Chapter 13

Hogwarts

With a loud crack, Harry, Ron, and Hermione appeared in the middle of High Street in Hogsmeade. Harry breathed in deeply. He was sure he was imagining it, but he could smell the freedom in the air. No security wizards (they'd remained behind to guard the Weasley house), no paperwork – just his two best friends and a mystery to solve at Hogwarts.

He flashed a grin at his friends. "It feels like coming home."

"Aye, maybe for you", said Ron with a grimace. "To me it feels like going to work." They did indeed walk past Weasley's Wizard Wheezes on their way down High Street, but they didn't stop in ("That's not why we're here!", said Hermione).

Soon they arrived at the high wrought-iron gates adorned with winged boars that marked the entrance to Hogwarts grounds. Suddenly Harry felt like he was eleven years old again – nervous, excited, but most of all awed. There really was nothing like coming back to Hogwarts. The Forbidden Forest dominated the landscape to their right – it looked gloomy and dark even under the morning sun. Harry thought he could just make out Hagrid's hut on the edge of the forest. The rest of the grounds, however, were glorying in the sunshine. The lake glittered like jewel and the greenhouses were lit up like opaque jewels under the dawn. Harry saw the quidditch pitch in the distance, giant hoops visible just above the stands.

But the greatest sight of all was directly in front of them: Hogwarts itself. The castle, as always, was massive – visible even from Hogsmeade. Its turrets and towers dominated the skyline but, rather than intimidate, Harry felt the castle was welcoming him home. His eyes ran up and down Gryffindor tower and, with a pang of nostalgia, he identified the window from his dormitory when he was at Hogwarts. That's what Hogwarts was: his home.

"Harry, are you going to grin like an idiot the entire time we're here?" Ron asked. "If so, can you at least wear the Invisibility Cloak? Honestly, I don't think I can stand to look at you otherwise."

Hermione chuckled and said "Harry, I'm glad you're happy to be here, really. But we are here as part of the investigation, right? That wasn't just an excuse to take a stroll down memory lane with us?"

Just like that Harry's smile vanished. "Of course we're here for the investigation. I am happy to see the castle again, but this is a business trip." He gave a sideways look at Ron. "He's the one who came here for personal reasons, seeing his sister-in-law."

"Trust me mate", Ron said darkly, "that's business too."

"Alright", Harry said when the great oak doors of the castle were just ahead. "Remember the plan. McGonagall is expecting us. We get inside and head straight for the Head's Office and keep to ourselves. The last thing we want is any attention. The students may think they're in danger if Aurors show up so close to the Huntsman situation, which we definitely don't want. Or…"

"Or they may all lose their minds with excitement when they find out the great Harry Potter has graced Hogwarts with his presence?" Ron finished.

"Well…yeah" Harry agreed. "And trust me, we definitely don't want that either. But all the students should be at breakfast. If we avoid the Great Hall, we should be fine." Although Harry was seriously considering using the Invisibility Cloak, Hermione had advised against it.

"Well, here we go", Ron said as he opened the doors to Hogwarts. Harry took one step inside and instantly a small creature charged into his midsection with the force of a bludger. The wind knocked out of him, Harry was reaching for his wand when he realized that the creature clinging to his waist was actually a small child.

"Harry! Harry!" the child yelled. "I knew you'd be here. No one else believed me."

While he couldn't see his face, Harry recognized the voice. "Teddy?" Harry gasped. "How'd you know I'd be here right now?"

Teddy Lupin pulled out of his overenthusiastic hug and waved a very large piece of parchment in his hand. "I saw you coming! They didn't think it would work", he said nodding behind him. To Harry's dismay, he realized that there were four other very small students, staring at him with their mouths agape. The smallest of them, when he saw Harry look at him, gave a high-pitched yelp and ran away.

"Teddy, you shouldn't have that out", Harry said in a whisper. "The Marauder's Map is a very useful tool, but you need to keep it a secret." Teddy nodded, carefully folded up the map and put it in his bag.

