Good Dumbeldore v.s. Evil Dumbeldore 8
I OWN AND REGRET NOTHING!
...III...
ANNOUNCEMENT!
I'M GETTING A BOOK PUBLISHED!
SUMMARY:
On the 13th day of the 13th month of the 13th year...magic will return to the world...and the streets will run red with the blood of the (semi)innocent...unless the world is saved by the most unlikely of hero's...baking cupcakes?!
The title is '13/13/13' and it'll be coming to a bookstore or E-Book site near you! Xilbris is the publisher, also available at Amazon, Inkitt and BarnesandNoble.
...III...
Harry potter was a changed boy. In a different universe Molly Weasly's mothering would've made them late to get on the express. This would have forced them to end up in the only empty room: The one containing professor Lupin.
However, in this one. Molly suddenly came down very ill-
...Earlier that day...
Slenderman whistled Mal's theme as he merrily spiked Molly's coffee with a temporary poison...
...
-In any case, with Molly forced to sleep-in to recover: they got to the Express with time to spare. And thus they were far away from Lupine when the Dementors struck. Allowing them enough time to cause more damage to Harry's soul then they would've been allowed to otherwise...
In any case, thanks to both the phoenix tears and Luna's help. Harry had won the the battle for his body, and as the victor so to him went the spoils. All of Voldemort's memories and skills(more or less) became one with Harry.
As an added bonus, much like war will turn a boy into a man(provided he survives). So too had the war inside Harry's head harden him. There'd been no choice really, it was either get strong fast or perish.
The phoenix tears had diluted the evil, so it was still Harry. But a more pragmatic, proactive, grittier, with more of a spine Harry...a Harry who would no longer just lay down and take frak from others. A Harry who would no longer allow his life be dictated by the whims of others. In other words, Voldemort had now inadvertently completed the part of the prophecy 'to mark him as his equal'.
Harry pretended to stay asleep as his mind reoriented and he contemplated his next move. With new eye's he looked through his old life, quickly he saw that most of his suffering could be traced back to the so-called 'leader of the light' Dumbledore.
Obviously he was going to have to get out from under his thumb as soon as possible. He'd prefer emancipation, but he'd settle for getting a new guardian if necessary. From Voldemort's memories it was obvious that his godfather Sirius was innocent, so that was his best hope to be at least somewhat free...
Still, Harry knew it was going to be an uphill battle. It was basically a little aboriginal boy with a spear fighting the Nazi Empire...a straight-up fight would be so one-sided it wasn't even funny...
No, Harry would have to be patient...bid his time...build up his resources...
Harry pretended to just then wake up. Sure enough, Hermione was there.
"Harry! I'm so glad that your awake!" She exclaimed happily.
Despite the situation, Harry couldn't help but be happy to see his oldest friend as well(Ron didn't count, he understood that now). But sadly his friend was still devout fanatic of 'the powers that be'(I.e. Dumbledore). Which was going to be a huge problem till he could figure out a way to subvert her to his side.
In any case; time to pretend to be the still hapless pawn on the chess board...
"Uh...oh, Hermione? What happened? Las thing I remember...so cold...did Professor Dumbledore save me?"
To Harry's shock, his friend actually growled at the sound of that name!
"That jerk! I hope he rots in Tarterus!"
Harry just blinked at her baffled, "...How long was I asleep?" He asked genuinely flummoxed...
...
Wulfric was by and large a thinking villain, a 'dark' Ravenclaw if you will. In all the rush and chaos caused by most of his empire and schemes collapsing overnight, he'd been forced to improvise on the fly.
This was not playing to his strengths and he knew it. But at the time, what other choice did he have? It was imperative that he secured as many of his rapidly dwindling assets as possible!
But now that he'd secured as much as possible, he now had time to rest, collect himself, and above all SCHEME. Inside a now completely secure hideout that not even his imposter would be able to get to or even remember anymore, he finally had the time he needed to get back to doing what he did best...
Out-think and out-manipulate everyone...
First and foremost he thought over his actions to double-check for any errors...
And he cursed at what he found, turned out there WAS mention in his journals of him using Peter as a way to resurrect Tom. It was a brief passage that he'd apparently wrote after having too much fire whiskey. It was short and slightly incoherent...but it gave the gist of it.
So if Tom read it and then thought to search Juniors mind- Again, Wulfric cursed. The memory manipulation hadn't been his best work due to the rush he'd been at the time...Worse, he'd discussed his plan with Snape right in front of Junior! So if the memory manipulation was found out and subverted...he'd know everything!
Wulfric knew that as much as Tom's threat was mere hype he'd created, but that didn't make Tom any less capable. He was one of the few people who COULD break through his mental enchantments and see the truth!
And if he read the paper as well...
No, more likely then not it would seem that he wouldn't be able to rely on Tom being the distraction he needed...he'd have to look elsewhere...
