Chapter 54
THROUGH THE VEIL
The Headmaster of Hogwarts let go of all pretence. He grabbed me by the wrist with one hand and snatched the Gaunt ring, my Horcrux, with the other one. The usual benign and serene expression vanished completely and in its stead came a greedy one; so evil that no expression that my facial muscles could possibly manage to form came even close.
"Brilliant work, Tom!" the Headmaster cried out so loudly that my ears rang. "Seventy-seven million points to Slytherin, a tenfold increase to your pay, an award for Special Services to the School, Order of Merlin, First Class and as many tonnes of sherbet lemons as you wish! If you are willing, I will even make you the Headmaster of Hogwarts before I retire very soon!"
"Uhh… uh… er… I… I'd rather keep the ring… um… for some further investigation…" I stammered feebly.
"Denied," the Headmaster said happily and clenched the ring inside his fist. "I just got many things to do. Have the rest of the term off, Tom my boy, and you too, children. However, I will arrange a victory celebration at the Ministry soon. You must be there, all of you; you are the heroes of the war, after all! It will be a thrilling occasion! See you!"
With a burst of phoenix flame, the Headmaster and the Resurrection Stone were gone.
I turned to stare at the thunderstruck faces of Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny, feeling more shaken and desperate than ever before in my life.
"Seventy-seven million points to Slytherin?" Ron said.
My desperation still managed to get a little worse.
The weariness caused by not having slept the previous night weighed heavily on me, but it would probably take a long time before I would have the opportunity and the peace of mind to sleep. I was responsible for the true Dark Lord finally succeeding in his horrifying plan, and therefore it was time to let go of pride and ask for advice from someone almost as evil.
I went into an empty classroom, locked the door, sat down on the floor and took my diary out of my robes. I entered the endless void the instant I closed my eyes, and once again I saw the hideous form of Lord Voldemort floating before me.
"Brother," I said without defiance in my voice, "I need your help."
"Do you truly expect me to help you after what you did to me?" he asked. "Set me free, and I'll consider considering the notion of helping you."
"There are bigger things at stake than our quarrels," I pleaded.
"Just because Dumbledore stole the ring? Yes, I know something of what happened. Your focus on Occlumency faltered a while ago, and I was able to invade your mind when you were running. I saw your confrontation with Dumbledore."
"Not Dumbledore. He's actually Grindelwald in disguise! He could've stopped you at any time, but he allowed you to attempt your revolution because it suited his plans! You were his pawn all along! That's why he never truly put up a fight!"
Fear flared in Voldemort's eyes.
"What does he want with the Horcrux?"
"I don't know if he even noticed any of our influence on the ring. It's the stone attached to the ring that he was after. The Resurrection Stone from the 'Tale of the Three Brothers' and the tale is actually a real thing!"
I proceeded to explain shortly about the Deathly Hallows and the prophecy of the Delphic Oracle. Voldemort's hostile demeanour was replaced with a contemplative one and I dared to hope that I could actually receive help from my evil and more experienced brother. Death being unleashed was something he wanted even less than to be left in the diary with only a faint hope of freedom. For the first time since our souls were torn from one another, we had a common goal.
"So, Grindelwald has the wand and the stone," Voldemort concluded. "What about the cloak?"
"I haven't noticed him having been interested in invisibility cloaks as much as in rings. Probably he already has the cloak as well. I think he said that the third brother was Harry Potter's ancestor. If the cloak passed down in family as an heirloom, he no doubt found out about it years ago and stole the cloak."
"But what powers does the one who has united all of the Hallows gain?"
"Mastery over Death," I said. "Whatever it means. Immortality, perhaps? The prophecy suggests that Grindelwald will unleash Death once he has the Hallows united."
"No one has united them all before," Voldemort pointed out. "There are merely legends and speculation about what incredible powers the mastery over Death unlocks. It is also possible that even a wizard like Grindelwald can't unlock all the powers instantly. And prophecies are fickle; often they only make sense after having been fulfilled. That was what Rookwood warned me about, anyway."
