Albus Dumbledore and the Everlasting Flame
Disclaimer: this is a work of fan fiction based on the worlds created by JK Rowling
"It isn't how you start the race of life, or finish it. Its how you run the in-between."
Chapter 16 – The Magical Race
After Albus had delivered Professor Equus' instruction on how to please magical creatures to Thomas, he was free to devote his energies to the revived Pirates. He sent a letter by owl to his father asking if Archaeon would mind giving Thomas tutelage before the Second Task, but that was an aside. With the Second Task due to be held at the end of January 1854, Albus' main priority was to get the Pirates ready for a major prank on the Black Forest School of Magical Arts.
Developing pranks was not the only thing occupying the plates of the young second year Gryffindors, however. Their teachers seemed intent on delivering homework in endless volumes. Fortunately for them all, Albus' quick thinking brain conjured a solution during the first week back after Christmas, on the same day that Victoria and Mars returned looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed following their stays at St Mungo's.
'I have an idea,' Albus said grandly, while the Gryffindors lounged on their favourite couches in the common room, moping about the three foot long essay Professor Bones had demanded from them on the transfiguration of saplings into seats.
'It had better be an idea of greater quality than William's absurd idea to blow up fireworks underneath the School of Magical Arts' stand during the Second Task,' Alabastor grumbled.
'Let's hear it then,' William said, puffing out his chest and pulling on his hair, 'seeing as Alabastor has barely ventured a scrap of intelligent thought since last year!'
'If it is not Alabastor and William quibbling,' Albus said mildly, 'then it is Alabastor and Emily. Stop chewing on each other's necks like vampires and let me speak. Seeing as we have so much homework to complete from so many subjects, why not combine our homework with the creation of our pranks?'
'Are you stark raving mad?' Alabastor cried. 'How in Merlin's beard are we to combine homework with pranks? Do you expect us to perform a charm on a German student and then inform Professor Rolleston that we have done our homework?'
'You misunderstand me,' Albus said. 'By using spells from our homework in our prank, we will be, in effect, practicing our homework while we do the prank. In that way we will get the best of both worlds.'
'I think it is a stroke of genius,' Victoria said placidly, but her viewpoint was disregarded by the Gryffindors because of her feelings for Albus. It was given more credence when Emily and Maggie both voiced their agreement with Albus' plan.
'So, Professor Dumbledore,' Alabastor said sardonically, 'how about you commence our lesson, then?'
Albus smiled an enigmatic smile and his eyes sparkled blue.
'As you request,' Albus said.
In the weeks that followed, Albus worked harder on his homework than he had ever done before, and the other second year Gryffindors could have said the same of themselves. They spent hours in the library, composing essays and researching spells, all the while trying to find ways to incorporate them into the master plan for the Second Task prank. William, who had a habit of coming up with long-winded titles for Pirates pranks, did the same for this one. He called it, "The Burn Down the Black Forest, Sink the School and Muddle the Magical Arts Pirates Prank to Prove a Perfectly Pertinent Point". Albus quite liked William's inventiveness, but coined the term "The Burn'em Prank" to save having to repeat the long name every time they referred to the prank.
Thanks in part to the Gryffindor second years' newfound diligence in their schoolwork, but largely due to Albus' creativity and mastery of almost everything he attempted, the Burn'em Prank quickly evolved into a complex and brilliantly hatched plan using components from each of their subjects. From Herbology they would use Gregariously Growing Viper Vines. Albus taught them the reverse spell for transfiguring saplings into seats using A Better Way to Transfigure and the lessons learned from Transfiguration class. From Potions they planned to use the Shrieking Potion and copious volumes of Stinksap "borrowed" from Professor Rookwood's stores. They used Charms the most, for Professor Rolleston had taught them well. They would use a levitation spell, a spell to make plants grow faster, a spell to make pellets of Stinksap explode and a spell to make rude noises. They even managed to find a use for their midnight Astronomy lessons, by training their telescopes on the distant Quidditch pitch when Professor Sinistra was distracted and figuring out where the Black Forest School of Magical Arts was due to sit during the Second Task, for stands were being erected where the Quidditch pitch normally stood. At this point Albus could not help himself. He figured out where Slytherin were going to be sitting as well and decided to include them by accident in their Pirates prank.
