Harry Riddle || Harry potter

Chapter 23: Mechanisms of a Megalomaniac

My Lord,

All is relatively well with Harry. He is, I am sorry to report, still fraternizing with the mudblood Ravenclaw girl, Hermione Granger. The girl is, however, very intelligent and shows immense potential for a mudblood– I believe Harry is not making a mistake in befriending her. She could prove to be a good asset in the future. She seems to be completely taken with him, and I am sure she is not working for Dumbledore in any way.

On the other hand, Harry has taken to gallivanting around with an idiot Hufflepuff by the name of Neville Longbottom.

Longbottom, if I recall correctly, is the son of two Aurors, Frank and Alice Longbottom, who caused much trouble for the Death Eaters during the first war. The boy himself poses no threat whatsoever, as he is not even competent enough to make a potion without mucking it up. I do not have the slightest idea why Harry would become friends with a fool such as him, but, as with the mudblood, I am sure that Longbottom is not in any way acting as a spy for Dumbledore.

Harry, as well as the young Malfoy heir, Draco, Granger, and Longbottom all got into a rather large amount of trouble just yesterday night, when they snuck out of the castle after curfew to spy on Rubeus Hagrid. They had reason to believe he was attempting to keep a dragon and most evidence that I have been able to uncover since that time points to them being correct.

Harry claims that he saw a dragon egg in Hagrid's hut. Owning a dragon is illegal and dangerous, but Harry has decided to tell no one about it at this time. He believes that it would cause more trouble than it is worth, as do I.

There have been no new developments in what you asked me to be watching for. I still suspect Quirrell has something to do with it, but short of torturing him for information, there is nothing more I can do but wait.

- S.T.S.

Lord Voldemort scowled at the letter, quickly burning it to ashes with a muttered spell.

Did his son have no sense? First a mudblood, now an incompetent son of two Aurors?

It must be that dirty blood from his mother.

But – the boy did seem to be on to something with the dragon egg . . . Rubeus Hagrid had been a convenient person to blame for the opening of the Chamber of Secrets. He was overly fond of animals, and a half-giant. Giants were known for their brutality (as the world most definitely discovered during the First War). Not to mention that Hagrid had been keeping an acromantula as pet during that time. Of course people would believe it was the Slytherin Monster. A basilisk wouldn't have seemed very plausible, would it?

In fact, there was no reason why Hagrid couldn't have been the one to open the Chamber. In the eyes of the law, anyway.

But when he had pointed the accusing finger at Hagrid, Tom had thought that the oaf would be carted off to Azkaban, never to be seen nor heard from again.

But that – that old coot, Dumbledore, did everything within his power to keep Hagrid from being imprisoned. He suspected that Tom was the heir of Slytherin, not Hagrid.

And, well . . . what could he say? The man had suspected correctly. Tom just hadn't thought he would. He should've known that the man would be the one to figure out the truth. Dumbledore had already been mistrusting of him before the Chamber had been opened, and he just started watching him even more closely after.

Once Tom had left Hogwarts, though, he had practically forgotten about Rubeus Hagrid. That was, of course, until he realized he was the one who Dumbledore had entrusted with the task of going to Gringotts on August First.

The half giant had since become an annoying thorn in Tom's side. And this illegal dragon egg might be a way to remove him for a little while. . .

Tom knew that Dumbledore would never fire Hagrid, and he doubted that the Board of Governors would force him to, but still . . .