One more chapter.

After last chapter, some of readers complained about my knack of missing articles in the last chapter. I am extremely sorry for those. Believe me, I check every chapter 2 or three times for the errors but they still managed to escape my notice.

This story is purely for my recreational purpose. I write it on my leisure whenever my mind screams at me to get away from its adventures in maths. You can guess how articles are lesser of my worries, more so when my sister is more than willing to check any such errors in my papers that are important. But I can't burden her with checking this work. I will get a hell of scolding.

If anyone is interested in proof reading the chapters, please send a PM. I will be grateful for the help. Only condition I have that I will not change the story line.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, except may be few that will appear in future.

Only two days after setting them up for the task, Harry was following two snakes that he had asked to search second floor. These snakes, much to envy of rest eight had informed him of their success. He had not expected results so soon and was still a bit skeptical, but he had taken two snakes with him, asked them to climb inside the armour of a dummy guardian on 2nd floor and wait for him to return.

As soon as the last class ended, he had slipped away quietly. The snakes, true to his command had waited for him and now they were slithering along the wall leading him to the destination. To his shock, they lead him directly to the most dreaded bathroom in Hogwarts... the one where 'Moaning Myrtle dwelled. Only few brave souls dared to come here because... one, it was out of order... two, it was haunted by a ghost who could drive anyone bonkers with her crying and wailing.

He entered the bathroom, praying that Myrtle has gone for some adventure and his snakes were right about their finding. Luck was with him as both his wishes came true. He was so entranced with the sight of the faucet that he completely ignored the faint bubbling sound coming from a closed stall.

"You have done a fantastic job." He hissed to snakes. Harry couldn't help but smile seeing how the snakes have perked up. It seemed that animals also desired appreciation and appreciated flattery. As if sensing his wish, they slithered away from sink, settling beside him but their forked tongues continued flicking, as if they were licking the air which both amused and confused him.

"It is different here." One snake spoke, as if sensing his confusion.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"It is more inviting here than rest of the place. Air smells delicious and soothing." One answered.

"We feel safer here." Other snake completed.

Despite the oddness, it somehow made sense. After all it was entrance to the chamber of secrets, a place accessible only to parselmouths. Salazar Slytherin must have designed the ward this way so that others without the gift to speak parseltongue could not recognize it as entrance.

But one thing made Harry stop and think back. The snakes could sense either sense or as they said, smell the magic. Was this ability in general or just restricted to the wards here that allowed parselmouths to recognize it? Hell he didn't feel anything but then he had never felt any magic in his whole life. May be he could learn but that would come later.

He pulled himself out of his musing and looked at the faucet that he had seen in the memory. Snake carved on it looked at him proudly with emeralds in its eye sockets. This was entrance of the fabled Chamber of Secrets. He has the tool needed to enter. All he has to do was to speak one word. Answer of many of his questions lie inside there. At least he hoped so. But there was still one big question of the Basilisk that resided inside there. Although it would be safely resting inside its lair but there was someone in castle who has the diary and has been busy carrying out the attacks. He could be still inside and if he went there now, he was sure it would result in his death.

"...It's Professor Snape Ronald." He heard the nagging voice of Hermione Granger coming from the corridor.

"Climb on my arm." He hissed offering his left hand. The snakes instantaneously obeyed him. He disillusioned himself quickly and hid in the dark corner of the bathroom from where he could see what the golden trio intended to do here. Darkness and the charm together will keep them from knowing about his presence. A part of him was annoyed at himself for the carelessness. He could have been caught. Mere thought of that sent shudders down his spine and for the first time he was thankful to Hermione for her bossiness and Ron for being so thick to understand that insulting an authority figure in front of bookworm would only get him lectured.

"Come on Hermione..." Ron started but was cut off.

"Ron, Hermione, give it rest." Chris Potter said in irritated voice. Golden trio enter the bathroom. Hermione huffed and glared at Ron who rolled his eyes.

