Chapter 59: The Truth Comes Loose
It was a quiet night. A pleasantly warm one, too, right at the cusp of summer. Tomorrow was the day Harry would be returning from Hogwarts, and while I wanted to go and pick him up, I knew that the Dursleys would have to have him for the next two weeks. Best if I don't show my face around them until then.
I'd seen the emergency edition of the Daily Prophet that had just come out. The front-page picture was of Harry standing in front of a massive Basilisk corpse while shaking the hand of a very nervous and overwhelmed looking Minister Fudge. In Harry's free hand, the Sword of Gryffindor was held, pointed downwards, while Fawkes photobombed the picture by flying down into the shot behind the duo and startling Fudge.
According to the article, just mere hours ago, Harry had ventured into the Chamber of Secrets with the Heads of House and slain Slytherin's Beast, saving the school and everyone in it. The article was extremely flattering towards Harry, as well as brown-nosed the Minister of Magic, praising him for 'quick and decisive thinking' even though he'd likely done nothing of the sort.
Furthermore, Harry was now the proud owner of a multi-ton, thousand-year-old magical monster thanks to the Rite of Conquest, an old rule that said if you killed a creature in combat you basically owned its remains. He would also be awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class, for his dedication and bravery and was going to be even more famous than ever.
I was proud of him. And surprised. I hadn't thought Astoria Greengrass would become Tom Riddle's victim, but I was glad she had survived the ordeal.
There was also a smaller article about Gilderoy Lockheart being mauled by Acromantula in the Forbidden Forest. He'd been saved by Dumbledore before they could devour him, but the paralytic venom they'd injected into the foppish fake had caused an allergic reaction. Lockheart had been badly disfigured and would likely never walk again. Couldn't have happened to a nicer brain-erasing liar in my opinion.
At the moment, however, I was in my flat, busy doing my homework, when a red bird suddenly appeared in my kitchen with a blaze of flames and damn near set off my smoke alarm in the process.
"Whoa! Watch it!" I exclaimed, leaping to my feet as the phoenix popped into existence.
Fawkes – for who else could it have been? – let out an amused trill before flying over and dropping a familiar old hat onto my head.
"Hello again," the Sorting Hat greeted politely.
"Hello," I replied, slowly sitting back down. "Kinda wish you'd let me know you were coming over."
"Apologies, but Fawkes and I thought it best to inform you ourselves that the deed is done. Valancia is no more, the detestable piece of Tom Riddle is gone, and the Chamber is back under the control of the school wards."
"Valancia?" I asked.
"The name Salazar gave the Basilisk," the hat replied. "We found the name inside the Chamber of Secrets after the fact."
"Mmm. I see," I muttered. "Did Harry… did the Horcrux inside of him get removed as well without hurting him like we planned?"
My voice was hopeful as I asked this. The hat shifted about on my head, while Fawkes refused to look me in the eyes.
"Young Mr. Potter's heart stopped for but a moment when one of the fangs scratched his forehead. He was dead, but the combination of the Philosopher's Stone and Fawkes' tears brought him back immediately, no worse for the wear," the Sorting Hat said solemnly.
"That… that is not what I wanted," I said. For the first time in a while I clamped down on my emotions with Occlumency in order to not feel enraged or betrayed. I had let them see my memories, but I had wanted them to do more than that to help Harry!
Only the fact that I knew he was alive and well thanks to the newspaper article kept me from saying or doing anything I might regret.
"But it was one of the 'ideas' you had in your head, and one that both I and Fawkes believed would be the most… successful," the hat replied. I frowned at that.
"Explain, please," I requested tersely, and the hat did a sort of wobble.
"You know that the boy had a prophecy spoken of him," The Sorting Hat said. "And you also know that a prophecy spoken by a true Seer always comes to pass."
"So do all 'prophecy's', even those made by frauds, if people believe in them enough," I retorted.
