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"We followed him in, telling him he had to get to his common room. And that's when it happened." Hermione said, biting her lip nervously, eyes darting around the room.
"What happened?" Amelia prodded.
"He opened The Chambers of Secrets." Harry breathed. "With Parseltongue."
Everyone's eyes widened in shock and horror. The parent's of all the Cambion children had been filled in and played their parts perfectly.
"That's not possible." Dumbledore rasped. "It must have been you two." He accused, hands shaking as he pointed to Hermione and Harry.
"How dare you!" Cassiopeia shrieked, flexing her fingers with long sharp nails as she was held back from attacking by her husband.
"The Chamber of Secrets has only been opened once before this." Dumbledore continued. "And I know, their Father was the one to open it the first time, I was his teacher at the time. I was also the one he told about his dark Parseltongue ability and heard it for myself on a few occasions."
"I am their Father." Tom snapped glamoured blue eyes flashing in anger,
"Even if they had this so-called dark gift, that would not make them evil!" Cassiopeia added furiously.
"Only blinded people believe dark equals evil." Tom sneered, "No magical gift is inherently evil. It just makes the gifted witch or wizard special." Dumbledore frowned, why was that familiar to him.
"I can't believe that the headmaster of the most esteemed school in the magical world would be so biased and throw such accusations towards children," Cassiopeia added, her grey eyes leaking tears. "No one who holds any sort of power positions around students should hold such hate and prejudice!"
"How dare you question me!" Dumbledore hollered. "I am the one who ended the reign of terror Grindelwald inflicted, the only one Lord Voldemort was afraid of and the best Headmaster Hogwarts has ever seen." His blue eyes, wide and manic, he was unravelling. Tom wanted to laugh hysterically at the fact Dumbledore thought he had ever been afraid of him, but it would possibly ruin everything.
"OUT!" Amelia screamed, "I warned you Dumbledore now get out!"
"Excuse me?" Dumbledore asked, baffled, the sudden switch back to doddering old grandfather was alarming. "This is my school and my students. I am also the one doing your job!" Amelia's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped open.
"How do you figure that?" She asked, narrowing her eyes in anger.
"You are just taking their words at face value! You don't know the whole story, all the facts, those twins are predisposed to be evil!" He ranted, glaring at both Tom and Cassiopeia when they raised their wands and stepped forward.
"Lord LeClair!" Amelia barked, "Do not allow him to provoke you. Regardless, I would have to arrest you if he is attacked." She shot a dirty look at the man the majority of the wizarding world looked up to. Tom growled at Dumbledore one last time before pushing Cassi into the chair between their children's beds. He shared a look with Lucius, Dumbledore was reacting perfectly. With Amelia as a witness, they would be able to use this. He stood stoically beside his wife, a hand on her shoulder, thumb rubbing soothingly.
"Dumbledore, as the lead investigator and head of the DMLE, I am ordering you to leave. This may be your school, but it is my investigation. I have the right to remove anyone who I deem a threat to the physical or mental health of the victims." Amelia stood tall and firm. "The accusations you have levelled at your students are disgusting and I will not stand for them. After this investigation has been cleared, I shall also be calling for a board of governors meeting and we will conduct our own investigation into how Hogwarts is being run. Now get out."
"Listen here!" Dumbledore thundered.
"Get out before I force you." Amelia snapped, interrupting him from another tirade. Her wand dropping from its holster into her hand, Dumbledore seemed to weigh his options before storming out.
- Interview continued -
"I apologize," Amelia turned to the wide-eyed fearful second years and their angry parents, unfortunately, all of them were Lords or Ladies. This could lead to a disaster if not handled correctly.
"It is not your fault Madam Bones." Narcissa nodded respectfully.
"We have all experienced his disregard for and his bias against Slytherin students and graduates." Lucius agreed smoothly, watching his wife comfort his son.
"We can try this again tomorrow." Amelia nodded, as she started to stand up.
"No," a small and unsure voice called out, turning around she could see Lord LeClair staring at his son with pride. "We can do this. The sooner you get answers the better right?" Harry asked.
"Are you sure?" Amelia asked, eyes darting over all six of them, smiling when all of them were nodding, shoulders back, eyes determined.
"Alright then." She waved her wand at her self-writing quill and parchment. "What happened once the Chamber opened?" She and her team would have to examine the entrance and if possible the Chamber itself. If there was any danger to students, they would have to bring in an expert on both wards and runes as well.
"He jumped down the massive opening, the pipes were a slide down under the school," Hermione explained.
"We went over to have a look, it was incredible." Harry breathed, "Despite what has been happening this year, it was amazing being able to see what historians had been looking for, for years!"
