'A life worth living'
Chapter 7- The Anticipated Guest
Edward's POV
Jacob was pacing up and down the living room, his head turning constantly to stare at the front door. He was so filled with anticipation that he could not stand still. I reminded him that no matter how fast he moved or how often he stared, this would not influence Albus Dumbledore's time of arrival. He didn't appreciate my comment and kept pacing, occasionally glancing at the coffee table where the list of questions for the wizard lay, waiting to be added to. I shouldn't be too cruel; the rest of our family weren't doing much better while they waited for our esteemed guest. Emmett was pretending to be absorbed by the football, but for the first time in his life, he couldn't get into it- Jacob's repetitive pacing and pent-up energy was a notable distraction for him. Rosalie was leaning up against one of the bookshelves in the living room watching her husband and the television with apparent neutrality but would then glare at Jacob's incessant pacing. I could hear her thoughts, torn between her curiosity and the possible dangers Dumbledore may pose to our family. Alice and Jasper were waiting upstairs in an effort to spend some time alone; Alice was trying to use her gift to See if she could predict what may happen as a result of our meeting today whereas Jasper was trying to manage his own excitement (which was growing by the minute thanks to his gift) which he found easier to do when there was a storey between him and the rest of the household. My father was re-arranging our living room into a circle of chairs to accommodate all of us and ensured our home was presentable. Esme and Renesmee were in the kitchen organising various items of food that Dumbledore and Jacob may enjoy –not knowing how long the wizard would be visiting, we thought it best to be prepared.
Bella was sitting next to me on the couch adjacent to Emmett's. We were holding hands, as I smirked at Jacob and nodded my head in his direction. Bella glanced over and smiled.
"I'm excited too, you know," she whispered in my ear.
"As am I," I willingly admitted, squeezing her hand. The poor wizard could not know how much his visit was being anticipated and how much hope we were placing in him. I could only imagine the disappointment that would be felt if Dumbledore didn't show up or if he needed to postpone our meeting. Though I couldn't say I knew the wizard any better than they, I suspected he would arrive at precisely 10 am, though how or from what direction, I could not say.
No longer being able to sit still, Emmett leapt from his chair and headed out the door into our backyard in an absent-minded search for Dumbledore.
"Maybe you should also head outside to let off some steam for a few minutes," Esme suggested to Jacob whilst putting the final touches on a platter of food items.
"Yeah, okay," was all Jacob said in reply, maybe that will help distract me, he reassured himself and then jogged out our other door into the front yard.
"Come on, let's join him outside; I want to greet Dumbledore when he arrives," Bella suggested and then pulled me off the couch.
When we walked outside, it was rather amusing to see Jacob looking up at the sky apparently in search of our visitor. He quickly hid his thoughts from me, but not before I captured a portion: Maybe on a broomsti-
I couldn't help but laugh, which Jacob growled at, punching me in the arm. Hearing the impact, Emmett's gaze was similarly distracted from his search in the backyard and made his way towards us. Amazing how the fictional stories of witches could so readily influence our assumptions. If I was honest, I couldn't imagine Dumbledore travelling on a broomstick but I also couldn't imagine him driving to meet us, nor walking all the way from his school.
I could hear Esme and Carlisle placing the final touches on our living room whilst Rosalie silently watched on, caught up in her own concerns for what may unfold. I heard Alice and Jasper descend the stairs which was followed by Alice reassuring Rose that she couldn't See anything that may come of our meeting today but promised to keep an 'eye out' as it progressed. This seemed to soften Rosalie slightly, though she was still sceptical of what we were getting ourselves in to.
When Emmett reached us in the front yard, he asked:
"Anyone wanna have a bet how Dumbledore arrives?"
"Well Edward already laughed at my idea, so my new guess is he will be invisible and will not come on a broomstick," Jacob replied, his arms crossed in front of his chest.
"With magic, then? That would be cool," Emmett agreed. "I was thinking it would be awesome if he could make a car invisible, but I can't imagine him driving..."
Emmett and Jacob stood together in momentary silence trying to brain-storm other possibilities. My family, including myself, were stuck as we pondered just how far the realms of magic may stretch when it came to transportation.
"How much you wanna bet, then?" asked Emmett, nudging Jacob with his elbow.
"Your Jeep?" Jacob grinned.
