A/N: Dear Reader,
I know that some of you may be wondering what it is I have been doing for the past 3 years, with no updates on this story at all.
Well, for the past 3 years I've been serving my country, in the Armed Forces, after which I started my university education, of which I am now in my second year. So as you can see, writing would not have been easy, and would have required a lot more time than I had available to me at the time.
However, having said that, I am now pleased to announce that I will be able to continue writing, and posting the remainder of the story as it develops. Having said that, please enjoy this new chapter which has been in the works for quite a while indeed. I thank you for bearing with me, and hope you can forgive me for dilly-dallying so.
Chapter 3: An Early Life
Having been 'born', though maybe not in the traditional sense of the word, Albus then had to face the challenges of a world in which, at that time, new discoveries seemed to be alerting the press almost every other day. This sudden spark of insight in British wizards was not lost on the rest of the world.
A chat with the Official records keeper for the Department of International Magical Co-operation, Remulis Cordelius, revealed that it was during this time, that the English magical community experienced one of the greatest periods of expansion, as wizards travelled here in their search for inspiration, as well as fame and fortune. The only other time where there was such a sudden influx of foreigners into the country was when Grindenwald was expanding his reign of terror.
Not to be outdone, Kendra and Percival took it upon themselves to ensure that the new generation of Dumbledores would not be left wanting in this world where knowledge was quickly becoming more powerful than mastery of spells. At the tender age of 2, Albus began his education, and what an education it was. He had already shown his magical abilities very early on, claims Larry Hughes, one of the only people alive today who can claim that they knew the previous generation of Dumbledores. "I remember clearly the day we first met, Percival and I. It was a fine day for Quidditch, I remember, as I used to be quite the Keeper myself. Asked to try out for the England squad, wouldn't you know?" After which he elapsed into a long and somewhat tiresome monologue regarding his Quidditch expertise and skills. When asked to elaborate on the Dumbledores, however, he was quick to get to the point.
"Ah yes, Percival and I met one day as I was wearing my Appleby Arrows robes, considering my future. Upon seeing the robes, Percival approached me to ask if I played for them. I did not, of course, and I stated that clearly. Thereafter, we became friends, as we would always discuss the different Quidditch teams and their future aspects." It would seem that the popularity of Quidditch had been grossly underestimated even by the most ardent of fans. How else could it be that a family so renowned for secrecy and deceit could have allowed such a relationship to have been built on the foundation of the Chudley Cannons, Appleby Arrows and Wimbourne Wasps?
Back to the topic at hand, however, Hughes was all too eager to share his knowledge of young Albus's life. "He was always busy with one tutor or the other; it wasn't surprising for him to be indoor all throughout the day, having lessons." Despite this obvious penchant for learning instilled in him by his parents, he did not seem too unsuited for magical life either. "I remember noticing, very early on, the strength of his magical core. The raw power that resided in that child astounded me, especially considering his relative immaturity. After all, when it first came to my attention the extent of the potential he possessed, he could not have been more than 6 years of age," claims Hughes.
This power, while painfully obvious to some who know him now, did at that time cause a lot of excitement. The Dumbledores did not possess much raw power as individuals, although they did harbour an affinity for attention. Albus was both a contradiction and an affirmation of the rule. He did seem to bask in the attention he received later on in life, never hiding the fact that he had been offered the post of Minister of Magic numerous times (more on that later). However, he also did possess an extraordinary amount of power in his own magical core, which may have contributed to his being labelled the only person that You-Know-Who ever feared.
Putting that extraordinary power to use, then, must have been on the forefront of his parents' minds. And it was with this mind-set around which his education was constructed, the achievement of maximum gain from what seemed sure to be a glorious life. This, sadly, is where the Chimaera that was greed reared its ugly head.
It has already been pointed out that the bulk of the Dumbledores had been simply ordinary in terms of magical ability. Albus, on the other hand, seemed to be practically dripping with raw magical ability. As mentioned in the previous chapter, Albus was already not very likely to have much brain function to begin with, if the tale of Frankenstein is to be believed. Yet here he was, apparently not only hale and hearty, but with a command of magic to rival most anyone's. How was this possible?