But most importantly, the Pirates decided to make use of a significant spell derived from Professor Solstice's Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook Principles of Defeating the Dark Arts – A Historical Perspective. They utilized the lessons of Chapter Four – The Art of Masking Your Intentions. The plan was to use illusion charms to mask their spell-making so that they could sit in the Gryffindor stand during the Second Task and freely cast spells and jinxes at the Black Forest School of Magical Arts, without their opponents being able to figure out precisely where these charms were coming from. The same would apply to Slytherin, and to Professor Prewett, who, after all, could still expel them if she chose to in the aftermath of such a risky prank.
Albus had to admit that his nerves grew taut with worry in the week leading up to the Second Task, for a number of reasons. There was the obvious concern that their prank would backfire or Professor Prewett would find out that the Pirates were to blame again and he would be expelled. Then there was the fact that neither Admiral Scholtz nor the Grundelwald brothers had attempted to kill him or kidnap him again, which he somehow had been expecting. He knew that he was being watched out for by the portraits of Hogwarts, but Albus sometimes found himself peering around corners before turning them in the corridors. This whole sense of uncertainty was heightened by the fact that Albus now dreamed of a beam of blinding white light every night, a light that was surely the Everlasting Flame that the enemy so badly wanted to obtain. That as well as a letter that Archaeon sent him in reply to his earlier request about Thomas:
To my dear son Albus,
I am afraid that I must decline your request to help Thomas Jones. The Triwizard Tournament is so named for a reason – it is a three-wizard competition. However, I am well aware that you have been doing the most with your limited powers and insight to assist him in his attempt to win. He needs no more help than you are already giving him.
In terms of what we are facing, trust that I am working swiftly to protect us all from our enemies. You are to keep your profile low as I always request of you, and rest assured that your part in this drama will unfold at the right time. I have total faith in you, my son, to achieve all that you are capable of.
Please inform Aberforth that I heard about his attempt to kidnap a Ravenclaw and hold her hostage for the price of the alluring portrait of Rowena Ravenclaw that hangs in the Ravenclaw common room. Be so kind as to let him know that he will be roasting his rear end when he returns for the summer holidays.
Your loving father always,
Archaeon
As usual, Archaeon's letter left Albus with feelings of intense guilt inside his small frame. He wondered if he was that different from Aberforth, going about performing mischievous pranks with callous disrespect for the rules; yet Aberforth always seemed to get the raw end of the stick. But at twelve years of age Albus was not yet insightful enough to see that the great Archaeon Dumbledore exhibited a fair amount of favouritism towards his youngest son.
The Second Task took place on a Saturday morning near the end of January. The sleet storms of November and December had come to an end, replaced by endless sheets of grey sky and chilly breezes across a snow-strewn Hogwarts. The Quidditch pitch took on a rather different appearance, however. The snow had been cleared for a mile-long stretch, revealing a dirt track painted with two white lines to create three wide racing lanes. Stands had been erected on either side of the track. Each Gryffindor House occupied their own stand, as did the two visiting schools. While everyone was heavily wrapped up to fight the cold, there was no shortage of spirit. Banners and flags flapped in the breeze and various chants went up from the three schools. One might have expected Hogwarts to have the loudest voice, seeing as it outnumbered the visiting schools four-to-one, but the lack of cohesion between the four Houses meant that the Black Forest School of Magical Arts and the Moskva Academy were actually able to raise the loudest cheers.
The judges were positioned behind a row of five tables at the far end of the racing track, whilst the three Champions were readying themselves at the start line. At this point there was no sign of any magical creatures, but Albus had not mentioned the contents of the Second Task to any of his friends, so he was the only person a little disconcerted by their absence. The other absence that Albus noticed was Grindelwald Grundelwald. The white-eyed ten year-old was nowhere to be seen in the Black Forest School of Magical Arts stand. Albus made a mental note of his absence, it seemed important.
