For disclaimer and author notes please see chapter 1.
1989-04-08 14:30 UTC, Headmaster's office
Dumbledore was livid. He'd walked into his office some time ago, not really expecting to see the alarm tripped - after all, he was only gone a few hours - but there it was, as large as life and twice as natural, the upright red flag on the monitor for the Gaunt shack.
Someone had been there in the last few hours.
While he had been waiting for Black to show up, ostensibly for a private meeting with Minerva.
There was more to this than met the eye, and his quick mind easily put two and two together. He had been duped. Not just by Black, but - very likely - by Minerva also.
He spent a long time pondering this. Was she completely gone? Or was she merely an unwitting accomplice? What would it take to prevent her from guessing Black's machinations, if it were the latter?
No, she was too smart for that. He would have to assume she was seriously compromised. In any case, ever since the pensieve incident, she had been cold to him, so perhaps this was just a natural progression.
Still, it would not do to allow his deputy to so blatantly consort with the enemy. He would speak to her right now and set her to rights - remind her who was the boss in this castle.
Another thought struck him. That elf... it must belong to Black. Or maybe the Phantom? Was that elf the "Hobby" he had been told to call when he wanted to speak to the Phantom?
In any case, time to have it out. He reset the red flag on the ward monitor to its dormant state and left his rooms, heading for Minerva's office. Regardless of the consequences, he would give her a piece of his mind. No more kindly elder statesman persona.
1989-04-08 14:30 UTC, location unknown
Around the same time, our friends were debriefing.
"I'm so glad I kept watch on the match instead of using the opportunity to go and get the diadem", said Hobby. "They always told me that Charlie was the best seeker in the last few years and of course I knew it was true, but I did not realise just how good he was! Anyway, how did your recon go? What did you find?"
Nick looked a little glum. A 600+ year old man should have pretty much seen everything and heard everything and should have a lot more equanimity, but clearly this had rocked his world a little.
"The wards are fiendishly clever. There are sixteen of them, spaced evenly around an imaginary circle within the property, overlapping perfectly, so that at any point on that circle there are two wards touching. If you bypass one, you'll hit the other, and there's no way to bypass both at the same time".
"Those sixteen wards are of two kinds, eight of each kind, placed alternating with each other. The incantation and procedure to bypass one kind, triggers the other!", said Penny.
"How did Dumbledore get past it during my time?"
"Oh we can easily overpower them, but our magical signature would show up. He'd know it was us as soon as he came by to investigate; our secret would be out", said Nick.
"It's OK dear, I think it's time we stood up anyway", said Penny with a fond smile on her face.
"No it's not OK, at least this should not be the reason. If you want to stand up, I'd like you to do so on a situation where no one can say you were forced to. So... definitely not this one", said Hobby.
"Besides", he continued. "Wouldn't Voldemort have found out that Dumbledore was after his horcruxes, if he had merely overpowered them? I am positive that did not happen; things would have been very different if something like that had been discovered by Riddle".
This threw the others for a bit, until Sirius asked, somewhat hesitantly, as if he were asking a question he knew was stupid but needed to ask anyway.
"Would a phoenix get past those wards?"
"Bingo", exclaimed Nick. "That's got to be it! It does mean that Riddle forgot that part or discounted it somehow or whatever, but then I don't think Dumbledore had a phoenix at the time he would have made that horcrux, going by what you told me about the timeline".
"OK that explains that mystery, for now. Back to this topic, what if Sirius, me, and the Phantom were to do it together?", asked Remus. "He already knows Sirius is neck deep in this, and the Phantom too."
"He has not yet got a read on the Phantom's signature yet, not a proper, recent, one. Only Amelia has seen me that close, and she has chosen not to bother. Or maybe she has but did not recognise it", said Hobby.
He went on. "But Dumbles knows Harry's signature - young and frail though it may have been. I mean, I'm not 100% sure but sure enough to not risk it. I can suppress it during most activities, but something like that is hard to hide".
They all sat quietly for some time. Then Hobby looked at Nick, and said "Sixteen, huh? So there must be sixteen ward stones?"
"Yes, and each ward stone is within the range of one of the others, at least".
"How deep are they buried?"
"Not much; I estimate 2 to 3 feet".