...Or would he? Last year when Harry gave him the scorched remains of the journal Horcrux, there'd been just enough remnants of his soul that Wulfric had managed to use it as the hub for a spell to help him find the location of his other Horcruxes.
Naturally, Wulfric hadn't sought them out himself. No, he'd leave that Job to Harry when he was older. He'd had an ingenious plan- if all other attempts to kill Harry had failed -to fake his death, send Harry on a wild goose chase of a Horcrux hunt, then have him 'willingly' sacrifice himself by Tom's hand's, thus netting himself(technically, he'd be in hiding and thought dead, but since Harry would consider him his 'mentor and friend' at that point...it would be child's play to cast some obscure and esoteric spells to twist such a sacrifice to cover him as well) and some of his top followers the super-charged protection of Lilly(blasted woman hadn't given him the secret behind that ingenious spell before she'd died.). Then return resurrected at the last minute to heroically save the day- minus poor, unfortunate Harry who would die a Martyr's death to better inspire others to listen to the 'leader of the light'.
Of course, that plan- like thousands of other's he'd been building up for CENTURIES -had been crushed by that blasted imposter in ONE. BLOODY. NIGHT!
Actually, now that he thought about it...was Harry even still alive from getting kissed? He'd never actually had the chance to check to be sure...Wulfric shook his head, something to look into later. Right now he had bigger things to worry about...
For example; even though Dumbledore wouldn't remember where all his newly hidden assets were...he still had access to Wulfric's memories and his research. So he'd eventually know his various ways to subvert the Fidelius charm- among other things. So first and foremost he needed to figure out how to block that...
In any case, once he made a few more preparations, maybe think up a few more contingency plans just to be safe...he'd steal Tom's horcruxes and revive them...ALL of them if necessary.
Wulfric smirked, best of all... None of those Tom's would have a means to be aware of recent events(otherwise the one in the diary wouldn't have spent a whole year squeezing info from Ginny!). The only reason his horcrux did was because he'd made a habit of updating the one in the castle daily(and all the other's that came after it in more unorthodox ways).
So potentially he had 6 oblivious dark lords to spring on the world...or perhaps 'reprogram' them to be his servants? Or use them in ingredients for some new yet archaic ritual he'd kept locked up for a rainy day like this?
Wulfric cackled, "Decisions, Decisions..."
...
Voldemort stares up at 'the Lonely Mountain', he'd never done this before due to the big risks and seemingly small gain...but as things stood, he had no other options. Dumbledore had murdered or crippled anyone who could've helped him. Fortunately, here in this forgotten region of the world...it would take time for news of his 'exploits' to get back to prying ears...
But nevermind all that now...He had a destitute race to revitalize...and exploit...
He walked deep within the dragon Smaug's den...
...
Harry Potter was stunned...after Hermione had explained all the recent events...
Here he'd been expecting a large fight for survival, lasting YEARS...but just like that, an ALTERNATE version of the twinkling tyrant had fallen from nowhere and just swept all his problems away...
Wulfric?(Good a name as any, otherwise this would get confusing fast) Kicked out of his own body. His allies dead, crippled, neutralized or just plain disillusioned. His reputation and influence in taters.
The Dursley's? Apparently Dumbledore had been so outraged by their cruelty he'd personally thrown Vernon, Petunia, Aunt Marge, AND Dudley(apparently not even his love of children was enough to find mercy for that monstrous bully) into the veil of Death.
Sirius? Dumbledore had personally tracked down Petigrew and forced him to confess to everything after stripping him of his magic so he couldn't flee. Sirius Black would soon be declared innocent...
His freedom? Apparently before destroying his political power base Dumbledore had broken from the haze of his rage long enough to get Harry emancipated, lest some other unsavory individual take control of his life again. And since he'd put his stamp of approval as the (then) current Headmaster/Supreme Mugwump/Headwizard of the ICW/whatever bloody title Wulfric had wrangled over the years...it basically made the decree irreversible and political suicide for anyone to even try to undo it even with the current revelations and political climate.
Harry...was free...he literally fell asleep a slave...and woke up a freedman...no fight, no drama, no quest, no ring to throw in a volcano...he was free...
...was it weird how unsettling this anti-climax made him? Now Harry knew this was irrational and that he should be grateful for this fortuitous turn of events...and yet...he couldn't help but feel...cheated? Was that the right word?
Of course, the more Harry thought of it...the more he realized that jut because Wulfric was taken care of, doesn't mean ALL his problems were.
First, there was Voldemort. He was still (sorta)alive. True, his power base and his following had been gutted(in some cases literally)...but that didn't make the wandering wraith any less dangerous.
Fortunately, Harry now knew where all his cache's, supply drops, horcruxes, and other goodies were now located! So The first opportunity he had, he was going to raid all of that...
Another thing...true, it seemed like THIS Dumbledore was helping him...but who knew what his intentions really were? For all Harry knew, this Slenderman fellow that Dumbledore talked about in the paper could be playing them all for fools!
