No challenge; The Letters of Albus Dumbledore, 7-9
It's Thursday! Therefore, have a fresh batch of letters! <3
Title: The Letters of Albus Dumbledore
Summary: The collected letters of Albus Dumbledore from 1899 to 1945, from his last days as a student at Hogwarts to the defeat of Gellert Grindelwald in 1945.
Characters/Pairings: Dumbledore/Grindelwald, slight hints of Doge/Dumbledore
Genre: Mock-historical letter biography, aka gen
Beta: no beta this time!
Rating/Warnings: PG for suggestive...ness
Medium: multi-chapter ongoing fic
Word Count: 3608
June 30th, 1899
Dear Gellert,
Do you like him? The owl, I mean. His name is Maurice thanks to my sister, though I prefer to think of him as Theseus. Regrettably, he only answers to my sister's appellation.
I was thinking of our discussion today on the question of the influence of Muggles on Wizarding society. I still stand by my assertion that while, yes, they do pose a danger to us through the dangers of misunderstanding, we are the ones with the wands, and it is our responsibility to protect them, not oppress them. I shall say no more on the subject until you can present me with substantial evidence to back up your daring claim that Muggles are an active threat to our way of life. I wish you luck in that enterprise, my friend. I very much doubt that you will be able to change my thoughts on this issue.
That, however, is not the reason I contacted you so late in the evening. The article you left me to read has lit the fires of my mind, and all night I have been delving into the subject with more fervor than I have known since my school days. Dragon's blood was always a pet project of mine at Hogwarts. I am ashamed to admit that my research on the substance has not moved forward since my internment at home. You can understand, I hope, the sense of loss that pervaded me when faced with what I thought was to be a barren future. Then you came to me. Since then I have realized that I have been wasting my time in self-pity.
All that is now dross. You and I, Gellert, we shall do great things together. Know that I am not being arrogant when I profess my sincere belief that we shall change the world.
Returning to the Dillonsby article, the gentleman seems to discount the caustic properties of dragon's blood which, when properly diluted, have proven so useful in cleansing wounds. To suggest that it can be used as a fabric softener is laughable. I shall rekindle my own research on that front and submit my findings to The British Journal of Sorcery once I have reached conclusive results. Thus far, I have found at least eight uses for dragon's blood, none of which that charlatan can claim to have fabricated in his dubious research. In glancing over my notes, I can guess at roughly three more uses for dragon's blood, if not four, and as you know by now, my guesses are usually good.
The Flynt article you sent me has however left me with a different feeling altogether. While I readily admit that a great deal of wisdom can be found in old children's stories and that there is historical basis in such tales as "Babbity Rabbity and the Cackling Stump," "The Tale of the Three Brothers" is largely understood as an allegory. "Do not fear death," and all that. Obviously a certain wand has torn a bloody swathe throughout history, but the cloak? The stone? A disillusionment charm cast by a skilled wizard eclipses any need for a mythical, never-fading invisibility cloak, and though I loathe to mention them, there are several vile dark magics that can "raise" the dead, as it were. It would be fascinating to rediscover these relics, but I see no evidence that they existed at all. Unless there is something you have yet to reveal...?
Tomorrow we shall have to discuss this further. I understand that this subject is important to you by your frequent mentioning of it, and I would like to learn more about the roots of your fervor. Though I have not known you long, already aspects of your personality are as clear to me as if I have known you all my life. You would not devote yourself to a frivolous endeavor.
Meet me for lunch at my home, at noon tomorrow. I have been trying new recipes in an effort to please my siblings, and have been pleased to discover that the culinary arts are surprisingly akin to the subtleties of alchemy. To know one's ingredients well enough to create something that goes beyond filling the belly, but rather ensnares and delights the senses, is a rewarding affair. I shall be offering bacon sandwiches, split-pea soup, and trifle for pudding. If you give me your assurance that you will be present, I can also promise some of Bordeaux's finest as a pairing. After lunch, we can walk the river path and discuss your Hallows.
Until tomorrow,
Albus
*
Notes
As most children of our world are taught their first years of school, Albus Dumbledore went on to discover the twelve uses of dragon's blood, the last of which, oven cleaner, remained elusive to researchers for many years after the first eleven were discovered. In his article outlining the twelve uses, he attributes the discovery of the twelfth use to an accident. "Upon repeated testing, I have confirmed that my mistake of confusing one of my vial's of dragon's blood with Mrs. Scower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover was a fortuitous one indeed, and that dragon's blood is an invaluable method of removing what even a well-cast scourgify cannot."
