Chapter 35: 2-6: Secrets

Disclaimer: Being neither British nor Japanese, it should therefore come as no surprise that I own neither Harry Potter nor Naruto, nor anything from their respective franchises.

The next morning found Iruka and his four students settling into conjured chairs in the Headmaster's office. All of the children were gazing around the room and its contents with curiosity and awe; Luna had been the only one to accept the customary offer of lemon candy.

"Now that we are all seated," Headmaster Dumbledore began, "I've asked you here to discuss in greater detail the events of last evening. Given the somewhat vague nature of Professor Umino's report, I could only assume that the full story involves some of those facts which we all agree should not yet become common knowledge?"

Iruka nodded. "We were coming back from Sir Nicholas's party when I first sensed a presence, one that was approaching us while putting out a worrying amount of sakki. As it got closer, I began to hear it somewhat, and though the sounds were muffled I'm fairly certain that they were made by a snake or snakelike creature. It was a big one, too, probably at least ten or fifteen meters long. Thankfully we didn't encounter it directly; it sounded as if it were moving inside or behind the wall, somehow."

"Not wanting to leave my students alone with a clearly dangerous creature on the loose," he continued, "I had them join me in following the creature. Eventually we came upon the scene on the second floor, and I sent Flippy to get you after finding that whatever the thing was had withdrawn."

Albus frowned. "I know of no serpentine creature capable of inflicting petrification such as that which now afflicts Mrs. Norris, and few that would know how to write legible words, let alone be physically capable of doing so."

Harry hesitantly raised his hand, only speaking at the Headmaster's nod. "We also know it can talk - does that narrow it down?"

Iruka looked at his student quizzically. "Why do you think it can talk?"

Harry just looked confused. "You said you heard it coming, didn't you hear what it was saying?"

"Harry, I never heard it say anything."

"But... I heard it... It was saying it was hungry, talking about ripping and tearing and killing, then just before we found Mrs. Norris it yelled 'I smell blood!' - didn't you hear any of that?"

Iruka shook his head. "I just heard the sounds of something big sliding, slithering, and hissing. By Professor Dumbledore's expression, though, he might have some ideas." Indeed, the Headmaster looked both thoughtful and deeply troubled.

"Some theories, yes, one of which we may be able to confirm momentarily." Albus rose and retrieved his Pensieve, depositing a small memory strand into it. After a brief explanation of the device's purpose and how to use it (one which clearly left the two young witches present unsatisfied and planning later research), he and Harry dipped their faces into the not-quite-liquid in the basin.

After a few minutes of stillness, they emerged with the same expressions as before. "That was a memory from one of my journeys abroad quite some years ago. The man you saw was an Indian wizard, and despite your insistence that he spoke only English during the memory, I can assure you that it was a very different tongue in which he addressed that cobra." A gasp from Neville and a widening of Luna's eyes showed that they had already understood something that still escaped the half of the room's occupants not raised with magic. "Parseltongue, the language of snakes, is an exceedingly rare magical gift, and one with a most unsavory reputation in Wizarding Britain. That reputation," he spoke towards the two purebloods present, "is largely due to the foul deeds of several particularly notorious Parselmouths, including both Salazar Slytherin and Lord Voldemort." Both purebloods flinched at the name, though not as badly as they might have previously thanks to Iruka's attempts to desensitize them to it.

"Regardless," the Headmaster continued, "there have also been many fine witches and wizards to possess the trait. Paracelsus, the famed alchemist and healer, was a Parselmouth. It is even believed that the Staff of Asclepius may be wound with a serpent because of an ancient Parselmouth healer. Indeed, in nations where venomous snakes are a significant hazard, or where snakes themselves are venerated, Parselmouths are often treated with the utmost respect and reverence for their ability to communicate with the beasts."

"As for how young Mr. Potter came to possess such a talent, I am not certain. It tends to run in families, but I know of no other Potter in recent history who displayed this trait, Lily included. It is possible that, due in part to the protection a young Harry received from his mother, Lord Voldemort's failed attack resulted in the transference of a small sliver of his power, including the ability to speak to snakes. Another theory is that, just as magic may seemingly arise in families that have not previously demonstrated it," here he gestured to Hermione, "so too can magical talents such as Parseltongue, and this might explain Mr. Potter's gift. Alternatively, both could be incorrect and some other, yet unconcieved explanation may be true."

"What we must all remember," he concluded, "is that just as our ability to do magic does not make us better or worse than Muggles or Squibs, neither does the gift of Parseltongue mean that a witch or wizard is dark, or evil, nor inclined or fated to become such. I have every confidence in Mr. Potter's character and integrity, and would hope that you all do as well." This was met with a round of firm nods. "That said, I am not as confident in the likelihood of this being a universally-held view should his gift become commonly known, and would urge you all to do your best to avoid revealing it unnecessarily." Iruka and his students all nodded.

"With that out of the way," the chuunin said, "I have to figure that whatever this was is probably what Dobby was trying to warn us about. Unfortunately, 'big snake monster' isn't much more specific than 'terrible things' and we're still missing a lot of important information. The most important questions I can see are: What is this creature, and what is it capable of? Why is it attacking now, and what is the objective? Are the students in danger, and if so, how can we make them safer?"