"Guys, let us just check the potion and get over with it. I don't fancy another meeting with Moaning Myrtle, Merlin forbid, previous ones are enough for me for a lifetime." Chris said. Ron and Hermione sniggered but Chris ignored it and led other two towards a closed door. It was then Harry heard the faint bubbling sound of a cauldron. Once they were out of his sight, Harry quietly slipped into a nearby stall. Although it was not his business but Golden trio brewing a potion secretly, it was bound to be something interesting. With the "goody two shoes" Granger leading the group, it most certainly was not for a prank. He just couldn't resist snooping.

"Light reading Hermione..."

"Ron... " Chris admonished his best friend.

"Ok, Ok. Sorry Hermione." Ron apologized.

"So..." He heard Chris' voice.

"Its colour is as it should be at this stage." Hermione said. "We have to keep checking it daily and follow the steps written here carefully. Between three of us, we can do this."

"How long before it is ready?" Ron asked.

"It is a month long brewing process." Hermione replied. "Honestly Ron, do you ever pay attention? I explained it all to you guys before we started brewing."

"Why should I bother remembering it when I don't need to? It's not like Snape is going to ask about Polyjuice potion in exam."

"So it will be ready before the Christmas."

Harry was almost thankful when Chris interrupted them before they could turn it into one of their infamous colossal arguments. He could not understand how these two could be friends despite tearing each other apart over nonsensical things on every chance they got. Maybe they tolerated each other just to remain friends with Chris.

"Oh yes, only if we don't make any mistake in any step." Hermione eagerly replied, forgetting about her desire to berate Ron.

"That's good." Ron spoke. "Malfoy is not going home this year."

"Neither is Harry Potter." Harry's eyes narrowed when he heard Hermione.

"Wait a minute," Chris spoke, "where did Harry come into this?"

There was a slight pause as if Hermione hesitated before answering.

"With the rumours going on, I was thinking that maybe we should investigate Harry also." She answered.

There was a long sigh. "As you said it already, they are just rumours Hermione." Chris spoke. "Rumours that Malfoy and Snape started only because he is a Potter."

"I know he is your brother..."

"But he is also a slimy snake." Ron interrupted whatever Hermione was going to say.

"Just because he is in Slytherin doesn't make him an obvious culprit." Chris retorted. "Just like being in Gryffindor doen't makes one all light and holy. Does the name Peter Pettrigrew ring any bells Ron?"

There was an awkward silence for few minutes before Hermione coughed.

"I am not accusing him, Chris." She said. "But what is the harm in confirming? We don't even have to make separate preparations."

"Though you are a brilliant witch, you surely like to miss all the obvious points that you don't want to see."

"And what have I missed, oh great one?" she asked, clearly offended by the accusation.

"The fact, that the basis of our preparation for fishing truth out of Malfoy can't be applied to Harry." Chris replied. For a moment he let it sink before pressing further, more for benefit of Ron. "He is not most friendly guy out there. Forget about fishing out such a secret out of him. Tell me a name that one of us can impersonate to even talk to him, if there is any."

"May be we could use Draco to question Harry." Hermione suggested after few minutes. Harry bristled. A part of him wanted to rush into the stall and bash Granger's head against the wall, or better dip it into the boiling cauldron.

"And how do you think it will end?" Chris asked, aghast at the suggestion of her friend.

Silence was the only answer he got.

"May be we will be able to figure out it later." Ron suggested, stepping in to ease the tension. "After all we have got a lot of time before the Christmas."

"Guys, please keep it restricted to Malfoy and leave Harry out of this." Chris' response was a surprise for Harry.

No response came for Chris' last comment. For several minutes trio worked in silence and tension despite Ron's attempt. Harry assumed that it was first time an argument has occurred between Chris and Granger and redhead was clueless how to act, finding himself in uncharted territory.

Harry waited patiently for the trio to finish. Once he heard the unmistakable sound of them leaving, he slipped out of his hiding place. Looking at the bubbling cauldron, he could not help but marvel the intelligence of Granger. Only thing he knew about the potion was its use and he was sure there would be only handful second years who knew more, after all it was in seventh year potion's curriculum. To be able to brew it now, she must be able to understand and follow the instructions. But he already knew how good she was.

