65. Circle of Trust

Minerva didn't really know what made her enter the Hog's Head. To say that she wasn't a fan of the place was a bit of an understatement. She had been strolling through the village, hoping to get some fresh air, but that had proved impossible in this sweltering heat. It was so hot outside that staying in the castle would have been the smarter choice. Hiding in the dark, gloomy and blissfully cool dungeons sounded like an exceptionally good idea today.

As tempting as that was, Minerva had planned to wait for Albus before fleeing back up to Hogwarts. He had left for a meeting at the Ministry hours ago and should have been back by now. But so far there had been no sign of him anywhere in Hogsmeade. Perhaps that was why Minerva entered the disreputable pub.

It was dark and gloomy in the Hog's Head, too, but it definitely wasn't cool. Minerva could barely breathe in the stale air and she might have done an about-turn if the barman's familiar piercing blue eyes hadn't fixed on her right away.

"Well, well, haven't seen you in here in bloody forever," Aberforth Dumbledore called. "Get over here! You can have whatever drink you want – on the house – if you get my brother out of my hair."

That made Minerva pause on the threshold and then slowly approach the bar. "Albus is here?" Her eyes were still struggling to adjust to the sudden dimness, but as far as she could tell, there were no other patrons in the stifling room.

"He's upstairs." Aberforth nodded towards a back door that led up to where he was living above the pub. "Pretending to think about important things when he's really just staring at her."

The only response Minerva's sun-addled brain managed to come up with was, "He's doing what while staring at whom?"

Aberforth shot her a scathing look. "And here I always thought you were smart."

Minerva had enough experience with the Dumbledores to know that whenever that hard edge crept into their voices, they were talking or thinking about the sister they had lost. Albus didn't have any pictures of Ariana in the headmaster's residence at Hogwarts, but perhaps Aberforth had some here, which would explain the 'staring at her' comment.

"How am I supposed to know what your flat looks like since you never invited me up there?" Minerva sharply defended her initial lack of understanding.

Aberforth was unfazed. "Why would I?"

"Because you and Albus are family, which makes me your…"

"My what?" Aberforth jumped in when Minerva faltered. "Sister-in-law?" He smirked. "I never got an invitation to any wedding."

"Imagine that. You're such pleasant company," Minerva scoffed.

"I thought you were immune to people being difficult. You've been living with my brother after all." Aberforth shrugged his shoulders. "To this day I don't understand why."

Minerva leaned in across the bar. "Because you refuse to see the good in him."

"Just like you refuse to see the bad," Aberforth countered.

"Perhaps that's because I have to love him enough for the both of us."

"I don't know what you want from me. If I were to go up there and ask him if he deserves my love, he'd be the first to say no."

"Because he's still hurting!" Minerva spat.

"That's what happens when you kill members of your own family," Aberforth said coldly.

Sometimes Minerva wondered why all the time that had passed hadn't helped Albus and Aberforth to heal after Ariana's death. In moments like this she remembered why. There could never be an end to the grief without forgiveness and acceptance.

"Merlin's beard, you must be the only person I ever met who never did anything wrong in his life and never hurt anyone in the process without meaning to. That's the only way you'd have the right to accuse Albus of this still after all these years!"

There was a sullen silence as they glared at one another. They both knew that Aberforth had made his fair share of mistakes, too.

To his credit, he didn't try to deny that. "You're wrong," he said and huffed a laugh. "I bet you don't hear that very often since my brother worships you too much." He shook his head. "It's not Ariana's death I'm holding against Albus anymore. It's that he hasn't learned a bloody thing from it. He's still sacrificing people he supposedly cares about for his big ideas. My brother is the only man alive who has that much blood on his hands without ever actually having killed anyone himself."

Minerva took a deep breath to swallow her anger on Albus' behalf. Yelling had never got her anywhere with Albus and it wouldn't impress Aberforth either. Her voice was filled with emotion, but it was firm when she said, "And have you ever considered that he's doing all of that, carrying that burden, so none of us have to? He's the most powerful good wizard in this and any other lifetime. He can't just run from that, as much as you or I would want that for him. He's doing the best he can, and what he needs, what he deserves, is just a little bit of compassion from everyone he's doing it for. From all of us."