Emmett grabbed Jacob around his torso, threatening to bring him to the ground for suggesting such a thing. The rest of us watched on in amusement until Renesmee walked over to our group, which prompted Emmett to let my son-in-law go.
"Did I hear you make a bet?" she asked playfully and then kissed him on the lips.
"Ah, that sounds rather thrilling. Did you win?" In an instant, Dumbledore was standing next to Jacob, a smile forming on his lips as he watched Jacob's face shift between astonishment to confusion, and then excitement.
"I don't know," he replied smiling, his eyes wide as he stared at the wizard who appeared to have materialised out of thin air.
"Good morning, Professor Dumbledore; it is good to see you again. Would you like to come inside?" I welcomed, gesturing towards the house before anyone could start asking Dumbledore exactly how he arrived- a topic that was probably best saved until we were indoors.
Dumbledore thanked me, his eyes blue eyes gleaming with joy as he walked past us and stepped onto the threshold.
"He just appeared out of nowhere- you saw that, right?" Jacob whispered into his wife's ear, barely able to keep his voice down.
"Yes," my daughter laughed. "Magic!" she squealed excitedly, clasping her hands together, and then hurriedly pushed Jacob up the stairs.
"After you, Love," I offered, gesturing to the stairs that ascended to the porch. Bella held my hand and led the way into our home as I shut the door behind us.
As I expected, my parents had greeted Albus Dumbledore at the front door, shook his hand, expressing their delight in being able to welcome him into our home. They then escorted him to the specific chair they organised for him and performed the duty of hosts which they did with ease and friendliness. I noted that Dumbledore felt comfortable in his chair, his attention alert and focused as he took in as much as he could of our home and the members of our family who stood near him. He continued to pleasantly observe us as we chatted quietly to one another whilst we found our seats. As we were all sitting down, we noticed Dumbledore stand and casually take out his wand to perform the same six protective spells he used the previous night. We froze as we watched him work, some of us crouched in preparation to take a seat, mesmerised by the tall, elderly wizard, dressed in shimmering royal purple robes who stood in our very living room rhythmically flicking his wand, sending the faintest silver threads into the air. The acuity of our sight allowed all of us to witness how each strand floated to the ceiling and to every corner of our home's four walls, concealing us from the outside world.
Renesmee leaned over to whisper in my ear, pointing at the closest wall as silvery lines danced across it. "Wow, can you see that, Daddy?"
"I can. It's beautiful, isn't it?" I answered, in awe of being able to see the magic right before my eyes.
Once Dumbledore had finished protecting our home, the silvery threads disappeared and were replaced with a translucent liquid-like sheen that could barely be seen.
The wizard placed his wand in his left sleeve and sat back down, his face calm as he smiled at us; he enjoyed seeing our evident delight and awe in simply watching him.
"We are now free to speak of whatever we wish, do whatever we dare, and no one outside of this house will be any the wiser," he informed us, his eyes shining with mirth.
"Words cannot express how grateful we are that you were willing to meet with us again, especially so soon after our encounter yesterday; I have never been part of a more excited household," Carlisle began. "I hope the incident you needed to deal with at your school did not cause you too much grief?"
"It went smoother than I expected, but I fear this will not be the last 'incident' I will need to deal with this year," Dumbledore replied, fatigue in his tone. I briefly saw an image of a short, stout woman dressed in pale pink shouting from the top of a staircase, her eyes cruel, her wand pointed directly at a skinny, eccentrically-dressed woman who appeared to have collapsed at the bottom of the stairs.
"Who is that woman?" I asked Dumbledore. "The one in pink."
The man turned to look at me, his eyes piercing mine: "The complication, I'm afraid. Her name is Dolores Umbridge and she is the current Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at my school. She was allocated the post by the Minister for Magic himself, and unfortunately he and I do not see eye-to-eye," he explained while my family absorbed every word. I, on the other hand was preoccupied with the various images and thoughts that continued to pass through the wizard's mind. In an instant, I saw Dumbledore converse with a man who I sensed was the Minister he mentioned- Dumbledore sitting next to a teenage boy with black rimmed glasses in a grey miserable dungeon-like room - Dumbledore reading a newspaper with his own portrait on the front beneath the headline: 'Dumbledore: Daft or Dangerous? '
I stared at Dumbledore unsure of what to say.
"Did you see all of that?" he asked me calmly.
"Yes, though I struggled to make sense of it," I admitted, the eyes of my family now on me.
