Book I
Chapter 11
Above All Else
"It has to be in here somewhere," Ron said, frantically digging through his trunk. "It has to be."
Harry, laying on his own bed, listened to Ron's desperate search for his Charms essay with indifference. His mind was elsewhere. It had been a week since he had been chased through the castle by a werewolf and things hadn't gotten any better. News of his altercation with Snape had spread through the castle, but by the next day everyone had forgotten because the next day the Daily Prophet's morning issue was devoted to covering the werewolf attack. The article painted Moony as a dangerous beast, Harry as an innocent school boy betrayed by a trusted teacher, and Minister Umbridge as the hero who would stand up and fight the werewolf threat she had seen coming years ago. Hermione wasn't mentioned.
Harry told anyone who would listen that the article was a total farce, but nobody wanted to listen. All anyone wanted to do was pity him. Girls stopped him in the hall to give him hugs, some of them cried. Boys patted him on the back and gave him looks that said "hang in there". Even a few of his Professors had pulled him aside and asked how he was doing. No one seemed interested in the truth.
Though the most the article would say about the whereabouts of Remus Lupin was that he had yet to be found, rumor started around Hogwarts that he had taken refuge in the Forbidden Forest. This had started a panic amongst the students, who feared that Lupin would come back to "finish the job" he'd started that night with Hermione Granger. As time went on, the rumors grew wilder and wilder. By the end of the week, Remus Lupin was a master werewolf who could transform anytime he wanted and was communing with the beasts of the Forbidden Forest and rallying them together for an attack on Hogwarts. It was all rubbish, of course, but that didn't stop Headmaster Riddle from introducing harsher punishments on any students caught out of their common room after curfew.
Harry had been hoping things would calm down now that a week had passed, and his hopes had seemed to be answered. That is until he had heard the news at breakfast that morning that Hermione was being released from the Hospital Wing. Many students were scared of her now that she had contracted lycanthrophy, but that wasn't what Harry was worried about. He didn't care that she was a werewolf, he cared that she would blame him for what had happened to her. He'd had his wand, he'd had it pointed at the werewolf as it stood on top of her. If he had been in her position he certainly would blame himself. He had told his friends about his worries and they'd tried to placate him.
"Mate, if what you told me is true then you did everything you could to stop that mangy beast except for tackling it yourself," Ron had said. "You've got nothing to feel sorry about."
That hadn't reassured Harry and he'd spent the better part of the morning worrying over what he'd say to Hermione when he inevitably ran into her. Luckily for him, she hadn't showed up to any classes yet and hadn't even been at lunch. He was hoping that he could at least go the rest of the day without seeing her. Maybe by the end of the day he would know what to say.
"Bloody hell, Harry! Can you stop daydreaming and help me look for my essay!"
Harry snapped to attention and turned his gaze on Ron, who was still digging though his trunk. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of his bed. "I don't think you're going to find it in there."
Ron stopped his search and let out a frustrated sigh. "Well, I don't know where else it could be."
Harry scanned the floor of their dormitory, which was littered with junk Ron had haphazardly thrown around, and a piece of paper caught his eye. It wasn't Ron's essay, but he reached down and picked it off the floor anyway. It was a paper clipping from the Daily Prophet, the article that had been written about Ron's journey to Hogwarts. Seeing the article brought back memories of his first day of school, which seemed so far away now.
"What's that you've got there?" Ron asked, then seeing what it was he quickly stood up and snatched it from Harry's hand.
Harry smirked. "I thought you didn't care about having an article in the paper."
"I don't," Ron said, going red around the ears. "It's just – It's a rubbish article. I don't even know why I kept it. Wasn't even on the front page." He balled the clipping up and tossed it back in his trunk. He then huffily went about picking up his rubbish from the floor and placing it back in his trunk.
Harry blinked as a thought struck him. "Hey, do you remember why your article wasn't on the front page?"
"Some rubbish story about the Ministry being attacked."
Harry's mind went about piecing together clues. "And the attack, it happened the night of the Welcoming Feast, right?"
Ron stopped what he was doing to turn and stare at Harry. "What are you getting at?"
