Chapter 8: "The Council of Dumbledore"
"Thank you all for coming here today on such short notice," Dumbledore said, glancing around the Hogwarts council chamber. Many Witches and Wizards were sitting around a stone semicircular table. Frodo and Sam were seated in chairs at the center. "May I introduce members of the Hogwarts faculty, Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape, and Sprout. Also our new Defense against the Dark Arts professor, lately of Durmstrang School, Professor Schlechtes Dunkelheitzen. We welcome Madame Maxime, from Beaubaton Witchcraft and Wizarding School in France. We also welcome our representative New World Wizards, Messieurs Gates and Lucas. Everyone knows Mr. Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic. And may I present to you our honored guests, Frodo Baggins and his servant Samwise Gamgee.
"We all know the history chronicled in the Baggins' Red Book. You have been briefed about the appearance of these Hobbits and the One Ring on the grounds of Hogwarts. But what led me to call this council was a piece of disturbing information brought to my attention by a Hogwarts student. In short, the Red Book has changed. It now records that Frodo and Sam were lost after leaving the Fellowship, but Mordor fell soon after. The War of the Ring never happened.
"There is a discrepancy between what we remember reading, and what the Red Book now records. This represents a very serious Time Anomaly. There is a significant chance that we will not be able to send Frodo, Sam and the Ring back. So we are now straddling two divergent and likely timelines: one, in which Frodo and Sam destroy the Ring in the Third Age, and two, in which they bring the Ring here and it stays here.
"The first question we have to answer is, who brought the Ring here and how?" Dumbledore sat down.
Professor Dunkelheitzen said, "You-Know-Who is the prime suspect, I believe. But I do not know how he did it."
"I do not know if dis eez relevant, but some very early Gallic artifacts were stolen from ze Louvre about ze time You-Know-'oo eez said to have returned," said Madame Maxime. "A seelver ewer and basin. Dese artifacts were considered to possess great, ancient mageecal power."
"I must remind you that it is the official position of the Ministry of Magic that there is no evidence that You-Know-Who has returned," said Cornelius Fudge.
"Yes, Cornelius. We are all aware of the Ministry's official position," said Dumbledore, regarding the Minister of Magic with an expression of reproachful disappointment. "Madame Maxime, perhaps you can investigate the nature of these artifacts more closely. The next question is whether we should send the Hobbits back with the Ring.
Professor McGonagall said, "It is certainly very convenient for us that this Ring has come to us accompanied by Hobbits willing to bring it back. But is it ethical of us to allow them to do this? We have a responsibility as Witches and Wizards to protect the weak, to protect Muggles. We can't just let Frodo and Sam go off to Mordor because that's the easiest and most convenient thing for us to do. Our magic is different; it may be more powerful than the Elvish magic of old. You have successfully applied a shielding charm to the Ring. Perhaps we can find a way to diffuse and dispel its power, rather than leading these poor Hobbits to the…" She trailed off and looked at Frodo and Sam. "Rather than making them go back, if they don't want to."
"If the Hobbits do not wish to return, we cannot in good conscience force them to," said Dumbledore.
"Agreed," said Cornelius Fudge. "In addition, we may not want to send the Ring back at all. We could potentially use it to do good. I reiterate, there is no hard evidence that You-Know-Who has returned; but if he were to return, this Ring would give us a powerful means of fighting him."
Snape stirred and said, "Evil is easiest to fight when it is dark and terrifying. But evil can also be beautiful. It comes in many disguises, and is most tempting when you agree with some of what it says." Snape turned to the company. "Why do you think You-Know-Who…Lord Voldemort has so many supporters?" The assembled Witches and Wizards trembled at hearing the Dark Lord's name spoken aloud. Snape surveyed them all, and then went on, "Why do you think I followed him, once? Are all his supporters purely evil? Do they knowingly choose evil over good?
"Many wizards have long yearned for our proper place on earth. Instead of hiding from muggles, and being constrained to ever-smaller parts of the earth, we should assume our role as rulers. So much suffering could be relieved in the Muggle world with proper guidance and order." Many wizards in the company straightened up at this. Cornelius Fudge even nodded his head slightly. Snape went on, "This is what Voldemort told his Death Eaters." Fudge stopped nodding.
"Lord Voldemort tempts not only with power. He also promises the return of beauty. He speaks of the destruction of the ugly Muggle cities, and returning the Muggles to a peaceful, simple, agrarian society, free from war and hate. He yearns for the cleansing of the air and the water. He vows to return the world back to a time of natural innocence.
