Deception
“If you tell a big enough lie, and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.” Adolf Hitler
Summer and Petunia sat and made a plan, from buying the house down the road to Goblin healing to divorce, it was on the list. Severus was at Hogwarts teaching his classes and praying to the Gods and Goddesses for patience as the dunderheaded children attempted not to blow their cauldrons up.
Unknown to any of them, however, Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his office, surrounded by silver trinkets and old tomes.
No one knew that most of those tomes and various other items didn’t belong to him.
Albus had spent many years tracking down the items he had and manipulated and twisted things his way to get what he wanted.
Albus thought back to the day he talked to Vernon Dursley. He was shocked to see the man didn’t need much persuading to get him to do his bidding, it worked in his favor too, as no one could trace any of what Vernon did back to him. Albus and Vernon agreed to make the child weak and dependent by controlling his environment and a little bit of a heavy hand.
Though it would seem Albus would be in for a surprise when he realized just what he signed a young Harry Potter up for when he gave Vernon carte blanche on his treatment.
Albus had a special chess board hidden behind a portrait in his office, a game of strategy, sacrifice and manipulation.
It was a game of life.
A game Albus was ruthlessly playing and plotting for his own reward.
Albus pulled out the board and laid it down on his desk and began to study. Carefully considering every piece- or person- set up on his board, he began to plot and strategize his next move.
Albus thought over everything he had done to get to where he is today and he couldn’t help the smirk that crossed his face. If anyone were to find out, even a little bit, of what he had done over the years he knew he’d be burned at the stake. He’s potioned and spelled so many different people he had actually lost count. He was deliberate and careful, he knew that if even one person were to find a way out from his manipulations all of his hard work would slowly come undone.
Albus rubbed at his temples, feeling a headache coming on, and decided to take a break, it is almost supper time after all. He had spent hours just staring at his chess board he lost track of the time.
Portraits in the Headmaster’s office used to be able to roam the school’s many portraits and report back to current staff if anything needed to be brought to their attention, after the current headmaster took over that was brought to a halt. Albus froze and bound past headmasters in their respective portraits so they couldn’t share with anyone his secrets or manipulations.
The portraits were biding their time, they knew one day this facade of Albus Dumbledore would come crashing down around him, and when it did they would pave the way for his destruction. They knew all about the potions and spells that were used. They witnessed who all was working with Albus and when all was finally revealed, shocked would be an understatement.