บท 19: Chapter 14 Small world
"Headmaster, you wished to see me?" Rodrick questioned, a passive expression on his face. He had some idea of what the headmaster had wanted to talk about... That was an understatement, there were so many things to consider... It wasn't worth the effort to try and figure out which specific topic.
Dumbledore offered the bowl of lemon sherbets, amusement taking over as one of the only students in the castle willingly took the sweet. "Yes, I did, I was hoping you might have some insight regarding the current event's occurring,"
Rodrick raised an eyebrow at the words, there were hundreds of things going, the most recent was regarding the escaped Pettigrew, the event having happened a few days ago.
"I am gonna need you to be more specific," He quipped, "Although I don't see how I might know something you aren't already aware of."
Dumbledore chuckled at the words, the boy had known quite a bit before him, it was what intrigued him the most. "As it so happens your friendship with Malfoy certainly gives you some level of information I would have trouble acquiring,"
"I hadn't thought you approved of my friendship with the Malfoys"
Dumbledore appraised the boy in front of him, "Perhaps at the start, I was worried what kind of path Malfoy would try to lead you towards,"
"And you no longer have that worry?" Rodrick questioned.
Dumbledore proceeded to plop another sweet into his mouth before speaking, "While I am still worried about the sort of magic you seem to favour, the fact is you've managed to deal Voldemort quite a powerful blow,"
Rodrick blinked a few times, wondering if the headmaster had found out about his plot regarding Pettigrew, he didn't think Lucius was the type of person to willingly give that information, especially to Black. "I am afraid you've lost me there," He remarked, perhaps something else had happened.
Dumbledore was rather surprised the boy hadn't considered his actions to be all that important, it was thanks to him that the Horcrux in Harry Potter was no longer a problem, not to mention the Black Horcrux itself. Who knows how difficult it would've been to find it, considering it'd gone unnoticed for quite a while, completely under their noses. That was not even taking account of the boy's second year, while he may not have destroyed that Horcrux himself, his help in finding the chamber as well killing the Basilisk had indirectly led to the diary's destruction.
"It's rather remarkable for you to admit that, any other wizard your age would've boasted quite openly about what they'd managed,"
Rodrick shrugged to the headmaster's amusement, "Perhaps someone like Draco... Although I doubt Potter would've boasted about it,"
Dumbledore nodded at that, "Indeed, young Harry is unlikely to do such a thing.." That was another thing, the boy had managed to befriend both students from both houses and the surprising part was, neither side had begrudged him for it. He'd certainly heard less vulgar language coming from both sides, well at the very least from Slytherin.
"So, what events are you referring to?" Rodrick asked.
"For one thing, I am quite concerned regarding Lucius Malfoy sudden involvement with Azkaban, I was curious as to whether the man had another agenda,"
Rodrick nodded, "I wouldn't be surprised,"
A frown etched itself on Dumbledore's face, "I take it you don't know?"
Rodrick shook his head, "I do, although I wouldn't worry too much about it,"
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at that, "Curious for you to say that, I am quite concerned as to what he could be planning with those death eaters, he's been seen requesting private audiences with most of them,"
Rodrick nodded once again, "Even then, I assure you, it's nothing to worry about," He could see the man was about to interject and so he added on, "Should it become a problem, I'll be sure to inform you,"
Dumbledore relaxed back into his seat at the words, "Very well," The fact he'd admitted to knowing about Lucius reasoning was more then he'd expected.
The two set into a small silence before the headmaster questioned him on another event that had occurred, "Do you have any idea as to what happened with Pettigrew?"
Rodrick was tempted to lie, instead, he simply shrugged. "Who knows?" it was true, he had no idea what had occurred... At Malfoy Manor in any case. "How did Black react?" Rodrick decided to give his own question.
"Surprisingly, the man was rather calm about the occurrence, stating the rat would eventually get caught and sentenced,"
Rodrick was surprised, he had expected much more of a lash out... Perhaps his small hour of freedom had calmed down a lot of the anger he'd had for the rat. "To give him some credit, the last time he chased Pettigrew, he wound up in Azkaban" Rodrick deadpanned.
Dumbledore shook his head wistfully at the words, "Indeed, perhaps he's decided his responsibility to his godson was more important," He was relieved, to say the least regarding the arrangement. The Black family home was secure, very secure in fact, he'd been surprised to see just how many wards the previous lords had deigned necessary, and Harry Potter seemed to have far more energy then he'd ever remembered. He idly wondered how Harry would've turned out had he truly grown up under Sirius Black's care... No doubt he would've been a troublemaker.
"Headmaster..." Rodrick started, a curious expression on his face.
Dumbledores attention was quickly brought back to the boy in front of him, he found him with one of his hands around the hourglass necklace. "Yes?" Dumbledore remarked, curious.
Rodrick wasn't sure how to go about his question, he wanted to find out why he was suddenly seeing all those different chords coming out of everyone, he'd been especially surprised to see his potion professors and more importantly his defence one... He was shocked, to say the least. the man's core was completely surrounded by cursed magic. He idly wondered how his own would look, he knew his curse while smaller was more than likely far more destructive. "You see... Ever since I'd started wearing this necklace... I've been seeing strange... well chords coming out of different wizards..."
Dumbledore appraised the boy in front of him, slowly processing the words before he chuckled. "That would certainly explain a lot of things," the man remarked.
Rodrick raised an eyebrow at that, wondering what the man could mean.
"Being able to see such things is an inherent ability called mage sight, few wizards are born with it but thanks to it they can see magic itself, it is especially useful when it comes to potions and perhaps runes, I suppose the hollow around your neck must've unlocked that ability for you,"
Before Rodrick could respond, the headmaster decided to add on.
"It is also possibly why you are even capable of casting Magical Extraction in the first place, being able to see what your extracting certainly makes it far easier,"
Rodrick nodded numbly at that, "Why did I only receive it after putting on the hollow?"
Dumbledore took a few moments to think over the question... Slowly he came to a conclusion he wasn't entirely sure of but with nothing else... "Perhaps it's due to the mind shield instilled into your eyes, both pieces of magic require your eyes to function, perhaps the hollow surrounding your neck allowed you to use both?"
Rodrick frowned at the words, "Does that mean I am draining more of my energy?"
"Perhaps..." The headmaster answered unsurely, "Only time will tell,"
Rodrick almost scoffed at the words, he'd wanted to ask about his professors but felt it wouldn't be his place too. Besides he had plenty on his plate as it was.
"Is that all?" Rodrick questioned, he still had plenty of things he needed to get done to start off the war, Malfoy was currently outside waiting for him. Getting more irritated by the minute no doubt.
Dumbledore nodded his head towards the boy but raised a hand, "Although I was hoping you could show me the book where you'd learnt the spell,"
Rodrick raised an eyebrow at that, "Which one, Magical extraction or the other one," there was a tone of disgust to the second part.
Dumbledore blinked at the words, realising he'd learnt the destructive magic from a cursed book... Exactly what kind of other spells where there? "Magical Extraction. I do hope you'll keep the other one secured well enough though..." He doubted he could convince the boy to avoid it altogether.
Rodrick nodded amiably before he reached into his bag and retrieved the potions book.
He took a notice of the kind of potion's available before he frowned, having recognised none of them. He did note though that all of them almost heavily relied on the user been capable of performing magical extraction, whatever these potions were made to do, it was no doubt powerful if at the very least the user had to be capable of performing magical extraction. Staring at the boy in front of him, the only one currently capable of performing the piece of magic, he felt glad he wasn't on the wrong side. Even then, as he read over some pages... The way it was written...
Rodrick quickly prompted the headmaster to the start of the book, "The first hundred or so pages are on Magical extraction."
Dumbledore nodded slightly at that, surprised at the extensive amount of knowledge, as he swept through each page, he found more and more clusters of information... It was then it clicked to him. "This isn't explaining how to perform the magic. This is explaining the magic itself and how it works..."
Rodrick shrugged at the words, "What's the difference..."
Dumbledore hummed along thinking of an explanation, "For starters, Imagine I gave you some ingredients and told you to make a potion, then I told you what that potion did to different subjects... Without actually telling the correct actions required to make the potions itself."
Rodrick blinked at the words, confused. "I see... I mean it wasn't really difficult to understand... Just took a long time."
"It's remarkable you were able to make sense out of this for your age, I know potions masters who wouldn't have understood the meaning..."
Rodrick raised an eyebrow at that, "I don't understand."
Dumbledore sighed, "There is nothing here that suggests that Magical extraction is possible, this is all theory. Whoever wrote this didn't actually prove that they work,"
Rodrick expression didn't budge, "I don't understand, when I was going through it, it seemed relatively straightforward. It just took a lot of time, the incantation was even written in,"
Dumbledore nodded, "Even still, this is all explaining how the magic is supposed to work, you are likely the first person to actually attempt it and succeed for that matter..."