"He was never loyal to you," I said. "He was Grindelwald's minion, even after believing he was an independent agent of Death. But back to the situation at hand. The only positive side is that Grindelwald doesn't have any suspicions about who I truly am."
"Gather your allies and be alert for an opportunity to murder him. The invincible wand is no protection against poison. My former Death Eaters will be happy to help you get rid of him. However, you will need my advice; I wasn't impressed by your thinking yesterday. Keep your Occlumency barrier down, and we will commune telepathically."
I knew what he was really after: he wanted to try to overpower my will. But it was true that he, the person second most immersed in the Dark Arts, might have indispensable knowledge and insight I would need. I had to take the risk.
Together, two Tom Riddles might be enough to defeat the true Dark Lord, Gellert Grindelwald, and to fulfil the great purpose of our ancestor, Salazar Slytherin.
Wearily I rummaged my pouch in search of the two-way mirrors. The next phase of the plan had to be carried out very carefully indeed; if Grindelwald learned that anyone knew or even suspected the true identity of the Headmaster of Hogwarts, my only advantage would be lost.
"Lucius," I said. "I'm at Hogwarts at the moment. Something has come to my attention, and I assure you, we did not fight our last battle yesterday."
After the battle of Crouch Manor, when Grindelwald had been giving orders to the employees of the Ministry who had been participating in my army, I had overheard what Lucius and Theodore had whispered together. They had understood it that open opposition to Dumbledore at the moment would have cost more political capital than it would have gained. They had accepted the need to wait for a more opportune moment, but now waiting was out of the question.
"Dumbledore is going to arrange some kind of a victory celebration at the Ministry, and I expect it will take place very soon," I continued. "I'm not sure what he has in mind, but I know he has a plan, and we won't like it."
"Taking the full credit of the defeat of Tom Riddle, perhaps?" Lucius said.
"I fear something far, far more than that. I can't tell why I suspect this. However, we should be present at the Ministry in full. Inform Theodore, Robert and all other allies of yours. Tell them to be ready to fight for the fate of the entire wizarding world."
Afterwards, I spoke also with Karkaroff and told him to be ready for anything. Then, even though I felt more exhausted than ever since the payoff of the Sleep Debt Potion a year previously, I shambled around Hogwarts and spoke with anyone whom I trusted. Draco, Theo, Sara and many others were as jubilant with the supposed end of the war as everyone else, but I warned them and told them to be alert and prepared. As I did this, all the time Voldemort's voice spoke in my mind, offering his opinions and criticising everything I did.
During dinnertime, hundreds of owls flew into the Great Hall, each dropping a copy of the Evening Prophet. I took a deep breath before daring to grab the nearest copy dropped on the High Table.
SURPRISE ASSEMBLY OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF WIZARDS
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE WILL SPEAK ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE WIZARDING WORLD
Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards (ICW), announced an unscheduled assembly of the ICW taking place at the British Ministry of Magic in London on Monday.
Mr Dumbledore used the emergency summons, a special prerogative of the Supreme Mugwump, that obliges all wizarding nations to convene. The prerogative has not been used since 1939 when Supreme Mugwump Maximilien Herbault summoned the ICW to address the Dark Lord Grindelwald's attack on Poland.
"I understand it well that magical governments around the world are surprised that I deem it necessary to use the emergency summons," says Mr Dumbledore. "However, I assure you that what I have to say is well worth it."
At the same time, the Ministry is celebrating the end of the brief war.
"The British wizarding community has a good reason to celebrate the events of the weekend," says Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge. "We survived the attempted takeover of the Ministry and defeated a dangerous Dark wizard. It was through common efforts that we emerged victorious, and the Ministry invites all heroes of the war for the celebration."
Neither Mr Dumbledore nor Mr Fudge is willing to reveal in advance what will be the topic of this combined assembly and celebration. The Daily Prophet will report about the event in detail.
Students were babbling excitedly. I rested my head against the palm of my hand. Quite few students subscribed to the Daily Prophet, and this vast number of copies delivered to Hogwarts had to be a part of the Headmaster's plan. He wanted as many people to attend as possible, and it did not bode well.
