Chapter Four
Bedrooms and Costume Jewelry
Eight o'clock found Harry and Serena in Dumbledore's office. They were looking around, noticing things that they never noticed before. For the first time Harry noticed a beautiful silver ring with a square onyx on it. Carved into the onyx was a snake that appeared ready to strike. Harry observed this carefully. It appeared that he was looking at the first ring ever to have Parseltongue enchantments on it.
"Yes, Harry. That ring was Salazar Slytherin's." Dumbledore said as if reading his mind. "It is said only a Parselmouth may wear it, and only if they know the secret to it."
"Interesting." Harry said absentmindedly, still starring at the ring. He thought for a second. "Tell me your secret." He hissed.
"You are not my master!"
"Your master is dead! I know of his secrets, now I wish to know yours."
"My master is no longer of this world?"
"Slytherin died nearly one thousand years ago."
"Are you his heir?"
"I am something else entirely."
"You have the power of all of the houses. I feel it in you. Wear me and know my secrets."
Harry reached out and grabbed the ring. Placing it on his hand he saw easily the mind of Dumbledore, who was thinking many things, most prominent was how Harry wore the ring. Serena looked at him with a shocked expression on her face. Her mind was racing through things to make this seem possible. Even Harry didn't know if any of her thoughts were right.
"What did you mean by I have the power of all the houses?"
"You possess the mind of a Ravenclaw, the heart of a Gryffindor, the loyalty and Hard work ethic of a Hufflepuff, and the conniving thoughts and Parselmouth that are Slytherin traits. Yet you are of none of them. You were touched by one who was of the heir of Slytherin. Yet as I have allowed you to lay claim to me, you are my master."
"What are your secrets?"
"The knowledge that you crave so dearly now rests on your finger. I allow you to see into others minds. I can also give you the knowledge of every spell in Parseltongue."
"Are there many?"
"Very many. I see from your mind that there is one spell that would help you thrice, and feel that you have that power. Now is not the time for this. You have many more important things to deal with now. Tell the old man that I am yours now."
Harry shook his head. The thoughts of Dumbledore and Serena were their own again. "Sir, the ring says it is mine."
"Harry, you are not Slytherin's heir." Dumbledore said.
"I'm not the heir of Gryffindor, or any other house either. All the same the ring says it is mine." Harry said seriously.
"What does it do?" Serena asked.
"Many things, but I don't know them all yet." Harry said. "Sir, what does this mean?"
"It means, Harry, that the ring is yours. We should talk about what it said at greater lengths later. I called you here for more reasons than one. Remus will be late, so I will begin with what the Order has learned." Dumbledore said calmly still looking slightly curious at the ring on Harry's finger. "We have found that Voldemort is creating an army."
"That's not news sir." Harry said. "I knew this already."
"No, Harry. He is creating a true army. Not hundreds but thousands. The dementors have fled Azkaban, which is now left unguarded. They are with him now. With Cornelius Fudge managing to remain in office we have an even bigger problem. Werewolves, vampires and giants are siding with Voldemort. They do not like the idea of being treated as less than human.
"Worse is that as you know, we have many death eaters in this school now. There will be larger problems than any of us are ready to handle soon. This is why I cancelled all Hogsmeade trips. I feel not only will it be hazardous to the children of this school, but to the townspeople as well. I fear for your safety most of all, Harry. The day you turned seventeen there was an attack at the Dursley home. Luckily, they were not seriously harmed.
"All signs point to Voldemort wanting you dead, and he is now treating this as his main objective. This puts us at a very difficult placement." Dumbledore said. "There are things I can teach you, things you will need in the future. That is why I removed you from basic defense against the dark arts. I wish to train you and your friends personally. Whether you choose to teach these to people outside of this, meaning the DA, is completely up to you. However, I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to make sure you are safe, Harry."
"Thank you sir. I will learn all I can from you. I will teach the DA what you teach me as well. They should be prepared." Harry said. "May I ask a question sir?"
"Of course you may, Harry." Dumbledore said.
"Can't we just get rid of Fudge? Surely you have the ability to do such a thing." Harry said.
