Chapter 11 – Prophecy, Poison and Perturbation

Albus watched as the staff all filed into the staff room and filled their cups with either tea or coffee before the staff meeting. Minerva liked a strong unsweetened Oolong tea, while Severus filled his mug with a strong black coffee and then sat in his seat frowning at the other staff members. Cuthbert of course, never drank while Filius enjoyed tea with a splash of milk and one sugar. Hagrid's specially-sized mug of tea was heavily sugared as his system needed a lot of calories.

The elderly wizard watched Sybil and was pleased to see her looking distracted, but not showing signs of having sampled the sherry. He certainly hoped that was only a rumor. As he watched Irma Pince use multiple spoonfuls of sugar, he decided the old adage of "you are what you eat" didn't always apply. Poppy Pomfrey was one of the few people that chose ice water, believing it was important to "hydrate the tissues". Argus Filch simply stomped into the room and leaned against the wall, disdaining joining the other staff at the table. He waited for Rolanda Hooch, Pomona Sprout, Bathsheba Babbling, Septima Vector and Aurora Sinestra to fill their mugs and sit down.

He smiled over his glasses at the staff and began, "Today is an important day. We're going to be talking about some significant changes coming up that will affect everyone." He noticed the raised eyebrows or in the case of Severus, the narrowed eyes, but continued before they began to speak. "It was brought to my attention that I haven't been putting the students first, and that I allowed other duties and responsibilities to take away from my focus. However, the children are our hope for the future, and it's important that all of us put them first."

"Firstly, I have been very lax in some of my duties. I have failed to ensure that every staff member is applying the rules uniformly across all Houses and all students. If you have been favoring one House or persecuting one House that stops today. Whatever your reasons were in the past, it ends once you leave this meeting. To help ensure that all points and detentions are being fairly applied, Minerva and I will be reviewing every point addition or subtraction across all staff members, as well as the cause of a detention, what the student will be asked to do in the detention and the duration."

He allowed the roar of voices that opposed his actions several seconds to vent, and then slammed his hand down on the table, startling everyone present. "In addition, each Head of House will receive a weekly report by student showing the points earned or lost and detentions assigned. Beyond that, there will be a weekly review at our staff meetings of the number of points taken and detentions assigned by staff member by House, as well as the total hours of detentions served." He looked around the room with a severe expression. "If needed, we will use pensieve memories to prove or disprove the points or detentions." He noticed the rage building on Severus' face, but raised an eyebrow at the younger man who immediately smoothed his features into bland neutrality.

"Secondly, all staff members will treat their students with the same respect that they expect to receive. That means each of you will use their title of Miss or Mister, not just their surnames unless you want to be called by your surname only. I expect all of you to behave with decorum and professionally, without insulting or deliberately humiliating your students."

He looked at each teacher briefly before continuing, "This doesn't mean that you can't discipline your students. I understand that you have to maintain decorum in your classrooms. What it means is that we will be working to make sure that all teachers give or take points for the same reasons and that detentions are uniformly applied. I will work with each staff member individually to ensure that your actions are in line with the rest of the staff. If one professor takes five points for an offense and another takes twenty, we'll need to agree on what the appropriate response should be and apply it going forward."

"Thirdly, I've been blatantly unfair to Minerva and hope she will forgive an old man for not realizing it. No one person should be expected to fill three roles, yet I expected her to fill the roles of Transfiguration teacher, Head of House and Deputy Headmaster. I am leaving it to Minerva to choose which two roles she wants to continue and will then fill the third."

"Actually Headmaster, I have decided," the stern woman announced. He nodded to her and picked up his cup to sip the tea as Minerva looked around the staff table. "I would like to continue as the Head of Gryffindor and as the Transfiguration teacher for all Years. I wanted to ask the other Heads of Houses if they would be willing to split the duties of Deputy Headmaster between the four of us. That would share the work across all of us, and allow for any of us to move into the position more permanently as needed."

Albus watched the faces. Filius and Pomona looked mildly interested while Severus had rolled his eyes before reapplying his unemotional mask. "Please meet to discuss how it would work and who would do what and let me know next week. I'm certainly willing to consider it as long as you are all in agreement." He looked over his glasses at everyone and smiled kindly. "Cuthbert, would you remain for a few minutes after everyone leaves?"

