It was late when the fireplace in the headmaster's office flashed green signifying floo activity. Albus Dumbledore looked up as a women with red hair and a severe expression stepped from the flames with a practiced efficiency that spoke of her familiarity and practice with the mode of travel. The grandfatherly old man gave a smile as she straightened her own robes and gave a polite incline of her head before waiting to be offered a seat. Something which took next to no time as Dumbledore greeted his expected guest.

"Madame Bones, I thank you for coming to visit me on such short notice. Please, have a seat. May I interest you in a lemon drop? Or perhaps some tea?" Dumbledore graciously offered as Amelia took a seat opposite the wizened wizard across from her.

"That depends Albus," Amelia eyed his candy dish in open amusement. The habit of keeping candies had been well known throughout the years, but it still amused her to see an old man cheerfully popping a round candy into his mouth like a child. "How in depth will this discussion be? Your letter implied that it may be a rather difficult discussion."

At that Dumbledore sighed, pointing his wand at the desk where a teapot and two glasses appeared. He slowly filled his cup, adding a splash of milk and a sugar before sipping the warm drink. "If we are to get to the root of the matter I hope you have several hours to spend speaking with an old man who is beginning to fear he'd made too many mistakes." His hands held the mug, and his bright blue eyes regarded Amelia thoughtfully. "Perhaps it would be best to begin with the most difficult topic. As I told you, and Cornelius at various points, I believe that Voldemort was not killed on that night ten years ago."

Amelia cut in, preparing her own tea. "Must you say his name? I find it brings only unpleasant memories." Amelia had no real heat in her voice, only having winced slightly at the unexpected suddenness of the name. "That man is responsible for the death of my brother and his wife."

Albus paused as he considered Amelia for a moment at that. "May I presume that you do not fear the name of that particular dark wizard?" He sounded politely curious, as if a student had come up with a novel answer to a problem in class. Amelia gave him a speculative look in return, her guard still up.

"No," she admitted after a few seconds. Her grey blue eyes serious as she decided to try meeting Dumbledore's honesty with her own. "However, I need you to explain this theory of yours. You are suggesting that the most powerful dark wizard since Grindelwald was not destroyed after his attempted murder of Harry Potter?"

Dumbledore nodded slowly, trying to lower the many walls he had raised over the decades. "I will be as plain as I can, and offer you as much insight into my own conjecture as I can. To begin with, you were an Auror at the time of Tom Riddle's defeat yes?" At Amelia's confused expression, he explained. "Lord Voldemort is really a half-blood wizard named Tom Marvolo Riddle. He was a student here when I was still just the Transfiguration professor. He was a bright and exceptionally skilled young wizard, but nobody would have expected the man he became." Amelia Bones had clearly not expected that. Her stunned expression revealing that she had not known herself. Dumbledore chuckled, "I am sure we can get to that later, as his past is part of what has made me certain he has somehow unnaturally prolonged his life. For now, let me return to the night of his defeat. Tell me, how is it that I was the first to know of what had transpired? That I, my groundskeeper, and Sirius Black according to the Hagrid's account of events- all three of us were aware that the Potters were attacked before the ministry even had sent Aurors?"

"Everyone knows that they were part of your vigilante group facing the Death Eaters. Rumor was that you performed the Fidelius to hide their location and Black himself betrayed them as Secret Keeper." Dumbledore nodded with a faint wince. The touch on that old wound was visible in his expression. He too had trusted Sirius Black.

"That is correct. I took care of the casting, though even I was not aware of the secret keeper they chose. Given the ministry imprisoned Sirius Black I have accepted that it likely was the case. There were many trials back then and with my many duties I had been unable to attend all of them. Regardless, do you know what nobody found at the cottage in Godric's Hollow? The body of Tom Riddle." That got Amelia's attention as she frowned at the revelation.

"I had thought that perhaps he had been destroyed by the spell backlash of a rebounding curse Albus. Isn't that the most accepted belief?"

Dumbledore smiled faintly as he answered. "I would like to see if you can come up with the same conclusion I did, Madame Bones. What spell did Tom Riddle use on the Potters?"

The frown deepened on Amelia's face. "The Killing Curse, of course. The deaths of Lily and James showed all the signs of the curse and showed no other damage. It is widely known that Harry Potter survived that same curse."