"I could do so, Harry. But who would I put in his place? A man, a puppet, an order member, an auror, or worse a death eater?" Dumbledore said.
"Kingsley." Harry said.
"Kingsley?"
"Yes, sir. He is a good man, despite the fact that he makes mistakes. He is only human, and we all make mistakes. He is loyal to the thought of getting rid of Voldemort, an auror, an order member, and we know he is not a death eater. Arthur Weasley would be good as well, but he would have a harder time winning the vote as most people know of his fascination with muggles. That would make it hard for those who only know the wizarding world to relate to him." Harry said.
"Harry, this is a well thought idea." Dumbledore said. "I, of course, would have to speak to Kingsley, but I believe this idea would be wonderful. Maybe it would help us as well. Kingsley is against unfair treatment of werewolves as well as vampires. He does not know giants, save Hagrid, but he feels that they should be treated with respect, as well as all creatures capable of rational thought."
"I could even help him win." Harry said, smiling.
"How?" Serena asked.
"Who wouldn't vote for the person 'the boy who lived' was willing to vote for?" Harry asked, now grinning.
"Are you sure you are not the heir of Slytherin, Harry?" Dumbledore asked. "You certainly have the cunning." He added with a smile.
"The old man sees some of my power now."
"The ring helped, it seems." Harry said, confused. "Well if it works this well, it can definitely help me with Voldemort."
"I would agree. This could be a large advantage to you. That leads me to wonder what else of this collection would allow you to be its bearer." Dumbledore said thoughtfully. Just then there was a knock at the door. "Come in Remus."
Remus entered, smiling at the two teens, who nodded back. "Well, I see you told them the bad news." He said to Dumbledore.
"Yes, but Harry has a brilliant plan." Dumbledore said. "Let us speak of that later, when we meet the Order tonight. Harry was right the children will need costumes. That means they will need to travel to Hogsmeade. Do you two have any ideas?"
"I was thinking of escorts on the weekend. Only the teachers we can trust, the DA, and of course the Marauders." Serena said.
"Yes, but lets change that a bit." Harry said, his mind now reeling out a plan. "Lets take ten members of the DA, the ten best. The Marauders, of course. You two, McGonagall, Hagrid, and Professor Flitwick. That should make us strong enough to stand a decent defense in case of emergency. One year at a time. Take the younger students first. First years on a Saturday, Second years on a Sunday, and so on. The older the students, the less defense they will need. Not that they will get less defense, but I don't think Voldemort will attack this soon. It doesn't seem logical. We would be expecting it.
"This leads to another plan, one to throw him off guard, and maybe, just maybe, catch a few death eaters. We announce tomorrow that there will be one Hogsmeade trip. Saturday, the day after Halloween. Then he will begin making plans for that attack. It may upset the students to have a trip proposed then cancelled, but if we can get a hundred death eaters, that's one hundred less than he had before. Also it ties to what we were talking about with the ministry. If Kingsley were to show up because of an 'anonymous' tip, and fought alongside us to help the town, it would make him seem even more worthy to be Minister. Should he agree of course.
"So you see, the students will be safe, Halloween will be smashing, Remus' wedding will be a thing of beauty, we will catch a few death eaters, Kingsley will look good in the eyes of the public, and Voldemort will get yet another kick in the ass." Harry finished, and saw that the snake on the ring was glowing the color of the Slytherin banner.
"Why are you glowing?" Harry asked.
"It is the powers in you. I amplify them and as such am amplified by them. We will talk away from the old man."
"That ring of yours is brilliant!" Serena said happily.
"Wasn't all the ring. It just said it amplifies any trait of any house. So, this is what its like to be as cunning as Slytherin." Harry said, his grin mischievous. "I like it."
"I agree, Harry. Let us put this plan of yours in motion." Dumbledore said. "Also, you wanted to tell me of your quarters."
"Yes sir." Harry said. "We created a new wing under the stairway to the girls dorms. We will give you the password of course. When we leave, any who choose to marry and wish to could have the rooms. Is that alright, Headmaster?"
"Yes, Harry. I will inform the staff of this change. I will need the password now, and you two may be excused." Dumbledore said.