'Are you ready?' Albus called to his fellow second years. They had positioned themselves in the very front row of the Gryffindor stand, allowing them an easy view of the Black Forest School of Magical Arts and Slytherin House, both of whom were seated in stands on the opposite side of the racing track. The other second years nodded, gripping their wands with conviction. Four weeks of devoted study and practice would only pay off if they all concentrated with every ounce of their mental energy. As soon as the race was underway and the attention of everyone in the audience was diverted, the Pirates would begin their prank. For now; they waited.
'Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,' Minister for Magic Lionel Wilberforce announced, magnifying his voice by way of wand, 'welcome to the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament!'
The Minister's voice was met with loud roars from everyone in the stands but Albus. In the light of the Minister's behaviour after Albus had been kidnapped and nearly murdered, he was not willing to applaud anything the man said. He also noticed that Minister Wilberforce had taken the announcer's mantle from Professor Prewett, probably because she had dared agree with Albus' father.
'At this point in the Tournament, the standings are as follows,' Minister Wilberforce continued, oblivious to the silent mutterings of one twelve year-old in the audience, 'in third place, with thirty five points, is Anastacia Volkova from the Moskva Academy!'
The Moskva Academy students in their black robes and witch hats let roar their approval for their heroine. Anastacia gave them a tentative wave from her place on the start line but looked clearly unsettled ahead of the Task. Albus was shrewd enough to presume that both Volkova and Grundelwald were well aware of what awaited them. If he could help Thomas figure out what was going on, then no doubt Dr Strovsky and Admiral Scholtz could do the same for their Champions.
'In a close second, with thirty-nine points,' Minister Wilberforce went on, 'is Jannes Grundelwald of the Black Forest School of Magical Arts. Well done, Jannes, you are performing well.'
The Minister's last words were lost under the cheers from the School of Magical Arts students, but Albus heard them clearly and felt his hand clench around his wand. The Minister was either blind to the German's faults or Admiral Scholtz had him under an Imperius curse. It would not have surprised Albus if the latter were true!
'And the current leader, on forty points, is Hogwarts own Thomas Jones,' said Minister Wilberforce, and the Gryffindors cheered accordingly. 'The Second Task will be commencing shortly, and the positions of the three Champions have been used to decide how difficult or easy the start of the Task will be for each of them. On account of being in third place, Miss Volkova will receive the most difficult start, whilst Master Jones will receive the easiest. Once the race is underway, however, all advantages will be lost and it will be a test of skill, courage and magical ability between three highly competent young wizards and witch. On the count of ten, the Magical Race will begin!'
Minister Wilberforce started to count down from ten to one, and the entire audience joined in. On the count of one; a cannon sounded and the audience rose as one to see what was happening on the race track.
Three unicorns had materialized out of thin air in front of the three Champions. Albus quickly glanced in the other direction at his father and saw that Archaeon had his wand out. Without a doubt, Archaeon had used the Amon-hen to conceal the three unicorns. They had been standing on the race track all along.
As Minister Wilberforce had promised, the unicorns had been allocated by difficulty. Anastacia Volkova was struggling to tame her mount, which bucked and kicked fiercely. She got a hoof to the shoulder and fell backwards, prompting the audience to utter a collective gasp. Meanwhile Jannes Grundelwald and Thomas Jones were using entirely different methods of taming their unicorns. Thomas was, as Professor Equus had suggested, standing close to his unicorn and speaking softly in its ear. Albus could have sworn he saw the unicorn nod its head, even from his position all the way back in the stands. By contrast, Jannes Grundelwald was casting all manner of spells at his unicorn. Jets of red, blue and purple flashed from the end of his wand and hit the stunned unicorn. Eventually the unicorn's knees buckled and Grundelwald was able to mount it. By now several of the second year girls were howling tears at the treatment of the splendid white-coated animal, but Grundelwald had taken off at a canter. He was the only Champion galloping down the race track.