"Ah, but the magic of the prophecy makes things more tricky to deal with," the hat sighed. "To put it simply, Harry and Voldemort are – or were – destined to fight. In the Chamber of Secrets, at the graveyard… or in the woods in several years' time. But that is no longer the case."
"What about my other ideas for removing the Horcrux?" I demanded. "Muggles can restart a person's heart after it stops! Why couldn't we have done that?!"
"An ingenious idea, but it would not work," the ancient headpiece stated confidently. "Magic makes things such as curses very difficult to remove. And a Horcrux is darkest magic, so very cruel and obscene. It is not tied to 'life,' but rather the 'soul' and magic itself. You could stop Mr. Potter's heart and have him be clinically dead as many times as you wanted but it would never cause the Horcrux to come loose. And even if Mr. Potter did stay dead, his skull would remain as the anchor for the soul shard. The only way to ensure the Horcrux was destroyed permanently would be via Fiendfyre, or some other method of total obliteration."
"Like Basilisk venom," I realized.
"Indeed," the hat confirmed. "The other way, the way that happened in the 'original' timeline, was due to Voldemort committing was what essentially suicide. A Horcrux can also be broken by the one who made it. In the forest on the eve of the Battle of Hogwarts, Voldemort killed Harry Potter, unknowingly destroying the Horcrux in his scar by his own hand. Had the Dark Lord used any other spell other than the Killing Curse on Harry Potter, then the boy would have had no chance to revive due to his body being unharmed beyond the damage to his soul."
"And the events in the Chamber of Secrets?" I asked. "How does that resolve the prophecy?"
"A two-fold ploy," the Sorting Hat said with a smug tone. "The Basilisk's venom would scour young Potter of the Horcrux, and Fawkes' tears combined with the Philosopher's Stone would heal him. And, because Voldemort – or in this case, Mr. Riddle – compelled Slytherin's Monster to kill Harry Potter via Parseltongue, a magical language, it also counted as 'suicide' and would also ensure the removal of the Horcrux in the end. That is why Fawkes and I let Mr. Potter 'die' even if for just a brief moment. In doing so, Voldemort defeated himself by 'a power he knew not' and thus resolved the prophecy."
"That worked?" I uttered skeptically.
"It did. Magic is mysterious, Mr. Rose, and it can make the ephemeral quite tangible. In the Chamber of Secrets, Mr. Potter risked his life to save someone who he had no obligation towards. He opposed a being who has defiled the natural order. And he died doing so. In this way, the prophecy was fulfilled. Harry Potter is free."
I sagged, relinquishing my hold on the Occlumency at that. I wiped some stray tears of relief and joy out of my eyes, before taking off the Sorting Hat and pinning it and the phoenix with a sharp stare.
"Does that mean I can eliminate the bastard without worry?" I demanded.
"Feel free to do so. Without the prophecy binding either of them, it will be much easier. Young Potter need not face down a monster more than twice his age with pure luck as his only saving grace. You may do as you wish to the Death Eaters and Voldemort," the Sorting Hat declared, Fawkes letting out a victorious trill that had my blood pumping as a vicious grin slipped onto my face.
"Just know that he will not be an easy foe to face, even with your advantages over him, Mr. Rose," the hat warned me. "Fate will not move as it normally would have. Events won't be subtly guiding the two into a final confrontation where the defeat of one of them is guaranteed. Voldemort will react differently. The future will be unlike anything you can imagine."
"The future is always changing," I replied. "And I've been preparing for it."
"Hmm. You have, haven't you?" the hat chuckled. "Very well. Fawkes and I wish you all the best in your endeavors. I do hope to see what exactly will happen, going forward. And if your second long-term plan manages to come to fruition… well, I think you and Fawkes will be seeing more of each other."
I glanced at the beautiful crimson bird, and he let out an amused chirp. I nodded at him, and he nodded back, and then both he and the hat were gone in a flash of flames.
As they vanished, I couldn't help but wonder if I'd done the right thing. After a moment, I decided I had done what I could.
