This was the second chapter I wrote up from the same idea as the last one. This is written more in my usual style, though there is a lot more dialog then I habitually add.
Still own nothing and make no profit from my work.
"Magic is natures greatest gift. Those born with it are inherently better, instinctively stronger, and even withstand the irresistible march of time for longer then those without can imagine. We wizards and witches are a superior breed of man, the muggles a poor imitation of our majesty. So is there any room to doubt why we rule them? Because it is our divine right, nay, duty to watch over and guide our lesser cousins in their struggle to simply survive."
"While it is true we are naturally superior in many ways that is no reason to oppress an innovative, thinking collective of people. The muggles may lack the ability to use most magic, but their constant questioning and desire to understand it and it's limitations often leads to the creation of ever more amazing feats. We should view them as different, but not lesser."
"And that would be our downfall. For every wizard or witch born there are hundreds of muggles. Treating these muggles as equals will lead to our people being oppressed for our gifts. They will use us, drain us, command us until there is no more magic left in the world."
"You are over dramatizing the situation. All the greatest inventions of the last century, including the very Airships you now command, came from teams of muggles and magicals working together. If we can just-"
"UNDER THE DIRECTION OF WIZARDS! It is only through our guidance that these peons ever had any greater goal then their next meal or desire to propagate. They were primitive until we decided to raise them up from squalor. Now you would give the product of our experimentation rights equal to our own? You are a fool Albus, wizards are the rightful kings of this world and there is no reason for us to listen to the demands of our servants."
"They have advanced greatly over the centuries we have cared for them. They consistently adapt and improvise faster then we can. Their habit of questioning everything has lead to far deeper understandings of magic then ever before. They have earned the right to be heard in the direction our nation takes, the colonies have-"
"I will not hear of this... travesty the people of the colonies have undertaken. Their government has fumbled along for a mere decade under it's new leadership. Within the century wizards will be forced to either resume control, or find themselves chained down and exploited by the muggles."
"Tom, I implore you to reconsider. We are coming up to the dawn of a new century, one where working with muggles instead of ruling them may very well save us. Birth rates of pure magicals are slowing dramatically, but more and more muggles are birthing children who carry anything from the smallest hints to overwhelming potential magic. Soon their will be more wizards and witches born from muggles then pure-blood lines, and when that happens our current policies of oppression will cause massive upheavals! There will be a civil war where we stand to lose everything, where as a few concessions now will ultimately save our nation and peoples."
"It is our right to rule. Any wizard who argues against this is a traitor to the very blood in their veins. Magical children can be removed from their families and raised in a manner fitting their gifts. There is no need for them to grow attached to the cattle that brought them into this world."
"Then we have reached an impasse. I cannot let you continue in this path Tom, not when I can see our destruction so very clearly at the end of it."
"So be it. I admit I will miss our talks, it is not often one gets a chance to converse with another archmage."
"Our numbers have grown few since the fall of Atlantis, but perhaps in the future we may yet see a resurgence of talented young mages. You yourself demonstrate that the potential is not yet entirely lost to us."
"Indeed, it would be a rare honor to find one worthy of a true apprenticeship instead of mere schooling. I envy that you had such an opportunity."
"It was a happier time. You were an excellent student, Tom, and I am sorry that it has come to this."
"I wish you luck, Albus. You will need every bit of it if you persist in this foolishness."
/=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-/
Albus Dumbledore, Archmagi and Headmaster of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, ambled lightly through the sprawling halls of the castle that housed his many students. Tapestries and armor lined the walls and torches bathed the interior of the school in warm light. Classes were in session so the sounds of laughter and gossip that usually floated through the air were absent, leaving only the soft footsteps of the aging Headmaster to fill the void.
"Whizzing-fizz-bang" he spoke after reaching the stone Gargoyle that guarded the stairs to his office. The animated creature was quick to step aside and allow him passage. Revolving stairs carried him for several seconds before depositing him at the door to his seat of power.
