Chapter ten

It was eight o'clock that night that Albus Dumbledore arrived to do the wizards oath and everyone could see he wasn't happy.

'I do have one more condition but that doesn't need an oath, I have my own way of dealing with it if you don't agree.'

'Before we do this I need to ask who has been giving you all this information?'

'I enjoy reading when I have time, it's all there if you know which books you need and not what someone tries to tell you to read.'

'Have you been having any dreams about Voldemort?'

'Yeah, quite a few.'

'Then we will sit down later and talk about them.'

'No, we won't, I have decided to keep my dreams to myself, at least for now. It gives me the upper hand that I know what he's up to and you don't. You see, I get to blackmail you to make sure Sirius ends up free and I have the life I want and not the rotten life you want for me.'

'I have always wanted the best for you.'

'Well, we know that's bullshit or you would not have put me with Petunia. But what pisses me off more is the fact that you, head of the Wizengamot and you stood up for a death eater yet you did not even bother to suggest Sirius should be questioned under veritaserum. To me you wanted you spy but you also wanted Sirius out of my life. So from the time the oath is taken, Sirius is the only person in my life I will listen to.'

'Please be reasonable, I did believe Sirius to be the secret keeper.'

'I don't really care, not when you got what you wanted, a death eater spy. There is nothing you can say to me that will make me change my mind, nothing will make me like you or respect you anymore. I have the upper hand right now and you know it. But fine, you can just let me go, I have plans ready.'

'I said I will do this.'

Harry nodded to Sirius ignoring the looks from Remus, and McGonagall, he got winks from the twins, Ron and Ginny. Sirius recited the oath that Dumbledore was to repeat. He hesitated until he saw the look on Harry's face, he sighed then recited the oath making his body glow as the oath took affect.

'Now, what is this last condition you mentioned?'

'Snape, I want him gone from Hogwarts.'

'Impossible, he is there for more than just teaching.'

'Then I will be boycotting his class, if he is near me at all apart from the great hall then I leave. I want him out of my life, for good. You can't really blame me, he is the one that relayed the prophecy to Voldemort, so to me he is partly responsible for my parents being murdered. When I found out I was furious that you would allow him to teach but to teach me, the orphaned son that he was partly responsible for. I know you can say I will lose points and have detention, fine, let Hermione make them up, since she's no longer my friend and she won't be able to spy on me to give you all that juicy information so she'll have time. But I will not go to any detention for not going to a class with that man.'

Albus was fighting to keep his temper, 'Fine, Alastor will be here at eight tomorrow to take you to buy your school supplies.'

'Ten, I have things to work on, but make sure he knows it will take a few hours, there are a lot of things I need to buy.'

'Class start tomorrow.'

'I know and since you were the one that delayed agreeing to my conditions it's your fault that I'll start late. But I'll catch up, I'm sure Ron can take notes for me and since I'm not doing potions, divination or care of magical creatures, I will have plenty of time.'

'By law you must take five core classes, Mr Potter,' Minerva said.

'Fine, defence, charms, transfiguration, herbology and ancient runes, I've been studying ancient runes for two years and realised I should have taken that class instead of divination. I doubt I will be far behind. But I have worked on private lessons for potions, so I will be taking my O.W.L.s in that and being away from Snape will mean I can finally learn.'

'Then I will adjust your schedule to those five classes.'

'Thank you Professor,' Harry gave her a small smile, so even though he did not like her she was a great teacher and head of Gryffindor, he wanted to keep on her good side, if possible, 'Oh, I will be staying with Sirius over the holidays, I just figured I'd tell you now.'

'Yes, I believe this would be the first time you did not stay at Hogwarts.'

'I have someone that cares now, before I didn't,' Harry turned to Sirius, 'I'm going to have a shower,' he got a hug from his godfather before leaving the room. Ron, the twins and Ginny hurried after him.

'What did you mean about Hermione spying?' Ginny asked.

'Yeah, Ron said something earlier,' George said.

'I followed her using the map and cloak a few times. One time it was right after I mentioned I might just leave the Dursley's. I saw her sneak out of the tower so I followed, she went to Dumbledore's office, she even knew the password. The moment I got back to the muggles order members were stationed there to make sure I didn't leave.'

