Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.
Second Time Around: Year 2: Chapter 10: Amelia Bones
Harry wasn't sure what to expect from Madam Bones' visit. As such, he was somewhat nervous as he sat down with her and Sirius for the beginning of their meeting.
"It's good to see you again, Harry," began Madam Bones.
"Hello Madam Bones," Harry replied.
"There are two reasons for my requesting this meeting," she continued. "Firstly, I have discovered the identity of the person who has been passing information on to Albus Dumbledore. I was very disappointed to discover it was one of our most experienced and valuable aurors, Alastor Moody. As he was less than a year away from retirement I agreed to allow him to end his employment a few months early, and to still receive his full retirement entitlement. So that particular leak has now been plugged."
"I knew Mad-eye was a close friend of Dumbledore's so I guess I shouldn't really be surprised to hear that," Sirius said.
"How did he get the name Mad-eye?" asked Harry.
"He was injured while working as an auror and lost his eye. It was replaced by a magical false eye that gave him special advantages and a very odd appearance. If you meet him you'll see how the nickname came about," Sirius explained.
"Yes," Madam Bones added. "Now, undoubtedly Professor Dumbledore will find someone else to pass him information from within the ministry given enough time but, for the moment at least, he will be unable to monitor our affairs too closely. That leads me onto the second reason for requesting this meeting. I know you have been withholding information about He Who Must Not Be Named but, in spite of that, I have been able to discover a lot of information regarding him and his affairs. I know, for example, that diary was a Horcrux and that it was not the only one."
Harry tried not to react to that information. Sirius, however, was more willing to speak about it.
"You are quite correct, madam. The diary has been destroyed as have the other Horcruxes we have found," he said.
Harry decided it was time to tell the full story, or at least as much as Sirius already knew, anyway.
"There are, I think, 5 Horcruxes. The diary, which Lucius Malfoy tried to plant on Ginny Weasley; a locket, originally owed by Salazar Slytherin, which we found here in this house…"
"You found a Horcrux here?" asked a very surprised Madam Bones.
"My brother found it originally," explained Sirius. "But he was unable to destroy it so he left it here with Kreacher for safe keeping." This wasn't entirely true but it was close enough. It was unlikely Madam Bones would enquire any further into it.
"I see. Carry on, Harry."
"The third one was a tiara, originally owned by Rowena Ravenclaw, which Voldemort hid at Hogwarts. That was the first one I found, by the way. I explored the castle quite extensively when I first started there and found my way into the Room of Requirement. The tiara was in there. The other one we've been able to locate was a ring, which was found under the floorboards of an old tumbledown shack on the outskirts of Little Hangleton. The shack was owned by an old wizarding family named Gaunt. A short distance away was a manor house owned by the Riddle family. Voldemort's real name was Tom Riddle, same as his muggle father, while his mother's surname was Gaunt."
Madam Bones had listened in silence as Harry explained all this. She had nodded a few times indicating she already knew much of what Harry had said but had clearly been surprised by some of the information, particularly that Riddle, aka Voldemort, was a half blood. After Harry had finished she sat silently for a few minutes.
"You say these are the ones you have found. By that I assume there are others you have not yet located?"
"One more, yes. We know where it is but we can't get to it because it's in a vault at Gringotts. There may be others as well but I don't think so. I would guess that, at most, there is one more still to be identified," said Harry.
"Do you know which Gringotts vault this Horcrux is in?" Madam Bones asked.
"My cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange's vault," Sirius replied.
"Am I to assume this was the reason behind your attempt to seize the assets of known Death Eaters back in September?"
"Partly, yes. I do, however, believe the victims of Death Eaters deserve to be compensated for their suffering, particularly those who lost close family members," Sirius said.
Madam Bones seemed somewhat annoyed with Sirius and Harry. "I cannot allow you to enter a Gringotts vault other than your own for any reason. You know the law, Sirius. If you or any other victim of the Death Eaters want compensation you have to the matter directly to the Wizengamot."
"I am aware of that, yes, but Harry and I have been trying to keep this quiet. Just because you caught one spy within the Ministry doesn't mean there are no more. In fact Voldemort himself almost certainly has spies within the Ministry. What I was trying to do was to get hold of this artefact without alerting anyone else to what was going on. And I do feel the victims of the Death Eaters deserve compensation for their losses."
"Madam Bones?" Harry said.
"Yes Harry?" she replied.
"Are you able to help us in locating and destroying this Horcrux? If not, what other help can you offer us, particularly regarding what Professor Dumbledore is doing?"