"Dumbledore hid his Weapon the night of the Welcoming Feast," Harry said, his tone quick with excitement, "Maybe – Maybe whatever Dumbledore hid that night, it was originally at the Ministry! Maybe he hid it at Hogwarts to protect it!"
Ron's jaw dropped slightly. He gaped at Harry for a moment before moving over to his bed and sitting down. Scratching his head in thought, he said, "Wow – I guess it makes sense."
Harry stood up and started pacing, careful not to step on any of Ron's junk. "It makes perfect sense! He knew the Ministry wasn't safe, so he moved his Weapon to Hogwarts."
Ron adopted a thoughtful expression for a moment before speaking. "But why wouldn't he tell Riddle about it?"
"Maybe he didn't have time?"
"He could at least send an owl. You know: 'Hey mate, I'm going to be hiding a dangerous weapon in the castle, hope you don't mind.' Something like that, at least."
Harry paced and thought about Ron's point. The only conclusion he could come to was the same conclusion he'd already reached months ago; that Dumbledore didn't trust Riddle. It still didn't make anymore sense than it had months ago. "I'm not sure," he finally said. "The only thing I can think of is that they don't trust each other, but that ..."
"Yeah, that doesn't make sense. Also, why would Dumbledore hide his Weapon at the British Ministry? Why not at his own house or Nurmengard?"
Harry fell back onto his bed with a sigh, the excitement draining from his body. "I guess it doesn't make a lot of sense."
"It was a good idea, I suppose," Ron said. "Just doesn't make a lot of sense when you think about it."
Harry opened his mouth to say something, but the chiming of bells in the distance cut him off. He stood up and said, "We're going to be late for Charms."
Ron groaned. "Go on without me. I've got to find this ruddy essay."
Harry nodded and grabbed his book-bag off the foot of his bed. He was out of his dorm room in an instant and descended the stairs into the common room. He climbed through the portrait hole and saw the last thing he wanted to see on the other side: Hermione Granger. Harry couldn't help but be drawn to her neck, where scars in the shape of werewolf teeth crept above her collar.
Harry panicked. He was put on the spot as Hermione came to a stop a few feet away from him. She crossed her arms and regarded him with a cold expression in her eyes. For his part, Harry scratched at the back of his head and looked down at the ground. After a moment, Hermione made to move past him.
Harry knew he had to do something. He spun around and blurted, "I'm sorry!"
Truth be told, he wasn't sure why he was apologizing.
Hermione, already halfway through the portrait hole, turned back to look at him. There was no warmth in her eyes, not even the angry fire of a glare.
"Don't ever talk to me again," she said, her voice lifeless.
She then clambered through the portrait hole and the portrait swung shut, leaving Harry confused. He had expected an explosion, anger. He wasn't sure if what he'd gotten was better or worse. 'Don't ever talk to me again'? They had never been on friendly terms before.
The portrait of the Fat Lady looked down on him with pity. "Oh, chin up, dear," she said, "There are plenty of fish in the sea."
Harry shook his head and sighed before turning and walking to Charms class.
He was dreaming again, but this time it was different. He wasn't running down a endless, dark corridor, but an endless, dark stairway. He wasn't alone this time. There was a girl, pale and frightened, running next to him. A look over his shoulder and he saw what he knew would be there. No matter how much the dream changed, at least one thing stayed the same. Those eyes, golden and glowing, were chasing after the girl and him.
He grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her down the stairs, urging her to run faster. It didn't matter how fast they ran. They could never put enough distance between themselves and those golden eyes. The bottom of the stairs was nowhere in sight. The longer they ran the more tired he became. His legs began to feel heavy, his breath became labored. It wasn't long before his tired leg slipped on one of the stone steps and he found himself tumbling down the stairs, dragging the girl with him.
