The Dark Arts

That was why dark magic would never triumph over light magic. It couldn't because while light magic enhanced it's users increasing their health and longevity, dark magic corrupted them and shortened their life span. So dark magic users would always die long before they came anywhere near triumphing over the light.

He honestly figured once the brat was addicted to the Dark Arts, it'd be an easy matter for Tom to use his connection to totally corrupt the child allowing him, Albus, to depose him as society's Savior. Given the trouble first Gellert and then Tom had created with their dark magic addictions, he knew the people wouldn't accept their Hero being addicted to it as well. It was why he'd hidden his own addiction. Why he resisted using it no matter how strongly it called to him. Well, resisted using it where and when he could get caught anyway. He did have to use it from time to time. Because he was addicted to it just as Tom was.

Which was why he'd been away for so long recently. He didn't realize he'd only been away from the Castle for three days and had only dreamed he'd needed to go blow off some steam after his visit to the Bank. But the dream was a believable reality to him because he'd been so frustrated over not getting the money he needed. He could easily accept he'd retreated to his hide-away to blow off some steam. Then it would've been necessary for him to spend some time recovering and erasing the taint using dark magic always left behind on it's users. Well, hide it at least. You couldn't really erase it after all.

But he knew he couldn't show up here still reeking of dark magic. Too many of the students had dark magic detectors these days and though he'd set the school wards to disable as many of them as he could, that didn't mean the wards caught all of them. After all, you had to know what the items were and how they functioned; what particulars the objects were set to detect to set the wards properly. For him though, it'd only take one student with a working detector for it to be a 'shows over folks' ending to his long and lustrous career as the Greatest Light Wizard ever.

The people wouldn't accept it from him. Just as they wouldn't accept it from the boy. The good news to Albus though was the knowledge of how he believed the people would react when he exposed the Potter boy as a dark magic addict. He believed the people wouldn't only reject the boy but they'd probably demand he be thrown through the veil or cast into the deepest, darkest cell Azkaban had, never to be released alive. He didn't even want to think about what they'd demand should anyone ever discover his own addiction.

But first he had to get him addicted to it. It'd do no good to simply hint at it without being able to back it up. And it was a foregone conclusion they'd test his wand and his magic for dark residue should he hint at the addiction. If they didn't find residue, it'd be Albus who'd bear the scorn of society. Not the boy. Because Albus had been very vocal in assuming guardianship over the boy.

They might even demand he undergo testing himself as a possible reason for why he'd accused the boy. If that happened Albus knew it'd be all over for him. That test would show all his secrets and his worst nightmares would come true with the results. It never even occurred to him there would be nothing for a test to pick up on as he hadn't actually done any dark arts recently.

But first he had to hire the right person to teach the boy the spells. And that person was not Cornelius' woman. She could barely even do light magic spells. Forget about doing dark magic ones.

Or any other Ministry worker. Those who could do the spells weren't likely to teach them to society's savior child. Unless they worked for Tom. But even those people had shown they couldn't be relied upon to taint his enemy. Probably because they feared Potter would defeat their Lord and Master if they did. Not that he could. Learning a few spells here nd there would never be enough to combat years upon years of learning and battleground experience.

It never occurred to him for a second it was too late to hire a teacher for this year. That the Ministry had already installed Delores Umbridge to teach the Defense Against Dark Arts class. Even as she was currently sharing a table with him. Or that he might have a major problem brewing in the Castle. Just like it didn't occur to him his problems at the Bank weren't over. Because he still thought he was only having a temporary problem due to the audit they were performing.

Normally Albus was very aware of everything that happened in the Castle. This Castle was his domain and he was a very controlling person. But Albus was currently out of touch with reality. For him, reality was on vacation in an undisclosed location and couldn't be reached.

Ever since Harry James Potter had survived the night Tom Riddle had attacked his home and killed both his parents, turning the young child into something larger than life to the people, Albus had become obsessed with the child. Well, really his obsession with the boy had begun long before that night. His obsession had begun the moment he'd heard a prophecy regarding the coming of a person with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord. But until Tom had decided to kill Harry Potter, he hadn't known who the special person actually was.

Like the rest of society, it never for a second crossed his mind that Tom Riddle wasn't the Dark Lord the prophecy had spoken of either. At the time Tom had been making great strides to change the British Magical society and he'd just assumed it was about Tom.

Just like he'd assumed the word 'approaching' in the stated prophecy meant their savior would be a soon to be born child and not an adult. In that assumption, he'd been correct. So he just assumed he was correct in his other conclusions about that prophecy as well. Though Divination wasn't and never had been his strongest talent.

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