Harry awoke with a groan, his body aching not just for the normal pains that seemed to greet him more and more as he trained harder to be ready to face off with Nocturne but also just the standard wince-inducing discomfort that came from opening one's eyes to find that what had been a comfortable position in the middle of the night was quite painful at the break of dawn.
Except, from what his alarm clock was telling him, it wasn't dawn at all. Not even close.
"Harry," Hedwig said softly, reaching down and lightly nipping at his ear. "Get up already, would ya? People are going to begin asking questions if they see me cuddling up to you like this."
"We've literally been inside one another," Harry said groggily, letting out a yawn halfway through. "There aren't any questions they could ask that would be have us closer than that."
"You haven't seen Ron's Pornhub history," Hedwig teased before nipping him again. "Come on, get up…"
"Why?" Harry whined, rolling over and tugging the blanket tighter around d his neck and shoulders. "There is literally nothing in the world right now that can't wait til morning."
"Dumbledore sent a message. He wants to see you right now. And before you begin to bitch he made clear in his note that yes, indeed, this can't wait til morning."
Harry looked over at his Noctowl before flipping the bird the bird and snuggling into his blankets once more.
"I'll get Sid up."
THAT had Harry's eyes snap open. "Don't you fucking dare."
"What? Don't want to hear all the ways he can call you a slut?" Hedwig teased. Harry growled at that but he did give in, arching his back and slowly tugging himself away from the blankets; though they did seem to cling to him and whisper that he should remain where it was soft and warm.
"You think there is a blanket pokemon out there somewhere?" Harry asked as he let out another yawn, jaw cracking as he did so. "Ya know, one that wants people to snuggle under it and accept its warmth."
"So would it evolve from or into a pillow?" Hedwig asked as Harry got up and plodded across the dorm room. He wasn't worried about waking up his dorm mates with his talking as he had learn during first year that all of them, even Neville, could sleep through a train crash. It took a lot for them to go to sleep and then even more to get them up, much to his annoyance; his years with the Dursleys had given him the opposite problem, as he was able to fall asleep anywhere and at any time and snap out of his slip pretty quickly. Hedwig, he knew, had only been tugging on his earlobe for a few seconds at most before he'd woken up.
"From," Harry told her as he slipped out of his pajamas, sniffing his armpit and grimacing before he went and grabbed some body spray and applied a generous amount. That would teach him not to shower before bed. "They would evolve into beds."
"Is it sad I can actually picture that?" Hedwig said, shaking her head as Harry pulled out a white undershirt before snagging a crimson button up and tugging that on. Making sure each button was taken care of he then grabbed a pair of jeans from his trunk, slipping those on next before focusing on socks and shoes.
"Why?" Harry asked. "Any weirder that some of the stuff we have in the world? Ice Cream Cone Pokemon, Fan and TV and Washing Machine Pokemon-"
"Those don't count they're just Rotom."
"Key Pokémon?"
"…ok, Klefki is weird," Hedwig admitted. "But a bed Pokémon?"
"Give it time," Harry said as he grabbed his glasses and slipped them on before flexing his fingers. "They'll discover one yet, mark my words."
"If you say so," Hedwig said. "All set?"
"I just want to run a quick diagnostic," Harry said, the false skin on his right hand peeling away to reveal the metal of his prosthetic. He silently began to wiggle each finger, checking to make sure they moved properly without any hiccups. While his hand for the most part worked so well it was easy for him to forget it wasn't flesh and blood there were times when something would get knocked out of whack and he'd be forced to do repairs. They were never that serious but he wanted to have everything ready now rather than risk something going wrong when he met with Dumbledore. Late night visit that he hadn't originally discussed with the Headmaster? Oh yes, Harry was not walking into that blind no matter how much people may say he was being paranoid.
Finally satisfied Harry and Hedwig made their way to the teleporter, Hedwig revealing that Dumbledore had gotten one of his Pokemon to teleport along with the request to meet a key card that would unlock the Gryffindor Tower's main door and not alert his head of house he was heading out after hours.
"Where are we supposed to go?" Harry asked.
"First floor, near the statue of Ickabod the Daring."
"Who was he again?" Harry asked.
"The trainer who first discovered Pumpkaboo."