There was no pain in falling, only a deep sense of dread. He knew, as always, that the golden eyes would be upon him again and he knew, as always, that there would be no one to help him. His falling finally came to a stop and he tried to get to his feet. His legs were too weak, however, and he could only succeed in pushing himself to his knees. He was alone now, he had lost the girl somewhere during the fall. A look up at the stairs and he saw the golden eyes getting closer, but the eyes weren't disembodied this time. This time they were attached to a large, silver wolf. The wolf was nearly twice the size of a normal wolf; it's claws, large and jagged, cut into the marble stone of the stairs with every step. Its razor sharp teeth gleamed in the darkness and its jaw dripped blood.
Harry clenched his eyes shut and prepared for what he knew was to come. He heard the wolf let out a howl and charge, but the strike he expected never came. When he opened his eyes again he saw that the girl was back, standing between the wolf and him with her arms spread out. The wolf jumped on her and tackled her to the ground in front of Harry.
Harry watched with a vague sense of familiarity as the wolf tore into the girls throat. He watched as the girl's blood pooled on the ground and she went pale. When she finally stopped struggling, the wolf raised its bloody jaw from her throat and turned its golden eyes on Harry once again. Harry flinched as the wolf jumped at him, but nothing happened. The wolf phased through him and disappeared.
Harry looked around. He was alone now, save for the motionless body of the girl. He returned his eyes to her pale form and was surprised to see that her blood hadn't merely pooled around her; it had pooled in a way that spelled out a message.
'For the Greater Good'
Harry only had a second to consider the message before he was distracted by the sound of footsteps. Looking up, he saw Dumbledore descending the staircase dressed in splendid blue robes. Dumbledore reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped over the girl's dead body with a casual disregard. He came to a stop just before Harry. As he was still on his knees, Harry had to tilt his head back to look Dumbledore in the eyes. Dumbledore looked down on him with the most grandfatherly of smiles.
"Do you understand?" he asked, his voice loud and booming.
And then Harry was awake.
"Young master, you must be waking up!" someone said urgently, poking him in the side.
His eyes snapped open and he could just make out a set of large blue eyes hovering above his bed. He let out a scream and jumped out of bed, nearly tearing the curtains off in the process. His scream roused his dorm mates and they all began climbing out of bed in alarm and turning on their lights. With the lights on, Harry saw an elf – Bibby, if he remembered the name correctly – standing on his bed looking ashamed.
"Harry? What's going on?" Neville asked, looking between Harry and the elf.
"I'm – I'm not sure," Harry said, trying his best to get his breathing under control.
"My apologies, Young Masters," Bibby said, looking about at the grumpy faces surrounding him. "But I is having news about Master Dumbledore's Weapon."
Harry furrowed his brow. He had forgotten that he'd told the elf to tell him about any news regarding the Weapon. He hadn't spoken to the elf since before the Winter Holiday.
"Couldn't this news wait until morning?" Ron asked, rubbing at his eyes.
"No, sirs!" Bibby said, bounding off Harry's bed. "Master Headmaster Riddle and Master Professor Snape are looking for Dumbledore's Weapon right now!"
"They're not going to find it," Ron said.
"Yeah," Harry said, "It's in a cursed room that's invisible to most people."
Bibby shook his head, his ears flapping about his head. "But they's found that room, sir! They is trying to get into it right now!"
Harry's eyes widened.
"Well, that's that, then," Ron said, dropping back to his bed. "Looks like we lost out on finding the weapon."
"We can't give up!" Harry said, "We've come too far!"
"Not much else we can do," Ron said with a shrug.
Harry turned to Bibby. "Have Headmaster Riddle and Professor Snape gotten through the cursed door yet?"
"No, sir!"
"Then there's still time!"
Harry grabbed the Marauder's Map from his nightstand and activated it. The cursed door didn't show up on the map, but he had memorized its location. Sure enough, he found the dots of Riddle and Snape standing outside the door. Riddle was pacing back and forth while Snape remained stationary.
"They're there," Harry said, "But I don't think they've gotten through the door yet."
"What are we going to do?" Dean asked.
"We can get down there under the cloak. We'll need to distract them so we can get to the Weapon."
"But only three of us can fit under the cloak," Neville said.
"And more importantly," Dean said, "We still don't know how to get to the Weapon."
Harry turned to Dean and locked eyes with him. He gave him the most confident stare he could muster. "I've got it figured out."