"Of course, and that barely touches the surface of the forces that are at play here." He sighed and gazed around the room as he tried to ground himself back in the present moment. "But before we get to what I foresee will be a tale of some length, what bet did you make, my boy?" Dumbledore asked Jacob.
My son-in-law felt slightly embarrassed as he replied:
"We were betting how you would get here, Sir." The image of Dumbledore riding on a broomstick and my snigger wouldn't leave his mind.
"Ah, I see, and what, may I ask, did you guess?"
Jacob's cheeks visibly coloured and replied quietly: "Broomstick, but I then changed it-"
Jake stopped talking as Dumbledore chuckled. "You may be fortunate enough to witness such a thing one day; flying on a broom certainly is a mode of transportation in our world, though not a very discrete one," he replied gazing merrily over his half-moon glasses.
Delighted, Jacob turned to me: "See? My guess could have been right, Edward! Ha!"
I was quite amused by this revelation too, so raised my hands silently in defeat.
"And I bet you would make yourself and your car invisible and drive here, but I think I was wrong about that," Emmett commented, a little disappointed not to see what a magical car may look like.
"I'm afraid my kind do not drive or own cars, though there are always exceptions of course," our guest replied, his eyes twinkling.
"So how did you do it? It really was amazing," Renesmee enthused appreciatively to our visitor as well as those in our family who didn't witness what we saw. "You suddenly appeared right next to us!"
Dumbledore laughed, clearly delighted by our enthusiasm as he gazed around our circle. "It has been so long since I have seen such wonder and joy over something as commonplace as Apparation. Your eyes did not deceive you; I Apparated into your front garden from my school grounds- a specific spot not too far away from where we met yesterday, in fact."
"So Apparation allows you to, ah, teleport from one place to another?" Jasper tried to deduce.
"Correct!" Dumbledore beamed at him. "Would you like to see?" he offered, already knowing how much enthusiasm such a question would induce. After receiving a resounding "Yes, please!" the wizard stood up, drew his wand and silently pointed to the kitchen. We all glanced in that direction, and then quickly returned our gaze; we didn't want to miss anything. He winked at us, his wand in hand, and then turned on the spot. In the blink of an eye he was in the kitchen admiring the artwork on the wall. Jacob, Emmett, and Renesmee cheered loudly, still kids at heart, but even the rest of us couldn't supress our gasp of surprise. Before we could be silent again, the wizard was standing in front of us once more, his robes barely moving despite his mode of transportation. We applauded, delighted by what we had seen: True magic- not an elusive illusionist or performer one sees on television. Dumbledore bowed graciously in response to our ongoing applause and loud whoops from Emmett before returning his wand to his left sleeve for safe-keeping and resuming his seat.
"How far can you travel using Apparation?" my father asked.
"Ah, as with all magic, the limit of any spell depends on the skill and power of the caster. In my case, I could travel anywhere in the world as long as I knew the address," the wizard casually replied.
Emmett swore under his breath as he considered the implications of such a skill. Alice and Jasper, who love to travel, groaned with envy. "Wow," I found myself saying; Apparation rendered airplanes completely unnecessary for the Wizarding World.
"It is a highly useful skill," Dumbledore readily agreed. "In our world, individuals are considered adults when they turn 17, which is when they are permitted to obtain their Apparation license. Many magical people enrol in lessons the moment they become of age, but it can take many months to master it; there can be some truly gruesome consequences when Apparation is not performed correctly… but onto more pleasant topics," Dumbledore continued, eagerly. "It is a pleasure to see you all again and in better light, too," he realised, noting my family's features more clearly than he was able to the previous night.
"We have been very excited to see you too, but um, Sir- or Professor Dumbledore- I don't know how to address you- I'm sorry," Renesmee muttered, sheepishly avoiding his eye.
Warmed by my daughter's modesty and her wish to respect him, Dumbledore gave her a smile, saying: "My students call me Professor Dumbledore, if that helps you. 'Dumbledore' and 'Albus' are also fine, whatever you feel most comfortable with," he reassured her.
Building up her courage, my daughter continued: "Professor Dumbledore, you said before that you had a tale to tell us and maybe, hopefully you could tell us what has been happening in your world and with Professor Snape? But- but maybe you would prefer to ask us some questions first? It may be uncomfortable being around us and not know much about who we are, though you don't look too concerned about that so maybe I'm worrying for nothing…".
