Among Other Things

Disclaimer: I do not own HP!

Chapter 4

Albus Dumbledore was not a happy man.

After spending years cultivating his many pawns, several had gone missing. And one was the most important of all.

Last night the wards on Harry Potter’s home had disintegrated and by the time the Order arrived, they found the Dursleys dead, no real loss there, and Harry missing.

It would have been wonderful to if Harry’s wand signature had been found amidst the remains. Controlling the boy would have proved to be simple if he was in prison. Unfortunately, however, it had been immediately determined to be the work of Death Eaters (the glowing green skull floating above the burning house had been a major clue).

Now he could not determine whether the boy had left on his own of if he had been taken. At the moment, he was waiting for Severus Snape, one of his spies for Voldemort, to return from the Death Eater meeting to make his report.

In addition to the disappearance to the Boy-Who-Lived was the untimely resignation of Remus Lupin. Oddly enough, the werewolf had chosen to leave the Order after he had received the details of his next mission.

He really could not comprehend why Remus chose to not put all of his efforts into helping the greater good, but it was not as if he had to worry about the werewolf anymore. After all, his plan would ultimately succeed no matter whom he had go on the mission.

In addition, he had to concern himself with the whereabouts of Harry’s godfather, Sirius Black. This disappearance particularly disturbed him, especially after the time it had taken to break the man’s will.

He had known from the beginning that Black was a very determined individual, one who could not quit an issue until it was solved. So, he had devised a complex plan that would get Black framed for murder and put into prison indefinitely. This plan had tied in with the unfortunate but necessary death of the Potters since he needed to be in control of Harry, the Prophesized One.

As soon as they had died by his hand, he had been surprised by the Voldemort, coming to stop the murder of the Potters. They dueled fiercely, destroying most of the objects in the cottage, but it quickly ended with one accidental curse.

Dumbledore threw as many curses at possible in an effort to kill Voldemort, who was protecting the child. Unfortunately, one of his curses passed by Voldemort and struck Harry fully on the forehead.

At that moment, he had seen years of planning come crashing down. However, it was all saved when, due to some ancient magic, the Avada Kedavra bounced off Harry’s head and struck the “Dark” Lord in the back.

At the time, he had been given the perfect opportunity to get rid of the brat once and for all, but he had been surprised by an unexpected visit from Harry’s godfather and Hagrid. Black was supposed to have been hidden in a safe house, where he would have been apprehended the next day as the traitor that gave the Dark Lord the Potter’s location.

It would have been all too easy, if the stupid animagus had not decided to see the Potter family. Black was easy to take care of. All he had to do was remind him of the existence of Pettigrew and he apparated from the site. Hagrid, however, was a problem, since it was notoriously difficult to Obliviate a half-giant…

So, he had made the decision to send the boy to the Dursleys, where he hopefully, by the time he turned eleven, would be ready to believe whatever he told him.

It was fantastic really, that his plan had worked out. Black, enraged with grief, found Pettigrew, the true Secret Keeper, and confronted him. Pettigrew escaped, however, and took thirteen Muggles with him.

He spent the next twelve years as a rat and the year after that in search of his master, Voldemort.

Thankfully, Black was practically insane at that point, and he let the Aurors take him without struggle. A few words here, a benign twinkle there, and Black was incarcerated without the proper Veritaserum interview or trial.

He spent the next twelve years in Azkaban.

Harry, at the Dursleys, spent the next ten years abused, neglected, and hated.

When he came to Hogwarts he was completely ignorant of all things magical, and in the shabbiest clothes Dumbledore had ever seen. He strongly resembled a street urchin at the Sorting, and Dumbledore had felt success.

Thankfully, there had been enough Gryffindor in the boy to put him in the proper house. If Slytherin had been his home, it would have been far more difficult to manipulate the boy, especially under the very watchful eyes of Severus Snape, an abused child himself.

He had then spent the next few years molding the boy and ensuring that he experienced enough hardship to keep him glued to his side.

He had encouraged Molly Weasley to ensure that Harry was friends with her youngest son, a person that would hinder Harry through his own petty jealousy. This friendship had an added benefit in that it made sure that Harry became more dependent on others for help in different situations.

After all, it would not do for Harry to become independent and realize what he had in store for him.

And now it was ruined.

It did not really matter whether Harry had left on his own or been taken, since either way it had ruined years of planning. If he had been taken by Voldemort then he would tell Harry the truth, which would turn him to the other side immediately.

If he had left on his own then Dumbledore knew that Harry suspected something.

He needed a plan, he needed to fix this mistake, he needed…to contact his friends.

If Harry had left on his own, his friends would know where he was, and maybe it would not be too late to get rid of Harry’s suspicions. Surely Harry would go directly to one of his friend’s homes.

Although he knew that Harry had been slightly on the outs with Ron Weasley, he was sure that they had made up by now, since they were, after all, teenagers.

And, if for some reason, he decided to not go to the Burrow, he was sure that Harry would visit Hermione Granger, who he had unfortunately not been able to recruit to his side. As an extremely dedicated student and friend, she was, thankfully predictable.

She would take Harry into her home without question.

Granger’s friendship with Harry had been completely unexpected since he had pegged her as a Ravenclaw the moment she stepped through the doors her first year.

Thankfully, his ingenuity had ensured that she could not get anywhere near the information that he had hidden from the wizarding world for decades.

Beyond those two he knew that the only place Harry would think to go, since he had this very useful tendency to blame himself for putting others in danger, (it made him so easy to predict), was the Leaky Cauldron.

Harry had stayed there the summer before his third year by order from Fudge, who had gotten the idea from him. Actually, Fudge got most of his ideas from him, since the man had never been able to think for himself.

Dumbledore smiled, a vicious evil smile that sent shudders through the silent portraits of the long dead Headmasters of Hogwarts, who had stopped giving advice shortly after Harry’s arrival at Hogwarts.

He would make this plan work, he had spent too long developing his pawns; he would not see his work ruined. Harry’s friends would give him all the information he wanted, and, if the boy had truly run away, then he would have him back within a few days.

And than he would make sure that he never left again.

Harry would learn a few vital lessons, all within a secret chamber adjacent to his office. And there the boy would stay until he was back on the path firmly laid out for him by his dear,” beloved” headmaster.

Suddenly, he felt the wards around the entrance to his office twitch, letting him know that he had a visitor.

By the time the visitor was halfway up the stairs, he had identified him as Severus, recently returned from the Death Eaters. His smile widened and at the knock on the door, he settled back into his chair and called for the man to enter.

Finally, he would get some answers.

End of Chapter 4!

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