“Are you going home for the Easter break, Harry?” Susan was writing a letter to Aunt Amelia. Important social dates were being negotiated.
“Yes, Susan, I think we are all going,” Harry replied. He didn’t mention his most pressing reason for leaving Hogwarts. He needed to deliver a tiny glass phial to Greengrass Manor. From there, it would be delivered to the Department of Mysteries, where Eric Davis had a secure vault. Lord Voldemort could reside there until all the loose ends were tidied up.
Professor Snape had also asked him about the Easter break. He seemed satisfied when Harry said he would stay at The Ossuary. Then the professor said something odd.
“Potter, your night-time travels around the castle are being observed. Be careful, and don’t make a mess.”
-ooOOoo-
The Easter Holidays started, and the Alliance and the Escort escaped from Hogwarts for a few days.
Aunt Amelia and Harry made a short visit to Greengrass Manor.
The plan had worked so far. Lord Voldemort would be held in the secure vault at the Department of Mysteries along with his Horcruces. Eric Davis had exclusive access to the vault, which was typical for his work as an Unspeakable. Lord Greengrass and Unspeakable Davis were the only ones, apart from Harry, who knew the significance of the dull grey box as Harry handed it over. Eric Davis left straight away for the Ministry.
Harry and Susan arranged a trip to meet Hermione in Diagon Alley. Amelia was not available to go with them but sent two aurors to shadow them. Hermione invited Harry and Susan to lunch with her parents. Hermione’s parents did not want to come into Diagon Alley. Instead, they invited the children to a small café near the public entrance to the Leaky Cauldron.
Hermione was nervous as she led Harry and Susan out of the Leaky Cauldron.
Her parents were waiting on Charing Cross Road.
“Hello, I’m Richard Granger. I’m Hermione’s father, and this is Jean Granger, Hermione’s mother. Did anyone come with you?” Richard Granger looked around to see if any adults had accompanied the children.
Harry responded. “Yes, but you won’t see them. They are magical police who can enchant themselves so they will not be noticed.”
“Invisible! How interesting!” Jean Granger said.
Susan spoke up. “They’re not invisible. I can see them, but you can’t because you don’t have the magic.”
Hermione gave Susan a light slap on her shoulder. “That was too much talk of magic in public, Susan.”
“Sorry!” Susan blushed.
Harry put his hand on Susan’s arm. “I’m sorry, Susan. I started that.”
Richard Granger took over. “Let’s go to the café.”
The Grangers walked away, and Harry, Hermione, and Susan followed. The aurors followed and blended into the background outside the café as the Grangers and their guests entered.
The Granger parents wanted to learn as much as they could about Susan and Harry. Susan was not ready for the quick and analytical questioning she got from Jean Granger. Hermione tried to help by filling in the gaps between her mother’s questions and Susan’s limited knowledge of the outside world.
Richard Granger worked on getting everything he could out of Harry. The Grangers proved they could ask questions and, at the same time, listen to the other conversations at the table. Then they would ask another question while still listening to the previous answer. Then they would butt into another conversation with a question about something they heard while talking to someone else. The Death Eaters and Sirius trained Harry how to do this. They often shouted at each other and then shouted over their opponent's response while still listening to all the shouting.
As the sound level of the talk rose, Harry touched his wand and cast a privacy spell. This spell was not on the Hogwarts list of spells to be learned, but Harry knew it anyway.
Richard ordered burgers for himself and Harry while the girls got soup and salads. Harry didn’t conceal his history. He was interested to see how Richard was not concerned about Harry being trained and tutored by a bunch of criminals.
“Sir, you don’t seem worried about how I lived before Hogwarts. I won’t lie to you. It was very rough.”
Richard smiled. “Harry, I may be a middle-class boy from a comfortable home, but I have seen a lot of life. I was in the Army before going to University to learn dental surgery. I had to deal with some very rough people. You are nothing like them. You have lived in a place like hell on earth, but you seem untouched by it.”
Conversations continued to bounce around the table. Harry wasn’t able to eat half of his burger. He had cut it into quarters before he started. He didn’t manage to eat the second quarter before Richard Granger claimed the remaining two quarters. Jean Granger glared at him, but Richard shrugged and wolfed the remainder of Harry’s burger down. Harry had already explained that the meal was twice what he could normally eat.
The lunch was over, and Richard turned to Harry again. “You must come and stay with us at our place Harry, during the summer break. We don’t have a grand country house, but we can accommodate two guests for a week.”
Hermione smiled at Harry. “Please come, Harry. What about you, Susan? Do you think you can come?”
