Chapter 18 – Good Enough
Note: Chapter Title from Little Mix's song 'Good Enough'
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.
Now that that's out of the way, let's begin…
Last time,
"I'm trying to destroy Dumbledore."
"You-WHAT?!"
Now,
"Too much doesn't add up about him, about his intentions, his motivations, his actions. There's so much we don't know about the whole situation with Voldemort and now…now things have gotten even more complicated than I could have ever imagined," Harry begins to explain.
Ginny, Ron, and Hermione all look at each other, nervous, confused, considering.
"So catch us up then, what don't we know?" Ron asks. Draco, Pansy, and Blaise seem surprised.
"They aren't the only ones who need to do that, there's a bunch of stuff that happened over the holidays that we should talk about," Hermione says, Pansy and Blaise nod their agreement.
"Also, Ginny and I found out…a lot from Remus, and if they're all in now, then I request that, even before you finish explaining all of this, we're able to fill you in." Harry nods to Draco who leans forward slightly, "So, for everyone who doesn't know, Tom Riddle isn't Lord Voldemort, not truly."
"I'm already confused," Pansy mutters.
"During the first war, both sides discovered that the original Voldemort, Roana Gaunt, was possessed with some other entity, a non-human spiritous apparition Uncle Remus called it. It wasn't a secret, but nor was it publicly known. Uncle Remus killed Gaunt, whatever was possessing him then went into his nephew, Tom Riddle. It had been slowly transferring, corrupting him, for quite sometime. During that time is when the whole Chamber thing happened twenty years ago. Anyway, my Aunt Bella was killed a few months ago, Voldemort killed her because she was plotting against him. She seemed to think she had set up his downfall regardless of whether or not she was killed. She had a letter, one to Uncle Remus, which I passed on along with my memory of the entire incident –"
"A memory?" Ron asks, Draco nods, Ron looks to Harry and Hermione who both look just as anxious.
"What?"
"Remus quit the Order," Harry tells him, the three look surprised, "After Snape gave him the letter and the memory he disappeared for a week, taking the memory with him. When he came back, he and Dumbledore had an argument of some kind, he quit, and then ran off. No one heard from him again until someone contacted him about the job at the school."
"He's leaving again, said he had to finish what he'd been doing during that time," Ginny tells him, "He'd sent a letter to warn you, it should arrive at breakfast, but since we were there he told us to pass that along."
"Perhaps you'd better finish your story?" Harry suggests.
Draco nods, "The letter Aunt Bella wrote gave some kind of hint, we don't know what. Only that he found someone who told him the identity of the apparition, he's trying to work out how to separate it from your Father, Harry, to save him and capture it. We still don't know what or how, but Voldemort is Ariana Dumbledore, the Headmaster's younger sister." Everyone besides Ginny and Draco look completely shocked.
Harry shrugs, "Yeah that makes sense. What the hell happened to her, though?"
"Have any of you heard of Gellert Grindelwald?" Ginny asks, they all nod, "Turns out he and Dumbledore were friends. They were duelling with Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth, and she got in the way, Dumbledore killed her. It was an accident, of course, and no one even saw for sure who cast the spell that hit her. We wouldn't be certain of it if not for her actions. She's not going after Aberforth or Grindelwald, her target has always been the Headmaster. That is, until Harry came around."
"Right, see," Draco says, taking over, "From how Uncle Remus described it, the soul of the possessed seems to meld into Ariana, so when he found out he had a son who was being kept from him, all of the crazy she was providing was pushed into that thought instead of her need for revenge, but that changed after you killed them. We don't know how exactly, but she's still connected with Tom's soul, he's still in there. She wants to destroy her brother, and sometimes that seems to come out on top, but he doesn't want that. His thoughts and feelings are being corrupted and warped, but he still just wants his Son. That's why Remus is trying to save him. Besides, he feels guilty about what happened to him in the first place."
"So what you're telling me is, the entire reason Voldemort exists is because Dumbledore betrayed his brother, joined a madman just like Voldemort, and killed his sister?" Hermione asks, Ginny and Draco nod.
"Yeah, that about sums it up," Ginny replies.
Pansy sighs, "Actually, it's more complicated than that, I'm afraid. Dumbledore is the heir to Gryffindor," She tells them, they all look to her in surprise, she turns to Harry who nods.
