Protection: The Sword and the Shield

happened so Fast

......Monday July 6, 1992

......Office of the Chief Warlock, Ministry of Magic

Albus Dumbledore sat in the second of his three thrown like chairs with a frown on his face. He held a copy of the Daily Prophet in front of him. He was angry. Surprisingly, his anger was not due to the failure of his plan. Failure just made the game more interesting.

Instead, his anger was due to the fact that his plan, for all intents and purposes had succeeded. Or rather all the goals of his plan had been achieved. Which was why he was angry. More specifically, the goals had basically been achieved, but by other people and to benefit them and not him.

Sirius had apparently got wind of the Malfoy plan to assassinate him and had cut the legs out from under them before it started. He had cast Narcissa and Draco from the Black family. The move was logical but it showed a darkness in Sirius that Dumbledore had always feared lived within the man.

He had almost believed that Sirius' grandfather had hoped to move the Black family into the light. The news that the man had skipped over a generation and left the Black family headship and fortune to a Gryffindor, had for a moment tricked the headmaster. But it was clear that Arcturus had just been able to see the truth earlier than anyone else.

Albus could still not believe that he had cast Draco out of the Black family. Even knowing the threat the boy would represent, it was considered beyond cruel to cast one so young from a family. Well unless they were a squib, but that was considered justified. To cast an able bodied wizard from a family at the age of 12 was unprecedented.

Albus wondered if killing Sirius would still offer up any benefit to his plan. Draco Malfoy was now a non-factor in the world and Albus did not know what Sirius intended to do with the Black fortune or titles. It rubbed salt in the wound that the House of Black now had no heir. He had his suspicions but with Sirius' behavior thus far, he could not trust himself to understand what Sirius might or might not do. And he could not make any decisions until he knew.

The most important goal had also been achieved, without him. Lucius' attempt to ascend to the upper house of the Wizengamot had me thwarted. Sirius again had destroyed the man's reputation. The Malfoys had in one day lost half their fortune and all access to their future ambitions.

Albus was sure that whatever plan Tom had devised to accomplish that would go forward, but Tom was never good at politics and would not understand how destroyed the standing of the Malfoy family was. Some things could not be fixed with gold. Even if Malfoy still managed to get a vote, who would want to move against Lord Black when he had made his displeasure with the Malfoy family so clear. Who would want to risk being the next victim of Lord Black's cruelty?

Albus looked back at the paper. He sighed and thought "At least the financial playing field is somewhat even". Sirius had put a period on his actions. He had made sure the world knew the extent he was willing to go as well as his complete disregard for propriety by calling in a marriage loan. Those things were considered practically sacrosanct.

In his long life Albus had seen many women cast from their families for various reasons but never has a marriage loan been called due. It flew in the face of all traditions and proper behavior. His sources had gotten him the Malfoy family financials and while they were still quite wealthy they had dropped very far down the wealth table. Other people would know as well and halving the Malfoy fortune as what most saw as revenge for Narcissa's treatment of him when it was thought he had been banished, was a very clear statement to the other nobility.

He looked at the clock and saw that the Wizengamot would be in session shortly. He shook his head and got into his Wizengamot robes and prepared himself for Tom's attempt, even though he knew it was now doomed to failure.