'And now, the prophecy is fulfilled,' I thought to myself with a smirk. 'That means it's time for Sirius, Remus, and I to step up our game.'
I had several plans and ideas for dealing with Voldemort. Some I'd have to discuss with Harry, as one of them was essentially using him as bait. If he was willing, of course.
Beyond that, though, Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes could be taken down one by one without issue. The ring was simple. Just burn the shed it was hiding in down with Fiendfyre. The Resurrection Stone itself would remain intact (probably), and the Horcrux inside the ring would be dealt with.
Slytherin's Locket and the Cup of Hufflepuff would be up to Sirius to handle. I'd let him know about them and he could deal with them as he saw fit.
The Diadem of Ravenclaw would be harder, but I had a plan to get into Hogwarts. Or rather, to get a man on the inside to do it. If Dumbledore followed the canon timeline still, Remus Lupin would be contacted over the Summer with a job offer. I'd advise the werewolf to take it in order to get access to the castle and the Room of Requirements that hide the Diadem. Then he could destroy it.
And if things didn't follow canon, then I or somebody else could sneak into the castle during the events of the Goblet of Fire. Again, assuming it went the same way. Which it might or might not, now that the prophecy was gone.
'And if, my hypothesis is correct, destroying the Diadem's Horcrux so should break the curse on the Defense job, too,' I mused to myself.
It was possible the curse on the job position was tied to Voldemort's life itself, but what if the real anchor was the Diadem, hidden in the castle? Using it as the source of the curse made more sense to me, but I'd have to ask a proper Cursebreaker about it to make sure.
One way or another, though, the Horcruxes would be eliminated one by one, leaving only Nagini as a potential Horcrux and Voldemort's original soul. And I had a couple plans to deal with them as well.
Still, there was one thing I couldn't help but ponder as I made my plans. 'Why the hell was Voldemort in Albania?'
That was where Professor Quirrell ended up getting possessed, and it was where Voldemort fled to twice. Both times after being banished by Harry Potter. So, why there?
There could have been a few reasons. One possibility was because it was where he'd found the Diadem of Ravenclaw. But that made no sense. The Diadem was no longer there, after all, it had been hidden in Hogwarts before his first defeat.
The second reason I'd thought of was due to magical power. Albania did have a rather dense Leyline network running through it, one of the strongest in Eastern Europe, in fact. But Stonehenge had the strongest collection of Leylines in all of Europe and was vastly more powerful. He could have hung around the British Isles if magical energy was what he needed. Heck, Hogwarts sat atop four Leylines! Voldemort had plenty of opportunity to feed on magic in the Isles.
Thirdly, it could have been for safety, to law low and hide. Again, though, why Albania specifically? There were closer hiding places. Germany and northern Europe in general had a large number of Dark leaning wizards, and he would have plenty of 'allies' in the region thanks to it being the center of Grindelwald's operations during the years leading up to, and then during, World War Two.
The information I'd dug up on Horcruxes said nothing about a disembodied spirit having to linger near one of their soul anchors. They could go where they pleased. And even when corporeal they weren't forced to stick by them. Though to be fair, Horcruxes were so rare nobody really had much knowledge on them. Certainly nothing on what happened to a person who split their soul as many times as Voldemort!
Still, I didn't know anything for sure. So, the question remained. Why Albania? Something in that corner of the world was important to Voldemort. What it was, I had no idea. And I needed to find out.
111 &&&&& 111
A few days after Fawkes and the Sorting Hat had come to me, I was in my office at the potion workshop, going over paperwork and looking at a few new options for hiring people.
On the magical side, a hag was interested, while more Squibs were approaching me. Or rather, Mark, but he was passing their details on to me for vetting. For the non-magical side of business, I was getting my new potion brewing equipment installed in the second warehouse. By the end of summer we'd have a second location churning out potions and creams to meet demands.
My potions were, technically, classified as Homeopathy, natural cures and what not. At this point in time there were no laws against selling them, so I was good for another couple of years, but I knew it would change.