Susan looked uncertain. “I don’t know, my parents haven’t settled their holiday travel times, but if I’m still at Aunty Amelia’s, I should be able to come.”
Richard Granger gave Harry an envelope as they walked back to the Leaky Cauldron.
“I wasn’t sure if I should give you this, Harry. I have decided to ask you to look at this because of the way that you answered every question today. You are not a typical eleven-year-old child. You speak as though you are an experienced soldier.
I’ve been asked by an old friend for any information I can find about this person. He may be someone from your world. What I mean is he might be a wizard. There isn’t any rush for this. If you can find anything about the name on this note, I would be glad to hear it when you visit. Please don’t write anything in a letter.”
Harry put the envelope in his pocket.
Harry and Susan left the Grangers outside the Leaky Cauldron and flooed to the Ossuary.
Harry opened the envelope when he settled in his room at The Ossuary. The lined notepaper had a name written in pencil. It was Tom Marvolo Riddle.
Harry went to the fireplace and put the note and envelope in the fire.
-ooOOoo-
“Spooks! It’s the spooks, Harry! They know! How did they find out? What do they know?
I’m sorry, Harry. I’m panicking. I mustn’t panic. This will be tricky enough as it is.”
“Tom! Tell me what you are frightened of.”
“I’m frightened of my own shadow, and I don’t have one.”
“Tell me, Tom! Mr Granger knows your name. What is so bad about that?”
“It’s the way he said it. He’s Army, Harry. He will have old friends still in the Army. His ‘old friend’ knows my name. His ‘old friend’ has probably moved on like Mr Granger did. Mr Granger became a health professional. His old Army friend could easily have moved into the security services. His ‘old friend’ is a spook.”
-ooOOoo-
Lessons resumed at Hogwarts. The study group grew again. This time, the new member came from Ravenclaw.
“I was in the Ravenclaw first-year study group but wanted a change. The Ravenclaws focus on their interests, and your group is more interesting. You do more things that I like.”
The new student was Sue Li. The defence practice continued in the Hufflepuff training room. Sue Li attended a session led by George and Fred Weasley. She easily defeated the twins and every other study group participant.
“Harry, we need you now. Miss Li is wiping the floor with us.”
Harry had been helping Hermione, Susan, and Hannah with their movement. He was pressuring them with Legilimency at the same time to test their Occlumency. Harry intended to train them to hide their next move from their opponent. Using Legilimency in formal duelling was frowned on by the purists, but in a real fight, Legilimency gave an advantage to the unscrupulous.
Harry took his staff and floated to the fighting ring. The training room provided a ringed space where offensive spells could be contained and controlled to reduce the risk of injury.
The others stopped to watch. George dropped a red flag to signal the start of the contest. Harry darted to the left and right. There were surprised gasps at Harry’s quick movements when he relied only on his staff.
Sue Li cast wide area immobilizing spells which Harry or Tom didn’t know. Harry could barely shield himself from them and tried to counter by jumping up and dodging.
Legilimency revealed that Sue Li had a solid mindscape. It was a landscape painting. There were trees, bushes, open fields, hills, and mountains. The mindscape was complete, and Harry had to withdraw or become fascinated with the intricate detail.
“Ha! Nearly caught you!” Sue Li shouted.
Harry launched an attack. He threw his staff from his left hand to his right and drew his holly wand. Then Harry fired a series of binding spells at Sue Li. In the instant it took to do this, he flew at Sue Li and cast a strong shield in front of him with his staff.
Sue Li deflected the binding spells, which were absorbed by the shield dome over the fighting ring.
A solid brick wall emerged from the floor and stopped Harry’s spells. Sue Li ran around one end of the wall and cast a blasting hex at Harry. The explosion bounced off Harry’s shield and knocked down the brick wall. Sue Li shielded herself from the explosion's debris, and Harry took the opportunity to tie her feet. The binding spell was broken, but then a Petrificus Totalus from Harry overwhelmed Sue Li’s defences, and the bout ended.
The protecting shields were lifted, and Sue Li was released.
Harry beckoned her to him. “You are advanced beyond any student in Hogwarts, except perhaps me. I know you can’t tell me, but I assume that at least half of the spells you used are your family magic. What I really want you to do while you are working with us is to help the young ladies develop their Occlumency strength. I won’t push them as hard as you would. I need someone who will show no mercy to get them to build their mindscapes. Will you do that for us?”
“That is what my father wants me to do. There is something that you can do for him in return.” Sue Li replied.
“Ah! This is interesting. What is the deal?”
“My father wants an introduction to Lord Greengrass. He wants a private connection. My father has worked for Greengrass companies, but he needs a personal introduction.” Sue Li didn’t smile or make any other gestures. Her mindscape stayed in place.
