60 51.2 First Meeting

"You're not implying they are getting for another war, are you? You-Know-Who is dead." He said with a frown.

"Then why are you afraid of saying his name?" Kaiser retorted. "You do agree that even if he was dead, his movement isn't entirely. It's not that hard to deduce is it?" Cedric nodded. He knew blood purity was still a thing in Magical Britain. "Besides, I'm not implying it. I'm outright telling you."

"You can't possibly know that!" He exclaimed almost instantaneously. Then he looked around, and noticed that the others didn't seem to react the same way he'd expect them to.

"That's not the only reason we're saying it, Cedric. Unfortunately, we have irrefutable proof." Kaiser interrupted him before he could start. Turning to Harry, he said: "Harry, do you mind sharing with us what happened at the end of your first year here at Hogwarts?"

Harry narrated the events leading to his meeting with professor Quirell in great detail, including the tale of the philosopher's stone, and how it was hidden there at Hogwarts'. "…For some reason, he was weak to my touch, so he was forced to leave his temporary body, killing the professor in the process."

Kaiser knew how absurd the whole story was, but he didn't count entirely on it to convince him. Cedric looked incredulous by the time he finished.

"Is that it?" He asked wide-eyed. "You're seriously basing your whole 'The Dark Lord is Back' on a ghost and magic rock Harry here saw as a twelve year?! No offense."

"The ghost could interact with the physical world more than he should be able to, but to answer your question: No, we are not." Kaiser shook his head. "We also had the misfortune to meet him in another form of his during our second year. You remember the events of the Chamber of Secrets, right?" At his nod, Kaiser turned to the twins, asking for permission, it was their sister this was about after all.

"My little sister, Ginny, was controlled by a cursed book, and forced to open the chamber of secrets." A gasp was heard in the room at his admission. They obviously didn't know since it was kept under wraps, even Susan was not privy of such information.

"The Chamber of Secrets can only be opened by someone who can speak Parseltongue, and I am pretty sure Ginny isn't a Parselmouth." Kaiser reasoned. "You might argue that the book was simply equiped by an intricate curse, that for some reason gave the possessed that ability, along with mind controlling them, but maybe what I'm about to tell you might change your mind."

"When we got down to the chamber, we found Ginny lying motionless on the ground, with said book held in year hands. Then we saw an apparition of a seventh year Hogwarts' student by the name of Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Riddle is the son of the pure-blood witch Merope Gaunt and the muggle Tom Riddle Senior. He was involved in the previous incident where the Chamber was opened in 1943, but Rebeus Hagrid was the one to take the blame for the incident and was expelled. Tom Marvolo Riddle also happen to be the source of the anagram "I am Lord Voldemort", as it was graciously explained to us by said spirit. He could walk, talk and was manifested in the physical world."

Cedric's mind was overwhelmed by now thanks to all the shocks he was receiving at the same time. What Kaiser was telling him was very hard to believe, but he knew he had no reason to lie. But believing his words and believing that Voldemort was back are two entirely different matters. He still needed a final push.

"And yet it was the only anomaly I discovered there." Kaiser continued. "You see, I have been casting a Homenum Revelio (Human presence revealing spell) the whole way, and when we finally reached Ginny, it revealed four presences to me. So let's do a headcount, shall we?

Obviously, there was Harry and I. Then, Ginny on the floor. The fourth presence was a mystery to me so far, probably a hostile, so I was getting ready to fight it. My mind came to the only logical conclusion it could at the time, that the apparition was indeed a real person, but spells could pass right through it. It revealed to us that it was feeding off Ginny's life-force in order to gain its body back. So that could only mean, that the cursed book was the real enemy." He reasoned, while everyone's attention was focused on every word he said. "Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the book was unaffected by any spells I threw at it. Then, my mind gave birth to an insane theory: What if the life sign was coming from the book itself, that additionally to being absurdly resilient. It would make perfect sense to everything that's happened so far, wouldn't it?" There was a pause, where everyone was musing over his words. This was unknown territory for all of them, and they knew that would they have been in his position, they wouldn't know what to do.

"So, what did you do?" Cedric broke the silence, curious about Kaiser's answer to this dilemma. Kaiser looked hesitant for a moment, before he steeled himself and sighed.

"Do you know the theory behind the Killing Curse?" He asked, avoiding eye contact with everyone. This was one piece of information he wished he didn't have to tell them, but he deemed it necessary, or maybe he just thought it was time he trusted his friends some more. Only the Golden Trio and Daphne were aware he could cast one of the unforgivable curses.

"Yes." Surprisingly, it was Michael who answered his question, and ever the Ravenclaw, he provided an explanation. "The killing curse operates in a different dimension than we usually experience, called the Soul dimension, that is why no shielding spell can ever block it. It is a direct attack to one's soul, severing its link to its container, the body, and therefore killing its target." They were all wondering why he would bring it up, until they were reminded, or in some cases, understood the implication of that last sentence. Their eyes widened in shock, gears turning at full speed, ascertaining whether their friend could truly cast such a spell.

"You cast the killing curse at the book." It was not a question, as he already knew the answer. Cedric narrowed his eyes, studying his reaction, but he gave none, his mind channeling all those years of Occlumency training.

"I did." Kaiser was sad to note that even Hannah looked uncertain of what to think of it, but he when he noticed Susan did not seem at all bothered by that particular fact, he was overjoyed. At least, she trusted him enough to believe in him, that he didn't learn the spell for nefarious purposes.

"And you just happened to know that spell?" he said accusingly, seeming disappointed in him for it. You didn't just find that spell lying around in books, waiting for you to pick it up to teach you how to do it.

"Yes. I learned that spell sometime around the second year." He shrugged.

"And why in Merlin's name would you do that?!" Cedric was very close to drawing his wand on Kaiser, unable to accept why would a second year even think about learning such foul spell. The spell did not have a good reputation, especially after the previous wizarding war. A lot of families were killed by that very same curse, including some of Cedric's relatives.

Kaiser's face hardened, he did not appreciate his tone at all, but could understand nevertheless.

"This isn't fair, Cedric." Susan interrupted him, looking angrily at him. "He was nice enough to trust you with probably one of his biggest secrets. At least, you owe him the time to listen to his explanation before judging!" Cedric was taken aback by her shift of demeanor. Was this the shy and happy Susan everyone in Hufflepuff knew, the Susan that never raised her voice on anyone no matter what? "Besides, if he is as bad as you believe he is, he would never have confessed that to anyone. He understood how bad it looks, so cut him some slack!" Silence followed her outburst. Cedric looked down in shame at his own actions, as he realized that he treated him too harshly.

Daphne, on the other hand, has been looking pensive for a while. She already knew about all of this, of course, but she found herself thinking back to the conversation they had the previous summer, when she informed him about the Triwizard Tournament.

She knew Kaiser's official statement on the matter: He wanted to use the Killing Curse to defend himself from the 'Slytherin Monster', but now she realized something very important now that she had more information. That excuse was unicorn shit! He knew! He knew that Voldemort was alive, he knew where the Chamber of Secrets was, and he knew how to deal with the Horcrux! Just how much more does he know? And where on earth does he get his knowledge of the future?