Chapter 52: Kreacher's Confession
Hard to believe that less than a day ago, he was sitting in his office, dealing with Umbridge, the Ministry, and everything else that seemed to be going wrong at Hogwarts… and now here he was…
And, apparently, he wasn't the only one who thought so.
"I can't believe that you came here!" snapped a familiar voice from behind him.
Albus was sitting in a small room, all the curtains drawn, and was looking over a piece of parchment as he took a sip of Firewhiskey.
"With the Ministry running around in circles trying to find you, why would you come here?" Aberforth demanded.
Albus looked up to smile at him and answered, "Because I know those big-shots at the Ministry," he answered simply. "I know how they think. And I know that they would think that I'm going far away… they would never dream that I'm still within a stone's throw of Hogwarts."
Aberforth raised his eyebrows and Albus also added, "I won't be staying here for long. I'll stop by here only once in awhile as to not cause you any trouble. I will be spending most of my time travelling. I'll stop in from time-to-time to hear how things are going inside the school… and to rest. Because where I'm going, I have a bad feeling that I will be doing precious little of that."
"And where are you going might I ask?" he asked him coldly.
"A private matter I'm afraid, Aberforth," he answered with a nod of his head. He then looked down at the parchment and sighed. It was yet another one of those stupid Educational Decrees… the worst one yet…
BY ORDER OF THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC
Dolores Jane Umbridge (High Inquisitor) has replaced Albus Dumbledore as Head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-eight.
Signed: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic
He shook his head. He doubted that there can be anyone worse than that toad there… now all that was standing between her and his students were his staff—and even then, if they weren't careful, at the very least they'll be fired… possibly even arrested.
"Well," he said throwing the paper aside. "I can't say that I'm surprised that she decided to take over."
Aberforth walked over and picked up the paper so that he could see what it said. He then looked up and asked him, "So what's the school going to be like with Umbridge as head? From what I know of her, she was bad enough just as 'High Inquisitor'."
"That is what I'm worried about," Albus sighed. He stood up and paced the room. "I honestly don't know how much worse she could get, but I had no choice but to leave. I was afraid that they would catch Harry and the other students in their Defense Club… if I didn't take the blame for it, then they would have expelled the lot of them."
"You left to protect that boy?" Aberforth said watching him, his eyebrows raised. "That's oddly noble of you to take the fall for someone else now isn't it?"
The air in the room grew much thicker, and Albus knew that they were both thinking of the same thing… Ariana. Though his brother didn't even mention her name, he didn't have to for the effect to make a point…
"The Ministry had been trying to get rid of me for months," he answered a little stiffer than usual. "And right now, it's more important for Harry to remain at the castle where he's protected." He finally stopped pacing and glanced over at him and finished, "At least this way, I can be of some use to the Order without having to deal with all that paperwork as well."
He sat down in his chair again. "I'll wait a few more days when I am certain that I have a plan and then I'll leave for a time if that is alright by you."
"How long will you be gone?" Aberforth asked him darkly.
"Don't know," Albus answered truthfully. He honestly had no idea where he was going, or how long it will take, but he knew that this was a road that he had to walk. "Like I said, I'll drop in some times to check how things are going; but I'll be travelling most of the rest of my time. I truly appreciate this, Aberforth."
"Be quiet," he said grumpily, turning on his heel and leaving the room. "You can stay here… but it will be going on your tab."
"I know," Albus called after him. "But I mean it all the same, Aberforth… thank you."
Aberforth stopped in the doorway and gave him an annoyed look before he shut the door. Albus chuckled at his brother's behavior as he listened to his footsteps die away. When all was silent, he looked to the empty painting in the room. "Well?" he called, wondering who will arrive here for him.
For a few minutes, nothing happened, but then Everard came walking in. "That was one heck of an exit, Dumbledore."
Albus smiled. "There was no other option," he answered brightly. "But I wanted to leave an impression that they weren't going to catch me easily. But enough of that, tell me, what is happening now."
"Not much," he answered with a shrug. "Just that everyone is upset that toad is now in power. Strange though that everyone already knows that you escaped from Fudge, the toad, some Aurors, and that pompous, ungrateful Weasley. The whole school is talking about it."
Albus raised his eyebrows. "Really?" he asked, trying not to sound sarcastic. "I wonder how…?"
But he already knew the answer. He knew that all the paintings in the castle were gossips. But the portraits in his office were some of the biggest gossips of them all. He would be willing to bet that they had run through the castle telling anyone who would listen.
"Mystery to everyone," Everard said, and Albus could see him fighting a smile. "And you should hear some of the rumors that they're coming up with. One of them said that you turned Fudge's head into a pumpkin! And there are some Hufflepuffs who're swearing that you set his robes on fire and that you left as he put it out."
"Though neither of those are true," Albus said with a soft laugh, "They are wonderful ideas. I am tempted to do that next time… though I hope that there will not be a next time."
"Another thing that I think you should know," Everard stated, folding his arms. "Or maybe… several things. First, after you left, Umbridge tried to get back into your office after they searched the castle and grounds for you. She couldn't get inside."
Albus chuckled, "Well, I wasn't technically fired nor did I resign, I left before either could occur, therefore in the eyes of the school, I have merely left the premises for a time. So she has no right to go into my office without permission."
"Can't say that I'm torn up about it," he smirked. "No way would I want to listen to her talk all day. At least you have a sense of humor. But boy, you should have heard her tantrum. If she didn't look like an overgrown toad, I would have sworn that I was looking at a five year old who didn't get to go out for ice cream."
"I'm sure that she would have loved that," Albus sighed. "She must have worked herself up with the idea of ruling over the teachers in my office like some kind of dictator. Too bad that Hogwarts isn't nearly as easy to deal with as I am."
"Another thing," Everard said, now sounding cross with him as if he was a parent who caught his child misbehaving. "I think that you made a mistake making that Malfoy brat a Prefect."
"Oh?" he asked in surprise. "Do tell."
"Apparently he and a lot of other Slytherins are enjoying taking points from the other Houses," he said bitterly.