“I will write to Lord Greengrass and ask him to meet your father. Your command over Occlumency is enough to persuade me.”
Sue Li nodded and walked away.
-ooOOoo-
“She shows as much emotion as you. Are you sure about her?”
“She is representing her family. Lord Greengrass has the people who can investigate her father. There is another thing.”
“What is that, mystery boy?”
“She let me beat her. If she wanted to, we would still be fighting.”
“OK, that’s sneaky.”
-ooOOoo-
One person had been missing from Gryffindor since the Easter break. Ronald Weasley was in the Infirmary. He had acquired a life-threatening injury. How he had been injured was never explained to anyone in Gryffindor. However, his absence was quietly enjoyed by Hermione and Neville.
Parvati and Lavender finally found out what his injury was. He had been bitten by a venomous reptilian creature while assisting the gamekeeper, Hagrid. Investigations never revealed what the creature was. Harry knew that it wasn’t Matilda. If the Basilisk had bitten anyone, they would have died within minutes.
Then, there was a fire on the grounds. Hagrid’s little house was burning fiercely. Students rushed to vantage points around the castle to watch. The fire consumed the wooden hut within minutes, but strangely, Hagrid did not attempt to put the fire out. He was chasing after something which had disappeared into the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid didn’t show up for hours; when he did, he was distraught. He was not worried about his hut. He was crying for someone called Norbert who had run away. Most students didn’t know who Norbert was, and the teachers would not answer any questions about this person. Ronald Weasley was noticeably silent about Norbert when he finally returned to Gryffindor.
Hagrid resumed his duties around the castle grounds and in the Forbidden Forest.
-ooOOoo-
Hermione approached Harry during a regular Saturday morning walk around the castle. This was not unusual. Hermione and Harry enjoyed many conversations about their lessons, magical society, and what to do about the outstanding problems.
This time, Hermione was slow to start with what she wanted to discuss. They walked along in silence for a few minutes.
“Is there something you wanted to say, Hermione?”
“Yes, Harry.”
Another minute passed.
“Well, you see, it’s about my Dad. He’s written to me recently and asked me to do something which seems to be a bit odd.”
“Hermione, you are a witch. I am a wizard. What can be stranger than that?”
Hermione giggled. That was odd. Hermione never giggled.
“He asked me to ask you if you had made any progress with what he had asked you about the day that we had lunch in London. Does that make sense?”
‘Yes, Hermione, that does make sense. He said there wasn’t any hurry, and he could wait until I came to stay at your place during the summer break.”
“Well, he also said there was some urgency now and that his ‘old friend’ needed an answer.”
“Did he tell you exactly what he asked about?”
“No! My curiosity is getting me annoyed. He doesn’t want to tell me, and I don’t expect you to tell me. I don’t like being left out of anything, so if you could help him, please do it. Maybe, you can tell me what it is after this is over.”
“I don’t know, Hermione. This is very odd.”
-ooOOoo-
“Odd isn’t the word; this is suspicious. You have to tell him the story about Lord Voldemort. Don’t lie or make something up. Tell him that Lord Voldemort has been locked away.”
“I think you are right, Tom. It’s a risk. The headmaster might extract it from them. There’s nothing we can do about that.”
-ooOOoo-
Harry wrote a short letter and gave it to Jules, his Bones house elf, to deliver to Richard Granger.
From: Harry J. Potter,
Slytherin House,
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Saturday, May 16, 1992
To: Mr Richard Granger
Dear Sir,
This is the story of Tom Marvolo Riddle. He was born on December 31, 1926. His mother was Merope Gaunt from Little Hangleton, and his father was Tom Riddle, also from Little Hangleton.
Tom Riddle Senior was drugged by Merope Gaunt, and they eloped. Once she was pregnant, Merope Gaunt ceased feeding Tom Riddle Senior drugs. When he came to his senses, he left Merope and returned to his parent's house in Little Hangleton.
Merope gave birth to her son in Wool’s Orphanage in London. Merope died after giving birth. Her son was placed in the orphanage.
Merope gave her son the name Tom Marvolo Riddle. Marvolo was Merope’s father’s name.
Merope was a witch. Tom Marvolo Riddle was a wizard. Tom Riddle Senior and his family were not magical.
When he was eleven, Tom Marvolo Riddle was given a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. That was in 1938.
Tom graduated when he was seventeen in 1945. He was an exceptional wizard.
At Hogwarts, Tom Marvolo Riddle started to create a new identity for himself. He made up a new name, Lord Voldemort.
He attracted many followers, and he grew in knowledge and power.