Harry clears his throat, "So, a while back, as you should all know, Remus' house was raided. Professor Malfoy found Sirius there but didn't turn him in, he warned him, that's why Remus went into hiding. It's also how we found out what he was looking for, and in doing so, recovered a piece of Salazar Slytherin's diary. I've since found the rest of it, but Pansy hasn't had a chance to translate it. Anyway, it presented a mystery of its own, Hermione, Ron, and I felt that there was more to the story of Salazar leaving than we knew. It occurred to me when we were talking to Professor Malfoy, and you mentioned about how the ghosts might know something about the apparition, that the Bloody Baron was alive during the time of the founders and might know something."
"You were right, that was an insane idea," Draco tells him.
Harry nods, "Insane, but it worked. Pansy and I went and asked him about it, it…got sidetracked…"
"A hundred percent though we should both be mind healers, we were amazing!"
Harry smiles and nods at Pansy's enthusiasm, "Anyway, we know how he died, only…I don't know that you'll want to hear it," Harry says, looking directly at Ron.
"Before you go off on another tangent, I'd like to know why the hell you're trying to destroy Dumbledore. I know you two had your suspicions about him but –" Ron begins before Harry cuts him off.
"Because he cares for nothing but winning the war, he doesn't give a shit who gets hurt or dies in the process, it's not as though he's ever on the front bloody lines. It's me he sends out there, me he left with Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, me he lied to about Snape's relationship with Uncle James, he who lied to me about all of it, who would never have told me. Me who keeps losing everything whilst he sits in his office moving us around like pieces on a giant fucking chessboard! I will not be complacent anymore when I am nothing but a weapon to him, a weapon and a bargaining chip. This is the only way I can be free, and the only way anyone has a chance of being safe. This won't end. This war? He'll keep fighting it, long after my Father or his sister or whoever the fuck it is is gone. That's why. I want to be safe and I want our world to be safe. Voldemort isn't the only one trying to control it, after all, only Dumbledore has already succeeded."
Ron looks at him for a moment, then nods, "You know, Dad once described him as a situational ally. Bloody great person to have on your side, but only there so long as it suits him. Think I see his point now." Harry smiles slightly at Ron who nods, "Right then, who killed the ancient git?"
"Please let me tell him," Pansy pleads.
Harry sighs and decides that's probably not a good idea, so he replies, "Godric Gryffindor. He and Rowena had been conspiring against him. Eventually, it lead to Helga's death too, and Ayleth."
"Ayleth survived, we saw that!" Pansy exclaims, confused.
Harry nods, "A version of her. Rowena Ravenclaw was no idiot, she never would have said she was dead if she weren't certain. See, there's this potion, it makes a copy of a person, but it copies them in every way. So much so that it is truly them. I think Helga took the only option she had, I think she knew of what Salazar had created. I think Rowena killed one Ayleth, meant to be a distraction while another escaped."
"What about Merek?" Ron asks.
"He died before Godric killed his Father. He killed Rowena and Godric's daughter Helena and then killed himself when he realised what he'd done. Meanwhile, Godric and Rowena speak to a seer of some kind, a baroness, Lady Prince, I think it was? She created a prophecy, one that's taking place now. Dumbledore, the heir to Gryffindor, is going to battle with the heir to Slytherin in the courtyard and destroy the castle."
"The heir to Slytherin? But that's you, isn't it?" Hermione asks.
Harry nods, "Yes, but I think it may have been referring to my Father. They spoke of a teenager who was supposed to defeat both of them, sounds as though both opponents are adults."
"That teenager is probably you, you realise," Blaise tells him.
Harry shakes his head, "Whoever it is, they're the heir to all four founders."
"They lived over a thousand years ago, give me a reason to think you couldn't be?"
"It doesn't matter anyway. This is why Salazar was afraid for his children, Godric was trying to end his line. Rowena would have been ill by that point, she spent the final months of her life trying to make sure this battle didn't take place. If we take Dumbledore out before it does then we'll be fulfilling the last wishes of two of the great founders of Hogwarts."
"They were murderers, Harry!" Hermione points out.
Harry shrugs, "Who isn't?"
"Um, almost everyone in this room," Ginny says.
Harry waves her off as though that's entirely beside the point, "Look, I'm not saying they were right in what they did, but Helga said Salazar and Godric had been like brothers. How afraid must he have been to turn on his own brother?" They all fall silent, Harry takes a deep breath, "Whatever they saw ended in three deaths and the creation of something horrible, we can't act like it's nothing and they're just psychopaths. Evil has a reason too, and they weren't even that."
