it could be taken away on the whim of a popular vote, that would never do. No, the real power was behind those positions, within the three families, and that was what he wanted. He preferred to manipulate those who were weak enough to desire winning a mere popularity contest, they were so easy to control. He simply appealed to their vanity, so long as they were not part of that damnable alliance.
Manipulation of opinions could get him so far, but he must gain the control to shape their world at will, it was his right to rule, his destiny, only he could guide everyone to what was best for them, they should entrust all to his wisdom. They would bow to his benevolence which was honed to appear to be that of a kindly grand parent, to all who believed in him, his generosity in desiring to guide them spoilt only by those who really held the power. Those three damnable houses, which it seemed all, like sheep, wanted and craved an alliance with. It was their power and influence he desired, not that of a mere Minister, who relied on political popularity for their post. The power of the three families was built on a sphere of influence born of generations of continuity over a millennium, a quiet certainty and strength made through their alliances, giving them a certainty that they would not lose it, a confidence that meant they did not need the acclaim that they received. They did not need to fight for influence, they had it through what they owned and those they had the loyalty of in the Wizarding world.
Though they did not abuse their power, they were benevolent and looked after those lesser families that were part of their alliance, even those who were merely employed by them. Their actions led to an almost universal loyalty, even from those who were not part of the alliances they ran, of the type which he desired and believed he deserved far more than they. Their strength was not merely their wealth, or even the influence they held, but that they quietly worked to help those in need, somehow knowing where they could best help, earning admiration from many. That said, if you crossed them then their displeasure could ensure others ceased trading with you, though they did not do so lightly and any offence was serious enough that others viewed the result as justice. They were not violent, not in anyway, they were not mobsters, so he did not have that as a lever against them. Truthfully, they did not need to be, they merely let it be known that they would no longer deal with those who had caused the offence and all knew that it was a just decision.
The three families were the surviving ancient houses, they were the backbone of Wizarding society, wielding an incredible amount of power, economic, political and magical giving them much influence. Although they did not control the whole of Wizarding Britain, they were by far the largest influence outside the ministry, a position they had built over centuries. To his disgust, they did not quash other factions, they did not seek complete control, they didn't mind competition in business. They had no need to, their presence was felt everywhere in any case. They controlled a large part of the economy simply by owning shares in so many businesses between them, they influenced the political balance through benevolence to those who depended on their companies. So many families earned their living through their alliances, members of which were the most successful and influential in the country, so they stood in his way.
The three families had to be either brought to heel, made to accept his ideals and support them unwaveringly or taken out of the picture entirely. They must be controlled or their influence must be destroyed, without destroying the economy in the process. They were far too powerful, politically, economically and even in society to be left alone. He knew his grand fatherly demeanour would be insufficient to gain their favour, they always looked beyond that, but even though he promoted his achievements, trying to prove how valuable he could be as part of the Alliance, he was sure, he would be able to divert them to following him, at first. Although every member of the Alliance treated him with respect whenever he encountered them, he had made no progress in his quest to influence them. Just as with the ministry, he was happy to steer from behind the scenes, so long as they obeyed his grand design.
They were congratulatory of his achievements, but despite his efforts they were not eager to add him to their alliance, did not back him in the unquestioning manner he believed they should. Not that they supported the dark either, it was just that they asked him too many pertinent and good questions which he did not want to answer. They were neither light nor dark and therein lay the danger of them to him, he could not risk them aligning themselves against him, that would be disastrous to his plans. He either needed them with him, or removed from the picture completely in order that he could fill that political vacuum. He realised that even in the unlikely event that they decided they would back him, they wielded so much influence on Wizarding society he would find himself overshadowed anyway and that would never do. As grand architect of a brave new world fit for those loyal to him, he could not be overlooked in such a manner. He knew he had not made any inroads in this direction, not in all the years he had been trying. The time was past where he should try other, more drastic, methods, for the greater good. It was clear to him, that he needed a plan to control the three oldest surviving noble houses, preferably without them realising until it was too late.
He knew he could not influence or act against the current senior generation of the families, they were unreachable, besides they had their uses. Certainly they had backed his awards for past acts, but they had done so as if rewarding a child. He could not get close enough to them because despite his efforts, he was not within their circle, his family were not important enough for him to get any closer to him. In fact, he was the first Dumbledore his family had produced, with the ambition to try to gain senior position amongst the ruling classes. His father had even been required to buy a seat on the Wizangamot, as part of the bride price he had paid ahead of his marriage, rather than have it awarded. Now with a new war looming, unavoidably, over the near horizon, he hoped that the people would look to him for advice, he required a better position in society, he had to make up for the time he had lost ingratiating himself on them. He had to act to gain what he deserved, possibly even to end the prospect as he had before, it was certainly within his power to stop Riddle at any point he wished, even without the man knowing.
However, no one would elevate him to where he deserved whilst the families remained. He had learnt he needed to manipulate and stand back to watch the results he desired slowly steering towards his desired conclusion. He would win this war his way, not how the three dictated, he had engineered it happening after all, to increase his own legend. It would certainly increase his standing, his power, but would it do so enough?
