Albus Dumbledore sat in his office doing paperwork. He supressed a groan as he moved one roll of parchment to his 'Out' tray - where it promptly disappeared only for another to appear in its place. Merlin, he hated paperwork.
After the death of Ariana and Gellert's leaving, all Albus wanted to do was be a teacher at Hogwarts and do magical research in his free time. He loved seeing young minds absorbing information and discovering new magic in equal measures. He hadn't wanted to fight Gellert but the Ministry said they needed his help and so he went. After the fighting stopped, all he wanted was to go back to the teaching and research that made him happy. But the people just wouldn't let him.
First it was the public cry that made him Headmaster after Dippet's retirement in 1956. Popular sentiment all but forced the Board of Governors to make their hero-professor the new Headmaster. Deputy Headmaster Wencit, who had been next in line for the position was disappointed but understood Albus had not campaigned for the job. The old Care of Magical Creatures professor stayed on for a bit to help his former subordinate learn his new job.
Then in 1962, they told him they needed him to be Britain's new representative to the ICW, a position much like that of an ambassador to the Muggle United Nations. It was only an occasional position they told him. Plus his acclaim as the Defeater of Gindelwald would guarantee a high level of respect from the other delegates. Since he had already turned down several attempts to place him as Minister of Magic, Albus acquiesced to the role of ICW Mugwump in order to quiet the demands.
To his surprise he found he enjoyed the debates and compromises that typified ICW meetings. He quickly became known as a peacemaker and arbitrator but with the magical power to back up his quiet words. Still, he was shocked when several normally conflicting nations joined to make him Chief Mugwump in 1967. Since it allowed him to successfully settle a long running argument between the American Department of Magic and the Canadian Ministry of Magic and stop a border war between the Russian Ministry and the Chinese Magical Imperium, he agreed to the position.
Between his roles as Headmaster and Supreme Mugwump, Albus felt his plate was full. He convinced himself that the sacrifice of his time was for 'the Greater Good'. His secret shame of what Gellert had done with their ideas and the tragic death of Ariana drove him to do his best in the two roles as his own personal penance. Privately he admitted it was It was only with the help of then-Deputy Headmaster Davis and a young professor named McGonagall, that Hogwarts was kept running smoothly. An assistant at the ICW managed the day to day affairs there while Albus was resident at the school.
However with the rise of Tom, Albus felt he had to actively counter his former student. No one else had the power to do so. The war was long and seemingly hopeless. No matter what the Light did, Tom's forces managed to slip away while inflicting significant damage on the Ministry and the Order of the Phoenix. Then came the Prophecy. It was like a sudden burst of light in a dark room. Here was hope but it was in the form of an infant child. Would they have to wait until the child was an adult before Tom was defeated? Albus made arrangements to protect both of the Prophecy's possible candidates that he'd identified. (There was always a small, remote chance that the Prophecy referred to another child but there was nothing to be done for that.)
Then in a single night, the war was over. Albus did what he could to assist the Ministry but he'd had the Potter child to place and the mystery of what had happened to Tom to unravel. So, he'd been distracted when many of the Death Eaters bribed their way out of Azkaban - and poor Sirius had been sent there without even a trial. That was when several of his allies on the Wizengamot approached him in 1984 and demanded that if he still refused to be Minister than he should take the role of Chief Warlock to reign in some of the Ministry's excesses. They said no one else had the reputation, power, and political clout to fill the role. As Supreme Mugwump, Albus had the clout and international reputation to make a difference. So in the end he acquiesced.
So, because Albus Dumbledore had an inability to truly say 'No' when someone presented him with a situation and he had the ability to make a difference, he was stuck here doing the paperwork for what should have been three separate full-time jobs.
And he hated it. He would be 114 years old this year. Most of his old school mates were either retired or dead. Yet here he worked the jobs of three younger men and now had to deal with Tom's return and the burden placed on young Harry as well. Albus often thought about retiring from one or more of his positions but was afraid to do so. Call it hubris, but he didn't see anyone else that could step into his roles and pick-up his work. Lucius Malfoy was the leading candidate to replace him as Chief Warlock and that would be an unmitigated disaster.
Sometimes he watched the ducks on the Black Lake. He could feel for them. All calm and placid on the surface but meanwhile their webbed feet were paddling like mad underneath.
A quiver in the wards at the Gargoyle statue below announced the arrival of Harry Potter. He was not surprised to feel the signatures of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin following him. He was slightly surprised to feel Ms Granger, Ms Patil, Ms Greengrass, Mr Weasley, and Mr McMillan following along behind them.
"Come in, Mr Potter and guests," Albus called just as they reached the door to his office. Harry opened the door and stepped into the room followed by Sirius, Remus and his friends.
"Good morning all," Albus greeted them. "I am rather surprised to see you all here this morning as I only asked for Mr Potter and Mr Black."
"Well, I haven't told them everything that happened yet and I didn't want to do it twice," Harry answered as he settled into a chair. "Besides, I'll tell them everything you tell me anyhow so it seemed a time-saver all the way around." Albus didn't really like that but saw no way around it. He couldn't force Harry to keep their conversation a secret and he did need to know what had really happened in that graveyard.
"Very well, Harry. The Ministry people were rather put out by your disappearance last night. Madam Pomfrey led them to believe that she'd removed you as their time was up and you needed to rest." Harry and his friends smiled at that. Albus couldn't help the answering smile. "Yes, I was impressed with her ability to distract and confuse on your behalf. They will be back later today with their questions. But could you please tell me all that happened last night after you were abducted?" Harry shook his head no.
"First I have some questions for you, professor."
"Questions for me? Whatever for?" Albus asked in honest confusion.
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