Standing Against the Tides

Last time I looked at my driver’s license, it did not say J. K. Rowling. Yep, it’s just me, an unpaid and unknown aspiring writer. The characters of the Potterverse do not belong to me and I am making no money from this endeavor.

A/N: Spoilers through OotP. As I am still in denial, I refuse to acknowledge the events of HBP or DH at this point.

Unbeta’d as BabyGurl is busy with her own life.





Chapter 28 Unraveling the Puzzle

The next few days found Severus busily perusing the jaded journals of his former mentor and employer. The ex-Death Eater forced back the bile that threatened to rise at each new revelation in the once hidden books. To Severus’ analytical mind, it was frighteningly easy to trace Albus Dumbledore’s ever-growing dementia and paranoia. Now that the Potions master knew what to look for, the evidence of the older wizard’s madness was clear to see.

An odd and completely unexpected turn of events had allowed Dumbledore to defeat Grindelwald all those years ago, to the great surprise of Albus himself. However, that un-looked-for victory came at a price: much of the former Headmaster’s magical powers were stripped from him. Nearly a squib, the wily wizard had cleverly hidden his condition from those around him as he began plotting a way to continue in the wizarding world. It seemed that the sudden hero had found that he liked the attention and the adoration sent his way after his defeat of the dark wizard, Grindelwald, and Albus had no intentions of stepping out of the limelight.

The remaining pages of the journals chronicled the ever increasing madness consuming the once Leader of the Light. As Albus’ powers continued to wane, the wizard spent more and more time and energy searching for ways to reverse the drain on his remaining magical reserves. After he had been named as Headmaster to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the near-squib had quickly linked his magical core to the venerable castle, secretly replacing that which had been lost.

However, the older wizard had not been content with that power, and had looked to other methods of increasing his magical strength. Buried deep within one musty journal, Severus discovered a section that had been written in archaic Latin. Determined to find the answers he was seeking, the Potions master crossed over to his bookcase to look for his mother’s old Latin dictionary. Nothing was going to stop the dark-haired man from learning all of his former mentor’s secrets.

Hours later, Severus tiredly sat back and tossed his quill down on his parchment-covered desk. Silently ‘Accio’-ing a glass and his bottle of Firewhiskey, the man contemplated what he had just learned from Albus Dumbledore’s journals. As he sipped the potent libation, Severus solemnly reflected that the thirteenth use of dragon’s blood that the older man had discovered should definitely remain lost. The war-hardened man shuddered to think of what his former lord and his fellow Death Eaters could do with such knowledge. For, Albus had found that dragon’s blood could be used to slowly and unnoticeably siphon off the magical powers from unsuspecting witches and wizards. That meant that the former Headmaster had been abusing the students under his care, as he had robbed them of their full potential. This fact alone could earn the old wizard a Dementor’s Kiss. To do such a thing was tantamount with rape in the wizarding world. A witch’s or wizard’s power was a personal, sacred thing, and to tamper with that was seen as the ultimate abuse in their society. As far as Severus knew, not even the Dark Lord had attempted such a travesty in his reign of terror.


Hermione was in her element in the massive library of Hogwarts. Only the thought of why she was currently residing in her favorite place could dim her enthusiasm. As far as the sharp-witted young witch was concerned, there were still too many unanswered questions about Professor Dumbledore’s activities and the role Hogwarts itself had in this whole matter. And what did all this have to do with Voldemort?

Pulling yet another heavy book from the crowded shelf, Hermione shook her hair out of her face. She could not stop thinking that somehow Dumbledore was responsible for Voldemort’s rise to power. And so with a heavy feeling in her chest, the young witch had the horrible feeling that their prisoner was behind Voldemort’s latest resurrection also. Looking back, it all seemed far too convenient that Harry was first forced to compete in the Tri-Wizard Tournament and then whisked away at the end, only to face Voldemort and his loyal Death Eaters alone. No, something wasn’t right here, and Hermione was determined to get to the bottom of it. If there was anything the Know-It-All of Gryffindor hated, it was a mystery.

Glancing over at her otherwise occupied boyfriend, Hermione sighed. She had hoped that the redhead would have been more helpful in her research, but she supposed she would have to be happy that Ronald had even agreed to keep her company while she searched through the dusty tomes. Turning back to the task at hand, Hermione tried to ignore the frequent chuckles emanating from the young man as he perused the latest Quidditch magazine.

