This is a long one; I didn't think it broke easily.
Chapter 21: Tea and Tales with Albus
Dumbledore spoke seriously to Draco.
"You are supposed to be killing me; I doubt that Riddle seriously believes you will have succeeded by the Yule holidays" the headmaster said "It will be quite all right, should he question you, to stammer and tell him you have not had the opportunity. He will think you weak, but it will be only as he expects. We need to get the timing of the faked death precisely worked out; and I would prefer to wait until we have possession of the other horcruces."
Draco nodded.
"I thought of supposedly luring you to the Forbidden Forest and leaving the rest to Grawp" he said. "That takes care of a lack of body….if you were torn apart."
Dumbledore nodded.
"That has some merit….though a spectacular fall from a tower would achieve more publicity and be more certain to the mind of our enemy" he said "Krait has made a body before now….her skills at transfiguration are quite remarkable."
"She is good, isn't she?" said Draco. "I take it that your death would act as a trigger for him to move more into the open."
Dumbledore nodded.
"He fears me" he said. "We can expect that after my – death – there will be more measures against those not of relatively pure blood; and there WILL be publicity to discredit me."
"Well that'll be lies then" said Draco.
"No" said Dumbledore "Not entirely. One of the reasons I have always hoped you would turn yourself around – and been delighted that you have – is because I see much of myself in you. I was arrogant and ambitious as a youth; and I had grandiose ideas of controlling muggles, though in my defence it was only for their own good – as I saw it. It is why I do not wish to be a part of the Ministry; I am not to be trusted with power. I can get carried away for what I believe is the right reasons. You have been taught to use some restraint – admittedly in order to avoid your father being caught out as a Deatheater – and would be safer given position than I. And Harry is a modest lad, unlikely to abuse any power he gains. Draco, my boy, I was once friendly with Grindelwald; we had similar ideas. It was only later that I was horrified to find out that his ideals were….darker…than mine. I have…family secrets that I am ashamed of; the death of a sister which was, if only indirectly, my fault and maybe not indirectly. I tell you this because you too have seen through false ideals and YOU have been big enough to put them aside without the shock of hurting someone you love. I… I have been too much of a coward to tell Harry; I confess I fear falling from the pedestal he places me on in his heart. You and I have always had a more…distant relationship."
"Sir, you are no coward!" cried Draco "And Harry is not about to stop thinking you special just because you may have screwed up when you were younger; he's bigger than that!"
Dumbledore gave a little smile.
"Perhaps you are right….well, perhaps I shall have to tell the Kindred a story at some point" he said. "I persuaded Severus to share his past with Harry after all; it would scarcely be fair if I did not do the same."
-/-
The Kindred sat respectfully in Albus Dumbledore's office drinking tea. If they preferred cocoa in Severus' dungeon they were polite enough not to say so; Dumbledore looked strained and white.
"This is not easy" he said "I must tell you that I was a proud and foolish youth, more concerned with winning magical prizes and showing off my skill than in the things of real value; it has coloured all my life since. I have a brother Aberforth, as you know; and I also had a sister, Ariana. She was beautiful and talented; and started displaying her talent at about six or seven as is normal. However, she was seen doing magic in the garden by three muggle youths; and they broke in and tried to force her to show them how to do the 'tricks' she did. When she couldn't, they determined to punish the little – freak – as so many muggles call us, as Petunia called Lily I believe, in her jealousy."
"Was she jealous?" asked Harry. He knew what it sounded like to have Petunia use the word 'freak'.
"Oh yes; she wrote to me and asked if she might not come to Hogwarts too" said Dumbledore.
"We were thinking about that" said Krait "It seemed to be a good idea to think about an annexe for the untalented siblings of talented muggleborn, that could also take squibs, so they learn about our world but do muggle lessons alongside. And for that matter, nothing wrong with a muggle well versed in the theory of arithmancy to run calculations for the talented but less clever members of our society."
"An interesting notion, my dear" said Dumbledore. "I like it….but to return to my story, for I want to tell it quickly."
"Sorry" said Krait.
"No apology necessary…the muggles hurt Ariana so badly she was driven…insane" said the headmaster flatly. "My father was incensed; he punished them, and was duly sent to Azkaban for muggle-torture. He would not say why he had done it, because Ariana would have been dragged off and locked up in St Mungos's all her life…..she had not lost the ability to do magic but she would not use it, which was worse, because she drove it inwards, and sometimes it would break out in….dangerous ways. It was in one of these fits of madness she accidentally killed our mother" he sighed and passed a hand across his face. "I confess to resentment…. I had been planning to travel the world with a friend, but instead I had to be my sister's carer. I said I was a proud and insensitive youngster. And then Gellert Grindlewald came to Godric's Hollow where we had moved to…"
Harry made an involuntary exclamation at the name of his parents' home village. Dumbledore smiled at him wearily.
