Mr Filch
"Is something wrong Minerva?" said Dumbledore to Minerva McGonagall who had barged into his office with the palest visage ever.
"Albus! Albus! You won't believe it! You must see it!" she said, panting heavily as she used her hands as pillars on the desk to keep standing in front of the old man, who was reading a suspiciously pink book.
Dumbledore stood up gracefully and followed the anxious Transfiguration teacher to her office. There he saw the most shocking thing he had ever seen in his lengthy life.
"Lily?" exclaimed Dumbledore.
"Hi Albus." said Lily shyly.
"We must get Moriarty." said Dumbledore.
"Really!?" said McGonagall.
"Could you be kind enough and fetch Professor Moriarty at this ungodly hour, my dear Minerva?" said Dumbledore.
When McGonagall rushed to Moriarty's office on the second floor, Dumbledore conjured a sofa and sat in front of the woman who was apparently resurrected from the dead.
"How?" asked Albus in awe.
"I don't know, Albus. I was pulled out whenever I was. I heard a penetrating voice. I had no control. I had to obey. It was … It was like that voice… It couldn't belong to a human being. I couldn't understand it yet I could feel it move me. It could easily say not be and I wouldn't be." said Lily Potter slowly.
Dumbledore simply stared at her. Such magic was unknown to him. And it was trusting him.
Moriarty arrived with Minerva a couple of minutes later. He immediately waved his wand and offered Lily some fresh fragrant coffee. Lily drank it eagerly.
"I believe you were resurrected by a school girl, weren't you?" asked Moriarty. Dumbledore and McGonagall looked at him oddly.
"Yes. How did you know?" asked Lily.
"We have met many before. I know her. You should have already guessed that she is not just a school girl. She is a very dangerous, genderless individual who used to be called John Dee. I will tell you all about her, but we need to make things clear. She has chosen you for a reason. Did she tell you anything?" said Moriarty.
"She didn't say much. Oh but there is something important you should know. Albus, before I forget, Orion Black was there." Lily said anxiously.
"Don't worry about Orion Black, my dear. He is the least of our problems." said Moriarty.
"What if Orion convinces her to help Voldemort?" she said urgently.
"I don't think Eve Morningstar wants to help anyone. Voldemort to her is like a vermin she can squash anytime she wants. Just tell me what she said or even better show me."
"Show you?" asked Lily.
"Yes, show me. I have a pensive in which you can insert your memory of the event." said Moriarty.
"I can do that," said Lily.
Moriarty waved his wand and a book appeared in front of them.
"All you have to do is to touch it while you recall the memory." he explained.
Lily Potter slowly and hesitantly put her hand on the book. It shimmered slightly.
"Good. Now let's see."
Moriarty opened the book and disappeared. After a few minutes he came back.
"She really didn't say much. That doesn't make much sense."
Moriarty stood up and looked at Lily with concern.
"I believe Lucinda and Harry are with Sirius in his office. Would you like to meet them?" he asked.
Lily nodded eagerly.
"Please!" she said.
Moriarty took her hand and helped her stand up. Dumbledore led the way with his illuminated want as others followed. Sirius's office was closed. Minerva knocked on the door. Dumbledore seemed reluctant to follow them in once the door was opened.
"Come in."
Sirius and Lucinda were wasted while Harry next to them sat soberly.
"Ah Jim. You're here." said Lucinda as she stood up and approached him with unbalanced paces.
The stench of alcohol made Moriarty frown as she hugged him and put her chin on his shoulder. Her perfume mixed with the smell of alcohol was making him nauseous.
"You're drinking again?" he said softly.
"Just for tonight. I have barely had two bottles." said Lucinda without any pause which was impressive for anyone who had just emptied two bottles of fire whiskey.
"Ah, I see." said Moriarty.
"Hello, Lils." said Lucinda, not letting Moriarty detach himself from her.
"Hi Lucinda." said Lily amiably.
Harry suddenly jumped from his seat. The chair swung and fell on the ground.
"Mom?" exclaimed Harry incredulously. He could not believe his eyes. His eyes moistened and he began to cry as his mother hugged her. Sirius saw Lily hug Harry and suddenly I hit him; This was no dream. This was the real Lily hugging Harry.
"Lily." he cried happily.
Lily drew Sirius into the hug and suddenly did something no one was expecting but Albus Dumbledore, who sighed sadly.
Lily grabbed Sirius's head and kissed him right in front of Harry. McGonagall was surprised, Moriarty's mouth fell open and Sirius did nothing but experience the moment with horror.
"I think Lily should…" said Dumbledore.
"No, she shouldn't," said Sirius suddenly. His voice cracked as Lily hugged him more.
"Harry deserves to know." insisted Dumbledore.