The ancient looking figure looked up with mild surprise. He floated through the table towards the Headmaster as the other staff members retired for the evening. "You wanted me Headmaster?" his dry and reedy voice wheezed.

"Yes Cuthbert, thank you for staying. Tell me, how long have you been teaching History of Magic?"

The semi-transparent figure looked confused. "I…I started teaching in 1807."

Albus smiled gently at the ghost. "Cuthbert, do you know what year it is now?"

The bewildered professor's spirit wheezed, "Year? Now?"

"Yes now, Cuthbert. Do you know that we're nearing the end of the twentieth century?"

"The…twentieth century?" the spirit questioned.

"Yes Cuthbert. I was wondering about whether it might be appropriate for you to retire after the end of this school year. You've been a dedicated teacher for nearly 190 years. However, you passed away almost one hundred years ago, and what there have been significant events of historical significance that you don't teach, because they occurred after your death."

"Events? I've missed historical events? What events?"

"Wars with Dark Lords that killed thousands of witches and warlocks for one."

The information seemed to slowly penetrate the spirit's consciousness and he looked at the Headmaster with something akin to remorse. "I'm not teaching the students about wars that happened?" A thought seemed to occur to him and he added, "Is that why you started teaching my N.E.W.T. students, Headmaster?"

"Yes, Cuthbert. Because of that, I wanted to suggest that it might be time to retire after this year. You're always welcome to stay in the castle though. It's certainly been your home for many years."

"Retire…yes, maybe it's time to retire." He turned and drifted through the wall, deep in thought.

"I hope he waits until after the end of the school year," thought the Headmaster. "It would be difficult for me to take all of his classes and still function as Headmaster."

"So you're finally going to retire that droning bore," asked a sarcastic voice.

Albus Dumbledore spun, moved to the side and shot a stunning spell with such speed and intensity that it belied his advanced age.

"Hold on Albus," said the voice from the shadows with evident amusement. "There's no need to stun me."

Albus rolled his eyes as he recognized the voice. "Algernon? Is that you? You should know better than to surprise me." He ignored the fact that the man had bypassed the wards and had been in the room without his knowledge. His old friend was one of those wizards who had discovered that magic was inherent to the very fabric of existence and manifested itself in ways that were difficult to explain, and who spent a lifetime learning more about magic than the average wizard.

Algernon Croaker stepped into the light and bowed slightly, his dark cloak bore a barely noticeable clasp with the insignia of the Unspeakables. He pushed the hood off his head, revealing an older man with iron gray hair and shrewd eyes. He silently cast several security spells and endured the Headmaster's amused reaction.

"I'm glad to see you're replacing Binns. My granddaughter will be coming to Hogwarts soon, and I was afraid that I was going to have to teach her History."

Albus smiled at the Unspeakable. "Help yourself to tea or coffee," he suggested as he warmed his own cup. "What brings you to me today?"

"It's about our favorite Dark Lord," the other man said blandly. "I want you to tell me everything you know about him."

The Headmaster sipped his tea and considered the request. He had always held information close, so as not to alert enemies or endanger friends. But recently it had been shown that he had made many mistakes in his judgments. "What will you do with the information," he asked evenly.

"There is a joint British and American task force working on the…problem. The Unspeakables were asked to participate."

Albus was surprised that Cornelius hadn't notified him of a joint task force, but the…what was his title…Senator had mentioned offering his help when they visited Harry Potter at his American school. He sighed heavily at the thought of the boy. He had done everything to help as many as possible, but had overlooked or somehow accepted the impact to the boy as an "acceptable" cost.

Albus considered carefully and then made a swift decision. "Lord Voldemort was born as Tom Marvolo Riddle to Merope Gaunt, a descendent of Salazar Slytherin and Tom Riddle, a wealthy muggle on whom Merope used a love potion. After she was pregnant, she discontinued the potion, and Riddle left her. She gave birth to Tom and died, leaving him to be raised in a Muggle orphanage." He ignored the raised eyebrows at the revelation that the Dark Lord who preached blood purity was a half-blood.

