Chapter 2
More Secrets
Harry Potter was sitting at the dinner table in Number 12, Grimmauld Place—headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix—reading the Daily Prophet that had been delivered that morning by Mr. Weasley (it was explained to him that no mail could be seen coming in or out of the house). The article that had captured his interest was one written by a Miss Susan Trenton, who Harry had never heard of until he happened to get bored earlier that summer and actually read one of the articles in the newspaper he usually trashed right after he paid for it and read the headlines. He found her quite interesting; unlike Rita Skeeter, Trenton did not seem to take a clear view on anything, which was rare in the paper that nearly always supported the Ministry now. Harry had the strong feeling that Trenton was a Dumbledore supporter, but for fear of losing her job never said it straight out.
"Anything good in the paper?" Hermione asked anxiously, sitting down next to him and setting Crookshanks the cat on the ground.
"Hmm? Oh…nothing great," Harry said, folding the paper.
"Anything bad in the paper?" Ron asked, sitting on Harry's other side.
"There's always bad things in the paper now, isn't there?" Hermione said. "Especially after that breakout from Azkaban…"
"Where d'you reckon Dumbledore's off to?" Ron asked, as his mother set a plate of breakfast each in front of the three. "I thought he'd come today, seeing as you're here and all, Harry…"
"Dumbledore is a very busy person, Ron, what with the Ministry going crazy and…" Hermione began. Her sentence was cut short by the arrival of Ginny, who sat down next to her and rubbed her eyes sleepily.
"Morning," Ginny said with a yawn.
"Morning," Harry replied.
"Prophet got anything good?" Ginny asked.
"Not really…I was just reading another Trenton article, actually…"
"I like her," Ginny said, sitting up and looking a little less tired as her mother arrived with a plate of food for her. "Dad says she could be Order, but every time he tries to talk to her she finds an excuse to get away before he can saying anything…it's almost like she knows about the Order and she's afraid he'll ask her to join…"
"That's ridiculous," Hermione snapped. "How could anyone who works that closely with the Ministry know about the Order? It's not like your dad or Tonks or Kingsley advertise about it…"
All heads turned as Mrs. Black's portrait screamed from the hallway. Harry winced; he still hadn't gotten used to that. The others were looking hopefully at the doorway to see who had just arrived.
Dumbledore, smiling radiantly, strolled into the dining room. "Good morning," he said.
"Good morning, Professor," all three replied.
"Good morning, Albus," Mrs. Weasley said cheerfully.
"Ah, Molly…I regret that I do not have the time to sample some of your delicious cooking. Unfortunately, I am here on matters of the most urgency, as I always seem to be of late." He turned to the dining table. "Harry…wonderful to see you again. Have you had a pleasant summer holiday thus far?"
"Yes, sir," Harry said, which was a lie. The Dursleys were hardly pleasant. Harry wondered what urgent matter Dumbledore had come to the Order members about, when he remembered that there weren't any Order members there at the moment except for Mrs. Weasley, a man named Dedalus Diggle, and, of course, Sirius, who was not permitted to leave his old house. He immediately concluded that Dumbledore must have come to talk to him, Harry, about some important matter that probably involved Voldemort.
"I would like to speak to you, please."
Harry blinked. Dumbledore had turned and not looked at him when he said this. Is he really talking to Ginny?
"Oh…all right," Ginny said nervously, obviously not knowing what this was about.
"Would you like to come to my office, at Hogwarts? There are some things I would like to show you."
Mrs. Weasley turned around; she had resumed cooking, but now was frowning at Dumbledore. "You're taking her to Hogwarts? For how long?"
"The length of our conversation depends on her answers to the questions I will ask her," Dumbledore said. "I do promise not to keep her too long."
"Well," Mrs. Weasley said with a smile, "off you go then, Ginny…"
"Bye," Ginny said to her mother, brother, Hermione, and Harry. She left the room.
Mrs. Weasley frowned again as she resumed her cooking. Hermione was still staring questioningly at the doorway. "How strange," she said, shaking her head. "I wonder what he wants to talk to her about?"
"I thought he was coming to talk to you," Ron said, glancing at Harry.
"Me, too," Harry said.
