A/N: Sorry for making you wait for so long but ever since the beginning of the year I have a new job and it threw me a bit off writing because I have far less time for it. However, I want to get back into it regularly again and so I now try to publish one chapter for one of the stories per month. So hopefully this'll mean a sooner update for this story too ^^
Chapter 5: Suspicious Much?
The students, whispering to each other about what happened, wondering whether the cloud was harmful or not, looked back to where Harry stood just moments ago only to see that he was gone. Well, that wasn't true, now there stood two Sirius Blacks right next to each other and no one knew who was who.
Everyone was stunned silent but soon whispered conversations broke out all over the place, students wondering who of the two the real Sirius Black was and who in fact Harry. Even James, Remus and Pettigrew looked confused, not able to tell them apart. Though with Pettigrew it was questionable whether it was because they looked too alike or his lower intelligence.
"Hey, I told you to take that glamour down!" the first Sirius exclaimed heatedly. "I don't want one of you slimy snakes to impersonate me."
"Hah! I impersonating you? It is you who the imposter is," the second Sirius retorted while drawing his wand. "Wait until my mother learns of this, she'll flail you alive!"
James and Remus both sighed in relief because the wand was definitely Sirius' wand and therefore this one had to be the real one. Though what surprised them was that Sirius brought up his mother because they very well knew of the strained relationship between the two.
Unfortunately, the relief only lasted until the first Sirius upon that threat also drew his wand and pointed it at the second one. Both wands also looked the same. Could that mean that the second Sirius was the imposter since he was the one mentioning Walburga?
"Er Remus, do you know who the real Sirius is?" James asked his friend, still unsure and in the hope that his wolfish side could distinguish the two.
Remus however, looked utterly baffled. "No, I do not," he muttered. "How is this possible?"
The only smell he found in-between all the other students was Sirius', that new boy's one was nowhere to be smelled, how curious.
James, on the other hand, looked at Remus shocked. Never before had his friend not been able not to identify someone by his or her smell, it was impossible. Especially considering that Sirius was one of his oldest friends.
In the meantime, the quarrel between the two Sirius continued.
"What dark magic did you use to let your wand look like mine?" the first Sirius roared. "Besides I doubt that Walburga will lift a finger after I left this summer."
The second Sirius looked shocked.
"Gentleman, please calm down. A simple Finite Incantatem will solve this," McGonagall spoke up before waving her wand over the first Sirius.
However, when she cast the reversal spell nothing happened which made this Sirius look smug while the other grew more enraged.
"HOW DID YOU DO THAT?" he roared.
What shocked everyone though was that, when Professor McGonagall cast the spell over the second Sirius, it looked as if an illusion spell was cancelled but who emerged from it was not Tom Hadrian Eldrid but some random blond Hufflepuff girl much to said girl's indignation.
Everyone stared at the two in utter disbelieve, not knowing what to think anymore. If neither was Eldrid then where was the boy? Not to mention who was that Hufflepuff girl?
The only one who was highly amused by the entire thing, not that he outwardly showed it, was Severus. If he thought that the verbal sparring with the Marauders made his day, this topped everything. He had no idea how Harry had managed to pull that stunt over them and got away with it, but he had to give it to the boy, he was brilliant.
In the meantime, the Hufflepuff girl frantically tried to convince both James and McGonagall that she, in fact, was Sirius Black and not that imposter, who currently stood next to James.
Sirius sighed. "I think I know a fast way to prove that I am Sirius Black once and for all," he finally growled before turning to James and whispering something in his ear.
James' eyes widened when he heard what Sirius said. "He is Sirius Black of that I'm certain," he told McGonagall with conviction after a few seconds in which he stared straight into Sirius' eyes.
McGonagall also took a few seconds to watch James but, in the end, she nodded.
"Very well Mr Potter, I trust your judgement in that matter," she replied before turning towards the girl whom she still didn't know the name of.
"Come on James, let's get out of here. I have enough of it," Sirius told his friend who nodded.
"You're right, this is getting annoying. Remus are you coming?" the young man asked his other friend completely forgetting about Pettigrew though those who knew them knew that it was a common occurrence. They only kept up with Pettigrew because of the secrets the rat knew.
"Sorry, I'm staying. I don't know but something's going on, and I want to know what," the werewolf replied, shaking his head.
Something was buggering him about the new boy, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was, and so he was adamant to learn as much about him as possible.
James shrugged. "Suit yourself. You can find us in the common room."
With that James and Sirius set into motion to walk back to Gryffindor common room.
