Chapter 77: Forging the Future
As night fell, the meeting concluded. The professors departed for their quarters, but Dumbledore asked Ryan to stay behind, citing a matter of importance.
"Isn't it getting a bit late, Headmaster?" Ryan asked wryly, pointedly recalling the last time Dumbledore had used that very excuse to dismiss him.
"Capturing Lord Voldemort is a cause worthy of an old man losing a night's sleep," Dumbledore replied.
"Capturing him?" Ryan was stunned. "You're planning a full-scale ambush to take him down for good?" Had the White Lord completely changed his philosophy? What about his long-term plan to nurture the saviour? Capturing Voldemort now would be an immense hassle, especially since he couldn't actually be killed. And besides, it would leave Harry Potter without a final thesis project. It seemed entirely unnecessary.
"Is that not what you were thinking as well?" Dumbledore asked, looking puzzled. "Why else would you have smiled at me in that way?"
"Ah," was all Ryan could say.
The two wizards stared at each other. I was just being polite, Ryan thought. This old man's mind was an intricate labyrinth; he could conjure meaning from thin air, a true king of overthinking.
Due to the hazy, fragmented memories of the original story still rattling around in his head, Ryan had never taken the three prophecies completely seriously. He was still operating under the assumption that the Hogwarts saga didn't end in a global apocalypse, so the Intel must be referring to minor setbacks. This thought flashed through his mind, but his rational side knew that the prophecies were the only thing that could have prompted such a drastic shift in Dumbledore's strategy.
"Even if we do manage to capture him, what then?" Ryan reasoned aloud. "Trying to make a wizard of his caliber obey our commands is less likely than a meteor falling from the sky and conveniently crushing the Dark Lord."
Dumbledore simply shook his head. "We must try." He then changed the subject. "But enough of that. Where do you intend to set up your alchemical factory? Tonight, I will assist you. We will ensure every component for the communicators is ready by dawn."
Ryan didn't ask why Dumbledore was offering his personal assistance. The answer was obvious: he wanted to set their plan in motion as soon as possible. Only now did Ryan fully grasp the profound impact the prophecies had on the Headmaster. For the first time, this patient educator, who normally delighted in guiding students toward redemption with a gentle hand, was in a hurry. The Dumbledore before him was not the all-knowing, unflappable sage, but a man under immense pressure.
This might be an opportunity, Ryan thought. Under the weight of this coming darkness, perhaps the Headmaster will be more receptive to some of my other plans. Normally, convincing Dumbledore would be a slow, painstaking process of attrition, but things were different now.
"What about the Room of Requirement?" Ryan suggested.
"Then let us go there at once."
The two left the Headmaster's office and made their way to the seventh floor.
The moment Dumbledore stepped through the door, he was startled by a massive, larger-than-life portrait of Ryan, dressed in the flamboyant robes of a master Diviner, hanging directly opposite the entrance. He shot a sidelong glance at the real Ryan, thinking that a man who hangs a giant portrait of himself in the center of his secret base might be just a little bit eccentric.
His eyes then scanned the rest of the vast room, which was neatly divided into several distinct zones.
"Feel free to look around, Headmaster. I just need to do some prep work," Ryan said, gesturing for Dumbledore to explore while he headed towards the shelves in the alchemy section.
Dumbledore accepted and began to wander through the space. He soon found himself in an area designated as a lounge. His attention was immediately drawn to a few small booklets lying on a table. He picked one up and began to read.
As Dumbledore became absorbed in the text, Ryan, in the alchemy section, deliberately slowed his preparations. He waited, calculating the time it would take for the Headmaster to finish the introduction and the feasibility analysis.
"Headmaster," he called out loudly. "I'm ready. We can begin the alchemy now."
He had to call out several more times before Dumbledore finally walked over, a slightly dazed and thoughtful expression still on his face.
Though his century-old worldview had been shaken, Dumbledore's skill in alchemy was as sublime as ever. With his help, the core components of the alchemical factory—a project that would have taken Ryan a month to complete on his own—were finished in a matter of hours.
"I'll be taking a day off tomorrow to scout for a production site," Ryan said as they packed everything away.
"A production site, a workshop, and a retail location? You think one day is enough for all that?" Dumbledore asked skeptically.
"More than enough," Ryan said with confidence. "Fortunately, I have friends in Diagon Alley and at the Ministry, and I'm not short on Galleons. Acquiring a business license and a deed shouldn't be too difficult."
"You plan to open the communicator shop in Diagon Alley?"
"It's the most bustling wizarding hub in the British Isles," Ryan said with a shrug. "There aren't many other options." Of course, Hogsmeade was also a possibility, but Ryan feared creating a generation of Hogwarts students addicted to their new devices, a crime for which Dumbledore would surely hold him accountable later. He decided to hold off on opening a Hogsmeade branch for at least the first couple of years.
The next day, Diagon Alley was as bustling as ever, a timeless scene of adult wizards and children not yet of school age browsing, shopping, and wandering through the crowded street. As Ryan made his way through the throng, he passed a narrow, dark alleyway from which a chilling draft emanated. The other shoppers instinctively gave it a wide berth, their eyes catching the blood-stained sign hanging on its wall.
"Knockturn Alley," he murmured with a faint smile, "still as notorious as ever."
He walked past the grim entrance and headed for a vacant lot three doors down to the right. A Ministry of Magic official was already waiting for him.
Normally, securing a storefront in Diagon Alley was a bureaucratic nightmare. It was certainly unheard of for a Ministry official to be waiting on-site for the applicant first thing in the morning. But the head of this particular department, as well as the official waiting for him now, were both recent Ravenclaw graduates. The department head had been a seventh-year when Ryan started at Hogwarts, and the official before him had been a fourth-year.
Since Fudge had taken office, officials from what was becoming known as the "Ryan Faction" had seen a rise in promotions. This was partly due to their own unity and competence, and partly because Fudge was eager to curry favor with the famous young Seer and, by extension, Dumbledore. However, Fudge, ever the political operator, had ensured that the highest-ranking member of Ryan's faction was only a Deputy Head in the Department of Magical Transportation. Crucial departments like the Auror Office remained firmly outside their influence.
As for Dumbledore's own people within the Ministry... well, even if Fudge knew who they were, he wouldn't dare make a move against them.
"Ryan! Good to see you," the waiting official greeted him warmly. "When my supervisor heard you were the one opening a new shop, he approved it immediately."
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