Chapter 36: Headmaster Meets Princess
The days leading up to the end of term passed as a blur to everyone, Dumbledore included. Cedric was swiftly moved to St. Mungo's. Splinching was a nasty thing, and Cedric had gotten the worst of it, especially with how dark magic slowed the healing process. Thankfully, none of Cedric's brain had been damaged in the process, not that it fixed the rest of the damage. Madame Pomfrey had voiced concern over the boy's nerves, citing how he may not be able to walk or hold a wand properly for a long time, if ever. Dumbledore planned to inform the students of Cedric's condition fully on the end-of-term feast. But Cedric wasn't the only thing on his mind.
When Twilight returned him from the graveyard, Dumbledore contacted Kingsley immediately to direct him to the imprisoned Death Eaters. By dawn, the place was swarmed with aurors, who rounded up every last statue and imprisoned them. Each statue took days, possibly weeks to free, despite Twilight's weakening of the spell. It would probably be months before everyone was unfrozen. However, those Death Eaters who were freed first were thrown in Azkaban less than a few days later. Almost all of those who were restored swore Voldemort had returned, but they were silenced in Azkaban. Those who would likely plead innocence were to be released later.
Thankfully, suspicion would put them under too much pressure to serve Voldemort for now. The headlines of "Pardoned Death Eaters Under Arrest" had been the talk of the school all day. As Dumbledore had suspected, the Ministry repressed the truth on the matter, scrubbing Voldemort's influence from the events. According to the papers, Barty Crouch Jr. orchestrated a meeting and dueled several "accused" Death Eaters under the banner of working for a "supposedly" revived dark lord.
The Slytherins had taken the news worst, having already started fights with anyone who had asked about the arrests. Dumbledore secretly pitied them, knowing those who weren't sent to Azkaban would eventually tell their family the story of that night. Seeing the results of Twilight's power up close was... frightening, even six days later.
Twilight had been stuck in his head, always coming back. The longer he thought about explanations to her, the less sense she made. Everything she said suggested she wanted to help Harry, to defeat Voldemort, but Dumbledore knew that someone with so much power had to have an ulterior motive. But Dumbledore couldn't think of one that made sense. And the worst part of it all was Twilight's connection to Harry. Twilight had known him longer than anyone else, her words held more value to him than Dumbledore's, Sirius's, or even his other friends. If Twilight told Harry to betray them, Dumbledore had no doubt he'd do it. Dumbledore wanted the best for that boy, but he wouldn't deny that he was paranoid about what she meant for the Boy Who Lived. Harry and Voldemort were entwined by fate and prophecy, their futures were still undecided. Twilight Sparkle could shift their fates in a way Dumbledore couldn't foresee.
Dumbledore was brought out of his musings by a loud knocking on the door. He was briefly startled and looked outside the window to see the sun had crested the horizon. He then looked at the calendar, seeing the date to be the first day of July, the last day of term. He must have been in his office all night, again. And the feast would be starting soon.
The knocking was at the door again, and Dumbledore waved his wand, opening the door. Twilight Sparkle walked through, alone. She had stayed at Hogwarts until the Sunday after the task came around, with a promise to return on Friday. As of now, her bag wasn't on her, so neither was her Element. She was walking carefully with measured steps. Her entrance to the Ball was elegant, but this was cautious.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, do you have a moment?" she asked stiffly.
"Yes, I suppose I do. I ought to be at the end-of-term feast soon, but I have some time. Do you require something?" he replied.
Twilight straightened her back, standing with a little more authority.
"Princess Celestia wishes to talk to you before school starts," she declared quickly.
"Is she available to talk now?" Dumbledore asked. "My responsibiliteis will require me elsewhere very soon."
"Now is a fine time," a melodious voice chimed from the spiral staircase.
A tall adult woman walked up the spiral staircase. Like Twilight, her skin was an odd color. It was white with a faint pink hue, but not in a way that looked unhealthy or haughty. Her hair was a multi-colored collage of light cerulean, turquoise, cobalt, and heliotrope; it flowed in the air like a river. Her eyes were a wise and piercing purple. She wore a long sleeveless white dress with golden edges that seemed to drift in a nonexistent breeze, like her hair. A stylized image of the Sun was displayed on the sides of the dress. Golden bracelets decorated her wrists, along with sleeves that ended before her shoulder. A golden necklace with a purple gemstone hung from her neck. And, topping it all off, was a golden crown with a matching gem. Celestia looked every part the royal Twilight had claimed she was.
