Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. This story is based upon the character and worlds created by and belonging to JK Rowling
9: Revelations
A figure stood clad in a hooded black robe and walked slowly towards the boys. The person was no taller than Luke, Albus or Scorpius and looked to limping. The boys couldn't see the person's face but they guessed it was a small man, mostly by the posture and the gait. "Hello Albus, Luke and Scorpius" the mystery man said. "I was hoping that you would accept my invitation." His voice was deep but sounded that it was artificial; put on to mask their normal tone. Albus was both intrigued and scared. He hadn't been sure what to expect from this meeting; or who to expect either. He hoped that the mystery man would show his face so Albus could learn his true identity but Albus had a feeling that that wasn't going to happen. Albus wasn't exactly sure what to say but he didn't need to say anything. "I'm guessing you want to know about everything I said I would tell you about in my letter"
"I want you to tell us who you are first" Scorpius said, his hand ready to draw his wand. There was silence in the alleyway. The mysterious figure appeared to be pondering.
"Okay… but not here" the person said. "Meet me in the cave just outside the village in ten minutes" the figure said.
"Not a chance!" Albus said. "We're not stupid"
"I know you aren't" the man said again.
"Show us who you are" Luke said. The figure stood, thinking. He slowly reached his hand and drew back his hood. Albus' mouth fell open and he was sure that Luke and Scorpius did the same.
"No…" Albus said quietly. "Finn?" he asked. His voice was quiet and shaking as he spoke. "I thought you were… I thought you were… were… dead" Albus stammered out. Both Scorpius and Luke were too shocked to even speak. They had spent all the time since the end of their first year thinking that Finn Riddle was dead but now, it appeared, he was standing in front of them. He looked much the same as he had on that fateful night two and a half years ago.
"I suppose that everything is intertwined" Finn said, talking now in a more natural voice. "Meet me in the cave, I can't risk getting spotted or risk people asking question. Ten minutes" Finn said. He put his hood back up, turned and walked back towards the end of the village. Albus, Luke and Scorpius were too shocked to even move.
It took them a couple of minutes to actually move out of the alleyway and they then moved towards the end of the village. Albus, Luke and Scorpius were silent as they walked. Albus had had his doubts as to whether or not they could trust the mystery man and now he was thoroughly confused. Ten minutes, give or take a few either side, and the three boys were climbing into a cave just on the edge of a village.
Finn was sat on the floor, clearly waiting for the boys. "Where to start…" Finn mused as they sat around him.
"I think from the night you 'died' would be a good place to start" Scorpius said.
"Right… well probably before that would be good. Parker was part of the Society of Darkness… They're a secret society that, for years, has been plotting to rise above everyone and rule both the magical and muggle worlds. Parker was removed from the group for breaching rules or something like that. My father was a member until… well you know. I have been under their protection since then. I escaped though… and for good reason. I overheard one of their meetings. And that's what I'm here to tell you about today mostly. But first I'm going to start with the night I was supposedly killed." Finn told them. "It was them… the Society of Darkness that planned it. They axed Parker and knew what he was going after. My father knew about it and they planned for both of us to disappear. The Resurrection Stone wasn't part of their plan. They made a guy take the Killing Curse. I was swapped out just before we went into the forest and he went in as me under Polyjuice Potion. Of course, if you die while you've changed by Polyjuice then you don't change back if you were killed by the Killing Curse. I got away, the smuggled me off the grounds and then my trace in the Ministry was destroyed. Parker got to my father before he could do anything though and he was… well you know"
"But why did they fake your death?" Scorpius asked.
"We needed to disappear or something" Finn replied. "My father was important for the Society, he was the information courier of sorts so he knew everything and he was apparently quite good at it and they knew Parker would go after him. He knew a lot that they didn't want getting out and apparently Parker wanted to know it. We had to disappear although I wasn't told that my death was going to be faked until about a week before it happened. It was the hardest thing that I had to do… leaving you guys was so tough, I always wanted to write you all and tell you everything but I knew I'd never get away with it. These guys are ridiculously good at finding out things and keeping hidden. I have learned some things from them"
"How did you escape?" Albus asked him. He was elated, shocked and intrigued as Finn spoke.
"There was one man on the inside that helped me. It was your grandfather Scorpius."
"My grandfather is a member of some secret society. Why was he working with Parker then?" Scorpius asked, clearly confused.
"He was told to. He was told to tell Parker that he had left and he was feeding the information to the Society of Darkness. The information they have and they can get is unbelievable. Lucius knew that the Aurors were building a case against him. He said to me, 'm'boy, I know the Aurors are coming for me and it will be soon. There will be no chance that I'll get off… everything I've done, my record is definitely against me. But before they come and before I'm put behind bars for the rest of my life, I want to do something good'" Finn spoke as if he had rehearsed this one hundred times. "'I know you were good friends with Scorpius and I feel almost obliged to make up for everything I've done. I'm gonna help you get out of here'. He started hatching a plan to get me out of there. I escaped just before he got arrested. I moved north and I decided that I needed to tell you guys what I knew. I hoped that you'd get my letters and hoped that you'd show. I couldn't sign the letters… I knew the Society of Darkness would be looking for me and letters get intercepted all the time. I couldn't take the risk. Well you know about Parker's links… he had been ordered to find talented students, people the Society could use to take over everything. But he went rogue. They had, however, identified Albus as someone they wanted. With Parker gone, they needed someone to get you two. A public figure to use as their puppet so that they'd never be found out"
"And that's where the Enforcer comes in" Luke said.
