“beyond wandpoint” 011 by gingerbred

[beyondwandpoint]

“11 07-08d Fri - Sat - ...and Otherwise”

Dumbledore's Dilemma

Albus

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Originally Published: 2017-11-14 on AO3
Chapter: 011

Pairing: Hermione Granger / Severus Snape
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con

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The Headmaster isn't as fortunate as the Mediwitch. He gets about as much rest as Miss Granger does. Once again in his chambers, he lifts the Notice-Me-Not from his withered arm and flexes his fingers against their pain before quaffing a potion. One of Severus', he notes...

Apologising! Stuff and nonsense! Complete and utter rubbish. What had Severus been thinking?

Poppy almost certainly isn't wrong about Severus' condition, she's far too good at what she does to be mistaken, but she doesn't understand how grave the situation is as a whole. How could she, when Albus does his level best to hide those facts from her and everyone else?

He knows he won't last very much longer at the rate the curse is progressing, despite the excellent care Severus has provided. Albus' fingers flex again almost mechanically at the thought, and his gaze returns to his hand and arm. It's unclear how long Severus remains at his disposal to continue providing that care for him the way things are going.

Which of course is yet another consideration should Severus succumb to the treatment he's regularly forced to endure. It would inopportunely accelerate their timeline in addition to removing a valuable piece from the board. Technically, two valuable pieces, in that event, first the Potions Master and then inevitably Albus himself. It truly borders on a wonder both of them have lasted this long, if he's honest, not that he's inclined to be.

Albus' death in the near future is a certainty; Severus' however is not. The question is how to ensure the future is secured without the Headmaster...

It's not about pro forma leaders, the trusted, experienced individuals like Minerva and Arthur, but the witches and wizards who will get the necessary things done.

In the absence of Alastair Moody, the two most promising successors are Severus and Kingsley, followed, as odd as it might seem, by Harry and Miss Granger, although they both need work. A good bit of it. It won't be Remus, Albus acknowledges sadly, having to admit that the werewolf all too frequently fails to do the things he knows are right for all the wrong reasons, but primarily due to lack of fortitude. The situation with Miss Tonks... Madam Lupin... and their estrangement comes unbidden to mind... Kingsley, however, isn't sufficiently pragmatic to get the job done; he shies away from the distasteful, and he's far too focused on the issue of legality. And in contrast, Severus lacks the Order's trust, and certainly shall more so, once he's done... what's required of him.

Truth be told, not to speak ill of the dead, but Alastair's paranoia and grim doggedness probably meant he wouldn't have been up to the job had he not been killed this past summer. That fact at least prevents a likely power struggle in the longer run. As well as keeping the Auror from embarking on a unrelenting manhunt for Severus, Albus thinks cynically.

Still, it's... problematic.

It's perhaps not strictly necessary that Severus enjoys the Order's trust to accomplish what he needs to. The fact remains, once Albus is... gone, once that trust is lost completely, Severus will no longer serve as a spy. No one in the Order would still lend credence to a thing he says. No, at that point he will effectively be reduced to a fifth columnist.

Still useful. Still required. But his utility... changes.

It would help, however, if he were able to gain Harry's trust. Albus can't help scoffing slightly at that. If the young man hasn't been able to trust the Potions Master before now, he most certainly won't once Severus has... fulfilled his promises to Albus. Merlin knows, he's told Harry repeatedly the Professor can be trusted, to no avail. Because Harry clearly knows best.

That's unfair, of course. He's just a boy. An immature boy at that. And they can't expect Harry to accurately appraise things when they routinely keep the facts from him. But then they can hardly give him the facts when he can't Occlude for shite. That is entirely his fault, however. The Malfoy lad has demonstrated a much better command over Occlumency and had learned under far worse circumstances. For all the self-recriminations Harry likes to engage in, they're rarely for the right things.

