It had been easy enough to think up a plan to confirm his suspicions once and for all when he had finally tracked down rumours of a wraith in Albania. The Philosopher's stone provided a tasty bait in the trap and Harry beginning his schooling provided a second temptation to draw in Tom. He hadn't quite planned for Quirrell to be possessed – the poor boy – even if he had suggested Albania as a possible venue for Quirrell to gain some practical DADA experience, and in his defence Albus had tried very hard to find a solution that would leave Quirrell alive once the wraith was exorcised. And initially everything had gone well; Tom through Quirrell had come to the school. Then Quirrell had let a troll into the school and, according to Severus, tried to kill Harry during his Quidditch match. After that, Albus had sent for the Mirror of Erised to place an additional protection on the stone, one he hoped would keep Tom trapped until Albus could face him.
But Albus had underestimated Quirrell's, or rather Tom's, sneakiness, and Harry's sense of responsibility. Tricked out of Hogwarts, (he suspected a strong Confundus and compulsion spell on the parchment which had called for his presence at the Ministry and for him to travel by broomstick of all things), Albus had arrived back just in time to realise Quirrell-Voldemort had gone after the stone and Harry had gone after him. In some ways, Albus believed the confrontation between the two was fated because of the prophecy Sybill Trelawney had given to him – the prophecy that had led Tom into attacking the Potters in the first place; that nothing he could have done would have prevented it. But that hadn't lessened his guilt when he had found Harry slipping into unconsciousness, his mother's protection having saved him once again (although Albus had also felt a moment's vindication in his decision to leave Harry with the Dursleys). Tom's wraith had fled rather than face Albus.
It was as he watched over young Harry in the hospital wing that Albus realised he'd grown fond of the boy, and he was consumed by sorrow because he couldn't think of any way for Tom to be eliminated without Harry dying because of the soul fragment. Albus had resolved to wait. Tom remained a wraith and powerless: there was no rush. He had decided that Harry should have as much of a childhood, as much of a life, as possible before the ultimate confrontation.
He hadn't planned on Harry facing another shade of Tom in his second year. The Chamber of Secrets fiasco had been exactly that – a fiasco. Not that Albus would admit it to anyone. He had been unable to pinpoint the Chamber's location; unable to think of an effective strategy to defeat the basilisk without allowing it to roam the school; unable to tell who was possessed and therefore he couldn't take the risk of closing the school and allowing the possessed individual to disappear…and Lucius Malfoy's political manoeuvrings hadn't helped matters.
In the end, the entire awful affair had been horrendously valuable in terms of intelligence because it had revealed the diary. Tom had created a horcrux to anchor him to the land of the living, probably more than one, and likely the partial fragment that had ended up in Harry had been a mistake or an accident caused by the instability in Tom's soul. It gave Albus a new avenue for investigation and narrowed the field on how Tom might regain a form. There were rituals of restoration…one in particular called for the use of the blood of an enemy. If Harry's was used then Harry would have an anchor to life, although it would open up the soul connection between them fully. But Albus couldn't count on it. He had to assume that there would be no advantage and that Harry's death was inevitable.
Time was of the essence, Albus mused. The prophecy Harry had overheard at the end of term seemed to indicate that Tom would regain his form sooner rather than later. That was problematic. Albus had only just started investigating the issue of the horcruxes and they would need to be destroyed before a final showdown between Harry and Tom could take place. Certainly his plans for the summer had taken on a new urgency.
He sighed and started on the plate of sausage, eggs, beans and toast. He finally tuned back into the discussion…
"Personally, I don't think we need a bullying policy." Pomona said firmly. "Just because the muggles have issues doesn't mean we do."
"Bullying does take place within these hallowed corridors," rejoined Severus silkily, "no matter how unpleasant you may find the topic."
"Perhaps then it would be prudent of us to set a good example and refrain from bullying students ourselves before we ask the same behaviour of the students." Minerva snapped at Severus who raised an eyebrow at her.
"Bullies are a part of school life and a part of life." Filius interjected. "I was bullied but I learned how to deal with it and make my own way."
"Not everyone has your fortitude, Filius." Poppy countered. "There are some young children who come into the infirmary week after week having been hexed and nothing is done! It's not acceptable."
"Well, if they don't report who did it to a staff member, what can be done?" Pomona asked.
"And they won't," Severus pointed out, "telling tales is against the unwritten rules of the school-yard."
"Well, I happen to think a bullying policy that encourages children to come forward with a promise of anonymity and confidentiality coupled with a supportive teaching staff who don't simply pat them on the head and say 'well, I was bullied and I turned out alright; buck up, old chap' would be beneficial." Poppy said strongly.
"What do you think, Albus?" Filius asked. "Are you for or against?"
"I don't see any need to implement something additional to our normal policy." Albus said firmly.
Poppy snorted loudly. "What policy?"
A rush of wings had everyone at the table looking up as the mail delivery arrived. Albus accepted the Daily Prophet from a tawny owl in exchange for some sausage. The headline had him choking on his juice.
SIRIUS BLACK AWARDED CUSTODY OF THE BOY WHO LIVED! Rita Skeeter
The Ministry of Magic have announced their decision to revoke custody of the Boy Who Lived from his muggle relations and to place him with the newly exonerated Sirius Black. Calls for this very action have multiplied since Black was cleared of all charges related to the deaths of his good friends and the muggles who died in his confrontation with wanted Death Eater at large, Peter Pettigrew.
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