"This Eldrid…who does he think he is? Glamouring himself to look like me…pretending to be me…," Sirius growled once they were out of earshot of the masses of students that this entire thing had attracted. "Not to mention bringing my mother into this, the entire school will know by dinner."
That, in turn, incensed James who launched into a rant about that other boy. He raged over how Eldrid must be evil just because he was a Slytherin and complained about the audacity that he had shown today by getting one over them. During their walk back to the tower, James was so immersed in his complaining that he didn't realise how Sirius fell behind him before he, after one corner, vanished completely. Only once he stood in front of the painting of the Fat Lady James saw that he was alone. Confused, he waited a few moments, thinking that at one point Sirius needed to get to the loo, but he hadn't realised because he was so focused. It took him ten minutes of waiting to admit that something was wrong.
Sirius vanished behind a tapestry, and a broad grin bloomed on his face. With a wave of his hand, he cancelled the glamour charm and returned to his usual self, Tom Hadrian Eldrid. He chuckled lowly while he quickly made his way back to the courtyard but not without taking a detour to the nearest bathroom to wash his hands.
Not five minutes later, he stepped up to Severus who seemingly had a tough time to suppress his amusement.
"I have to admit that this was brilliant," Severus muttered low enough so that only Harry could hear him.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Harry replied with an innocent face.
Severus suppressed a snort. "Sure, you don't," he said before turning back to the spectacle in front of him.
While Harry had left with James, the glamour on the Hufflepuff girl had faded and revealed the real Sirius Black. He was currently trying to explain to a very shocked and confused McGonagall that it was as he told them for a solid half an hour now, that he indeed was Sirius Black and not the boy that had left with his best friend.
Everyone else was equally confused and wondering what was going on. That was when Sirius – the real one this time – spotted Harry standing next to Severus.
"YOU!" he roared trying to lunge at Harry but was held back by McGonagall clearing her throat as well as Remus' firm grip on his arm. "What did you do to James?" he demanded to know.
"I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about," Harry returned confused. "I have been here the entire time except for the five minutes when I was searching for a bathroom."
"I can second that," Severus added to the growing frustration of Sirius. "He was here the entire time."
Technically that was not a lie because Harry had been there the entire time though what wasn't said as whom he had been there. Since he had made a detour to the bathroom that wasn't a lie either. This was quickly confirmed by another Slytherin, who had been drawn to the quarrel. Supporting the own house was the first and primary rule of the House of Slytherin as long as someone didn't blatantly break a rule they would look the other way or give you an alibi and getting one over the Marauders…well what better incentive to support someone.
Sirius just wanted to tell them that it was no wonder that Snivellus and that other snake supported someone of their own house, when surprisingly a Hufflepuff also spoke up, even if timidly, saying that he also saw Harry being there the entire time. Soon more and more supported that statement.
Harry though had a very hard time to suppress the glee and hilarity he felt. This was a prime example of the power of the masses. If one person told you that the sky was green and not blue, you'd probably call him insane, but if ten completely unrelated people said to you that, you'd begin to wonder whether they might be right or not and, in the end, you'd believe it too. So, if three different people said that yes Harry had been there the entire time and you didn't know for sure yourself, who'd you be to contradict them?
Sirius looked around him in shock when more and more people said the same thing. How could that be? They all had seen how that Eldrid boy had applied the glamour on himself to look like him, hadn't they? Sure, some might have arrived later but surely not so many and surely those who had witnessed everything wouldn't also support Eldrid's version of things, would they? What he didn't put into consideration or didn't know was how convincing the masses could be not to mention the selective perception and cognitive bias of a person. People see what they want to see and that might not always be what really happened.
"Mr Black, I don't know what transpired here, but it seems that you're under some misconception," McGonagall scolded him. "And five points from Gryffindor for calling another student names!"
Sirius was shell-shocked over this development, so much that he wasn't even able to complain about the deducted point. It seemed that this Eldrid boy had played everyone so effortlessly that no one as much as suspected him of having done anything wrong. This was a whole new experience for him, having been bested without realising it and without being able to retaliate…at least not right away.
Right at that moment, James came running back with a confused frown.
"Sirius, why did you return here?" he asked, his frown deepening.
"I never left," Sirius retorted heatedly.
This was another thing. Eldrid was so good and knew enough about them to be able to successfully impersonate one of them and dupe James so that his friend wasn't able to tell the difference between his real friend and Eldrid in disguise. How he learned so much about them in such a short amount of time without anyone knowing him was everyone's guess.