The fate of the world will be decided tomorrow, Voldemort's voice echoed in my mind. He seemed eager; perhaps he expected to get an opportunity to break free while I would be distracted by the unfolding of Grindelwald's plan.
The badly damaged Atrium of the Ministry of Magic had already been repaired; there were no signs of one wall having been blasted open. I had never seen the place so full; thousands of people were gathering there, many of them from other countries around the world. The Ministry complex seemed to have been magically adjusted to fit the crowd, because everything was remarkably larger than during my previous visits. A massive staircase had appeared on a normally non-existing section of a wall, giving plenty of space for people to move around without overloading the limited capacity of the lifts.
Minister Fudge stood on a podium in the Atrium, happily gesturing people to move down the staircase. He was so happy about having been freed from my tight leash that it made me feel nauseated; with some schadenfreude I mused that his joy would not last for long.
I went down the stairs, keeping both of my hands in the pockets of my robes where I clutched my yew wands. I had my Basilisk skin suit still on under my robes and the bullet-proof vest under it. Gilderoy Lockhart's wand and my pouch of accessories were with me as well, and the Horcruxes clinked against one another in my pockets; I had been too distracted to plan safe hiding places for them. The snake had coiled around my torso, making my movements a bit awkward.
"Where are we going?" Harry asked as he followed me down the stairs.
"No idea," I said curtly. It felt as if we were descending to our own tomb far beneath London.
"The assembly will take place in the Department of Mysteries," I heard Arthur Weasley saying somewhere behind me. "I wonder why… does Dumbledore want to tell something about the discoveries of the Unspeakables, perhaps?"
Of course, I thought. We're going to the hall of the Veil of Death.
Be ready to push Grindelwald through the archway, Voldemort said. But first you must reveal his secret. That way you'll be an even greater hero, and I'll conquer the world with ease… I mean, we will conquer.
For the first time, the Department of Mysteries had opened its doors to the public. In the black entrance room with many doors the Unspeakables were standing in rows, unenthusiastically welcoming the crowd into their hallowed halls. Normally, I would have been intrigued by the fact that it was, in fact, Isaac Newton standing at the forefront, but at that moment I had other matters demanding my attention.
We were guided into the ominous Death Chamber where people were sitting down on the benches that formed a massive amphitheatre. I chose my place so that I faced the archway straight and could see the entrance. Rather than looking at the unnervingly rippling Veil, I watched the inflow of people.
All wizarding nations across the world were present. The French Cardinal and his pompous delegation wearing red robes stepped in and glanced haughtily around. Right after them the Grand Pensionary of the Netherlands arrived, an unremarkable man in an outfit that was a better fit for a merchant than a high-ranking politician. After he scurried to his seat like someone who did not want to be on the way of others, the arch mage of the city-state of Luxemburg walked in without showing the tiniest bit of interest in the Department of Mysteries. He was an ancient warlock in dark robes, bald but with a puffy beard that literally reached his ankles. For a century he had worked in the Luxembourgish equivalent of the Department of Mysteries and was probably one of the highest-ranking members of the brotherhood of the Unspeakables; so deeply learned in the arcane arts he was that to him, mysteries and the mundane were one and the same.
The Scandinavian nations were all under the same magical jurisdiction, and their leader was a master of an obscure branch of Runic magic; so jealous of his knowledge that he refused to let outsiders learn his crafts, much to the annoyance of magical scholars around the world. Aragon and Castile were separate political entities in the wizarding world, but together with Portugal they formed a loose confederation that ruled much of Northern Africa too.
Wizarding Italy and Germany had not gone through the same unification processes as their Muggle counterparts. Italy was divided between Piedmont, Lombardy, Venice, Florence, Naples, Sicily and the Papal State (ruled by Pope John Paul II, probably the most widely known wizard in the Muggle world). Germany was divided between Württemberg, Westphalia, Brandenburg, Bavaria, Austria and the tiny but very passionately independent Liechtenstein; some people also considered Switzerland and the region of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia as parts of wizarding Germany.
In Eastern Europe and the Balkans magical population was quite sparse and formed the states of Poland, Hungary, Transylvania, Romania, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. Hellas, one of the oldest still existing magical countries, had a proud and powerful history, and its arch mage was regarded a god by some as he lived in his palace on top of Mount Olympus.
