Bet you're getting sick of my apologies for so few updates. Well, I have a real excuse this time: final exams and a computer crash. It's summer now, though, so if my computer gets fixed, they might come out more frequently. I was actually kind of hoping to finish it this summer, but… it doesn't look like that'll happen.
Chapter Twenty: In which Armando's integrity is questioned
- That evening -
Indira's revelation haunted Dumbledore for the rest of the day. Madam Tyburski would not allow either of them to leave the hospital wing, and when Dumbledore insisted on having a staff meeting, the mediwitch sent word to those who remained asking that they come to them. Dumbledore knew the situation was severe and had to be dealt with and discussed as soon as possible. He did not want to believe the headmaster betrayed them, but regardless, all the evidence was against him.
Five minutes before the meeting was scheduled to begin, the weary Madam Tyburski came up to Dumbledore's bed and said, "He's awake."
Dumbledore had half hoped that Dippet would be unconscious during the meeting so they could discuss their speculations without him hearing, but decided that in light of the situation, it would be better if they came straight out with it. That would allow him to defend himself before they jumped to any conclusions.
"Thank you," said Dumbledore. "I would like to see him."
Madam Tyburski was through arguing with him. "Go ahead."
Dumbledore stepped out of the bed, slipped a robe on over his nightshirt, then took his wand off the endtable next to the bed and conjured up a pair of slippers. Slowly, painfully, he made his way over to Dippet. He levitated an armchair that had been brought in for the meeting over to the headmaster's bedside, and once both were at their destination, he sat down.
Dippet was indeed awake; he was even propped up in the bed and appeared to be fully alert. His face was covered with bruises, and there was a large bulge on his forehead near the hairline. He studied his deputy for a few moments, then said, "It is good to see you alive, my friend."
"Likewise," Dumbledore returned, and wondered if he really was Dippet's "friend."
"What happened?"
Dumbledore briefly recounted the events of the previous night.
"So he is dead?" Dippet asked, referring to Grindelwald.
"I have no reason to believe otherwise."
Dippet tried to nod his head in acknowledgement, but it was too painful. After that, he attempted to massage the pain away, but touching his forehead only made it worse. "Was anyone else hurt?"
Dumbledore's face darkened, and Dippet swore he saw tears forming in the corners of the compassionate wizard's eyes. "We lost Arielle and Christina, and very nearly Indira and four students."
"No…"
Dumbledore nodded, and the two men were silent for a few minutes. There were no words that could be said.
Dippet eventually broke the silence with a sigh and said, "Does anyone know how he got into the school in the first place?"
"Funny you should mention that now," Dumbledore replied, and glanced over his shoulder. The staff members were beginning to enter the large room. "As a matter of fact, there is a theory, and we were just about to discuss it."
Dippet's interest perked. "Really?"
Dumbledore didn't get a chance to reply; the other staff members were flocking to them and asking questions faster than they could possibly be answered. He noticed Indira wasn't among their numbers, but he wasn't surprised; in light of what she realized that morning, he imagined it would be difficult for her to face Dippet. It was difficult enough for Dumbledore. The two of them had gone to school together – the headmaster was five years younger than the deputy – and though differences in age and house kept them from forming a close friendship at the time, there existed a mutual respect between them. Now, years later, Dumbledore could not bring himself to believe that the bright, likable young Ravenclaw-with-Gryffindor-tendencies-who-should-have-been-in-Hufflepuff (as Dumbledore and a few of his friends had named him) was capable of an act of evil any more easily than he could have in their youth.
Indira eventually found her way over to the gathering. She and Dumbledore exchanged a glance, but neither spoke. She would not look at Dippet.
Once all the murmering had died down, Halo Pokeli asked the question on all of their minds to begin the discussion. "You said you had a theory, Dumbledore," the head of Ravenclaw said. "What is it?"
"We believe we know why Grindelwald wanted to enter Hogwarts," Dumbledore said.
"A reason other than because he didn't have anything better to do?" Professor Rose asked bitterly.
Dumbledore ignored Rose's sarcasm and continued. "Aside from the obvious fact that within these walls is the future of our world, he was looking for someone."
"Who?" inquired Professor Haas.
Dumbledore looked at Indira. She stared back at him for a few moments, then sighed and gave an answer. "Madeline Rahmini."
"You said yourself that she was dead," said Professor Dorrenbacher.
"Only to some."
The general reaction to her response was one of irritation and confusion. Most of the next half hour was spent hearing a recount of Indira's life and why she refused to tell them anything before. It ended with her promising to curse anyone who spoke of it again.
She'd do it, too, Dumbledore thought as Indira delivered her threat.
A moment of silence followed, and then a look of horror crossed Dippet's face. "The Fidelius Charm…" the headmaster said. "You think it was me!"
"There are… strong implications," Dumbledore said. He turned his head away, feeling too guilty to look Dippet in the eyes.
"What are you talking about?" Dr. Kadish asked.
Indira took the question. "When I came to Hogwarts, Michael Nay, my adoptive father, requested additional protection. He and Professor Dippet arranged a Fidelius Charm, unbeknownst to anyone else at the time, including me. I found out about the charm a few months later, and that Professor Dippet was the Secret-keeper two weeks ago."
"I would never betray any of you!" Dippet said defensively. "You know this!"
He and Indira looked at each other; her cold, green eyes against his desperate brown. She opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it and looked away.
"You must believe me!" Dippet said. "I would die before I revealed you to him!"
Dumbledore, who had been staring at the floor trying to figure out the missing link in this chain of events, suddenly looked up. His pale blue eyes were filled with revelation behind his half-moon glasses. "You almost did."