"Precisely. Now if that spell rebounded, how exactly did it cause such explosive force that it was like someone had cast an exceptional Blasting Hex? Why would it destroy the interior walls yet not so much as to disintegrate them?"

Amelia's eyes widened as she caught onto what he was saying. "You believe that the rebounding curse was not alone the cause of such an explosion? That..." her eyes unfocused for a moment as she thought furiously through the facts. The Killing Curse was unblockable, but it did not cause massive explosions when it missed. If Dumbledore was correct, and the spell rebounded then that explosion was not the spell itself. It was... "His body exploded when the spell struck him? That... that makes no sense! He was a monster but his body was till human, Albus."

"Please, allow me to explain my thought processes." Dumbledore cut in. "Everyone knows that Tom Riddle boasted at the height of his power that he had taken more steps down the darkest paths than any wizard ever to live. I can assure you the body that faced myself and my allies bore no resemblance to the handsome and charismatic student he had been forty years before. Looking at him then none would imagine he was over sixty years old. He had perform dark magical rituals that I believe had lessened his humanity to a point his body had become affected. I believe that the Killing Curse whose only purpose is to sever soul from body did just that- it separated the spirit of Tom Riddle from his magically enhanced and likely cursed physical form. The explosion was the result of that vessel of immense magical power being in essence self-destructing without a soul to direct it."

Amelia couldn't help it. She leaned back in her chair and stared at Albus Dumbledore with a look of shock. She didn't want to believe. Didn't want to see the pieces that Albus Dumbledore laid out so cleanly before her. It explained the scene that every Auror read about in the report. That particular Unforgivable was in fact reported to be easy to cast and seemed to require little exertion. And while it might chip stone or shatter wood, it wasn't explosive like she well knew. She had seen enough crime scenes to know what had happened to victims caught by it. Yet if this supposition was true, then Fudge was in for a terrible time if that... Riddle ever resurfaced. He was a decent enough politician, but hd was not suited for war. He was too soft and too easily bought. The fact that she had such a hard time getting more funding for her department was proof of that. He had taken the demise of Riddle as his main platform. A 'return to normalcy and peace'. That man couldn't even fathom a return to the bad years. Was that why Dumbledore had come to her? Was he relying on her willingness to think critically and her investigative mindset?

"Dumbledore..." she tried to marshal her thoughts as she examined it again, grateful that he was quietly letting her come to her own conclusions. "If you're correct, and I am starting to see how your pieces fall in place in the larger picture, then we should be either hunting for Riddle or shoring the country up for his return. We can't expect him to stay gone forever. Surely one of his old followers would eventually find him. If he truly has somehow survived as a spiritual being, since neither of us could see that creature becoming a ghost- then as soon as he is returned to a physical body he will be walking into a country unprepared for him. We've not even rooted out the all corruption that existed during his time, let alone all the marked Death Eaters who were pardoned under that Imperious tripe." Throughout her coming to grips with the situation there oddly only a growing smile on Dumbledore's face. It almost made her wary as she wound down. An intense look met his own twinkling stare.

"I know now that I chose well in coming to you Amelia," Dumbledore practically beamed at her. "You are quick, intelligent, and able to see things beyond the accepted normals. You have a reputation for being willing to listen and be swayed by truth instead of emotion. If you'll forgive an old teacher, I am very proud of the woman you've become." Amelia blinked at him in surprise, but quickly marshaled her expression as she shook her head.

"There is more than this dung bomb you've set off on the entire Riddle death," She prodded. Her eyes narrowed as she recalled another line in that letter from the Headmaster. "You have a scheme in mind to draw that shade out of hiding. You at least mentioned you had already begun such a plan."

Dumbledore's smile faded, and she could for a moment see the powerful wizard who had tried to rally resistance to two different Dark Lords in the steel in his eyes. "Quite so. I am going to ask you what you think once I lay out my trap, and I will listen to you as openly as you have listened to me." For the next hour, Albus Dumbledore spoke of an intricate series of events that led to the secret of that matched what the Prophet had told about a Gringotts break-in as well as why and how such a thing could have been done. The supposed contents of that vault. His bringing the item in question into this school, and the myriad of precautions and safety measures he had set up himself and with the staff. As she listened Amelia did not speak once. She simply allowed the information to be soaked in, at times marveling at the range that Dumbledore's influence stretched over to being almost enraged by the lack of foresight to have such a plan run in a school full of children including her niece!

