Chapter 20: Dark Indulgence

Albus was sitting in his own private study reading, Hogwarts: A History, for what felt like the millionth time, learning all he could on the Chamber of Secrets. He was looking for any clue that could help him solve the riddle on what was happening this year. But so far he wasn't having any luck at all.

He finally put it down and took off his glasses so that he could rub his tired eyes. He was missing something—he knew it—there was something to this mystery that was sitting right in right in front of him in plain sight but he just couldn't see it.

'How are you doing this Tom?' he thought. At first he wondered if it was a Death Eater responsible for doing this… but he could only think of a select few could come up pull this off without being discovered. There's a piece to this puzzle that's dangling right in front of him but he couldn't figure it out. It was like he was stumbling around the school with a blindfold on in broad daylight.

If he could only find that one piece… that piece that explained everything, then this whole nightmare would finally be over.

At that moment, there was a slight knock on the door. He called a wearily, "Come in."

Minerva walked in looking pale and worried. "Minerva," he said as he placed his glasses back on. "What is it?"

"Terrible," Minerva said upset. "Things are getting worse. There has been another attack! A double attack!"

Albus felt himself go very white as he stood up immediately. "What happened? Who was attacked?"

"Justin Finch-Fletchly from Hufflepuff and the Gryffindor ghost Sir Nicholas, Headmaster," she said miserably. "Both of them were petrified and taken to the Hospital Wing. And then there's Potter—he was found him at the scene of the crime again."

Albus groaned at the thought of another one of his students attacked… but a ghost as well? "Flinch-Fletchly and Nick were BOTH petrified?" he repeated slowly as if just making sure he heard right. "And Harry was found with them?"

Minerva nodded unhappily. "I can't think of anything that could actually do this to a ghost, Albus! I know Potter's can't be the one behind the attacks, but I'm certain he knows something about this. It's can't be coincidence that he had been found at the scene of two attacks. You told me to let you know if I noticed anything at all and I thought it best to just bring him up here for you to question."

"You brought Harry?"

She nodded as she gestured over her shoulder at the door and said, "I left him in your office. You better talk to him, Albus."

"You didn't scare him on the way up here like you always do with every other student you bring to me?" he asked, trying to make a joke but failing.

Minerva must've understood because she put a hand on his shoulder and said, "What are we going to do? It's only going to be a matter of time before someone is killed! We can't afford to overlook anything!"

"I know," he said. "And I know that Harry didn't want to tell me anything on Halloween. I can only hope that he can tell me now. There's only one person that could open the Chamber of Secrets… but I can't figure out how he's doing it. Have you by any chance heard if Harry complained at all about his scar hurting him? I told you last year that Harry's scar hurts him whenever Voldemort is near."

"Not that I know of," Minerva said slowly. "But he doesn't really talk to me or anyone else for that matter. He only seems to talk to Weasley and Granger. I know that he's been having a difficult time because the rest of the school thinks that he's the one behind these attacks which I find ridiculous. As if a child that survived against Voldemort twice could be the one attacking students… let's not forget that one of his best friends is a Muggleborn. I think it's because of what happened at the Dueling Club. Why did you allow that fool Lockhart to set up that Dueling Club is beyond me."

"I thought that it would be fun for the students," Albus shrugged. "I thought that they would enjoy it and it might come in handy later on. But that's all water beneath the bridge now… Will you wait for me while I talk to Harry?"

"Of course," she sighed as she sat in one of his empty chair, looking tired.

Albus couldn't help but also sigh as he walked passed her and said, "You mine looking through that book for me? I must've read it a thousand times by now and I still can't figure out where the Chamber is."

She picked up Hogwarts: A History, but said, "If you can't find any clues from here, I highly doubt I will."

Nevertheless, she started to flip through it.

He gave her a slight nod of the head and went back to his office.

He opened the office door to meet a strange sight. Harry was standing there in front of Fawkes perch, looking terrible. His eyes were wide and the very sight of him seemed to scare Harry even more as if he thought that he was going to get in trouble for something.

As soon as he walked into the room, Harry gasped, "Professor, your bird — I couldn't do anything — he just caught fire —"

Understanding what was going on, Albus gave him a gentle smile before saying, "About time, too. He's been looking dreadful for days; I've been telling him to get a move on."

