Chapter Eight:
"You can't be bloody serious!" Mad Eye Moody cursed with enthusiasm, shaking his head in disbelief. "All this time we were looking for something of Rowena's and we never thought to look for a desk?"
Dumbledore sat calmly in his chair, waiting for his friend to work out some of his disbelief and frustration.
"A bloody desk. Ravenclaw. For Merlin's sake, how is it we never thought of a desk? The woman probably lived at the thing."
"There was no indication in any of our sources that the desk she used here was still in existence or even anything special. We looked for all her most prized possessions of which we were aware, including her best spell books and her favorite quill. We even tracked down her wedding robes. We did all we could have known to do given our available information, Alastor. You have no reason to feel as though any of us missed something. There has never been any mention by anyone anywhere of Rowena Ravenclaw's desk that I am aware of."
The former Auror scowled at the elder wizard's accurate logic. "No, there hasn't been," he admitted, "which only means that it will be that much harder for us to find."
Albus smiled somewhat indulgently at the pessimistic words. "And that much less likely that Tom would suspect us of ever finding out about it. Which could mean that he may have taken less care in concealing it."
Moody let out a low grunt in response, taking little comfort in the supposition.
For his part, Dumbledore seemed undiscouraged by the task that awaited them now that they had finally learned the identity of the fifth Horcrux. The elderly wizard had in fact, been in so jolly a mood since the announcement that Ginny nearly recognized him as the twinkling-eyed Headmaster she had met six years before. It was heartening to see some semblance of that man, particularly as she had been the one to deliver the news that had cheered him so greatly.
At the same time, however, she felt as though she had somehow raised his hopes falsely. Remembering Ravenclaw's desk was more a fluke than anything else, in her mind. The memory itself had been a mere flash of insight, as opposed to the fuller recollections she had gotten in regards to the cup and necklace. There had been no visions, no remnants of thought or emotion; simply the knowledge of Rowena's old desk housing a fragment of the Dark Lord's soul. It made the young witch even more uncertain of her usefulness than she had been before, despite the fact that she had indeed remembered the desk in the first place.
Neither wizard noticed the redhead's silence, or any indication of the steadily more melancholy thoughts, instead continuing their discussion as to the likelihood of locating the desk and how exactly to go about doing so.
"Tom has always been over confidant, and more self indulging than was good for him, even as a boy. He would have thought as much about the satisfaction that he could garner from the hiding place as he would the location's security. For all that his choices have proved effective in their purpose, the sentimentality with which they were chosen has been key in discovering them. I am sure that the same will hold true in this case."
Moody made a noise in that back of his throat that neatly summed up his opinion as to the elder wizard's thoughts. "Voldemort is no soft hearted ninny who will be undone by his emotion, Albus. He would have thought strategically in finding somewhere to hide the desk."
"Of course, Alastor," he conceded patiently, "Tom was always an intelligent boy, but all the places we have found were chosen with regard to their to meaning to him as well as the ease and effectiveness with which they could be concealed. The cave was chosen more for its meaning then for its isolation."
The former Auror cut him off sharply. "And yet it cannot be discounted that the cave's isolation played a large part in its selection as a hiding place. He wouldn't have gone to the trouble of splitting his soul into pieces only to leave himself no way to ensure that at least some of those pieces remained safe."
"If by safe you mean somewhere it will be unseen or untouched, then I believe you are mistaken."
"You may believe whatever the hell you want, Riddle may be a right evil bastard but he's a cunning one. Surely he would have placed more importance on safety then he would have on-"
Ginny shook her head at Moody's words. It may seem more logical to Moody for Tom to have relied less on his emotions, but logic was not necessarily something he was known for. Having a large and perhaps unstable ego however, was something he had always been known for. And that very same ego, the redhead thought, would not have been adequately stroked by secreting away any more of his Horcruxes than he had felt absolutely necessary, despite Moody's thoughts on the subject. Unless, of course, those Horcruxes had been placed somewhere that they could receive the proper respect.
"-his ego." The almost absently muttered words fell from the witch's lips without her even being aware of it, but her voice brought the wizards' debate to a sudden halt.