He really had no idea, but he knew that if they didn't act soon they would never find out the truth behind Dumbledore's Weapon.
Dean opened his mouth to protest, but Seamus cut him off. "All right!" he said with a grin, "Sounds exciting! What's the plan?"
The gears in Harry's head began to turn. "Only three of us can fit under the cloak, so I guess the two that can't fit will be in charge of the distraction. They'll draw Riddle and Snape away from the door while the rest of us try to get at Dumbledore's Weapon."
"But if Headmaster Riddle catches anyone out of bed they'll be expelled," Neville said, wringing his hands.
"No one's ever been expelled just for being out of bed," Ron said. His 'give up' attitude of before had seemingly given way to excitement as he stood up from his bed and began pacing the room.
"Which of us will be in charge of the distraction?" Dean asked.
"I'll do it," Ron said. "If worse comes to worse I doubt Riddle would expel me." He paused and faced his friends with a wide grin. "I mean, do you really think he'd expel Ron Weasley?"
Harry couldn't help but grin in return. He wasn't sure where Ron's confidence was coming from, but he liked it. He wasn't the only one.
"I'll go with you," Seamus said. "I wouldn't be any help figuring out how to get the Weapon anyway. Might as well have some fun."
"We're agreed then?" Harry asked, looking each of his friends in the eyes and finding steely determination there. Smiling so hard he felt that his face might split in two, he said, "Let's go find Dumbledore's Weapon!"
Talking about it was one thing, but actually doing it was another. Harry and his friends managed to sneak out of Gryffindor Tower and make it to the seventh floor corridor where the cursed room was located without an ounce of trouble, but as they stood around the corner preparing to make their push for Dumbledore's Weapon Harry couldn't stop his heart from nearly beating out of his chest. His friends didn't look to be feeling any better. Neville was sweating profusely, Ron was pale, Seamus was shaking and Dean was worrying his bottom lip. Despite their confident talk earlier they each knew that there was a very real possibility that Headmaster Riddle would expel them if he found out what they were up to. Still, there was an aura of nervous excitement between them. They certainly weren't backing down. They were Gryffindor's after all.
Harry chanced a peak around the corner, and he could just make out Snape and Riddle further down the corridor. He turned to Seamus and Ron.
"Ready?" he asked them, whispering. Each boy nodded and Harry took out his invisibility cloak. Neville and Dean crowded around him and he threw the cloak over the three of them. "On my mark," Seamus and Ron readied themselves, "Go!"
Ron and Seamus dashed around the corner, making as much noise as possible. They laughed and shouted and brandished their wands, shooting bright and colorful sparks at each other. Harry watched as Ron and Seamus' distraction made its way down the hall where it grabbed the attention of Riddle and Snape. The two professors gave chase and Ron and Seamus lead them down the corridor, away from Harry and the others.
Once Harry was sure that Riddle and Snape had disappeared down the far end of the corridor he, Neville and Dean shuffled down the corridor. Harry's heart sank when he saw that the cursed door was already open. However, a quick look into the room revealed that Dumbledore's weapon was right where he'd last seen it, sitting atop a marble pedestal at the far end of the room wrapped in a red cloth.
"It's still there!" Harry said.
"That's it?" Neville asked, looking upon the small round object with disappointment.
"How do we get to it?" Dean asked.
Harry scanned the dark room, the black runes still marred the walls and ceiling. He knew that if he stepped into the room he'd descend into the black void again and despite he's bold talk he had no idea of how to get past that.
"Harry?"
Harry shushed Dean. He had been hoping that he'd figure something out once he'd gotten to the room. Now that he stood before the room his mind was frozen and time was ticking away. It wouldn't be long before Riddle and Snape returned.
"We have to figure out a way to get around those black runes," Harry said.
"I thought you had it figured out!" Dean said, his voice rising.
"I lied," Harry admitted, "But it doesn't matter because we can figure this out! Maybe if one of us levitates another..."
"I don't know," Neville said, "I can barely levitate a feather."
Harry frowned. Neville was right. Levitating bigger objects wasn't a problem for him, but he'd never tried levitating a person. Flitwick had forbidden them from trying because of all the ways it could go wrong. Then Harry realized that he had made the situation more complex than it needed to be.
