Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

A/N: I seem to have acquired an overwhelmingly negative response to including the horcruxes, ergo; they won't be included. They didn't really fit in with my vision for this tale, anyway, but I'm glad that y'all could see that, too.

Dumbledore finishes the conversation, Jenn's brother, and a tidbit about the Kellerman family upcoming in this chapter.

Chapter Twenty: Theories and a Phone Call

Once Ron was caught up on the events of the previous night and that morning, and the sandwiches demolished, Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I believe Mr. Potter had requested information regarding Voldemort. I don't believe we should keep him waiting."

Jennifer looked smug. The old man seems to be getting the idea that we don't particularly like him. She had to swallow down a snicker, I'm sure it's a new experience for him.

Harry, however, merely nodded and motioned for Dumbledore to continue.

"Very well, you asked that I relay any information regarding Voldemort," Dumbledore sipped on a cup of tea, and Hermione flipped to a new page in her notebook. "I first met the boy who was to become Voldemort during the summer of 1938. Even then, he was a troubled boy who delighted in tormenting his tormentors. You see, he lived in a muggle orphanage…" He continued the rather depressing tale of Tom Riddle for quite some time. When he finally finished, all that remained of the tale was his previous downfall on Halloween of 1981. He didn't see the point in rehashing that part of the story, though, as they had already gone over it earlier that morning.

Hermione reread her notes while Allen and Jenn held a whispered conference across the room. Harry was just staring at the Headmaster as if the man had grown a third nose.

"Allen, I think it might be helpful to place a call to Chad," Jenn whispered in Allen's ear.

Allen shook his head, "Hon, I don't think your brother would be of much help in this."

"That's just because the two of you don't get along. Honestly, Al, I think we really could use his help."

"But, I thought that the old man there was our… connection into the mind of that Voldie-whatnot?"

Jenn scowled at her husband, "I don't trust him. I don't think he's a bad guy, that's not it, it's more that I get the sense that if he isn't cornered into giving away information, he won't do it."

"And what of today?"

"He's trying to make nice with Harry. He thinks he needs Harry in his little war, therefore he's trying – and failing, I might add – to get on Harry's good side. I don't believe for an instant that we're getting the whole story out of him."

Allen nodded, "I get the same feeling, but… Why Chad?"

"Because he's the best, and you know I'm not exaggerating. We'll need someone who will be able to predict what the great idiot will do, and like I said, I don't fully trust the old man."

Allen sighed, defeated. By now I ought to realize she's gonna get her way, come Hell or high water. "Fine. You're calling him, though."

Jenn smirked. "I will, don't you worry. Let's see…" she glanced at the clock on the microwave. "It's two-thirty now, which means it's only nine-thirty there… I know he has an hour lunch at noon their time."

"So call him at five."

"That's what I was getting at."

While Jenn and Allen were arguing about calling her brother, Remus had raised the question, "Now, you've covered that You-Know-Who was a right nasty git from the time he was a small child, and you've covered that it was him that cursed the DADA job at Hogwarts, but what I want to know is what happened to him when he tried to curse Harry?"

Sirius nodded in agreement. Ron was doing his level best to ignore the whole conversation, eating a doughnut with such determination that it looked as if he were afraid that it was going to run away without him.

"As there were no witnesses, at least, none that came forward regarding that incident, all we really have are some theories on what happened. The MLE –"

"Pardon?" Harry interrupted.

"The Magical Law Enforcement, Harry," Ron supplied around a mouthful of custard-filled pastry. "Comparable to your… whatzits… Please-men."

"Policemen, Ron," Hermione corrected absently.

Harry nodded and motioned for Dumbledore to continue.

"As I was saying, the MLE found traces of four killing curses, multiple shielding charms and various other curses and hexes used in dueling. There was also residue from an ancient bit of protection magic. With the evidence that had been collected from the scene, I put together a pet theory, if you will. Harry, your mother was Head Girl during her seventh year at Hogwarts for a reason – among other talents, she was particularly skilled at charms. It is my opinion that she either discovered or mutated that protection magic that I told you about and used it to protect you from all harm. When she died to protect you, it strengthened those protections to the point where the killing curse was unable to harm you."

Jenn snickered, "And just how do you know that it was a killing curse that he aimed at Harry?"

Dumbledore shook his head, "We don't know for certain, however it fits the evidence."

Allen spoke up, "And who was the other victim? You said that you believe no one else was there that night. You also said they found evidence of four killing curses. Harry's mum and dad are two of those, and if you're to be believed, Harry would have been the third. Who was the target of the fourth?"