Rodrick nodded slowly, "I doubt a lot of people have tried it... Considering what my grandfathers did to the book and all his other 'possessions'"
"The curses surrounding this one apply to other items?" Dumbledore questioned.
Rodrick knew he was asking about the Horcrux itself, "I wouldn't call the charms on that book curses... You should see some of the other items... Especially this one," he remarked pointing to the necklace, "This one is downright screwed up..."
...
"Took you long enough," Rodrick heard someone say. He knew it was Malfoy, there was no else around.
"Don't start," Rodrick remarked as he made his way away from the gargoyle guarded door.
"So what'd he want?" Malfoy asked curiously.
"Not much really," Rodrick answered absentmindedly, his thoughts elsewhere.
Malfoy twitched slightly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment, quickly handing it over to a bemused Grindelwald.
"What's this?" Rodrick questioned.
"A workable plan" Malfoy shrugged.
Rodrick blinked before he read over what was written, his eyes widened slightly. "Warrington? the fifth year?" He questioned curiously.
Malfoy shook his head amused, "He's in the sixth year but yes, he's most likely your biggest problem"
Rodrick sighed, "I had thought he wouldn't be one, I am aware he has a relatively large amount of influence... I am not sure why. Still, he was quite cooperative with the whole Black vote incident,"
Malfoy sneered at the words. "Very very different from starting a war... The black vote had no way of actually effecting Slytherin. As to how, well let's just say his father's an irritating Half blood..."
"How does a Half-blood have that much influence?" Rodrick questioned curiously.
"Say's the orphan," scoffed Malfoy.
Rodrick ignored the barb, "So, how?"
"His father's a high ranking Auror... There are some rumours saying Warrington sicced the man onto any families whose children caused him problems, reporting any cursed items and the like, people stopped going against him after that," he remarked. The blonde had a bemused expression on his face as he watched the other slowly take in the information. The expression on his face showed a touch of fear. 'I doubt he's afraid of him...' He doubted Grindelwald even knew the meaning of the word.
"I had no idea it was illegal to have cursed items..." Rodrick remarked mostly to himself... "The ministry definitely can't see my vault..." There was a haunted look on the boy's face.
...
Daphne had been speaking with her sister and Tracey at the Slytherin dungeons, they were currently sat in the middle, taking up both couches. Nott and Blaise ahead of them on the other couch. She noticed most of the house currently around the common room, they'd only just heard from Nott. Apparently, Malfoy had asked them all there, which meant Rodrick was about to pull off a stunt.
The only non-Slytherin who knew what was going on was Lovegood.
The only Slytherin not about to find out was their head of year.
Her attention quickly snapped towards the door as she watched it open revealing Rodrick and Malfoy. She was about to get up before she saw Rodrick shake his head. Instead she, and everyone else whose attention the orphan suddenly took, watched as the two walked up towards them, Malfoy decided to simply take a seat beside Blaise, his two goons suddenly appeared out of nowhere behind him, almost like a wall. Rodrick on the other hand, walked ahead towards their side, she had been expecting him to sit.
Rodrick walked towards Daphne before quickly lowering his head to kiss her forehead, quickly turning her red in front of everyone else. A grin left on his face.
"Malfoy what'd you tell him to do?" She heard Nott remark barely suppressing his laughter at the look on the girl's face.
Rodrick chuckled before pulling himself up and continuing on. It was Malfoy's idea. he had no problems with it.
"I said no such thing," Malfoy of course lied. He'd told him to annoy her... Not what he'd had in mind.
Tracey couldn't face her best friend, she knew she'd start laughing immediately.
Astoria didn't even notice.
The small group's attention however quickly switched over towards Rodrick, they watched as he walked into the literal centre of the room and whistled off to grab everyone's attention.
Cassius Warrington frowned as he watched the Slytherin orphan call for everyone's attention. "What does he want now..." He muttered to himself, he wasn't sure what to feel regarding the third year, he certainly helped the house... The last time he wanted everyone's attention was for the black vote which as things stood clearly didn't pay off.
"Don't like him much?" Farley commented amused.
Cassius sneered at the girl before turning his attention back to the third year, 'Prefects... always irritating to deal with,'
"Loosen up will you," Farley huffed as she towards Rodrick, "He'll take wonderful care of the house once we're gone,"
"I still have a year left unlike you," Cassius remarked dangerously, and god was he glad to have her out of his way. She was one of the few whose family he couldn't just threaten... There was nothing to threaten with. "I don't see what the big deal is anyway,"
"He's cute," she answered to irritate him. She remembered him fancying her at some point. She had nothing against him... Other than the fact he'd called Aurors to one of her friend's places, a move that had ended up with her friend's father losing a promotion.
Cassius growled before focusing on what the brat was demanding, his anger flared...
...
"You want to start a bloody war with everyone?" One voice growled out from the back, Rodrick turned his attention, surprise evident on his face. When his eyes landed on Cassius he let out a sigh.
"I want to start a war with Gryffindor... The others will have to join of their own accord of course,"
Some chuckled at the words. Cassius wasn't amused.
"No," he simply remarked. "You're not starting a war. we have the lead, I don't intend to just let you throw it!" The teen snapped. The calm expression on the boy's face only aggravated him more.
"Do the rest of you feel the same way?" Rodrick questioned as he turned his eyes away towards the others. He found most of them in hushed conversations, no doubt trying to figure out which way to go. He did notice some of them were uncomfortable, their eyes travelling back and forth between Cassius. Rodrick inwardly chuckled. He silently hoped Malfoy knew what he was doing...
Eventually, most the Slytherin's gave their thoughts, most agreed it would be too risky to openly start a war, especially with the lead they had. Rodrick had nodded to each answer content.
"Doesn't matter, I already told you, I ain't letting you start a war," Cassius' voice rumbled through the halls, gaining everyone's attention again.
"Oh? So you speak for everyone else then?" Rodrick questioned amused.
Cassius didn't react, instead, he watched as Rodrick simply asked most of the room whether they had to obey Cassius or not.
"Say I was for the war and dear old Cassius was against, don't take house points into account..." He started with a smirk. He knew he wouldn't get the boy to agree with him. Malfoy made that clear enough. "Who would you lot follow?"
He waited, waited for most of the people to make their choices.
Silence, there were some wanderers who chose him and those who chose Cassius, Rodrick's friends didn't budge. The majority of the room, however, remained silent.
'They won't follow Cassius... but they won't openly admit to following me,' Rodrick thought.
Cassius Warrington wasn't amused.
"Very well," Rodrick remarked, smiling. "Say that you're the voice of the people," he started off, his hands held firmly behind his back. His black hair, falling freely, covering his left eye.
"What?" Cassius remarked bemused.
"Is your only complaint regarding the house points? is that the ONLY reason you're against this war?" Putting emphasis on the word.
Cassius slowly turned around, glancing at everyone around the room... He could feel an intense amount of pressure coming from the boy... It couldn't be his magic... There was no way... He felt cold seep into his spine when he remembered the fact the boy had killed a Basilisk... Slowly, however, he shook his head. 'Rumours... They just have to be...It's not possible for a 12-year-old...'
"Yes," Cassius answered promptly, in all honesty, he'd almost forgotten the question.
"I see," Rodrick smiled, a cold smirk lining his face as he practically stared through Warrington. "Malfoy... If you'll please..." he remarked chuckling.
Cassius could feel something slowly sink upon him as he turned towards Malfoy, the boy slowly rose up. That was one of the only brats he wouldn't dare cross, the father had connections that could leave his family on the streets...
"Well it's a good thing you already bought the house cup, isn't it Rodrick?" Malfoy remarked, a smirk on his face as he crossed his arms, daring. Simply daring Warrington to call him out on it.
"That Black vote..." Cassius remarked to himself completely lost...
"That settles it. We have a war to start," Rodrick concluded as he let off a mock bow towards Warrington.
Cassius felt his veins turn cold at the action... 'He dares mock me!?' he could slowly hear the laughter in the room swell up.
With one last glare towards Rodrick, he promptly turned and walked away.' Just you wait...'
Rodrick shrugged off the strange sudden chill before he went back towards his friends. He took a seat beside Greengrass and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Feeling better?" Rodrick questioned the girl, an amused smile on his face.
Daphne rolled her eyes before whispering something in his ear.
"You wouldn't!" Rodrick suddenly exclaimed. Feeling more and more worried as he watched the girl simply smile in response...
"What'd she say?" he heard Tracey suddenly ask. The girl had, for some reason decided to take a seat on the other couch, beside Nott. He noticed Blaise in her old seat, Astoria between him and Daphne.
'Nott said something stupid again...' Was the only thing Rodrick could think off.
"She threatened to sell off his potions book to the best buyer," Astoria answered, her attention still on a textbook.
"That, you heard?" Rodrick scoffed.
"I agree with her," Blaise suddenly added on, thinking it was a worthwhile idea.
"That's why you keep getting History book's Blaise," Rodrick fired back.
