Albus Dumbledore and the Everlasting Flame
Disclaimer: this is a work of fan fiction based on the worlds created by JK Rowling
"In truth and lies there is a truth and a lie but which is the truth?"
Chapter 14 – A Black Deception
The swirling of light and sound ceased and Albus became aware that his feet had touched down on solid ground again. He could still feel Jannes Grundelwald's hand clenched around his thin arm. Albus slowly opened his eyes to discover that he was inside the turret of a castle, though, this was clearly not Hogwarts. The stones were black with soot and the walls were hung with manacles. A grate in the window offered little solace of escape. But then, Albus thought, I can apparate …
'Arresto spiritus!' cried another, deeper voice. Albus felt his skin tingle with the force of a spell, and when he attempted to disapparate back to the gates of Hogwarts, he remained exactly where he was. He tried again, but it was in vain. The voice spoke again in a heavy German accent, 'you may release him, Jannes. He will not escape.'
Jannes Grundelwald let go of Albus and he immediately felt a rush of blood back into his arm, which had gone heavy under the German's crushing grip. He looked into the shadows at the far side of the cylindrical room and saw a man dressed in what looked like a muggle's military outfit, complete with silvery badges on the chest and shoulders. It was Admiral Wolfgang Scholtz, Headmaster of the Black Forest School of Magical Arts!
'What are you doing with me?' demanded Albus, but his question was interrupted by several loud popping sounds in quick succession. A couple of boys in the red undergarments and silver robes of the School of Magical Arts appeared next to Grundelwald, as did his white-eyed little brother. Grindelwald gazed at Albus with cool, undisguised interest, but his expression was changeless. A man had appeared next to Admiral Scholtz. He had an all too familiar face with dark features and an angry disposition. It was Phineas Nigellus, formerly Headmaster of Hogwarts.
'You!' cried Albus, but he was ignored for the second time. He searched in his pockets for his wand but could not find it. He realized with a sinking feeling that he had left it in his dormitory prior to the Quidditch match.
'So the job is complete?' Phineas asked. His voice reminded Albus strongly of Slytherin House winning undeserved points toward the House Championship.
'Ja, it is as planned,' replied one of Grundelwald's schoolmates. 'The stand collapsed and it was made to look as if it were an accident.'
'And what of Dumbledore senior?' asked Phineas.
'He disapparated before we could stun him,' said the German student. 'He was badly wounded in the fall, however.'
'That is not as we planned,' Phineas said, kicking a manacle so hard that it reached the end of its tether and rebounded back against the wall with a clang. 'I wanted him stunned and captured so that we could torture the boy in his presence until he yielded the answers I want to hear!'
'It is not entirely a defeat,' Admiral Scholtz said. 'The primary objective was the boy, ja?'
'That is true,' Phineas conceded, his dark eyes narrowing on Albus. 'For if your students' eavesdropping has been accurate, this worthless boy holds the key to my victory over Dumbledore.'
'Our victory,' Admiral Scholtz said chidingly.
'Yes, but yours is a victory towards a greater aim,' Phineas said, 'whereas mine will be a victory of vengeance. I will have my retribution over Dumbledore for the manner in which I was disgraced last year, and I will kill this boy when we are done with him in revenge for his part in it.'
'I cannot see how this child managed to defy both you and Imhotep,' Admiral Scholtz said. Despite his strong German accent Albus could not help but notice how clearly he spoke the English language. It was as though he had taken education here at some point.
'He was fortunate,' Phineas said bitterly, but the white-eyed child had something to say.
'He is nearly as good as me,' Grindelwald said. Albus felt his cheeks glow red as the others looked at the white-eyed boy. Albus rarely thought highly of himself, and thought he was quite a modest chap. But this beastly ten year old was speaking a little too highly of himself if he thought he was better than Albus. Albus desperately wished he had his wand with him, because Grindelwald deserved a spell in the eye.
'I do not care how good he may or may not be,' Phineas snorted. 'If you will, I would like to be done with this business, so can we extract the necessary items from this brat?'
'Very well,' Admiral Scholtz said. 'It would be prudent to be getting back to Hogwarts very presently, after all.'