It didn't matter how much he despised Granger for planning to interrogate him, he just couldn't bring himself to destroy her hard work, when it would just take one slight push to cauldron or one simple banishing spell, of which Snape was so much fond of. Besides, a part of him wanted to watch Malfoy's reaction after being fooled by his arch enemies, one of whom was a mudblood, whom he despised whole heatedly.

For a minute he considered using a snake to keep vigil in the bathroom in order to find who went down into the chamber but quickly discarded it out of fear that Tom Riddle might find out about the snake dwelling so close to opening of chamber where he was sure to come at some time, and trace it all back to him. Better safe than sorry.

Albus Dumbledore lazily stroked his beard as he briskly walked down the street towards his old friend who, despite being under an invisibility cloak, has taken place in the shadows of trees in front of a lone manor in the vast countryside in the outskirts of Belgrade. Even if he was on a very important business, it was still a big relief to be out of his office. All the boring paperwork and meetings gave him headaches but these were necessary evils associated with the job. He was fortunate to have Minerva as his deputy. Her devotion to him and willingness to share his burden was a blessing which left him with sufficient time to tackle other pressing matters, just like he was now.

"He is inside since last 1 hr." Mad-eye Moody informed him in his usual gruff voice as soon as he was nearby. Moody never wasted time on pleasantries when there was work to do. In last 60 years of friendship with Alastor, Dumbledore was used to this behaviour.

With subtle application of charms of his own creation, a suitable and better alternative to the dancing artificial eye his old friend used, the wall turned translucent specifically for his eyes, enough for him to see that his target was inside, chatting with his acquaintances.

For almost a decade, the person had dodged his attempts and fooled his men. Mad-eye alone had been following trail for last 4 years. Another few years and he himself would have started actively searching for him.

"It was not with skills but pure luck that helped me to get the smell of old bastard." Moody spoke. "I have to spend last 4 days tracking him down across 4 countries."

"It was to be expected. I told you that he would be hard one." Dumbledore replied. "He is quite resourceful, both in connections and knowledge and I have met few who utilize them better."

"Thank you Alastor." Dumbledore said with gentle smile. "You have no idea how much this may help."

"And still you won't elaborate." Moody said.

"I can't, my friend, not when I don't know the answers myself." Dumbledore said. "But I dearly hope to get some important ones from Horace. May be then we will sit down and evaluate the damage."

"Very well." Moody said. "If there is nothing else, I will go and have my well deserved rest."

"This is more than enough for today. I will handle the rest." Dumbledore spoke.

"Best of luck, then." with that Moody departed.

He watched Moody walk away and disappear around the corner of the street. A moment later, Fwakes flew to him from nearby tree and landed comfortably on his shoulder.

"Thank you my friend." Dumbledore whispered as he took out a folded parchment. The phoenix took it in his beak.

"Take it to Lily Potter. It's urgent."

Fwakes gave him a nod and flew up in the sky. Several seconds later Dumbledore saw a fireball emerge and vanish in the sky, indicating that phoenix has flamed away.

He took a deep breath and marvelled in the feeling of fresh air filling his lungs. If only it was on free time, may be in a park. But such luxuries were beyond his grasp until Voldemort was still at large.

Frankly he wanted to get out of the office and enjoy the life along with teaching young minds, a job in which he was content until Tom Riddle's first descent into darkness forced him to reconsider his decisions, just like the first duel with his dear friend Gellert Grindelwald had previously forced him to. His students were his children and he could not sit back when they were in danger. Neither could he watch them fall into darkness. And so he had taken the position of headmaster after his predecessor retired.

In one and half century of his life he had come to conclusion that a person's destiny forced its way even if he was reluctant to follow the path. He himself was such an example. For 4 decades he had avoided confrontation with Gellert hoping that someone else would rise up to the challenge and stop his reign of terror. But eventual public outcry was too shameful for him and forced him into the final duel. These thoughts of destiny and fate had led him to seriously consider Divination as a subject.

