Reminder:

Italic = Past memory.

Bold italic = Dumbledore thinking of another past memory.

Dumbledore's POV:

I was sitting at my desk reading twelve uses of Dragon's blood when I heard a knock at my door. It was extremely late in the evening so I was bewildered by the sudden visit. Nonetheless, I got up and opened the door.

It was Severus and he was in an awful state. His hair was tangled, sweat beaded across his forehead. His robes were dusted with snow and dirt. 

I immediately opened the door wider for him. He stumbled inside limping slightly in a sour mood. Silently, he went up to the wine bottles and poured himself a glass of the expensive whiskey he gifted me on my birthday.

He emptied the liquid in one shot and poured himself another glass. With the glass in hand, he whirled around and sat in front of my desk. There was a massive book in his hands that he placed on my desk with a thud.

"Here is the book you wanted," he said impassively after he drank the second glass in one shot.

I hurried to my desk and sat on the chair behind it. "Severus my dear boy, what happened to you?"

At once, he met my eyes crossly but his face remained monotone. Over the years, I got used to the potions master hiding his emotions behind a mask but I was sometimes able to read what was behind that mask. 

At that moment, I could sense extreme rage and anger that he tried to hide behind the cold mask. Feeling that anger, I gave him a few moments to let him answer me at his own pace.

He kept staring up at me, his expression indifferent. His mouth kept opening and closing signifying that he didn't know how to start. After a while he nodded subtly to himself.

"I just came from a mountain in Antarctica...a bloody mountain Dumbledore. So excuse my appearance for it shouldn't astonish you, it's completely natural. However what should be astonishing, is how I made it back alive when I was forced to deal with a psychopath who wanted to murder all of us?"

I was confused but it was clearly evident that the wizard was angry and the last thing I wanted was to feed his anger even more. Severus lowered his gaze to address the wounds on his thighs. He was mumbling a few healing charms on them making them disappear one by one.

I sighed, "I truly apologize for the conundrum I put you through Severus, I wasn't aware that –"

Severus at once looked up at me, "I know you weren't aware! No one was. How could we have known? How could we have known that the one person we were looking for is the one person who wants to murder a poor girl who doesn't even know him?"

"She was just lying there, between life and death. A corpse that was barely breathing. I promised myself I would give her a future and I couldn't even save her when she was inches from me. All I could do was to bring her to the hospital wing before I came here to you."

He paused to took a deep breath, "I am not here to blame you Albus, I am here to ask you one question, was it worth it? Was losing her life worth whatever you were looking for in the book?"

His question took me by surprise. I didn't know how to respond. I was more confused than before and I stared back at the onyx eyes that demanded answers.

"Are you speaking about Florina, Severus? Was she hurt?" I said cautiously.

"Hurt!" Severus exclaimed unable to stop himself "Dumbledore, she is in a coma. A coma! The psychopathic Augustus used her to free himself from his chains. Once he was free, he possessed her and I don't know what the hell he did to her. But once I was free from the loop of a cave he trapped me in, me and the elf found her buried deep in the snow. Buried ALIVE in the snow!"

I was confused than ever before. He was throwing a lot of information at once and I couldn't comprehend any of them. 

However I remained silent to let him gather his thoughts. From the many moments I witnessed him in rage, which were extremely rarely, I have never seen him like this. 

He didn't care for anyone but Lily and her son. The last time I saw him in a moment of extreme rage was when Lily had died.

He took a few deep breaths trying to calm the burning inferno within him. 

After a while, once I was sure he was calmer, I spoke softly, "If you don't mind my dear boy, would you explain to me how you found the book? And how you got into the awful state you are in now?"

He didn't respond immediately but gave himself a few seconds before he returned to his cold demeanour.

"Once we arrived, we found a cabin in the Peccatorum forest, a cabin that belongs to Augustus Agrippa. Albus, he didn't commit suicide like the author of the Trail Of Peccatorum claimed. He is a serial killer who murdered his entire family just because he was jealous of his brother's accomplishments."

"As Agrippas, they hand down the book to their children by the system of inheritance. His brother inherited the book and that's when Augustus decided to murder them all."

