Albus
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore had a plan. Well, he had many plans, but one of them was just about to come to fruition. After much research he was convinced he had located one of Tom's soul pieces, hidden in what should perhaps have been the first place to look: his old abandoned family home. August had just begun so Hogwarts still had a few weeks before first the Professors and then the students would arrive.
Between running a school and the Wizengamot he didn't exactly have a lot of spare time for research but if he didn't make time for this there was no chance for the war. Tom must be defeated, once and for all. Only then could he, Albus Dumbledore, reach the rest of his goals.
Albus Disillusioned himself and then Apparated to the place he had identified in an old picture, a meadow behind a barn. No one was around to see him arrive and he dusted himself off and looked around. The area was run-down and pretty much abandoned. A dusty road which barely fit a car, small houses ranging in condition from ramshackle to pitiful, an old pear tree that had split almost in half leaning against a rusty iron gate. It was a hot summer's day without so much as a breeze and nowhere to hide from the glaring sun, but that was what Cooling charms were for.
His thoughts strayed back to Severus. The young wizard had been his most faithful spy and accomplice over the years, cemented by that disastrous day in Godric's Hollow when Lily and James had died.
It was highly problematic that Miss Granger seemed to appreciate his company. Albus had needed to argue a fair bit with the Hat before it agreed to place her in Gryffindor, as far away as possible from the Head of Slytherin. He hadn't expected the child to grow up magical after being placed with a set of perfectly average Muggles. He had also tried to ensure the two of them stayed separated but for some reason they had not found each other's company to be as abhorrent as would be expected, and instead ended up spending too much time together.
He didn't think she knew what she was. The binding still held. It would last for a while, at least until her current form came of age but hopefully longer thanks to the strength of the Elder Wand. No, the connection with Severus was different, borne more from the pair of them being more similar than either thought than from any residual affinity.
Demons made him uneasy. Oh, he had dabbled in the past, before it all went wrong, with Gellert. They weren't to be trusted, would wriggle their way out of even the most fool-proof contract.
At the present moment, however, there were no demons in sight. To make matters even better there wasn't anyone else around either, neither Muggle nor magical. The wind rustled in the bushes lining the road but otherwise it was almost eerily quiet. He continued down the road and opened the old gate in a hedge that had been allowed too much freedom to grow.
The Gaunt homestead was no more than a shack, barely keeping itself together against the wind and rain. It had clearly never been much of a building to begin with but now its only hope was to be torn down and for something else to be rebuilt in its stead.
He opened the door carefully. The rusty hinges were almost completely stuck but a few spells sorted them out enough to at least open for him. It was beyond deserted, with layers of dirt and grime covering most of the floor and even the cobwebs covered in dust which must have blown through the broken window.
Another set of spells indicated that something was hidden under the floorboards. The signature was clearly Tom's but there was something strange resonating within it. Albus carefully broke up the floor and found a small box hidden underneath. It opened fairly easily to show a ring with a strange stone set in the middle.
Albus froze. Was that really — The ring, could it be the stone he had sought for so long? How had Tom managed to get his sticky mitts on the Resurrection stone?
His heart clenched. Ariana, he could see Ariana again after all those years.
The part of him which screamed at him to be careful, to not do it, was not strong enough to stand up against the yearning. Without even noticing the ring made its way onto his finger and then there was only pain.
Ariana was there but faded and not speaking to him and the pain, the agony was too much to bear. Barely holding on to consciousness he Apparated directly to the Headmaster's office and crashed on the floor in an ungainly heap. Nothing but agony remained. He vaguely heard the portraits shout and yell, he vaguely felt furniture fall around him, but it didn't really register.
Severus arrived from somewhere, reliable as always, muttering rather rude Manc curses under his breath as he cast spells and poured potions down his throat. Some of the worst of it lessened but the dull throb of it remained, radiating from his hand like it was stuck in a vice.
The heavy beat of wings could be heard and it wasn't Fawkes, it was something else, more sinister, larger.
"Albusss. You have been a very, very naughty boy."
He barely registered the voice, female by the sound of it, and Severus saying something to her.