Was it a coincidence that Riddle sat his N.E.W.T. exams in the same year in which Grindelwald was handed his first and final defeat? One dark lord's fall gave way for the rise of another one who was on all accounts more deadly than Grindlewald. Worst of all, while Grindlewald's reign excluded Britain, Tom Riddle made the land his focal point when after nearly a decade's self exile, he finally returned as Lord Voldemort.

Funny thing was that while Tom's first murder forced him to accept the Headmaster's job in order to stop such evil acts in future, Tom's new avatar forced him into the ruthlessness in power play. He had to walk the same path he had once vowed to avoid. It was the rise of Voldemort that forced him to make peace with his own destiny. It was a heavy burden he carried over the course of war but it got heavier once Voldemort fell. Even when many of the death-eaters had committed heinous crimes, killing them or, imprisoning them would have left the magical society in tatters. More than half of the pureblood children would have been left orphaned. Resulting outcry and rift would have been too wide to overcome. It would have resulted in whole pureblood community siding with Voldemort once he returned, leading him to his effective victory.

He had to choose middle ground and let some of them escape the justice while imprisoning the more vicious ones. Not that it pained his heart much. Escaped ones knew that he was still a tangible threat looming over them. In fear they had refrained from their malicious activities. He seriously hoped that they regret their past actions. Voldemort was, after all, the inducing character... the prime evil and with his effect removed, for time being, may be they could come to their senses.

Twin faint cracks alerted him of the arrival of his partners in crime. Spotting his location, couple rushed to him.

"I hope you haven't missed the usual protocol in the rush."

"Of course not, Albus." James Potter spoke. "Sirius and Miranda are on their way for perfect alibi."

"Excellent. Is there any doubt about how it should be done? I explained it briefly in letter."

"What about the wards? I doubt that the invitation alone will allow both of us to enter?" James asked.

"No it won't. We shall do it as we used to, in old times. Hope we still have the timing." He reassured them. "Anything else?"

"Nope." Lily replied.

"Well then" Dumbledore pulled out a vial from his pocket and uncorked it. Lily pulled another set of two vials and gave one to James who put it safely inside his pocket. Lily took the offered strand of hair from Dumbledore and dropped it into the thick and muddy potion. Dumbledore gave Lily a bag.

"Inside you will find clothes Cynthia Silvermoon was going to wear for the party." He told Lily.

"No pervy ideas James." Lily scolded her husband whose eyes were twinkling with amusement.

"I was a teenager then. You shouldn't blame a teenager for having crush on brilliant chaser." James protested. "Besides, you were hexing my bullocks at that time."

Lily huffed as she waited for the potion to assimilate the essence of the famous Harpy Quidditch star of 80's.

Despite the tight situation, Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at the playful bickering as he started casting some privacy wards so that Lily could change. Only pure love has the contagious effect to brighten even other's mood, unless the person was Severus Snape. But then love has its own fair share in his bitterness. Once finished, he stepped out.

"Honestly sir, couldn't you get any other person?" Dumbledore turned and saw Lily Potter walking towards him in Cynthia's body. Her eyes constantly darted towards her husband who looked quite amused at annoying her.

He gave her a mild smile. "I didn't have the luxury of time. Alastor succeeded in locating him just a couple hrs ago. In the hour before I got here, I had to locate a target for swap. If it pleases you, I didn't particularly enjoy disrobing someone who could be more like my granddaughter's age. Lucky for me, I know the spells for just that."

The full fledged laughter from his former students warmed his heart even if it was at his expense.

"It's all right Albus." Lily spoke between giggles. "I will keep James in line."

"What about these?" James asked indicating towards two boxes in his hand.

"These are gifts. One is for the host. I don't know what she bought. The other one that I added for our dear friend is Crystallized Pineapples, his favourite. "

James handed the boxes to Lily. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for her part while James slipped under his invisibility cloak and then the prodigious couple strode forward towards the manor with confident steps.

At the times like this, Dumbledore thanked Merlin that these two survived madness of the last war. Loss of Longbottom couple was enough big blow. He wondered how he would have dealt with such matters if these two had perished on Halloween. However strange it may sound but their survival can be attributed to Voldemort's cruelty and arrogance.

