CH 225

"Almost twenty minutes," replied Sirius.

"Mmm," he acknowledged. "I'd offer you tea. However, you really don't want that, as you'll probably have to remain on stage for some time as the Minister speaks."

"Its okay, Professor," said Harry. "But, thank you for the offer."

"You need to learn to get better control of your anger, Mister Potter," he calmly said. "Anger can lead you to rash, ill-thought action."

"In almost all situations now, Professor, I'm able to keep my anger contained," replied Harry. "However, Albus Wulfric Dumbledore has a way of... riling me."

"That's Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Mister Potter," corrected Professor McGonagall.

"No, Professor, it is not. At least, not really," said Hermione. "The Headmaster added those other two names to make himself look more important when he was younger." That stunned everyone except the three bondmates.

"It's true," said Harry. "Notices of birth are public records. We wondered why the Headmaster had four given names and yet his brother and sister only had two each.

"Our Headmaster was born Albus Wulfric Dumbledore to Percival Wulfric Dumbledore and Kendra Briana Dumbledore on the 7th of July 1881. He changed his name when he left Britain to begin his apprenticeship with Nicholas Flamel in France at the turn of the century soon after his sister died. I think he was about nineteen then."

"That's... astounding," said the little Charms Master, as Professor McGonagall suddenly found herself needing to sit down in shock.

"His name's a lie?" Professor McGonagall nearly gasped.

"Unknown," Harry replied with a shrug. "He could have changed it through legal means while he was in France. I've not looked."

From where he was sitting, Sirius began to chuckle before he broke out into full laughter.

"Something funny, Sirius?" asked Professor Flitwick.

"It's never struck me that Dumbledore was so vain," he chuckled. "He added more given names to make himself seem more important? He's right. As kids that's exactly what we thought!"

"Well, he did it when he was nineteen," said Hermione. "Back then he'd not found the twelve uses of dragon's blood, apparently become the partner of Flamel, defeated Grindelwald and locked him up in Nurmengard, got himself elevated to the Wizengamot, or to the ICW."

"Sorry?" asked "Nurmengard?"

Professor

Flitwick.

"Hmm? Oh!" said Hermione. "When Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald in one-on-one combat, he then had him locked up in Nurmengard; the prison Grindelwald, himself, built for his enemies off the northern coast of Poland in the Baltic Sea. Engraved into the lintel above the main doors are four words: For the Greater Good."

"That's where Dumbledore got that saying from," added Harry. "It was Grindelwald's mantra when he and Dumbledore became very close friends in 1899. That's when Grindelwald was visiting his aunt, Bathilda Bagshot, in Godric's Hollow; and the two became romantically involved."

"We think that's why Dumbledore didn't go after Grindelwald until 1945," said Hermione. "He kept hoping his ex-boyfriend could be... redeemed; and would give up his world domination nonsense."

The three adults in the room sat stunned.

"Grindelwald's alive?" asked McGonagall, still quite shocked.

Professor

"As far as we know, yes," replied Daphne. "Dumbledore's never claimed he killed him; only that he defeated him. He's never lied about that. However, he knows people think he killed him; he's just never corrected them of the assumption either way. You can confirm it for yourself by asking Dumbledore directly. I don't think he'd lie about it, even now, if asked directly.

"Most of this you can probably confirm by talking to Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth, the proprietor of the Hog's Head pub in Hogsmeade."

"But, anyway," said Harry, sitting up straighter in his chair, ready to stand up. "We need to think about making a move. The Minister wants to hang a pretty ribbon about my neck and, since Madam Longbottom and Sirius worked him over pretty hard to get it done, we'd best not keep the man waiting."

"Errr... yes," said Professor Flitwick, his mind clearly on other matters. "Floo powder's on the mantel."

As the four arrived via Floo in the atrium at the Ministry, Sirius helped Harry to his feet and used his wand to banish the soot off their robes. "Bloody Hell, you three!" he muttered to them. "Warn people, in future, when you're about to dump shocking information on them. I thought Minnie was going to have a heart attack!"

"All that information is public knowledge, Sirius," said Harry. "We just have smart people we could send to go looking for it. Lawyers and goblins really know their stuff."

As they talked, they were walking to the checkpoint. All four were looking around, looking for threats.

In front of the fountain that dominated the 'business' end of the atrium was a temporary dais with some seating on it. No one was on it, yet. The presentation was not for another thirty odd minutes. "We go see Madam Bones, first," said Sirius. "She wants a quick word before she escorts us in to see the Minister."

The four made their way through the checkpoint, where their wands were 'weighed', before Sirius led them to the lifts.

They rode the lift to Level Two and quickly made their way to the office of the Head of the DMLE; where they were quickly ushered through by Madam Bones's personal secretary.

Walking in, Madam Bones was rising from behind her desk, walking around to greet her guests.

"Sirius," she smiled, offering her hand.

"Hello, Amelia," he replied back as she then offered her hand to each of the others. "Mister Potter, Missus Missus Granger-Potter; greeted them each in turn.

Greengrass-Potter, welcome," she

"Ma'am," all three responded, in turn.

"Please, take a seat," she said, gesturing to the four chairs she had before her desk.

Once all four had taken seat and she returned to sitting behind her desk, she smiled at them before looking at Harry with a bit of a curious expression on her face.

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