Chapter 162: Spy
31st October 1995, Hogwarts (Earth 2)
(Albus Dumbledore POV)
He had thought that this method was foolproof and wouldn’t cause a security issue. Albus could imagine Pettigrew using the same method as Sayre and sending Voldemort with enough of his Death Eaters to the house to slaughter their opposition in a single night. Albus was thankful that she had revealed this security risk.
He turned to look at her, to find that the woman had disappeared, instead there was a small piece of parchment, “You spent a good five minutes not talking so I left. I have papers to grade after all. Have a good night!!”
Albus chuckled. No matter how dangerous this witch was, at least she had a sense of style.
The aged Headmaster sat at his desk for a good minute thinking of the possible ramifications of Sayre’s involvement in his conflict with Voldemort. No matter what the woman said, she wasn’t planning on staying uninvolved in the matter. If she was, she wouldn’t have destabilized the Ministry like she did, or she wouldn’t have taken such an interest in young Harry’s education.
The thing that baffled Dumbledore was the fact that he had no idea what the woman wanted. What was her main ambition? Why was she so focused on Harry’s education and yet seemed unconcerned with his survival? Albus prided himself on his understanding of people. It wasn’t that difficult, people mostly either wanted power, wealth or glory. Sometimes there were a few that prioritized family. Albus always had admiration for those.
No one with Sayre’s power, magical or political, would choose to teach in a castle immediately after Voldemort’s resurrection without a hidden goal in mind. Albus only needed to find out what it was to finally understand the mystery that is Jasmine Sayre and be able to finally predict her moves, who seemed to have very far-reaching consequences. Truth be told, if it was just a contest of strength, Albus would probably win. The elder wand gives him a very powerful advantage, and anyone other than Voldemort himself didn’t have a chance. No matter how powerful and talented the defense professor was, she is still inexperienced, especially against powerful opponents, which means that she would most likely lose against himself and Voldemort. But apparently, it wasn’t her magical power that was the biggest threat, it was her mind. What she had done with the Ministry was a masterpiece, one that proved how catastrophic she could choose to be for anyone’s cause, should she be displeased with them.
Albus looked at the clock and was surprised that he has been sitting down at his desk thinking about Sayre for the better part of an hour. Suddenly, he felt the wards flare up once more. Someone was asking to come in. He was surprised since he didn’t expect anyone to come and see him tonight. He allowed the visitor to enter, and he recognized the familiar figure of Severus Snape opening the office door.
He smiled at the young man, “Severus, my boy, I didn’t expect to see you tonight.”
The young man looked grim, “The Dark Lord called an emergency meeting a few minutes ago. He’s planning something tonight. I wasn’t privy to the details, but he said that it was the first step in taking their rightful place in the wizarding world.”
Albus looked thoughtful tonight, “He’ll be trying to send a message without being too overt. Did he give you any details?”
“No, I only know that Lucius has an important role in the operation but that the Dark Lord will oversee everything himself. Him getting involved by himself, is enough, for us to assume that whatever he’s planning is of grave importance.”
“Is he making a play for the prophecy?”
Severus shook his head, “No, Lucius told me that it was physically outside the Ministry building. He didn’t specify where exactly.”
Dumbledore nodded. Voldemort could be absolutely cunning when he wanted to, and it made him extremely difficult to predict. If he’s planning on doing it himself, it has to be something important and it has to be something that would send a message, while still letting him stay hidden to gather his forces appropriately.
The aged Headmaster sighed, “Anything else?”
The Potions Master nodded, “Yes, Sayre. He asked me to report on her actions. He seemed apprehensive in dealing with her. Her latest stunt had made him wary.”
“In what way?”
“He was first planning on either killing her or forcefully recruiting her. He knew that she was talented and didn’t want to risk you getting your hands on her. When I told him that she refused your offer, he was ready to plan on recruiting her. I believe that he wanted a replacement for Bellatrix.”
Dumbledore shook his head, “And her meeting made him stop considering her as a possible recruit?”