He had created the enemy in one he knew had power equal to his own, potentially a rival, so he had needed to ensure they took the path opposed to his. Once he had defeated them, he hoped he would be given any reward he asked for, surely justice would demand it. It would be clearing of the way, so he could remould society how he designed, not how the families and their supporters did, but only if he broke their alliance and gained control of their power. He had earned the right to shape society from a position of power, and they were in his way, surely no one could condemn him for acting as he had to ensure prosperity and peace under his benevolence. To prove it he had ensured there would be a new Dark Lord, one under his control, but who was acting alone. Once he had selected the boy at his first meeting, he had ensured the path he would take, set him on it then watched. So far all was going precisely as he had planned for the route Tom Riddle was taking, a route that would end with a heroic stand and defeat at Albus wand. Without the families in the way when that happened, the way would be clear for his rise.
Even now, as signs told him that the spectre of the new war was growing, one that he had spent so long ensuring would happen, engineering it all to his advantage, they were not turning to him, but were again looking to the three families for help and guidance. Oh, they listened to him, nodded and smiled, then went off to talk to them, instead of simply accepting what he said. If that continued, he would never be able to ensure that they acted for the greater good as he decided it should be. It seemed the heads of the families did not trust him without question, which influenced how many others saw him. They needed more information than he was willing to give, they questioned everything he told them, which led the rest to treat him with more caution, which in turn was seen by others, thus weakening his position. He needed to take and control their influence. To do that he could see the only way his plan would possibly work, was to influence the next generation of the three families, erode their power until the children came under his influence and control. That would take time, but he could be patient, he would need to be. He would have to target them carefully and in turn as the opportunity allowed. He could not be seen to be attacking them directly, he had to be cleverer than that, thankfully he was. He would have to ensure a tragedy occurred to each family, force them to withdraw from society, leaving the way clear for him to fill the gap. He soon formulated a plan, if he could, he would remove one of their offspring and place the child elsewhere, where they would not know anything of their heritage, so he could manipulate them once they entered Hogwarts. Within the school the Alliance families had some privileges, including their own coach on the Express and carriages to bring them from the station at Hogsmeade. They even seemed able to meet together in the castle regardless of the house they belonged to, interfering with his attempts to deepen divides on those lines, though he could never discover where or how. Influencing them at the school would have to wait, of course, that would be long after he had gained the lost child's unwavering loyalty, and bound them to his path, he would need at least one from each of the families, over time. Then once he had what he needed, and they had graduated and were on the path he chose for them, he would reveal who they really were to society. Through those three lost heirs, he would have complete control of the influence alliance controlled by the three families.
He would need to arrange it all, then he would await the news of the disappearance break and be amongst the first of those publicly offering them help and sympathy. His plan would take time, that didn't matter he could wait, he had time, he was not so old. The plan relied on ensuring the child never knew their true identity until the time was right, the moment when all three families were thought gone. Only then would he allow them to discover the truth, find out their true identities. He could then reveal the heirs to the Wizarding world, all of them under his control, but only when the time was right, and he had them under his complete control.
Each of the families had young children, he looked at each to see which would be easiest to start implementing his plan with. As he observed them he soon realised he could not target all three simultaneously, that would cause too much suspicion, he would have to take care it might take longer than he had hoped to gain the influence he required. The Potter's and the Ashmole's were the most influential of the three, the Potters at the top of that tree, the Ashmoles the most enigmatic. They were too well protected, for the present, but the Black's, they were a different matter. It would not be easy, but they were the easiest of them. They were just as old as the other two families, but not as wealthy or as cautious. They had a certain arrogance that led them to keep themselves separate from others whilst about their day-to-day activities, only accepting any security whilst at large gatherings or in places such as the Ministry. The head of the family and his wife had a pair of non-identical twin toddlers, a boy and a girl. He only needed one of them, he did not particularly care which, either would be sufficient for his purposes. He would remove one of them from the Blacks, place the child with a Muggle family to raise, he could easily organise the appropriate paperwork and modify memories as required, though even his skills could have a negative effect on its subject. That was a particular skill of his, one which he did not broadcast and no others were aware of thanks to it. He had even developed a technique, which in some circumstances, could be used to apply a mass charm to wipe knowledge from all those who knew the one he applied it to. It was dangerous and could have harmful effects on any of those it touched, even if he was nowhere near them, but with it, he could remove any knowledge or memories from multiple people at once. He certainly did not want that known by anyone, and he used it sparingly. He had already decided that he would not use it this time, if he could help it. He wanted the Blacks to remember the child, mourn it until he was in such a powerful position that he would be safe to bring them and the other families good news without them having any prospect of regaining power.
By then the child would be his to control, it would attend Hogwarts as a Muggle born child, where Albus could use his influence, or if that didn't work on its own, other methods to ensure the child chose to join with a family loyal to him. A Prewitt perhaps? That was a family who had come to him for help after losing their fortune and place in the three families alliance, through debt to others. They were now loyal to him, through gratitude for his help, which they believed had been much more than it actually had been so despite their declined fortunes, they were quite useful allies to him, for the most part. The exception being Muriel, who was not so easily fooled and was fast becoming a force to be reckoned with, though for now he could leave the family to keep her under control.
