A/N: Hi! Whew! What a week! Two projects and three tests! I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting but I am trying to get my grades back up to an A average. They are A's and B's but barely. I needed some time to focus, but now I'm back with a vengeance! I'm going to finish this story before the school year ends if it kills me!
The Lord and Lady Phoenix
Chapter Fourteen
Ghost of the Past
The Sun's morning light trickled into the Ravenclaw Common Room. All of the students groaned and put their pillows over their heads, trying to get that extra five minutes of sleep. However, two of the beds were empty. They had been empty since four in the morning.
We find our two heroes panting after a good jog around the lake. It was getting easier and easier each time. Suddenly a dog sized blur of black filled their vision. The next thing they knew, they were on the ground, being licked by a skeleton horse.
"Hello to you two Morse." Ginny said happily. The Thestral responded by giving her an even bigger, wetter, and sloppier lick.
"So I see that you found the place alright." Harry said. The horse stopped licking and nodded. It then looked longingly towards the forest.
"Go on Morse." Ginny said. "I know that Hogwarts has a tribe of Thestrals hidden deep in the Forbidden Forest. You'll feel more at home and they wont recognize another new horse. It's their mating season after all. We'll come visit you from time to time."
Morse gave her and Harry one last sloppy kiss before flying off towards the dark woods.
"So should we go check the library? We do need to look up this bond thing." Harry asked after Morse vanished from sight.
"I already did." Ginny said. Harry gave her a confused look.
"This early?"
"What? I told you I'm a morning person!" She said.
"No person, magical or not, should be able to get up that early and enjoy it." He said simply.
"Well, I'm unique." She said, a mischievous grin plastered onto her face. "So anyway, I snuck into the restricted section-"
"And?" Harry pressed on.
"Nothing! Not a single book on bonds, connections, links, anything!" She growled, frustrated.
"I wonder why. I mean, it is a rare phenomenon even in the wizarding world but still-"
'Rare phenomenon?' Someone thought in his mind.
'Hello Salazar.' Harry and Ginny thought at the same time. 'Has Rowena given you that punishment yet?'
'Yes! Now please, I beg of you, do not mention that again! I can still feel the burns!'
'You did bring it upon yourself dear. We all know that Rowena is the prankster in the family.'
Rowena giggled. Salazar whimpered.
'I would never have guessed you to be the pranker Rowena.' Harry thought. 'I always thought it was more Godric's speed. Seems I was mistaken.'
'Watch it boy!' Godric growled. 'You may be my descendent, but that doesn't exclude you from various forms of torture given via me.'
'Harry, shut it and maybe you can get yourself out of this grave you've dug for yourself.' Ginny thought, no effort put in trying to hide the laughter in her voice.
'But back to our topic, rare phenomenon? Ha! The last real bonds made were from me and Helga and Rowena and Godric. Every now and then, there might be a slight pull, but no one has ever really formed one. Merlin and Morgana had one as well.' Salazar said quickly, clearly wanting to change the subject away from Rowena's latest prank.
'So the wizarding world really is clueless.' Ginny said. It was a statement, not a question.
'Yes dear.' Helga chimed in. 'I'm afraid that since the wizard population began worshiping Merlin as a god, their own intelligence dropped severely.'
'Once again, clueless. So can you tell us anything about these bonds?' Ginny thought.
'I must apologize children.' Rowena thought sadly. 'There has never been a bond this early in the two participants. We have never even been able to truly discover the secrets of the bonds and we've been together for thousands of years! We were all in our thirties when our bonds formed and that was still way too early. We've grown immensely powerful by the first decade was over. For you two however…'
'They'll be stronger than all of us put together in the first year!' Godric yelled out.
While our heroes were busy thinking amongst themselves, a certain old man we all know but do not love was pacing in his office, deep in thought.
'What is happening to my glorious, perfectly executed plan?' He thought.
Harry Potter, the boy who lived, was supposed to arrive at Hogwarts School, nervous and desperate to prove himself. He was supposed to be in his proper home. Gryffindor Tower. He was to be friends with young Ronald Weasley, a student that he himself had carefully selected out of all the first years of Gryffindor.
Instead, the headmaster had found a calm Harry Potter, not nervous about a single thing. Like he had known about magic and Hogwarts for a long time.
'But that is impossible.' The headmaster corrected himself. 'The boy has been raised by the muggle family. What was their name again? Durson? Darsley? Dorsly? Dorsneys? It does not matter! They did somehow…accept…magic, but thanks to me, now they despise the very thought of it. All for the greater good. I placed Harry there. I know that the muggle family hated his guts. That was supposed to make him trust me. See me as a hero! But he does not even look in my direction during meals! All the proper, respectable, magical families do that! Why doesn't Harry? What happened?'