"Albus, you don't know what…" said Lucinda now that she had realised what was about to happen.
"You have destroyed Harry, Dumbledore." said Moriarty sadly. "You have condemned him to the harshest realities."
"What realities?" said Harry as he left his mother's arms.
"I was truly surprised to find out myself, Harry. For a boy as smart as you, It shouldn't be difficult to figure out." said Moriarty as Lucinda refused to let him go. She was now clenching her fingers into his neck.
"Aw… Think Harry! Think! You were always good with seeing things as they are. That's how you have always adapted yourself best to the situation and realities around you." said Moriarty.
It didn't need much thinking. Harry could already guess. The problem was not his brain but his wild emotions. A part of him was screaming to deny everything as another part felt drowned by guilt. Harry had always been an unwanted child. A boy who was not supposed to exist.
"Harry they didn't know." said Lucinda mentally, begging Harry with her eyes. "Please understand! Your Mum doesn't even know now. Sirius just found out today. We were going to tell you."
"What's the truth, Harry?" said Moriarty cooly.
"I'm not who I thought I was, I'm… I'm not a Potter." said Harry to everyone's surprise.
"Do you think knowing that will change you?" asked Moriarty.
"No." said Harry coldly "But it makes me feel empty. It makes me feel sad that James Potter died for Sirius Black's bastard son."
Harry wanted to storm out but he remembered his mother was there and he didn't know if she would be there permanently.
Lily sat on the ground and began to cry silently.
"Don't call yourself bastard, Harry!" shouted Sirius angrily.
He sat next to Lily and held her hand.
"How could you two do this to James?" said Professor McGonagall angrily. "to James, who was your closest friend?"
"I think we have a bit of misunderstanding here. First of all I'm not your pillow to squash Lucinda. Please let me go. You're about to give me an erection." he said angrily. Lucinda let go of him. She looked at Moriarty's pants.
"I gave you an erection." said Lucinda passively.
"Yes I know." said Moriarty indignantly as he was covering himself with his hands.
"As I was saying, we have to really talk about it. Mrs. Potter, why did you and Mr. Potter senior marry so early?"
"Well, I fell pregnant." she said quietly.
"Were you and Mr Potter in a relationship then?" asked Moriarty.
"James loved me," said Lily firmly.
"But you didn't, did you? You kept blocking him."
"James knew. He … he loved me and I came to love him afterwards. He knew I loved Sirius but I didn't have the courage to tell him, because he was so into Marlane McKinnon." explained Lily "James wanted to do need a favor by going out with me so that Sirius would eventually notice me. Sirius did notice me at some point but he couldn't ask me out because I was his best friend's girlfriend. I don't know what happened, but one night at a Slug party on Halloween we drank too much and the next morning I woke up next to Sirius in the Prefects' Bathroom.
We tried to ignore it, but I was pregnant already. I couldn't tell him because the day after, Marlane made their relationship official. I was so angry because he didn't even go for Lucinda who I could see him being with. When James found out, he suggested that we married. I agreed and we did it a few months later. Aunt Dorea, God bless her soul, was so kind to me…"
"Aunt Dorea?" asked Moriarty.
"She told me to call her that," said Lily.
"I see."
Moriarty didn't ask any more questions and simply looked at Dumbledore and Minerva.
"Well… I guess I was wrong about you, Lily dear." said Minerva softly as she faced Sirius and continued. "You must take some responsibility, Sirius. You will make sure Harry and Lily are covered."
"Of course, Minerva." said Lucinda. "We will make sure they can have a comfortable life in House Black."
"Will you accept Lily as this second wife then?" asked McGonagall pointedly.
"That's up to Lily to decide." said Lucinda frostily "They have my blessings."
"You married Lucinda?" asked Lily happily.
"We are marrying soon after Harry comes back home," said Sirius.
"Would you mind me as your bridesmaid, Lucinda?" said Lily.
"Of course not, we'd love to have you, darling."
Harry was baffled by what was happening here. Couldn't they see how wrong it all was? Were Moriarty, Lucinda and Sirius planning to hide the fact that his mother was Orion Black's illegitimate daughter for ever? Would they even tell Lily Potter? Would he have to hide this gruesome fact from his mother?
Once Harry slid back into Lily's embrace, Lucinda sighed out of relief.
Harry tried to avoid thinking about the fact that his mother was also his aunt or that his father was also his uncle. It made him feel extremely disturbed. It was not like they had done that intentionally but even then he couldn't digest it right now. He used his Occlumency to block all the thoughts of such nature.
"Well, Harry, The glass is half full." said Dumbledore. "A day ago you had neither of your parents but now you have them both." he tried to smile cheerfully.
"I don't know if either of has thought of this but we can't exactly have a dead woman hovering around." said a voice behind Dumbledore gruffly. "According to law we have to send her back."