A few seconds later Sirius came down. Harry had talked to Sirius a lot the previous night. "Morning," Sirius said, sitting down in the chair Ginny had just vacated.
"You missed Dumbledore," Ron said. "He just left."
"Ah, well…" Sirius said with a shrug. Harry wondered if he had heard Dumbledore's arrival and waited until he left to come down. The night before Sirius had given Harry the distinct impression that he and Dumbledore were not getting along.
They ate for a few minutes in silence. Harry stared at his plate, twisting his fork around in the scrambled eggs, until suddenly he felt an unbearable pain in his scar. He cried out and fell over.
He was standing in a room. He could hear a voice speaking, but not to him…
"Be quiet, Draco," Lucius Malfoy hissed. "I did not bring you along to talk at inappropriate times!"
"I am still wondering why you brought him at all," Harry said coldly, suddenly able to see the room around him. "He will serve no useful purpose…"
"Should we really be talking so loudly?" Wormtail asked nervously, glancing around and unconsciously biting his terribly short fingernails. "Couldn't someone hear us?"
"If someone hears us, I can kill them," Harry said simply. He turned to face the sink. "Open," he said in Parseltongue.
Harry smiled wickedly as the Chamber of Secrets opened for him. He turned to the others. "You three first."
The Malfoys and Wormtail cautiously entered the Chamber. Harry went on in after them. He tilted his head back and inhaled deeply through his nose, letting it out through his mouth. The Malfoys had their faces scrunched up, and Wormtail had gone so far as to plug his nose because of the smell.
"What about the Potter boy?" Wormtail asked, his voice sounding strange with his nose plugged. "What if he finds out, somehow?"
"He will not," Harry said reassuringly. "And neither will Dumbledore."
"But what if they do?" Lucius asked, concerned. "You know that if they come in, our plans will be completely ruined…"
"They will not come," Harry said, still confident and slightly annoyed. "Even if Dumbledore did discover our location, he would not wish to bring Potter along…and Dumbledore alone cannot stop us."
"Nor Potter alone, if the boy does not tell Dumbledore when he finds out," Lucius pointed out.
"The worst thing would be if Potter brought his friends," Wormtail said.
"His friends?" Lucius said scornfully. "That Mudblood and the blood traitor? What good would they do?"
"There's power in friendship," Wormtail said quietly. "Power that could hurt us. Especially when…"
"You are a fool," Harry spat. "You talk like Dumbledore."
With that, Wormtail was quiet.
Harry navigated the passageways with absolute certainty of his direction. He finally stopped when he came to a blank wall. "This is it," he said, staring at the normal-looking wall. "This is what we have come for…"
-----------------------------
"So you do not remember any other writing being on the walls?"
"I told you, I don't know," Ginny said quietly.
"It is quite all right," Dumbledore said. "Quite all right…"
"Tom did mention something strange, though," Ginny said. "Something that always kind of scared me a little…something about the Chamber of Secrets having more secrets than anyone thought…secrets intended only for the heir to discover…but he wouldn't tell me any more…"
"That is enough," Dumbledore said with a nod. "I assumed these were from the Chamber of Secrets, but I was never entirely certain…the idea that there are more secrets there is not unreasonable…"
"How did you know those messages were from the Chamber, sir?" Ginny asked curiously.
"Well…after I assumed that Tom Riddle opened the Chamber of Secrets, I realized there could be no better place for him to find them. And it mentions the 'key to another world,' as I have explained to you…I do not know where the key is, but I believe Salazar Slytherin knew, which is why he left the information in the Chamber for his heir to discover. And it is a well-known fact that Slytherin disappeared…"
"You think he went to the other world?" Ginny asked in awe.
"If the message is to be taken literally, yes," Dumbledore said.
"Wow…"
The door suddenly slammed open. "Albus," McGonagall gasped out, "Potter is here to…to see you…"
"Allow him in," Dumbledore said calmly, but before he could finish Harry, Ron, and Hermione all ran into the room.
"Professor, I just had a…a vision," Harry panted, sitting down. He looked very pale. Dumbledore glanced at McGonagall, who took the hint that it was time for her to leave but understood the nod that meant she would be well-informed later. She exited the room, closing the door carefully behind her.