James first looked confused though soon realisation dawned on him and he turned to Eldrid in rage. However, he didn't get far when Remus place a hand on his shoulder.
"James, stop! I don't know what it is, but something is off about him, and I don't think it a good idea to antagonise him any further, at least for the moment," he told his friend, who looked at him in disbelieve.
"Remus, he impersonated Sirius…he knows things," he exclaimed.
"And that is why we should stop and think about it! The risk of him revealing what he knows is too high," Remus urged, he feared what might happen if Eldrid revealed his…furry little problem.
James' eyes widened in shock when he realised the ramifications of what might happen, and he nodded slowly.
"Good. Professor, I have to apologise for what transpired here," he told their Head of House. "Come, we're leaving."
With that, Remus dragged James and a still shocked Sirius towards Gryffindor tower. Peter, who had tried to fade into the background – quite successfully at that – scuttled after them.
When they were out of sight, Harry turned towards Severus with an amused glint in his eyes. Severus who had a hundred and one questions about how Harry managed to pull this…this prank off, nodded questioningly towards the main entrance. Harry smiled, nodded and with a polite "Professor McGonagall" he walked idly towards the door and the dungeons. He just turned towards the dungeons, when he was stopped by a voice behind him.
"Tom, my boy!" Dumbledore called out for him.
Harry frowned upon the again very informal addressing but schooled his face into a mask of indifference before he turned towards the headmaster. Next to the old man stood two men who wore the usual Auror robes. One he recognised as a very young Kingsley Shacklebolt.
"Tom, these are the Aurors Moody and Shacklebolt, they are here to question you about what happened yesterday, my boy," Dumbledore explained him with a grandfatherly smile. "Do you have a moment?"
Harry looked at the other Auror, and now that Dumbledore had introduced them, he could see it himself, and he had a hard time to keep up his masks. There, with both legs and eyes unimpaired, stood Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. That surely was a surprise.
Then there was Dumbledore in one of his ghastly robes. Sure, he made it sound like a question, but he knew very well, that he had no other option than to go with them, as well as he knew that even if Dumbledore wasn't there during the interrogation, he would learn everything anyway, Moody was his friend after all.
"Very well gentlemen, lead the way," Harry finally said. "Severus, we meet in the dorm or, if it takes longer, dinner?"
Severus looked back and forth between Dumbledore and Harry, trying to gauge whether it was a good idea to leave him alone with the old man but in the end, he nodded. If Harry, who seemingly had been on the run from everyone for over a year and a half on his own, couldn't defend himself he didn't know who could.
"I'll see you later," he merely said before leaving towards the Slytherin common room.
Harry, on the other hand, followed Dumbledore and the two Aurors to an empty classroom nearby, where Dumbledore rearranged the tables so that there was only one at the front with two chairs on the one side and one on the other before warding the room so no one would be able to listen in. When Dumbledore was done, the Aurors sat down on the one side while Harry sat on the lone chair. Dumbledore in the meantime walked over to one of the windows and looked out as if he wasn't interested in the interrogation at all but forced to attend. The truth couldn't be any further away from that though.
Once they sat, Moody pulled out a parchment and a dictation quill and set it up.
"Interrogation of Tom Hadrian Eldrid on the 3rd October 1976. Interrogators: Alastor Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt," Moody dictated and nodded in satisfaction that the quill worked. "Mr Eldrid would you please tell us what happened yesterday?"
Harry took a deep breath as if to centre himself before he began to speak in a slightly wobbly voice.
"My father had a free day yesterday, and my parents thought that it would be nice to spend the time together," Harry said while looking at his hands. "We spent most of the day in the park and just wanted to go have ice cream at the nearby mall when it happened." Harry swallowed hard and nodded thankfully when Shacklebolt conjured a glass of water. "Suddenly there were those people everywhere…wearing black robes with hoods…and those masks…. Spells were flying everywhere, people were screaming, running around and my father…my father was hit by a green one…he…he…his eyes…."
The horror of what he had to endure was clearly visible and audible for the two Aurors, and they wished that they could spare the young man having to relive it, but it was needed, they needed to know what exactly had happened and Eldrid was the only survivor of the massacre.
"Take a deep breath," Shacklebolt instructed him, not wanting him to have a panic attack. "You're at Hogwarts now, and in safety, no one can reach you here."
Harry did as he was instructed and breathed in and out a few times. Though he doubted, that the "no one can reach you here" was true since his real enemy was currently standing not even ten feet away and looking out through the window.