Something warm engulfed his hand and then pain shifted focus as sharp teeth bit down. The pain changed and shifted, icy fire mixing with red hot agony, but gradually the peaks of pain sank to almost bearable levels.
The female voice continued to speak to him.
"I'm feeling almost charitable today, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. But only almost. You stole from me, you violated my Contract and you imprisoned me in the shape of a human child for years. Years, Albus."
He tried to open his eyes but his eyelids were way too heavy.
"You imprisoned me in a body that wasn't mine, Albus. In return you will now be imprisoned in your own mind for as long as I was trapped. Your fear, your guilt, your worst moments will be your only companions from now on. It is within my right to do so since you violated the Contract I had with my Summoner, Albus. It is very very rude to interfere with a valid Contract, Albus. You should know this by now, Albus, considering how long you have lived a mortal life."
The voice quieted for a while. Albus could vaguely hear Severus in the background, asking something. He wasn't sure what the demoness meant — for it must be her, the one Severus had Summoned and whom he'd then caught in the form of a girl named Hermione Granger, Gryffindor witch — but perhaps Gellert would know. Gellert, whom he'd always loved and admired, whom he'd imprisoned for life after they had killed Ariana — Ariana, the sister he needed to protect — …
His eyes finally opened but he didn't see a thing in front of him, not Severus, not the demon, not Fawkes or the Headmaster portraits, only Ariana and Gellert and a thousand other regrets throughout his life, and he screamed.
~ x ~ xx ~ oo ~ xx ~ x ~
Severus still hadn't decided what to do about Albus and he had avoided spending time with the Headmaster to such an extent the wily old wizard had asked if anything was wrong. As if he cared, anyway. The betrayal cut deeper than Severus had expected, and he was completely at a loss regarding how to handle it.
Hermione was getting impatient, wanting to see something happen. She said it was completely out of the question to let Albus get away with such a deception, and that she'd lose all the credibility she ever had in the Underworld if he was left unpunished for too long after their discovery. Begrudgingly she had given him until the end of August, saying if he hadn't sorted it by then she would do something about it herself. And you won't like it went unsaid.
The situation changed sooner than he had expected.
A hot summer's day in the beginning of August and he was working on calculations for his latest research project at Spinner's End with Hermione lounging in the armchair reading a Muggle thriller, when Fawkes suddenly burst in from nowhere, squawking at them. Severus flew up with a curse, Hermione not far behind, and as soon as he had reached a hand out towards the bird they flew off in a fiery inferno.
Travel via Phoenix was stranger than anything he'd experienced. They were flying but it was as if all dimensions moved out of the way for them. Not five minutes later, by his estimates, did they arrive at Hogwarts Headmaster's tower.
The scene that met him in the Headmaster's office was beyond what he expected. Albus lay on the floor, frothing at the mouth and grasping one arm with his other hand. The hand was smoking, his fingers already turning black from what was obviously a powerful curse. His heels were drumming a staccato on the floor and the heavy chair he usually sat in was upturned, a stack of paper having fallen on the floor. The Headmaster portraits on the wall were shrieking, wailing and shouting at each other.
"What have you done, Albus?!"
Severus cursed under his breath, trying to stabilise the Headmaster and casting something — anything — to stop the curse from spreading. He called for an elf to bring him a bunch of potions, knowing they would most likely not work. The curse was a nasty piece of work, vicious and lethal and with an almost sentient ability to seek out new pathways for itself.
A short while later Hermione stepped forward, now in full demon form. She pulled Albus up to a sitting position and then took hold of his cursed arm.
Severus moved aside, ending up seated on the floor with his back to the desk. Whatever happened would be between the demon and the Contract-Breaker. He dragged a hand across his face, wondering what to tell the Dark Lord and the School board and teachers. No matter what he said, someone would blame him.
~ x ~ xx ~ oo ~ xx ~ x ~
Hogwarts was unusually deserted even for summertime. Poppy was somewhere down South on vacation, visiting her niece. Usually there were always a few teachers in residence even during the summer, not counting Trelawney, Hagrid and Filch who never left, but now the only one around was Aurora Sinistra who slept most of the days away and spent the nights in her tower watching the stars. She wasn't someone Severus intended to bring into this mess, at any rate, and Trelawney and Filch didn't count. Hagrid, too, was out of the question.