Aberforth looked at her for so long without saying anything, Minerva was beginning to think that he considered this conversation to be over. But when he did speak, his tone was no longer biting or sarcastic. He seemed to mean it. "You might just be the most redeeming thing that there is to say about my brother. The way he has loved you for so long without getting you killed, almost like a normal man and his sort-of-maybe-unofficial wife. I never thought it possible when I met you for the first time, chasing after him. I reckoned you were just letting his fame and that oh so impressive power of his blind you. But you knew what you were doing. Somehow you knew the real him, whoever that is."

"First of all, I'm not a thing, redeeming or otherwise," Minerva replied both calmly and coolly. "Second, you may be Albus' brother, but I'll thank you to keep your opinions about our relationship to yourself. It's a little late to give your approval now. And third, since you are his brother, you could know him just as well as I do if you bothered to try."

This time the silence that ensued was shattered when Aberforth suddenly banged a glass on the counter between them. "Here. Have a drink with me," he said gruffly.

Minerva jumped a little in surprise. "Why?" This little argument had already sidetracked them for long enough.

"Because I like you. You don't take shite from anyone. Certainly not from me and not even from my precious big brother. I respect that," Aberforth said while he filled her glass.

"You have a strange way of showing that," Minerva pointed out.

Aberforth reached for a second glass for himself. "Well, I am a Dumbledore. You should be used to having to work for it, shouldn't you?"

Minerva snorted. "Oh, you're hilarious."

"Runs in the family." Aberforth lifted his glass and held it out to her questioningly.

For a brief moment Minerva was tempted to leave him hanging, but then she sat on one of the bar stools and clinked glasses with him. "Speaking of which, what exactly did you mean when you said I should get Albus out of your hair?"

"He takes up a lot of space and uses up a lot of air when he's brooding over something. But I'm guessing you know that. He barely said two words to me before he went upstairs," Aberforth explained. "I was debating whether I should go talk to him, but then you came in here."

Minerva grimaced and drained her glass in one gulp.

Aberforth flashed her a wicked grin. "Want me to get you another one so you can keep sitting here with me instead?"

"Thank you, but no," Minerva said and rose from her chair. She wasn't afraid of Albus being in a thoughtful mood. She was afraid to hear what the Ministry had done to cause it.

As she made her way towards the back door, Aberforth said, "If you ask me, you deserve an Order of Merlin simply for putting up with him."

"It's called loving another person," Minerva replied. "You should try it sometime. I'm sure there's a witch or wizard out there willing to put up with you, too."

Aberforth made a face. "Sheesh! Thanks, but you can save the speeches for my brother."

She bit back a reply and climbed the stairs to Aberforth's flat. It wasn't very big and as sparsely furnished as Minerva had expected. It was really no surprise that everyone who came in here was immediately drawn to the large oil painting of Ariana Dumbledore that hung in the sitting room. She had a beatific, if a little vacant smile on her lips and didn't appear to be talking. Albus was indeed standing in front of it, gazing at the picture of his sister, but his thoughts were clearly miles away.

"That's a beautiful portrait," Minerva said softly as she approached.

Albus slowly turned his head to look at her. "You've never seen it before?"

She tried not to, but Minerva bristled a little at the question. "Really, if I have to explain one more time that neither you nor your brother ever invited me to come here…" She trailed off and left it at that.

"Well, you're here now." It was a simple statement, but it also served as a question.

"Aberforth told me you were up here. I thought I'd ask you how it went at the Ministry," Minerva answered it. "What did Bagman and Crouch want?"

"They want to revive the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts this year," Albus said, his voice surprisingly matter-of-fact.

