As the witch slowly walked towards the door, Harry slipped into her seat at the desk.
Croaker saw Griselda walk out and turned back. As soon as he saw Harry sitting at the desk, he grinned. "Bravo; Lord Potter!"
Harry just smirked back.
Croaker gave a nod and said, "Before I get into why I'm here, do you mind if I throw up Unspeakable level privacy charms?"
Harry thought about it only for a moment before he replied, "No. So long as you do not cast any magic at me."
"Only at the room," said Croaker.
Harry gave a nod as Croaker drew his wand once more.
Less than two seconds later, he grinned at Harry and said, "Since I've given you my oath I have no intention of harming you, do you mind sending your house elf, Dobby, away?"
Harry gave a snort of amusement and said, "Dobby. Thank you. You've done your duty and you may go. I'll call you if I need you."
Croaker waited a moment, staring into the corner to where Snape's 'stool' used to sit. Then he gave a nod and started casting again.
Harry watched and felt as the magics took effect. He noticed as all the portraits of past Headmasters and -mistresses either left their frames or simply froze in place, the air became quite still and he believed he felt a slight change in air pressure in his ears as well.
Once he was done, Croaker took a quick look around before giving a single nod of satisfaction. Resheathing his wand, he said, "No sound will leave this room. No recording charms or similar will be in effect; nor will any spying charms. We are secure."
"Alright," said Harry. "That's a great deal of security for what I thought was going to be a chat. I take it you're going to want an oath or similar at the end of this?"
Cocking an eyebrow back, Harry thought the man was showing surprise. "Good guess, but no. I'll be casting a modified Fidelius on the knowledge with me as Secret Keeper and you being given the knowledge."
"Hunh!" said Harry. "Clever. That way I'll have the knowledge, but won't be able to speak about it."
"Nor can it be taken from you," said Croaker. "We're more worried about that, than you giving it freely."
"How do you know I'm not immune to it?"
"We don't," replied Croaker. "However, when better to test it than now?"
Harry chuckled.
Croaker gave that a moment before he said, "Now for why I'm here." He donned a glove covered in runes embroidered in with silk and drew a murky grey orb out of his robes, together with a little wooden stand for it.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
A little over an hour later, Harry left the Headmistress's office.
After his 'chat' with Croaker and the Unspeakable had cast his Fidelius, Croaker cast a messenger Patronus that brought Marchbanks back to the office. When she arrived he asked Harry to try to tell her about 'the ball' he'd shown him.
When Harry couldn't, Croaker seemed satisfied. "As I thought," he said. "That's because the secret is in your soul; not your mind."
After saying goodbye, Croaker left via the floo and Harry left via the door.
He wandered towards the Lords' Quarters, completely not bothered about attending the last class of Muggle Studies. He had a lot on his mind and needed to mentally work through it.
Croaker had started the discussion by playing the recording of the prophecy direct from the prophecy orb. And told him the prophecy was, in effect, complete. Then told him what the Department of Mysteries had analysed it to mean.
He then told Harry about how the Unspeakables had Dumbledore - that it was them, who kidnapped him from the hospital - and how they were pumping him for all the information the man held. He did not say the old man was already dead.
"What do you plan to do with him once you've got every piece of information out of him?" he'd asked.
"You do not need to worry about it, Lord Potter," replied Croaker. "The man will never bother you again. You have my word."
The confidence of the answer was enough for Harry to know the old man would be killed, or had been. So, he didn't push it.
It wasn't learning the contents of the prophecy that had him worried, either. It was finding out what Dumbledore believed would happen during the Third Task.
"The old man firmly believed that, irrespective of the prophecy, Riddle sees you as his greatest failure. You, or your mother, was the cause of his initial downfall. For someone like Riddle, that cannot be allowed to stand. Therefore, he will keep after you until either he kills you, you kill him or someone else kills either of you.
"That's where we, the Unspeakables, come in. Riddle represents a true threat to the security of the wizarding world. As such, handling him falls under the purview of the DoM."
Then Croaker went on to explain Dumbledore's belief Riddle would strike on the night of the Third Task. And how that was the true reason Crouch had put his name in the Goblet and confunded it to spit out his, Harry's, name.
While that might not be the case, the Unspeakables would still be ready for it.
Some time very shortly before the Third Task he would be taken aside and a tracker embedded into his skin. That tracker would have both apparation and portkey co-ordinates, so the Unspeakables could get to him within moments of anything out of the ordinary happening.
That, at least, gave Harry some comfort.
"Once we're there, Lord Potter," explained Croaker. "You just need to get the hell out of our way. We'll deal with Riddle. Alright?"
Harry just nodded. He was too relieved to even voice his affirmation.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Once classes let out, all the Heirs were quick to go up to the Lords' Quarters and see Harry.
He was sitting on one of the sofas and still mentally going through everything when Hermione came running inside.
"Harry!" she exclaimed, throwing herself at him in a Hermi-Hug of old.
After the hug she began to babble through her multitude of questions, which Harry calmly waited out.
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