For the briefest of moments, the Headmaster wonders how much he himself has contributed to the mistrust and animosity between Harry and Severus. It had been useful at the time. The boy had been far, far too easy to read. He wasn't even much improved in that regard now. Perhaps telling Harry that the Professor was simply ungrateful that James had saved his life... Quite the misrepresentation, but then Severus had made Albus promise, all those years ago, not to reveal the Potions Master's true reasons for working for the Order, and some narrative was required. But perhaps not necessarily that particular one...

No matter. It's done.

It isn't as though the current constellation could have been predicted. Albus had fancied his own chances of survival significantly higher than his spy's. He had planned on being there to navigate Harry through the required... sacrifices.

But even without the Order's or Harry's trust, it is of utmost importance that Severus survive, long enough, anyway, to do what he must. No one else currently at their disposal has the requisite skills to decipher and brew the potions they require. And certainly none are better placed to have a chance to administer them. That aspect, of course, has always been the trickier detail. As yet, there's no clear answer how to achieve it. But that detail is irrelevant should the potions never be brewed. First things first.

It was a wretched spot of luck that Albus tried on that bloody ring. But had he not, Severus would have undoubtedly done so when it came time to brew the potions. Had he not discovered the curse, had he tried it too far in advance, he might not even survive long enough to brew them, and then where would they be? Ultimately, although hardly pleased to be dying, it was probably better that the curse of the ring had struck Albus and not the Potions Master. This way, they had known to neutralise it before it claimed another victim.

That might be a bit of self-deception, an attempt to justify blatant foolhardiness as a noble sacrifice. It's entirely probable that Severus' suspicious nature would have kept him from such a fatal error. He would have run no end of tests and scans on the damned ring, and not allowed himself become distracted by, enamoured of its pedigree... A ring of Salazar's, set with one of the Peverell's Deathly Hallows, owned by Tom Riddle himself, and used to brew a nigh mythical potion of Merlin's... For Merlin's sake, how could Albus resist?

And here in a nutshell, of course, Severus would no doubt be happy to point out, were he not comatose, was the argument against having such a conglomeration of Gryffindors as one's army. The tendency towards reckless acts under the mantle of boldness... 'Bold' is only used as a descriptor when an act is not primarily something, anything, else. Like sensible. Clever. Strategic. Promising. Even kind or considerate, for what that's worth. Certainly not well considered. Or - better yet - successful. It's virtually synonymous with 'reckless' or 'stupid', simply more polite.

As Miss Granger would have it, it's probably a question of marketing.

Albus can speculate all he likes, but it's unclear if Severus would have found the curse or not and fallen victim to it as he had. Either way, as things stand, Severus was spared that particular threat, and Albus has taken the hit.

Quite a shame. Still, it can't be helped.

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A/N:

Wotcher, people. I wanted to check in with you guys.

First, thanks so much for reading, the kudos and especially the comments. (You're lovely, and I'm always a little startled to see people are actually reading this.) They make my day, and I like hearing what works for you. So here's a blatant solicitation for more. Heh. ;-) Seriously, I appreciate the feedback.

Second, a request for a moment of patience as Albus pulls an all-nighter plotting thinking about what to do to solve some problems he's facing. You'll soon be returned to our regularly scheduled Hermione/Severus programme. Later in the story a bunch of secondary characters get chances to shine (Neville, Luna, Harry and probably a few you wouldn't expect amongst them. Ron... not so much.), but it's rare for me to have a chapter without at least either Severus or Hermione.

Story-wise, it makes more sense to put it in here in one go to set up things that are coming. (There's a *lot* coming. ) And Albus needs time to be a douchecanoe. Given I didn't want to start this story in sixth year for a more organic set up (let's face it, my focus is on the SS/HG relationship), some stuff probably needs emphasising so it doesn't come out of the blue later.

Here's hoping I have you hooked enough that you can take Albus the Exposition-Fairy. [ETA: If not, just skip to Chapter 14. You can always return here at a later time if you want the whys and wherefores.] In return, the pay off starts as early as 'Sunday', when a *bunch* of stuff happens and our two protagonists finally get around to talking to each other. A lot. Amongst other things. There may even be food involved. (That's not meant to be kinky.) And flowers... Just saying.

Please let me know what you think.

Cheers,
Ginger :-)