"Why don't we just levitate the Weapon across the room to us?"
"We could try," Dean said, "But don't you think Riddle and Snape would have tried that already? The room probably has protections against that kind of thing."
Harry cursed under his breath. Riddle and Snape were much smarter and talented than he and his friends, so of course they had already tried something as simple as a levitation spell. Furthermore, there were probably loads of other things Riddle and Snape had tried that hadn't worked, things that Harry and his friends had no idea how to do. If Harry wanted to get Dumbledore's weapon he would have to think of something that two of the smartest wizards in the school had failed to imagine.
Neville and Dean were looking to Harry expectantly. He had gotten them into this situation by rushing at a problem head first without a plan. He realized then that the only solution was continue rushing forward without plan. So, without warning, he ducked out of the invisibility cloak and rushed into the room. Neville and Dean called after him, but as soon as his foot landed on the black runes his world was consumed by darkness and their voices were cut off. He stood in the darkness for a moment waiting for Dumbledore's voice.
"Do you understand?" it asked, loud and booming just as before. Harry knew he wouldn't have long before he was thrown out of the room.
"Understand what?" Harry asked, but the only answer he received was a repetition of the original question.
"Do you understand?"
And then it hit him. He remembered his dream from earlier in the night. Dumbledore had shown up at the end of that dream and asked him then if he understood. Then he remembered the blood in the dream, it had spelled out 'For the great good' just like the runes on the door spelled out the greater good. He knew then that somehow the dream was connected to the Dumbledore's Weapons. How that had happened was beyond him and he knew he didn't have time to think on it right then and there. He instead focused on the dream. It had been a recreation of his night with the werewolf, with the twist at the end being that the girl who was with him sacrificed herself for him. It was her blood that had spelled out the message.
It was then that Harry realized. Sacrifice! The dream had been telling him how important sacrifice was. What was it Dumbledore had said at his Christmas party?
"The Greater Good requires sacrifice above all else.
"I – I think I understand," Harry said.
"Do you?"
"Sacrifice?"
"Indeed," the voice said, sounding pleased, "And what will you sacrifice?"
Harry hadn't thought that far ahead. What did he have to sacrifice? His life? Certainly it wouldn't come to that. He carried nothing of value with him. All he had were his pajamas and his wand.
His wand. He could sacrifice his wand, but as the thought hit him he realized it was the last thing he wanted to do. He loved his wand. He loved the way it felt in his hands, he loved the tingling sensation he felt whenever he successfully cast a spell. He could always get another wand, but it would never be the same.
He had no other choice. Finding Dumbledore's Weapon had become an obsession to him. He wasn't sure why, but he knew he had to find it, even if it meant sacrificing his wand.
"My wand," he finally said, "I'll sacrifice my wand.
"Very well," Dumbledore's voice intoned, "Drop it to the ground."
Reluctantly, Harry pulled his wand out of his pocket and dropped it to the inky, black ground. As his wand hit the ground, it made no sound. The darkness on the floor warped around the object, swallowing it slowly like quicksand. He was struck with the sensation of having lost a part of himself, and was instantly overwhelmed with regret.
The darkness peeled back and Harry found himself once again standing in the unused classroom that housed Dumbledore's weapon. The black runes that had once covered the room were gone. The weapon itself was still in its place, and Harry was now standing before it. He took a look over his shoulder and saw that the door to the room was closed.
Briefly steeling himself, Harry reached out and grabbed the Weapon, leaving it under it's red wrapping just in case it was dangerous to the touch. He barely held the thing for a second before he was lifted up and thrown backwards out of the room, the door opening by itself to let him out. He collided with Neville and Dean, who were still standing outside the door under the Invisibility Cloak, and the three of them collapsed into a half-visible heap. The door to the cursed room remained open just long enough for Dumbledore's disembodied voice to boom out of it.
"You now know what it feels like to sacrifice for the greater good. Do not forget it."