Madam bones thought about it for a few moments before replying. "There is nothing I can do directly to help with the recovery of this Horcrux, particularly since we do not know what it is. I can help you with Professor Dumbledore, however. The Philosopher's Stone incident last year and the decision to appoint Gilderoy Lockhart to teach this year are both matters of concern. The fact that Dumbledore deliberately put the safety of students at risk by hiding a valuable artefact in a school full of children is a serious matter. The Wizengamot, however, appears unwilling to censure one of their own despite the evidence. I could ask the Board of Governors of Hogwarts to suspend him pending an investigation into this matter along with other matters that have arisen more recently, notably Professor Lockhart's appointment to the DADA role after his questionable teaching methods were brought to the attention of parents and others associated with the school."
"I would rather Dumbledore stays where he is, at least for the moment. We really do need to get rid of Lockhart, however. With him teaching DADA it is likely that most year 5 and 7 students will fail their exam," Harry said.
"I will speak to the Wizarding Examinations Authority informing them of the concerns being expressed by students," Madam Bones said. "In the meantime, I would like you take this scroll, Harry. It is an instant message scroll. Anything you write on it will appear on another scroll which I will keep with me. Susan has one too. That is how she has been contacting me over the last 18 months."
Harry took the scroll and folded carefully before placing it in his pocket. "Thank-you, Madam Bones. About the Horcrux in the Lestrange's vault. I do know what it looks like. I saw it in a vision. It is a small, two handled cup with a badger emblem on it. I believe it was originally Helga Hufflepuff's."
Madam Bones appeared almost shocked as Harry described the cup. "Mr. Potter, do you realise Helga Hufflepuff's cup was reported lost over 40 years ago. The family of its last known owner were unsure if it was lost or had been stolen. They only realised it was missing after its last owner was found dead."
"How did she die?" Sirius asked.
"Apparently, her house elf accidentally poisoned her," replied Madam Bones.
"Do you think the elf may have been framed? We know Voldemort and his followers like framing innocent people to cover their crimes," Sirius asked.
Madam Bones thought about it before replying. "It is possible, yes. But we have no proof."
"We can't do anything about that now, anyway. We need to focus on what we can do," Sirius said.
"Yeah. Madam Bones, I will do what I can about Lockhart and I promise I will keep you up to date with what is going on at Hogwarts. In return I would like you to keep quiet about everything that has happened here. I've told you many things that, before now, only Sirius knew about. I am placing a lot of trust in you and trusting people is not something I do very often."
"Thank-you, Potter. I know all too well that you place trust very highly in any friendships you form, perhaps too highly at times. I assure you nothing that has transpired here will be repeated to anyone outside this room. Your secrets are safe with me."
With that the meeting came to an end.
The remainder of the holiday passed quietly. Harry returned to Hogwarts earlier than most of the other students who had gone home, Sirius apparated him to outside the gates and he walked from there. Kreacher had returned Harry's trunk to the castle earlier in the day so it was an easy walk. Once back in the common room Harry found Ron and Hermione playing wizard chess.
"Welcome Back. Harry, can you help me with my homework?" Ron said the moment Harry sat down.
"Ronald Weasley," Hermione snapped, "why don't you do your own homework for a change?"
"Ron, you've had 2 weeks, and Hermione to help you, and you still haven't finished?" Harry asked.
"She refused, told me to do it myself," Ron said.
Harry groaned. "Saturday, 1pm, library. Make sure you're there, Ron."
"Thanks, Harry," Ron said as Harry went to the dormitory to unpack.
While unpacking, Harry got out the Marauder's Map. He hadn't been using it much but decided tonight would be a good opportunity to wander the castle. From the volume of names on the map he guessed that about a quarter of the students were still on holiday, meaning he would have a good chance of going unnoticed. He studied the map, working out the places he wanted to go and the quickest route between each one. He was about to put the map away when he noticed a large group of students heading towards the side entrance that led to the dock where the boats the first years crossed the lake in were kept. This surprised Harry since this was one of the few areas of the castle, other than the staff's private quarters, which were out-of-bounds to students.
Harry watched as the group stayed close together all the way to the dock. After staying there for about 30 seconds they began walking back down the corridor towards the Entrance Hall. He noticed this time they were somewhat further apart which led him to believe they had been carrying something between them on the way down. As he watched they climbed the main staircase and turned down the corridor that led back towards the base of Ravenclaw tower.
Curious, Harry slipped on his invisibility cloak and hurried down through the common room and towards the main entrance. He then went down the same corridor towards the dock, only removing the cloak when he entered the dock area. At first he saw nothing unusual but when he looked at the water he noticed some items of clothing floating around. He retrieved a tee-shirt that was near the shore and looked at the name tag. His heart sank when he read the name written on it, Luna Lovegood.