Several chairs were arrayed before a heavy wooden desk, a multitude of bookshelves filling the back half of the office and the walls arrayed with portraits or shelves of whirling silver artifacts. Crossing the thick carpets Albus seated himself in the large, well-cushioned chair behind the desk and sighed. There was much work to be done, and much of it not possible if he kept his current seat.
"Would you ask Minnerva to visit at her earliest convenience?" a brief flash of flame announced the arrival of his familiar.
Brilliant red and orange feathers covered the fairly large bird and it's black eyes calmly eyed the Headmaster for a few seconds. A soft trill filtered through the office as the phoenix landed on an ancient shoulder and rubbed it's head against it's masters own. Waves of calm and trusting emotions radiating off the creature gently soothing the offices human occupant.
"Thank you Fawkes. I fear we shall be put under a great deal more pressure in the coming years." another brief song and the bird flapped its wings once and vanished in a ball of flame.
Albus passed the next hour pouring over paperwork concerning school activities, budgets, and requests. Hogwarts was the primer school for magic within the nation of Britian, helping young wizards and witches learn to control and manage their abilities. Hundreds of students, from those barely able to light a candle to the few who could create flames more akin to the breath of a dragon, made the castle home for the majority of their teenage years. Studying various forms of magic, its rich history, and even delving into creation of magical items or new spells if they desired.
Students were never required to stop attending, though after reaching their twenties those that remained were asked to pay for their rooms and food. This could be off-set by assisting the teaching staff, either by teaching themselves or helping manage the student body. The final outcome was a castle with wizards and witches of all ages who loved and explored the infinite possibilities of magic as a family. When the rumble of the guardian and stairs was heard Albus set aside the last of his paperwork and settled into his seat to await his deputy.
"Headmaster." as a witch Minerva McGonagall looked to be in her mid thirty's instead of the sixty she actually carried in years. Albus let a small smile cross his lips and gestured to one of the chairs before him.
"We have much to discuss Minerva."
"Your meeting with Tom ended poorly I take it?" a wave of her hand and one of the chairs shifted and expanded into a similar style to the Headmasters own seat before she settled into it.
"He will not be moved from his path, despite my many attempts to reason with him. I fear within the next decade he and I shall be at each others throats."
"Heavens no!" slumping in her chair the witch sighed as Albus sadly shook his head.
"I cannot stand aside and watch my former apprentice crush the majority of our nations inhabitants underneath his heel. My principals will not allow such blatant miss-use of the gifts we are given to go unimpeded." a worn hand brushed under half-moon spectacles and pinched the bridge of his nose. "But I cannot let our squabble drag itself into this school. Hogwarts has always been a peaceful location, a safe-house for young magicals to learn and grow, therefore I shall be retiring from my position as Headmaster at the end of the year."
"Albus, you can't mean that." shock covered Minerva's face as she leaned forward. "You have been Headmaster for over four decades!"
"I will not allow war to infect my school!" Albus almost snarled, a fist slamming into the sturdy desktop. "Tom is my responsibility, and his course of action will bring war and destruction on a greater scale then even Grindelwald's revolution. I cannot stop him with less then the entirety of my focus and I cannot focus on him entirely when my school could fall under attack in any one of his retaliatory strikes!"
Leaning back Minerva massaged her temples for a moment before once again meeting the Headmasters eyes.
"I see."
"I wish it were not so, Minerva, but remaining Headmaster while preparing for war would be a tragic display of overconfidence that I cannot afford. You have handled far more of the castles responsibilities then any Deputy Headmistress in the past three centuries, you are more then capable of stepping into my role here fully by the end of the year." pausing Albus let his lips twist into a small smirk.
"I will of course be more then happy to offer advice or counsel if you should feel the need." his smirk turned into light laughter as Minerva's half-hearted glare.
"On a lighter note, how fares your favorite student?" Albus saw a small smile cross Minerva's usually stern face.