"Lovegood had some ideas about what this apparition could actually be, how it's doing this and such," Blaise tells them after a few moments of silence.
"She said she's got a book on it somewhere and she'll find it for us. Also said something about some thing living in my ears…" Ron adds, shivering slightly, Blaise looks amused.
"Did Hagrid have anything to say?" Harry asks Hermione who shrugs.
"Only that the Tom he knew was a good bloke, fiercely loyal, and loved Mum like there was no tomorrow. I suppose for him, that's really rather accurate. He never could understand why he suddenly turned around and had him expelled. Never even occurred to him that it was because he had been the one to kill Myrtle."
"So, are you lot in on taking Dumbledore down?" Pansy asks.
Hermione frowns, "One condition," She tells them.
Harry sighs, "Every time," He mutters to himself, "What is it?"
"When we take him down, the Ministry will be in an uproar. By the time the dust settles, I want it to be set up better than it is now."
Harry thinks that over before nodding slowly, "You know…I think we can make that happen," He says, plans flying through his head by the dozens.
"Not even surprised," Pansy comments, shaking her head lightly.
"Weasleys?" Draco asks.
Ron nods to Harry, "I go where you go Mate, if you're sure of this, I'm right behind you," He tells Harry who snaps out of his thoughts long enough to give a thankful smile and a nod before he continues scheming.
"The twins and I sort of hate Dumbledore, they made me promise that when they left I'd take over making things difficult for him. So, I guess I'm in," Ginny tells them.
"Why do the three of you hate Dumbledore?" Blaise asks, looking suspicious.
"And how do I not know about this?" Ron adds.
Ginny sighs, "During the twins first year at Hogwarts, they noticed something strange about how the Headmaster interacts with Snape, so they started sneaking about. They were careful to make sure Jamie wouldn't notice, didn't want to involve her in case what they found about her own parent wasn't good. Dumbledore's basically been using Snape's status as an ex-Death Eater and his guilt and grief over the friends he lost in the war to control him, to make him do as he wants. I overheard them talking about it the summer before Ron started and that's when they filled me in. By then, they'd realised that Snape doesn't even see what Dumbledore is doing. I believed them, of course, they were my older brothers, but the fact that they wouldn't let me tell Mum and Dad set off warning bells. Anyway, after what happened in first year…" Ginny trails off, shaking her head for a moment, "It became obvious to me that Dumbledore isn't what he appears. So we started plotting. See, whenever the twins did something that distracted Dumbledore during their first two years, Snape's mood and patience level would lift considerably. Then, during their third year, it stopped working. Wasn't hard to work out why," She says, looking to Harry who frowns at the implication, "When I told the twins about Snape being married, that Mum and Dad had asked Remus to talk to Severus about his classes, we all thought he might notice something is up, but he didn't. After he started teaching we had planned to tell him everything, we hoped he could intervene and he and McGonagall could stop whatever Dumbledore was doing, because Snape seemed to be worse than ever. No one else seemed to notice that it wasn't patience he lacked, it was happiness. No one wants to deal with misbehaving children when they are that depressed, and his depression isn't really a surprise, all things considered. Only, Remus kept getting sick. After I realised why, I thought, 'okay, so, that's not going away, we should tell him anyway,' but their marriage began falling apart and we felt it best to stay out of that."
"Good call," Draco says, the others nod.
Blaise glares at the floor, "Well, if he's fucking with my Sev then this took a new level. Inimicus, what do we do now?"
Harry frowns in thought, ignoring the conversation as Draco explains the name and starts an argument with Pansy over why she always has to name everything.
"Remus is right," Harry suddenly says, everyone immediately falling silent, "My name needs to be heard. It's time we move plans up."
"I really didn't think this was that well-planned," Blaise says, looking a bit surprised, Harry raises an eyebrow at him, he falls silent.
"All right, we need more chaos. Ginny, think you can cause an explosion in Potions? Not something devastating, just something to ensure the students get dismissed while it's dealt with?"
Ginny tilts her head to the side in thought, "Sirius once told me about a time Remus got bored and decided to blow up a potion, they had to evacuate because of a toxic gas. Lily had to use a ventilation charm to fix it. I reckon I can recreate it."
He nods, "Perfect," He says, ignoring the pang in his chest for so many reasons, "Melana can be in position within an hour so that'll be at dinner tonight, he'll cover it up though like he did the attacks in second year so…" Harry trails off, thinking in his head now instead of out loud.