Severus nodded, “Yes. I think there was an underlined message between them during the conflict. I could understand anyone being this wary of her but not him. Maybe if she chose to target his movement and remove his Death Eaters, she could be considered a threat, but to do that, he has to come back from hiding first, for her to be considered seriously at the very least.”
Dumbledore sighed, “You misunderstand. This was just a demonstration from Sayre’s perspective. It only took her one meeting to get the entire Ministry under fire. Imagine what she could do if she took an active interest in politics. As another brilliant witch, who is probably a pureblood, who is also a descendant of Slytherin and thus a Parselmouth, she represents a genuine threat to his position as the pureblood champion, especially if he chose to attack her without provocation.”
The young Potions Master shook his head, “You’re overcomplicating the Dark Lord’s thinking. After his resurrection, he’s been different. He’s always been psychotic and tended to torture his subordinates for their failures, but he was also charismatic. Whatever returned of him last summer is more monster than man. He’s still brilliant, but he’s also very easily angered, and has done nothing but terrorize his followers ever since he returned. He could kill her, in front of his Death Eaters, and proclaim himself a half blood, and they would still follow him out of fear. He still has his power, but only a monster remains. I can say with absolute certainty, very few of his followers wanted him back. They were perfectly content with the political power that they had amassed.”
Dumbledore looked thoughtful, “Has he really been this bad?”
Severus snorted, “He tortured Crabbe because he asked a question. Yes, it was an idiotic question, but it was still not worth five straight minutes under the Cruciatus curse.”
“I do find it curious how wary he is of Sayre, considering how many times she stated that she didn’t want to involve herself in our conflict. But do not worry, I know for a fact that the woman will never join Voldemort’s camp and he would never accept her out of fear of her usurping his position. Even if she does join, Voldemort has no idea how much that woman has wronged him and ensured his demise. I can say with certainty that he’s very right in being apprehensive with dealing with her. I know very little of her skills as a fighter, but her knowledge of arcane magic is perhaps superior to even mine. I know for a fact that she knows more about certain fields of magic where I could barely be considered a beginner.”
Yes, Sayre’s knowledge on soul magic, especially on Horcruxes should terrify Voldemort. Dumbledore wasn’t sure before, but now he was sure that it had something to do with the Peverell family magic. The family was always connected to death in a way, a mastery over soul magic is a possibility. The woman had already destroyed half of Voldemort’s soul anchors. So, discounting Nagini, there was only one soul anchor left. And with the Ministry too busy to harass him, he was free to continue his search for them.
Severus stayed silent for a few seconds before asking, “Did you figure out where she came from?”
Albus shook his head, “I’m afraid that this remains a mystery to even myself. She has already informed me that she took the name Sayre sometime after she graduated. I know a couple of her achievements from the guilds she joined but nothing more. I tried looking for her papers in a lot of magical schools around the world, but most of the other headmasters are very skittish on who they allow to come near their alumni list, so I didn’t get any luck on that front.”
“What about her connection to Lily?”
“I don’t know. Other than having similar eyes, the flower name, and their resemblance, there’s nothing tying Jasmine Sayre and Lily Potter together. I have had a thorough look over Lily’s family tree and there’s no sign of a secret sister or cousin or anything similar. Everyone is accounted for. There’s a very good chance that this is just a coincidence.”
The Potions Master glared at him, “It’s not a coincidence. Do you think I can’t recognize Lily’s eyes anywhere? They have a certain glow to them, a certain power, I could recognize them in Potter, and I recognized them the first time I laid my eyes on Sayre.”
“Do not fret, Severus, I will continue my search to uncover her past. You know how I dislike how close she is to young Harry. Her influence could have a negative impact on the boy.”
Severus snorted, “You’re the one who chose to distance yourself from the boy and you can’t forbid her from teaching him, especially when she just showed us how dangerous she could be. It would be foolish to show ourselves as her enemy.”
“I am fully aware of her threat level. She was able to circumvent the Fidelius charm and enter Grimmauld Place.”
The young man stiffened, “WHAT? HOW?”
The aged Headmaster sighed, “It only took a couple of compulsion charms for someone to not destroy one of the pieces of parchment I wrote with the secret, and she was able to read it. As far as I understand, she has already spoken to Sirius.”