Already I had a few requests from people Delilah and Mrs. Finch-Fletchley had told me were part of various research groups for samples of my products to test, and I had hesitated on introducing anything like Skele-gro, Blood Replenishers, or the Mind Sharpening potions because of it. Wiggenweld Cream and Hair Growth tonic would be all I'd put out, for now.
'Until I can find a researcher who'll play along with the Statute of Secrecy and help cover up my products' origins, it's took risky,' I thought to myself.
As much as I disregarded the Statute of Secrecy, there was only so far I could push it before I ended up breaking it or slipping up in a way that got the Aurors crashing down on me. Delilah and Mrs. Finch-Fletchley were looking into the researchers, and hopefully they find somebody who'd fit the bill.
Honestly, the biggest money-maker right now was my alchemically powered recycling and trash disposal business. It was growing quickly, and I was making strides to streamline and improve the process. Nicholas Flamel's journal had helped, but I was reaching the limits of what I could do with my current level of knowledge about alchemy.
There was also good news on the other business I was trying to get a foot into. Delilah's negotiations with Raincroft had been going well, and hopefully by the start of next year a majority of Waverider International Cargo Shipping would belong to us. Then, we could improve the shipping industry – or at least our little slice of it – with size expansion and weight reduction charms on the cargo containers to boost the amount of goods we could transport.
While I was thinking these things, the door to my office was practically kicked down as a scowling Sirius Black and Remus Lupin burst in, along with a sheepish Harry Potter trialing behind. I was surprised to see them, but I was also taken aback by the new scar that cut through Harry's lightning bolt on his forehead.
"Why didn't my secretary stop you?" I asked, deciding to focus on the important things. Namely, my guests.
"Disillusionment charms," Sirius replied brusquely.
"And the door? You don't think she'll notice that?" I inquired.
Remus waved his wand and it immediately repaired itself. Then, he and Sirius cast a few privacy charms to keep out eavesdroppers.
"Okay. What is it?" I asked when they were done.
"First of all, what the hell, kid?" Sirius demanded, slapping his palms onto the table.
"Gotta be more specific," I replied, raising an eyebrow at him while keeping a cool front up. Inside, however, I was panicking a little. What the hell were they upset about? What might they have discovered that I was hiding?
"A lotta things!" Sirius snarled. "First, how come you didn't say anything about having a bloody Philosopher's Stone?!"
"That was a gift from Nicholas Flamel," I retorted. "I didn't have to tell you about it."
"Fine," the animagus growled. "What about telling Harry about the Basilisk and not us?!"
"I also told you about it!" I shot back. And I had! I'd warned them about what was lurking in the school! Not my fault they didn't believe me when I told them!
"Sirius," Remus said, interrupting us and glancing at his best friend sharply. Sirius grumbled but settled down a bit while Harry shot me an apologetic look.
"Edward, Sirius and I have been talking, and we feel that you have been keeping secrets from us," Remus said firmly, looking me square in the eye. "Are you?"
"I am," I replied simply. "Do you want to know what I'm hiding from you?"
That brought Sirius and Remus up short. They hadn't expected that.
Seeing their expressions, I snorted. "I'm not Dumbledore. If you want to know the truths I've kept from you, ask. Understand, though, that I might not tell you everything, for one reason or another."
"And if we wanted the whole truth?" Remus asked. "Or at least, everything regarding Harry and his safety?"
For a moment, I hesitated. I looked over at Harry, and he just gave me a look that had me immediately feeling guilty. Trust. Unconditional trust. He believed in me, and I now I felt like a scumbag.
"Okay," I muttered. "I'll tell you what you want to know. For Harry."
"Did you know about the Horcruxes beforehand?" Sirius demanded.
"I did," I admitted. "I've known about them… for years. Long before I approached Remus with the job offer."
"Even the ones in the vault at Gringotts? Or in my own damn home?" Sirius asked.
