Chapter 123

"Fine," replied Harry. "Then, I'll use his real name so the record is straight on this - Tom Marvolo Riddle."

"Mister Potter!" roared Dumbledore surging back to his feet again. "I forbid this!"

Fitzwilliam banged his gavel again and barked back at Dumbledore, "Chief Warlock, return to your seat and remain silent. You are not a named Interrogator, here!"

Turning back to Harry after Dumbledore grumped and planted his bum back in his seat, sulking, Fitzwilliam said, "I believe it was Vol-... him... who attacked your parent's cottage."

"It was," replied Harry. "But, everyone calls him that silly name that means 'Flight from death' in French. Vol-de-mort. His real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle; not that silly French nonsense everyone calls him."

A lot of shocked and excited whispers had broken out during the past minute or so. However, Fitzwilliam sat there just as dumbfounded as everyone else. Most were just staring at Harry in shock.

"H-how do you know this?" Fitzwilliam finally asked.

"He told me," replied Harry. "At least, a memory of him did. In second year. In the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts."

"That's... unbelievable, Mister Potter," the man half-gasped. "Everyone knows that You-Know-Who is dead."

"Really?" asked Harry right back. "Would these be the same 'everyone' who knew that Sirius Black led Riddle to my parent's cottage in Godric's Hollow? The same 'everyone' who knew that Pettigrew was dead? The same 'everyone' who believed I was growing up in a loving, wizarding home?

"Really, Sir," smirked Harry. "How much more information do you need to understand that everything about me you thought true is mostly lies?"

Harry turned to Madam Bones and happily exclaimed, "Memory time!"

Madam Bones sighed, nodded and indicated one of her aurors; the same one that took Harry's memories before, to retrieve another.

"Everybody knows that there were students being attacked at Hogwarts during the school year of nineteen ninety two ninety three," explained Harry. "The Headmaster kept the school open during that entire time. Minister Fudge, accompanied by Mister Lucius Malfoy, turned up at the school and arrested Rubeus Hagrid for doing it.

"Minister Fudge's reasoning for doing so was that, the last time the Chamber was opened, Rubeus Hagrid was accused of doing so; and killing the Ravenclaw student, Myrtle Cummings. It did not matter to Minister Fudge that there was no evidence Rubeus Hagrid had done anything wrong. According to Minister Fudge's own words... spoken in the presence of Lucius Malfoy, Albus Dumbledore, Rubeus Hagrid, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and myself... he had to be seen to be doing something. It was yet another situation where an innocent man was simply tossed into Azkaban without first being tried.

"What my memory will show you is the truth of the Dork Lard's identity, who was really responsible, and what was really petrifying students in the school, that year."

Harry thought hard about the event and nodded. The auror drew the memory forth and moved it to the stone basin.

Not even waiting for the go-ahead, he activated it.

The memory then played from Harry and Ron forcing Lockhart into the bathroom, Harry activating the hidden entrance, their slide down into the cave tunnel, Lockhart getting Ron's wand and the Obliviate curse backfiring on him bringing the roof down... which had many watching scandalised at Flophart's actions... Harry going on and opening the main door, and his finding Ginny's unconscious form.

Then to his chat with 'Memory-Riddle' with the truth about his name and heritage, the calling forth of the basilisk, the arrival of Fawkes with the Sorting Hat, the fight with the basilisk, getting bitten, Fawkes crying into the wound in Harry's right forearm, and him using the broken fang to destroy the diary. Memory-Riddle's destruction, Ginny waking up, Harry leading her back to the cave-in, Ron's helping both of them through the small gap he'd finally been able to make, Fawkes gathering them all up and flying them back up the pipe, and their arrival back in the bathroom at the feet of Professor McGonagall.

During the playing of the memory, Harry heard gasps, the odd shriek at the relevant moments, cheers at the end of the battle, and mumbled chatter.

When the memory finished Harry had to ask the stunned auror for its return. Everyone else, except for Harry, Hermione, Daphne and Matthias, sat there in shock. The aforementioned had, of course, seen it before.

Finally coming back to his senses, Fitzwilliam turned to Fudge and said, "Minister, you give this boy a bloody Order of Merlin, First Class. You hear me?"

The Minister, sitting pale and trembling slightly, just nodded back.

Turning back to Harry, Fitzwilliam asked, "Are there any more exploding cauldrons you want to drop on us, Mister Potter?"

"What?" asked Harry. "You haven't had enough, yet? Gee, you people are hard to please." "Mister Potter," half-growled.

Fitzwilliam

half-sighed

"Alright," soothed Harry. "How about this one. Why does everyone think I was hit by the killing curse, that night?"

"Because you were?" he asked a little plaintively.

"Really?" asked Harry. "How do you know? Think about this. For those we know to be there on that night when Riddle supposedly turned up: We know Riddle may have been there; of course, we now know Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper, so he was likely there. However, we also know he was a bit of a coward; as you saw of the memory in the Shrieking Shack. So, we don't know where he was in relation to the... action, shall we say. "We know my father was killed by the killing curse after it was determined he duelled with someone. Riddle may or may not have been the one he was duelling with and who cast the killing curse that killed him. We know someone soon thereafter went up into my nursery, and that my mother was hit by the killing curse. Was it Riddle? Again, we don't know.

"At that point, we only know that Riddle... probably... and myself are the only two people left alive in the cottage. There were... possibly... other Death Eaters around, including Pettigrew. However, we don't know where they were in relation to what happened next.

"At that point... supposedly... Riddle cast the killing curse at me. The curse... supposedly... rebounded destroying Riddle, utterly. There's nothing left; not even his robes or wand. It also brought down the upper storey whole front wall and some of the ceiling and roof of the nursery."Fine," replied Harry. "Then, I'll use his real name so the record is straight on this - Tom Marvolo Riddle."