It was the first time she had spoken since she had arrived, and Dumbledore and Moody seemed almost surprised by her presence, as though they had forgotten she was even there. The surprise wore off fairly quickly however, and they turned as one to face her, their eyes narrowing as they thought over what they had said and inserted her comment in its proper place. Moody opened his mouth to speak, but Dumbledore silenced him with the raise of a hand as he continued to stare intently at the redhead.
"Have you remembered something, Miss Weasley?"
Ginny shook her head, her voice somewhat hesitant as she answered, "No but, I think, I mean I know. . ."
She worried her lower lip with her teeth as she struggled to find the words to explain how she knew that Moody was on the wrong track. "In the other memories about the Horcruxes, I- he felt so smug, so excited by the fact that they would be seen, adored, honored, in one way or another. The cup was seen by droves of witches and wizards before the Clio became less known, and the diary was watched over by Lucius Malfoy, who held a sick idolization of the Dark Lord. There's a sense of satisfaction that the Horcruxes are safe, that he outsmarted everyone, but the haughty smugness, the stroking of his own ego is much stronger."
The grizzled wizard narrowed his good eye at her. "The necklace and ring were hidden out of the way, girl, no one saw them. How could that have stroked his ego, eh?"
Ginny swallowed under the skeptical gaze, though the time she had spent working with the intimidating former Auror helped to dull the full edge of his glare. "I don't know how he felt about where he left them, I don't remember hiding them like I do the others. But the passing thoughts I have had on them have always felt... hollow somehow. I thought that was because I don't have the actual memories, but-"
Dumbledore cast her an encouraging look when she faltered, prodding her along gently. "But what, Miss Weasley?"
"Well, I think the hollow feeling isn't what I'm missing, but what he was missing when he thought about hiding them."
"The reverence he felt should have been directed at them, you mean?"
The redhead nodded hesitantly at her former Headmaster's words. She wilted a little further under Moody's continued scrutiny, as he made a noncommittal sound in response to her agreement. Ginny was insecure enough in her conjecture without the memory to back it up that she almost didn't elaborate further, but being a Gryffindor lent her the courage to continue.
"The cave and the shack, they were from his past, and while being a descendant of Slytherin was something he would have been proud of, the state his mother had been reduced to would not have been something he'd want people to see. And the reminder of his time in the Muggle orphanage that stayed in the cave would have been equally as distasteful to bring attention to."
Ginny took a breath, glancing up at her audience in an attempt to gauge their reaction. Dumbledore appeared to be thinking quite hard on her words, and while Moody didn't seem terribly impressed with her reasoning, he didn't look like he was ready to dismiss it off hand. Feeling slightly more sure that she was making some sense out of her impressions of the dark remnants floating about in her head, the youngest Weasley pushed forward with a little more strength to her voice.
"The diary stood for the new start he was making of himself at Hogwarts, a connection to Slytherin that he would actually want people to see. The cup showed how he was making a spot for himself in Wizarding history. Those were things he wanted seen, wanted fawned over, so he made sure they would be, and the satisfaction he got from doing so, coupled with the lack of satisfaction he found in simply secreting away the ring and necklace would probably have encouraged him to place the other Horcruxes somewhere that they could be given what he thought would have been the proper attention and respect."
The long white beard swayed slightly as its owner nodded thoughtfully and scratched his chin with his good hand. The magical eye slowed in its whirling, as though looking into the head that housed it in order to get some glimpse of the spinning thoughts within.
"There is a certain strategic logic to hiding in plain sight," the gruff voice conceded.
"Quite right, Alastor," the elder wizard agreed. "But in whose sight would Tom have left Rowena's desk?"
They looked over at the young witch expectantly, hoping that she might have some further insight as to the desk's location. Ginny shook her head silently, biting her lip as they turned back to one another and began debating the remaining possibilities, but her inability to add to the discussion didn't foster the helpless frustration that it had only minutes before. For all that she had not remembered anything, let alone the crucial detail needed to pinpoint the desk, she had still contributed to the effort, had still helped steer the search in the right direction simply by applying what she had already learned.