He couldn't help but laugh at Harry stunned look, clearly not understanding what he was talking about. This was Harry's first time seeing a Phoenix and he felt that he better elaborate.

"Fawkes is a phoenix, Harry. Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes. Watch him…" he walked over to the perch, and there was baby Fawkes poking his tiny head out of the ashes, chirping. 'Ah… Phoenixes are such magnificent creatures… no matter how much I learn about them, they just continue to amaze me,' he thought.

He then turned his attention back to Harry said, "It's a shame you had to see him on a Burning Day. He's really very handsome most of the time, wonderful red and gold plumage. Fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry immensely heavy loads, their tears have healing powers, and they make highly faithful pets."

He sat back in his desk and watched as Harry calmed down. He stared at the boy who was looking nervous again, just like that night when he and Ron Weasley arrived with the car. Like when he thought like he was about to be expelled. Kids always did take things far more seriously than anyone else.

There was no doubt that Harry was hiding something from him… but before he could say another word, his door banged open and a very familiar figure came running inside.

Hagrid, looking quite deranged came in and was swinging a dead rooster around as if it was made of rubber. He then shouted out desperately, "It wasn' Harry, Professor Dumbledore! I was talkin' ter him seconds before that kid was found, he never had time, sir —"

Albus opened his mouth to reassure him that Harry wasn't in trouble, but Hagrid kept going on with feathers flying everywhere. "It can't've bin him, I'll swear it in front o' the Ministry o' Magic if I have to."

"Hagrid, I —" Albus began but Hagrid was on a roll.

"— yeh've got the wrong boy, sir, I know Harry never —"

"Hagrid!" he finally shouted to make himself heard. "I do not think that Harry attacked those people."

Hagrid stopped in his rant and the dead rooster fell to his side. Though it was hard to tell with the hood on his head but Albus could tell that he was embarrassed.

"Oh, right. I'll wait outside then, Headmaster," Hagrid mumbled before he slumped out of the room. Albus had to fight to keep the smile off his face as he swept feathers off his desk. Hagrid… you could never ask for a more loyal friend… though sometimes it was a little too fiercely.

When he turned back to Harry, who had hope back in his eyes as he looked at him."You don't think it was me, Professor?" he asked quietly, as if he was hardly daring to believe it.

"No, Harry, I don't," he said sadly. He knew that Harry nor any of his other students were capable of doing any of this. But that doesn't mean that they still didn't know anything. "But I still want to talk to you."

Albus stared at him long and hard, trying to look into his mind, trying to see what Harry was trying to hide from him. "I must ask you Harry, whether there is anything you'd like to tell me. Anything at all."

Harry didn't answer, thought this didn't surprise him in the least. He looked inside his mind to see the mental pictures of Draco Malfoy shouting that foul word on Halloween night… the images of the Polyjuice Potion that they were trying to make… how Harry could hear the voice that only he seemed to be able to hear with Ronald telling him that that it wasn't a good sign…

Ah, he could see what was really bothering Harry. How he could speak to snakes… and how he was afraid that he was Slytherin's descendant. He knew that the Potters were only related to the Slytherin line through marriage… and that line was almost completely died out. Tom Riddle was the last living descendant of Salazar Slytherin.

He was hoping that Harry would tell him about his worries so that he could put his mind at ease… but then…

"No," said Harry as he turned his head away. "There isn't anything, Professor…"

Albus sighed. If Harry refused to say anything, there wasn't much he could do to help him. "Very well, Harry," he told him. "If you are sure, then," he nodded to the door, "You are free to go."

Harry shifted guilty, and for a second, he was sure that he was about to tell him something—but it faded a second later because he said, "Thank you, sir."

Harry then turned, and almost ran to the door—leaving Albus alone to think about what he just learned. He had been secretly hoping that Harry would open up and tell him about anything that had been bothering him this year so that maybe they could complete the puzzle and figure out what was going on before another student died.

He heard a slight creak of the door behind him open, and then Minerva came out with the book in her hands.

"Did I hear Hagrid a second ago?" she asked him as she began looking around at all the feathers.

