"He has exhausted his magical core, Albus. He needs some time to rest along with the other three." spoke Poppy Pomphrey after toiling for several hours to stabilize Harry's and his friends' condition.
"Ah! My apologies, Poppy. I was just worried about young Harry and his friends' wellbeing. I must be off now." spoke Dumbledore in his 'grandfatherly tone' before exiting the Hospital wing.
After a short walk, the headmaster came to the 3rd floor corridor and opened the door where fluffy was kept. Last night, after reassuring Hagrid that Fluffy was no longer needed, he helped Hagrid remove the Cerberus in the dead of the night to transport it into the forbidden forest. Now, he had come back to reclaim his prize and become immortal.
The plan to ensure that Harry formed bonds with only Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger had deviated a bit. Even Neville Longbottom had joined them in their adventures whereas Dumbledore had hoped that he would be no more than an acquaintance to Potter like others in his year. After all, it was not safe to let two boys related to the same prophecy, be together. For now, he'd let them be friends but he would separate them at the first chance and then his plans of a 'Golden trio' would be successful. Well, those strategies and planning could wait for the time being, the headmaster had a prize to collect from the Mirror of Erised after all.
After successfully disabling said traps for stopping the intruders from stealing the Stone (all the while scoffing), he came before the Mirror of Erised and observed his deepest wish i.e. to rule the world, basking in all his glory and achievements, while being young and immortal all the while, upholding the traditions. Grindelwald also shared this dream but was more forthcoming about it and turned to the dark arts rather quickly. Whereas, Dumbledore remained more subtle and bided his time, while framing Grindelwald as a dark wizard. They might have been friends and maybe lovers as well. But he wouldn't share his spoils with another be they friend or family.
It is not to say that he didn't practice the dark arts. He found them useful for research, of course. All objects and tomes about the Dark arts were removed from the Hogwarts library to his personal one as soon as he was named Headmaster. Even the restricted section contained only faux books about the dark arts which were only useful for theoretical research, nothing more.
As per his machinations, the world could and would only know Albus Dumbledore as the 'Greatest light wizard' while his secrets would remain buried deep into the Earth's core. What he didn't know was that the very boy, upon whose corpse he had planned to achieve his dreams was planning to bring about his downfall together with a group of people, whom the Hogwarts headmaster viewed as nothing more than his pawns, well, soon enough that very group would ensure that the name 'Albus Dumbledore' became synonymous with mud, filth and treachery.
Snapping out of his musings, he completed deconstructing the magical arrays he had used on the mirror of Erised to keep the stone safe and then he pulled out all the now useless magic into the elder wand which would be used later on. After all, his magical core needed recharging and an extra reserve of magic could definitely help him do wonders.
After the enchantments were erased, a blood red stone started to appear from the mirror's surface which appeared to be rippling. Once the stone fully appeared from the mirror, Dumbledore reached out to it and was manically grinning for finally gaining the Philosopher's Stone. Now the stone just needs a little blood to be dripped on it which would be converted into the golden coloured Elixir of Life. Dumbledore could then consume it while altering his appearance which would be owing to a 'freak accident' that de-aged him apparently.
Whipping out a small knife, he made a little cut on his finger from which blood dripped onto the stone. He waited for some time but no golden liquid seemed to form. Frowning, he cast various detection spells and to his abject horror, the Sorcerer's stone morphed into an ordinary stone.
At first, he feared that Voldemort had stolen it but reminded himself that Tom would at least brag about it before leaving if the stone is to ever come into his possession. But he just fled. Somehow, the stone was missing. He knew that he bought the original one to the school and yet it was gone now. He would need to confer with Severus about this and ponder the future, thought Dumbledore unaware that his 'spy' was no longer a spy for him.
Hermione, Ron and Neville's health conditions improved and they were discharged the following day. All the other Gryffindors had come to the hospital wing to wish them good health. Many of them were shocked upon hearing about Quirrel's treachery (though nothing about Voldemort) and the treasure that was hidden under their noses. Many were unhappy that they couldn't catch a glimpse of the famous Philosopher's Stone.
