Chapter Nineteen – Uncle Algie

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JK Rowling, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros and some other high falutin' companies. Me, I'm just a PR professional. I don't profess to own - and would never dream of making any money off - JKR's wonderful world. However, its her sandbox and she's left the gate unlatched so we can go in and play a bit. Which, I've done.

Chapter Nineteen – Uncle Algie

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-==(oIo)==-

\""/

The next afternoon Harry was wandering down one of the more remote passages deep within the castle when he was suddenly grabbed and dragged into an alcove.

As he was released he drew his wand and spun about. Standing before him were a pair of identical twins wearing Gryffindor robes. Weasleys.

"Hello, ickle Harrikins," said one.

"What brings you wandering all on your lonesome all the way down here?" the other asked.

"I'm just trying to figure out my way around this mausoleum," replied Harry warily. "I'm just getting a feel for all the corridors and hallways into a bit of a map inside my head."

"Well," said one. "Unless you're also aware that the castle has this tendency to - rearrange itself, as needed..."

"...then your mental map is not going to do you much good," continued the other.

"Sorry?" asked Harry. "You mean classrooms and hallways and the like can move?"

"Indeed, they can!" exclaimed one.

"You've noticed how the stairs in the grand staircase move, right?"

Harry nodded.

"Well, that can also happen with other parts of the castle."

The look on Harry's face made both twins grin.

"Look, you know it's a magic castle, right?"

Harry nodded.

"Then why is it so hard to understand and accept magic can do this?"

Harry realised his expression must have been one of disbelief because the two twins grabbed him and took him back out into the hallway.

"Alright, ickle Harrikins; follow us and we'll show you a hidden passage that may help you understand."

"Alright," nodded Harry.

The twins then led Harry down a passageway until they came to a section of blank wall. One of the twins reached out and gave a wall sconce a twist ninety degrees to the right and a section of wall slid open.

With a grin, one of the twins grabbed Harry by his robes over his shoulder and dragged him inside.

"Alright," said one of the twins. "Lumos!" And his wand tip lit up.

Harry knew the Light Charm, having been one of the first he'd learned in charms class, and lit his own wand tip.

"Alright, this is where we now walk for a little ways," said one of the twins.

"Watch your step and your head," said the other.

Harry then walked with them for what felt like only a few yards before he came upon a set of stairs. He climbed up only about a single floor when he reached near level ground again. A few turns and the twins stopped just ahead.

"And this is what we mean by a magic castle, Harrikins," said one of the twins.

The other simply pushed on a section of wall and it pivoted open.

Walking out, Harry found himself standing behind a large statue where it nearly filled an alcove off one of the main castle corridors.

One of the twins stuck his head out from behind the statue and looked back and forth. He then pulled his head back, looked at his twin and Harry, grinned and stepped out.

The other twin and Harry followed. Harry found himself standing in a well lit hallway.

The twins then led Harry down the hall and through a door at the end. When Harry walked through he was shocked to find they were standing near the very top of the very tall grand staircase.

"Whoa!" said Harry in a little shock. "That should not be possible."

"That's magic, Harrikins," said one of the twins.

"We've just left one of the dungeon level passages..."

"... and are now on the seventh floor," said the other.

"And it only felt as if we ascended a little over a single story between there and here!" said the first.

"That's magic!" they said together.

"How many of those - secret passages are there?" asked Harry.

"We know of six," said one.

"But one of them's blocked from a tunnel collapse," said the other.

"And three of those lead outside the grounds," said the first.

"But, we know of others that aren't so secret," said the second.

"They're just shortcuts," said the first.

"Walk down a short flight of stairs and you come out two floors up; that sort of thing," said the other.

"Dead useful for getting from the Great Hall to the Gryffindor common room..." said the first.

"...to the Ravenclaw common room, too, I dare say," said the other.

After they stopped speaking they looked Harry, expectantly. In as straight a face as he could Harry softly intoned, "Love, fifteen."

The twins gaped at Harry, then at each other, then back at Harry. Together, they said, "Huh?"

Harry sighed and just shook his head. "Sorry," he said. "Muggle joke."

"If you say so..." said one.

"... ickle Harrikins," said the other.

With a quick shake of his head, Harry said, "Change of subject. I've heard from my sources that you two are the so-called reigning pranksters of the school. Is this true?"

"Indeed, we are," said one.

"Fred and George Weasley, at your service," said the other before both dropped into a simultaneous courtly bow.

"Well, I have a prank I'm currently planning, and getting the props for, and I wanted to make sure we don't - clash."

