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Chapter Thirteen: In which Tom and Paul meet Grindelwald
- March 16, 1945 -
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A few days later, Tom Riddle was chatting with Paul Garrett and Alastor Moody at lunch when owls began making their way into the Great Hall. "Oh, look," said Alastor. "The mail's here."
"Wow, Alastor," Paul said with a wink. "Aren't we observant?"
"Shut up, Paul," Alastor replied, giving his friend a push.
Tom was about to comment, but something else caught his attention first: a large, dark-colored eagle owl with menacing yellow eyes. It dropped a letter in front of him, then flew away. Tom picked up the letter. His name was written on the front, and on the back were scrawled the following words: If you value your life, do not open this until you are alone.
A chill ran up Tom's spine. Grindelwald. It had to be. "I'm going to class," he said, standing up.
"Already?" Alastor asked.
He nodded. "Yeah. See you there." Without any further explanation, he left the Great Hall, clutching the letter as if it were the most valuable thing in the world. And in many ways, it was. If it was really what he thought it was, then it was the beginning of the end of all his troubles.
Tom walked over to the top of the staircase just outside the Great Hall, glanced from left to right to make sure he was alone, then opened the letter. It was from Grindelwald, all right, just as he had suspected. He finished reading, then stuffed the letter into his pocket. He noticed that his hands were shaking, and stuffed those in his pockets as well so no one else would see.
Tom looked over his shoulder at the Great Hall, sighed, and headed for the Slytherin tower. No way was he going to be able to concentrate in classes today. Besides, his afternoon classes were Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Between Albus Dumbledore and Indira Nay, one of them would be sure to see his mind was elsewhere, if not both. It would be best to lie low until he could speak with Paul.
"I thought you were going to class."
Tom jumped and almost screamed. "Damn it, Paul!" he said. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"Who's the letter from?" Paul asked.
"In a minute," Tom said. "Let's get to the common room first."
Tom started walking, and Paul had to jog a few steps to catch up to him. "What about class?" he asked.
"Trust me, Paul," said Tom. "When you find out who this is from, you won't want to go to class."
"It's that good, huh?"
"Better."
Tom refused to go into more detail until they reached the Slytherin common room, but once they were there, he disclosed everything. "Read this," he said, giving Paul the letter. "It's from Grindelwald."
Paul's jaw dropped. "You're joking, right?"
Tom rolled his eyes. "Would I joke about something like this?"
Paul said nothing and opened the letter.
Dear Mr. Riddle,
If your "proposal" is as good as you say it is, meet me in the Forbidden Forest at midnight in the clearing with the fallen tree.
"That's it?" Paul said. "How do you know it's not a hoax?"
Tom smiled, and an evil glint appeared in his eyes. "Because it's written in blood."
"He's up to something,"
"How do you know?"
"I saw him on the way over here. He looked at me, and he smiled, but it wasn't an honest one. And he had this look in his eyes… I don't know how to describe it; eerie, I guess…"
"That doesn't sound unusual."
"Look, Albus, I know Tom Riddle, and I know when he's up to something. And he's up to something."
"You're right, Minerva. You're right. So what do you think it is?"
"I wish I knew. What do you think I should do?"
"… I don't know. I'm not going to tell you to stay away from him because I know you won't."
"Of course not."
"Well… I guess you could always follow him…"
"How?"
"Well, you are an Animagus."
"Oh yes. A cat following someone around. Indoors. That's discrete."
"Do you have an Invisibility Cloak?"
"You're joking, right?"
"Of course not. Every Gryffindor should invest in an Invisibility Cloak."
"Albus Dumbledore, you did not just say that."
"I most certainly did, Minerva McGonagall. Now do you have one or not?"
"… Yes. I thought it would come in handy if I became an Auror."
"I'm proud of you. Use the Invisibility Cloak. Do what you feel you must."
"And if I get caught?"
He smiled at her. "You won't."
She smiled back at him and did not reply.
"Oh, and Minerva?"
"Yes?"
"Be careful."
"I always am."
For the next several hours, Tom did absolutely nothing that indicated he was up to something he shouldn't be, and as the night drew on, Minerva considered dismissing her suspicions and going back to the Gryffindor tower. It was almost midnight, and the Slytherin common room was empty except for than Tom, who was sitting on the couch reading a book on Potions, a perfectly legitimate activity. Besides, she wasn't sure how much longer her friends would believe the "I'm-studying-so-don't-bother-me" line she'd given them before setting off on her quest, and if they started looking and couldn't find her, that would be anything but good. However, just as she was getting ready to leave, someone else entered the common room – Paul Garrett. As soon as Paul came in, Tom set the book down and looked at him.
"You ready?" the older boy asked.
Paul nodded. "Oh yeah."
Tom grinned. "Good."