"He eventually received his Hogwarts letter and was sorted into Slytherin." The Headmaster sighed regretfully remembering the teen. "He was a good looking lad and quite popular among his peers, and exceedingly talented, which led to him becoming Head Boy in his Seventh Year. He achieved an Outstanding on every N.E.W.T. he took. Unfortunately, the pleasant boy we all saw was only a façade. In reality, he was a cruel, sadistic, manipulative and power hungry young man filled with rage for every person who ever hurt or wronged him."

"How did he attain the title of Lord Voldemort," asked the Unspeakable.

With a faint smile, Albus took his wand and repeated what the memory of Tom Riddle had shown Harry in the Chamber of Secrets, writing Tom Marvolo Riddle and then rearranging the letters to become "I am Lord Voldemort".

At the other man's nod of understanding, Albus continued, "He began using the Dark Arts at school, but we somehow missed it. He actually created a horcrux with a journal that contained a memory of his 16-year old self." Only the other man's slight widening of the eyes revealed that he understood what a horcrux was. "When an eleven year old girl began writing in the journal, he began siphoning her life and magic to become corporeal again. Young Harry Potter fought the memory and destroyed the horcrux with basilisk venom two years ago."

"I suspected what the journal was and knowing that he traveled extensively in his youth seeking more knowledge in the Dark Arts, I became afraid that he had created even more of them. He was obsessed with Hogwarts and the Founders, and I believe he used an artifact from each of the Founders to create other horcruxes." He looked at the cloaked figure. "You understand why I kept the knowledge confidential, I assume?"

"We certainly don't need any death eaters or aspiring dark lords experimenting with their own horcrux" said the other man immediately.

Albus nodded, pleased that the other man agreed with him. "Because young Harry was a parselmouth, yet the Potters had no link to the Slytherin family, I was concerned that when he survived the killing cursed, Riddle had somehow embedded another horcrux in the boy. However, his new school brought in some curse-breakers who identified his curse scar as containing a soul leech, which they transferred out of him."

"And your interest in Mr. Potter?" asked the Unspeakable.

Albus removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes tiredly and with deep remorse. "Sybil Trelawney made a prophecy while I was interviewing her for a staff position. She remembered nothing about it afterwards and as it was recording at the Hall of Mysteries, I had to believe it was true. The prophecy stated 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ...' When the prophecy was made, both the Potters and the Longbottoms were expecting a child near the end of July. A death eater overheard the first part of the prophecy, but not the later half. Voldemort targeted the Potters first, possibly because their child would be half-blood. Harry was born July 31st and his parents had both defied and fought Voldemort multiple times. When the killing curse rebounded, he was 'marked', so I believed him to be the child of prophecy."

"Either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives" repeated Croaker. "That could refer to the very night the curse rebounded to the Dark Lord. He was definitely vanquished by the babe until he was reborn."

Albus rubbed his eyes again. "That's what Harry's friends and family believes", he admitted. "I knew Voldemort wasn't completely gone because the Dark Mark on his followers only lightened, it didn't disappear. I believed that Harry still had a part to play."

"Well, perhaps he does, but let's see what the joint task force can do before we involve a teenager. Do you have ideas about what the Founder items are that Riddle used?"

"I have been giving it considerable thought," replied the elderly wizard, going on to explain what he knew of relics left by the Founders and whether they would have appealed to Riddle, and if he had any idea as to their whereabouts.

The two men talked until late in the night while others slept unaware.

Screams of agony echoed throughout the chamber as the Death Eater's body contorted under the Cruciatus curse. As the minutes progressed, the other Death Eaters present had to struggle to remain rigid and appear unmoved by the hoarse and weakening shrieks of anguish.

Finally Voldemort lifted the curse and only the sound of the man struggle for breath could be heard, as his body still trembled from the aftermath of the curse. Slowly, the man pulled himself up to his knees, suffering evident in every muscle movement.

"Th..thank you..for your..mercy..My Lord," the man panted. "I will not..fail you..again."

"Another failure is not an option, Nott," the cool voice of the Dark Lord responded. "You were to remove Potter from that school using subtlety and cunning. You chose to Imperius his roommate; an adequate action – if it had worked. It did not, and it alerted Potter and his protectors to the plan. Your ineptitude has made our next effort more difficult."