"Yes, Godric's Hollow…it has a large wizarding community. How could it be otherwise when it is named now after its most famous son, Godric Gryffindor?"
"I guess I never thought of that…. It's just a name to me, where I was born…" said Harry.
"I suppose so…anyway, Grindlewald came to visit a relative and we became friendly, discussing the ways and means to improve the world for the greater good; and what a trap those words can be! Who is truly wise enough to decide what the greater good really is?"
"The mandate of the masses is usually a pretty good arbiter – providing the masses have been kept truly informed and are not brainwashed" said Krait dryly. "I guess such things should not be in the hands of a small number of arbiters; which is why we want to reform the way the Wizarding World is organised, in England at least, and have more representation from the non wand-wielding like goblins and elves and squibs."
"Well, at seventeen I thought I knew best I'm afraid, without recourse to others" said Dumbledore. "I believed, I truly believed that if we ruled muggles for their own good, and did not have to hide any more, my sister would not have to be hidden any more either…it was foolish wishful thinking, dangerous and immature, and that I now understand. And when it was almost time for Aberforth to return to Hogwarts after the holiday, he confronted us, telling me that I needed to give more time to Ariana when he was not there to care for her, and stop my time wasting and neglect of her with idiotic grand plans. He was right; Aberforth is a better man than I. Anyway, Grindlewald used the cruciatus curse on my brother, which is what started opening my eyes to the flaws in him I had been firmly pretending to myself I could not see; and….and it got out of hand in a duel. Which upset Ariana, and she started uncontrolled spell slinging; and at some point someone threw a curse that she got in the way of" he swallowed hard "And she was dead. Which stopped us in our tracks. Grindlewald fled; he already had a record and did not want to be accused of her murder. Except that I have never known – and never will know – which of us did it. Whether I killed my own sister. So now you know why I will NOT take a position in government; I am not to be trusted."
"Sir, we appreciate your bravery in sharing that terrible time with us" said David in the horrified silence. "It also explains why you are chary of letting younger ones have any part in doing stuff I guess."
"Save that we end up butting in anyhow and maybe with less information than we need" said Hermione. "It's a pity your father didn't just beat the muggle brats up physically; if he'd been around not in Azkaban you'd have had a proper role model to steer you away from such a dangerous friend."
"I don't suppose it ever occurred to him that punishment could be enacted in any other way than with a wand" said Dumbledore. "It would not be MY first reaction I have to say to get physical."
"Which is why most wizards are as blind and ignorant as most muggles" said Krait dryly. "And why the MSHG is so successful; because we combine Kung Fu with wand work. Albus, it may not be much comfort, but it has given you the inside understanding of how easy it is to be led astray to have compassion for Severus and Lucius. You know from within how a fascinating and evil companion with charisma can lead a vulnerable youth into profound temptation; because you know deep down that without the shock of Ariana's death you might even now be co-head of an organisation that makes the Deatheaters look like pussycats, especially if allied to the Nazis as Grindlewald intended."
Dumbledore nodded.
"Harry? Can you forgive me for not being what you thought?" his bright blue eyes were unwontedly pleading.
Harry regarded him thoughtfully.
"A year ago, Albus, I'd have been devastated" he said candidly "Now? Now I'm old enough to realise that unblemished heroes are for story books, and that real heroes are the ones who can overcome themselves. Like Severus; who is the bravest man I know."
"He's quite a man is our Harry" said Severus, blinking hard.
"Thank you Harry" said Dumbledore. "There is more however; and this is something that I think will fascinate Riddle. One of the things I was fascinated by all my life – as was Grindlewald – were the three deathly Hallows, created by the brothers Peverell."
"Peverell as in the ancestors of Gaunt?" queried Krait, sitting forward intently.
"Quite so" said Dumbledore. "Are any of you familiar with Beedle the Bard's 'Tale of Three Brothers?"
"No" said Harry and David.
"Yes" said Hermione and Ron.
"A children's tale? I've read it to the kids" said Krait.
"Perhaps you'll summarise for those who do not know it" said Dumbledore.
Krait nodded.
"Bear in mind it's a fairy tale….the three brothers are travelling"
"At midnight down a lonely road" put in Ron
"Twilight" corrected Hermione.