The more he thought of it, the more he believed it would work, with luck he would take the Blacks girl twin, she would, in time, marry one of the Prewitt twins. He had already instructed that young Molly Prewitt would, in the fullness of time, marry the Weasley heir and taken steps behind the scenes to ensure that would happen. The Weasley family's fortune would pay off the Prewitt debt and the Weasley's were still in the Alliance, though not an important part. Meaning he would gain access to the Potters via that route and control or perhaps even remove the Black's from the picture altogether. He would then have neutralized two thirds of the alliance's controlling group, within twenty years. Smiling, he had a workable idea at last, he knew he would have to plan each move carefully, knowing he was risking everything if it went wrong.
Six Months Later (While 1962 was in its infancy):
He had done it, the first part of his plan had been achieved, with only the expected repercussions. Dumbledore had managed to take the girl twin from the Blacks, Carina, as he had heard she was called. Not that, that mattered any more, it was no longer her name, nor did it resemble her new one in any way. He had arranged her adoption by a Muggle family, who already had an older girl, then altered both the child's and their memories so that they believed the child was their own as well as various other spells to ensure neither they or anyone else questioned that until he was ready. He had even provided a false muggle birth certificate for them, to back up the story. The adoption papers he had completed were safely lodged in the ministry records office, unlikely to ever be looked at, the officials convinced that they had referred to an orphaned Muggle girl, her parents killed in an attack by the new pure blood terrorists, thanks to his skills with memory magic. It was very unlikely those papers would ever be checked, but he ruefully regretted he could not charm them to make sure, but the office had too many protective charms and wards to enable that to be an option, at least without it being detected.
Taking her had been surprisingly quite simple in the end, not just because of the detailed planning, but circumstances had helped as well. He had, of course, been nowhere near at the time that she had willingly walked into his unwitting agent's arms. The man had been influenced by a covertly placed imperious curse, of course, followed by a memory charm on him on completion of the task. Although it would suffice, and the man would have no memory of what he had done, it was not as strong a spell as the one he placed on the girl herself, so she did not know who she really was. The agent had not been the same afterwards, it seemed he had been affected by the spell, a fact regretted by Dumbledore, after all the man had not acted willingly. It was precisely that which made the man such a potential risk to the continued success of the plan, so it was a regret that was only fleeting. Albus had to ensure he was not linked in any way to the kidnapping, and nothing could be allowed to lead to the child's discovery too early, if ever.
He knew the Muggle family he had placed her with would love the girl and would be excited when the time came for her to attend Hogwarts, although he did ensure that her elder sister would be the exception in that. She would be jealous of the abilities of the younger girl, eventually becoming estranged from her, perhaps even from the whole family. The girl herself would arrive at Hogwarts as a lost child in a new world, separated from her family, in need of friends and people who would give her support. It was a role he could fulfil without an eyebrow being raised or his motives questioned, with himself well established as headmaster by then, ready to guide her. Which is where his control could begin on the compliant mind of a supposed Muggle born girl, with the inquisitive disposition, of a young person, taking in the wonders of the strange, magical world. His confidence in the brilliance of his plan secure so far, he was a step closer to taking the power of the three families for himself. Now he had to wait and plan, watching for the next opportunity to take his work further.
1981: The year of fate.
His plan had taken a blow in the year before she had left Hogwarts, not a fatal blow by any means, more like a severe flesh wound.
She had become close to the Potter heir, who he had been unable to influence in any way, even while he was at the school and the era of mischief it had brought. He had known that if the two became close it could damage his plan, create complications he would need to unravel, delaying the time he would gain the position he deserved in society. At first, he had been concerned that she did not arrive at school with no knowledge of the Wizarding world, as he had expected, her friendship with the Prince Heir had removed some of the surprise and wonder, and he had initially seriously considered acting to come between them. Their friendship had become close before they had arrived at Hogwarts, he had not expected her to have met the Snape family, they came from distinctly different parts of the town, and mixed in very different circles, but somehow they had become close. He soon realised that his intervention would be counter-productive, the Potter Heir was jealous of her friendship with Snape, constantly trying to show her he was the better man. He got nowhere though, and his actions only succeeded in driving her away from him.
Even so, it never hurt to try to gain influence over the Potters. So Albus had tried to influence the boy's friends, or at least the two that were not part of one of the family's, but the werewolf had proved immune to his mental probes and while Pettigrew was easy to manipulate in many respects, mere superficial probing had scarred his mind permanently, enhancing his need to seek out power at any cost. The headmaster had needed to do little to ensure she stayed away from the Potter heir and his friends at first, in fact her dislike of him had been so clear that he had been confident enough to leave her to her own devices, barely taking any notice of her at Hogwarts, beyond the usual student matters. Of course, he scanned her mind at every opportunity, but had not needed to intervene.
As a result, he had missed the moment that she and the Potter boy became close, he later learned it was partly as a result of a stupid comment by Snape. By the time he found out, it was too late to apply influence on her without rousing too much attention. His attempts at indirect influence of either of them now were as useless as any direct ones. In other words the attempts were complete failures, nor was their eventual marriage the first set back to his plans during that time, re evaluating and adapting his plans was frustrating and simply delayed the achievement of his goal.