Nott leaned forward, laying his forehead on the ground, expecting another Crucio, but it didn't come as Voldemort glared around the room at his Inner Circle. Each of his followers sought to show their loyalty through their eyes and submissive posture, and tried not to cringe with his next icy comments. "A Lord expects to be able to delegate some tasks to his most trusted followers. However, recent actions seem to imply that you cannot be depended upon and that I must perform every minor action myself. Tell me," he asked in a silky tone, "is that true?"

The Death Eaters flinched. Answering in the positive would bring instant death while answering in the negative would draw his personal attention, not always something to be desired. Lucius Malfoy responded first. "We live to serve you My Lord and we are honored to be given any task."

The red eyes fixed him with a fierce stare. "Then perhaps you will succeed where Nott failed, Lucius."

The blonde bowed deeply and awaited instructions.

"You will go to where Harry Potter is. You will do everything you can to disrupt or remove his supporters, including his godfather, teachers and friends. You will find a way to portkey him to my dungeons." His thin lips gave a parody of a smile. "And you will not fail me, will you Lucius?"

"No my Lord," the blonde replied. "I will deliver him to your hands or die trying."

"Very good, Lucius. For I would ensure that your death took weeks if you failed."

Severus Snape strode through the halls with a thunderous expression on his face, making the few students still out these last few minutes before curfew shrink away from him as he billowed past them. He stopped at the gargoyle and spat out "Fizzing Whizbee" and glared at the stone figure as it moved out of the way as if it was responsible for such a reprehensible password. He marched up the stairs and raised his hand to knock only to hear "Come in Severus" from inside. He growled at the Headmaster's supposed omniscience and opened the door.

The Headmaster smiled as he walked in and waved him to a chair, quickly summoning tea. "Are you well, dear boy? Do you need any potions or to see Poppy?"

Severus sat gracefully in the chair and accepted a cup of tea. "No thank you, Headmaster. I was fortunate to escape the meeting without damage tonight."

The elderly wizard's blue eyes sparkled with relief. "Excellent, my dear boy. Tell me, what was Tom up to tonight?"

"He nearly drove Nott insane with the Cruciatus for failing to kidnap Potter and gave the assignment to Lucius Malfoy, along with the instructions to remove Potter's support, including teachers and school friends. His obsession with the brat is reaching astronomical proportions."

Albus folded his fingers around his own teacup and sipped it as he considered. "Tom was at the peak of his power when he was defeated by a toddler. The blow to his ego must have been devastating. I wouldn't be surprised if he believed that the wizarding world is snickering at that defeat behind his back. Only killing Harry Potter himself will likely satisfy him." He looked back at the taciturn Potions Master, "There was nothing else, Severus?"

"Not tonight, Headmaster."

"Very well, I will pass the information on so that Mr. Potter's protectors are aware of the threat."

Severus finished his tea, placed the cup quietly on the tray, rose and inclined his head to the older wizard. "I will return to the dungeons, then. Good night, Headmaster."

Albus smiled gently at the younger wizard. "Good night and thank you, my dear boy." He ignored the rolled eyes the Potions Master couldn't control at the endearment and wondered what he could do from his end to help protect Harry Potter without being seen as an interfering meddler. He didn't want Amelia, Minerva or the Marauders after him again.

Sirius Black stormed into the Clinic at St. Croix with an expression that promised dire torture. He paused at the reception desk long enough to snap out "I'm Harry Potter's godfather. Where is he?"

The young woman tried not to flinch at his thunderous appearance and was proud that her voice was calm in the face of this angry man. "Yes Mr. Black, I called you as Harry's emergency contact. He's in examining room four, through those doors." The double doors were already swinging shut before she finished her sentence.

Sirius knocked once and then opened the door slightly without waiting for a response. Inside he found Harry lying on an examining table with Healer Masuto and Christine Sadler monitoring the young teen.

Harry smiled as he saw his godfather and tried to sit up, only to be gently pushed down by the Asian healer. "Sirius!" he said instead. Seeing the concern on the older man's face, he immediately added, "I'm OK. I either ingested or absorbed some type of poison, but it only made me dizzy and a little nauseous."

"Poison," Sirius said weakly looking at Masuto with alarm. "Will he be all right? What happened?"