"That's impossible," Albus said, reaching for another glass of Firewhiskey. "Prefects can only dock points from their own Houses. Only teachers and the Head Boy and Girl can take points elsewhere."
"Well, Umbridge has set up what she calls the 'Inquisitorial Squad', and now it's complete chaos," he said, looking like he wished he could punch something.
"The what?" Albus repeated, already knowing that he wasn't going to enjoy hearing this.
"The Inquisitorial Squad," Everard said again with a scowl. "She's getting students on her side. Umbridge created it to round up people she doesn't like and take points from them. Everyone in her little squad are Slytherins see…? And they now have the power to take points from whoever they want and report to her. I suppose she picked them to do her dirty work."
"Yes, being head of Hogwarts isn't easy," Albus said darkly. "I imagine that she feels that she needs more help in ruling over them. I know that I won't like the answer here, but just how bad is it?"
"Malfoy, and everyone in that Squad, are taking points off the other Houses just because they don't like them or because they're Muggleborn," he said in outrage. "Brats the whole lot of them! I know that I normally don't say that about students, but they are all children of Death Eaters there, Dumbledore! Monsters all of them…"
Albus's eyes narrowed. "I can see that he is making me regret electing him a Prefect. I had hoped that some responsibility would change his attitude… not to abuse his position."
He shook his head. Draco was truly sounding so immature… like an angry child who wanted to make everyone suffer if he couldn't get what he wanted. This was not good…
"I also overheard that the Weasley twins are planning something," he went on. "Said that they don't care about being expelled anymore… something about already having everything they need and want to give a bit of mayhem for their new Headmistress. They're going to do it sometime today, whatever it is."
Albus smiled. "Well, I think I'll stick around here just a little longer. I almost feel sorry for Umbridge now after hearing that. I can't help but wonder what they have planned. Well, if there is nothing else you want to tell me, then you may leave. And thank you Everard."
He watched as Everard walked out of his painting and he took this moment of quiet to lie down on the bed. He then spent the next few hours looking over several maps of Britain… trying to decide where to start. But his mind couldn't help but wonder off to what the twins were up too. If he knew them as well as he thought that he did, then Dolores Umbridge was going to have an interesting first day on the job… and he knew that she wasn't going to receive any sympathy or help from the staff, especially considering her abhorrent treatment of the students.
It was nearing the late afternoon, when he was rolling up the charts, just making up his mind on where to go, when he heard it.
Loud bangs and explosions were echoing outside. He jumped up and ran to the window, parting the curtains just enough for him to peek out. There outside in the grounds, somebody (and he had a very shrewd idea who) had set off what seemed hundreds of enchanted fireworks.
There were some shocking-pink Catherine wheels, fire-breathing dragons, sparklers that spell out profanity, rockets with long tails of silver stars and firecrackers dancing among the grounds… he burst out laughing at the field of chaos.
"Dumbledore!" shouted a voice, and he looked back to see the empty portrait, and Dexter came running in. "Did you see…?"
"How can I not?" he laughed, sounding more cheerful than he had been for a long time as he turned to continue staring at the fireworks.
"Amazing!" he cried out like a small child who was seeing fireworks for the first time. "I can only imagine just the kind of madness that is going on inside the castle. This is truly impressive. Those boys have some great talent."
"The teachers sure aren't bothering to help," Dexter cried out, slapping his knee as he laughed. "They prefer to let Umbridge suffer. She really isn't a good witch is she? She doesn't know what to do! I think she's only making it worse!"
He laughed again. "No, she never was particularly skilled in magic."
They calmed down enough for Dexter to say, "You know she really has it out for Potter though. Just before all this I mean!" he then jerked his thumb to the window, meaning the fireworks, and finished, "She had Filch drag him to her office."
His smile faded slightly. "What happened?"
"Well, can't possibly blame Potter for all this," he said. "After all, I watched the twins set them off just outside her office. And Potter was in there with her when they did so she can't blame him now can she?"
"What happened?" Albus asked again.
"I could hear her from inside the office," he informed him. "Couldn't see what was happening, but I did hear Filch kept going on and on saying that things were changing as he dragged Potter up there."
"I've noticed," Albus said, his eyes turning back to the castle, his eyes darkened. "But not for the better."
"She's given him new power," he said angrily. "Umbridge and Fudge are actually going to allow Filch to start whipping people, do you?"
"I'm sure Umbridge would find it amusing," he said gravely. "That seems to be her type of humor. There is a reason I have not allowed such punishments; as they are repulsive, cruel and do not fit the crimes to which they would be used."
He hoped that the students would be smart enough to avoid making her angry now.
"But what did Umbridge want with Harry?" he asked again.
"She was very insistent on Potter have a drink with her," he said.
Albus looked at the portrait out of the corner of his eyes and said, "I see. Please tell me that Harry didn't touch anything she gave him."
"Hard to say," he answered. "I wasn't able to see what was going on in there, but I do remember last night when some of the other portraits saying that they saw her going to Snape and demanded he give her some bottles of Veritaserum."
Albus sighed. "Again, I'm not surprised. She wants Harry to tell her where I am. Thankfully, she can question him all she wants, he doesn't know."
"I doubt that he would be dumb enough to drink anything from her anyway," Dexter said.
"If the fact she was offering him a drink wasn't enough, the insistence goes to show she's probably got the Veritaserum in them," he said.
"To be honest, I think that Mad-Eye might have gotten to him because I don't think he drank anything," Dexter told him. "I think that he might have learned something from that crazy bugger over the summer don't you?"
"Bless Alastor and his paranoia," Albus said lightly. "But like I said, even if he did, he could only answer her truthfully and doesn't have anything to tell her about me. Though I know that she won't be happy about that."
"She also asked about Sirius Black's whereabouts," he said. "Which is why I know that he didn't drink anything because I heard him say no."
"That is a great relief," he said gladly. "It would be troublesome if she were to find out Harry and Sirius's relationship. However, the fidelius charm would protect Sirius as Harry is physically unable to reveal the secret, as he is not the secret keeper. What else did she ask?"
"Nothing," Everard said, sniggering. "Cause after all that was when the first round of fireworks was let off."