Dumbledore chuckled which helped Ness feel calm enough to cease talking and wait for him to answer. I heard Dumbledore think of all the things he would like to ask us; clearly, he had created his own list of questions to ask, but after seeing the wide, hopeful gazes of my family he graciously decided to tell his story first before asking for ours. He also concluded that the thoughts and memories I had witnessed through my gift did, as he indicated minutes before, deserved further explanation.
"Although I am thoroughly intrigued by you and your family, Renesmee, I am more than happy to oblige you. However, I must return to my school by 1 o'clock to enjoy some lunch so the staff and students do not notice my absence. I will do my best to give you a summary of the information you may find interesting and relevant and we can save the details for another time, should you wish it."
"It sounds like quite a tale is headed our way," Carlisle politely interrupted. "Would you like something to eat before you begin?" my father offered, gesturing towards the kitchen. "Or perhaps a drink? Some water?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jacob quietly stand, his mind set on a sandwich Renesmee had pre-made him which was sitting on the kitchen bench.
"A glass of water would be perfect," Dumbledore smiled. He contemplated whether to offer to serve himself by means of magic, but then decided against it. Perhaps another day, he chuckled to himself. I smiled appreciatively at him- given time was of the essence, it was likely best to introduce one source of excitement at a time.
Once Dumbledore had had a sip of water and Jacob had resumed his seat quietly eating his snack, the wizard placed his hands together as if in prayer, and solemnly reminded us of the promise we agreed to keep the previous night.
"Most of what I will relate is widely known amongst the witches and wizards of Great Britain. However, I flatter myself that I also know far more than most of my peers when it comes to this war and the Dark Wizard in question. So just in case, I would prefer that none of what I say leaves this room." Dumbledore gazed around the circle, staring intently into each pair of eyes to make sure we understood him perfectly. My family were sitting bolt upright, as each of us maintained eye contact with our guest. Even Jacob had momentarily stopped eating, recognising the importance of what we were about to hear.
"We promise, Albus," Carlisle replied from the wizard's right. "But please do not share anything you feel uncomfortable revealing."
"Thank you, Carlisle. Though I do believe," Dumbledore answered, staring at me from across the room, "some of what is shared may be unintentional," he continued, gazing at me over his half-moon spectacles.
If there is anything you may see or hear in my thoughts that confuses you, please ask me and never assume. Can you promise me that? He requested of me.
"Of course," I replied without hesitation and nodded in his direction. Dumbledore gave a small smile in acknowledgement, as my family glanced between us wondering what the wizard had communicated to me. Neither of us chose to elaborate. Instead, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, which he thankfully found comfortable, closed his eyes and took a couple of breaths. In that moment, we all saw how weary and tired the wizard appeared and couldn't help feeling sympathy for him. It would seem he spent so much time 'putting on an act' as the headmaster of his school and the presumed leader of the war effort, that he rarely had to retell or reflect on the events of the past 14 years, much less convey such a story to a group of creatures who were ignorant of his world.
We waited patiently, but the silence was deafening. Some members of my family began to fidget uncomfortably whereas others remained perfectly still, not breathing. While I was privy to hearing the thoughts of my family members, I couldn't hear Dumbledore's anymore; either his mind was completely blank or he was blocking me somehow. I made a note to explore this possibility later.
"I apologise," Dumbledore eventually muttered and then opened his eyes. "Thank you for giving me a moment to collect my thoughts; this has been a difficult year, as you will soon see."
"Whenever you are ready, Albus," replied Carlisle, his eyes tight with concern for the man.
This is an exciting opportunity, Dumbledore encouraged himself, pulling his attention away from the darker places he had been which my gift was not privy to. Share what is appropriate for them to know; had they not intervened then Severus may not be with us today.
Dumbledore's face shifted then, from one of weariness and exhaustion, to a bright smile, his eyes alight with enthusiasm, appearing much younger than he did seconds ago. My family made no audible comment about this, hoping the wizard was ready to speak. Dumbledore adjusted his posture so he sat straight in his chair, his arms lying along the arm rests; he was clearly comfortable sitting in grand chairs. Alert, engaged, and apparently ready, Dumbledore ensured we were equally ready before beginning his tale:
"In the year of 1943, a young wizard by the name of Tom Riddle took his first steps to one day becoming the most powerful, dark wizard our world has ever known. He began by seeking followers among his peers who he inducted as his Death Eaters. He then changed his name to Lord Volemort and journeyed to find magical creatures who would fight for him and for his cause. Voldemort and his followers believed in the superiority of pureblood witches and wizards- those born into wholly magical families- over those with non-magical blood. Anyone who did not share their beliefs or attempted to stand against them were tortured or murdered."