In those long years since he had placed her with the Muggles, no opportunity to further the plan had been evident, no matter how much he tried to engineer one subtly. Although the official investigation into the disappearance had not touched him, his efforts to cover the tracks had been successful, the loss of a child of one of the three families had led to all of them tightening their watch on their offspring. A consequence that he had not overlooked completely, but had believed would be lesser than it had been. At first, he had believed the lack of progress was disastrous to the path he had set, but as time had gone on it only required a small change, and he had adjusted the plan to be more reliant on manipulating her. It would help if he could also get some influence over those around the other Heirs, where he could, even if only to glean information. As a result, the setback of not gaining direct influence over this generation of two of the families while bad, was not a disaster.
In fact, his biggest success had been to minimise the damage he had caused to the weak-minded Pettigrew's mind.
Then, despite his influence, the girl had caused him another set back.
He blamed her brother, despite his efforts to isolate them, she had always been friendly with all the Black's attending Hogwarts during those seven years. Although he only saw that in retrospect, even then, she did not know her true identity, of that he was certain. He was sure it had been Sirius who had convinced her to date his friend, after six years of the boy chasing her and failing. He resented that she had not chosen a suitor who he had selected for her, when he had manipulated them and the circumstances in order to encourage her to them, she never reacted as he expected, or wanted. She had an inherent independence, very like that of the other Blacks, which he had not noticed until she had broken from the Prince Heir, one he knew he could not suppress without causing damage. Nor could he risk using his skills in mind control, she had made it clear that she may tolerate those he chose for her, especially the Prewitt twins, she had absolutely no desire to date them even. It was well known that it took a lot to change her mind about her friends, so any sudden change for no apparent reason would have caused more than suspicion, besides he could not risk harming her in such a way. He would have to let the romance between Potter and the Girl run its course, she still regarded him as a benevolent figure, and other than this showed loyalty to him.
True the plan was not a total loss at that stage, she still trusted him, she still did not know her true identity, her adoptive family loved her, although the elder sister had become very jealous of her secret talent. He could salvage his plan, as things stood, but it would be another delay.
Black had married, for love certainly, but because his sister had not followed the path Albus wanted, he needed to act. He ensured the wife was captured, manipulated Voldemort to arrange a plan to hide one of his followers and used his position to ensure a memory block was placed on Black, and society to forget he had married at all. He visited everywhere he could think of to cast the spell on as many witches and wizards as possible, including during a Wizangamot and at the next conference of the international confederation. It had been easier to achieve than he thought it would be, but it was still risky to use this unique skill. It had been necessary on this occasion, the plan had been close to becoming out of control if he had not acted, he had, had no choice, and he had no regrets that it had ensured that the direct Black line ended with this heir.
Then, apart from the normal issuing of invitations, quite out of the blue, the girl married Potter. It was an event which he did not expect to happen so quickly, he had expected to have time to separate the couple and bring his plan back in line. Instead, his plan was, for a while in a worse spin than it had been when he had acted on Black, but he could not risk doing the same again, he had no doubt it would cause to much damage to be ignored if he repeated it so soon. He was left with a battle of wills between himself trying to recover control over her and her loyalty to Potter. She wouldn't even encourage her spouse hard enough for him to have a worthwhile influence on the Potters, that family were having to much influence on her, he began to feel his control of her slipping.
Her loyalty to her husband was too great, even more so as events appeared to threaten her family, events he had manipulated hurriedly, using Potter's friend, Pettigrew easily. Even he had to privately admit that his attempts to gain the level of trust he believed she had held in him in those first few years at Hogwarts, were crude and smacked of desperation. Acts such as offering a safe cottage for her family, including her young son, were clumsy. He had believed that they might be more amenable after his parents had died, but it had taken a lot to persuade the new Potter Lord to allow his young family to hide under the headmaster's protection. The final persuasion had been that his parents had been killed on Voldemorts orders, a fact Albus used to his advantage. Crude it may have been, but it had worked as had suggesting that Pettigrew, a man that Dumbledore knew was a Death eater, be secret keeper for them. Albus knew what would happen, the couple had defied Tom Riddle to many times. It had been Potters saving grace, he had joined the order and fought hard alongside his friends, though not always in the manner Albus wanted, but they had ensured many of his loyal followers had lived. There was no doubt the Potters would be missed by those who fought against Voldemort, it would weaken there fight, but Albus desperately needed to get the plan back on track. He had no choice if he was to succeed, before all was lost, the girl and Potter had sealed their own fate, it was necessary for the greater good.
Then, just as the Potters had settled into hiding, the new Lady Ashmole gave birth to a girl.
The Ashmoles were an enigma to Albus these days, they had almost completely withdrawn from society when the Black's daughter had disappeared. The head of house had continued to attend the Wizangamot and hold their own society event, but little else. The heir, at the time, had been sent an invitation to attend Hogwarts, it had been rejected, politely but firmly, the first of that family ever to decline an education at the castle. The department of education had been satisfied that the tutoring the family was providing was more than adequate when he had quietly tried to use that to force attendance at the School. He had been frustrated, but did not force the issue further. As a result, he knew little of the Heir, except that he had taken up the family seat when his father had died and was on friendly term with the Potters and Blacks as had been his predecessors. The death of his father had been noted only a few short weeks after the new Lady Ashmole had married the Heir, it could not have been long after the funeral when she became pregnant, at least going by the announcement of the birth. His plan then moved ahead swiftly, if unexpectedly, he had to act before the family could retreat behind the walls of their residence once more. He would have to adjust the plan he had used once before, he had no time to create a new one. It had worked then, it could work again, it had been so long since he had used it that he doubted anyone would link the two, but he had no time to find a new Muggle family.
