Chapter 50

Dumbledore sat in his office, listening to the relaxing trill of his pet phoenix. Phoenix song was mistakenly thought to inflict pain on any "Dark" wizard that heard it, yet soothe and heal any "Light" wizard. Misinformation that Dumbledore had spent quite the effort to spread.

It was actually up to the phoenix what effect its song had as it could be either an attack or a healing technique. Labelling those attacked as "Dark" was just a means of discrediting opponents, much like SJWs calling everyone a Nazi.

With only two domesticated phoenixes known to the world, he was pretty sure a New Zealand Quidditch team wasn't going to out him. After all, having their team mascot Sparky the phoenix only added a positive image to their team by being recognised by a mythical creature of Light!

As Dumbledore listened to its calming song, his thoughts couldn't help but return to what was causing him stress in the first place. Harry Potter was not acting as he predicted! If only the child had not gone back to Diagon Alley and discovered his heritage!

He had a set schedule to slowly release just enough information about the Potters to keep the boy motivated to be just like them. It would have the child that was starved for love and affection dancing to his tune if he was under some ridiculous notion that his dead parents would be proud of him if he behaved a certain way.

Dumbledore had left Harry with the Dursleys knowing full well that they would hate the child. Hell, even Minerva could see that Petunia and Vernon would make poor parents to a magical child just from watching them while waiting for Hagrid to arrive.

That was a mistake on his part, he should have obliviated her when she overheard him order Hagrid to take Harry to the Dursleys. But he had held off as it would upset the balance of all the spells she was already under.

He would have had to redo everything that kept her from looking too deeply into his actions at Hogwarts and her enforced loyalty if there was suddenly gaps missing in her memory of the Boy-Who-Lived to unravel the compulsions.

As it was, he had still needed to modify her thoughts on the night slightly just to keep her from disrupting his plans by doing something rash like adopting the child herself! The woman really had a soft spot for her two Lions and their child for some reason, maybe it was because they defeated Voldemort.

Dumbledore sighed, he had taken too many shortcuts and was now paying the price. The spell work he was afraid of doing ten years ago had to be done anyway as soon as Rita Skeeter released her article. It cost him hours of wasted time to reapply every spell after wiping any memory of Harry Potter from Minerva's mind and creating new ones to fill in the blanks.

At least he had made sure to destroy Lily and Jame's last will and testament. It was rather easy to do since he had been their witness and had been entrusted with filing it at the Ministry. If you couldn't trust the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot to do it, who could you trust?

Another example of his shortcuts getting the better of him was relying on tracking spells and Mrs Figg to watch over the boy. He couldn't observe Harry's location every minute of the day, and should have at least visited himself once in a while to check up on Harry to make sure he was being moulded into the sacrificial pawn he was destined to become!

Maybe Hagrid wasn't the best person to send to introduce Harry to the wizarding world as he couldn't use magic to cast a compulsion on the child. But he wanted someone friendly and approachable for the boy to latch onto as a saviour and react positively to whatever he was told.

Severus Snape was not that man, and short of going personally, he had no other lackeys that would stop Harry Potter from investigating his heritage. It wouldn't do for the Supreme Mugwump to be the one to introduce the Boy-Who-Lived to magic, he was much too busy, even if he was the one to hide him away in the first place!

Ms Skeeter was possibly the worst person that young Harry could have met in Diagon Alley, as she had a platform that encompassed the majority of the reclusive wizarding population and was always hunting for a story. If it had been someone like the Weasleys, then they would have just worshipped the child and wished him well!

Dumbledore doubted that anyone would believe the Boy-that-Lived was being starved and locked in a cupboard if the child mentioned it, brushing it off as a childish exaggeration. Only Rita Skeeter would latch onto something like that and use her cursed quill to cause him untold problems!

Hagrid had been an easy fix since he was basically brainwashed to worship him, while Severus had taken a little more finesse. But the man's hatred for all things Potter had been simple to manipulate, keeping the "Potter brat" from getting a big head had been an easy sell. Not to mention the broody man was now firmly tied to Dumbledore and would face a one-way trip to Azkaban if they were found out.

The confrontation Severus had provoked in his class had been premature after witnessing the backbone the child showed during the Sorting Ceremony. Although it had apparently worked out well with Harry being the one to instigate a truce and build a working relationship between them.

Now Severus could be used to influence the child instead of himself since he had made a terrible first impression to the boy. Though they would have to be careful of the boy's threat to call the Aurors down on them at the first sign of treachery!

He had quickly confirmed that Amelia had indeed given Harry a card that could immediately summon her and a team of Aurors if he was in trouble. The boy's threat of calling them and the Minister on Severus had been the most Slytherin move he had witnessed in a long time.

Luckily, Harry only seemed to want to study without interruptions and was willing to compromise instead of playing his hand like a Gryffindor. If the child had actually summoned Amelia, the worst that would have happened with his mediation would be that Severus would have been 'punished' by stepping down as Head of House and put on probation.