"Yes," Albus said as his mouth twitched slightly. "He's waiting outside. From what he said, he apparently heard that Harry was caught at the scene of the crime like he, himself, was at one point fifty years ago. He came in here because he was afraid that Harry would be in trouble," Albus sighed deeply.

"And the feathers?" she asked as she picked one up off the floor and examined it.

"Apparently another one of his roosters had been killed," Albus shrugged.

"Did Potter say anything to you?" Minerva prompted. She never was one to stray off topic for too long.

The only thing that Albus could do was sigh again. "Not much of anything that I didn't already know," he answered. "Harry doesn't know who is behind these attacks or what is causing them… but I see that he, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger are trying to figure it out on their own.

Minerva gave an indigently sniff. "If we cannot figure this out on our own, how do you expect three second-years to do so?"

Albus observed her over his glasses. "Don't underestimate the power of children. They are capable of doing things that adults could never do even if they live to be a thousand…"

She thought about that for a moment before asking, "What else did you find out?"

Albus stretched his stiff arms and said, "For now, I'm just going to wait and see… and hope that this all turns out for the best. Can you please send Hagrid in on your way out? I think he wants to talk to me…"

*Christmas Day*

Albus woke up, feeling much more cheerful then he had all year. "Merry Christmas!" he called out merrily to his portraits who all answered just as happily. Well almost everyone—Phineas just grunted like any other day.

But not even Phineas's bad mood could spoil his own at the moment. It was so good to be able to forget about the fear and confusion that had enveloped the school at least for one day.

"How is Harry doing today?" he asked them.

Armando raised his hand and said, "It was my turn to keep an eye on the boy, and I got some exciting news."

"Oh?" Albus asked brightly.

"Miss Granger has just informed the boys that the potion is ready, and they're going to try it today," he told the room. The portraits either gasped or looked impressed.

"Are you sure?" Albus asked.

Armando laughed, "That's exactly what Potter said to Granger when she told him. Yes, I'm sure. Granger is thinking up a plan to get the hairs, in any case they should be trying it later this afternoon."

Albus thought it over for a brief moment. "I see. I'll check on it myself before I head down to the Great Hall."

And he did. He checked to make sure that no one was around before he ignored the Out of Order sign and walked in. It was by far the dreariest bathroom he had ever seen. Of course, it was hard to tell with all the smoke coming from one of the stalls.

Walking over to it, he opened the stall to see the cauldron perched on top the toilet and he got a much better look at the thick, dark muddy potion that was bubbling. Yes, he could tell right away that it looked exactly like it should and he quickly left, hoping that everything would turn out for the best.

*Later that day*

He had returned back to his office, feeling like he was about to burst from all the food and was even starting to feel sleepy. But curious about how the potion worked and what they found out he waited for Armando to appear and fill him in. As he waited he looked through some old files on some of the students who already passed through Hogwarts fifty years ago. Recognizing every name, he remembered some with pride—others with sadness and disappointment.

He flipped through them all until he found the one that he was looking for.

Student:

Tom Marvolo Riddle

Born:

31 December, 1926 at Wool's Orphanage, London.

House:

Slytherin

Blood status:

Half-blood

Occupation:

Prefect

Head Boy

Wand:

13½", Yew, phoenix feather core

"Oh, Tom…" he whispered. "Just where did it go all wrong?" He knew that there was something wrong about that boy the day that he met him at the Orphanage.

It was too much… thinking what happened to him and what he done… and what he became after he left school. All Albus could think of was what could he have done to stop all this? He hated himself for not being able to do more to stop Tom from becoming what he is now.

A phantom… a creature that can't even be called a human anymore.

"Dumbledore?" called Armando's voice. He looked up from the file to see Armando looking amused.

"Armando…" he called. "Tell me, how did it go?" He remembered seeing Hermione Granger running to the Gryffindor table and quickly talking to the boys before she went running off again. Harry and Ron soon got up and left as well and he was sure that they were going to use the potion. He decided to wait another few hours before he came back and waited for a report.

"Well," Armando stated slowly. "It could've gone better."

"I knew it!" Phineas said. "I knew that they would mess it up!"