"I don't really think it matters" said Krait.
"Midnight's more creepy" said Ron.
"Do YOU want to tell this? No? Then don't interrupt" said Krait waspishly. "Any of you. Anyway. They get to a river and use magic to make a bridge, and meet Death himself in the middle 'cos he's peeved to be done out of three drowning victims. And he pretended to flatter them and offered each a gift. And the eldest was combative and Gryffindor like and asked for a wand that was more powerful than any other, and Death made one from an elder twig; and the second was stuck up enough to want to humiliate Death further – Ravenclaw I guess – and asked for a device to recall others from death, so Death gave him an enchanted stone. And the youngest, who was a canny little bastard, and probably a Slytherin, asked for a means to leave that place without being followed by Death, so Death gave him his own invisibility cloak. Subsequently they parted, and the eldest duelled and killed a man, was stupid enough to boast about his wand and got murdered in his drunken stupor for it, so Death won that one. The second turned the stone thrice and got back the dead girl he loved, but she was sad and cold – having passed over of course – so he killed himself to be with her and Death got him too. And Death never found the third who only took off the cloak in his old age and gave it to his son and greeted Death willingly as a friend, though how he managed to woo a girl and get her with child inside of an invisibility cloak is a rummun if you ask me" finished Krait.
"So what has that to do with anything?" asked Ron.
"Most invisibility cloaks – rare enough though they are – are nothing more than cloaks imbued with a Bedazzling Hex, or a Disillusionment Charm or woven from Demiguise hair, which loses its magic with age" said Dumbledore. "The true cloak truly renders the wearer invisible, enduring eternally, giving constant and impenetrable concealment. Your cloak, Harry."
"You mean the fairy tale is TRUE?" Hermione was sceptical.
"Not word for word; but the Peverell brothers crafted three unique items" said Dumbledore calmly.
"The Peverell Ring? The stone that was a Horcrux?" Demanded Krait.
"Is indeed the stone of resurrection" said Dumbledore "And THAT is why I was stupid enough to put it on….to try once again to see Ariana.. I was sorely tempted….."
"Idiot" said Severus. "But for the Blood Group…."
"But for the Blood Group I should have succumbed to the warped nature of it as a horcrux, and perhaps had a year at most to live, even with your skilled intervention, Severus my boy; I could feel its poison in my body, reversing the nature of the stone itself….making life easier for Draco in terms of having to supposedly kill me, though I'd have asked you to do it Severus rather than scar his soul…"
"Whereas mine is already damaged? Yes that would make sense…but Riddle has no idea what the ring was, surely, or he'd not have made it a horcrux" said Severus.
"No; he did not" said Dumbledore. "Equally, it is not the cloak for which he hankers…..it is the elder wand."
"And I suppose you know where that is?" said Sirius ironically.
"Of course I do. It's here!" Dumbledore touched the wand at his belt.
"How did you come by it sir?" asked Harry.
"A wandmaker named Gregorovitch had it in his possession, to study….Grindlewald took it from him. When I defeated and confined Grindlewald, I took it."
"So all the legends that the Elder Wand or Deathstick only passes to a new owner when the previous is killed are inaccurate?" queried Hermione.
"Quite so" said Dumbledore "Defeat is sufficient."
"Has Riddle any idea you have it?" demanded Harry.
"I suspect so….even Grindlewald would not permit HIS style of rulership and would not impart the information as to where it might be – Riddle murdered Gregorovitch to try to obtain it and probably learned who had taken it from him – but I'm sure he suspects. "
"But" said Harry "If he believes you need to kill the owner, and DRACO is supposed to kill you, doesn't that make Draco – if he did what he's going to pretend to do – the owner of the wand, and not Riddle?"
"And Draco would be expected to be no hard target for Riddle to kill, defeating the next owner" said Dumbledore.
"And that makes the timing more important still!" said Draco excited "Albus supposedly dead, and THEN I send him frothing and incandescent in fury by confessing to be Convolvumort and bring him haring down to Malfoy Manor to murder me, but my dad had Harry as a placatory gesture…. For Harry to not-die willingly."
"Unless he decides to kill you first anyway to ensure mastery of the wand" said Harry.
"That'd be a bummer, Draco mate" said Ron.
Krait shook her head.
"The elder wand would be to meet others in battle….he'd kill Harry first to deal with him, in case Lucius decided his son was more important and slipped the Boy-Who-Lived a wand" she said.