"My apologies for inconveniencing your day with my arrival, but I needed to talk before this school year ends." Princess Celestia said. Her voice sounded young for one who might have been very old.
Dumbledore rose from his seat to look the princess in the eyes.
"How fortunate that you caught me on the last day to do so. We have time to converse before my duties as headmaster take me," Dumbledore replied.
"Excellent. This shouldn't take long at all," Celestia commented. She turned to her student. "Thank you for the directions, Twilight; you may leave us now. Why don't you go wait for Harry to wake up before he heads to the end-of-term feast?" the Princess commanded. Twilight left the room with a little bow, leaving Dumbledore and Celestia alone. The two walked to Dumbledore's desk and sat down.
"You had something to discuss, your highness?" Dumbledore inquired politely. Politics wasn't a fun game, but he could play it well enough.
"Yes, I did. First, I would like to apologize on Discord's behalf. He overstepped his bounds in sending my student to you. He has been informed of his error," Celestia apologized. "Secondly, I must apologize for Celeste's... overzealous mindset. She takes her responsibilities very seriously. Visiting your government might have proven a mistake after all."
Dumbledore squinted slightly. The debacle with Celeste had thrown the Ministry into a frenzy. Dumbledore wisely kept his accidental involvement unsaid. As of now, the DMLE was scouring all over for any clues. As Supreme Mugwump, Dumbledore had to attend an emergency meeting in which the international community had tried to turn inside out to accuse everyone else of the disappearance. It was regarded as the greatest theft since Gringotts was broken into in nineteen-ninety-one. As far as he could tell, Celestia was the one responsible, with Celeste acting as her voice.
"Your representative has caused quite a few headaches with her stunt. The disappearances only made it worse," Dumbledore said.
"Yes, I suppose that was to be expected. However, we took their safety very seriously. Their relocation was for their own good. I assure you, they are much happier in their rightful homes."
Dumbledore quirked an eyebrow in response. "Their rightful homes? My lady, these species have been around for thousands of years. The wider wizarding international community has not taken kindly to this kidnapping."
Celestial shook her head. "On the contrary, unicorns and the rest are descendants of Equestrian species. Their ancestral home is Equestria, which is why they were returned. The spell did not affect centaurs, who rejected our offer for their own reasons. The choice was present. They are returned to a place where they can be sapient creatures again. They came here through an unstable method, they lost a part of themselves as a result. We were merely rectifying it. There was nothing malicious about my actions," she said with measured words.
"Not very popular actions," Dumbledore countered.
"Is permission needed to save innocent lives? Firefighters do not ask if you want a fire put out, they do it," Celestia declared sagely, yet firmly. "But I didn't come to discuss those actions, there are more vital details to review. There is an important matter to discuss regarding one of your students. I believe you know which one."
"You mean Harry Potter? I hope he hasn't caused any trouble for your people," Dumbledore said. Internally, he was a little nervous at another person from Equestria asking about the boy.
"As we both know, a wizard attempted to return. And while he poses no immediate danger, least of all to my people, he will always pose a significant threat to Harry. My most faithful student has become quite attached to him, and there is a certain charm about him," Celestia noted. "It is for this reason that Twilight requested I offer him protection for the summer," she revealed.
Dumbledore started but recovered his form. Was that her motive? To have another watch over Harry instead of the Dursleys during the summer, thus ending the blood wards he had so carefully constructed to protect the boy?
"I assure you, Harry is safe from harm. There is powerful magic that safeguards his home. So long as he is underage and that magic remains intact, he cannot be harmed," Dumbledore explained.
"By Voldemort, you mean. He cannot be harmed by Voldemort," Celestia countered. "I don't know how aware of this you are, but Harry is never safe with that wretched family. While they may refrain from physical injuries, Harry's emotional state is nothing short of a miracle." Celestia waved her hand and several pieces of paper popped into existence. "Twilight was kind enough to lend me her letters from Harry. These tell a different story. His harm is from neglect. He has had food withheld from him, been locked in a cupboard, forced to degrade his personal value, and demeaned for years on end. By all accounts, Harry should have crippling depression. This is a serious matter." She held up one particular piece of paper, handing it to Dumbledore. "And I think you knew about it."