"Gosh!" Esme gasped. The rest of my family similarly conveyed their shock.
Dumbledore continued gravely. "You can therefore imagine that Tom was merciless and relentless in his rise to power; he used blackmail, intimidation, and terror to obtain whatever he wanted. But he was clever and charming, and for the first few years of his rise, he conquered our world gradually and in relative secrecy. He would not murder to excess and ensured his followers were kept tightly within his command until he was certain he and his army would be strong enough to overturn our government. In other words, his rise to power was covert and could be ignored by anyone who did not wish to see it until it was too late."
"But you suspected?" Jasper asked.
"Indeed, I had strong suspicions. You see, I taught Tom Riddle during his time at Hogwarts and overheard his plans to gain power and eventually rule the Wizarding World. So, I started an organisation known as The Order of the Phoenix which consisted of many excellent witches and wizards who opposed the dark arts and were united in putting a stop to Voldemort's plans. I also journeyed to various places in search of magical people and creatures who would be willing to stand against the darkness Voldemort would surely bring to our world. Although our numbers increased, it is perhaps no surprise that blackmail and intimidation was a more 'effective' way of recruitment; Tom's army grew exponentially larger than ours. Nevertheless, we remained united and strong in our efforts; where Voldemort and his Death Eaters aimed to kill, we aimed to capture and try our foes. As you can imagine, our moral principles- if you will- came at a heavy price and hundreds of good witches and wizards were lost in the decades it took for Voldemort to rise to the height of his power. Indeed, in the year prior to Edward meeting Severus, Voldemort was the strongest he had ever been. He had hundreds of Death Eaters as well as the giants, dark creatures, some of the intelligent magical races, and a handful of international wizards under his command. Though our determination never wavered, we had been at war an awfully long time and some of the Order and the Minster for Magic were losing hope that we could ever defeat Tom, who had developed his own skills in dark magic to an extensive degree that even I couldn't hope to defeat without being willing to cause death. Every day someone we knew was being murdered and innocent non-magical lives were being lost in the cross-fire."
"Why didn't you kill him? I mean- surely he didn't deserve a trial?" Asked Emmett trying to sound curious rather than critical.
"Hmm, we may have to save that conversation for another time," replied Dumbledore with a small smile. This peaked my curiosity but unfortunately the wizard continued to shield his thoughts from me as he continued:
"Considering how dire our situation had become, where very able witches and wizards refused to utter Voldemort's name out of fear and terror, and when grief was a daily occurrence, you can imagine how my world felt when a mere 15 month old baby not only survived the killing curse that was cast by Voldemort himself, but somehow defeated the darkest wizard our world has ever known. Harry Potter rose to instant fame overnight; he had completed two seemingly impossible feats in a single evening whilst sitting in his cot."
"I can see why Severus would not have believed he survived- no one would have," Alice commented, in wide-eyed awe.
"Indeed; up until that point, surviving the killing curse had been thought impossible."
"So how did he do it?" Jasper pondered out loud.
"Hmmm, again I cannot answer that today," Dumbledore responded apologetically.
"But Harry didn't really defeat Voldemort, did he?" Rosalie pointed out.
"Not permanently, no, but only a handful of people were aware of this at the time. But this should not undermine what Harry did achieve- he has certainly been the closest any of us have been to destroying Tom for good."
Rosalie nodded as Dumbledore continued his tale.
"I sent Harry to live with his maternal aunt, her husband and son, all of whom are non-magical people. He lived there for the next 10 years of his young life, segregated from our world, unaware of what happened to him as a baby, and believing his parents to have died in a car accident. He did not know he was a wizard and I believed his ignorance was for the best. My students begin the school year on September 1st following their 11th birthday. Thus, prior to Harry returning to our world in 1991, my life and Severus', though never idle or boring, was certainly calm. After the disappearance of Voldemort, his Death Eaters were captured and tried, most of whom were sent to the wizarding prison known as Azkaban. Gradually, our world recovered from Tom's destruction. I, however, spent much of my time learning what I could about Voldemort to best deduce what may have become of him in order to prepare for the day he would return. I concluded that he was likely existing as a soul fragment; the act of murder, which Tom committed twice that night, splits the soul. Given his fragile state, I suspected Voldemort would not risk magically resurrecting himself until Harry returned to the Wizarding World.
