Watching the expressions on Dumbledore and Snape's faces, Douglas drew a deep breath and launched into another of his carefully reasoned deductions:
"Yes, I do have a suspicion, but it's only that—a suspicion. I have no real proof.
Before term started, I happened to pick up some information from Mr. Arthur Weasley and Harry.
Because of certain Ministry actions, Mr. Lucius Malfoy was forced to clear out some dark artifacts from his home.
Harry just happened to catch a glimpse of it in Knockturn Alley..."
Snape frowned, his sneer as cold as ever.
"Knockturn Alley? Hmph. Our so-called savior, slumming it in a place like that.
He should've been expelled before the term even began."
Douglas shot him a look—if you want to ask, just ask. Why all the posturing?
But under Professor Snape's disapproving gaze, Douglas pressed on.
"Harry saw Lucius Malfoy and his son Draco selling off some things in Knockturn Alley.
But that's not the crucial part. Later, Harry mentioned something else—he received a warning letter for underage magic use over the summer.
But according to him, it wasn't his doing. It was a house-elf named Dobby trying to stop him from returning to Hogwarts.
That elf warned him he'd be in mortal danger if he came back...
And then, in a casual chat with Draco Malfoy, I happened to learn that their family's house-elf is, in fact, named Dobby..."
Snape and Dumbledore exchanged glances.
Then Snape gave a cold, mocking laugh.
"So, by your logic, the one who found the Chamber should be a Slytherin student—maybe even young Malfoy himself.
Why is it, then, that a Ravenclaw student is involved? That doesn't add up."
Snap!
Douglas snapped his fingers, as if they'd finally hit on the key point.
"Exactly! That's why I have an even bolder theory.
When I saw that most of Mr. Cruise's belongings were old and worn, it occurred to me—
Maybe the object in question was too dangerous for Mr. Malfoy to entrust to his own son.
So he disguised it as something completely ordinary.
An old textbook, perhaps? Or maybe a quill?
What do you think of that?"
He could see plainly that both men found his guess beneath contempt.
Snape scoffed,
"You know nothing about Lucius...
Nothing about Dark Magic...
Ever heard of the Imperius Curse?
Everything that's happened so far could be explained by that alone."
Dumbledore seemed to agree.
Douglas was nearly fuming—he was practically spoon-feeding them the answer at this point.
"Then how do you explain the Chamber being opened?"
Dumbledore shrugged with a hint of regret.
"Douglas, so far, you're the only one saying the Chamber has been opened.
In fact, none of us have actually seen it happen."
Douglas was speechless. That's not what you were saying earlier...
Snape snorted.
"It's obvious now—Mr. Cruise was under the Imperius Curse.
He did things he shouldn't have, and when the perpetrator sensed exposure,
he gave a final command and even tampered with the boy's memory."
Douglas retorted,
"Memory modification is a delicate art. The Imperius Curse can't accomplish that."
With a dramatic swirl of his robes, Snape headed for the door.
"Rather than waste time here, we should be questioning Mr. Malfoy for useful clues."
Dumbledore patted Douglas on the shoulder.
"Trust your instincts. Keep looking—perhaps you'll find another clue.
I'll check on that poor child.
If possible, it's best he never remembers any of this..."
And with that, Dumbledore followed Snape out.
Douglas let out a disgruntled huff.
What's going on here? They were all so anxious a moment ago,
and now they're acting like it's business as usual.
You'd think Hogwarts was my home and its safety depended entirely on me.
Do I have to jump up and start making prophecies before they'll listen?
And what did Dumbledore mean with those last words?
Was it the kind of empty encouragement a leader gives an insistent subordinate?
Or did he really believe Douglas was right, and was handing him the burden of dealing with Voldemort?
The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
Why bring up Voldemort's real name out of nowhere?
A sudden chill ran down Douglas's spine...
Could they have known about the diary all along and were just fishing for a reaction?
But that didn't quite fit, either.
Once he was sure they'd left, Douglas began scouring every corner of the dormitory.