And this duel. Why would Ronald do such a thing? The ministry is going to be all for it if it involves Harry. I'm going to have to cast another spell on Ronald to make him win.
And why did Serverus not find anything inside Harry's mind? How could the boy not be thinking about anything?
He glanced at a great scarlet bird sitting on a perch in his office. The bird looked back at him. Dumbledore shook his head and sat down at his desk.
Had he been looking more carefully, he would have noticed the cold glare the scarlet bird was giving him.
Albus looked at a letter sitting on his desk. It was addressed as followed,
To Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
The letter had the ministry seal on it. Sighing, he opened the letter and began to read the words on the parchment.
Dear Albus,
Hello my old friend. How are you? How is the school doing? Don't forget we always have a position open for you if you ever get tired of teaching. I have two topics that I wish to discuss with you.
First, it has come to my attention that Harry Potter is now enrolled in Hogwarts. I personally feel that it is for the good of the Great Wizarding Community of Great Britain that Harry begins to learn about the Ministry of Magic. In the eye of the public, it will show that Harry supports our actions.
'Oh Cornelius,' Albus thought. 'Not exactly the most subtle way of telling me of your wanting to control young Harry.' He continued on with the rest of the letter.
Many other wizarding communities seem to somehow think that we do not think of our people first. The other communities state that we abuse them, but it is all for the community's benefit. It saddens me to say that even some of our own think up these ridiculous ideas. The support for the Ministry is diminishing and we need to act soon. I feel that you would agree with me that not only Great Britain needs to wake up, but the entire world as well. I know that you would agree that if the world saw that the boy who lived supported our actions, the world would soon follow. We, the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts School would lead these changes. Once the wizarding world sees what we are doing, they will agree as well..
Suddenly, Albus seemed much more interested in the Minister's handwriting.
The second part of this letter discusses the search for Merlin.
As I have said above, much of the world does not agree with us on many topics. One of the most important being Merlin. We have kept the search secret for millennia but regrettably, we have yet to discover where the great wizard is.
Other communities have claimed that he has passed on! That he has died! Never to come back again! I say different! Merlin is needed by the wizarding world. Whether it be him, his descendent, or his reincarnation, we must find his personification! Once we find him, the wizarding world shall follow us even more so. Combined with the loyalty of young Harry Potter, none will be able to pursuit in the perfect world we shall create!
Albus, I have kept the search secret for many years. As had my predecessor as had his predecessor as had her own. I feel that we should come out into the open regarding the search. We have looked in all the wrong places! We need to come out into the open and show the world that we are right as always! We may be able to check the young witches and wizards in Hogwarts to see if one is really his personification. The world needs Merlin back. And we are his most loyal followers. We, the community of magical Great Britain, have always held onto his traditions and we will bring him home to where he belongs!
I do hope to find you well and that you will agree with my wishes.
Warm Regards,
Cornelius Oswald Fudge
(A/N: Ironic how he says that Britain is the last loyal follower of Merlin, when we know a certain couple of masked wizards following old snake face.)
Albus stared at the letter. It contained two very important decisions. One Harry Potter, the other, the search for Merlin. Albus grinned.
'Excellent, the fool is finally seeing that I was right.' He thought. 'Now about Harry, he is loyal to me and me alone. I know that he would never become independent so that is one problem solved. The search for Merlin, that is another story.'
Albus had been searching for the heir for most of his entire life. When he realized that he, himself, was not the heir, something snapped in the old man's brain. Since that day, he vowed to find the true heir and make them loyal to only him. That way, he still would be in control.
Albus then thought of something. Something that had entered his mind almost a month ago. He quickly walked over to a lone cabinet and he opened it up. Inside was a stone basin. Its contents were filled with a misty substance. Behind the bowl, labeled glass tubes filled with white hair sat in storage. Albus spun the storage unit containing the tubes round and round. There were hundreds, thousands, millions maybe. Some contained mist from his own mind. Most however, were ones that he…ugh…borrowed…from other witches and wizards. Soon he found the very exact one he was looking for.
He popped the cork off and poured the contents into the misty liquid of the pensive.
An image began to form from the inky substance formed from the combination of the two. It soon took the shape of a young, boy. Another form blended together at his side. She was a young girl with red hair. They were exiting the bookstore.
Albus lowered his head into the basin and his entire body dissolved into the mist. A second later, he found himself in Diagon Alley. People walked through him as if he were a ghost. But it was the other way around. This version of Diagon Alley was a ghost. A ghost of the past.