"At the end of Harry's first year at Hogwarts my suspicions were proven correct; Voldemort had possessed my Defence Against the Dark Arts professor that year and together they attempted to steal the Philosopher's Stone- a substance that renders the user immortal. I am pleased to say that Harry was able to prevent Voldemort from obtaining the stone and survived his second encounter with the dark wizard. Harry's second year also involved yet another confrontation with a fragment of Voldemort's soul, which he also survived."
"Geez," Jacob mumbled, his mouth full of his triple meat sandwich.
"It sounds like Harry is quite an impressive wizard himself," Esme commented fondly. "He would only have been 11 or 12 years old– yet to survive on two occasions sounds like he is to be admired."
Dumbledore smiled. "He is an incredible child and is rather skilled. His courage and quick-thinking have been essential to his success, with a bit of luck mixed in, I'm sure," the headmaster chuckled. "I feel a tremendous amount of respect and care for him and, though unlikely, I hope you would have the chance to meet him."
"So what's happening for Harry now?" Emmett asked, eager for Dumbledore's story to continue.
"At the end of Harry's 4th year at Hogwarts- June of this year- he witnessed Voldemort's resurrection to a physical body, one of his peers being murdered, and barely escaped with his own life. When Harry informed me of what he had seen, I immediately believed him, and the Order of the Phoenix was instantly called to action. Unfortunately, the Minister for Magic and many other witches and wizards have refused to believe Harry's story; no one wants to believe the Voldemort could be back after having 13 years of peace. The Minister for Magic claims that he does not want 'tales' to cause mass hysteria among the magical world, so both the Ministry and the media have sought to discredit Harry and myself ever since. Their response is, of course, incredibly dangerous as Voldemort is making most of the Ministry's denial to gather his followers and rebuild his strength and power. Tom will have the element of surprise on his side and I am sorry to say that my world is far from prepared to deal with the war that is certainly coming our way."
"How long do you think it will take before Voldemort is ready to fight?" Jasper asked.
"I cannot say for certain, but I suspect the truth of his return will become evident to all within 12 months, and I imagine the war will follow soon after."
"That's not long, is it?" Emmett commented, surprised.
"No, but I believe I understand him well enough that there are three key things he would want to achieve before attacking, and though I will do all in my power to delay him, I fear his success is inevitable."
"What three things?" asked Renesmee, leaning closer, completely absorbed in Dumbledore's words.
The wizard gazed at her kindly, his mind still blank. "Forgive me, my dear; though I believe wholeheartedly in your goodness, I cannot risk any one finding out what I suspect. We may have to leave that question for another time."
"Of course, I'm sorry," Renesmee replied sheepishly, sitting back in her chair, turning slightly pink. I gave her a reassuring smile and grasped her hand briefly, before refocusing on Dumbledore's tale.
"Over the summer, Harry was placed in a situation where he was forced to use magic in self-defence in front of his non-magical cousin, which defies the Statute of Underage Wizardry. The Ministry saw fit to threaten Harry with expulsion from my school, pending the outcome of a court trial," Dumbledore recounted bitterly. "Harry's trial was excessive- equivalent perhaps to your Supreme or High Courts- no doubt to cause intimidation and fear in the poor boy. So naturally, I attended Harry's trial to ensure those judging him would believe the truth of Harry's words and he was not expelled. Obviously, I could think of nothing more dangerous for the boy now that Voldemort was living and breathing. The Ministry did not appreciate my interference and I believe they have encouraged the media to increase their attacks on myself and Harry." Dumbledore briefly glanced at me, and I now understood the headline I saw in his mind. "At the start of this school year, Harry's 5th, the Ministry appointed one of their employees, Dolores Umbridge, to 'teach' Defence Against the Dark Arts. She has banned the use of magic in her classroom and it is my understanding that students simply read from their text books. At a time when war may soon be upon us such a decision is foolish and dangerous; it infuriates me that they could care so little for the safety of children."
"As their headmaster, that must be terrible for you," Carlisle empathised warmly.
Dumbledore turned to his right to acknowledge Carlisle's words.