He paused for a moment to breath and I allowed him. He took a deep breath, "He later died but didn't tell us how. All that we were able to piece out from his ramblings was that he was punished in hell. I assume because of his murders."

"Once he was done with his years of punishment, he did something horrible that got him trapped and chained in the mirror of the cabin by mysterious beings. While he told us that story, he pointed at something next to Florina. I turned to her and I saw absolute terror in her face. She seemed to know what he was pointing at but remained silent."

"He refused to tell us where the book was and vanished from the mirror. Two days later, Florina came up to me with the Trail Of Peccatorum book in her hands and told me to read a mysterious chapter. A chapter that wasn't in the book before. I...I..." he trailed off deep in his thoughts.

"I knew it!" he suddenly exclaimed, "I was right! The chapter wasn't there before. Now that I think of it, he must have wrote it down. It was...it was written by Augustus Agrippa. He must have wrote down the steps that would help free him."

"The moment she went in the bathroom, she didn't have the book in her hands and when she came out, she had the book. I bet he even told her how to convince me she read it," he was rambling to himself quietly "But how did he communicate with her? She was sitting with us silent the entire time, even when she got up to the bathroom."

He looked up at me, "That doesn't matter anymore. He was able to alter the unbinding ritual for his personal benefit. That ritual was indeed to unbind the book, but he made it as to help him escape as well."

"After me and Florina performed the ritual, I heard his mad laughter and she vanished. He was somehow able to alter my reality and place me in a cave similar to the one in the real world. The cave he placed me in was endless, whenever I moved forward, it's walls elongated."

 "It must have taken me hours to realize it wasn't the real cave. I found a way to escape by breaking the endless loop using dark magic."

I arched a brow at him but he glared back. "Yes Albus!" he said sharply "For once in ten years, I used dark magic. How else would I have escaped that trap cave. It was an ancient nasty piece of magic that I read once in a medieval dark magic book. Once I was out of the trap cave, I saw that she was gone. Me and Dickenson were the only ones in the cave."

I didn't interrupt him and just nodded for him to continue. "I apparated with him to the cabin and packed up our things. Of course the house elf saw me without Woods and she immediately went bonkers."

"I told her I couldn't find Woods but she wasn't listening and ran out of the cabin in the snow. I ran after her only to see her sniffing the air like a dog looking for a bone. She continued to do so until she led us to a place deep in the Peccatorum forest."

"After a while of her strange behaviour, she suddenly threw herself on the snowy ground and pointed to where she sat. She asked me to help her dig and accioed some shovels from the cabin. Once we were done digging a few inches deep, we found Woods buried deep in the snow."

He paused for air but I was wondering if he stopped to prevent his voice from cracking. He took another deep breath. 

"The house elf got frantic and hugged Woods who was so stiff and cold, her body turned blue. She performed some peculiar charm and recited some chants until the poor girl was able to breathe. But that wasn't enough to wake her up from her coma."

"Regardless, I immediately apparated both Dickenson and Florina to the forbidden forest and Hagrid helped me bring them to the hospital wing. I left Dickenson at the hospital wing with Florina before I came to you."

I inhaled a sharp breath feeling my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. I didn't know what to say which was extremely unusual for me. 

Florina cannot fall in a coma now, not when I am very close. Not when I have the book in my grasp. 

She is supposed to read me the book. If I tried to read it myself, the book's curse will fall on me like it fell on the rest of the Agrippa family. I remained silent looking back at the wizard who was fuming.

"So," he said coldly "Was it all worth it?"

I sighed. "Yes Severus," I replied back simply "It was definitely worth it. Florina contributed immensely to our cause and if she doesn't survive from her wounds, she would be remembered by the following generations. She would be a fallen hero –"

Severus interrupted at once getting up, "You cannot be serious Dumbledore! What cause? It's just a book that has an enormous treasure within it, how stupid do you think I am? Is the treasure by any chance going to help us defeat the dark Lord—"

I found the opportunity and interrupted him, "Yes Severus. Exactly. A treasure is not just riches and gold my boy, it can be a single piece of knowledge. Whatever this book might hold, it will help us in the demise of Voldemort. And she would have contributed to that." 