Albus Dumbledore then saw…Albus Dumbledore. The second one took no heed to him as he walked on by. The memory Albus's train of thought was interrupted when he bumped into a young boy. The first thing the real Albus noticed when he looked at this ten year old was his magic. Even if it was a memory, he could feel the pulse of magic burst from the boy. No underage wizard could possibly have this kind of power. Heck, he doubted there was any adult wizards containing the amount of magic the boy did. He had black hair and blue-green eyes. Albus gazed at the child's forehead. It was scar less. This boy couldn't be Harry Potter. The girl next to him had to be a Weasley. She had both the red hair and the freckles.
"Sorry sir." the boy apologized. "I wasn't looking where I was going." Memory Albus smiled.
"The fault resides in me as well. My attention was focused upon which pair of socks I would be purchasing at Madame Malkin's." He smiled at the child's confusion.
"Right…well lets go." He and the Weasley girl turned to walk away.
"Wait! Excuse me child but what is your name?"
"Stone." He and the red haired girl walked away. Albus was in confusion. "Stone?" Memory Albus muttered, "I've never heard of the Stones. For this powerful boy to be a member of a family whose name eluded my vast mind? Very mysterious. I will have to look into this." He walked into a side alley and Disapparited away.
The real Albus felt himself shoot into the skies. Another second passed and he flew back into his office. This boy…there was something about him. There were only two things about this boy Albus knew.
One. He had immense power.
Two. His last name was Stone.
That was it. Nothing more, nothing less. Albus walked quietly over to a darkened corner of his office. He stopped in front of a lone bookcase. It was the only spot where the other portraits could not see. They had never know about his secret. And they never would. Albus brought out his white, wooden wand. Its tip tapped gently against a series of books in a simple yet complex pattern. Soundlessly, the bookshelf sunk into the floor, revealing a dark chamber. Albus quickly hurried inside and the bookshelf was restored to its original place.
He continued down the corridor. At last he reached it. His secret library. It held info on everyone. And I mean EVERYONE! The millions of iridescent books that graced the warm brown walls all gave off a meaning of power. He, Albus Dumbledore, had knowledge on everyone. He knew things about them that they did not even know. From their five hundred and twenty seventh grandfather, to their favorite food. Only he knew these things. He had been spending years and years, decade after decade, collecting vast knowledge unknown to the world.
What others did not know was that he was not one hundred and fifty years old. No, that was like a mere second to him. He had been alive for so long, his age had almost slipped his grand mind. Almost. But he would never reveal his true age to anyone. He would never speak of it and he would never think of it. No one would ever know.
The truth was, he was very, very old. When he was his true age of twenty, he became very taken with the mere thought of immortality. He was obsessed with it. Living forever. Only expanding his knowledge and power. Thousands of years ago, he had discovered an ancient ritual to stop his body from aging. It was not the true immortality he o so desired, but it was a big step towards it.
For thousands of years he had masquerading as many different identities. Some of the names he was hidden behind were so famous, they would be remembered forever. Some say you only have one life, so you've got to do what you want. Well Albus Dumbledore had one. A very long one. He could not just sit as one person. Being remembered for only one great thing…bleh! To be remembered for so many other things…that was what made him proud. His real name was not even Albus Dumbledore. He had gone through so many names, he could not even remember his real one. Not that it mattered.
He had also had to take some risks. Some of the great accomplishments he had been credited for were actually of other witches and wizards. But he could never let another person take the credit for something that he 'deserved!' He could never let someone else be as powerful as him!
There was a mere thorn in his glorious plan. The wizard known as Lord Voldemort. Thousands would flinch at the mere word. Yet another great accomplishment Albus had created. Some would foolishly say that he and Lord Voldemort were alike. Those people were dead wrong. It was true that both of them wanted to become immortal. He could not deny that. But Voldemort announced it to the entire world. While he, the genius Dumbledore, kept his goals to himself. Voldemort wanted to eliminate the muggles. Saying that they were dirt and did not deserve to live in his world.
Dumbledore agreed.
It wasn't that he had anything against the muggles. No. They just were not worth spending his glorious time and money on. They were ignorant. They would never know that a world existed around them. They were in the dark, and Dumbledore was going to keep it that way, permanently. Unlike Lord Voldemort, he operated behind the scenes. He was the chess master. Life was a chess board. Just when the enemy thinks he's got you, a hidden move played at the right time will defeat everything.
Little did Albus Dumbledore know, that a few of his chess pieces were not going to follow his orders.
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A/N: So there you have it. The secret of Albus Dumbledore. He has lived for thousands of years, hiding himself behind different identities. He has wiped quite a few minds just to take credit so no one could be as famous as he was. All for fame and glory. Do I sense a connection to Lockhart?
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Thanks to…
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Challenges
1. Any ideas for more on Dumbledore's back story?
2. What will happen next?
See you next chapter.
SuperXBrother