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An Old Man's Logic
Albus Dumbledore was sitting in the large chair behind his desk, a look of intense preoccupancy upon his face. He had his fingers steepled, his chin rested upon them as his elbows rested upon the desk. His pointed wizard’s hat sat on the desk beside him as he stared at the silver instruments in front of him. They whirred in seemingly meaningless motion but, whatever Dumbledore saw in the motions seemed to disturb him.
Several months ago he had received intelligence that Tom was on the move. Dumbledore guessed what Tom would be after and had instructed Hagrid to retrieve the stone from Gringott’s. The stone arrived safely, just before the failed attempt at stealing it from Gringott’s. But, this wasn’t what was causing Dumbledore distress. No, it was that he had not yet decided on what sort of protection he would add to those his professors and Hagrid had already contributed to the stone’s security and Tom was getting ever closer to his goal.
Unable to decide on a course of action, he stood and walked over to a cabinet and opened it to reveal a stone basin. Dumbledore put his wand to his temple and extracted a memory, allowing the silver strand to dangle above the basin before it slipped, swirling, inside. After giving the contents of the basin a stir, Dumbledore leaned into them and was sucked inside his own memory. He often delved into this memory, reliving the moment Sybil Trelawney gave the prophesy. It was then, as he listened to the words, yet again, that he smiled. “Ah,” he sighed, nodding to himself and extracting himself from the memory.
The answer to his quandary had been in the castle all along. Dumbledore walked over to another cabinet and extracted a very fine, very thin, cloak. It slipped through his fingers like fine silk as he placed it on his desk. A flick of his wand and James’ invisibility cloak was wrapped. He penned a quick note with long, thin, strokes, and attached it to the package before summoning a house elf to deliver the package to Harry Potter and move the Mirror of Erised to a room near the library.
The plan had worked better than Dumbledore could have hoped. He had spent his time lurking in the shadows, waiting for Harry to use his cloak and stumble upon the mirror. When Dumbledore heard what it was that Harry saw in the mirror, he knew his brilliant idea would work. He may be starting to lack in vigor but, the trappings of old age had not yet started to degrade his mind. After speaking to Harry and explaining what the mirror does, Dumbledore had the house elves move the mirror once more. Once it was moved, he took the stone and placed it against the mirror before performing a very complicated spell in order to link the stone to the mirror. This way, only a person who wanted to find the stone, but not use it, would be able to find the stone after getting through the securities the professors had placed in the chambers leading to this one.
The days, weeks, and months that passed weren’t very eventful for Albus Dumbledore, though he did keep abreast of all that had been going on with Harry Potter. Just as he predicted, Harry and his friends were intent on finding the stone so they could thwart Tom’s efforts to regain bodily form. He went over the events of the past term in his mind as he picked up his hairbrush and began to run it through his hair, much to the delight of his mirror which had taken a fancy to him. He had planned to take a luxurious bath before supper but, those plans were interrupted in the form of yet another owl from Cornelius. With a sigh, Dumbledore set down his hairbrush and left and inform Minerva of his leaving the school for a few hours.
Once he had taken care of that matter, he began to walk out of the castle, through the grounds, and into Hogsmeade. He planned to have a quick drink at the Three Broomsticks before apparating to the Ministry. But, as he left the school, he was left with a nagging feeling that something fortuitous was going to occur in his absence. But, Dumbledore was resolved to give Harry his chance. Besides, it wasn’t as if he would be gone that long, even if the owl had been legitimate.
When Dumbledore finally got to the Ministry of Magic, it was to find a harried Cornelius, surprised yet relieved to see him. After dealing with a few minor emergencies involving broomsticks and dragons, Dumbledore extracted himself from the Minister’s company and hurried back to Hogwarts. He was just in time to find Harry locked together in mortal combat with Professor Quirrel. “Not too late, I hope…” he said to himself as he knelt beside the unconscious boy. He hurried Harry up to the Hospital Wing and left him in the tender and capable care of Madame Pomfrey.
A few days later, Dumbledore returned to the Hospital Wing and Harry woke. He was very relieved, though reluctant to answer Harry’s questions. Luckily, he was able to dissuade Harry from delving too far into what had happened and even managed to share in some of his treats. Thinking that it was high time he tried a Berty Bott bean again, he picked up a delicious-looking, toffee colored, bean and popped it in his mouth. “Alas, ear wax,” he sighed aloud. He mentally added, “And that is most definitely the last time I try one of those beans. I should have learned my lesson the first time.”
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The Game - Round Two: Logic and Physical Dexterity, Mission and Submissions
Department_of_Mysteries The Game - Round Two: Logic and Physical Dexterity Jun 17 2006, 11:41 PM
Jun 17 2006, 11:41 PM