Silence. And then…
"The Imperius Curse!" Dippet exclaimed. "Of course!" Then he cringed and brought his hand to his forehead, then pulled it away quickly when he remembered that contact only made it hurt more. All the commotion was making his head spin.
Madam Tyburski saw her patient's movement and came over, demanding that the staff meeting end now.
"No," Dippet said, waving her away. "This must be solved. My innocence cannot be proven until we find whoever put that curse on me!"
"Nothing can be proven until a course of action is decided upon," said Dumbledore.
"He's right," said Haas, "but what can we do?"
Dumbledore thought for a moment before giving an answer, recalling the series of peculiar events that had taken place over the last few days, from Minerva's modified memory to Grindelwald's attack on Hogwarts to the truth about Indira. The traitor was obviously someone within the school itself, someone who was always several steps ahead of everyone else. It had to be someone who knew Indira could be used. However, in order to neutralize the Fidelius Charm, Grindelwald's insider had to know about it in the first place, and Dumbledore seriously doubted the connection between the dark wizard and the head of Slytherin was common knowledge. Someone had to enter her mind and find out for them self, which could only mean…
"Legilimency," Dumbledore realized. "The culprit is a Legilimens."
"Then it must be a staff member," Professor Rose immediately assumed, and could not keep his eyes from glancing around at his peers. "No student, even if they'd tried to study Legilimency, is powerful enough to penetrate her mind."
Indira stared at the floor self-consciously and muttered, "My mind is not as strong as you think."
"Don't be so sure, Jason," Dumbledore said. "Some of these students can do great things. Minerva McGonagall is an Animagus, and I daresay that is just as difficult as becoming a sufficiently powerful Legilimens for the purposes we have witnessed."
He took a deep breath and looked around at his colleagues. "Everyone must be interrogated – students, staff, everyone. No one is above suspicion. The only way we can be certain is Veritaserum."
"Are you suggesting we give every single person at Hogwarts Veritaserum?" exclaimed Professor Eckersley.
"No, Daniel, I am pointing out that it is the only way we can be certain."
"I will write to the Ministry of Magic immediately and request an approval for its use," Dippet said wearily.
"How will it be made?" Indira asked. "We've lost our Potions Master."
"I will make it," Dumbledore said. "I am no stranger to the making of complex and dangerous potions, and I can enlist the help of my old partner."
His competency was not questioned. They all knew of Dumbledore's work with the famous alchemist Nicolas Flamel and their discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood.
"That settles it," said Dippet. "This will be our course of action. House heads, I would like each of you to meet with your prefects and come up with a plan for interrogating the students, and I will draw up one for the faculty…"
Dippet's voice was filtered out of Dumbledore's mind as the head of Gryffindor house took notice of a tabby cat with square markings around its eyes slipping out the back entrance.
Minerva was not happy with the faculty's decision.
"So that's it, then?" she said when Dumbledore cornered her outside the entrance to the Gryffindor tower an hour later. "You're going to spend all this time and money on interrogating every single person at Hogwarts? Isn't there another way? You don't even know it was someone in Hogwarts!"
"You're right; we don't," Dumbledore said, "but the chances are very high."
The young woman folded her arms across her chest. "I don't think it's fair that you're suspecting the students," she said. "None of them are powerful enough to be capable of what you're suggesting. None."
He couldn't help noticing her use of the word "them" as opposed to "us" when referring to the student body. "Minerva, you are Head Girl, but you are still a student," he reminded her. "It's not your job or place to decide what's best. Not at this time."
She narrowed her eyes. "It's not, is it?" she said. "Well, forgive me for questioning the morality of giving the most powerful truth serum known to man to an eleven year old!"
She was not shouting, but she was close, and Dumbledore knew that if he didn't keep his head together, he would find himself raising his voice in return. "It's the only way we can be certain," he said. "Grindelwald could have killed you, and-"
"And three of my best friends," she interrupted, "and he did kill two women I looked up to! You think finding out how he got in here doesn't matter to me? It does! But so do they!"
She thrust out her arm for emphasis and nearly hit a passing first-year in the face. The friend he was with pulled him away just in time, and the two boys clambered into the portrait hole before they heard any more. It was not uncommon to see two students arguing, but a public dispute between a student and faculty member was unheard of, especially when the student and faculty member in question were Minerva McGonagall and Albus Dumbledore.
"Then unless you have another suggestion," Dumbledore said coolly, "I would advise that you get used to this one."
"Good night," was her reply, and before he could stop her, she disappeared into the tower.
He sighed as he watched the portrait of the Fat Lady swing shut behind her. He could easily follow her in, but he had no desire to continue their argument, especially if it could reveal information about their less-than-professional relationship. She's just upset, he told himself. Give her some time to get used to the idea, and she, too, will see that it's the only way.
But was it really the only way? He wasn't sure. And she did have some good points, he thought as he made his way back through the school in the direction of his chambers. In order to be fair, the Veritaserum had to be used on everyone, and though there would be nothing to fear if there was nothing to hide, that didn't make it right.
Dumbledore's mind kept repeating one name over and over again: Tom Riddle. He couldn't shake the feeling that had come over him the previous night at the staff meeting, when he and the Head Boy looked at each other. For an instant, it had felt like Tom was trying to probe his mind, but the sensation was too fleeting to be certain. Then there was the matter of Indira being unable to locate Paul Garret during the emergency House meetings. Dumbledore didn't know whether or not Paul was still unaccounted for, and he decided it would be a good idea to investigate that.
One way or another, we will find who did this and bring them to justice.
If only it was that easy.
Anyone ever seen Gattaca? This chapter reminded me of that movie for some reason.