Minerva gaped at him. "You're joking! Have they gone completely mad? These past two years students have nearly died at the hands of Slytherin's monster or almost got kissed by Dementors! That wasn't terrible enough for them? They now want to kill them outright?"

Ignoring her withering sarcasm, Albus replied seriously, "The idea on the table is to change as many rules as necessary to reduce the risk of the competing students suffering severe injuries."

"And how do they propose to do that? There's a reason the Tournament hasn't been held in over a century! Students who entered it didn't just get injured. They died, Albus!"

"I am well aware of the history and the danger," he assured her.

Minerva nodded, relieved to see that grave look on his face. "Then you said no?"

"I said I would think about it."

"What is there to think about?" she asked, eyes widening.

"Saying no right away wouldn't have done anyone any good," Albus explained calmly. "The Departments of International Magical Co-operation and of Magical Games and Sports have been working on this idea for quite some time now and they're willing to go over my head with it if they have to."

Minerva huffed. "I'd like to see them try. Hogwarts is your school. They can't possibly have something like the Triwizard Tournament here without your consent."

Albus inclined his head. "But Hogwarts is not the only competing school. Ludo says he has already spoken with Madame Maxime and Igor Karkaroff and they're not averse to the idea, just a little wary of coming to Hogwarts. I'm sure one of them would jump at the chance to host the Triwizard Tournament at either Beauxbatons or Durmstrang. In that case, a contingent of Hogwarts students, accompanied by me, would have to travel across the sea."

Suddenly struck by the thought of having to spend the entire school year without Albus, Minerva fell silent. It was utterly selfish of her, but she hated that idea even more than the alternative.

Mercifully, Albus seemed to agree with her. "I'm definitely not going anywhere right now, to say nothing of leaving the country altogether. If the Triwizard Tournament really is to proceed, it would have to take place at Hogwarts."

"But why should it go ahead?" Minerva demanded. "I'm sure between the two of us we could come up with more than enough reasons to convince the Ministry that this is total insanity!"

"Is that what you would have called it when you were a student?" Albus asked, looking at her fondly. "I can't help thinking that you would have been the first to volunteer had this happened in your time."

Minerva opened her mouth and closed it again. She couldn't argue with that.

Albus smiled knowingly. "The Triwizard Tournament isn't all bad. The death toll was completely unacceptable, yes, but the original idea was not to kill people for sport. It was supposed to further cultural understanding and create closer international wizarding links. If there was a way to control the risks… and if only the timing wasn't so unfortunate…"

"How do you mean?"

There was a pregnant pause before Albus said, "Peter Pettigrew's escape a few weeks ago seems to have set certain things in motion. Things I didn't see right away and the outcome of which I still cannot predict. But it feels… worrisome."

When Albus was worried about something, he always had his reasons and he was usually right. Knowing that, Minerva shivered internally. "Then wouldn't it be wholly irresponsible to invite more risk into the school?"

"Certainly," Albus agreed. "Then again, rebuilding old ties, forgetting our differences and remembering to stand together might be exactly what we need right now. If history is to repeat itself, we cannot make the same mistakes we once did." He glanced at the painting of Ariana again. "There'll be another meeting in two days with Madame Maxime and Karkaroff in attendance. I have until then to weigh the benefits against the risks and to figure out how best to handle them if it comes to it. And of course, to listen to the opinions of the people I value the most."

Minerva did him the courtesy of thinking about what he had said, but she was forced to shake her head regardless. "I understand what you hope the Tournament could accomplish, but it's still too dangerous. If you really want my opinion, then I say it's not worth it."

"You're not just saying that because there would be no time for the Hogwarts Quidditch Championship if we were to host the Triwizard Tournament this year?" Albus asked, his eyes twinkling slightly.

"It's certainly not a selling point," Minerva admitted unhappily. "But no, that hadn't even occurred to me until you said it just now."

"Alas, that wasn't a very clever way to get your support, was it?" Albus quipped, though the humour in his voice didn't reach his eyes. He was taking this decision too seriously for that.