Hobby looked at Remus. "Know anyone in the quarrying or mining business? Muggle ones I mean"".
Remus looked surprised but nodded. "Not too many of them in the UK, but I might know one or two, through a former client who was a lawyer. What are you thinking of?"
"Sixteen shaped charges, placed just outside the wards, each pointing to one wardstone, and all timed to go off exactly at the same time."
"What is a 'shaped charge'?", asked Sirius. Simultaneously, Remus shouted "Brilliant!", with glee.
Hobby explained briefly, what little he knew. To be honest he only knew what the term obviously meant, not any of the technical details, but that was not necessary anyway.
He'd just finished his explanation, when he went quiet, as if listening to something.
"Dumbledore is calling me", he said. "Of course, as I told him before, the Phantom will go."
1989-04-08 15:00 UTC, Hogwarts, Deputy HM's office
Dumbledore stormed into his deputy's office without even a polite knock on the door. Minerva took one look at his face and knew the game was up. As you might imagine, for someone of her nature, this only raised her hackles even further.
"Minerva, I did not expect this of you", he snarled as soon as he came in. It was amazing to see what the real Dumbledore was like, behind the elder statesman facade he always wore. She did not think he was evil in a broad, general, sense, but he certainly could behave evilly in specific situations, it seemed.
Well, two can play the facade game.
"What precisely is this about?", she asked coldly, with not a jot of the fear, or at least respect, he was expecting.
"You and Black kept me away from my office on purpose, did you not?"
"What on earth are you blathering about Albus? I told you it was a private meeting and you insisted on inviting yourself!"
"Nevertheless, it had the effect of keeping me away from my office and missing an important warning from one of my monitors", he screeched at her.
Her anger rose. "As far as I am concerned you should have been in your office, so how in Hades do you think that is my fault. Your decision, Albus, so your fault". Each time she said "your", she poked him, hard, in the chest with a long, bony finger.
"And in any case, there's nothing wrong with Hogwarts - I didn't hear any alarms, and remember I also have partial control of the wards and internal warnings. So I still don't know what's gotten into you. Maybe I should call Poppy..."
"You know full well this was a monitor for something outside Hogwarts", he said. Was she really that naive? No... she was having him on!, he thought.
"Your only job right now is Hogwarts. Why in blazes would you be monitoring something outside? What is it you are monitoring?"
"I'm afraid I cannot tell you that Minerva".
"Well then you can't expect me to care do you? And since I neither know nor care what it is, I can hardly be blamed for keeping you" - again the finger poke - "away from it. Now get out of my office, I don't like your attitude", she said. Grabbing his shoulder, she turned him enough to face the door, and gave him a push.
He left without even a look back. He was even more convinced she knew something, but was not sure how much, and he'd be damned if he gave anything more away.
Time to talk to that Phantom.
1989-04-08 15:15 UTC, Headmaster's office
The Phantom popped silently into Dumbledore's office, giving him the shock of his life. He drew his wand immediately.
"How... how... how did you enter this office directly? Even Voldemort cannot do that". He stood threateningly, his wand pointed at the intruder.
"The Elder wand is mine, Dumbledore, have you forgotten? You cannot use it against me", said the Phantom calmly, a hint of mockery in his voice. Completely side-stepping Dumbledore's question of course.
Dumbledore did not budge, he merely pulled out a second wand and pointed it at the Phantom.
"I repeat, how did you enter this office? How did you bypass the wards?"
"Dumbledore, you probably have more secrets than everyone else in this castle put together. You would not answer a straight question if your life depended on it. And yet you expect people to answer your questions?"
Dumbledore stayed silent.
"Anyway, you called me here. What is it you wanted to see me about?"
"You were in the Gaunt shack". A statement, not a question.
"What is the Gaunt shack?", asked Hobby, enjoying the feeling of annoying Dumbledore.
"You know what it is. I saw your elf there", said Dumbledore, hazarding a guess.
"Aah yes, Hobby told me. My young friend likes to go exploring, no idea where he got that from. He said he found an interesting place, but you caused him to be evicted from it before he could find any details."