"You found them?" I asked urgently, leaning forward, and the head of House Black nodded stiffly.
"When Harry told me about the diary he'd encountered, I recalled reading something similar in one of the foul tomes my family kept, and immediately began to search my home for Dark Artifacts and came across the locket. And when Kreacher told me about what had happened, what really happened, to my brother, it made me remember other things. Like all of the hints you'd been dropping to me about cleaning out Grimmauld Place and seizing the Lestrange vault… things started to add up," Sirius revealed. "I brought it up to Remus, and we, well… here we are."
"Did you destroy them?" I demanded.
"I burnt the locket myself," Sirius declared. "And the goblins destroyed the cup in front of me."
"Are there any others?" Remus asked, and I nodded.
"To my knowledge, only three more exist. One is hidden in Hogwarts. Another in a shed in a town I won't share the name of just yet, in case you go hunting after it without hearing what else I know. And lastly, a snake, which may or may not be a Horcrux yet, called Nagini."
"Not a Horcrux yet?" Remus asked, looking at me oddly.
"This another one of your Divination tricks?" Sirius asked. "Or are you claiming to be some sort of Seer? The most clear-sighted Seer to ever exist?"
"Yes, I am," I replied firmly. "Maybe I'm not a true Seer, but what I've seen, what I know… it's all come true so far."
"Are you a Seer?" Harry asked curiously.
"No. Yes. Maybe. But even if I wasn't I know for a fact that, thanks to a genuine true Seer, there was a prophecy made revolving around Harry," I told them, taking them by surprise. "Dumbledore knew of it. Voldemort knew half of it thanks to a spy. It was why he went after the Potters that night. Because Harry was prophesied to be the one to vanquish Voldemort. Well, one of the people fated to do so, at least."
"No… are you sure?" Remus asked in disbelief.
"I am," I replied. "I know this, same as I know the existence of the Horcruxes, same I as know so many other things."
"If you knew… why didn't you tell us?" Sirius demanded.
"I was afraid," I admitted in shame. "I was afraid of altering the timeline. I knew that Harry would come out unscathed. That he would defeat the Basilisk in the Chamber and, later, Voldemort himself. I hadn't planned on befriending Harry, or helping him, or any of you. Because even if I didn't, things would work out for the best, in the end."
I looked at Sirius and Remus. "You would have broken free of Azkaban yourself sometime this year after learning Peter was still alive by seeing his animagus form in a newspaper. You would not be exonerated, however, and Peter would escape and help revive the Dark Lord while you would have Dementors on your arse. And Remus, in the unaltered timeline, you received a job offer from Dumbledore to teach at Hogwarts during the coming school year but get outed as a werewolf. I didn't have to step in. But I did, and hopefully you agree that by doing do I've made things slightly better."
"Why did you, then?" Harry asked softly while the two older men shared uneasy looks with each other. "Why did you step in and help me?"
"Because when I first saw you that day at school, the way you flinched in fear at my very presence because all you knew was pain and loathing, I knew I couldn't not help," I said, lowering my head. "Should I have? I don't know. Do I regret it? No. Never. I couldn't call myself a decent human being if I let things continue as they had after seeing you in person."
"And that was the first time we ever met?" he inquired.
"I knew of you, but yes, that is the truth," I told him.
"What about the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry asked. "Did you really know what would happen down there? That I would… meet my mother?"
"I… no, I didn't," I said, taken aback by that information. "I knew you would face the Basilisk and slay it, that you would save Tom's victim and that Fawkes and the Sorting Hat would come to your aid. That was why I went to them for help. I asked them to take my ring to your side, so in the off-chance things didn't go as I'd foreseen, then perhaps you'd be a little bit safer."
There was silence for a long time as everyone just looked at me. Eventually, Harry walked around my desk and approached me, before giving me a hug.
"I forgive you," he said, and I blinked back tears.
"What? Why?" I asked, bewildered. "I lied to you for years!"
