No challenge; The Letters of Albus Dumbledore, 10
Happy Thursday! :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: shelly-wa of fanfiction.net
Rating/Warnings: PG for suggestive...ness
Medium: multi-chapter ongoing fic
Word Count: 1271
July 2nd, 1899
Dear Gellert,
I have searched through my books for hours and have finally found it - my first edition Tales of Beedle the Bard in the original runes! What you told me of the Hallows caused a spark to ignite in my memory of the Tale of the Three Brothers, and it seems my recollection was correct. Your telling of the tale differs from the original! Have a look - I marked the relevant passages in pencil. I believe they are key to understanding of the Hallows at their roots.
Erase the marks when you've finished, please, and do let me know what you've concluded. There is, I think, more than enough room left on this parchment for your opinion.
Yours in anticipation,
Albus
*
Albus-
The twilight detail is intriguing. It suggests that the Hallows are not inherently evil, as the 'midnight' hour of the current oral tale does. 'Twilight' is a friendly time. A calm time. A time of port in the study with one's closest companion. I am confident that Beedle was master enough of his craft to be precise in his word choice.
-Gellert
*
Dear Gellert,
Precisely! Tone is everything in fables. If we are to locate these Hallows, we must be confident that they were not known in Beedle's time as instruments of death. Though now that I think on it, 'Deathly Hallows' is quite the misnomer. How can an instrument be anything but a reflection of its wielder's intent?
Yes, I have decided to join you in your search for the Hallows. I, who insisted they were nothing more than children's stories. I imagine that you are positively gloating at my conversion. By all means, gloat further. I was a fool to be sceptical of you.
It was the Peverell headstone that finally persuaded me. The carving on the stone is unquestionably identical to the symbol on your amulet. To think I spent so much of my childhood here and never realized that the brothers of the story were the Peverells.
Why, one of the Hallows could still be here in this very village! We must discount the wand, unfortunately. There have been rumors on the continent that a well-known wandmaker has procured it, though I doubt any veracity in his claims. Still, it may be worth looking into once we begin our search in earnest. The cloak and the stone cannot have gone terribly far. The cloak, especially, I would not expect to have left Godric's Hollow. When one can cast a disillusionment charm with sufficient skill, one does not need a cumbersome cloak tripping one's steps. If we were to trace family lineages, we may be able to find both. I have a horrible vision of the stone as a piece heirloom jewelry, worn by frivolous aristocrats with no conception of its true worth. Take heart, Gellert! When we find the Hallows, they may be in shocking states!
Whether the stone is a necklace or the head of a cane, it should retain its properties. Who will you consult first amongst the dead once it is finally in our hands? Merlin? Wenlock? Paracelsus? I myself should like to question the Wizard who discovered wandmaking. How did he work out which trees were ideal for wand use? What led him to the idea of a wand's core? Did he and his peers practice bare-handed magic before the advent of wands? Imagine what we could discover from that encounter that has been lost to history. Perhaps we could learn to make our own unbeatable wands, though I daresay we will be canny enough not to crow about them to the envious world.
Yours in brotherhood,
Albus [Hallows symbol]
*
Albus-
Would that you were so enthusiastic when I told you of my expulsion from Durmstrang.
-Gellert
*
My Dear Gellert,
How many times must I apologise? You cannot have expected me to react with joy upon learning of such an injustice. The negativity you surmised in my demeanor was due to shock, not revulsion. I know you. I have spent enough time conversing with you to understand that you are far too intelligent to have been expelled for poor marks. No; it was the Durmstrang authorities' deliberate misinterpretation of the intent behind your work, driven by jealousy of your abilities, that led to your expulsion. Of this, I am confident.
Please do not believe I would judge you for your past, my friend. I adore the Gellert that was expelled, for if he were not, he would not have come to Godric's Hollow. How dull my life would have been without him! How desolate! How deprived!
There, I hope that will suffice. Will you do me the honor of forgiveness, Gellert, or shall I prostrate myself before you even further?
Yours in wretched regret,
Albus
*
Albus-
Your apology shall do for now, though I am not sure yet whether I should grant you forgiveness. I am, however, magnanimous. You shall have your chance to demonstrate to me once and for all the extent of your regret tomorrow in Mr. Wiggins' apple orchard. Meet me at our usual time.
