Chapter 55

ATLANTIS UNLEASHED

The sky was darkening as if winter night had suddenly descended upon the Scottish Highlands. Every glimpse out of the windows showed alarming evidence of the power Grindelwald had gained during his brief excursion to the Otherworld: plants were withering and frost gathered on every surface, exactly as when Dementors were near. It was clear that the Dark Lord in a teenage boy's body enjoyed the demonstrations of his power. The corridor we walked in became dark, but I did not have a wand with which to illuminate it.

"The entrance is here," I said and opened the door to the girls' bathroom.

"Of course," Harry muttered. "Myrtle was killed by the Basilisk here! I probably realised it the first time, but the Memory Charm removed the knowledge."

Moaning Myrtle came out of her stall, and Grindelwald extended his hand at her. She let out a sad little sigh and dissipated out of existence. Harry and Ginny looked quite put out, but Grindelwald just smiled.

"That sink," I said and pointed the entrance. Harry studied it for a moment, possibly remembering something that I had tried to remove from his memory, and hissed,

"Open."

As usual, the entrance opened with a foreboding rumble, and a dark hole was waiting for us. Ginny trembled when she looked down. Grindelwald, looking more excited than ever, felt no pity when he said,

"You three will go first."

I eagerly jumped into the pipe first; the Chamber was not frightening to me, and getting away from the deathly presence of Grindelwald even for a short while felt tempting. My mind cleared of the unnatural fear as I slid down the pipe, but no clever plan presented itself; all I could think of were more safety precautions for the future crises that would probably never come, such as stashing spare wands in places such as the Chamber of Secrets. Voldemort was still unresponsive in the diary, and I hoped he would collect himself. My other Horcruxes, all inside my robes except the ring, were useless as weapons, even the snake.

Ginny, fighting against sobs, came next, and Harry not long after her. We stood in absolute darkness for a short while before Grindelwald came down the pipe more gracefully than any of us, bringing light with him. However, his Dementor-like aura did not follow him into the Chamber; he felt like a normal human being once again, probably because he wanted to sense the magical ambience of the Chamber without Death's power messing up his observations.

"An antechamber?" he asked, looking around the cavern with some disappointment.

"The main part is some distance away," Harry said.

"Lead on," Grindelwald said and produced a dozen balls of light to illuminate the cavern brightly.

We trudged over rocks and bones of rodents which had accumulated there during the centuries. Harry and Ginny looked around with trepidation, reliving their adventure over three years earlier, while I tried to act like someone who was there for the first time. Grindelwald followed us as quietly as death itself; I did not turn to look at him, but I assumed he was gliding.

Finally, after many twists and turns and one partially cleared cave-in, we faced the wall with two intertwined snake sculptures. Ginny, who had taken Harry's hand, did not look. Harry, bracing himself, hissed,

"Open."

The wall opened and the main hall of the Chamber of Secrets was revealed. Harry was sweating as he glimpsed at me, and I realised that he was expecting for the Basilisk to emerge. The fact that there was a monster still down here was something he did not want to remind Grindelwald of. When entering the main halls, I debated with myself whether or not to mention the Basilisk to Grindelwald. Surely the Headmaster had not forgotten it, in which case mentioning it would give him no helpful information, but by doing so I might make him less careful with me. Unlike Harry and Ginny, I knew of another possible asset: Salazar Slytherin had laid a trap for the Dark Lord, and fortunately I had removed Voldemort's additions from the trap mere days earlier. However, I had not understood Salazar's design well enough to learn how the trap actually could be activated. As I slowly passed the row of snake statues, I bombarded Voldemort with questions, but his unnerving silence continued.

Grindelwald made sure that there was nothing lurking in the shadows preparing an ambush and then turned to regard the statues.

"Ah yes, magnificent," he breathed. "I have never seen anything as fascinating."

"What is so fascinating about them?" I asked, hoping that initiating an academic discussion would not annoy him.

Grindelwald turned to face us and spoke in a lecturing tone; strange for someone who looked so young.

"Most people only know one thing about Atlantis: that it was a great empire which sunk beneath the sea," he said. "Usually it is discarded as a legend, a figment of imagination that does not deserve much attention. But like all scholars of esoteric mysteries, I have done everything in my power to discover Atlantis."

With a flick of the Elder Wand Grindelwald produced a map which showed the contemporary shorelines of Europe.