The feat left her with the feeling that perhaps she could still be useful after all, and made her all the more determined to be exactly that. And in an effort to do so, the youngest Weasley bent her mind to the task, turning over every bit of thought, emotion, and memory that she retained from her first year, looking for anything that she might be able to glean from them as to Tom's possible choice of a hiding place for Ravenclaw's desk.
"Who the bloody hell else would he trust with a piece of his soul? Who else would give the damn thing the admiration he wants?" Moody demanded.
Albus shook his head slightly, his eyes staring somewhat sightlessly as he ran through the options in his head. "Full fledge Death Eaters are not the only witches and wizards that respect the Dark Lord, Alastor. There may well be many who admire his ideology and actions who have not pledged themselves to him."
"That may be true, but damn it, if we start with all of them it will take us forever to narrow down the list."
"And if we eliminate too many to start with we may look over the correct individual entirely."
The former Auror let out a sound of frustration, causing his magical eye to swivel almost maniacally in his head. Dumbledore remained outwardly calm, though his gaze showed the slightest glimmer of growing frustration. Whether he would have voiced such an emotion would remain unknown, however, as their words broke through the redhead's thoughts and brought her once more into the debate.
"Why does it have to be an individual who admires the Dark Lord specifically?"
"And what exactly-"
The elder wizard cut off the outburst before Moody could really get started, instead motioning silently for her to continue.
"I mean, the cup wasn't admired because it was the Horcrux, but because it was supposedly part of the museum's ancient precious metals collection. Couldn't Voldemort have just as easily have left the desk itself unaltered and left it to be revered simply as Rowena Ravenclaw's writing desk?"
The defensive ire that had overtaken Mad Eye Moody's expression when the young witch had appeared to be questioning him again began to drain from his face as he started to think through what had been said. Similarly, the supposedly deceased wizard looked to be in deep contemplation, his aged but sharp mind turning her supposition over and over in an attempt to work out exactly how likely it could be.
Both wizards seemed to come to a decision a few moments later as they turned to one another and exchanged the type of silent communication only possible after working so closely with one another over the past months.
"Those who would collect Founders' artifacts would be notably more trustworthy versus the type of individuals who would wish to possess something of Tom's."
"But how many of 'em are there?"
"Quite a significant number, I am afraid."
"But who," Ginny interjected quietly as the wizards' optimism began to flag, "would place the most importance on Ravenclaw's stuff?"
Dumbledore grew thoughtful, and Moody tried to remember all that he had heard and read in regards to the Founders over the course of their research into the possible Horcruxes.
"Rowena doesn't have any family still living," the gruff voice stated.
"Indeed she does not. Tom himself is the only surviving heir to any of the Four. Yet I seem to recall another member of the original faculty who has a surviving descendant, the History of Magic professor I believe. Yes, yes, an ancestor of our own Professor Binns; Professor Ethelward was his name."
The former Auror's good eye narrowed. "Alfred Ethelward. He has himself quite an estate in Fittleborough, eh?"
"Quite right. And he is known to fancy himself a historian, particularly in regards to the Founding Four. A rather ideal candidate I'd say, would you not, Alastor?"
The wizard gave a stiff nod and a gruff sound of agreement when the almost sparkling blue gaze landed on him before moving on to the third occupant of the room.
"And you, Miss Weasley?"
Ginny paused, thinking furiously, saying the name over and over in her head, trying to remember anything that might have been left behind from the diary that could have something to do with the name Ethelward.
"I just don't remember." The words were spoken in a frustrated tone. "Nothing sounds particularly familiar, but it does make a lot of sense."
"Yes," he said with a nod that caused his white beard to sway, "a fair bit too much sense to ignore."
Moody grunted. "Not to be ignored doesn't mean not to be investigated, Albus."
"But of course, Alastor. Unfortunately any investigation that is possible from here has already been done. Not a tome or resource within our reach has been left unused these last months; leaving us but one true option." Blue eyes, holding some glimmer of their old sparkle, landed on the youngest member of their group.
"Fancy a trip to Fittleborough, Miss Weasley?"
