By Friday, I was exhausted by all of the excitement Hogwarts brought on. The others had headed off to dinner, but I insisted on staying behind and relaxing by the fire. Hermione would have offered to stay, had she suspected anything was wrong, but instead she offered to bring me back a roll. I would have told her I would just eat at Hagrid's, but he probably would only have meat. He'll probably have tea, though…
I pulled myself to my feet and stretched before heading down to Hagrid's. When I saw the kaleidoscope of colors painting the sky, I began to wonder whether or not I had fallen asleep on front of the fire.
"Hagrid," I knocked upon the thick wooden door. I could hear Fang's barks of warning from inside.
"Oi! Jenny! Come in, come in," he opened the door, standing to the side so I could come in, "I was just 'bout to go see Aragog. "Why din't yer go ter dinner?" he asked, shutting the door behind me.
I shrugged as I sat down, "I don't know, Hagrid. I guess I was just tired. It's the end of the first week and I haven't gotten to see you at all, really, so I came down here instead"
"Why aren't yer takin' my class?" he asked, his anger clear. I knew the others were avoiding him, not wanting to face him out of shame. The truth is: none of them wanted to take his class.
"I'm sorry, Hagrid, I would but I'm so busy with my other classes. I want to be a hit wizard, I think"
"What about the others?" he said, clearly not taking my individual excuse for all of us.
"Just lost interest, I suppose, but none of us wanted to hurt you, Hagrid. I'll go visit Aragog with you, if you like"
"Oh," his expression changed completely, "that's nice o' yer, Jenny, but yer see, Aragog doesn't take well to strangers. The truth is, his family will eat yer alive"
"Oh," that's pleasant.
"Besides, yer need to be getting to Professor Dumbledore's office"
"I do?"
"He was lookin' for yer at dinner"
"I better go then. Thanks, Hagrid"
It was getting close to after hours, now, and the halls were clearing of student life. I let my fingers slide over the scored stone feathers of the hippogriff as it ascended me to Dumbledore's office.
I can't help wondering if…
Oh, no, no. I mean, she's brilliant, and we're friends, but no.
I knocked on Dumbledore's door, which magically swung open. I wondered, briefly, what they were talking about.
"Ah, Jenny, I was wondering when you'd receive my message. Now that you're here we can begin." Not knowing what he was going to do, but knowing he did this often, I dismissed it and joined them around the pensieve. "I'm going to teach you more about Voldemort this year, and I hope this information will ultimately help you survive"
Is he talking to both of us?
I watched as Dumbledore took a small vial of memory from his robe. "Tonight we will be looking at one of Bob Odgen's memories. He worked for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement…" Dumbledore's words faded into silence as I spiraled into the captive memory of a country lane.
I was unaware of what I was supposed to do until I spotted a plump man in glasses reading a wooden signpost. I figured the man was Odgen and followed him into a house. Leave now, a voice hissed in a snake-like manner. A man in rags, whom Dumbledore identified as Morfin Gaunt, approached the man and jinxed him. Another man, Morfin's father, rushed out of the house. Odgen told them that he was there to investigate Morfin's use of magic on a muggle. He went inside and we followed him close behind.
A sad looking girl named Merope sat in a chair. I noticed she didn't look too healthy either, and looked as if she was abused and depressed. Odgen presented a summons to the Ministry for a hearing, which got Gaunt angry. His anger escalated and he showed Odgen his hand, which sported a familiar black ring. My hand flew upwards as I confirmed my suspicion. Our rings matched, or rather, they are one and the same. He grabbed Merope's locket and dragged her by her necklace, showing Odgen the pendant, explaining that they are the last living descendants of Salazar Slytherin. Gaunt admitted that his son performed a jinx on a muggle and Morfin accused Merope of being in love with the muggle boy whom he jinxed.
The name of the boy caught my attention: Tom Riddle.
If Tom Riddle is Voldemort, then why are they calling him a muggle? Could it be that this muggle is a descendent of Voldemort's? That would mean Voldemort is…
I nearly jumped out of my skin when Gaunt erupted with rage, attempting to strangle his daughter. Odgen whipped out his wand in time to save her, but ran when Morfin drew a knife on him.
"…Odgen apparated back to the ministry and returned with reinforcements," Dumbledore's words crossed my mind as my world molded back into reality.
"Sir, was that muggle boy Voldemort's father?" I asked, trying to make sense of it all.
He nodded solemnly, "Merope used a love potion on Tom and when Marvolo Gaunt returned from Azkaban, he shunned his muggle-loving daughter. Within a few months of marriage, her potion wore off and he returned to his muggle village"
"Merope was pregnant with Voldemort?"
He nodded, "that's enough for today"
As Harry and I left his office, my mind was swarming with questions. Why had I been here for this? Was he implying that I would be coming for another little lesson when he said "enough for today"? I had also acquired new information. Voldemort was of mixed blood. He was a muggle-loathing hypocrite on top of all else.
"Is that the ring?"
No
I retracted my hand, but it was too late. He'd already curled his fingers around my wrist. I could feel the sting of tears swelling inside of me. He was so close, if his touch had been any lower…
"What about this ring?" I held it up, angry that no one would tell me what was going on.
"Keep it- only you can wear it," Dumbledore said gravely.
"Or else they'll be cursed?"
"Jenny, it's imperative that you do not speak of this to anyone. Not even Harry. Do you understand?"
"Don't…" I covered my ringed hand with my other, shielding Harry from the ring's dangers. I could tell he was hurt, but I couldn't say anything. Instead of explaining or apologizing, I backed away, running away from my mistakes, like I always do.
However, I couldn't run from the fact that I had almost killed Harry.