Harry had woken up after spending 3 days in the hospital wing where he spent time for the next week when he submitted to Pomphrey's warnings. He was swarmed by several people who were worried about his well-being as well as congratulating him for saving the stone. Most of those were first years and surprisingly some pureblood supporting Slytherins as well.
Unlike in canon where Gryffindor lost points and later regained them because of Dumbledore, here there was no point deduction from the Gryffindors but rather the Slytherins was put at the last place, thanks to Draco and the Gryffindor house won the House cup for the first time in seven years. Many were happy that Slytherins were no longer strutting around like they owned the place and developing relations also helped ease tensions between them save for one Draco Malfoy.
Even at the year-end feast, Draco was being closely observed and not forgiven for making Slytherin house lose face among their peers. He was constantly reminded of it which tended to make him angrier while he was plotting on how to make Potter's life as miserable as possible. His father decreed it. If he came to know that the opposite was true, the repercussions would be severe. Draco was not looking forward for the vacation.
At the Gryffindor table, Harry and his friends (informally dubbed Harry's group) were discussing about where they would go for the rest of the summer save for Harry himself. He pleaded (more like confirmed it himself) with Dumbledore not to send him back to the Dursleys but 'The Great Headmaster' sprouted some cock and bull story about 'his mother's last sacrifice created a powerful protection which would ensure him no harm from others to which Harry scoffed internally.
His mother explained the principle when she was still alive in his mindscape. The protection she used was a derivation from Goblin and blood magic. It didn't mean that he had to live with any of his mother's relatives to ensure that the protection upholds itself. It would be active only when Harry decides that the place, he lives in, is his home. Dumbledore merely created new wards to ensure that he would be under constant surveillance and this magic would be terminated when he turns 17 while his mother tried to make it permanent and maybe even pass it onto the future Potters as well.
Harry decided to make use of his return to the Dursleys and examine the wards erected by Dumbles and remove the harmful ones as well after which he could escape from that wretched place. Since there was no trace on 2 of his wands, he would use them freely to make the Dursleys not disturb him until he left. He also planned to free Sirius from Azkaban while putting an alibi in his place to act like him. Then they would search for wormtail, who would prove his innocence. The remaining horcruxes were on his wishlist as well.
He also sent Hedwig with the Philosopher's Stone to the Flamels while detailing what happened to it. and how Dumbledore failed to protect it. Even if he got the stone, he had no use of it because he had gold in spades and he didn't want to experience immortality alone.
After completing his big breakfast, he and his friends moved out towards the station for boarding the train. On the train, they chatted amicably while playing several games. Ron was absolutely destroying Neville in chess and Hermione was worried about next year while Harry and the boys laughed at her discomfiture much to her ire. They had a great time and Harry wished that this would be lasting forever.
But all good times pass and as said, the train arrived at London just before lunch. Harry bid goodbye to his 3 friends and arrived outside the barrier where his uncle was waiting in all his 'whalish' glory. Sighing to himself, he went with Vernon to board the car to go back to Surrey. He 'might have planned to threaten them with the use of magic' but it didn't mean that he liked it. It made him feel too much like Voldemort. The only bright thing right now were the pranks that are timed to happen to Dumbledore and the retrieval of the diadem horcrux. It was a sad thing that, he could not witness the headmaster's face when he was bombarded by them.
All in all, Harry could say that he had had a relatively good day.
Albus Dumbledore was not having a good day.
He woke up late to attend the leaving feast and had arrived just in time when the refreshments were completed. He spoke some words of advice for the younger generation while warning the new first and soon to be second years not to use magic during the vacation all the while stopping himself from moving towards the kitchen to have his breakfast. After the students had departed, he ventured into the kitchens only to find the elves cleaning it out when he was doused by soapy water.
After clearing himself out of the bubbles and wetness, he returned to his office and decided to consume sweets he had saved for just times like these and popped a lemon drop into his mouth savouring its tangy flavour. Suddenly, he felt the lemon drop change into something live and spit it out to find an alive dung beetle.
