15SUMMARY
With the Dark Lord rising from the dead and the pressure from the Ministry getting ridiculous. Albus remembers the legend of a long lost civilization and the ancient beast called "The Great One". He might be looking for help from an abstract entity, but he would never guess that the aid from this abstract entity would be in the form of a new Defends Against Dark Arts teacher.
PROLOGUE
"I have to do something, to save the boy from him"
Said Dumbledore, surrounded by 12 witches and wizards, at a fairly long table.
"Can't you find another way? I know we are-"
"Molly…"
"Don't you 'Molly' me, Arthur, you know damn well this is an extreme measure! You don't have to go there, Dumbledore!"
Dumbledore let out a small sigh as he let his shoulder sink a little bit to the wooden chair. "This is my extreme measure, you're right. But as I already told you, the stakes are high and so are the rewards. The place has been found and all I need is to find this entity."
"Can't you send me instead? I can't go outside and I'm locked here, sometimes it feels like I'm just having a little upgrade suite in Azkaban-"
There's a gasp within the witches and wizards towards the Animagus.
"-None of that now, you all know it was an exaggeration- but my reason is that the place you're going won't be within the ministry reach, surely I can help a bit? Better than stuck here."
"That's impossible, Sirius, I'm the only one who can negotiate." Explain Dumbledore.
"Dumbledore, we are loyal and trust you, but when it's an unknown territory EVEN for you, that's where we are worried about this plan. The only information we have and you have is just a vague tale you heard more than a hundred years ago. Let us participate!"
And then a man with mismatched eyes stood up. "Remus' right, at least bring some of us with you, Nympha-"
"IT'S TONKS!"
"-Tonks, Me, Remus, Emmeline, Hestia, even Dedalus and Sturgis are ready to aid you"
"No mad-eye, need to keep up appearances with Kingsley," said Sturgis Podmore who along with Kingsley Shacklebolt's nod of agreement.
"Well, there's Elphias."
"My war with the Daily Prophet is still as fierce as ever, my friend."
"Alright, you still have 6 of us at your disposal anyway." Said Moody finally settled down and sat on his chair once again.
"I can't, not only it would put you in danger with possibly no good outcome, but I'm the only one that can-"
Suddenly there's a loud bang coming from the front door, Arthur Weasley immediately exits the dining room and goes straight to the front door only to find Mundungus Fletcher out of breath.
Only a moment later, Arthur returned to the dining room, greeted by suspense and expectant eyes.
"Harry just used magic."
"Oh no! My boy!" Said Molly hysterically.
In that instant everyone scrambled about, all members of the Ministry of Magic except Arthur stormed outside and in that instant left the HQ of The Order of Phoenix.
Arthur grabbed a pen and paper while Molly fetched their owl. "What should we tell 'im?"
"Do not leave the house, do not surrender his wand. Once that is done, come with me, Arthur." Said Dumbledore while standing up, ready to go to the Ministry.
"What's going on?" Sirius asked.
Arthur finished writing a letter addressed to Harry Potter and then suit up right away and walk together with Dumbledore. "I'll explain later once we sorted this out."
"And explain the situation to me on the way." Ask Dumbledore.
"Naturally."
And so they both stormed outside the HQ and went straight to the Ministry of Magic. On their walk to their destination, Dumbledore asked Arthur about the situation.
"Dementor, two of them, Harry is forced to fend for himself."
Dumbledore shook his head and left a heavy sigh.
"What's even going on…"
"Poor boy must've felt cornered, Dumbledore, surely we can spare some information to h-"
"Arthur, you know my reason… I have to go as soon as I can, I doubt Fudges will play fair."
"What do we do while you are away? I don't think he would simply listen to Harry and accept the hearing fair and square either. No to mention, You-know-who!"
"We need to get Harry before anyone does anything stupid, gather a volunteer for his extraction and bring him to the Order, I'll do my best to be at the hearing before it's too late."
"Should I initiate The Advance Guard once you get off to Romania?"
"That would be beneficial, make a plan- now Arthur, remember, keep Harry from knowing too much, less he got abused by Voldemort. I might need to get a howler when I'm done talking in these Kangaroo courts."