"Stop bluffing. I will not have anyone remove the item from there until I have ensured that Tom will not find out. I have no idea how you fo-"
"What item are you talking about?" Hobby put on a genuinely puzzled expression on his face. "And what happens if Riddle finds out?"
He kept silent for a beat, then his eyes widened dramatically. An Oscar worthy performance, he thought to himself.
Then, without waiting for Dumbles to respond: "a horcrux? Riddle made a horcrux?", he asked. "Thank you for filling in the blanks for me".
"You will NOT go anywhere near there nor remove anything from there", shouted Dumbledore in extreme anger, fueled more by shock that the secret was so casually deduced than anything else.
If he expected this to scare the Phantom, he was disappointed. The Phantom looked at him calmly for a beat or two, then said: "Why not?"
Dumbledore had to calm down a little, too, since - real or not - his temper seemed to have no effect on this wizard.
"I'm sorry I cannot tell you that", said Dumbledore. "But you must do what I say and stay away from that place!"
"I don't answer to you, but I am willing to listen to any reasoned arguments backing up this notion of yours".
Dumbledore sighed. There was always one wizard who thought he knew more than him. Really, all these young whippersnappers...
Since the Phantom had already figured out so much, there was no harm throwing him a bone.
"Any action on the item there would warn Lord Voldemort and move up whatever timetable he has for his resurrection".
"That doesn't sound very likely, unless you are saying he actually is close by. If you are, you need to tell me what you know of his whereabouts."
"I cannot tell you where he is, I myself and not sure. But you do not have to be nearby to place a warning, or more lethal, ward and to listen to it. And I insist that we cannot afford to wake him up".
"Bullshit; allowing others to dictate the timetable is a sure way to lose. Unless you're actively doing something else to prepare for his return while you are waiting, you're an idiot. Not just an idiot, but an arrogant idiot who will cause more harm than you can imagine. I can't let you fuck up the world for the sake of your ego."
"You have to listen to me. I am the only wizard who can stand up to him, and I think this is the best way to do this. I insist that you do not interfere", growled Dumbledore.
"Aah yes your vaunted power...", said the Phantom, and laid a strong body bind on Dumbledore, from the neck down. "Next time you put a body bind on my elf, remember he gets his power from me, and I am a heck of a lot more powerful than you".
"How dare y-, shouted Dumbledore, but the Phantom silenced him. "I can do this to you, in your office, so please mind what you say or do. Going against me is likely to be far more dangerous to you, personally, than going against Voldemort".
And with that, he popped out. Leaving an almost apoplectic Dumbledore unable to get out of the body bind. He was trapped in his own office, with no way to call anyone, because they could not enter without his permission. He finally had to call Fawkes in his mind (thank God that communication did not depend on vocalisation!), and ask him to take him to Filius's office.
If Filius noticed that he had not gone to Minerva, he did not give any sign of it. He'd ask Minerva later.
Dumbledore did not realise that now Filius would be apprised of his behaviour, by a somewhat filtered version from Minerva. This was because his mind was occupied by only one thing: he urgently needed to tie the ward monitors to his wand this time, so he would not be fooled like this again.
1989-04-22 14:00 UTC, Headmaster's office
"Good morning, headmaster", said the dapper French gentleman, with only a hint of an accent.
Mathieu Gaudin was the current Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. Dumbledore had never liked him - not just because he was French, though there was a wee bit of that in him - but because he was much more given to making sure everyone knew the facts. Over the past couple of decades, Dumbledore had crossed swords with him on several occasions on this and similar points. Both had their followers, and so, by and large, were even in "wins" and "losses".
Until, of course, March 1986, just over two years ago, when Mathieu suddenly lost his biggest opponent. ICW meetings had never been the same after that. Things went much smoother, and while healthy debate still happened, there was less rancour overall. On matters of really long term importance, it seemed, Dumbledore indeed had been an outlier.
"Good morning, Supreme Mugwump", said Dumbledore, as formally as he himself had been addressed. Inside, he was bristling and squirming at the implied insult - despite how he made himself out to be within the UK, "headmaster" will basically just that, and held no importance to people from outside the UK.
"I thought it would be tactless of me to have this sent to you by the normal channels. Your past years of service to the ICW more than merits that respect from me".
