65 Out with the Old, in with the New

Dumbledore had purposefully revealed some of the Ministry's classified information in front of Oleandra, simply to see how she would react. Unfortunately for him, Oleandra had no clue at first as to what he was referring to. Dumbledore was quite disappointed with her genuinely puzzled expression. However, the Minister's reaction was quite entertaining.

"There are two of them, now?" said Fudge, the colour draining from his face. "This is getting out of hand!"

He paused a moment, seemingly having just realized that Dumbledore had revealed top secret information in front of two unrelated parties.

"We'll talk about this at another time with the director of the department — yes," said Fudge, rubbing his hands nervously. "But for now, let's get back to the matter at hand."

"Cornelius, you know that Hagrid has my full confidence," said Dumbledore, turning to Fudge.

And that's precisely the moment Oleandra realized what they had been talking about her. She was the Shade! When he had said two of them had appeared at Hogwarts, Dumbledore was referring to the twins under the effects of the anti-scrying mode of Perthro!

Nobody saw the look of realization that had just flooded Oleandra's face; save for Harry and Ron, who had come to Hagrid's hut under the cover of the Cloak of Invisibility to ask him if he had opened the Chamber of Secrets! 

The night the twins had set off a blizzard in their room, they had come down to the common room to sleep on the couches. Then, Harry had felt compelled to pick up the diary Oleandra had abandoned there, and the rest was history! (literally, since the diary showed him a vision of the past that revealed that Hagrid had freed the monster from the Chamber of Secrets)

"I'm sorry, Albus," said Fudge, throwing up his hands in defeat. "Hagrid's record's against him. The Ministry has to act— I have to act— the school governors have been pressuring me—"

"And yet, Cornelius, taking Hagrid away will not help in the slightest," said Dumbledore quietly.

"Look at it from my perspective, Albus," said Fudge, knuckles whitening as he gripped his hat. "I'm under a lot of pressure. I have to be seen taking action. It won't do any good for the country if the people think the leadership is weak. Look, if it's not Hagrid, he'll be back and that will be the end of the story. Paid leave of absence and a full apology, if necessary. I've got to take him away. I've just got to."

"Take me?" said Hagrid, shaking like a leaf. "Take me where? Not Azkaban?"

"It won't be for too long, Hagrid. Just to make sure. Look, we already have another suspect," said Fudge, waving at Oleandra. "You'll be out in no time when we find the culprit."

Oleandra waved cheerily back. In truth, she wasn't afraid of Azkaban in the least. No jail in the world could stop her from leaving; no ward existed that could prevent her from going where she pleased. She needed no wand to perform her magic, runic spells were virtually unknown and runesmiths were few and far between, which meant there currently existed no countermeasures against their powers. No, Oleandra was far more concerned about having to live her life on the run.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door. Dumbledore went to open it, and in came Lucius Malfoy, wearing his trademark black cloak and holding his ebony cane in the crook of his elbow. Shortly afterwards, Oleandra's mother Iris strode in.

"Already here, Fudge," Lucius said. "Good, good, good…"

"What'd you think yer doin' here?" asked Hagrid furiously. "Gerr' outa o' my house!"

"Please believe me when I say it brings me to pleasure having to set foot inside this— er, you did say this a house, yes?" said Lucius Malfoy snidely. "I would have preferred to meet the headmaster in his office, but I was directed to this… garden shed."

"What exactly did you want with me, Lucius?" asked Dumbledore, his eyes imperceptibly narrowing.

"An end to all these dreadful attacks, Dumbledore," said Lucius Malfoy lazily. "We wouldn't want to lose all of our precious Muggle-Borns, now would we? What a terrible loss that would be." 

"Which is why all twelve governors of the board have signed this Order of Suspension," continued Lucius Malfoy, as he took a roll of parchment from his pocket. "You have lost our confidence; therefore, we are relieving you of your position as headmaster."

"Oh, now, see here, Lucius," said Fudge, looking quite concerned, "You can't suspend Dumbledore, no— why, without him, what would be school do? There's no man better for the job than—"

While it was true that Fudge greatly respected Dumbledore, he was also a career politician, who had only got his job because Dumbledore had refused it. If Dumbledore wasn't headmaster anymore, he might come after his Minister job!

"The appointment — or suspension — of the headmaster is a matter for the governors, Fudge," said Lucius Malfoy in his silky voice. "Seeing as Dumbledore has failed to prevent these attacks, out with the old, and in with the new, as they say. And we do say so, since all twelve of us voted—"

"An' how many did yeh have ter threaten an' blackmail before they agreed, Malfoy, eh?" Hagrid roared as he leapt out of his armchair. Fry or roast him, he didn't care what they did to him, but if they went after Dumbledore, then they would have to deal with Rubeus Hagrid!

At this point, Iris stepped up.

"Lucius didn't have to blackmail me," she said coolly. "Dumbledore lost my confidence the moment he baselessly accused my daughter of attempted murder."

Dumbledore was not a perfect man, and he had never claimed to be one, no matter how much his followers believed in his infallibility. At that moment, Dumbledore knew shame. Despite claiming to value his students above all else, unconsciously nor not, he had attempted to trade Oleandra for Hagrid when Fudge had come to visit. Ever since Harry Potter had come to his school last year, Dumbledore's world had been filled with doubt and worry for the future.

"Take him away, an' the Muggle-borns won' stand a chance! There'll be killin' next!" yelled Hagrid desperately.

"Oh?" said Iris icily. "Minister, was that a confession to attempted murder I just heard?"

"That's enough, Hagrid," said Dumbledore sharply. "If the governors have had enough of me, then I will gladly oblige them."

"But—"

"No!"

Various exclamations of dismay rang out.

"Miss Greengrass, I have failed you," said Dumbledore with renewed determination, looking at Oleandra. "And you are not the first one I have failed, but I am determined not to repeat the same mistake ever again. No, I do not believe you are in any way responsible for the attacks. I hope you can still forgive those who have doubted you."

Dumbledore took a deep breath, before very slowly enunciating his next words.

"You will find that I will not truly be gone while those who believe in me still remain in this school. You will also find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."

Dumbledore briefly looked at an empty corner of the room.

"That's good enough for me," said Lucius Malfoy snidely. "I can accept you staying in spirit, if it means you yourself are elsewhere. I can only hope your successor will be able to stop the — ah — killins."

Having got what he had come for, Lucius left happily.

"Come, Oleandra," said Iris, holding out her hand. "I'm sure you had enough excitement for one day. Let's get you back to your room."

Oleandra nodded, and took her mother's hand.