The British Journal of Sorcery remains one of the most prestigious and cutting-edge research magazines ever printed, and has been published bi-annually since 1809. Dumbledore's final paper on the twelve uses of dragon's blood was first revealed in this periodical.
The Julian Flynt article to which Dumbledore refers, "Hallows or Hollows? A Thorough Examination of the Deathly Hallows Throughout History," was published in the now defunct history quarterly Time Enough, which fell out of print following financial difficulties in the nineteen thirties. In it, Flynt outlines his hypothesis that the items mentioned in the Beedle the Bard tale, "The Three Brothers," could be easily traced throughout history if one payed attention to the clues. It received mixed responses, from thoughtful criticism of his arguments to outright ridicule. Flynt then closed his investigations into the location of the "Deathly Hallows," and continued his work in documenting the historical context of Wizarding children's stories*.
Ivor Dillonsby's article on the eight uses of dragon's blood was not well-received by researchers of his day. Subsequent findings concluded that his research was rushed and his results faulty, though there are some holdouts among his peers who still attempt to soften their cloaks with a few drops of dragon's blood. Only a few of Dillonsby's uses remain among the twelve today**.
*The historical context of "Babbity Rabbit and her Cackling Stump" is actually quite interesting. Witch Hunts and Their Consequences by Mirabella Salem is a fascinating account of how the Spanish Inquisition affected Wizards and Muggles alike, and A History of Fire by Sylvester Rook mentions Babbity Rabbity by name as the Witch who saved many Muggle towns threatened by Witchfinders and their ilk throughout the worst of the seventeenth century. -H.G.-W.
**And those, I am not at all hesitant to say, only remain because others discovered them before him. -M.M.
***
July 1st, 1899
Dear Gellert,
I have decided that your idea concerning the picnic in the graveyard is not so macabre after all. You are correct in your assessment that the old yews along the banks of the brook are picturesque enough for any activity. The small knoll on the south bank is perfectly situated, and the threes grow thick enough there that we should enjoy a private meal.
Have I ever told you how I love yews? Many dislike the symbolism of that grim tree, but I do not see it as a representation of death, but rather of life. They remind me of happier days, when my father was alive and he would take Aberforth and me on walks in the old garden in Mould-on-the-Wold, which was hedged on all sides by tall yews. The sight of them always brings me back to that place.,
As for my earlier apprehension, I think I only argued with you for the sake of arguing. You were right; it would be a boon to excuse myself from my rambunctious relatives for one afternoon. If you bring napkins and cucumber sandwiches, I would be pleased to pack some cold tea and mutton and what ever else we might need. No claret this time, I am afraid. We quite depleted my personal stores during our last late-night session in my study. I shall have to apparate to the village to replenish my stock. Perhaps if you accompany me, we could locate the rheingau you mentioned a few days past. I am always willing to sample witch-bottled wines. When pitted against Muggle fermentations, there is no comparison.
Which reminds me: I have given more consideration to your argument that Muggles are in need of guidance, particularly from wizards. I do not know whether you follow their news, but there is a certain tension rising in their world. The Americans are currently engaged in a brutal, Imperialist war against the natives of the Philippine Islands, and their tactics would put even the darkest of wizards to shame. Entire villages have been burnt to the ground and the earth behind them salted, and cholera and malnutrition have taken more lives than even those brutal tactics. Even the Muggles of your fatherland are expanding their borders with no regard for the people they crush under their war machine in their path to glory and empire. I feel without some interference on our part, all our races may become embroiled in a conflict so horrendous that the only result can be terror and pain.
Conversely, I could be mistaken in my assessment of the current political climate. There is no telling how the stones, once cast, may fall. Indeed, the sudden appearance of magic in a world that has heretofore denied its existence could cause chaos where there was none to begin with. Magic frightens them more than you can possibly imagine. Therefore, if you are serious in your goals of eventually creating a haven in which wizards have no need to hide their talents from their Muggle neighbors, then you must do it slowly and carefully, with your good intentions made clear. They will not be quick to trust our kind. How can they, when they do not even trust one another?