Molly Prewitt, now Weasley was completely loyal to him. He had known she was desperate for a girl, he gave her one and instigated the same paperwork he had for another girl years before. It was all in place, including the memory charms on the rest of Molly's family, except her youngest son, and friends, before the kidnap was even reported. The memory charms which were again liberally used, meant only Molly, and he knew the truth, she would never go against him.
He had, had no compunction in his act, he even took glee in adjusting Arthur's memory, revenge on the man who had lost his position in the alliance the moment he had married Molly, even though even that had been under her magical influence. That had been another miscalculation by Albus, he had not expected the alliance to act as it had when Arthur and Molly had married. He blamed Arthur for not fighting harder to retain his position, he had betrayed the alliance by Marrying Molly, therefore bringing the Prewitt's back into the fold without consulting the others, but also allowing the Weasley's wealth to be used to pay off the Prewitt debts, rather than them having to pay it back themselves, as others had done. While the Prewitt's were seen as feckless parasites though, the Weasleys were seen as having been tricked by the action. the result had been that the latter was ostracised for the time being, while the former viewed as too far beyond the pale for any chance of redemption. The only exception to the Prewitt's isolation being Muriel, who while not a part of the Alliance, was seen as showing the character her family lacked.
The Ashmole's were devastated by the disappearance of their first-born from the hospital, none of the security that had been in place had worked. To make matters worse for them, it appeared there had been complications at the birth, resulting in Lady Ashmole being unable to have any more children. Combined with the loss of their new born daughter, it was almost too much for the couple. Their friends, the Black's were soon present to support them, having suffered a similar loss, the two families unknowingly vulnerable, the alliance privately closing ranks, even in the absence of the Potter's, who they knew were in hiding.
A few weeks later, exactly as he had planned, the Potter's were dead, apart from the boy. He must now act to seize control of that child as well and through him the Potter's influence, and eventually the Blacks, when he became the last of the direct line. Now he had both the Girl and the boy, he merely had to wait for them both to grow, and he would control the alliance, control society, but only if he could keep them both loyal and in ignorance. He would not make the same mistakes as he had before, he could not afford to, this was his last chance to return his plan to the course he dictated, he would succeed. While the girl would be loved, albeit toughened by having so many brothers, the boy had to be downtrodden enough that he would see Dumbledore as his saviour, his rescuer from his oppressors.
He took custody of the boy, had the Potter's will sealed so no one would discover he had acted against it, and placed the child with his mothers jealous sister and her obnoxious whale of a husband, knowing they would treat the boy poorly, ensuring any spirit he might have was quashed. By the time the boy came to Hogwarts he would be conditioned to obey unquestioningly, so grateful to be free of the place he had grown up in, he would be easy to gain control of.
However, that still left the Black's, for now. His plan to gain control there had failed until the boy inherited through his mother. It was true that they had never recovered from the loss of their daughter, though they had, had another son, apart from the twin, who had died as a death eater. He had ensured all the other Nieces were out of the picture, two married off where they could do little for the family. The other one he had ensured would be tortured into insanity by the man who the world erroneously believed she was married to, thanks to him. Thanks to that man;s true wife, she was thought of as the most evil murderess. The use of Poly juice potion and his real wife who acted under his direction, though they did not know it and took great pleasure in what they did in any case, had ensured their success. He considered that one of his more brilliant ideas, especially as that Nieces real husband, who had loved her dearly, couldn't remember her as his wife at all. Even she couldn't remember their relationship, the spell he had cast ensured nobody did. It was not foolproof, but the circumstances under which the spell could be broken was highly unlikely, he had taken what steps he could, but still needed to watch carefully.
The final indignity for Lord and Lady Black had to be that their estranged son and last remaining heir, the remaining twin, was imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. They could not get him the trial that would release him, mainly because he prevented it. He considered revealing the truth, that their daughter was now dead, but that would ruin his plan, he would not gain control that way. He knew the boy he had just condemned to a life of misery would be heir to both families, he couldn't reveal that until the time was right, it would be two stories that would shake the Wizarding world. The truth about the boy and his Mother would be earth-shattering revelations, and his to control.
His plan was more secure now than it ever had been since he had embarked on this endeavour. Molly would ensure the Ashmole girl would be loyal to him and the Potter boy would deliver the Black and Potter influence to him. If they married each other, so much the better, he would have to mention that to Molly. He chuckled, life could not be better, his chuckle became a laugh. After he had struggled for so many years, his plan was at last completely under his control. All he had to do was wait and watch, as the alliance fell apart without its head and then the Wizarding world would be his to rebuild as he envisioned it, nothing would stand in his way. The path was set, the Potter and Ashmole heirs would follow it, there was now no other course to be taken. Eventually the boy would blindly walk to his death, the prophesy demanded it, the light required it, it was unavoidably necessary for the greater good, even if the boys sacrifice wasn't necessary, he could hardly have someone else hero worshipped more than he was.
