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Chapter 17

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Part 1

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October 1991
Hogwarts

Dumbledore's office wasn't what I expected. The place was large, well lit, and had a comfortable feeling to it, though that might have been the sleepy Phoenix standing on a golden perch. The majestic fiery bird preened at Chloe's star-struck attention and trilled happily before glancing at the Headmaster and getting back to sleep, ignoring us.

The rest of the office was much less impactful, naturally, but still interesting. Books shelves and cabinets covered two walls, with a third holding a lot of magical portraits whose owners peered at us with interest. There was magic radiating from all over the place, even more than usual for ancient magical building. Even a cursory examination of the bookshelves showed that they weren't just for show, and even glancing at one of those sent pinpricks to my senses. Whatever those were, they were well protected.

The last wall, well it was unexpected – you rarely saw any mechanical trinkets, besides a radio, in a magical dwelling. In this case, the whole wall was covered in shelves containing all kinds of clearly enchanted devices. Was this merely a Dumbledore's fancy or were those important, I wondered?

"A hobby of mechanics?" I asked a leading question, while our host ushered us to his desk, where he nodded at two straight-backed antique chairs before taking his seat behind it.

We did follow his silent invitation, after I looked them over through my various senses for a hint of danger, finding out that the seats were comfortable. It's not like I expected an actual magical or physical confrontation here and now, however healthy paranoia was seldom amiss.

"Various gifts, odds, and ends I've picked over the years," Dumbledore said with pride. "Unfortunately, we aren't here to discuss our hobbies, Mr. Veil, Mrs. Veil." The ancient Wizard said and to his credit, even through my empathic senses, I couldn't tell if he was lying, merely omitting part of the truth of if those things were indeed just a harmless hobby.

Even when people were good at Occlumency and had their defenses properly in place, I could often get more than vague emotions. In this case? Dumbledore was like a hazy wall, his defenses were even better than during our last proper meeting.

"True enough. It's an unfortunate situation." That much I allowed. "You did request we retired to your office to continue our discussion, so discuss away, Headmaster."

"Young Harry." Dumbledore looked at me with the weight of ancient experience. "At the best of times, the association of someone like you, Mr. Veil, and one of my students would be a cause of concern, as you must very well know."

"Mr. Potter isn't just anyone, which makes the way you've treated him in the past even more questionable," Chloe interjected, letting more than a hint of anger color her tone.

"I freely admit my mistakes where Harry is concerned. However, that's in no small part because of the various actions committed by your husband and his Master, Mrs. Veil. True, I should have kept a much closer eye on Harry and not relied on second-hand accounts, however, the rise of a new Dark Lord was distracting."

"Perhaps in that case you should have concentrated on one or two of your jobs instead of possibly mishandling all of them. You didn't have much success in handling Lord Baras, did you?" Chloe shot back, while I was content to gleefully watch the train-wreck in progress.

With a bit of luck, Dumbledore might be able to rile her up enough to forget my stunt until she calmed down… Yeah, that was unlikely, but one could hope.

"Perhaps. And perhaps your husband should have chosen not to walk in the dark, Mrs. Veil, however, we all made our choices and have to live with the consequences. Speaking about consequences," Dumbledore peered at my bandaged hand. "It is in no way acceptable for one of the students in my care to suffer physically or magically while at Hogwarts, much less when the cause comes from outside the school."

"I'm well aware of that," I answered drily. "While I certainly didn't intent of getting into a heated discussion with my Master, it was something that needed doing considering who my Apprentice is. The air needed clearing and certain boundaries had to be established and sealed with magic." I lied my ass off while doing everything I could, both through Occlumency and the Force to project the feeling that I was saying the truth as I knew it. "While my injury is regrettable," I waved my bandaged hand around, "and certainly not something that I wanted to acquire, just like its effect upon Harry, the circumstances couldn't be helped. In that regard, at least you should stand sure that my Master won't be having any covetous thoughts or plans towards my Apprentice anytime soon if ever. I made sure of that."

Dumbledore looked at me in the eyes and I could feel a hint of probing Legilimency, nothing active, just using the discipline mostly passively to try and figure any tells without even trying to glean surface thoughts.

"You may be saying the truth," Dumbledore admitted. "Or you could be possibly the best liar I've had the misfortune to ever meet. In the end, the circumstances surrounding your current injury aren't important. The possibility of something like this happening again, either because you have another 'argument' with your Master or because someone else who doesn't particularly like you, Mr. Veil, attacks you again, it's immaterial. What's in question is how if you're injured again would reflect on Harry."

"This is a reasonable concern." Chloe pre-empted my answer. "From what my husband has shared, the connection would be much easier to handle and even keep reasonably closed off, once Mr. Potter has his mental defenses firmly in place. At the same time, when paying attention, my husband can have his end of the connection closed off as well to keep Harry from feeling backslash from whatever is happening to him." My wife gave me a pointed look.

"In my defense, this is the first time I've taken a proper Apprentice with all that entails." The first time on this Earth and in this dimension anyway. "When my discussion with my Master was done and I figured out the effect my injury had on Harry, I clamped my side of the bond shut. The situation in question shouldn't repeat itself now that I'm more than intellectually and vaguely aware of the possibility."