"Thank you, Sir," he said with a tentative smile before he with a last deep breath continued. "In the chaos, I lost my wand and saw how one of the cloaked black men picked it up and destroyed it. Mum told me to run and hide when she was struck. After…after seeing her fall, I wished to be somewhere safe…somewhere far away. That was when I found myself near the lake here at Hogwarts. I…I don't know how I did it."
When Harry fell silent, Moody looked over the notes the quill had taken.
"Do you remember how many attacked you?" he asked gruffly.
"Three…four? I don't know, everything happened so fast," Harry replied in a low voice.
"And you couldn't identify anyone?" it was this time Shacklebolt who asked.
Harry shook his head. "No Sir, only that they were male…at least they sounded male. I'm sorry, but that's all I know. Do you want my memories? Maybe they'll help."
Now he looked a bit fearful at the Aurors as if he feared that it wasn't enough or that he was in trouble. Shacklebolt, who saw that, sighed.
"Don't worry you didn't do anything wrong and we're glad for your help," he tried to reassure the teen. "Actually, having your memories of the attack will help us a lot. We might see things you'd deem as unimportant."
Harry just wanted to tell the dark-skinned man how grateful he was for the reassurance and give him the memories – Death be thanked for them – when Dumbledore suddenly spoke up.
"You really are an excellent actor, Tom, I have to give you that," the old man said before turning around and looking at Harry without his customary twinkle in his eyes. "Did you really think that this plot of yours would work?"
"Albus," Moody sharply admonished, he knew what this was about since Dumbledore had told them beforehand about his fears. However, Eldrid clearly was a traumatised teenager, who certainly did not need the amount of distrust sent his way that Dumbledore held for him.
"I beg your pardon?" Harry asked in the meantime quite confused.
"You know it perturbed me ever since I heard your name for the first time but then I realised …your name, it's an anagram isn't it?" he asked but only earned himself a blank look from Harry and enraged ones from the two Aurors.
With a sigh, Dumbledore took out his wand – to Harry's curiosity it looked precisely like the Elder Wand – and with a few flicks, the word 'ELDRID' was floating in the air in fiery letters. Another flick of his wand and the letters rearranged themselves to spell 'RIDDLE'.
"The letters of my last name can be used to form the word RIDDLE, so what?" Harry questioned as if he had no idea what Dumbledore was after though he knew very well what all this was about.
Dumbledore's eyes narrowed when no recognition flittered over the boy's face or anything else that told him that he was right. Therefore, he again flicked his wand to form the words "TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE" before rearranging them into "I AM LORD VOLDEMORT".
Harry blinked a few times before he broke out into heavy laughter. He actually laughed so hard that he fell off his chair. Both the Aurors and Dumbledore looked at him in shock and surprise and a bit as if they thought that he lost it. It took him several minutes before he was able to form somewhat coherent sentences again.
"You…you really think…that…," he said between bouts of laughter while trying to get back on the chair. "Oh, that's beyond everything. I mean thank you for thinking so highly of me but…no!"
That, however, alerted Moody. "What do you mean by that?" he demanded to know.
"By what? That you think so highly of me? Think of it, Dumbledore just accused me of being one of the if not the most powerful wizard alive," Harry snorted, not that they'd ever learned that it was in fact true, he is the most powerful wizard alive or dead, he was Death's master after all, but that was beside the point.
Moody and Shacklebolt thought about what just transpired. In the end, Shacklebolt snickered lowly, and Moody grunted in amusement.
"Anyway, don't you think that those are a bit many coincidences to be natural, my boy?" Dumbledore interrupted them.
"What comes next? That I'm his secret son?" Harry retorted snipingly, he was fed up with Dumbledore, the old meddling fool had always stuck his abnormally long and crooked nose where it didn't belong, and this wasn't any different.
However, it seemed that he shouldn't have asked that question because suddenly Dumbledore's eyes widened a bit before he narrowed them in suspicion. Great, now the man thought him to be Voldemort's son, just great.
"Oh, for Salazar's sake…," he exclaimed in exasperation. "I think there is a good way to prove that I'm not a dark wizard."
With a flick of his wrist, he had his wand in hand. He could see how Moody tensed momentarily but ignored it.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" he intoned while thinking of his happiest moment, knowing that even in this time people believed that no dark witch or wizard was able to perform this spell.
The eyes of both Aurors widened considerably when a fully-fledged Patronus fled from the teenager's wand before circling the room once and settling on Eldrid's shoulder. They never saw someone so young produce a Patronus. Not many were able to perform the spell and even less managed a fully-fledged one. Actually, even in the Auror force, only a third was able to achieve it fully.
