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Tweak says, "My grandmother shot me, ONCE."

Regulus Arcturus Black (te_regulus) wrote in hogwarts_dawn,
@ 2021-05-08 09:05:00

Entry tags:

character: albus dumbledore, character: regulus black

RP: Regulus/Albus
Who: Regulus/Albus
When: Morning 8th May
Where: Great Hall
What: Regulus continues his scheming in getting a Minister

Regulus was up on a Saturday morning much like he would any other day. He was just too used to getting up early, barely having the time to stop needing to go to class before getting here. It was good because he wasn't the only one. Dumbledore- No, he'd have to stop thinking of the man as Dumbledore. Dumbledore was a manipulative bastard who hated a quarter of the wizarding world based on the fact that they were Slytherin. Albus was different. Whatever had happened in his life to make him think that every Slytherin was evil hadn't happened yet and would never happen now.

With so few people around, he decided to test the waters. He went to the teacher's table and motioned to the chair. "I hope you don't mind," he said, sitting down next to the man.

Regulus cast a privacy spell, even if there wasn't anyone nearby. "I was hoping to talk to you about something. You must have been following what happened with Harry, but you've been pretty quiet. I imagine that you have some opinion on what we ought to do."

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oddmenttweak
2021-05-08 01:20 am UTC (link)

"Of course," Albus offered a half smile and gestured to the place beside him. He liked Regulus - he was intelligent, and not opposed to speaking his mind, which he respected. They had had some good discussions over the weeks here.

Albus raised an eyebrow a fraction at the privacy spell, taking a bite of his pastry and fixing the younger man with an intent stare. If he was honest, he might be able to guess what this was about. It had been impossible to miss the events of the last few days, even with the young professors tunnel vision.

He took his time answering, chewing his food carefully before swallowing. "I saw," he agreed. "What was public, at any rate." He wasn't naive enough to think there hadn't been plenty going on behind the scenes.

"I'd be tempted to echo the question why need a minister at all," he finally said, reaching for his tea. "No disrespect to Mr Potter, but you have a good collection of talented people running the departments, as they stand. With such small numbers, a council should be more than sufficient."

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te_regulus
2021-05-08 01:38 am UTC (link)

Regulus couldn't help but chuckle as he poured some tea. "He didn't worry about keeping much private, at least from what I know." Regulus had made sure that his comments were all private and spelled directly to the individual people, but he was very different from Potter.

He smiled. "We don't need a Minister in here, not really, except for Gringotts. We do need one for that. The Goblins are rather particular on who can take money out of the Ministry's vault. Apparently Kirley isn't even Head of Treasury, but there's nothing official so he can still access the vault, while Lucius can't, at least until we have a new Minister that signs everything and makes it all official for the bank."

He took a sip of the tea before reaching for some of the food. "We very much need someone that can represent us as Minister on the international scene, someone who can sign what needs to be sent and more importantly is ready to speak to the other members of the Confederation when they finally let us. We need someone that the other countries respect and it's hard when the average age is twenty-one around here. It's why Harry was so important. His name could make people forget his age, but there's another name that could do that even better, that's yours."

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oddmenttweak
2021-05-08 01:27 pm UTC (link)

Albus couldn't help the resigned sigh that escaped him. He'd rather hoped he'd be able to avoid this conversation if he kept his head down. It was a tactic that usually worked, if he was honest. Tucking himself away and keeping apart from the masses, apart from the odd intellectual encounter, was by far the easiest way to escape any probing questions. But it also meant he'd had plenty of time alone to consider what Harry Potter had said to him.

Once we open up, the world will celebrate Dumbledore's return.

"I see," he said, partly to buy himself some time.

As much as he disliked it, his older self did seem to have left a rather long shadow. Good or bad, he couldn't quite tell. Would it be irresponsible not to use that? Or the opposite? Albus took another bite of breakfast, considering his next words.

"You know I have no interest in a ministry position," he finally said, his tone measured and polite. In fact, the idea made the breakfast he'd already eaten turn over unpleasantly in his stomach. It struck too close to a nerve that he kept very carefully guarded. "I saw Albus Potter had put his name forward. He's a smart man. Does he not carry some of his fathers weight? Not to mention, he is from the correct century."