"We were going to get help." Theo interjected, "We agreed to split up into two's and find as many Professor's as we could. But.."
"But what?" Amelia prodded carefully.
"I slipped and I fell down the pipe." Luna confessed, "As I was turning around, my foot caught on the grate and slipped out from under me." Tears leaked out of her eyes, fear written across her face.
"We could hear her screaming the whole way down," Pansy whispered hauntedly.
"I was terrified of what it would mean if her screaming stopped." Daphne choked, hands coming to her mouth as she cried, her parent's trying to soothe her.
Xenophilius was wide-eyed in horror, arms clutching Luna tight into his chest. "Dad, I am okay." Luna tried, but she just ended up squeaking as he clutched tighter.
"I can't lose you," Xeno mumbled. "I lost your mother, not you too, not you too."
"She is here Xeno." Cassiopeia soothed.
"She is safe," Narcissa reaffirmed as she leaned over to grip Xeno's shoulder to help him relax and release his daughter.
"What happened next?" Amelia asked gently. Merlin, she hated this part of the job. These children were traumatised, but she needed their statements to close the investigation.
"We couldn't leave her down there." Hermione shook her head, curls flying. "We couldn't leave her alone."
"I didn't even think about it," Harry admitted hoarsely, eyes blinking blankly. "I remember screaming Luna's name and leaping in after her." Harry paused as Xeno whispered thank you profusely.
"But I had grabbed Harry's hand when the chamber first opened in shock and excitement," Hermione recalled, "He was still holding on when he jumped,"
"So you fell with him." Amelia sighed, rubbing her hands over her mouth and jaw as Hermione nodded helplessly. "Then the rest of you jumped down as well." She concluded, Merlin, these were some brave kids. Only eleven and twelve years old but they jumped into unknown and dangerous situations for each other.
"We had to." Draco cried.
"We should've gotten help." Blaise acknowledged, his Mother gripping his shoulder tight. "But all we could think was our friends needed us."
"By the time we got down there, Creevey was gone and it was just us in the dark." Daphne continued.
"We had no clue how we were going to get back up," Theo admitted with a shrug, "So we continued forward."
"That was when we saw it." Pansy whimpered, hands gripping her thick black hair, messing up the bob cut in distress.
"Saw what?" Amelia prodded, whatever it was, it had all these children terrified just thinking about it.
"The Monster Within," Luna whispered in fear.
"It was the old skin of a Basilisk," Harry revealed, looking up to look Amelia in the eye.
"A BASILISK?!" Amelia shrieked, leaping to her feet. "Inside Hogwarts?!"
"She was under someone else's control!" Harry cried, trying to get out of the bed, but his legs were still too shaky to take the weight. Tom had to rush to catch his son and force him back into bed.
"She doesn't deserve to be slaughtered for being what she is." He pleaded as his mother fussed around him, tucking the blanket back in over him.
"She can't hurt anyone down there, not now the control is broken and we closed her access to the school," Hermione swore.
"I think you need to continue telling me what happened down there." Amelia breathed as she sat back down. "Then explain about this control and how you know the Basilisk was under it and now it isn't."
Harry and Hermione nodded, and shared a look, and then looked to their parents.
"We can tell you about how we know, but.." Harry started, looking back at his father.
"There is something you should know." Tom stepped in, gripping Cassi's hand tightly and sending his children reassuring smiles. "They didn't do this, but there is a reason Dumbledore pointed his fingers at Hartford and Hermione." He admitted, tense and ready for a fight.
"What is that reason?" Amelia asked calmly. She didn't believe Dumbledore's ranting about them being guilty of orchestrating all this. Also over the last few years with working with a large number of the parents present currently, she trusted them. Which wasn't something she thought would happen considering their ties or alleged ties to the Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort.
"We trust, this will not leave this room." Cassi demanded, "My children's safety is my only concern, and the public is not known for being understanding or forgiving."
"Of course." Amelia nodded, unfortunately, she had seen it many times in her years in the Law Department.
"Their biological father did indeed open the Chamber fifty years ago," Tom admitted, his friends and followers having to suppress their smirks and chuckles. Amelia blinked slowly, whatever she had been expecting, it was not that.
"They also inherited his gift for Parseltongue." If the revelation before hadn't shocked, this had. There was only one man in recent record history to have that gift. The implication hitting her with full force. She had heard whispers amongst the Aurors. Alastor had been heard saying he heard it from Dumbledore. Trainee Tonks and Sirius had been snapping at anyone stupid enough to ask them if it was true their Aunt/Cousin had been forced to have his children or if she was as evil as the rest of the Black's and happily gave herself to her monster of a Lord. But she also knew you couldn't put much faith into whispers, and she hadn't been curious enough to ask Sirius herself, it just hadn't been her business.