"Sam." Harry said easily. Harry got up and Serena followed suit. "Goodnight sir. Night Moony." Harry said as he walked from the room.
"Night Moony. Night Professor." Serena said following him out.
"Albus, Harry just tied together three plans that he must have only just invented in a matter of moments. That is not normal by any meaning of the word." Remus said. "Harry is smart, but it normally takes him longer to think up a plan, especially one this complicated."
"He is now the master of the ring of Slytherin, Remus." Dumbledore said. "Not even Tom Riddle himself could make that ring consent to taking it, yet it allowed Harry to take it within a few moments."
"But he is not the heir of Slytherin." Remus said, shocked.
"The ring told him he was not the heir of any of the founders. The ring did say that it now belonged to him." Dumbledore said.
"Sir, what does that mean?" Remus asked.
"Salazar Slytherin valued one thing above all others." Dumbledore said. "Power. He respected those who were powerful. The legend tells that only those who know the rings secret can wear it. Truth of this legend is that only those powerful enough may wear it. Slytherins heir was rejected, Voldemort was not given the ring. Harry was given the ring of its own accord. This means that Harry is very, very powerful. I do not believe it was Parseltongue that earned him this ring. I believe he may be the most powerful wizard the world has seen in quite some time."
"But Albus, you are a powerful wizard. Would the ring have not chosen you if you asked it to?" Remus asked.
"Remus, I know of the secret of this ring because I asked it. I was told I was not strong enough." Dumbledore said, letting this realization come to Remus on its own.
"But that would mean Harry-" Remus stopped, looking at Dumbledore with his eyes wide.
"Yes Remus. Harry is more powerful than me." Dumbledore said, smiling. "That means we know something Voldemort does not. That is our advantage."
"The power the dark lord knows not." Remus whispered. Dumbledore smiled happily at Remus.
"Yes, Remus." Dumbledore said. "This means that Voldemort's arrogance will save Harry's life. I have no doubt that he will win this war, and I mean to make sure I am standing by his side when he does."
Harry and Serena walked into their private common room and saw all of the others, save Neville, doing their homework. Harry laughed when he saw this and sat next to Ron. He pulled out two pieces of parchment and his black quill. Touching the quill with the wand he spoke easily.
"I solemnly swear that I am no good."
Harry's quill began moving furiously writing the essays that he was told to do for Snape and Binns. Then he looked at his friend and smiled. "Well off to train."
He went to his trunk, but he did not train. Instead he sat in the study. He looked at the ring on his right middle finger, trying to figure out how it came to him.
"Powerful."
"What do you mean?"
"I came to you because you are powerful."
"Why not go to Dumbledore?"
"He is not a Parseltongue."
"I see. What is it you do?"
"I can make you more powerful than you will ever imagine. I will only do this so long as you work for good. I see that you use dark magic for good. That is what my master before you did. Many called him evil, but the things he did was for good. He created me for good. He heard a prophecy before he made me. It said one would come like all the founders, yet be of none. The lion who would use what is black to do what would be white. This man would need the knowledge of the snake, the prophecy said. The snake would help the lion be like snake and raven. My master heard this and made me. I take the cunning, the intelligence, the courage and make them all stronger in you when you have need for them. That is why I was made. When I saw your power, saw your strengths, I knew you were the one I was made for. I am yours now as you are mine."
"Why was Slytherin called evil?"
"My master used the dark arts. Parseltongue is a dark art. Many of the things I see you have done is dark magic. That is what he believed the prophecy meant. He believed one would come to use dark magic to help people as he had done all his life."
"You mentioned before that I was not an heir of any house. Dumbledore thought you were to go to the heir of Slytherin."
"It was only thought that he who did this would be Slytherin, only my master knew differently. He said a Slytherin would not be a lion, nor would he need the help of the snake to be like raven and snake. He told no one else of this, but as he died he gave me the memories he held in him to pass on to you, the lion who holds all of the founders in him. The lion who uses what is black to do what is white."
"So you have all the memories of Slytherin?"
"Yes."