He named his followers Death Eaters. Lord Voldemort was obsessed with defeating death and living forever.
Voldemort murdered his father and his Riddle grandparents in 1943. I think their bodies were found in the old Riddle house in Little Hangleton.
Voldemort’s power grew until he launched a bid to conquer the wizarding world. This is now known as the Blood War or the Wizarding War. Voldemort and his followers killed many people, both magical and mundane.
The Wizarding War began in 1970 and ended in 1981 with the defeat of Voldemort. Voldemort is not dead, but he is powerless and magically confined at the moment. The truth is that Voldemort made several magical artefacts which are preventing him from departing this life.
This information is MOST SECRET. If the authorities in the Wizarding World were to find out that you knew this, you would get the mind whammy treatment again.
Please allow me to arrange special protection for your house, cars, and workplace. The protection will be installed by Gringotts Goblins. These protections, called wards, aim to prevent magical people from interfering with you. You will control which magical people may enter your house, car, and workplace. This will be done by writing the names of the permitted visitors in a ward book. Hermione’s name will be written in the book. You may write any name you like in the book, and the magic in the book will determine who you mean from your intent. You may remove that person’s permission by ruling one line through the name. The Goblins will leave the ward book on your dining room table when they have finished the installation. You will not see them.
The wards will not hinder non-magical people.
Please let Hermione know if you agree to have these wards set up.
Yours sincerely
Harry Potter
224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaOgcTismpG
The letter was elf delivered to Richard Granger.
-ooOOoo-
A shadow loomed over Harry as he prepared to leave the Slytherin Common Room for dinner.
“Potter! The headmaster wishes to speak to you. I will take you to his office after dinner.”
Harry nodded to the professor. “Yes, sir, may I ask what this is about?”
Professor Snape grimaced. “I believe the headmaster wishes to arrange your accommodation for the summer break.”
Harry sighed. “Director Bones will not agree to that. I am still expected to stay at the safe house she has arranged.”
Professor Snape shrugged. “Tell the headmaster. I can’t dissuade him from trying to place you somewhere.”
Dinner progressed slowly, and the headmaster made a rare appearance at the teacher’s table. He seemed to be having a lively and increasingly angry conversation with Professor McGonagall.
Professor Snape went into the headmaster’s office with Harry.
“Ah! Severus! You need not stay for this. It is not official school business.”
“Headmaster, if it is not official business, then why is this meeting needed at all?”
The headmaster glared at Professor Snape.
“You may go, Severus!”
“Headmaster, I am required by school regulations and my own Slytherin House rules to stay. Mister Potter must be accompanied by his head of house during any meeting with you.”
There was a short staring contest between the two adults.
“Very well!”
Albus Dumbledore tried to regain control.
“Harry! My boy, please be seated. Would you care for a lemon drop?”
“I prefer to stand headmaster, and no thank you, I don’t want a lemon drop. That sort of thing gives me acid reflux.”
“Very well! I want to talk to you about where you will stay for the summer break. I have arranged for a suitable wizarding family to care for you. They have children at Hogwarts and are happy to have you stay all summer. What do you say to that?”
Harry shook his head. “Headmaster, you know that Director Bones still has me in protective custody. I must stay at the house that she has arranged for me.”
“Nonsense, Harry. I shall discuss this with Amelia, and you can stay with a proper family. Tell Amelia that you wish to stay with the Weasleys. Arthur and Molly are excited at the prospect of you living with them, even if it is only for the summer.”
Harry slowly turned and looked up at Professor Snape. The professor was astonished.
“Headmaster! Surely you must know that Ronald Weasley has shown nothing but aggressive disdain for Mister Potter for the whole year. Professor McGonagall can advise you concerning Ronald Weasley’s behaviour towards the members of the Potter-Longbottom-Bones Alliance. Mister Potter has been unduly tolerant towards the youngest Weasley. Are the Weasley parents aware of Ronald's belligerence towards Mister Potter?”
“I’m not aware of any problems that can’t be overcome. Minerva and you, Severus, need to take a more conciliatory attitude towards smoothing over these personality clashes.”
Harry had heard enough. “I have revision for the end-of-year examinations, Headmaster. May I go?”
“Very well! That is settled. You will stay at the Weasleys for the summer.” Dumbledore waved Harry away.
Harry and Professor Snape left the office.
Harry shook his head and spoke to the corridor as they walked along. “It’s not happening, Headmaster! Director Bones will send the aurors to collect me, no matter where you put me.”
Professor Snape said nothing.
-ooOOoo-
A message from Hermione came to Harry’s journal.