The muggle-dressed Headmaster strode towards Albus, his wand held aloft. He started casting various charms, beginning with the rudimentary 'Accio Orb', until he got serious and started probing Albus' mind with the Legilimens charm. Albus felt as though fingers were pushing his brain around, and images of almost everything that was important to him flashed through his head. Admiral Scholtz was clearly not as skilled as Archaeon at Legilimency, but Albus nonetheless felt horribly exposed. It was as though he were naked in front of a vast audience, with a cold wind blowing. He found himself thinking of Albion Dumbledore's portrait at Hogwarts, and the thought that something was hidden there crossed his mind. Admiral Scholtz stepped back, a triumphal look upon his face.
'The objects are hidden within the confines of a portrait at Hogwarts,' Admiral Scholtz said to the others in attendance. 'It is through the simple use of a Portrait Gatekeeper charm that the objects are concealed.'
'If that were the case, we would need the boy to retrieve them,' Phineas said, but he was staring straight at Albus who had forgotten not to smile in relief, 'but given that Dumbledore is delighted that you "discovered" the Portrait Gatekeeper charm suggests to me that this is just a ruse. I suspect that his father has used a more potent charm to protect those items. Try again, Wolfgang.'
Admiral Scholtz frowned but did as he was told. Once more Albus felt his thoughts being tinkered with, like pieces of parchment being rifled through by an intruder into someone's house.
When Admiral Scholtz had failed to break through Albus' Amon-hen curse, which kept Albus from thinking that the objects were concealed in his pockets, so that Admiral Scholtz could not figure it out through Legilimency, the German Headmaster stepped back and addressed his companions in crime. He looked flustered.
'That accursed man has used some sort of Egyptian magic to protect the objects,' Admiral Scholtz grunted. 'There is no breaking his defenses. That said, I have discovered much about this brat that he would not want us to know. He loves the girl Moody in his year, his phoenix can be found in an Everlasting Oak in the Forbidden Forest and he dreams of the Everlasting Flame.'
'That is convenient,' Phineas said wickedly, 'seeing as it is the Flame we are after.'
Albus swallowed hard. His father's suspicions were now confirmed, but they were worse than he had imagined. Phineas and his cronies in the Ministry appeared to be working in tandem with the Germans in an attempt to steal the Everlasting Flame, which Albus now realized that Archaeon must possess. In the summer holidays Albus had found the empty vessel for the Flame and Archaeon had pretended that he did not know where it had gone to. But Albus now knew: Archaeon had hidden it for safekeeping, and this is what their enemies wanted to uncover. This was beyond the Orb and a few protective devices in Albus' care – this was about the Everlasting Flame. Albus realized that Phineas and Admiral Scholtz wanted the Orb in order to find a truth and a lie about where the Everlasting Flame was, and from there, they would do whatever it took to locate it.
'I have an idea,' Jannes Grundelwald said eagerly. The wide-shouldered Triwizard Champion had been shuffling his weight from foot to foot, clearly disappointed that the two older wizards were excluding him from the magical interrogation of the boy that he had captured. He said, 'we could torture and kill the girl, destroy the phoenix and scatter its ashes, or we could give him the option of revealing his secret to us.'
Albus felt a chill through to his core, but it came not from Jannes Grundelwald's words, but from the look of evil greed on Grindelwald's face. The white-eyed boy looked positively delighted at the prospect of inflicting harm on someone Albus found dear to him.
'That would take too long to enforce,' Phineas said, discarding Grundelwald's opinions immediately. 'I want the Orb now, and I want to kill this child thereafter. Feel free to torture and kill the Moody girl if you wish, you Germans have a lot to fear from her parents – they are developing magical defenses for Britain in case of war between our nations.'
'You unpatriotic monster!' cried Albus suddenly. He was staring at Phineas Nigellus with undisguised hatred. How could a former Headmaster of Hogwarts, no matter how corrupt, be prepared to connive so openly with Germans? Was he honestly prepared to see German wizards conquer Britain? As though he were reading Albus' thoughts, Phineas replied accordingly.
'In the future, you obscene brat,' Phineas said viciously, 'nations will not be decided by race but by power. In this world there are two things; bloodline and power. Provided pureblooded Germans rule England, I would heartily follow provided I was given the powers I have long thirsted for.'
'You reveal too much,' Admiral Scholtz said, putting a hand on Phineas' shoulder. 'Should this boy escape, he will know far too much of our plans.'
'He will not escape,' Phineas said. 'He dies now, but first … Imperius!'
Albus felt a sudden desire to cast the Amon-nu spell and reveal the concealed objects in his pockets. But he had no wand.
'I need a wand,' Albus said.