"I don't like that you did it," he admitted. "But even so, I know you just wanted to help me."
Hesitantly, I returned the hug. "Do you mean it?" I asked hopefully.
"I do," Harry promised. "You came to my aide when nobody else did, or would. I have friends, now. I'm happy. And you also wanted me to be happy. And not because it was my 'fate' or because you were told to do so, but because you cared about me, Harry Potter, as a person. Not Harry Potter, 'The Boy Who Lived.'"
We hugged for a bit longer, before eventually separating.
"What happened in the Chamber of Secrets?" I asked, wiping tears out of my eyes.
What followed was a drastically changed tale from the original timeline. Four teachers confronting the Basilisk and discovering Voldemort's identity and the existence of his Horcruxes? Harry wielding the Sword of Gryffindor was expected, but the victim of the diary being Astoria Greengrass was a very interesting change, though I knew of it thanks to that special edition article in the Daily Prophet. And to hear that Harry had seen his mother inside of a white room that sounded very similar to the Death Station from the last book? That was definitely new.
"…and then I healed Astoria of her Blood Curse and the damage done by Voldemort possessing her. I lost the power of my mother's blood wards in the process, but I think that was an acceptable trade," Harry finished. "Afterwards, Fawkes took us all out of the Chamber. Astoria and I spent the night in the infirmary and then we rode the Hogwarts Express back home the next day."
"Alright, I admit, not what I'd expected," I said, impressed. "You did great, though, Harry. I'm proud of you. And have you got any plans for the Basilisk?"
"Professor McGonagall said she would contact some people. Since I killed it, I apparently own the rights to its corpse? Not sure what I'll do with a snake that big, though," Harry shrugged. "I guess I'll sell it."
"Keep some of the skin. It can make very durable defensive clothing. And maybe a fang and some poison. For getting rid of other Horcruxes," I suggested.
"Sirius and Remus said the same," Harry replied.
"Speaking of those two, when did you guys meet up?" I wondered.
"I picked him up from the platform," Sirius replied. He clearly didn't like or trust me anymore, but he was willing to play nice for Harry. "I wanted to see him. And I also wanted to give a few warnings to those relatives of his."
"Fair enough," I said. "I suppose that's when he told you about the events in the Chamber of Secrets?"
"Actually, that came later," Harry said. "Sirius gave me a magic mirror that let me talk to him and so I told him about it the day after I returned from Hogwarts."
"I'm still annoyed you didn't think to tell me about something that important as soon as we met," Sirius grumbled.
"That's fair," Harry said.
There was silence in my office after that. It was unpleasantly awkward with two of the three visitors looking at me with suspicion, but I did nothing about it. Honestly, I was getting off lightly.
"Do you want me to tell you anything else?" I eventually inquired, breaking the silence.
"We will discuss what you've revealed to us in depth later and ask more questions about what you haven't," Remus told me. "For now, though, what you've told is enough."
"Understood. Harry, do you still want to come with me to the United States?" I asked.
"Yes," he nodded eagerly. "I want to see it!"
I glanced at Sirius and Remus.
"I'm going with you two," Sirius stated. "It's not that I don't trust you…"
"No, no, I get it," I assured him. "And I bet you want to spend time with your godson, too."
"Yes," Sirius nodded.
"I'll order a ticket for you, then," I decided.
"Also, I'll admit I'm curious to see how Muggles live in other countries," Sirius hummed. "And to experience how they travel."
"It will be weird to experience after nothing but brooms," I warned, and Harry nodded in agreement.
The trio left my office shortly afterwards, off to do other things. It left me alone with my thoughts and paperwork.
Things hadn't gone like I'd expected. But letting out some of what I'd been bottling up… it felt freeing. Like a weight was now absent from my shoulders.
I did hope that Sirius and Remus would forgive me as well someday. Until then, though, I would wait and do what I could to keep helping Harry and preserving magic.
111 &&& 111
Author's Note: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone! And thank you for reading!