Invenio Veritas
By penpunk
Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine.
Chapter 23: Dumbledore's Secret
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MINISTRY ADMITS RETURN OF YOU-KNOW-WHO
In a startling announcement today, Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge admitted that the Ministry of Magic has been conducting an operation to cover up the many attacks on our muggleborn community. Fudge cites the reason as being "for the people's own good."
"He-who-must-not-be-named has risen from the ashes of his demise fourteen years ago," said Fudge today during our interview, "and is now seeking to continue his deadly campaign for the purification of wizard kind everywhere."
The Minister failed to comment on when this event happened and The Daily Prophet plans on launching a full investigation.
The Minister's sudden announcement comes as a surprise to most, though suspicions had already been brewing.
"Everyone thought that Fudge was up to something," said York native Chester Doune, 37. "All these disappearances lately have raised everyone's awareness. Fudge has endangered the entire wizarding community."
Another interviewed said, "Fudge should be used as dragon chow."
After the announcement, many were quick to predict the resignation of Minister Fudge.
"He'll be throwing in the towel any day now," said Matilda Letterman, a former employee of the ministry. "We need someone who will protect the wizarding community, someone we can trust. Someone like Albus Dumbledore."
The headmaster of Hogwarts School was unavailable for comment.
Though many believe the Ministers actions were inexcusable not all think that Fudge's days are numbered.
"Yes, he's lost the trust of outstanding citizens like ourselves," said Lucius Malfoy, 41, "but that's no reason to throw him out of office. Everyone deserves a second chance."
The Ministry has reported that it will do all it can to prepare the public for the fight against dark forces. Aurors are preparing themselves for the dark weeks and possibly months to come.
"We remind the public to be vigilant and calm," said Fudge. "Panic will only make it easier for you-know-who to spread fear and havoc."
For additional tips on protection against dark arts and more from the Fudge interview, see page 15.
Hermione threw down the paper in disgust after reading it aloud to Harry, Ron, and Sirius.
"It's about time," she said as she returned to her half eaten breakfast. "To think, all those families could have been possibly saved if the Ministry had said something."
"Or Voldemort could have been caught already," said Sirius, a dark scowl appearing on his face.
"Well, this is going to change things," said Harry as he lifted The Daily Prophet up from its discarded position and turned it over to see a very nervous looking Fudge staring back at him. "Either Voldemort will lie low now that the Ministry is after him, or-."
"It'll be full out war," said Sirius, finishing Harry's statement. "I know, and I believe it'll be the latter."
Harry sighed as he looked from the front cover of the Prophet to his father at the head table. Severus was conversing with Lupin, though the pleasantness looked a little forced. Harry knew that it was for his own sake. How would this revelation affect his father? Would full out war mean that his father would be on the front lines? Harry only hoped that his father would come out of this unscathed.
The four Gryffindors got up from their house table and make their way down to the dungeons for their double potions period. Harry could now say that this was his favorite class other than DADA with Lupin. For Sirius, it was total hell.
"I hate this class, I hate Snape, I hate this class, I hate Snape, I hate Snape, I hate Snape. . ." mumbled Sirius as they entered the classroom. Luckily for Sirius, Severus had yet to arrive. Harry simply rolled his eyes as he took his normal seat next to his Godfather. Right as the bell rang for morning classes to begin, Severus burst through the doorway, robes billowing and scowl firmly set.
"Today, we will be working on another potion commonly seen in you O.W.L.s. I have hardly seen any improvement, except for a select few. So today, instead of letting you all choose your own partners, since most of you cannot do so wisely, I will. Bulstrode with Brown; Zabini and Granger; Weasley with Nott; Longbottom with Parkinson; Goyle with Thomas; Crabbe with Finnegan; Patil with Potter-."
Harry inwardly groaned as he figured what was coming.
"Snape with Malfoy. Everyone get to work. The instructions are on the board. Don't screw up or you'll be scrubbing cauldrons until you graduate."
At this Neville gave a little yelp and clumsily started throwing this things into his slightly misshaped cauldron. Harry smirked a little as he watched his father. It seemed he was back to his normal self. Harry looked at the other side of the room gloomily as Malfoy continued to remain in his seat. He obviously expected Harry to move over to him. As he packed up his supplies, he stole another glance at this father. He looked up at Harry from his work and looked apologetic. It seemed to Harry that making him partners with Malfoy wasn't his choice. Harry cast him a brief smile as he picked up his cauldron and walked over to the other side of the room.
