A Leader's Failures

She waved a single hand dismissively before saying in a far more normal tone of voice than she normally used, "I have been telling Albus for years he was reading that child and the prophecy surrounding him wrong. But Albus won't listen to me. He's so certain his interpretation of the prophecy is correct because his enemy went after the Potter family. He totally misses the fact that everyone, no matter who they are, has a choice when standing at a crossroads. They can go either to the left or to the right. Or they can back away and choose neither direction. Everyone has that choice. Even children of Destiny."

"And for the record, Irma, I agree with you. Harry Potter is on a mission this year and the only question is how many will be destroyed by the time he completes his mission. I've been watching him ever since he first came here as an eleven year old looking for love and acceptance. And I've seen him growing and withdrawing more and more with each passing year. But always before, there's been something in him that refused to quit, hoping he'd find what he's so desperately in search of."

"This year, he's no longer searching. He's quit hoping. He's accepted his status. In fact, I believe the final straw was when the Headmaster placed his familiar in danger just to amuse the masses and was perfectly willing to allow the other judges to kill her as a random act of punishment against him for preventing an international incident. To appease the masses who wanted him to suffer for them. Because he disappointed them. No one has even noticed they haven't seen that bird again after that day at the lake's edge. But I saw the acceptance in him several times after that event."

Irma nodded thoughtfully as she murmured, "I know when he comes in now, he spends his time reading the old books on the old ways. Laws that are still on the books but that no one mentions any more if they even remember them at all. He reads about the old definitions of light and dark magic and several of our debates are on that subject. He also reads the old histories and customs no one follows any more."

"The only thing I can't figure out is why he chose to pass judgement on those three now," said Severus. "I'm not denying he had the right to do so. He definitely did. And after what he revealed that they were doing to him, if he hadn't taken some kind of vengeance on them, I would've. My vow would've made it necessary for me to do so. But it seems a mite bit foolish to have done so this early into the year while he has no escape from either them or their defenders. Sooner or later, whatever is currently distracting the Headmaster now is going to end. Then he's going to recognize those marks for what they are and hear enough of the rumors to deduce it's his doing. Potter will have to deal with his meddling and veiled threats as well as the three of them trying to force him to see things their way."

Irma nodded again. "I too, thought he should wait until later in the year but he very bluntly told me he didn't want to give them the chance to again place his life in jeopardy just to feed their overblown egos and delusions of grandeur. Nor was he willing to allow them to spend any more of his coin for their own amusements. Which if he hadn't done it then would have been the outcome as he'd have been forced by either Albus or Minerva to get them a new key to his vaults. Plus, there's the requirement necessary for the Judgement Calling remember. The accused has to admit their guilt in front of a neutral party. The more neutrals the better."

"He also said he wished to do it as early into the school year as he could so they'd have more time to adjust to their marks. That way they can actually begin the atoning they need to do before they have to face their parents. He could've waited until right before a school break but he said all that would do is get their parents involved before they admit to their wrongdoing. Which would delay them accepting their blame because of course their parents will believe they're innocent and don't deserve the marks at all. He said they need time to get past the anger and admit they were in the wrong before they go home. And seeing how they've behaved since it happened, I have to say he's right."

Her thin lips got a slight curl to them as she added, "We're just lucky he waited until Albus was out of the Castle on personal business. Though maybe that wasn't so much luck as it looked like it was. He told me the Triad had been waiting for the old man to leave before they confronted him on the matter. Something about the old man not wanting Harry to know they were taking money from his accounts which of course them confronting him on the matter would have told him they were. Therefore, the Headmaster wouldn't have allowed the confrontation if he was in the building when they tried it."

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