CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: A MEETING

Personal Office Space of Lord Thomas Gaunt

Gaunt House, Cornwall, England

14 June 1992

"Care for a cigar, Lucius?"

"Not tonight, Thomas. Narcissa does not care for the odor."

"And how is your lovely wife?"

"Beautiful, as always. Now, why did you call me here? As much as I enjoy your company, I assume it was for something more than idle chat."

Thomas steepled his fingers. "Indeed. What have you heard of the man known as Quirinius Quirrell?"

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "He was the former Muggle Studies professor at Hogwarts, and the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year. Draco said the man was an adequate instructor, and Quirrell's resume was certainly superior to those of the other candidates who applied for the position. He was a Ravenclaw during his time at Hogwarts, I believe, and about ten years younger than myself."

"He is dead."

"What?" Lucius spluttered in shock. "How?"

Thomas puffed on his cigar and exhaled. "It depends on who you ask."

"Really."

"In body, Quirinius Quirrell passed into the Void on the eleventh of June, 1992."

Lucius frowned slightly. "In body?"

Thomas' lips curved upwards. "In body. In mind, the story is rather different...and none of it may pass beyond this room. Do I have your word?"

"You do."

"In mind, Quirinius Quirrell passed early in the summer of 1991, to my best guess."

"Someone else was inhabiting his body during the school year, then."

Thomas' smile widened. "Yes."

"Who?"

"The Dark Lord."

"No," Lucius breathed, eyes widening ever so slightly in awe.

"Yes."

"How?"

"To my knowledge, the Dark Lord came into possession of Quirrell's body during his time in Albania. He completely took over the man's body and mind, and trooped into Hogwarts with Dumbledore never the wiser."

"But Quirrell passed."

Thomas' smile dropped, and he abruptly became serious again. "Correct. It is a setback, but one we will overcome."

"If I may be so bold, may I query as to why the Dark Lord entered Hogwarts in the guise of Quirrell?"

"To gather information, I believe. My counterpart was not entirely clear on that matter. The Dark Lord believed the Philosopher's Stone was being kept in Hogwarts."

Lucius' throat bobbed as he swallowed. "Is the Dark Lord...sane?"

"Perfectly. Dumbledore was storing the Stone in the school as a favor to his old friend Nicolas Flamel."

Lucius swore.

"My thoughts as well, on that matter. It's a pity the Stone was destroyed. It would have expedited everything."

"Indeed."

Thomas steepled his fingers. "I have a task for you, Lucius."

The blonde aristocrat inclined his head.

"Do you recall our rodent associate?"

Lucius' nose wrinkled. "Yes."

"I need you to find him. I currently do not know of the Dark Lord's whereabouts, and the rodent has the ability to unobtrusively search for him. Secondly, I would like you to begin to reach out to the old crowd. Let them know that our… social club will be starting up again soon."

Lucius' smile was sharp. "Of course. It would be my pleasure."

A/N:

So, who is Thomas Gaunt?

Also, a point of clarification - several reviewers asked if Hermione is a Parselmouth. Unfortunately, she is not. She heard hissing, saw a door open, and figured that the hissing was a password, not a language.

We've arrived at the end of volume one of The Chessmaster! A huge thanks goes out to my betas, and everyone who has followed, favorited, or reviewed!

The first chapter of volume two, The Chessmaster: White Knight, is now posted!