"At least he gets something" Nott whispered. He'd almost cursed himself thinking someone had heard him. Turning he found Tracey staring at him, a bemused expression on her face.
"You know saying things like that is-" Tracey started.
"Shush!" Nott promptly called out, "Before these idiots call me a Hufflepuff!" he managed to utter without shouting.
Tracey blinked before chuckling, "Hufflepuffs are cute,"
Nott wondered how many brain cells the girl was missing.
"When's your birthday?" Tracey decided to question.
Nott buried his head in his hands.
"What'd you do to the Hufflepuff?" Malfoy questioned amused.
"When are we starting the war?" Blaise questioned.
"When are we going to get food?" Astoria decided to join in.
"When will you idiot's shut up?" Rodrick felt inclined.
"When you stop doing stupid things," Daphne answered him with a smile.
There was a small moment of silence.
"So never?" Nott remarked, breaking the said silence, lifting his head from his hands. He held back a twitch as he'd realised everyone else had already gotten up to leave.
"Come on then," he heard Tracey call out to him from behind the couch.
'I need better friends...' he thought to himself before facepalming. 'That's why- For the love of god Nott, focus!' he shook his head as he followed the red-haired witch.
...
A couple days later...
The small group of Slytherin third years, all but Rodrick, walked on towards the intended meeting spot. Daphne was the first to notice him ahead. They couldn't waste too much time... They had Potions to worry about.
"Is that-" Daphne started, Rodrick was currently talking to two very familiar twins.
"What's he planning?" Malfoy questioned with furrowed brows and, naturally, a sneer.
"Hmm...Well, he wants a war... Figures he'd talk to them..." Nott decided to answer.
"How does that even..." Blaise remarked before he shook his head, "There the people that aren't supposed to know, unless you're suggesting they'd- Oh my god he's gonna make them start the war isn't he?"
"Sounds about right," Nott shrugged.
"Sounds like him alright," Daphne remarked.
"You'd know wouldn't you Greengrass," Malfoy remarked, a smirk and glint in his eye.
"Shove off Malfoy," Daphne remarked, sticking her nose up as she walked past him. Tracey chuckling behind her.
"Why do we put up with them again?" Malfoy asked the two remaining boys.
Blaise raised an eyebrow at the blonde, "You do realise they're close friends compared to you, right?" he remarked causing the boy to scoff.
"I thought it was because of Rodrick..." The start of the sentence almost sent Malfoy into a fit of laughter. "Almost everything's his fault," Nott finished, on surprisingly stable grounds he'd realised.
"What's Potter doing here!?" Malfoy suddenly exclaimed, turned towards the opposite direction, he'd spotted the three Gryffindors walking towards them.
"I imagine their going to get food..." Blaise added on calmly. "You do realise the way to the hall is through here? Don't you?"
Malfoy didn't hear him, already cursing the approaching Gryffindor's, It took three spells before the boy was quickly silenced by Granger.
"You know, we should leave Malfoy to his own element's, he's more than capable of instigating an apocalypse," Nott remarked with an amused expression.
"You're really creepy you know that?" Blaise replied.
...
Rodrick raised an eyebrow at the right twin, "So what do you say? Think you can help?" he questioned.
George shared a glance with his brother before turning back to the Slytherin Poltergeist. "So let me get this straight, you want us to put, this?" he remarked pointing towards the potion in the boy's hand. "Into the Ravenclaw's food? because-"
"-You want to start a war with them?" left twin finished.
"Pretty much, think you can do it?" Rodrick questioned.
"Why Ravenclaw?" Fred had to ask. They were definitely doing it, and definitely making sure he didn't follow them to the kitchen but he wanted to know his excuse.
"Do I need a reason?" Rodrick shrugged.
The two shared a glance at the words before shaking their heads.
"Other than two idiots annoying me anyway... The less reason I have the less likely I'll get caught"
The words earned raised eyebrows before a small smile took over the twin's faces.
"As good a reason as any," George remarked amused.
"What about your Ravenclaw friend?" Fred decided to ask.
"She'll be sitting with us" Rodrick chuckled before handing over the potion. "Good luck," he remarked.
The two twins grinned before giving a mock bow and leaving, idly grabbing Potter from his friends on the way.
"What do you two want? And what did Rodrick ask?" Harry asked. They'd been momentarily stopped by Malfoy before he'd been hexed to oblivion, ironically the git's friends seemed much calmer around them. Harry Potter for the hundredth just couldn't understand how Rodrick could be friends with the blonde git.
"Nothing," both twins answered in unison, "And we need the map,"
...
Rodrick was idly listening to Daphne, his eyes, however, were stealing glances curiously at the twins who were slowly walking away with Potter, he raised an eyebrow when he saw Harry pull out parchment before all three had disappeared behind a corner.
"Oh just go," Daphne remarked shaking her head, before turning her attention to an amused Tracy
With a blithe smile, he put on a disillusionment charm, he idly stopped by his three friends before transfiguring Nott to look like him, to their friends surprise. He then proceeded to whisper a warning to the boy.
"Trick Daphne in any way and I'll have you in Hufflepuff by the end of the week," before he swept past two confused students and one mildly pale Nott.
...
Rodrick followed the three Gryffindors ahead of him with a bemused expression, he knew where they were going considering he was the one who asked them in the first place. He also knew they were no doubt trying to make sure he didn't follow them... Right? They couldn't be thick enough not to check... As far as Gryffindors went, he didn't consider the Weasley twins remotely brainless, in fact, considering the stunts they'd managed to do and usually got away with, required quite a high level of intelligence.
Which was why he was so confused, the trio didn't bother to turn back once, they'd simply been staring at a piece of parchment as they walked along, he could hear them mention his name quite a number of times, only he wasn't close enough to hear everything. Potter for some reason, as proven after he'd gotten into a fight with the whompin- after his broom had stopped carin- after the dementors participated in their first Quidditch game, could apparently see through his Invisibility charm and yet he never bothered to look back either...
Rodrick quickly lost himself as he followed the trio, slowly going over the fact Dementors had started a Quidditch team... 'Only in Hogwarts...' He thought to himself amused.
He was quickly brought out of his thoughts as he watched the three stop before what he'd assumed was the Hogwarts kitchens. He was startled they'd reached it so quickly before realising they'd no doubt taken shortcuts... He wound up stopping closer to them then he'd preferred. Though the fact he could hear them clearly was an uplifting thought.
...
Harry raised an eyebrow at the twins, they'd been standing in the same spot for some time. "What's wrong?" he questioned curiously, they both looked lost.
"Nothings wrong-" Fred started the chain of chaos.
"-Just a bit confused,"
"About?" Harry questioned, he had an idea of what it probably was. It wasn't difficult to consider, after all, a Slytherin had asked the twin Gryffindors to prank someone... Said Slytherin just happening to be Grindelwald made it even more suspicious.
The two twins shared a glance before turning to Harry, one of them pointing at the map.
"Somebody is missing," Both spoke in unison.
Harry blinked, "Rodrick?" He questioned again almost tired.
The twins nodded, "We figured he'd follow us to make sure we 'pranked' the right house," Fred spoke carefully, Rodrick had made it clear he wanted no mention of the war, not yet anyway... It was a give and take with the boy, they help him and because he's a Slytherin he would need to help them. Out of etiquette. Well, George certainly believed that.
"Pranked?" Harry started, "On second thought, I don't want to know," he quickly shrugged, the less he knew the less likely Rodrick could pin the blame on him. The words seemed to send the two twins into a chuckle.
"Guess he was serious," Fred started.
"He's definitely not here," George added on resigned, eyeing the map, wondering if they were missing something. To his disappointment he, once again, only found three names showing up.
Fred had been about to enter the kitchen before a sudden outtake of breath came out of his twin.
George quickly grabbed hold of the map from a startled Harry, before placing his wand tip to it.
"Find Rodrick," George cast off a spell, using one of the map's feature.
The three student's eyed it with trepidation, the twins wondering where the orphan was.
Harry wondered why they'd never told him of such a feature.
To the three lion's disappointment, nothing changed.
"Maybe you need his full name," Harry added on slowly.
Fred shook his head, "No, it used to work before, we've used it before to find him and the like... Usually, it was just his first name that showed though..."
George instead turned to Harry, "Do you know it?"
Harry contemplated the words, if there was one family who couldn't find out about Rodrick being a Grindelwald, it was the Weasleys. However, another thought seemed to brim in his mind. "Give me the map quickly," he urged.
George blinked once before he handed over the parchment.
Harry pointed his wand towards the paper before remarking... "Find Rodrick Grace,"
Again to his disappointment, nothing changed... However when he turned towards the twins... he found clear shock emanating from their faces at the words.
"What?" Harry questioned.
Fred broke the silence, "His name is!?" the twin had let off without realising it, quite loudly.
Harry on instinct said no. 'I am pretty sure Grindelwald wouldn't have that reaction.' Neither twin believed him if the sudden grins on their faces meant anything.
