Before Hogwarts
Bird, Bat, Cat, Rat
"How had the Americans gotten so much information from the ministry?", this was the question on Albus Dumbledore's mind, in fact it was a question many were asking themselves. That Sirius Black had escaped was puzzling enough, but he had made it to the states and they were able to do what should have done years ago, determine he was innocent of the charges. "I was a fool not allowing the ministry to give him the kiss. But alas I really didn't think he was guilty, just mislead by Tom. Maybe I should have looked closer at the situation. Potter, Black, Lupin, and Evans were so bright, can't say the same for Pettigrew, they wouldn't have allowed Tom to sway them. It is really a surprise that they switched secret keepers and didn't tell me. I wonder who they got to do the change spell? None of them appeared to be that strong as to override my Fidelius charm. Someone did something. If the secret keeper was dead then that explains why I knew where to find them, otherwise nobody should have been able to find them without being told. Yet I knew where to find them the whole time. Did I make a mistake and make myself a keeper in addition to Black? That isn't supposed to be possible. I will have to examine this when I have time.", Dumbledore thought to himself as he looked again at the headline.
"What has Albus done? I still wonder how He-who-must-not-be-named found out where to find them. Black was the obvious choice for secret keeper, so they were smart to change. But using Peter Pettigrew, granted I would have never guessed anyone would make him a secret keeper. If this headline is correct then Albus is in trouble, more trouble than ever before. He was, and still is, the Chief Warlock for the wizengamot and the only thing standing in the way of the purebloods plans. Not to mention the Supreme Mugwomp for the International Confederation of Wizards. Yes this could be very bad for Albus."; Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts and transfiguration instructor and head of Gryffindor House, thought as she read the article in the Daily Prophet that was covering the article from the American newspaper.
"Well it would seem that the old goat has been found out. He should have done something when I first told of the Dark Lord's plans. He could have saved Lily if he had only tried. All he had to do was tell them the truth, that it could have been either the Potters or the Longbottoms. But no, he knows what is best for everyone and thought that Potter was capable of defending against the Dark Lord.
Every time Potter and his group got caught in school was because of Pettigrew being such a dunderhead. I can't wait to hear Dumbledore answer the question of where that whelp of Potter's is now. He is most likely living the life of luxury some where, being petted and pampered.", these were the thoughts on the mind of Severus Snape, Potion Master and instructor at Hogwarts.
In a room high up in a tower of Hogwarts a group of boys were talking about an article in the paper. The article said that Sirius Black, mass murderer, had turned up in America and that the Americans had proven he wasn't a mass murderer and that he had been imprisoned for nine years without a trial. Now Black was a free man, as long as he stayed in America. And the Americans had the nerve to question Prof. Dumbledore and to ask the ICW to investigate the matter. None of the boys noticed the rat in a cage sitting behind them that usually slept all the time was very much awake.
That night two things happened that were unusual, first Prof. McGonagall wasn't at dinner as usual, second a grey tabby cat was seen running away from #4 Privet Dr. as if it had been frightened by something. When McGonagall was seen the next morning she looked different, her hair was the same color as a grey tabby cat's with the same markings. When she was asked by Dumbledore what had happened she told him she had gone to check on Harry Potter and had run afoul of an unusual ward around the house. The ward had shocked her and now her hair wouldn't change back to normal. Both professors were surprised as Dumbledore had experienced a similar ward when he went to check on Harry.
Dumbledore had tried to apparate to Privet Dr. and had been thrown back instead of arriving where he intended. Even more strange, when he contacted Mrs. Figg who lived on Privet Dr. she told him she had not been able to approach the house for two days. Every time she went by she was turned away as if someone was controlling her steps.
That weekend Dumbledore asked Snape, since he was raised in the muggle world, to go by and check an address that was the home of an underage muggle-born wizard that had not been contacted yet. Snape wasn't too happy about this as he didn't get along with youngsters well, he just barely tolerated first years.
When Snape got to within a block of the house he could feel the wards starting to charge. The first thing he noticed was a compulsion to turn and go another way, but the compulsion was weak at first. That compulsion got stronger as he approached the house. He was really having a difficult time resisting the compulsion when he felt a strong shock that pushed him back and disorientated him for a short time. He tried again and got as far as the edge of the yard and he was thrown somewhere else; he ended up in a park several blocks away. He tried to apparate to the back yard of the house and once again was thrown back to where he had started. These were some strange and powerful wards, in fact he doubted any wizard or witch could approach the house.
Once back at Hogwarts, Snape went to see Dumbledore only to find that the Headmaster had been called to the wizengamot unexpectedly. He decided to tell McGonagall instead. When he related his experiences with the wards she told him she had experienced something similar in her animagus form. If this was accidental magic then whoever lived there was very strong or had the support of a fully trained wizard or witch.