'Oh for heaven's sake,' Phineas cried. He pointed at one of the German students, who came forward reluctantly with a wand for Albus.
Albus' hand was a few inches away from taking hold of the wand when a flash of light accompanied the arrival of Fawkes in mid-air in front of him. Instead of grabbing the wand, as Phineas' Imperius curse was instructing him to, Albus grabbed hold of Fawkes' tail. The phoenix disapparated instantly, taking Albus with him.
Fawkes set Albus gently down on a couch in the Dumbledore living room, all the way back in Wales. Why Fawkes had chosen to place Albus there, he did not know, but needless to say, their sudden appearance gave the Dumbledore house elf a tremendous fright. Nibs fell over in shock, before getting up, apologizing profusely for his rudeness and hurrying off to fetch Albus tea and biscuits. Albus had to laugh, it was he who should be apologizing for making a rude entrance, but the laughter came mainly from the sense of relief he felt at having escaped death. Had Fawkes arrived a minute later, Albus would have performed the Amon-nu, revealed the Orb and been killed by Phineas Nigellus.
Fawkes nuzzled Albus' cheek and then gazed into his eyes, communicating that he had to locate Archaeon now, and that he would return shortly. Albus stroked Fawkes gratefully. It disapparated; leaving him alone in the Dumbledore living room in front of a blazing fire.
Thoughts raced through Albus' head as he tried to make sense of what had just occurred. Naturally he was a little bit put out by the fact that Archaeon had been lying to him about the whereabouts of the Everlasting Flame, but in the next instant his logic had the better of him. Had Albus known the whereabouts, then Admiral Scholtz's Legilimency would have unveiled the secret. Archaeon was too great a wizard to reveal all of his secrets to his twelve year old son, Albus surmised, rather wisely he felt.
His thoughts turned to their enemies. Jannes Grundelwald had sacrificed his chance to win the Triwizard Tournament by kidnapping him and helping his Headmaster and Phineas in their plot to defeat Archaeon and steal the Everlasting Flame. At least, that was how Albus saw it. He was certain that Jannes would have to be expelled from the Tournament now. Not to mention Phineas Nigellus and Admiral Scholtz being thrown into shackles and deported to Germany, or better yet, Azkaban. Maybe Noxious would be sent there too; Albus thought hopefully. After all, Noxious had been boasting at the start of the year how he was going to move to a "better school" after the Triwizard Tournament.
Archaeon Dumbledore apparated into the room with a swirl of his handsome blue robes. Fawkes also appeared again, taking residence on Albus' shoulder and crooning tones of comfort in his ear. Albus gave Archaeon a quick appraisal and realized that the great wizard did not appear hurt after all.
'Father, I thought you had been injured in the stand's collapse?' asked Albus. 'At least, that's what one of the School of Magical Arts students said.'
'I beg your pardon?' Archaeon said, sitting down beside his son and taking him into a tight embrace. 'Fawkes has conveyed very little to me, so you are going to have to start from the beginning. Do not worry about me; I am quite competent at healing my own injuries.'
'What about mother?' Albus asked, realizing that he had quite forgotten about everyone dear to him. 'And what of the others; are Victoria, Mars and Aberforth alright?'
'They are all convalescing at St Mungo's,' Archaeon said, 'as are the numerous other victims of the accident. Now tell me what happened to you; I have been frantic with concern since you disappeared.'
Albus launched into a full recollection of what had happened from the moment Jannes Grundelwald kidnapped him to the instant Fawkes had appeared and saved the Orb from being revealed and him from being killed. When he was finished, Archaeon was gripping him tightly and shaking with rage.
'This is an outrage of the highest order,' Archaeon said. 'I should have realized by Phineas' willingness to associate with a dead Egyptian Dark Lord that he would readily turn to the next best dark power from Germany.'
'Is Admiral Scholtz a Dark Lord?' asked Albus.
'No,' Archaeon said firmly, 'but he is recruited by the German Ministry of Magic to train them. Surely you can see the darkness within the Grundelwald brothers as a sure example of what the future holds? This is worse than I had feared. Come, Albus, we must go at once to Hogwarts. I must summon the five judges and Grundelwald for a tribunal.'
'But Admiral Scholtz is one of the judges,' Albus said.
