章 1576: 38
Chapter 38: Albus goes to the US - Part 1Notes:
Good morning everyone,
here is this week's chapter. After we saw what happeded to Harry and Hermione after the Battle of Hogwartd and made a nearly-two-years-timejump, it's time to see what Dark Lord Dumbles did in the meantime.
From now on the pace will be a bit quicker, I hope you don't mind.
Aside from that, have fun reading :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
After two months of researching, going through all the secret stashes in the castle and regaining strength, Albus Dumbledore reached out to a few people - no current British residents though - that would follow him. People that fled from Voldemort and the British system, war veterans and their families, old friends and people that no one even thought about anymore.
Not many answered his call - quite a lot were dead, and some of the others didn't trust the person calling himself the "New Lord of Nurmengard." Still, after about four months, Albus Dumbledore had about thirty followers that regularly came by, fed him with intel and resources and trained with him. An old friend of his, Gareth Stevenson was what he called himself these days, a war vet from the Grindelwald war and one of his best sources on the continent, was sent to the UK to deliver a letter with a compulsion to Lord Macmillan, leading to the founding of the "council", the opposition group following his agenda.
Dumbledore didn't disclose that it was him, not now at least, but he described himself as a kindred spirit with ties to the UK and headquarters on the continent who would like to see this faction in power. They wouldn't be able to bother the Potter alliance much these days, but within a year or so things could change for the better. And he had to continue to search for Merlin's wand either way. But that wasn't easy.
All that Gellert had found out for sure was that it existed, he had historical records from three different people that had actually seen the man alive, all of them confirming the existence of the wondrous wand. And there were even some claims that people had been at the funeral, but no descriptions of the funeral itself existed - or so Gellert thought.
But what was known about Merlin's life?
Truth is that they didn't know much at all. It is even questionable when he was alive, as he was apparently a student of Slytherin, while at the same time part of Arthur's court during the fifth and sixth century. What was true now, and what tracks would he have to follow?
That was actually a question Gellert had already answered for him. Merlin was certainly alive in the fifth century, but he was at Hogwarts too. The research - letters between students and parents during the founders' time that should belong in Hogwarts' library - speak of Merlin as the charms teacher at Hogwarts, and deputy head of Slytherin House under Salazar himself. The old man had taught Merlin Parseltongue and some of his very own defence magic, leading to the assumption that Merlin was a Hogwarts student.
Albus didn't even start questioning how Merlin could have been alive so long, if only half the myths were true he wouldn't be surprised by anything.
Another thing he was able to make out was that there was not one recorded sighting of Merlin Ambrosius after 1084, a little less than a century after Hogwarts' founding and during the reign of William the Conqueror.
Now that was interesting.
He hadn't known anything about that, because when he had looked for the wand, he mostly had to deal with myths and retellings of stories, at this point such documents had been out of his reach. Apparently Gellert had disproven all claims of seeing Merlin after that year, making it quite likely that he died around then.
And he knew just where to start looking for hints Gellert never found, because he knew where the diaries of William's royal wizard were - or should be at least. His old - former - friend Nicolas Flamel had been a big fan of this era and he had spent many years exchanging letters about it with this American wizard. Albus wasn't exactly sure which one, there had been two men in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, both of British descent he believed, and both taught outside of any official wizarding school. Nic often talked about those exchanges when he was working with him, even if that was decades or even a century later.
One of those would become a powerful muggle statesman - he didn't know much more, muggle politics weren't really his thing - and the other did something crazy Nic called innovative. Something with lightning and a kite.
Oh yes, Ben Franklin and this Jefferson fella. Thomas Jefferson, he thought.Yes, that was it. And with one of those Nic had conversed a lot about the eleventh century, the Hogwarts founding (as they hadn't known about the school, how horrible) and historical and mythical people. He would need a pensieve to be sure of it (and that he actually didn't have, Gellert never got his hands on one), but one day while he was working on some alchemical transformation of metals Nic came in, the old letter in his and and rambling on about a diary, containing the magical history of William's reign and how wizards helped him in his battles in exchange for protection of the Hogwarts grounds. He had read that one so often, because it had been shortly before the man's death (if it was Jefferson or Franklin he still didn't remember) and it frustrated him so much that he never got to see the diary and that the MACUSA or the US government locked those things away.