A thick beam of magic, invisible to all but him, sped from Dumbledore's wand. It collided with the invisible net of wards around the building and spread along it, revealing it to him in multicoloured hue. Invitation alone guaranteed Cynthia entry, but will it allow Lily, he had been unable to confirm due to lack of time.

Lily looked back at him as soon as she felt the ward line. He pumped his power to bend the wards, creating a small hole. A nod from him was enough for the couple and they slipped inside smoothly. Without further delay he pulled his power away from wards letting them regain their previous state and wiped away the beads of sweat from his forehead. Breaking the wards was much easier than bending them even it was done only for few seconds. In the pinnacle of war against Voldemort, necessity had driven him to develop this technique with the help of Lily and Flamels. Although power requirements ensured that only insanely powerful person can do it, they had jealously kept the technique secret. What happened on the Halloween night, 11 years ago was the only more prised one. Careful lies, with just a pinch of truth were weaved around it to make it believable, but only 4 persons, including Voldemort knew what transpired in Godric Hallows that night and downfall of Voldemort was clear indication that even he did not understood the whole picture. All known theories in magic failed to explain the unusual occurrence and it was bloody frustrating. Only solace was that they were missing some key information.

As soon as Lily presented the invitation card to one of the guards, invisible Dumbledore deliberately tripped the ward line, momentarily dividing the guards' attention, which enabled invisible James to confound them to forget running full scrutiny. Once polyjuiced Lily and invisible James were inside, Dumbledore disappeared with a faint pop. Now that his part was done, all he has to do was relax and wait at the headquarters.

He didn't have to wait longer than he expected. Wards alerted him before the vortex opened a few meters away, in front of him and two humans were spat out of it. Lily Potter, in the disguise of Cynthia Silvermoon landed gracefully on her feet while other one fell on the ground, partly due to surprise of unexpected portkey travel and partly due to the unbalanced shape of his body, which looked like an overgrown walrus.

He knew his friend was fast but Lily was faster. Former Potion master of Hogwarts merely managed to draw his wand before Lily Potter snatched it from his hand and held him at her wand point. Portly man blinked in confusion and then his eyes widened in surprise and realisation. Cynthia although good was never . Dumbledore watched the scene unfolding before him in mild amusement.

"You are not Cynthia." Horace Slughorn said in subdued voice.

"There is no need to panic, Horace." Dumbledore stepped out from behind the rather large maple tree bark.

"Albus." Slughorn scrambled away from his abductor, towards his old colleague. A clear sound of click broke through haze of panic. He looked at the brass bracelet on his right hand. It was not there few seconds ago. A look of betrayal passed on his face before it started turning a shade of pink in anger. Small beads of sweat broke out his forehead.

"I hope it went well." Dumbledore asked Lily, ignoring the looks his old friend was giving him.

"Absolutely." She answered.

"Someone in party will realise that I have gone missing." Horace said, more in desperation than in hope.

"But you are still present there." Cynthia replied with a sweet smile. "Or should I say, fake you is enjoying the party in your place."

Blood drained of Horace's face.

"Why don't you wait for me in your quarters. I will stop by once I am finished welcoming our guest." Dumbledore said to Lily. "And see if your partner can join us after the party."

"Sure thing, Albus." Lily gave Slughorn's wand to Dumbledore and turned her head towards her former professor. "Good night Horace."

Only response she got from Slughorn was a glare and huff. With a satisfied smile on her face, Lily Potter walked away on the long pavement surrounded by thick trees, towards the majestic building, leaving two aging men in the uncomfortable silence.

Dumbledore led a reluctant Slughorn behind the tree, where they sat on two comfortable wooden chairs around a small table with two bottles of firewhiskey and some snacks. Strangely the furniture looked like it was extension of the tree trunk, but Slughorn was too angry to give it any ounce of thought.

"What is going on Albus?" Slughorn finally lost his patience and questioned Dumbledore who was busy pouring the whisky in glasses. "What did I do to deserve being kidnapped like this? And when we are on that subject, enlighten me when did you start using such techniques? This is so unlike you. And I know it is you since it is impossible for anyone to impersonate you... well a metamorphmagus can since he won't require your hair to change into you but not even a he can bring forth your aura."