"Please shut up, Argus." said Moriarty to the caretaker who emerged from the door.
"Butt isn't that the protocol?" said Filch.
"Says the man who never believed in them." snarked Moriarty.
"I wouldn't mind them now." said Filch. "But let me break one today, I hereby declare to be the founder of Hogwarts, Salazar Slytherin."
Moriarty looked at him in awe as the others did. To Harry Argus Filch had finally snapped; Apparently, Dumbledore had the same idea.
"Argus, are you alright?" he asked cautiously.
"That's how you want to play? You are not the founder of Hogwarts, you dimwit." to everyone's surprise Moriarty continued, "You are one of the founders of Hogwarts."
"What?" everyone said.
Minerva McGonagall collapsed on a chair nearby.
"The world is going crazy." she said, holding her head in her hands.
"The world is crazy, Professor. I'm sorry that you realised that just now." said Filch. "I was right about that slimy slug and I'm right now. I told you months ago."
"And I am grateful for your insight."
"I think you and Moriarty have gone mad," said Sirius. "I'm not letting you harm Lily.
"I'm not going to hurt her. I just reminded him what the protocol was, by the way I can prove my claim. I can do anything I could do then." said Filch. "And there's a portrait of me in Dumbledore's office, but I've hidden it with Fidelius. Now that you know the secret you can check it out."
"What's my name?" he continued as he faced Harry. His question felt odd.
"You're Argus Filch." said Harry confidently.
Filch smiled.
"Being a Parceltongue doesn't prove anything." said Dumbledore.
"First of all, I'm not a Parceltongue but a Parcelmouth. The first term is the language. Also why would I want to lie about being the most detested Wizard in our history?"
"But you're a Squib!" said McGonagall.
"I know. I'm very good at playing squib." said Filch as he drew out a wand from his sleeve and turned Harry's tie green.
"You should have listened to my hat, boy." said Filch.
Harry then knew Filch was telling the truth. Filch had the same voice as the hat. Harry had always dismissed the fact as a coincidence but now he knew it wasn't much of a coincidence.
"You really are Slytherin! You mean bastard!" said Harry.
"Language, Harry!" said Lily disapprovingly.
"Sorry, mum." said Harry instinctively. A drop off tear escaped his left eye.
"I understand that your hatred towards me, boy." said Filch. "But that shouldn't stop you from thinking about other things. Lily Potter cannot go around, announcing that she's back."
"You revealed who you are, just to say this?" said Moriarty.
"No, actually, I am waiting for them to ask how come you knew I am Salazar Slytherin." said Filch mischievously.
"Well that's easy," said Harry. "He's Egbert the Egregious. He told me the first week of school."
Minerva McGonagall was too shocked to pay attention, but Dumbledore looked at Moriarty with respect.
Slytherin froze and gritted his teeth.
"You had already told them?" he told Jim Moriarty who just raised his shoulders.
"Have I ever told you that I have a daughter?" said Dumbledore.
"What?" exclaimed Minerva.
"We could work with that!" said Filch. "If James is ready to bend the rules a bit, we could keep her in your … headquarters or whatever until I make you a Potion that fixes her appearance. She will have to take it for some time. After drinking the first batch she can be introduced to the world."
"I'm ready to take the risk," said Moriarty.
"Then if you excuse me, I have a recipe to find."
Filch left immediately without any further notice.
"He means well," said Moriarty. "If I told you his real story you would understand."
Dumbledore looked at Moriarty with admiration and nodded.
"What?" said Moriarty annoyedly.
"Nothing. It's just my honor to be in the presence of the man who defeated Emeric the Evil." responded Dumbledore.
Moriarty looked at him uneasily and sat on the sofa he conjured a second later.
Lucinda sat on the handle of the sofa where Moriarty's hand lay, successfully squashing it painfully.
"Ay… look where you sit, silly girl!" he said.
"Sorry. I was overthinking things." she apologised.
"Harry, you should go get some sleep. Bring Hermione with yourself tomorrow." said Lucinda. "I promise your mother won't go anywhere."
**LP**
The next day while everyone was busy with breakfast, Harry took Hermione and Ginny to Sirius's office. Where they saw his mother safe and sound. Moriarty explained how they had found her and that a woman called Eve Morningstar was behind it. Harry had already told Hermione about her briefly, Ginny , however, had been kept oblivious to the fact.
"But how?" asked Ginny.
"Dark magic combined with a very dangerous piece of knowledge." said Moriarty darkly. "I'm afraid I cannot explain how Eve Morningstar did it but she has access to a branch of magic called Necromancy."
Hermione and Sirius shivered.