-Gellert [Hallows symbol]
*
Dear Gellert,
I shall be there.
Yours,
Albus [Hallows symbol]
*
Notes
The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of Wizarding fairy tales written in the fifteenth century, C.E. by Beedle Bede. In the annotated edition of the tales, there is an essay by contemporary scholar Millicent Davies comparing the translation from the original runes by Hermione Granger-Weasley to the extant oral tales. The differences that Dumbledore and Grindelwald discuss in their letters have been the subject of much controversy between those who support the search for the Deathly Hallows and those who revile them.
Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus Peverell are thought to be the eponymous three brothers of the tale, and the original possessors of the Deathly Hallows. Ignotus, the youngest, was laid to rest in Godric's Hollow. The fates of Antioch and Cadmus are unknown*. The family is now extinct in the male line.
Merlin Ambrosius, who assisted the Muggle King Arthur during his reign in sixth century England, was a pioneering user of Charms and an extraordinarily powerful Wizard. He believed that Wizards should assist and protect Muggles, and founded the Order of Merlin to protect Muggle rights.
Bridget Wenlock was an accomplished Arithmancer who lived during the thirteenth century. She was the first to prove the magical properties of the number seven. Today, she is considered the founder of modern Arithmancy.
Paracelsus, born Phillip Von Hohenheim, was a sixteenth century alchemist about whom little is known. It is thought that he introduced the use of minerals and metals to potions used in healing.
Windsor Wiggins was a neighbor of the Dumbledores famous in Godric's Hollow for the quality of his apples. His son, Archibald Wogan-Wiggins, attended Hogwarts five years behind Dumbledore. Mr. Wogan-Wiggins currently supervises the orchard. He enjoys Quidditch and well-ventilated robes.
*Unless one is to take the Beedle story at face value. Which, given the existence of the Elder Wand, one may (if one discounts the personification of death rubbish). -M.M.
1271/30 -> 42 points for Slytherin <3
Ses//Slytherin//Waiting on appropriate sigtags
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: shelly-wa of fanfiction.net
Rating/Warnings: PG for suggestive...ness
Medium: multi-chapter ongoing fic
Word Count: 1271
July 2nd, 1899
Dear Gellert,
I have searched through my books for hours and have finally found it - my first edition Tales of Beedle the Bard in the original runes! What you told me of the Hallows caused a spark to ignite in my memory of the Tale of the Three Brothers, and it seems my recollection was correct. Your telling of the tale differs from the original! Have a look - I marked the relevant passages in pencil. I believe they are key to understanding of the Hallows at their roots.
Erase the marks when you've finished, please, and do let me know what you've concluded. There is, I think, more than enough room left on this parchment for your opinion.
Yours in anticipation,
Albus
*
Albus-
The twilight detail is intriguing. It suggests that the Hallows are not inherently evil, as the 'midnight' hour of the current oral tale does. 'Twilight' is a friendly time. A calm time. A time of port in the study with one's closest companion. I am confident that Beedle was master enough of his craft to be precise in his word choice.
-Gellert
*
Dear Gellert,
Precisely! Tone is everything in fables. If we are to locate these Hallows, we must be confident that they were not known in Beedle's time as instruments of death. Though now that I think on it, 'Deathly Hallows' is quite the misnomer. How can an instrument be anything but a reflection of its wielder's intent?
Yes, I have decided to join you in your search for the Hallows. I, who insisted they were nothing more than children's stories. I imagine that you are positively gloating at my conversion. By all means, gloat further. I was a fool to be sceptical of you.
It was the Peverell headstone that finally persuaded me. The carving on the stone is unquestionably identical to the symbol on your amulet. To think I spent so much of my childhood here and never realized that the brothers of the story were the Peverells.