"I am currently powerless to do anything about it and unfortunately the situation is growing worse. Recently, Dolores has been given the authority to assess my staff and sack them if they do not meet ministry standards- a role that was once within my control." Dumbledore then turned to look at me. "Yesterday, Dolores sacked a member of my staff and demanded she leave my school. I was in the forest to find a replacement (for this, at least, was still within my power) when I had the privilege to meet you all. I returned in time to intervene before she could successfully remove my colleague from the castle. I suspect it will not be too long before the Ministry decides that I am not fit to be Headmaster and will remove me from my post."
"What?! Can they do that?" Emmett interjected, feeling enraged on Dumbledore's behalf.
"I'm afraid they can," the wizard answered solemnly.
"What will you do if that happens?" Bella asked, her eyes wide with concern.
Dumbledore surprised us with a small smile. "I will let you know."
My family didn't know how to interpret this and before any of us could think of what to say, our guest continued:
"So to summarise, then: Voldemort has returned in physical form and is in hiding, our government are in denial about his return and are actively discrediting Harry and me so the public remain ignorant. Consequently, the majority of my world are not prepared or even aware that a war is on the horizon, and the ministry are gradually taking control of my school and my students into their own hands which has made it difficult to plan for the war that is to come."
"And um, what about Severus? Could you tell us more about him?" Renesmee ventured, hoping her question would not be denied.
Dumbledore paused briefly before answering; his thoughts still completely hidden from me. "Severus has continued to assist me since he met Edward 14 years ago. To this day, no one is aware of his love for Lily except for myself and those in this room." Dumbledore then shifted forward on his chair until he was perched on its edge. He clasped his hands together and gazed at each of us over his half-moon spectacles. There was a fire in his eyes.
"And this truth must remain a secret." My family and I felt the change in his tone and manner; this information we possessed was dangerous somehow… in a way we had yet to fully understand.
"Of course," Carlisle readily assured our guest. There was a beat of silence and I heard my family silently ask the same question: "Why?" Alice ventured quietly.
Sensing our hesitation as well as our curiosity, Dumbledore informed us that the details would need to wait for another time.
"Sure," Alice readily agreed, hoping she hadn't upset him.
Dumbledore smiled at us to show he did not resent our questions or curiosities. He then looked at me.
"But I can share with you what happened when Severus told me of his conversation with you, Edward. Or rather, as I alluded to when we met last night, he shared his memory of Edward by magically extracting it from his mind and placing it in my Pensieve. Severus was concerned that someone," he paused to gaze at me over his glasses, "outside of our world seemed to know an awful lot about us. I was highly curious, and together Severus and I entered his memory through the completely immersive experience the Pensieve provides its viewers. It was as if I were there as a patron in the bar listening to what was being said. I gathered as much information as I could from my observation of you, Edward, whilst also keeping my senses alert for any other clues that may help me understand who or what you are. Severus, though quite young at the time, was certain you could hear his thoughts, though you never said so much yourself. We suspected you were immortal… and I suppose the rest of our hypotheses will have to wait," he smiled warmly at me, still grateful that I spoke to Severus that night.
"It sounds like Severus is an astute man," commented Carlisle.
"Yes," the wizard readily agreed, "he is an invaluable ally. Words cannot express how grateful I am that you thought our world worth saving that you took the time to speak with Severus and convince him of what you had Seen," his eyes now twinkling at Alice.
"You are so welcome! I wasn't able to See Severus after we left, so we never knew what happened to him or whether he chose to live. We never forgot about him or your world though, so having this opportunity to hear what came of him is something we are so thankful for."
Dumbledore smiled at Alice and suddenly I could hear his thoughts again as he pondered whether now would be an appropriate time to ask my family about our gifts and abilities and have some of his questions answered.
I welcomed the headmaster's curiosity by suggesting we all stretch our legs and make our way downstairs to our large rumpus room where we may have the opportunity to show Dumbledore what we are capable of. The wizard was eager to heed my suggestion and rose from his chair to follow Carlisle and Esme as they led our guest towards the staircase.
(To be continued….)
Author's note: Welcome back to 'A life worth living'. I am so terribly sorry for my absence in the world of writing. My life has been very busy for a number of months so I haven't had much time to write. I promise to continue writing and posting whenever I can and hope the next chapter will be ready much quicker than this one was. Thank you so much for your patience. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about this chapter 😊