Back then it didn't interest Dumbledore at all, but now that he knew that the sightings of Merlin during the twelfth century were false, that changed. If wizards really helped the king and had some sort of a deal with him, then they might have invited him to the funeral of the most powerful wizard of the past five centuries, strengthening their bond.
It would make sense, wizards had always tried their best to have monarchs or the prime minister around when celebrating something big or on other important occasions. George VI and PM Attlee had been at the celebrations at the Ministry after his win against Gellert in late '45 for example. Oh, and Winston was there too, having lost the election just a few months prior. Albus was relieved once he got back into office, he had preferred Winston over Attlee as a PM, such a nice conversation partner.
Anyway, that was besides the point.
Fact is, the only person Albus could think of that was there at Merlin's funeral was William the Conqueror. Either he or Gellert would have found any historical reference of wizards attending the funeral, the living founders at that time (just Helga and Rowena in her last years) never left Hogwarts at that time and he couldn't think of anyone else but the muggle king of England who would have attended the funeral of King Arthur's wizard for sure.
And yes, Gellert had asked himself if King William might be a possible lead, there was a little note on the edge of a book saying King William attended maybe? Looking for magical reference in his documents , but he apparently never found any as he crossed that out again.
But he, the great and so incredibly smart (yes, he liked to boast) Albus Dumbledore knew of such documents, and he knew who had them. More or less.
He needed to go to the US.
Just two days later a man arrived at Nurmengard, a man who didn't know whom he was supposed to meet here. An old friend of Albus' handed him a letter from the "New Lord of Nurmengard" that turned into a password-activated portkey once he was ready to go.
And now Dedalus Diggle was standing here, in the courtyard of the castle from which Gellert Grindelwald had alway operated. In front of him though he saw something very calming.
A gravestone for Grindelwald.
So it wasn't him who he was gonna meet. That was a relief. Sure, he trusted Albus' old friend, but one couldn't be too careful.
What then happened he didn't expect though.
The big door in front of him opened and an old, yet one with a powerful aura. He was wearing a dark blue three piece suit with a white shirt and a tie matching the suit, he had a wand holster attached to the brown leather belt and was leaning on a wooden cane. It wasn't the Lucius Malfoy kind of cane, but a light brown and shiny one with a rounded top. The man himself was tall and rather slim, trimmed full beard and the silver hair combed back, but not as slick and flat laying back as the Malfoys did it, more…like that wizard Grindelwald had impersonated in the US, Graves. Dedalus had only encountered the man once, but he had been remarkably strong-minded and stubborn. And definitely a strong wizard.
And the "New Lord of Nurmengard" was reminding him of the man, not only because of the haircut, but because of his demeanour. Strong-minded, goal-orientated and powerful.
But now that Dedalus realised that, he also saw something familiar in there, in the feeling of power and the strong eyes. They should be twinkling a bit more, shouldn't they? And those glasses were looking rather strange in comparison to the half-moon…
"Albus?"
"Dedalus! It's so good to see you. Come in."
The following twenty minutes of explaining how Dumbledore was alive and what his agenda was, were the most interesting and confusing ones in Dedalus' life, yet he listened. He had been entirely unhappy with how they dealt with Dumbledore a few years back. Sure, he had done some bad things, but didn't anyone see the greater good in that? And he wasn't the only one thinking like that. There were enough people to support them, if they could get past the Potter alliance.
And Potter himself.
"And that is exactly my point, my dear Dedalus. But before I can take on Potter, I need something. An artefact. But I don't know where it is, that's why I need you. I need to go to Washington D.C. and search in the magical archives."