Dumbledore looked down at the paper, a letter.
Mr. H. Potter
The Cupboard under the Stairs
4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey
"Cupboard under the Stairs?" Celestia echoed the words with mild fascination. "What an odd place for a child to live; wouldn't you agree?"
Dumbledore reread the envelope again. This was Harry's first Hogwarts letter. How did she—
"When Harry couldn't keep ahold of the letters for long, he managed to send one to my student. Needless to say, I was shocked to know he lived in a cupboard, how about you?" she scowled with thinly veiled anger. Another set of papers was set on his desk, letters between Harry and Twilight. "On at least one occasion he was threatened with no food for a week. A week. An eleven-year-old isn't meant to survive that. Now tell me why Harry is 'safe' there," Celestia demanded coldly.
Dumbledore sighed. He should have known this confrontation was inevitable. Molly Weasley had been expressing a similar argument since Harry's second year, and Sirius had been insisting Harry be moved to Grimmauld Place since he and Dumbledore started talking. Even after he had explained that Mrs. Figg was keeping an eye on him and the purpose of the wards, both of them had been reluctant. But, hopefully, as a head of state, Celestia would see reason for making difficult decisions.
"Did no one check on the boy in ten years to confirm he was safe, that he was happy?" Celestia demanded with rising anger.
"On occasion, yes Mrs. Figg, a squib, is charged with ensuring no harm came to him. She regrets being callous with the boy, but it is the only way she could be near him."
Dumbledore recognized the restrained anger in Celestia's posture. She was upset; she didn't understand why Dumbledore did what he did. A dangerous gleam lit in Celestia's eyes.
"Then you are complacent in his mistreatment! I demand to know why he still lives with these monsters!" Celestia roared with tremendous volume and authority.
"I assure you, there is no other option!" Dumbledore justified his words with as much volume and bravery as he could muster. "The reason Harry lives with his relatives is the powerful blood wards in place. So long as he stays with a blood relative, Voldemort and his followers cannot harm him there," Dumbledore insisted.
Celestia went silent. The fire in her eyes dimmed slightly and her hair's movements slowed.
"These wards make some sense, though I do not like that they require a relative," she said after a long moment. Dumbledore felt a wave of calm wash over him. "However, that is no reason to allow such brutality to go unchecked," she scathed.
The wave of calm was washed away.
"Your majesty, try to understand the necessity of my actions. Harry needed protection no one else could offer. No one else can guarantee the boy's safety."
"Yet all I can see is how little has been done to curb their behavior. It's for this exact reason that Twilight and I wish to have Harry relocated to Equestria for the protection and care that I can offer," she decreed.
Dumbledore's eyebrows shot into the air. Of all things, he had not expected her to say this. Demanding Harry Potter be transferred to her country and jurisdiction? It was outrageous!
"I'm afraid that's just not possible. Harry wouldn't be safe there, I cannot allow it. Transferring him would be illegal. You would incite the full power of the Wizengamot court, of which I am Chief Warlock," Dumbledore issued his ultimatum. He wished it hadn't come to this, but he couldn't allow Harry to be moved away from the only protective measure available.
Across from him, Princess Celestia closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I understand your reluctance, but I guarantee you Harry will be safer in Equestria. There are threats there, yes, but he will have friends who can protect him. Voldemort cannot harm him there," Celestia said softly. "But I do understand your fears."
"Then you understand why I cannot let him go," Dumbledore replied.
Celestia stood up suddenly and walked over to the window, arms clasped behind her back. She gazed straight at the sun, the bottom of which had already passed far over the recently reformed mountain. Celestia sighed sadly.
"Loss is a powerful thing, but it won't grant you clarity. I lost my sister once, many moons ago, to an evil called Nightmare Moon," Celestia revealed. "As Princess of the Day, I take responsibility for the kingdom when the sun is risen. My people celebrated the defeat of Nightmare Moon during the Summer Sun Celebration, the day I lost my sister. And yet, whenever I saw the sunrise I was reminded of what I lost. My sister loved her beautiful night skies."