"Now, your average necromancer cannot bring people back to life. They are usually shadows of their old selves; Morningstar, however, is neither average or ordinary. She is not even human. Horace Slughorn took a very dark object from this place to her last night. She, of course, tested it immediately. Hoping to give Harry mixed feelings about fighting her. She has successfully done so, but no worries. I never intended him to fight her."
"I think Harry should." said Lily to Harry's surprise.
"Beg your pardon?" said Moriarty.
"I saw her. She is very powerful and when I thought about her words last night, I decided that I do not wish to live in a world ruled by a super wizard or witch like her, so I have decided to help you fight her. If Harry wants his children to be free, he should do the same." said Lily.
"Do you know why she brought you back, Mrs. Potter?" asked Moriarty softly.
"I believe she wanted to give our side doubt," said Lily confidently.
"You are correct. I think she wants to use you as a distraction and at the same time prove her own righteousness. It seems to me that she thinks, regardless of your orientation towards her cause, she will benefit from your presence amongst her enemies."
"I can see why," said Hermione. "I was afraid of what she was going to do. Harry didn't tell me much, but I always thought it was something nefarious. Now I know that she wants to bring back dead people who are apparently not very scary."
"We can see that Lily Potter is not a dangerous individual indeed. You would have expected her to be a demonic version of Lily Potter; However, once you saw her you realised she is quite normal. That is Morningstar's purpose; to normalise what she's about to do." said Moriarty.
"So that's why Mr. Filch wanted to kill me?" said Lily. Lily still couldn't believe Filch was Salazar Slytherin.
"Exactly! He really didn't want to kill you, of course. He just wanted to make sure we understand what the consequences would be if you were exposed, because now that you're here, others could be here as well. We don't want anyone to join their side because they want their loved ones back."
"You might ask, what's wrong with people coming back? The problem is that all wizards of all times will be coming back. This is going to turn into a war very soon, and the muggle will have lost their lives as the first casualties. If her plan works perfectly no wizard will ever die again, turning this war into an endless war where we will be fighting each other forever. And I'm not sure if it is just the wizards and witches who are coming back."
Something in Moriarty's words made them shiver.
"Make no mistake. Once the time comes, her followers will step in. Hopefully we will have stopped her by then."
He stood up.
"You children should get to your classes, just as I have to do so." he said and excused Harry, Hermione and Ginny out.
"Thank you for sending them away," said Lily politely.
"The answer to your question, Mrs. Potter, is NO." said Moriarty firmly as he hovered his wand over his desk to put the parchments on it in a neat stack.
"I haven't asked anything yet."
"I already know what your question will be. I am a very capable Legilimens and you aren't very good with hiding your thoughts." he said with a kind smile. He obviously didn't want to humiliate her.
"Why won't you?" she asked.
"My will has nothing to do with this. I cannot send you back, or rather I can but it will be for naught. You will return to our world as the other world will refuse to take you back until the Horcrux that was used to summon you is destroyed. Only then you may go back. There is, of course, the Veil of Gods, but that would be the same. You will be sent back."
Lily looked down so Moriarty wouldn't see her tears.
"I know you miss your husband, but please endure for Harry's sake. Your husband is now eternally young and unaffected by time. He will miss you but it will be worth it. He understands."
"You cannot die, too," said Lily abruptly.
"I cannot, That's my curse to bear." he agreed.
"Are you human? Is Morningstar human?" said Lily.
"I am. Morningstar … I'm afraid she is not. She used to be a divine being, but when she sacrificed her heart for her plans by turning it into a Philosopher's Stone, she became more mortal, more human like if you will."
"So… is she the Devil?" Lily smiled shyly.
"You mean like Lucifer? The enemy of man as christians believe?" said Moriarty, clearly entertained by her question. "No, she's not that, not an angel or a feisty ball of fire, I'm afraid. She is a Magus. One of the few old beings still roaming around. I cannot tell you much about them now, but one day you will know."
He hooked his fingers together and leaned towards her.
"The Bible is not the most credible source when it comes to magic. The word Morningstar for us has a very different meaning. By the way, Morningstar was also used to describe Jesus."
"You are quite familiar with muggle beliefs." said Lily as she watched him lean back on his chair.
"I've always been interested in muggles. They as you have seen yourself, as a muggle-born, have an enormous capacity to surprise you." Moriarty laughed softly. "Now if you excuse me, I have a very challenging class to handle this morning. Shall we continue later?"
"Of course." said Lily politely. She left his office via the floo network. When she got to Sirius's room she simply sat on the bed and began to think. She could feel that something was very wrong.
**HP**
The news of Death Eaters' attack spread like wildfire. Hogwarts was once again proven to be a safe haven to some and a hazardous environment to others. The fact that Death Eaters had penetrated their defenses made students worried, but they were happy that the enemy hadn't been able to cause much damage other than giving Bill Weasley some nasty looking scars and hurting Nearly-Headless Nick's pride, who had futilely tried to stop the intruders.
