The Girl Who Was Saved

According to Plan

There's something that should have been painfully obvious. That's the fact that nothing goes according to plan no matter how much planning is put in. In Grindelwald's case there were three things. First, he had no clue that Severus Snape had regained any of his memories. It was easy enough to figure out Remus Lupin remembered because the man gad been actively trying to make Severus Snape remember. That was part of the reason Grindelwald had gotten rid of Lupin.

Second, Grindelwald was operating under the assumption that two children didn't have the skills or experience to fool him. However, when the man that raised you is as stone faced and unemotional as Severus Snape you tend to get very good at pretending. When you look up to a man like Severus Snape and find out that you have more in common with him than your own father you tend to want to mimic him. In the first instance, Lacy had learnt numerous ways to act on cue. In the second, Harry had watched Severus so much that his behavior grew to mimic Snape.

And third, Grindelwald hadn't gotten his hands on the prophecy. He hadn't heard the words to their full effect. As a result he had no idea Lacy had an ability that rendered his tricks useless. Sure they had worked on her before because she had acted out, but her guard had been down because she had just seen something horrific. That one flop was the only success he had at almost controlling her. That had made him believe he actually did have control of her.

In Harry's case l, however, Lacy was the biggest wildcard. His plan was detailed and well thought but he knew Lacy was unpredictable. Even though he made backup plans he knew that there was no guarantee any of them would work. This understanding alone was what gave him an edge over Grindelwald. Harry wasn't blindsided by Lacy's "forced" actions. He wouldn't be blindsided by her sudden attitude change later on like Grindelwald would be either.

But once again. Nothing ever truly goes according to plan.

Sirius showed up at Hogwarts earlier than he should have. He showed up without Remus and didn't bother with formalities. He was lucky to have found Dumbledore walking around outside. Lucky enough that no one seemed overly concerned about the black dog walking around. Lucky enough that Dumbledore hadn't seen him before he attacked.

Sirius dragged the old man away from screaming and crying students. Students were too shocked to help their principal. Once again Sirius was lucky enough that Dumbledore had dropped his wand when Sirius knocked him down. A series of lucky enough events that caused some issues with Harry's well arranged plan. Harry couldn't say He was surprised though.

Sirius had dragged Dumbledore into a secret passage under the whomping willow. Harry and Draco followed after them. Harry was almost happy enough to smile, Remus was there. Dumbledore recovered from being dragged and was now facing Sirius and Remus. Draco and Harry waited outside as they listened.

"What is this?"

"Who the hell are you?" Remus frowned.

"You're obviously not Albus Dumbledore." Sirius added.

Dumbledore started to laugh but it was hollow. "I'm certainly the Dumbledore you knew when you were students. Nothing has changed."

Harry stepped into the room. "Then you've been using the polyjuice potion for years now."

"Oh young Harry. What makes you think that?"

"I saw you. At the Ministry of Magic. Your face and body changed." Harry raised an eyebrow.

"I see. You mean like this." Dumbledore smirked as he changed. "So it was you I sensed in that cave. I knew someone was there. Tell me, how did you hide from me?"

Harry shrugged. "Invisibility cloak."

Remus punched him. "You took my memories from me!"

"And my life." Sirius added.