The consequences would have seen Harry facing the wrath of an entire Slytherin House, and with Snape no longer the HoH, the Death Eater conscription threat would have less weight. Especially with the Leader of the Light backing him!

Still, it was a brilliant move considering the child should have had less than average intelligence, according to his muggle school reports. The Dursleys had only been too eager to announce to their neighbours how inconvenienced they were by their nephew's immoral behaviour and stupidity.

Since the boy had a way to call for the Aurors, Dumbledore could no longer just invite him to his office and brainwash him. First, Harry might simply decide not to come, and secondly, it was too risky with so many witnesses around to ask questions.

It was bad enough that Professor Blintley or Auror Blintley as he preferred to be called outside of the classroom, was at Hogwarts. He had needed to apply a healthy dose of mind magic when the man had first arrived.

Luckily, a private interview in the Headmasters office had allowed him to do so. Couldn't have him investigating the third floor after all, let alone all the other social experiments Dumbledore had going on at Hogwarts.

Though thankfully, he had followed his predecessors' example and had been quick to squash any sexual assault within the walls of the school when he took office. Couldn't have furious Pureblood parents turning up with a deflowered daughter and no memory of it, and he couldn't trust horny teenage boys to keep it restricted to muggle-borns girls only. Much easier to stop it altogether and save himself a headache.

If only the stubborn Potter child had simply put on the Sorting Hat! Then all of his problems would have been solved. The Hat had long since had an enchantment placed on it to activate whenever a child wore it. The compulsion would make them recognise Dumbledore as the greatest and most powerful wizard to ever live.

Since a loyalty compulsion would be too noticeable to Pureblood Families if their children suddenly had their allegiances changed to him, he went for the next best thing. Legitimisation by authority and power!

With all of the students attending Hogwarts thinking the Headmaster was all-powerful, they would either admire him or fear him. Both would accomplish the same goal of making his statements more credible and have them follow his administration out of either dread or respect.

'They would never dare to publically insult me like the little brat had done! Oh, my revenge for that transgression will be terrible!' Dumbledore thought to himself as he clenched his fist in anger, remembering the shame of being disrespected in front of hundreds.

It never once occurred to Dumbledore that he had already done much worse to the boy by destroying his family, childhood and future life with his manipulations.

With Christmas fast approaching, Dumbledore had to make arrangements just in case the insufferable child went home for the holidays. Either way, if Harry chose to stay or return to the Dursleys, it would allow Dumbledore to ambush the brat and indoctrinate him.

A few children at Hogwarts would be simple to plan around, and a quick stunner to the boy's back would prevent him from being able to tear Amelia's card. The Dursleys would be even more accessible, particularly if everyone was asleep.

Still, it would be prudent to visit that idiot cat-woman to reprogram her and have her keep a closer eye on number four, Privet Drive. With the boys upbringing being called into question and investigated, it wouldn't do for Mrs Figg to be discovered and blurt out his name. He had left it for too late as it was, not that he had to worry about the incompetent Auror force finding a muggle family without magic to trace.

Using the Floo system, he appeared at her house only to be greeted with a terrible smell. It was something that he was quite familiar with since he had seen the consequences of two wars. It was the smell of a decomposing body.

It only took him a few minutes to find Mrs Figgs half-eaten naked body in her bedroom. Since he had yet to see one of her many cats, it appears they left to find a new home after feasting on the batty old woman.

A quick diagnostic spell informed Dumbledore that the woman died quite violently and had even been abused sexually! Both before and after her death! Disposing of the body magically, he went across the street to find answers from the most likely suspect.

Searching Vernon's memory revealed he was indeed responsible. After overhearing Harry mention Mrs Figg's cats were from the magical world, it led to a confrontation a month after Harry had left for Hogwarts. It had ended violently. Very violently.

"F*cking Muggles," Dumbledore said aloud before wiping the memory of Mrs Figg from the people that had raised Harry Potter.

The level of depravity of people without magic never ceased to amaze him, this was why they needed to be ruled over by their betters. Dumbledore conveniently forgot about the two wars he had been involved in organising and the atrocities that had been committed by magicals during them.

It was not purely by luck that Dumbledore didn't check the status of the protective blood wards over the house or hunt down Dudley and read his mind to tie up loose ends. It was his laziness acting up once again an having an overinflated opinion of his skills and strategies.

Reading Vernon's mind had revealed to him that Harry had been treated as he had predicted, and a quick check revealed a well-used cupboard under the stairs. A wave of his wand removed any incriminating evidence for in case the bumbling Aurors actually found the Dursley's residence to investigate the outlandish claims of Rita Skeeter.

Dumbledore was so sure of his reputation and protected by the many titles that he didn't even bother to modify the Dursleys memories to have them think they had raised Harry well. He only removed all trace of himself from their minds.

No letter instructing them to raise Harry and certainly not this visit! Now nothing was connecting himself to Harry Potter at all.