End Chapter Eight
"You can't be bloody serious!" Mad Eye Moody cursed with enthusiasm, shaking his head in disbelief. "All this time we were looking for something of Rowena's and we never thought to look for a desk?"
Dumbledore sat calmly in his chair, waiting for his friend to work out some of his disbelief and frustration.
"A bloody desk. Ravenclaw. For Merlin's sake, how is it we never thought of a desk? The woman probably lived at the thing."
"There was no indication in any of our sources that the desk she used here was still in existence or even anything special. We looked for all her most prized possessions of which we were aware, including her best spell books and her favorite quill. We even tracked down her wedding robes. We did all we could have known to do given our available information, Alastor. You have no reason to feel as though any of us missed something. There has never been any mention by anyone anywhere of Rowena Ravenclaw's desk that I am aware of."
The former Auror scowled at the elder wizard's accurate logic. "No, there hasn't been," he admitted, "which only means that it will be that much harder for us to find."
Albus smiled somewhat indulgently at the pessimistic words. "And that much less likely that Tom would suspect us of ever finding out about it. Which could mean that he may have taken less care in concealing it."
Moody let out a low grunt in response, taking little comfort in the supposition.
For his part, Dumbledore seemed undiscouraged by the task that awaited them now that they had finally learned the identity of the fifth Horcrux. The elderly wizard had in fact, been in so jolly a mood since the announcement that Ginny nearly recognized him as the twinkling-eyed Headmaster she had met six years before. It was heartening to see some semblance of that man, particularly as she had been the one to deliver the news that had cheered him so greatly.
At the same time, however, she felt as though she had somehow raised his hopes falsely. Remembering Ravenclaw's desk was more a fluke than anything else, in her mind. The memory itself had been a mere flash of insight, as opposed to the fuller recollections she had gotten in regards to the cup and necklace. There had been no visions, no remnants of thought or emotion; simply the knowledge of Rowena's old desk housing a fragment of the Dark Lord's soul. It made the young witch even more uncertain of her usefulness than she had been before, despite the fact that she had indeed remembered the desk in the first place.
Neither wizard noticed the redhead's silence, or any indication of the steadily more melancholy thoughts, instead continuing their discussion as to the likelihood of locating the desk and how exactly to go about doing so.
"Tom has always been over confidant, and more self indulging than was good for him, even as a boy. He would have thought as much about the satisfaction that he could garner from the hiding place as he would the location's security. For all that his choices have proved effective in their purpose, the sentimentality with which they were chosen has been key in discovering them. I am sure that the same will hold true in this case."
Moody made a noise in that back of his throat that neatly summed up his opinion as to the elder wizard's thoughts. "Voldemort is no soft hearted ninny who will be undone by his emotion, Albus. He would have thought strategically in finding somewhere to hide the desk."
"Of course, Alastor," he conceded patiently, "Tom was always an intelligent boy, but all the places we have found were chosen with regard to their to meaning to him as well as the ease and effectiveness with which they could be concealed. The cave was chosen more for its meaning then for its isolation."
The former Auror cut him off sharply. "And yet it cannot be discounted that the cave's isolation played a large part in its selection as a hiding place. He wouldn't have gone to the trouble of splitting his soul into pieces only to leave himself no way to ensure that at least some of those pieces remained safe."
"If by safe you mean somewhere it will be unseen or untouched, then I believe you are mistaken."
"You may believe whatever the hell you want, Riddle may be a right evil bastard but he's a cunning one. Surely he would have placed more importance on safety then he would have on-"
Ginny shook her head at Moody's words. It may seem more logical to Moody for Tom to have relied less on his emotions, but logic was not necessarily something he was known for. Having a large and perhaps unstable ego however, was something he had always been known for. And that very same ego, the redhead thought, would not have been adequately stroked by secreting away any more of his Horcruxes than he had felt absolutely necessary, despite Moody's thoughts on the subject. Unless, of course, those Horcruxes had been placed somewhere that they could receive the proper respect.
"-his ego." The almost absently muttered words fell from the witch's lips without her even being aware of it, but her voice brought the wizards' debate to a sudden halt.