It is quite late, and the fire in the hearth has died down to embers, so I am forced to end my letter here. I do not expect you to reply immediately, so do not worry about writing back tonight. However, do reply at first light, so that I may see to Ariana and Aberforth's meals before I leave them to fend for themselves for the afternoon.
Yours,
Albus
*
Notes
Hexenherz, or Witch's Heart, is a German winery located in Eltville-am-rhein, Germany, and is likely the maker of the wine to which Dumbledore refers. It was established in 1219 by three sisters, all of magical descent, who had to establish their own living after their parents were killed for refusing to grant their local feudal lord endless wealth through magic. The sisters fled until they found a place far from the grounds of any castle-town, and replanted the root stock of the grapes that their parents had tended before they were killed. Their wine was soon famous for its pleasant taste and high quality, as it is today. Rheingau is the appellation of the region, and is used as a general term for the wine grown there.
The Philippine-American War lasted from 1899 to 1913. The brutal violence of the conflict inspired some to renounce Imperialism*, which was the practice of extending the dominion of a nation in order to gain direct or indirect control of other nations, and similarly inspired others to tout it as the only way to raise 'savages' from their states of violence and squalor. Celebrated Muggle writer Rudyard Kipling wrote his famous, and highly controversial, poem, "The White Man's Burden," in response to this war.
The Great War erupted in the European continent in 1914, though the conflict had roots beginning as far back as 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Austria-Hungary, Prussia, and Russia. This was the first in a complex series of political and military alliances between the nations of Europe and Asia that eventually resulted in a web of treaties so tangled that a single assassination resulted in a war that caused the deaths of several million. It irrevocably changed the political landscape of both the Muggle and Magical worlds. Empires fell, dynasties disappeared, and a tenth of an entire generation was lost. The few remaining magical royal houses of Europe were completely eradicated.
*Imperialism did not stop, however, and resulted one of the greatest and most terrible wars the world has ever known. -M.M.
***
July 1st, 1899
Dear Elphias,
How is Turkey? According to our final itinerary, you should have arrived there already en route to Iram. I imagine as you read this, you are surrounded by splendid architecture, babbling foreigners, coffee, curry, and djinns. Poor Elphias, without even a proper cup of tea to soothe his nerves.
Let not my teasing bother you; I am honestly quite envious of your travels. Godric's Hollow could never offer the delights and dangers of Arabia. However, it has been pleasant here these past weeks. My neighbor is a delightful and engaging companion, and Ariana has not required so much of my attention as I initially believed. Often she is content to pass her time alone or with Aberforth, requiring nothing more from me than regular meals. This has left me with a great deal of free time in which to pursue my own interests. I would, however, be remiss in my duties if I did not remind you of your promise to Ariana concerning her feathers. Forget not, Elphias, lest you suffer the wrath of a young lady scorned!
The only blight on my summer thus far has been Aberforth. Remember how I privately told you I hoped we could find common ground before the end of the holidays? If you can believe it, our relationship has deteriorated even further. He speaks to me less than he did at Hogwarts, and spends most of his time with his goats. When I enter the front door, he exits it. The only time he deigns to spend with me is during meals. Which isn't to say his manners improve when we break bread together; on the contrary, they become worse. For example, at supper two nights ago, I politely asked him to pass the gravy. In lieu of a response, he threw it at me, and it was only my quick wand reflexes that prevented my beard from becoming brown. When I asked him why he would do such a thing, he told me to sod off and stomped to his room. I am only thankful his behavior didn't upset Ariana, as she was occupied with sculpting flowers in her potatoes.
I try, Elphias. I try every day to get him to confide in me. I ask him about his goats, about the garden, I ask after his health, but the only reward for my concern is disdainful silence. If I want civilized conversation, I must leave my home, and when I allow myself even that small respite, Aberforth goes from silent to venomous. The only time we do talk is if the subject is Ariana. Gellert has suggested that Aberforth is jealous of our new friendship, but how could this be if he has shown no signs of jealousy towards my friends in the past? I pay Gellert no more attention than I did you when we were at Hogwarts.
Have I told you that he has offered to leave school so that I might quit Godric's Hollow? I did not entertain accepting his foolish gesture for a moment. To think he would be willing to forego his education in order to be rid of me! The meaning behind this strikes me to the core.
Why does he hate me so? What am I supposed to have done in order to so thoroughly earn his ire? I am, for one of the only times in my life, at a complete loss.
