"Ah Mister Potter, thank you for coming," Dumbledore smiled.
"Good morning, Sir," Evan nodded back with a small smile. He looked at the other person in Dumbledore's office and his smile grew. "Hey Al! Glad to see that you're back on your foot."
Moody snorted deeply but looked at Evan with genuine amusement. "You know, I'll let you call me that," he said gruffly. "Guess I owe you for stopping Crouch Jr and helping me."
"My pleasure," Evan said.
"And I heard you kicked his arse with the prosthetic," Moody said with glee.
"I sure did! It was a promise I made before," Evan grinned.
Moody leaned on his staff. "Well I'm glad and thank you, Lad." He offered a hand and they shook. "I'm finally cleared of the potions and charms they used on me, and I'm more pissed than normal and need an outlet so I don't self-destruct and take it out on myself."
"Hey you're seeing a mind healer! Good for you," Evan said warmly.
Moody snorted again. "Mandated and well, it helps I must admit." He jerked a thumb at an amused and mildly surprised Dumbledore. "Albus here told me some stuff. Well I'm in. Here to help."
"Glad to have you," Evan said sincerely.
Dumbledore nodded. "A few things. First, you will be glad to know that we are modifying the Second Task and it will not involve any hostages, not even voluntary ones."
"Good," Evan said flatly.
Dumbledore smiled wryly. "Second, after your tip the other day, I managed to find Bob Ogden and speak with him. I was able to obtain a rather important memory from him." He opened his cabinet and pulled out a large heavy bowl made of stone and carved with runes. Crystal clear liquid filled it and he poured the contents of a vial into the bowl. The cloudy liquid mixed with the clear and the contents swirled. He tapped the Pensieve with his wand and the liquid surface shimmered, creating an image. The image floated into the air and grew in size and the three men watched the memory play.
"And I thought I was ugly," Moody remarked, seeing Ogden confront a very hairy and unkempt man with crossed eyes and brutish features.
"You earned it, he was born with it," Evan said. "Nepotism, right?"
"I come from a pretty well-to-do family," Moody said with a smirk.
"Oh, sorry to hear that," Evan said and Moody laughed.
The three men glowered at the way the father of Morfin Gaunt, Marvolo Gaunt, treated his daughter Merope Gaunt. It was clear all three of them were related. Their crooked eyes and other features showed strong blood ties. Marvolo's words of purity and hatred for Muggles and non-Purebloods were incredibly heinous and they watched as the conflict unfolded. It ended in spectacular fashion: Ogden trying to prevent Merope from being harmed, being chased out by Marvolo and Morfin, running into two Muggles riding horses, and then returning with reinforcements to detain the male Gaunts.
"What a mess," Moody said sourly as the memory ended. "So Voldemort was a Gaunt?"
"Merope was his mother," Dumbledore said. "I have done some research when Tom Riddle was here and found that he had been left at an orphanage as a baby with his mother dying soon after childbirth."
"That's who Morfin assaulted," Moody said. "What Ogden was talking about."
"Pretty sure that might be who was riding the horse," Evan said, watching the memory play again. "He looks like Tom before he went snakefaced."
"I agree," Dumbledore said. "They are in Little Hangleton, a small village."
"Well let's go then," Evan said, looking at the two men. "There's a chance Little Riddle and Peter might be there now. Plus I want to mess up the chances of them repeating the ritual to give him a bigger body."
"Allow me to fetch Remus," Dumbledore said, rising to his feet. "But you are correct. We have the advantage, we should not surrender it." He ignored the look of surprise that Moody gave him and left the office.
Evan shrugged when Moody turned to look at him. "I might need supervision so I don't do anything 'excessive'."
"I think I like you," Moody grinned.
-0-
"All things considered, this is a rather charming village," Remus remarked.
The four men had left Hogwarts together. Using imagery from the memory, they were able to apparate to the outskirts of the village and walked in together. In any place, they would have stood out like a sore thumb to their varied and rather exotic appearances. However, they were able to avoid too much notice by walking in off the beaten path and with some concealing charms and spells.
"There." Evan pointed to the cemetery.
"Are you alright?" Remus asked, noticing his expression.
"Bad memories," Evan said quietly, looking at the cemetery. He resisted a shudder and hardened his heart. "At least it's day time." They walked through the gates and walked slowly through the rows of gravestones and markers. He could still remember how bitterly cold it was that night despite the summer heat.
He could still hear the cold voice to 'kill the spare'. Seeing Cedric fall over lifeless. The horror of seeing Voldemort rise from the cauldron. The impotent fury of seeing his followers return.