September 1991, The next step begins:
At first, he was worried there might be another complication, the first after a decade of things progressing smoothly. The deaths of Lord and Lady Black, with the only Heir and past member of the Order in prison, followed by the sudden deaths of the still grieving Ashmoles soon after the active investigation into the disappearance of their daughter was closed, left the path clear for his plan. Although Albus knew that if anything new was discovered in the cases of either of the disappearances of the two girls, the cases could be reopened, it was highly unlikely that anything would be. The imprisonment of the Black Heir was the biggest risk to his plan, he knew that if anyone wished to they would discover that he had been held without trial, so he worked to ensure no one was interested in the case. As time went on he grew more confident that he was beginning to get the influence he deserved, all that remained was to control the Potter Heir and it would not matter if Black was freed, he would have to comply and would be unable to influence the boy.
So it was a concern when the magic that caused the Hogwarts letters to be sent to the boy indicated he had not read them. Each had been destroyed, then he started moving round the country as if on the run, his letters were still being destroyed as they tracked him. It had been a relief when Hagrid had caught up with the boy, together with his supposed Aunt, Uncle and cousin, in a hut on an island close to the shore. The plan had worked, the boy would arrive at the castle oblivious to his true importance.
For the last ten years Albus had encouraged and promoted the legend of the boy. It was a legend of the boy who lived and it had grown magnificently. He controlled it, manipulated it, made money from it, so when the boy returned he would be swamped by the public, and with luck would fear the attention and turn to him. Even the Ashmole Girl was smitten by the stories around the boy, which amused Dumbledore, her obsession would likely scare the boy off, helping his task of keeping them separate even after he revealed who she was. By now the boy should be insecure about himself, downtrodden and lacking any self-confidence, perfect for the great Albus Dumbledore to rescue, perfect for the boy to be eternally grateful to his saviour.
Albus was very pleased that when the boy arrival at the castle, he showed he was quite oblivious of his role, feared attention, but that he still had a steel hidden within him that showed a strength of character. He was timid, and pliant, having been rescued, he could easily be manipulated by the right person, even better a desire to save others which he would encourage, it could be used if his gratitude to the Headmaster wavered at all.
Dumbledore had instructed Molly Weasley to watch out for the boy at Kings Cross, he had also ensured that the girl, who would not start Hogwarts for another year, would be with her. He wanted to know how the two reacted to each other, give him forewarning of any action he may need to take when she came to the school, he had quizzed Molly afterwards. Molly was very willing to help him, she owed him for giving her the daughter she had always wanted, but he had still paid her from the Potter vault for taking the child. The youngest Weasley boy had not wished to befriend Potter when asked, until he had been offered payment, that had been effective, the money would also be coming from the Potter vault in any case. Along with Hagrids words, Ron had persuaded Potter from Slytherin house, and he had gleefully recounted how Malfoys approach had been rebuffed, just as planned. Albus had no idea if any of the old Alliance families had hopes of restoring it under Potter, but he was pleased that the steps he had taken against the possibility through the idiot Weasley boy had been effective. All in all his plan was in place and working, soon he would have the complete control he desired.
The events of that year strengthened his hold on the boy, the possession of Quirrell had been effective, even Riddle had not realised that he had been manipulated into it. The boy had shown determination, and resourcefulness in the tasks he had set during the year, surprisingly even dealing with a troll to rescue a classmate he hardly knew. Now after rescuing a fake stone he believed to be real, Potter was very open to help from the headmaster, things were almost perfect for the plan, almost, but not entirely. The one fly in the ointment was an unknown Muggle born, Hermione Granger. She was too honest to be bribed, too influential on Potter, too observant for his comfort, so he fed her loyalty to figures of authority fixation and instructed young Ronald to stay close, paying him extra to do so of course. It wasn't his money, so why would he object.
1995, The Summer after the Triwizard tragedy:
Once again, the headmaster spent the evening sat in his office, in contemplation. An attitude he had taken more and more often over the last couple of years, after events had taken a turn away from the paths he had dictated they should, following the chamber of secrets incident. Which in retrospect he realised was one of his poorest ideas, and was bound to damage his plan regardless of its outcome, he still couldn't work out how he had convinced himself it would work, but it had seemed like a good idea at the time.
At the beginning it had gone exactly as he planned, Imperiusing Malfoy senior into passing on the diary to young Ginevra had been easy. He had known exactly what the book had contained, he had ensured that Tom Riddle had discovered how to create it, and that he had been happy to make them all those years before. Manipulating that boy into a new Dark Lord to defeat had been a challenge, but necessary. The boy was an orphan and already had a tendency towards doing whatever he had to, to get what he wanted, that had formed the start point, he had simply built from there over the seven years Riddle had been at the school. He had guided the then young man to find the chamber and use its inhabitant. Even ensuring that young Hagrid was blamed, so he could appear generous and earn the half Giants loyalty.
He had known, through Severus, that the Blond Death Eater had been entrusted with the care of the Horcrux contained in the Diary. Lucius had always been easy to manipulate, into any role which he was required to play, though since he had left school, Albus had rarely done so, the man was naturally manipulative, thankfully he had no ability in Legilimancy or Occlumancy, or he would have rivalled Albus.