"But you did come to see me, right?"

"Err - yes, I did, Teddy. But I also have business here at Hogwarts. I need to go see Professor McGonagall and – "

"It's him, it's really him!"

"Potter, Harry Potter is here!"

Harry looked up to see the small boy who'd run away return at the front of some of some two dozen students. "Someone run back to the Great Hall and let them know the first year wasn't lying. It's really Potter!"

Damn. "Teddy, I need to get going. I promise I'll – "

"But Harry you just got here!" His tiny face had mastered the sad puppy dog look. In fact, Harry was fairly certain Teddy's eyes were bigger than they'd been a second ago. Not even twelve years old and he already had control over his metamorphmagi.

The mob of students had swelled but the ones in the front seemed afraid to get too close to Harry, like he was some dangerous creature to marvel at. "Sorry, Teddy. I've got to go but I will see you later today. I promise."

Harry turned to Ron. "Any chance you have some Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder on you?"

Ron grinned, "Never leave home without it", he said reaching into his robes.

"Harry!" Hermione said in a fierce whisper. "We can't use that! I'm the Head of the Department of Magical Education! Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder is banned at Hogwarts, I could lose my job!"

Harry sincerely doubted that Hermione would get into any trouble at all over this, let alone lose her job, but didn't want to argue. "Fine", he said drawing his wand. "We'll do something else to distract them, we'll – "

"Uh, Harry?" Ron said. "I'm not sure what distraction is getting us through all that."

Harry turned around to see the Entrance Hall crammed full of what looked like the entire student body. The timid first and second years who'd been too afraid to approach Harry were now being jostled aside by older students.

"Out of the way!"

"I'm not afraid to talk to Potter!"

"Harry, you know me. Remember!?"

"I want to see Potter!"

"POTTER!"

"Ok, Plan B", Harry said grabbing Ron and Hermione as the mob advanced. He dragged them outside and slammed the entrance doors shut.

"So what's the plan?" asked Ron as Harry was rummaging through his bag.

"Here we go!" Harry said as he pulled a broomstick out of the bag. "Hop on", he said to the other two. They did and Harry kicked off the ground hard, launching them into the air. The front doors of Hogwarts burst open just as the broomstick zipped behind Gryffindor tower and out of sight. Harry had a general idea of where he needed to go, but soon slowed down and carefully examined each window. On the fifth one, he saw what he was looking for, parked the broom in midair, and knocked on the window.

A short while later, a bewildered Professor McGonagall threw the window open. "Potter – what are you doing?"

"We have a meeting this morning, Professor."

"No – I mean, yes, we do – but why are you flying outside my window? This is highly irregular."

"Sorry, Professor", said Ron. "There was a bit of a commotion down in the Entrance Hall. All in all, this seemed like our best option to get to your office without bringing the entire castle with us."

"Sorry, Professor!" Hermione chimed in.

"Well, alright, come in then", Professor McGonagall said backing away from the window. "But be careful!" Harry slowly flew through the window and the three of them dismounted. Professor McGonagall's gaze was stern but Harry thought he saw her mouth twitch when she said, "It's good to see you three."

"Harry m'boy, welcome back, welcome back to Hogwarts!" Horace Slughorn's enormous figure heaved once, twice, and then rose out of a chair in front of the Head's desk. Harry was briefly afraid that Slughorn might fall, but he crossed the room with the grace of a much younger (and lighter) man. "Always making an entrance, hah!"

"How are you, Professor Slughorn?", Harry asked, shaking his hand.

"Spiffing, m'boy, absolutely spiffing", he replied, great walrus mustache bristling. "Ron! Hermione! Always wonderful to have old students back", he said, shaking their hands as well. "I'll have you know, you three have boosted my popularity with the current students. They scarcely believe you're real people! They were astonished when I told them that a bezoar in my office saved the life of this one!" he cried, pulling Ron into a one-armed hug that threatened to collapse all the bones in Ron's body. "And of course they ask about the two of you as well, they – "

"Horace", McGonagall interjected, silencing him. "Potter's owl said he had serious business to discuss. Surely we can save the reunion for later." Harry smiled as Slughorn released Ron and wore an embarrassed expression that Harry himself had worn in many a Transfiguration class.