Harry, on the other hand, was shocked.
"What. The. Hell?!" he exclaimed.
He had expected to see his usual stag coming from his wand but not…that! On his shoulder, currently preening its feathers, sat a proud silver-white phoenix that was even larger than Fawkes.
All that Dumbledore could do was staring at the Patronus sitting on the teenager's shoulder. Oh, he knew very well what a phoenix meant, rebirth but also a pure heart and he doubted that a son of Tom Riddle would have such a Patronus – if one at all –, not to mention Riddle himself.
Could he have been so wrong about the boy?
But no, Eldrid was hiding something, and it was no coincident that his last name could also spell Riddle or that their first names were identical. Then another thought occurred to him. Tom Riddle hated his first name with a vengeance, so why did the boy choose it as his first name assuming that he made his name up. Did he want to taunt Riddle? Or was he playing an entirely different game?
Then what was it with the middle name Hadrian? Was that his real name or did he make it up too? There were so many things he didn't know about the boy, and it was bothering him a lot.
What if the boy was dangerous?
What if he endangered the children here at Hogwarts?
Or was it better to keep him here to be able to watch him more closely?
Then there was Slughorn's report about what he learned yesterday during potions and today. He was absolutely smitten with the poor orphaned boy who had no one left, went on and on how well he did in potions.
He would have to wait what the other teachers would say about the teenager but if the two Aurors, one of which was a very good friend of him and who was probably the most paranoid man in the world, were anything to go by it would be Riddle all over again. A boy that was seen by everyone as a progeny, a poor orphaned boy, and not the danger he really was.
Dumbledore there and then decided to watch the boy carefully. Eldrid, or whatever his real name was, would slip up at some point and then he would have his proof that the boy was as bad as Riddle.
He just wanted to say something, when the door suddenly banged open, and an enraged Slughorn stomped in.
"What did I just learn?" he demanded to know apparently quite angry. "That one of my students was questioned by Aurors without me as his Head of his House in attendance?"
"Horace my old friend, I was here the entire time, and I thought it would be enough. I didn't want to burden you with this," Dumbledore replied placatively. "You have enough to do after all without having to sit in a boring questioning."
"That's beside the point, Albus. You know very well that as long as the students are at Hogwarts, their Head of House are their interim guardians. This goes double for muggle-born and orphaned students," Slughorn exclaimed. "It was imperative that you informed me because no underage student can be questioned without at least one guardian in attendance and you are not his guardian."
"He thinks I'm Tom Riddle," Harry offhandedly threw in.
Slughorn's head snapped towards Harry, his eyes widening in shock and surprise before he rounded on Dumbledore again.
"Is what he said true?" he asked in a low, threatening voice.
As much as Dumbledore tried no to react to the accusation levelled upon him by his old friend nonetheless and on the word of a barely known teenager, a slight tick from his right eye revealed him. Slughorn, having been Dumbledore's friend for several decades now and a Slytherin to boot didn't miss that.
"Are you out of your bloody mind?" he roared, it was obvious how much this incensed him because he normally never swore. "This boy lost his parents just yesterday by the hand of those who follow the man, and you accuse him of being HIM? The man who is, even if indirectly, responsible for Tom being an orphan now? What has gotten into you?"
Harry looked at Slughorn in surprise. Sure, he knew that Slughorn cared for his snakes but that he would so vehemently protect a boy he barely knew from Dumbledore was more than surprising him.
"Horace be reasonable. Something is up with the boy. He has the same first name, and his last name is an anagram to Riddle. Do you really think all this is coincident?" Dumbledore questioned him in front of Harry as if he wasn't there, which irritated him.
However, it was Moody who spoke up.
"Albus, you're the one who is unreasonable. We, of course, investigated everyone who fell victim to the attack. His parents, Cyndia and Alfred Eldrid, were registered in the muggle world for over thirty years now, fines for illegal parking, taxes, jobs, everything! Not even Voldemort would be able to fake that! Voldemort is good, but I doubt that even he is able to fake the entire lives of two individuals and their son," he growled.
Harry had to suppress his snicker upon seeing Dumbledore's disbelieving face. Oh yes, Harry had no idea how Death had done it, but he did a great job. His parents actually went into hiding shortly after Dumbledore defeated and consequently imprisoned Grindelwald because they feared that Dumbledore would come after them in a bid to learn more about the Deathly Hallows.
However, it didn't take Dumbledore long to regain his composure.