"Oh, no," Albus said shaking his head. "What happened?"

"Well, Granger came up with a brilliant plan to get the hairs," he said. "They took some from Mr. Crabbe, and Mr. Goyle… they're Malfoy's best friends they figured that he would tell them everything. Anyway, they filled a couple cakes with a Sleeping Draught and once they were out cold they hid them in the broom cupboard before heading back to the bathroom."

Albus nodded. "That's an impressive way to get the hairs," he said. "And I guess that it worked? I check on the potion and everything was looking like it should."

"Well, two boys went in," Armando explained. "And two came out… and they weren't the boys that went in."

"Excellent," Albus said… but then he frowned and said, "But what about Miss Granger? Wasn't she going as well?"

"I… ah… I'll get to that in a minute," Armando said.

"Oooh, what happened?" Phineas called, finally looking interested.

"I'll get to that in a minute!" Armando called. "Anyway, I followed Potter and Weasley—looking like Crabbe and Goyle—and they wandered around in the dungeons for about about half an hour before Mafloy finally found them and they slipped into the Slytherin common room."

"They didn't know how to find the common room?" Albus asked with his eyebrows raised. "I thought that they would have had that all figured out."

"So in other words they're hopeless," Phineas added.

"Well," Armando said in their defense, "Even if they did know where it was they wouldn't have known the password. Anyway, I followed them inside… you know there are hardly any portraits in there."

"I have a portrait down there!" Phineas said coolly.

"But you didn't want to do it," Albus stated before turning his attention back to Armando. "So what did you find out?"

"Well, you were right about Malfoy not being the one responsible," Armando told him. "He doesn't know who the one behind the attacks is. But they did find out that the Chamber was opened fifty years ago."

"Ah," Dexter said. "So they were given another clue."

"That will surely lead them to more trouble and rule-breaking," Phineas said sourly.

"I have to say that Malfoy boy is truly horrid!" Armando said with a frown and sounded livid. "He said that he actually hoped that Granger is killed next!"

Albus frowned. He knew that the blame truly lied with Lucius Malfoy teaching his son to think like this. But to hear a student would actually wish for another child's death…

"What happened next?"

"Well," the painting went on. "Malfoy's got a bit of a big mouth. He came out and said that he has a secret room beneath his family's drawling room filled with items of the Dark Arts."

"Bet Ronald Weasley was glad to hear all that," Albus said with a slight smile.

"I heard him say that he was going to write to his father and tell him that," Armando said laughing. "Anyway, they ran out of there once they saw their hour was up. They went back to the bathroom to tell Granger what they learned… and…"

"And…?" Albus said, waiting to hear more.

"Well—you see…" he said slowly.

"Out with it already!" Phineas said annoyed.

"She took some of the potion as well," Armando told them, and he seemed to be fight the urge to smile and frown at the same time. "But she put in the wrong hair… it was… it was a cat hair."

Albus stared at him as Phineas started to laugh harshly. "A cat hair! I thought you all said that she was the smartest witch of her age! But she couldn't even put the right hair in a potion! Oh, that is hilarious. Tell me, did she get a tail?"

Armando gave him a glare before he said to Albus, "It took some time for the boys to convince her to leave the bathroom. But she's now in the Hospital Wing."

"And what did they tell Madam Pomfrey?" Albus asked.

"They all told her that she was trying some advance Transfiguration and it went wrong," he said shrugging.

"Did she believe that?"

"You know Poppy," he said with a shrug. "Doesn't like to ask too many questions."

Albus laced his fingers together and lay his head on them to think about all this. So—Harry now knew when the Chamber was last opened… he wasn't sure why he felt that it was important for his students to learn all this, especially if it meant that they might get into trouble because of it… but like he told Minerva. Children have the potential to go beyond any adults wildest dreams. He could only hope that this won't end badly.

(Yay… another chapter down. Well, I thought that I should let you all know that there will be 2 maybe 3 chapters left of the Chamber of Secrets and then we'll go straight onto Prisoner of Azkaban. And for those of you who have been asking, yes—I intend to do all the books—up to the final scene with Dumbledore at King's Cross Station in book 5. I hope you intend to stick with this story up till then… until then, please enjoy.)