Meanwhile at the Ministry of Magic in the main courtroom Dumbledore was being grilled as to the whereabouts of one Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived. And the questions weren't just from the wizengamot, they were from a representative of the ICW who told him that he had been suspended as Supreme Mugwomp pending an investigation into the Black case. The questioning continued with inquiries as to why Sirius Black had been imprisoned and never brought to trial. Dumbledore's response that he and Minister Fudge had decided that the evidence was so great that a trial wasn't needed didn't satisfy the ICW representative or the members of the wizengamot, particularly Madame Bones head of the DMLE.
When questioned about this decision, Fudge said it was all Dumbledore's idea and he went along since Dumbledore was the Chief Warlock of the wizengamot. It was Madame Longbottom who suggested that Dumbledore be removed as Chief Warlock and the wizengamot agreed, all except Fudge, Madame Umbridge, and a few of Fudge's closest friends. Then the ICW representative presented Fudge with an official sanction from the ICW and a warning that the ICW would be looking very close at the happenings in England over the next few years, and especially at Fudge. Dumbledore was notified to appear at a full ICW meeting in two weeks time to be notified of the results of their investigation of his actions.
The biggest surprise of the meeting was when Madame Bones asked for a censure of Minister Fudge for his actions in the Black case. She also made a motion that if the evidence referenced by the Americans was found to be true that the ministry owed Sirius Black a great sum of money in addition to clearing his name. There were several people opposed to this idea, the same ones who failed to vote in favor of removal of Dumbledore as Chief Warlock. The amount settled on, should Black be innocent, was 5,000,000 gallons. Part of this amount was to come from the private accounts of Dumbledore and Fudge, 1,000,000 gallons each. Both men were made to sign a draft for that amount and said draft would be presented to the Goblins to have the funds transferred to a special account along with the 3,000,000 gallons from the ministry. The moneys were to be returned to the ministry if unclaimed after 3 years, including the 2,000,000 from Fudge and Dumbledore as a fine.
Dumbledore was not in a good mood when he returned to Hogwarts late that night. He was even more surprised the next morning when he was told about Snape's experiences on Privet Dr. It seemed that the wards took longer to react to animagi than to regular people. Of course the news was in the paper the next day saying Dumbledore had been removed as Chief Warlock. That was bad enough, but the article also told of his suspension as Supreme Mugwomp. The mood in the great hall was very depressed and the gossip was soon rampant that Dumbledore was going to be removed as Headmaster after the current year.
Snape was worried, if Dumbledore was removed he would lose his job as it was only Dumbledore's protection that allowed him to stay. If Dumbledore hadn't stood up for him, Severus Snape would have been in prison at this moment along with the rest of the Death Eaters. Maybe it was time to have a talk with Lucius Malfoy just for insurance purposes should Dumbledore be sacked.
Two weeks later Dumbledore went to the ICW meeting and was told that due to evidence found that no investigation was ever made regarding Sirius Black and his supposed involvement in the deaths of James and Lily Potter and the deaths of the dozen or so people afterwards, plus his own admission of sending Mr. Black to prison without a trial, he was stripped of his position as Supreme Mugwomp of the ICW. Dumbledore's only reply was "I did it for the greater good". Dumbledore was unable to answer the question of how a 15 month old child defeated Voldemort when he himself hadn't been able to do so.
The news of Dumbledore's expulsion as Supreme Mugwomp was out before he even made it back to England. Dumbledore hoped that the board didn't remove him as Headmaster of Hogwarts, he got lucky in that he had enough support to retain that position. Snape was glad that Dumbledore would still be the headmaster, that almost guaranteed his position. McGonagall was glad that the school board didn't sack Albus, as she didn't really want to take over his position and all that paperwork.
Up in one of the towers a rat seemed to be taking an unusual interest in the Daily Prophet article that said Dumbledore had been removed as Supreme Mugwomp of the ICW after he had been removed as Chief Warlock of the wizengamot, the dark lord would be pleased if he was still around. The rat was actually Peter Pettigrew, and he had been in his animagus form for almost 10 years hiding from the only people who knew he was an animagus and the death eaters who thought he had betrayed the dark lord.
The news of Dumbledore's removal was the top item on the gossip circuit at Hogwarts when it came out in the Daily Prophet. Everyone wondered if he would had to go to prison or if they, the ministry and the ICW, would just watch him closely. Dumbledore made the announcement at supper that night that he had retained his headmaster position at Hogwarts. Dumbledore went on to say that end of year exams were coming up and he wished each of the students the best of luck.
The term ended a couple of weeks later and all the students were headed home for the summer, and the teachers were getting ready for their holidays too. The only ones who wouldn't be leaving were Dumbledore and Hagrid, the grounds keeper, as both lived at Hogwarts year round. Even Snape would leave for a few weeks to tend to personal business before coming back to re-supply the hospital wing with replacement potions. Albus didn't think he would enjoy this break as much as he had in the past, what with losing his positions with the wizengamot and the ICW.
A/N: Now we know what was happening elsewhere and what happened to Dumbledore and party.
As a warning I will play with the timeline a little to get things to happen as I need them to occur. There will be horcrux in this, even if I don't get a chance to do all seven books (of course things will have to change to compensate for Harry knowing about magic).
Please be kind and press the green button below and leave a review.