Ariana, at least, is content. I have noticed that she does not go into hysterics as frequently as she once did. The only recent incident was due to my own carelessness at mentioning the word "Muggle" in her presence. The poor girl panicked because she could not understand the meaning of the word even when I explained it to her. Gellert was forced to use a calming charm on her when her back was turned, lest she set the garden on fire for the third time this month. However, that incident was only one in a space of two weeks. I believe the increased freedom that I have granted her to be the catalyst in that change in temperament. Why, only yesterday she accompanied me to the river and caught frogs while Gellert and I conversed on the rocks.
Write me if you are admitted to Iram. I am eager to learn of their style of magic. I shall be desolate if you do not provide a detailed description of the main school, the alchemists at work, the oasis, and the Sumerian-based incantations they're supposedly researching. You do not want to be responsible for causing me agony, I am sure.
Until then I remain your friend,
Albus
*
Notes
Iram of the Pillars, long thought by Muggles to have vanished under the sands of the Rub' al-Khali (Empty Quarter) in the Arabian Peninsula, is the center of magical learning in the Middle East. Once Iram served as center of trade for frankincense merchants both Muggle and magical, who depended upon Iram's oasis for rest on their arduous trip through the desert. Increased desertification of the Rub' al-Khali and the loss of several surrounding oases caused the city to be all but impossible for Muggles to reach. Iram then became the chosen sanctuary for the Ubar people, who once openly practiced magic until forced to go into hiding around the first century C.E., long before the witches and wizards of the western world. In 1899, Iram was famous for its strides forward in the fields of Alchemy, Astronomy, Divination, and Proto-Magical Linguistics. Dumbledore himself spent two years there following the death of Ariana, and while there, began his work with his most famous partner, Nicholas Flamel.
Magic used in the Middle East, parts of West Asia, and North Africa through the Sahara is based on Coptic rather than Latin. There is a prevailing theory that it is the oldest form of magic in the world. However, archeological evidence suggests that the Mesopotamians, the earliest known civilization and creators of the first known written alphabet, cuneiform, practiced an even older magic that had its roots in Sumerian. During Dumbledore's time, three Iramian scholars were engaged in researching the mechanics of Sumerian Magic based on their translations of extant cuneiform tablets (see Lost Magic: Sumerian as the Precursor of the Coptic System by Muhammad al Ghazali, Salah 'abd al Jabbar, and Tariq 'abd al Qahhar, 1911). However, this was not widely publicized at the time. It is unknown how Dumbledore came by his information.
Djinns are semi-intelligent magical creatures native to the Arabian Desert. As prey animals, they have developed the ability to cast extraordinarily convincing illusions in order to confuse their predators. When confronted by humans, they are able to babble in any tongue, promising to grant a wish to the person who lets them go free. Inevitably, the wished-for object vanishes as soon as the djinn has reached safety. Djinns are prized for their luminescent skin and their claws, which are used as cores in wand-making.
Elphias Doge did not reach his destination. After being tricked by a djinn, he became separated from his traveling party, and was forced to wander the desert in search of aid. Instead of finding help, however, he was attacked by ghul.
Ghilan (singular: ghul), also native to the Arabian Desert, are the main predators of the djinn. Though distant relatives of the common European house ghoul, they are far more dangerous. They are shapeshifters, able to contort their bodies into the guise of carnivorous animals, such as the hyena, in order hunt, kill, and devour their prey. One curious characteristic of the ghul is that it does not subsist on the meat of its prey, but rather the blood, which also grants it the ability to shift its shape into the last creature whose blood it drank. The ghul that attacked Elphias Doge was in the form of a young man.
"He offered me a drink, and I bloody well took it. What would you have done, died of thirst on the sands of the desert?" says Doge. "I hardly even noticed he'd begun to strangle me until I'd drained the flask."
Luckily for Doge, his cries for help attracted the attention of a passing bedouin, who saved him from his untimely fate. Unluckily for Doge, however, the bedouin man had also spotted him performing a fire charm. He insisted that he accompany him back to his tribe in order to perform 'miracles' for his family.
"They didn't treat me poorly per se," says Doge. "But it was fairly exasperating to have to perform aguamenti and what not ten times a day. I think that's how my fingers became permanently pruney."
The bedouins released Doge after two weeks, when he burst into tears at the sight of a flying carpet.