"But there is always a dark side to such Utopian visions. There are too many Muggles to be able to return them to a rural life. Most would be killed. 'We will spare the best, the brightest, the fairest,' Voldemort told us. In other words, genocide, both for Muggles and any Wizards who stood in his way.
"Lord Voldemort offered powerful temptations to his Death Eaters on a…" Here Snape faltered slightly; but then went on, "…on a personal level as well. Now the Ring is calling to you all in the same manner that Lord Voldemort did. We are all in gravest danger, of falling victim to our own good intentions, of yielding to temptation without even being aware of it. Professor McGonagall, you are searching for a solution that will make you feel good about yourself. The Ring is calling to you, to all of you, telling you that you are good and powerful; that you can protect these Hobbits; that you are capable of controlling the Ring. But I say to you, that way lies disaster!" Snape rose from his chair, his eyes flashing. "They must go back. They must take the Ring. It is not a nice solution, but it is the right one." Snape sat down again, heavily.
"Is there no other way?" asked Professor McGonagall. "Could the Ring be destroyed? "What about Dragon fire?"
"It is true that Dragon fire of old might have been able to destroy the Ring," said Dumbledore. "But our modern Dragons are, by comparison, mere overgrown lizards. I doubt their fire would be either strong or magical enough."
"What about dropping it in a different volcano? Or deep into the ocean? Or in a nuclear reactor? Or into outer space?" asked the other New World Wizard, Mr. Lucas.
"This Ring is such that mere heat, even extreme heat, is not enough to destroy it," said Dumbledore, wearily. "As for casting it into the ocean or outer space, I must reiterate what I said at another Council: we must look after future generations. The Ring has a way of being found. I suspect it would fall to Earth again, or wash ashore if we tried to cast it away."
Dumbledore then stood and formally addressed Frodo and Sam. "Frodo son of Drogo, Baggins, Hobbit of the Shire, Ringbearer. Long ago, by our reckoning, and a few months ago by yours, you attended the Council of Elrond, and there you volunteered to take the One Ring to Mordor, to destroy it at Mount Doom. Samwise Gamgee, you volunteered to follow and aid Frodo. Again, Frodo, you face another Council. Three choices are laid before you. You may remain here until the end of your days, believing that your quest to save Middle Earth is complete. Second, you may return to the Third Age, and leave the Ring here with us. Third, you may return, bearing the Ring, and continue on your Quest. What say you, Frodo Baggins?"
Frodo closed his eyes and thought about his few short days at Hogwarts. He thought about Harry and Ron. About Hagrid. He thought about Hermione. She had said to him, "You took it upon yourself to save Middle Earth. You did! This world of the future is neither your concern nor your responsibility. Let others figure out how to deal with the Ring. Stay here with us if you like." She had knelt before him and embraced him. "Let others deal with the Ring…stay here with us…"
Frodo opened his eyes. "I see no great difference between Middle Earth and this world. There are beautiful things in it. I will continue my Quest, and take the Ring to Mordor."
"And I will come with you," said Sam.
Dumbledore bowed his head for a moment. Then, with a quiet voice he said, "We must now turn our attention to the problem of returning the Hobbits to the Third Age."
"Perhaps we could use a Time-Turner," said Professor Flitwick.
"A reasonable thought," said Dumbledore. "It would have to be much more powerful and precise than the usual sort of Time-Turner. Mr. Gates, would you be willing to help Professor Flitwick with this?" The New World Wizard nodded.
"I have one other concern," said Cornelius Fudge. "This Ring is a significant target. It and the Hobbits should be guarded more securely than you can manage, Albus. I would favor housing them and the Ring in Azkaban until they can be sent back."
"I do appreciate your concerns, Cornelius," replied Dumbledore, gazing intensely at Fudge. "But Azkaban is entirely out of the question. It is no place for Hobbits. They are safe here. The Ring is shielded in a locket that cannot be stolen magically. Even if it were taken by physical force, the locket itself can only be opened by a Hobbit, and then only voluntarily, not under the influence of a controlling spell. It is not a permanent solution, Minerva," added Dumbledore, seeing Professor McGonagall's raised eyebrows, "but it offers enough security for the Ring for us to be able to forego Azkaban."
"I suspected you might feel that way, Albus," murmured Fudge, with an odd smile.
"If there is no further business, this council is adjourned," said Dumbledore.