East from Hellas, there was a land contested by several political entities. Lydia, Cappadocia, Armenia and Assyria were ancient wizarding communities, but their subservience was demanded by Turkey, officially the Ottoman Empire that continued to exist after Sultan Mehmed VI had lost his power over Muggles. His successor glared angrily at the leaders of the four neighbouring countries, but did not want to bring conflict into the heart of wizarding Britain.
The Russian Comrade Gennady Yanayev and his delegation marched in and looked around in open disgust. Most wizarding countries wanted to have nothing to do with his 'progressive' ideology, and he loathed the British aristocratic ideals. Russia was so large and powerful a country that no other country could afford to get too upset by the lack of respect of the Russian leader.
Among the arrivals were witches and wizards from countries I knew almost nothing about. Egypt, of course, was famous because of its rich history, but of the countries of Ethiopia, Arabia, Timbuktu, Kongo, Zanzibar, Uganda and Zimbabwe were mostly unknown to me. Rich and respectable their representatives seemed, and I suspected they knew many Dark Arts unheard of in Britain.
Persia was a large country ruled by Shah Reza Pahlavi. There, wizarding communities were numerous but small and located in remote valleys and around oases hidden from Muggles. In the nearby areas, there were also concentrations of wizarding settlements: Samarkand was a city-state and Babylonia a tower-state: thousands of witches and wizards all living in a single building so tall that even with all their technology, Muggles could not even dream about building anything so tall.
Further to the east, there was the country of Qandahar, and beyond it, the many countries of the Indian subcontinent. Many wizard rulers, often using the title maharaja, had ruled Muggles long after the Statute of Secrecy, but once Muggle India had chosen to become a republic, the wizard rulers had been forced to let go of their power. Maratha, Vijayanagara and Bengal were the largest of the wizarding countries, but the smaller ones relied on some of them when it came to international relations.
Tibet was a very magical place and ruled by the Dalai Lama who was still a leader of some Muggles as well. The other Asian magical countries were Burma, the city-state of Angkor Wat, Siam, China, Korea, Japan and Java, all places of much lore and special arts.
Australia consisted of an Indigenous community and several small communities of European descent. For centuries the almost empty continent had attracted criminals and Dark wizards who had found a sanctuary there. New Zealand was a similar case in many ways, and I was mildly tempted to enquire its representative about what kind of magic schools there really were in his country.
On the east coast of North America there were communities with origins as British colonies. Ever since America had been discovered by Europeans, many Muggle-born witches and wizards had wanted to escape the blood prejudice common in Britain, and their emigration to America had created many very loose political entities. They had not been eager to form a central government, because they had had little need for it, but they had the office of the Arbiter. Lacking a political leader, they had sent the Arbiter to London to take care of the international relations most American wizards had no interest in.
Actual wizarding states in the Americas were the country of the Sioux, that of the people some called the Anasazi and the former colonies of Spain and Portugal conquered before the Statute of Secrecy: New Spain, New Granada, Peru and Brazil.
It was rare that each of the sixty-five magical nations of the world was present, but the emergency assembly of the International Confederation of Wizards was too important an occasion for any one of them to miss. Additionally, there were also many tribal leaders from the Americas, Africa, Siberia, Papua, and the islands of the Pacific Ocean, regions that were too sparsely populated for actual magical states. Finally, there were also present some wizard leaders of Muggle countries such as President Urho Kekkonen of Finland, Comrade Kim Jong-il of North Korea and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei of Iran who eyed the Shah furiously.
After all foreign guests had arrived and taken their places, many important British witches and wizards continued to enter the hall: Minister Fudge, Amelia Bones and what other department heads there currently were after the weekend of two takeovers and one seemingly voluntary surrender of power; members of the Wizengamot in their plum-coloured robes; Horace Slughorn who had come out of hiding; and the pure-blood patriarchs arrived as well. Lucius, Theodore and Robert Jugson along with their children came to sit near me, all looking nearly as alert as I did.
Finally, around two thousand witches and wizards were present, more magical people than I had seen in one place since the Quidditch World Cup final.