"Now that explains a lot!" George remarked barely able to hold his laughter.
"Oh man, I didn't see this coming," Fred remarked shaking his head. "Wait until dad hears about this!"
Harry saw some warning signs he didn't exactly understand. "You can't tell anyone!"
The grins suddenly died out to a frown...
Harry was slowly getting more and more confused but he held his point. "No one!"
"But-"
"No buts!" Harry remarked crossing his arms. It was a mistake to mention that apparently.
"Harry you don't understan-"
"No," Harry brokered no argument... Before he felt his shoulder slack, "At least ask him first alright?"
The words seemed to bring out another grin out of Fred... one that looked far more suspicious. "I suppose..." The two remarked to themselves. "It's not like he's disappearing anytime soon anyway," Fred added on his own.
"Why can't we tell anyone?" George asked with a frown on his face... Before it dawned on him. "He doesn't like us does he?"
Harry didn't have an answer, "Ron might've irritated him a tad too much... It's a bit of a secret as well..."
The twins looked at each other before slacking, "Odds of his secret getting out?" Fred asked rather hopeful.
Harry snorted, "Very likely," although he meant an entirely different one, considering he knew it already and no doubt at least the head of years, not to mention Dumbledore and most of Rodrick's friends... and Greengrass... 'Why is it important no one else finds out again?' Harry mused to himself.
The answer seemed to mollify them, "I am giving him until next year... tops. Unless there's some emergency or something," George settled on.
Harry nodded, it was fair and he probably wouldn't be the biggest suspect by then... Hopefully. Both had very different ideas of what emergency entailed.
...
Rodrick was glued to his spot, the twins reaction to his pseudo name almost stunned him in place. He watched as the twins slowly made their way into the kitchen, leaving a bemused Potter behind... 'This is one of those rare times I am gonna keep my mouth shut,' he thought to himself on instinct. Something just felt off. Potter stood on his own, slowly he etched closer in attempt to find out what was so special about the parchment. Unfortunately, however, Harry seemed to notice something with the way he'd suddenly straightened out the parchment, his wand out in front of it. Seeing that, Rodrick decided to play it safe.
"Find Rodrick Grindelwald," He managed to make out the boy's words, his eyes widening slightly before calming down when he realised no one else had been within earshot.
Hearing another irritated sigh confirmed the boy's failure, he heard Harry attempt to find something else, leading to an even more disappointed reaction. 'I am guessing it worked that time...' Rodrick thought to himself amused.
Harry really should've considered the fact Rodrick had in fact not shown up at all...
It wasn't long before the three lions left the area... After sticking around for an extra 15 minutes to be certain. Rodrick knew they were pushing it as much as they could. Breakfast was due to start in half an hour... However, boredom eventually caved them in as they no doubt assumed he wasn't in the area before all three left and Rodrick made his way inside.
Convincing the house elves to switch the two tables for Gryffindor and Ravenclaw was easy enough. One look at his necklace and the house elves were practically squirming. 'Here I'd thought I'd need to borrow Kreacher.' Rodrick shook his head before making his way back up towards the great hall. 'This was going to be good...'
...
And it was indeed.
Rodrick had shown up a few minutes behind the Gryffindors on the account that he'd run and they'd decided to take their time. He was amused to see their surprised looks at seeing 'Nott' (currently transfigured to look like him) already sitting at the Slytherin table. He quickly made his way over, removed the transfiguration on him, and then removed the Disillusionment charm off himself. Malfoy had, helpfully, put both Crabbe and Goyle in front of him, to help stop anyone from seeing it happen... He idly noted the fact quite a lot of the other Slytherins were helping along. He was relieved, to say the least, that it was only their defence and Potions professor who were in the great hall currently.
"Welcome back," he heard Daphne remark from his right, an amused smile on her face, she'd left a space between herself and Nott, the boy had quickly clarified who he was, although she'd figured as much after seeing Rodrick disappear.
"Can you stop using me as a scapegoat..." Nott mumbled to himself mostly.
Rodrick turned towards Nott before he heard Blaise suddenly ask. "Why do you always choose Nott anyway?"
Rodrick smirked at the question but it was Malfoy who answered.
"Because they wouldn't usually expect him at the Slytherin table," the words, naturally royally irritated the hufflepu- lanky Slytherin, while amusing everyone else.
"I am going to need therapy after Hogwarts," Nott remarked, facedown on the table. There was an almost broken tone to his voice.
"Not the best choice of words..." Tracey remarked from Daphne's left, hiding a chuckle behind her hand. unintentionally feeding the fire.
"Give it a year and the transformation will be complete," Rodrick added on.
Nott shot a glare at Grindelwald, an action that only seemed to amuse the boy even more.
"You're finally learning!" Astoria let out, wide-eyed at Nott, confusing him. Luna turned towards her friend before chuckling. Astoria had been in the middle of a piece of cake.
"All of you can go to hell," Nott twitched.
"I didn't take you for a believer in hell," Blaise's voice was laced with sarcasm.
"Hey, where do you think Fiendfyre comes from?" Rodrick added on before turning when he heard Luna Lovegood speak up.
"I don't imagine Hufflepuffs are likely to go there... You'd be all on your own," Luna, genuinely remarked with a hint of empathy... It sounded eerily similar to the strange dreamy voice she usually used.
Rodrick was starting to miss it, the girl had stopped, mostly, going into those random trances, it stopped after Astoria had actually told her she was doing it, apparently, the blonde had never even realised her tone of voice sometimes sounded odd.
Nott blinked a few times... 'Can I ever win? will I ever catch a break?' He shook his head, defeated, he could've sworn he heard a small voice echoed the word 'no' over and over in his head.
The commotion quickly died out, however, at least the one at the Slytherin table did.
The Gryffindor one had just exploded.
It wasn't harmful by any means, it was mostly the food suddenly exploding, practically covering every Gryffindor's face in whatever they'd been eating. For a second Rodrick had been worried the content's of what they'd already eaten would explode too, however seeing nobody in need of emergency attention, he deflated. It meant his potion hadn't gone wrong.
It took a few moments before everyone comprehended what the hell had just happened.
Harry Potter stared in shock at the drink he'd been trying to have before his face had decided to take a sip instead, he wasn't sure where the chicken leg had come from. He turned towards the twins.
"I told you this would happen," he remarked exasperated. 'Honestly, what were they thinking...'
Everyone at the Gryffindor, literally everyone had pieces of food sticking out of their hair, some even had drinks going down their robes. One boy was baked in Gravy.
Fred turned to his brother and found confusion lining his twin's face.
"I am almost certain he wasn't there... And we definitely made sure it was for Ravenclaw..." George whispered, leaving only Fred to hear.
Fred nodded at that before a thought finally sprouted in his head. "You know what this mean's oh brother of mine?"
George stared for half a second before understanding quickly dawned on him. "He doesn't want a war-"
"-not one with Ravenclaw in any case-"
"one with-" Fred added on, slowly turning around, eyeing everyone down the table. He quickly confirmed that the entire house had indeed been pranked.
"Us," Harry Potter surprisingly finished. 'No wonder they wanted to help him... They probably saw this coming' He thought.
The two twins turned to Harry before they switched their gaze over towards an openly smirking Rodrick. The rest of the hall had erupted in laughter. The twins could hear complaints from their own house, students annoyed, angry and in Hermione's case livid. However, the noise simply died out on them as they stared at the sole Slytherin not laughing... They turned back to each other and smiled. 'If Slytherin wanted a war... That was what they were getting.' Neither twin doubted it would be difficult to convince their house to join in, usually, they would've gone about pranking the Slytherin back on their own, however, from the way the Slytherin's looked, it looked planned...
Word quickly spread around the Gryffindor table, Harry it seemed, had no problem linking the blame to the boy.
"Why on earth would someone do that!" Harry heard Hermione shriek at the mess. A mess that had surprisingly wound up sorting itself out. It didn't help that both Professors seemed to find it funny. One was Snape, who had no qualms keeping his amusement open, the other was a Marauder, who to his credit tried to hide his amusement, he remembered large-scale pranks from his own time at Hogwarts, he knew well enough the castle could sort the mess out quickly... Honestly what else did they expect? He was glad no one had decided to start throwing food around... Also glad Sirius was no longer in the castle because he likely would've started.
True to lupin's thoughts, the mess was quickly cleared, replacing the dishes with new food... Food the Gryffindor's simply didn't trust. The fact the mess on their persons didn't disappear might have said something to do with it.
"So," Fred decided to break the ice, at least to his own housemates, most of the other houses were still either laughing or trying to stop.
"Whose interested in payback?" George questioned. Grinning at the sudden looks of determination coming to their housemates.
For once, the house didn't just blame Rodrick, they simply blamed Slytherin.