"Right." The two went on for a bit while longer, managing to get down two flights of stairs and several halls. They were just nearing the statue when Flich suddenly leapt in front of them, holding an old candle-lit lantern in his hand as he stared at the two with a sour look. His beak-like nose seemed even sharper in that darkness that was cut only by the lantern light and Harry was suddenly struck by the impression of some ghoul emerging from its crypt to demand to know why he had trespassed on sacred ground.
"So," Filtch said with a sneer, looking Harry and Hedwig up and down, "finally caught ya out of bed, huh Potter. I don't know how you've avoided me for so long-"
"It was easy," Harry said, cutting in, "I never left my bed and last I heard you needed to stay 50 feet away from the dorms."
"Why you-" Filch said, coming at him only for an old withered hand to reach out of the shadows and clap itself on Filch's shoulder. Both old man and Haryr let out squeaks of fright, Filch swinging around so that the light of his lantern shot across the dark hall before finally casting itself upon the smiling form of- "Headmaster!"
"Ah, Argus, so kind of you to find dear Harry. Though I am sure that he'll be able to find his way about the school without your help… still, appreciated all the same." He released the bitter old man who blinked before a scowl deepened on his features; he knew at once that Dumbledore wouldn't let him do any of the nasty things he'd been considering to perform on Harry. And that just ruined his night. "Come along Harry."
The young man nodded, deciding not to provoke Filch any further than he already had; honestly that one insult had just slipped off his tongue without warning and he'd been just as startled by Filch when he'd said it.
'I need to be more careful with that,' he thought to himself. 'I've been lucky that the professors haven't decided to make my life hell for the lip I've given them.' While he was bitter about much of what had happened in his life Hogwarts was still his second home and the last thing he wanted to do was cost himself a place there.
That said… Harry couldn't help but ask, "Professor… why was he carrying a lantern?"
"You know… I am not quite for sure. Of course Argus as always been rather a stickler for the old ways. I sometimes think he was born in the wrong era. Why, one time during a power outage Minerva asked him for a torch and he returned with a burning stick, if you can believe it."
"Normally I wouldn't but at this school?" Harry said with a shake of his head. The two of them continued to the Statue of Ickabod and Dumbledore reached out, carefully taking hold of the man's right hand, which was pointed out at something only the sculptor could have seen, before rotating the it at the wrist 90 degrees. There was a scrape of stone and Dumbledore smiled as a passageway opened up beside them. It was actually rather impressive; one moment there had been the solid stone wall, each brick packed with heavy mortar so it would take a team of Machamps a day to burst through, and the next there were cracks and then an opening. All rather startling.
"There we go," Dumbledore said.
"How did you know this was here?" Hedwig asked, twisting her head as she took in the passageway; Harry wagered she was debating if she wanted to risk ambling through it, as she wasn't exactly a fan of tight spaces.
"Oh, because I made it," Dumbledore said with a smile, gesturing for the two to follow him as he made his way through the passage.
"You made it?" harry asked as he followed after, Hedwig curisng under her breath a few times before plunging into the darkness after them.
"Well, I didn't make it, per say. I requested it made and it was other men, far more skilled in stone work and levers and gears who made it all work. But I did design it. Ickabod was always one of my favorite historical figures. Not a brave man at all… a coward, in fact. But he was willing to move beyond his fear and discover the wonders of the world."
As they got deeper into the passage the headmaster held up his hand, igniting it with Aura and after a moment Harry did the same. Of course his glow was faint, like a flashlight that was running low on power and could only cast a sickly yellow beam that barely pierced the shadows. Dumbledore's was a lighthouse, throwing out a great shaft of light that cut through all. Still, Harry was rather happy with what he'd managed to produce as it was a sign that he was getting better at mastering Aura. Which was going to be needed soon enough.
"Of course," Dumbledore said and Harry realized the old man had been talking while he'd been focused on creating the aura around his fingers; for the headmaster it was easy has breathing while for Harry it had taken all his focus, "there is some debate about the story, considering the fact that Pumpkaboos are native to Kalos, as it is known. Yet he was said to have learned of them in Unova during his famous All Hallow's Eve ride. And there have been rumors for centuries of their existence but-"
"Professor," Harry cut in, realizing that if he didn't stop the old man he'd spend the entire walk talking about Ickabod. And while Harry didn't mind history he had other thoughts on his mind. "Why did you have this passage made?"