For a fleeting moment Albus wondered if he had failed Thomas, but just as his fears surfaced, the unicorn bowed before Thomas and serenely permitted him to mount. Thomas cast a sparkling golden spell on his unicorn and within seconds it was chasing down Grundelwald's mount. Jones and Grundelwald galloped past the judges' tables and their unicorns started to navigate the heavy snow on their way to the Forbidden Forest and the highlands that they had to cross. The pair had almost vanished by the time poor Anastacia Volkova got back to her feet, managed to subdue her rampant unicorn with a few spells, markedly more gentle than Grundelwald's had been; and galloped down the track in pursuit. Albus felt that the time was right.
'Pirates, now!' cried Albus. Almost as one, the ten Gryffindor second years proceeded to perform the routine that they had been practicing for weeks. They cast illusion charms on themselves to mask their wand work from any onlookers. When Albus was satisfied that, upon looking at his friends he saw a group of kids sitting with arms folded watching the race, rather than nine wand-wielding Pirates, he instructed them to continue. They levitated the seeds of Gregariously Growing Viper Vines and showered the unknowing Germans and Slytherins with them. After enchanting the seeds to grow faster than they already did, they proceeded to explode punnets of Stinksap over the heads of their opponents and cast spells that created a host of offending noises. Within seconds the results were evident. The German students and the Slytherins started blocking their noses with their hands and accusing one another of making foul smells. Several stood up and started physically quarrelling with one another, which worked wonders for the Pirates' plans, because they failed to notice the rapidly growing vines that were busy entwining themselves around their legs. Soon the students in silver robes and red undergarments were tripping over the vines and the entire stand creaked with the sound of people falling on people. The same was happening with the Slytherins!
By now the attention of the rest of the school and the Moskva Academy was firmly fixed upon the melee occurring amidst the Slytherins and the School of Magical Arts. The Pirates levitated their pottles of shrieking potion and unleashed them with exploding spells over the heads of their enemies. Soon the bumbling students were not only falling over vines and one another and clutching their noses against the smell of Stinksap; they were also shrieking uncontrollably like banshees and ghouls.
'What in Merlin's name is going on?' yelled Professor Prewett, not needing to magnify her voice to be heard. She advanced on the Slytherin stand, accompanied by Admiral Strovsky, who looked ready to explode with anger. His hair was bristling and he brandished his muggle sword like a wand. It was time for the Pirates' final act, a swansong designed to pay Admiral Scholtz and his students back for what they did at the Caerphilly Catapults – Haversfield Hawks match. It was time for the Pirates to show Professor Bones how well he had taught them at Transfiguration.
The ten Gryffindor second years stood as one, pointed their wands at the Black Forest School of Magical Arts' stand, and performed the spell to transfigure seats to saplings.
The stand collapsed in a rush of splintering wood and bodies falling on bodies as the wooden seats were turned into flimsy saplings without any semblance of mechanical structure. Once the dust had cleared, several dozen bodies lay interlinked with hundreds of saplings. None of the German students had been killed; the stand was not high enough for a fall to inflict any serious damage, but Albus was satisfied that there were enough bruises and cuts to keep Madam Rose in the Hospital Wing busy tonight. But best of all was the look on Admiral Scholtz's face. He looked fit to collapse into a fit of rage. And even though he searched the other stands for a sign of the source, all he could see when he looked in Albus' direction were ten students sitting calmly, watching the carnage with grins on their faces.
The laughter continued long after the students from the Black Forest School of Magical Arts limped back to Hogwarts to receive treatment for cuts and bruises while the Slytherins tried to untangle themselves from the unholy mess of vines that had taken root in their stand. The Gryffindors enjoyed the show the most, and Aberforth was quick to come down to the front and congratulate Albus on his brilliance.
'I would take a hundred floggings from father if it meant accomplishing something like that,' Aberforth opined, 'and in front of him to boot! You are a little genius.'
'We are little geniuses,' Alabastor corrected.
'Very true,' Aberforth conceded. 'Firewhiskies for the Pirates are on me tonight!'