***
3608/30 = 120 points for Slytherin according to the lovely easels
Ses//Slytherin//gettin' her first points of the term, shyeah
hope you likes :D
Title: The Letters of Albus Dumbledore
Summary: The collected letters of Albus Dumbledore from 1899 to 1945, from his last days as a student at Hogwarts to the defeat of Gellert Grindelwald in 1945.
Characters/Pairings: Dumbledore/Grindelwald, slight hints of Doge/Dumbledore
Genre: Mock-historical letter biography, aka gen
Beta: no beta this time!
Rating/Warnings: PG for suggestive...ness
Medium: multi-chapter ongoing fic
Word Count: 3608
June 30th, 1899
Dear Gellert,
Do you like him? The owl, I mean. His name is Maurice thanks to my sister, though I prefer to think of him as Theseus. Regrettably, he only answers to my sister's appellation.
I was thinking of our discussion today on the question of the influence of Muggles on Wizarding society. I still stand by my assertion that while, yes, they do pose a danger to us through the dangers of misunderstanding, we are the ones with the wands, and it is our responsibility to protect them, not oppress them. I shall say no more on the subject until you can present me with substantial evidence to back up your daring claim that Muggles are an active threat to our way of life. I wish you luck in that enterprise, my friend. I very much doubt that you will be able to change my thoughts on this issue.
That, however, is not the reason I contacted you so late in the evening. The article you left me to read has lit the fires of my mind, and all night I have been delving into the subject with more fervor than I have known since my school days. Dragon's blood was always a pet project of mine at Hogwarts. I am ashamed to admit that my research on the substance has not moved forward since my internment at home. You can understand, I hope, the sense of loss that pervaded me when faced with what I thought was to be a barren future. Then you came to me. Since then I have realized that I have been wasting my time in self-pity.
All that is now dross. You and I, Gellert, we shall do great things together. Know that I am not being arrogant when I profess my sincere belief that we shall change the world.
Returning to the Dillonsby article, the gentleman seems to discount the caustic properties of dragon's blood which, when properly diluted, have proven so useful in cleansing wounds. To suggest that it can be used as a fabric softener is laughable. I shall rekindle my own research on that front and submit my findings to The British Journal of Sorcery once I have reached conclusive results. Thus far, I have found at least eight uses for dragon's blood, none of which that charlatan can claim to have fabricated in his dubious research. In glancing over my notes, I can guess at roughly three more uses for dragon's blood, if not four, and as you know by now, my guesses are usually good.
The Flynt article you sent me has however left me with a different feeling altogether. While I readily admit that a great deal of wisdom can be found in old children's stories and that there is historical basis in such tales as "Babbity Rabbity and the Cackling Stump," "The Tale of the Three Brothers" is largely understood as an allegory. "Do not fear death," and all that. Obviously a certain wand has torn a bloody swathe throughout history, but the cloak? The stone? A disillusionment charm cast by a skilled wizard eclipses any need for a mythical, never-fading invisibility cloak, and though I loathe to mention them, there are several vile dark magics that can "raise" the dead, as it were. It would be fascinating to rediscover these relics, but I see no evidence that they existed at all. Unless there is something you have yet to reveal...?
Tomorrow we shall have to discuss this further. I understand that this subject is important to you by your frequent mentioning of it, and I would like to learn more about the roots of your fervor. Though I have not known you long, already aspects of your personality are as clear to me as if I have known you all my life. You would not devote yourself to a frivolous endeavor.
Meet me for lunch at my home, at noon tomorrow. I have been trying new recipes in an effort to please my siblings, and have been pleased to discover that the culinary arts are surprisingly akin to the subtleties of alchemy. To know one's ingredients well enough to create something that goes beyond filling the belly, but rather ensnares and delights the senses, is a rewarding affair. I shall be offering bacon sandwiches, split-pea soup, and trifle for pudding. If you give me your assurance that you will be present, I can also promise some of Bordeaux's finest as a pairing. After lunch, we can walk the river path and discuss your Hallows.
Until tomorrow,
Albus
*
Notes
As most children of our world are taught their first years of school, Albus Dumbledore went on to discover the twelve uses of dragon's blood, the last of which, oven cleaner, remained elusive to researchers for many years after the first eleven were discovered. In his article outlining the twelve uses, he attributes the discovery of the twelfth use to an accident. "Upon repeated testing, I have confirmed that my mistake of confusing one of my vial's of dragon's blood with Mrs. Scower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover was a fortuitous one indeed, and that dragon's blood is an invaluable method of removing what even a well-cast scourgify cannot."