"Hmm?" Dumbledore said, turning and blinking at Harry more owlishly than Hedwig could manage. "I didn't make this passage."
"Okay, hire the people to make it," Hedwig said, rolling her eyes.
"I'm afraid I didn't do that either," Dumbledore said. "I'm sorry if you thought-"
"You told us you made all this," Harry cut in.
The headmaster chuckled at that. "I made the statue. Or designed it and had others make it, you see. It was my idea."
"And the passage?"
"It has been here for… a very long time," Dumbledore said, turning away from Harry and, in a softer voice, repeating, "A very long time."
"Then you hid it away," Harry said. "Why?"
"Because history is a double edge sword, my boy. It is just as easy to cut one's self as it is to cut their foe. We can discover such marvels within history that time threatens to make disappear… but we can also discover things that are better left forgotten." He reached out and patted the wall. "This… is one many would agree, if they knew about it, should be forgotten." He smiled and motioned for them to continue. "Shall we?"
The passageway quickly widened, with was good because Harry honestly wasn't in the mood to hear Hedwig whine the entire time down that she felt like a 'tv dinner' (and Harry made a mental note to do another 'Luna Purge' to stop himself from making references). Where once it had been a tight corridor that made him rather claustrophobic himself it suddenly widened so that he would pull a muscle if he attempted to try and touch both walls with just his finger tips.
"What do you notice about this place?" Dumbledore asked, ever the educator.
"Other than the smell?" Hedwig said in annoyance as she did a slight shuffle hop to make her way through the passage.
"Actually smells are very important so let us start with that. What do you smell?"
The Noctowl grumbled at that but did do as requested and took a sniff of the air. "Earth. Cool earth… natural too." Harry nodded as well; there wasn't any of the usual chemicals one would find even around Hogwarts. The passage was filled with the smell of soil that hadn't been corrupted by the products man made to try and tame nature.
"It's cool down here, even for Hogwarts," Harry said. "Not as cold as outside though."
"The great dichotomy of the underground," Dumbledore said with a slight smile, making his other hand light up with aura so he might wave them about and better illuminate the passage. "The Earth can hide the heat from one, as it takes much for the warmth of the sun to reach into the soil. But when it does… the Earth is greedy and refuses to let go easily."
Harry nodded, wondering if the Headmaster realized he'd let slip the key bit of information that they were now traveling under the surface of the island. Harry had thought as much, from the way the corridor slopped down subtly. He wouldn't have noticed before the Long Talk but now his senses were telling him that they were making they way down, down, down.
'And in a circle too,' he thought. 'A very subtle one but one nonetheless.'
"Anything else?" the Headmaster asked.
Harry paused, looking at the stones themselves. He reached out and scratched at the mortar with his right hand and while it crumbled away he knew that even without the enhanced strength of his right hand he would have been able to break that up rather easily.
"These stones are old. Very old. Laid a very long time ago." He began to move again. "Who made this passage?"
"Ah, I was wondering if you would ask that," the headmaster said with a jovial chuckle. "Why… Merlin of course." If he thought Harry would gasp at that or treat that reveal like some grand revelation he was sorely mistaken. Not that the Headmaster let any disappointment he might feel show on his features; no, he merely continued on with a twinkle in his eyes. "We are walking through the original pieces of Hogwarts. The very first sections to be laid countless years ago. You must realize that Hogwarts did not start out at its current size or shape. It was much smaller when it was first created… probably the size of a small store. As different headmasters took over they all decided that they wanted the chance to leave their mark on the building and thus they began to build it up, brick by break. The old dining hall was turned into a classroom when the Large Hall was built and eventually that was converted as well when the Great Hall was finished. The roof was torn off so new floors could be added and that meant new staircases and supports and adding some walls while getting rid of others. All very complex, mind you, all very complex. I won't trouble you on the details unless you are interested."
Harry didn't say a word and the headmaster continued on.
"So many young students like to imagine that they are visiting the school that Merlin built. That they are sleeping in the same beds that Godric Gryffindor or Rowana Ravenclaw once snoozed in. That being close to that greatness will make them greater. Silliness, to be sure. The beds are at most 60 years old and the sheets certainly have been changed."