"How can I defeat Voldemort?"
"You must kill the part of him that cannot be seen with mortal eyes. You need the eyes of those that do not pass on."
"What does that mean?"
"When the time is right you will know what is meant."
"What is this spell you said could help me thrice?"
"The heir told you that he could bring your family back."
"Yes, and I knew he was lying."
"He was. I do not however. There is such a spell, though only one soul knew the right spell, right potion, right method, and right items to cast the spell. I can help you bring them back. Mother, Father, Godfather."
"How?"
"Now is not the time. You have many more pressing things that do not allow you time nor the place to keep what is needed. I will tell you when the time is right, and not before."
"When will it be the right time?" Harry asked, now a complete slave to his emotions.
"When the darkness falls from the land by the white hero using the dark. Then the secrets I hold to your families return will be revealed."
"Will this be something evil?"
"The magic is dark, but you use dark magic now. Is that magic evil? Is anything done for love an evil thing?"
"I understand. Thank you. I must get ready for sleep now. This week will be long, and the weekend longer still."
"Sleep well, Harry Potter."
The next day at breakfast Dumbledore made an announcement that the day after Halloween would be a Hogsmeade trip. Harry smiled knowingly as all the students cheered at what seemed amazing news. no one noticed the wink he gave Harry, along with the slight nod of his head. Harry looked confused for a second till he heard Hermione speak.
"Harry, look at this! Dumbledore is trying to remove Fudge from office!" She said, handing him the Daily Prophet
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore claims
Cornelius Fudge no longer fit to be Minister of Magic
Last night in a surprise move from the Wizengamot, Chief Warlock and Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Albus Dumbledore had a vote declared on the removal of the current Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge. Minister Fudge declared this an outrage immediately,
claiming he did not know of you-know-who's return until his attack on the Ministry of Magic last year. Albus Dumbledore commented that he had warned Fudge the year before, but he was happier to let He-who-must-not-be-named roam freely until he had no other option but to admit this.
The Wizengamot gave a vote of no confidence in case of Cornelius Fudge, who will now have to face an election and gain the trust of the people once again. When asked who Fudge would be running against, Dumbledore responded by saying 'I only know of one man fit for this job. Kingsley Shacklebolt, who is currently head of defense and lead auror for the Ministry. He is the only man I have seen with the willpower to take this community where it leads. He also has the vote of Harry Potter, who gave this man the highest recommendation.' No one has yet spoken with Mr. Potter about these statements, though it was confirmed that he has offered interview exclusives to Daily Prophet's own Gineveive Ernesta Armstrong. We will be sending her to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry today in hopes of an interview to find Mr. Potter's
opinion of Kingsley Shacklebolt and Cornelius Fudge...
The paper went on to describeKingsley and Fudge's opinions on certain matters, which Harry ignored. He knew what Kingsley was about. Stopping Voldemort, fair treatment of all rational thinking beings, and an honest Ministry. That was enough for Harry. He didn't even care that he would be treated like a tool to win Kingsley the election. It was his plan, so he was his own tool.
"Harry, I didn't know you were politically involved!" Hermione said.
"I have been ever since I've been called a nutter by the Ministry in fifth year." Harry said calmly.
"Stuck up reporter on the move." Serena said, nodding at the doors to the great hall.
Sure enough there stood Gineveive Armstrong. Harry laughed as she began looking over every student in order to find him. When she finally laid eyes on him she smiled so cheerfully Harry imagined her face might split in half literally. Just before reaching him Harry hissed quickly to his ring.
"Help me with my words please."
"It would be an honor."
"Mr. Potter, so nice to see you again." Gineveive said, her smile never faltering. "I was wondering if I could have a few moments of your time?"
"I would agree, Ms. Armstrong, but I must confer with my Headmaster. Classes begin in only a few minutes of course." Harry said. "Please, come with me, and maybe he will allow us to use his office for your interview."
While she followed Harry, he uttered a silent thank you to Slytherin for making this ring for him. He approached Dumbledore with a polite and respectful nod, which was quickly returned.
"Headmaster, I was wondering whether I would be permitted time for an interview regarding our soon to be Minister Shacklebolt." Harry said smoothly.