Minerva reached for his hand. "If you decide to do this or if the Ministry decides it for us, of course you have my support. That's the only thing that was never even in question."

At this, Albus' eyes lit up in a way they hadn't before and he leaned in to drop a tender kiss on her lips.

Behind them, Aberforth cleared his throat. "Sorry to interrupt. It's such a slow day that I've decided to close up. I was wondering if the two of you would want to stay for supper?"

Albus quirked a brow in surprise as he looked from Aberforth back to Minerva, letting her decide.

She didn't have to think about this long. "We would love to."

Both brothers smiled at her, which was definitely a first.

"Just let me go up to the school to change quickly," said Albus. He was wearing magnificent robes, suitable for a meeting at the Ministry but not for an unusually hot summer's day.

After he had left the room, Aberforth looked at her funny. "Can I ask you something personal?"

"Is that the price for dinner?" Minerva asked teasingly.

"It's the price for us being family, as you pointed out," Aberforth replied cleverly. He really was a Dumbledore. Minerva only nodded for him to go ahead. "Did the thing with Grindelwald never bother you?"

She rolled her eyes. "I thought we had already discussed that everyone makes mistakes."

"I don't mean those crazy ideas they cooked up together. I mean that Albus was in love with him," Aberforth clarified. "If he told you that it was just an infatuation, he lied. He loved Grindelwald and not just in the way young men sometimes think with their you-know-what."

Minerva cringed. She hadn't expected them to get quite that personal.

Aberforth quickly moved past the awkwardness. "He loved him with his whole heart."

Now Minerva smiled at him. "Of course he did. That's the only way Albus does anything. Why would I as the one he ultimately gave it to ever complain about that?"

After a beat Aberforth laughed. "Fair enough."

"Did you get lost, Albus? Hogwarts is a bit too far away for you to be out on an evening stroll." Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody's human eye was fixed on him while his magical one was moving in every direction and eventually paused, looking out the back of his head and away from Albus.

He tried not to take it personally. It felt a little personal, though. "I believe I sent you an owl to let you know that I would call on you tonight and yet you weren't at the house when I arrived."

"Been told that I need to get more exercise," Moody replied in an attempt to explain why they were currently walking through what looked like a closed Muggle amusement park. "Usually, I don't bother listening to the healers, but they might be right about this one. Wouldn't want anyone to get the drop on me because I've become too slow. But I suppose I don't have to tell you that, eh? Since you're older than me," Moody teased him. His wooden leg made a dull clunk on his every other step.

"Thank you for your concern, but I'm fit as a fiddle," Albus replied and he used his long legs to make extra long strides just to prove it.

Moody wasn't impressed. "Saying it doesn't make it so, my friend."

Albus snorted and then he cut right to the chase. "Well, if retirement doesn't suit you, it just so happens that I might have the ideal solution to your problem."

"Whatever it is, the answer is no," Moody growled.

Briefly Albus wondered why he kept having to talk people into working for him. He sorely missed the days when it was considered an honour to teach at Hogwarts and he didn't have to get creative to convince anyone to accept his offer. In the case of Mad-Eye Moody, Albus decided to skip the fancy arguments and to keep it simple. "I need you, Alastor."

"Too bad. Because what I don't need is your pity," snarled the ex-Auror.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Do you think I don't know that the Ministry wanted me to retire because they think I'm 17 Sickles short of a Galleon?" He laughed huskily. "I couldn't care less about their opinion of me. I'm perfectly fine right here. Don't need to work for people who don't want me working for them – or for people who want to give me a job just to help me out."

"Then it's a good thing that I don't want to help you out at all," Albus said firmly. "I want you to help me out."

Moody paused for a moment. "Then perhaps you're the one who's got his brains scrambled because no one in their right mind would ask me to be a teacher."

"I admit offering you the position has less to do with teaching the students and more with helping me to protect them and to watch their backs," Albus told him.

The hint of danger in that sentence seemed to catch the Auror's interest. "Protect them from what exactly?"