Without them realising, they were both already in front of a large door. Arthur took a deep breath and muttered under his breath.
"Romania, huh…"
"Romania indeed…"
Both finally proceed to open the door and enter the court.
The winter in this particular year is quite heavy, burying all the greens and dirt deep in a pure white blanket of ice. Even though the fireplace burns the woods greedily that the chimney of a quaint little house resembles a locomotive more than a chimney, the atmosphere inside the house still could use some more warmth.
Sitting in the middle of the room is a dark-haired woman in her 40's, wearing a dress and smoking with her pipe all by herself. Her feet went up and down seemingly restless of waiting. When she heard a knock in front of the door, she jumped immediately and opened the door.
"Thank you for coming today, you arrived early." Said the woman with a relieved smile.
Standing in front of her is a woman with blonde and long silky hair, wearing a black dress under her thick coat. She smiles gently.
"I heard your distress yesterday, so the sooner I help you with your burden…"
"I hope I didn't trouble you."
"Anything for an old friend, it's of little consequence."
The woman with dark hair hugged her old friend tightly and pulled her inside the house.
"Is the little one awake?" Ask the blonde woman while putting her coat away.
"She's asleep, I have a very reliable son." Answer the woman with a warm smile. "I still have a hard time believing that you look just like when we left Hogwarts, did you use magic to not age?"
"I wish that's the case."
The dark-haired woman let out a small chuckle. "Have you finally decided to stay here in England?"
"I'm not sure yet. Although I hope I could leave everything behind and stay here for good, the circumstances might be more complicated than that."
The dark-haired woman put on her coat and then hugged the blonde woman from behind. "I don't know what to do if you left us. You've been a huge help for us ever since he…"
The blonde woman only gives a comforting smile while caressing her friend's hand with reassurance.
"I'll try to stay with you and your family as long as I can, no need to feel indebted, you owe me nothing. I promised to help you stand on your own feet again, I will see it happen."
She then let go of her hug and wiped her tears that she unconsciously let out. "Thank you, I'm off to meet someone, I'll bring some food for us when I go back."
"Be careful on the way."
And with one last smile, she closed the door. Not long after that a young boy in his 10's came downstairs. The women greeted him with the warmest smile he ever saw, par with that of his mother. He knows who the woman is and he's delighted to find her already in the living room, sitting, ready to give him company while his mom is out to do her business.
"Hello there, my little bumblebee."
"Nanny!" The boy shouted with joy.
"Good morning…" The boy hugged his nanny immediately with a glee, "You need to calm down, young one, I'll be staying here for a while so you don't have to worry."
"I miss you so much! I thought we would never see you again after we moved here!"
The woman stroked the boy's hair gently with her delicate looking fingers, giving the boy so much comfort. "Do you have anything you look forward to?"
"I want you to tell me your story with the foreigner that freed a maiden from the ancient beast again!"
"It's still in the morning, you sure you don't want to save it for a bedtime story? Have you got your breakfast yet?"
"Nanny, I'm 10, I'm an adult. I don't need bed stories, I just want to know all the stories so I have something to hold on to when I go to Hogwarts."
The nanny let out a small laugh while giving the boy a small kiss on the forehead. "You grow up so fast, you might not need me anymore soon."
"No! Don't go again! I will do whatever you want! But give me the stories too!" The boy begged while hugging his nanny tightly.
"Oh you, boy, are insufferable. Alright, have a seat, young one."
"Yes!" The boy suddenly climbed to her lap and looked at her expectantly with his big eyes.
"What happened to a 10 years old adult earlier? Surely my lap is not for a big boy?" Tease the woman.
"B-but this is your story! I need the best spot to listen to your story!"
"Alright, make yourself comfortable. Did you remember where we left it last time?"
The boy without missing a beat then said where the story ended which surprises the woman.
"Just when the maiden trapped in the everlasting Nightmare"
"You must've really loved the story if you still remember it that well." The nanny smiled fondly, happy that her story gained admirers.
"I re-tale it for my little brother as a bedtime story."