"Thank you for regarding me on such a high pedestal, Horace." Dumbledore said dodging his rest of the questions and offered him a glass. Slughorn looked at it suspiciously. "Poisoning you would be detrimental to my purpose, besides it is not my style."

"The Albus whom I knew won't but you on the other hand..." Slughorn took the glass leaving his words hanging, not that it mattered to Dumbledore. Slughorn tapped the ring on the middle finger of his right hand to the rim of glass. A drop of potion slid into the glass mixing with the whisky. When nothing changed, old potion master quickly drained the glass and took hold of bottle to pour more drink.

"Will you return me my wand?" Slughorn asked.

"I am sorry my dear friend." Dumbledore said. "After the trouble I have to go through to get you here, I can't risk you escaping."

"As I guessed." Slughorn said looking at the innocent looking bracelet on his wrist. He was a prisoner within wards of the property till the bracelet was on his wrist.

He looked around in hope of getting any clue about the place but he lost any thought and his eyes widened in amazement. As far as he could see, property was filled with various trees and bushes. A lone, majestic multi-storey white building with two high towers, stood about a few hundred meters away from where they were sitting. Small orbs of light, hung on the trees at few meters distance from each other, illuminated the property in faint light as if it was full moon. The place radiated with ethereal beauty.

Now that his haywire nerves had calmed down, he basked in the serenity the atmosphere was permeating deep into his soul. In all his life he had never felt such a magical environment. It felt divine.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Dumbledore asked.

"It is." Slughorn replied. "Where are we? What is this place Albus?"

"Dover. We are in the outskirts of Dover." Dumbledore replied. A faint smile ghosted his lips but Slughorn could see the traces of pain in his twinkling eyes. "This is the remains of my dream project."

"What was the project?" Slughorn asked.

"Do you know that approximately one in every hundred magical children lose control of their accidental magic due to various reasons like fear, stress? Some of them never recover to get magical education. I had a dream of starting a school for the magical children, on the pattern of muggle primary schools. The ministry shot down the idea in 1931, without even a bit of consideration, saying that the wizards and witches were quite capable of teaching the basics to their children before they are ready for Hogwarts. But what about muggleborns? Most children who suffer are either muggleborn or select few who reside in muggle vicinity and go to play with muggles children. Any instance of accidental magic can result in a trauma for them. Only few entertained the idea of funding for such an institution but that was not enough and I had to drop it. That all changed after I defeated Gellert Grindlewald. Governments from all over across Europe loaded me with awards, titles and a huge amount of money. It was more than sufficient to give shape to my dream. I purchased this land and started my project."

"You never mentioned it before." Slughorn commented. "I could have helped."

"I know. A small part of the reason was my pride that had been so rudely kicked when the ministry ridiculed my proposal. I was unwilling to share it with anyone in any manner before it was ready. But major reason was security. I never wanted it to end up like Hogwarts, which is secure from outer threats but inside it is a volcano. Tom Riddle proved it." Slughorn averted his eyes quickly at the mention of Riddle.

"I designed this place. Each sapling was planted by me. I nurtured them with my own magic. In each brick that I have placed here, I have personally carved runes to strengthen them. I personally designed and empowered the wards in and surrounding this place. Magic is so profound and pure in this place that many light creatures, like Phoenixes and unicorns came and started dwelling here. It took more than two decades but I was in no hurry. I wanted to give our children the best protection and environment to learn and enjoy their introduction with magic. Unfortunately, while I was giving it finishing touches, Tom Riddle returned as Voldemort and I have to divert my whole attention to counter him and later this place became centre stage in resistance against Voldemort."

"This is headquarters of the Order of Phoenix." Slughorn spoke.

"Indeed. But, more than that, I can proudly say that this is the safest place, not only in England but whole world."

"This is a fascinating story, as great as any of your other accomplishments." Slughorn said after few uncomfortable minutes when Dumbledore didn't spoke further but kept looking at him. "But kidnapping me just to tell the story is ridiculous."

Dumbledore sighed in annoyance and refilled his glass.