Severus called for Namby, a wiry old elf who had run the Hogwarts operations as tightly as any pirate captain for as long as Severus could remember.
The elf immediately appeared and took a quick look around the room, taking in the state of the office, the portraits and the Headmaster still on the floor.
"Master of Potions calls for Namby." She was dressed in what looked like an old yellow-and-gold curtain, cut to size and draped almost like a cloak with a sash around her waist.
"I did. Thank you for coming. Albus is, as you can see, incapacitated." He gestured vaguely at the man in front of them. He had tried to talk with him once Hermione let go but the Headmaster just kept screaming until Severus had, somewhat callously, hit him with a Silencing spell. Hermione had confirmed there was nothing he could do for the old wizard, that his mind was occupied elsewhere.
"We feels it. Headmaster is here but not here. Brogg, Tinker, Merry, Canasta!"
Four elves materialised immediately, looking a bit dazed. They noticed Namby and flapped their ears at her in greeting.
"Take Headmaster to his rooms. You takes care of him now. Divides the work between yourselves and makes sure he is comfortable and eating and sleeping. And quiet."
The elves flapped their ears again in perfect synchrony and then all four of them and Albus disappeared without a sound.
Namby spun around to face Hermione. "Hogwarts elves haves interfered with no contract of yours or your kin, Grudge-bearer. We wills have no funny business with hats and no Hogwarts elf will enter a Contract with one of yours."
Hermione nodded and flicked her wings out briefly, as if mirroring the elves' ear gesture. "I hold no grudges against Namby of Hogwarts or any of Namby's elves. I will not interfere with your work and will make sure any ally of mine abides by your rules."
Namby tilted her head and nodded before she too disappeared without a sound. A second later the office was restored to order by invisible hands putting the chairs upright and stacking the papers in a neat heap on the desk.
The ring lay on the floor, slightly charred but otherwise unremarkable. It was probably quite old. There was an odd stone in it which didn't quite look as if it belonged there. Severus fished out a handkerchief and wrapped the thing in it, careful not to touch it. The curse was most likely neutralised but one could never be too cautious. He put it in one of his reinforced pockets just in case.
With Albus out of commission, at least in mind if not in body, it was time to call in backup to give them accountability. This was too much for them to bear alone.
He closed his eyes and pulled on his usual happy memories, but his usual Patronus didn't materialise. Only a few wisps of white smoke appeared. With a frown he looked around the room, at Hermione. He could feel the corners of his lips turn up into a smile, something warming inside him. Yes. Taking a deep breath he let new memories of her to the forefront, all the way from his time as a child to now at Spinner's End or even the Grimmauld library.
"Expecto Patronum!"
A shape materialised which was nothing at all like the docile deer he'd maintained ever since his teen years. A huge silvery Griffin stared him down, clacking its beak at him and stomping a foot impatiently.
He cleared his throat. "Go to Minerva McGonagall. Minerva, sorry to interrupt your beach hols but you're needed at the Castle immediately."
The huge animal cocked its head at him, spread its wings and took off through the wall. Severus stared after it and blinked a few times to clear the after-images from inside his eyelids. He took another deep breath and Summoned another Patronus with another message.
The elves provided a meal for the two of them while they waited for reinforcement, and they ate seated at Albus' huge desk.
Severus had gone to check on Albus but there wasn't much to do for him. Hermione had obliterated the curse taking the old wizard's sanity with it, and he was asleep or at least appeared to be asleep. The joint where his finger used to be had been cauterised by Hermione's bite and the elves had wrapped his hand up in a tight bandage.
Minerva was not pleased to be called back from her summer vacation, where she had stayed in her family's cabin in the Highlands. She arrived via the Headmaster's Floo and Severus could hear her coming even before she was spit out from the hearth. She was wearing an almost Muggle summer dress in her clan's colours and had her hair half down, unlike her usual style when school was in session.
"This better be important, lad, you're interrupting me bridge game. Was winning, too."
"Albus is gone, Minerva."
She stilled, mouth still hanging open.
"Do I have your attention now? Good. Yes, he is still alive, but there's no one home any more."