The hall was only slightly less frightening with so many people present, murmuring voices wondering why the assembly had to take place in such a dark and cold place instead of the handsome Atrium. They were silenced when the door opened one more time. Grindelwald entered and began to descend the stairs.
The Dark Lord still looked like Albus Dumbledore, but he did not bother to act the role of the kindly Headmaster of Hogwarts anymore. A malicious, predatory grin had replaced the serene smile, and the merry twinkle in his eyes had turned into a frightening blaze that reminded me of the eyes of the Hungarian Horntail.
Grindelwald stepped onto the dais where the ancient archway stood and spread his arms in a welcoming manner as he walked slowly in a circle, eyeing his entire audience as he did so.
"Welcome to London, my brothers and sisters," he said. I could hear his words directly in my mind and assumed that he had used some kind of universal communication charm that allowed everyone in the hall to understand his meaning, if not his words. "Welcome to the Department of Mysteries, the stronghold on the brotherhood of the Unspeakables. We are here to witness one of the greatest mysteries of wizardry to be solved."
He continued his slow pacing, and everyone stared at him expectantly. The charm he had used was somehow hypnotic; it was difficult not to pay full attention to him. I immediately realised the combat potential of such a distraction, but at the moment I had to force myself not to be distracted either by him or my own cunning mind – or by Voldemort, who also demanded my attention.
Don't try to Summon him when he has circled to the other side of the Veil, he whispered. He has surely prepared for such simple attacks, and then your element of surprise would be lost.
"Some of you recognise this structure," Grindelwald continued. "This ancient archway is called the Veil of Death, and it is believed to be one of the last remainders of Atlantis, the legendary empire of magic that sunk beneath the sea long before even the oldest of our contemporary communities were formed. The research facilities of the Department of Mysteries were built around this hall, the courtrooms of the Wizengamot built around the Department of Mysteries and the Ministry of Magic above all of them. In a way, this archway is the heart and founding stone of wizarding Britain."
Many guests were muttering with interest and some with outright fascination, but there was a clear undertone of uneasiness to be heard. The mysterious Veil was unnerving in its own right, but once the mystery was explained, it did not become less frightening, as was the case with most mysteries, but more so. We were close to the fate of all human beings, and the one who looked like Albus Dumbledore just walked in a circle a few steps away from death.
"The Ministry of Magic was founded after the Statute of Secrecy dictated that we had to separate our communities from the Muggle ones," Grindelwald said. "Willingly we wizards let go of our power. In Europe, there had been many wars which had started when wizards who had assumed the role of a religious leader had had disputes about the matters of faith. Much blood was spilled, and wizards had asked themselves, was it right to use Muggles as expendable pawns. No, it was considered the right thing to do to leave the Muggles alone and let them find prosperity in their own ways, without any need to submit to wizard masters."
Many British wizards seemed surprised by this. Grindelwald had said nothing that Professor Binns did not lecture about, but few students ever listened to Professor Binns.
"Was it the right thing to do? Did Muggles find peace and prosperity? I am afraid not. Muggles have always found reasons to fight one another even without wizards telling them to do so, and the absence of magic on the battlefields has forced them to create substitutes. Every now and then Dark wizards violated the Statute of Secrecy and made themselves rulers of Muggle empires, provoking even more development of substitutes for magic. Time and time again they were defeated by the actions of the International Confederation of Wizards. However, the world has grown fragile around us. The Muggles' incessant need to create more powerful substitutes for magic has yielded terrible results. Our Japanese delegation could tell you of the price they had to pay for allying with the Dark Lord Grindelwald. The super weapons Muggles have created are able to destroy entire cities!"
I was becoming quite sure that Grindelwald had heard of what I had told to my Slytherin housemates back in September of 1993.
"The world is on the brink of destruction!" Grindelwald yelled. "Yet, the truth is that most of us wizards are ignorant about it. Nothing good came from choosing isolation over lordship. We have the power, but we have avoided the responsibility. While the calamity has approached, we wizards have been fighting one another over ridiculous matters. Britain has just experienced a brief war which began because an individual who had dubbed himself Lord Voldemort considered the family background of some of his fellow citizens inferior!"