It was the first time she had spoken since she had arrived, and Dumbledore and Moody seemed almost surprised by her presence, as though they had forgotten she was even there. The surprise wore off fairly quickly however, and they turned as one to face her, their eyes narrowing as they thought over what they had said and inserted her comment in its proper place. Moody opened his mouth to speak, but Dumbledore silenced him with the raise of a hand as he continued to stare intently at the redhead.
"Have you remembered something, Miss Weasley?"
Ginny shook her head, her voice somewhat hesitant as she answered, "No but, I think, I mean I know. . ."
She worried her lower lip with her teeth as she struggled to find the words to explain how she knew that Moody was on the wrong track. "In the other memories about the Horcruxes, I- he felt so smug, so excited by the fact that they would be seen, adored, honored, in one way or another. The cup was seen by droves of witches and wizards before the Clio became less known, and the diary was watched over by Lucius Malfoy, who held a sick idolization of the Dark Lord. There's a sense of satisfaction that the Horcruxes are safe, that he outsmarted everyone, but the haughty smugness, the stroking of his own ego is much stronger."
The grizzled wizard narrowed his good eye at her. "The necklace and ring were hidden out of the way, girl, no one saw them. How could that have stroked his ego, eh?"
Ginny swallowed under the skeptical gaze, though the time she had spent working with the intimidating former Auror helped to dull the full edge of his glare. "I don't know how he felt about where he left them, I don't remember hiding them like I do the others. But the passing thoughts I have had on them have always felt... hollow somehow. I thought that was because I don't have the actual memories, but-"
Dumbledore cast her an encouraging look when she faltered, prodding her along gently. "But what, Miss Weasley?"
"Well, I think the hollow feeling isn't what I'm missing, but what he was missing when he thought about hiding them."
"The reverence he felt should have been directed at them, you mean?"
The redhead nodded hesitantly at her former Headmaster's words. She wilted a little further under Moody's continued scrutiny, as he made a noncommittal sound in response to her agreement. Ginny was insecure enough in her conjecture without the memory to back it up that she almost didn't elaborate further, but being a Gryffindor lent her the courage to continue.
"The cave and the shack, they were from his past, and while being a descendant of Slytherin was something he would have been proud of, the state his mother had been reduced to would not have been something he'd want people to see. And the reminder of his time in the Muggle orphanage that stayed in the cave would have been equally as distasteful to bring attention to."
Ginny took a breath, glancing up at her audience in an attempt to gauge their reaction. Dumbledore appeared to be thinking quite hard on her words, and while Moody didn't seem terribly impressed with her reasoning, he didn't look like he was ready to dismiss it off hand. Feeling slightly more sure that she was making some sense out of her impressions of the dark remnants floating about in her head, the youngest Weasley pushed forward with a little more strength to her voice.
"The diary stood for the new start he was making of himself at Hogwarts, a connection to Slytherin that he would actually want people to see. The cup showed how he was making a spot for himself in Wizarding history. Those were things he wanted seen, wanted fawned over, so he made sure they would be, and the satisfaction he got from doing so, coupled with the lack of satisfaction he found in simply secreting away the ring and necklace would probably have encouraged him to place the other Horcruxes somewhere that they could be given what he thought would have been the proper attention and respect."
The long white beard swayed slightly as its owner nodded thoughtfully and scratched his chin with his good hand. The magical eye slowed in its whirling, as though looking into the head that housed it in order to get some glimpse of the spinning thoughts within.
"There is a certain strategic logic to hiding in plain sight," the gruff voice conceded.
"Quite right, Alastor," the elder wizard agreed. "But in whose sight would Tom have left Rowena's desk?"
They looked over at the young witch expectantly, hoping that she might have some further insight as to the desk's location. Ginny shook her head silently, biting her lip as they turned back to one another and began debating the remaining possibilities, but her inability to add to the discussion didn't foster the helpless frustration that it had only minutes before. For all that she had not remembered anything, let alone the crucial detail needed to pinpoint the desk, she had still contributed to the effort, had still helped steer the search in the right direction simply by applying what she had already learned.