"Thousands of years ago, when much of Northern Europe was covered in glaciers, what is now known as the North Sea was a land that connected the British Isles to what is now known as continental Europe. It was a land of fertile plains and many rivers, and rich with natural resources. That was where the first and the greatest human civilisation was born. It was a utopia, free of poverty and diseases, because every single one of its inhabitants was a wizard. I consider it likely that the myths of the Garden of Eden and of various other paradises have their origins in this land – Atlantis."

While Grindelwald spoke, the map changed to show the old shorelines of the time when so much water was forming the northern glaciers; a map quite unrecognisable.

"It is unclear whether or not the Atlanteans caused their own destruction. Perhaps there really was some kind of Fall from Grace, another common element in mythologies. Perhaps the Atlanteans wanted a longer summer, or new living space from the north. Whatever the reason, the glaciers melted, and the sea level began to rise. Even magic could not save the Atlanteans, and their majestic civilisation was submerged. Those who survived travelled to distant lands and became the ancestors of all modern wizarding communities."

The map returned to show the contemporary shorelines.

"But, as you can see, not all of Atlantis was lost," Grindelwald said. "Before the rise of the sea level, the British Isles were part of the landmass inhabited by the Atlanteans. Have you never wondered why the founders of Hogwarts came here? Godric Gryffindor was born in England, Rowena Ravenclaw in Franconia, Helga Hufflepuff in Norway and Salazar Slytherin in Castile. Why did they choose the Scottish Highlands of all places as their home?"

"There's a huge nexus of magic beneath this castle," I said. "I guess you're telling us that it has something to do with Atlantis."

"Correct," said Grindelwald. "The capital city of Atlantis is now at the bottom of the sea, but the most important place for the Atlanteans was their Temple of Magic, built upon the nexus that all magic of this world goes through. For thousands of years after the destruction of Atlantis, wizards tried to find it. That was what inspired Alexander the Great to conquer Egypt and Persia. That was why Merlin wandered around the world and eventually settled down in the land where he found an Atlantean relic: the Veil of Death in what was originally the Atlantean Temple of Death. That was why the Peverell brothers had such zeal for solving mysteries. That was why wizards like Marco Polo, Vasco da Gama, Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan explored the world. The founders of Hogwarts found the ruins of the Temple of Magic and built their own castle upon them, in order to use the nexus of magic, and also to safeguard the secret."

Grindelwald walked around and studied the sculptures closely, comparing the snakes to Salazar's statue.

"Just as I suspected," he said. "These snake statues have not been made by Salazar Slytherin. The Chamber of Secrets was not built by him. This was the underground shrine of the Temple of Magic, and he found it during the construction of Hogwarts, but did not tell about it to the other founders. Salazar's ability to talk with snakes came from the imperial dynasty of Atlantis; he was the last heir. It is possible that he alone was able open the entrance to this place and decided to claim it as his own. Whatever happened with him, he failed. Now all his descendants are dead… but there is still one who has the power to talk to snakes."

He turned to Harry.

"You inherited the ability from Voldemort, just as I had planned. I knew I could never control Voldemort, so I ushered him to attack your family. I did my best to ensure that the attack took place exactly as I wanted: that your mother sacrificed her life for you, creating a protection that destroyed Voldemort's body and ripped his soul apart. A small fragment of his soul attached to you, giving you the Atlantean dynastic ability. And here you are now: speaking in Parseltongue as I order you."

"And what is it you want from this place?" Harry growled.

"Well, obviously I am not satisfied with controlling only the power of Death," the Dark Lord said, grinning. "Just like I was not satisfied with controlling only the power of the Hallows. I will take the nexus of all magic in the world into my control. It will be the end of the magical civilisation; all wizards except those who serve me well will be reduced to Muggles, and I will rule the world forevermore as the immortal God of Death and Magic! I will guide humanity to the stars, and I intend to find the cosmic source of magic, and it too will be my own! But, rest assured, this will all be for the Greater Good – I will remake the entire universe!"

Full of youthful confidence, Grindelwald walked to the centre of the Chamber, right under the eyes of Salazar Slytherin's statue. A few flicks of the Elder Wand created a ritual circle on the floor, in the same place where Ginny had lain when I had started my rebirth ritual. It was also the place where there was the symbol of the Deathly Hallows, but only visible when Salazar's statue was active.

"Slytherin put his very own essence into this place," Grindelwald said. "He meant his descendants to use this place, but since he did not know any of the ways that Muggles nowadays use to determine descendancy, he used the ability to speak Parseltongue as the defining quality, and this place acknowledges all Parselmouths as heirs of Slytherin."