Leaving the lemon drops alone for now, he started towards the other sweets he had stored, but to his dismay, all of them started to turn into various critters when they came in contact with his mouth. He was very tired and very hungry when lunch time had come, partly due to vanishing all the bugs that are starting to spread out into other areas.
When he came down for lunch, he became a source of silent laughter for his staff, many of them leaving tomorrow or the next week. He was looking very haggard with his hair and beard in disarray. When he sat down and started to eat, there was a farting sound coming from his chair to which all teachers turned bright red while shooting accusing glares at him.
"Albus Dumbledore ! Have you got no shame ?!"
"Minerva it isn't me."
Nevertheless, the sounds continued and they tried to ignore it. Keyword 'tried'. After sometime, he started to drink from his goblet but immediately he was turned into a goat. Witnessing this, the other teachers were in danger of suffocation due to stifling their laughter. They tried to change him back but he didn't turn back. So, they took pity on him and dropped him off in his office
After the teachers had left, Albus the goat, started to pace his office. After a few hours before dinner, he suddenly turned into human when Fawkes appeared in a bright flame depositing a red coloured card on his desk which he recognised as a howler. Fearing the worst, he opened the letter when it started to fly and started to shout in a rather masculine voice rather than the feminine one, he expected.
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE! HOW DARE YOU USE THE STONE IN SUCH A WAY! I DID NOT GIVE UP THE STONE TO YOU JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN HIDE IT IN A SCHOOL FULL OF CHILDREN. RATHER, I TRUSTED YOU THAT YOU WOULD KEEP IT SAFE FROM VOLDEMORT. BUT YOU USED IT TO LURE HIM THERE! AND EVEN TRIED TO USE HARRY POTTER HIMSELF. I AND PERENELLE ARE DEEPLY ASHAMED TO SAY THAT WE TRUSTED YOU AND MADE YOU, OUR APPRENTICE. FROM NOW, NO MORE. I, NICHOLAS FLAMEL, HEAD OF THE FLAMEL FAMILY, HENCEFORTH DECLARE THAT ALBUS PERCIVAL WULFRIC BRIAN DUMBLEDORE NO LONGER MY APPRENTICE AND HE BE EXCLUDED FROM ALL MY AND MY WIFE'S WILLS. NO PROPERTY OF OURS SHALL BE PLACED IN HIS HANDS EVER, EVEN AFTER MY DEATH. ALL KNOWLEDGE HE HAS LEARNT FROM US WOULD ALSO BE ERASED. SO, MOTE IT BE.
As soon as Nicholas had finished announcing Albus's apprenticeship termination, a bright golden light erupted from Dumbledore and he started to scream from pain. His sense and knowledge about the Flamels and the things he learnt from the apprenticeship were being ripped away from his mind forcefully. The light faded after sometime leaving him feeling weak when he collapsed onto the ground. But the letter didn't pay heed to his suffering and continued on.
BE GRATEFUL ALBUS THAT THIS IS ME WRITING THE LETTER AND NOT PERENELLE. SHE WANTED TO COME DIRECTLY TO YOUR OFFICE AND HEX YOU TO THE SUN AND BACK. YOU CANNOT MEET US AGAIN AND THIS WOULD BE THE LAST LETTER FROM US OWING TO YOUR ACTIONS. GOOD DAY TO YOU SIR.
Stating the following, the letter burnt itself and left Dumbledore alone with Fawkes who was eyeing him disdainfully. Straining his body which was weakened from the disownment, he pushed himself up forcibly. Sinking back into his chair to which he reached with some effort, he delved into his mind where he found the mindscape to be fully damaged (A/N: Imagine his mindscape to be Hogwarts and how it looked after the war.) and a large chunk of his memories missing like they had been ripped off forcibly. He knew that the Flamels were acquaintances to him and he had an apprenticeship with them but everything he learnt from them was missing.
After the shock wore out and he remembered the contents of the howler, he was mad with rage. Someone had known about the stone and for what purpose it is used. Thankfully, his intentions were not known to Flamel. He would need to be more careful about his schemes and plans. He will learn about who leaked news about him to the Flamels and make sure that he would pay. After all, no one can escape Albus Dumbledore once he sets sight on his target.