The answer, it would seem, lies in further cover-ups. Larry Hughes, while being most eloquent about the later parts of Albus's childhood, seems to become conveniently hazy-minded when asked about the infancy of the former Headmaster. "There's not much I know about that time, if I'm being honest. I don't really recall seeing him around much during that time. Barely saw him at all, in fact. I vaguely recall seeing the former Wizengamot members visiting his house frequently during the time that young Albus should have been baby Albus. Although I'm not quite sure I saw them leave. They must have though, else that would mean they're still there. Ha-ha, preposterous," said Hughes, becoming progressively more slack-jawed and sporting a (more than usual) unfocused look.
Even the most dull-witted readers would be more than happy to hurl accusations of illegal Transfiguration and Memory Modification, perhaps even murder, if they were to hear such a testament regarding anyone else. However, I refused to accept such simple and obvious explanations with anything that involved the Dumbledores. I decided to do a bit more digging, having already had a germ of an idea planted in my mind.
"Transferral of magical core? Well, I suppose in theory it is possible. I mean after all in essence it is simply energy, our core, and transferral would simply be a movement of that energy…" mumbled Aloysius Mnemosyne, after which he descended into a ramblings of concentrations of magical cores, something called Arrhenius' equation, and various other ridiculous sounding words which did not concern me. He had answered my primary query, and thus was of no further use to me.
Many of you would have already guessed where I am headed. The seeming inability of the members of the Wizengamot to reappear once they had been into the Dumbledore's home, coupled with the extreme strength in baby Albus' core, led me to wonder about the possibility of another combination, one so heinous it had not even been thought of before, let alone documented. It may be that I am completely wrong in this matter, although I do not believe I am.
Having successfully created life, and gotten away with it, the next step was to ensure that their 'son' would be able to get them the life they always craved but could never have. To do so, they had to ensure that Albus would be able to fend for himself magically speaking. Perhaps, after all the trouble that Percival had gone through, he found himself frustrated at the lack of strength in the infant's magical core. His close ties to the Minister would have meant that he could easily have access to the strongest witches and wizards of the time, those serving on the Wizengamot. What was to stop him, then, from simply harnessing the raw power that was available to him at the time, and using it to boost his own creation's power? Other than the method, which none had thought of before, nothing.
Some may claim that this would have required an intellect far beyond that which Percival himself possessed, but I would beg to differ. The speed with which Aloysius was able to answer me about the possibility of such a process struck me as meaning that the process itself could be easily derived as well, if only one put his mind to it. And Percival certainly was determined, if nothing else.
Is this, then, what caused the so-called concentration of power into Albus? Not, as many would have thought, a simple alignment of the stars and a once-in-a-generation event, but rather a devious plot from a desperate father to give his son good standing in the world? Could Percival, already driven slightly mad by his various dabblings in hitherto unexplored areas of magic, have gone a step past murder, to the transferral of power in order to augment his own creation's power?
It is not a thought many would consider feasible, but consider this: The Wizengamot were seen entering the house during the time when Albus should have been a baby, yet his presence was almost undetected during this period. It would be almost impossible to hide the presence of a youngling from others (though as we will discover later, Kendra seemed to be gifted at this as well). These same members of the Wizengamot were not seen coming out. And yet, when Albus' magical core was detected, he bucked the trend his family had exhibited and seemed to be positively bursting with power. Add this to the fact that not many people even remember who the members of the Wizengamot were at that time, and there seems to be a humongous cover-up in place.
Having finally secured his family's future, Percival was then free to showcase his son to the world, and setting the stage for the development of his son's potential. It might have been around this time that Larry Hughes noticed Albus, thus closing the loop on the scandal, as nobody would consider that a baby's magical core had been augmented. Naturally, the stupid masses would be fooled easily into thinking the strength of Albus' core was nothing but the foreshadowing of something great rather than the result of something sinister.