Worries
"I knew it was here somewhere", Hermione muttered as she and Neville finally came to a stop. They had been searching the Trophy Room for a specific item for about half an hour now, which Hermione had darkly recalled the existence of, but not the exact location. In truth, Neville had thought the girl to be a bit crazy for her persistence in that particular regard, but now that he saw the trophy for himself, he had to admit that she had - once again - been right.
"Awarded to Tom Marvolo Riddle for Services to the School", he read out aloud. "1943." He blinked. "So he really did exist."
"I knew that the name Harry gave us seemed familiar - I'd seen this plaque while exploring the castle around the start of the term", Hermione explained. "I wonder what he did to receive it."
"It must have been something major", Neville thought out aloud. "Gran says they don't hand out these special awards to just anyone, so whatever it was, it must have been a big deal. Actually..." He squinted a bit as he thought. "Actually, I think she might know something about this bloke, she'd have been in her fifth year then. I could ask her over the summer if she remembers him and what became of him."
"Please do", Hermione replied. "I'll be checking if his name shows up in a book somewhere, but I'm not holding my breath, he's a bit too recent, I think, at least by wizarding standards."
Neville nodded. "Likely so", he agreed. "Although if he got a Special Award, he may have gone on to do something important after graduating, so it doesn't hurt to check." He shook his head. "What a situation."
"It is quite strange", Hermione agreed. "I confess that, had it not been for the Troll incident, I may not have believed Harry's story about this... soul piece. I mean, it's still incredibly hard to believe, but, between his strange behavior all year, him ranting to himself in the classroom, and... everything else, him being possessed in a way is the only thing that makes sense."
"I'm not sure it's really a full blown possession, but I'm inclined to agree", Neville said. "Did you notice in the chess room, when this Riddle took over, how Harry..." He trailed off, not sure how best to put what he meant to say.
Hermione pursed her lips. "You mean when he tensed up and twisted his face? Yes, that was hard to miss", she muttered.
Neville shook his head. "That's not what I was talking about", he said. "I mean, yes, that did happen, and it was bloody weird to watch, but I meant his eyes - maybe it's just me, but it seemed like they were red for the brief moment Riddle was in control."
Hermione was silent for a while. "I thought this was just a trick of the light", she finally said. "But yes... I did notice."
Neville in turn let out a breath he did not know he'd been holding in. "Bloody hell", he whispered. "I was hoping I was wrong."
"So was I", Hermione quietly said. "I hope Harry is right about this Tom Riddle being his friend."
Neville numbly nodded. "I don't like this", he said. "None of this is normal, and we can't do anything to fix it."
It was rare that Albus Dumbledore was at his wits end with a situation, but recently, it seemed as though these occasions were occuring more often, and were far greater than they used to be. First Voldemort trying to steal the Stone using Quirrell in France and later Gringotts, then the troll rampaging through Hogwarts, then Quirrell forging an incredibly convincing letter from Cornelius, with the same later tying Albus down at the Ministry for the better part of the day upon his arrival regardless of the forgery, and Voldemort making a final move for the Stone as a consequence... and of course, Harry going after him to stop that from happening.
He sighed wearily. Part of him wondered where he'd gone wrong in his planning - he had admittedly expected that Voldemort would be able to bypass most of the defences, but it was impossible that he'd be able to obtain the Stone from the Mirror, not with the final wards in place, preventing anyone who wanted to use the Stone from obtaining it. Voldemort would have exerted himself for nothing, used up Quirrell for no gain, and ideally, Albus would have arrived just in time to capture the wraith he'd become before it escaped for good. Even if he hadn't, Voldemort would have been weakened to the point where he'd need a long time to regain his strength, and that would have given Albus enough time to track down his Horcruxes and banish him for good... had it not been for Harry Potter accidentally mucking up the plan.
Maybe, he thought, he should have shared Quirrell's loyalties and predicament with at least Minerva. He had forgone that step due to his concerns over her reaction to having a man possessed by Voldemort in Hogwarts, and he doubted that she'd have understood his reasoning of wanting to keep a close eye on both host and parasite... but given her reaction when Harry had tried to warn her about the impending theft attempt, maybe he should have informed her after all.
And this oversight had nearly led to disaster - it was arguably impressive that Harry, Neville and Hermione had been able to bypass all the defences the staff had placed around the Stone, considering all three of them were at the end of only their first year, and that both Harry and Hermione had muggle backgrounds... but that Harry had been able to fight off Voldemort was even more impressive, and incredibly worrysome, and the look on the boy's face when Albus had finally arrived in the Mirror Room as he'd clawed at Quirrell's head... no boy of eleven years of age should be able to showcase such rage and fury, yet Harry's face had been a display of such anger that, for the briefest of moments, Albus had found himself scared.