The resignation that he was going to die when he was forced to duel him.
The exhilaration and aching loss of seeing the shades of his parents, Cedric, even poor Bertha Jorkins and Frank Bryce, the witch and Muggle that Voldemort had murdered after they fulfilled their uses to him. Then fleeing with his life and Cedric's body, the immense relief and subsequent terror.
All of those emotions went through him in an instant and he gritted his teeth, biting his lip until he tasted blood. He wiped it away and healed the slight wound with a touch and continued walking.
"Here." Moody looked at the Riddle Family headstone. It was impressive to look at, made of marble and with a carved angel of death standing vigil. The names of the Riddle Family members were carved into it, a testament of their existence.
"It's undisturbed," Remus said, waving his wand over the grave.
"Good, that means he hasn't done it yet," Evan said, eyes glittering.
"So we're destroying the remains?" Moody asked, holding his wand ready.
"No, we will not be desecrating them," Dumbledore said sharply. "I understand that they were, or will, be used for a dark ritual but that does not mean we should be so cavalier now. Doing such things always has dire consequences."
Evan said nothing, looking at Dumbledore with an unreadable expression.
"There are other things we can do," Remus said, looking at the three men. "We can seal the coffins, make it nigh-impossible to open easily and thus make it easier for them to be captured should they try."
"That's good enough I suppose," Evan said quietly.
"Thank you," Dumbledore said, looking relieved. He incanted softly and the dirt over the grave was moved. He and Remus cast a series of spells over the caskets while Moody and Evan stood watch. Right before they started moving the dirt back, Evan flipped a gold coin into the grave.
"For the boatman and as a sign of contrition for disturbing their rest," Evan said.
Dumbledore nodded with approval and he and Remus finished refilling the grave. With a few more wand movements, it looked as pristine as it did when they arrived. They left the cemetery together and started walking towards an aged manor that overlooked the rest of the village. "I believe that is the Riddle estate," Dumbledore said. "Let us investigate it."
They found the building to be old and in decent condition. Moody, Dumbledore, and Evan let themselves in and they slowly went through the manor home while Remus walked over the grounds and spoke with the Muggle groundskeeper, the man who still looked after the property. After some time, they left together.
"Nothing," Moody said to Remus. "Been empty for a while now. Not a trace of magic or anything."
"Frank Bryce, the caretaker, told me no one has been there save for some of the village's teens who want somewhere to hide and drink and do related things," Remus said with a faint smile. "He chases them out most of the time but aside from them, no one has come by for some time."
"Then let us investigate the Gaunt home," Dumbledore said. He looked around. "I believe that is the path to it."
They walked down the path. At first it was traversable but the further they got from the main village path, the more overgrown and decrepit it became. Nature had slowly retaken the land, covering the terrain in dense overgrowth. They pushed on, making their way through.
Moody stopped and held up a hand, making the others pause. His magic blue eye spun and stopped, focused in front of them. "I see it," he said shortly. "There's a lot of magic here, and most of it feels dark." They continued on, wands at the ready. They finally managed to work through the brush and hedge and looked at the dilapidated shack that sat forlornly before them, the last home of the Gaunts.
"Time has not been kind here," Remus said.
"Honestly, it looks the same as it did in the memory," Evan said with Moody and Dumbledore nodding. He stared at the skeletal remains of the snake that was pinned to the door. "Let us in," he hissed.
Moody and Remus looked at Evan with surprise. "You're a Parselmouth?" Moody asked.
Evan nodded. "It's handy sometimes. Popular with the ladies."
"Really?" Remus asked, looking amused and faintly scandalized while Moody barked with rough laughter.
"Not really," Evan grinned. He glared at the skeletal snake. It had twitched when he spoke Parseltongue but otherwise did nothing else. "Let us in!"
The door creaked open with a tortuous moan of rusted hinges that sounded uncomfortably too close to human. A rank smell filled the air as the contents of the shack wafted out. When the shrieking hinges finally subsided, another sound filled the air, the sound of bone rattling.
The sound of thousands of bones rattling.
A tidal wave of skeletal snakes came pouring out of the shack, empty mouths opened, empty eye sockets glaring. They hissed without tongue or lung, their fangs were incongruously clean and glimmering. They leapt at the men, promising pain and worse.
Moody slammed his staff onto the ground and a wave of earth rose before them, turning into stone. Skeletons slammed and shattered into the wall while others adjusted their paths and slithered up the barricade while others flew over the top. Those were shattered by Remus who chanted swiftly blasting the skeletal snakes apart with flicks of his wand.