"Why are you pretending to be a fool, Horace." Hardness in Dumbledore's tone made Slughorn flinch. "Kidnapping you was the last option I had as you have kept avoiding me at all costs since you so meticulously disappeared one night, leaving me just your resignation letter. I know you were afraid but you could have asked me for protection and I would have gladly provided you."

"That would have been suicidal." Slughorn spat. "Hogwarts was thoroughly infiltrated and you know it. I was head of Slytherin only in name. Dark lord controlled it. Year after year, graduating Slytherin class was joining him. I can even name few seventh year students who didn't even wait to graduate. But that is past. Why kidnap me now."

"What can I say; your former protégée has the knack of bringing worst out of me." Dumbledore replied. "I won't beat around the bush. I need information and in return I offer you best protection you can ever have. You won't have to run around the world, peeking in each shadow and closet due to fear. You will be free here to do whatever you want and peruse your interest in potion research. All you have to do is give me the dark secrets of Tom Riddle."

Slughorn looked like he was weighing his options. "But he is dead."

"You very well know he is not dead otherwise you wouldn't be still hiding, even after 11 years of his defeat." Dumbledore said. "But if you want proof I can give you two. Last year he tried to steal Philosopher's stone from Gringotts and later infiltrated Hogwarts by possessing defence professor. I myself confronted him but being in sprit form has its advantages. He managed to flee. And this year, the Chamber of Secrets has been again once again. Two of my students are lying in Hospital wing, petrified. Danger still looms as we speak. Question is how?"

By now, Slughorn had lost all strength and fury at his old colleague. But Dumbledore was still not done.

"Riddle was your favourite student, probably most, if I am not wrong." Slughorn cringed. "When I voiced my concern to you after Myrtle's death, you brushed them off, accusing me of bigotry because Riddle won't let Gryffindor win the house cup. But then, if I remember correctly, by the mid of his seventh year, you were avoiding him as much as possible. What happened to cause such a drastic change? And later, on first indication that he was winning, you fled away. Why were you afraid that he could target you specifically?"

"These are conjectures, Albus." Slughorn replied although his voice was merely a whisper and he was drenched in sweat.

"Do not act like a pigeon, Horace." Dumbledore said, his eyes fixed on Slughorn. "Your denial doesn't convince me a bit. I will solve the riddle one way or other. Choice is yours. Either you can give me information willingly and enjoy your retirement peacefully, with the satisfaction of contributing in the downfall of the monster, or I will be forced to pluck the information out of your mind, forcefully, even if I have to sort through your all memories. Doing that to a friend would be painful to me, I admit, but it will destroy you."

The look of horror on Slughorn's face didn't weaken Dumbledore's resolve.

"You have changed." Slughorn blurted in meek voice.

"Riddle forced me." He replied.

"You can't win against him."

"why?" Dumbledore asked but didn't get any answer from the other side. For the time being, he was willing to let it slide. But there was a limit and Slughorn knew it. If not then he would remind him in the morning. But before that he has one other ace to throw.

"I can weaken him enough."

Slughorn looked up at Dumbledore's claim. As soon as his eyes met Dumbledore's twinkling ones, headmaster pressed.

"There is someone though, who can defeat him." Widening of Slughorn's eyes was proof that he had hit bull's eye. "And he is being prepared."

Barrage of spells was rapidly buckling down his shield but he kept shifting to his left side. It was a careful ploy. He saw it ripple and a crack formed in his shield due to power his opponent was putting in his spells. Reacting on instinct he threw himself to place himself in the place he wanted. Dropping the useless shield he summoned the boulder he had earlier enlarged from a small pebble. Unfortunately for Remus Lupin, Chris Potter followed his movement. He could do nothing but helplessly watch the red jet of stunning spell only moments away from knocking him out. A smile graced his lips when the boulder collided with back of Chris' knees who made a grunting sound in surprise and fell backward. After all it has not ended in his utter humiliation and may be this will teach Chris few lessons. Remus closed his eyes and let the inevitable happen.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Please leave a review. Tell me if you like the way I portrayed Chris. Draco will make his appearance in next chapter which leaves only one major character.