"Thank you, Professor", Harry said. "It's good to be back, it's good to see you both. But I'm afraid we are here on serious business. We're working on case with – "

"Harry!" Hermione gave him a significant look. "Follow protocol!"

It took all the self-control he had, but Harry managed not to roll his eyes. "Sorry. Professor McGonagall, Professor Slughorn – the case we're working on is classified above top secret. The details of this meeting cannot leave this room. If either of you – or any of the portraits", Harry said glancing at the dozens of old Headmasters depicted in paintings around the room", reveal any details of this conversation, you may be tried for treason. If you are unwilling to take on this responsibility, please speak now. Otherwise, you are bound to secrecy and are obliged to assist the Auror's Office to the best of your abilities."

Slughorn looked dismayed but McGonagall replied immediately, "Of course, Potter. I'll help you however I can."

Slughorn gulped. "Sure, sure. I'll help too."

Harry wasn't surprised at Slughorn's reaction but it didn't concern him, he'd dealt with far more reluctant assistants. "This may be a little awkward", Harry said, "I do have questions for the two of you. But the majority of my questions, are for you", he said looking at the portrait directly behind the Headmaster's desk, which just happened to be the largest in the room.

"Questions for me?" asked the portrait of Albus Dumbledore. "Well, Harry, certainly I'll answer whatever questions I can, but I'm not sure how helpful I'll be." The painting of Dumbledore took a deep breath. "This is something we portraits have to deal with from time to time. Despite the resemblance, I am not Albus Dumbledore. I was made in his image and he was able to tell me certain things and imprint certain aspects of his personality upon me before his death, but I do not have Dumbledore's memories nor his deductive capabilities. If the Headmistress wishes it", he said nodding to McGonagall", I will divulge all that I can. But I feel I must warn you not to get your hopes up." With this he placed his fingertips together and stared at Harry over his half-moon spectacles.

"I fear your warning will fall on deaf ears, Dumbledore", called a voice to Harry's left. Harry turned to see the portrait of Severus Snape, just as hook-nosed and greasy-haired as he'd been in life. "Potter has a history of confusing dreams with reality, facts with fiction, good work with mediocre. I doubt he understands the difference between the living Albus Dumbledore and yourself, just as he couldn't distinguish monkshood from wolfsbane in my own class."

"Let me get this straight, the real-life Snape had an extremely limited time to tell you stuff, and he went out of his way to talk about my very first potions lesson ever?" Harry asked shaking his head. "You know, we sort of made amends at the end. Came to an understanding after he died. Did the real Snape mention anything about that?"

"I'm afraid he didn't", portrait Snape said, lip curling in a cruel smile. "He went on at length about your mediocrity, your inflated ego, and sense of entitlement though. Hopefully that's a comfort to you."

Ron let out a snort. "You name your kid after the bloke and he goes and creates a revenge portrait. Can't say I'm surprised."

Snape opened his mouth to retort, but McGonagall was too quick. "Enough." Snape cut off immediately. Harry thought it might be worth becoming Headmaster of Hogwarts just to put portrait-Snape in his place whenever he wanted. "Potter, is there really a top-secret case or have you come here to engage in a battle of wits with a painting?"

"Sorry, Professor. I was called to the scene of a murder yesterday. In addition to the corpse itself, there were remnants from a ritual. After investigation, it was clear that this was a Horcrux ritual and we think it was successful." McGonagall gasped, Slughorn groaned, and the portraits broke out in chatter. Harry filled them in on the essential details of the scene, the ritual elements and the image of Herpo the Foul.