The Headmaster nodded. "All excellent questions, though we might make some educated guesses. First, however, I believe that we have imposed on your four students quite long enough for one day, as all of them doubtless have schoolwork needing done. Unless any of you have further insights to offer or questions to ask, I would bid you good morning."

Hermione hesitantly raised her hand at this point. "Ms. Granger?" the Headmaster called on her with an encouraging smile.

"I was just wondering Professor, what is this Chamber of Secrets?"

"Ah, yes," he replied, "I suppose that I'm likely the only one here to be familiar with that particular legend..." What followed was a summary of the legend of Salazar Slytherin's secret chamber and the monster that supposedly lay within, waiting to purge the school of those its creator deemed unworthy of magic. Unfortunately, as there was no recorded proof of said chamber actually existing, nor of where it might be nor what it might contain, it wasn't really much to go on. That explanation complete, the children filed out to continue their weekend after an admonishment to keep the nature and contents of the morning's meeting confidential, aside from perhaps the legend of the Chamber.

"Now that we are alone," Albus picked back up, "I should address your earlier questions. We may presume that the creature is capable of petrifying its victims, and doing so without detectable injury or cause. Its objective may be to eliminate or drive away those students of so-called 'impure' blood, in keeping with the legend of Salazar Slytherin's secret chamber and the so-called monster it contained. As far as danger to the students..." He hesitated, clearly reluctant. "I fear that they may well be in danger. The previous time the Chamber of Secrets was supposedly opened, several students were petrified and one lost her life. I have already instructed the ghosts, portraits, and elves to be watchful for anything out of place, and to urge and guide any wayward student back towards company. If we are fortunate, this will turn out to be an ill-advised prank in extremely poor taste, or failing that will be soon resolved, and I fear the panic that might result should we take further measures without more information."

Iruka frowned. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with such thin precautions around something that has previously killed a student."

"Firstly, we do not know whether this is truly the same as the previous incident," Dumbledore placated, "though it does seem strikingly similar. Secondly, it is unclear whether the petrifications and the death were from the same cause. The prevailing theory prior to your report of hearing a snake or other serpentine creature was that the petrifications were the work of some unknown Dark curse, something made more convincing by the fact that those students who were petrified seemed to be frozen in the midst of normal activity, and reported no memory of the cause upon being revived. This was far more characteristic of a spell than of a creature attack or a potion of some kind. The young lady who died was also unmarked, something those in power disregarded utterly," here he seemed to shoot a brief glare at the portrait of a particularly elderly wizard that was currently napping, "which is more typical of a death by either potion, poison, or Killing Curse, things it is unlikely that a mere beast could manage. Given the fact that the previous series of attacks took place decades ago, and I am the only member of the faculty from that time still in the castle save the late Cuthbert Binns (who is only likely to slay his students through sheer tedium), it would be quite difficult for the same perpetrator to be behind both incidents."

"Do you know who carried out the attacks previously?" Iruka asked.

"Indeed. Although he was successfully able to frame an innocent fellow student for his crimes, it was the young man who would later go on to famously scar our Mr. Potter. Given the haste with which his wraith fled the school in June, I think it hardly likely for him to have returned so quickly, especially as the events of that night likely took a toll on him and will require him to spend time rebuilding his strength. Without the aid of another wizard or witch, he will be hard pressed to do more than simply exist for a long while."

"Harry asked Dobby, who specifically said it wasn't 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'," Iruka chimed in. "It was like the elf was trying to hint at something he couldn't say, but we can't figure out what."

The Headmaster nodded. "Enigmatic, but also something of a relief, as it indicates our culprit is someone else, presumably a witch or wizard of significantly lesser capability than Lord Voldemort. So, did you have any remaining questions to ask or insights or information to share?"

"Just this," Iruka replied, "do we know what those words were written in? It looked like blood, and smelled like blood, but Mrs. Norris wasn't injured. If that was blood, it had to come from somewhere, and more importantly from something or someone. Identifying and maybe tracing the source of the blood or paint (assuming it wasn't just conjured with a spell) might provide a useful clue."

"All we have been able to ascertain is that the words are indeed written in blood, though not the blood of a human being. I have heard references to magics which can track a person or creature by a sample of their blood, but they are generally Dark by nature and uniformly prohibited as Dark magic by the Ministry. Given that I do not personally know any such spells, nor am I aware of any being in either my library or that of Hogwarts, I cannot say how we might make use of them even were we willing to risk the legal repercussions."

"One more question then," Iruka said, "what can you tell me about the previous case where the chamber was supposedly opened?"