Dumbledore spoke a singular word and slashed with his wand and all momentum from the snakes was stolen away. They froze and fell, as rigid as they should be were they not animated by magic. Evan drew a complicated symbol with his wand and when he finished, he shouted and pushed with his wand. A wave of magic flowed from him and the skeletons shattered and dissolved, turning into fine bone ash. The wave traveled into the shack and after a moment, all was still. The sound of rattling and slithering bones gone.
"I know that spell," Remus said, looking impressed. "It's Egyptian in origin. For dealing with skeletons and bones."
"Learned it from a Curse Breaker," Evan nodded. "Useful spell."
After checking for more harmful magic, the men entered the shack with wands up. Dumbledore conjured lights that floated above them and they shone brightly, chasing the shadows away. It did not take long for the men to look through the small rooms and they reconvened in the middle. Remus murmured and turned slowly, aiming his wand about. "Nothing that I can find," he said and his hand drifted down to the floor. "No signs of anything-wait." He looked at the floor. "There's something beneath the floorboards."
They all stepped to the sides of the room and Dumbledore waved his wand. The floorboards flowed apart, revealing a small hollow that was dug into the ground. The conjured lights shone down, revealing a ring made of gold with a black stone embedded into the top.
"Marvolo wore that," Moody said, remembering from the memory. "Said it belonged to the Gaunts. Same with a locket."
Dumbledore knelt on the ground, reaching out and picking up the ring. As if in a trance, he gazed at it with naked want. Ignoring the other men, he held it up to the light and slowly started to put it on.
SLAP.
He recoiled, physically struck across the face with an open hand. He snarled angrily and glared at an unrepentant Evan.
Evan was unimpressed and unintimidated. "Don't put the obviously Cursed ring on your hand," he said slowly, as if speaking to a dim child.
Dumbledore looked at the ring and then back at Evan. He blinked several times and then flushed, shaking his head. "You are right of course," he said, blinking more. "I…I do not know what came over me. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Besides, I've always wanted to smack you like that so thanks for the opportunity," Evan said cheerily.
Remus looked on with shock while Moody threw his head back and laughed, the merry sound filling the shack. "I really like you," he said, grinning at Evan.
Dumbledore looked down at the ring carefully. "There was a compulsion charm on it," he said. A moue of disgust crossed his features. "It feels wrong. Something…dark and terrible."
"You're in there, aren't you?" Evan hissed. He smiled grimly when the ring shuddered in Dumbledore's hand. "Yeah, you can't hide. Found you." He took the ring from Dumbledore and looked down at it with satisfaction.
Remus flicked his wand over the ring and then nearly recoiled. "Dear Merlin," he gasped. "It's a Horcrux!"
"That's how the bastard lived," Moody growled, glaring at the ring. "He made a Horcrux, pathetic."
"Horcruxes," Evan corrected, still staring at the ring.
"He made more than one?!" Remus cried, appalled. "That's reprehensible, not to mention horrifically reckless."
Dumbledore frowned at Evan. "You knew."
Evan looked boldly back. "So did you."
"I had a theory, yes," Dumbledore retorted without shame. "But not for sure. Did you know this was here?"
"Sort of. I didn't come here but you did and you died because you put the ring on," Evan said. "And when you died, since you didn't tell me or anyone everything, we had the worst time trying to figure things out."
"Ah." Dumbledore coughed. "I see."
Moody looked at Dumbledore and shook his head. "Yeah I can see all of that happening," he said sourly, ignoring Dumbledore's even more sour look. "So we got this one, how much more are there?"
"That's the problem, never really found out," Evan growled. "If anything, I got really lucky in the end that I finally managed to kill Voldemort and he confirmed that all his Horcruxes were broken." He rubbed his temple. "I really wish I remembered everything. I know where a couple are, just need to get to one of them. The Diary was one and that's already broken."
He looked up, an idea in his eye. "Wait. There is someone that might know. We never got it out of him before because he died before we could but maybe not here."
"Who?" Remus asked.
"Slughorn," Evan said.
"Oh, he and Tom shared a close relationship while Tom was a student," Dumbledore said, nodding. "If anyone would know his thoughts that was not a fellow student, he would be the one. The problem is, he is rather reclusive and difficult to get a hold of."
"I'll hunt him down," Moody said.
"When you find him, we'll bring him in. I think I know how to convince him to fess up," Evan said.