"This isn't common knowledge yet. Hogwarts will most likely be hosting the Triwizard Tournament this year, which means that contingents from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be staying with us all year."

For once, both of Moody's eyes focused on Albus' face and they both looked deeply disapproving. "You sure you want to let that spineless scumbag Igor Karkaroff and his squad of dark wizards in the making into your school?"

"The idea behind the Tournament is to renew the bonds of friendship between our three schools, so yes, Hogwarts will welcome the students from Durmstrang as well as Beauxbatons and their Heads with open arms."

"And yet you're here talking to me, so you're not as trusting as you used to be." The look of disapproval on Moody's face eased into a lopsided grin. All of his smiles were somewhat lopsided now because of the damage to his mouth and nose. "Good."

"It's not just Karkaroff," Albus went on. "He's of precious little concern compared to the fact that I have reason to believe Lord Voldemort is growing stronger again."

Moody stood perfectly still now, leaning heavily on his walking stick. "Didn't think to mention that earlier, did you, Albus? Slipped your mind, eh?"

He smiled grimly. "I didn't wish to spring that information on you. But I need you to understand the severity of the situation and why I cannot take no for an answer. Just as I cannot ensure everybody's safety on my own."

Moody's magical eye suddenly disappeared into his head and he whirled around yelling, "This is private property, you little miscreants! You better get out of here and find another place for your hanky-panky!"

There was a high-pitched scream before two young Muggles in a rather obvious state of undress emerged from behind a carousel and ran off as fast as they could.

Albus' brows climbed all the way up to his hairline. "You do realise that if this really is private property, then you and I are trespassing as well?"

"Eh," Moody shrugged. "I just thought I'd use the opportunity to practise teaching."

"You and I will need to have a serious conversation about the general ideas and rules of teaching, I see," Albus muttered as much to himself as to Moody. "Can I take that to mean you'll come to Hogwarts this September?"

Moody nodded. "I'll keep an eye on Karkaroff for you and on any other Death Eaters you've invited into your school. Only until the Triwizard Tournament is over, mind you! If you need my help fighting those bastards after that, you know where to find me. But there's only so much student drama and entitlement I can take. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Albus confirmed with a chuckle.

Perhaps agreeing on a one-year contract from the very beginning would counter the effects of the curse and allow Moody to leave the school in a better and happier condition than their last Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers. It was certainly worth hoping.

The broken streetlamps made it easy for Albus to move unseen in between the rows and rows of dilapidated brick houses until he reached the last house on Spinner's End and knocked softly on the door.

It didn't take long until the door was opened just enough for a pair of dark narrowed eyes to appear as well as a hand holding a wand at the ready.

"Good evening, Severus. I do hope there'll be no need for that," Albus said pleasantly, eyeing the tip of his wand.

The Potions master didn't respond. He simply turned around and left the door open for Albus to follow him inside the house.

"I apologise for bothering you so late at night and in your own home…" Albus said and broke off in surprise. The walls of the sitting room he had just entered were completely covered in books. He hadn't expected that for some reason and he was oddly curious to study some of the titles.

"How did you know?" Severus asked roughly, refocusing Albus' attention back onto him.

"Know what?"

By way of an answer Severus pulled up his left sleeve and extended his forearm. The light in the room was too dim to see much, so Albus illuminated the end of his wand and peered down his crooked nose at the brand on Severus' skin. The Dark Mark was still faint, but it was a lot more distinct than it had been in years.

Heaving a sigh, Albus straightened up again.

"What do you think it means, Dumbledore?" Severus asked.

"Since when has it been getting stronger?" Albus answered his question with one of his own.

"A few days ago," Severus replied tersely.

"For one thing I believe that Voldemort has been reunited with one of his former supporters, who seems willing to serve him in a way that allows Voldemort to regain his strength to some degree," Albus said thoughtfully. "And I also think it's possible that he's currently heading back to Britain."

Severus' eyes widened and he rubbed the mark on his skin absent-mindedly. "Why risk getting closer to you when he doesn't stand a chance against you?"