Taguchi Masuto immediately soothed the distressed man as he cast completed another diagnostic spell. "Yes, I believe someone was able to place a poison on the surface of something that Harry touched and the poison was absorbed through the skin. However, no one knows that Harry's encounter two years ago with a basilisk and phoenix tears made him highly resistant to poisons and venoms. Even without the bezoar we gave him, I think he would have recovered on his own."

"Poison," Sirius repeated as he gripped his godson's hand. "Has an investigation begun to see whether it was an accident or deliberate?"

Harry squeezed the hand hold his back and interjected, "I'm the only one that's come in so far." He left it unsaid that no other victims meant that it was a targeted attack.

"Security and Principal Graham have been notified," added Masuto. "I am certain they will ensure a thorough investigation takes place."

Sirius' grey eyes held the Healer's gaze with a frantic need for reassurance. "You're certain that Harry will be all right? There will be no side effects?"

"I would like him to stay overnight just to be certain," he began as Harry groaned at the restriction. "But so far Harry only has some lingering muscle pain. You're welcome to stay with him, Mr. Black." The teen cheered up considerably with that concession and looked hopefully at his godfather.

"Wild hippogriffs couldn't keep me away, Pup" he said as he slid his arm around the youth in a half-hug. Perhaps by the morning he would be willing to let his godson out of his sight, but at the moment, he needed to keep touching the teen to make sure he was safe. And in the morning – well, perhaps he would just escort the boy to classes. "Remus would be here too, but it was the full moon last night."

"It's OK, Sirius," Harry said quickly. "I know that even with the Wolfsbane potion he needs a day to recover."

Ms. Sadler excused herself with a warm smile for Harry when Healer Masuto came to show them to a semi-private room in the Infirmary that had two beds. Once Harry was safely ensconced under the covers, the Healer summoned two meals and left them alone.

Harry nibbled on his plate trying not to acknowledge that Sirius watching him anxiously, as if gauging every bite and calorie he consumed. "Your dinner is getting cold Padfoot," he finally grinned and the older man ducked his head in embarrassment before starting on his own meal.

"Can't blame a godfather for wanting to make sure his godson is recovered," he mumbled around a bite of shepherd's pie. "I have a lot of years of pampering to catch up on."

The dark-haired youth hid a smile at the warm feeling the words gave him. He never thought he would have an adult that cared for him as Sirius did.

After dinner, Harry distracted Sirius by asking him where the Marauders came up with their ideas for pranks, and that kept the older man happily reminiscing until it was lights out. If he realized that his godson was comforting him rather than the other way around, he didn't mention it.

The following morning, Healer Masuto gave him one exam and then waved him away saying, "Go on then, Harry. You're just taking up a perfectly good bed here."

The teen gave him a cheeky grin, but made good his escape with Sirius on his heels. "Are you going to follow me all day, Sirius" asked Harry with a slight flush made of equal parts embarrassment and gratification.

"Let's at least get you back to your dorm room and changed," hedged his godfather. "We'll see after that."

They chatted about Harry's healing class which the boy was thoroughly enjoying on the way back to Blair House. "I really like Healing," the teen said enthusiastically, "but I can see where just studying that would be enough. But I still have Astronomy, Arithmancy, Battle Magics, Botany, Charms, Potions, and Transfiguration in addition to Magical Creatures, and Art Appreciation. There just aren't enough hours in a day!"

Sirius barked in laughter as they opened the door to Harry's dorm room. "You're just like Lily there, Pup. She had so much she wanted to study and always complained about there being too little time for it all."

The older man paused a few steps into the room, realizing that Harry was looking across the room with growing concern on his young face. Elias Guerrera sat on his bed, his eyes blankly staring, as his hand mechanically stroked Xolotl down the back. He gave no acknowledgement to the other two as they entered.

"Ssspeaker, my Boy is ill or injured," hissed the upset fire lizard. "You mussst help him!"

"Elias?" asked Harry softly, "are you all right?" He moved slowly to the other boy and crouched down, lightly touching one arm. "Can you hear me?"

Elias slowly focused on the concerned green eyes and Sirius flinched at the haunted shock the brown eyes contained. It reminded him too much of what he used to see in the mirror after leaving Azkaban. "It's Miguel and Anarosa. Those… Mortífagos… ¿Cómo se dice…Death Eaters from Britain attacked them."

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