For the first time ever, one of the common stereotypes for the house of snakes was surprisingly accurate. Slytherins could be evil in many different ways, the same way a Gryffindor could be reckless in many different ways. Although to the lion's misfortune, Slytherin's usually knew where the limit was. Not to say they followed it ... But they could at least see it... Gryffindors had no such luck.
Slytherin had the first hit... But Gryffindor would have the last laugh... Both twins almost made a vow out of it, determined not to get outdone.
If they'd known about the house cup, they would've realised that Gryffindor would, in fact, be the last laugh.
...
"You know you're really evil sometimes Rodrick," Blaise remarked.
"Thank you," Rodrick replied back, a grin on his face, earning a playful slap from Daphne.
"Not, something to be happy about," Daphne remarked rolling her eyes.
"You know, I keep forgetting that we already have the house cup," Tracey spoke out, amused.
"That's the evil part he's referring to," Nott grumbled. Even the food covered Gryffindor wasn't doing anything to cheer up his mood.
Malfoy had a smirk on his face, there was no way the twins were living that down, they had too much Weasley blood in them too. Even if they'd decided to only get back on them once, the Slytherin would simply repeat it, forming a chain until the end of the year. Of course, the faster Gryffindors accepted the war, the more likely they could hit back properly... Knowing his luck it was highly likely they'd just start the war themselves. It was one of the main reasons Rodrick had agreed to the idea of getting the twins involved in the starting of it all.
He turned towards a housemate and felt a chill when his eyes landed on Warrington... The Slytherin looked too happy... Or more importantly too relaxed. He shrugged the feeling off, the worst that could happen was a Slytherin ending up in the hospital... Scratch that, the worst thing that could actually happen was a student dying... and Malfoy knew for a fact it wouldn't be Grindelwald. Warrington's days were numbered... He knew the student would try to push his boundaries some way or another... It would be glorious to watch the half blood finally get put in his place.
It was quite simple really, history itself could prove it. If two Slytherins compete for influence, it's the pureblood that wins.
...
Rodrick entered the history classroom, a bored expression on his face. It'd been a week since the war had started, Slytherins and Gryffindors alike had taken to the chaos like a moth to a flame. The first of the attacks had been small but consistent, so far none of the third years had been involved... Aside from Dumb and Dumber currently resting in the hospital infirmary, the first true casualties just had to be Slytherin...
It was mostly the younger years having their fun. Impromptu duels in the hallway had led many first and second years into a detention with Filch. Every now and then some random fourth year decided to try their hands on something more complex than simply hurling a hex at the opposite house. One example had been a Gryffindors attempt at potions, no doubt to copy the prank that had started it all... problem was they'd gotten it on the wrong table... They wound up accidentally turning Professor Dumbledore pink. As the man had been a Gryffindor, Slytherin had considered it win. They knew it was a Gryffindors work as the student had gasped quite openly when they'd realised they'd gotten the wrong target.
Astoria had tried something similar, she'd made a potion that'd turned the entire Slytherin table's feast into a candy fest. Daphne hadn't stopped bugging him about it, assuming he'd been the one that showed the girl how to make the potion... She wasn't wrong but Rodrick at the very least hadn't expected it to hit their own table. The older years had yet to join in, if they did, they'd certainly kept their actions hidden.
However, that wasn't what worried Rodrick most. Two Particular twins had been surprisingly quiet for the week. he'd been on edge trying to figure out what they'd been planning for a week straight. He didn't think they'd had that level of patience.
"Oh stop worrying," Daphne remarked exasperated.
Rodrick turned towards the girl behind, a confused expression on his face. "What?" he'd remarked.
Daphne blinked before turning to face the boy, "Not you," she spoke. He was about to ask before he was promptly pushed into the history classroom by Daphne.
Tracey had a sheepish smile on her face before she followed the two.
"Would you look at that," Rodrick suddenly exclaimed upon seeing Blaise already at his seat.
"Not now Rodrick," Blaise answered.
Rodrick chuckled before he took a seat to the boy's right, "Is there a reason you're here early?"
Blaise raised an eyebrow at the boy, "You even need to ask?"
Rodrick shrugged, "I don't really see how been early will help your grade,"
Blaise quickly lowered his head into his arms.
"There there, I am sure you'll survive," Rodrick deadpanned, patting the boy's head.
Blaise growled at the action, moving his head away. "Don't mess up my hair,"
"You don't have any," Nott spoke up having just entered, looking around trying to find an empty seat.
Rodrick heard Blaise mutter something quietly. "Language," he remarked, annoying the boy further.
"Rodrick, leave him alone," Tracey spoke up from behind him holding in a chuckle.
"He needs to focus on History," added on an amused Daphne.
Blaise grumbled in return.
"Where's Malfoy?" Nott decided to ask, receiving confused looks in return. He took the free seat on Blaise's left.
"Late?" Blaise considered.
"Skipping?" Rodrick went with.
"Infirmary wing?" Tracey settled on.
"Helping someone?"
Three of the students turned towards Greengrass.
"Are you serious?" Nott asked with genuine surprise.
"Are any of you ever serious?" they all heard Potter grumble from the back before he'd quickly turned back to his own group of friends. Potter's group had been more docile regarding the war... Either that or they were working with the twins... That thought hadn't sat well with Rodrick, he hadn't considered the fact the twins had easy access to their year group through Harry Potter... It was even more irritating when he'd realised he didn't have one to the twins. All things considered, he should've been far more careful. The fact Harry Potter had been the first one in the class should've been the first sign of trouble.
"I think he's getting too comfortable with us," Nott whispered to Rodrick who shook his head.
"Malfoy ain't here remember," Rodrick answered back, bringing some sense back into Nott's world.
"How long are you lot planning to ignore the strange black box at the front?" they heard Pansy ask, the girl had decided to take the leftover seat by Tracey.
Tracey turned towards the girl unsure of what to say.
"That's Malfoy's seat," Daphne remarked from her side.
"I never thought I'd see the day where Malfoy was considered a better option..." a Shocked Nott remarked.
Pansy narrowed her eyes slightly before getting up with a huff.
"You guys can be so cruel," Tracey whispered.
Daphne turned towards the girl before rolling her eyes at the relieved smile on her face.
"Ok seriously, what is that black box?" Nott changed the subject. The five Slytherins turned towards the front, taking a good look at the box.
It was a simple black box in the middle of the teacher's desk, there weren't any designs on it... Nothing, it looked like a simple black, somewhat mechanic box.
Before anyone could say anything regarding it, however, Professor Binns had walked through, literally through, the wall.
"Bedtime?" Nott asked Blaise with a hint of mirth.
"Got to Hufflepuff" Blaise answered back.
"Fitting," Rodrick added on, a hint of approval lining his face. "Mixing hell and Hufflepuff,"
"Seriously where's Malfoy" Nott questioned again, completely ignoring Zabini's insult.
The Professor had been going through the roll call, the moment he reached Rodrick's name, his life was changed forever.
...
Elsewhere Malfoy had just left the great hall, intent on going to his history lesson... As slow as possible in any case. The moment he turned the corner, however, his eyes narrowed. Up ahead Warrington and two of his friends were currently surrounding someone. Malfoy had been about to ignore the older Slytherins before he'd caught a sign of blonde hair. He stood there for a second before sighing. He turned towards the group of four.
Luna had been on her way to the hall before the three Slytherins in front of her had surrounded her, they didn't look pleasant. It was made even worse when she'd supposedly insulted the middle one, telling him his head was infested with all kinds of magical creatures. She wasn't sure why a warning would be taken as an insult but figured it wasn't safe to ask, seeing as the three currently had their wands out. She made to move past them before one of them had grabbed her shoulder holding her in place.
"What's going on?" she heard someone else call out, looking past the three boy's she was somewhat relieved to see someone she knew.
"Malfoy," she heard the middle one growl, the two with him, however, had quickly put away their wands.
"I asked you a question," Malfoy remarked, a glint in his eye.
"What does it look like," Warrington snapped back, "Where teaching this little bird a lesson on insulting people,"
Malfoy raised an eyebrow, "Oh, yes I suppose you're probably the best example of an insult," he remarked, amusement lining his face.
He heard Lovegood start laughing at the words.
Warrington turned back to the second year, "What's so funny?" he growled.
"What Draco just said," Luna remarked without a hint of sarcasm, as if answering a child's question. That fact seemed to irritate the Slytherin, even more, seeing as he'd decided to point his wand at the girl directly.
"Careful now..." H,e heard the blonde behind him speak.
Warrington turned back towards Malfoy, "Or el-" he'd started before flinching. There was a predatory grin on the blonde boy's face. Almost daring him, Malfoy had his hand hovering over his wand.
"Hey, it aint worth it," one of the boys beside him spoke up. Warrington seethed before turning back to Lovegood, "This ain't over," before he started walking in the opposite direction.
Luna let out a relieved sigh at that before walking up towards Malfoy. "Thank you,"
Draco stared at the expression with mild discomfort before shrugging and walking away towards his lesson.