"Very well then…
"Our story continues when a kind foreigner is looking for the magic potion that can cure his illness in the city of Yharnam…"
Dumbledore was lost for words when he saw the ruined city, as the legend was true that this place could be a hell on earth. Blood, rotten flesh, animal carcasses lying about, magical creatures with ghastly appearance lie dead on the brick lane, all the gore humans can think of as far as eyes can see.
As he walks between the buildings of the city, occasionally he sees a bloodied, rugged dress of a little girl, meanwhile, a ribbon from the dress ends up a mile away from the dress.
For once he felt like he's back in wartime, but more savage and more disturbing.
The Headmaster then heard a growl from one of the buildings.
"He cured himself after signing a contract for the magical potion and used it… But as the sun sets, the city reveals its dark side once more."
Sun gets low and the hue of the sky turns into purple-ish amber. The growl he heard became more and more apparent. Dumbledore would apparate but then he remembered the warning from his friend that works inside the Magical Government of Romania which happens to be the very same person who granted him access into the forbidden city
Never ever use apparition inside the forbidden city.
And so with a few charms to make himself invisible, he makes his way down into the ancient city, in search of a lone lighted lamp inside the city.
"Beasts sprawling in every corner, hostile, and eager to fight the foreigner. Insufferable bloodlust on the beast tempting them to eat the foreigner.
One beast took him off guard, a fang as sharp as a knife, claws that could cut the strongest steel, and a roar of a giant monster attacked from behind!"
Dumbledore meets yet another dead end after passing yet another unlighted lamp. Dumbledore let out a sigh and turned his heels. Much to his surprise, the gate near the last lamp he just passed was now covered in fog.
"How curious..." said Dumbledore as he went through the fog wall.
There's nothing peculiar or anything changes from the area except one little detail. The lone lamp that stands in the middle of the brick lane he just passes is now lit, flickering with blue fire.
Dumbledore walks carefully towards the lamp.
one
step
at a time.
When he was finally near the lamp, Dumbledore heard a screech.
"Did the beast kill him?!" Ask the boy in disbelief.
"The beast did kill him…" said the woman with a mellow tone.
"B-but then how is he going to save the maiden from the ancient beast?!"
The woman then smiled bitterly.
"But the foreigner is no longer a simple merchant. The magic potion turns out to be the blood of the ancient beasts, and a Hunter is born by the blood, made men by the blood, undone by the blood…"
"And so, the foreigner became a hunter. Hunters do not die, when they are mortally wounded, they come to the hunter's dream, a place where a flower shines under the moonlight, ready to be remade into the living realm…"
"REDUCTO!" Dumbledore shouted the spell towards a deformed beast that lunged at him, turning the beast into ash. But the ashes left something, a broken skull with a faint eerie light contained inside.
"Just what I need..." said Dumbledore and proceeded to take the skull with him.
"Ah..."
Dumbledore finally touched the lamp, this is where his ultimate gamble. If he runs out of his luck now, then what he is about to do will definitely kill him, and so Dumbledore holds the lamp firmly and then apparate.
Suddenly he had already arrived at the ancient city beneath, Dumbledore let out a sigh of relief. The tale mentioned the area he is in right now and he's sure that he's very close to his destination when he sees a single white flower bloomed under the moon, reflecting its dim light.
Dumbledore walks past a land full of flowers that seem to bloom eternally until he finds an abandoned building surrounded by tombstones.
The building stands- although broken for centuries- upon a small hill with stairways made of bricks. At the start of the stair, Dumbledore sees a worn human-sized doll. He walked closer to the doll and was then surprised by a face that the doll possessed.
"In the dream where he comes back to life, he meets a living doll which will aid him with his adventure and an old man called Gehrman."
"Only one way to find out."
Dumbledore took a deep breath and pondered the skull he just got for a brief moment until he finally brought the skull near his mouth and let the dim eerie light inside the skull slide into his mouth, and he swallowed it whole.
With a gust of wind... and then he hears a soft voice, familiar yet different.
"Who are you? Why are you here?"
Dumbledore was met with the doll In front of him, alive, breathing, and her stare full of curiosity.
"You're…?" Said Dumbledore with a shaky voice.
"I'm… a doll."
Dumbledore takes a deep breath, and when he finally regains his composure.
