A Deal With The Devil CH 2 - A Proposition
Harry stared at Voldemort for what seemed like an eternity. He couldn't quite figure out what she was up to. She appeared to be genuine in not wanting to kill him, but that wasn't doing much to reassure him. She was currently staring back at him expectantly. Given his current situation, he figured he only had one realistic option. "What sort of deal?" he asked. Emily's face lit up with a beaming smile.
"Come with me, and I promise that no harm shall come to you." she said. Harry stared at her in disbelief. Surely she was joking. Then again. She was hardly the sort of person to go around cracking jokes.
"Go with you? Go where?" he asked.
"Where would you like to go?" she asked, a note of genuine curiosity in her voice.
"You'd let me choose?" he asked suspiciously. She chuckled.
"Of course." she nodded, stepping a little closer to him. "I want you to trust me. I'm not going to drag you into Malfoy Manor, surrounded by those idiotic Death Eaters."
"You call all your employee's idiots?" Harry grinned. Emily's smile suddenly slipped from her face.
"I wouldn't exactly call them employees." she sneered. "They're pure blood bigots. Inbred idiots.". If he wasn't already confused, he certainly was now.
"What do you mean?" he asked. "I thought that was the whole plan. Wipe out the unworthy and put pure bloods back where they belong.". Emily looked around, before perching herself on the plinth of a large nearby statue. She sat in a contemplative silence for a few moments, staring at the ground between her feet.
"That was never the plan." she muttered, quietly. "I never wanted to take over the world. At least, not like this.". Harry wasn't sure if she was talking to him or herself, but decided that since he wasn't dead yet, and he was unlikely to get another chance like this, then he may as well press the advantage.
"What happened?" he asked in a soft voice. Emily took a deep breath, and drew her legs up, crossing them underneath her. Harry leant back against the gravestone. Clearly, this was going to be a long story.
"Did Dumbledore ever tell you of my youth?" she asked. Harry thought for a moment. Dumbledore had dropped tidbits of information, but there was never anything substantial. Never anything personal. It was all information that Dumbledore was privy to in his position, or could be found through the ministry records.
"Not a huge amount" he admitted. Emily sighed.
"I thought that might be the case." she nodded. "Well, allow me to fill you in. As we've established, my name is Emily Riddle. I was born on the 31st of December 1926."
"Looking good for your late 60's." smirked Harry. Emily let out a soft giggle.
"I suppose I have you to thank for that. It seems I look exactly as I did when I was 19. That's when it all started to go wrong. After I was turned away from the DADA position at Hogwarts, and later at the Ministry and St. Mungo's, I became disillusioned with our society. I saw everyone around me getting on with their careers, their lives, their families, and I had none of that. I decided to travel, to see the world, and learn what I could along the way."
"Dumbledore mentioned you tacking down some of the darkest and most vile forms of magic" said Harry.
"Dumbledore is a fool" Emily scoffed. "I learnt everything my mind could absorb. Knowledge is power, Harry. This much has always been obvious to those of us who have desired it. And if I was going to get what I wanted, then I needed all the knowledge I could get."
"And just what was it you wanted exactly?" Harry asked
"I wanted to change the world. I was going to overhaul our stagnant education system, our corrupt ministry and I was going to drag them into the future kicking and screaming if I had to."
"So, how did this escalate into the First War?"
"You've heard of Pearl Harbour, correct?" she asked. Harry nodded. He recalled studying it at school, before beginning Hogwarts. It was probably on Hogwarts curriculum as well, if Binn's ever made it past the Goblin Rebellions. "I was 15, still in school at the time. By the time I was putting together my movement, rumours were starting to filter their way into our society. Rumours that the muggles had a weapon that could kill us all with just a snap of their fingers." she said, sadly.
"It took four years for this news to start spreading." asked Harry, incredulously. Emily just shrugged.
"That's a blazing speed by our standards, especially for the time. Remember Harry, a lot of witches and wizards had no interest in the wars. As far as they were concerned, it was the muggles problem, and there was no way that they were putting their life on the line for the likes of them. Let's face it, wizards versus muggles. They'd destroy us."
"You really think that?" asked Harry. Emily nodded.
"I do. Wholeheartedly."
"Even with our shield charms, increased lifespan, and variety of spells?"
"A shield wouldn't stop a bomb." said Emily softly. "Or block a bullet."
"You think?"
"I know. It's common sense. The average bullet travels at 1700 miles per hour. Are your reflexes quick enough to cast a shield charm before the bullet leaves the barrel, and can successfully block a projectile moving that quickly?". Harry mumbled a quiet no, and let her continue. "Anyway, since the news had started to filter, more and more wizards were becoming concerned with the power that muggles were gaining."
"And so you retaliated with force?"
"It seemed right at the time." Emily sighed. "Remember Harry, I was young, angry, idealistic… Foolish."
"So you allowed your followers to begin the pure blood regime?" asked Harry.
"Yes, I suppose so." nodded Emily. "Don't get me wrong, I dislike muggles, but I have no particular prejudice against muggleborns or half bloods."
"So, why let them go along with it?" asked Harry. "You were in charge, why not stop them from all the killing, torture and chaos?". Emily was silent for a long moment. She sat, staring into the distance, seemingly ignoring him. Eventually, she broke the silence.
"Do you know what a Horcrux is, Harry?" she asked. Harry frowned to himself. It certainly wasn't something he'd come across before. Emily chuckled to herself. "Of course you haven't. Truth be told, I'd be rather worried if you had. A Horcrux is a dark magical item that houses a fragment of an individual's soul."