Right now, finding that diary was the only way he'd feel safe staying at Hogwarts...
Old, ancient, even middle-aged—none of them were easy to deal with...
Outside the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower,
Snape asked,
"Dumbledore, do you think it could be him?"
Dumbledore sighed.
"I don't know.
Earlier, when you mentioned Tom's name, I noticed something—
In that situation, shouldn't he have asked what that name had to do with tonight's events?
But he didn't.
It was as if he already knew exactly what that name meant."
Snape's face was ashen.
"Then that means he wrote the article..."
Dumbledore shook his head as they walked.
"I'm not sure.
Over the past month, I've spoken to old friends, former students...
I even visited the Muggle world myself and turned up quite a lot about him.
His childhood, those three years abroad—
All of it checks out, and nothing suggests he'd know any of these secrets.
Even if he did exhaustive research for his writing,
some things simply aren't written down anywhere.
But his reaction to Tom's name... it's as if he knows everything."
Snape pressed on, unwilling to let it go.
"Then who wrote the article?
It appeared at just the right time—one moment he's being criticized,
the next there's an exposé that could destroy a whole family...
And tonight, all those 'reasonable' deductions felt forced.
We've been dancing to his tune all evening.
Doesn't that say something?"
Dumbledore smiled and shot Snape a curious look.
"In the end, didn't we choose not to follow where he was leading us?
Honestly, if we'd stayed any longer, I think Douglas would have just told us what the artifact was.
Severus, you left too soon.
Heh..."
Snape's expression chilled.
"Are you implying I'm covering for him?
Or that he and I are both working for the Dark Lord?"
Dumbledore spread his hands in mock innocence.
"Severus, I trust him as much as you do.
But he's not a student anymore.
The more I learn about him, the more I realize how powerful he is.
His path is different from ours, even if we all graduated from Hogwarts.
His understanding of magic is something else entirely.
Trust him—he'll handle this.
We need to give young people trust and space..."
Snape growled,
"And what if the Dark Lord destroys the school?
Can he stop that too?
You're just letting him run wild in the castle?
You and I both know it's not Malfoy—it's probably the Dark Lord himself.
Lucius isn't worthy of being given that kind of magic.
And don't forget the note found at the Lovegood house—that's more proof it's the Dark Lord."
Dumbledore chuckled,
"Ah, I'm glad to see you so concerned for the school and its students.
But honestly, I think Tom is very weak right now—otherwise, he wouldn't be hiding like this.
Remember, last year, he escaped with ease.
This only proves Douglas's information is sound.
If he's already made preparations, he must have a backup plan.
Besides, the Chamber entrance is now under our watch.
Speaking of Douglas—
Actually, I've made an interesting discovery about his background..."
Snape cut him off impatiently,
"I'm not interested in his affairs!
Since you trust him so much, I'll leave it to him.
But let's get back to the real question: if he didn't write that story, who did?"
Dumbledore pursed his lips in mock regret.
"Severus, your acting is dreadful.
The more you pretend to dislike him, the more obvious your concern becomes.
Why not just admit it?
Don't treat him like you treat Harry—we're old friends, after all!"
As Snape strode off, Dumbledore called after him,
"All right, all right—my guess is it was an old friend trying to send me a message through that article.
I just haven't figured out who yet..."
Inside the Ravenclaw common room,
Douglas, having found nothing in the dormitory, was now searching the common room itself.
He had no idea that, in the eyes of some, everything he'd said and done tonight had already become crystal clear.
Dumbledore had even decided to step back and let Douglas handle things his own way.
Nor did he know that, when Dumbledore first saw the story, his initial suspicion had been him—
it had all happened too coincidentally, especially given his identity as an author.
If Douglas hadn't been so meticulous, and if Dumbledore's background check—
including a tidbit from Ollivander—
hadn't put his mind at ease, he might have taken a very different approach.
Of course, Dumbledore wasn't thinking of grooming him as headmaster—after all, there was little chance he'd stay in the post for even a year. ~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
The story isn't over...
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