The British Journal of Sorcery remains one of the most prestigious and cutting-edge research magazines ever printed, and has been published bi-annually since 1809. Dumbledore's final paper on the twelve uses of dragon's blood was first revealed in this periodical.
The Julian Flynt article to which Dumbledore refers, "Hallows or Hollows? A Thorough Examination of the Deathly Hallows Throughout History," was published in the now defunct history quarterly Time Enough, which fell out of print following financial difficulties in the nineteen thirties. In it, Flynt outlines his hypothesis that the items mentioned in the Beedle the Bard tale, "The Three Brothers," could be easily traced throughout history if one payed attention to the clues. It received mixed responses, from thoughtful criticism of his arguments to outright ridicule. Flynt then closed his investigations into the location of the "Deathly Hallows," and continued his work in documenting the historical context of Wizarding children's stories*.
Ivor Dillonsby's article on the eight uses of dragon's blood was not well-received by researchers of his day. Subsequent findings concluded that his research was rushed and his results faulty, though there are some holdouts among his peers who still attempt to soften their cloaks with a few drops of dragon's blood. Only a few of Dillonsby's uses remain among the twelve today**.
*The historical context of "Babbity Rabbit and her Cackling Stump" is actually quite interesting. Witch Hunts and Their Consequences by Mirabella Salem is a fascinating account of how the Spanish Inquisition affected Wizards and Muggles alike, and A History of Fire by Sylvester Rook mentions Babbity Rabbity by name as the Witch who saved many Muggle towns threatened by Witchfinders and their ilk throughout the worst of the seventeenth century. -H.G.-W.
**And those, I am not at all hesitant to say, only remain because others discovered them before him. -M.M.
***
July 1st, 1899
Dear Gellert,
I have decided that your idea concerning the picnic in the graveyard is not so macabre after all. You are correct in your assessment that the old yews along the banks of the brook are picturesque enough for any activity. The small knoll on the south bank is perfectly situated, and the threes grow thick enough there that we should enjoy a private meal.
Have I ever told you how I love yews? Many dislike the symbolism of that grim tree, but I do not see it as a representation of death, but rather of life. They remind me of happier days, when my father was alive and he would take Aberforth and me on walks in the old garden in Mould-on-the-Wold, which was hedged on all sides by tall yews. The sight of them always brings me back to that place.,
As for my earlier apprehension, I think I only argued with you for the sake of arguing. You were right; it would be a boon to excuse myself from my rambunctious relatives for one afternoon. If you bring napkins and cucumber sandwiches, I would be pleased to pack some cold tea and mutton and what ever else we might need. No claret this time, I am afraid. We quite depleted my personal stores during our last late-night session in my study. I shall have to apparate to the village to replenish my stock. Perhaps if you accompany me, we could locate the rheingau you mentioned a few days past. I am always willing to sample witch-bottled wines. When pitted against Muggle fermentations, there is no comparison.
Which reminds me: I have given more consideration to your argument that Muggles are in need of guidance, particularly from wizards. I do not know whether you follow their news, but there is a certain tension rising in their world. The Americans are currently engaged in a brutal, Imperialist war against the natives of the Philippine Islands, and their tactics would put even the darkest of wizards to shame. Entire villages have been burnt to the ground and the earth behind them salted, and cholera and malnutrition have taken more lives than even those brutal tactics. Even the Muggles of your fatherland are expanding their borders with no regard for the people they crush under their war machine in their path to glory and empire. I feel without some interference on our part, all our races may become embroiled in a conflict so horrendous that the only result can be terror and pain.
Conversely, I could be mistaken in my assessment of the current political climate. There is no telling how the stones, once cast, may fall. Indeed, the sudden appearance of magic in a world that has heretofore denied its existence could cause chaos where there was none to begin with. Magic frightens them more than you can possibly imagine. Therefore, if you are serious in your goals of eventually creating a haven in which wizards have no need to hide their talents from their Muggle neighbors, then you must do it slowly and carefully, with your good intentions made clear. They will not be quick to trust our kind. How can they, when they do not even trust one another?
It is quite late, and the fire in the hearth has died down to embers, so I am forced to end my letter here. I do not expect you to reply immediately, so do not worry about writing back tonight. However, do reply at first light, so that I may see to Ariana and Aberforth's meals before I leave them to fend for themselves for the afternoon.