And with that Harry's wand flew out of the room and hit him between the eyes. At that moment he couldn't figure out what he was more excited about; that he had finally gotten his hands on Dumbledore's Weapon or that he had gotten his wand back.
"Harry?" Neville asked as he managed to pull himself out from under Dean and Harry and stand up, "What happened?"
"I've got it," Harry exclaimed, clambering to his feet and putting his wand back in his pocket, "I've got Dumbledore's Weapon!"
Dean was the last to stand up. "What is it?" he asked.
"I don't know," Harry said, as he examined his prize still in its wrapping. It was lighter than he'd thought it'd be.
"Well, we don't have time to find out now," Dean said, "I've been keeping watch of the Map. Riddle and Snape are headed back this way!"
Harry sighed. He'd have to put off finding out what the Weapon was for at least a little while longer. Without another word he threw the Cloak over Dean, Neville and himself, just as Riddle and Snape rounded the corner at the end of the corridor. The three boys snuck down the corridor and made their way back to Gryffindor Tower as quietly as possible. The whole time Harry cradled Dumbledore's Weapon against his body, tempted the whole time to just rip off the cloth wrapped around it.
They managed to clamber through the portrait hole, sneak through the empty common room and up the stairs to their dormitory. Outside the door to their dorm, they finally shed the Invisibility Cloak and then waltzed into the room like triumphant heroes returning from battle. Ron and Seamus were already in the room waiting for them, expectant looks on their faces.
Grinning widely, Harry held up his package, "We've got it!"
Seamus and Ron let out shouts of excitement and quickly began urging Harry to show it to them. Not wanting to wait a second longer, Harry ripped the cloth off. Underneath it was a glass ball filled with swirling mist. The five boys stared at the object in Harry's hand, waiting for something to happen.
"Is...that it?" Ron asked.
Harry nodded.
"What does it do?" Seamus asked.
"Maybe it's better if we don't find out," Neville said, "It is a weapon after all."
"It doesn't look like any weapon I've ever seen," Dean said, "Maybe it's something else."
"It has to be a weapon," Harry said, "That's why Riddle and Snape were looking for it. They said it was a weapon."
"Maybe they were wrong?"
"Wait a minute," Ron said, "Look here," he pointed to the center of the glass ball, "It look like there's a seam here. It looks like you can open it."
Upon closer inspection, Harry realized that Ron was right. There was a seam running along the glass ball, making it two halves held together.
"Should I try to open it?" he asked.
"Why wouldn't you?" Seamus responded.
Harry couldn't argue with that logic, so he carefully gripped each half of the ball and twisted. The two halves came apart easily and Harry held his breath as he expected the mist to spill out. Instead the mist floated in midair, shimmering. The boys marveled at it.
"Should – should we touch it?" Ron asked.
"Be my guest," Dean said, whispering.
Ron frowned, but held his hand up and inched it towards the mist. Just before he reached the mist it shifted. It spread out and formed itself into the ghostly image of a woman. The woman was old. She had a hunchback and stringy hair, a long nose with a wart on the tip and fingernails that hadn't been trimmed in years. Her clothes were rags wrapped around her body in a way that was barely decent.
Ron withdrew his hand as if stung."What the bloody hell!"
The other boys jumped back. Harry drew his wand, dropping the glass ball halves in the process – luckily they didn't break. Before anyone could say anything, the ghostly apparition began speak in deep, guttural tones. The boys listened in stunned silence. The apparition finished its message quickly, and once it was done it dissipated back into a simple ball of shimmering mist.
"What was that?" Ron asked. "What did she say?"
"I couldn't understand her," Harry said, "She was speaking a different language.
"It was German," Neville said, his voice shaky, "I've taken a few lessons."
"Well? What did she say?" Seamus asked.
"I – I don't know," Neville said, ashamed for letting his friends down, "I was never very good at it."
"Did you understand any part of it?" Harry asked, desperate for some understanding.
"Just one word, I think," Neville said, "The word, 'Empire'."
Harry frowned. All this searching and all they had to show for it was one word. His disappointment must have been obvious because his friends tried to cheer him up.
"Oh, cheer up, Harry!" Seamus said, "There's bound to be someone at Hogwarts who understands German. All we have to do is get them to translate for us!"