When he wrapped up his long explanation he leaned forward in his chair. "I have surmised by the reactions you showed that there are parts of my plan to out Tom as being alive that you do not agree with. I admit that I am not very fond of the location for this myself." Dumbledore admitted, and this time instead of the clever and powerful wizard she had seen moments before Amelia found herself staring at an old man frustrated by his own limitations. "However, there is one key factor that I have to mention Amelia. One person, who I am sure you have guessed is a major reason why it had to be Hogwarts. Why if had to be this year."

Amelia was silent for a moment before she closed her eyes. She knew why. As soon as she put any thought into why it was there. Obvious bait for the egomaniacal Dark Lord. "Potter." She said the name quietly, her eyes opening. With a sigh she looked over at the Headmaster with a very tired expression. "Potter alone wouldn't be enough, not unless he could guarantee himself a way to not only enter the school undetected but restore himself before facing either Potter or you directly. So you created a mystery that someone like- that Riddle could unravel. Starting the actions before the school year, leaving pieces for him to put together that all he needed would be at Hogwarts. It is," she hated to admit this, "a very cunning plan and one that plays on your enemy's shortsightedness after a major setback. I do not agree with you using a school full of children as the backdrop, and I will never agree that it is a good idea to use a school like this. However," she let out a breath and seemed to recompose herself. "This all hinges on three things as far as I can tell. The first, you are correct about Tom Riddle surviving the backlash in some form as a barely alive spirit without a physical body. Second, that the enemy has your information and does not realize or believes that he can outmaneuver you in your own territory so much that the challenge is accepted and he comes to Hogwarts at all. Third, that you can actually detain this spirit being if or when your trap is sprung. Am I correct in my estimation so far Headmaster?"

Dumbledore gave Amelia a polite nod. "Yes my dear, you have quite thoroughly picked the weaknesses and strengths of my ploy. I agree that Hogwarts being the backdrop for this is all too dangerous, and were it within my power I would have set this in motion for the summer before or after the school year. But, the Flamels needed to create a false stone and we needed to have incredibly powerful artifact to act as the final defense. I have after much work secured the Mirror of Erised. I plan to hide this false stone in the mirror, and to ensure Tom cannot get his hands on it only someone who seeks the stone but not to use it will even be able to obtain it. Given the alchemical processes used to create a very close approximate of the Philosopher's Stone with none of its actual powers is quite difficult, and that we needed to set up a Gringotts vault to house it temporarily on top of having the entire thing done when a suspected follower of Tom was in the country after traveling to where I believe he had been hiding in the forests of Albania was all incredibly tight timing. I dare say that even with my rather long reach this has been exceptionally difficult to put together."

"I certainly can imagine." Amelia snorted almost sounding bemused. "This is all a lot to take in Albus. Your little scheme is very involved, the teachers only believe they are protecting the Philosopher's Stone, and there is failure possible at every point of execution. In truth if anyone else other than you had come to me with this I'd have carted them to St. Mungos. Even with it being you the fact you put my niece in the possible path of You-Know... of Riddle," she caught herself, then continued after a slight pause. "Of Misters Potter and Longbottom, who lost their parents to this maniac. The fact that you could have done all this without ever informing the Ministry or anyone beyond the Flamels and partly your staff is astonishing. Which leads us to this." Amelia leaned forward and pierced Dumbledore with her interrogator's stare.

"What do you gain from telling me any of this?"

"I have been turning that over and over in my mind as we've talked. I have a couple theories, such as if you truly believe that this Dark Lord is going to be revived you wish that least the Head of Magical Law is aware of your suspicions since you know the Minister himself is likely to deny it. Second, you have opened your confidence because you are uncertain your usual method of operation will not be enough to deal with a resurrected Riddle, and as such you want to try and at least cover as many of your bases as you can should you fail. I suspect that there is still something you're holding back." She gave him a piercing look, but his smile remained unmoved. "I am torn on what to make of you, Albus Dumbledore. I have never doubted that you want to work to better our world. Given no assistance for your suppositions you created a plot to prove it. Granted you haven't broken any laws," she glared at him with a look that made even the most hardened criminals wince. "But the danger of possibly inadvertently involving children is reprehensible." Dumbledore did nod in acquiescence of her beleaguered point, finally losing his smile. "While I am not pleased by this, I do see the value in what you are attempting to do. And... for some damned reason, I will help you however I can. However!" She held her hand up to forestall any interjection. "I will have conditions. I want to know everything. Everything that happens, who you suspect to be the agent of the Dark Lord, and what you are doing to prevent things going wrong. We will then work together to find reasonable ways to prevent the students from being harmed or pulled into this mess and limit the danger."