Dumbledore nodded solemnly behind her, understanding the impact of losing a sister. Even now, Ariana's death haunted him and Aberforth. Losing family was a terrible loss.
"It is hard to deal with loss when you are confronted by something as inevitable as the sunrise," Dumbledore said.
He noticed an odd look overcome Celestia's eyes.
"Tell me, Headmaster, what time does the sun rise here?" Celestia asked out of the blue.
"About six o'clock," Dumbledore said. "It should be about half-past eight." He then glanced at a small magical clock on his wall and read the time.
Six thirty.
Dumbledore blinked owlishly at the clock, certain he had misread the time. The sun was high in the sky, there's no way it could've been half past six.
"Then it is as I suspected," Celestia said. "My presence here created a disturbance in the natural balance of your sky. Do not worry, I have already prevented the rest of your world from seeing what we are witnessing, and I will correct it," Celestia said off-handedly. The princess gently raised a hand to reach out to the horizon.
"Prevented the world from seeing what?" Dumbledore asked warily.
"You'll see. But, as I was saying, some days I could barely stand to watch the sun rise, despite my duties. Some days, I wished the sun would never rise."
Celestia lowered her hand, and Dumbledore's world shattered with what followed.
The sun moved backward. It dropped from its rising perch over the mountains, dipping lower over the horizon. The sky darkened as day turned to dawn, and dawn turned to night as the star glowed above them. Celestia's hand stopped moving, and the night sky's rapidly shifting ground to a halt. Celestia absent-mindedly flicked her hand, reversing the sun's direction and raising it to the position Dumbledore's clock would've suggested, just at the horizon.
"But, alas, I had to be the one to raise and set our sun and moon, and I alone. I wanted to make the night longer, in memory of my sister, but I had to let go. My loss was less important than their happiness." Celestia let her head drop, just a little. "Believe me when I say I will do everything in my power to keep Harry safe, I wouldn't let my most faithful student feel the same pain I once did. You can let him go," Celestia spoke.
Dumbledore, meanwhile, found there was nothing he could say. His body was tense, frozen solid, hand clenched around his wand in shock. Twilight's display was astounding, but this, moving the sun itself, was unfathomable! And what she said about her mere presence causing the sun to move out of place and how she had corrected the appearance to all but the immediate area spoke magnitudes.
Harry's claim that some called Celestia the 'Goddess of Equestria' and 'Diety of the Sun' made considerably more sense. Control over the Sun, what power! But that only begged more questions to be answered. How does one obtain the power to change the sky and time? Was it natural to her or learned? Why had someone this powerful never been heard of before?
Most wizards didn't believe in deities or higher powers, but could Celestia be one? A goddess among mortals? Were there others like her?
Such was Dumbledore's downward spiral that he failed to notice when the Elder Wand fell from his hand. It bounced once, twice, then rolled away from him. It tumbled down the steps, coming to rest at Celestia's feet as though by a will of its own. The princess took notice of this and picked the wand up, inspecting it with an unnaturally keen gaze. Dumbledore froze as she held it.
"Hm... interesting. Elder wood and... thestral hair? For its age, it's in pristine condition. And there's some power behind it, too. It doesn't just channel magic, it enhances it. Potent, but that does explain its hunger. An interesting item. I wonder what made it," Celestia said, inspecting the craftsmanship. She then walked over to Dumbledore's table and placed his wand back on the table.
"Oh, and about the sun," Celestia said, pointing out the window, "sorry about that. You needn't worry, no one outside the castle saw it."
Dumbledore wasn't paying any mind to that. He picked his wand— the Elder Wand— back up. The wand still felt as it always had in his hands. But that was even scarier; for in the briefest of moments his wand had abandoned him. The Elder Wand craved for a stronger master and yet, in that fleeting moment, it had forsaken him for another of its own vocation. Was the gap between him and Celestia that vast? But with Celestia's handling of it, the wand seemed to have scampered back to him once she rejected it. Dumbledore knew she was aware of its power, and she dismissed it like a toy, a plaything.