Suddenly, Grindelwald's terrifying deathly aura returned in full, and I involuntarily scrambled backwards. It was as if a hurricane of Dark magic was whirling around Grindelwald, but it was much Darker than any magic I had ever tapped myself, except perhaps the Horcrux. I felt like a little child again, the way I had felt on that day when Dumbledore had set my wardrobe on fire, and it dawned on me that I had barely scratched the surface of the Dark Arts.

But there was someone who was much more experienced in the Dark Arts than I was. Once again, I mentally focused on the diary and cried in my mind,

Brother, if you have any ideas, present them now!

Voldemort's only reply was a miserable sensation of hopelessness.

"I will break what Salazar Slytherin built to safeguard the nexus of all magic!" Grindelwald thundered, and the pressure of Death increased to such unbearable intensity that I fell to the floor. "A sacrifice is required to unleash the power of Atlantis!"

Grindelwald turned and grinned as the very rock around the Chamber began to quake. He extended his hand in the same manner as in the bathroom, and Harry flew through the air to him. The hand of the God of Death gripped Harry's throat, and as if thousands of Dementors had appeared in the Chamber, Death exploded outward. Grindelwald held Harry in the air effortlessly and turned his newfound power to consume Harry's soul.

"As the Boy Who Lived dies, Atlantis is reborn in me!" the Dark Lord declared and opened his mouth wide. Harry's face went unnaturally pale and then started to turn grey and wrinkled as his soul and life-force were being torn from his body.

I stared at the gruesome fate of my first friend in dismay, but then a small hand grabbed mine. I turned to look and saw Ginny, tears flowing from her eyes, looking at me.

"Tom, you've got to save him," Ginny whispered in a small voice.

I turned to Grindelwald again and gathered all my anger and indignation. Tom Riddle was no one's pawn! It was time to show Grindelwald who was the true Dark Lord! I would use all my hostile feelings to fuel a wandless spell that would utterly obliterate this braggart. I would win Grindelwald!

One more time, I tried to demand help from Voldemort in the diary. He did not respond. Discarding all caution, I entered the endless void in order to force him to do as I told him – but what I found in the void shocked me to the core. Voldemort had curled up in what I imagined to be the inner corner of the last page of the diary, uncontrollably weeping in despair.

"Get up, you hopeless lump!" I roared and imagined grabbing him by the shoulder.

Voldemort looked up. There was the same expression on his face that I had seen when he had been about to die in Crouch Manor: an expression so pitiable that it made my anger flare. Lord Voldemort, the second most terrible Dark Lord in history, had given up in the face of Death. He had totally lost hope. He was unable to fight even for his continued existence, because in his mind he had already lost.

I whirled around and imagined seeing all my other soul fragments hovering in the void around me. The ring, the locket, the cup, the diadem, the snake and Harry's scar… they were all in similar states of hopelessness. Of the eight Tom Riddles, only I was still willing to fight.

Why…?

The answer was obvious the moment I left the void and saw the Chamber of Secrets again. Ginny was holding my hand, her face buried in my shoulder… of all Tom Riddles, only I had been influenced by her, only I had gained the power all my other selves lacked.

The Dark Arts were not a solution to the threat of the Dark Lord Grindelwald, the God of Death. He was above them, and they were beneath him. If he was to be defeated, I would have to embrace the magical art that I had never been able to master. Everything counted on it.

I focused on Ginny and thought about how she had set me on a better course in life. I raised my hand and tried to cast a certain spell wandlessly – a spell that required pure, happy memories and a generally positive attitude towards life, things Ginny had taught me.

I could feel how the spell failed before it even started. It simply disagreed with my very nature. My soul had been maimed for the sake of immortality; in my fear of death, I had gained safety from it, but, only now I truly understood it: the price had been my life. I was cursed to immortality, which was only a bleak half-life, and that was why I was unable to wield the magic that could save Harry and the entire world from Death.

Before I could win Grindelwald, I had to win myself.

I had to try… this would be the last stand of Tom Riddle, the not-the-Dark Lord… the final sacrifice of the last heir of Salazar Slytherin, even if it meant that I could not do what my great ancestor had planned for me to do.

I thought about the bitter orphan Tom Riddle whose entire existence had been marked by all-devouring apathy and fear of death… I compared him to the person I had become through my experiences. Everything I had learned from Ginny, the inspiration I had found in playing the violin, the moment of peace during The First Noel, all the friends I had made…

But there was still much Voldemort in me. I could constantly feel his terror and desperation radiating from the diary. He dragged me down to the pit of hopelessness like a rock tied to a swimmer's foot. Voldemort had never wanted to truly live; he was the side of me that could not enjoy my existence, but wanted to escape apathy and fear by creeping into the darkest caverns of his own making.

