Harry Potter and the Clash of the Titans
Author's Note:
Please know that I am going to let the information from book seven cook for a little bit before starting on this sequel to Harry Potter, Heir of Gryffindor in earnest. Perhaps unfortunately I have some things I need to get done before I am able to completely devote myself to the task. This is the first chapter if Harry Potter and the Clash of the Titans. Please know that the story is taking shape in my mind and I hope to have it finished and completely posted before the end of December 2007.
Disclaimer:
Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. This story takes place in an alternate universe. It is the sequel to Harry Potter, Heir of Gryffindor. I am afraid you are going to have to read that story before reading this one because this story picks up where that one left off, just as my first story picked up where J.K. Rowing's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix leaves off.
Horace Slughorn
Harry was surprised when Albus left the leaving feast early, leaving more than half of his meal untouched. Although he had only attended a few leaving feasts in the past he had never known Albus to leave any meal before pudding. Glancing over at Minerva he could tell that she was just as curious. Turning his attention back to the aging headmaster as he made his way out of the Great Hall Harry could tell that something was bothering him.
Not wanting to draw any undue attention to Albus' disappearance Harry waited until after pudding before following his mentor and guide out of the Great Hall. Reaching out with Ethereal Consciousness he found the headmaster sitting in his office studying a memory in his penseive. Making his way quickly through the castle's maze of hallways and corridors Harry soon found himself approaching the gargoyle guarding the entrance to his friend's office.
With a barely perceptible nod, the gargoyle leapt aside as he approached, clearing the way for his ascent. Mounting the stairs Harry quickly climbed to the landing outside the headmaster's office and was surprised to find that the heavy, oaken door was slightly ajar.
Hesitating briefly, Harry knocked lightly before entering. Fawkes trilled softly as he entered the outer office and Albus glanced up from the memory he had been studying. "Ah, Harry," the headmaster said congenially. "How was your dinner?"
Harry smiled at the old man's seemingly trivial concerns as he entered the headmaster's inner sanctum. Shrugging his shoulders slightly he said, "It was okay I guess, but I'm curious. Why did you leave so soon? What's on your mind?"
Albus hung his head as if in defeat for several seconds before responding. "With everything that has been going on this year," he said, "I fear that I may have overlooked something.
"If nothing else, our adversary is a cunning man. While cutting into my steak this evening something clicked. A light came on, if you will. I had an epiphany, a very disturbing epiphany but an epiphany nonetheless, and did not want to waste any time. So I came up here and began following up on its leads."
After a brief, pregnant pause, during which Harry felt slightly disappointed that Albus seemed intent upon leaving him hanging, Harry shook his head at the esteemed headmaster's habits of speaking in riddles and leaving volumes left unsaid and asked the obvious. "What have you learned?"
Albus looked up and Harry could feel himself being invited into the old man's mind. Before entering, however, he hesitated just long enough to be sure that it was a legitimate invitation and not a figment of his imagination.
What met his mind's eye when he accepted the invitation was a rapid-fire collage of memories. There were scenes of a young Tom Riddle at an orphanage when Albus was delivering his letter and telling him about Hogwarts and the magical world; scenes of Tom's first few years at Hogwarts, which included several disturbing conversations with his professors; scenes from the original Chamber of Secrets episode, which included Myrtle's death and the aftermath; and scenes from conversations Albus had had with people who had had dealings with Tom after his graduation. After what seemed like hours, but which had, in reality, been little more than a few seconds the connection was broken and Harry collapsed onto one of the nearby couches. Almost a minute later he looked over at the wizened old man sitting behind the desk and, after several false starts, said, "Wow, so that's the kind of person we are up against."