"That's how you survived?" asked Harry. Emily nodded.
"Yes, by splitting my soul, and so it seems, my sanity.". Emily suddenly jumped up from her position on the plinth, and crouched before him again. "Look Harry, I'm not going to stand here and tell you I regret everything I've ever done, nor will I tell you that I'm proud of it. I didn't spill my darkest secrets to you to get you to feel sorry for me, but I do need you to trust me.". Harry chuckled.
"Trust you? After all the times you've tried to kill me?"
"One time." said Emily, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Oh? What about that time when you were trying to steal The Philosopher's Stone?"
"I was a wraith, that doesn't count. It wasn't technically me."
"And again in the Chamber Of Secrets?"
"That… I actually know nothing about."
"Your evil, cursed diary, posessing Ginny Weasley?" asked Harry, as if trying to jog her memory. Emily, meanwhile, was deep in thought, muttering to herself.
"Diary?... Lucius... That idiot...". Suddenly, she stopped, locking eyes with Harry. "Nevermind all of that, it's in the past. I need you to trust me. I may not be a good person, but I have never lied to you, Harry. Unlike someone else I can name."
"What do you mean?"
"There isn't time right now, you've been gone for quite some time. You have to decide if you'll come with me, or go back to Hogwarts."
"Not until you tell me what you meant. Who's lying to me?"
"I told you there isn't time right now. Choose."
"Tell me!" Harry urged. Emily rolled her eyes. And muttered something that sounded like 'boys!', then summoned the portkey to them.
"New plan, you're going back to Hogwarts, do not mention my return. Play along with the other competitors. If Dumbledore asks, tell them that a group of Death Eaters you don't recognise kidnapped you and tried to kill you, but they didn't bind you properly and you managed to escape.". Harry opened his mouth to interupt, but Emily placed a finger to his lips. "Hush, still talking. Moody will likely try and pull you away, don't let him, he's one of mine in disguise. I'll deal with him. Finally, I'll pick you up from Kings Cross at the end of term, don't be late, okay?". Harry sat there with an expression of utter confusion. He looked as if someone had just force fed him every potion in Snapes cabinet.
"What?"
"Great, glad you got that all, see you at Kings Cross. I'll explain everything then." Emily smiled. She thrust the Tri-Wizard Cup at him, which he instintively grabbed. "The Activation Word is 'Now'.".
"Now?" asked Harry, and with a pop, he vanished.
Once again, Harry landed on a the ground with a thud, thankfuly, his ribs were spared this slowly pushed himself up and found himself in the middle of the entrance to the maze. The silence was deafening as all around, students, staff and parents stared at him.
"Don't all cheer at once." Harry muttered under his breath. Dumbledore stepped forward.
"Harry my boy, are you alright?" he asked. Harry nodded. He felt a hand clasp onto his shoulder and a gruff voice whispered in his ear.
"C'mon lad, you don't want to be here.". Harry recognised Moody's voice and thought back to what Emily had said.
"I'm fine here." he muttered.
"No, you're not. C'mon, Potter."
"I said I'm fine." said Harry, more firmly. Moody suddenly let out a gasp of pain. Harry smirked, and whispered in a low voice. "I believe someone wants a word with you.". The hand clasped on his shoulder slackened, then slipped off as it's owner stalked away. The judges were still deliberating on the final scores, whilst the audience began to chatter amongst themselves, several pointing or staring agape at Harry, but he wasn't paying any attention to them. He was replaying his encounter in the graveyard in his head, over and over. Was someone here, close to him, lying to his face? Did Emily know something he did not. Was she being truthful. Come to think of it, she had never lied about her intentions to him. Not many could say that.
The next day, the unconscious body of Alastor Moody had been found in his office, along with several vials of Polyjuice Potion. It had been assumed that an imposter had taken his place for the year, and that they had been the one to enter Harry into the tournament, though no-one could figure out who or why. Harry had joking suggested it had been his Uncle Vernon or cousin Dudley, out to get rid of him once and for all. Dumbledore had chuckled at this and suggested that perhaps he was too harsh on his relatives. Harry seethed silently at this. Dumbledore knew nothing of what the Dursleys were like. Then again, no-one but Harry did. He had never told anyone of how they had really treated him. Nor did he plan to.
Following on from this discovery, the judges had finally come to a decision on the winner of the Triwizard tournament, and had announced Cedric as the winner. Although Harry had been the first to touch the cup, he had returned over the time limit, so Cedric was announced as the winner as the champion with the next highest points to his name. Harry didn't care. He was happy for Cedric, and had happily handed over the Triwizard Cup. The Portkey should've been disabled by now. At least Harry hoped so, or Cedric was in for a nasty surprise.
On the last day of term, Dumbledore had requested Harry come to his office. The two sat across from one another, with Dumbledore offering one of his famous Lemon Drops. Harry politely declined as always, and looked at the old man. Dumbledore sat in deep thought for a moment, as if trying to find the proper words to say. "Harry." he began. "Is there anything that you wish to tell me? Anything that has you concerned? Anything that has happened to you, that you feel you cannot share with your peers?". Harry thought for a moment. Here was his chance! He could tell Dumbledore that Voldemort had returned! That she would soon be back to her full strength! That she would soon be back to her old ways. He looked up, staring Dumbledore in his twinkling, blue eyes, and smiled.
"No sir, nothing at all."