No, Harry had been burned too many times by TRUSTED adults who 'knew what was best for him' to NOT be suspicious of this 'silver platter' that had been placed before him...although...Dumbledore DID take him out from under the thumb of the Dursley's AND Wulfric(among other things)...it was hard NOT to feel grateful for that.
...he'd put a pin in that for now and simply put Dumbledore in the 'neutral' category until he could learn more...
But putting all that aside...Harry had been a slave all his life. Wulfric and the Dursley's had made sure of that...for as long as he could remember his destiny was never his to command...
...He never wanted to be that again. And come hell or high-water...he was going to make sure it never did...
Meanwhile, Hermione rambled on and on about recent events, how she'd sent letters to her parents to convince them to allow Harry to stay with them, how Ron and Malfoy had been led away in shackles by the aurors.
One of Harry's new skills was multi-tasking, he was eagerly listening to his friend while also assessing his situation:
1: To fully be free he had to have both the means to be independent and the strength to defend this independence from those who would take it from him. He currently had his family's fortune and an iron-clad(for the moment) emancipation...this would help, but he'd need to find ways to supplement this. Relying on ONLY those two things was just asking for trouble during these chaotic times!
2: The adversaries he now faced would have far greater magic at there disposal, Harry did not. True, he had Voldemort's memories. But having his knowledge and having the experience to use them properly were two different things. In addition, many of Voldemort's skills required the use of ritual and magics that Harry would be unable to do(for awhile at least) due to both ethical issues AND practicality.
3: Another issue was manpower and resources...his enemies(although diminished) could still probably call in far more then he could- which currently was practically ZERO.
"Well, time to start remedying that." Thought Harry as he turned to Hermione. As it stood, she was pretty much the only person he could trust right now... his only real friend. Between her loyalty and her now utter disillusionment of authority figures it should be easy to recruit her to his cause. But he'd have to be careful, some of his schemes were a bit...GRAY ethics wise...he'd have to bring her into this slowly...and word it just right.
Thankfully, manipulation was one of the skills he'd gained both from Voldemort's memories and from fighting off the soul fragment...Harry, felt a little bad for doing this to her, but what choice did he have? He NEEDED allies...and he needed his best friend by his side...
"Hermione, first and foremost I want to thank you for being at my side and letting me live with you-"
Hermione happily accepted his thanks...
"-But I'm worried about the future, it seems like I have enemies all around me. They've already hurt me once, what's to stop them from doing so again?"
Hermione tried to comfort him, "Oh, don't worry about that Harry! The aurors assured everyone that we can trust them to take care of everything!"
Harry schooled his face to give her a dull, incredulous look. "Hermione we trusted DUMBLEDORE, the 'leader of the light'. And look how that worked out! If we can't trust him or the teachers he bamboozled, or the ministry that just got sent to Azkaband in mass. Then why should we trusty some random aurors to get things done?"
Hermione went very pale...she hated to admit it...but those were good points...
"but...what should we do then?" She asked sounding more then a bit lost.
Harry made sure that his glare became more determined, "Hermione, who was it that saved the sorcerer stone? Us or the teachers?"
Hermione looked confused over this sudden question, "Um, well...us. But what dose that-
"And during second year; who was it that cracked the mystery of what 'Syltherin's beast' was? Something that had stumped some of the best minds of the wizarding world for over fifty years if not more?
"Okay, laid it on a bit too thick there- but nevermind, she's going for it." Thinks Harry quickly.
"Well, me but-
"Hermione, it's obvious we can no longer trust the adults to help us. If were going to survive in these trying times...I think the only people we can trust is ourselves..."
This stunned Hermonie, "Wow...gee, Harry...you make some good points...I'm not quite sure where your going with this...but I'll help you however I can!"
Harry smiled at this...and they begin to plan...
...
Amelia watched as Dumbledore was helped by the Unspeakables to search through Wulfrics memories for clues of his Horcruxes...
Thanks to his journals they'd been able to find the now abandoned Horcrux chamber, however the Unspeakable's were quick to determine that several horcuxes might have been made there.
Although Dumbledore was quick to confirm that Wulfric had made many more...he also confessed that he couldn't remember WHERE he hide the others. The gaps in the memories led him to believe that Wulfric was 'back on the scene' and worse had hidden his other Horcruxes under fidelius.
Although searching for a means of finding those Horcruxes had stalled, they found something just as important...
Voldemort had Horcruxes too...and Wulfric knew where to find them...
…III...
AN: This whole story is dedicated to 'Perfect Lionheart'. Here's hoping he one day finishes, 'partially kissed hero' or 'Chunin exam day'.
TO BE CONTINUED?
AN: I know it says "in-progress" but really I just don't like boxing myself into a corner. For now this is more of a one-shot that I might continue one day...but probably won't.
But, hey. Feel free to use whatever elements you want from this, if you want! Or maybe give me ideas?
Love me, flame me, review me