He felt a twinge of guilt for pushing the other wizard forward. He got on well with the other Albus and it felt a little underhanded. But he had volunteered, had he not? Surely someone who wanted the position would be a better choice than him, with all his proven weaknesses.

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te_regulus
2021-05-08 02:27 pm UTC (link)

"I've been told over and over, by several people, and not just in this time. In fact, some said that the only reason you weren't interested was that you were too afraid of turning into Grindelwald. Of course, your Gryffindors said that was slander and you could never. Others said that you were too afraid to learn that you weren't as powerful as the Dark Lord. I find that the truth is a mix of every rumour, each one born by something true and magnified for effect."

He snorted. "Albus can't finish a sentence without stuttering like a complete idiot, he's twenty-one and his only fame is that his father is the Boy Who Lived. If I had to pick between him and his brother, I'd pick his brother, but even Jamie isn't good enough, because no one here carries the weight his father does and we are all very young. No one but you. You're still young, but your name would be enough to override that. Besides, we need to find someone that Harry might somewhat respect, because if he starts a war with the next minister and stories come out, and they will eventually, all credibility is lost. He might listen to you. He's not listening to his kids."

He took a bite of his sausage and then raised an eyebrow in Albus' direction. "So why are you so reluctant? You can keep on teaching, come to a weekly meeting, talk to the Confederation when they reach out to us. There's absolutely no risk that you'll become some megalomaniac wizard because there's just not that much power at the moment."

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oddmenttweak
2021-05-10 08:39 am UTC (link)

"Oh really?" Albus asked, before offering a half shrug. "I suppose we'll never know." Of course, he had his own ideas about his motives, but he was sure things had changed and evolved over the decades which separated him from Regulus. No matter what it was, it wasn't something he felt comfortable discussing.

His lips pressed into a faint frown at the mention of the stutter. "Something which can be fixed," he commented, but Regulus was still speaking. The last point almost made him laugh, although it manifested as nothing more than a crinkling around his eyes. "I doubt Harry Potter feels any need to listen to me. In fact, given our history - his history - it may prove quite the opposite. You'll hex yourself in the foot, Regulus."

He graced the other wizard with a half smile, reaching out to take some strawberries from the nearby fruit bowl. Albus absently twitched his fingers, and the berries started shredding their stalks and leaves as he reached for his tea again.

Albus took a sip of the hot liquid, holding the mug close to his face for a moment to give himself some time. There was a part of him which felt very tense just by discussing this, as if someone had pulled something very tight inside him. But deeper still, so well hidden he'd almost forgotten it existed, there was a thrill of something else. That fact alone was enough to terrify him, if he let it.

"I just don't feel like I'm the correct choice," he replied, vaguely. "I'm from the wrong century, to start with. I have very little grasp on how international relations are conducted today. I'm also, in their minds, an old man who passed away decades ago. I'm not sure anyone will be overjoyed when they're expecting the man in the portrait and I come waltzing in."

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te_regulus
2021-05-10 02:43 pm UTC (link)

"Can it be fixed? I suggested how to and he basically told me off, because he's tried everything and nothing can help and how dare you suggest that it can be fixed and he hasn't figured it out yet," Regulus said calmly. "That leads me to believe that he can't fix it before we need him to and I certainly won't tie our success to his ability to speak in complete sentences."

Regulus sighed. "Maybe, but I'm at the end of the rope." He wouldn't be so honest with another Slytherin, but maybe it would work with Dumbledore. "He's not going to listen to anyone else and I really can't imagine anyone else can take over. No one listens to anyone. People aren't even talking, or if they are, they are having two different conversations and I'm terrified that this will disappear right in front of our eyes."

He nodded. "I know all of that, but can you see an alternative? Everyone here is so young and unimportant. I've been trying to come up with an alternative and if you have it, then please, by all means, share it, because I don't see anyone else trying to find a solution and contrary to what people say, the longer we let this go, the worst it will become."

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