"A fine plan," Dumbledore said. "Let us return this place to its former appearance in case Tom and Peter or whoever else comes." Working together, they repaired the floor and cleaned the area of their presence. While they did not fill it with more skeletal serpents, they closed the door behind them and Moody left charms that would alert them if anyone came as well as some lasting surprises. They then returned to Hogwarts together.
Dumbledore pulled out the remains of the diary and put it on the table. Evan put the ring beside it and after a moment's hesitation, pulled the diadem out from his bag and put it there with them.
"Do you remember what else?" Remus asked.
"A Cup, belonging to Hufflepuff," Evan said. "It's in a vault but I think Sirius and Andromeda might be able to get it out. I have an idea of one more, but that's it and until I get a better grasp on it, not mentioning it right now. That should be it, if he hasn't put one in a giant snake yet."
"Mad bastard," Moody snorted.
"Will you trust me to secure these here?" Dumbledore asked Evan.
"As long as you don't try to wear either the ring or the diadem," Evan grinned.
"I have learned that lesson," Dumbledore said wryly. "Well done, all of you. We are one step closer to resolving this."
"Good." Evan's stomach rumbled. "Now if you all will excuse me, I'm hungry. Going to get a snack." He nodded at the men and left the office, looking pensive.
Moody watched him leave and waited for his footsteps to echo into nothing before he looked at Dumbledore and Remus. "Lad's tough, and dangerous," he said conversationally. "He's gone through hell."
"From what I have gathered, that is not far off the mark," Dumbledore said. He turned to Remus. "I do hate to ask this, but have you learned more from him? About where he came from?"
"Not really," Remus said, shaking his head. "I've noticed he's friendly with us, as in Sirius and Andromeda and I, but it's more at arm's length most of the time. He's closer to Harry and his friends, less reserved. He does get withdrawn sometimes and conceals." He sighed. "Something I am well used to and recognize from what I have done."
"I always knew he had some reservations concerning me," Dumbledore said. "Him telling me what my counterpart has done today was a revelation."
"To be fair, lots of people are irritated by you for the same reasons," Moody said, grinning.
"Yes, I am aware," Dumbledore said, giving Moody a pawky look. He closed his eyes and rubbed them gently, taking his glasses off first. "I had hoped to show my willingness to work with him and my desire to support him, but there are certain things I am still loath to do. I want him to trust me and to feel more at ease here."
"Shoulda just let us destroy those remains then."
"Some lines should not be crossed so easily," Dumbledore argued. "His presence here has changed things and things will not repeat as they happened to him."
"If I had a chance to save James and Lily, preemptively, I would," Remus said quietly.
"As would I," Dumbledore said heatedly, glaring at the men before defusing slightly. "I am trying to ensure he does not ruin things for himself here and that there will be no regrets."
"Albus, he's a man with precious few," Moody warned. "And if you keep trying to maintain the moral high ground, he'll go right through you and then there'll be some serious regrets on every side."
"I know," Dumbledore said quietly but firmly. "It is a thin line to tread, but I am doing my best."
"For your sake, and his, I hope so," Moody said.
-0-
"Potter!"
Evan stopped and sighed. "Now's not the time," he said, trying to ignore Draco. "Seriously. Can we do this later?"
"What's the matter?" Draco sneered. "If I were you, I would be crowing about my performance at the First Task."
"Draco, if you were me, you'd be hiding in a corner in the most secured room you can find and crying," Evan said simply. "Count your blessings that you haven't gone through what I have. Or would be going through."
"I am a son of a Noble family and am ten times the man you are," Draco growled, glaring up at Evan. He tried to look down his nose at the older boy but failed since Evan was taller. "I can handle anything you can with more skill and competence and-"
SLAP.
Draco held his hand to his red cheek and looked at Evan with open astonishment. "You slapped me!" His head flew back as Evan struck him again.
"Yeah, and I did it again." Evan glared at Crabbe and Goyle who had stepped forward but stopped at his naked anger. "You two get involved, you'll get much worse, I promise you."
"Wait until I tell-"
"Actually, yeah, that's what I want you to do," Evan said, looking down at Draco who stared back. "Go and tell your father that I slapped you twice because you wouldn't shut up and that I want to meet with him. Tell him that I want a proper meeting in a neutral location and we have something to discuss."
"What could you possibly have to discuss with-" Draco flinched when Evan held his hand up again.
Evan looked down at Draco. "Ask your father how your grandfather died, when you talk to him."
