Every Rose Has Its Thorns

Unexpected Consequences

"I never claimed to be perfect. I'm only human." Dumbledore surveyed him over his half-moon spectacles. "I'm well aware of my failures, particularly when it comes to Rosalie. If you were in my position, what would you have done?"

Despite all his anger boiling within him, just as white-hot as when they escaped the prism, he struggled to come up with a proper answer, one that would justify his hatred towards his former headmaster, the man the wizarding world, including his uncle, revered like a godly figure. Maintaining his calm demeanor, Dumbledore confessed that the prism was a last resort, the option he had been most against, considering the threat of Celeste and Rosalie's lack of knowledge of the wizarding world.

He had been wary of using the prism for any students, including Celeste, but Alec's own father had played a major role in its use, the prism given to Dumbledore by Alec's great-grandfather from time spent exploring in the Amazon. After its first use, to contain a power-hungry Celeste, the Ministry insisted on its continued use for the problematic children, to avoid putting in the actual effort to help them. Even without her magic, he knew that Celeste was dangerous around people, especially those as young as herself, and it was why he fought against the order each time, though the Ministry would not listen to reason.

"They were driven by fear," he explained, grimly. "You were a child when Voldemort was defeated but for those of us who were a bit further along in our lives, it was a terrifying time. You may think it must've been easy to go back to as it was before but the world was still on edge...that fear and paranoia persisted, you see, and that is why the Ministry saw the prism as a perfect solution. Hearing that the daughter of a powerful pureblood family was dabbling in dark magic is something that can be dismissed as rumor but to see it with your own eyes is different."

"Celeste deserved to be there," argued Alec, having witnessed her manic games in both the past and present. "That doesn't excuse you from what you did to Rose. You could've taken her to—"

"Hogwarts?" interrupted Dumbledore. "Where she could've been under my watchful eye to help her learn control of her gifts? Away from her loving family? You met them yourself, Alec. Would they have been more agreeable then to how they reacted when we visited their home in the summer?"

Alec grimaced at the mention of her muggle family. He remembered Dumbledore's warning not to lose his temper around them, Rosalie's father being as stubborn as a mule and vehemently against magic.

"I knew of Rosalie's magic from the day she was born. I helped her aunt create the charm that contained it all these years...with some missteps along the way," he acknowledged, clasping his hands. "The thought did cross my mind several times but how could I ever reconcile with tearing a seven year old child from her family, from all she ever knew even if it was in her best interest? I was at the Ministry that day, speaking with Rufus Scrimgeur, when the alert came in and the moment I heard it was a young girl at a pageant, I knew it was her. I raced over there before the aurors could mobilize and drained her magic to make her less of a threat."

"She wasn't a threat. She was—" started Alec.

"A child, yes, but as I told you, we were living in a time of fear," he said, somberly. "The Ministry was constantly waiting for the next dark wizard to show their face. Would it be Celeste, who was dabbling in resurrection spells by using small children as her test subjects? Or would it be a threat they wouldn't expect in the form of a young muggleborn girl who had no idea of her abilities and in her anger at someone for insulting her family leveled the building?"

Alec shook his head. "They would've understood. She didn't mean to do it."

"Would that not be worse to them?" he asked, raising his brow. "That she had caused a miniature explosion without trying? If not the prism, they would've studied her like they do many things at the Ministry. Imagine what they would think of her legilimency. To be able to slip into the mind so easily and bend them to her will, again with barely any effort? I did not want her to be a weapon or to be vilified so in the end, the prism was my only choice. A method of keeping her contained until I could fix the enchantment."