Oakley's history with Voldemort

Upon being questioned by Neal, Dumbledore let out a sigh as he took the seat, "The ministry of magic won't be ready to accept it. They would portray you and me as liars, and then accuse us of sending the magical society into turmoil."

Harry was affected by Dumbledore's reply. "But, we aren't lying. We have seen it through our own eyes."

"No one cares about the truth, Harry. And who will take the words of underage wizards seriously?" responded Neal while agreeing with the headmaster of Hogwarts. "There's Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Yaxley in the group of death eaters who answered his call. I guess others who were hidden by masks were also his past supporters who are holding high positions in society. Desperately fighting for the truth will only make you a fool."

"Lucius Malfoy? That's not possible." Neal's grandfather, Oakley Avery furrowed his brows as soon as he heard both of the names. As everyone glanced at him, he said, "Malfoy was never truly loyal to the Dark Lord. He feared him more than anyone. Of course, this doesn't make him any innocent but still, I think as long as the leaders of the sacred 28 families get enough assurance about the safety of them and their families, none of them would stand with the Dark Lord. But, the biggest question here is who will defeat him?"

Oakley then glanced at Harry in silence.

"He destroyed my Ice knight spell like it was nothing," Neal admitted that he had lost the duel against Voldemort and wasn't strong enough to face him.

"Well, if the House of Avery provides some help, we can atleast greatly reduce his strength and make him vulnerable enough to put an end to him for once in for all," Dumbledore spoke after hearing out the opinions of everyone. He decided to involve Oakley Avery in his grand mission.

As expected, his words made everyone curious.

"What is it?" Oakley asked him.

Dumbledore responded with a question in return, "Do you know what makes the Dark Lord so invincible? It's not just his vast reserves of magic power or his ruthlessness or his powerful legilimency that we should be worried about."

All of a sudden, realization dawned upon Neal while the other two were in thoughts. He replied instead of his grandfather, "Horcruxes. Tom Riddle had split his soul in the form of Horcruxes. Even if a powerful wizard managed to kill him, he could still resurrect through some ritual just like how he came back."

"That's right." Dumbledore let out a smile as he nodded.

Meanwhile, Harry wondered what this Horcrux is.

On the other hand, Oakley was wondering where he had heard that term. He couldn't help but go into his memories, more like his tiny history with Voldemort. He went to Hogwarts and was sorted into Slytherin House like his other family members.

He was around 7th year and served as a prefect when Voldemort/Tom Riddle got into the Hogwarts. Back then, Tom Riddle was nothing but a half-blood who was lucky to get into a house that is known for purebloods. So, he wasn't worthy of the attention of Oakley Avery who was the heir of the Avery House.

But, halfway through the semester, Oakley started hearing of the genius kid from Slytherin. Everyone started to talk about Tom Riddle who was earning so many points from the professors and becoming their favorite student.

Becoming impressed by his performance, he kept tabs on him and learned that the librarian was not letting him into the restricted section as he was only in his first year. So, he helped him out with gaining access.

At the end of the year, Oakley remembered 11-year-old tom riddle asking him about the Horcruxes and soul. However, this Avery House heir has no idea about it. As he cannot lose his image in front of the kid, Oakley gave him an excuse that the subject is advanced for a kid like him.

After that, they never met again for three decades.

Tom Riddle had taken over the name of Voldemort and the majority of the world no longer knows of his past. However, Oakley had recognized his face when they met face to face.

As a pure-blood Avery, Oakley felt that it is beneath his status to accept Voldemort's leadership and become a slave. Naturally, he resisted.

In the end, he realized that he wasn't strong enough to face him and his followers. On top of that, his siblings and his other family members were ready to kill him because he wanted his House to be neutral.

Not having any choice, Oakley Avery took his loyal relatives and shifted his home to Bulgaria, living there for more than a decade.

But, once the news of the defeat of Voldemort is spread around, he not only returned to his home but also helped the ministry to capture all the traitors of Avery House and put them into Azkaban prison for good.

During the past decade, he made considerable donations to the ministry as well as the muggle governments, bribed several officials, and eventually filled in the vacant position of the director of the Department of Mysteries about a couple of years ago.

Department of Mysteries, like its name, was always shrouded in mystery. No one knows what they research and who the members are either. Even the minister of magic doesn't have much authority in the department and was also less interested because they don't influence the world like other departments.

Unfortunately, Oakley was also not interested in the workings of the department. He just gives everyone the freedom to research whatever they want and will acquire enough funds from the ministry through his influence in the organization.

If he had, he would probably understand everything about the Horcruxes. Fortunately, it wasn't too late as Dumbledore gave him an important task. It is to locate the important magical artifacts of Britain known to exist during the past century and check if there's any soul attached to it. As the Department of Mysteries researched things like life and death, it wouldn't be much effort for them to recognize the Horcrux.

After Oakley agreed to help out, Dumbledore then informed them what happened at Hogwarts before taking both of the kids along with the blue phoenix back with him.

In an instant, they traveled hundreds of kilometers, finding themselves in a familiar office of the headmaster.

*Screee*

Followed by their appearance, a familiar screech was echoed in the room, grabbing the attention of Harry and Neal. The latter let out a smile as he called it out, "Fawkes…"

The blue phoenix on his shoulder flapped its wings and landed beside Fawkes, greeting this grandpa of the same species. As Blaze is a newborn phoenix and Fawkes is an elder, the blue phoenix was quite respectful, although, for the three humans standing around, their sounds are all the same.

Leaving the pair of phoenixes to themselves, Neal shifted his attention to the headmaster and said in a serious tone, "Professor, with him back, the Slytherin house will be more vulnerable than ever. On one side, we will be further alienated from other students or in the worst case, the professors. And on the other side, there's always a possibility of the parents of the students turning bad and forcing them to go to the side of evil."

Dumbledore was surprised by Neal's calmness but at the moment, his mind was too preoccupied with the Horcruxes that he cannot afford to solve this issue.

As a result, he let out a sigh and replied, "I'm helpless in that situation too, Neal. All I can do is ensure the safety of the students and this place. What the mind wants, only the person can decide. Anyway, both of you should return to your dorms. Your friends must be worried. Once we get a clear understanding of the situation, we will inform you of what to do. Go and rest. Oh, Harry, don't forget to visit the hospital wing."

As both of them left the office, Dumbledore let out another sigh, "I guess I was worried for nothing. Neal wasn't affected by darkness and appeared to be himself. I think I should give priority to Harry's safety. But then again, I shouldn't talk about anything important during Harry's presence like I did earlier. If Voldemort will tap into his mind and learned that I will look for the Horcruxes, then, all of my plans will be over. Hmm, maybe, it's better if he starts learning occlumency?"