"Good," Harry said, not liking the idea he'd been lying in the sheets Godric had once had his wet dreams in. Hell, he didn't like the idea that he was lying under the sheets Ron might have had only a few days prior. 'I should see about getting my own…' he suddenly thought.
"But more than that the Gryffindor Tower has only stood for the last two centuries, well after Godric long became nothing but bones… but ah, that matters not. Again, only if you are interested in the history."
Once more Harry was silent.
"But these stones… they are the very first ones. Laid in the time of Heroes that I doubt will ever truly come again. I think it is something we lost when we began to no longer search for lands to conquer. Heroes simply don't last long in our era." The headmaster shrugged and went silent, much to Harry's surprise. They continued on that way, not saying a word, for nearly 10 minutes before the passage suddenly took a sharp left turn and then they were facing an ancient oak door, banded with rusting iron and having once been clearly carved to depict scenes of great heroics and bravery… only time had worn them away so the features of the warriors and hunters were smoothed to nothing.
"Well… you've discovered a door," Hedwig said and Harry rolled his eyes before, very quickly, he slipped into the Speaker's Realm and looked up. He forced himself not to gape as he saw Leon, who had been passing about the first floor of the castle waiting for them, as little more than a speck in the distance. It was like he was on a bloody skyscraper!
He'd known they were going down but not THIS far down!
Snapping back to the real world he looked at Dumbledore who merely raised an eyebrow and Harry wondered if the old man could sense what he had done. So far only other Speakers knew when he entered the realm; Luna had never sensed it, after all, nor had Neville with his Battle Lord training. Remus and Sirius either. And yet the way the old man was looking at him harry got the feeling that he knew exactly what Harry had done and was bemused that he'd attempted such a trick.
But then the look disappeared and Harry felt a touch silly thinking like that.
"I suppose it is just a door," Dumbledore said, tugging at his beard. "Of course I've always found doors to be rather interesting, you know. They hide so many things behind them. A door is a portal to another world, even if it might not seem like it in our day and age. Again, I think it has to do with the loss of heroes and worlds to conquer. There are no mysteries anymore. Nearly everything has been solved. Oh yes, you will get the person that will discover some new variant on a Pokémon and it will appeal to those in their field but for the vast majority of the public it isn't anything they know about. Why, there are people who still don't realize there is a fairy type! Or even care! Why should they… it doesn't feel special anymore!
"Not like it used to be," he said rather wistfully, shaking his head in quiet grief. "Once a young man would design a flag of his own, gather about him a companionship of remarkable people, and they would storm through the world. And be it good or ill… they would discover new things and bring with them wonders both kind and cruel. It is no longer like that. The number of travelers who decided to do the Gym Circuit properly is shrinking. They will tell you that we have thousands who do it each year and that is true… but they teleport from city to city! They rush through it, desperate to go go go because they feel there is so much they are missing if they linger… not realizing it is the lingering that leads to the very things they want to experience! Or that by rushing along the well known path they miss the path that will bring about wonders."
"But," Harry said, "you said it yourself: there are some things best left undiscovered."
Dumbledore smirked at that. "I did say that, didn't I? And I suppose that is very true. The world is full of delights but lustful and gross. Sinful and heavenly. But how can you know about them if you don't… open the door." He touched his index finger to the tip of his nose before reaching out and grasping the handle of the door, giving it a great heave.
The door groaned. It didn't fly open like most doors but rather it seemed, to Harry at least, to fight the headmaster and not want to open and let them inside. But finally it gave in and when it did the three of them entered a large chamber… and Harry couldn't help but gasp.
It wasn't an overly large room. Maybe about the size of a small café one would see in a scenic seaside town with a high roof that could have just barely fit a loft but even then it would be a tight squeeze. Yet this was no light and airy place where artists sat debating the merits of brush strokes while writers sat at tables recharging their dexes while they pounded away at their keyboards to churn out the next great Avalon Novel.
No, the room was dark stone, nearly pitch black in color if not for the strange coating the rocks had that caused the light to flicker upon their surface. It was almost damp looking but not quite and Harry didn't quite know how to put it into words. There was an… otherworldly quality to the stone. Like it had not come from the Earth itself but from some alien planet where man had never trod and whose masters would come at any moment to claim it once again.