Luna decided to follow.
"I am going to History," he remarked trying to make the girl lose interest, inwardly cursing Warrington for putting him in that position, it would've ended badly for him if the blonde had decided to tell Rodrick that he'd ignored helping her.
"Oh, then Binns shouldn't notice," Luna remarked cheerfully before walking up beside the boy.
Draco sighed as he walked towards the history class. "Fine but no talk of your dad's newspaper,"
Luna nodded, "Then no talk of Harry Potter," she fired back amused.
Draco blinked at that, "Whatever," he grumbled shaking his head. Even a year later, he had no idea how to converse with the girl, he'd long given up on trying to figure out if she was pureblood, originally he'd only done so to try and excuse the fact she'd been a part of their group until he'd realised the Lovegoods were likely an entirely different species.
...
Draco Malfoy entered the classroom hesitantly, Luna practically skipping behind him. There was no way to talk himself out of this... 'Well, worst case is I could just call Nott out for being a Hufflepuff,' All hints of worry disappeared from his face however as soon as he entered the classroom, Luna beside him wide-eyed.
There was a large black mark covering the entirety of the teacher's desk and board, on top of that, there was a floating black box emanating smoke.
"What the hell happened here?" Draco found himself suddenly asking out loud earning the class's attention, everyone had a gobsmacked expression on their face.
'They didn't tell me it did that!' Harry Potter thought to himself as he shrunk into his desk avoiding notice.
If anyone noticed Luna beside Draco, they didn't say anything.
Rodrick was the first to break the silence. "Someone just exorcised Binns," before huffing and getting up from his seat.
"where are you going?" Blaise suddenly asked.
Rodrick furrowed his brows, "Headmaster's office,"
"Why?" Daphne asked this time.
Rodrick snorted, "That box activated on my name, Dumbledores going to send for me, I am just keeping it short," he finished before he turned towards the door, he raised an eyebrow at Luna.
"If he'll call you anyway, you might as well wait," Nott remarked, one hand covering a yawn.
"I'd rather go there innocent than a suspect," Rodrick felt a shiver down his spine... The sooner he was there the less suspicious he looked... Honestly what where those moron's thinking and he knew it was the twins... Only they'd be reckless enough to exorcise a bloody professor. He quickly packed his things before he made his way out.
Draco was still staring at the black spot on the desk. "Now what?" he heard someone question.
"Astoria's in the great hall," Luna decided to speak.
"Beat's sitting here," Tracey remarked, still shocked at the day's events.
"Does this mean there's no history exam at the end of the year?" Blaise questioned, a hopeful look on his face.
"You wish," Nott snorted, before walking towards the door. the others following behind him, Blaise sulking in the process. "Hello Lovegood," Nott added as he walked past the girl.
"He's really embracing his Hufflepuff side isn't he?" Tracey chuckled, shaking her head.
Draco looked confused as he watched the others slowly walk out of the classroom. 'What is wrong with my year?' he thought to himself absentmindedly, a teacher had just gotten killed... For the second time in his life and his class were acting like it was a normal day. It was then he realised the even bigger surprise. "Is no one seriously going to ask why Lovegood's here?"
"Oh right, Luna's not in our year," a bemused Tracey spoke up, she walked up to the girl and dragged her away from the class.
"Yes?" Luna questioned.
"Come on, don't need anything influencing you badly," Tracey answered amused, she stopped pushing when the girl had started walking on her own.
"She's friends with my sister, there's no hope,"
"she's friends with Rodrick" Blaise snorted.
...
"Horcrux," Rodrick gave his password to the gargoyle. Entering, he found the headmaster staring at a book, no doubt trying to solve something diffic-
"Are you doing a crossword puzzle!?" Rodrick questioned shocked.
Dumbledore raised his gaze, "Rodrick, I am surprised to see you here,"
Rodrick stared at the headmaster incredulously "You let me in... Nevermind," he shook his head before he took a seat opposite the headmaster.
"Is there something I can help you with?" Dumbledore questioned, putting aside the crossword puzzle. 'Perhaps he's received some information?' Dumbledore considered.
Rodrick stared at the headmaster, unsure how to even begin the conversation before to his relief or perhaps irritation a confused and bewildered look passed through the headmaster's face.
Dumbledore blinked a few times before trying once again to figure out why one of his professor's presence had disappeared. He got up from his seat before taking out his wand. "Excuse me for a second dear boy, I need to send a message to one of your professors,"
Rodrick nodded.
"That's actually why I am here"
Dumbledore halted on his action, "Oh, is there a reason I can no longer find Binn's in the castle?"
Rodrick nodded, "He's been exorcised,"
Dumbledore stared blankly at the boy.
"I didn't do it!" Rodrick suddenly raised his hands.
Dumbledore kept on staring at the boy.
"Honest!" Rodrick added on, wide-eyed. he felt relief go through when the headmaster had simply sighed.
"That is rather troubling I must admit..." Dumbledore remarked shaking his head.
"Hmm," Rodrick remarked turning away. "One of my friends wanted to know if the exam was still in place?"
Dumbledore didn't reply, his mind still processing the fact one of his teacher's had been exorcised. "Do you have any idea who might've done this?"
"Harry Potter," Rodrick answered immediately.
Dumbledore frowned, "This is not a laughing matter..."
"I ain't joking," Rodrick shrugged.
"Why would Mister Potter decide to exorcise his History professor?" Albus asked incredulously.
Rodrick raised an eyebrow at the words, "Probably thought he was Voldemort, he exorcised Quirrel for that,"
"Quirrel wasn't a ghost... And he was possessed..."
Rodrick shrugged, "I don't know why he did it,"
"Do you have any proof?" Dumbledore asked, completely tired.
"surprisingly none," Rodrick remarked, with a hint of respect in his voice.
"Of course.." Dumbledore remarked shaking his head. "Thank you for informing me..." his mind trying to figure out how he was going to replace the teacher in the middle of the year. "It will be difficult to find a teacher with the right qualifications in such a short time..." 'Not to mention the fact binns had practically been a free teacher...' History wasn't well known for offering good pay...
Rodrick snorted. "If you're looking for someone better then binns then anyone who can read a book will do"
Dumbledore frowned, "You should show more respect to your professors Rodrick, it's not a good quality,"
"He's dead, well permanently dead, aint my professor anymore," Rodrick shrugged.
Dumbledore sighed, "All the same, I cannot simply ask any wizard to join, it is too risky and not to mention difficult finding someone who would be willing to teach history,"
Rodrick had been about to respond before he saw a relieved look go over the headmaster's face. "Found someone?" he questioned amused.
"As it so happens yes I did..." Dumbledore remarked rather surprised... There was one person who would willingly teach history and who was available on short notice... The man could probably use a job and even better he would likely not be bothered by the meagre wage and was certainly a trustworthy member of society.
"Oh, I am sure Blaise will be happy to hear that," Rodrick chuckled.
"You still need to show more respect to your teachers..." Dumbledore remarked shaking his head. For every good quality, there was a bad one...
Rodrick nodded before turning to Fawkes. "Thoughts on binns?" he questioned amused.
Fawkes snorted.
Dumbledore had a passive look on his face. He was about to speak up before he watched as the boy reached into his pocket.
"I almost forgot," he'd actually been planning to visit the headmaster, now that he'd thought about it.
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow as he watched the boy produce parchment out of his pocket and unshrinking it. "This is?" he questioned as the boy handed over the paper.
"Can you look into my orphanage a little more closely?" Rodrick questioned, "There's something wrong with it,"
Dumbledore furrowed his brows as he turned back to the parchment, "Did you have a vision regarding it?" he questioned.
"Not really," Rodrick answered, "Read over the parchment and you'll see what I mean," he slowly got up and turned to leave.
Dumbledore watched the boy walk away before turning back to the parchment, as he read through it his eyes widened slightly. 'Peculiar... why doesn't she remember him?'
He turned towards Fawkes and was surprised to find the bird... Squirming? When he turned back to the parchment, his own eyes widened when he found traces of magic on the parchment... No, it was more accurate to say writing? Whoever had penned the letter had been under a spell... There was a sense of danger as he stared at the writing... Quickly the headmaster walked towards his fireplace before throwing the floo powder in. He out the woman's name. He was relieved to see her answer quickly... A little too quickly for that matter.
"Who is this?" The aged woman questioned.
"It's me, Albus," Dumbledore remarked easily, his expression quickly adopted a frown when he received no answer.
"What is this about?" Bathilda questioned apprehensively. She'd made no sign of recognising his name.
Strange. The headmaster stared at the burning face, there was something strange... 'Lenora...' he thought to himself, he'd never considered it before but why hadn't the woman ever sought her great aunt for shelter?
"Hello?" The woman questioned once again, a tone of irritation? In her voice... "Forgive me Bathilda, I've just remembered something urgent... Perhaps another time?" Dumbledore suddenly remarked. There was something strange going on.
