Chapter Seventeen
Inside the Riddle House

Harry and Ivy were standing outside of the enormous estate, just staring at it. Harry knew he had to go in, but he half-wanted to go back to Grimmauld Place and give up. He knew what the magic he had to use was, but he didn't know how to use it. The magic, he hoped, would weaken Voldemort enough that he would surrender and just let Harry kill him. Harry didn't know how he was supposed to do that either. He didn't want to use Avada Kedavra, but he didn't know any other way to kill Voldemort quickly.

"I 'spose we should be headin' inside then. Unless you want to go at it alone." Ivy suggested, but Harry knew that she had her own reasons for going inside, and he didn't mind her going in with him.

"Nah, we can both go in. I kind of got the impression that you wanted to go in for your own reasons, and I won't ask them if you don't ask mine," Harry replied.

Ivy nodded and they walked up the stone path towards the front door. Ivy magically unlocked the door, and they both went inside. The front hall was absolutely enormous and its highly polished floors showed their reflections. They proceeded onward until they found a spiral staircase. Harry stayed downstairs and Ivy went upstairs…

"Ebony, wake up! It's me, Ginny!" Ginny was shouting as she lifted Ebony's head off the ground. Ginny had followed Ebony down here and when Ebony saw the boggart, it turned into her half-brother, Voldemort. Ginny knew it was a boggart because as soon as 'Voldemort' faced her, he turned into a giant basilisk coming closer and closer to her. A soon as Ginny grabbed Ebony's wand, (she still couldn't find hers), and shouted, "Ridikkulus!" the basilisk disappeared and Ginny noticed a wooden crate that looked as though someone blasted the top off of it just as Ebony entered the room.

Ebony opened her eyes and looked up at Ginny. She was very pale, and Ginny handed her a chocolate frog from inside of her pocket. Ebony unwrapped it graciously, and Ginny smiled at her. Ginny continued to look around for any clues as to who could have brought the boggart here. The person apparently apparated here and put the box in this room, then blasted the top off of it. Whomever had done it had to know that she and Ebony were here, and they wanted to scare them away.

Ebony sat up and told Ginny everything she had seen and heard, which brought a shrewd conclusion as to who could have done it.

"Though I hate to say it, I think it was Wormtail on Voldemort's orders. I know rats are common down here, but I'm 99 sure it was him. Someone purposely wanted to scare you enough that we would give up, but we're not going to. Eb, I think your brother knows that you're on our side. I have a question, and you don't have to answer it if you don't want to. Does Voldemort know that you're his half-sister?" Ginny asked after explaining her theory.

"Well, yes, he does. He's known ever since I was eleven, Dumbledore told me. When he killed my father and his parents, he wanted to kill me and my mother too. It's a good thing that my parents didn't stay married because I might not be here right now if they had. My mother tried to keep me as far away from Tom as she could, but once, when I was fourteen, there was an extremely close call. At the end of my fourth year, as I was getting off the train from Hogwarts, I noticed him. Of course, I hadn't really known who he was. He was tall and pretty good-looking, and I just glanced at him for a moment. But he followed me off the platform. He tried to pretend that he wasn't, but I knew he was. When I met my mother outside of the station, I told her that he was following me. She said she would handle it, and she walked over to him and told me to get in the car. I didn't listen and followed her. She said, 'I thought I told you what would happen if you ever came near her! I'll be a certified witch in a month and you'd better watch out then. She can't ever know who you are, do you understand me? You are not going to ever get that close to her again! I will inform the Minister about you and file a report against you! You'll be in Azkaban the next time you come within ten yards of her!' And then I hurried back to the car and pretended I was loading my trunk the whole time. When I first received my Hogwarts letter, my mother talked to Professor Dippet to see if there was any way for her to become a witch. She started taking Kwikspell courses that year and when I started my fifth year, she was a certified witch. My mother is still alive, but she's in St. Mungo's because Tom ordered some Death Eaters to kill us the night that he went out for Harry. Obviously, they didn't kill us because we're both still alive, but my mum was tortured with the Cruciatus Curse much like the Longbottoms were. She sacrificed herself in order to save me. Gerald and I had just gotten married about a month before it all, and my mother was visiting us at our home. The Death Eaters broke into the house, and Gerald tried to get help. I didn't know why they were there, but my mother did. We hid in our neighbor's closet and she told me everything she could before they found us. I felt so angry and scared that I wished I would just die, and just before they were about to send the Avada Kedavra curse my way, Gerald came into the room and stunned three of them. My mother pushed me out of the way and she was hit with the Cruciatus Curse. Gerald and I both stunned the one who did it but it was too late to save her from the permanent damage she suffers from today. We unmasked all the Death Eaters. I didn't know who the other three were, but the one who tortured my mother was Lucius Malfoy. He is six years younger than I am, and I knew him when he was only a first year at Hogwarts and I was a seventh year. He knew so many curses and hexes that I was amazed he wasn't a Death Eater already! I remember when he stunned my friend, Ivy Bellum, when she wasn't looking. She had to stay in the Hospital Wing for a week, and from that day on I hated Lucius so much. That would hopefully explain my attack on young Draco earlier. Does that answer your question?" Ebony let out a long sigh as she finished her story.