"You could speak with the Basilisk." She realized out loud with a gasp. Harry and Hermione were nodding.
"Her name is Aziza." Harry supplied.
"Okay, what happened?" Amelia sighed, she was not looking forward to the amount of paperwork, all she could praise Lady Magic for was the fact that these kids lived to tell this tale.
"We found a second entrance at the end of Aziza's old skin, right where the head of the skin rested." Hermione said, "We were worried about Creevey and hoped we could find another way out."
"So you pressed forward." Amelia sighed when they all nodded.
"We finally got to what looked like the main chamber. It was huge!" Daphne exclaimed.
"A massive statue of Salazar Slytherin's face was at the far end." Theo sighed dreamily. "It was a dream, to begin with. Being down there and seeing what Salazar Slytherin had created."
"But then we found Creevey." Luna shuddered. "We thought he was dead." She whispered as tears leaked out.
"He was so still and so cold to touch." Harry croaked. "I tried to wake him, asking the others if he was dead, I remember repeating Creevey's name, shaking him to wake him up and that was when HE arrived, saying Creevey wasn't dead. Not yet."
"Who?" Amelia asked, sitting up straighter.
"Voldemort." Harry looked up, eyes watery and lip trembling. Amelia dimly noted the refusal of the parental title, but also saw the devastation in his eyes. She wanted to comfort the small child, but she was frozen. It felt like she had been hit with a paralysing hex and dropped in the Great Lake in winter.
"You are sure?" She finally gasped out, "How?" Her brown eyes narrowed, watching like a demiguise as Harry reached over to his robe on the chair and pulled out a plain black diary. He handed it over easily, and Amelia noticed the damage immediately, it had a massive puncture through the leather cover and went at least halfway through the book. As she grabbed it, she grimaced as her hands felt wet, looking down there was a black liquid seeping out of the puncture, but was thick and tacky like blood, trickling down her wrist, staining her hands.
"He came out of that," Hermione whispered, she looked close to tears. Amelia looked at the diary in disgust before placing it inside an evidence bag with protection runes. It would end up being studied by her team and depending on the findings would be destroyed or given to the Department of Mysteries.
"He was calm, to begin with." Harry frowned in confusion. "He claimed to be 'a memory, preserved in a diary for fifty years.' But it was strange. He wasn't like a ghost, he looked so solid and real, except for the fuzzy and blurry edge around him." Amelia frowned at the description, it wasn't anything she had heard about or come across in her years as an Auror or as Head of the DMLE.
"A memory?" Amelia parroted, the children all nodding. She almost groaned out loud when she realized she was indeed going to have to work with unspeakables to get answers. They were not the easiest Department to work with, always hiding secrets, never revealing more than they believed necessary. But if anyone had heard of or come across this before, it would be someone in the Department of Mysteries.
"What happened next?" Amelia asked, feeling resigned. She wasn't as young as she once was and this war was supposed to be over. "You said he was calm?"
"Yeah, he was." Hermione nodded. "He told us Creevey wouldn't wake up and that Creevey had been writing in the diary all year, talking to him, telling him his secrets."
"He spoke about how their cores were linked and that with Creevey's death he would be able to return," Draco spoke up again. Amelia shuddered at that, the last few years of the Wizarding War had been the worst. No one had been safe, everyone lived in fear, she couldn't imagine the fear these children felt. They came up against one of the evilest wizards of all times, or well, at least a manifestation of him, and survived. Thankfully, they were pretty certain he couldn't harm anyone now, and judging by the extensive damage done to the 'memories' vessel, they were right.
"That's when Mione put it all together." Harry grinned at his sister's intelligence. "It was amazing." Hermione blushed when all eyes went to her.
"It was kind of obvious with all of it just there in front of me." She grinned, never one to shy away from being the smartest in the room. Her family had always made sure she had been proud of it. "He told us he had linked his and Creevey's magical core to help him come back. So he would've been able to possess Creevey to open the Chamber with Parseltongue and let Aziza out."
Hermione took a breath before continuing. "When I told the others, he looked pleased that I was smart enough to know that, then he said that it was hard pretending to be his friend all those months. That he was a whiny kid and got on his nerves." Hermione then went sombre, looking at Amelia. "That was when he started talking about how it had only been pure luck that no one had died."
"Luck?" Amelia gasped, oh Merlin, that meant she could have easily been here investigating the deaths of the four students currently petrified instead. Plus possibly the death of the six Slytherin's before her as well the one Gryffindor further down from them fighting for his magic.