"She is a true joy to teach. A quick mind and almost instinctual understanding of magic combined with her love of reading makes it almost difficult to find things to teach faster then she can learn them. If you were not retiring I would almost suggest you begin offering her tutelage yourself."
"Truly? Perhaps I may find some need in the coming years for a bright young witch to assist me in some... side projects. Has her social status changed much since our last talk?"
"Somewhat. She still mostly remains by herself in the library or common rooms. I put her in several group projects she preformed well in but failed to form lasting friendships after the completion of the assignment. General consensus of the students in her classes is that she is perhaps a bit... overbearing and over prepared."
"Bossy and a know-it-all?" Albus casually remarked and was rewarded a slight nod. "Perhaps we should have her help with some tutoring with the next batch of students, they would slightly younger then her instead of three years her senior."
"I'll admit I was worried that she wouldn't preform well when we allowed her entry at ten instead of twelve, but her academic performance has never failed to be remarkable. I agree that perhaps having her interacting with students her own age might bring her out of her shell somewhat."
"Excellent, then I believe I have taken enough of your time Minerva, please feel free to return to your class." a brief farewell and Albus was left to deal with the remainder of his paperwork for the day.
/=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-/
"You should find time to take a walk." Albus glanced across the large table at the head of the great hall where the teachers took their meals to find Sybill Trelawney's unfocused eyes staring into his own. "You'll discover something you need." an owlish blink later and the woman had turned back to her food.
Sybill was an odd teacher, focusing most of her class time on the magical arts of Divination. Scrying, palm reading, and opening the mind for visions were covered in many of her sessions. Most serious students only attended a few before focusing their efforts elsewhere, but a few swore by its effectiveness and still more gossips were happy to spend a few hours a week learning under her care. Albus had never shown any aptitude for the subject himself so rarely indulged in personal attempts to channel or sway fate for answers.
"Perhaps I will." he mused lightly, pushing the thought to the back of his mind for the remainder of the day.
It was a week before he found the time to take a stroll around the castle, it's grounds, and the near-by town of Hogsmead. At the end of the two hour stroll Albus found himself refreshed and thought nothing more of the subject.
/=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-/
"Students, before you leave for the summer I would like to leave you with a few words." standing tall at his position in the center of the head table Albus let his gaze wander over the massive assembly of students before him. He felt a tear gather in his eye as he tried to burn the image of so many cheerful wizards and witches into his mind forever.
"This will be the last year I am Headmaster of Hogwarts." there were several outbursts throughout the room and Albus raised a hand to still them. "I have been gifted with forty wonderful years where I watched over my students growing into witches and wizards who changed the world. I was able to watch you all laugh, cry, and play under my care. Each of you and all my former students are special to me and as much as I wish to remain I find my time left is simply not enough for the things I still wish to accomplish. I shall be leaving you under the watchful eye of our own Minerva Mcgonagall." a brief roar of approval and clapping rocked the castle before the students calmed.
"This is not good-bye my dear students." He continued, voice quiet but somehow still reaching the farthest corners of the room with ease. "I look forward to seeing and meeting with you in the future. After your graduation many of you will leave this castle, starting businesses, exploring the world, or perhaps seeking additional education elsewhere. I will no longer be living within these halls with you, but do not fear to seek me out when your own time to leave comes. I will be looking forward to see how much you grow, both as people, and wizards or witches. And with that said, let us enjoy the feast!" a clap of his hands filled the many long tables with steaming dishes and the hall was once again briefly filled with clapping and cheers before the students turned to their food.
Albus took his own seat, but did not partake of the many plates before him, instead he let his eyes wander from child to child. He had not found time to offer more then a few sparse classes of his own, but every one had been filled to bursting. A few times he had to relocate the class to the great hall to have room for all the students who wanted to listen to his lectures.