Albus Dumbledore reached his hand across his desk with that same steel in his eyes Amelia noticed before. When she firmly accepted his handshake, he seemed to almost lose a few years as she saw a weight lifted from him. "I assure my dear Amelia, I will never put my students in danger. Especially after what happened on Halloween. Which reminds me- You wanted to know my suspicions, correct?"

~~~~~

For Hermione Granger the meeting with her parents and Professor McGonagall was almost painful. Her parents had nearly lost it when they got Dumbledore's letter, and when she and Professor McGonagall arrived via a taxi after taking something called Floo powder to get to London through fireplaces. Fireplaces! Hermione was constantly in awe of the things magic could do. However there was something familiar about being a car again. Something reassuring in a way. As her parents answered the door the student couldn't help herself and dove at her mother to give her a massive hug, which her mother quite readily accepted and lifted the girl into her arms for a short moment before setting back down. Her father likewise got a huge hug that would one day be called one of their daughter's specialties. After that reunion a smiling Professor McGonagall waited to greet the parents of one of her favorite students.

Once everyone was settled around the living room Professor McGonagall started with a more gentle tone than usual. "I understand that you have concerns about your daughter's safety, and I can certainly understand why. However, please realize that what happened on Halloween was not something normal for our school. In fact it is the only time a troll was ever inside the school as far as I am aware. Please do not think that we would ever intentionally put our students in dangerous situations."

Hermione was quiet as she stared at her father. He shared a look with his wife, then nodded slowly. "We understand, and truly we appreciate this visit. We know it can be easy for a professor to take a student across the country just to ease their minds." He was a well spoken and intelligent man, and the Professor seemed to take his gratitude with a bit of humor,

"Then would it be correct to say that you were more concerned about ensuring her safety and well being in person than worried about the happenings at the school itself?" She shared a knowing look with Mrs. Granger who sheepishly smiled at being so easily seen through.

"We know our little girl is smart and already so independent, but when danger is involved all of us revert to being the one our children need." She explained, her arm around her daughter from one side and her husband's around Hermione from the other. They had sat her in the middle of the sofa and were quite pleased to just have her for a moment. "I admit boarding school where she is not home is something we are still getting used to. Not having her home for dinner or studying away in her room is quite an adjustment."

McGonagal gave them a polite nod of understanding. "Is there anything you'd like to know before I must take her back to school?"

Mr. Granger cleared his throat, looking a bit apologetic to his daughter before asking. "What exactly happened? We know she was in danger but wasn't hurt, but that is really all the letter said."

"I see, allow me to give a fuller picture for you. Your daughter was in the restroom during the Halloween Feast we give to our students, and so she missed the revelation that a troll had made it inside the school. Two of her classmates realized she was not present as they were being escorted to their dormitory as a safety precaution and set out to warn her and bring her back with them. Those two young men managed to get myself and another professor and managed to keep Miss Granger safe." It was a highly edited version, at Hermione's own request. She knew her parents, and while she loved them dearly she knew they would pull her from a dangerous school the second they found out.

"Two boys?" Mr. Granger hummed, as his wife looked at Hermione with a faint smile. "So you've been making friends then Hermione?"

She looked up at her father and gave a much wider smile than he had seen in a while. She and Harry and Ron had all seemingly just clicked together after that horrid event. Harry was quiet, but seemed to be a bit easily influenced by Ron's seeming lethargy with school work. Ron was loud, and while he was quick to anger he was also a very decent sort most of the time. "Yes!" Hermione was really happy to have them as friends, and she tried her best to help them and loosen up. She knew that Harry tried to meet her halfway at least and tried to keep to the rules more often than not. It was a good thing she believed, since they all kind of balanced each other out in a way.

That smile on their daughter's face seemed to do a lot for the parents, and the visit was not much longer beyond that. When Hermione and Professor McGonagall returned to Hogwarts shortly after saying goodbye. The events were whitewashed to a degree, but Hermione was afraid that her parents would take her away not just from the wonders of magic but her two new friends.