"Oh?" asked one.

"Any way we can assist?" asked the other.

"I don't know," replied Harry, honestly. "What I've done is ordered a costume from a fancy dress shop. It's a character from a set of movies that came out about a decade ago. It's of a character that out-Snape's Snape."

"Oh, really?" asked the first.

"And how can we help?" asked the second.

"I want to know if either of you know what Charms Snape uses to make his cloak billow like that," said Harry.

"There's supposed to be a book out that has a whole list of easy charms to make things happen to your clothes and appearance," said the second.

"We were going to save up to buy it," said the first.

"It's not stock, but Flourish & Blotts are supposed to be able to get it for you," said the second.

"Do you, perchance, know the name of this book?" asked Harry.

"'Simple Cantrips for Appearances Sake'," said the two in unison.

"Alright," said Harry. "I'll order two copies. One for me and one for you two."

The twins looked at each other and grinned. "You'd do that..." said the first.

"For us?" asked the second.

"Think of it as - two things coming together as one," replied Harry. "First, it's a bribe so you won't target me or my group of friends with your pranks. Second, I may want to join you two rapscallions or ask you to join me, in future pranks."

"Harry Potter..."

"... wants to join us..."

"in the noble art of pranking!" they said before saying in unison, "Deal!"

"Alright, then," said Harry with a bit of a nod to them both. "I've got some ordering of books to do"

He started to walk away, before turning back. He said, "If there are any other books you're interested in acquiring that may assist in the 'noble art of pranking', let me know." Then left.

Harry headed for the Ravenclaw tower while the twins started talking rapidly together. Clearly, they would soon be approaching him with a list of books they thought might prove useful.

_‗_

-==(oIo)==-

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Harry received both copies of the book Simple Cantrips for Appearances Sake, on Friday morning's mail drop. The others of The Seven wanted to know what it was and why he ordered two.

"One's for the Weasley twins," he replied. "They're the one's who recommended it to me. Plus, it's partly a bribe paid to them to save us from being directly pranked by them when they finally get going again."

Hermione already had one of the books open before her on the table, scanning through it. "I don't get it," she said. "They're just little things you can do as glamours and the like."

Harry nodded and said, "Yes. And, according to the twins, there's a cantrip in there that mimics the billowing cape trick Snape has going on."

"These are supposed to be useful for when you're getting your photograph taken," said Hermione. "There's ones here for straightening curly hair, curling straight hair, giving you that glint of light off your teeth, brightening your eyes, making your eyes sparkle, pressing your clothes free of wrinkles, giving your hair that tousled look - heaps."

"Thinking about getting your photograph taken, Potter?" asked Daphne with that little smirk of which Harry was so fond.

Looking through the other copy of the book, Harry replied, "Nope. I just want to be able to do that billowing cape thing Snape does. But the eye twinkle thing sounds suspiciously Dumbledorish, too. As for the hair things - Hermione? Interested?"

"Hmmm?" asked their bushy haired friend. "Oh, yes. But it's very short term, though. It looks like all of them are. After all, how long does it take to take a photograph?"

"There's a better option than short term cantrips, Hermione," said Tracey. "I have some shampoo and conditioner that settles down hair that's otherwise untameable."

"I..." stuttered Hermione. "Can you tell me where I can get some, please?"

It was clear to all, then, Hermione really didn't like the way her hair was bushy.

"I'll loan you some," said Tracey, clearly feeling for her friend. "But, it's better to have some shampoo and conditioner made just for you. It works better that way."

"How - how do I get it made," asked Hermione.

Tracey felt for her friend and said, "I'll get the appropriate order forms. I'll also need a decent snip of your hair - probably from underneath the top layers - to send in with the order. The potioneers need the hair to make sure they brew a batch that's keyed to you."

"Thank you," said Hermione with a bit of watery eye action. "I searched high and low for a shampoo and conditioner near where I live that would tame this mess; but, nothing worked."

"That's because the way your hair reacts has more to do with your magic than much else," said Hannah. "That's why you need magical shampoo and conditioner."

Harry perked up on hearing that and said, "Really? Mine, too?"

"Don't you dare, Potter," Daphne half-growled. "I happen to like the tousled look your hair always has."

Looking towards his betrothed, Harry said, "But, what about when I need to spiffy up? You know, formal occasions?"

"Then we shall see about getting you your own special shampoo for those occasions," replied Daphne using her fingers to run through his hair. "Or, we can perhaps use the cantrip you've found that straightens hair temporarily."