Why, one of the Hallows could still be here in this very village! We must discount the wand, unfortunately. There have been rumors on the continent that a well-known wandmaker has procured it, though I doubt any veracity in his claims. Still, it may be worth looking into once we begin our search in earnest. The cloak and the stone cannot have gone terribly far. The cloak, especially, I would not expect to have left Godric's Hollow. When one can cast a disillusionment charm with sufficient skill, one does not need a cumbersome cloak tripping one's steps. If we were to trace family lineages, we may be able to find both. I have a horrible vision of the stone as a piece heirloom jewelry, worn by frivolous aristocrats with no conception of its true worth. Take heart, Gellert! When we find the Hallows, they may be in shocking states!
Whether the stone is a necklace or the head of a cane, it should retain its properties. Who will you consult first amongst the dead once it is finally in our hands? Merlin? Wenlock? Paracelsus? I myself should like to question the Wizard who discovered wandmaking. How did he work out which trees were ideal for wand use? What led him to the idea of a wand's core? Did he and his peers practice bare-handed magic before the advent of wands? Imagine what we could discover from that encounter that has been lost to history. Perhaps we could learn to make our own unbeatable wands, though I daresay we will be canny enough not to crow about them to the envious world.
Yours in brotherhood,
Albus [Hallows symbol]
*
Albus-
Would that you were so enthusiastic when I told you of my expulsion from Durmstrang.
-Gellert
*
My Dear Gellert,
How many times must I apologise? You cannot have expected me to react with joy upon learning of such an injustice. The negativity you surmised in my demeanor was due to shock, not revulsion. I know you. I have spent enough time conversing with you to understand that you are far too intelligent to have been expelled for poor marks. No; it was the Durmstrang authorities' deliberate misinterpretation of the intent behind your work, driven by jealousy of your abilities, that led to your expulsion. Of this, I am confident.
Please do not believe I would judge you for your past, my friend. I adore the Gellert that was expelled, for if he were not, he would not have come to Godric's Hollow. How dull my life would have been without him! How desolate! How deprived!
There, I hope that will suffice. Will you do me the honor of forgiveness, Gellert, or shall I prostrate myself before you even further?
Yours in wretched regret,
Albus
*
Albus-
Your apology shall do for now, though I am not sure yet whether I should grant you forgiveness. I am, however, magnanimous. You shall have your chance to demonstrate to me once and for all the extent of your regret tomorrow in Mr. Wiggins' apple orchard. Meet me at our usual time.
-Gellert [Hallows symbol]
*
Dear Gellert,
I shall be there.
Yours,
Albus [Hallows symbol]
*
Notes
The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of Wizarding fairy tales written in the fifteenth century, C.E. by Beedle Bede. In the annotated edition of the tales, there is an essay by contemporary scholar Millicent Davies comparing the translation from the original runes by Hermione Granger-Weasley to the extant oral tales. The differences that Dumbledore and Grindelwald discuss in their letters have been the subject of much controversy between those who support the search for the Deathly Hallows and those who revile them.
Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus Peverell are thought to be the eponymous three brothers of the tale, and the original possessors of the Deathly Hallows. Ignotus, the youngest, was laid to rest in Godric's Hollow. The fates of Antioch and Cadmus are unknown*. The family is now extinct in the male line.
Merlin Ambrosius, who assisted the Muggle King Arthur during his reign in sixth century England, was a pioneering user of Charms and an extraordinarily powerful Wizard. He believed that Wizards should assist and protect Muggles, and founded the Order of Merlin to protect Muggle rights.
Bridget Wenlock was an accomplished Arithmancer who lived during the thirteenth century. She was the first to prove the magical properties of the number seven. Today, she is considered the founder of modern Arithmancy.
Paracelsus, born Phillip Von Hohenheim, was a sixteenth century alchemist about whom little is known. It is thought that he introduced the use of minerals and metals to potions used in healing.
Windsor Wiggins was a neighbor of the Dumbledores famous in Godric's Hollow for the quality of his apples. His son, Archibald Wogan-Wiggins, attended Hogwarts five years behind Dumbledore. Mr. Wogan-Wiggins currently supervises the orchard. He enjoys Quidditch and well-ventilated robes.
*Unless one is to take the Beedle story at face value. Which, given the existence of the Elder Wand, one may (if one discounts the personification of death rubbish). -M.M.
1271/30 -> 42 points for Slytherin <3
Ses//Slytherin//Waiting on appropriate sigtags