The feat left her with the feeling that perhaps she could still be useful after all, and made her all the more determined to be exactly that. And in an effort to do so, the youngest Weasley bent her mind to the task, turning over every bit of thought, emotion, and memory that she retained from her first year, looking for anything that she might be able to glean from them as to Tom's possible choice of a hiding place for Ravenclaw's desk.
"Who the bloody hell else would he trust with a piece of his soul? Who else would give the damn thing the admiration he wants?" Moody demanded.
Albus shook his head slightly, his eyes staring somewhat sightlessly as he ran through the options in his head. "Full fledge Death Eaters are not the only witches and wizards that respect the Dark Lord, Alastor. There may well be many who admire his ideology and actions who have not pledged themselves to him."
"That may be true, but damn it, if we start with all of them it will take us forever to narrow down the list."
"And if we eliminate too many to start with we may look over the correct individual entirely."
The former Auror let out a sound of frustration, causing his magical eye to swivel almost maniacally in his head. Dumbledore remained outwardly calm, though his gaze showed the slightest glimmer of growing frustration. Whether he would have voiced such an emotion would remain unknown, however, as their words broke through the redhead's thoughts and brought her once more into the debate.
"Why does it have to be an individual who admires the Dark Lord specifically?"
"And what exactly-"
The elder wizard cut off the outburst before Moody could really get started, instead motioning silently for her to continue.
"I mean, the cup wasn't admired because it was the Horcrux, but because it was supposedly part of the museum's ancient precious metals collection. Couldn't Voldemort have just as easily have left the desk itself unaltered and left it to be revered simply as Rowena Ravenclaw's writing desk?"
The defensive ire that had overtaken Mad Eye Moody's expression when the young witch had appeared to be questioning him again began to drain from his face as he started to think through what had been said. Similarly, the supposedly deceased wizard looked to be in deep contemplation, his aged but sharp mind turning her supposition over and over in an attempt to work out exactly how likely it could be.
Both wizards seemed to come to a decision a few moments later as they turned to one another and exchanged the type of silent communication only possible after working so closely with one another over the past months.
"Those who would collect Founders' artifacts would be notably more trustworthy versus the type of individuals who would wish to possess something of Tom's."
"But how many of 'em are there?"
"Quite a significant number, I am afraid."
"But who," Ginny interjected quietly as the wizards' optimism began to flag, "would place the most importance on Ravenclaw's stuff?"
Dumbledore grew thoughtful, and Moody tried to remember all that he had heard and read in regards to the Founders over the course of their research into the possible Horcruxes.
"Rowena doesn't have any family still living," the gruff voice stated.
"Indeed she does not. Tom himself is the only surviving heir to any of the Four. Yet I seem to recall another member of the original faculty who has a surviving descendant, the History of Magic professor I believe. Yes, yes, an ancestor of our own Professor Binns; Professor Ethelward was his name."
The former Auror's good eye narrowed. "Alfred Ethelward. He has himself quite an estate in Fittleborough, eh?"
"Quite right. And he is known to fancy himself a historian, particularly in regards to the Founding Four. A rather ideal candidate I'd say, would you not, Alastor?"
The wizard gave a stiff nod and a gruff sound of agreement when the almost sparkling blue gaze landed on him before moving on to the third occupant of the room.
"And you, Miss Weasley?"
Ginny paused, thinking furiously, saying the name over and over in her head, trying to remember anything that might have been left behind from the diary that could have something to do with the name Ethelward.
"I just don't remember." The words were spoken in a frustrated tone. "Nothing sounds particularly familiar, but it does make a lot of sense."
"Yes," he said with a nod that caused his white beard to sway, "a fair bit too much sense to ignore."
Moody grunted. "Not to be ignored doesn't mean not to be investigated, Albus."
"But of course, Alastor. Unfortunately any investigation that is possible from here has already been done. Not a tome or resource within our reach has been left unused these last months; leaving us but one true option." Blue eyes, holding some glimmer of their old sparkle, landed on the youngest member of their group.
"Fancy a trip to Fittleborough, Miss Weasley?"
End Chapter Eight
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