Albus shook his head a smile playing on his mouth, but a very faint one. There really wasn't anything that he could do here anymore… time for his plan to start taking play. "I must leave," he said finally. "I know now what it is that I must do…"
"But the school…?" Everard began but Albus sighed and finally looked up at him.
"There isn't anything can do about it now," he said grimly. "But I do get reports from Minerva and Severus from time to time; as well as from the rest of the Order. I will have plenty to keep me busy and I trust my staff to take care of the students. I must do what I can while I am free to do so."
"What is it that is so important that you have to put everything happening at Hogwarts on hold?" Everard asked him desperately.
"Two reasons," he said, picking up his travelling cloak. "First of all, there isn't anything I can do at Hogwarts because the Ministry is after me. And second, I believe that Voldemort's greatest flaw will be his downfall." He flung the cloak around his shoulders and picked up his wand to cast a Disillusionment Charm over himself.
"He believes that he is superior to all others… but he may have underestimated me," he finished as he looked at him seriously and gave an order. "Please keep an eye on the castle for me. You and the others. I will return here for information on how my school is doing when I can. But know that I will be travelling for a private mission I gave myself."
Everard nodded in understanding. He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Does that mean that Phineas will be pulling his weight around for once?"
Albus laughed again as he checked maps one more time and caused them to vanish. "Yes, tell him to keep an eye on the Slytherins. And should he use that big mouth of his to broadcast what we're planning, I'll hang him in the North Tower."
He continued chuckling as he watched Everard leave, a smug look on his face.
Albus put his wand back inside his pocket as he put his mind back to what it was he had to do. He knew that he had to start looking for possible place where Tom could have hidden a horcrux.
*Weeks later*
Albus spent the next few weeks traveling the countryside, trying to think to how Tom would think. The first stop had been where he first met the young Tom Riddle. Without any other leads, he traveled into London and searched for the orphanage in which Voldemort had been raised. As he already knew, the house had been demolished many years ago and now there were a series of office buildings.
But he knew better than to look there for a horcrux anyway. The orphanage had been the place where Tom had been determined to escape; he would never have hidden a part of his soul there.
Albus turned away and continued looking. He knew Tom… he taught him himself after all and knew that he would have chosen grandeur or mystique in his hiding places; this dismal gray corner of London was as far removed as you could imagine from the wizarding world.
And so began his journey. Albus travelled across Britain, across England… but he was never able to get a clue. He had to hand it to Tom… he knew how to cover his tracks well. All he had were a few memories and clues from them. For the last couple of years, he had gathered memories from as many people who knew Tom as he could find.
Most of the memories he found weren't very informative… others were much more so…
Once in awhile he would return to the Hog's Head in the dead of night, but only until he got some sleep. After that, he would leave again.
Late one stormy afternoon, he returned to his brother's pub to find some interesting news. His portraits were working twice as hard to keep as many eyes as possible on everyone. But he had heard that the Weasley twins had left not too long ago… and before they did, they had done one last trick.
"I hear that things aren't going as smoothly for Umbridge as she thought it would be," Albus smiled.
"I think that she's really regretting taking the job now," Dilys laughed.
She had just gotten through with telling him how the twins had turned the fifth floor into a swamp and no one was bothering to help Umbridge get rid of it. He knew that Filius or Minerva could have vanished it all in a snap, but he supposed that that would be being helpful…
As for Filch, he was now forced the job of punting students across it to their classrooms.
"How many times do you think people 'forgot' something, just so that they could get Filch to punt them back and forth?" she asked with a rather evil grin.
"I suspect many times," he laughed. "And it's also a good excuse for being late to lessons. All they had to do was blame Argus for being a slow punter. So now he must pay for wanting to whip the students." But as he said that, he got nervous and asked, "Have there…?"
"Nope," she laughed. "He hasn't had a chance to use the whip because there's just too much going on!"
And she told him.
She told him how someone had managed to smuggle a Niffler into Umbridge's office and tore the place apart… ending with Umbridge scream of rage echoing around the castle when she saw the mess and how the creature tried to bite off her fingers for her rings. Though amusing, he hoped that she wouldn't blame Hagrid for this.
Now Dungbombs and Stink Pellets were dropped so frequently in the corridors that students were taking a habit of using Bubble-Head Charms on themselves before leaving lessons. The members of the Inquisitorial Squad were now suffering for odd things kept happening to them.
"I wonder who added those antlers to Miss Parkinson," he asked lightly as Dilys laughed. "Though it's nothing too serious I hope?"
"Madam Pomfrey has everything under control with them," she assured him. "Too bad that she can't do a thing about a new disease that's going around called Umbridge-itis."
"Never heard of it," he said evenly.
"Symptoms are…" Dilys said in a mock serious voice, "Fainting, vomit, developing dangerous fevers or heavy nosebleeds as soon as you enter her classroom. The only cure? Leaving Umbridge's class as soon as possible!"
He laughed again, having had so little to laugh about these days. "That sounds fascinating…"
She told him so much more—but it appears that Peeves has become the true bane of Umbridge's existence. Cackling madly, he soared through the school, upending tables, bursting out of blackboards, toppling statues and vases; twice he shut Mrs. Norris inside a suit of armor, smashed lanterns and snuffed out candles, juggled burning torches over the heads of screaming students, caused neatly stacked piles of parchment to topple into fires or out of windows; flooded the second floor when he pulled off all the taps in the bathrooms and—when he was bored—he would spend hours at a time floating along after Umbridge and blowing loud raspberries every time she spoke.
Apparently, just that morning, he dropped a bag of tarantulas in the middle of the Great Hall during breakfast and caused a stampede of panicked students.
"Sounds like a living nightmare," he said lightly. "I hope that Peeves doesn't hurt the students in his pranks. Now tell me, how is my staff? How are they taking all this?"
"You wouldn't know that anything bad was happening the way they act," she grinned. "It's like they becoming blind to anything that the students are doing to Umbridge. The other day I saw McGonagall walking right underneath a chandelier that Peeves was trying to unscrew and didn't say a word."
That caused them both to start another round of laughter, and Albus was able to sleep peacefully for the rest of the day. Once the sun had set and there were few people outside, he vanished into the night once again.