But now, however, she had to focus on her assignment: that of trying to decipher the prophecy Albus Dumbledore had hidden from the wizarding world. Even though the witch had memorized the cryptic note, she opened her notebook to read once more the written words:

‘Power of the broken child melds with that of the broken man: twice powerful. Evil twice-defeated, finally vanquished with the power of the two.’

The first two individuals mentioned were glaringly obvious, as they must surely be Harry and Professor Snape. It was the second part of the prophecy that was proving to be problematic. Hermione was certain that Professor Dumbledore must have had some idea of what it might mean or else he wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble to not only hide the prophecy, but also to work to keep Harry and the Potions master apart.

Working with that as a starting point, Hermione set about earnestly searching through the large book in front of her. Yes, this was a mystery, but the Gryffindor witch was determined to find the answers she had promised her friend and his mate.


Minerva sighed as she listened to Madame Pomfrey list the latest students who had suddenly come into a surge of magical energy. The Deputy-Headmistress could see that the medi-witch was clearly at a loss to explain such an unprecedented series of events. Even now, Poppy Pomfrey was wringing her hands, stating once again that if only Albus were here then none of this would be happening.

Minerva’s hand shook slightly as she straightened her glasses. Silently the Transfigurations Professor had to agree with that assessment. If Albus were here, the poor children would still be blocked from their full magical potential. In the end though, all Minerva could do was to reassure the dedicated medi-witch that she would immediately send an owl to the absent Headmaster, asking his opinion on the matter.

As the visibly relieved medi-witch left the office, Minerva relaxed slightly. Yes, she would be speaking to the Headmaster; but Harry Potter, not Albus Dumbledore.


Remus and Kingsley met together once again in the homey kitchen of number 12 Grimmauld Place to discuss their latest findings. Both men had been discretely inquiring after the doings of one Albus Dumbledore during their breaks from watching their prisoner. Kingsley had approached his superiors in the Auror Division, and citing stress from the increased Death Eater activity, had used some of his paid holiday time in order to be of more help to the cause.

Remus took the whistling teakettle off the fire and set it in the middle of the table before slipping into the worn wooden chair opposite his fellow jailor. “Do you want to start, or do you want to hear what I have learned from some of my werewolf compatriots?” Remus politely asked.

Knowing that he wasn’t quite ready to speak of the disturbing events he had uncovered, the dark-skinned Auror gladly gave the Floor to his companion. Listening closely to the web of lies Remus was unraveling, Kingsley closed his eyes as he wondered just how they could have all been so blind for so long to Albus Dumbledore’s manipulations.

As the two men compared notes, they regretfully came to the conclusion that they had been played for fools by one they had trusted for far too long. Not only that, but both men could feel an awakening awareness in their minds, almost as if a veil had been lifted from their eyes. What did this mean and why was it happening now?

And somewhere with those revelations came also the understanding that this terrible secret must stay within their small group for the time being. As hard as it was for them to comprehend and accept, the two men knew that the general wizarding populace would be even less likely to be able to understand the deceptions and malice from one highly venerated wizard.


Harry serenely sat in the middle of the thick oriental rug that lay in front of the warm fire in Severus’ sitting room. Hedwig watched silently from her roost in the warm corner by the bookcase and Fawkes trilled softly from his perch on the young man’s slim shoulder as the new Headmaster sank deeper into his meditative state. As his heart rate slowed and his mind cleared, Harry could feel the thoughts of his fiery familiar brush against his. Accepting the calming influence of the Phoenix, Harry allowed the conscious thoughts of Hogwarts to filter into his mind and fill his being.

Pulling out some time later, Harry tiredly ran his fingers through his messy mane. Fawkes nipped gently on the short fingers as the young Headmaster attempted to reconcile everything he had learned from the ancient castle. As Harry considered the information that Hogwarts had only just regained some of her extensive powers, he could only wonder if the others were finding out similar things. The sentient castle had informed Harry that Albus Dumbledore had been siphoning off the magical strength of not just Fawkes and the students, but from Hogwarts, herself. Green eyes snapped open as the young Gryffindor wondered what this meant for the former Headmaster now. If removing him from Hogwarts had released his unwilling donors, what of the older wizard?