Harry couldn't respond as his betrothed's fingers, where they were moving through his hair and scraping across his scalp, were giving him tingles all over. He had goosebumps. It felt - good.

After Daphne stopped what she was doing to him, Harry picked up one of the books and walked over to the Gryffindor table. He took seat in a spare spot immediately opposite the twins and handed them the book.

"As promised," said Harry. "Your book. Use it well, and wisely."

Both twins eagerly reached out for the book. "Thank you, oh great and powerful one," said one.

"Truly, a gift of the ages," said the other.

"Yes, well; if there are any others you want, as I said, come and see me. I'm still awaiting a package to arrive by mail. When it comes I'll get a message through to you to assist me with some charms work," said Harry, rising and returning to the other table.

_‗_

-==(oIo)==-

\""/

During transfiguration, as he'd already read the text for the whole year, Harry used the time to speed read his new book. By lunch time he was ready to try a couple out.

As soon as the class was let out they met with the others in the Entrance Hall. Harry grabbed them and pulled them all into the antechamber they congregated in before the Sorting.

"I'm going to try a couple of the cantrips out of the book I received this morning," he said.

With a frown, Hermione asked, "Is it safe, do you think?"

"Only one way to find out," declared Harry. And he flicked his wand out and tried the first one he'd thought of to test.

A flick of his wand a muttered incantation and his eyes developed a twinkle.

Susan and Hannah looked into his eyes with a bit of awe.

"Wow!" said Susan. "That looks - wow!"

Another flick of his wand and muttered incantation and Harry beamed a big smile at the five witches. One of his molars gave a bright glint, even in the dim light of the alcove.

"Honestly, Harry," huffed Hermione. "You look like a right ponce." While Daphne and Tracey laughed. Neville just grinned and shook his head.

With a grin, Harry said, "Well, the charm's supposed to last a couple hours, so I'm going to test it out by smiling at a couple of our female Year Mates and see what happens."

"You're incorrigible," muttered Hermione.

With a shrug, Harry asked, "Shall we?" Before indicating for the others to precede him back out.

As they were walking across the Entrance Hall, he cast the cantrip to make Hermione's hair fall flat and straight before casting the second one to make her hair develop loose curls. From behind he thought it looked fantastic. Hermione didn't notice the change.

As Hermione walked into the Great Hall with Susan and Hannah side-by-side and Harry and the others not too far behind, Harry heard a lot of the noises stop as people looked up.

He could see from the expressions on people's faces that many did not recognise Hermione with her 'new' hairdo.

Looking around, it seemed that The Seven would be sitting at Gryffindor table for lunch as the girls led them in that direction.

What pleased Harry was that the Gryffindors were no longer giving Daphne and Tracey the 'evil eye' for sitting at the table of the House of the lions. Now they just allowed the two 'snakes' room with barely an eye bat.

One of the other Gryffindor First Years, as soon as she spotted Hermione, said, "Wow, Hermione! Your hair looks great!"

Hermione frowned back not understanding. "Pardon?" she asked.

"Your hair, Hermione," said one of the others. "It looks fantastic."

Confused, Hermione's hand came up to caress her bushy locks only to find her hand, when she brought a mass of her curls around so she could see them, full of long silky locks of brown hair.

She stood there for a few moments looking at her hair in shock. "How...?" she asked no one in particular.

Susan and Hannah helped an almost unresponsive Hermione onto the bench between them.

"Harry did it," said Tracey. "He did it just before we walked into the Great Hall."

Daphne pulled out a small compact mirror and, after casting an Enlargement Charm upon it, held it so Hermione could see herself in the reflection.

"Its - beautiful," Hermione said in awe.

"I - didn't want to say anything before, Hermione," said Daphne. "But - how would you like to have your teeth fixed? Permanently."

Hermione looked up and sadly said, "My parents are dentists. They're a form of muggle teeth healers. They want to have me fitted for braces but, since I can't go and get them constantly adjusted, as they would need to be. I'm going to have to wait until I finish my Hogwarts education before I can get it done."

"Hermione, you live in the magical world," said Daphne. "There's no need for muggle healing here. If you want your teeth fixed it takes only a few moments to get it done. Madam Pomfrey can do it for you in only a few minutes."

"She can do that?" asked Hermione in surprise.

"Yes," replied Daphne. "I dare say she's itching to do it for you. She just can't offer it to you without you asking. It breaches her healer's oath, if she did."

"Can we go after lunch?" pleaded the girl.