"Precisely Luke" Finn replied. "They have him brainwashed. He thinks that he's the leader but he is a fake. He's being controlled by the Supreme Council of the Society of Darkness. He'll do anything they want him to do. All they want him to do though is get you lot on their side. The reason I was happy to get out was because I overheard one of their meetings. They want to try and infiltrate the Ministry if they haven't already. Albus they want your father gone by any means. They want you to join them and be the face of their revolt. Scorpius they know that your intelligence is almost unmatched by anyone. They want you to plan meticulously, to be the genius in the background. And Luke, they know your loyalty knows no bounds. You will go to hell and back for the people you care about. They want you for different reasons and will go to any lengths. But as well, they will go as far as is needed to get Harry Potter out of the position as Head Auror. Lucius Malfoy didn't tell me much before I left but he told me to warn you three in particular. You are the targets of a group that is willing to start a war to get what they want… and you are on the list of what they want" Finn said sombrely.
"Is that everything that you wanted to tell… time to catch up now?" Scorpius asked.
"I've really missed you guys" Finn said. He spread his arms. "Group hug?" he said with a smile. The three boys piled in and they huddled together tightly.
"Great to have you back… suppose we can stop mourning now!" Albus remarked. The cave was filled with the echoes of laughter.
"Sound good" Scorpius said. The three boys were overjoyed. It was probably the best news they had ever received. After two and a half years of believing that their friend had been tragically killed, they were proved wrong. Finn Riddle was still alive and Albus was, for the most part, delighted. Yes he was now wary that he was a target of an underground society that has plans to take over the world but the excitement of seeing Finn once again trumped the fear and worry.
"So what have you guys been up to?" Finn asked. "Quidditch? School work? Eating?" he asked glancing at Luke with a smile.
"Pretty much. And sleeping" Albus replied. The other two voiced their agreement.
"In two and a half years, all you've done is sleep, eat, play Quidditch and do homework?" Finn said incredulously. "Surely you guys have done something interesting. Girlfriends… boyfriends… anything!" Finn said.
"Nothing immediately springs to mind… assuming that you know of both our kidnappings at the end of second and third year respectively. McGonagall retired and the new Headmaster seems really strict."
"Oh yeah, I read about him in the paper. Winton or Wincan or something like that, right?"
"Wincanton mate." Scorpius told him. "Shiiiiiiiii…" Scorpius said after looking at his watch.
"What is it?" Albus asked, confused. Of course if Scorpius had any prior plans, Albus wouldn't know because this was the first time the pair had talked in about a month.
"I'm supposed to meet Rose in five minutes in the Three Broomsticks."
"There's a girlfriend you've kept quiet" Albus said. "I haven't even heard about it!"
"I'm going. I'll explain later" Scorpius said. "Great seeing ya mate" he said to Finn. Pulling him into a tight embrace and then slapping Finn on the back, Scorpius left the cave. "Not my girlfriend" he shouted back.
"Did you know 'bout them?" Albus asked Luke. I haven't heard anything about it and usually James would be the first to tell ya that kind of thing!"
"I knew nothing to be honest. I knew they spent a lot of time studying together during the last month or so considering you two weren't speaking but if they're going out then it's news to me."
"Why weren't you two speaking?" Finn asked.
"He thought his granddad was innocent and he was annoyed at me and my dad" Albus said. He didn't want to say anymore about it.
"Welll… I suppose he was kind of right" Finn said. "He was only doing what he was made to do but it was partly his choice too" Finn told them.
"Well yeah… but he really could have just talked to me about it. We're over it now anyway… I think" he added at the end.
"That's good" Finn said.
The three boys spent another hour or two talking. They caught up on everything that had happened in the last two and a half years with Albus and Luke telling their story to Finn and Finn telling the boys in more detail about the Society of Darkness. "They have one guy that's like in charge and then the Supreme Council are the next and then there's just like a normal group of guys that are members"
"And who's the guy in charge?" Albus asked.
"I don't know" Finn said. "I only met him like twice or three times and he never gave his name. Every time I've eavesdropped on one their meetings they're calling each other different things. Sometimes it's colours, animals… mostly numbers. I think, I'm not sure, but I think that they're ranked by importance. So like number one is the leader and so on"
They continued to talk, Finn doing most of the listening while Albus and Luke spoke about how they coped with the loss of their friend, the addition of a new friend in Ashley, school work, Quidditch, relationships and how they spent their spare time and their summers. Finn listened intently mostly just happy to be talking with his friends once more, and spoke seldom usually just to ask a question.