Dumbledore had never had any trouble getting past the mental defences of Lucius undetected when he needed to, his son, however, had inherited the natural mental shields of the Black family, through his mother. Draco had proved impossible to manipulate, so the headmaster had used the Father for this task. It had been a simple matter to have him place the Diary amongst the girls books at the appropriate time. He then allowed matters to take their course, knowing that the Horcrux in the diary would easily take over the young mind of the child. If it resulted in removing her from the game completely, or damaging her irrevocably, then so be it. Eradicating the risk of her discovering her true origin for herself, would be one less string for him to be concerned about as he tried to keep all the threads of his plan going where they should, although he had to admit she would have her uses unharmed.
More importantly, he could not risk the Potter boy building a relationship with her, as she was showing signs of wanting already. Molly had told him of how the Girl had been so nervous around the boy, he had probed her memory and seen the looks the girl had given when the boy wasn't looking, looks the boy returned when she wasn't looking at him. Albus had seen those looks between people before, the boys parents were a good example, even before they had realised it themselves. Looks he had missed in them, until he had reviewed his memories in his Pensieve, looks that continued after that pair had married, looks he now took as a warning that an important thread or two would leave the path he had laid for them. The girls feelings were more than a crush on the boy from the stories, she had real, deep feelings for the Potter Heir. Dumbledore could not allow that to develop, he had to ensure that the boy remained completely ignorant of his and the Girls feelings for each other, even if she survived. He remembered all too well how the Boy's father and mother had come close to spoiling his plan when they resisted any attempt he made to destroy their relationship, he would not allow such a blow to occur again, he would nip this one in the bud, permanently.
He had always known that if the two bonded, even if they did not become aware of her true identity, they would be too politically powerful. That could not be allowed to happen, it would be more than a complication. Not insurmountable of course, but why have obstacles that he could avoid. He doubted she would last her first year at the school, he had done his best, short of killing her himself which had never been his style, to prevent her survival. She was becoming too much of a threat to the plan, she was not indispensable, while the boy had to be sacrificed to defeat Riddle and not before.
Although all her teachers raised concerns about the girl during that year, as the Horcrux took control and affected her behaviour, it had been Granger who had been closest to solving the puzzle. So he had ensured she had been petrified, so as not to spoil his plans. The boy went after Ginny as he had wanted him to, certain that witnessing her death would break the boy completely, force him to turn to him and him alone, but he had reckoned without the Potter nobility and strength. Despite all the odds against him, Potter had successfully rescued the Girl, saving her life and destroying the Horcrux, creating a link between them in the process. The worst possible outcome, so far as the Head master was concerned. Especially when he learnt his own Phoenix and the sorting hat had helped the boy, then when he saw the sword used, He had needed to do some quick thinking then and played on the boys' own doubts about his house to try to maintain his benevolent image with him. The link the two had formed was another complication, potentially a serious one. Now he had to work, and work fast to try to ensure that they did not realise the bond existed. He would have to ensure they were kept apart as much as possible, he knew the Girls Mother and youngest brother would help with that.
It was soon after those events, that the Potter Heir's Godfather had managed to escape from Azkaban, the supposedly escape proof island prison. Dumbledore could do little apart from hide the truth of who Black was to the boy from him, and ensure that everyone was scared of the man while he was on the run. That seemed to work at first, but somehow Potter discovered the truth, which meant Albus had to help save the man when they had almost caught Pettigrew in the shrieking shack, or he would lose the confidence of the boy. So he enabled them to rescue the escapee from a Dementors kiss and escape into hiding. That should have strengthened Dumbledores hold on the boy and added Black to those who owed him their loyalty, but the two somehow stayed in touch and began building a relationship unknown to him. Black eventually becoming important enough to Potter that it had been necessary to feign concern for the man's welfare, and make a show of helping him remain free, in order to maintain appearances with Potter.
The attempt to regain control had almost failed, when he realised that his old friend who he had employed to teach, was not his old friend at all, but a supposed dead man in disguise. He could not quite understand how many people seemed to be alive when they should be dead, first Peter Pettigrew, then Barty Crouch Junior, how had he been so unaware of their survival? Still, he quickly gained control of young Barty Crouch to ensure the boy was entered as Riddle wanted, it was a plan Albus could turn to his own advantage. He anticipated that once his name was read out, Potter would turn to the head master for help. That only partly worked, the boy was entered successfully as a fourth champion, but turned to Black for help, who rushed back to be there for his Godson albeit in his Dog form. It was only after the tournament that Black agreed to provide some help to the Headmaster, and had agreed to let part of his house for Dumbledores use. Albus charged Molly with getting the place habitable. The house had been neglected for years, it had all the appearance of having been home to a dark family, which suited Dumbledores aim of putting a wedge between Black and his godson. Molly was the perfect person to ensure the house was safe and clean, though he instructed that it should not lose too much of the dark feel. He didn't want Potter to like his Godfathers home, quite the opposite, in the hope that Potter would see the Black family as dark, including the current owner. Molly also had the added benefit that she would bring her family along as well, providing free labour for the task.
28th June 1995. Day 1.
Albus led the family, along with Hermione Granger who had been staying with them, into the property.
"Bloody hell!" The youngest red-headed male teen exclaimed as they walked into the entrance hall of the house that they would apparently be spending the rest of the holidays in. "It is worse inside than out."
