Chapter 1
May 1899
The classroom was quiet. The students were doing their work and the Potions teacher was correcting essays while occasionally glancing around the classroom. One Gryffindor boy with auburn hair and light blue eyes seemed particularly eager to do his work. Albus Dumbledore bent over his cauldron, threw in a few roots and stirred. The next moment he heard Elphias Doge, his best friend, swearing softly and had to stifle a grin. Elphias hated potions. Albus loved it. Actually, Albus loved every subject. He loved learning new things anyway. But just as he was about to explain in a whisper to Elphias what he had to do, he flinched, like most of his classmates, and looked up. There had been a knock at the door and the sound echoed on the stone walls of the dungeons.
"Yes, come in." the Potions teacher called and a second later the dungeon door opened. The Gryffindor house teacher stood in the doorway. "I apologise for disturbing your class, fellow teacher, but I must excuse Mr Dumbledore for this lesson." Her gaze roamed over the class until it found Albus and lingered on him. "Would you please come with me, Dumbledore."
Puzzled, Albus looked to Elphias and then to his Potions teacher, who nodded at him.
"Um, yes, fine." He went to gather his things but she interrupted him. 'There's no time for that now, Mr Dumbledore. Come now, please. Right away." Albus stared at his tutor in confusion, but nodded, turned once more to give Elphias a guilty look for now leaving him completely alone with his problems around the potion, and then left the room.
Before the door had even fallen shut behind them, Albus began to speak.
"Professor, what's going on? Why- Where are we go-"
"No questions, Mr Dumbledore, please." Albus sighed. They walked briskly through the corridors and Albus strained to follow his professor. As they stepped around the corner and arrived at the gargoyle blocking the Headmaster's office, Albus caught sight of Aberforth, his younger brother. Now he didn't understand anything at all. He didn't know what he had expected, but not this. And when he looked more closely, he noticed that Aberforth was also looking rather perplexed.
"Albus, do you know what-" Albus shook his head and gestured to their shared house teacher, who was standing in front of the gargoyle, muttering the password.
"Come. Both of you, please." The gargoyle carried them upwards and when the three of them reached the top, they caught sight of the headmaster sitting behind his desk, obviously expecting them.
"Professor Black, here they are."
"Ah, good, thank you. Mr Dumbledore, Mr Dumbledore. Thank you, colleague, you may go." There was something heavy in his voice and Albus` astonishment increased by the second. His brother and he sat down opposite Black and looked at him expectantly.
"Well, you must be wondering why I called you here and it is very difficult for me to tell you. Well, I have just received a letter from Bathilda Bagshot, your neighbour. She wrote that you two would know who she meant if I told you the name?" Albus and Aberforth nodded hesitantly. "Your younger sister, she had an emotional outburst." Albus's stomach turned. Professor Black had been informed just before Ariana was due to start her first year at Hogwarts about what had happened to her and that she would not be coming to school because of it.
"Is she all right?" Albus asked tensely, noticing Aberforth straighten in his seat. "She is fine again, however the force was so strong that.... Look, please don’t let me-"
"What happened?", Albus interrupted him. Black looked at him with a slightly exasperated look.
"Your mother, she's-"
"What is she?" Aberforth had leaned forward in his chair and Albus looked with a dizzy feeling down his head at the armrest clutched tightly by Aberforth's hand.
"Your sister's magic was too strong to be stopped. Your mother tried everything. But even she could do nothing more. Your mother is dead." Albus felt his head begin to pound and the Headmaster's office and the entire world around him blurred. His throat suddenly burned. His mouth was impossibly dry and his sweaty hands clung to each other. The next thing that happened was that Aberforth jumped up. Only with blurred vision could Albus perceive his brother looking down at him, then at Black. Then he stormed out of the office.
Albus felt as if he was frozen to the chair. He couldn't move an inch. He stared at Black and tried to speak, but what came out of him was nothing but a pitiful croak. Albus took a shaky breath, trying to hold back.
"Professor, I...-"
"It's alright, Albus. You can leave if you like and come back later as I have a few things to discuss with you now. I am truly sorry. Take all the time you need and-"
Albus shook his head. He bit his lip until blood oozed from it and looked to the floor, wiping his eyes.
"No. Now, please. I- I have to deal with my brother later, I-" Albus fell silent. A thousand things that now awaited him hit him hard. "Go on."
"Are you sure?" Albus nodded vigorously. He didn't want people to worry about him now. He wanted clarity, wanted to get out of the office, away from this horrible place and never return.
"Well, good. You are now the head of the family and therefore the legal guardian of your two siblings, which means you have to go home." Albus couldn't believe it. His voice broke as he tried to speak. “B- But Sir, I- there still are a few weeks left before summer break is starting. And what about my brother? What am I supposed to do now? What... What-"
"You need to go home, Albus. I'm sorry. Your sister is still with your neighbour at the moment and doesn't know what happened. She probably won't understand anyway. But you must go home and look after her. Your brother will of course continue to go to school. He'll be in sixth year next term, right?" Albus nodded. "Good. He will still do his last two years at the school, of course. You've already taken all your exams, I assume?" Albus nodded again.
"Very well, even if you hadn't, with your exceptional talent, I'd worry less."
"Sir, what would you like me to do at home? I- I.. I mean, what about my future? What am I going to do with my life when I'm only going to be at home?" Albus knew how hideously selfish he sounded. Yet he did not know what else to say. He spoke out what was going through his mind without thinking about it. What about Elphias, would he never see him again? How was he going to deal with Ariana? What was he going to do without his mother? She had been his everything. Especially after his father had gone and he knew Ariana and Aberforth felt the same way.
"The Ministry will support you with money, but only until your sister is seventeen. After that, you have no duty to look after her anymore." The wall of the future that Albus had thought he would be able to break through in a few weeks just a few hours ago in class now seemed thicker than ever. He knew Black was just trying to make him feel good about it. They both knew that even after Ariana came of age, she wouldn't be harmless or need protection. Albus wouldn't be working. He wouldn't be able to do anything with his abilities, his talent everyone was always telling him about. Not anymore. Ever again.
"May I... may I go, sir?" Albus asked quietly.
"Of course. Go. I have already arranged the train to London for you. However, as I assume you still wish to assist your brother, you may of course go tomorrow." Albus nodded. And then left the Headmaster's office without turning around once more, too weak to say another word. And when he heard the door slam behind him, he let his tears run free. He would never see his mother again. He would never see the stone walls he had just walked past to the Gryffindors' common room again. His first year at school was as close as it had never been. He heard himself stifle a cry of joy at eleven when the sorting hat called “Gryffindor”. He saw himself exploring the castle with his friends for the first time. He began to run. Ran past the Great Hall where he had spent the best time of his life. Reached past the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. The room where he had so often imagined that one day he might be able to teach his own students, to help and assist them. He fell and hit the floor hard, his eyes burning. He was breathing harder and harder and the tears were running down his face and Albus could taste the salt on his lips.
The blond boy straightened up again. His fair hair stuck damply to his forehead and the rain pelted down on him. He looked at the castle where he had spent the last six years of his life. But this was history. He turned again and saw the open forest stretching out before him. He would do what he had to do. Holding the book tightly in his hand, he grinned. He had made it. He was free. And nothing and no one would stop him.