'You do not need to tell me that,' Archaeon said grimly. He grabbed Albus by the arm and for the third time that day, Albus felt himself being wrenched to another location by disapparation. This time it was the gates of Hogwarts. He had to follow at a run as Archaeon marched on Hogwarts with purpose. Within minutes, Archaeon's power to make things happen became apparent. Somehow he had managed to notify all the relevant people without Albus even seeing him do anything. Minister for Magic Lionel Wilberforce, Professor Prewett, Dr Strovsky, Admiral Scholtz and Jannes Grundelwald were all present in the Great Hall awaiting Archaeon and Albus.
'This is rather unusual, Archaeon,' Minister Wilberforce said, making a stride towards Archaeon, but Albus' father brushed him aside and proceeded to conjure a ring of chairs for everyone to sit on. He conjured a podium on which he placed Albus, facing all the seated people.
'Lionel, Athene, Vladimir,' Archaeon began, 'you will not yet know about what has happened at the Haversfield Hawks versus Caerphilly Catapults Quidditch match. I do not need to inform Scholtz and Grundelwald, for they already know.'
'My word, what happened, Archaeon?' Professor Prewett said, her bad eye staring through her monocle.
'Some dark wizards attacked the flimsy stand in which the audience were seated,' Archaeon said, 'at which time it collapsed.'
'Oh, no, no, no, Archaeon,' Lionel Wilberforce said, laughing mildly. 'I have already received notification of this little incident, and the Ministry officials who investigated it informed me that it was merely a product of the atrocious weather and the weight of the snow on that rickety old stand that caused the collapse. We are all dismayed that such a frail structure could be allowed to …'
'Minister, if you please,' Archaeon said tersely, 'I knew that the word "accident" would be used to describe it, but it is only a convenient cover for what truly occurred. Now, if you will be so kind as to be quiet and listen to my son, who has a story to tell.'
Archaeon turned to Albus; his blue eyes alight with reassurance. Albus nodded, knowing what he must do. Conscious of the gazes of Grundelwald and Admiral Scholtz burning into his skin, he proceeded to recount the story that he had told Archaeon just moments before in the Dumbledore living room.
'Utterly preposterous!' decried Admiral Scholtz when Albus had finished. Albus was surprised in fact that he had taken so long to object, but he realized by the smirk on Admiral Scholtz' face that the German had wanted Albus to tell the whole story. Because it was something of a tall tale, Albus realized, and clearly this is what Admiral Scholtz wanted the Minister to think. Admiral Scholtz went on to say, 'this is clearly a load of tripe invented by an attention-seeking boy who is aware that his father listens to everything he says.'
'Archaeon?' said Lionel Wilberforce, his face screwed up in an unfathomable expression.
'My son is telling the truth,' Archaeon said firmly. 'A dose of Veritaserum would confirm it, I assure you. I beseech you, Minister, to have Phineas Nigellus arrested and taken to Azkaban …'
'I cannot do that,' Minister Wilberforce said. 'My hands are tied on this matter and I have told you this before.'
'Shall I advance directly to the Wizengamot?' Archaeon said loudly. 'They will hear the testimony of my son, and if they enforce the use of Veritaserum on Nigellus, Scholtz and Grundelwald here …'
'Over my dead body!' yelled Admiral Scholtz. He was pointing a fat finger at the Minister. 'If your government attempts to investigate a high ranking German Headmaster on the word of a twelve year old boy, you risk open war with Germany.'
'You will not be a Headmaster once your Champion is disqualified from the Triwizard Tournament and your school is disgraced,' Archaeon said.
'You cannot disqualify Jannes Grundelwald!' Admiral Scholtz screamed. Archaeon and the Admiral were now trading screams that resounded down the length of the Great Hall. Admiral Scholtz cried, 'I am on the judging panel and I vote to keep Jannes in the Tournament. What say you, Minister?'
Lionel Wilberforce gave Archaeon what amounted to a sheepish look and said, 'I must concede, it is a stretch of the imagination to take the word of a twelve year old, Archaeon. I vote to keep Grundelwald.'
'I vote to disqualify him,' Professor Prewett said swiftly. All eyes turned thus to Dr Vladimir Strovsky, who looked quite dismayed by the entire proceeding.
'On a matter of national interest,' Dr Strovsky said softly, 'I cannot oppose the viewpoint taken by the British Minister or Admiral Scholtz. 'Therefore I vote to keep Grundelwald in the Tournament, but I recommend that an appropriate investigation, perhaps the Wizengamot as was suggested, be held into this affair.'
