like a redheaded stepchild

Chapter 10: There's no wrong way to be a Weasley

Professor Dumbledore sat in his office, happily sucking on a lemon drop and reflecting on how things always seemed to work themselves out for the best, when his door banged open.

"I cannot believe he actually did it," Severus fumed, stomping into the office. "What you did was reckless, sir. Lockhart was and is a bumbling idiot. When you hired a fraud like him, I had no idea what you thought you were doing, especially when it became obvious he'd been enchanted by the Dark Lord!"

"Lemon drop?" Dumbledore said amicably, indicating his bowl of sweets. Snape sneered at him, and Dumbledore sighed. "I confess Severus, originally I hired Gilderoy as an example of what sort of person one should not become, as fame and glory are empty trophies. A lesson I had hopped our young Mister Weasley, excuse me, Potter, would have done well to take to heart."

"And yet when he turned up in that ridiculous outfit with his mind touched by the Dark Lord himself, you did nothing," Snape fumed, pacing back and forth in front of the Headmaster's desk.

Eyes twinkling, Dumbledore smiled knowingly at Snape. "Ah, but how his mind was touched! The Dark Lord meant to stop a famous monster hunter who would be capable of killing Supreme Danger Noodle before-"

"Don't call the basilisk that!" Snape snapped. "You're just encouraging the Weasley's stupid story!"

"If that is what Harry claims the basilisk called itself, I have no reason to doubt him," Dumbledore answered. "Regardless, when the Dark Lord modified Gilderoy memories, he made a crucial mistake. He attempted to influence Lockhart into becoming evil, but instead he gave him the courage and skills that Voldemort himself possessed, overwriting Lockhart's true past with his own false past."

"We are fortunate that the twit has mistaken bad theatrics for true evil," Snape growled. "If he had been what he presented himself to be in those damned books, he would have been able to slay half the staff and all the Weasleys!"

"Well, then we should consider ourselves fortunate that Quirinius was such a fan, shouldn't we?" Dumbledore said, selecting another lemon drop from his bowl. "And besides, it turns out that Gilderoy was a capable wizard all along. He merely needed to believe himself to be what he pretended to be. A valuable lesson we could all learn from."

"That's nonsense! There is no moral! How many situations would one find themselves in where your memories of your true past are wiped by a powerful dark wizard and replaced with ones that attempted to turn you into one of his minions!" Snape stopped and glared at the headmaster. "As loath as I am to admit it, we will need Weasley and his hangers on if we are to stop the Dark Lord! We cannot rely on him continuing to make such blunders!"

Dumbledore shrugged. "I think we must trust in the love and affection Harry has found for himself. Is that not the power the power the Dark Lord knows not?"

"He doesn't know how muggle guns work either, but I don't see you suggesting we recruit some muggle soldiers to fight him," Snape answered.

"Ah, but love is a power that surpasses any weapon mankind has ever forged, be they muggle or wizard," Dumbledore said, waving his lemon drop about before popping it into his mouth.

Snape grimaced. "Remind me to tell you about Hiroshima and Nagasaki some time."

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