Dumbledore blinked. The possibility that there had been someone else there that night hadn't occurred to him. He had assumed that James had likely ducked out of the way of the first attempt on his life, only to be struck by the second. Looking back on it, though, it made sense that there was another person there. And knowing how temperamental Tom Riddle was and is, it wasn't too far out of line to assume that the fourth person, whoever that person was, would have said or done something that angered Tom to the point he killed that other person before attempting to kill Harry. But, where was the body? If one assumed that there was someone else there that night, that Tom killed along with the Potters, then there had to have been another someone as well, someone to remove the body of that other person – the Dark Lord surely didn't do so.

"And what other evidence was gathered, sir? Is there any way we might be able to read the MLE reports from that night? Not meaning any disrespect, of course, but maybe we can catch something that others may have overlooked." Hermione looked up from her notes.

"There wasn't much other evidence to collect, Miss Granger. The house was in a shambles… It was pure good luck that we were able to locate as much information as we did. As far as seeing the reports… I don't believe it would be a good idea. Some of the included photographs are rather graphic."

"I think it would still be a good idea to look through it." Jenn said, agreeing with Hermione. Her tone of voice had the underlying steel in it that the Headmaster already knew meant trouble if he didn't give in.

Dumbledore sighed. "Very well. If you contact either Andromeda or Nymphadora Tonks, they should be able to get a copy of the file for you." Dumbledore stood, "And I must apologize, but it is getting late, and I must return to Hogwarts."

While the others were bidding the Headmaster goodbye, Jenn narrowed her eyes at the old man. Harry joined her. "Something occurred to him that he'd not thought of before."

"Caught that, did you?"

Jenn nodded, "Yeah. But he's not sharing… Wonder why he's so secretive?"

Harry shrugged, "Dunno, but it's right irritating, isn't it?"

"Certainly is." Jenn sighed, "I'm going to call my brother Chad this evening. See if maybe he wants to help us out a bit."

Harry quirked an eyebrow, "Thought he hated Allen, and vice-versa."

"They do, but I think we could benefit from Chad's skills. Wouldn't hurt to have an inside peek into Voldy-whozit's mind."

Harry scoffed, "I thought I had that last night."

Jenn smacked his shoulder, "Not like that! You know what I meant."

"Ow! No, actually, I don't have a clue."

"Oh, sorry. Thought I told you about Chad a time or two."

"Yeah, but they were all stories about how he and Allen don't get along."

"He's a profiler. He's in the US with our parents right now, New York."

"He's a what?"

"A profiler. He works with the police to track down the bad guys. Basically, he knows how their minds work, and can use that knowledge to predict their actions."

"Sounds interesting."

Jennifer nodded, "It is, but he hardly ever talks about his work. I find it fascinating, but I can see where he's coming from."

"Yeah, I suppose so. Living it, then having you question him about it?"

"Hey! I'm not that bad!"

Harry chuckled, "I guess not. If compared with the Spanish Inquisition, maybe."

"No one suspects the Spanish Inquisition!" Jenn laughed along with Harry. Allen just looked at them like they'd lost their minds.

Chad Thomas was having a completely boring, normal day. Though he was still paid for his time, he hadn't had to work on a case for a good two months. He was beginning to get bored. It had just turned noon, and he had been debating between going out for lunch or having one of the interns run for a sandwich or maybe some Chinese take-out when his phone rang.

"Chad Thomas speaking, if this is a telemarketer, please be aware this is a secured line and you risk prosecution by calling it."

He immediately recognized the laughter on the other end of the line. "Been having problems, brother-mine?"

"Jenn? Shit, girl. You sound British as ever. Doing well, I hope?" He reached into the top drawer of his desk for the pack of Lucky Strikes he kept there.

"Don't light that damn cigarette, Chad, and yeah, I'm doing okay. What've you been up to lately?"

Chad snickered, "Should I be scared that you seem to have developed the ability to see through phone lines?"

"No, I just know you, and though you may have told Mom and Dad that you quit last Thanksgiving, I know you hadn't. Aside from the smell in your car, I saw you sneak out after dinner was over with."

"Cest la vie, sis. Something tells me you didn't call me up to chat about turkey dinners past, though." He flicked a lighter and touched the flame to the cigarette.

"Well, you're partially right. I was wondering if you could take some of that vacation time you've got stockpiled and come visit me."

Chad snorted, then coughed as smoke exited his nose. "What? Visit Britain? Why?"

Jennifer sighed, "There's something going on here that would benefit from your… unique experiences."

"Official or private?" Chad was suddenly all-business.

"A bit of both, mainly the latter."

"Damn, you're being cryptic." He ground out the cigarette and grabbed a pen. "What sort of pay-scale are we talking here?"

"Hang on a second." There was some muffled whispering in the background. "The potential client is more than willing to cover any and all travel expenses to get you here to discuss it in person. If you decide not to take the job, he'll pay to send you home, too. Further compensation will be determined if you decide to work for him."