Ginny nodded and smiled a smile of sympathy that gave Ebony enough energy to stand up from the hard, dirty ground. The two girls made their way up the stairs and back to where the Underground had let them off. They had finally found the steps leading up to the street, but Ginny's wand was still nowhere to be seen…

Harry walked through the downstairs, looking for anything that might be helpful to him. But there were no photographs or scrapbooks, or journals or anything that could give Harry any information about Voldemort. Harry hopelessly made his way towards the wrought-iron spiral staircase that Ivy was now descending.

"This house is so boring, you would never guess that anyone had ever lived in it. They have absolutely no photographs or journals or ANYTHING that would help me!" Harry professed with a long sigh. Ivy furrowed her brow as she looked at Harry sitting on the musty old couch with his chin in his hands.

"Well, I saw some photographs upstairs, but there were only a few. I didn't really look at them, though," Ivy said in hopes of comforting this teenage boy.

"If you don't mind my asking, did you go to Hogwarts?" Harry asked, trying to make some polite conversation.

"Yes; I was in Ravenclaw. I had two best friends, and I still keep in touch with one, but I don't know what ever happened to the other. Minerva McGonagall was a few years ahead of me, and she was in Gryffindor. I write her every once in a while, and we've seen each other occasionally. But, Ebony was in Ravenclaw, same year as me, and I don't even know if she's dead or alive," Ivy replied.

"Ebony Riddle?" Harry asked, astonished.

"Why, yes! We was as close as sisters. Spent holidays at each other's homes every year, and we were rarely seen apart. We was both Muggle-born, or 'Mud-bloods' as that hateful little beast Lucius Malfoy would say. He always had his nose in other people's affairs, and cursed them for the hell of it. He was only a firs' year when I was a seventh, but he got me good one time. I was talking to Ebony in the hall, and he stunned me as soon as I turned around. Ebony was in a right state about that and she vowed to get him back one day. I don't know if she ever did, though. But I'm sure she's thought of it. She always was one for holdin' grudges. I remember when we was in our firs' year, a handsome, dark-haired seventh year offered to escort Ebony to her class, but she plain dead ignored him! I'm sure I would o' let him, but she was the independent sort, and only eleven at the time. And since that day, she ignored his very presence! It's a strange thing, too. Both o' their names was Riddle, but she never even met him before! They looked so much alike, too, but I took her word for it. I 'spose it was a good thing, though, because wouldn't ya know he turned out to be He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named! But do you know Ebony and if she's still among the living?"

Ginny and Ebony made their way through the crowded London streets as they searched for anything unusual. They went into a small café and ordered some coffee. (Ebony had to pay because Ginny was too confused with the Muggle money.) They sat down at a table and chatted quietly about the weather and things like that as they scoped out the place and made sure they didn't recognize anyone. A half hour later they were back outside when Ginny heard a small voice from inside of her jacket. Ebony and Ginny ducked inside a small pub, and Ginny went into the corner and took the charm bracelet from Hermione out of her pocket.

"Ginevra, this is Albus. You need to go to Diagon Alley now. The Death Eaters have cornered a group of thirteen-year olds and Order members are on their way. Do not, I repeat, do NOT go near the battle. You need to meet me in Madame Malkins's. Go now as fast as you can!" the bracelet squeaked and then went silent.

"Okay, we need to go to the Leaky Cauldron," Ginny whispered as she stuffed the bracelet back inside her pocket.

Ebony grabbed her arm, and said, "Um, Gin, we ARE in the Leaky Cauldron."

Ginny looked around and nodded as they made their way to the back room where the brick wall was…

Harry and Ivy ascended the spiral staircase, and Harry followed Ivy to the room where she had seen the photographs. Harry sat down on an ancient rocking chair and studied the photos carefully. There was a man and his two elderly parents standing outside of the house, a man sitting on the couch with his two elderly parents, and a man with his wife and daughter standing in front of a spiral staircase. All of the photographs were black and white, and taken by a Muggle camera.

"These are no good," Harry muttered as he tossed the pictures back on the desk. Ivy had been sitting on the chest at the foot of the bed, when she suddenly sprang up.

"I didn't check this chest, 'ere!" she exclaimed, and flung the chest open.

Harry bent down next to her as she sifted through the photographs and various journals and diaries.