“And that mutt didn’t tell anyone?”
“Sirius has been restless for a while and you have just seen how dangerous that woman can be with just her words, she could easily convince him to not reveal her presence to us. I’ll still need to ask him when their conversation happened at the very least.”
Severus snorted, “It doesn’t surprise me that the mutt wouldn’t see a blatant attempt to manipulate him.”
“This is not the time for your little school rivalry, Severus, Sirius is still a very powerful asset on our side. If he chooses to leave our side, it will, most certainly, put us in a very delicate position.”
The Potions Master sighed, “Alright, but what are we going to do about this?”
“For one, I’ll have to destroy all written forms of the secret. We don’t have the time to remove the Fidelius charm and reset it, especially with Sirius being as unhappy with us as he probably is now. Truth be told, there’s nothing we can do about Sayre. It’s better to just focus our attention on Voldemort.”
“And yet the Dark Lord is focused on her…”
Dumbledore snorted, “She’s a wild card, Severus. Of course, he would be worried about her. I am as well. But we’ll need to prepare ourselves for the aftermath of what he’s planning tonight. Choosing Samhain to involve himself for the first time since his return, it has to mean something.”
“The Dark Lord is starting to accelerate his plans because of the conflict in the Ministry. Fudge being under fire is a threat to his secrecy. The buffoon was the best way for him to placate the Ministry until his forces are ready. Having anyone as a minister is a risk, he’s not willing to take. Whatever he’s planning, it must be something that involves the Ministry somehow.”
Albus sighed, having come to the same conclusion. He could only hope that it wouldn’t cause too much damage. And even if it would, the population must at least acknowledge that something is happening, and Voldemort involving himself isn’t a good sign either. Still, what mattered now was the prophecy, and Voldemort mustn’t get his hands on it. Albus would personally be at the Department of Mysteries to make sure that this wouldn’t happen. After all, even if Voldemort came himself, he can’t afford a fight of this magnitude, as it would easily reveal his return and he’s not ready for that yet.
Chapter 162: Spy
31st October 1995, Hogwarts (Earth 2)
(Albus Dumbledore POV)
He had thought that this method was foolproof and wouldn’t cause a security issue. Albus could imagine Pettigrew using the same method as Sayre and sending Voldemort with enough of his Death Eaters to the house to slaughter their opposition in a single night. Albus was thankful that she had revealed this security risk.
He turned to look at her, to find that the woman had disappeared, instead there was a small piece of parchment, “You spent a good five minutes not talking so I left. I have papers to grade after all. Have a good night!!”
Albus chuckled. No matter how dangerous this witch was, at least she had a sense of style.
The aged Headmaster sat at his desk for a good minute thinking of the possible ramifications of Sayre’s involvement in his conflict with Voldemort. No matter what the woman said, she wasn’t planning on staying uninvolved in the matter. If she was, she wouldn’t have destabilized the Ministry like she did, or she wouldn’t have taken such an interest in young Harry’s education.
The thing that baffled Dumbledore was the fact that he had no idea what the woman wanted. What was her main ambition? Why was she so focused on Harry’s education and yet seemed unconcerned with his survival? Albus prided himself on his understanding of people. It wasn’t that difficult, people mostly either wanted power, wealth or glory. Sometimes there were a few that prioritized family. Albus always had admiration for those.
No one with Sayre’s power, magical or political, would choose to teach in a castle immediately after Voldemort’s resurrection without a hidden goal in mind. Albus only needed to find out what it was to finally understand the mystery that is Jasmine Sayre and be able to finally predict her moves, who seemed to have very far-reaching consequences. Truth be told, if it was just a contest of strength, Albus would probably win. The elder wand gives him a very powerful advantage, and anyone other than Voldemort himself didn’t have a chance. No matter how powerful and talented the defense professor was, she is still inexperienced, especially against powerful opponents, which means that she would most likely lose against himself and Voldemort. But apparently, it wasn’t her magical power that was the biggest threat, it was her mind. What she had done with the Ministry was a masterpiece, one that proved how catastrophic she could choose to be for anyone’s cause, should she be displeased with them.