"I see," Dumbledore stated. "And if I require that this bond you two share is cut for the safety of Mr. Potter?"

"To the best of my knowledge, severing the bond could happen in only two ways. First, Harry completes his Apprenticeship successfully, at which point we will both have complete control over our end of the bond. The other way is obviously for one of us to die and stay dead. Needless to say, I'm not too keen on option two, no matter who has to perish." I explained. It was mostly true even.

"Do I dare inquire about the purpose of this bond?" Dumbledore inquired.

"Beyond the obvious, allowing me to monitor the state of my Apprentice and figure out if he is in trouble, needing assistance? House Magic."

"As far as I know, nothing like this has been ever associated with House Veil," Dumbledore stated as a fact, which was curious.

What did my late parents in this world do to bring them to his attention? He didn't seem like lying, though that wasn't saying much.

"House Magic, Headmaster." I put special emphasis on his title relevant to this particular conversation.

"Fair enough." Dumbledore didn't miss a beat and continued. "Irrelevant to any actions I may pursue as a Headmaster, what happened to Harry has been public knowledge throughout the school, like certain allusions he made towards his home situation, which means that the news would be spreading like Fiendfyre out of control. There will be questions about Harry and his situation we would both need to answer to the Ministry and likely in front of the Wizengamot."

It was curious why Dumbledore changed the topic at this point, then again, I wasn't sure what he could legally do as a Headmaster given the situation. Oh, attacking my status as Harry's Master was certainly a possibility, with the obvious goal of attempting to legally break our connection and keep us apart so I could no longer corrupt the boy. However, there was no guarantee that something like this would work, and frankly, a success might carpet-nuke any bridges left between Potter and the Progressive faction in Magical Britain. Then there was the fact that while I didn't want an open confrontation that went beyond the legal, recent events might very well make it unavoidable.

When all was said and done, Chloe did help me re-evaluate my options and look closely at my motivations. When all was said and done, we were far past the position where simply pulling back and fading into obscurity was a credible option without losing most if not all that I've been working for over the past few years. The very idea of backing down in such a fashion not only grated, deep down I found it unacceptable.

Say what you will, my Sith nature while manageable generally, was here to stay and wouldn't let me run away. Perhaps one of these days I might take Chloe on her suggestion and seek therapy as well, though that might backfire spectacularly, but I digress.

"I did say I wouldn't be raising certain questions about Harry's past unless my hand was forced," I said after thinking over Dumbledore's words. "While regrettable, Harry letting thins slip about his home life isn't surprising at all."

"He shouldn't have been in that cursed house in the first place, and the less said about you two leaving him there when either of you can do something about it, the better!" Chloe furiously hissed at us both.

"If you insist, love, I can do something about it. Just be sure you'll be all right with all the possible consequences of the fallout. I admit that not doing more for political reasons says a lot of things about me, and none of them are nice. What about you, Headmaster?"

"You know as well as I do, Mr. Veil, that if we pursue a legal resolution, then Harry's future becomes a political gamble, which it might anyway. His closest living relatives the Ministry would care about are the Blacks. While you're closely working with Andromeda Tonks, nee Black, she was cast out of the family. This leaves only the three other Blacks around as primary contenders. Sirius Black, who is obviously out. Bellatrix Lestrange, who would be even worse, though thankfully in Azkaban as well and finally, Narcisca Malfoy, nee Black." Dumbledore spoke in a lecturing tone, though to his credit, there wasn't even a hint of condescension in his voice. "I shouldn't have to explain how between your influence and Harry potentially becoming a ward of Lucius Malfoy, you might be the lesser of two evils."

"And this is the Albus Dumbledore people all over the world heralded as a beacon of the Light, whatever that means for them." Chloe scoffed. "Letting a boy suffer for political expediency…"

"As I said, you just need to give the word, love, and be ready for the consequences."

"Let's table that option for a worst-case scenario…" Dumbledore hurried to add.

=TSA=

Part 2

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October 1991
Hogwarts

"Let's shelve extra-legal options for the moment, shall we?" I looked imploringly at Chloe, for once echoing Dumbledore's sentiment.

My wife huffed in displeasure, yet reluctantly conceded… for the time being anyway. I would be making up for this later, I was certain of it…

"It would be for the best." The Headmaster hurried to add.

"I'll let it slide for the time being. You two better figure something acceptable by the time summer comes knocking." Chloe reluctantly agreed.

Dumbledore glanced my way with a hint of exasperation, to which I responded with a raised eyebrow. What, did he expect that I would get myself some quiet and unassuming trophy wife who would be content to only be seen but not heard?

"Carrying on, concerning my Apprentice, I intend to bring him to visit his parent's graves this Halloween. With your permission to take him out of Hogwarts for the evening, of course, Headmaster." I changed the topic to something safer for me, yet almost equally dangerously for Dumbledore. I didn't need to look at Chloe to know that she was glaring at the Headmaster, likely as if she was considering if he would do for her next meal.