"Hey Alex," said Malfoy as Harry set down his cauldron on the next desk.
"Hello Draco," said Harry, in an almost tired tone. It was the only way to mask the annoyance and sheer disdain he felt at that very moment.
"Can you believe this potion we've been assigned?" said Draco as he motioned toward the blackboard. "This is second year stuff. I only hope it's this easy on our O.W.L.s. I don't see how I could get anything but an Outstanding. And you, well, I mean, your dad is the Potions Master. This must all be a piece of cake for you. My father said. . ."
Harry looked down at his work and slowly tuned out Malfoy's drawling voice. He tried to concentrate on the easy potion, but couldn't help but let his eyes wander around the room. Blaise Zabini and Hermione seemed to be conversing about their work. Blaise was one of the more pleasant Slytherins, if you could call any of them that. She was usually quiet and studious, and apparently, Hermione found something to talk about. His eyes traveled over to Ron. His partner had he were working side by side silently and seemed to just ignore each other, which was better than open hostilities.
". . . and my father took it back immediately, showed them the shotty work they had done, and got it replaced, plus three hundred gallons in return. . ."
"Really?" mumbled Harry, trying to appear attentive, though he had no idea what Malfoy was talking about.
"Yes, funny isn't it?" asked Draco as he went on chatting away.
"Uh-huh," said Harry boredly. He began to absentmindedly chop some ginger root when his knife slipped and he cut himself on his left forefinger.
"Damn it," he muttered as his finger flew up to his mouth.
"What?" said Draco, stopping his boring story.
"I cut my finger," said Harry as he pressed the cut to his lips. Draco looked at Harry's finger intently for several moments. It took Harry a few more to realize what Draco was looking at. It wasn't his cut finger but the ring he was wearing on it. Harry usually wore the silver ring on his right hand but for some reason, he had it on his left today.
"Wow, nice ring," said Draco as he looked up at Harry's face. "Where did you get it? It looks old. . . and expensive."
"It was my mother's ring," said Harry as he twisted the band.
"It is old?" asked Draco as he got a closer look at it.
"Yes, I think it is," said Harry as he pulled his finger away from his lips. He went back to cutting up his ingredients, as did Draco.
"Anyway, are you excited about the Quidditch match this weekend?" asked Draco as he attempted more pleasant conversation. "Even though it is against Slytherin."
"Of course I'm excited," said Harry as the topic turned to something more interesting. "Since Gryffindor is going to win."
"Are they now?" said Draco with a smirk. "That's funny, since I know Slytherin will crush your team."
"Whatever Malfoy," said Harry as he added his last ingredient and stirred it in. He looked up and check to see what color his potion should be. He had done it right, since it was the mustard yellow color it was supposed to be. He took out an empty potion vial, labeled it with his name, and spooned the potion into it. He sealed it and walked up to his father's desk.
"Done already?" asked Severus as he looked up from his work. Harry nodded as he set the phial on the desk.
"Even with Malfoy talking my ear off," said Harry with a smirk. "I'm guessing that it wasn't your idea to pair us up."
"It was a suggestion made to me by Mr. Malfoy," muttered Severus as he shuffled through the soon-to-be-graded first year papers. "If it were my choice, you wouldn't have this class with the Slytherins."
Harry gave him a brief smile before turning back to walk to his seat.
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"Hey Dad!"
Severus turned around suddenly as he heard Harry shouting after him. He was walking back to his chambers after dinner to get some work done.
"Yes Alex?" said Severus as Harry ran up to him.
"I left some stuff in my room. Can I get it?" he asked as Severus started to walk towards the dungeons.
"Of course. I was just on my way there," said Severus as he folded his arms over his chest. "What did you leave?"
"My divination book and my invisibility cloak," said Harry. "You know, things of importance."
"Really?" asked Severus with a smirk. Harry nodded, trying to remain serious but it wasn't working. Severus shook his head as he unlocked his chamber door. He opened the door, let Harry in, and followed in after him. Harry walked to the back of the main chamber and into his own room. He pulled his invisibility cloak out of a dresser drawer and grabbed his divination book off his desk. As he made to leave the room, a few chocolate frog boxes caught his eye, so he stuffed them in his pockets before shutting the door.