Now Dedalus burst out laughing. Dumbledore, a man shunned and declared guilty of dozens of crimes under the laws of the ICW, a man presumed dead, was trying to go into the MACUSA archives. That sounded like a bad joke, but he soon realised that this wasn't a joke.
"I still have my contacts, I can get you in the country, maybe even the city, but not more. No chance."
"Can you ask Abe then about his contacts? I know he had a few friends over there."
"What? I'm sorry Albus, I thought you knew. Abe is dead, killed in the battle. He came up from Hogsmeade to take out Death Eaters and got killed. Maybe the local news here didn't print the entire list of deaths."
Now Dumbledore, shocked by that fact, was sitting in silence, and Dedalus did the only right thing and left the room. They had time to plan later.
And that they did. Albus and his brother had never been too close, or at least not after Ariana's death, so he wasn't too sad, just a bit surprised by the fact that he was dead. Nothing he couldn't deal with.
So the two of them, Albus and Dedalus planned out how to get the elderly wizard into the US. Luckily Gareth had "convinced" a wizard at the Austrian Ministry of Magic to create the identity of a "Richard Harris", Irish national, halfblood wizard and fled the UK once Voldemort got resurrected, abandoning his post in the Department of Magical Education.
With the help of Lord Macmillan's nephew (working in the Ministry) they were even able to show "proof" of Richard's existence. Macmillan hadn't known whom he had helped, but he was aware that the new Lord of Nurmengard was a " Dumbledorian ", which was what they called their political movement.
And Richard Harris now was the one booking a portkey to Canada. There they didn't check the identity of the incoming travellers so thoroughly, other than in the US. Dedalus made sure there was an illegal portkey into D.C. near the portkey centre in Canada. But from there Albus was on his own.
His destination were the archives of the MACUSA, and other than the wizarding ministry itself it wasn't located in New York City but the capital of the country itself, or to be more precise, below the city. More than just one president had been magical and so the most precious artefacts and documents were ordered to be stored near the White House and the Capitol, in an underground complex accessible from many buildings all over D.C.
And now Albus Dumbledore was walking towards the one entrance he had used once, a long time ago. He didn't like walking down a street so publicly, but it wasn't as he had another choice. The whole Capitol Hill district and most muggle government buildings were surrounded by anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards. Which, in fact, was very understandable. The US government was much more aware of magic and tried its best at protecting themselves and controlling the wizards.
As Albus Dumbledore entered the Thomas Jefferson Building, one of the main buildings of the Library of Congress, he immediately went to the information desk for the visiting magicals. It had a big sign saying "MACUSA archives", hidden under a muggle-notice-me-not ward. The woman sitting there looked up as a small lamp on her desk started to glow. A wizard was approaching, and so the illusion charms around them went up.
"MACUSA archives, Jefferson entrance. I'm Mrs. Francis, how may I help you?"
"My name is Richard Harris, I'm travelling here from Austria and want to do some research in the archives."
"Austria? You rather sound like a Brit, don't you?"
Now Dumbledore had to try to play his role and convince the witch, because otherwise he'd be in auror custody any minute now.
"I have gained Austrian citizenship after fleeing from the UK. The whole dispute with you-know-who and those blood purists was too much for me eventually, even though things have calmed now."
The woman nodded, she was well aware of the happenings in the United Kingdom and could understand the man.
"Alright. Then, please hand me your identification and state what you'll be researching and you can have your library card."
"Oh, I was working in the Education Department of our Ministry and now I'm taking the time to write a paper about the eleventh century. I've heard that you have a diary from that time which would help my research. Rumour is that either Benjamin Franklin or Jefferson owned it and it's only logical that I could find it here."
"Alright, the Franklin and the Jefferson documents then. You'll probably be rather alone in that section, these days no one cares about their magical legacy, just the no-maj one. Familiar with the rules?"