Albus grinned, but this faded from his face when Professor Prewett came walking by, a peculiar clench of her jaw in place. Her bad eye narrowed on Albus through her foreboding monocle, and Albus gulped audibly. Alabastor grabbed Albus' shoulder instinctively, clenching tightly as though looking for support.
Professor Prewett stopped immediately in front of the Pirates. She took a moment for her eyes to meet each and every one of theirs, finally resting on Albus'.
'An utterly disgraceful display,' she muttered darkly, 'bringing shame upon the good name of Hogwarts in the eyes of our German guests, and bringing the Minister for Magic to remark that this school ought to be run by someone with higher standards than I. The very threat of losing my job leaves me little choice.'
Albus stopped breathing. He was dreading what was to come.
'I hereby award Gryffindor two hundred points for delivering a stark reminder to Admiral Wolfgang Scholtz that while his school might produce Dark wizards aplenty, my school produces students of sheer cunning and brilliance.'
Professor Prewett dropped her voice to a whisper and added with a wink, 'and for putting Slytherin in their place.'
The grey-haired Headmistress strode off toward the judges' table, leaving a dumbfounded Albus to receive hugs from Victoria and the other second year girls, amid much whooping and backslapping from the boys. It was a moment the Pirates could cherish. They were back at Hogwarts with a vengeance, and they were back to their points winning ways. None of these ten were getting expelled today!
When the excitement settled down, all eyes turned to the sky to await the outcome of the race. As it happened, Minister Wilberforce had been trying to give a running commentary, for the judges appeared to have some method of telling what was going on. Albus hunted down the three first years that hero-worshipped him and discovered that they had been listening to the commentary with interest. He asked Allan Glastonbury to fill him in on the details.
Albus was able to ascertain that Thomas and Jannes had been relatively evenly matched over the highlands mounted on unicorns, but that Jannes seemingly had greater experience with thestrals and had crossed the North Sea more swiftly. By the time all three Champions were riding ocean serpents, however, both Anastacia and Thomas had caught up to the German. All three had negotiated separate routes through the maze on Minotaur-back to obtain the fragile egg within, and while Jannes had emerged first ahead of Anastacia, it had been Thomas who was first to tame his dragon and launch into flight back to Hogwarts. For as Minister Wilberforce was now booming:
'We should be seeing the first Champion within moments. As I understand it is Jones leading by a full minute from Volkova, with Grundelwald in hot pursuit. Ah … there is the first Champion!'
All eyes turned to the horizon, where a black speck was moving toward them. Albus' eyes strained to see the distant object but failed. He blinked several times in frustration, but Allan produced a pocket telescope and handed it to him. Albus thanked the first year and peered through. To his dismay he discovered that the rider was wearing silver robes over a red undergarment, and had a strong, square jaw and angry expression. It was Jannes Grundelwald.
'Aha!' cried Minister Wilberforce. 'Jannes Grundelwald must have had greater control over his dragon, for he is the first Champion to return! Yes, it is Grundelwald who lands first and seizes the lead from Thomas Jones! And here come the two other Champions now … it looks like a close call … and Jones just holds on from Volkova! What a thrilling conclusion to a dramatic race!'
Albus slumped into his front row seat between Alabastor and Victoria, distraught. Every inch of him had been straining for a Thomas Jones victory, but instead the enemy had won through. How had Jannes Grundelwald surpassed Thomas after he had been the first to successfully mount his dragon?
'The time has come for each of the judges to deliver their verdict!' Minister Wilberforce declared. The three Champions were standing in a row in front of the judges, all clasping the tiny egg that they had obtained from the centre of the maze that they'd had to negotiate on the back of a Minotaur. Minister Wilberforce was the first to announce his score. 'For placing third, I award Miss Volkova five points, with points deducted for her inability to handle a unicorn. For placing second I award Master Jones seven points. And to the winner, Jannes Grundelwald, I award ten.'
The points awarded by Admiral Scholtz were hardly a surprise. He gave Jannes ten, Thomas two and Anastacia one. Dr Strovsky was considerably less partisan. He had the grace to deduct points from Jannes for using harmful spells to subdue a unicorn, awarding him eight, Thomas seven and Anastacia six. Archaeon Dumbledore had left the judges table and was consulting with the dragons, if it were possible to converse with the massive, fire-breathing beasts. He returned to the judges table, muttered a word in Professor Prewett's ear and proceeded to magnify his voice.
