{Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts}
{25th Sep 1991}
{3rd Person POV}
It has been over a week since 'The Attack on the Gryffindor Tower,' as the rumor mill coined this incident. Conjectures also connected this incident to Sirius Black's successful infiltration of the Gryffindor Tower. According to the current rumors, Sirius Black carefully timed his assassination attempt, but due to Harry Potter's prophetic prowess, he was able to escape this feeble attempt easily.
Rigel found it funny how the rumor mill went from 'Seamus Finnigan's jealousy over Harry Potter's fame' to 'The Attack on the Gryffindor Tower.' Wild rumors circulated around the castle, and many changes occurred. Dementers roamed closer to the castle walls as shadows loomed over the prospect of the first quidditch match.
Along with the fact that Harry Potter had somehow found himself back into the Gryffindor Quidditch team, accompanied by the outrage of the other three houses, every house began re-trialing for their own quidditch team, this time including the first years. Rigel had stayed away from the action, though he had noticed that Tracy had been denied the opportunity to trial because of her blood status.
The Weasley twins had maintained their promise, and not a peep regarding his involvement came out in the rumors. There was some speculation that he must have helped Sirius Black sneak into the castle but nothing more than that, all in all, after a quiet week, the last thing he expected was to be summoned over by the Headmaster himself.
'I made sure that there were no paintings other than the Fat Lady who noticed me arriving and leaving the Gryffindor Tower, so there should be no way for him to track me down. I made sure to take the antidote to the Polyjuice potion before taking the box back with me, and I didn't even take the box back to the Slytherin common room but to the Room of Hidden Things... There should be no way for him to be able to connect the incident with me.' Rigel thought.
He had been tracing every move he had made in the past week and the day of the incident. He was pretty sure that he didn't do anything wrong. The only possible way to track him would be through tracking his scent, but he went through plenty of hidden corridors, so he was a little doubtful.
Rigel stared into the Grriffin's eyes as he spoke, "Stringmints."
'Even if I Did leave some form of DNA evidence behind? A broken hair or something... I was in the first-year dorm for less than a minute, so I shouldn't have been too unlucky. Any evidence I left behind would indicate that it was Neville's hair; that's how the polyjuice potion works, and that's why it's a banned item...'
The revolving staircase that worked like a magical escalator was fascinating as I arrived at large wooden doors. These shone brightly to his Magical sense as each and every inch of the doorway was interwoven with runes. Rigel was not able to sense anything beyond that, but the reverse may not be true as the doors swung open on their own.
The Headmaster's office was magical, the dozens of portraits whose eyes snapped to him pushed aside for the moment. Several things caught his eye. There was a bookshelf that contained tones of old tomes and scrolls, forbidden knowledge that was locked tight under the headmaster's gaze, and, according to his senses, a ward protecting them.
With his magical senses, it was easy to see which items were magical, and the Headmaster's office was full of them. There were weird devices with two drums that spun at odd frequencies and were connected to the wards, a hidden entryway to another room hidden behind a mirror, the desk, the quill—everything was enchanted, and they all lit up to his mana sense, but nothing came close to the two beaming lights to his senses.
He knew how strong Dumbledore was; his level had already given him that idea, but it was the Phoenix that was a surprise. He didn't remember how it was described in the novel, and the movie counterpart didn't leave too much of an impression. Whether it was limited by the CGI of his previous world was in question because the mystical creature in front of him looked ethereal.
The orange-golden fire was stuck to its feathers like a blanket that separated it from the mortal world. The golden eyes evaluated him for a mere moment before looking away in disinterest. Sure, from the structure, it looked like an ordinary bird, but the gleaming scales that covered its neck and the steel-like feathers did tell him that the bird was not less dangerous than the man himself.
"Beautiful, isn't she?" Dumbledore's voice broke Rigel from staring at the mystical creature, and he absently nodded. Maybe he wouldn't like Dumbledore as a character, but he had to admit that the Phoenix was clearly a mystical creature.
"Mystical... that's the word that comes to my mind," Rigel admitted. He noticed Dumbledore smile slightly as he looked into the old man's eyes. He wasn't worried that the old man would try to read his mind because Snape had already tried and failed. He could move the conversation along and focus on why he was here, but seeing Fawkes made him change his mind.
"How did you two meet... if you don't mind me asking?" Rigel questioned. He stared at the Phoenix again and noticed that the bird was indeed paying attention to the conversation.
"Hoh... now that was so long time ago, wasn't it Fawkes..." Dumbledore hummed as if he was lost in his memories, "...it was safe to say it was Fawkes who found me decades ago when I needed some help and has stuck around since."
It was a simple way to deny his interest in the clearly mystical creature and Rigel nodded, he didn't want to question in this direction, not for now anyway. He turned and looked at the old man before him and asked, "You summoned me for something, Headmaster?"
The old wizard nodded as his face took on a serious tone. He stared into Rigel's eyes momentarily and then asked, "How much do you know about the Chamber of Secrets?"
...
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AN: The Chamber of Secrets and Sirius's exoneration would mingle on for the entire school year. The story would pick up pace slightly from now on! Plus a character would return briefly for a smut scene in the upcoming chapters!
P.S- 47+ Chapters on P.atreon!
{Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts}
{25th Sep 1991}
{3rd Person POV}
"How much do you know about the Chamber of Secrets?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes maintaining eye contact with Rigel. Even though he couldn't use surface-level legilemency, that didn't mean he couldn't read the kid in front of him. The slight tightening of his brows, even though Dumbledore could see that Rigel was trying his best to keep a neutral facade, gave it away.
"What's the Chamber of Secrets?" Rigel asked, his face set neutral even though he was feeling slightly anxious now. If the conversation had been about his infiltration, the PolyJuice Potion, or even Peter Pettigrew, he could easily navigate that since he had all the right reasons.
But the Chamber of Secrets was an entirely different issue, putting aside the fact that the elusive diary was somewhere in the castle and how Dumbledore had come to the conclusion that he knew something about it.
'Or is it because I'm a known Parselmouth, and he wants to enter the chamber?'
It was possible that Dumbledore just wanted to deal with the monster Slytherin supposedly left behind by Slytherin. But did he want the old wizard involved with the Diary business? On the one hand, it would make his work a lot easier. If Dumbledore could deal with the Basilisk, the most prevalent danger to him would be dealt with.
Rigel was just reluctant to give it all up. Not only was the old Basilisk worth a lot of money, but he also didn't want to give up the sanctuary of the Chamber. After dealing with the Basilisk, it would be a strategic resource he could use and maybe even explore. In canon, Harry never explored the Chamber in its entirety. There were countless speculations in the fandom that something must have been hidden in the Chamber, something that the snake was protecting. Still, he didn't have foreknowledge because of Harry's own trauma related to the chamber.
'If I give access to Dumbledore, not only would I be losing money but also a possible opportunity. Even if it was a slim possibility, I can't ignore it...' Rigel thought.
...
Albus stared at the young Black. He was so similar to his father now that he was staring at him. The same face and high cheekbones, dark orbs, and slightly sunken eyes, likely from overstudying. He had heard from Severus that the young Rigel was good at magical arts, both with wanded magic and politically as well. He already had a core group and had some form of influence over the council as well.
Though the reason for those transactions was a little predatory, he couldn't interfere in them. He hadn't shown any inclination against the Muggleborn until now, and according to Madam Pince, he had been seen multiple times interacting with Hermione Granger.
...
The two stared at each other for a bit before Dumbledore decided to take a step back. instead of going the confrontational route, he decided on a peaceful way, "The Chamber of Secrets is a hidden room that the founder of your house left behind in Hogwarts. It is an old room lost to time, and generations of researchers have failed to try and find it. It isn't a hoax as proof of its existence does exist."
"If so many researchers couldn't find it, why are you asking me if I know about it?" Rigel asked, puzzled. Albus could see through the innocent facade that the boy was putting up, and after thinking about it for a second, he decided to cut straight through it.
"Because you already visited the entrance once..." Albus spoke. He noticed the slight shift in Rigel's posture. He was defensive, but not defensive enough for Albus to back away. He saw a chance, so he decided to go for it: "...I have to take precautions when dealing with the chamber. And I'm not accusing you of anything, but there are several magical ways of tracking anyone who enters an area of interest."
...
'But how? I'm pretty sure there were no portraits around, likely the reason for that bathroom being the entrance to the Chamber. But even then, I'm pretty sure I didn't touch the wards woven around the chamber Dumbledore likely had set up. Unless the whole Bathroom is warded with the headmaster being able to track anyone who enters the bathroom because he has access to all of Hogwarts wards...'
Rigel couldn't pinpoint how Dumbledore knew, but now he can't continue with the innocent act. He could act against Dumbledore directly, but the Headmaster probably won't go against him for it. But having the favor of one of the most political superhouses couldn't be ignored.
'And that leads to negotiations...' Rigel continued. He leaned back into the chair and looked at Dumbledore; he still didn't have the perfect picture of Dumbledore's character, so this was also an opportunity.
"You want to deal with the Basilisk?" Rigel said suddenly. His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Dumbledore. He was expecting a reaction to the sudden information, but the old man was a lot more composed at the sudden information that was thrown at him.
"So it is a Basilisk... I always speculated but was never able to confirm..." Dumbledore hummed as he leaned back. Albus was surprised at Rigel's sudden change in tune. He didn't have a read on Rigel, and dealing with an unknown was a lot harder when he couldn't cheat. But he also had decades of experience in politics, so he had an easier time with Rigel's sudden amateurish probe.
Throwing sudden information was good, but only when it was something your opposition had never considered. Now that both of them were locked in this sudden probing contest, he had to deal with it a lot more carefully. Albus looked at Rigel's relaxed, leaned-back posture as the younger wizard continued.
"Yup, the King of the serpants. What else would be the Slytherin's monster." Rigel shrugged. The loss did sting as he let go of some of the information without any gain. But it also made the negotiation more official. And now that they were both on the table, it was time to set the minimum demands.
"There is no chance I could allow anyone not from the Slytherin bloodline access to the Chamber. Even if Slytherin was a lunatic and wanted to kill the Muggleborns, that is something I can not be a part of..." Rigel leaned forward, his back straight as he looked into Dumbledore's eyes.
'As long as Dumbledore agrees, there is no harm in working with him provisionally. Not only does he have a lot of power and knowledge, but I'm also not the sacrificial lamb he's preparing... Potter might have to deal with that burden on his own.'
...
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AN- 47+ Chapters on P.atreon!
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