'Melana?' Blaise mouths to Draco in question.
He shrugs, 'No clue.'
"You could always make it public knowledge before he has a chance to," Luna suggests, everyone jumps up and turns to see Luna and Neville standing in the doorway, Neville's eyes wide.
"Um…how long have you been…?" Pansy asks awkwardly.
"Long enough," Neville replies, then he shakes himself out of it and shuts the door which then disappears again, following Luna into the room proper.
"Here's the book I was talking about. There's only one way this could have happened, it certainly puts things in perspective," She announces as she hands the book to Harry, despite it being Blaise and Ron she had spoken to.
Harry frowns at the book, "Uh, Luna, this book is written in Spanish, or possibly Italian."
"Oh, my bad," She says, tapping the book with her wand, it translates into English, he smiles in thanks before reading through the page.
"These are pretty particular circumstances, Lu," Harry tells her.
She nods as she takes a seat beside him, "Well you didn't give me any details of the situation, does it fit?" The group seems surprised at how sane she sounds, everyone but Neville, Ginny, and Harry. They are, after all, the only three people in the school who bother to try and befriend her. She's not speaking any differently than normal, but for once they are actually listening.
"I don't know, did Moony mention anything about trauma in Ariana's past?" Harry asks Draco and Ginny, both of whom shake their heads.
"No but, he didn't really seem open to talking about it much. In fact, he shut us down pretty severely at the end when we asked how he found out. I think he didn't want us asking questions about Aunt Bella. I'm kind of worried about him actually," Draco answers, Harry frowns in thought.
"Snape and McGonagall are too," Ron tells them, everyone looks at him in confusion, he shrugs, "Noticed it when he got here, he smiled at something, but it was forced and they noticed. Looked quite concerned." Harry, Hermione, and Neville are the only ones who don't seem surprised, Ron shrugs, "Helps in chess if you can tell what people are thinking."
"He wasn't drinking while he was here, was he?" Harry asks, Draco and Pansy both look to Blaise who sighs.
"Technically speaking, he is not allowed to while acting as a teacher. He wasn't allowed to while holding the teachers position in our third year and he didn't, that being said I doubt he made anything about his appointment here easy this latest time. His hatred of Dumbledore seems to have increased tenfold. To the point of not even complaining anymore because there's just so much hatred he's not even worth the damned effort. So while he obviously wasn't getting pissed, I really wouldn't be surprised if he kept drinking."
"Professor Lupin's a drunk?" Neville asks, Draco nods.
"Especially lately," Ginny adds.
"You don't exactly fight in two wars and come out okay," Pansy says.
Hermione shakes her head, "Dad said this started when he was a teenager."
"Maybe when he became a Werewolf? He did say it happened when he was a kid," Harry points out, Blaise, Pansy, and Draco all shake their heads.
"No, that happened when he was four," Draco tells them, they seem shocked, except Ginny, she knows all.
"All right, listen, Ginny, you're causing explosions, I'm getting my name out there, the trouble still is how to make it public," Harry says.
Luna smirks, "I can help with that," She tells them.
Neville sighs, "Hold on, so, we're killing Dumbledore?" He asks, everyone looks at him a little nervously.
"We're finding proof of wrongdoings first," Draco tells him, Neville looks to Hermione who holds her hands up in surrender.
"I didn't know when I started looking into it…Snape…" Hermione suddenly says, eyes widening, "Oh how could I be so stupid?! Ginny, I think you're wrong."
"Okay, so, want to start at the beginning and fill us in?" She asks.
Hermione grins and nods, "I think Snape knows exactly what Dumbledore is doing to him, but guilt…guilt eats. I think that he doesn't have the strength, the capability, the will to fight back anymore so he's just taking it. But, he's the one who first put me onto Dumbledore, remember?"
Ron and Harry nod.
"Yeah, something about Dark Wizards or something?" Harry asks.
"Power has corrupted even the greatest of wizards," Hermione corrects, "He knows something is up with Dumbledore!"
"Maybe that's why he agreed to help?" Pansy asks.
Harry sighs, "Wasn't enough for him to do so without condition, though I must admit, I was both surprised and impressed."
"Well, he made a deal when he joined Voldemort, why not you?" Draco says, unsurprised.
"Hold up, Snape's apart of this too?" They all ignore Ron.