Jannes Grundelwald was staring at Albus with a look of triumph on his face. The judging panel had voted three to two to keep him in the competition. Albus' insides felt like giving way and falling to the floor. He could not believe the politics that he had just encountered. It was to be the beginning of a long and forgetful history between Albus and politics, one that would stop him from ever pursuing a career in the Ministry.
'Thank you for making a sensible and secure decision,' Admiral Scholtz said, flashing looks of contempt in turn at Professor Prewett, Archaeon and Albus. 'Now, if it pleases you, I will be taking my Champion back to our lodgings. This ridiculous meeting has gone on long enough.'
Admiral Scholtz and Jannes Grundelwald marched towards the exit, followed ten strides later by Dr Strovsky, who clearly wanted to avoid involvement in any of this. Minister Wilberforce came over to speak with Archaeon, taking him aside and casting a severe look at Albus. Albus strained his ears to hear what was said, but caught only fragments.
'…risible act of contempt …' the Minister was saying, '…disgraceful … these are our guests … no respect for … magical cooperation … your son needs help … Phineas had influence beyond yours, Archaeon … do not approach the Wizengamot … consequences for your family … that is all I have to say.'
The Minister flung his cloak over his shoulder and stormed off, muttering fiercely to himself. Archaeon came to stand facing Professor Prewett and Albus, his face heavy with the lines of defeat.
'They didn't believe me,' Albus said weakly. 'All I have succeeded in doing is embarrassing you, father.'
'That is not true,' Archaeon said. 'We may not have convinced the Minister to stop bowing to Phineas Nigellus' financial clout, nor has Jannes Grundelwald been rightfully ejected from the competition. But what you have achieved, Albus, is to reveal to me the very details of Phineas' and Scholtz' plans. I now know that they are working side by side in an endeavour to acquire the Everlasting Flame. So do not feel as though you have failed in any sense. You have been through a dreadful ordeal on my account, and it is I who should be apologizing.'
Albus nodded, but could not displace the feeling of unease that clung to his skin.
'This is appalling,' Professor Prewett said. 'I cannot believe the audacity of those Germans, nor can I believe the weakness of our Minister for Magic! I used to have respect for Wilberforce, but none remains after this debacle. How many times must Albus be subject to attempted murder by that man before something is done?'
'Alas, Athene,' Archaeon said heavily, 'when one only has the word of a twelve year old wizard and a phoenix that speaks through the eyes, one does not have a case.'
'But what about Veritaserum?' demanded Professor Prewett. 'You will take Albus to the Wizengamot, won't you?'
'No,' Archaeon said. Albus was surprised. 'The Minister has made it clear to me that he will come down heavily on my extended family if I take any further action. But do not fear, for we will actually profit from this debacle.'
'How?' asked Professor Prewett. 'How is it humanly possible to profit from this?'
'I now know our enemy's plans,' Archaeon said, 'so I can take action to counter them. Furthermore, you must alert all the people who are looking after Albus that the Grundelwald boys and Admiral Scholtz are the three people most likely to do him harm. What's more, I recommend we deliberately punish Jannes Grundelwald when we mark him for the Second Task, given the, er … nature … of the Third and final Task.'
Albus' head was spinning. Who were these people looking after him? And what was it about the nature of the Third Task that Archaeon wanted to put Grundelwald at a disadvantage from the outset?
'Oh, and Albus,' Archaeon said, clicking Albus back to reality, 'I advise you not to speak of your kidnapping to anyone. Act as though nothing happened and keep your head down at school. You are well protected at Hogwarts, and I will be doing everything in my power to protect the Everlasting Flame from our enemies. So you are not to worry, is that understood?'
'Yes, father,' Albus said. He was excused from the Great Hall to return to Gryffindor, because Archaeon wanted private discussion with Professor Prewett. Albus felt as though his legs were heavy lead weights on the stairs up to Gryffindor. He also felt the weight of a thousand portraits staring at him. It was in that moment that he knew which "people" were looking after him at Hogwarts: it was the portraits.
Author's Note – there is the follow-up to the cliffhanger that everyone was complaining about :-). I attempt to have one or two good cliffhangers in every story. Remember that if you read the whole story from start to finish, it isn't a cliffhanger because you can just go to the next chapter. I suppose it's different when I don't update for a few days … or a week! Anyway, thanks to all you wonderful reviewers, keep it up! And I am now on the home straight. There are about six or seven chapters left and I am hoping to rattle them off in the next two weeks! So the end of this book is nigh!