"Yeah!" Ron said, joining in the enthusiasm, "And once we get the message translated I bet we'll know where Dumbledore's Weapon really is, since this obviously isn't it."
Harry perked up and smiled. They were right. Things weren't so bad. They would find out the truth behind this mystery just as they'd managed to crack the mystery of the cursed door.
Then there was a knock at the door.
All five boys turned to the door, completely silent. They turned to each other, each silently asking the other what to do. Harry quickly scooped up the halves of the glass ball and enclosed them around the floating mist. Before he could find a place to hide the ball, the door opened, slowly. Riddle and Snape were standing in the doorway.
Riddle swept into the room, his bone white mask scanning about. The blank mask came to a stop on Harry. Without a word, Riddle held out his skeletal hand. Harry hesitated and Riddle reached forward and snatched the ball from his hand. He held it up to eye level. Satisfied with what he saw, he handed it back to Snape.
"What do you have to say for yourselves?" he asked, his voice like ice.
Something was caught in Harry's throat, preventing him from speaking. After a moment he realized it was his heart.
"Nothing?" Riddle hissed, "You've broken your curfew, stolen school property, and you have nothing to say for yourselves?"
"It's not school property," Harry said, finding the courage to speak.
"Excuse me?"
"It's not school property, sir," Harry repeated, more confidently this time. His friends were look at him as if he were insane.
"Tell me then, Mister Potter, who it belongs to."
"It belongs to Lord Dumbledore, sir."
Riddle made a strange sound. Harry thought it might be a chuckle. "An interesting theory, wouldn't you say so, Severus?"
"No, Headmaster, I would not," Snape said, sneering at Harry. "In fact, it is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard."
"But-"
"Silence!" Riddle hissed, pointing a long, bony finger at Harry. Harry found himself incapable of speaking, and this time it wasn't because of nerves. "Now, let us discuss the nature of your punishment," Riddle continued, speaking in a tone that could almost be described as pleasant, "I suppose you are in favor of expulsion, Severus?"
"Yes, Headmaster, Potter and his friends have already been given too many chances."
"Indeed, and yet I am reluctant. Mister Potter and his friends are good wizards. Mister Potter in particular has been excelling at the Dark Arts. I believe it would be a great disservice to Hogwarts to get rid of these students."
"But Headmaster-"
"I have decided, Severus. They will not go unpunished, however. They will be stripped of their remaining house points and given detention for the remainder of the semester. Does that sound fair? "
"Yes, sir," the five boys chorused. Anything was better than being expelled.
"Then let us take our leave, Severus."
Snape exited the room in a huff, aggravated at once again seeing Harry escape expulsion. Riddle followed after him at a slower pace. Just before exiting the room, Riddle stopped and turned to look at the boys over his shoulder.
"This is the second time I have chosen not to expel you against the council of my most trusted adviser, Mister Potter. If your actions bring you before me again, expulsion may be the least of you worries."
He then left and closed the door behind him, leaving the boys in stunned silence.
"So, that's it then?" Ron said at length.
"I suppose," Harry said. He had never before felt so let down. All year he and his friends had been working towards finding this thing and right when they were so close to solving the mystery it had been ripped away from them.
"All that work we put in," Dean said, "For nothing."
"It wasn't for nothing," Neville said, causing the other four boys to look to him, "I mean, we had fun, didn't we? We had an adventure, and now we've got another adventure to look forward to: Finding out what 'Dumbledore's Weapon' really is."
Neville was sincerely smiling at his four friends, and Harry found the smile infectious. Neville was right, they'd had fun, and just because Riddle had taken The Weapon didn't mean their adventure was over. Soon the other boys were smiling too and they spent the rest of the night reminiscing over the adventure they had just had and proposing ways of sneaking into the Headmaster's office and retaking The Weapon.
Even the fact that the majority of their free time for the next month would be spent in detention couldn't dampen their good moods.