"Language Ronald!" His mother snapped, setting off an angry female voice from further in the building.
It was true, that the most exciting thing about this London house in the square had been the manner it had revealed itself when they had read Dumbledores parchments. He had passed round small slips of it to each of them, informing them that this was the headquarters of the order of the Phoenix. As the name of the square hinted, it was a grim old place, especially compared to the rural location that they had left behind that day.
On entering, it was clear the place had not been cared for, for many years. At the very least it needed a good clean, which was precisely what they would do. The house had been empty of human occupants for several years, though there was supposed to be a house elf looking after the place. They had guessed that it was also likely to be full of dark artefacts, considering the reputation of the family they had been told it had belonged to. Only Dumbledore knew that, that reputation was exaggerated, after all, he was the source of most of what was said about them and accepted as fact. There was a flurry of movement ahead of them as they walked along the entrance hall, and they saw a couple of people head across the corridor. The sound of shouting echoed down the hallway, from the where the figures were headed. There was a minute or two of loud insults and abuse, then a moment later the shouting was muffled, before it stopped completely.
"Who on earth was that?" Hermione asked, surprised at the language they had all heard.
"The late owner, Miss Granger." The headmaster informed them. "She is now simply a rather unpleasant portrait, somewhat set in her views. Although she died some years ago now, she managed to find a way to remain in her old house. It is usually best not to disturb the portrait, if at all possible. That is made much more difficult as she is on the half landing, overlooking the main thoroughfares between the different parts of the house, so most things disturb her. That in turn gives her the opportunity to spout her foul views about whoever is in sight. Although the current owner finds her attacks on myself to be rather humorous, he has, reluctantly, permitted curtains to be placed over the Portrait to silence her, though she quickly found a way to open them if she heard anything going on. I have already attempted to remove it of course, but in life she had access to spells which I would not use and it is too well protected for me to get rid of it. That said I am hopeful that between us all, we in the Order shall find a way."
Molly was looking round. "Well it looks like we will have our work cut out just making this place habitable, let alone a home. Just how big is it, Albus?"
"Much larger than it looks Molly, though I would advise that you prioritise the rooms on this level and the next one up, for the time being at least. We share the use of the kitchen in the basement with the owner, the house Elf does look after that area quite well. The owner also retains use of the dining room on this level for himself, as well as the floors above the first floor above this one. For the time being, we have no access to those areas without his explicit invitation. The order has the exclusive use of only a few of the rooms in the house, all the bedrooms on the next floor, a large sitting room and the drawing room on this level and of course the bathrooms on the floors we have access to. I anticipate that may change very soon, I am trying to get use of more of the house for us, though not only has the man limited our access to this building, he also has yet to resume his former position in the Order itself."
Molly huffed. "What on earth is holding him back, I really don't understand some people. We shall need every room in this house available soon, just who does he think that he is to deny the Order what it needs, doesn't he realise we are the best hope for us all now He Who Must Not Be Named is back? I shall soon have him asking us to use every room in this place."
Molly assigned bed rooms to her family, and their guest while she inspected the rest of the rooms, ordering them all to unpack quickly. The twins shared one room, Ginny and Hermione another, while Ron was in another, which he would share with Harry, when he arrived.
While Ginny and Hermione began to unpack and sort out their things into the wardrobe and drawers next to their beds, a soft pop indicated the arrival of a house Elf in the room, they turned to see an old, typically tattily dressed Elf, carrying some bed linen to place in one of the cupboards. The Elf was grumbling under his breath as he moved away from the cupboard and began to potter around the room, checking things were as they should be, apparently not noticing they were there at all.
"Oh you poor thing." Hermione gushed, rushing towards the Elf.
The Elf reacted in alarm as he saw her bearing down on him. "Get away from me filthy Mud blood, it is bad enough that Kreacher's master has allowed you and the blood traitors to use rooms in the house of the noble house of Black. Kreacher does not want to be attacked by one, moments after they arrive."
Hermione stopped. "But, Kreacher, is it? I only want to help you."
"Help, she says as if Kreacher needs any assistance from her kind, get away filthy Mud Blood. Go do whatever it is you are here to do, do not presume that a loyal Elf needs help from the likes of you."
"Leave him be Hermione." Ginny called. "He quite clearly does not want your help, let him get on."
Hermione turned to her friend disappointed. "Ginny, can't you see that it is wrong that he is enslaved just as it is for any sentient creature. He is clearly disturbed and needs our help, or he wouldn't react like that to anyone who shows concern. He needs our care, not to feel obligated to work for whoever owns him."
It was an old argument, one which Ginny knew her friend would never drop, but it was not one that would continue this time, as they heard her Mother calling for them to come and help her. Sighing they both left the room, not noticing Kreacher looking up at the red haired girl for the first time, his eyes growing wide in astonishment. "I must tell Master at once." He whispered to himself, and popped away, leaving the room empty.
Authors Notes:
This is a bit of a departure for me, telling an alternative story in the Hogwarts period. I know I have used some clichés, but they fitted the tale and I hope you enjoy the story, I look forward to reading any reviews. I have not answered reviews in Authors notes here in the past, preferring to reply via the messaging system and I plan to continue that with this story.
Next chapter shall be up soon.
Best wishes
Tgfoy