To: Harry Potter
From: Hermione Granger
Date: Monday, May 18, 1992
Time: 8:03 pm
Message: Warning!
My father has warned me and wants me to warn you about something deadly.
Tom Marvolo Riddle may have something in his possession which was stolen by his father, Tom Riddle Senior. This substance is deadly. It is poisonous and not just poisonous. Being close to it can kill you. It can contaminate anything that comes near it. You don’t have to touch it. If you know of any artefact belonging to Tom Riddle in 1943 or after, DO NOT GO NEAR IT.
This is terrifying, Harry. Look up what was happening from 1943 to 1945. Things were done then that we are still paying an awful price for. Please talk to my father before you do anything.
Don’t write to my father. He will try to message me if he really needs to tell you anything.
The wards around the Granger house, cars, and businesses will be most welcome. Please go ahead with arranging them.
Love,
Hermione
-ooOOoo-
“Now that is mysterious. Let me talk through what happened in 1943.
Voldemort was ready to confront his loving father. Voldemort wanted to ask questions like, ‘Why did you leave me in an orphanage while you lived in a house like this?’ Voldemort had the Riddle House in Little Hangleton watched. When he got the warning that his father had arrived, Voldemort visited him.
Tom Riddle Senior tried to laugh at Voldemort and ridicule him. Voldemort was a skilled Legilimens even then. Voldemort knew that his father was terrified. Voldemort detected that his father was hiding something. Tom Riddle Senior had stolen something while in the USA. His job there was legitimate, and he had a position of trust. He had betrayed that trust and stolen ten things he could sell for a lot of money. Voldemort didn’t understand what these things were.
The ten items were lead ingots which were hollowed out. The ingots contained a chemical solution of a metal called plutonium.
Tom Riddle Senior was a criminal and a traitor to his country. The possible buyer for this plutonium was Germany. Hitler would have paid millions for the plutonium solution and the secret of how to refine it. That is what Tom Riddle Senior was back in this country to arrange. He had a contact in the Spanish Embassy in London who had a contact in the German Embassy in Madrid.
Voldemort killed his grandparents, and then Voldemort killed his father. Voldemort used the killings to make a Horcrux. The Horcrux was the ring that Merope Gaunt’s father kept. It was an heirloom from the Peverell family.
Voldemort put the ten lead ingots under the floor of the old shack where his mother was raised. If the ingots were that valuable, they could be sold later to raise money for Voldemort’s rise to power. Voldemort enchanted a magical strongbox and locked the ring in it. He placed the strongbox on top of the ten ingots under the shack's floor. As far as I know, that is where it still is.
Voldemort put many wards and traps around the shack. You will need a team of skilled curse breakers to get in there. The ring and strong box have many curses on them.”
“Thanks, Tom. I will send this to Lord Greengrass. He is the only person I trust to deal with this.”
-ooOOoo-
Harry went to the library. He asked the librarian for history books covering 1943 to 1945 that mentioned the metal plutonium.
There was nothing in the Hogwarts library. The library had a magical connection to the British Library in London. The search results came back to the librarian. Thousands of books and other items were listed in the British Library search results.
Harry asked for student reading-level books. There were still more than a hundred titles. Harry asked for the first title on the list. He started reading about Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, the University of Chicago, Oak Ridge in Tennessee, and the Manhattan Project. It was horrifying.
Tom Riddle Senior had stolen enough plutonium to make at least one atomic bomb that could destroy an entire city. How had Tom Riddle Senior managed to do this? Harry had no idea, and Tom was flabbergasted.
Voldemort didn’t know what it was, but he had carefully hidden that plutonium where police investigators would not find it. He also put magical charms on the shack, which would make police investigators always look the other way.
Harry wrote to Lord Greengrass again. The enchantments and secrecy spells placed on the old Gaunt shack had to be removed. The strong box holding the Horcrux had to be taken to a safe place. Then the location of the plutonium stash had to be revealed to Mr Granger’s ‘old friends’ so that they could deal with it.
-ooOOoo-
“I could have died. No, Voldemort would have been left a wraith, wandering the world looking for a body. Voldemort had one Horcrux, the diary. I could have been blown up. My father was evil.”
“Yes, Tom, your father was evil. He was on his way to selling the secrets of the atomic bomb to Hitler’s Germany. However, according to the book, there would not be an explosion. The plutonium was not concentrated enough. The radioactivity would kill you, though, particularly if one of the ingots leaked.”
“That makes me feel sooooo much better.”
“Don’t be glum, Tom. You are a national hero. You stopped the betrayal of the nation. The secrets of the atomic bomb never reached Germany because of you.”
224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhFUoTASPo1