I stood up and sat in front of him, "Look at me Severus. I completely understand what you are going through. I understand she was your best friend and you are angry about –"

"No Dumbledore." He looked up at me "Don't bring our friendship into this. We are talking about a young girl who will die before she lives her life. She didn't get to enjoy the pleasures of the world. She didn't get to choose a career path. She didn't get to be married to Patrick and have kids. Heck, she didn't even have sex yet!" 

I arched a brow at that but he ignored it and kept going, "So don't fool me with the 'fallen hero' rubbish because you know very well she was just a puzzle piece in your board," he sat back down sardonic, "and I sadly contributed to that. I helped you in finding the book. The least you could do is make it worthwhile. I truly hope this book would bring the demise of the dark lord as you say. For her sake."

"Once again Severus, I completely understand your sadness and your anger," I moved forward in my chair "But I can assure you, it wasn't all a waste. You have all done admirably and showed bravery beyond even Godric himself." 

I stood up and touched him lightly on the shoulder "Now my dear boy, you need to go back to your quarters and take a well-deserved rest. You desperately need it. And don't worry about Florina, I will tell our house elves to watch over her."

Severus stared up at me quizzically. Our eyes poured into each other for a while until I felt a light pain in the back of my head. I knew he was trying to subtly read my mind and I wasn't enabling him. 

 When all his attempts failed, he shot up at once and immediately disappeared behind the door without a word. I watched the door for a few moments until I was sure he was gone and immediately ran to the book.

I couldn't stop myself from grinning madly, I finally have it in my hands. The world's lost treasure. Anything I could ever wish for was at my fingertips.

All the Agrippa's were fools. The book is a sentient creature that knows the holder's ancestry. It knows that the family was passing it down among themselves so only they can horde its treasure. 

They never once thought to give it to an outsider to break that never-ending loop. That's why the book's curse befell them all. But I broke their loop, the book was brought to me by someone from another family, by Florina.

I specifically remember what Stella Wilson told me a few months before I offered Florina the job.

Her words were still fresh in my mind.

"I don't have the book anymore," Stella shrugged as she crossed her legs "It was stolen from me by Augustus Agrippa, he told Lucifer and his demons that I have the book. If you want it, you have to ask someone who is not related to the Agrippas to get it for you."

"But my dear Stella, I cannot simply ask anyone to get it for me. I need someone trustworthy yet brave enough for such an immensely difficult task. Do you know anyone who might be a willing participant?"

She nodded grinning, "There is this girl I know whom if my memory is correct, is exactly like that. She is a Slytherin too so she is also extremely loyal. If she brought the book to you, she will break Agrippas loop. But she must be the one to read it so that the curse wont befall either of you."

I moved forward in my chair, "And who is that girl Miss Wilson?"

"Her name is Florina Woods Professor. I think she used to be at Hogwarts before she graduated a year ago, do you know her Albus?"

I kept thinking for a moment. Was she speaking of the girl with the peculiar middle name? The Florina Avada Woods who went to the mental ward in St. Mungo's after a tragic incident?

"Will you please remind me of her Miss Wilson?" I chuckled softly "Please forgive me, I am an old man."

"Sure," she grinned "Do you remember one year ago, there was news about a girl who saw her boyfriend get sliced to pieces in front of her while she stood by watching. They later found her on the brink of death and she was taken to St. Mungo's. She used to be a student at Hogwarts so as her boyfriend. That girl. Do you remember her now Professor?"

I nodded sardonic, "Oh yes, yes. Our precious Florina. She was the top of her class just like you Miss Wilson, how could I forget about her," I chuckled "Do you know she was the only kid at Hogwarts who absolutely despised her middle name? I honestly don't blame her for hating that name though, who names their child Avada. It was as if her parents gave her that strange middle name on purpose to ruin her life."

At that Stella stiffened slightly but it was a very minute gesture that was immediately replaced with a chuckle. She shook her head in disbelief.

I sighed in defeat "It extremely pains me to know of her current state. Our over achiever suffering from severe depression, an illness that only few people recover from." 

I lowered my gaze, "Sadly I cannot go to her and ask from her such an immense task. The poor girl probably wants to be left in peace. I cannot put such a burden on her shoulders."