Minerva collected herself and finally also noticed Hermione who was standing off to the side, appearing to study the various instruments Albus had collected over the years. At least one of them was spinning wildly, most likely reacting to her presence, giving off a shrill squeak until Hermione poked it with a finger and it melted into a sad-looking heap of brass.
"What happened?"
Severus frowned. "There's a long version and a short version. The short version is that he got into an altercation with a demon. The long version will have to wait a little, we're expecting more company."
Minerva stalked over to a chair and sat down but her leg kept bouncing in clear agitation. Severus pretended not to notice.
Luckily they didn't have to wait long for Kingsley to show up. Severus had chosen to involve him as a member of the Order, an Auror, and someone reasonably impartial who at the same time would be able to act decisively and could keep a secret. He was dressed in his Auror robes and must have been out in the field somewhere when the Patronus showed up.
"I told my partner I got an urgent reassignment, but what is it about?"
"Let us start with Albus," Severus suggested.
He guided them to the Headmaster's bedroom where the old wizard was still silenced with his bandaged arm clearly visible. Feeling only a bit sorry for Albus he flicked his wand at the man and dropped the Silencing charm.
Minerva and Kingsley flinched at the screams. The Headmaster didn't respond when Minerva tried to talk to him, and not much later she was the one to put him in a Healer's stasis.
"What happened to his arm?"
"That's also part of the longer tale, Minerva. We should relocate. He is stable, but I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not in this case."
"What do we tell people?"
Severus shrugged. No matter the outcome, he was quite sure it would end up with him getting hurt.
"Let's go elsewhere. The portraits are still loyal to Albus so we cannot talk in the office. Miss Granger is central to this issue, you will soon realise why."
"My office, then," Minerva said decisively.
Minerva's office was well lit and comfortable. She clearly didn't mind students visiting and even gave them padded chairs to sit in. She had an office desk by the wall and a round coffee table with two chairs by the bay windows. Minerva quickly enlarged the coffee table and pulled over two other chairs in front of the desk.
Hermione looked almost the same as usual if one didn't look too closely, if one didn't take into consideration the fact that she'd grown at least two inches in height and carried herself like someone a lot older than sixteen, or the slight hint of purple fire in her eyes.
While Severus wondered where to even begin, Hermione took the lead.
"Twenty seven years ago, not quite to the day, I was Summoned. By a nine-year-old armed with his Da's newspaper, a smooth pebble, a metal toy car with a functioning steering wheel, and an offer of friendship if I agreed to be his friend. I accepted the Contract. I was Severus' friend all the way up through his Hogwarts years and beyond, until one fateful night on Halloween 1981 when it wasn't Severus who called me but Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."
Severus watched the others and wondered if he would need to hit Minerva with a Silencing spell to make her listen before her mouth took over. Kingsley frowned but didn't appear overly distressed.
Hermione continued. "Albus broke our Contract. He bound me to the shape of a small child, suppressing my natural demon form, and wiped all traces of me from Severus' mind. I grew up a witch, and Severus thought he had no friends left now that Lily was dead."
"Neither of you suspected anything?"
Hermione shook her head. "I grew up an awkward Muggle child who then learned of magic and became an awkward witch still not quite finding her place."
"Something drew me to Miss Granger early on, and we have had a few odd interactions over the years," Severus continued. "She set Hagrid's dog free in her first year and scared off a troll. Then there was the whole ordeal with her taking on a full-grown Basilisk in what should have been her second year. The Dementors were afraid of her. I found her trying to summon demons in a bathroom. But regarding our previous history there was no hint of it. I thought she had an aptitude for potions and wanted an escape from her moronic housemates when she came to help me with potions for Poppy."
Minerva glared at him but couldn't exactly refute his statement about her Gryffindors.
"Something happened to break the binding Albus had placed on you," Kingsley observed.
Hermione nodded.
"The Ministry incident," Severus said. "She would have died from the wound if she'd been fully human but the demon broke free and healed herself. She helped me regain my memories of us and we decided to keep quiet and let Albus believe the bindings were still intact while we figured out what to do about it all."
