Chapter 23: Reactions II

Gryffindor Common Room

The room was silent, nearly empty. The Weasley's were being given space. Percy had gone off to bed, not saying anything, while Fred and Ginny sat, silent on armchairs near the fire. Ginny had her hands over her ears and was staring into space, as she slowly rocked back and forth. She would sit in that position for a while, and then would lift her knees up to her chest, and clutch them tightly.

Fred looked murderous, face set, knuckles white as he clenched onto the armrests.

Ron, meanwhile, was haranguing Hermione, the only non-Weasley, other than Neville in the room.

"I told you. I told you it was him, but you said-"

"I know Ron. I think you were right" Hermione said, tearfully

"You think? After George, you still only think I was right?"

"I meant, I need a bit more proof to be one hundred percent certain. But I really think you're right. And I think I have a way to get that proof"

Ron stopped his pacing and looked at her, the firelight catching his face menacingly.

"What do you mean?"

"Harry would probably not mind talking about what he's doing in his dorm, to his fellow Slytherins. We just need to be a part of that"

"Amazing plan Hermione. Really brilliant. We'll just walk into the Slytherin common room, if we can even get in, and pretend like we belong there. Hey, Harry did you try to kill my brother, and he'll just-"

"Obviously not. We'll use Polyjuice potion"

Fred looked up sharply at this.

"And what is Polyjuice potion anyway?" Ron asked.

"It lets you turn into someone else. For an hour at least" Fred said softly, eyes glinting.

"Yeah," Hermione said, looking at Fred.

He shrugged. "We- we were planning on using it once. Try turn into cats and scare Mrs. Norris. You can't use it for animals though. You could get stuck like that forever. We didn't want to risk it" He ended off, morosely.

Ron was beginning to understand now.

"So we make this Polyjuice, and we can turn into Slytherins. Then we sneak in and get him to talk about it. When will it be ready?"

"I'm not sure. I've been reading up on it a little, but I need a book from the restricted section to find out for sure. I think it will be done by Christmas"

"I'll get you the book," Fred said, "What is it?"

"Moste potent potions. I think we need some ingredients that are in Snape's private stores also"

"Let me be in charge of that"

"By the end of Christmas break, we should be able to prove that Harry Potter is the Heir of Slytherin"

Headmaster's office

As the members of the teaching staff stood to leave, Albus said "Severus, Minerva. Please stay a few minutes"

' Ah, Slytherin and Gryffindor. I wonder where this will go'

Snape and McGonagall took their seats again.

Albus steepled his hands and looked at them over his fingers.

"I am concerned, that this attack will cause tensions between Gryffindor and Slytherin students to rise. What can you, as their respective heads of house, to prevent this?"

Snape spoke first.

"I have already addressed the Slytherins. They will not antagonize the Gryffindors or any other students for that matter"

McGonagall continued smoothly the instant Snape stopped.

"I spoke to the Gryffindors as a whole. They know, that any vigilante action will be very, very strictly dealt with"

"Good, good" Albus said, as the portraits behind him began to whisper to each other.

"Albus" McGonagall spoke hesitantly, "Why are you so adamant that we not tell the students that it is a basilisk? Surely that would help them be safer?"

' Yes Albus, why? McGonagall is too honest, she can't see what you're doing. But I want to hear you say it out loud'

Albus sighed, reaching over to scratch Fawkes as he spoke.

"At the moment, it is our only advantage. We can't say with certainty why they are doing this, we don't know who it is, but we know what they are using to do it. They don't know that we are aware it is a basilisk. If we tell the students, whoever it is will know, and we will lose our greatest help. Additionally, the panic our announcement would cause would undoubtedly lead to the closing of Hogwarts"

"Would that really be so bad? At least that way none of the children would be harmed" Minerva said, voice rising slightly

"We would lose any possibility of catching the perpetrator"

' There it is'

"And so you use the students as bait?" Minerva said, lifting her hand to her mouth, horrified.

"Minerva, we must catch them! It is more than necessary!"

"Why? What do you know Albus? What makes this so important that you would allow lives to be on the line?"

"I do not believe their goal is wholesale slaughter. If it was, they could simply bring the basilisk into the Great Hall during mealtime. The staff table is directly in line with the doors, and those most capable of dealing with a threat would be dead in instants"

"So what do you believe their goal to be?" Snape asked.