What helped make Harry feel like an intruder upon some foreign world was the pillar that sat in the middle of the room and the light that pulsed from it. It wasn't made from the same dark stone as the walls but that didn't make it any less alien looking. The rock was tan in color, pitted and looking far too soft to be of any good in any sort of building. Indeed Harry could see cracks running through its surface and he would have been fearful that the pillar might suddenly collapse on itself at any moment if it weren't for the pale violet light that pulsed from within those very pitted holes and cracks. It flashed like the heartbeat of some demented trapped god, sometimes the light growing brighter only to suddenly fade so that a few 'beats' were so weak Harry thought it possible the pillar would suddenly go dark. Thanks to the reflective walls the violet light danced all around them, bathing them in odd shades and glares. Harry looked at Hedwig and tilted his head, finding that in that moment she looked rather vunerable and lovely, like a punk rock princess who suddenly reveals she loves the girly things in life but didn't have the courage to reveal that.
As for Dumbledore-
"Well?" the headmaster said and it took all of Harry's strength not to attack the man. In the light it seemed like his face was rotting off his skull, the shadows making the jowls and the creases in his features all the deeper. His white beard was a mass of weeds and his eyes… those kind grandfatherly eyes that everyone talked about long after they left Hogwarts were two twisting abysses that threatened to consume his sanity.
He looked away, choosing to stare at the pillar instead, though he couldn't help but wonder how he appeared under this strange light. What would ti twist him into?
"What is this place," Hedwig asked, being the first to find her voice.
The headmaster stepped towards the pillar. "The cornerstone of Hogwarts itself." He glanced back at them and Harry forced himself to stare at Dumbledore and not glance away from the dark and twisted visage the light was creating upon his face. "Of course it is a rather misused name, I suppose. After all, this isn't in the corner of anything. In fact it is more properly called the Center Stone of Hogwarts for we are in the exact center of the school." He reached up and strokes his beard. "It is rather interesting, you know? No matter what renovations are done or improvements made to the school every headmaster has been very careful to keep this very spot the exact center of the castle. If a tower goes up on one corner another must rise in on the opposite side. All in the name of keeping the cornerstone firmly within the center of the building."
"Why is it glowing like that?" Harry asked, taking a step forward.
"Now… that is an interesting tale," Dumbledore said with a slow nod. "A very interesting tale. And to understand it… I must tell a completely different story all together!" He smiled and while Harry was sure it was supposed to be a goofy, silly grin with the way the light and shadows were playing along the headmaster's face it more looked like the death grin of some twisted skeleton. "Many years ago, long before either of you were born, there was a student of mine who was rather gifted. I am sure you have heard the mutters that your friend Hermione Granger is the smartest trainer in your generation. This student was the smartest in his. I dare say I would rather fear a conversation between Miss Granger and him for I am sure it would be so utterly confusing for me that I would have to retire out of shame of being unable to keep up with them." He gave a little shrug. "But the fact remains that this student was rather bright… and like Miss Granger was the first of his family to have a Pokémon. Or… at least… that is what he was led to believe. His mother died when he was young and while his father wished to have nothing to do with him his uncle was rather kind and decided to care for the boy.
"Now, his uncle didn't have Pokémon not because, like Miss Granger's family, he saw no real need for it in his profession. Nor was he a fanatic like your Aunt and Uncle. Rather he simply saw it as beneath him to have a Pokémon for his family came not from one of the long and old lines but a rather new yet rich family. No Ancient and Noble House like the Potters or the Blacks. No Ancient and Legendary like the Kenways either. Merely… the Rich and Powerful." He chuckled again though Harry wasn't quite sure what he found so funny about that. "The boy though did want to learn about Pokemon and such came to Hogwarts where he excelled. Though where in his education he was like Miss Granger in temperament and choices he moved more towards you, Harry my boy. He also had an Eevee."
"Tom Riddle," Harry said.
Dumbledore frowned at that. "I was… leading up to that reveal. Now that rather ruins the big surprise."
"Not that big of a surprise, actually. I had a feeling you were heading there. It was either him or you and I know you don't have an Eevee."
The headmaster sighed. "Well, I suppose I can't fault you for your deductive reasoning. Still, the story is important…"
Harry motioned for him to continue and Dumbledore smiled brightly, teeth a pale purple against utter black thanks to the pulsing light.