"We need to tell Remus about this," Pansy tells them.
Blaise shakes his head emphatically, "Are you joking? If he finds out he's been messing with Sev, more importantly, if he finds out Sev didn't tell him for the reasons Mio thinks…No, forget the plan, he'll just kill him, he will snap, he's on a tenuous thread anyway and we all know it! Give him a win, let's prove your Dad innocent first, then we'll tell him," Blaise suggests.
Harry thinks that over, "Give him some time, we'll talk about it later. I don't know about you lot but I don't fancy having a protective Werewolf on my arse about taking him down quicker," He tells them, they all agree.
"Professor Remus is in on this as well?" Ginny asks.
Harry frowns for a moment, "We have a lot of people in on this."
The newbies all exchange looks, Neville seems uneasy. Draco looks nervous for a moment before he stands up and walks over to the boy.
"Longbottom, um…I thought you ought to know, Bellatrix Lestrange is dead." Neville looks at him in surprise, tears shining in his wide eyes. "Also, I know it won't mean anything to you but, for the record, I'm really sorry about what my Aunt did to your parents." Draco doesn't try to justify his Aunt, doesn't tell him she was once sane, doesn't mention she died defying the Dark Lord, because that won't help Neville. He needs closure, not excuses.
"Thank you," Neville replies simply, Draco nods to him and goes back to where he had been sitting. "Why does Professor Lupin hate Dumbledore so much? He didn't even bother being subtle last time he was here, and Professor Dumbledore seemed entirely willing to take it, so whatever he did, he feels like he deserves it."
"Well, the guy did basically kidnap me right out of his arms," Hermione points out, Harry, Ron, Draco, and Ginny all look at her in surprise.
"He what?" Harry asks darkly, Draco puts a hand on his knee, grounding him.
"Things are worse between them now," Neville insists.
Ginny looks thoughtful, "Maybe it has something to do with what they argued about when he quit the Order."
"I don't think we'll be getting answers on that anytime soon, if ever. For now, we know more than we ever have before. Pansy, I'll need you to finish translating that diary, I want to know if he knew what Godric and Rowena were up to. Ginny, explosions, Luna, you had an idea about getting what happens at dinner into the public's eye?"
She nods, "My Dad runs a paper called the Quibbler, not a lot of people read it, but enough that when the story is out, the Daily Prophet will want to report on it as well," She tells them. Draco thinks it's amazing really, how someone can be so obviously intelligent and still sound like they are talking to wisps.
"Will he be willing to help?"
Luna nods, "Of course. It's not his usual story, but if you're willing to help him interview a snake, I'm sure he'll be more than happy to."
"Sounds good," Harry agrees.
"I'll write to him after dinner, it will make more sense that way."
"Brilliant, now, Ginny, you said the twins don't like Dumbledore either, will they be willing to help us do you think?"
She nods, "With proving him to be a manipulative bastard? Most definitely. So long as they can leave Jamie out of it." Ginny frowns, "Actually, it will look better if I only ask George. He'll ask why and I can explain that given the nature of Fred's relationship with Jamie and their desire to keep her out of such things, big boss felt it better to leave Fred out of it as well but make it George's choice to go through with that or not."
Harry smirks, "Brilliant, would you write to him, ask him to look into Slughorn's history and try to find out why Dumbledore was so insistent he be hired. Under the guise of us wanting to honour him maybe?"
Ginny nods, "Yeah, he was a great teacher and because of school I don't have time to write a piece about his life. I'll write to George after dinner too."
Harry smirks and nods, "Brilliant, after dinner, everyone's to start spreading rumours, rumours about Dumbledore being unable to protect us. Use what's happened in past years, show him incompetent, use the truth and create doubt in as many minds as possible," Harry orders, they all nod, "Now Neville, even if you don't want to be a part of this, please, keep quiet about what we're doing."
Neville seems nervous but nods, "I-I'm not necessarily not helping, but, I need to know more, about what he's doing, what he's done."
"Fair enough, we're collecting information, you're welcome to look through it. Draco, if you and Hermione could pool your research together and keep looking, that would be brilliant. Let Neville see, and I believe you said something about McGonagall wanting to have a look before being willing to give us anything she sees?" Pansy nods. "Do that as well, either you or Blaise, I'd rather not give her any more names of those involved unless I have to. Mio, Dray, look into the history of Gellert Grindelwald. I want to know more about Ariana and I don't think Dumbledore's history will provide much. Ron, ask around Gryffindor, carefully, find out how people feel about Dumbledore." Everyone nods.
