A/N: I hope you all have a great New Year! See you back in 2016!
37. ContemplationsAfter leaving the Chamber, Remus invited Sirius and Amelia to his office for tea. At least that's what Remus said while they were in the presence of the other professors. Instead of stopping at his office on the third floor, he continued on to the seventh and the Room of Requirement. Sirius was about to ask where they were going until he realized where they were. Amelia quickly caught on that they were going somewhere private. Remus walked in front of the wall three times and a door appeared.
"How many other secrets do you gentlemen know?" asked Amelia.
"More than we're going to tell you," grinned Sirius.
Once they were comfortable, Amelia began the discussion.
"I thought you all would like an update on the case against the Dursleys. Dudley Dursley has been expelled from Smeltings and is now a ward of Child Social Services. He's currently in a group home being evaluated. It quickly came out that the Headmaster had been bribed to not report the numerous assaults on other students as well as the thefts of property and vandalism so he has resigned. Quite a few parents are now planning to prefer charges against young Dudley for his misdeeds. The elder Dursleys quickly made bail and are back at Privet Drive until their trial can be held. Grunnings Drills terminated Vernon's employment once it learned of the charges."
"I'll have to talk to Harry then. I suspect they will be having a very hard time making their mortgage payments," said Remus.
"Harry is not going to have pity on them and allow them to skip payments, Remus. I won't let him," said Sirius.
"I don't plan to allow that to happen. I just want him to be aware that it will probably happen. The bank should have notified them of their change in payment amount by now which will also affect their ability to meet the payment," replied Remus.
"The next item I am sure you are interested in is the Dementor attack on the Hogwarts Express. There are only a few people at the Ministry who could have ordered it. I don't think Fudge is smart enough to have done it, but we're not ruling him out."
"So do you have a suspect?" asked Sirius.
"We are investigating a couple of senior Ministry employees. I have my suspicion about who did it but until we are sure, I don't want to falsely accuse anyone."
"Serve them right to have to live with the very creatures they loosed on my godson," scowled Sirius.
"The next question I have is for you. What are you intending to do with Albus?"
Sirius replied, "At the moment I am biding my time until we have these other loose ends tied up. I have Gerald compiling a list of charges to bring to discuss with you and I hope you will be able to bring them to the Wizengamot. I plan to take the Black seat at the monthly meeting on Thursday. I think we'll be ready by the October meeting. The next step in the plot against him is the announcement of the guardianship. I'll talk to Harry to find out just how he wants to do this. Did you say there was a Hogsmeade weekend next month, Remus?"
"Yes, it's the 9th. I've already given Harry's permission form to Minerva. Also, you may want to plan to be here the 23rd for the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch match."
"This may be one time we can actually use Rita Skeeter for our own benefit. Perhaps an exclusive with us will keep her on our side when the fur begins to fly."
"Is there anything else you needed to tell us about, Amelia?" asked Sirius.
"No, I think this is enough for now. I'll keep you posted on the developments with both the Dursleys and the Dementor investigation."
Sirius then broke his news, "Well, I have something for you both. I believe I've found another of Voldemort's prized possessions," and related the story that Kreacher had told him.
"I took it straight to Gringotts. They had one of the curse experts who examined Harry take a look at it. It's definitely another one. They weren't able to open it either. I gave them permission to use whatever method they could to destroy it. Since there is apparently only two ways to do that, they enclosed it in a room and cast fiendfyre. The room they used shook for a few seconds afterwards, then all was silent. All that was left was a molten glob of gold. I've placed it in my vault for now."
They discussed that development for a few more minutes before Remus escorted them to the gates then headed to the Great Hall for lunch. Before they left, Remus handed Sirius a small package. Harry had Quidditch practice that afternoon. They planned to check in with the goblins before dinner.
Harry came back into the castle a dirty mess. Oliver Wood, the Quidditch captain, had worked them mercilessly even though all players had been on the team for the past two years. Harry had caught the snitch five different times and avoided all of the bludgers the twins hit at him. He had just enough time to get a shower before it was time for dinner. Harry had not told his friends about the find in the Chamber of Secrets. Although Ron said he never wanted to see that place again, he was sure Hermione would want to see the hidden library. He waited until Remus indicated he was through with dinner then met him outside the Great Hall. Once they passed the security troll and were down into the Chamber, Remus was comfortable telling Harry what he'd learned from Amelia.
"So Uncle Vernon lost his job and Dudley was kicked out of Smeltings. What other good news do you have?"
"You don't have to look so pleased, Harry."
"I'm not, but you know what they say about what goes around, comes around? It appears they're now getting theirs."
"Yes, however, this does affect you indirectly."
"Whatever Gringotts believes is the right course of action is fine with me. I'm not going to interfere one way or the other."
"Sirius wanted to talk to you about announcing the guardianship."
"Oh! I knew there was something I needed to talk to him about." Harry looked a bit dejected.
"Don't worry. I've got a solution for the communication problem. We don't have to rely solely on Dobby now." He reached into his pocket for another small package. "I would recommend you use this in private for now. Of course you can have Ron and Hermione around, but I think we need to keep this quiet. It's the communication mirror Sirius was talking about. It works for either Sirius or me. Just speak the name of the person you wish to talk to and their mirror will vibrate and get warm. Try it now."
Harry took the mirror and spoke, "Sirius?" After waiting a few minutes, a face appeared.
"Hi pup! It appears the mirrors work well. Thanks Moony! Sorry I didn't get to see you before I left. I know you had a full day planned even before the goblins showed up. How is the harvest going?"