"I think" said Severus "That we will let Riddle know that you had help killing Dumbledore….Narcissa did ask me to help after all. As he would expect. He will attempt to kill ME for control of the Master Wand; and not directly either. He has respect for my abilities…. I think he will use Nagini. As I think he might send her surreptitiously to bite Draco if he believed HIM to be in command of this elder wand. Draco, you will carry an antidote to that dratted snake's poison at all times."
"I certainly shall, Domine!" said Draco fervently.
"Aren't we taking a lot of notice of what is, after all, a fairy tale?" asked Sirius, sceptically "It's surely an old wives' tale and at least half superstition like May-born witches marry muggles, or wands made of elder never prosper.."
"Even if it was twaddle – and it may be exaggerated, for belief in himself is at least part of how good a wand wielder is, so he's likely to be better even if he only BELIEVES he has a superior wand , and there ARE other invisibility cloaks even if Harry's is better than most – where was I? Oh yes, if it is twaddle, it doesn't matter does it if RIDDLE believes in it. Don't forget, he has NOT been reared with wizarding superstitions or fairy tales. To him it is myth, not a tale learned at his mother's knee. It's a moral tale, I take it, that you are supposed to see the wisdom of the third brother in avoiding trouble not embracing it, which proves he's no Gryff."
"I'd choose the stone" said Harry, wistfully "To see my parents…."
"Reckon it'd be a pretty painful thing to be forced back from the other side" said Krait gently "Do you think they'd really thank you for that?"
Harry hunched a shoulder.
"Maybe not…"
"With a master wand – if it is no twaddle – you'd not NEED to hide!" said Ron.
"But we've got out of more trouble with the cloak than any wand work could" said Hermione.
"It's not the question of which is best" said Krait patiently "But which one RIDDLE thinks is best and how to exploit his singleminded pursuit of it. Isn't it, Albus?"
"Precisely" said Dumbledore. "In my estimation the wand is the least valuable of the three – which is why I have had no qualms keeping it – and the cloak the most powerful. Which is why I asked James if I could examine it….and still had it in my possession when Riddle found his way into the house at Godric's Hollow under the guidance of the unfortunate secret keeper Peter Pettigrew."
Harry felt his ears roar and the ground spin.
"You mean…if they had it they might have hidden and still been alive?"
Dumbledore hung his head.
"It crossed my mind" he said.
"No" said Sirius. "James would never have hidden when there was a fight on hand; and Lily would not have managed to resist backing him up. She might have left Harry under the cloak for his protection; and then, either he would have made a noise, being too young to know not to, and been discovered: or he would have lived but not been the Boy-That-Lived, not had the protection of Lily's blood sacrifice. And not been our last best hope by having insights into Riddle's diseased little brain."
"He's right" said Severus. "The cloak would not have made an iota of difference to their survival; it might even have been the death of Harry too, and Riddle then in possession of it too. You did the right thing, Albus, even if it wasn't at the time for the right reason."
"Sometimes things like that make me think maybe there is a God after all; or at least a benevolent streak to the universe as a whole" said Krait.
Harry nodded.
"And you had it to pass to me, almost as the symbol of my father's mantle passing to me as the next generation to fight" he said .
"Ain't mantle another word for cloak?" asked Ron, puzzled.
"MUGGLE tales" said Krait "When a prophet died he handed his cloak, quite literally, to his chosen successor to wear as a symbol of being chosen."
"Oh!" said Ron "I guess that makes sense."
"Many things make sense now we're getting to the bottom of the motives and past of our main protagonists" said Krait happily. "Whoever controls the present controls the past; and whoever controls the past controls the future. From the book '1984' by George Orwell. It's very true. Knowing the truth of the past allows us to act for the future."
"And equally" said Dumbledore, dryly, "The Ministry who control the present do tend to edit the past for their own ends."
"And with potentially disastrous consequences" growled Sirius "Making out that Harry was insane, refusing to believe the truth and putting a damaging slant on everything he has ever done."
"And it would have been far, far worse had Rita Skeeter been around" said Hermione, happily.
"What DID you do with her? I thought you were going to blackmail her" said Draco.
Hermione smiled.
"Oh, since she liked so much being a beetle, I sold her to a bug expert at Colchester Zoo who has tanks full of bugs….all too small for her to change to human form in" she said sweetly. "I daresay she'll manage to escape one day; but I bet it'll take a while."
"Blimey!" said Krait "And I though I was the ruthless one!"
putting fingers in ears as everyone says 'well FINALLY' about Albus having more sense than pride