"Yes, no spellcasting, everything stays where it is, usual procedure to interact with historical artefacts. No food or beverage aside from in the cafeteria. I've read the protocol."
"Fantastic, then let me just finish that up here…identification checks out, here is your card. Have a nice day, Mr. Harris."
"Likewise, thank you."
The way down into the archives was via an elevator behind a wall (which was just an illusion ward) in the great hall, nothing too spectacular and unusual. Here in the US magical buildings were constantly updated and modernised, evolving together with the muggle world. One of the things that the British wizards and witches too could start doing. And the "reason" against that was usually "magic and technology interfere." Sure, but here it worked too, the MACUSA archives had electricity down here too, with enough runic work, that whole problem could be easily resolved. But no, always do it the old way.
On the other hand, if they didn't modernise and evolve, then no one would try and change the working system. Seemingly light, but the rich (and mostly dark) would still be in power, bribing and getting "second chances" as always. He was no pureblood supremacist, but he was convinced that magicals were the dominant race in this world. No drop of magical blood spilled was okay, and all he ever aimed for, his "greater good" was a world that was ideal for wizards and witches. Sure, he was lacking a clear vision of that, if still in secrecy or ruling the world, but his "the greater good" combined with his power and his hero-status had always been enough to get followers. And if the Dumbledorians back home would continue working against Potter and co. then he might get enough people behind him for a coup. For a long time it was enough to be the man behind the curtain, guiding the minister, shaping the minds of future generations and be worshipped, but now he had enough of the shadow. He wanted to be in power, and this time properly.
But this then depended on his success now.
As he walked through the rows of shelves, filled with books and artefacts, he dreamt of a world ruled by him, people looking up to him. It would be perfect.
One more glance at the map he had been handed told him that his destination was quite a long walk away, in a rather old part of the system. Somewhere near what the map called "Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History" and the Washington Monument. Quite a long walk actually, and due to the confusing and complex tunnel structures it took him over two hours to get there. If he had only been able to access an archive map beforehand so he could have gone underground a bit closer to the right spot. But making an inquiry at the MACUSA with a bogus identity, and not even a very solid one if one would try to check his background and history, was more than dangerous. So he preferred the walk over an ICW prison, he was a felon after all.
Dumbledore went through the sections on George Washington's battlemages, the magical Civil War (Booth had apparated out of Ford's Theatre, that's why they expanded the anti-apparition wards under Johnson and Grant), theories about Kennedy's death (obviously not a magical who did that, but the bullet somehow passed through the safety ward the presidential chief wizard on the car, which most likely had an impact on the trajectory. That happens if someone without a warding mastery wards the president) and much.
The one section that was giving off such a strong magical aura was the one marked as "biblical", but Albus Dumbledore was not a religious man. In fact, he barely knew what the bible was, of its contents he had no idea. And while he walked through the section, since it was on his path, he didn't know what any of those items were.
"Hm, that's a lot of gold there. And its magical properties seem…interesting. Oh how lovely, a ward to kill anyone who touches it, excluding those woven into it. I haven't seen one of those in decades, and never such a strong one. Maybe once I'm in power I come back and take it to study, there must be something in there after all in this ark of covenant , whatever that may be."
Then Dumbledore turned away from the biblical artefact as he saw something in another display case, a thing he was much more familiar with, at least in a general sense.
"A staff. Well, I prefer wands, but that one seems interesting. Doesn't feel as powerful as the elder wand, but fascinating."
He wiped away the dust from the small sign identifying the object (barely anyone worked with religious artefacts these days, their magical power was…strange, and not worth the dangers usually, that's why he was alone in that section).
"Dividing the Red Sea? That thing must have lost its power over the years or the dampers on those showcases are incredibly strong. And they don't even know what kind of core it has. Strange."
He walked around a bit, simply because the ambient magic of the artefacts (all thoroughly protected, to steal one of those he'd need a dozen curse breakers and twenty minutes probably) was so…exhilarating.