The Ministry was calling it a success; A very well executed operation that had led to the arrest of the Legendary Pair.
Hermione happily surfed through the articles. One of them by Rita Skeeter caught her eyes.
Rita was writing much better. Hermione smiled as she kept reading, suddenly her smile faded.
"What's wrong, Hermione? You look really scary." said Neville cheerfully.
"Nothing." she said as she laid the newspaper down.
"Rita is writing again?" said Ron. He picked up the newspaper and looked at the article.
"She wrote about your mother," said Ron somberly. "How dare she?"
He read the newspaper carefully and stopped dead. They couldn't see Ron freeze behind the newspaper.
... Madam Lestrange has agreed to reveal to authorities who Tom Riddle is and what are his connections to Death Eaters in order to get a lighter sentence…
Ron reached for his drink and gulped it down in one go. Everyone looked at him oddly but they said nothing.
Harry moved uncomfortably as Hermione began communicating with him mentally.
"Bellatrix is going to tell them about my father."
Suddenly an exponential vibration took over Hermione and she began to shake madly. Suddenly she fell on the ground and something in her pocket exploded.
All Harry could do was to stop the flying shrapnel. He watched in horror as Hermione's body went limp.
The first to kneel next to Hermione wasn't Harry or Ginny but Professor Moriarty.
He sat next to her and began chanting in a language Harry couldn't understand.
"Hashem, I ask you to be mortals' magen." Harry heard him whisper desperately. Whatever he said was useless as Hermione didn't move.
"It's over now," said Moriarty losing all his hope.
Suddenly, the air around them became heavier. Harry could feel something evil in the air, a force that was making him suffocate. His magic reacted and suddenly he felt his hands and spine go cold.
Hermione suddenly opened her eyes and gazed into Moriarty's horrified eyes. Her eyes became unnaturally gold for a few seconds. Her scars disappeared and all the blood disappeared. A few yards away Draco Malfoy fell on the ground as blood covered him instead.
"Draco!" screamed Hermione. She stood up swiftly and ran toward him and put her hand on his heart, but this time Harry could see her fail. He knew the scars were so lethal that they could have killed her. If somehow they had been transferred to Draco Malfoy. There was no way she could heal him.
Hermione was crying over Draco's dead body. She snatched his hair and screamed
"Come back!"
Draco didn't move. He remained there dead and motionless.
Hermione pushed her magic. She pushed it to the extreme. She was ready to give her own life to save the life she had taken away from her cousin.
Moriarty moved forward to stop her but froze once he reached them.
Draco moved slightly. Harry's jaw fell down.
Moriarty kneeled next to Draco and began repeating the same chant. This time it worked. Draco sat up.
"Both of you are going to hospital." Moriarty said as he disregarded their protests and took them to the infirmary. Harry and Ginny followed them worriedly.
Madam Pomfrey examined both thoroughly as Ginny and Harry watched.
"Thank you for being responsible and bringing them here, Professor." she as she forced her new patients to stay in bed. "There are some Dark effects on them."
"I will send a few potions to clear any side effects. They should be totally fine by tomorrow."
He then bid her well and took Harry and Ginny out.
"It's not wise to be there now," he warned them.
"What happened to Hermione?" asked Ginny frantically.
"I think Harry can help us figure that out," said Moriarty "Was Hermione carrying something on herself recently, something unusual I mean."
"Nothing unusual." said Harry, but then he remembered the Dark Detector "at least not recently. She had been carrying a Dark Detector since we came to school."
Moriarty immediately knew what he was talking about. Dumbledore had brought a very unique Dark Detector to Hogwarts. A device that he had no reason to bring here unless he was looking for something as unique.
"Albus gave it to her?" he asked.
"Yes," said Harry. "He gave to her that day we were called to his office to talk with you and Lucinda."
Moriarty could recall the encounter. He had been suspicious of the nature of such a device and once Harry had told him about Horcruxes unintentionally, his suspicions were confirmed. What he had been unaware of was the bearer of the said device.
Why would Dumbledore give Hermione Granger a device that would self destruct by the end of the year? Unless… it wasn't Dumbledore who had tempered with the Dark Detector.
"Who knew about it?" he asked softly.
"Lucinda knew, a few Order members probably knew or had seen it…" Harry's voice trailed off "And Ori- Slughorn."
"Slughorn?" exclaimed Moriarty.
"It was originally his. He gave it to Dumbledore, and helped him to bring it to the Order's Headquarters." explained Harry.
"He did, didn't he?" said Moriarty bitterly. "But why would Slughorn do it? He couldn't have possibly predicted this outcome."