"I am not yet certain. It would seem to be one of three. Either to incite fear and panic or to cause war to break out between the houses. Or, to frame a student"

"Who?" Minerva asked, but Snape thought he knew where Dumbledore was going with this.

"Harry Potter. Does it not strike you as odd, that the student attacked last night was one who had recently had an altercation with Harry? That the cat attacked first, belonged to a member of staff who had, unfairly most believe, assigned Harry detention?"

"Yes, but Severus has cleared Harry," McGonagall said, slight confusion evident.

' Minerva, you are a most brilliant witch, but your talents do not lie in thinking in crooked lines'

"Exactly. Furthermore, even if it had been Harry, would he really be so foolish? To point an arrow directly at himself? No, I believe the attacks have been planned to point suspicion at Harry"

"Why would anyone desire that?" Snape said quietly.

Albus closed his eyes for a few minutes. The office was silent, broken only by the susurrus created by the portraits and Albus' many rare instruments.

"The average witch or wizard, even if they have heard of the Chamber of Secrets, believe it to be a myth," Dumbledore said, opening his piercing eyes. "Those who are more aware, know that it was opened fifty years, resulting in the death of one Myrtle Warren. As a result of this, Rubeus Hagrid was caught with an Acromantula and expelled. Even though it was a ridiculous thought that a half-giant Gryffindor student had been behind the attacks, particularly since Acromantula cannot cause the injuries and death that had been, he was expelled, and the attacks stopped."

Dumbledore took a deep breath and looked at the portraits arranged behind him for a second before continuing.

"Those who have been Headmaster here, or otherwise have access to the Secret History of Hogwarts, know that the Chamber was opened twice within two hundred years of Salazar Slytherin's departure from Hogwarts. These openings resulted in a combined thirty-one deaths, including the perpetrators in both cases. Both times, they were direct descendants of Salazar himself"

' As always, a question must be answered with a rambling story'

"The Slytherin line gradually faded away, until the only family that could trace their lineage back to them was the Gaunt family. In the early 1900's, the last members of the Gaunt family lived in a hovel near the Muggle village of Little Hangleton. This family consisted of Marvolo Gaunt, his son Morfin, and his daughter Merope. Years later, Morfin was convicted of the murder of the wealthy, landowning muggle family of the village. He claimed to be angry over his sister having had eloped with their son, Tom Riddle, who later returned home, wife and child, not with him"

Snape looked at McGonagall. He was quite unsure where exactly this would all lead, but from the nervous expression on McGonagall's face, she seemed to know.

"Fifty-Five years ago, I visited a muggle orphanage to introduce a young wizard to the world of magic. The matron told me that this child's mother had died after childbirth, living just long enough to bestow a name upon him. Tom for his father, Marvolo for his grandfather, with the last name of Riddle. This child, I was surprised to discover, was a Parselmouth. And so, the last descendant of Salazar Slytherin returned to Hogwarts."

' Wait. The last descendant… That means'

"In the fifth year of the boy who would later take the name Lord Voldemort, the Chamber was opened. Coincidentally, my predecessor, Headmaster Dippet, informed Tom that Hogwarts would possibly close as a result of Myrtle's death. That same night, Tom caught Hagrid with an acromantula, causing his expulsion, and the closing of the case"

"You believe the Dark Lord to be behind this?" Snape asked, half incredulously, half terrified.

Dumbledore looked weary beyond even his prestigious years.

"I have suspicions. He could be possessing someone, using even an untrained first year as his tool. If his goal is to cause suspicion to fall upon the Slytherins, that would make sense. It would have the result of driving them closer to his cause. If his desire is to frame Harry, that could end with Harry's expulsion, leaving him closer to Voldemort's" Albus ignored the flinches this resulted in and carried on speaking "Grips, and thus closer to his revenge"

' It could be. The Dark Lord was obsessed with avoiding death. It could definitely be that he survived somehow. If Potter did, what's to stop him from having?'

"Why do you think he is doing this now?" Minerva asked, shaking slightly

"I believe Quirrel may have brought him back from Eastern Europe. According to my sources, he had been hiding in Albania. Quirinus entered Albania in his travels and was definitely acting oddly afterward. After Quirinus returned, there were attempts to steal the Stone from dear Nicholas. It was kept safe, and where is Quirrel now? Owls addressed to his return with their letters unread. My best attempts at tracking him have left me with nothing. Even Fawkes" Albus stroked the sleeping Phoenix, "Has been unable to track him down"

The office fell silent until Minerva broke it.

"What do we do Albus?"

"We watch, and wait. The Ministry's special task force should be formed and trained by the end of Christmas break. In the meantime, we continue trying to get Myrtle's ghost to cooperate. If possible Severus, I want you to ask Harry to let you know if he hears any snakes talking. Maybe he should even ask the portraits of snakes, few though they are, about the basilisk"

"You want me to tell him about the basilisk?" Snape asked.

' We want a twelve-year-old child to save us?'

"It would be foolish for us not to enlist his help. Impress upon him the need to keep it secret. If whoever is behind this realizes that Harry is trying to find it, he may be in danger"

Snape nodded curtly.

"Very well. Please, keep me updated on anything that occurs in your houses. No matter how small it may seem, I want to know it"

Lord Voldemort's safe house Innsmouth

Something caught his eye as he flew through the mind of the man sitting before him.

He was an Auror, and Voldemort had been most unimpressed at how easy it had been to catch the man. If the standards of their elite force had truly fallen so far, his return was practically prepared for him already.

As he flew through Robert's mind though, a scrap of conversation pulled him in. He heard the words 'Chamber of Secrets' mentioned, as well as 'Basilisk' and he abandoned his previous search and dove into that memory. It was from that very day. He watched with growing rage as the auror was invited to join a task force to help hunt down a basilisk that had been let loose upon Hogwarts. His blood began to boil, and he saw the memory through a veil of red and black as a senior ministry official told a group of Aurors about the attacks happening at Hogwarts, and how the 'Heir of Slytherin' was behind them.

He pulled out of the man's mind, tearing his thoughts to shreds in his rage. He barely thought as he cast a familiar green light at the man, and even the ecstasy of the Avada Kedavra was not enough to lessen his rage.

' LUCIUS! YOU SENT MY HORCRUX AWAY!'

He was biting his upper lip hard enough for blood to begin to drip down his chin. Breathing in short shallow spurts, he waved his wand in the direction of the corpse before him, and its chest exploded outwards.

The shattered ribs poked through it's ravaged tatters of flesh as Lord Voldemort was drenched in blood.

"LUCIUS!" He roared a feral screech.

His rage continued to build.

A vial of rare potion ingredients exploded on the shelf behind him, adding its bitter smell to the stench of viscera in the room.

A black flame launched out of his wand, and he merely stared at it for a second before taking a deep breath and causing it to recede.

' I must visit Lucius. But if I visit him in my current state I may kill him, and he could prove useful if alive. But he sent one of my Horcruxes to Hogwarts, where Dumbledore could find it. Time is of the essence. I must visit him. I must not kill him unless he pushes me to do so'

And oh, how he wanted Lucius to buy his own death. Images of Lucius Malfoy perishing in horrific pain flitted through his mind, and slowly Lord Voldemort breathed deeply, calming himself, slowing his heartbeat.

The fact that Lucius was not aware that it was a Horcrux was immaterial. The fact that Lucius believed him dead did not assuage his guilt. Lucius would be punished. He may even be alive at the end of it.

' Or perhaps, a more-fitting punishment could be found'

A terrible smile spread across Voldemort's face as the idea took form.

He turned to clean the mess Lucius had caused him to make and to prepare to pay a visit to an old friend.

Malfoy Manor

Dinner had been superb. The new elf was far better than Dobby had been.

Lucius suppressed a shudder at the thought of his old elf. He had put it out of its misery of course. A house-elf like that would never get a job. Besides, it knew far too much of his personal business to be allowed to go away freely.

Narcissa smiled at him. He hadn't told her exactly that he was behind the attacks at Hogwarts, but she knew nevertheless. It was an old agreement of theirs. He wouldn't tell her the things that would get him in trouble directly, but he would give her enough hints and clues that she would be able to work it out. He hadn't bothered to hide the joy he was feeling when he told her how one of Arthur Weasley's brood had been attacked. He had thought nothing of telling her that when the Aurors got down to the bottom of this whole business, it would certainly reflect very badly on Arthur Weasley.