"Professor Slughorn, have you ever heard of a Horcrux ritual being prepared in such a way? Aside from Hermione's book after the war, every other Horcrux textbook we're aware of was written hundreds of years ago. And those discuss the exact elements used in this ritual, but certainly not all at once. Can you provide any insight here?"

Slughorn shook his great bald head. "I'm sorry, Harry, but I don't think I can add anything here. I truly don't think I've had any Horcrux involvement since that day when he asked…" Slughorn cleared his throat and looked suspiciously at the portraits. "Well, you know what happened. I'm afraid my knowledge on the subject is quite out of date."

Professor McGonagall shook her head as well. "Professor Dumbledore?"

Portrait Dumbledore's blue eyes pierced Harry just as his subject's always had. "I'm sorry, Harry. Albus Dumbledore told me a great deal of information about Voldemort's existing Horcruxes. We never discussed the method through which new Horcruxes are created."

"What about phoenixes? Did you ever discuss those?"

"To an extent…" Portrait Dumbledore said carefully.

"In our case, there was a significant amount of phoenix blood. I don't need to tell you that phoenixes are extremely rare, and their blood is even rarer. Have you ever heard of phoenix blood in this quantity?"

"In short, no. Gruesome as it is, I'm forced to agree with your thoughts on how so much blood was obtained. My curiosity, however, is drawn to how they located the phoenix in the first place. Domesticated phoenixes are extremely rare. So much so, in fact, that there have only been two known domesticated phoenixes in the last hundred years: Fawkes, whom you well know, and Sparky, who was the mascot for a New Zealand quidditch team some years ago. Phoenixes will only bond with humans of the highest moral character and are extremely loyal. I think we have to conclude that the poor phoenix in question was a wild one. Still incredibly difficult to find and even more difficult to keep in one place. Wandmakers however, have need of phoenix feathers for wands. They do not share their secrets for how they obtain the necessary number of phoenix feathers, but there is no doubt that they do obtain them. Perhaps that is a place to start."

The silence following this was punctured only by Hermione frantically scribbling notes.

"Professor Dumbledore, this next question may be right up your alley. The tenant renting the house at the time of the murder was named Merope Gaunt." McGonagall's eyes widened and Slughorn looked as though he might faint. "The landlord described her and it was an exact match to the woman we saw in your pensieve. Are you certain that Merope Gaunt died giving birth to Tom Riddle?"

The Dumbledore in the portrait pressed his fingertips together once more. "Harry I'm certain that the information we have here is the same. We do not have the body or a death certificate for Merope Gaunt, but I'm certain we accurately traced her to Wool's Orphanage. We have proof that she gave birth there. I'm also confident that 'I'", portrait Dumbledore used air quotes here, "was the first wizard ever to set foot in that orphanage or make contact with young Tom Riddle. We have eyewitness testimony that she died on the spot, given by the orphanage's operators. Given everything we know, I find it extremely unlikely, nigh impossible, that Merope Gaunt continued to live after Tom Riddle's birth."

Harry ignored the scratching of Hermione's quill and asked, "So you didn't get the sense that she planned to magically vanish, hibernate for 80 years, and then rent a random flat in London?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "I'm afraid not, Harry."

Harry nodded. "I think we need to assume that the Merope Gaunt is dead and that we have an impersonator. Given when she died, I think we can rule out the Polyjuice Potion as a method for taking on her appearance. Which brings me to you, Professor McGonagall. I think the most likely explanation of this doppelganger is human transfiguration. Would you agree?"

Professor McGonagall's face remained serious, but Harry was sure that she almost smiled. "Yes, Potter, I would. The difficulty of human transfiguration depends on the specific intention of the spell's caster. If they wish merely to change their appearance, that can be done with relative ease."

"Just don't tell my kid, Professor", Ron said. "Rosie might be under the impression that allowing myself to be transfigured before we broke into Gringotts is the pinnacle of human bravery."

McGonagall did smile at this. "Your secret is safe with me, Mr. Weasley. Though I don't see the need to embellish. Don't forget, I was here with you at the Battle of Hogwarts, no one who was there would ever question your bravery."