Headmaster Dumbledore's face darkened. "It was precisely fifty years ago, in the 1942-43 school year. A significant number of students were petrified, always without leaving witnesses or useful evidence to point to the culprit. Nearing the end of the year, a young Muggle-born witch in Ravenclaw was slain, though as with those petrified there were no signs of violence on or around her remains. It was feared that the school might have to be closed, when a Slytherin prefect pointed the finger of blame solidly at a third-year Gryffindor and his illegal pet acromantula. The young Gryffindor was expelled, and his wand snapped, while the prefect was given a special award for services to the school. However, given that the prefect in question went on to be known as Lord Voldemort, and an acromantula would be incapable of killing without leaving a mark or of petrifying at all, I am quite certain that the wrong party was blamed. The attacks, however, stopped, leaving me with no way to prove the boy's innocence despite my suspicions and reservations. I'm afraid that while I suspected the young Slytherin of being the guilty party, and of other possible wrongdoing, he had thoroughly charmed much of the school's faculty, including both his Head of House and my predecessor as Headmaster." Another harsh glance was thrown towards the same portrait as before. "Thus, despite attacking many of his schoolmates, murdering another, and framing yet another, he went on to be Head Boy in his seventh year."

"While I can certainly understand not wanting to name the victims in that case, including the student framed," Iruka asked, "might I ask why you seem so hesitant to use Voldemort's name?"

Albus sighed. "Lord Voldemort's original name is a secret which both he and I keep, albeit for differing reasons. His name, given by his late mother at his birth, is Tom Marvolo Riddle. I doubt that name means anything to you, and part of the reason for this is that his first and last names are those of his father, a Muggle." Nodding solemnly at the look of naked shock on of his guest's face, he continued. "Tom is actually a so-called half-blood, born of a Muggle father and Pureblood witch mother. Needless to say, given his stated ideology and that of his followers, it would likely erode his support rather significantly if it became known (and actually believed) that he himself was sired by a Muggle. Thus, he conceals his origins."

"However, actually getting Tom's followers to believe the truth would be nearly impossible, making it unlikely to serve as a useful weapon against him. In addition, I fear the effects this information could have if distributed widely: While yes, it might erode support for Tom and his crusade, it could also be used by those who scorn Muggles and any magical descended from them. Can you not picture such people making arguments that it was 'the pollution of pure Wizarding blood' that led to Tom's instability? They would use the revelation of his blood status to push for greater restrictions upon those of Muggle ancestry and upon contact or interaction with Muggles. Thus the truth of Tom's origins, while useful in understanding him, would benefit neither side of the conflict should it be released but might greatly harm those already so disadvantaged in our society."

Iruka nodded. "People will believe what they want to believe, and once a belief is set it's nearly impossible to change. The Death Eaters would dismiss the truth as a lie, while other bigots would just use it to justify and fuel their agenda. Still, I may ask you later for a more detailed history on him; knowing one's enemy makes it easier to predict their actions, after all."

When no further ideas or information were ventured, the meeting broke up, with both present committing to research creatures fitting the information they had while looking out for any other clues (and Iruka promising to ask his students to do the same).

A/N: So, Dumbledore shared a lot more information there than I had expected, intended, or wanted him to. I just couldn't really see a reason or a way for him to keep more to himself, especially with several highly intelligent people asking questions. It certainly makes it a bit harder for me to plausibly write anything but a rapid solution to the mystery.

My solution? Erroneous conclusions! Dumbledore has concluded (and convinced the others) that Myrtle was killed by Killing Curse, and thus they're looking for something that petrifies. It's not actually a bad assumption, given where they're working from: Originally, the working theory was that it was all the work of a wizard, but now he knows there's a creature involved. Human nature being what it is, particularly Dumbles's, he's going to make the smallest reasonable change to his existing theory that fits the new evidence. A creature that petrifies rather than killing would even be a reasonable theory to fit the legend of the Chamber, since it would allow Slytherin to eliminate the unworthy while allowing him to restore innocent Pureblood students.

"But why doesn't Dumbledore realize it's a basilisk now?" I hear you ask? First off, basilisks are clearly rare and exotic beasts, not something that readily comes to mind. Second, even thinking along 'creature' lines, he's starting with 'something that petrifies' and then narrowing it down towards snakes. At least for this story, the reason canon!Hermione solved the mystery when none of the adults could was partly that she had more clues (parseltongue, spiders, roosters) and partly that she was starting from the basis that the monster was something serpentine. The adults wouldn't have even considered a basilisk on the headings they were following.

Again, I try to have even the mistakes made by the characters in my writing make sense to the reader.

Justifying the lack of visible precautions for students' safety was tough, and in the end it's down to a combination of invisible precautions, incorrect assumptions (Tom's not here so they should be safer), Dumbledore's hubris and optimism (I'm sure we can clear this up before anyone's seriously hurt), and protecting the status quo (the attacker probably wants a panic).

The reasoning behind keeping Voldemort's background a secret is borrowed primarily from "A Different Halloween" by robst, though I've seen similar fallout/rationale elsewhere I'm sure.

To guest reviewer "Blackdrake": Thanks for your review! Harry did hear the Basilisk's hissing, as I hope this chapter makes clearer.

Fic Recommendation: "Kusari no Naruto" by Digitize27 - a somewhat grittier and darker-ish version of Naruto, in which he unlocks his mother's chakra chains and ends up trained/raised by a very eccentric group of ANBU.

Posted 1 July 2018

Current WIP Chapter: 62

Edited 15 July 2018: Apparently Isolt Sayre was not a Parselmouth, so I removed that reference.

Current WIP Chapter: 63