"Who'd need a crown of thorns? And what kind of a trumpet could destroy walls? All that bible stuff is just so…strange."
It took him a short while to leave the biblical section again, not wanting to part from the strong feeling of ambient magic, but he had a mission to accomplish. And that's why he entered one of the oldest sections of these archives, the section for magical founding fathers (though the term "founding fathers" was just loosely used, it basically meant all the important magicals during the eighteenth and early nineteenth century) such as Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, Paul Revere, Thomas Paine, Henry Knox and a few others. The room wasn't big, as their muggle legacy was much bigger than their magical legacy. Still, those were all the magical relics, books, notes and letters about magic from eleven different people plus a few additional things from this era that had no place in any other section.
"Oh god, it looks like there's no system whatsoever."
And that was mostly correct. Sure, it was sorted by the previous owner, but beyond that the things were just cramped into the shelves. Now he had to try his best at finding the diary - assuming it really ended up here, otherwise he'd be screwed.
Many hours later Albus was getting very frustrated. Not because he feared that he wouldn't be successful, no, but because there was so much stuff to look through, and many things had some wards on it he had to break (yes, spellcasting wasn't allowed, but breaking a ward on a publicly available piece of literature was a bit of a grey area). Just skimming through the documents looking for something from the eleventh century wasn't helpful either, too many books had illusion wards on them so muggles wouldn't notice them. A technique that got quite popular during the witch hunts. But it meant that nearly all notebooks and diaries looked basically the same and he would need to open and unward every single one of them.
After realising he'd have to leave soon and come back the next day, he started swearing silently. This day had been mentally exhausting, especially because of Benjamin Franklin. Aside from sketches of how to make his own pensieve (though the runic sequence was not ideal) there were some kind of notes about an attempt to infuse an enchanted trinket with energy from a lighting strike to "supercharge" it and its magical properties. Apparently that hadn't worked, but it led to the whole "electricity" discovery, though Albus didn't know much about that.
He was through with about two-thirds of the Franklin Documents at the end of the day, and there had been no sign of any obsession or even just fascination of the middle ages, and the three letters of Nicolas he had found were just discussions about alchemy and runic warding. So he made the decision that the next day he would start with the Jefferson Documents and only if they were of no help then finish with Franklin.
To leave the archives he picked the nearest exit point on the map. That was either the National Museum of Natural History or the Washington Monument, and since he had a second destination in mind, he turned left and picked the latter exit.
As he just walked past a closed and heavily warded door saying "magical warfare - enter only with presidential approval", it opened and a woman, followed by two men wearing suits and looking like bodyguards, stepped out of the room, colliding with Albus Dumbledore. The woman dropped the file she was holding and Dumbledore, not wanting to raise any suspicion, immediately used a little bit of wandless magic to put the sheets of paper back into the folder and levitate it back into her hand.
"Forgive me, I did not expect anyone coming out of that door. Here's your file, just let's not tell anyone of that little bit of magic I did down here, shall we."
The woman laughed and nodded.
"Sure, Mr…?"
"Harris. Richard Harris. Nice to meet you."
"Likewise, Mr. Harris, but I think I have to leave now, I still have an appointment this evening. Though if you're here tomorrow too, I always like to converse with magicals."
"Oh, I plan to be here again, in the section of the Founding Fathers. Though if you want to converse with a fellow scholar, you'll have to call me Richard."
"Thank god down here and with magicals I can forgo all the usual protocol. Call me Hillary."
The First Lady of the United States of America shook the hand of Richard Harris/Albus Dumbledore and then walked with her two bodyguards towards the exit that led into the White House. In the distance he could only hear the woman say "Wait please, I need to put the files into my bag, otherwise I can't take them out of here. Annoying security measures." And then the three people disappeared behind the next corner.
Notes:
So, that's it for the day, the second part of "Albus goes to the US" will be up next Thursday. I had intended on making that one chapter, but it just got longer and longer...Anyway.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know in the comments please. Until next week :)
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット