The Little One with Green Eyes

33: The Schemes of an Old Man

-November 23, 1991-
To be honest, Albus never expected to become Minister. The idea, while incredible, was so preposterous, that Albus never even considered it. The whole point of entering the race against Lord Malfoy was not to beat him, but rather to get closer to Voldemort.

And in turn, closer to Harry Potter.

Albus knew that in order to save his fellow wizards from Voldemort's reign, Albus needed to save Harry Potter from him first. Despite the strange occurrence in the Hall of Prophecies, Albus knew that the prophecy was still in effect. It had to be.

Albus was shocked when Voldemort seemed genuinely surprised about the prophecy. Albus had assumed that Voldemort was keeping little Harry Potter around simply because he was the prophecy child, but Voldemort didn't react the way Albus thought he would when the prophecy was brought up. He was, dare Albus say it, afraid. (Which seemed ridiculous because Voldemort only feared one thing) Yet, when Albus mentioned Harry Potter, Voldemort's entire demeanor shifted.

It reminded him of that day in Stonehenge, when Albus' perspective of Voldemort finally shifted from Tom Riddle, the young child he'd taught, to the Dark Lord Voldemort, an immortal lord whose power rivals his own.

Voldemort was unhealthily possessive of the child---so much so, that Albus feared Harry Potter was nothing more than a possession to him. Albus didn't know how valuable the child was to Voldemort until he'd been taken, and that was before Albus knew the identity of the Inferius. Once Albus knew it was Harry Potter, he'd changed his plans accordingly. With the child of the prophecy at his disposal, Voldemort's downfall was imminent.

But Albus wasn't prepared for the lengths Voldemort would go to get the child back. When Albus was forced to return Harry Potter to him, he had to change his plans once more.

No matter what, Harry Potter was the child of the prophecy, and it was too dangerous for him to remain with Voldemort.

Hence the plan to run for Minister. It was pure luck that Albus was able to speak with Voldemort about the prophecy while the speeches were being given. But Voldemort didn't respond the way Albus assumed. Instead of the casual indifference that Voldemort portrayed with enemies, at the mention of Harry Potter, Voldemort turned manic and enraged.

And then the prophecy orb shattered and Albus had to change his plans. Again.

No matter, though, because everything was finally going according to his plan.

(Finally.)

With Lucius Malfoy as Minister, Voldemort would feel secure. No doubt, the Dark Lord would assume that Albus was intending to become minister and thus, Voldemort would drop his guard while he waited for Albus to create a new plan. Whilst Voldemort's defenses were lowered, Albus would send in his trump card to collect Harry Potter and return him to the Light.

Currently, Albus sat in his chair, reclining peacefully as he thought. Beside him, Fawkes trilled happily, and Albus felt his spirits lift at the wondrous song.

Yes, the plan was simple and that's why it would work so perfectly.

All he had to do now was wait for the perfect moment to strike.

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Voldemort breathed in deeply, his eyes closed as he tilted his head back to bask in the warm sun, the fresh air smelling crisp and sweet. It was nice to have a day to relax, especially after yesterday. Now that Lucius was Minister, his plans would need to be adjusted. However, that could wait until tomorrow. Today was for his son.