Minerva's heart jumped. So her hunch had been right after all. She clutched the Invisibility Cloak tighter around her shoulders and followed the two boys out of the Slytherin common room.
They were moving fast, and it was hard for her to keep up while being as silent as possible. They left the castle and made their way toward the Forbidden Forest. Minerva was confused – what could they possibly be doing in there? – but kept following them anyway. Once they got into the forest, it became even harder for her to be quiet, so she opted to abandon the Invisibility Cloak for now and go into her Animagus form. She folded the cloak up, set it behind a bush, then transformed. Cat form was much easier; not only was she much quieter and still camouflaged, she could see as clearly as if it were daylight, and caught back up to her targets in no time.
After about ten minutes of walking through the woods, they arrived at a small clearing with a fallen tree on one side. She situated herself behind a small tree; the perfect spot to see and not be seen. Tom and Paul were silent and still for almost a full minute. Finally, Paul looked at Tom and spoke.
"Well? Where is he?"
Just then, there was movement next to the fallen tree. An Invisibility Cloak dropped to the ground, revealing a man dressed in black. He was tall, with black hair and a muscular body. His face had probably been handsome once, but now it was disfigured by a long, hideous scar that ran from the middle of his forehead to the base of his left ear. Apparently, his left eye had been gouged out by something many years ago. His remaining eye was dark, beady, and fixed on the two boys.
"I'm right here," he said in a deep, sinister voice.
"Grindelwald," Tom said reverently.
"Tom Riddle," Grindelwald returned. "Tom Riddle's accomplice?"
Paul tried to speak, but no sounds came out.
"His name is Paul Garrett," said Tom. "We've got a plan, but we need you to make it work."
"What's the plan?" Grindelwald asked.
"There's a teacher we want dead," Tom said. "However, the catch is that she's being protected by a Fidelius Charm. We can get rid of the charm if you promise to kill her."
Grindelwald stared at Tom, blinked slowly, then said, "You expect me to walk into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and kill someone you want dead? What's in it for me?"
"Well, we figured you'd want her dead, too."
Now Grindelwald was interested. "Really? Give me the name and then we'll see."
"Madeline Rahmini."
Grindelwald froze. He stared at the two boys for a few moments, then threw his head back and let out a barbaric cry that echoed throughout the woods. When the sound died down, he looked at Tom and Paul. Breathing hard, he gave them his answer. "Consider her dead."
The boys looked at each other and smiled. "All right," Tom said. "Madeline's Secret-Keeper is Armando Dippet. Paul and I will use the incredible powers of persuasion that that Imperius Curse gives us to get him to transfer it to one of us. Then we'll contact you again. Give us one week."
"I'll be waiting."
He pulled his wand and Summoned his Invisibility Cloak to him. He was about to put it back on when Paul said, "Wait. Before you go, could you… could you tell us why you left her alive?"
A menacing smile crept across Grindelwald's contorted face. "You want to know why?" he asked. "Because she resisted. Because every day she was my prisoner, she fought back with all her heart and soul. I couldn't kill her. Not until I broke her."
"How did she escape?" Tom asked.
Grindelwald's expression darkened. "I underestimated her," he said. "I had her for a little over a year, and I gave her a dead rose in a vase to remind her." He touched the grotesque scar on his face. "She broke the vase and did this to me. And then she ran. I couldn't catch her. Then. But now… she won't escape this time."
Minerva had never been more terrified in her life. Tom and Paul were working with Grindelwald. And they were going to kill someone. But what she didn't understand was the name they used. Madeline Rahmini… unless…
Then it hit her. Nay. Indira Nay was Madeline Rahmini. She had to be. Finally, it all made sense… She had to get back to Hogwarts. She had to warn them.
She turned around and prepared to leave, but just as she did, Grindelwald noticed her movement and cast a Freezing Charm. "Someone's been watching us," he growled.
"It's a just a cat," Paul said dismissively.
"Hmph," said Grindelwald. "Tell me what a cat would be doing out here – unless it's an Animagus?"
Oh no, Minerva thought. Oh no, oh no, oh no…
She was dead. This was it. This was the end. He was going to kill her, and then they would kill Indira and Dumbledore and everyone else…
A blue-white light came out from Grindelwald's wand and forced her back into human form, and for once in her life, she couldn't think of anything.
"Minerva," Tom said.
Grindelwald pointed his wand at her throat.
She closed her eyes. There was no way out. There was no way she could fight off Tom, Paul, and Grindelwald. It would take a miracle.
"Ava-"
"No!" Tom exclaimed. "She's Head Girl and she's screwing the deputy headmaster. If she disappears, they'll all know something's up."
"Then what," Grindelwald hissed, "do you propose we do?"
Tom pulled out his own wand and pointed it at her. "Obliviate! Paul, give her a new memory." He then put it away and looked at Grindelwald. "See you in a week."