Dumbledore nodded. "I will grant you time, and my office. Please take Miss Powell and Professor Lupin as well. I believe you know the password."
"Yes sir, of course." Harry said. "Miss Powell, Professor, if you will follow me."
They left the great hall moving calmly to the Headmaster's office. Harry breathed a sigh of relief that he had Remus and Sam with him, knowing they were not going to leave but stay and make sure he made it through this situation. He felt a warmth spread through him at the thought that they were protecting him as a mother and father would. Reaching the office he said the password 'm&ms' and walked into the office. Four chairs were arranged near the desk, three set to face one. Harry knew what this meant. He would be the only one talking. Sitting in the chair placed for him he motioned for the others to sit down.
"It seems Mr. Dumbledore was expecting this." Gineveive said.
"He has a way of knowing what has and will happen around this school." Harry said smiling. "Makes you feel kind of safe when you think about it, really."
"Mr. Potter, I'm just going to ask a few questions. Would that be alright?" She said.
"That would be fine. I have two witnesses to make sure I am not misquoted of course, though I saw from your other interview with me that I don't think that will be a problem." Harry said calmly.
"Mr. Potter, is Mr. Shacklebolt your first choice for Minister?"
"Well, that answer is that my first choice would be Albus Dumbledore. He does not wish to be Minister, so my choice after that fact is of course Kingsley."
"Why is this Mr. Potter?"
"When I have had trouble in the past with death eaters, Voldemort, or dementors, Kingsley stood beside me in the fights as soon as he could arrive. I have only not seen him at my side once, and then he did not know of the attack till it was over. He is a strong man, with strong opinions. He believes the same way as I do. That any being with rational thought, be they werewolves, centaurs, vampires, giants, goblins, or any other creature I may not know of, should be treated the same as any wizard.
"They are not all evil, as I'm sure many know. They are as wizards are. Some are evil, while I have seen more than a few that are honorable and loyal people. I believe that many would benefit from that kind of wisdom. He is also determined that his main priority is not to line his pockets with galleons, as I know Cornelius Fudge did, but to eradicate the world of dark witches and wizards. The first on that list is of course Voldemort.
"These are my reasons for choosing to stand by Kingsley Shacklebolt and say whole-heartedly that I could see no one better to be our Minister. A fair and honest man, loyal to those he protects, as well as those he serves. A man who's first priority is to see that people are safe, and without fear of a so called lord. Is there a better reason for a man to be our Minister? " Harry said in the most dignified manner he had ever heard himself use.
"Mr. Potter, you just said that Minister Fudge was accepting bribes during his time in office. Could you tell us who was bribing him?"
"Well, I know that Lucius Malfoy was one. Whether to get his own way, or to carry out orders for Voldemort I do not know. We all know that he is a death eater. I know only that it was done, not the purpose for it." Harry said.
"Mr. Potter, in your fifth year you had a string of complaints brought on you by the Ministry of Magic, can you tell us anything about that?"
Harry looked at Remus for guidance. Remus nodded quietly to Harry. "I can. I was under suspicion of performing illegal magic outside of school and in front of a muggle. The case was thrown out because of the fact that there were dementors in the area attempting to attack me as well as my muggle cousin. Later I found that Delores Umbridge sent them after me to get me expelled, placed in Azkaban, as well as discredit my account that Voldemort had returned. Also it was to make Fudge look good.
"Also, Umbridge came to this school and attempted to take it over. If she had continued unchallenged by my friends and I in an attempt to keep everyone safe in their defense against the dark arts, we would be far from the standard we are at now. She merely made us read how a spell was supposed to be done with no practice of wandwork or the proper way to speak the incantations.
"She used violent methods of punishment. She made students use blood quills to write lines till they were permanently scared. All of this was done with Cornelius Fudge's approval is what makes me agree with Headmaster Dumbledore that he is not fit to be Minister, and that is on top of the reasons that are obvious, like the fact that I and my friends have made more progress in capturing death eaters than aurors have been allowed to.