The ancient Wizard stared at me with an unreadable expression on his face.

"And if I refuse this concern on security grounds?" Dumbledore inquired in a professional tone with a hint of concern, something I would have expected from a regular Headmaster in his position.

"Then I would have to inform my Apprentice that visiting his parent's graves for the first time would have to wait for either Christmas break or the summer." The smile I flashed Dumbledore was all teeth. "And naturally explain to him in detail why. I'm sure he'll have a lot of time to think while he'll have to attend a feast where everyone celebrates the event that not only made him an orphan but consigned him to years of abuse. Nothing could possibly go wrong, I'm sure…"

"Mr. Potter for sure won't find himself resenting his peers, the person who left him to the Dursleys' non-existent mercies, who might also happen to be the same person who prevented him from visiting his parents' graves in the first place..." Chloe spoke with so much venom, I had to check if it was dripping from her lips and eating through the floor.

Yeah, after this meeting I was going to have my work cut off for me…

"That's uncalled for, Mrs. Veil…" Dumbledore said and I was sure I heard a hint of weariness in his voice.

"The current state of affairs isn't something I desire, much less something I arranged because I believe it's a particularly good idea."

"You're nevertheless responsible for the current state of affairs, Mr. Dumbledore, you have the power to do something about it, yet here we are." Chloe's voice shifted into a dangerous light tone, which had me keeping a close eye on her.

"Not legally, and I'm among those who could least afford to skirt the law for expediency's sake, much less outright ignore it, just because I have power. In fact, because of the magical might I possess, I'm the last person who could afford to be seen disregarding the laws of the land and Magical Britain. Doing anything less all but legitimizes every Wizard, Witch, and Magical Creature when they decide that might makes right." Dumbledore spoke in a severe, frustrated tone, showing the most passion I've seen him display, ever. "It's people like your husband's Master, Mrs. Veil, Voldemort and Grindelwald before him, who never thought twice before using their power. It's people like Lucius Malfoy and too many of his peers, who would gleefully jump on any opportunity to undermine my efforts and make Magical Britain a worse place for those they deem inferior!"

A long silence followed that outburst, and I couldn't help wonder how much of it was genuine and how much performance for our benefit. Oh, the emotions I got from Dumbledore, his anger and frustration, were genuine enough. Letting them burst out in such a fashion on the other hand? You simply had to wonder about that...

"You're afraid of your power, aren't you?" Chloe eventually asked. "How many had paid the price for your reluctance, I wonder?"

"How many would pay the price if I misuse my power and confirm to everyone paying attention that power makes might is the rule of the day?" Dumbledore countered.

"While the mundane world has in some regards moved past that mindset, the great majority of humans on Earth lack the power at their fingertips every magic-user takes for granted. As long as we're Wizards and Witches, as long as individual people could have the power to stand against whole governments, either alone or when supported by only a small cabal of like-minded individuals, nothing will fundamentally change. There will be only two relevant questions – how much power you and your allies could wield, and if you're willing to wield it." I shot back.

On one hand, it was a good thing that Dumbledore and the ICW didn't openly act against me a few years ago while I was still getting my bearing and establishing my power-base. Even now, his reluctance to wield his magical power was arguably a boon. At the same time, we were at a point, where his inactions and half-hearted political games were becoming as much of an issue as a potential direct confrontation. Unless something changed, I saw the trend continuing until I ran out of patience and fucks to give, at which point things would get ugly anyway.

"When I was your age, Mr. Veil, the idea of using my power was enticing. I gave to it, once, and I regret the consequences to this day. I know power, Mr. Veil, and I've seen the gruesome consequences when people unworthy of it misuse it."

"And you don't consider yourself worthy, do you?" Chloe insightfully asked.

"I see myself as more responsible than many, but worthy? Is any of us worthy of the power we were born with?" Dumbledore looked at me. "What about you, Mr. Veil? Do you consider yourself worthy of your power?"

"I've taken my power, Mr. Dumbledore. Any notions like being 'worthy' of it or not, are irrelevant. Power is its own reward. It's what defines us, gives us relevance, and allows us to forge our own path instead of being victims at the likely non-existing mercy of those who would otherwise have power over us."

"What about you, Mrs. Veil? Do you agree with your husband on this point?"

"I've been the plaything of a monster, Mr. Dumbledore," Chloe answered with an inhuman hiss. "I know what means to be a powerless victim. Power is the only thing that could keep you and more importantly, those you care about, safe."

Dumbledore stared at my wife through ancient eyes glowing with magic, then nodded reluctantly. "I see. Mr. Potter can visit his parents' graves on the thirty first, however, he'll be accompanied by a trusted… guardian of my choosing as well."

"The sentiment is appreciated, Headmaster." I offered him a stiff nod and got up.

Leaving before anything else better left unsaid got said aloud sounded like a great idea. While I did get some additional insight into Dumbledore, he got something of a better read on me as well, when I lost my composure. The bloody bastard sounded almost self-righteous as a damn Jedi there for a moment, and as it turned out, I did have some unresolved issues as far as their kind is concerned...

=TSA=

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