"Hmm… It has been rather quiet for the last couple of months… I could probably take a four-day weekend and no one would bat an eye. Hell, I haven't taken a vacation day since… Um… Ah, yeah, 1990. When Lori and I took Jesse to Las Vegas for her twenty-first." Chad blinked in surprise. "Damn… That means I've got twenty-four weeks of unused vacation time piled up. Tell ya what, Jenny, you get me a ticket out of LaGuardia for tonight, sometime around nine or ten, and I'll make sure my schedule is cleared for at least a week. I'll just let the boss think it's some sort of family emergency or something along those lines."

"Sounds like a plan. Call me back when you've got it all figured on your end, and I'll email you the voucher for the ticket."

"Sure thing. Talk to you later."

"Bye." The line went dead. Chad stared at the phone for a full minute, wondering just what he was getting himself into. He shrugged. He was bored, and this would end the boredom, one way or another. Besides, if Lori were still alive, she'd be pushing him out the door before he could pack. Despite his difficulties with his brother-in-law, his late wife and his sister had always gotten along.

Jennifer hung up the phone and turned to Harry, "He's coming. We need to find a flight for him, though."

Harry grinned, "No problem. Come on, Jenn, let's get to work."

"You know, this does beg the question of where he's going to sleep."

Harry shrugged, "He's your family. I'd assumed he'd be staying here. Hermione and Ron left for home just after Dumbledore left. They still have a week of hols before they have to go back to school. The sofa in the den is still open, and if he's opposed to that, I can always sleep on the couch."

"Nonsense. I'm sure he won't mind. If he does, we can always make him stay at a hotel."

Harry chuckled, "If the animosity between him and Allen is as bad as you say, then he might want to."

Jenn giggled, looking for all the world like a schoolgirl. "It just might come to that, but I suppose we'd better get his ticket squared away, and tell Allen that he's coming. Hmm… Strike that, we'll tell him after Chad gets here. Then he can't complain too long or loud."

"I was a little surprised you caught him in his office. I thought today being New Year's Day, that everything was closed." Harry held open the door to his room.

"That's true, but police stations never close, and my brother has always been the type to over-work. He's a bit like you. He can't stand sitting still, always needs to be doing something, even if it's just filing paperwork."

Harry turned on his computer, "Hey! I can too sit still!"

"I'll believe that if I ever see it."

While Jenn and Harry were making plans concerning Chad, Allen, Sirius, and Remus were sitting in the lounge. "Did either of you know any of what Dumbledore told us?"

Sirius shook his head, "Don't look at me. Most of that was completely new information. I know we – wizards in general, that is – assumed that You-Know-Who was pureblooded. You could have knocked me over with a feather when Dumbledore said he was only a half-blood."

Remus nodded in agreement. "I knew he'd cursed the DADA position, one of the things I did while teaching at Hogwarts was investigate the curse. It's permanent, by the way, it'll only break if its caster truly dies. It's one of the ways we have of verifying that He's still out there."

"One of the ways?" Allen asked.

"There are a couple of other things we've noticed, other spells cast that should have fully dissipated, had he actually died." Remus said.

Sirius growled something under his breath that Allen didn't quite catch. "Pardon?" Allen cocked his head towards Sirius.

Sirius shook his head, "Doesn't matter."

Allen sighed, "I think we ought to be fully honest about all you do know. If Harry's going to be involved in this… Thing, then I think honesty is the least we can do for him."

"Meaning?"

"We need to know all that you know about the situation. Harry doesn't trust the old man, I don't blame him, Jenn and I don't, either. I'm sure he's holding out on us, but I don't know what he's not telling."

Sirius and Remus exchanged a look, then both nodded simultaneously. "We'll do what we can, where we can, but I don't know how much help it will be." Sirius spoke.

"Whatever knowledge there is can't hurt." Allen pressed.

"Very well, what we know – you'll know. I don't know how much will be useful, but, like Padfoot said, we'll do what we can, where we can."

"I suppose that's all anyone can reasonably expect or ask for."

Sirius suddenly straightened and snapped his fingers. "Damn! Finally placed it!"

"What's that, Sirius?" Remus asked.

"Oh, nothing important. I just finally placed Allen's accent. You're from the States, aren't you?"

Allen chuckled, a little disoriented at the change of topic, "Yeah, I am. Grew up in Boston. Jenn's father was in the military, though, and she was born here in England. London, specifically. She's got dual citizenship, so we live here."

Sirius looked smug, and Remus couldn't help but laugh at him.

A/N2: And that's where the chapter wanted to end. I hope that clears up a bit about the Kellermans, and I'm sorry about yet another OC, but the story demanded it. Remember to let me know if you liked this or not, and also if you have any ideas that you would like to see incorporated, let me know.