Stella shrugged but remained silent. I paused for a moment and then asked, "Do you know anyone else who might be of assistance?" I chuckled "Preferably not mentally ill."

She gave me a bewildered expression, "No, not that I know of. I can keep searching if you want sir but I am positive I won't find him or her. A person who is trustworthy, loyal and not greedy is extremely difficult to find nowadays."

I nodded looking at the ground. We stayed silent for a few moments until she spoke again, "However, for your information headmaster, last I heard about Florina Woods was that she made a full healthy recovery and is going to be released in the next few months." 

I looked up at once attentively, "I heard she doesn't have a home to go back to. You will be doing her a favour if you asked for her assistance. She can even stay at Hogwarts until the deed is done. Of course Sir, I am not interfering in your decision making. I am simply letting you know the full truth so that you will be able to decide effectively."

I nodded her ocean blue eyes locking with mine. I have never seen eyes that possessed such an intense colour. Her eyes were mesmerizing. Looking at them for longer gives one the feeling of drowning in the deep ocean. 

I inwardly shook my head trying to focus on what she told me. Her final words gave me an idea. I knew how I could get Florina to bring me the book.

I immediately got up and extended my hand to her, "Thank you so very much Miss Wilson for your assistance. You were extremely helpful indeed. Because of your contributions, our wizarding world will finally flourish once more."

She chuckled at my last statemen1t shaking my hand, "Of course Albus. I am happy to help."

I opened the book slowly trying my best to mask my inner desires. I read the charm on the front cover of the book, 'Whomever tries to break our charm a colossal treasure awaits, fail to retrieve our treasure, a tremendous curse dominates.'

'That must be the charm Evilingston cast on his book to protect it from any damage,' I thought. Only when the charm is broken I can have the long lost treasure. I took a deep breath and turned to the first page. 'Evilingston's Sin' was the first chapter of the book.

As I kept reading, I couldn't stop the nagging feeling of someone behind me. I looked to my left and right and there was no one. Suddenly, I was startled by a high pitched chuckle. I looked down and realized it was coming from the book.

The voice from the book whispered, "You are dead, old man."

"Excuse m—" I was suddenly interrupted by a demonic growl behind me.

I whirled around to see Florina in her night gown staring at me. I noticed she was in a trance, the whites of her eyes only visible. Her face was contoured to a very intense smirk. The expression was so extreme, it seemed impossible for a face to have that many facial muscles to hold that expression.

"FOOLISH OLD MAN!" she exclaimed her demonic growl booming across my office "Getting the poor girl to do your bidding to avoid the curse. You wanted to horde the treasure all to yourself, thinking that you are so clever. That you succeeded over all the others before you. WELL YOU WERE WRONG! YOU GOT HER CURSED! All her ancestors were cursed ... AND ... SO ... ARE ... YOU!"

I watched Florina's body falling to the floor immobile as I felt something pierce my skin. I have never felt that amount of fear and pain in my entire life. I was petrified and I couldn't move. 

However the pain in my skin intensified. It was coming from my chest. I unbuttoned my robes to take a look at the cause of my pain. After unbuttoning the fifth button, I saw what was causing the pain. 

At the area of the pain, there was a mark. A mark that looked like a raging fire. It stung whenever I tried to touch it and it burned like actual hell. It was swaying sideways like a real fire would hissing quietly.

The voice of the book chuckled, "Now that my friend is called the hellish mark. Oh that sight will never get old. Fouls getting brandished by the mark, I have been waiting to curse someone for years.Now! I finally get to do my bit. One moment," the book cleared his throat 

"Congratulations! Like all the Agrippas before you, you have been cursed. You get to live in misery until your timely death!"    

Author's note:

Hey guys! I hope you are liking this so far! We now know what was Dumbledore's actual motive in giving Florina the job. In the next chapter, we will see more of David's past along with some present outcomes.

So question of the day is, what are your opinion's on this Story's Dumbledore?

If you liked this chapter and my story, please click the lil VOTE STAR. Make sure to tune in for the next chapter ;)

See ya all in the next one. Love ya!