Chapter 10:

[Point of view Dumbledore]

Dumbledore was reflecting on his meeting. He realized that Lucius Malfoy was correct, that the curse was almost certainly gone from the Defense Against Dark Arts position, that naming Lockhart would probably not expose him, but might instead expose students to potential bad actions by him. He hired a two part time aurors for the next year who would switch halfway through the term.

Dumbledore was also thinking about what to do about Malfoy. If he was merely a thug, and using corruption of officials such as Fudge for profit it might not be so bad. He was thinking back to what that young muggle writer, Mr. Lewis, said,

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

Dumbledore had seen how his own desire for the greater good could lead to perhaps worse outcomes than someone like Malfoy would bring about. However, the rule of law is an essential part of society, and lawlessness and corruption were not the greater good, even if in comparison there were worse alternatives.

He would not be able to appeal to moral reasons when trying to persuade Mr. Malfoy, but he might be able to appeal to his self interest. On the topic of forbidden objects and forbidden magics, while Dumbledore had been trying to ban them, he himself made good use of them. His protection of Harry Potter at the Dursleys involved the use of blood magic that would be considered dark and forbidden. That was hardly the only time he used such methods.

Perhaps the fight of the Light against the Dark is not one that Dumbledore could hope to win at this time. Common cause for the integration of the muggleborn might be a more fruitful endeavor with which he could work with Mr. Malfoy. Creature rights might be another. Voldemort had entirely too much success working with creatures poorly treated by Wizarding Britain. Malfoy seemed to have more success in winning over

the werewolves than Dumbledore ever had.

[Point of view Lucius]

I was also thinking about werewolves. Many had joined my employment. I had the sense that Fenrir Greyback would sooner or later pay me a visit, and not to share tea and cakes. Some of my employees had knowledge about his likely methods.

I fairly openly stayed at my manufacturing facility in Albania. My location had the appearance of having adequate magical security, but one that Greyback and his team could defeat. The Albanian army had equipment that I secured that seemed sufficient for my task, hidden in a way that Greyback would not become aware of until he broke through my wards.

Greyback's ward breaker put a hole through my wards while I was sitting alone at an outdoor table, drinking tea and eating cakes. I said, "Fenrir, would you care to join me?"

He snarled and rushed toward me at inhuman speed. My trap sprang, I was brought instantly to my underground bunker. His anti-apparation ward did not effect this planned transportation and his speed was not sufficient to prevent the closing of the bunker hatch.

The Albanian bunker network was practically abandoned by 1992, but was a great asset to me. I had my complex improved and strengthened using magic, and had my base of operations in Albania just above an entrance to it. I made the Albanian government forget about this particular complex, since it was not actually completely abandoned. Fidelius is such a widely effective spell.

Then 35 RPG-7's each fired their 40mm rockets, blanketing the area. A sea of RGD-5 grenades strewn about were armed and went off 4 seconds later. My own anti-apparation ward went up at the same moment as soon as the trap was sprung, leaving Mr. Greyback in the kill zone. I had earlier done some tests of magical shields, and they do not do well with this kind of sustained explosive attack.

Just to be sure, three 152 mm shells were set to go off 12 seconds later, by which time I would be in a deeper level of my bunker.

We confirmed the death of Fenrir Greyback. His ward breaker and whoever else was on his team apparated away when the explosions started, but they were unlikely to go after me on their own. Their role was to let Greyback get to his target.

The werewolf community knew that I was offering employment to all werewolves that passed my magical loyalty test, and paid better wages than their alternatives and also included free wolfsbane potion for them and any werewolf children. My intelligence service told me that the new pack leader was not my enemy.

I was discussing strategy with Severus Snape. He said, "I think any future enemies would now expect muggle army methods to be used by you. It is likely that magical counter-measures might be devised. You might consider employing different methods."

I said, "Indeed. Perhaps you could devise some potion methods used as aerosols or splashed against an enemy."

At my next visit to Hogwarts, I walked from Hogsmeade and was approached by the Centaur Firenze. "Lucius Malfoy. Mars is dimmer. However, Apophis approaches. Both involve you. Be careful to keep Apophis from becoming too bright." He then left.

Apophis is a source of chaos, considered to be a serpent. The Egyptians considered him to be dark, evil, and an enemy of Ra. Firenze's words left me much to think about.

Whatever the future might hold, I would need some soldiers. I had enough cash flow to hire a squad of good magical fighters that didn't already have remunerative employment. I hired a trainer just for them. Myself and my security group had enchanted clothing to withstand the first volley of many types of magical attacks and provide advanced detection of port-keys.

I also hired some higher skilled bodyguards to inconspicuously be in the vicinity of each of the Malfoys when in unsecured public locations.

In Albania I started a mass production facility of enchanted objects. It had the same business idea as Spotions. One master does the inventing and trains apprentices. Mass production experts look at every part of the production process and shifts as much as possible to lower skilled labor leaving the masters to do only what they uniquely are needed for.

Dumbledore called me for a meeting, "Lucius, I would like you to co-sponser with me a law to improve the education and employment prospects of werewolves, vampires, and giants."

I knew that I must support werewolf rights, even though it would raise the wages I would need to pay them if they had better employment prospects. I said, "Agreed. We should include mermen and centaurs also."

Dumbledore answered, "We are in agreement then."

I said, "There is the matter of acromantulas that must be addressed. You have quite a dangerous colony in the forest. Aragog is likely to have only a few years left to live. After him, there would be nothing holding them back.

The Board of Governors cannot accept this threat to our students. It is time for you to remove them. If you want, you can find ways to profit. Their silk and their venom are quite valuable, but domesticating them is so difficult that I would not take on the task. You and I both know that Hagrid is not guilty of the offense he was charged with. However, he is guilty of starting the acromantula colony, which could potentially have even worse consequences. It would seem fitting for him to be involved in removing that threat from the vicinity of the wizarding population."

Dumbledore said, "Unfortunately, I find myself agreeing with your analysis of the situation. Consider ourselves in agreement."

The muggle Prime Minister of Albania was a former archaeologist specializing in medieval architecture. Rather than trying direct bribery, the approach I tried with him was starting a muggle company to restore sites in Albania and provide tourist infrastructure plus security for tourists. Behind the scenes magic would help these endeavors, but it would hire a considerable number of muggles at a time of fast rising unemployment in Albania. This was just the sort of results that the first post-communist Prime Minister of Albania was looking for.

The magical side of this enterprise would find magical artifacts at these sites and smuggle them out to sell. There would also be a magical tourist economy started for those Ravenclaw types that find amusement in getting guided tours of ancient magical sites that have already been cleared of traps and made tourist friendly.

For both the muggle and magical tourists the draw was going to be safe guided tours of charming sites, charming villages, and friendly locals who appreciate the money being spent. We had more villages wanting the tourists than we needed, so we routed the tourists to the ones that got the best reviews from our customers.