I found out recently that Fudge only allows aurors to go to an attacked area after they are certain the death eaters are gone. What kind of Minister allows his people to be hurt and let those hurting them get away?" Harry said, again sounding as if he were in politics himself.
"Do you have proof of these violent methods?" Gineveive asked
Harry showed her his right hand. The scars of the words 'I will not tell lies' were almost as visible as the scar on his head. "Is this proof enough?"
Remus took his hand and anger flashed in his eyes. "Harry, why didn't you tell us about this?"
"I wanted to handle this on my own, Remus. I didn't want it to seem like I was crying about how bad I had it when you didn't have a job that year, and with Snuffles, well lets just say I knew you two had your own problems. I fixed it in my own way. Started the DA to teach the students to defend themselves, never gave when the ministry kept saying I was delusional, gave a review telling the truth to the Quibbler. It was my first action as an adult." Harry said, smiling.
"Mr. Potter, may I take a picture of your hand for the paper, as well as a picture with you Godfather?"
"Well, you can take a picture of my hand. I will allow you a picture with my Godfather and my Godmother, if that is fitting?" Harry said smoothly.
"Oh, of course. I didn't realize."
Harry held his hand steady as she took the picture. Then Harry stood between Sam and Remus and beamed happily, as they did, while the picture was taken.
"Can I have a copy of that Miss Armstrong?" Harry asked.
"Of course Mr. Potter. I will have it sent to you first thing tomorrow morning. Thank you for your time, but I must be going if I am to get this interview in for tomorrows edition of the Prophet." Gineveive said. "If it makes any difference to you, you have won my vote for Mr. Shacklebolt already."
"I am very happy to see that my words have an affect on someone." Harry said. He nodded politely as she left. Harry sighed deeply as he saw Dumbledore enter the room. "I think that went well." He said to the Headmaster.
"Well?" Remus said, shocked. "That was brilliant! You used every bit of knowledge you had about Fudge and manipulated your words so well that I didn't even believe it was you. You managed to put the information the Order collected into a large scale newspaper, without once mentioning the Order. You made Fudge look completely horrid and all you did was speak the truth!" Remus hugged him tightly then. "I am so proud of you, Harry!"
"Remus, I'm glad you're proud." Harry choked out. "But I can't breathe!" Remus released him quickly, leaving Harry gasping for breathe. "You have got to watch that strength of yours!"
"I'm sorry Harry, I'm just so proud!" Remus said. "Your parents, and Sirius as well, would have been proud of what you did today."
"I hope they will be proud when this war is over." Harry said, suddenly smiling.
"What does that mean, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, looking at Harry curiously.
"Oh, nothing Professor. I just hope they are proud of me when this war is over, and Voldemort is defeated." Harry said. He blocked his mind quickly when Dumbledore tried to see what he was hiding.
"I see. A secret even from your mentor." Dumbledore said.
"A secret from everyone for now." Harry said. "Even me."
"Very well, Harry. Go to class now. Professor Flitwick knows you will be late, and knows you have my permission to be so." Dumbledore said sadly to Harry. Harry nodded and left.
"That was a different reaction then usual to his parents memory." Dumbledore said. "Do you have any idea what it means?"
"No Albus. I have no idea. He said he couldn't talk to them, that they were too long past." Remus said. "Do you think he found a way to do it?"
"No Remus." Dumbledore said. "I only fear he may try to find a way to bring them back."
"There is no such way, Albus. Surely you would have known about it after all this time." Remus said.
"Really, Remus? I did not know people could 'move' as he calls it. I never knew of a shield to block the killing curse. I never imagined anyone using wandless magic like he does. I did not know that there was a person in this world who could bend magic in the way he does and not flinch. I honestly believe that boy could change time altogether if he wished it, and that is something only Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor could do. No, Remus, I believe he knows a lot more than any wizard already. That is one of the things that scares me." Dumbledore said, his voice full with sadness as a tear fell down his cheek.
"Albus, he is not like Voldemort." Remus said.
"No. That is not what scares me. He will never be the next dark lord. I am scared because I worry that he will find a spell that he will want to use more than any other, and that it will require magic so strong it will kill him."