"Many of you will be soldiers in the near future." he couldn't help but shudder at the revelation, or that some of these children would place themselves against him in the brewing conflict. Open warfare was rapidly becoming inevitable, for the first time in thirty years. Sadly Tom Riddle's political stance was very similar to that of Gellert Grindelwald, the perpetrator of the last session of open war in Britain, and Albus was bound by his morals to stand just as firmly against the newest leader of the movement.
"They are too young for this." he mumbled quietly, watching a small group of teens break into laughter over a joke.
"They won't be forever, Albus." Minerva's calm voice murmured back. "We can protect and nurture them here, but all birds leave the nest eventually."
"I cannot describe how painful it is knowing that I will be responsible for the deaths of some of these fine students in the future."
"Many years ago a wise man once told a student in class there are two things in life. What is easy, and what is right." her tone was comforting as a hand came to rest over Albus' own. "Standing aside and letting these supremacist fools proceed unimpeded is easy, standing against them even when they corrupt the children you have cared for against you is not. But it is the path that will ultimately save lives."
Meeting the stern Headmistresses eyes Albus slowly nodded and they shared a chuckle, the irony of the situation coloring the mood. Taking a deep breath he forced a smile and began loading his plate.
/=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-/
Albus had taken some time for a walk, in previous years he would have been behind his desk preparing for the new school year beginning in a few days. Now he instead spent his time bartering, pleading, and cajoling others into supporting his rising movement. The Order of the Phoenix had been almost completely left to rot after Grindelwald's defeat and imprisonment in his own frozen fortress. It's revival was a slow and tedious process but Dumbledore threw himself into the work. This would be one of the last few times he would have the ability to walk the streets of Britain without expecting a confrontation so he took a few hours from his schedule to enjoy the last of his freedom.
The streets of Surrey were choked in the summer heat, peddlers hawking their wares creating a calming sort of racket. The buildings were wood and stone, towering several stories and packed close together to create winding streets and sometimes narrow crossings. Well packed dirt of the main street met with rough boardwalks that extended a few feet from the buildings. Horses and steam-powered carriages of the more well-off citizens hogged the majority of the dirt roads while the rest of the people wandered back and forth over the boardwalk.
Sentries, large animated hulks of stone and metal powered by alchemical formulas and magic, watched the crowd with unblinking stone eyes. Their human commanders often lounging or browsing stands as they made their rounds through the city.
"How long till I find you chasing after me?" Albus couldn't help but ponder watching a particularly young Auror. Tom had become the Admiral of Britain's formidable Navy and it's Marines, but his influence was still weak in the Auror corps, the men and women who policed the majority of Britain's citizens and cities.
Giving the young man a wave the former Headmaster continued his trek through the dusty air. Eventually the buildings began to lean and display signs of neglect as he found himself further and further from the city proper and entered the ghetto's that always surrounded them. Unperturbed the aging Archmage continued his stroll through the thinning crowds, soon finding himself one of the few who wandered the splintered boards near the edge of Little Whinging.
Multiple scratched or painted graffiti symbols began to appear, marks of the inhabitants to claim their territory. Several blocks later Albus frowned as he noticed a repeating symbol, once again drawn over the top of another. A circle within a triangle bisected with a simple line, written in thick black paint. Eying the symbol for a few seconds Albus shrugged and continued his walk, it was unusual for one 'Rat-pack' of disowned or orphaned children to have their mark scrawled over such a wide area or he would have never given it a second thought.
"This is it. The Packs are fed up with you trying to hold shit over us Shadow, Tucker was the last straw." Albus heard a strangled yell from a nearby alley.
"Tucker broke the rules."
"Bullshit. This is Pack territory, your rules aren't worth a fart."
"You set up in Hallow territory, you respect the rules and there will be no trouble." Albus stretched his stride and circled the corner to take in the confrontation.
Three ragged teens crowded an equally disheveled smaller teen against a wall, small red and white tattoos showing membership to one of the Rat-Packs were drawn on the left side of the trios necks. The last boy had a makeshift cowl covering his head and leaned casually against the wall.