"You are a wise man with experience. In many ways, you remind me of my old mentor, Star Swirl," Celestia spoke calmly and with authority. "But surely you are wise enough to know I speak the truth. Will you allow Harry to be with his friends or not?" she demanded.
Dumbledore sighed tiredly. He realized now that Celestia asking was but a formality, like Celeste at the Ministry. She fully intended to take Harry with her from the start. No one knew where Equestria was, and no one could rival this power over the sun. Now the only course of action was to remain on the princess's good side.
A thought occurred to Dumbledore. Could I trust her? Her student was the reason Harry lived that night. If she is to take Harry in, perhaps I can trust her with more information...
"Can you promise he will be safe?" Dumbledore asked.
"Safer than with his 'family'? Without a doubt," Celestia promised.
"Alright," Dumbledore agreed. He had conceded this fight, and Celestia had won. "When school is over, you may take Harry to Equestria."
"Perfect. His friends will be so happy," Celestia smiled.
"But," Dumbledore made one last request, "there are things you must know about Harry and Voldemort. I tell you this because I think you will understand just how vital this is. Voldemort and the boy are connected in ways few others could be. It starts with the prophecy—"
"A prophecy," Celestia corrected. "It would appear Harry has a lot more to live up to."
"You've seen his future?" Dumbledore asked, surprised. Apparently, Celestia knew more about Harry than she let on.
"I plan to tell him if he wishes to know," Celestia said. "So let's talk."
"One secret for another," Dumbledore said. "Ones Harry will not know."
"That will always remain his choice. When you live as long as I have, you learn that honesty serves better in the long term."
"On that, we disagree. I'm willing to put that aside, for the boy's sake."
"Agreed. Let's start with that prophecy of yours..."
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fuck I hate when that bitch touches our sun Id kill the bitch just for that and yes she here is a bitch a judgment Argonaut one that straight-up only got power with no understanding of how stupid she is heres hoping Voldemort can cut her head off
I wnder what method Celestia used to change the relative position of the sun, and which external space probes were affected by sun tracking orientation or data connection loss through rotation of Earth or variable refractive index of upper atmosphere diverting the light around or many other system wide continous measurement systems?
Will be intresting seeing how GPS wasnt affected given the rediculous accuracy of the sensitivity of the timing of the 3D mesh of signals, even before Differential GPS for measuring continental drift as it occurs. The speed of fingernail growing.?
11677252
Looks like somebody's whole family got murdered by Celestia. Cute.
11677252
Is that sort of comment truly necessary? If you don't like the character, fine, but don't be spiteful about it in your comments. It goes against EVERYTHING this community stands for (in my opinion at least).
I'm on the side that Dumbledore should have done more to ensure Harry's comfort with the Dursleys. I also understand that he seems to juggle more responsibilities than one man can handle on his own. Between making sure Harry is ready to fulfill the prophecy, being the headmaster of a school, and being a politician, I would figure that he would be more overwhelmed than he thinks he is. I can only imagine the look on Celestia's face when she finds out that one or more Death Eaters were on the school board.
Frankly, it would be better for so many people involved if Dumbledore were to resign as headmaster so he can focus on his political duties. At least Minerva would prioritize student safety like a proper headmaster should.
It makes sense if nothing Celestia has been alive over 10times longer than Dumbledore
11677252
The real bitch is the elder wand. Ho ain't loyal.
Damn, she flexed hard on Dumbledore.
Thanks for the chapter !
11677446
Yes. Yes she does.
11677417
Dash is disappointed in Wand.
11677303
Same question. Time it took for her to realize what happened is enough for equipment to notice.
11677252
Dear Faust. This is very unpony and unfriendship.
There’s power and then there’s Power. I despised how the show nerfed Celestia and Luna. She controls the Sun! At the very least she’s the equivalent of Apollo, probably more powerful because she took on her sister's domain for a thousand winters. Dumbledore is a Merlin. Celestia is goddess even though she down plays it. It’s nice to see her flex her muscles now and again when mere mortals dabble in hubris.
11677550
I saw a comment once that said the most dangerous thing wasn't raw power, but immortality. Everypony knows Celestia for their whole lives, a universal constant, a permanent fixture. But yes, her power over the heavens makes her a goddess by most people's standards, which is what made this so interesting.
