Severus Snape enters the Headmaster's office with the intent to inquire about the lessened funds directed to the potion supplies, only to pause when he sees the state of the man across the desk...
Albus lacked his usual warm and friendly atmosphere, and reminded Snape more of a creature you'd find in the Forbidden Forest. His skin was pale and sagging slightly, with big bags under his bloodshot eyes. and lips that'd been thoroughly chewed...
Sure, he was being slightly hyperbolic comparing him to an animal, but if this continued such a description wouldn't be far off... Even now the Headmaster hadn't even registered his presence, anxiously chewing down his thumbnail to the flesh.
"Albus..." the Potion master asks, causing the man to jolt in his chair and reach for his wand, only pausing when he realises just who had called him.
"Ah... Severus... Forgive me, my mind is elsewhere..." he tiredly admits.
"Hm, I assume this is due to the recent news? The situation at Nurmengard Castle?" he drawls despite his own concerns on the subject.
Albus nods, "Yes... The escape of Grindelwald is foreboding. We might now be beset by two Dark Lords, instead of one. I'm concerned, Severus, concerned for the future."
"Then we are in luck, your mishandling of Potter and losing your various positions will allow you to dedicate more time to solving such problems."
"Leave the sarcasm at the door, Severus, your fate will not be any better than mine should the ship sink." Albus grumbles, palming his face before adjusting his spectacles.
*Thwoom!*
The two men look to the side as Dumbledore's phoenix familiar flames into the office with a letter in its claws. It drops it at its masters desk before landing on its perch and gobbling the berries that'd been put at the side for it.
Dumbledore isn't even able to reach for it when the letter floats into the air and forms a makeshift mouth...
"ALBUS DUMBLEDORE! YOU SHOULD THANK YOUR MONSTROUS LUCK THAT YOU WERE HONOURABLY EXPELLED FROM OUR RANKS BEFORE THIS CATASTROPHE REARED ITS HEAD! YOUR DECISION TO KEEP GELLERT GRINDELWALD IMPRISONED INSTEAD OF EXECUTING HIM LIKE THE OTHER WAR CRIMINALS HAS LEFT THE ENTIRE CONFEDERATION WITH SMEARED NAMES!
YOU BEST STAY IN YOUR COUNTRY AS MOVING TO ANY OTHER MAY FIND YOU THROWN INTO A CELL WITH ITS KEY PERMANENTLY MISPLACED! YOU WILL AID THE EFFORTS OF SEARCHING AND SECURING GELLERT GRINDELWALD OR YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN HIS ESCAPE WILL BE BROADCASTED TO ANYONE WHO WISHES TO HEAR! NO, THIS IS NON-NEGOTIABLE!
- A SEVERELY ANGRY BABAJIDE AKINGBADE, SITTING SUPREME MUGWUMP OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF WIZARDS" the howler roars at a volume almost loud enough to shatter the nearby windows.
"Babajide?" Snape asks as Albus takes a moment to try and recover his hearing.
"The young man who replaced me once I was ousted, he's held a grudge ever since some criminals I wished redeemed broke out and murdered thirteen people, three of which were apparently close friends of his." the headmaster explains.
"Hmph, then it is best you do as he asks, your reputation is not what it once was... Have the letters been sent yet?"
Albus nods, "They have, including young Harry's, which means he's alive somewhere... We have yet to hear back and I doubt we should hold our breaths, even if he decides to attend."
"Is there a reason you haven't made use of Hogwarts invitation enchantments?" Snape questions, figuring it would be easy to locate someone with them.
"Unfortunately not. The founders thought it wise to separate integral enchantments from the Headmaster permissions. The Sorting Hat cannot reveal anything it finds within the heads of those who wear it, the letters cannot be tracked, enchanted, or modified in any way, and any secret rooms remain secret, even to me."
"Are you no worried about his condition should he attend? I doubt the intentions of those who took him were anything but laden with malice."
"Again, there's nothing I can do. If he does come I will take him under my wing and teach him."
"Like that Longbottom boy you've been tutoring as of late?" Snape hums in thought. "At least you are not treating this one as a lamb to slaughter."
Albus frowns, "You know that was never my intent! Merely to use the pre-existing blood ward protections to keep him safe from his enemies!"
"Yet, not all of his enemies..."
"They were his blood too, his aunt and nephew through lineage and his uncle through marriage! Any magic cast on them would see me attacked by the very wards created to protect young Harry!"
"Do you believe he would have been unsafe at the castle?" Snape questions.
"Well, no... But having him live away from magic would stifle any arrogance he might develop. As you know, his father possessed a similar personality. Additionally, the blood wards would have stifled any lingering dark magic caused by Voldemort's spell."
Snape sniffs at Albus' thinly veiled attempt at using his dislike of James Potter to sway his opinion. "Continue making your excuses, Albus, just know that the boy would never accept them, neither would the public if they heard them." he states as he turns and begins walking towards the exit with a flutter of his robes.
"One might consider that a threat, Severus..."
"And it might have been, were I not magically bound to serve you. But remember to listen to my warnings. I might not be the 'Great Albus Dumbledore', but even a child could see that you are treading on thin ice. Proceeds carefully, for both our sakes." with that, he leaves... But not before adding his request for more potion supply funds atop Albus' growing pile of paperwork.
"... Gellert, you have forced my hand... For the last time..."