Kingsley leaned forward, put his elbows on his knees and resting his chin in his hands. "So let me see if I get this straight. Severus summoned a demon as a nine-year-old and asked to be friends. Albus somehow got wind of it and trapped the demon in the body of a child, but now the binding is gone. And this in turn led to him being punished by losing his hand and his mind?"
Severus shrugged. "Pretty much. Don't forget him going off somewhere to find a cursed ring and putting it on." He pulled out the ring from his pocket and let it clatter on the floor.
Kingsley poked at the ring with his wand. It buzzed a bit and a whiff of smoke rose from the tip but nothing else happened. Severus shook his head at the wizard, risking his wand like that.
"It tasted of souls," Hermione said, licking her teeth. "A broken one. A bit charred, not too well kept. I recognise the flavour from somewhere else, I just cannot quite place it at the moment."
Minerva hummed, frowning. Severus wondered what she really thought, now that her pet pupil had turned out to be something completely different. The Scottish witch was surprisingly restrained so far.
"What do we do about Albus? He needs to be seen. Do you have any ideas, Severus?" Minerva asked.
"So Imperius him then," Hermione said somewhat flippantly. "That should keep him stable enough to appear in the Wizengamot or at meals here in Hogwarts. Someone will have to run the actual administration behind the scenes, though."
"That will be me, there is no difference from before," Minerva said somewhat sourly. "He was excellent at delegating, if you put it that way."
"Bring in Filius and Pomona," Severus interjected. He, too, had seen Albus' management style up close and had no particular wish to shoulder more of the burden than he had to. "They know when to keep quiet and can help out with the practical details. Poppy needs to be informed as well."
"And then the Order. Merlin, Albus, what a mess you've left us." Minerva sighed. "He clearly planned to live to two hundred, there's been no succession planning or talk of contingencies as far as I'm aware. Maybe Alastor knows something."
Severus shrugged. "You get to deal with the Order. I need to tell the Dark Lord about Albus. Perhaps not right away, but it is inevitable."
"I don't envy you that part," Kingsley said with a snort.
~ x ~ xx ~ oo ~ xx ~ x ~
They had returned to Spinner's End that same evening, opting to not stay the night at Hogwarts. Minerva would have to be in charge of Albus' care as Deputy Headmistress together with the elves. She was reluctant to send for Poppy but there wasn't anyone better to ask.
"Before things get too shaken up I need to take care of Dolohov," Hermione said. "I would like you to contact Malfoy and see if he can work out where to corner him. Or I'll ask him myself. I owe him a thanks for breaking Albus' bind on me."
"Do I get to watch?" Severus asked, half meaning it.
"That could be arranged," Hermione said with an eyebrow raised. "I'm not sure you'd like my methods, though. It will get messy."
He nodded. "If it isn't too much trouble, but otherwise feel free to just take him out. I'll contact Lucius."
Hermione smiled at him briefly and made herself scarce. A short Floo call later and Lucius promised to send word when he heard anything.
A few days later a nondescript owl arrived with a short message from Lucius when they were just about to finish breakfast. Apparently Dolohov lived in Birmingham and worked at a seedy Muggle pub near the Wizarding quarters. He was renting a studio apartment in a Muggle apartment complex nearby.
"Do you actually want to come?" Hermione asked him again. "It will not be pretty. And you'd have to do exactly as I say so you don't get eaten by anyone by mistake."
Severus nodded slowly. Dolohov had always been a sadistic bastard, and his years in Azkaban did not exactly improve his mood.
"Yes. I think it will be good to know first-hand what happens to those who go against you. Dolohov has never quite liked me and has tried to put me down in front of the Dark Lord a number of times. I'll behave."
Hermione went to stand in front of him, assessing him again.
"Fine. Let's go see Dolohov, then. It's still early enough for us to catch him at home, most likely."
They Apparated to Birmingham and found the right address. It was a large brick building which had seen better days, but it still wasn't quite as bad as many places in Cokeworth.
Severus pulled his wand out to check for magical activity nearby. He couldn't detect anything, no wards or lingering traces of magic, which perhaps wasn't too strange considering Dolohov was a fugitive from Azkaban. Before he could even start an Alohomora the outer door to the building opened as someone was leaving. Hermione was quick to hold it open and waited for Severus to catch up.