"Their isn't any damn Hallow territory. The Hallow's don't exist Shadow! It's just you." the cowled boy shrugged before replying.
"Doesn't matter. This is still my territory and there are three simple rules. You don't draw attention to home, you share food, and you don't kill little Rats. Tucker beat Sally when she came up three coppers short last week. She didn't wake up so Tucker got what was coming to him."
"Sally was none of your business! She was a Red Spot and we discipline ourselves, we don't need your kind trying to interfere." one of the Spots snarled, stepping forward aggressively.
Cowl's arm blurred and there were two distinct sounds of flesh hitting flesh as the Spot lurched backwards with red spots blossoming on each cheek. As the other two started forward a shiny shiv sprouted from Cowl's sleeve and was raised threateningly. Albus felt himself take a sharp breath at the boys reflexes and felt a pair of cold eyes land on him.
"We're breaking another rule." Cowl stated flatly, staring pointedly in Albus' direction.
"Fuck your rules. Piss off old man, nothing to see here." another boy yelled, waving an arm towards the end of the alley.
"Remember I'm watching." the smallest boy murmured, taking two steps along the wall until his feet reached the shadows thrown by the building. Albus raised his eyebrow as the distinct taste of magic briefly winked into existence and the boy melted into the shadow. Stretching his magical senses Albus frowned as he could only find minute traces of the boy's passage.
"Not enough magic for teleportation, not hiding, where did you go?" the archmage pondered as the remaining teens swore and scurried out of the alley. Expanding his senses further Albus almost missed the tiny flicker of the boys magic on the roof of the same building.
"Interesting." summoning his own magic he began to weave a spell, intricate motions of his fingers tying together invisible threads of power until the lattice took definitive form and expended the power contained within.
For a brief moment Albus was subjected to a squeezing pressure along his whole body before he disappeared from the ground and reappeared on the roof of the building with a soft 'pop'. Cowl had been pacing the edge of the room and jumped at the sound, almost toppling off the roof in surprise.
"You are a rather interesting individual, young Shadow." there was a brief flash of teeth, somewhere between a smile and a grimace from beneath the hood.
"Nothing of interest here Mage. Just a few rats settling problems." the boy suddenly jerked his whole body, diving towards the long shadows that covered portions of the roof.
A reflexive wave of Albus' hand froze the hooded boy before he could manage more then a handful of steps.
"Relax young one. I only wish to ask you a few questions, then perhaps open up a new path for you. Could you do me the favor of listening?" Albus gave a small smile, feeling the boy's resistance against his magic waning.
"I can hear." his tone was guarded, cautious.
"You are a wizard young man. One of many, though very few ever display the aptitude for shadows you do. I am... was a teacher for many like you. If you desire I could have you enrolled in any of the many magical schools across the world, to learn more about your gift and how to use it."
"Learning just fine by myself."
"True, there are not many who can put together teleportation spells at your age regardless of medium. But surely you have questions, ideas that would be easier to discuss and implement around others who could understand."
"Too many responsibilities for me here." Albus frowned slightly as the sent of magic began to grow.
"I assure you it would only make you more capable in your duties to spend some time learning how to properly use your gifts."
"Don't have time to spare." as soon as the words faded Albus found himself ducking a reaching spike of shadow, several others swirling along the roof-top around him.
"Marvelous." a small sun erupted to life in his hand, forcing the swirling pools of dark away. "I cannot even begin to understand how difficult it must have been for you to learn this unaided."
"You can see magic everywhere, sometimes understand it if you look hard enough. And I looked very, very hard Mage." Albus blinked as the boy's voice came from the edge of the roof. Turning he caught sight of the tail end of the cloak as it vanished over the side.
"Indeed you must have." letting the ball of fire dissipate into the wind Albus couldn't help but laugh. "I hope we meet again little Shadow."
I might continue this idea, when I need a break from the Borderlands story I'm currently working on. But for now this is everything, thus why it's going into the 'pits and bieces' vault.
~SimplyWaters~