*A couple more weeks later*
He was beginning to feel as if he was in the middle of a wild goose chase. He hadn't had any luck trying to figure out where a Horcrux could be hidden. He had visited the locations that he knew were places where Voldemort had lived or visited. The orphanage where he had been born and raised; Borgin and Burks, where he had worked after completing school; then Albania, where he had spent his years of exile…
But so far, he hadn't had any luck at all and was beginning to wonder if there was any chance at all.
Still, he ignored those negative feelings as best as he could and soldiered on. It had become easier once the weather had turned warmer… and he had also cheered up greatly when he heard the news that Gryffindor had won the cup once again this year. Even without any new idea, he continued to move through the countryside, off to find another lonely and secluded spot, traveling by Apparition to more woods, to the shadowy crevices of cliffs, to purple moors, gorse-covered mountainsides. He spent most of his time in the Muggle World, as the Ministry would never look there for him.
He would stop at pubs to order food and board for the night before he would set out again into the wilderness the next morning. But during his travels, he couldn't help but wonder how Hogwarts was faring now. The end of the year was fast approaching and he couldn't help but wonder when the curse would strike and get Umbridge out of their hair once and for all.
Just thinking about that toad made his blood boil, but he did his best to put her out of his mind as well. He would hear from the other Order members from time to time, and he would send them his orders on what to do. So far, things were going very smoothly for them… he could only wish they were going the same for him.
*That night*
He had spent most of that day wandering the forests in Albania, only to come up empty. Finally, exhausted, and longing for a bit of sleep, he returned to the Hog's Head, very late, and looking forward to some sleep. But before he did, he checked in with his portraits on what has been happening since he last asked.
According to Dexter, nothing truly out of the usual… meaning that Umbridge was still miserable; which was the best news he heard all day. But he was also amused to hear that the usual black-market was back up now that exams were so near.
"You remember that Eddie Carmichael?" Dexter asked him.
"Yes," Albus said politely as he pulled off his damp cloak and draped it over the only chair in the room. "In Ravenclaw? I remember him well why?"
"He's trying to sell some 'Brain Elixir'," he laughed as he made air quotes in the air. "He says that it was what got him those nine 'Outstanding' OWLs."
Albus laughed. "Did he now? And tell me did anyone actually believe that?"
"Doesn't matter anymore; Miss Granger confiscated it all," he laughed. "Turns out that it was actually dried Doxy droppings. Tell me, are any of that stuff actually real?"
"Extremely rarely," he answered with a chuckle, "And it is illegal to take them right before an exam anyway."
"Speaking of which," he remarked. "For the fifth years, their first exam will be Transfiguration tomorrow. And Minerva is saying that Umbridge plans on punishing cheaters severely… and that their exams will reflect on Umbridge's new regime."
"Is that an incentive to cheat?" Albus asked.
"If those exams weren't so important, I would think so," Dexter agreed. "Though, because of their club, everyone on that list will probably pass their Defense Against the Dark Arts. Won't it look like Umbridge managed to teach us something?"
"Only a small number of the school," he answered. 'And it doesn't matter,' he added as an afterthought. 'She'll be gone soon.'
"One more thing…" Dexter explained just before he walked out of the painting. "I kinda eavesdropped on Potter during his interview with McGonagall for his career?" He smirked, "He said that he wants to be an Auror."
Albus smiled. "Now, why doesn't that surprise me?"
"Umbridge didn't seem too happy at that idea," he laughed. "You know… if the Auror gig doesn't work out for him, you could always hire him as a teacher. He sure did a better job than Umbridge and he didn't even give them homework."
Albus smiled. "That isn't a bad idea. But we have to get rid of Umbridge first…"
*A couple days later*
Finally, after much more studying into the memories he had managed to collect, he believed that he was finally onto a place where a Horcrux just might be. He never gave it much thought… but it did make sense when he thought about it.
Little Hangleton…
It was home to Tom's ancestors…
Albus never did have much to go by when it came to Tom Riddle… except for Tom's middle name… Marvolo…
For the last few years, he had done his best to try to find more about Tom, and tracing Salazar Slytherin's line had been almost impossible; but thanks to that middle name, he had been able to track down a wizard named Marvolo Gaunt. This same man who had been imprisoned in Azkaban for a short time over fifty years ago, and sure enough, with some research, he had been able to discover that he was self-proclaimed 'Slytherin's descendant'.
And it was there that he discovered Marvolo had two children—his son Morfin and daughter Merope. There was no doubt in his mind that Marvolo's daughter Merope had been Tom's mother and Morfin his uncle. He discovered that Morfin had been in Azkaban for many years now and Albus had been allowed to visit him in that dreadful place some time ago to meet him.
The memory had been buried very deep and it took some skill but he managed to discover that Tom had come back here to meet Morfin himself. And it was thanks to Morfin did Tom discover that his Muggle father was still living here in this town.
Albus sighed as he stared up at the gloomy sky.
Morfin had been charged and also confessed to the murdering Tom Riddle and his parents… but that had been a lie. Morfin's memories had been modified and hid the truth. The true memory was when he met his young nephew… and that same nephew was the one who had killed his own father and grandparents. And he was still underage at the time… he never expected that an underage wizard would be capable of murder.
He felt a terrible sense of grief inside him at the thought of how anyone could be so cold-hearted that they would feel nothing after doing such a terrible thing. Murder and blamed the entire thing on Morfin.
The Muggle authorities were, of course, perplexed; for the Avada Kedavra curse doesn't normally leave a mark. But the Ministry, on the other hand, knew at once that this was a wizard's murder, and were also aware that a convicted Muggle-hater lived across the valley from the Riddle house, a Muggle-hater who had already been imprisoned once for attacking one of the murdered people.
When they came to him, they didn't need to question him, to use Veritaserum or Legilimency. He admitted to the murder on the spot, giving details only the murderer could know. He was proud, he said, to have killed the Muggles, had been awaiting his chance all these years. He handed over his wand, which was proved at once to have been used to kill the Riddles. And he permitted himself to be led off to Azkaban without a fight.
