The Adventure of a Riddle

14- Kinda Scared of You Now

"Hello, Aurora," said Dumbledore kindly, his eyes twinkling even in the darkness, "how are you feeling?" He asked gently.

Aurora avoided eye contact with all of them, deciding that her cuticles were far more interesting. "Fine."

Her godfather entered the room. "Why did no one alert me as soon as she woke? I am her legal guardian," Snape snapped at an innocent Madam Pomfrey.

She had no time to process that statement as Dumbledore explained to him that they had just found out as well. She was sure that under normal circumstances, Draco would have teased her to no end about having to live with their gothic godfather over the holidays— instead, he played with the ends of her hair.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. Here it was, Aurora thought, the time for her dreaded explanation that she couldn't fully give. She hated it. She wanted to spat on Tom's diary and whisk it into the fire. But she couldn't. Their souls were intertwined, and even if they weren't, she still wasn't sure that she could ever go through with it.

"Miss Malfoy, we have to know. What led you to end up in that chamber?"

Aurora sighed. She supposed she needed to explain herself as to not get arrested. But first, "Where is my black bag?"

The teachers all looked at one other, Mcgonagall spoke up, "It is in the Headmasters office. We thought it may be dangerous, nobody can get it to open."

She wanted to roll her eyes. "It's not dangerous. You can't open it because I have charmed it so only I know how to open it. After this interview I will require it back, if you don't mind."

Dumbledore bowed his head. She was proud of herself, even Dumbledore could not get it to open? She wondered how proud Tom wou—no. Stop it, now, Aurora thought.

She sighed. She started from the beginning, where she told them how Quirrell tried using legilimency on her. How he held her after class and successfully used it. How he had blackmailed her. (She didn't say with what, and they thankfully didn't ask.) She told them how he would force her to stay after class. To serve fake detentions twice a week. (Mcgonagall let a tear slip at that part.) How he taught her dark and dangerous magic. How he made her study to the point of collapsing. All of the errands. She told them of how she had found out about the Stone. About Voldemort. (Draco held her quite close after this, not lightening his hold.) She told them of all the obstacles to get the Stone. It was when she reached the part of her torture and Tom's betrayal that she found she could not speak.

"And then he— he..." Aurora desperately wanted to breakdown crying again, but refused to look weak in front of the adults. Swallowing hard, she continued her story, skimming over the torture bit with a blank face. 

"It went on for about a half hour after that. I blacked out, and after that I have no idea what happened. He's in Azkaban right?" By now, Mcgonagall and Pomfrey were openly crying, Draco had silent tears streaming down his porcelain face, Snape looked as white as a sheet, and the Headmaster looked down at her pityingly. She wished he wouldn't.

"He's dead. After he failed to use Harry Potter to get the Stone, an ancient magic that flows through Harry's veins killed Professor Quirrell. Voldemort ran off once again."

So Voldemort was still alive? She wasn't the biggest fan of his older self, he could rot away and die before she ever cared about that egg. "Is Harry alright?" Was all she asked.

"Perfectly healthy," Dumbledore replied as Mcgonagall blew her nose. Aurora nodded and sniffled, as she inched closer to her brother's embrace. She had no idea how he felt about all of this, she just knew that if it were the other way around, and it was him that went through all of that... she'd feel incredibly guilty.