"Yeah," Harry nodded, "He said he wanted to kill them to bring down Dumbledore. He started going crazy. Screaming that it was all Dumbledore's fault, that he was the reason for her death, so he would punish him."
"Whose death?" Amelia asked, leaning forward. Voldemort blaming Dumbledore for a death? Wasn't that the flip of the wand?
"He didn't say, only that she was his and Dumbledore took her away" Hermione shook her head. "He went crazy and was rambling, waving Creevey's wand around and screaming. We didn't get much out of him after that." She forced herself to not share a look with her brother, this was the start. Dumbledore already showed a part of his volatile and distrustful personality to many witnesses, including those who worked in the law department, who could use the memory against him. And it just coincided with their plan to start pointing towards the awful things Dumbledore has done, starting with Myrtle's death. They could already see Amelia running all the information through her head, eyes narrowed as she tried to slot the pieces into place.
"Okay, continue." Amelia nodded, but she sent a pointed glance towards Dion and Lucius. If anyone had told her a few years ago, that she would one day, be working with Malfoy and his associates she would've had them admitted to the Janus Thickey Ward. But they had proved themselves to be way above the rumours since she worked with them on cases in the DMLE and worked together on the Board of Governors. She knew if she wanted to dig into Dumbledore's past to see if there was anything to what Voldemort's memory said to the children, she would need the help of those she could trust. But this could wait until this case was solved, she looked expectantly at the children, they were extremely put together. Using all their pureblood training to get through the reliving of their trauma, although she hoped that once this was over they would be able to let themselves react and possibly get therapy if needed.
"That was when he switched to Parseltongue," Harry sighed, "He called for Aziza. She came out of the mouth of the Salazar statue's mouth."
"It was terrifying." Theo shuddered, "She was massive."
"Thankfully, Hermione likes to read, and Harry has an affection and affinity with snakes." Draco shot them a grateful look.
"They both yelled at us to close our eyes and stand as still as possible." Luna sighed tiredly.
"It's because of them that we are alive." Daphne agreed, wincing as her Mother's grip on her hands tightened.
"All we could hear after that was them talking in Parseltongue, we couldn't understand it obviously, but they sounded like they were pleading." Pansy
"We wanted to convince him not to hurt us," Harry explained, "And it sort of worked when he heard us talking to him in Parseltongue, he stopped for a moment and was murmuring to himself."
"He went still. Like he couldn't believe what he was hearing." Hermione nodded, "He was talking about how she was taken from him before that could happen, that it must be a 'secondary branch' it sounded like he thought we were from a cousin bloodline."
"While he was talking about that but wasn't acknowledging us, he seemed in control again, calm but confused." Harry took back over, "He wasn't insane or out of control. But then just like that, he blinked, shouted no she is gone! and somehow was even crazier than before. But he didn't order the Aziza to hurt any of us. He told her to go up the Chamber entrance again."
"That's when we tried to explain to him that the rest of the students were still in the school. That him trying to kill Dumbledore would only hurt all the students. We had to try and keep the Aziza down in the Chamber." Hermione added. "We tried to talk to her directly and he just laughed and said she was under his control, she would only listen to the Heir of Slytherin and he ended up having to warp his core magic around her because she had sensed us in the school."
"So he was controlling the Basilisk like Mr Creevey?" Amelia questioned feeling the exhaustion seeping in, sighing when the Riddle Heir's nodded. Well, it kind of explained why the children had the last name Riddle and not LeClair. Magical inherited names were chosen when the child was conceived, so if any talents were passed down the dominant magical's line, the child had their name or else could lose their talent. Although if the submissive magical line had a gift, magic still blessed them with the dominant magical name. Unspeakables were still trying to study Magic and Magical lines to understand how it worked. But if they wanted to keep any of the gifts from the Slytherin line, or even wanted the Slytherin Lordship after their seventeenth birthday then they needed to keep the Riddle name and the only name they would be able to take would be the Slytherin name or the Magical name of a dominate soulmate or soul bonded.
"That was when Harry made his move." Hermione sighed, leaning over to grip her brother's hand tightly.
"What did you do?" Dion asked sharply, his face white like he already knew it would be something stupid, Cassiopeia looking between her twins desperately.
"He taunted him."
Hey Darlings, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know!
Now for those who have asked, there are still a few more chapters to go before this year is over. There will be a third-year to follow. When that time has come, I will add an extra chapter to this story after the final chapter to announce it and the title.
Also, the reason I have a -Interview Continued- despite it breaking up the chapter is because the next chapter shall follow Dumbledore after he leaves the Hospital Wing before jumping back to continue the interview. (I will have a subheading of Dumbledore/Interview Continued again)