But the truth was that a false memory had been planted in his mind. That is a really complex bit of magic. Especially as Tom was so young…
Though he can't say for sure what happened here, he had a fairly accurate guess. Tom stunned his uncle before he stole his wand, and proceeded across the valley to the Muggle man who had abandoned his witch mother, and killed him along with his Muggle grandparents. Then he returned to the Gaunt hovel, performed the complex bit of magic that would implant a false memory in his uncle's mind, laid Morfin's wand beside its unconscious owner, and stole the ring…
His thoughts soon trailed over something else that bothered him greatly…
"The ring… the ring! Father will kill me for losing his ring!"
"What ring is this?"
"The ring! Father's ring! Slytherin's ring! He'll kill me for losing it!"
A ring… he stopped in the middle of the road, his mind racing. Those words were the only ones that Morfin had said during their interview… the only words that he ever said again apparently. Retrieving these memories hadn't been easy but they proved that Morfin didn't commit the crime that he had been imprisoned for. However, before he could clear his name, Morfin had died.
But he had watched those memories over and over again… and what he saw sent both fear and excitement through him.
The ring… a ring that had the Peverell coat of arms engraved on the stone?
He gave a sharp intake of breath before he shook his head—but there was no doubt in his mind to what that stone was.
He quickened his pace, now anxious to reach the house where the Gaunts once lived. He had to know… did his long search for the stone finally pay off? Did the Deathly Hallow that he had been longing to find for so many years truly exist here in this village?
But just as he was almost over the final hill, something stopped him. A large fireball appeared behind him in midair. Stopping dead in his tracks, he spun around to see Fawkes had appeared.
"Fawkes," he said at once as the phoenix dropped a single golden feather and a scribbled piece of parchment into his hands and landed gently on his shoulder. It was so lucky that they were so far away from the village that no one will be able to see or hear them, but he couldn't help but cast quick glances around him before he sighed in relief.
Fawkes rubbed his warm head against his withered cheek, cooing softly.
"Yes, my friend," he whispered, reaching up to stroke Fawkes's beautiful feathers. "I missed you too. But what is so urgent?"
He unrolled the scrap of paper and recognized the hand-writing that belonged to Severus.
Something terrible as happened to Hagrid and Minerva last night. We need to talk.
Albus bit his lip and cast a look to the hill in front of him. He was longing to go over that hill and find that ring… but…
Fawkes sang a soft song to him and he nodded. "I understand," he said, more to himself than to Fawkes.
"I understand…" he said again. "I'll meet with him at once. I can come back later…"
But as he turned to go, he cast one last glance at the hill, knowing that his dearest wish could finally be within grasp—but Fawkes gave an impatient trill and it brought him back to his senses.
"I'm sorry," he told him, feeling comfort in Fawkes's light weight. "It's just… I'm so close now… but it can all wait until later."
Fawkes gave him a sad look and sang a few gentle notes that warmed his insides and he smiled. "I waited this long, yes I can wait a little longer. Let us go…"
This seemed to cheer Fawkes up for his stretched his wings out and sang as Dumbledore grabbed hold of his tail and then the two of them were gone in a ball of fire.
*The Edge of the forest*
He only had to wait a few minutes for Severus to come and meet him. He was hidden in the forest, just out of sight, but able to get a full view of the great building that had been his home for most of his life.
He smiled up at it sadly as he looked down in time to see Severus coming towards him.
"Severus?" he asked coming forward. "It is good to see you again."
"I don't have much time here, Headmaster," he replied coolly. "I let it slip that I was going to the forest for some Moly plants for my next class. But I doubt that it will work for long. Umbridge has her nose in everywhere."
"I see," Albus nodded. "Then we'll make it quick. What has happened here?"
"Hagrid left the school," he informed him and Albus stared.
"What?" he said, sure that he heard wrong for a moment.
"That toad Umbridge," he said, his lip curling. "She had been looking for a reason to sack Hagrid for some time. The other day, someone had snuck another Niffler into her office, so she took her chance to blame the Care of Magical Creatures teacher for it. She tried to sneak up on him last night… took six Auror's with her so that they could take him."
"Take him where?" he asked, his eyes narrow as he felt his anger beginning to rise.
"I don't know," he answered. "But Umbridge attempted to have Hagrid forcibly removed from the premises, and possibly arrested in the middle of the night so as not to cause a commotion with the students due to their earlier presence at Sybill's dismissal. Hagrid took on the officials while they attempted to subdue him."
"Attempting is probably the key word, as his heritage will probably help him in this situation," Albus said. "He's half-giant, and can't be stunned that easily. And after the Ministry imprisoned him in Azkaban a couple years ago, he's not eager to listen to them."
"That's probably why she took six fully trained Auror's with her," Severus muttered darkly. "Hagrid fought them off… but Minerva has now been moved to St. Mungo's."
"Why? What happened to her?" he asked in concern.
"You know how she is," he told him. "She won't idly stand by while her friends are being attacked. But they attacked her for getting in Umbridge's way. Professor McGonagall came to Hagrid's defense and was seriously injured after being hit by four simultaneous Stunning Spells without warning."
Albus's hands curled into fists, his nails digging into his skin as his anger was threatening to spill over. "Four Stunners?!" he said through gritted teeth. "Four Stunners?! That could easily kill someone! That is utterly disgraceful!"
"Madam Pomfrey couldn't do much for her," he explained grimly. "So we had no other choice but to move her to St. Mungo's early this morning. But I don't think we need to worry. I think it will take more than a few stunners to kill her. You should have seen Umbridge at breakfast however. You would think nothing happened. She was all too happy to get rid of her. That was when word got around to what happened. I think that Umbridge should watch herself from now on because now everyone in the school seems to want her dead."
"Yes," Albus muttered, his hatred for Umbridge rising to a new level. "I don't blame them. And I understand why she's so happy now that Minerva isn't there. Because she is known for being a close friend of mine as well as obviously being rather vocal against Umbridge, so they probably just used the opportunity to get her out of the way, without having to worry about bad press, if it is actually possible for them."