"How did you arrive here so quickly, Harry?" Dumbledore asked.
There was a rustling noise as an Invisibility Cloak was thrown off. Sirius Black stood in the room. Dumbledore's eyes narrowed.
"I wanted to make sure he got here as fast as possible," Sirius said.
"We didn't want him to come," Hermione said. "But he…"
"There will be time for all of this later," Dumbledore interrupted. "Carry on, Harry."
"Professor…in my vision…there were Death Eaters, and…and…I was Voldemort."
"Ah," Dumbledore said, leaning back in his chair and pressing the tips of his fingers together. "I thought this may happen sooner or later…"
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"Your link with Lord Voldemort has just offered you a glimpse into his life. You said there were…"
"Death Eaters, yes. The Malfoys and Wormtail."
Dumbledore saw Sirius jump slightly at the name "Wormtail." "What exactly were the Death Eaters doing, Harry?"
"They were following me…Voldemort, I mean…into the Chamber of Secrets."
Everyone in the room looked shocked except Dumbledore. "They must have had a very clever way of entering the school without being discovered," Dumbledore said quietly. "Certainly they would not be able to stroll in through the front door…I have given orders to be notified immediately if Lucius Malfoy is to be seen anywhere on school grounds, and…"
"There are other ways into the castle," Sirius said impatiently. "Wormtail probably remembered some from his school days. Anyway, when are we going after them? If they're in the Chamber right now then we…"
"I am quite certain that they are no longer in the Chamber, or, for that matter, anywhere in this world," Dumbledore said.
A short pause followed this statement. "How did you know You-Know-Who would do this?" Ginny asked, breaking the silence.
"Inside information told me he was leaving," Dumbledore replied. "I assumed he might be trying to enter the other world, which I always believed to be somewhere on Hogwarts grounds…I thought that the secret of the place was hidden in the Chamber of Secrets, but the entrance itself? That is an idea I never considered…I had thought that magic of such strength would be easily detected…"
"Am I the only one who's lost here?" Ron asked.
"No," Harry said. "Professor, what's…"
"Who cares!" Sirius said angrily. "Voldemort went through the Chamber of Secrets to get to wherever he's going, and we're letting him get away every second we 'discuss' this!"
"I have every intention of following him," Dumbledore said. "Alone."
"No, Professor," Harry said at once.
"Harry, I am afraid…"
"Professor, there was more to the vision."
Dumbledore sat back in his chair. "Continue, then."
"Voldemort was talking to the Death Eaters about the possibility of you coming after them. He said…he said you wouldn't find out, but Malfoy and Wormtail weren't convinced. Then they all agreed that even if you did find out, you alone couldn't stop them, and I alone couldn't stop them, but together we could…and then Wormtail was starting to say something about how much worse off they would be if I brought my friends, because there's power in friendship, but Voldemort interrupted before he could finish…"
"Wormtail spoke of the power of friendship?" Dumbledore asked thoughtfully. "What an interesting comment coming from a man like him."
"I'm still lost," Ron said, shaking his head. "Why is You-Know-Who so afraid of us following him?"
"He is not afraid," Dumbledore said. "But apparently he should be…or at least Wormtail and Lucius Malfoy think so."
"Harry…didn't you say the Malfoys were with You-Know-Who? As in both Lucius and Draco?" Hermione asked.
"Yes," Harry said, nodding. "Both of them were there…Voldemort was angry because Lucius had brought Draco…"
"This is ridiculous!" Sirius said, still very angry with Dumbledore. "Can't we talk about this later, when we're actually trying to stop Voldemort instead of sitting around here doing…"
"Be quiet," Dumbledore said sternly, as though reprimanding a student for talking in class. Sirius looked as though he was strongly considering talking anyway, but he did keep his mouth shut.
"Now then," Dumbledore said, "it would seem we are…"
He was interrupted by a knock on the door. Dumbledore rose from his chair, glancing at Sirius, who hastily put Harry's Invisibility Cloak back on. The others remained where they were.
Dumbledore opened the door. Neville Longbottom was standing there, and behind him, Mr. Weasley.
"Thank you, Arthur," Dumbledore said, blocking their view of the inside of his office. "I will speak with Mr. Longbottom now."