"I don't know, we're on our way there. We just stopped for a few minutes before going in."
"Well, don't let me hold you up. Call me again tonight before you go to bed. I've got a few things to talk to you about."
"Sure!"
They continued on into the main Chamber. The goblins had made fast work and were about half way through harvesting the beast. It looked even worse without the skin on it. Harry's stomach got a bit unsettled looking at it. Darmok noticed their arrival and walked over to them.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin, how may I be of service to you this evening?"
"We just wanted to see how you are doing Senior Beast Master Darmok," said Harry.
"I would be honored if you would call me Darmok. I did not mention this when the others were around, but anyone who has successfully wielded the Sword of Ragnuk the First is honored by the Goblin Nation. We are progressing satisfactorily, Mr. Potter. While none of us have ever seen a basilisk of this size before, the goblins have numerous accounts of them and the proper way to harvest the remains. This should be a very profitable enterprise for both yourself and the goblins."
"Is there anything you need of us tonight?" asked Remus?
"No. With the castle quiet, I am sure we will get much of this completed by dawn tomorrow."
"Then we will leave you to your work. If you require anything, please call for Dobby and he will get one of us."
In the Headmaster's office, Albus Dumbledore was pondering the day's activities. Having seen the size of the beast last week, he was even more surprised that Harry had survived the encounter three months prior. That, however, was small when put up against the find of the Founders' Library. There was nothing he knew that could compare to that in the history of Hogwarts. Unfortunately, the only way he could get down to it was to ask Harry to let him in. He would need to notify the Board of Governors of the latest find. He hadn't told them of the basilisk, only that the mysterious Chamber of Secrets had finally been located and that it no longer posed a threat to the students. He did tell them that Slytherin's fabled monster had been dealt with and would no longer plague the castle. It had taken a lot of finesse on his part to avoid answering anything directly. Being able to implicate Lucius Malfoy in the events deflected some of the pressure he could have felt. It also succeeded in getting Lucius ejected from the Board.
What to make of the blooming relationship between Harry and Sirius was his greatest puzzle at the moment. With Remus as the Potter Steward, that meant that they were most probably aware of the status of the Potter finances to include Harry's trust vault. Well, that couldn't be helped. It was all for the greater good to ensure Petunia's silence over taking the boy. He regretted he could not continue the payments after Harry started at Hogwarts, but he had placated the Dursleys by reminding them that they only had to put up with the boy for two months out of the year.
Sirius had been quite adamant when he asked why he was here to emphasize that he was Harry's godfather. Yes, he was sure that was another thing that had come out when the will had been read, but the man had been free less than a month. How could they have developed a relationship in such a short time? He had only been cleared two days before Harry had come to school. None of his contacts at the Ministry had given him anything that he should be concerned about.
Amelia's presence was even more concerning. Apparently she had spoken with Harry before he came back to school. Of course! It had to be when she was talking to him about Pettigrew's capture. Surely there had been nothing more to it. She couldn't have any connection with the Dursley's arrest. Somehow the muggle authorities must have been alerted by someone else, perhaps a neighbor new to the community. He had been pleased with the atmosphere of mistrust the Dursleys had created in regards to Harry. Spreading the word that Harry attended a school for criminal boys had been a stroke of genius on their part. Well, perhaps he could find out more when he went to the Ministry on Thursday for the monthly meeting of the Wizengamot.
In the dungeons, Severus Snape was also contemplating the day's events over a tumbler of firewhiskey. Certainly the boy could have used the venom he had given him for more profitable means. Whomever had told him to work with the goblins on the basilisk was a genius - unless it was the goblins themselves. But how could they know about it unless Potter told them about it? Ah yes, the health report mentioned basilisk venom contamination. The boy was becoming more of a puzzle as each day progressed. Apparently he and the wolf had gotten to know each other after the will reading. Had he not sought out the boy after his parents' death? He was sure the wolf had been spoiling him along with his relatives. But wait. This was Petunia he was thinking about. She had turned on Lily after she'd gotten her Hogwarts letter. The chance she'd had a major turn in her personality was quite slim. That was evident by the nutrient potion the boy was now brewing under his supervision.
Really, the boy had been quite pleasant this term, other than his insubordination on that first day of class with the incident with Malfoy. His question had been quite pointed too. No, he would not have believed him without the statement from the mediwitch. Actually his whole plan had been positively Slytherin. Wait, this was Harry Potter he was thinking about. There could not have been a plan at all. He must have just thought it up on the spur of the moment not knowing what was going to happen. The boy had no sense of self-preservation.
It still did not explain why he gave him three GALLONS of the basilisk venom. The stuff was practically priceless. The last time there had been any on the market was several hundred years ago. The supply currently available had all been harvested from one found in Egypt in the 1600s. It was more valuable than gold. The small stock he had on hand had been a gift from the Potions Master he had studied under after he left Hogwarts.
Severus reached over to the table and picked up the two books he had gotten from Slytherin's library. As far as he could determine, both books had been so long out of print that there were no references in anything he had read to indicate their existence. The wealth of knowledge in that one room was priceless, yet the boy had made sure to have all of the heads of house there to share in the find as well as the Queen of Books. That must have been the wolf's doing. Or possibly the Director of the DMLE. Her presence was definitely unexpected. Oh to find out what THAT connection was all about. What surprised him most of all was that he hadn't invited the know-it-all bookworm to view the find. Trouble with the Golden Trio perhaps?
With those thoughts circling around in his mind, Severus took himself to bed, only to have the ghost of Lily invade his sleep reminding him of how poorly he had treated her son.