"If you want," replied Daphne.

Lunch was a calm affair only interrupted by Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil offering their praises to Hermione for her hair.

Hermione almost roughly grabbed Harry's new book back off him and was flipping through the pages looking for the cantrips he used.

"Pages forty-six and forty-eight, Hermione," said Harry, a little bemused.

Without even looking up, Hermione flipped to the first of the two pages and was reading avidly. She soon had her wand out and was slowly going through the wand motions as she read the pages.

"Eat, Hermione," Harry had to order her. "Eat, or I'll tell Daphne not to take you to see Madam Pomfrey for your teeth."

Hermione looked at him in horror for a few moments before quickly making herself a decent-sized sandwich, grabbing a banana, and pouring herself a goblet of pumpkin juice. With one hand she proceeded to eat her lunch; while reading the book with the other.

Harry and the others of The Seven looked at each other quite bemused by Hermione's focus.

After lunch Harry escorted Tracey to the greenhouses for Herbology while Daphne headed to the infirmary with Hermione.

She arrived only ten minutes into the lesson handing Professor Sprout a note excusing her for her tardiness.

As the lesson had started, Harry was sitting with Tracey for the lesson while Daphne sat with Millicent Bulstrode across from them.

"How'd it go?" asked Harry, quietly.

Daphne grinned back and said, "You'll see for yourself after class."

When he saw them, Harry told her they looked fantastic.

_‗_

-==(oIo)==-

\""/

The next morning Harry met Daphne, her father and Neville in the Entrance Hall. Today, they were heading in secret to the Department of Mysteries. There, they'd be having a look at the prophecy that clearly involved Harry.

"Sorry I'm late," said Harry. "I wanted to get a copy of the article from the Daily Prophet that's framed and hanging in the Trophy Room."

Harry unrolled the configured parchment of the copy of the article - something he learned from the Seventh Year Ravenclaw who copied the last page of the muggle comic book for him - and handed it to Cygnus.

With one look at it, Cygnus hissed in surprise. "Yes, that's a young Voldemort, alright," he muttered. "Mind if I hold onto this, Harry?" he asked.

"Of course not, Cygnus," replied Harry. "I brought it for you so it could be confirmed TMR is Tom Marvolo Riddle. And you've now confirmed Tom Marvolo Riddle is Voldemort."

With a nod, Cygnus rerolled the parchment and pocketed it within his robes. "Well, we'd best be going, then."

Together, the four headed off towards the front gates.

"I didn't know you were coming with us, Neville," said Harry to the other boy.

"Gran received a message from my Great Uncle Algie," replied the boy with a shrug. "He said I need to be there when we - get where we're going."

"Alright, then," said Harry. "It'll be nice to have you along." And smiled.

_‗_

-==(oIo)==-

\""/

Stepping into the atrium at the Ministry of Magic from one of the many fireplaces, Harry noticed there wasn't nearly as many people as the previous Monday. Clearly, Saturdays were not a mandatory work day at the Ministry.

Cygnus led their small party through the security checkpoint before striding over to the bank of elevators. There, they took a ride down to Level Nine.

Striding straight across the small foyer, Cygnus opened the door that was only labelled 'DoM' in old English script on a wooden plaque.

Inside, they were immediately met in a hallway by a person of modest height in a long grey cloak. Harry noticed he couldn't quite make out the person's face.

Cygnus after shaking the person's hand turned to the three kids and said, "This is Unspeakable Talon. Unspeakable Talon will take us through to the Hall of Prophecies so Harry can hear the orb of prophecy that is in, in part, his name. Please obey all instructions of the Unspeakable and ask no further questions."

Harry, Daphne and Neville all nodded their heads in understanding.

With a voice Harry couldn't make out was either male or female, the Unspeakable led them down the short hallway they were standing in and through a door at the end. As soon as the door closed Harry had a sudden feeling of vertigo as the room appeared to spin.

After a few long seconds the doors stopped their motion and the Unspeakable led their little party through a door. To Harry, they all appeared identical. He wondered how the person in the grey cloak knew which door to open.

Stepping through, the Unspeakable led them through a room full of clocks and hourglasses before passing through a door out the other side of the room.

The door opened up to a massive room in which Harry couldn't see either end or the opposite wall. The light from candles at each end of a rack were insufficient to show how far back the rows went. The room was filled with racks upon racks, all standing side by side with little room for two people to pass one another between them. Harry didn't know how many racks there were but they entered next to row 53.