"Young Tom was the brightest student I had ever seen come through Hogwarts in three decades and I wanted to do all I could to help him grow and expand his mind. I gave him extra tutoring sessions all on my own, visited him during the summer to take him on special trips to the islands just beyond our shores. Traded Pokémon with him and then traded again, just to help him build up his team. Many said that I was too kind to him, focused too much on him… perhaps they were right. Perhaps I did too much for him. Allowed my caring for him to blind me.
"When Tom graduated he did the Pokémon League Challenge just as many students do when they finish with their studies. But Tom… oh, Tom was so utterly brilliant not just in the classroom but in the arena, Harry. I can not express to you his skill in tricking his opponents into believing that victory is only moments away only for Tommy to suddenly turn the tables and make them on the failing side. He easily defeated the Elite 4 and earned himself the title of Avalon League Champion several times over. I wished for him to go into politics or to join the Elite 4 himself… what that young man could have done to help our region…"Dumbledore shook his head wistfully. "But that isn't fair to him. I make it sound like he decided on some horrid path that was doomed to fail when it was anything but. He chose a noble profession. A grand and honorable one. It is only hindsight that lets me see that it led to his doom.
"Tom always loved history. Within the first week of him being at Hogwarts Horace came to me half exhausted and half thrilled at all the questions Tom asked him. He wanted to know everything about the Founders, about Merlin, about the students and teachers that had walked the halls long before any of us. He was… gluttonous… when it came to his inquiries. It was frustrating at times but also so wondrous to have a young man so eager to learn. It made me want to be a better teacher.
"When Tom came to me several years later to ask for my help I was ready to allow him to do whatever he wished. I had missed our time together and, I suppose, I wanted to cling to it again. He wanted to study the original creation of Hogwarts, to determine what was myth and what was legend and create for all of us an actual model of what the original school was like. I, of course, allowed him full access to the school, convincing the Headmaster to allow Tom full access to our library and records. For two solid months he was found in the library pouring over all sorts of records, jotting down notes and learning of different hidden places."
"Like the Chamber of the Unown," Harry said.
"Very likely, yes. I never learned when exactly he discovered that but if I had to guess I would say you were right and it was in that time frame." Dumbledore began to circle the pillar. "After he got done with his research he began to actually explore the castle. He was forever interrupting classes so he might look behind a bookcase or knock on a while… caused a dreadful amount of confusion and distraction with the students but I forever made apologizes for him as I knew his work was important. I even joined him at times though his final journey… well, I wasn't there for that." The old man's shoulders slumped. "I often wonder how different things would have been had I been here when he finally managed to clear the rubble that had fallen against that door we entered. Would I have realized, my boy, that it hadn't been there because of an earthquake or a collapsing ceiling but because someone wanted to hide the door and what lay in here?"
"Headmaster," Harry said again, "what are we looking at? Why does the pillar glow like it is?"
"This, my boy… is Merlin's great secret." Dumbledore let out a sigh. "You realize now the legend of Merlin defeating the 108 spirits is a lie. He went into the sky to face off with the phantoms only to discover they were the many parts of a single being: He Who Consumes All."
"Voldemort."
"The Spiritomb, yes." Dumbledore finished his lap and moved to stand next to Harry and Hedwig. "Spiritomb… it is an interesting being. It loathes and loves a single object: The Keystone. It desires it, races towards it, is forever reaching for it… but Voldemort also sees it as its greatest weakness. For the Keystone can bind Spiritomb to a single place, unable to escape. It pulls it into a single shape, the depiction of the SPiritomb you can find in your dex, and forces it to remain. The Keystone weakens it greatly and it would destroy that rock if it could… but it can't. Because it is a part of it, like your very heart, Harry. You can't rip out your heart any more than Spiritomb can destroy the Keystone. When a piece is destroyed that it has latched onto the blow is so great that Voldemort is torn to pieces and must gather itself again."
"That's what happened in the Chamber," Harry stated. "There was a piece of the Keystone in that diary and when Neville damaged it…"
"Voldemort was torn asunder. He had bonded with it when Miss Cho found the diary and its destruction wounded him greatly. It is why it took him till your fourth year to take over poor Allister. It was weakened by that loss." Dumbledore paused, looking at Harry, waiting to see if he would piece things together.
Harry didn't disappoint.
"This is the keystone, isn't it?" He waved at the pillar.