"This is the least sneaky mission I've ever been on," he commented as they made their way up the stairs.
Hermione grinned at him. "That's what makes it work. People don't expect demons to come knocking on their door before they've had a sufficient amount of drink so he won't know what hit him."
They found themselves on the third floor. Dolohov didn't exactly have his name on the door, but there were traces of magic with a few basic wards and a "Kenmore Kestrels" sticker above the door handle.
Hermione put a finger the door handle which opened at her touch, as if it wanted to get out of her way. She stepped inside and gestured at Severus to enter. He closed the door quietly behind them.
There was just one room with a small kitchenette off to one side and a small bathroom right next to the door. Dolohov was snoring on the sofabed. The floor was littered with old clothes, pizza boxes and other food containers, old newspapers and other kinds of rubbish. Severus spotted the man's Death Eater mask underneath a heap of black robes on the floor.
Hermione took a look at the mess, shook her head and got to work. She cleared a space on the floor, fetched some salt from the kitchenette and set about drawing a circle on the floor. Severus could sense the energy changing in the room, like an impending storm. The air got darker and heavier with a hint of ozone.
She took the salt and traced a square around Severus.
"Don't move from here."
He nodded in response. When she was done, the line shimmered and solidified into an almost tangible barrier.
Hermione looked over her handiwork and then shifted into her full demon form before reaching out to Dolohov and waking him by yanking him up in his hair.
"Rise and shine, young man. The morning is almost over and you're still in bed? Such laziness!"
"Whuh?" Dolohov fumbled for his wand which Hermione had already pocketed. "Who are you?"
Hermione tilted her head to the side. "For you today… you could call me out of luck. Or perhaps the end. Or something like retribution or other similar things."
Dolohov had apparently managed to wake up a bit more. "I don't recognise you," he protested. "I'd know if I had a contract out with someone like you."
He was facing away from Severus who kept quiet to avoid being noticed.
"No, this is more of a personal call," Hermione said. "You really shouldn't do everything your supposed brothers-in-arms tell you to. Invading the Department of Mysteries, for example, or trying to kill a group of schoolkids. You spilled my blood, and that gives me the right to collect yours in return. I suppose I should thank you though? You broke a curse on me."
She placed a hand on Dolohov's arm by the elbow and pulled down, raking her claw along it. A trickle of blood spilled forth. Hermione caught some of it in her palm and threw it on top of the Summoning circle. Black smoke started to rise from the circle and Severus thought he could see some shapes inside it, moving around and retreating.
Hermione dropped Dolohov onto the couch. The wizard was unable to move even though there didn't seem to be anything binding him.
She went to stand just outside the circle, in front of Severus, and slashed her own wrist with a claw. She let her blood well up and then flung it inside the circle, partially breaking the border.
"Fetch," she called.
From inside the circle Darkness poured out, snarling and biting. There were several small imp-like creatures, a few dog-like creatures with baleful red eyes, of which one sniffed the boundary around where Severus was standing before Hermione poked it with her knee to redirect it, a few bat-like things and other things Severus didn't recognise. They all descended on Dolohov who screamed at first, but not for very long. Severus closed his eyes, but it didn't help much with the sounds. Hermione stood calmly between Severus and the summoning circle, watching the carnage.
"Enough," Hermione called after a while. She gestured at the circle, and one by one in a steady stream the creatures returned and disappeared seemingly into the floor.
Severus didn't watch what remained of Dolohov. He waited for her to release him from the protective border, took her arm and Apparated them back to Spinner's End. It had been brutal but not outside of what he had expected when dealing with demons.
"I've sent word to Kingsley. He'll be found by someone in a while and they'll think he's botched a Summons," Hermione said once they were back. She'd opted for a shower, claiming that having touched Dolohov made her feel dirty.
"He won't be missed."
She smiled at him and he felt his lips quirk up in response.
Severus took a deep breath. It had begun. Albus was for all intents and purposes gone, and two — no three if one counted Lucius — Death Eaters had been dealt with. The rest would follow, it was only a matter of timing. It was a good thing neither Hermione nor himself had any grander ambitions of world domination and instead preferred being left alone with a well-stocked library and a good laboratory, if this was what having a demon on his side meant.