Chapter 5: A Letter From the Past

Minerva McGonagall was clearing out her office. It held little of her own belongings and she would only take what belonged to her. She wanted to leave the office as a monument of sorts, just as Dumbledore had left it.

She opened the top drawer and removed the few pieces of parchment she had stored there. The bottom most sheet stuck out a bit in her hand and she could see that it was not in her handwriting, but in Dumbledore's. She must have grabbed it by mistake. She removed it from the pile and was about to replace it in the drawer when she saw her name at the head of it. "Dear Minerva" It was a letter to her! She pulled the lamp on her desk closer in order to cast a better light.

Dear Minerva,

If you are reading this I am gone. (unless you are rifling through my desk while I am still alive, and if you are doing so you had better have a good reason, Minerva, as I am sure you do.)

I have labeled sever phials that you will find in my cabinet next to the pensieve. They contain memories. These will explain my plans to you and clear up certain other…issues.

View them in order (starting with the phial labeled "1") and do not continue reading this letter until you have seen them all.

McGonagall obediently laid the letter aside and swept over the cabinet that was, as usual, slightly ajar and casting a silvery glow around it. She carried the stone basin over to the desk and set it down. She returned to the cabinet and very carefully conveyed the little glass phials to her desk as well. She searched among them until she found the one marked "1" and, with trembling hands, poured the contents into the pensieve.

She peered down into the silvery depths and saw Dumbledore and Snape sitting in Dumbledore's office, her office. She plunged her head into the bowl and somewhat fell inside. It was strange, she thought, to be watching Dumbledore when he was dead, and to top it off he was talking with his killer.

She now witnessed first hand what Snape had told her had happened. "Dumbledore, I am afraid I have made a grave mistake." Snape was explaining how he had taken the Unbreakable Vow. It went precisely as he had said. She was grateful for some solid proof that it had actually happened, instead of having the unnerving feeling that she was taking a leap of faith in trusting him. When the scene had run its course she returned to the office of the present.

She moved on to the second phial and poured the liquid memory in. Once again she entered the memory; this one was hardly different from the last. Dumbledore and Snape were in the office once again. This time Dumbledore spoke first. "I know what it is that young Malfoy has been asked to do." She watched as Snape turned pale and begged not to do it. She watched as he began to argue and as Snape accepted bitterly what had to be done.

She emptied a third phial and once again entered. This time it was the memory of Bob Ogden visiting the House of Gaunt. She immediately recognized the ring as the one Dumbledore wore. She was tempted to finish off the letter when she got out. She wanted answers. She put a fourth memory into the penseive, the one where Dumbledore went to bring Tom Riddle to Hogwarts. She had been at Hogwarts with him. She had always thought him unpleasant but could never have predicted what he was to become. Next she saw the memory belonging to Hokey, Hephzibah Smith's house elf. Her curiosity mounted. The sixth memory was that of Dumbledore denying Lord Voldemort a job at Hogwarts. And finally she reached the seventh memory. The one belonging to Horace Slughorn. The only one that kept fogging over. There were no more memories left to experience so she returned to the letter.

Now that you have witnessed all these memories let me explain. You already know of course that Tom Riddle became Lord Voldemort. You saw his grandfather, uncle and mother in the third memory (and heard his father). But I'll come back to that later.

I have entrusted Harry with the task of procuring a clearer version of the last memory. Without that I cannot prove my suspicions. But I believe that Voldemort has created several horcruxes. You know what those are of course. The ring belonging to Voldemort's grandfather was one of them. I have already destroyed it. The cup belonging to Hephzibah Smith is another one I think. I believe he also used Slytherin's locket I also suspect that he made his snake into one. And Riddle's diary, as you know is already destroyed. I have reason to believe that he made one out of an artifact belonging either to Godric Gryffindor or Rowena Ravenclaw.

I think that you should leave it entirely up to Harry to destroy the final Horcruxes if that is his wish. I believe that he is more than up to it and that he has an undeniable right to be the one to do it.

I trust that you will do a fine job in taking over my leadership. Otherwise I would have never chosen you as my second in command.

Yours always,

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

I'd like to thank the Harry Potter Lexicon. I don't know how many times I checked it for this chapter.