"Very well, I assume that we're done here?" he asked, his benevolent mask back up, upon which Moody huffed but nodded. "Good. Mr Eldrid, please accept my sincerest apology for accusing you. I hope you can understand that one cannot be cautious enough in times like these."
It took a lot from Harry not to scoff upon the apology, sincere his ass. However, he didn't want to antagonise Dumbledore any further today, so he nodded.
"It's okay, I understand that you have to ensure that the other children are not in danger," Harry replied with a small smile, not that Dumbledore ever did that.
He only had to think about everything that happened during his first time at Hogwarts, and he knew that Dumbledore never did anything to make the school safer, quite the contrary actually and if Death was right then this version of Dumbledore was precisely the same as his. So, no he wouldn't trust the man as far as he could throw him without the aid of magic, which wasn't far.
"Come on Tom," Slughorn spoke up. "Let's get out of here. I assume that your friend Severus is waiting for you, so let's not let him wait for more."
Harry's smile broadened, and he quickly followed his Professor out through the door. The last thing he heard before he passed the silencing wards was how Moody began to lecture Dumbledore about inappropriate behaviour.
"Everything alright? I hope the interrogation didn't upset you too much," he asked in concern.
With a look at his Head of the house, Harry shook his head. "I'm alright, Sir," he told him.
"Good, good, I apologise for what Dumbledore accused you of, what he thought I have no idea," the teacher muttered while leading them to the dungeons.
"Sir, if I may ask…who was this Tom Marvolo Riddle, you seemed to recognise the name," Harry wanted to know, wondering whether Slughorn would tell him anything. In his time, he had been guilt-ridden about what he had told Tom when he had been still at school. "I mean besides the obvious of him being the Dark Lord."
Slughorn looked at him for a long moment before he sighed. "He was a student here in the late 40th and early 50th," he began to tell. "Everything he did he was brilliant in, extremely powerful but always friendly. He aced all his exams, managed eleven Outstanding in his OWLs and ten in his NEWTs, became Prefect and later Head Boy.
"After school he applied for the Defence post, knowing that the teacher retired that year. However, Headmaster Dippet rejected him, telling him that he should return a few years later after he travelled for a bit and collected some experience. Riddle followed that advice and returned a few years later though at that time Dippet had already retired himself and Dumbledore, who was Dippet's successor, refused him with a resounding no.
"I don't know what he did afterwards until he returned a few years ago as the self-styled Dark Lord Voldemort." Slughorn sighed again. "I don't know why he thinks that he has to go down that road, he could have gone places, but instead he decided on…this."
Harry who listened to the man in rapt attention hummed lowly.
"Have you ever thought about asking him why he's doing what he's doing?" he finally asked.
That thought made Slughorn stop in his tracks and stare at him in disbelieve.
"What?" he rasped out.
"No offence sir, but what do you know about his motives? And I mean what you really know and not what some third party told you," he questioned challengingly.
Slughorn on the other hand just opened and closed his mouth, left speechless by the teenager in front of him.
"Thought so," Harry continued speaking when the professor stayed silent. "I learned from a very young age on that there are always two sides to a coin. Let me give you an example. Down the street you see a wizard attacking another wizard, what do you think or do?"
"I would stun the attacker if possible, call in the Aurors and aid the attacked one if necessary," Slughorn answered without missing a beat.
"And with that, you'd both either be heavily wounded or worse, dead. Because what you couldn't see or hear from your position was that the attacked wizard also had his wand drawn and was about to cast the killing curse. See? What from one angle looks like a bad thing, is from a different angle the best that could happen. That is why I asked you about what you really know about his motives," Harry explained.
"But he is the one responsible for your parent's death," Slughorn stated in disbelieve.
"Is he really? All I remember is that several Wizards, wearing long black robes and masks, attacked the mall and killed my parents as well as everyone else who was there at that time.
"Only because it looks like a cat and meows like a cat it doesn't mean it is a cat and not Professor McGonagall in her Animagus form," he said with a chuckle. "As long as I don't know with certainty that he had been there or ordered the attack I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
"In my youth, I have been condemned for things I haven't done more than once, and I won't make the same mistake. Don't be mistaken, those who are responsible, I hold accountable, and they will be brought to justice but not some innocent man only because some believe he is evil reincarnated. Before you ask, I also don't hold him accountable for everything someone under his lead does. It would be as if I hold you accountable only because one of the Slytherins decides to skip classes."