Mr. Weasley nodded and went back down the staircase. Neville stood, looking rather ashamed.
"Mr. Longbottom," Dumbledore said slowly, "who would you consider to be your friends?"
Although they could not see Neville, those inside the office could hear Dumbledore. Hermione, Ron, and Harry exchanged looks, although Ron still looked rather confused.
"I don't really have many friends, Professor," Neville said, in hardly more than a whisper. "Sometimes…sometimes Hermione Granger helps me out in class…and I share a dormitory with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley and Dean T…"
"That is quite enough, Mr. Longbottom," Dumbledore said with a warm smile. "How would you like to accompany me on a little task I would like to finish before term begins?"
Ron suddenly seemed to understand. He looked at Harry, frantically shaking his head and mouthing the word "no." Harry nodded, hoping for the same answer.
Unfortunately, neither got what they wanted. "I would love to, Professor!" Neville said, shocked.
"Very good," Dumbledore said. "Many things will need to be explained to you first, and I am afraid I simply do not have the time just this moment. However, I would be much obliged if you could find Professor McGonagall for me. Tell her to come to my office…and you can wait for me in hers."
Neville nodded and left.
Dumbledore walked back into the office, closing the door behind him. Sirius once again pulled off the Invisibility Cloak.
"Professor," Hermione said nervously, "I really don't think Neville Longbottom would be the best person to…"
"Your concern is noted, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said with a note of finality, but he was smiling.
It only took a few minutes for Professor McGonagall to arrive. Sirius didn't have enough time to put on the cloak before she came in (she didn't knock), and she gasped when she saw him. Dumbledore interrupted before she could yell at him. "I need you to go back to headquarters," he said. "Find…let's see…Miss Tonks and Mr. Lupin, please. And bring them here."
"Nymphadora is probably at the Ministry now," McGonagall said slowly, "and Remus…"
"I need them here as fast as you can bring them," Dumbledore said. "If they are not at headquarters, find out where they are and get them to me at once."
McGonagall nodded, astonished but ready to do what he asked. She left.
"Are they going to come with us?" Harry asked.
"They will go into the next world," Dumbledore said, "but not with us. Our main concern will be following Voldemort. They will have a different, and probably more difficult, task…" he paused and looked at Sirius. "You will go with them."
"What are we going to do?" Sirius asked.
"While we concentrate on following Voldemort, you will concentrate on finding wizards," Dumbledore said. "I have absolutely no idea what this other world will be like, but if it is anything like our own, the wizards may be hidden. It will be your job to get to these wizards and warn them of the danger of Voldemort. I will not leave it to these people to discover for themselves what terrible things Voldemort can do."
"And what if there are no wizards?" Sirius asked.
"Do whatever you can to warn the people anyway."
Sirius didn't seem to like this order very much, but he didn't complain; clearly he was too excited at the prospect of leaving his house for a while.
"It may be some time before Minerva is able to bring Tonks and Lupin here," Dumbledore said. "Sirius…I need you to wait here for them. If anyone knocks on the door, do not answer it."
"What if it's McGonagall?" Sirius asked.
"She knows how pressing this matter is. She will not knock, I assure you. As for you…" he turned to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. "I am going to the Owlrey to send messages to your guardians notifying them of your expected absence for a few days to possibly even a week or two. I will not, however, tell them of our quest…I will merely state that it is very important that you all come."
"Mum will never let us go," Ron said. "She'd probably try to kill you first."
"We will be long gone by the time the letter arrives," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Anyway, while I am sending the letters, you shall go to Professor McGonagall's office and notify Neville Longbottom of the situation. Tell him everything you know about it. I will meet you there, and then we shall go to the girl's bathroom on the second floor together."
"Wait a second," Sirius said. "So I wait here until Remus and Tonks come, and then…"
"You go to the Chamber of Secrets," Dumbledore said. "We will leave it open for you."
"How do I close it once we go in?" Sirius asked.
Dumbledore thought for a moment. "I shall give special instructions to Minerva telling her to block off that bathroom at all costs. Hopefully we will not be in this other world for very long."
With that, Dumbledore walked to the other side of the office. "Let us begin!"