The Unspeakable led them along the rows as the numbers counted up. Soon, they reached row 97. The Unspeakable stopped for a moment and consulted a small device he - she - held in their left hand. Then the unspeakable led them down that row.

Only a short way down the row, the unspeakable stopped and turned to one of the racks. The wand, lit with a soft Lumos, was used to light the rows. Soon, at about Harry's head height, the unspeakable stopped and, using their wand, indicated a softly glowing orb.

"Mister Potter, if HJP truly is you, then you will be able to lift this orb down," the unspeakable said. "If it is not you, it will stun you. At which point I will Enervate you again.

"If you are able to lift the orb down you will need to tap the top of it with your wand. Then, the prophecy will play for you within the orb. If there is anyone in your party you do not want to hear the prophecy, they need to leave now."

"No, they can stay," said Harry. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Harry drew his wand and held it in his right hand. He then reached out and placed both hands under the orb.

He carefully lifted the orb from it's small wooden cradle and brought it down to his chest. Once there, he transferred the orb to be held only in the palm of his left hand.

Holding the orb a little out in front of himself, Harry then raised his wand and lightly tapped the orb on top. The others gathered around and watched.

The glow of the orb brightened and the grey smoky substance within cleared. Then Harry could see a younger Professor Trelawney sitting in a chair. Her voice was husky and quite deep as she said, "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches … Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies. And the Dark Lord will mark him as equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not … And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."

After the prophecy played out the image of Trelawney faded away back into the softly glowing smoky interior.

Still holding it and just staring at it, Harry said, "Well, that just sucks."

"Bloody Hell!" said Neville while Daphne took Harry in her arms and hugged him tightly.

Cygnus was softly cursing under his breath.

With what sounded like a sigh, the Unspeakable said, "Hold on to that, Mister Potter, and follow me." The Unspeakable lifted down the small wooden stand the orb had sat upon on the shelf and led them back out to the end of the rows.

The Unspeakable led them back out through the door by which they entered the Hall and back to the room with the rotating doors. After he - or she - shut the door, the doors spun around them again.

When the doors stopped moving the Unspeakable walked over to another door, opened it, and ushered them through.

This time they came out into what seemed to be a set of offices.

The Unspeakable then led them through a couple of offices before she halted at a plain, unmarked door. They knocked on the door and then opened it, ushering everyone through.

Stepping into the room, Harry noticed it was an office. One that was magically expanded because the doors on either side of the one in which they entered could not have been there given the size of the room they were now in.

Behind the desk sat another person in robes similar to the one the Unspeakable who had led them through to the Hall of Prophecies was wearing. The one who had led them walked up to the desk and placed the wooden stand on it in front of the other. Then he or she left the room closing the door behind them.

Once the door was closed the new Unspeakable drew a wand and conjured four chairs for them to sit upon on their side of the desk.

"Please, sit, everyone," said the new Unspeakable.

After taking their seats, the new Unspeakable reached up and flipped back the cowl of his or her robe.

"Uncle Algie!" exclaimed Neville.

"Hello, young Neville," said the man, for Harry could now see it was a rather nondescript man with a short full beard. His hair was the colour of what Harry had come to know as salt-n-pepper; dark hair turning grey.

"As Neville has now identified me, I guess I should properly identify myself," said 'Uncle Algie'. "I'm known as Unspeakable Croaker, and Neville's Uncle Algernon."

Turning to Harry he held out his left hand and said, "Could you pass me the prophecy orb, please Mister Potter?"

Harry offered the orb to the Unspeakable who took it and placed it on the little wooden stand that was now before him.

He then looked up and said, "So, Albus Dumbledore heard a prophecy spoken by Sybil Trelawney. The prophecy, since Mister Potter was able to pick it up and hear it, was about him and who Dumbledore identified as TMR. Clearly, if Mister Potter is not the dark lord spoken of in the prophecy, then TMR is the dark lord.

"That just leaves identifying just who TMR is. And Dumbledore is not telling anyone who that is."

"Harry believes, he knows," said Cygnus. "And, after what he showed me, I believe he's correct."

Cygnus reached into his robes and withdrew the roll of parchment Harry handed to him back at Hogwarts. Cygnus handed it to Croaker.

Accepting the roll, Croaker unrolled it and studied it for a few moments. "So. Tom Marvolo Riddle changed his name to Voldemort. No wonder we continually hit a brick wall in trying to figure out his origins."