"It is. The mighty rock upon with Merlin built his school." The headmaster shrugged. "Of course at one time it was much smaller. About the size of your hand. But the Keystone, under the proper hands, can give its power to other rocks and make them a part of it. Much like Voldemort itself the keystone can absorb stone. Merlin hoped to make Hogwarts into Voldemort's trap, one he could never escape. This pillar feeds into ley lines that run all through this island, giving the school protection and power. Once it felt like Hogwarts was alive when you walked through its halls; all thanks to the school constantly feeding on Voldemort, keeping him weak.
"But then Tom opened the door and Voldemort for the first time in thousands of years had someone it could talk to… who would listen. It convinced Tom to take the original keystone with him. As proof. Tom showed it to me and I thought little of it other than it might make for something special to put into the display case. Had I known that Tom would spend nights waking up so he might caress the stone and hear when Voldemort had to say I would have demanded he put it back at once. But… I did not. And Voldemort claimed Tom Riddle as his vessel." Dumbledore sighed. "And cost me my son in all but blood."
Harry and Hedwig were silent.
"The rest you can puzzle out, I am sure," Dumbledore finally said. "Voldemort began the war and during every campaign he took the Keystone with him for he could not be long parted from it. When a lucky blow dealt by Frank Longbottom removed a piece from it he gave it to Lucius to place in a diary… a back up should he ever find his main Keystone destroyed, so that he wouldn't be drawn to the school. He had that stone with him when he went to your parents' home… and it was your mother's attacks on the Keystone that finally defeated him and sent him into hiding for nearly 10 years."
Harry and Hedwig stared at the pillar.
"Headmaster… why not destroy this pillar? If it would hurt Voldemort to do so-"
"Only if he is bonded to it," Dumbledore said gently. "That is the blessing and the curse. My hope… my eternal hope… has been to try and find a way to draw Voldemort out of whoever he is possessing now like poison sucked from a wound and bond him once more to this keystone. Then he will be trapped again… and the world will be safe."
But Harry wasn't convinced. "Wouldn't it be better to find a way to destroy him? To ensure he has no hope to ever return again?"
"If you can think of a way, my boy, I would be pleased to hear it. Many of wondered that… and all have failed. Merlin could only trap him away. I can only hope to mimic him. Who are we to believe that we can do better than Merlin?"
Harry nodded at that and the headmaster pulled him away gently by the shoulder towards the door. "Right now Voldemort has not bonded with another keystone. But the urge to do so will grow within him. Every passing moment he will long to make his way to Hogwarts. And when he does we must be ready to strike."
That… made Harry pause.
"Professor… you can't honestly mean to make Hogwarts bait?"
"What choice do we have?" Dumbledore asked.
"But… there are students here…"
"I can't send them all away, Harry. Too many questions will be asked. And Voldemort is no fool. He would notice if the school were suddenly empty and he would wonder why and eventually he would realize my plan." The young man glared at the Headmaster though, not looking what he was suggesting in the slightest. "Harry my boy… Voldemort will come to the school no matter what-"
"Which is why we should protect all we can!" Harry exclaimed.
"I thought you were willing to do anything to defeat him?" Dumbledore pressed and Harry's cheeks grew red and hot at that but he refused to answer. "Is it not better to take this risk and bring about Voldemort's end than it is to risk him continuing to clench his hand around Avalon? Should he take the region he will take the school anyway, making it his new capital with the pillar being his throne. This… this is the only way."
Harry let out a frustrated sigh at that as the headmaster shut the door, sharing a look with Hedwig. "How long then?"
"Not long," Dumbledore stated. "In fact… I think you might be able to help speed things along. Tell me… how easy would it be to slip the Johtoians some information?"
"Pretty easy," Harry admitted. "But why?"
"If there is something I know about Voldemort it is the fact that he likes two kinds of souls. The first are the desperate… the youth who wish to take the shortcut through life or the old who want what they can no longer have. It is his way. The other kind is those in power. It makes it so much easier to control when your vessel already has that command within their grasp. And the Pack… they are getting old, Harry. Looking back at their lives of pain and suffering and wishing for one last chance to rewrite their legacy. To let the world see them in a different way. And they are very… very powerful."
"…none of them would become his vessel," Harry said coldly.
"Did you ever believe they would abandon you?" Dumbledore asked.
Harry… didn't say a word.