He looked keenly at Harry's ashamed face.
"I think you have something to tell me," he said.
Harry nodded.
"Miss Weasley, are you alright?" asked Moriarty as she saw her shivering.
"No, I'm not alright! Not once… not once we get a year in which a teacher of this school doesn't try to kill us." she was rasping.
"I understand your distaste toward Headmaster's poor choice of instructors, Miss Weasley, but we shouldn't forget that Professor Slughorn came here for this very purpose."
"To kill Hermione?" Ginny asked him.
"Among other things," said Moriarty as he took something from his pocket. It was his tiny skull. He looked at it briefly and then put it back in his pocket. Harry knew he had received a message from his department.
"Miss Weasley, If you please, go to your tower and tell everyone they are both Okay." said Moriarty "Mr Potter come to my office. I am testing these," he showed Harry fragments of the Dark Detector in his hand. "I might need your assistance."
Harry rushed after him as Moriarty kept pacing at an incredible speed. Once he entered his office, he closed the door and tapped his wand on the bookcase on the wall. The bookcase split in half and like a door opened, revealing Moriarty's real office.
Unlike his public office the hidden office had not wasted a single inch of space. The walls were covered by various items on which were labels describing their purpose. There was a beautiful doll which Harry tried to touch but Moriarty caught his hand in time.
"Do not touch things you see here." he warned Harry.
"What was that?" Harry asked Moriarty as they passed by a giant taxidermied bear.
"A cursed doll. It impersonates you and never leaves your side. It's harmless at first but then it starts poisoning your mind with very dark thoughts. In two months you will have yourself killed." Moriarty explained as he grabbed a very large device and put it on a desk nearby without knocking anything down.
"Now this device… is quite interesting. It can measure magical resonance with great accuracy and is very easy to work with. The only issue is that you need two people to operate it, unless if you're Orion Black."
He handed Harry a metal tablet and opened a hatch on the device. He put the fragments into the hatch and closed the lid.
"Tap on the red dots once they appear on the tablet. I need to do the same on my tablet. The difference between the taps will give us a very clear magical signature."
"How can this be accurate if it needs us to operate it?" asked Harry.
"Our brains do not need magic to work. This is a method that requires little magical interference."
Harry and Moriarty patiently tapped the tiny red dots that would appear from time to time on their tablets. After thirty minutes Moriarty asked Harry to stop.
"Now we can wait in my office as the device turns the data into a readable graph."
They sat in Moriarty's public office as the device was working.
"Harry, did Hermione heal Draco this year?" asked Moriarty. There was no suspicion or accusation in his voice.
"I dueled him in a bathroom. Malfoy got hurt badly and Hermione saved him. I have no idea how she found us."
"Did Slughorn find out?"
"Yes, he did." said Harry sadly.
"It's not your fault, Harry" said Moriarty calmly. "He was already suspecting her. That's why he wanted to poison you guys. He probably was testing if she wouldn't be hurt by the poison and if she could heal you, just like she did with Draco."
"There's something I don't understand. Why was Draco hurt instead of Hermione? He was far away." said Harry.
The young professor smiled. "That's a very good question, Harry. Hermione heals Draco, but at a price. Once Draco dies all of his magic and remaining life force is transferred to Hermione. She can at any time take his life if she truly wants it."
"So it's like she's investing," said Harry.
"Precisely! It's not just healing though, she can invest her magic in people. It will weaken her for sometime, but it will be worthed." Moriarty told Harry as he poured some tea for Harry.
"She healed Malfoy again." said Harry.
"She did," said Moriarty grimly. "However, Draco might have lost some of his magic. It may affect his performance and future."
"So Hermione can technically transfer people's life force to herself?"
"Practically, Harry, practically. She can essentially suck a person's life out of them by touch, even if she doesn't invest in them. The more she does it, the easier it becomes."
Suddenly Harry felt pieces of the puzzle fall into place.
"That's how Morgana destroyed Pompeii!" exclaimed Harry.
"Exactly Harry. Back then, however, she wasn't Morgana Le Fay back then, Morningstar was a man known as Yehudah."
"What?"
"It's an Hebrew name. It's Latin equivalent is Judas." said Moriarty.
Hadn't he heard that name somewhere? Harry knew he had heard it before.
"Who was this Yehuda?" asked Harry.
"A very evil man. He found a young man capable of doing what Miss Riddle can do and stayed close to him. Eventually, Yehuda realised that he cannot use him for his nefarious purposes unless he could fully activate his ability. In order to do so he had him killed brutally. Once he died his powers were activated and he came back to life like many who he had saved from death died."
"Is he still alive?" asked Harry.
"I do not know, I met him only a few times after the incident," said Moriarty. "After that no one met him. He vanished. Never in my life have I lost someone's track like I lost him. I suspect that he is in other realms." Moriarty coughed heavily.