"What about all the other attacks?" Slughorn began to understand where the teenager was coming from; he had very good reasoning for why he thinks like does.
"As I said, there are always two sides to a coin, and as long as I don't know all the facts or have absolute proof I won't judge anyone," Harry replied, raising his eyebrow, daring him to say anything against that.
Suddenly they both heard clapping coming from behind them, which resulted in Harry spinning around while drawing his wand. He nearly fired off a spell when he realised that it was the Aurors Moody and Shacklebolt standing there, Moody being the one who was clapping.
"Nice reflexes you have," Moody complemented him, looking amused. "But you should already have known that we were here. Constant vigilance!"
Harry chuckled while he put his wand away. "One of my defence instructors tended to say that."
"And he was right, you might never know when someone tries to sneak up on you."
"True, was there anything you forgot to ask earlier?"
"Actually, with Dumbledore throwing accusations towards you, we forgot to take your memories. I don't know what got into Dumbledore, but you are a fine lad. We couldn't help but overhear your conversation, and I have to say that I wish that we had more wizards thinking like you in the Ministry. You wouldn't want to become an Auror one day, would you? I'd help you if you wish."
Hearing that, Harry laughed. "Sorry no, but thank you for the offer. I'm more inclined in making sure that only those are convicted who are truly guilty and not because it is convenient for someone with too much influence," he said while shaking his head. "I leave engaging dangerous witches and wizards in battle to bring them to justice to those whose heart is really in it. Otherwise, I would only endanger my colleagues."
"As I said, you're a fine lad. Alas, we have to get back, so I'd ask you for the memory," Moody instructed him.
Harry nodded and carefully extracted the memory before placing it in a vial Shacklebolt held out to him. Once the memory was safely in it, he put a stopper in before casting several charms over it not only to prevent any damage but also unauthorised people from viewing it.
"Thank you for your help. Enjoy your weekend," Shacklebolt said while placing the vial in a special box for evidence.
Moody nodded towards Harry and Slughorn before turning around and leaving. Shacklebolt quickly followed him, and both finally left Hogwarts.
"Auror Moody was right, not many think the way you do, and I hope that you never lose your sense of what is right and wrong," Slughorn said to Harry. "Oh Merlin, it is dinnertime already. I suggest you go straight to the Great Hall. Before I forget it, I would ask you to accompany me to our resident Healer Madame Pomfrey after dinner to ensure that you're at full health and to get a medical record from you. I thought Dumbledore already did this but alas he did not."
"Sure Professor, I'll meet you in the entrance hall?" Harry asked, not against the suggestion at all.
Sure, during his first round at Hogwarts he had hated the hospital wing with a vengeance, but that was more because of the many times he had to stay there. Later while he had been on the run, he had learned the hard way what happened if you didn't look after yourself. It had nearly cost him his head because he had pushed off treating his wounded leg properly, thinking that it wasn't as bad as it apparently had been. After that, he had made sure that every wound was handled properly and he in his best possible health under those conditions, not wanting to repeat the experience.
Slughorn nodded and turned around to go to his office but stopped when he found Severus standing in front of him.
"Professor, Harry," he greeted them politely.
"Mr Snape, I won't hold you up any longer, enjoy dinner."
With a smile, Slughorn continued down the corridor while the two teenagers went to the Great Hall to grab something to eat. On his way to his office, Slughorn thought about everything he learned in the last two days.
Tom Hadrian Eldrid was indeed a mystery.
No one knows how he managed to penetrate Hogwarts' wards, which had never happened since the school was founded. It spoke of a very powerful wizard if he was able to get through them.
For the first time, he could see why Dumbledore might think that he was Riddle. Sometimes they were scarily similar – they even looked nearly identical though Eldrid had bright emerald green eyes and Riddle's were a deep dark brown – especially with their power. But then again, they were as different as two individuals could be.
Tom Riddle had always been wary of everything and everyone, questioning people's motives and not genuinely trusting anyone. Nevertheless, he was able to charm nearly everyone within minutes, something that Eldrid had a knack for too. Riddle also always wanted to know the strengths and weaknesses of a person in case that he needed to manipulate them. Another thing was that he soaked up knowledge like a sponge, there was no book that he wouldn't read.
This led his thoughts to a conversation he had with Riddle all those years back when he was still a student here at Hogwarts. Riddle had asked him about a particular ritual out of curiosity as he had said at that time. However, when not even a year later Myrtle Warren had shown up dead, he had feared that Riddle performed it, a fear that never left him ever since. Then he thought about Eldrid's reasoning, and he began to wonder whether he had been wrongly accusing him over all this time. The only things he had to base his accusations on were sheer happenstances.
