The Little One with Green Eyes

22: The Greater Good

-October 17 1991-
Everything was steadily falling apart. Albus didn't know how it had gotten so bad, so quickly. When the war with Voldemort had first started, Albus was confident in his ability to stop it. Despite their heavy losses, the Light side still held most of the public's approval during the war. Yet, everything changed when the prophecy arrived.

When Albus had sat down that day in the pub, he wasn't prepared for what would follow. Was not prepared to witness an event that would change the tides of the war. It was just a teaching interview, for Merlin's sake!

But that day, when Trelawney had spoken in her dazed whisper, a prophecy concerning the Dark Lord and a mystery baby, Albus knew that everything was changing. Albus had hoped that this would mark the ending of the war.

(And it did, just not in the favor he'd hoped for.)

Albus had rushed to protect the possible baby. There were only two couples that fit the prophecy: the Potters and the Longbottoms. Albus was so certain that the Dark Lord would attack them, and he insisted they go into hiding. It made sense at the time, of course, as the Dark Lord wasn't known for his planned and level-headed attacks.

So they went into hiding. Both the Potters and the Longbottoms went under Fidelius, despite the fact that neither baby had been born yet, and Dumbledore prepared his armies for the ultimate battle that was sure to follow. After all, if a baby was prophesied to defeat the Dark Lord, surely the Dark Lord would attempt to defeat it before it was even born.

Yet, months passed, and no attack occurred.

Albus knew that the Dark Lord knew of the prophecy---there were too many ears that day in the pub for him not to know---yet, nothing happened. Albus was convinced that the Dark Lord was merely biding his time, waiting for Albus to relax and let the two couples out of hiding before he would attack.

But as more and more weeks passed, Albus became less sure.

When Albus had heard from the Potters that their Secret Keeper, Peter Pettigrew, had betrayed them to the Dark Lord, Albus had rushed to their cottage in Godric's Hollow as fast as he possibly could. He prayed that he would not be too late for the attack that was going to occur.

He wasn't late because no such attack occurred.

When the Dark Lord didn't attack them, despite knowing their location, choosing instead to infiltrate the ministry, Albus knew he'd been beaten. Because he'd been so focused on the prophecy and protecting the possible candidates, Voldemort had taken advantage of his lenience and took control of the Ministry right under his nose.

As more and more years passed, Voldemort gained control of the public---Magical Republic of the British Isles---and his New Ministry was changed to avoid corruption and discrimination, more of his followers left for the Dark. They saw the changes that they'd wanted for years come to pass under the new leadership and decided that they didn't want to fight a war that had already been won.

Despite all of that, Albus kept an eye on the two prophecy children. Convincing Sirius that Harry was best raised with his muggle relatives was a struggle, but he'd managed. Neville, on the other hand, was stuck with his grandma despite his best efforts. But as the years passed, and Voldemort showed no interest in either child, Albus began to doubt.

The prophecy was rather convenient, Albus decided. It was done at a job interview for the Divination post at Hogwarts, and Trelawney had never spoken another prophecy after that. Albus supposed that there was a possibility that the prophecy had been faked, and if that were the case, and Voldemort knew this, then it was no wonder why he'd never gone after the children.