Ron's chest swelled with pride but Professor McGonagall turned back to Harry as though there had been no interruption. "Transfiguring yourself into a specific person, however, is much more difficult. Most people underestimate the drastic difference in a person's appearance if their nose is a fraction too large, their eyes just a bit too far apart, et cetera. Merope Gaunt would be an ideal candidate for such an impersonation. Having died so long ago, there would be almost no one alive who has actually seen her. In fact", she said with a glance behind her desk, "with Albus passing, Potter you may be the only living person who has seen Merope Gaunt with their own eyes, even in a memory. If such an imposter was certain that you would not see her personally, but merely have an intermediary describe her to you, even an imperfect human transfiguration may suffice."

Harry looked to Dumbledore's portrait. "Sir, your pensieve. It has the memory containing the image of Merope. Is it still here – can we show it to our witness?"

Portrait Dumbledore shook his head. "I'm sorry, Harry. Any memories of Headmasters utilized by the school pensieve are destroyed when they die. Those memories are considered private and depart this life with them."

"Well", Harry said, heart racing, "what about me? I saw it, I remember it. Could I withdraw those memories, use the pensieve, and have the witness view them and compare the Merope from the memory to the one he met?"

Portrait Snape erupted in laughter. "Could you, Potter? A gifted wizard could, but could you? The withdrawal of memories is closely aligned with control and discipline over one's own mind. In other words, occlumency, Potter. I don't even have a brain anymore and I bet I could still read your mind. Occlumency may be a very rare subject at Hogwarts, but you're hands down the worst to attempt it since I've been at this school. But I suppose you'll twist that into being the best at something, even if that 'something' is being useless."

"Severus!" McGonagall said in a sharp tone. Snape stopped talking at once and slid back into the black throne-like chair that took up nearly a third of his portrait.

"Sir", Harry said addressing Dumbledore's portrait, "is that true? Do I need to master occlumency to withdraw memories and use the pensieve?"

"I'm afraid so, Harry. Even if you were an accomplished occlumens, your case would be uncommonly difficult. The memory you wish to extract is in fact your memory of someone else's memory. That's a far more difficult process than simply extracting one of your own memories. I certainly don't wish to discourage you from studying this branch of magic – it is most fascinating – but I do not think it is the answer to solving your current case in a timely fashion."

Harry nodded even as he felt his stomach drop. He hadn't voiced it aloud, but being here in Dumbledore's office (it would always be Dumbledore's office to Harry) where he'd seen the pensieve used so many times, he'd felt it'd be easy to utilize it with his memories.

"Professor Slughorn, I apologize, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave", Harry said. "With Professor McGonagall's permission of course", Harry added, hastily nodding to the Headmistress. "I'm afraid this next question is even more sensitive than the previous ones.

Slughorn exhaled an unmistakable sigh of relief. "Not to worry, dear boy. I only wish I could've been of more help, but alas!" He gave a short bow to Professor McGonagall, winked at Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and then left the office.

Harry stood up and looked out the window. "Professor, this situation has me worried." He wasn't sure whether he was speaking to McGonagall or Dumbledore. "This crime scene, the circumstances…it's all reminiscent of Voldemort." The portraits erupted in muttering, but McGonagall raised a hand and they fell silent at once.

"Potter, surely you don't think he's back? Voldemort is dead. I saw you do it! And, if I must say Potter, you left nothing to question that day."

Harry smiled briefly. "Thank you, Professor. But I don't think he's back. I'm worried about copycats. To the uneducated, creating a horcrux is a very tempting prospect. And, despite how it ended, Voldemort was successful for quite a long time. This case hits all of his themes – Horcrux, snakes, theatricality. There's just one thing missing." Harry turned and looked McGonagall in the eye. "The Elder Wand." A shiver went around the room, through human and portrait alike,

Harry turned back to the window, which faced the lake. Just visible at the lake's border were several headstones and, most prominent among them, was a large white tomb. "Professor, I'm worried that this copycat will try to steal the Elder Wand. Has anything happened to Professor Dumbledore's tomb? Are you sure the wand is still there?"