"Anyway, he became much less important as Yehuda discovered another way to bring back the dead. The man who I told you was called Yeshu. In his grave was found nothing but a small stone. It was very much like a toe. Yehuda was the first to see it and he immediately knew what it was. Yeshu had accidentally created a Philosopher's Stone despite his efforts to reject the countless life forces coming to him. The original hosts were already dead so they accumulated in his toe and turned it into an indestructible crystal.
Yehuda who had the same power as Yeshu, now new a way to resurrect the generations without sacrificing his own body entirely. Only one part was enough. He worked on it for a couple of decades and finally found the solution; a Philosopher's Stone that had lives of thousands stored within.
I was too late to catch up, therefore once I reached there the ritual had been completed. I barely avoided being hit by the burning ash that destroyed Pompeii.
I searched for years until I found him. This time Yehuda had chosen to be a woman called Morgana. I needed help so I made a king for that land. I claimed to be Morgana's stepson who wished to stop her."
"How come you chose the name Merlin?" asked Harry.
"Oh, I sometimes choose names that are related to the sea as I was born next to it. It reminds me of a short good time I had as a child." Moriarty smiled sadly. "I have done a lot of farming, sailing and fishing. In fact I pretended to be a mere fisherman to get close to Yeshu. One of the rare times Miss Morningstar and I have ever spent a long period of time together without ripping each other apart. Back then I had no idea what she was planning to do."
"So you met there for the first time?" asked Harry.
"You could say. I had known of her existence but as Yehuda, I failed to recognise the nature of the being in front of me."
"Is she even human?" asked Harry.
"Now she is something like a human. However, she is of a different caliber," said Moriarty sipping his tea. "Before she lost her heart she of a race that had been the ultimate enemy to our kind, both magical and non-magical."
"Why does she want to bring everyone back?"
"I have given up on figuring that out. I haven't got a good idea why, but I know she's determined."
Even though Harry could feel there was something Moriarty wasn't telling him, Harry didn't inquire any further. Moriarty went back to his private office or as he called it "stash" and retrieved the results.
"Harry, I must say I'm really disturbed by how capable your grandfather is. His spell crafting is quite unique and top-notch."
He sat next to him and showed him three graphs and a few charts. He pointed at one of the graphs
"This one is prevents functionality. The Dark Detector could not work properly, so even if you get really close to the Horcrux it won't work as it should, instead it will send a warning to the caster. That's how Orion knew where the Horcrux was. This one," he pointed at the second graph below, "is an eavesdropping enchantment. He has been tracking her and listening to her. This," he pointed at the last graph "is the nasty piece of work that almost killed Hermione Riddle and Draco Malfoy. It was added two weeks ago."
"Can Orion spy on us through these fragments?" asked Harry worriedly.
"No he can't. The spell works only when all the pieces are together. These spells are already fading away."
"Do we know where the next Horcrux is?"
Moriarty didn't answer immediately. He took the graphs and put them on his desk. They disappeared seconds later.
"Dumbledore will be tracking them down. I have little knowledge of Voldemort's personality and history and that makes me an ill fit trophy seeker. Let's hope that Orion doesn't know more than us."
Half an hour later, Harry went back to the infirmary as Moriarty went to the Ministry via the Floo network.
Hermione was annoyed by Madam Pomfrey's efforts to keep her in bed. She was sitting on the side, reading a book.
"Hey Harry." said Ginny as she kissed his cheek.
"Potter! Who will you be adding to your harem next? Luna Lovegood?" asked Malfoy bitterly.
"I didn't know you were a modernist, Draco?" said Hermione without looking at him.
"I am not. However, I'm proud to announce that I shall have a monogamous relationship." he declared loudly.
"With Astoria Greengrass? Haven't you been with her sister?" said Hermione calmly.
Draco went pale and said nothing.
"Don't be so holier-than-thou, Draco." said Hermione with a tired, bored voice. Harry couldn't stop being reminded of Voldemort.
"We did some testing on the … that thing you had in your pocket Hermione." said Harry, grabbing her attention. "It was hexed by Slughorn."
Perhaps he should have told Ginny about Orion Black. This was going to be complicated.
"Slughorn!?" exclaimed Ginny and Draco.
"Oh, yeah. He ran away last night. A few other crazy things happened as well. You only found out about one this morning." said Harry.
"He wanted to kill Hermione? But why?" said Draco. "If he is an agent of the Dark Lord that's not what he would do."
"Um… He's an agent of someone much more dangerous than Voldemort. I'll tell you once we are somewhere safe." said Harry "Anyway, Slughorn put a deadly explosive hex on your stuff and ran for it last night. Moriarty would have arrested him if his master hadn't come to his rescue. I thought Ginny had told you, Slughorn was behind it."