"Hey Dad? Do you know what happened to that box of Every Flavor Beans we were ea-." Harry cut his sentence off as his eyes fell upon Severus. He was sitting on the couch, gripping his left arm, his knuckles turning white. Harry ran over and sat next to Severus, facing him with concern. "What's wrong? Dad? Are you alright?"
"I'm being summoned," said Severus through gritted teeth. "It usually doesn't hurt so much. Voldemort is angry with us. I have to go. I want you to take your potion right now. You are not to witness this meeting, do you understand me?"
Harry nodded, though he had no intention of taking it. He was going to see what happened to his dad. It seemed that Severus sensed this decision.
"Now Harry," said Severus. He took his wand and summoned the potion off the table in the back. He uncorked it himself and shoved it into the hands of Harry. "Drink."
Harry sighed as he put the phial to his lips and slammed the potion down. He almost gagged as the potion flowed down his throat.
"Is there anyway you can make it taste better?" asked Harry as he set the phial on the coffee table. "That stuff is bloody awful."
"Sorry," said Severus as he stood up and walked into his bedroom. He came back carrying a heavy black hooded cloak and his mask. "You should probably head back up to your common room."
"What about you? How will I know you're okay?"
"I can take care of myself Harry. I promise. Just go back to Gryffindor Tower, try to get your homework done, and get to bed at a decent hour. I will see you in the morning."
"But-."
"No buts. Please go," Severus walked to the door and opened it for Harry. Harry sighed as he gathered his things and left his father's chamber. Severus stuffed the mask into a pocket and threw the cloak around himself. Harry walked with him up to the Entrance Hall where Severus gave him a quick, one-armed hug before walking out the front door, towards Hogsmeade.
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"All of you are useless, inept scum. I should have every wizard and witch bowing down to me by now," Voldemort hissed before pausing to scan the room. "Let me guess Malfoy, no news at all, right?"
Malfoy slowly stepped out of line.
"I'm sorry My Lord, I-."
"The insolence!" shouted his high, cold voice. "Months Malfoy! I have given you months! And what have you done? Absolutely nothing! You have come up with absolutely nothing."
Malfoy shifted uneasily as Voldemort fell into silence.
"I need it more than anything Lucius. I want it more than anything. It is one of the few things standing between me and power over existence," Voldemort turned to the other Deatheaters. "The Ministry will no longer cover up our activities. Our prime chance has passed and we must act now if we plan to succeed. Malfoy, you will continue to look. You will be joined by the rest of these sorry excuses for followers. I am looking for this."
Voldemort drew out his wand and began to mutter an incantation. Wisps of smoke flew out of the tip and began to form an object. Severus watched as the smoke formed the one thing Voldemort needed and his breath caught in his throat.
It was a ring. A silver ring with a Celtic pattern and bright green emeralds. It was the ring that his son was now wearing on his finger. Harry was in possession of the one thing Voldemort strived for more than anything.
"Now you must all wonder why would someone like myself want a silly piece of jewelry? Well, I will tell you. This ring contains a large supply of old and powerful magic. It was made by a pure blooded wizard named Aengus Cardiwen. He poured his magic and power into it. He knew that eventually he would die, like all do. . . except for me of course. He wanted to pass his magic down, for he was very powerful. He used this ring," Voldemort pointed towards the misty image. "With a simple incantation, all the power in the ring is at the disposal of the wearer. The only problem is no one has any idea where it is.
Now, you may wonder why we have focused our efforts on searching mudbloods. Through a spell I devised before my brief downfall, using the incantation for the ring and blood from every pure blooded family in Europe, I tried to find the family of wizards and witches that owned the ring. The spell failed to locate the wearer. This meant only one thing. A mudblood had to be in possession of it, since they obviously contain no trace of blood from these families. The spell was used again after my rebirth. The results were the same. A mudblood is still in possession of this ring and I want you all to find it. I don't care how many people you have to kill. I want that ring. If you fail, you will wish you had never been born. All of you! That is all. Leave my sight."
The hooded figures all bowed once more before scrambling out of the dark room. Severus tried to remain calm as he exited the dilapidated building. His son was in danger. Harry had on his finger Voldemort's key to power and destruction. As soon as he got outside the antiapperation wards, Severus disappeared with a pop.
