Dark Destinies

Disclaimer: Most characters featured in this story are not of my creation. They belong to their respective creators, J.K. Rowling, Joss Whedon, and any and all parties related to Bloombury Publishing, Scholastic Inc., AOL/Time-Warner, Fox, and Mutant Enemy. Grrrr, arrgh.

Chapter 6

Rupert sighed heavily, his ears still ringing from the "I told you so" lecture his father gave him a few hours ago by phone.  Rupert finished unpacking and glanced around his small dorming room at Oxford.  So he was back.  And serious about study for once.  He was pleased that his father had pulled some strings to get him re-enrolled in university, but then Stephen Giles confessed that he was only doing that because Rupert needed a history background as a Watcher.

Rupert didn't dare tell his father the entire truth of what happened during the past two years.  His small circle of friends met one last time to corroborate their stories.  They all agreed never to bring the subject up again, and, if pushed, to lie.  Thomas Watkinson had disappeared off the face of the Earth thanks to Ethan's spell, so there were no charges brought up against any of them.  Instead, they agreed to invent a "victim": Randall, who was consumed by Eyghon while possessed by him.

Rupert sighed again, and he knew that he couldn't tell his friends the entire truth about Ethan's past.  This Lord Voldemort seemed extremely powerful, and extremely manipulative.  Rupert was sure that Ethan would end up getting killed by that dark wizard, no matter how loyal he'd be.

Suddenly, Horace swept through the open window and dropped an envelope on Rupert.

"Er, thank you," Rupert said to the small owl.  "Another letter from Lily?"

Horace perched on the nearest chair, seemingly ignoring the question.

Rupert flipped the envelope open and read its contents:

Dearest Rupert,

Hope Horace doesn't get lost trying to find you again.  Well, here I am at Hogwarts!  I've already made a few friends, and the girls in my dorming room are really nice.  I got sorted into Gryffindor.  Dunno why.  The Sorting Hat said that Gryffindor is for the brave ones, and I don't think I'm brave at all!  There was this lad I met on the train (I think his name was James) who reminded me of you.  He had glasses and messy hair like yours!  He got sorted into Gryffindor too.  He was already making friends on the train.  I can't remember the names of his other friends.  I think one of them was Sirius (odd name!) and another was Peter.  There was this nervous-looking lad named Remus on the train too.  He seemed so scared to be going to Hogwarts, but I told him that everything will be fine.  That seemed to cheer him up a bit.  Anyhow, please write back soon.  Horace will probably wait for your reply.

Love always,
Lily

The small letter made Rupert smile slightly.  He nodded over to Horace.  "Stay right there.  I'll have to scribble out a, another letter."  He searched his desk for a notebook and pen, and started to write.

Dear Lily,

Congratulations on getting sorted into Gryffindor.  Many famous wizards and witches came from that House.  And I think you're very brave.  You met a lad who reminded you of me?  I'm not sure why, but that scares me a bit!  Just joking.  I'm glad you're making friends so quickly.  Be sure to keep them.  Friends are important.  As for me, I'm still at stuffy-old Oxford studying stuffy-old history.  Perhaps someday you'll be an Auror so that you and I can battle dark forces together?

Rupert suddenly remembered his encounter with Ethan and the mention of Lord Voldemort.  Ethan vowed revenge against Rupert and his family, which meant that Lily would also be in grave danger.  But Hogwarts was the safest place in the Wizarding world, especially with Albus Dumbledore as Headmaster.

Please be wary of the Slytherins.  They're a part of Hogwarts, but every bad wizard in my books came from that House.

Rupert reminded himself to go look up Voldemort in Hogwarts' old enrollment records.

Please write back soon.  I believe Horace already knows the way between Hogwarts and Oxford.

All my love,
Stuffy-old Rupert

He slipped his letter in an envelope, addressed it as best he could, and gave it to Horace.  "This goes back to Lily," he said.

Without a sound, Horace took off and flew out the open window.  Rupert watched as the owl disappeared over the ancient buildings of his college.  Then Rupert grabbed his nearest book, A History of House Slytherin.  With more than a little apprehension (as the snake on the cover chose the most inopportune times to slither out of the book) Rupert began to research Voldemort.

And found nothing.

No mention of Voldemort.

The only thing Rupert found of interest was the mention of the Heir of Slytherin, a mythical figure in Wizard lore who was meant to be a descendant of the House's founder, Salazar Slytherin.  The Heir supposedly has the ability to open the Chamber of Secrets, which would rid Hogwarts of all who were deemed unworthy to use magic: the Muggle-born wizards.

Ethan had said, "Lord Voldemort will destroy all who stand in his way."  Was Voldemort the Heir of Slytherin?

"Are you going to get back in the book or am I going to have to stuff you back in there?" he asked the tiny snake.

The snake seemed to roll its eyes and slithered quickly back into the cover of the book.

"Right," Rupert said.  "Stay there.  I need to go to the Council headquarters and look up this Voldemort."  Talking to snakes.  Rupert, he thought to himself, you're going mad.