'But Umbridge better hope that I never get my hands on her,' he added venomously. If he had it his way, he would make sure that she suffered a slow and very painful death.
"Apparently Hagrid didn't take that toowell," Severus went on. "See, he didn't leave her unavenaged. Knocked a couple Auror's out cold before he went running off. I think he'll be waiting for you to contact him for some orders."
"I'll find a place for him to hide out for awhile," Albus agreed. "I must say, we in the Order sure seem to know how to make memorable exits." Though it was meant to be a joke, the serious and angry expression on his face at the treatment of his staff and friends.
He looked at him seriously and said, "I understand and thank you for telling me all this, Severus. Please keep the students here safe. I'll see if I can find Hagrid."
His thoughts of retrieving the ring haven't left his mind even as he watched Severus head back up to the castle and he left to go contact Hagrid. But he waited all these years for a chance to make things right to his parents and sister… he prayed that they could understand if he waited a little longer.
*Later on that day*
Turns out that Hagrid had already been hiding out in the mountains by the time he tracked him down just an hour later. He was lurking near a small cave and taking care of Fang—who apparently was stunned the night before.
He heard the whole story from him, how he had been sitting down to dinner when he heard a knock on the door. When he opened it, Umbridge was there, flanked by Aurors… this only confirmed what Severus said.
"'Ow is Professor McGonagall?" Hagrid asked anxiously, rubbing his hands together.
Albus gave him a sad look and explained that she had been moved to St. Mungo's for now. Hagrid covered his face with his enormous hands and choked back sobs.
"It' all me ruddy fault!" he cried out. "She go' hur' tryin' to help me!"
He looked ready to go into a long rant on how it was his fault and Albus reached over to pat his arm. "I know it's hard," he said. "But it's no one's fault but Umbridge. She had been trying to get rid of Minerva almost as long as she tried to sack me. But Minerva isn't going to die anytime soon. We both know how strong she is… I'm sure that she'll be out in no time…"
They stayed there for a short time before Hagrid took a couple shaky breaths and managed to heave himself up onto his feet.
Albus had managed to find a cave up in the mountains for Hagrid to hide in. But all the while, his hatred for Umbridge and the Ministry continued to rise at all the harm they have done to his students, his staff… and especially his friends. Hagrid being forced out of his house like some kind of criminal, Sybill being humiliated in front of the school she loved so dearly, Harry being force to carve those disgusting words into his hand for hours at a time… and now Minerva lying in some hospital bed…
Ministry officials were cowards all of them…
But he didn't have long to dwell on it. For soon, he received yet another message from Severus thanks to Fawkes. This time the message told him that he must report to Grimmauld Place as quickly as he could.
He bid Hagrid a rushed farewell before he Apparated directly onto the doorstep of 12 Grimmauld Place, trusting that the ill-lit entryway would hide his sudden appearance from the Muggle neighbors; and he waited impatiently as the door yielded to his unlocking spell, and burst through it into the hallway pausing only to cast a quick, Silencing Charm on the portrait of Walburga Black as to not have to deal with her screaming at the moment.
"Dumbledore? Is that you?" he heard Severus's voice.
"Severus, what's wrong?" he asked, strolling forward to see Severus was there for him. "I got your message and…?"
"I don't have much time to explain it to you," Severus said hurriedly. "I only came here as a favor to your Golden Boy Potter. I told you that he never took the Occlumency lessons seriously, now this has happened."
"What has happened?" he asked quickly.
"Potter is under the impression that the Dark Lord had taken Black captive. Since Black left as soon as I told him, I can only assume that Potter was mistaken. Shame…"
"What are you talking about, Severus?" he asked, not understanding what this was about.
"Bit of a long story," Severus said, a somewhat satisfied sneer coming across his face. "You see, Potter's penchant for following in his father's footsteps has once again landed him in a spot of trouble. Last I saw him he was in Umbridge's office with his friends. She wanted me to administer Veritaserum to him by force. You see, she caught Potter using her fireplace and was determined to get some answers. I would have gladly complied but my supply was at the moment is non-existent since she thinks that she already took my last bottle some time ago."
"What do you mean she thinks?" he asked puzzled.
"She's an idiot," he said silkily. "She never could tell the difference when it came to potions. The Veritaserum I gave her was fake. Not that she needed to know… however, she didn't take too well to my explanation as to just why I could not produce more Truth Potions for her on the spot, so she told me to get out and suspended me from teaching as well."
"But what…?" Albus began but Severus replied curtly.
"Potter is missing. I fear he may have went running off to the Ministry with his friends in a misguided attempt to rescue Black."
"You said that before, but why would he think that Sirius is in trouble?" he pressed him.
"Apparently Potter had a vision that the Dark Lord was holding Black in the Department of Mysteries," he said jerkily. "Like the night he saw Arthur Weasley's attack? I saw the dream in the boy's mind. The Dark Lord was torturing Black into retrieving the prophecy for him… but when I checked here, Black was just fine. I told you again and again that the boy doesn't have what it takes to use such a complicated branch of magic. There truly was no further point in teaching him after all."
Albus stared at him. "You mean to tell me that you stopped giving him the lessons?" he demanded.
"There was no more point," Severus snapped at him. "He wouldn't listen to a word that I had to say to him. Do you know what he did? I left him alone in my office for five minutes and peeked into my private memories that I specifically put away into your Pensieve."
Albus felt the need to tear his hair out. "You were angry with him, so you compromised his safety?"
"If he wasn't going to take his own safety seriously, why should I care?" Severus demanded hotly. "I promised you that I would help protect the boy, but if he insists on doing whatever he wants then that's his problems not mine. I told you before that I wasn't the right one to teach him in the first place."
Albus just looked at him long and hard, knowing that Severus could argue for hours if he wasn't too and also knew that now wasn't the time.
"We will discuss this later," he said at last. "But tell me what you're talking about Harry running off to the Ministry?"
"He thinks that the Dark Lord is holding Black in the Department of Mysteries," he said darkly. "Though I knew right away that this was a trap."
"You mean you didn't tell him-?" he said, panicking gripping his heart.