I thought of Myrtle who had died for the creation of my diary. I thought of my father and his parents who had died for the creation of the ring. I thought of everyone whose deaths had served the purpose of binding Voldemort to the world of apathy and fear. They all would have lived lives with more happiness and purpose than Voldemort… and I felt sorry that those things had been taken from them.

I took all of these thoughts and used them to power the one spell I had never managed to master. I did not have a wand, but the magic was bursting with such power that it could manifest without being channelled by a wand.

"Hold on, Harry!" I cried and waved my hands. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Pain flared in my chest; it was like the flames of Purgatory. I lost control of my magic, and the flames burnt me from the inside, tormenting my very self in a way that I thought only the Cruciatus Curse was capable of. As I collapsed to the floor, my vision blurred, and then I saw into the void as well. Voldemort was burning, searing flames of radiant silver had engulfed him, and he shrieked. So did all other Tom Riddles in their cursed containers: they all burned as I burned, but as their ghostly forms quickly disintegrated into nothingness, I felt purer.

Searing light filled the Chamber as a brilliant silver snake appeared. It flew to Harry, positioning itself between him and Grindelwald. The Dark Lord looked momentarily confused as his attempt to eat Harry's soul and life failed. The silver flames still burned inside me, but I managed to take the locket of Slytherin out from my robes. With trembling hands I put it around my neck, and Salazar's statue came to life again.

Grindelwald stumbled back in surprise and he lost his hold on Harry as the silver snake made attacking motions against him. Harry fell to the floor and gasped heavily.

"Salazar laid a trap against the Dark Lord!" I yelled to Harry, using all my willpower not to scream because of the pain caused by the silver flames inside me. "But I don't know the keyword to trigger it!"

Grindelwald looked around, still trying to shoo away the furious silver snake. The eyes of Salazar's statue were burning with intense magical flames, and Grindelwald hurried to perform the wand motion of the Shield Charm.

Harry, after having taken a deep breath, frowned fiercely and hissed in Parseltongue,

"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is Death!"

Suddenly, more light flowed into the Chamber, the ground began to shake and a noise like a thunderstorm rumbled. I could only barely keep my eyes open, and I with my mind's eye I saw my other selves still burning, but somehow I could sense how unfathomably powerful beams of light shot from Salazar's eyes and struck Grindelwald. I heard the Dark Lord groan in frustration, and then I heard familiar hisses: the Basilisk had come forth to complete the purpose Salazar had given it.

How long it lasted, I could not assess. Eventually my pain subsided, and as it did, memories flowed into my mind. I could see and hear years in the half-life of Lord Voldemort, all unspeakable acts of evil he had committed, but the memories faded quickly. They were like the previous night's dream, disappearing into oblivion even as I tried to focus on them…

When I returned to my senses, I felt different. It was as if I had woken up from a deep sleep, even more so than when Ginny had awoken me in the diary. Everything seemed clearer… and I felt whole.

I looked at the items around me that had fallen from my robes. The locket, the cup, the diadem, the snake, Harry's scar and the ring somewhere further away… they all felt different. The searing fire of the Patronus had lifted their curses: my anchors to immortality were no more. But now I had something much better: a whole soul capably of full life. All those soul fragments that Voldemort had hidden away were made one once again.

Lord Voldemort was finally gone, totally annihilated from existence, and I had become the person I was meant to be. Ginny still grasped my hand, and I could feel some kind of joyful resonance with her soul. She had given me the power to win the most challenging of victories – victory over myself.

Hands grabbed me and I was lifted back to my feet. I saw Harry, his scar bleeding, and Ginny, looking massively relieved.

"What – what happened?" I asked. "Where's Grindelwald?"

"He is over there," Harry said and pointed to the far end of the Chamber.

Grindelwald had been knocked back by the power Salazar had stored for the trap against him. Not even the immeasurable amount of Atlantean power had been able to destroy the God of Death, but it had managed to daze him for a brief moment, and it had been enough for the Basilisk to attack. Grindelwald was literally undying, no power in the universe was enough to kill him, but not even the Godhood of Death had made his human body immune to the petrifying power of an elder Basilisk's gaze.

Grindelwald stood as stiff as a statue with an expression of absolute horror forever frozen on his youthful face.

Posted on the 8th of July, 2021.