"Very well," The monotone voice of the woman replied before disappearing.
Dumbledore felt a great deal of tension suddenly leave the room... "There's something strange going on..."
'Screech'
He heard Fawkes suddenly cry out. Dumbledore turned to his pet phoenix before his eyes widened at the state... The bird's bright coloured flames looked pale. "Fawkes... What's the matter?"
'Screech!' The phoenix's forceful cry came out, leaving a shocked expression on the headmaster... The man presumed to turn back to the paper before he suddenly felt the tension drop... Phoenix' magic revolved around their tears... Their tears to heal... They were sensitive to when things were in danger... The residue of dark magic on the paper had come from Bathilda's hands... Only it wasn't enough to do any harm... which meant that it hadn't been intentional... Or the woman hadn't perhaps even realised?
Dumbledore quickly went over to his pensieve before retracting a memory from years long into his past, memories of the woman she'd been...
A few moments later a pale Dumbledore had lifted his head out of the pensieve.
The memory had been off his time at Godrick's hollow when he'd first met Gellert... The woman in the vision wasn't the same person he'd spoken to... He understood why Fawkes had been uncomfortable... The woman in the vision had been fine... As Dumbledore prepared another memory... A memory of 12 Grimmauld place. He felt himself age almost a decade as he stared at the boy use the destructive magic... The magic eerily similar to the residue left on the parchment...
Someone had used that cursed magic on Bathilda Bagshot. Deep down, Dumbledore knew of only one person who had the access and means to do it... Only one other person had access to Grindelwald's vault... At least when she'd been alive.
'Lenora... What did you do?' He hadn't thought the lighthearted woman capable of such a thing... Bathilda Bagshot had no memories of the boy... She had no memories of him either it seemed... Dumbledore turned back to Fawkes. "What did you sense?"
The Phoenix answer would haunt him for the coming months. 'Death' Fawkes had sensed death surrounding the paper, death surrounding the woman... Dead but alive.
Bathilda Bagshot had died... How many years ago?' Dumbledore felt himself question... He knew she'd been alive following her great-nephews start of a war and imprisonment... Which meant whatever had happened to her was done after... Once again linking it to the boy's mother... He was slowly starting to understand the spell he'd seen, it's properties... Lenora Grace had never strived to the dark arts as far as he knew until she'd disappeared, months before her death... Whatever had happened in those months had led to Bathilda Bagshots current predicament... A living puppet dedicated to a most likely dead woman... 'What on earth am I supposed to tell the boy?'
Perhaps he was wrong... Dumbledore raised his wand, aiming it at the parchment before attempting to let off a spell to search for any signs of magic... The first scan he'd attempted resulted in a dark strange screech followed by the paper quickly burning itself... Dumbledore could only stare as the paper disappeared... Confirming the existence of a curse. The fact he couldn't even get a reading out of it made it even more terrifying to consider just how dark that magic had been... He blinked when he'd realised hed now lost that same parchment...
He thought about the boy's mother... If she had been responsible for such a drastic measure... How had he never seen it coming? The same woman he'd failed shamefully. He could still see it clear as day, the moment he'd practically drove the woman to her inevitable death... He had truly been too focused on the greater good.
Dumbledore shook his head at the thoughts.
...
(Flashback)
"Headmaster you are asking for too much, you cannot seriously expect me to teach defence," Lenora shook her head at the thought, Divination was the only subject she'd ever put any effort into, it was the easiest one to teach as well. That had been the main reason she'd sought to do it.
"Lenora, you must understand, It is too risky for Trelawny, she's in danger. You of all must understand the dangers revolving around a prophecy such as this,"
"I've never even heard of it," Lenora remarked rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I have a child Albus, you are asking to put my life at risk here," Rodrick... He wasn't even into his second year and already her life was spiralling out of control... She couldn't even consider how much danger the boy was in with his father's family... Honestly how chaotic can one family get? She shook her head exasperatedly.
"You are not the one in need of protecting, The dark lord will try to come after her for the prophecy, Hogwarts is the safest location there is, you have nothing to worry about,"
Lenora almost cursed, how could he tell her she wasn't in any danger- She quickly composed herself... She in retrospect had no real reason to be afraid... At least according to him. The man didn't know who her father was... She briefly considered his reaction before quickly getting rid of the notion. "The defence position is cursed and you know it,"
The man seemed to stumble for a moment and Lenora felt as if she finally might've won.
To her disappointment.
"I am only asking you to cover for a few months at most, until the end of the school year, you won't need to return to it the next year, I'll have found a suitable replacement..."
"I am getting fired?" Lenora couldn't help herself.
"If you wish to conti-"
"Like hell," Lenora scoffed. She stayed glued to the ground fidgeting before she shook her head. "It's too risky, I am sorry. You can have her take my job but I can't teach defence," she'd been about to leave before to her annoyance the headmaster spoke up.
"There is no one available on such a short period, as a professor even you must realise that..."
"And the fact it's Defence has nothing to do with it?" Lenora decided to add on, crossing her arms.
Dumbledore stared passively at the woman before sighing. "A deal then,"
Lenora showed no reaction.
"If you teach Defence for the rest of the year, I will have your husband removed from the order by the end of the year... Your family will have no responsibility following this year."
Lenora's eyes lit up at the words, a chance to escape... She'd been trying to get away from the castle ever since she'd gotten married, the headmaster had always managed to guilt her into staying, although as a divination professor most had just ignored her... The headmaster was offering her escape...Just a few months that's all... Even her stubborn idiot of a husband couldn't simply refuse the headmaster and his own wife, cursing the old man one last time for offering... She considered things carefully...
She, to the headmaster's relief, agreed...
...
(Flashback ends)
Dumbledore stared at his desk passively, remembering that deal... Her first term as the Defence professor hadn't even finished before Lenora had received news of her husband's death... She'd disappeared after that with her son... Noone had known what had happened, months later, on September... The boy's second birthday? Dumbledore shook his head at that thought, Lenora Grace had shown up on the papers listing her as dead. Nothing regarding her son although her in-laws had figured the boy had died as well. He was quickly brought back to the situation at hand... In those few months, something had happened... Something linking Bathilda's unfortunate circumstances... And no doubt the boy's orphanage! He could always start there.
...
Dumbledore stared at the door in front of him with mild trepidation. When he'd first decided to visit the orphanage, he'd quickly realised it was no longer operational. It had taken the headmasters sometime before he'd tracked down caretaker for the orphanage that had disappeared. It seemed the woman had put quite a lot of effort into remaining hidden...
'Curious,' thought the headmaster, 'it seems Malfoy may have not in fact been responsible...' The simple reason being that the woman had apparently been a squib... It was that point that had made him feel wary about the whole thing. A squib had taken care of Rodrick Grindelwald until he was 11...
Had it been a normal orphan, that would not have worried the headmaster. However, in Rodrick's case, the boy apparently had quite a lot of magic happening around him for as long as he could remember... 'Not to mention the accidental damage and the Occulemency shield... A magical being would've noticed it, without a doubt.' Which brought about the scarier question, if the woman had known about such magic usage, why hadn't the headmaster ever heard about any incidents? Not a single hint of it in all those years. 'Was the woman keeping him hidden?' That thought could've meant she'd recognised him for who he really was...
Knocking once, Dumbledore waited patiently for the person to answer.
It wasn't long before an aged looking woman answered the door. Dumbledore noted she looked to be in her 70's.
"Can I help you?" The woman asked. Wary eyes stared at him.
"Yes, My name is-"
"I know who you are." The woman spoke over the headmaster, in an icy tone. She looked to stop for a few moments, no doubt considering something. "Would you like to come in?" She sighed.
Dumbledore simply nodded his head before following the woman inside. It was a bleak looking place, he noted the amount of muggle technology before his attention was brought to the woman ahead of him.
"You're here about Rodrick," she didn't ask. A simple statement.
Dumbledore made no reaction as he followed her into the living room. He took his seat on the chair opposite the woman.
"Yes, I am. How did you know?" he questioned. his eyes showing nothing.
The woman simply stared at him, a strange glint in her eyes. "Tea?" She questioned.
Dumbledore shook his head.
"What are you here for?" The woman simply replied.
Dumbledore ignored the way she avoided the question, "I was hoping to find out what happened with the orphanage... Among other things,"
The woman stopped whatever action she had been in the middle of before she turned back to stare at the headmaster. "The orphanage is gone," was all she said.
"Do you have any idea who might've seen fit to have it removed in such a manner?" The headmaster's voice seemed to echo.
"You mean how the kids were thrown out?" The woman replied an emotionless tone.
Dumbledore nodded.
"Who knows," she shrugged.
Dumbledore didn't believe it for a second... The way her eyes looked... 'Guilt?'The headmaster thought, 'Was she the one responsible? Dumbledore felt the tension rise, Why? Was she disgruntled with the boy? But then why wait until Rodrick was at Hogwarts? She certainly didn't look like she cared much about the job,' He wanted to ask but he knew he wouldn't get an answer.