"Narcissa dear, I must spend some time in my study before coming to bed tonight"

She smiled at him wickedly. "Of course darling"

He walked to his study, deep in thought.

Opened the door and took a few steps in.

' There's someone here'

He stopped dead in his tracks. The fire was lit, with his armchair facing it. He could dimly see an outline of a figure in his throne-like chair, but that was it.

The door closed behind him without his doing anything.

Pulling his wand out in one swift movement, he spoke to the figure.

"Whoever you are, I give you one chance to leave my home willingly"

A high pitched chuckle rose from the figure, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up.

"You dare threaten me?"

Lucius was paralyzed with shock.

' That voice. It can't be. No'

"Who are you?" He managed to say, voice shaking.

"You don't recognize the voice of your master? You swore to me Lucius, you swore to be my servant for life"

A sudden, fiery pain roared through Lucius' arm.

His left arm.

He dropped to his knees, trembling as the armchair slowly swung around.

"My-My-My lord. H-How is this possible?"

Red eyes glinted at him in the gloom.

"I told you many times Lucius. I would not be felled by death. But we must leave that all aside for now. I came here for a reason" He said, rising sinuously from the chair, and with snake-like movements walking towards a bookshelf.

Lucius watched this with growing terror.

' It truly is him. He's going to that bookshelf. I am going to die'

"I entrusted you with an old diary of mine Lucius," the Dark Lord said, pulling out a book and causing the whole bookshelf to swing aside. Behind it lay an entirely unremarkable stretch of wall.

Unremarkable that is, until the Dark lord tapped it with his wand and it vanished, leaving behind a floating safe.

"I distinctly remember you placing it in this safe, Lucius. A safe you said none but you knew of"

"M-My lord I-"

Voldemort continued, ignoring Lucius' attempts at speech. He stroked the safe, and tapped it with his wand, causing it to open.

"Imagine my surprise Lucius, when I come and the safe is empty."

"P-Please, my Lord"

"Where is it?" He said softly, hissing the words out.

' This is how I meet my death'

"It is at-at Hogwarts, my Lord"

"At Hogwarts," Voldemort said, stressing the words out. The rictus of a grin on his face was the most terrifying thing Lucius had ever faced.

"Why is it at Hogwarts?"

"I-I-I"

"Hard to speak, Lucius? Perhaps this will help. Crucio!"

Pain. Every inch, every nerve, pain. It will never end. The Dark Lord was going to keep him under the Cruciatus until he died, screaming as he tore his own skin to shreds.

And then it was over. Long fingers gripped his chin and forced his head upwards until he was staring into his master's eyes.

And memories were flooding his mind, as he saw his entire train of thought that led to him planting the diary on Ginny Weasley. His mind was being ripped to shreds, and he could feel the Dark Lord's rage burning inside his head.

After an eternity, it ended.

"Crucio"

And Lucius was screaming, not a scrap of his dignity or self-control left. He was crying, begging for it to end, begging for him to be killed and for the torment to be over.

"Lucius. You have failed me greatly. But you will redeem yourself. You will return the diary to me"

Shaking, Lucius pulled himself to his knees once again.

"Please my Lord, I will do whatever you wish. I have ever been-"

"You are not forgiven. Your punishment is still to come"

' Merlin, no'

"You have put something most precious to me in grave danger," the Dark Lord said, cruel glee shining in his voice. "I have often heard the most precious thing one can have is a child. Would you not agree, Lucius?"

' Draco. Merlin, no. Let this be a nightmare, let me wake up please'

Something stung him.

"I said, would you not agree, Lucius?"

"Yes my Lord"

"Well then. I will offer Draco the chance to serve me. If he agrees, he will live. If not, he will die, followed by your wife, and then yourself. I will make sure they are aware they are dying as a result of your failure. Oh, and I will perform legilemency on him. If you have coerced him into making the choice, you will make me most angry."

Lucius was silent, his heart pounding in his chest. At some point, he had soiled himself, and the smell was beginning to permeate the room.

"Is that not fair, Lucius?"

"It is, my Lord"

"Good. You have until tomorrow to figure out how you will return my diary to me and to present the plan to me. If it is not satisfactory I will remove a finger and a toe."

"Yes my Lord"

"I will be staying here, in your home"

"It will be an honor my lord"

"And now Lucius, you will tell me everything you know about your former associates. But first, tell me about Harry Potter"