Frowning and thinking hard, Harry was pinching his bottom lip. Looking up at Croaker he said, "Excuse me, Sir; do you mind if I borrow a piece of parchment, a quill and a little ink? I just want to check something."

A little surprised by the request, Croaker drew out the required paraphernalia from his desk and placed them on the desk in front of Harry.

"What is it, Harry?" asked Cygnus.

"I just want to confirm something," replied Harry.

After he'd been writing a few things down and thinking for a bit, Harry sat up straighter and said, "It's an anagram!"

"Sorry?" asked Croaker.

"'Tom Marvolo Riddle' - Sorry - 'Voldemort' is part of an anagram taken from the name 'Tom Marvolo Riddle'.

"Look," said Harry indicating what he had written. "The letters that form 'Voldemort' are all in the name 'Tom Marvolo Riddle'. Remove those letters and you're left with M,A,O,R,I,D and L.

"From those you can get 'Lord', leaving you with M,A and I. And that's 'I am' backwards. Which means, 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' is anagrammatic for 'I am Lord Voldemort'."

Harry sat back with a bit of a smug expression on his face.

Croaker had drawn the sheet of parchment back to himself and was going through the motions, just as Harry did. When he was finished he sat back and softly said, "Well, I'll be. The answer was right there all along."

Croaker sat there thinking for a few moments before he leaned forward again. "Mister Potter, I've now seen the memories of events of what happened at the Sorting at Hogwarts this year; including the two wraiths, one each, that came out of your scar and the head of Quirinus Quirrell. Both were clearly manifestations of Voldemort - Riddle."

Harry nodded back in understanding.

"That also means," said Croaker, "through whatever feat - possibly when he was destroyed by you in October 1981 - his soul became fragmented.

"When you entered the Great Hall on the 1st of September for the Sorting, and because Quirrell was already there and possessed by one fragment of Volde... Riddle's soul, the two coming in close proximity cause the one expelled from you when your binding shattered to be drawn to the one possessing Quirrell.

"Him being hit by the second piece of Riddle's soul, while already under an active possession, killed him. The piece already possessing him was forced to flee, and fused with the piece that came from you, Mister Potter."

"Now," said Croaker, leaning forward and clasping his hands together, "the fact that the new, fused, piece of Riddle's soul did not then move on to the afterlife - together with the fact the prophecy is still in play - means there's still more."

"The prophecy's still in play?" asked Cygnus.

Croaker nodded and said, "If the prophecy had been completed, the prophecy orb would have turned dark. That it hasn't means the prophecy has not yet been completed."

"So, I still have to face him," said Harry worriedly.

"Yes and no," said Croaker. "The prophecy states 'one must die by the hand of the other', but that can mean many things. For instance, you can be Minister of Magic and sign his execution warrant. He will then have died by your hand. Or, we can wire him up in explosives, hand you the detonator, and you push the button. There are many ways it can be done."

"So I take it, then, the Department of Mysteries will be tackling this problem?" asked Cygnus.

"Vol... Riddle represents a viable and known threat to Magical Britain," said Croaker. "So that means we have the mandate to tackle the problem. On top of that, we had the mandate during the last war, and Minister Bagnold did not rescind it after Vol – Riddle supposedly died."

"Excellent," said Cygnus.

Looking directly at Harry again, Croaker said, "Don't worry about the prophecy, Mister Potter. That's my and my department's job. All you need to do is stay alive. Go and enjoy being a First Year at Hogwarts. When the time comes, we'll call on you, alright?"

"Alright, Sir," replied Harry, a lot more calmly.

"Good," said Croaker, firmly, as he stood up. "Please follow me and I'll lead you back out of this place."

Croaker then led them back to the lifts.

While they were waiting, Neville quietly asked, "Uncle Algie?"

Croaker, who had redonned his cowl, asked, "Yes, Neville?"

"The prophecy; it said, 'Born as the seventh month dies'. That means it could have been me, couldn't it?" asked Neville. "I mean, Harry and I were born only a few hours apart."

Not answering straight away, Croaker waited a few moments in thought before he replied, "Yes, Neville; I guess that could be true. How does that make you feel?"

"Relieved, that it's Harry," the boy replied before turning to Harry. "Sorry."

Harry smiled back and said, "It's okay, Neville. I completely understand. How can I be angry when I, too, wish it was someone else."

Croaker did not have the heart to tell his great-nephew that he could be considered 'marked as his equal' due to the psychological impact on him of his parents long-term stay in Saint Mungo's. Or that Riddle hadn't marked him – yet.

_‗_

-==(oIo)==-

\""/