That is exactly why I lost my faith in you, I said telepathically to Voldemort who snarled angrily.
"We have had too many conflicts," Grindelwald said. "Whenever someone became powerful enough to challenge the status quo enforced by the International Confederation of Wizards, the rest of the world teamed up against him. It was I, Albus Dumbledore, who defeated Gellert Grindelwald, but as the world has gone closer and closer to destruction, I have realised that what I did was wrong."
Cries of anger rose among the audience, but Grindelwald did not heed them.
"The world needs saving from disunity! The ideals of the Statute of Secrecy have been outdated! We should have seen the danger, but we were too lazy and too prideful. But today, the world will be saved!"
Grindelwald yanked a black fabric from his pocket, took the Gaunt ring from another one and raised his hand so that his wand pointed at the ceiling.
"Some of you have heard of the Deathly Hallows!" he said, his voice growing louder and more powerful. "The Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone and the Cloak of Invisibility – the three items mentioned in 'The Tale of the Three Brothers,' a tale known around the world. Uniting them makes their owner the master of Death, and I have united them!"
There were hundreds of gasps from the audience. I gripped both of my yew wands hard.
Prepare to act, said Voldemort.
"And before me is the Veil of Death, a gateway to the Otherworld!" Grindelwald said. "Long have I waited for my next great adventure!"
I met Harry's eyes and aimed my wands, slowly to avoid attention, but what Grindelwald did next took me totally unawares. He put the cloak around his shoulders, held the Elder Wand and the Gaunt ring aloft – and stepped through the archway.
But he did not vanish as Travers had vanished. The Veil was pushed to the side, and I could see directly into the heart of the realm of Death. There, the dark god whom I had seen in many visions sat on a throne of bones. Slowly, Death rose up to regard the arrogant newcomer.
"Your divine purpose is at an end," echoed the voice of Grindelwald.
"We shall see," Death replied in a deep, musical voice.
The duel began at once. Sounds like an underground thunder and flashes of incandescent light came through the Veil, and I found myself pushing myself as far away from the archway as I could on the bench. There was barely anything to be seen, because both Death and Grindelwald moved so fast that even without the flashes it would have been difficult to make sense of what happened. However, normal senses were not needed when my faint sense of magic was suddenly overloaded with stimuli. The spells being cast were far more horrible than the Unforgivable Curses, probably forgotten forms of magic which had not been used since the days of Atlantis.
At first the duellists seemed to be evenly matched, but as the fight went on, slowly but surely the invincible wand got the upper hand. Grindelwald, the master of Death, overpowered the defences of the maker of the Elder Wand, and once I could see something again, the dark god was on his knees and Grindelwald stood triumphant before him.
"You are unworthy of ruling over this realm!" Grindelwald's voice boomed. "Your power will be put to use for the Greater Good!"
The Elder Wand twitched, and Death let out a scream that made my entire being shake. A stream of light left the defeated god, a stream that flowed into the Elder Wand and into the hand that held it. Death became fainter and fainter, and the scream died down. Eventually, he disappeared entirely, and Grindelwald, now looking like himself, turned to face the Veil again.
The golden-haired youth approached slowly, a smile on his lips, and as he crossed the Veil again, I felt the world change abruptly. It was as though Earth had turned around; the prophecy of the Delphic Oracle had come to pass, and Death was loose in the world of the living. Gellert Grindelwald, the new God of Death, had come, and all joy and hope in the world seemed to be draining away.
The cold air of the Death Chamber became even colder, and a feeling far stronger than that of any Dementor enfolded me in its horrible grip.
Brother! I cried in my mind. What should I do?
There was no reply from Lord Voldemort.
"Bow before the God of Death, mortals, for I have come to claim this world!" Grindelwald declared as his predecessor had declared in my vision a few days earlier. "I am Gellert Grindelwald, the ruler of the world! You did not defeat me last time, nor will you not defeat me in the future, either. If there is anyone in this hall who wishes to oppose me, step forward."
No one did; perhaps some would have wanted, but they were too stunned by the horror that had appeared before them. I tried to speak to Voldemort, but there was nothing but silence in the diary.