11677525
Everything you said is correct.
11677303
Exactly two satellites were looking at the sun at this time, Yohkoh and Ulysses. They were in the last half of their lifespans, where complications were common. I'd assume it'd register as a glitch, as none of the registered instruments could pick up more than a solar flare, and even then were still vulnerable. Muggles in the HP universe are ignorant of magic, they wouldn't think much of it.
11677345
That's my complaint with bashing fics. He had reasons, albeit not good ones. Rowling wrote Dumbledore as important. But the more powerful he is, the more things become his fault. Mrs. Figg watched Harry, so Dumbledore had to have known. If Rowling hadn't written this, Dumbledore could've been unaware the whole time.
If Dumbledore has power, then it's his fault. The only way to not make him complicit is to make him ignorant, which makes Dumbledore less important. See the problem?
11677446
Thanks! She needed a good stretch, she hasn't done anything cool since Nightmare Moon.
11677417
That wand needs an intervention.
11677901
Its suprising how accurate some stuff had to be even back in the early 90s. Astronomical observations of pulsars via radio telescopes can run day and night, and are far more accurate than mere CD Audio recovery which at over 1 million bits per second, can have clock transition errors measured in picoseconds, or positional variation in photons of millimeters? At least I think thats what the CD playback software description was saying.
I have this nagging suspicion that the timing fr detonation sequences is somewhat more accurate and is getting to the poiint where it might be affected by too strong energy fields.
Then again, if Celestia is putting out an energy field of that stength, its likely being stood next to a triggerd implosion detonation might actually be the least of your problems.
11682460
I think suspicious/paranoid are better words. Harry nearly died a few hours prior. Sirius was friendly with (teasing) Twilight at the beginning of the chapter, and turned rude after Harry said Twilight saved him. I think his attitude is well within his established character. He's jaded from 12 years in Azkaban.
11681965
From Harry Potter fandom dot com:
What we can glean from the source material is that a person needs skill, power, and most of all intent. Not necessarily in equal proportions because Vincent Crabbe was able to use the spell. Crabbe may be lacking in skill but he did have sufficient power, and he definitely had intent. Barty Crouch Jnr honestly believed that the students would lack both the power and the skill necessary to cast the spell. He is presumedly well acquainted with the spell and should understand it better than most. Children would not likely be able to use it against adults. From this, we can surmise that adults would not likely be able to use it against someone like Twilight Sparkle who is basically a demigod.
Yeah no! I just got around to reading this now that more chapters are in it and the whole moving earth's sun is bullshit. My head-cannon will be she effected sunlight in a small area around her. If she moved the sun(1.3 MILLION times the size of earth BTW) that'd just be silly, also realllly fuck up the whole solar system(all the planets and the asteroids in the system) not just earth. If she moved/rotated the earth(still ridiculous)(also would fuck with our plate tectonics, magnetic fields, and atmosphere) humans all over the globe would've picked up on it unless she temporally mind-manipulated billions of animals/humans. It makes sense in her dimension cause popular opinion is that space doesn't exist there(pocket dimension?), the sun is the size of a moon, or is some massive magic spell circle she powers in the sky. Anyway will continue reading just with my own head-cannon in place for that event.
11739950
Trust me, it's as much of a headache for me. I took it as literal for simplicity's sake. And for all we know, maybe she does manipulate the appearance of the sun (not the sun itself) but from eveyone's point of view the sun itself is being moved. Besides, the point isn't whether or not the sun is being moved, but rather if characters (ie, Dumbledore) believe it. It doesn't do much so the story in terms of anything else, so I find it a detail not to overthink.
11740268
You know, one thing always strikes me when people talk about how powerful Celestia is due to being able to move the sun. By that measure, Luna is logarithmically more powerful seeing as she rearranges the night sky when she is bored. You know, rearranging distant suns. Moving them astronomical distances so they appear in different positions in the night sky. In perspective "Oh Celestia is so powerful! She can lift a Ford Anglia from five feet away." Meanwhile Luna is tossing around office buildings on the other side of town as if they were beach balls caught in a hurricane.
Then there is the problem with the speed of light...
I'm just saying...