"I could hardly tell Potter otherwise in the presence of Dolores Umbridge what was happening?" Severus replied with a sneer. "Potter should be at the Department of Mysteries by now, and there are likely Death Eaters there to meet him."
"And Sirius?" he asked.
"You just missed him," he said, folding his arms. "I tried to stop him, but he insisted on going. Said that he will order that decrypted house-elf to tell you everything. But like I said, I don't know if Potter's truly there or not. I remember seeing Potter and Granger leading Umbridge into the forest and apparently they didn't come back out. Alternatively, he could simply be lost in the Forbidden Forest, and I am guessing that you will make me go in there as well?"
Albus felt all the blood leave his face. "Yes," he said. "Please go now… I'll get the story from Kreacher and follow them."
Severus gave him a frustrated look before he walked right past him and strolled out of the house.
Albus, feeling numb, looked around for Kreacher, and it didn't take him long to find him. He was inside under the kitchen table talking to himself.
"Kreacher can't believe that Mistress's son would have ever let blood traitors, mudbloods and werewolves into the house," he murmured to himself. "But then, Mistress's son has always been a dirty little blood traitor too. Oh, my poor mistress! If she only knew, if she knew the scum they've let into her house, what would she say to old Keacher, oh the shame of it, mudbloods and werewolves and traitors and thieves, poor old Kreacher, what will he do?"
"Kreacher?" Albus asked hurriedly.
"But it's over now. Kreacher has made sure of that… Kreacher goes away, like Master Sirius says. Master Sirius didn't tell Kreacher where to go away to, though, so Kreacher will go to Mistress Cissy's house. Kreacher is a good elf, Kreacher listens to Master Sirius, Kreacher follows orders. Kreacher is a good elf. Master is fooled, Master did not get to visit with him."
"Kreacher," he said louder, in a more crisp voice. "I want you to tell me what you're talking about."
Kreacher looked over at him, and Albus was startled to see the insane smile on the old elf's face. Kreacher then turned his back to him again and muttered quicker to himself, "Oh, it's the old man talking to Kreacher… too late, too late… Master is no longer here…"
"I know that Sirius isn't here," Albus said hurriedly. "But I want you to tell me what happened here tonight. Sirius ordered you to tell me everything."
"The old man does not know Kreacher's secret," said Kreacher, not even trying to mutter now as he giggled. "He does not know what Master did not see in the fireplace. In the fire…"
"In the fire?" he repeated. "What are you talking about?"
"Master's boy has come looking for Master," Kreacher went on. "In the fire."
"Harry," Albus whispered, fear settling in again. "Kreacher tell me everything you know. It was Sirius's order that you do so."
Kreacher finally turned to look at him. "Master ordered Kreacher to leave the house," he said, the mad glint of happiness in his eyes. "So Kreacher left the house."
"You left the house?" Albus repeated at once. "Where too?"
"To Mistress Cissy and Mistress Bella," he answered as if it was obvious.
Sissy? Bella?
He suddenly went white. "Not Narcissa and Bellatrix?" he asked softly.
"So he knows them," Kreacher whispers to himself. "Of course he would… they are of proper blood. Of course he would know…"
"Kreacher," he said hurriedly. "What happened here? What did you tell them? I thought Sirius forbid you to tell them anything."
"Kreacher only answered Mistress's Bella and Sissy's questions as best as Kreacher could," he muttered. "Kreacher only told them of how Master cares for that nasty brat of a blood-traitor and a Mudblood."
"You told them about Sirius and Harry?" Albus demanded as Kreacher turned to look up at him. That brief moment of eye-contact told him the truth. He looked into Kreacher's mind and almost had to use force to see. He watched as the hard treatment that Sirius gave him since he had arrived here, how Kreacher left the night that Arthur had been attacked to the one other family that he felt that he could turn to, how kind that Narcissa were when he showed up… but most of all… the plan they hatched…
"You hurt Buckbeak?" he demanded. "On purpose… to draw Sirius away should Harry try to contact him in the fire?"
Kreacher laughed and turned away. "Oh, the old man is clever. Very clever… Kreacher wonders how he knows."
"What else?" he demanded. His heart was beating fast in his chest as panic took root and started to grow. Kreacher had gone to Narcissa. He must have told her what he knew, and he knew plenty. And Narcissa told Lucius…
The connection…
He felt the need to curse himself for not seeing it sooner… Voldemort planted a false image inside Harry's mind… they tricked him into trying to contact Sirius and convinced Kreacher to make sure that he wouldn't be downstairs when he did.
Harry had never in his life taken so great a risk except when danger to those he love were involved. He never would have chanced using Umbridge's fire unless something major had inspired him to do so. So Harry still thinks that Voldemort somehow captured Sirius and is now holding him at the Department of Mysteries.
"Kreacher!" he demanded. "What did they want Harry to do?"
"To go to the Department of Mysteries," he laughed out loud. "And Master went after him."
And Albus knew why… for he knew that the little glass ball that was waiting there…
S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D.
Dark Lord and (?) Harry Potter
He turned and almost ran from the room. Harry had done a lot of foolish things before, but this had to be the worst yet… it was clear what happened here. Voldemort wanted Harry there to take the prophecy down from the shelves… and once his Death Eaters get it and Harry as well…
How could he be so reckless, so foolish? After everything everyone has done to keep him safe… he goes and does this…?
But as soon as he thought that, he stopped, his hand on the doorknob. His mind went back to a night so long ago…
*Flashback*
Albus was heading up to his office on a dark night, far after midnight. The winter was almost over and spring was on its way… but the darkness that was pressing in on everyone was so deep that the promise of spring hardly came noticed.
He opened the door to his office and shut it tightly behind him. The people, who had been waiting for him, jumped and turned their heads at them. Albus gave them all an apologetic smile, but there was no twinkle in his eye as he moved around to his cabinets to retrieve his Pensieve.
As Albus moved to his desk, four pairs of eyes followed him.
"Professor Dumbledore?" Lily Potter asked him as Albus put the stone basin down in front of them. "What's wrong?"
"Yes, why did you suddenly call us all here?" James asked as he looked to the second couple. James had been pacing around the office in an frustrated way as Lily sat in the chair, playing nervously with her long hair.