Yours,
Albus
*
Notes
Hexenherz, or Witch's Heart, is a German winery located in Eltville-am-rhein, Germany, and is likely the maker of the wine to which Dumbledore refers. It was established in 1219 by three sisters, all of magical descent, who had to establish their own living after their parents were killed for refusing to grant their local feudal lord endless wealth through magic. The sisters fled until they found a place far from the grounds of any castle-town, and replanted the root stock of the grapes that their parents had tended before they were killed. Their wine was soon famous for its pleasant taste and high quality, as it is today. Rheingau is the appellation of the region, and is used as a general term for the wine grown there.
The Philippine-American War lasted from 1899 to 1913. The brutal violence of the conflict inspired some to renounce Imperialism*, which was the practice of extending the dominion of a nation in order to gain direct or indirect control of other nations, and similarly inspired others to tout it as the only way to raise 'savages' from their states of violence and squalor. Celebrated Muggle writer Rudyard Kipling wrote his famous, and highly controversial, poem, "The White Man's Burden," in response to this war.
The Great War erupted in the European continent in 1914, though the conflict had roots beginning as far back as 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Austria-Hungary, Prussia, and Russia. This was the first in a complex series of political and military alliances between the nations of Europe and Asia that eventually resulted in a web of treaties so tangled that a single assassination resulted in a war that caused the deaths of several million. It irrevocably changed the political landscape of both the Muggle and Magical worlds. Empires fell, dynasties disappeared, and a tenth of an entire generation was lost. The few remaining magical royal houses of Europe were completely eradicated.
*Imperialism did not stop, however, and resulted one of the greatest and most terrible wars the world has ever known. -M.M.
***
July 1st, 1899
Dear Elphias,
How is Turkey? According to our final itinerary, you should have arrived there already en route to Iram. I imagine as you read this, you are surrounded by splendid architecture, babbling foreigners, coffee, curry, and djinns. Poor Elphias, without even a proper cup of tea to soothe his nerves.
Let not my teasing bother you; I am honestly quite envious of your travels. Godric's Hollow could never offer the delights and dangers of Arabia. However, it has been pleasant here these past weeks. My neighbor is a delightful and engaging companion, and Ariana has not required so much of my attention as I initially believed. Often she is content to pass her time alone or with Aberforth, requiring nothing more from me than regular meals. This has left me with a great deal of free time in which to pursue my own interests. I would, however, be remiss in my duties if I did not remind you of your promise to Ariana concerning her feathers. Forget not, Elphias, lest you suffer the wrath of a young lady scorned!
The only blight on my summer thus far has been Aberforth. Remember how I privately told you I hoped we could find common ground before the end of the holidays? If you can believe it, our relationship has deteriorated even further. He speaks to me less than he did at Hogwarts, and spends most of his time with his goats. When I enter the front door, he exits it. The only time he deigns to spend with me is during meals. Which isn't to say his manners improve when we break bread together; on the contrary, they become worse. For example, at supper two nights ago, I politely asked him to pass the gravy. In lieu of a response, he threw it at me, and it was only my quick wand reflexes that prevented my beard from becoming brown. When I asked him why he would do such a thing, he told me to sod off and stomped to his room. I am only thankful his behavior didn't upset Ariana, as she was occupied with sculpting flowers in her potatoes.
I try, Elphias. I try every day to get him to confide in me. I ask him about his goats, about the garden, I ask after his health, but the only reward for my concern is disdainful silence. If I want civilized conversation, I must leave my home, and when I allow myself even that small respite, Aberforth goes from silent to venomous. The only time we do talk is if the subject is Ariana. Gellert has suggested that Aberforth is jealous of our new friendship, but how could this be if he has shown no signs of jealousy towards my friends in the past? I pay Gellert no more attention than I did you when we were at Hogwarts.
Have I told you that he has offered to leave school so that I might quit Godric's Hollow? I did not entertain accepting his foolish gesture for a moment. To think he would be willing to forego his education in order to be rid of me! The meaning behind this strikes me to the core.
Why does he hate me so? What am I supposed to have done in order to so thoroughly earn his ire? I am, for one of the only times in my life, at a complete loss.