"Yes, Potter, I'm sure the wand is still safe."

"Is there any way you can increase security on the tomb? If you could somehow increase security without drawing attention to the fact that there is more security, that would be the best."

"Don't worry, Potter. We'll make sure the Elder Wand remains safe."

"Thank you, Professor." Harry turned back to face her. "I think that's just about everything I wanted to discuss, but I do need one more thing from you: the sword of Gryffindor. If we need to destroy Horcruxes, we're going to need it."

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Of course, Potter." She got up and carefully removed the sword from its display case next to her desk. The sword looked just as perfect as the day Harry pulled it out of the Sorting Hat in the Chamber of Secrets all those years ago – bright burnished silver, pommel studded with rubies. Harry took the sword and carefully placed it in his magically extended bag.

Seeing the sword, Harry made a decision that he'd been on the fence about. "There is one other thing I need to do while I'm here, but you don't need to be involved", he said to McGonagall. "We're going to enter the Chamber of Secrets."

"We're doing what now?" Ron ejaculated.

Harry kept his gaze on McGonagall. "I think it will be relevant to the case."

"Very well, Potter. I'll let Mr. Filch know that the bathroom over its entrance is strictly off-limits until your business is concluded."

"I'm not sure that's necessary, Professor. We got into that bathroom just fine without disrupting the student body the last time we needed to get in there."

"You're not 12 years old anymore, Potter. I can't have adult government officials entering a girl's bathroom at a school with no warning."

Harry grinned sheepishly. "That's a really good point. Please have Mr. Filch evacuate the bathroom. And thanks for everything, Professor. It was really good to see you."

Professor McGonagall broke into a genuine smile at last. "You too, Potter. And you as well, Weasley and Granger. Hopefully you can come visit again without having to talk about phoenix-torturing, Horcrux-making murderers."

The three of them left the office, emerging onto the spiral staircase. "Alright", Harry said. "I don't think the Invisibility Cloak will cover all three of us anymore but I'm definitely in no mood to be seen again. Should we do one under the Cloak and two Disillusionment Charms?"

"Do whatever you want mate, I'm not going to the Chamber of Secrets", Ron said with a shrug.

"What do you mean?"

"You're just looking for information, I really don't think I'll help you down there. I'd rather not crawl down a filthy pipe just to watch you look at stuff. Besides", Ron said with a grimace, "I have to go visit Gabrielle. I'll take one for the team and visit her on behalf of the entire extended Weasley family. You can thank me later." Ron clapped Harry on the shoulder and then marched down the staircase.

"Alright Hermione, I guess it's just you and me. I think we could fit under the Cloak, but it's probably more practical to just use a Disillusionment Charm for you, I doubt anyone in the castle will be looking that closely."

"Yeah, Harry…" Hermione said while fidgeting. "I don't think I'm going with you either."

"Why not? Ron said he's going for all of us. Don't tell me you miss the Hogwarts library or something!"

"No, it's nothing like that. It's just…" She bit her lip, shot an anxious look at Harry, then looked down the staircase. "Well, Harry, you know I trust Ron. Some things aren't a matter of trust though. Really this isn't about him…"

"Hermione, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh, Harry!" Hermione threw up her hands in frustration. "If you think I'm leaving Ron alone with a gorgeous, 21-year-old veela, then you're an idiot!"

Hermione, rather pink in the face, turned on her heel and marched down the steps.

Harry blinked twice, gained his composure, then contemplated going into the Chamber of Secrets alone. He turned around and knocked on the door of the Head's office. The door swung open immediately.

"Forget something, Potter?"

"I was wondering if I could borrow the Sorting Hat?"

Professor McGonagall's only response was a look of pure confusion.

"Well, I've actually never been in the Chamber without it", Harry said shrugging. McGonagall nodded, Harry took the Hat and made his way out of the office.