"Can you tell me how Rodrick had come under your care?" Dumbledore asked, his expression hidden.
"10? or was it 11 years ago?"The woman remarked tired, staring intently at the intricate table. "He was dropped off by his aunt,"
Dumbledore's eyes widened. "Bathilda?" he couldn't help himself.
"The same," the woman remarked nodding.
Dumbledore felt confusion take over... Bathilda Bagshot had dropped off the boy? It made no sense to the headmaster. From the letter he'd see, she hadn't appeared to know who he was... And was it before or after Lenora had died? The mystery kept on growing slowly. Dumbledore then processed exactly what the woman had said. 'His aunt...' She knows? Did this woman know she had been taking care of a Grindelwald?
It seemed as if the woman had read his mind.
"Imperius," The aged caretaker remarked uneasily. "She had me put under it for as long as I could remember..."
Dumbledore couldn't help the shocked expression on his face. To think Bathilda Bagshot would go so far... And yet for all of it, a small part of Dumbledore knew it wasn't Bagshot... No, something kept telling him it was the boy's mother...'Had she set all of that up?' Dumbledore felt his age catching up with him. First the grandfather and then the mother... It seemed Grindelwald's had a habit of going too far, he certainly saw the same trait in Rodrick.
For whatever might be said about the way it had been executed, Lenora certainly did a good enough job to protect her son, as underhanded and dangerous as it was, it certainly worked.
"I take it you are no longer affected?" Dumbledore asked, he understood why the woman had deigned to go to such lengths to hide after something like that.
The woman merely nodded. "I don't want to make a scene out of this," she added on absentmindedly.
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing. He could tell his presence was slowly becoming an irritation if the way her eyes looked. He simply stood, he doubted he could get anything out of the woman, "If there's ever a problem, will it be fine if I come again?" he questioned.
The woman merely nodded as she stood to take him out.
As Dumbledore walked through the hallway, he couldn't help but feel lost. he wasn't sure where to go from here. He knew he needed to see the boy's aunt but he felt something hold him back. Not to mention there was still the whole Voldemort affair he needed to continue preparing for... Next year... Voldemort was likely to be back by then. Dumbledore bit down the shiver. There was so little time... As he was about to leave through the door, however, he heard the woman's voice. Turning once, he found the woman staring directly at his eyes.
"I am sorry I didn't catch that," he remarked warily.
"I said I remember you, you know?"
Dumbledore blinked before furrowing his brow, wondering where he could've seen the woman before...
"I don't recall," he remarked uneasily. He saw a strange smile lit over the woman's face...
"Of course not... It was such a long time ago..." she shook her head.
Dumbledore turned his full attention to the woman, an uneasy feeling in his stomach.
"I would be grateful if you could remind me," he remarked.
The smile disappeared, the woman seemed to shiver before she raised her head. "Wool's orphanage,"
The two words sent the hallway into a cold silence.
Dumbledore couldn't tear his eyes away.
"Hm, didn't think there was a squib there... Did ya?" she questioned shaking her head slowly, a small smirk lining her face.
"You were an orphan there?"
The question sent a flash of anger through the woman's face. "Sure... I was practically one as a squib," she remarked disdainfully.
Dumbledore could only stare, numb.
"I remember him you know," she sighed. "I remember Tom Riddle,"
Dumbledore said nothing intent on listening.
"He was rather scary... No one else saw it though, never took me seriously." she stopped for a second, "Then years later... You know the story, now everyone believes what I said,"
"You knew he was Voldemort?" Dumbledore couldn't help the question.
"I used to live near Hogsmeade," she spoke with a frown. "When the attacks happened... I recognised it... there was no way not to, only he could have that malevolence, that darkness. I left shortly after that," she remarked shaking her head.
Dumbledore nodded, he was about to say something else before the woman snapped her eyes to his.
"I feel like you deserve the warning,"
"What warning is that?" he couldn't help the question.
"Tom Riddle scared me as a child..." the emotionless tone seemed to echo around the room. "Rodrick Grindelwald however..."
Dumbledore eyes were slowly widening as he took in the haunted face.
"Oh, he never did anything... The model child in a way, he always listened... But it was those eyes... If you paid enough attention you could see it... Even sense it,"
"What are you referring to?" Dumbledore merely asked.
The woman was staring at the floor before shaking her head. "Tom Riddle scared me as a child Headmaster, Rodrick Grindelwald however... To put it simply, he terrifies me."
The words left the two in a numb silence...
"I have met the boy, he is no-" Dumbledore started before he watched the woman shake her.
"Tom Riddle had always had his flip switched... That darkness was always around him... That boy, however... It's buried in...He never did anything, he had that calmness around him, that self-control... But I knew Riddle, the similarities are almost frightening but the fact that he could control that darkness... Where Riddle never could... That alone is absolutely terrifying to imagine... And if he were to ever flip and lose that calm..." she left the words unsaid before looking back up. "Goodbye Headmaster," she remarked, quickly leading him outside the door.
Dumbledore could only stare out as he heard the door snap shut behind him... Unsure how to take in the woman's words.
...
Dumbledore watched as an irritated Snape left his office, he himself couldn't help the sigh as he settled back into his office chair, the visit to the boys former caretaker had shaken him. He slipped a lemon sherbet into his mouth before sighing, awaiting a guest... Slowly his mind wandered to his visit to the caretaker... What were the odds of one of Riddles former fellow orphans winding up as the caretaker of a Grindelwald. He sincerely hoped it wouldn't lead down to the same path. It was the woman's warning however that had shaken him, for he could definitely see where she was coming from. Only he hadn't thought it was that bad. Taking into account the reality of things made him realise it was far worse.
She had said Rodrick had rarely done anything and yet she had managed to determine how much of a danger he could be... The child had used unforgivables in his first year... Successfully for that matter. He had been capable of human transfiguration... A talent he no doubt gained from his grandfather... He could still remember the day, the first time Gellert Grindelwald had apparently been captured.
Newt Scamander had helped the Macusa in that regard. Yet if sources are to be believed, Gellert had merely laughed. 'He had laughed!' before proceeding to insult Scamander. It seemed Gellert had apparently hated the man with a passion although for the life of him Albus simply couldn't understand why. After his capture, the Macusa had thought they'd finally put an end to the man... Then the trial had occurred...
He could still remember that day, clear as a crystal having been allowed to sit in on it. He remembered the confident smirk on the man's face. Not a hint of worry. It hadn't taken long before the others had realised why. Gellert Grindelwald had transfigured and held over 50 people in the courtroom. All of them, followers of his disguised to look like the judiciary meant to trial him... How he had known who to find and impersonate was one thing... To manage to hold such a level of power... It was incomprehensible. Voldemort may have been considered the most dangerous for his tactics... But from what Dumbledore had seen, the man hadn't held a candle to Gellert Grindelwald in terms of magical power.
Frankly, it was almost humorous. Gellert Grindelwald had literally walked out of the building after the farce of a trial called him innocent. Disappearing as the Macusa where forced to cleanse their department. 50 bloody witches and wizards hidden under transfiguration... It had terrified the entire country...
And the grandson had already been capable of human transfiguration at the age of 11...
Unforgivables... Fiendfyre... human transfiguration... And then there was that spell... That spell he had used against the Black Horcrux. The less said about it the better. If the ministry ever saw it, Albus didn't doubt fudge would make it the fourth unforgivable, nor would the headmaster stop him...Magical extraction he suddenly remembered numbly... He couldn't imagine the amount of damage the boy could do on the wrong side of the law... Who knew just what else the boy was capable of. Or for that matter what he could grow to do.
Dumbledore sighed, there was no other way to describe it, Rodrick was dangerous, very dangerous, it was the occulemency shield in the boy's mind that kept the headmaster reserved regarding him, he simply could never tell what the boy had planned, a blessing and a curse at the same time. Any other day that thought wouldn't have bothered him but after the warning from the boys former caretaker. She may not have seen the boy do anything but she had grown up with Tom Riddle. If there was anyone who could sense what kind of danger the boy could potentially be... It was her.
Before he could muse any further, he heard the fireplace roar. Turning he was pleased to see his summons had been answered.
"You had something to talk to me about?"
"Ah yes, you see an urgent manner has come up"
The man raised an eyebrow at the words. "Does it involve Harry?" He questioned
"Not really no,"
A relieved look swept over the man's face as he moved towards one of the chairs. "What's this about?"
"Its mostly a job offer," Dumbledore remarked, amused to see the confused look on the man's face.
"Has someone left?" He questioned, the word left surprisingly having many different possible meanings... Left the Gilderoy Lockhart way or the Quirrel way...
"In a sense... The history professor Binns has been exorcised," Dumbledore remarked with a straight face.
It took a second before the man chuckled. Slowly growing into a fit of laughter.
Eventually, after a while of trying to contain himself, Sirius Black accepted.
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