DOORWAYS || MARAUDERS ERA

ϟ11: CHANGESϟ

And how did the mysterious Ariana die? Was she the inadvertent victim of some Dark rite? Did she stumble across something she ought not to have done, as the two young men sat practising for their attempt at glory and domination? Is it possible that Ariana Dumbledore was the first person to die "for the greater good"?

"Harry —"

"Harry. Listen to me. It — it doesn't make very nice reading —"

"Yeah, you could say that —"

"— but don't forget, Harry, this is Rita Skeeter writing."

Rhea nodded, and looked at Harry, trying her best not to get her own anger at Dumbledore get in the way. "She exaggerated it. 'Is it possible that Ariana Dumbledore was the first person to die "for the greater good"?' Dumbledore would never have done it. This is stupid."

"You did read that letter to Grindelwald, didn't you?" Harry insisted.

"Yes," Hermione hesitated, "I think that's the worst bit. I know Bathilda thought it was all just talk, but 'For the Greater Good' became Grindelwald's slogan, his justification for all the atrocities he committed later. And . . . from that . . . it looks like Dumbledore gave him the idea. But on the other hand, even Rita can't pretend that they knew each other for more than a few months one summer when they were both really young, and —"

"I thought you'd say that," said Harry. "I thought you'd say 'They were young.' They were the same age as we are now. And here we are, risking our lives to fight the Dark Arts, and there he was, in a huddle with his new best friend, plotting their rise to power over the Muggles."

"I'm not trying to defend what Dumbledore wrote," said Hermione. "All that 'right to rule' rubbish, it's 'Magic Is Might' all over again. But Harry, his mother had just died, he was stuck alone in the house —"

"Alone? He wasn't alone! He had his brother and sister for company, his Squib sister he was keeping locked up —"

"I don't believe it," said Hermione. She stood up too. "Whatever was wrong with that girl, I don't think she was a Squib. The Dumbledore we knew would never, ever have allowed —"

"The Dumbledore we thought we knew didn't want to conquer Muggles by force!" Harry shouted.

"He changed, Harry, he changed! It's as simple as that! Maybe he did believe these things when he was seventeen, but the whole of the rest of his life was devoted to fighting the Dark Arts! Dumbledore was the one who stopped Grindelwald, the one who always voted for Muggle protection and Muggle-born rights, who fought You-Know-Who from the start, and who died trying to bring him down!"

Harry glared at her.

"Harry, I'm sorry, but I think the real reason you're so angry is that Dumbledore never told you any of this himself."

Harry looked at Rhea for support, but she just shook her head, and went to lie down on her bed. She closed her eyes and she could still hear Harry and Hermione arguing about Dumbledore...

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