After repairing his mindscape as best as he can, he returned to the real world to find Fawkes missing. He assumed that he went out again and started to plot again. He would plan on how to catch the culprit later. For now, his sole interest was Harry Potter.
He had done fantastically, trying to rescue the stone. Dumbledore also estimated Harry's and his friends' current strength and knowledge, satisfied that he was turning out as Dumbledore wishes. Now, he would need another plan to test him for his next year. But what to do?
Suddenly he got an idea. He remembered about Tom's horcruxes, mainly the diary in possession of Lucius Malfoy. He would use that to test Harry. His success would lead to Salazar's monster being killed as well as destroying one of the horcruxes. Just a matter of fact of putting some compulsion charms when they meet in the wizengamot and the diary would enter the school through one of the students. Then they would use it to re-awaken Slytherin's monster which would be slain by Harry.
One or two lives may be lost but it's for the 'Greater Good' as Grindelwald has stated many times and had etched the statement itself onto the Nurmengard prison he created. After all, if Harry failed, all of the world would be destroyed by Voldemort.
And so, Dumbledore was so immersed in his plotting that he didn't observe Fawkes returning and severing their bond and flaming away from the room, never to return again.
What neither Fawkes nor the Flamels had known though, was that, although the knowledge the headmaster had gotten from the Flamels had been removed from his brain, the cunning 'champion of the light' had actually anticipated such a possibility. So, he had stored that knowledge using a memory copying charm. In essence, Dumbledore hadn't lost any knowledge, only his inheritance from the Flamels' wealth, their apprenticeship and the stone. He would regain that knowledge from the stored memory fragments, once he had recovered from the strain he was currently suffering from.
Fawkes was observing Dumbledore and was frankly getting disgusted by him more and more with each passing day. He could have stopped Voldemort and executed Grindelwald if he had kept his selfish desires aside and worked for bettering the world but he refrained from doing so. Rather, he became so drunk on power that he started to abuse it. He wouldn't even stop the so called 'blood supremacists' from spreading their policies in the school, never mind the society. Now, he was willing to so casually sacrifice some children just for fulfilling a prophecy.
As a guardian of the school, he had borne the brunt of Albus's ideology. Sesha mostly slept and woke only a few times when he sensed changes in wards around the school. Both of them were the last living beings from the time of the founders. And hence knew much more about the past. Living long had its own quirks. Both of them were fairly disappointed about Dumbledore and both of them were equally and fairly interested in a boy named Harry Potter.
When he first entered the school, both Sesha and Fawkes debated about him. He carried a taint of the so-called 'dark lord' until recently but removed it just before coming there. He also carried himself regally and was brimming with power but was still humble to others. Hogwarts itself welcomed him as heir of all the founders to which both of them were surprised. Being heir to one of them was rare enough but he was heir to all four. Both of them had decided to test him and let him prove his worth.
When he entered the Chamber of Secrets and confronted Sesha, he became angry and chastised him. Sesha expected him to stomp away or at least attack him but the boy did the opposite and apologized to him. After realising that his intentions were genuine, Sesha bonded and became a good friend to him. But Fawkes was still sceptical.
But even he couldn't deny the changes he brought. Slytherins and Gryffindors started to intermingle again like old times. Talks about blood purity began reducing with equality being promoted. And when he risked his life and soul to save the Philosopher's Stone from Tom Riddle, even when he could have just ignored it showed that he was a true warrior unlike Dumbledore, who would fight only defensively and give everyone a second chance even when they didn't deserve it.
Now, after listening to the Flamels' letter, he had understood that Albus was now beyond saving and wouldn't listen even to the phoenix. After conferring with Sesha, he came to a decision and severed his bond with Dumbledore. He would go and find Harry Potter and bond with him. He showed the true qualities of an heir to Hogwarts. Fawkes would ensure that he and Sesha would also help him in cleansing and freeing the wizarding world from its self-destruction.