Dumbledore's heart sank. Mathieu was nothing if not fair in his dealings with people, but he made only one exception: Dumbledore. He was sure there was a strong element of gloating or rubbing his nose in something involved here.
"Please do sit down", he said just as smoothly. "Tea?"
Mathieu sat down on the offered chair, but declined the drink, opting for a glass of water instead. Dumbledore steepled his fingers in front of his chin and look over his spectacles at his one-time opponent, a mild expression of curiosity on his face.
"The ICW has voted to call you in and question you as to your conduct during the custody hearing of Mr Potter, two years ago", said Mathieu.
And you wanted to gloat about it, you little frog, thought Dumbledore, occlumency shields firmly in place.
"I see. And why is this coming up now, when it has essentially become ancient history? Might I guess my worthy opponent of many past battles had something to do with it?", he twinkled. This was a game, and he was far older and far smarter than the young upstart ("young" being a relative term, since Mathieu was pushing close to 75 years of age).
Mathieu smiled modestly. "You know, Albus, that if I had done it I would have told you before I started the discussion. I don't stab people in the back".
"True enough", conceded Dumbledore. It was, too. Mathieu would not hesitate to gloat or rub his face in anything that came by, but - even to Dumbledore - he was fair. He'd never hit behind his back.
"So how did this... shall we say, delayed gratification - for whomever it may be - come about?", he asked.
"The fellow from Dagon - Yangon to the muggles - had apparently been caught in some sordid and underhanded dealings with the military junta, at the expense of the rest of the wizarding populace. The junta, however, has a very long arm, and managed to quell any action against him locally. By the rules of the ICW, therefore, we could not do anything to him, since he still had the approval of his home country's magical government".
Dumbledore nodded.
"But someone sent incontrovertible proof of his guilt to the ICW, and we had to at least call him on the mat to explain himself". He did not mention that in the Burmese wizard's case, veritaserum was used.
"At that point", he continued, "a few others raised the very valid point that you had not cleared the air with us. The reputation of the ICW, they said, demanded that we ask you what happened, and your response placed on record."
He paused to take a sip of water.
"Others countered that the British government had dealt with you in its own way, and it was not upto us to interfere in that. I certainly voiced my objection to this - I have no interest in raking up old stories".
Dumbledore nodded again. This he could believe, Mathieu was like that.
"But we were outvoted. I'm actually very surprised - a lot of small countries that seem to have no common factor voted for bringing you in; I am quite at a loss to understand their interest in the matter!"
"Hmm... I wonder what happened. What countries were these?"
"Aah Albus, the proceedings are, as you well know, secret. I have somewhat stretched the definition of what can be revealed to a non-member, but I will assuage my guilt somehow". And he could twinkle his eyes too, as Albus knew, but had forgotten.
Dumbledore smiled benignly. "All right, when is this hearing?"
"Tomorrow, 9am local time in Zurich. We decided to do this on a Sunday, to accommodate your school duties and schedule. I am to deliver a portkey for you to take at 8:55 sharp".
Saying which, Mathieu handed over a blue plastic spoon, of clearly muggle origin.
1989-04-23 08:00 UTC, ICW headquarters, Zurich
Dumbledore settled into his witness seat, comfortably wrapping his robes about him. He did not expect this hearing to last long, and anyway this body had power only over other governments not over individuals. In fact, he wasn't sure if they had the authority to call him in, but he supposed if he were to ever regain his position, he'd better have his slate clean.
All the members were seated, and the doors were sealed. Traditionally, that is how they would stay till the day's business was concluded, or 1pm local time, whichever was earlier. Lunch was at 1, and if the day's business was not done, they'd reconvene at 2.
The Supreme Mugwump rose.
Dumbledore's wand made a low keening noise, and vibrated harshly in his sleeve. Someone was at the Gaunt shack.
And he could not move for at least four hours. He had no illusions now that this was all stage-managed, and for the first time he felt a chill of fear at the Phantom's reach.
Oh well, it's a good thing he was having the place watched. At least he'd know who else was with the Phantom.
1989-04-23 08:00 UTC, location unknown
Nick picked up the phone.
"You owe me big-time for this, Nick", said a female voice, with a distinct American accent.
Nick grinned. "Four hours?"
"Four hours", confirmed the voice.