"Grandfather died from dragonpox-"
"No he didn't," Evan interrupted. He looked down at Draco and something in his demeanor made the younger boy believe him. "Ask him how he really died. Ask him about the Taste of Greed. And I'll be waiting on that meeting." Evan turned to walk away but stopped and looked back. "Oh, word of advice, I'd be nicer to your mother, if I were you."
"Is that a threat?!" Draco snarled, incensed. He was surprised by Evan's smile of approval.
"So you do know how to stand up for someone you care about," he mused. "No, no threat. Just saying you should be kinder to her. Never know when you don't get the chance to do that anymore." He left, walking away swiftly, leaving a shaken Draco staring after him.
-0-
Lucius Malfoy looked into the fire at his manor home and nodded. "Of course, send him home." He watched as Snape's head disappeared from the fire and frowned slightly. Normally he would go over to Hogwarts for his son or exchange letters or even Floo call, but for some reason, Draco had wanted to come back home to speak with him.
"Was that Severus?" Narcissa Malfoy walked into the sitting room and Lucius nodded.
"Draco wants to speak with us about something," Lucius said.
"I wonder what," she mused. She waited with her husband and watched as the fire crackled and increased in size and intensity. After a moment, Draco walked out of the hearth. She smiled and waved her wand, cleaning him of soot and ash. "Welcome home, son."
"Hello Mother," Draco said, hugging her with an odd expression. He then turned to his father and inclined his head slightly. "Father."
"Son." Lucius looked at Draco with paternal affection. "Is something wrong?"
Draco hesitated before clearing his throat. "Evan Potter wishes to meet with you."
"Evan Potter?" Lucius raised a slim eyebrow. "Oh, the older Potter that spontaneously appeared and is competing in the TriWizard for Harry Potter?" He frowned when Draco nodded. "Why on earth does he wish to meet with me?"
"He wants to have a proper meeting in neutral territory," Draco said and blinked as Lucius sat straighter at that and Narcissa frowned lightly.
"That does not explain why," Lucius said cautiously.
"He did not give an exact reason," Draco said. "He also slapped me twice today." He flushed at Narcissa's sigh and Lucius' frown of disapproval.
"Were you antagonizing him?" Narcissa asked. She gave him a weary look when he said nothing. "I know you have little time nor patience for the younger Potter, but you and he are of the same age. This Evan is older and if the article pertaining to the First Task is a measure of his skill and talent, not one to be trifled with. You must learn to pick your battles, son."
"Be that as it may, I have little inclination to meet with anyone that would strike you," Lucius said coolly.
Draco coughed. "Father, how did grandfather pass?"
Lucius frowned again. "He died of dragonpox. You know this."
Draco looked slightly uncomfortable. "He said to ask you how he truly died. He also wanted me to ask you about the Taste of Greed-"
Lucius' head snapped back and he stared at Draco with fear and horror and anger. "How does he know of that?!" he shouted, shocking his son and wife.
"I do not know!" Draco said, unnerved by Lucius' reaction. "There is a rumor that he comes from the future and knows things, but that is preposterous! He claims years but you cannot do that with time turners!"
Lucius sat back, mind racing.
"He also said I should be kinder to you, Mother," Draco added. "He said he was not making a threat, but that one never knows when they no longer have the opportunity to do so." He turned back to Lucius. "Are those two matters related?"
Lucius looked at his son for a moment. He then flicked his wand and parchment, quill, ink, wax, and a stamp flew into the room. He swiftly wrote a letter on the expensive parchment and folded it carefully. Another flick of his wand melted some wax and he blobbed it onto the parchment and he pressed his stamp into it, sealing it shut.
He handed the letter to his gobsmacked son. "Give this to him and do not antagonize him in any way," Lucius said. "I will await his reply however he wishes to send it. This is very serious, Draco. Do not endanger this."
"Yes Father." Draco looked like he wanted to ask more but seeing his father's steely look and with a shake of his mother's head, he did not. He hugged them both and walked back through the Floo and returned to Hogwarts.
"Lucius?" Narcissa asked, looking at him sternly.
"We have to tread carefully," Lucius said. "No one should know about that, only a very select few. We need to know how Evan Potter knows."
"Can he do anything with the information?" she asked.
"Not necessarily, but that also means he knows things he should not and that could cause us considerable problems," Lucius said.
"Agreed." She hesitated. "How did your father die? I also was under the assumption it was dragonpox."
For the first time, Lucius looked uncomfortable. "Let us wait until our meeting but…it was not dragonpox."
Narcissa looked at him for a moment before turning away. "Very well."
Lucius smiled wanly and after a kiss, watched her leave the room. He sat there alone with his thoughts, staring into the fire for a very long time.