章節 30: Treading Dark Waters
Albus had then started searching for any information on Voldemort that would lead him to other Horcruxes, after persuading Horace Slughorn to give him a memory where Tom Riddle had broached the subject with his teacher. The potions master had constantly evaded Albus, going so far as to resign his position, but eventually, after a lot of effort, the headmaster managed to acquire the extremely valuable memory by using Slughorn's own guilt against him.
However, even after knowing that there were potentially six Horcruxes of a seven-part soul, Albus had been unable to track them down. Between his headmaster duties, his position as Chief Warlock of a country that was torn by war, and being Supreme Mugwump of the I.C.W, he had his hands full, and there wasn't enough time to search for clues that led to a trail that had long gone cold.
Albus had also been guilt-ridden for months after the attack on the Potters, blaming himself for what had happened to James, Lily and Sirius. The three Gryffindors had been some of his absolute favourites, with their loyalty in him unshakable, but what had he done? He had betrayed them in the worst possible manner.
But that guilt had reduced considerably after he had seen what happened to Frank and Alice Longbottom - yet another example as to what he had stopped by activating the prophecy. The country also began to prosper again, without Voldemort to cause fear and panic.
Albus had also tried his level best to get the Death Eaters locked up, but alas! There were some things he just could not do. With how busy he had been, the corruption at the Ministry of Magic had been undetected and several Wizengamot members and members of the Council of Magical Law had been bribed and threatened to let the accused go scot-free, even with him and Barty Crouch Senior doing their best to lock them up.
However, not all his plans worked out the way he had intended. Harry Potter had disappeared from the Dursleys when he was seven. When he returned to Hogwarts, he was everything Dumbledore didn't want.
He was intelligent; dangerously so. He also knew about his family heritage, embraced it, and didn't have a problem with showing how exceptional he truly was when it came to magic. The boy was also cold and reclusive. While it was true that magical children developed faster mentally and physically as compared to Muggles, it was frightening how similar Harry Potter was as compared to Tom Riddle.
The same charisma, the same elegance and grace, the same devilishly good looks for one so young, the same sharp mind; they were all dangerous combinations and Albus couldn't help but remember Harry's apparent hatred of Muggles. He was already nervous about it which was why he had hoped to gain the boy's loyalty by accepting young Harry into the accelerated program, but that opportunity was now out of his grasp.
Harry had also refused to go back to Petunia. Logically, he understood that Harry was safer behind the extensive wards of Potter Castle, but the problem was that Albus didn't know what enchantments powered the castle in the first place, and if they were good enough. Just because they were powerful once did not mean they were powerful now! Harry was just a child and without an adult to guide him, who would have taught him to access the wards? That was not the only reason - there were books in the Potter library which Albus did not want the boy to read. Harry gaining more power sent shivers down his spine as he remembered another black haired boy fifty years ago. There were many differences between Harry and Tom, oh yes, but there were also dangerous similarities, which was why he had set up the test for him with the fake philosopher's stone.
The boy had actually tried to blackmail him! HIM! He was one of the most powerful wizards in the world, magically and politically, and Harry actually had the gall to blackmail him! Not even Voldemort had dared to do that at the height of his powers, but deep in his heart, Albus was actually amused that Harry had attempted it.
Ah, the mind of a child!
But it looked like it was unwarranted. The young Ravenclaw had been accepted into the accelerated program through the Ministry of Magic with the help of his new guardian, Lord Sirius Black.
Albus rubbed his temples. He would have to keep a very close eye on Harry, closer than he previously intended. The boy had completely ignored the test he had set for him. Harry had not ventured to the third-floor corridor like the rest of the more curious students in the school. He suspected that Quirrell wanted to steal the stone, thinking it was real, and had a feeling that the Defence teacher somehow worked for Voldemort, though how, Albus did not know. He had an inkling about what was going on, though. He had initially thought Quirrell would be enough to test Harry, but now… maybe it would be better if the boy confronted Voldemort himself? It would prove to be effective as Harry would see how dangerous his parents' murderer is. That would surely make the boy trust the wise old Headmaster, would it not?
At this point, Albus was even willing to teach Alchemy if it meant getting Harry to trust him.
He snapped out his musings when the door to his office banged open and Severus Snape entered with a snarl on his face. He threw a very familiar looking letter on the desk and bellowed, "I will not accept this, Albus! That Potter brat is being given too much leeway. I will not let him inside any other class other than the one he is supposed to be in, and that is the class for the first years. What nonsense is this?"
Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, Babbling, and Vector entered the office too. Albus sighed as he drowned a Calming Draught. This was going to be a long meeting indeed.
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