"I'm afraid that I called you all here because I have something that you must know," he said softly.
"What's so important that you couldn't tell us during the last Order meeting?" Lily asked him.
"Because what I am about to tell you both is something that must be kept a secret," he answered her grimly. "A few nights ago, I went down to the Hog's Head to see a teacher for the post of Divination. The applicant, you see, is the great-great-granddaughter of a very famous, very gifted Seer and I know that I should at least go and meet her. At first I didn't think that she would be suitable for the post… but just as I was about to leave…"
He sighed and raised his wand tip to his temple and removed a long strand of memory and let it fall into the Pensieve. He looked up at the young couple in front of him and sighed miserably, knowing that their hearts were about to break at this news. He raised his wand, and watched as the smoky figure of a woman that looked like a glittering insect rose out of the bowl. A raspy voice filled the room as all five of them listened intensely to the words she spoke.
Even long after the words had been spoken and the figure of Sybill Trelawney sank back into the bowl, no one could say a word. Finally, James choked out, sounding as if he had a bad head cold, "Professor…? What did that… did that mean… what does that mean?"
Albus sighed and answered him, "It means… very soon, a person will challenge Lord Voldemort… and he will be born at the end of this July… a baby boy born to parents who have already escaped Voldemort three times… this boy will be destined to either destroy or be destroyed by the Dark Lord."
For a moment, the two seemed too stunned to speak. "Does that mean…?" Lily croaked out, tears in her eyes, her hand automatically going to her belly, "Does that mean that…?"
"That the child that either you or Alice deliver is the one the prophecy is talking about," Albus answered for her. "Voldemort has marked both of your families for death… you see… the servant who heard this prophecy only heard the first part and has no idea to what the entire prophecy means." To protect Lily, he couldn't bring himself to tell her who it had been who heard it. "And he believes that the child referred to, will be yours or the Longbottoms. He won't stop hunting either of your families until he is sure that both are dead."
"James," Lily began, her voice strangled and wet with tears as she spun to stare him, who was looking as if someone had hit something very heavy in his face. "What are we going to do?"
"It'll be alright," he said to her comfortingly, wrapping his arms tightly around her, as tears fell down from her brilliantly green eyes. "We'll keep you and the baby safe. He won't come anywhere near us."
"I spoke with Frank and Alice yesterday about this," Albus said to the horrified parents-to-be. "He's not taking any chances and is planning to come after you both. But I feel that I must tell you… He seems to consider your child the bigger threat. This is why I must insist that you and the Longbottoms go into hiding right now. Voldemort has already made it very clear that he won't stop until he is certain that everything he considers a threat is out of his way."
James was standing beside Lily and was rubbing her back comfortingly, but Lily seemed too heartbroken to move.
"Well," James responded slowly, trying to sound stable and strong, despite everything that he just heard, "We're… we're just going to have to change our plans…"
"Again," Lily muttered softly.
"Again," James repeated. "We both knew that it was only going to be a matter of time… we're both in the Order and we knew that he would have come after us sooner or later… and you're getting pretty far along after all. Once the baby is born, we'll put up extra defenses around the house. And we'll pull away from… most people." Albus could tell that James was trying to avoid using the word 'hide'.
Lily nodded.
"Look," James said, bending down and taking her hands. "It's going to be ok… I promise that Voldemort won't come anywhere near either of you while I'm alive."
Albus smiled sadly at them both he said, "I am sorry to have to tell you this. But we are lucky that we now know that he is after you so that we can try to prevent anything happening to you. I know that this is hard for you, but you both must go into hiding."
"But why my baby?" Lily demanded, half scared, half furious. "He's not even born yet but Voldemort wants him dead?!"
"Voldemort has always put too much faith in magic," Albus said grimly. "He believes that magic can't be wrong. Now that he knows that a prophecy has been made foretelling of his defeat, he wants to put a stop to it as soon as possible. Your child may not be born yet, but he is afraid that he will grow into the one who will defeat him."
"But that's not fair to my baby!" she screamed out. "Why be born with that over his head?!" She looked close to crying now. "I can't tell you how I have been looking forward to his birth; but now it's like we're have to bury our baby before he's even born!"
James enveloped Lily in his arms. "No, no," he comforted, "I'll die before I let that happen. I promise you that he'll live through this war."
Lily was trying to keep the tears from falling but she said, "But it's too much! It's too much for a child to live with."
"We're going to find a way to stop this, Lily," Albus said firmly. "We still have time. We can protect you both in more ways than you could ever imagine."
"And he won't have to live with it alone," James said, pulling away to look at her. "He'll have us. We'll be there with him every step of the way."
"And we're going to love him no matter what," Lily smiled watery at him.
"Of course. We already do," he said taking her hands.
"But," Lily pointed out, sounding a bit calmer, "What if something happens to us?"
James gulped. "Then-then," he sounded strangely breathless, "He'll have Sirius, and, and Remus and Peter… he'll have the whole Order there to look after him right?" He then looked up at Albus and asked, "And you'll help protect him too right, sir?" he asked.
Albus gave them both a smile as he walked over and embraced Lily as well. "Right… we'll all do what we can to stop this war. After all… nothing is for sure. The future isn't written in stone."
*End of Flashback*
Albus came back from that brief glimpse into the past. Ever since that Halloween night… he had done his best to protect Harry like he promised. He tried so hard to keep that promise to James and Lily. But somewhere along the way, from everything he had seen and watched, he had grown to truly care about the boy.
In his desperate attempt to keep Harry safe, he just continued to hold back information to protect him… but now look at what has happened…
"This is my fault…" he said to himself. "How I have let it get this far?!"
Slapping himself awake, he would worry about everything later. He had to get to the Ministry as soon as possible. He left the house and Disapperated just outside the front entrance of the Ministry. All he could do was hope that everything turned out well, that his actions were not so out of the right that many more would suffer.
(Now, remember what Umbridge said to Hermione on how Dumbledore wouldn't be hiding in the Hog's Head? She's been wrong about everything else now so why not here? I hope you enjoy this chapter. Next time we see the scenes at the Ministry!)