Despite their optimism, the boys found that finding out the truth behind Dumbledore's Weapon was impossible. They had no way of knowing what Headmaster Riddle had done with The Weapon (as they had gotten used to calling it, despite the fact that it wasn't a weapon) after he'd taken if from them. They assumed that Riddle kept the object in his office, but the only way for a student to get into Riddle's office was to get into trouble. After the last warning Riddle had given them, Harry and his friends decided that the best course of action was to try to stay out of trouble for the remainder of the school year, even if it meant giving up on Dumbledore's Weapon.
Not only that, and Harry was reluctant to admit this to his friends, but his mother had almost made good on the threat she'd made the last time he'd gotten into serious trouble and pulled him out of Hogwarts. It was only after his father pleaded for him that she decided to allow him to remain in school. Harry couldn't imagine her being any more forgiving if he got into trouble again.
So, Harry was stuck between his angry mother and a scary Headmaster, which didn't leave him or his friends with a lot of options. They spent what little free time they had – which wasn't a lot between classes, studying for final exams, and daily detentions – in the library looking for anything that resembled The Weapon. The results of their search were less than satisfying. The only reference they could find to glass balls with mist inside of them were the crystal balls used for divination. Eventually, the boys realized that if they wanted to find out the secret behind Dumbledore's Weapon their only option was to ask the man himself.
"You're going to have to do it, mate," Ron said as they sat in the library pouring over books. Harry couldn't remember anymore if they were studying for class or looking for information regarding The Weapon. All he knew was that they had been spending entirely too much time in the library.
"I can't," Harry said.
"None of us can do it," Dean said, "You're the only one who actually knows Dumbledore."
"But I can't just walk up to the Chancellor of the Empire and ask him about the secret object he hid at Hogwarts!"
"Then send him a letter," Seamus said.
Harry shook his head.
"It's either ask him or never find out what the thing was," Ron said.
Harry sighed. "Ok, I'll try. He usually spends some time at his home during the summer. At least then I can ask him personally when he isn't busy."
So, it was agreed. The boys decided to drop the subject of The Weapon until summer and focus on their studies for the rest of the school year. Not that they had anything else to focus on. Riddle had banned them from going to Quidditch games or, in Harry's case, playing in Quidditch games and they were shunned by their housemates for losing all of their house points. Without Harry on the team, the Gryffindor's still managed to beat Hufflepuff, but they lost their second meeting with Slytherin in the Cup Match. Gryffindor didn't stand a chance at winning the House Cup which also went to Slytherin, much to the delight of Headmaster Riddle and Professor Snape.
And so Harry's first year at Hogwarts came to a close. He rode the Hogwarts Express back to London with his friends and they talked about their summer plans. They made sure Harry was committed to asking Dumbledore about his 'weapon' and Harry and Ron made tentative plans to meet up over the summer.
"I'll show you my dad's factory," Ron promised.
On Platform 9 and ¾, Harry was relieved to see his parents waiting for him. His homesickness had disappeared ages ago, but still it was nice to see his mum and dad and he loved the idea of lazing around the house for an entire summer without having to worry about school work. His dreams of a completely stress free summer were shattered, however, by his mother.
"I'm happy to see you too," she said as he hugged her, "But don't think I've forgotten about all the trouble you've caused this year."
With that subtle threat hanging over his head, Harry bid one last farewell to his friends and walked with his parents to the parking lot. It was just as he was climbing into the back of his dad's car that he caught sight of Hermione Granger across the parking lot. He hadn't talked to her since the day she had gotten out of the hospital wing, just as she'd wished. She was being shepherded onto a run-down bus with other muggles of various ages. Wherever she was going he couldn't imagine it was anywhere good.
"What's wrong, Harry?" Lily asked, having seen Harry looking out the back window of the car.
"Nothing, mum," Harry said, righting himself in his seat and putting Hermione out of his mind. "Nothing."
Epilogue
"I take it the information in the prophecy pleased you, Headmaster?"
"Indeed, it did, Severus," Headmaster Riddle said, placing the glass ball down on his desk.
"And what did it say, if you don't mind my asking?"
"It says that the reign of those old fools is coming to an end," Riddle said, his face hidden by his mask, but his excitement evident by his tone, "The Empire will be my soon enough."