Albus smiled softly. "Was that a compliment, Severus? How unexpectedly charming of you." The Head of Slytherin House merely glared at him. "Right now Voldemort is still weak, but he must think there's a way here for him to change that."

"How?"

"If I knew that, I'd be sleeping a lot better at night," Albus said and settled into an armchair. When Severus just stood there, staring at him, he went on, "You don't mind if I sit for a moment, do you? There's no need to offer me a cup of tea. Not that you thought to ask."

Severus rolled his eyes and sat in the chair opposite him.

Albus let his eyes wander around the room again. "That's an impressive collection of books you have here."

"I highly doubt that's what you came here to talk about," Severus replied simply.

"Unfortunately, you're right." Albus laced his fingers together and rested them in his lap. "I'm here to tell you that there'll be a lot of new faces at Hogwarts this year and I'm not just talking about our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher." Severus opened his mouth, but Albus beat him to it. "No, you can't have the position. I needed someone else to take that job. Someone who's spent his entire life looking for signs of trouble."

"Who?" Severus asked between clenched teeth.

"Alastor Moody."

Severus paled just a little bit, but he covered it up with a derisive snort. "Mad-Eye Moody sees conspiracies everywhere. He'll probably suspect half the student body of practising the Dark Arts, accuse the house-elves of wanting to poison him and try to arrest Peeves for being a Death Eater."

"I don't think he'll have time for all that with the Triwizard Tournament going on," Albus said calmly.

"The Triwizard Tournament?" Severus didn't even try to hide his surprise. "Do you really think now is the time to turn the school into a circus?"

Albus let out a dark chuckle. "I seem to get the same reaction from everyone who hears about this. But the Tournament is no longer up for debate. It's happening and we'll have to make the best of it."

"Then tell me what you need me to do, Dumbledore, and get it over with," Severus said with a shrug.

"The Tournament itself shouldn't require too much of your time and attention, unless the Hogwarts champion will be from Slytherin. But I'd like you to tell me if and when Karkaroff chooses to approach you."

"We may both bear the Dark Mark, but that does not make us friends, Dumbledore!" Severus hissed, nauseated at the thought.

"No, I didn't think so," Albus agreed. "The two of you are very different people. Very different, indeed."

Severus looked at him, his eyes guarded. "Then what is it you really want from me?"

Albus leaned forward and fixed him with a searching gaze. "I know you were as disappointed in me this past school year as I was in you. But with the Triwizard Tournament coming and everything else that's going on I need to know if you're willing to move past all that. I need to know if I can rely on you to work with me again."

"I thought that's why you hired Moody because you prefer to work with him instead of me," Severus replied sullenly.

"Jealousy doesn't become you, Severus. I thought you had figured that out last year," Albus waved him off impatiently. "And I'm lucky enough to know more than one person I can trust."

"Is that luck or courting danger?" Severus countered.

A smile tugged at the corners of Albus' lips. "Now you sound just like Alastor."

Severus grimaced. His eyes gleamed when he said, "I've already given you all I have left to give, Dumbledore, including my word. I'm not going back on it and I'm not repeating myself either."

Albus nodded slowly. "That's all I wanted to hear."

They both fell silent after that.

"Well, I have intruded into your home for long enough. Time to go," Albus said and rose to his feet. "Unless, of course," he paused with a smile growing on his face, "you have any good book recommendations for me?"

The Potions master stared at him as though he still couldn't believe that the only wizard Lord Voldemort supposedly feared was a barmy old crackpot.

"I can see that this is not the time," Albus answered his own question. "I'll see you at Hogwarts then."

Severus gave him a nod and Albus stepped out into the night, leaving Spinner's End as quietly as he had arrived.

A/N: I had the idea for the Aberforth scene after watching the third Fantastic Beasts movie, which was better than the second movie, I thought, though that wasn't hard, was it? The best part about it was that Albus and Minerva had a scene together, short as it was. It was cute. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the start to book four.