That was the most apparent difference between the two.
Tom Eldrid questioned the truth – or what at least was perceived as the truth – and seemingly never took anything at face value until he had definite proof. He also didn't seem to use information about people to get them to see his point of view but changed their beliefs by questioning them, arguing and showing why they were wrong by giving examples. He also was more open to others and if Minerva's report was correct had a wicked sense of humour.
Then another thought struck him. Should Tom Riddle and Tom Eldrid ever meet and decide to work together…the wizarding world wouldn't know what hit them. Cold hard logic, but not without strong morals, combined with the ambition and power to see it through…maybe…just maybe Dumbledore was wrong for once. Only time could tell.
One thing Slughorn knew for sure though,change was in the air, and he hoped that it was for the better.
Harry and Severus were currently sitting in the great hall enjoying their dinner when suddenly Lily sat down next to Severus and stared at Harry who sat opposite of them. She stared at him for a long moment.
"Who are you?" she finally asked, showing just why she ended up in Gryffindor, probably no one else would dare to sit down at the Slytherin table and question one of the students of the house. "You suddenly appear here under unusual circumstances, you know things that no one would be able to find out in two days and most importantly…no one has any idea who you are."
"Who do you think you are?" Mulciber, who was sitting a few seats down the table, snarled. "You come here and demand answers, but we don't want you here you filthy Mud…."
That was as far as he got before he was interrupted by Harry.
"Finish that sentence and believe me you'll wish you stayed in bed this morning. If I hate one thing more than hypocritical idiots, it is this word. So, do yourself a favour and stop using it or you'll rather sooner than later pay the price for it," he said in an ice-cold tone that sent a shiver down the spines of those sitting around him including Severus though for entirely different reasons.
All Lily could do was openly gape at him. Had he really just defended her from another Slytherin in the Great Hall of all places? Someone she barely knew for a day now and who certainly didn't owe her anything.
"What is your problem with Muggleborn anyway?" Harry now demanded to know.
"What my problem is with those…those…. They come into our world, demand that we change our ways, our traditions only because they don't fit into their worldview," Mulciber spat. "They don't even try to learn more about our world."
Lily's head snapped towards the older boy when she heard his reasoning. "That is your problem? That we don't know about your ways, your traditions?" she asked in disbelieve. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to find even one ounce of information in that regard? You are spoon-fed this knowledge from birth, but we don't have that privilege.
"We come into a to us wholly new and unknown world at the age of eleven where everyone expects us to know everything right from the start. But there are hardly any books in the library or classes that teach us what you already know, and if we ask you so-called pure-bloods, we're labelled as stupid and backwards. The only ones who gave me any information were James and Sirius, and I probably don't have to tell you how good an information source they are.
"So please tell me, how am I supposed to know and practise your ways? How am I supposed to adhere to your rules if I don't know them? That's why we stick to what we know and besides that have you ever met a Muggleborn that demanded of you to stop practising your holidays, rites or whatever else you have? No, that were all witches and wizards who want to cosy up with us Muggle-borns for whatever reason."
Silence reigned over the surrounding part of the Slytherin table, everyone speechless of the excellent questions Lily asked. The first who broke the silence was surprisingly Barty.
"So, you want to tell me that if someone took it upon himself to teach you properly, you would listen and not dismiss everything immediately?" he asked her with a curious glint in his eyes.
"Of course, I would listen," Lily exclaimed indignantly. "Why do you think that I searched high and low for books on those topics?"
Barty looked at her in contemplation. "Want to meet in the library later? I can tell you more there and answer your questions," he offered.
"Bartemius," Avery said threateningly.
"Seriously, what is wrong with you? First, you complain that the Muggle-borns come into our world, expecting us to change for them and now that Barty here wants to help one to understand our world and maybe even adapt to it you also complain. Make up your bloody mind," Harry snarled.
"They are Mudbloods, they are inferior to us, and we don't need them!" Avery spat.
Again, silence reigned in the immediate area, everyone staring at Avery and Harry, his threat still fresh in their memories.
"Are they?" Harry asked in his sweetest tone, making a few cringe. "Then why do I have the feeling that dear Lily here would wipe the floor with you in a duel?"
Avery snorted. "As if this pathetically weak witch would be able to beat me."
"Challenge accepted," Lily said with a determinate grin, if this could earn her the respect needed then she would do it, and Avery will rue the day he met her.
A/N: 'til next chapter!