Then, there were the marks left by the prior fight itself. The room had been damaged by Fiendfyre, likely - hopefully - cast by Quirrell or Voldemort, and the Mirror had been destroyed by the flames. It was a shame to lose a magical artifact, but in truth, Albus did not bemoan its loss as much as he maybe should. He had always considered the Mirror to be incredibly dangerous, due to the enchantments which had made it infamous, even if it did have its uses, in certain ways. What was more worrying was that Harry had yet again used the Killing Curse, in spite of knowing what it would do to Quirrell and potentially Voldemort. Albus had examined the residue left by the curse, both within Harry's wand and in the room itself, and had come to the frightening conclusion that, had it found its mark, it would have successfully killed Quirrell. It was a scary thought, to think that a boy like Harry carried enough hatred in him to be able to successfully cast an Unforgivable, but evidently, it was not only possible, but a frightening reality, and once again, Albus found himself wondering whether the Horcrux was somehow influencing Harry's very character, if this bright boy was falling victim to the invisible rot of Voldemort, or if the reason for Harry's apparent rising darkness lay elsewhere.
And of course, then there were the orchids. It had been a horrifying blast from the past, to see a bouquet of these beautiful black flowers in the Hospital Wing, especially without any cards or markings of any sort. It was impossible for Gellert to have sent them, of course - it had to be. Nurmengard was impenetrable, both from within and from the outside, and Albus had modified the wards ensuring that fact to ensure Gellert would never be able to escape... and yet, the flowers spoke for themselves.
Was it possible that Gellert, not Voldemort, was the dark influence shaping Harry Potter? Could Gellert, trapepd in his own castle, with his magic bound and his wand in Albus' possession, be able to guide a boy across the Channel down a path of no return? Or was it all a trick to confuse Albus?
His thoughts went back to Gellert's circle - the Allies had never been able to capture all of its members, and while many were now dead, either through age, various afflictions or other means, one particular member had never been found. Of course, Maria Oršić had always stood out from the other members of the Grindelwald Alliance, having learned not only from the infamous Faust dynasty and the secretive (and fortunately disbanded) Vril Society, but also from Albus' old mentor from his Hogwarts days. Randolph D. Carter had, in many ways, been a kindred spirit to Maria, due to their shared ability to wield the most primordial forms of magic, something for which Albus, in his youthful folly, had resented both of them... though even then, he'd had respect for their respective abilities, especially Randolph, who was still referred to as the 'Goblinsbane' due to his part in the downfall of Ranrok and his rebellion.
But Randolph was long gone, having vanished in 1933 without a trace, and Maria had joined Gellert as a result, believing in his perception of the Greater Good... and to gain some insight into his more fringe experiments. For the longest time, Albus had believed that she had fallen victim to her own aspirations in 1945, that the powers she had toyed with had proved to be too much... but now, he was considering that she had simply gone into hiding, biding her time for a return. The question now was whether or not that potential comeback of hers would involve freeing Gellert to have him at her side once more, but Albus was dubious of the idea that Maria, even after all these years, and with her unique talents in Ancient Magic, would be able to penetrate the defences of Nurmengard. No, it was more likely that such a comeback would be her acting on her own - unless Voldemort sided with her, or worse, if the influence on Harry's path was indeed Maria Oršić and not the Horcrux.
Albus sighed for the third time. Or maybe he was simply overthinking things, and was seeing shapes in shadows when there were neither one or the other. Maybe someone had simply decided that black orchids were a decent gift for an injured boy, and maybe the reason for Harry's anger and tapping into what had to be Voldemort's memories (and potentially his power) was simply a problematic living situation - though he believed that the howler he had sent Petunia would change the circumstances for the better, until a suitable alternative could be found. Maybe he himself was simply tired, and too jaded, in spite of his attempts to keep his spirits high and mind sharp...
But if he was honest with himself, he was far from certain that this was simply the paranoia of age.
Still, he had even other worries to deal with - for one, he needed to find a new professor for Defense against the Dark Arts. Cornelius had not so subtly suggested that he hire Gilderoy Lockhart for the coming school year, citing his incredibly impressive credentials and the fact that compared to most past teachers, he would surely be able to turn the class around with his amazing capabilities - maybe he'd even be able to break the non-existent course lying on the position, or so Cornelius' reasoning had gone. Albus himself had been far less enthusiastic - he was somewhat doubtful of Gilderoy's credentials, though he was willing to believe he had improved since his days as a student. Still, there was an unfortunate lack of alternatives, especially once Quirinius' passing became public knowledge. Alastor was still hell bent on staying in retirement, Remus was still unaccounted for, and if he were to give Severus the position, he would not be able to remain at Hogwarts once the year was up - once again, Albus silently cursed the fact that even after all these years, he'd been unable to find out just how Tom had cursed the position after he had been denied the second time.
No, Gilderoy Lockhart would have to do, and mayhaps Albus would be proven wrong in his doubts about the former Ravenclaw. And even if he wasn't... well, at least the coming term would prove to be highly entertaining.