"I have stolen the super weapons of the Muggles and distributed them around the world, under all significant wizarding settlements," Grindelwald said. "Know that each and every act of resistance will be punished with the second mightiest power available in this world. Come, my brothers and sisters, step onto this dais and Disapparate. Go home and prepare to serve me forevermore!"
The Elder Wand lashed through the air and I felt the Anti-Apparition Ward of the Department of Mysteries breaking. Trembling, those closest to Grindelwald rose up from their seats, stepped tentatively closer, bowed down and vanished. Panicked whispers broke out, but no one dared to utter even one word of defiance. Hundreds of people were quickly on their feet, hurrying to pledge their loyalty to Grindelwald as early as possible.
Tom Marvolo Riddle, Lord Voldemort! I roared mentally into the diary. Is there anything I could do? Search your knowledge!
I could only feel desperation radiating from the diary. My brother was of no use, so I whirled to face Lucius, Theodore and my other powerful Slytherin allies.
"Lucius!" I said in a frantic whisper. "We've got to do something!"
Lucius sneered at me.
"Sides and alliances are fleeting," he said, throwing my own words against my face. "I intend to always be on the winning side."
He turned his back on me and approached Grindelwald with his head bowed. Draco merely glimpsed at me before following his father.
Theodore at least looked apologetic when speaking to me.
"You wanted to become the new Grindelwald. Unfortunately for you, we do not need a new one when we have the old one."
He left. I looked desperately at Ethan and Sara.
"I'm sorry, Tom," Ethan said, "but you taught us what to do in a situation like this."
The entire Slytherin faction of Britain, the one that had hailed me as its leader just an hour ago, left me standing alone and just defected and joined the crowd around the Dark Lord Grindelwald. I slumped down on the bench again, feeling the waves of fear and despair crashing against me.
A hand touched my shoulder. I turned to look and saw that Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were still with me. It was soothing in a way even though I had no idea what they could do to stop Grindelwald.
Silence descended into the hall. I forced my eyes back towards the Veil and saw that Grindelwald approached, and as he did, the cold, terrifying aura stronger than that of any Dementor pressed against me. Almost everyone was gone from the hall; some people tried to hide in the shadows by the walls, but Grindelwald paid them no heed.
"Today's show is not over yet, children!" Grindelwald said. It was disconcerting that he looked younger than in the pictures I had seen about him in the forties, younger than I currently looked. He had the face of an angel, but the feeling of a devil, and I could not help but envy him.
"What do you want?" Harry growled, somehow mustering much more defiance than I could. It was a mistake: without even a flick of a finger, Grindelwald disarmed us all of our wands. Both of my yew wands slipped from my hands like wet pieces of soap, and Lockhart's wand flew out of my pocket.
"You, Mr Potter, and you, Miss Weasley, will be coming with me to Hogwarts," Grindelwald said while picking the wands from midair. "Time has come to finally discover the secret that Salazar Slytherin hid deep beneath the castle."
"We can't remember where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is!" Harry said. "A Memory Charm removed all the relevant memories from our minds after we had left."
"We will have to do some detective work," Grindelwald said. "You will not go free before the Chamber is found."
Once more, I tried to ask Voldemort for help, but he was unresponsive. Well, I did not truly need his advice, not in a matter as simple as this. 'Keep your enemy close' and 'Always know what your enemy is after' were such obvious pieces of wisdom.
"I know where the entrance is," I said, and everyone turned to look at me. "I did some detective work on my own."
"Come along then," Grindelwald said. "But Mr Potter and Miss Weasley will come as well."
The God of Death grabbed the three of us, and in an instant we had Apparated right through the Hogwarts wards into the Entrance Hall.
With terror following me, I headed towards the girls' bathroom haunted by Moaning Myrtle. Harry walked right beside me; Grindelwald needed him for this mission as a door-opener, because he was the only known Parselmouth remaining, and Parseltongue was a power that even the Dark Lord knew not.
Posted on the 7th of July, 2021.
The final chapter, 'Atlantis Unleashed,' will be posted on the 8th of July, 2021.