'On account of Jannes Grundelwald achieving first place in the race I would have awarded him maximum points,' Archaeon said gravely, 'but a number of factors count against him. I deduct three points for the use of dark magic to subdue a unicorn, but of greatest concern is the manner in which he achieved the victory. For attacking his fellow competitors' dragons and thereby cheating his way to victory, I deduct the remainder of Jannes Grundelwald's points and award him zero. I award the rightful winner, Thomas Jones, ten points, and the rightful second place, Anastacia Volkova, eight points.'
Admiral Scholtz stamped his feet and pounded his fists on his table, but there was no erasing the power of Archaeon's words. All five stands resonated with boos at the cheat, and with no Black Forest students to back him up, Jannes Grundelwald cut a miserable figure standing before the judges. Professor Prewett stood up and awarded the same points that Archaeon had, leading Admiral Scholtz to storm off in a tantrum.
'Tallying up the points,' Professor Prewett said, ignoring Minister Wilberforce's protest that he be the one to make the announcement, 'Jannes Grundelwald and Anastacia Volkova have finished jointly second on the Second Task with twenty-eight points each. The winner of the Second Task, with thirty-six points, is Thomas Jones!'
Gryffindor raised a cheer louder than any Albus had heard that year. When the points from the first two Tasks were tallied, Thomas led with seventy-six points, Jannes was second with sixty-seven, and Anastacia trailed with sixty-three.
A jubilant Gryffindor House marched back to Hogwarts, chanting and waving their lionhearted banners at the grey sky. The Pirates were singing and dancing for joy, having seen the Gryffindor Champion emerge victorious and won the House two hundred points at the expense of Slytherin and the German school. Albus felt comfortable holding hands with Victoria for the first time in a while. There had been distance between them for reasons Albus could not explain, but this latest Pirates prank had brought them close again, and Albus now remembered why he liked her so intensely.
Aberforth was once again responsible for a raucous party in the Gryffindor common room, but before he could lumber the Pirates with Firewhiskies, Albus and Mars went up to their dormitory to put their wands away. They were chatting away merrily as they came through the door but what they found ended all conversation.
Albus' bed was in tatters. The curtains had been slashed into ribbons, and the bed-sheets were torn. Pillow feathers covered the entire dormitory. But worse was the state of Albus' trunk. Its contents were strewn the length and breadth of the room, shattered or torn or broken. A Better Way to Transfigure had been reduced to a thousand scraps of paper. A Guide to Magical Secret Keeping was in a similar state. The hourglass Mars had given Albus for his birthday had been shattered against the wall. Worse was still to greet Albus' eyes. His striped green and crimson Caerphilly Catapults uniform had been reduced to rags and cinders. The last insult was the shattered window behind his bed. When Albus ran over to look, he discovered that Fawkes' stand had been thrown through the window and now lay in splinters at the foot of Gryffindor Tower.
'They must have known that we did the pranks on them,' Mars said weakly.
Albus stood in the middle of the room and shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes and running soundlessly down his face.
'This had nothing to do with the prank,' Albus said. 'Please go call Professor Prewett or Professor Rolleston … my father … someone …'
Mars ran off, leaving Albus alone to cry in peace. He knew at once who had done this. He knew at once why they had done this. The person had come looking for the Orb or the Everlasting Flame, both items that they had no hope of finding in his dormitory, and in a rage that person had destroyed every one of Albus' belongings, leaving those of his four roommates intact.
As Albus stood sobbing, waiting for his teachers or his father to come and see what had done to him, he knew with a coldness in his heart why Grindelwald Grundelwald had been absent during the Second Task that morning.
Author's Note – I am truly charging through this tale as we approach the climaxes. I say climaxes because, like the first Albus Dumbledore book, this story has more than one twist to come. I hope you are all enjoying this!