Drabblefic #2: Dumbledore, "Mars, Bringer of War"

[gilpin25]

For tegdoh, who wanted Dumbledore and moon, and has ended up with Firenze too, which I hope she doesn't mind. "Coughs* These are getting longer, but they will peak soon and then go downwards again. ;) This one arrives at a fairly brief 597 words.



Mars, Bringer of War

Firenze rested one hind leg against the other patiently. Even though Professor Dumbledore was the most open-minded human he had ever met, he was still subject to the limitations of his kind.

Dumbledore stared at the stars high on the dark ceiling of his office, apparently lost in thought. To his side stood a round table filled with candles, some lit and burning strongly, some barely smouldering, and some only twisted blobs of wax from which the occasional faint wisp of smoke appeared.

“Mars shines brighter than I have ever seen it in my lifetime,” Firenze said impassively, at last. “Bringing with it the pledge of war. I could burn the mallowsweet and sage again, should you wish to confirm this?”

“No.” Dumbledore stared for a moment longer, before turning away with a small, weary smile. “That won’t be necessary, thank you, Firenze. Even old men know when time is running out on them.”

Firenze hesitated. “If I can assist in any way, Professor—”

“I know.” Dumbledore was looking now at the candles. Three stood at the very top of the table, in a triangle, and a half circle of others stood closely around them, as if for protection. Except several of those candles were no longer lit and one had gone out completely, leaving only the holder and the heavy, sweet smell of melted wax in the air.

“Soon it’s going to be up to him alone,” Dumbledore said softly, as if to himself. “Still more a child than a man, even though he’s seen and done things no child should. It’ll be up to them all when I have gone. If only I had longer to prepare him.” He turned suddenly to look at Firenze, anguish visible in every line on his face. “You try to think of everything, imagine every possibility and eventuality. But even the stars don’t know all the answers…”

His voice trailed away tiredly and Firenze wondered what to say. “And yet,” he offered slowly, swishing his tail in thought. “You also looked long at the moon.”

“So I did.” Dumbledore looked at one candle, burning a little way apart from the others. Firenze thought there was something about the flicker of the flame that suggested uncertainty and lack of purpose.

“In times of war, you ask a great deal of people. Sometimes even more than you realise.” Dumbledore took off his spectacles and rubbed them against his sleeve. Firenze caught a glimpse of the blackened and twisted hand as the sleeve moved and Dumbledore followed his eyes. “Yes,” he said nodding. “Always the one thing you don’t foresee, that you don’t plan for.” He gestured with the spectacles towards the lone candle before replacing them slowly on his nose. “I’ve asked a good and brave man to undertake something he will hate. Something very necessary, which only he can do, but something which means searching the very depths of his soul. And I consoled myself with the thought that he wouldn’t be alone. That he would have the love and support there for him that he needed.”

A pause. “Then?” Firenze asked.

Dumbledore sighed. He reached out and picked up a smaller candle from the half circle, one that burnt fiercely and eagerly, but with an oddly colourless flame. He placed it carefully next to the other one, so that the two were almost touching. The flame of the taller candle wobbled and flared for a second, as though touched by a tiny breeze, before resuming as before.

Firenze thought both were a fraction brighter now, but Dumbledore was regarding them sadly.

“I never foresaw that he would think he was no longer worthy of that love,” he said.

Comments

[katyscarlett76.livejournal.com]

Oh Dumbledore... *gives Dumbles a squishy hug*

That was lovely but very bittersweet. It is nice to see Dumbledore acknowledging what he put Remus through. If only he had chance to do it (you know I nearly said "in real life" there, LOL! Note to self: Harry Potter = not real!)

[mrstater.livejournal.com]

Now this is the Dumbledore I used to know and love before The Book That Shall Not Be Named turned him into the artist known as Manipulative Old Bastard. His sadness and loneliness are really compelling, and I also think you've captured a real sense of inevitability and fate with the stargazing and Firenze, who I can't believe you haven't written before now! (He's very sexy, with his back legs crossed. Write him again sometime? ;))

[jdbracknell.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's just brilliant and perfect ♥.

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Oooohhh, I love how you bring some meaning into the centaur stargazing (even if it still remains quite mysterious, which, frankly, makes it even better!). I also really like how you have Firenze calmly, if sadly, accepting what the stars predict. It shows how deeply rooted the centaurs' trust in the stars is.

Your portrayal of Dumbledore is great! He is not frightened either, only saddened that he hasn't done all he wanted to yet, and also that one he thought was taken care of has refused that care.. Ah, the woes of a man who likes to be on top of things.

Wonderful drabble again! :D

[godricgal.livejournal.com]

As Tater said, this is Dumbledore as we loved him prior to DH, and as we would have loved him to be for Remus. You write Dumbledore so well, whether he's contemplating Snape's surprise or the more serious issue of what he asks of those who follow him. You did a great job with Firenze, too -- though from Tater's comment, I'm now wondering if more than one us is contemplating James McAvoy as the mental image. ;)

[tegdoh.livejournal.com]

This was lovely, thank you. Dumbledore's regret is so palpable here, and his concern for Remus so sincere... I think I have sympathy for him for the first time since That Book.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Frivolous comments first: I saw the title of this last night as I was logging off, and Holst's "Mars" has been thumping in 5/4 time in my brain ever since, thank you very much. ;) Also, it occurs to me that, as a horse person, you actually know how to write plausible centaur gestures!

But, then, wow. You've really created a tangible atmosphere of mystery and portending doom; I love the way it's clear that Firenze and Dumbledore know more about what it all means than we do, heh. Also the way you've given some of those candles just enough distinguishing characteristics to identify them... (I'm guessing the missing candle is Sirius?) And of course Dumbledore's concern for Remus is sad but lovely.

I may beg to differ here from the majority opinion, actually -- the sense I got in DH, from the King's Cross chapter and the portrait at the end, is that Dumbledore may be rather more ruthless than we all thought, but he doesn't spare himself from that any more than he spares anyone else, and he does genuinely love Harry (thus, presumably, others too). So I think DH-compatible Dumbledore could certainly have been having these kinds of regrets about Remus. *sigh*

[philotic-net.livejournal.com]

That was really beautiful. Firenze and Dumbledore are both characters I love and I am glad you explored them! I always thought that Dumbles must not have intended Remus to leave Tonks. He is too good of a guy, to intune to the workings of things. This was a really great and touching story.

[katyhasclogs.livejournal.com]

Oh, oh, oh. This is so touching. Poor Dumbledore, with the weight of the world on his shoulders. I'm so used to thinking of him as a manipulative bastard now, that it's so touching to see him really affected by what he has to do.

I'm not really managing to articulate how this makes me feel and how much I love it. Just know that I think it's brilliant.