"I thought it could wait until he was out of here." said Ginny.
"Ginny, Malfoy will be spending the summer in House Black. Do you really think we can avoid him all summer?"
"I agree." said Hermione "Draco should know."
Suddenly Argus Filch entered the infirmary. "Look at them wasting time here," he said.
Filch called Madam Pomfrey and asked for a batch of cleaning potion.
"I've run out of stuff, Argus," she said. "I think you should go to Professor Slughorn."
"That old turd has left the castle. You're the only one who can give it to me." said Filch angrily. "Where can I get a potioneer competent enough to brew it for me? Snape is out of the castle. Slughorn is gone. You tell me Poppy!"
"I don't know, Argus. Go get it from Hogsmeade. I have got patients here. Out with you now."
Filch looked at Harry. His old eyes pierced him.
"I can help you Mr. Filch." said Harry
"Good. Come with me."
He dragged Harry out. Once no one was around to see them, his expression changed.
"Has your mother left for her new home?"
"I hope so." said Harry, hoping her mother was as far as possible from this weird old man.
"Sit." he ordered as he dragged a cauldron and put it in front of Harry.
"You will be starting a potion called Profondeur De Fusion, It will be used to change your mother's appearance. I will teach you how to make it so you can make sure it's not poisoned."
"Why don't you teach Sirius? Or ask Snape?" said Harry annoyedly.
"I don't trust your father with Potions and Snape… well let's not tell him who I am." said Filch. "I couldn't ask Merlin to do something so trivial, could I?"
"Merlin happens to be teaching here. What's your game, Slytherin?" said Harry sourly.
"Ah so you did know." Filch smiled. "I thought he had hidden that little fact from you. Why did you jump to his rescue last night."
Harry had messed up. He didn't say anything.
"Okay. I'm sure you've got your own reasons."
"Why are you here?" asked Harry.
Filch clucked "What do you mean, boy?"
"You came here fifty or forty years ago. What brought you here?" asked Harry.
"I see. You do indeed belong to my House." said Filch. "I came here … because a boy opened my chamber. I got here too late. He had already left the school and a girl had been murdered by my Basilisk which was supposed to protect Hogwarts from invaders. I stayed in case he'd come back or his son or daughter would come to Hogwarts to finish the job. I was about to leave when you came. Once again my Basilisk began attacking people in the same manner. Oddly they began with my cat, which I assume was an accidental victim. I didn't dare contact Fila (my Basilisk that you murdered) because I didn't have any suspects. I had Peeves follow you around. He helped a lot really. I accidentally let a book fall in front of your friend Miss Granger. I hoped she would eventually figure it out, but she was petrified to my horror. I still didn't go after the snake, because I had to figure out who was doing it. Unfortunately, Basilisks aren't the smartest animals you can find. Any communication could be revealed to the enemy. I decided to kill the snake but you beat me to it." Filch smiled happily.
"Wasn't it your snake?" asked Harry.
"It was. However, you were my students. I would never choose my snake over my students."
Harry looked at the man, amazed how little his knowledge had been of Salazar Slytherin.
"Do you hate muggles?" Harry asked him softly.
"I used to. I hated them for their bigotry and destructiveness. They had little respect for nature, for themselves and their children. You cannot believe how many muggle-borns I had to save from their parents before they could burn them or drown them. Now, muggles have evolved. They have become much better. There are some bad ones out there, but I believe things are getting better for them. They no longer behead people like they did to poor Sir Nicolas." said Filch amused by Harry's surprised expression.
"That's why you faked being a squib?"
"Well, no one suspects a squib. James made proper documentation for me. I wanted to live sometime without magic while being around it to understand how real squibs feel. I must say, it is difficult yet very entertaining and it makes you more creative."
He pointed at the cauldron. "Add some water. A third of the capacity is enough."
Harry did that.
"Now bring it to boil. Use your wand."
Harry followed his instructions obediently.
"Good. Here is some cauliflower. Once you add it, stop the boiling process and let it cool down to 60 degrees Celsius. Then keep the temperature fixed."
The potion was more complex than Harry had thought. It was unlike any other thing he had brewed before. Filch brought two more cauldrons and asked Harry to make completely different things in them.
It took Harry four hours but eventually he was asked to stop.
"No one should know you can make this. This is like a family secret. The only person who can learn this is your child." said Filch as he put the potions away. "Set apart Merlin himself no one should know you are making this for your mother. Everyone thinks I am making it. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir." said Harry
"Good boy. Now, get out before I decide that you need some detention."
A/N: from now on this story is getting a bit more complex. If you think Salazar Slytherin being alive is strange wait for the other characters I have coming for you.