"Harry, what is it Snape bargained for?" Hermione asks.
Harry sighs, looking disgruntled, "That Harry Potter allows his memories to be viewed in order to prove Sirius Black's innocence." They seem surprised, he shrugs, "He wants Pettigrew convicted, Aunt Lily and Uncle James meant a lot to him and their murderer is running, relatively, free." Hermione thinks his thought to do so probably came from what Remus said about Harry being too practical to do it, he flipped it around on him.
"Would you have done it otherwise?" Hermione asks him.
Harry nods, "You're my sister Mio, you want our Dad proven innocent. If it were just me, no, I really wouldn't have. Much as I want him shown to be innocent, I don't want to relive what happened. You should be aware I'm going to insist you, Snape, and Remus are outside the room when those memories are shown though." Hermione looks about to argue but Harry holds a hand up to silence her, "Non-negotiable Mio." Hermione frowns but nods. "Right then, Pansy, you and I are going to destroy this diadem and I'll give you the diary. Everyone else, you know what you're doing."
Draco, Hermione, Blaise, and Neville pool together the research and go through it, making copies of everything before Blaise takes it to McGonagall. After reading this, Neville decides to help with research and, after Draco uses the enchanted parchment to ask Harry, sends a letter to his Grandmother asking her what she thinks of Dumbledore, under the guise of the school being pretty out of control at the moment. Neville thinks having caregivers question things too is a good idea. He gets Ron to send a similar message to his parents. After dinner, they're going to write again, telling them what happened. Just as they'll suggest others do to their parents. Neville isn't convinced killing him is the way to go, but if they disprove his goodness, the public can make their own decisions on that. By the time dinner comes around, Neville's convinced something does need to be done.
At dinner, everyone sits as per usual. Blaise and Lavender being a tad more touchy-feely than usual, Pansy informs them that since school started up again they haven't had a lot of time together and both seem to be feeling it more with every day. At least, Blaise whined about it often enough. Draco questions why he hasn't heard about it then, to which Pansy replies he's too busy daydreaming about his own infatuation which Draco fervently denies despite the blush that overtakes his cheeks. They others all laugh at him, he glares at them. Not thirty seconds after, Draco and Harry are arguing just as they had for the last five years. It ended when Draco spat 'figures you'd be that gullible, Gryffindors aren't known for being bright, eh Potter'. This comment just about starts a fist fight before a throat clears behind them and they see Severus Snape standing there looking very unimpressed. They shut up but don't stop glaring at each other. It's different now though, because as annoyed as they are after the genuine argument, they are also good friends who care for each other very much.
Then the doors open, no one sees anything at first, but then they notice the snake. Lavender screams, jumping up onto the table and instinctively dragging her boyfriend with her. The snake slithers quickly through the room towards the teachers' table, slithering up it and launching itself directly at Dumbledore.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Severus casts immediately, wand out and holding the creature suspended in the air.
"What in the name of Merlin?" Lucius asks in a whispery yet loud voice.
"Headmaster, what would you like me to do with the snake?" Severus asks, looking rather confounded as he continues floating the animal before him, Dumbledore looks just as surprised and confused. Then the Old Man's eyes slid back towards Harry who is watching the proceedings with the same shock as everyone else.
Dumbledore gestures the boy forward, "I don't suppose you would mind asking it what it's doing here, would you, Mr Potter?"
Harry walks forward, slightly nervously as he nods. The rest of the school seems slightly off-put, unsettled by the reminder of Harry's gift.
"Of course, Professor." He reaches the snake, Severus lowers it more to his height, "Hello," He begins, the snake flicks his tongue out at him, "You did good, thank you again for your help, Melana," Harry tells her.
"Of course, Sir Riddle. Remember our deal though," The snake requests.
"I swear on my Father's honour," Harry says, then tilts his head to the side, considering, "Actually, that says very little, I swear on my own Honour."
The snake flicks it's tongue out again, nodding, "I thank you." Harry makes his face drop, frown forming as concern overshadows everything else, he nods at the snake before looking up to everyone's expectant eyes.
"She-She says she was sent to kill you," Harry tells them, looking at Dumbledore. Everyone gasps and looks around in surprise except Dumbledore who continues looking into Harry's fearful eyes.
"By whom?" He asks Harry who looks anxious.
"Someone named Inimicus."