Albus and Luke soon realised that it was beginning to darken outside the cave. They knew they had to go but they didn't want to leave their friend. They had lost him once and didn't want that to happen again. "Lads…" he said as they were leaving, "don't tell anyone else. Especially not your dad Albus. Now is not the time. There will come a day to tell him but now is not the time"
Albus opened his mouth to reply but decided against it. "See ya mate." They bid each other their final farewells and Albus and Luke left the small cave. Albus was ecstatic. Finn was his first real friend at Hogwarts and after his death, or fake death, Albus had been badly affected. To now have Finn back, partly anyway, it was something that Albus had often wished for.
The pair departed, setting out to find Scorpius. They re-entered the village and Albus saw that there were students beginning to make their way towards Hogwarts. "Crap!" he said. "We have to go to Honeydukes"
"I have absolutely no problem with that!" Luke replied. Albus looked towards his friend and smiled.
"You will always go with me when there's food involved"
"Usually yes but it depends on the food" Luke replied. The pair walked the length of the village entering the quickly emptying Honeydukes. Albus picked up four or five bars of chocolate and two different bags of Honeydukes made 'mystery bags'. They contained various sweets that Honeydukes made and nobody ever knew what they were going to get. Albus felt that Tony would enjoy them. He paid for his purchases and picked up a few things for himself. He paid for his own goods and watched as Luke paid for his. The pair were two of the last people to leave the shop and the village was crowded with students making their way back towards Hogwarts.
"Anywhere else you want to go?" Albus asked.
"Nah, I'm good" Luke replied. "It's gonna start raining now. Maybe we should just leg it and hope to get back to Hogwarts before it starts lashing" Luke suggested.
"What about Scorpius?" Albus asked.
"Ah sure he'll be grand" Luke replied. Albus and Luke joined the throng of students making their way back towards the towering figure of Hogwarts.
Albus returned to the school and sought out Tony. He wasn't easy to find, nobody had seen him. Lily eventually pointed Albus in the right direction; the library. "Why are you looking for him?" Lily asked. Lily loved asking questions.
"Just giving him the stuff he asked for from Honeydukes" Albus replied.
"Did you get me anything?" Lily asked as Albus walked away.
"You never asked" Albus shouted back. He didn't want to have to confront an angry Lily. Albus knew that she was exactly like her mother when she got annoyed. Albus entered the library and saw Tony sitting in the far corner, his bag across from him on the table and his quill scribbling quickly. Albus took a seat on the opposite side.
"Hey" Albus said.
"Hey Al" Tony replied putting his quill back down on the desk. "How was Hogsmeade?"
"The usual. Here's all your stuff" Albus told him, emptying his pocket onto the desk. Tony reached into his own pocket and withdrew his money bag. Albus heard few coins shake about.
"How much was it all?" Tony asked.
"My treat" Albus replied with a smile. "Seriously" he added. Tony looked at him and then back into his money pouch. "Put your money away lad" Albus told him.
"Thanks" Tony mumbled head down and he then shoved all the chocolate and sweets into his bag.
"Can I ask you a question?" Albus asked, "You don't have to answer it if you don't want to"
"Ask me sure" Tony told him.
"Why are you always on your own?" Albus asked him.
"Suppose I'm not very good at making friends. And people obviously don't think I'm fun to be around. I like to just think about things sometimes. Well actually, I spend a lot of times thinking about my parents. My dad was killed when I was only three or four and then my mother died last summer. She was all I had. My aunt went to America after her husband died and my mother was an only child. My grandparents are gone too. I have nobody and every time I get close to someone they die!" Tony said. Albus could tell that he was starting to cry. He dropped his face into his hands and began weeping into the desk.
"It's okay mate" Albus told. "Take your time" Tony lifted his head and began wiping his eyes.
"Sorry Al" Tony said, drawing a deep breath. "I just had to get it out. Everybody has ostracised me and no matter how hard I try there's only about three people who actually talk to me. Two of them are from your family too!" Tony began to sob once more.
"Just get it all out here Tony. I'm here for ya" Albus told him.
"Thanks Al" Tony replied. He wiped his eyes and attempted to compose himself. "It's hard on your own. Living in an orphanage where nobody wants to talk to you because you're only ever there in the summer. And then people here already judge ya because you're wearing a Slytherin uniform."
"I know how you feel. Everyone goes against the Slytherins and that's why we stick together. I'm always here if you ever need me" Albus told him.
"Thanks…" Tony said. "Sorry about all that" Tony told him. "You coming?"
"Yeah" Albus replied, a smile reappearing on his face. No matter how hard he tried, Albus just couldn't stop smiling. The happiness outweighed the anxiety and Albus didn't care if he looked stupid. Things were on the up for him at the moment.
A/N: My sincerest apologies for the delay. This, however, was an important chapter for me and one that I looked forward to writing. I wanted it to be perfect before I uploaded and make sure that I explained everything the way I wanted to.