He arrived at the Watchers' Council Headquarters and hurried up the steps.  He nodded to the secretary and made his way to the extensive Watchers Library.  Perhaps he'd be able to find out who Voldemort is from one of the unique books the Council had in its possession.

His eyes were suddenly drawn to the most oddly-dressed man he'd ever seen.  At first, Rupert thought that the man was on his way to a masquerade party.  But then he recognized the long hair and beard as belonging to the Headmaster at Hogwarts: Albus Dumbledore.

"Oh," Rupert said.  "Good-er-good day to you, Professor Dumbledore."

Dumbledore greeted Rupert with a friendly grin.  "Hello.  You must be Rupert Giles."

"Yes, but, how did you know...?"

"All Lily talks about is you," Dumbledore said.  "I must say, I've never seen a student so...infatuated with an older man before."

"Um, er, infatuated?" Rupert suddenly fell into his old childhood habit of stuttering when nervous.  "But-but, we're cousins."

"Now, now, Giles," Dumbledore said.  "There's nothing wrong with a little hero-worship now and then."

"Well, I suppose not," Rupert agreed.  "But why are you here?"

"To see you, actually," Dumbledore said.  "I come bearing terrible news.  You do remember Claudius Rayne, correct?"

"Yes, he was the Auror assigned to my Watcher training.  What's wrong with him?  Is he ill?"

"Worse," Dumbledore said.  "He's dead."

Rupert's eyes widened.  "Dead?  But-but-but he was so careful!  What killed him?  A vampire?  Demon?  Monster?"

"A Dark Wizard," Dumbledore said.  "Rayne and his wife were killed by a most unspeakable curse, the Killing Curse.  It is the deepest of evil magic.  It causes instant death and untold suffering on the victim."

Rupert tried to speak, but all that came out of his mouth was the word "who".

"That is why I am here," Dumbledore answered.  "You knew Rayne best.  Do you recall anyone who might be powerful enough in the Dark Arts to summon up such an Unforgivable curse?"

Rupert knew that he had to tell the truth.  There was no way around it, and he had a gut feeling that Ethan and Voldemort were behind the death of the Raynes.  "I befriended Ethan Rayne," he said.

"Ah, that explains much," Dumbledore said, with no hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Ethan isn't dead," Rupert continued.  "He was sought out by a Dark Wizard, was taught how to summon spells even though he was a Muggle.  He cast a forgetting spell on me so I wouldn't remember who he was.  He knew I was a Watcher.  He knew that I wanted to shirk my destiny, and we did it, together.  I think, I think his Master wanted me to stay on the Dark Side.  I knew I couldn't, not after Lily shared such wonderful news with me, and not after one of my friends died because of the Dark magic."

"Tell me, Giles," Dumbledore said.  "What was this Dark Wizard's name?"

"Lord Voldemort," answered Rupert.  "Does that name mean anything to you?"

"No," Dumbledore said.  He seemed lost in thought for a long while, so long that Rupert began to think Dumbledore might have fallen asleep standing up.  Suddenly, Dumbledore's eyes fluttered open and he muttered, "Of course.  Are you fond of word games, Giles?"

"Word, games, well, yes, I suppose."

"Ah!  Then tell me," Dumbledore said.  "What happens when you rearrange the letters of the phrase 'I am Lord Voldemort'?"

Rupert shrugged.  "I'll have to scribble it out on some paper."

Dumbledore conjured up a scroll and handed it to Rupert.  Rupert took the scroll and fished out a pen from his shirt pocket.  After using up most of the space on the scroll, Rupert finally figured out some actual words.

"The only words I found that make sense so far are 'Tom' and 'riddle'," Rupert said.  "I've no idea what these other letters are supposed to be."

"Tom Riddle is sufficient," Dumbledore said.  "It explains much to me, and the name will explain much to you.  Good day." Dumbledore then headed out of the library, leaving Rupert alone with the multiple floors of books.

Rupert found Tom Riddle in the annals of Hogwarts alumni.  Rupert delved further into the history of Riddle's family and found out that Riddle was a half-blood.  His mother was a full-blooded witch and his father was a Muggle.  His father abandoned his wife when he found out that she was a witch, and his mother died giving birth to him.  Riddle was raised in a Muggle orphanage, never knowing his real family.  When he was whisked away to Hogwarts, he excelled in all things academic.  He was Sorted into Slytherin, but he never stirred up any trouble or broke the rules, unlike the mischievous students of Gryffindor.  In fact, some professors wondered why Riddle was Sorted into Slytherin, since his studious nature was much more suited to Ravenclaw.  After graduating from Hogwarts, Riddle apparently disappeared without a trace.  There was no mention of Riddle in any of the more recent Wizarding books.

"So," Rupert said out loud.  "You wanted to shirk off your destiny too, eh?  Not content in being a 'good' wizard, seduced by the power that the Dark offered.  Hmmmm, I know the feeling...  Pity, you were too weak to break free of it."  He signed out a few books from the library and made his way to the train station, hurrying to catch the train back to Oxford.