Ariana, at least, is content. I have noticed that she does not go into hysterics as frequently as she once did. The only recent incident was due to my own carelessness at mentioning the word "Muggle" in her presence. The poor girl panicked because she could not understand the meaning of the word even when I explained it to her. Gellert was forced to use a calming charm on her when her back was turned, lest she set the garden on fire for the third time this month. However, that incident was only one in a space of two weeks. I believe the increased freedom that I have granted her to be the catalyst in that change in temperament. Why, only yesterday she accompanied me to the river and caught frogs while Gellert and I conversed on the rocks.
Write me if you are admitted to Iram. I am eager to learn of their style of magic. I shall be desolate if you do not provide a detailed description of the main school, the alchemists at work, the oasis, and the Sumerian-based incantations they're supposedly researching. You do not want to be responsible for causing me agony, I am sure.
Until then I remain your friend,
Albus
*
Notes
Iram of the Pillars, long thought by Muggles to have vanished under the sands of the Rub' al-Khali (Empty Quarter) in the Arabian Peninsula, is the center of magical learning in the Middle East. Once Iram served as center of trade for frankincense merchants both Muggle and magical, who depended upon Iram's oasis for rest on their arduous trip through the desert. Increased desertification of the Rub' al-Khali and the loss of several surrounding oases caused the city to be all but impossible for Muggles to reach. Iram then became the chosen sanctuary for the Ubar people, who once openly practiced magic until forced to go into hiding around the first century C.E., long before the witches and wizards of the western world. In 1899, Iram was famous for its strides forward in the fields of Alchemy, Astronomy, Divination, and Proto-Magical Linguistics. Dumbledore himself spent two years there following the death of Ariana, and while there, began his work with his most famous partner, Nicholas Flamel.
Magic used in the Middle East, parts of West Asia, and North Africa through the Sahara is based on Coptic rather than Latin. There is a prevailing theory that it is the oldest form of magic in the world. However, archeological evidence suggests that the Mesopotamians, the earliest known civilization and creators of the first known written alphabet, cuneiform, practiced an even older magic that had its roots in Sumerian. During Dumbledore's time, three Iramian scholars were engaged in researching the mechanics of Sumerian Magic based on their translations of extant cuneiform tablets (see Lost Magic: Sumerian as the Precursor of the Coptic System by Muhammad al Ghazali, Salah 'abd al Jabbar, and Tariq 'abd al Qahhar, 1911). However, this was not widely publicized at the time. It is unknown how Dumbledore came by his information.
Djinns are semi-intelligent magical creatures native to the Arabian Desert. As prey animals, they have developed the ability to cast extraordinarily convincing illusions in order to confuse their predators. When confronted by humans, they are able to babble in any tongue, promising to grant a wish to the person who lets them go free. Inevitably, the wished-for object vanishes as soon as the djinn has reached safety. Djinns are prized for their luminescent skin and their claws, which are used as cores in wand-making.
Elphias Doge did not reach his destination. After being tricked by a djinn, he became separated from his traveling party, and was forced to wander the desert in search of aid. Instead of finding help, however, he was attacked by ghul.
Ghilan (singular: ghul), also native to the Arabian Desert, are the main predators of the djinn. Though distant relatives of the common European house ghoul, they are far more dangerous. They are shapeshifters, able to contort their bodies into the guise of carnivorous animals, such as the hyena, in order hunt, kill, and devour their prey. One curious characteristic of the ghul is that it does not subsist on the meat of its prey, but rather the blood, which also grants it the ability to shift its shape into the last creature whose blood it drank. The ghul that attacked Elphias Doge was in the form of a young man.
"He offered me a drink, and I bloody well took it. What would you have done, died of thirst on the sands of the desert?" says Doge. "I hardly even noticed he'd begun to strangle me until I'd drained the flask."
Luckily for Doge, his cries for help attracted the attention of a passing bedouin, who saved him from his untimely fate. Unluckily for Doge, however, the bedouin man had also spotted him performing a fire charm. He insisted that he accompany him back to his tribe in order to perform 'miracles' for his family.
"They didn't treat me poorly per se," says Doge. "But it was fairly exasperating to have to perform aguamenti and what not ten times a day. I think that's how my fingers became permanently pruney."
The bedouins released Doge after two weeks, when he burst into tears at the sight of a flying carpet.
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3608/30 = 120 points for Slytherin according to the lovely easels
Ses//Slytherin//gettin' her first points of the term, shyeah
hope you likes :D