'That's low, a real friend wouldn't do that,' Fred said.

'I've done a lot of thinking about her over the last year. Okay, she helped me rescue Sirius, but there were times with the time turner I could have grabbed the rat without the others us seeing me. But it was first and second year that got me thinking. The spells she used to help us down through the trapdoor, those were fourth year spells, to me that just seems suspicious. I knew first and second year spells and I had practiced them when I was alone, but not third or fourth. But those enchantments seemed unusual, don't you think Ron?'

'Like the chess set and flying keys, I thought about those, me who is known as a great chess player and you're the youngest seeker in a century. The troll was taken care of and you explained about the riddle for the potions, how it was logic not magic. Hermione is always going on about logic and looking at things logically.'

'I see where you're going with this,' Fred said.

'Yeah, the enchantments were made for you. Okay, question, where did most of the information come from about the stone?' George asked.

'Well, I mentioned the small package Hagrid got out of a vault the day he took me to Diagon alley. I said I had read the name Nicholas Flamel somewhere but couldn't remember. Then I gave Neville my last chocolate frog but he gave me the card as he knew I only just started to collect them, it was Dumbledore, but it mentions his work with Nicholas. Hermione went off to her dorm and came back with this huge book that had a lot about the alchemist, Nicholas Flamel, so we knew it was the philosophers stone. Doesn't it seem just a bit of a coincidence that she seemed to have the very book we needed. But it's a lot more than that as you could just say it was a coincidence. The chamber, sorry Ginny, I know you hate hearing about this.'

'It's fine, keep going.'

'Well, it was Hermione that got the information about the basilisk and the pipes. You know how Hermione is about books, how she tells everyone to be more careful with them. Well she ripped a page out of one of the library books about the basilisk, she had it in her hand when she was petrified and she had a mirror. To me it just seems too suspicious. She still believed in adult authority and Dumbledore, if she knew this I believe she would have gone straight up to see him yet she was found heading down. We were out ready for the quidditch game, so she was coming to see us. But that's not what she would normally do, she would go to Dumbledore or McGonagall.'

'You're right she would,' Ron said.

'She spoke to me about the book, she asked me what I was reading. I said it was a diary. The thing is when I closed it as if I had finished she saw the name on the front.'

'Tom Marvolo Riddle,' Harry sighed, 'She would have known who he was, apart from him being mention on an award in the trophy room, she had read the list of previous prefects and head boy and girl. She would have researched those, it's just her way. They were smart enough to get the head boy and girl badge, something she wants, so she would study them, see what their scores where, how they were in class, all that. It would not have been difficult to find out that Tom Riddle was Voldemort, I found it easy enough. But I also know she would have known who he was from first year. She told me about the books that mention me and my parents, how she read them. It took me until near the end of second year before I decided to read one. In it there was talk about how Voldemort was head boy at Hogwarts, how a brilliant boy like Tom Riddle turned to the most feared dark wizard in history.'

'She knew how much you cared about our family so she used that and the fact that he killed your parent's. She probably knew the moment Ginny had been taken and made sure you had the information, just enough to make you go play hero. That's not an insult or anything mate, we just know you would help if you could,' Fred said as he slipped his arm around Ginny.

'If she knew and didn't tell Dumbledore or McGonagall then she risked our sister's life,' George growled.

'We have no proof, but I would say Dumbledore knew. What teacher that taught riddle and knew of the chamber wouldn't have found out it was a basilisk. I don't believe Dumbledore is trying to kill Ginny, me or anyone else, Ginny just happened to be the one that got the diary because Malfoy wanted to hurt your dad. I believe Dumbledore was using these instances as a test, to see how I would react to facing Voldemort. Think of this as well, Fawkes came to me, he could have easily taken Dumbledore down into the chamber to kill the basilisk before anyone was hurt.'

Fred, George, Ron and Ginny all realised Harry was right. The enchantments were too easy for three first years and the suspect way Hermione found all the information about the basilisk. Now the four Weasley's were feeling a lot like Harry, hate for Hermione and Dumbledore, because Ginny did almost die in the chamber of secrets and would have if it hadn't been for Harry.