Albus looked at the clock and was surprised that he has been sitting down at his desk thinking about Sayre for the better part of an hour. Suddenly, he felt the wards flare up once more. Someone was asking to come in. He was surprised since he didn’t expect anyone to come and see him tonight. He allowed the visitor to enter, and he recognized the familiar figure of Severus Snape opening the office door.
He smiled at the young man, “Severus, my boy, I didn’t expect to see you tonight.”
The young man looked grim, “The Dark Lord called an emergency meeting a few minutes ago. He’s planning something tonight. I wasn’t privy to the details, but he said that it was the first step in taking their rightful place in the wizarding world.”
Albus looked thoughtful tonight, “He’ll be trying to send a message without being too overt. Did he give you any details?”
“No, I only know that Lucius has an important role in the operation but that the Dark Lord will oversee everything himself. Him getting involved by himself, is enough, for us to assume that whatever he’s planning is of grave importance.”
“Is he making a play for the prophecy?”
Severus shook his head, “No, Lucius told me that it was physically outside the Ministry building. He didn’t specify where exactly.”
Dumbledore nodded. Voldemort could be absolutely cunning when he wanted to, and it made him extremely difficult to predict. If he’s planning on doing it himself, it has to be something important and it has to be something that would send a message, while still letting him stay hidden to gather his forces appropriately.
The aged Headmaster sighed, “Anything else?”
The Potions Master nodded, “Yes, Sayre. He asked me to report on her actions. He seemed apprehensive in dealing with her. Her latest stunt had made him wary.”
“In what way?”
“He was first planning on either killing her or forcefully recruiting her. He knew that she was talented and didn’t want to risk you getting your hands on her. When I told him that she refused your offer, he was ready to plan on recruiting her. I believe that he wanted a replacement for Bellatrix.”
Dumbledore shook his head, “And her meeting made him stop considering her as a possible recruit?”
Severus nodded, “Yes. I think there was an underlined message between them during the conflict. I could understand anyone being this wary of her but not him. Maybe if she chose to target his movement and remove his Death Eaters, she could be considered a threat, but to do that, he has to come back from hiding first, for her to be considered seriously at the very least.”
Dumbledore sighed, “You misunderstand. This was just a demonstration from Sayre’s perspective. It only took her one meeting to get the entire Ministry under fire. Imagine what she could do if she took an active interest in politics. As another brilliant witch, who is probably a pureblood, who is also a descendant of Slytherin and thus a Parselmouth, she represents a genuine threat to his position as the pureblood champion, especially if he chose to attack her without provocation.”
The young Potions Master shook his head, “You’re overcomplicating the Dark Lord’s thinking. After his resurrection, he’s been different. He’s always been psychotic and tended to torture his subordinates for their failures, but he was also charismatic. Whatever returned of him last summer is more monster than man. He’s still brilliant, but he’s also very easily angered, and has done nothing but terrorize his followers ever since he returned. He could kill her, in front of his Death Eaters, and proclaim himself a half blood, and they would still follow him out of fear. He still has his power, but only a monster remains. I can say with absolute certainty, very few of his followers wanted him back. They were perfectly content with the political power that they had amassed.”
Dumbledore looked thoughtful, “Has he really been this bad?”
Severus snorted, “He tortured Crabbe because he asked a question. Yes, it was an idiotic question, but it was still not worth five straight minutes under the Cruciatus curse.”
“I do find it curious how wary he is of Sayre, considering how many times she stated that she didn’t want to involve herself in our conflict. But do not worry, I know for a fact that the woman will never join Voldemort’s camp and he would never accept her out of fear of her usurping his position. Even if she does join, Voldemort has no idea how much that woman has wronged him and ensured his demise. I can say with certainty that he’s very right in being apprehensive with dealing with her. I know very little of her skills as a fighter, but her knowledge of arcane magic is perhaps superior to even mine. I know for a fact that she knows more about certain fields of magic where I could barely be considered a beginner.”