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"Come in."
The door to Dumbledore's office opened and a dark figure entered. He shut the door behind him before walking over to Dumbledore's desk.
"Harry? What can I do for you? Even though it is past curfew, I'm sure this infraction has some reason," said Dumbledore as Harry took a seat. He folded his invisibility cloak and the marauders map.
"Did you know my dad had a meeting tonight?" asked Harry.
"No, but I figured that he might. What with the article coming out today," said Dumbledore. "Is that why you're here?"
"I couldn't sleep, I couldn't do anything. He said the summons hurt more because Voldemort was angry with them, so I guess I'm really worried."
"As you should be," said Dumbledore with a slight smile. "There's nothing wrong with being worried."
Harry fell silent for a moment before looking back up at Dumbledore.
"What's going to happen after this is all over?" asked Harry.
"What do you mean," asked Dumbledore with puzzlement on his face.
"I mean, after Voldemort is gone, if it ever happens. Will I get to go back to being Harry? Will people know about me and the truth?"
"That is my sincerest hope," said Dumbledore. "As successful as this act is, it can't go on for ever."
"Sirius might be sad to hear that," said Harry with a smile. "I think he's really enjoying himself."
Dumbledore laughed.
"I would imagine he is," he said. "He loved his time at school and he's loving all the time he gets to spend with you."
Both turned suddenly as Severus burst through the door.
"Severus? What's the matter?"
Severus ignored Dumbledore's question as he walked up to Harry.
"Where is the ring I gave you?"
Harry looked puzzled as he pulled the ring off his finger and gave it to his father. Severus took the ring and turned to Dumbledore.
"This is it," said Severus as he shoved the ring in Dumbledore's face. "This is what Voldemort is looking for."
"How do you know?" asked Dumbledore as he took the ring from Severus.
"Voldemort showed us and told us about it," said Severus as he sat down next to Harry. Harry looked at the ring in shock. He had what Voldemort wanted all along?
"What?" exclaimed Harry. "If we had it this whole time, why did Voldemort go after muggleborns?"
"That is a very good question," said Dumbledore as both turned to look at the potion's master.
Severus repeated the explanation Voldemort had given them, which puzzled Harry even more.
"Okay, so before Voldemort disappeared, the muggleborn who had it was my mum, right?" said Harry. Dumbledore and Severus both nodded. "So, he must have made a mistake. I mean, if he did the spell after his rebirth, it would have showed something. You had it for the last fourteen years, right?"
At this, Dumbledore shifted in his seat.
"Albus?" said Severus.
"He did the spell right both times, I must say," said Dumbledore as he folded his aged hands in front of him.
"But that would mean. . ." said Severus. "You're. . . you're a muggleborn?"
Dumbledore nodded.
"It's something I don't share too often. It's not because I'm ashamed of it, because I'm not. It's simply because no one ever asks," said Dumbledore with a slight smile.
"Who would have thought?" said Severus with an amused smile.
"Hermione would love to know that," said Harry as a smile drew across his face.
"Feel free to tell her," said Dumbledore. "But back to the issue at hand. Is there any possibility that Voldemort or the Deatheaters would know that Harry has this?"
"You weren't wearing it at the party, were you?" asked Severus. Harry shook his head. "I don't think there's any other way he could know."
"Oh no," whispered Harry.
"What?" asked Severus as he turned suddenly.
"Draco knows," said Harry quietly as he looked down at his hands. "He got a good look at it today in potions and he asked about it. He knows I have the ring."
"Oh no," said Severus as he rubbed his temples.
"Well," said Dumbledore as he rested his chin on his hands. "This does change things, doesn't it?"
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Hey everyone! So it begins. . . we are in the home stretch my friends. All action from now on.
Poll time!
Any predictions for the rest of this fic? Anyone know what'll happen? I bet you don't. . . I don't know, you might.
Anyway, I'm off to Pullman today to visit my future school so I don't have much time left. I do have time to thank all you wonderful people! Love you all! Thanks for the reviews and just the general love you have given me. Makes me keep going (even if it may not seem like it sometimes. . . I know I'm slow! You don't have to rub it in)
Toodles!
penpunk