"Did you have a name…?" Ask the old man.
"I'm but a plain doll. Nothing more, nothing less… Who are you? Why did you come here? You're not bound by the blood or a contract, there are no echoes within your vein and yet… here... you are."
Dumbledore looks at his surroundings, the building looks relatively new as if it has been remade in a blink of an eye. The flower blooming just like how it was before but the surroundings made more sense as the plain does look alive unlike before where it stands out because it's the only plant that doesn't wither.
"So it is true…" said Dumbledore under his breath.
"The good hunter might feel agitated if you won't state your business, my dear guest, he has someone to protect so I hope you understand."
"The good hunter is still here?"
The doll then pointed behind Dumbledore. He turned around only to find a monstrous creature with a deformed shape, tentacles made out of purple-ish flesh flailing around as if they were as light as a feather under the water spurred from One giant bulging eye looking at him intently.
The shape of this creature is hard to comprehend but Dumbledore could make a small pair of arms and extremely long legs.
Dumbledore was lost for words, he lived a long life, experienced many unspeakable things and yet he never heard or saw such a thing exist, hidden, and unheard.
"Oh… Good hunter, kind as you always are…"
Dumbledore then glanced back at the doll.
"He knows you… Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, did you come here seeking help from The good hunter…?"
"I am… is this truly the hunter's dream?"
"Those days are long gone… Right now this is an only haven to those who've been tormented by everlasting nightmares, second chances for those who're forced to taint their hands, a victim of the Great One comedy."
"Hunter's dream will be a place where he comes back home until he fulfils his mission. But the foreigner decided to uncover the truth and to end the nightmares that plague the city of Yharnam.
"His adventures lead him to many places, learn about the city more than anyone ever is, defeating more than one ancient beasts, even venture as far as the maiden's homeland.
"Until his wild curiosity led him to Hunter's Nightmare, the place where the maiden was imprisoned."
"You've come to the right place, and the person that the good hunter has been protecting from his kin, is the person you're looking for, she is asleep inside the Hunter workshop."
Dumbledore then looks at the workshop, to the creature, and then back to the plain doll.
"Go on, dear guest."
Dumbledore then takes a step towards the workshop.
"What happened next?"
"What comes next would be for another time, right now your little sister needs my attention and so is your little brother…"
"But we are just getting started!" The boy whined.
"Your mother asked me to help her take care of all of you, not just you, you need to be patient." Said the woman while holding a little girl crying on her shoulder.
"There there." She gently patted the back of the girl.
The sound of footsteps crushing snow in front of the door was heard, the boy and the woman walked towards the door.
"Looks like your mother is already back from shopping."
The door made a creaking sound and then it opened.
"I'm home." The dark-haired woman said once she opened the door.
"Welcome back mum!"
"Welcome back, Kendra." The blonde woman greeted with a smile.
"Where's Abe?"
"He's still asleep, not really a morning person."
Kendra put her bags and coat away and rushed to her friend who's holding her daughter.
"Did you behave, Ariana? I hope you didn't give your nanny too much trouble."
What Dumbledore sees inside the workshop is a woman sleeping soundly, sitting on a wheelchair all while wearing a full attire that resembles a noble royal knight.
Her eyes were covered behind a tricorn hat that nest on top of her head.
Dumbledore takes yet another step forward and the woman immediately awakens, she looks at Dumbledore and lets out a whisper yet clear voice.
"Who are you?"
"Promise you will tell the rest of the story tonight!"
The woman smiled towards the active boy "As long as your eyes allow you to."
Dumbledore paused, with a shaky voice he told his name.
"Albus… Percival… Wulfric Brian…"
He says his name slowly, each with moderate pause
The woman in front of him slowly stands up from her wheelchair, takes off her hat and sees the man in front of her directly.
"...Dumbledore."
The headmaster of Hogwarts lets out a single tear when he finally says his surname and the women greet him with the warmest smile he ever saw, on par with that of his own mother.
"...Hello there, my little bumblebee."
I just want more Lady Maria fanfiction, there's not enough of her on this site.
Dumbledore apparently is just an archaic Bumblebee. The more you know.