Yes, Sayre’s knowledge on soul magic, especially on Horcruxes should terrify Voldemort. Dumbledore wasn’t sure before, but now he was sure that it had something to do with the Peverell family magic. The family was always connected to death in a way, a mastery over soul magic is a possibility. The woman had already destroyed half of Voldemort’s soul anchors. So, discounting Nagini, there was only one soul anchor left. And with the Ministry too busy to harass him, he was free to continue his search for them.
Severus stayed silent for a few seconds before asking, “Did you figure out where she came from?”
Albus shook his head, “I’m afraid that this remains a mystery to even myself. She has already informed me that she took the name Sayre sometime after she graduated. I know a couple of her achievements from the guilds she joined but nothing more. I tried looking for her papers in a lot of magical schools around the world, but most of the other headmasters are very skittish on who they allow to come near their alumni list, so I didn’t get any luck on that front.”
“What about her connection to Lily?”
“I don’t know. Other than having similar eyes, the flower name, and their resemblance, there’s nothing tying Jasmine Sayre and Lily Potter together. I have had a thorough look over Lily’s family tree and there’s no sign of a secret sister or cousin or anything similar. Everyone is accounted for. There’s a very good chance that this is just a coincidence.”
The Potions Master glared at him, “It’s not a coincidence. Do you think I can’t recognize Lily’s eyes anywhere? They have a certain glow to them, a certain power, I could recognize them in Potter, and I recognized them the first time I laid my eyes on Sayre.”
“Do not fret, Severus, I will continue my search to uncover her past. You know how I dislike how close she is to young Harry. Her influence could have a negative impact on the boy.”
Severus snorted, “You’re the one who chose to distance yourself from the boy and you can’t forbid her from teaching him, especially when she just showed us how dangerous she could be. It would be foolish to show ourselves as her enemy.”
“I am fully aware of her threat level. She was able to circumvent the Fidelius charm and enter Grimmauld Place.”
The young man stiffened, “WHAT? HOW?”
The aged Headmaster sighed, “It only took a couple of compulsion charms for someone to not destroy one of the pieces of parchment I wrote with the secret, and she was able to read it. As far as I understand, she has already spoken to Sirius.”
“And that mutt didn’t tell anyone?”
“Sirius has been restless for a while and you have just seen how dangerous that woman can be with just her words, she could easily convince him to not reveal her presence to us. I’ll still need to ask him when their conversation happened at the very least.”
Severus snorted, “It doesn’t surprise me that the mutt wouldn’t see a blatant attempt to manipulate him.”
“This is not the time for your little school rivalry, Severus, Sirius is still a very powerful asset on our side. If he chooses to leave our side, it will, most certainly, put us in a very delicate position.”
The Potions Master sighed, “Alright, but what are we going to do about this?”
“For one, I’ll have to destroy all written forms of the secret. We don’t have the time to remove the Fidelius charm and reset it, especially with Sirius being as unhappy with us as he probably is now. Truth be told, there’s nothing we can do about Sayre. It’s better to just focus our attention on Voldemort.”
“And yet the Dark Lord is focused on her…”
Dumbledore snorted, “She’s a wild card, Severus. Of course, he would be worried about her. I am as well. But we’ll need to prepare ourselves for the aftermath of what he’s planning tonight. Choosing Samhain to involve himself for the first time since his return, it has to mean something.”
“The Dark Lord is starting to accelerate his plans because of the conflict in the Ministry. Fudge being under fire is a threat to his secrecy. The buffoon was the best way for him to placate the Ministry until his forces are ready. Having anyone as a minister is a risk, he’s not willing to take. Whatever he’s planning, it must be something that involves the Ministry somehow.”
Albus sighed, having come to the same conclusion. He could only hope that it wouldn’t cause too much damage. And even if it would, the population must at least acknowledge that something is happening, and Voldemort involving himself isn’t a good sign either. Still, what mattered now was the prophecy, and Voldemort mustn’t get his hands on it. Albus would personally be at the Department of Mysteries to make sure that this wouldn’t happen. After all, even if Voldemort came himself, he can’t afford a fight of this magnitude, as it would easily reveal his return and he’s not ready for that yet.
