The Brightest Star Of The Darkest Night

40. Who Is He To You

Happy New Year everyone! Here's a brand new year of living, healing, adapting, and manifesting...and not to forget reading and writing! Let's hope 2022 will be a better year for everyone, and we shall conquer it together, as we did so far!

Let's start the new year with a new chapter!

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Dumbledore felt like throwing a tantrum that would have made a toddler proud. Nothing is going as planned!

All because of that damn Skeeter woman!

Curse that reporter for writing all those articles and bringing such prooves and laying it in front of everyone to see, ruining his reputation!

And the worst thing? He can't even locate the woman to stop her, to show her why it is bad news to mess with Albus Dumbledore. He can't even get the Prophet Editor to discharge her from her job, something about not being able to deny when she brings solid proofs, and the holder of the most share of Daily Prophet providing Immunity to anyone who brings any news with proper proof will get their article published and not dismiss!

Albus knew Ministry is the largest shareholder of Prophet, more than 5%, last he heard. But when he went to the Ministry to get those incompetent fools to stop Prophet, his ideas were disregarded because apparently, they need 'all the information they can get'!

Even his words are not enough nowadays! He, the great Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Chief Warlock of Wizengamot, Supreme Mugwump of ICW, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, winner of Order Of Merlin, first-class!

Albus mourns those days when people were in awe of him! Even the unbreakable trust of his Order members has taken hit because of something as mundane as a warning of theft from school funds and his minor mistake as thinking a near squib as a squib, which resulted in disowning the heir of Potter and later his unfortunate and untimely death! As if it had been him who killed the near squib! Why don't they understand that while taking funds from school was regretful, it needed to be done for the Greater Good! And the death of an unfortunate soul is definitely not on his hand. While he may have suggested the young and distressed Potter couple to leave their disowned squib son at her sister's house, Albus didn't know mere Muggles are even capable of killing a child! If Albus didn't read the forensic reports of the Muggle authority, he would never have believed that it was them who killed the child, not a mere unfortunate accident or Death Eater attack! Though he still has doubts, after all, Muggles wouldn't know everything, right? But apparently Lily has some trust in them, and it was not some kind of 'inexplainable condition' which is what they call in case of Magical death, so it was a genuine report!

The old schemer sighed in contemplation.

He really need to find the Skeeter woman first before he could employ the measures to stop her. Even if the latest victim of her current articles is the Late Head of the Department of International Magic Cooperation, Crouch Senior, as proved by this week's articles. Albus didn't know she would fall this low, attacking someone who is unable to defend himself! But by the time her attention was diverted, damage to his reputation has already been done! Dumbledore is surprised that he has still in position, though there might be some issue in ICW, but nothing he can't rebuff, yet! He can't risk any more of her articles, Merlin knows what she will reveal next. While Britain's population may still be in awe of him, which is definitely why they haven't considered taking his positions away, ICW is not easy to fool!

But his Order is already stretched too far thin for him to find out Rita's hiding place. Remus is still trying to find other werewolves packs to ensure their loyalties to the Light side, those from Ministry busy trying to find whatever they can about Lord Slytherin's schemes and plans. Rest are busy guarding the Prophecy Hall. Voldemort would be making his move soon. He will definitely be trying to get the Prophecy, the reason for his downfall.