Mourning Dawn (A Prelude to The Wand of Elder)

"Didact?" asked Harry to the newcomer. "Then that boy...the one who came to get us...Alexander...he is your son?"

"My nephew," said Trimble Didact.

"Ah, I see," said Harry. That would explain Alexander's presence at the school when all of the other First Years had been evacuated and would not return until the memorial service, if then.

Kingsley cleared his throat and then spoke. "Neville, I am sorry to have kept you waiting since our earlier discussion this morning. Thank you for returning so promptly. I trust you had a good lunch?"

Harry's curiosity was peaked. Neville had met with Kingsley that morning?

"Yes, Minister. Thank you."

"I trust you met Mr. Didact in the hallway?" asked Kingsley.

"Yes, Minister," said Neville flatly. "We introduced ourselves."

"Good, good," said Kingsley. "And please call me Kingsley."

Neville nodded.

"Well, now Bill has returned and Mr. Didact is present," said Kingsley pleasantly, addressing Neville. Kingsley nodded towards the eldest Weasley brother, who was still leaning against the wall unobtrusively. "So we can finish our discussions with the aid of Harry, Ron and Hermione."

Trimble Didact sighed heavily, and wore the expression of an exasperated parent as he watched Kingsley. Harry got the distinct impression that the man found Kingsley's collegial manner distasteful.

The Minister took a moment to look at each of them in turn, as he perfunctorily arranged some pages of parchment in front of him. Kingsley did not seem to have noticed Didact's condescending exhalation. Harry suspected that there was some tension between the two men.

Kingsley addressed the room as if his remarks were prepared. "As I have said to each of you at some point this morning, we have additional business to discuss. Some of this additional business is in Mr. Didact's area of expertise. I have asked him here to seek some information on some magical artifacts that Hermione brought to my attention. I believe they were certain artifacts of the Founders, some of which Voldemort used as magical devices called Horcruxes."

Harry inhaled sharply and snapped his head around to glare at Hermione. She looked anxious and glanced furtively at Trimble Didact as her mouth opened but no words issued.

"You may feel free to discuss this topic in front of Mr. Didact, Hermione," said Kingsley reassuringly.

Hermione closed her mouth and composed herself. Then she addressed Harry.

"I didn't think it would matter to tell them, Harry," she said contritely, looking to Ron for support. "It didn't really break our promise to Dumbledore. I thought it might be important for Kingsley and Professor McGonagall and the rest of the Order to have the information."

"It was my promise to Dumbledore," said Harry, not sure whether to be angry or not, but scowling just the same. "I wish you had talked about it with me first."

"Couldn't have done, Mate" said Ron, also looking a bit sheepish. "It came up while you were sacked out."

"And we needed to tell someone, because we weren't sure whether the Horcruxes might still be dangerous, even though they are destroyed," explained Hermione anxiously. "We wanted to talk about it with you, Harry. We really did. But after what you had been through, we thought it was important that you rest."

Hermione's earnest expression softened Harry's unfermented anger.

"Besides," finished Ron, "you mentioned them in front of everyone when you were dueling You Know Who. So really, you told the secret first."

"You're...right," said Harry slowly. He softened his expression, and gave his friends a small smile. "It's alright. I can't believe that Dumbledore would want me to keep the secret forever."

Hermione relaxed visibly and Ron smiled back, crinkling the deep dark circles under his eyes. He truly looked exhausted.

"You mentioned the Deathstick during that duel as well," said Didact. The smiles vanished from Harry's and Ron's faces as they looked back at Didact. He was watching Harry.

"Excuse me?" asked Hermione in a small voice.

"The Elder Wand?" asked Didact softly, watching Harry's reaction with that immutable gaze.

"Oh yes," said Kingsley with a disparaging smile. "Well there is that tripe too."

Kingsley turned to Harry and his friends as if explaining something mildly embarrassing. "There have been rumors circulating that a special wand was involved in your duel with Voldemort, Harry. Mr. Didact is interested in those rumors also."

Kingsley laughed again as if it was ridiculous, but he caught and held Harry's eye warningly for a moment. Kingsley knew. He knew, and he wanted Harry to be careful.

"Not just a special wand, Temporary Minister," said Didact. He scrutinized Hermione and Ron in turn as he spoke. "The Wand of Destiny."

"Oh, is that all?" said Bill in amusement as he shifted his stance against the wall.

"May I begin my examination?" asked Didact. He gave the impression of a Healer preparing to stick a large and painful probe into an unfortunate patient. He still had not pulled his eyes from Harry and his friends.

"By all means, Trimble," said Kingsley, leaning back in his chair as if relaxing into a chat by the fireside.

"Actually, Temporary Minister, my question was for the Interim Headmistress. Being that this school is her jurisdiction, at least for the time being, it is proper that she give her consent to an examination of her students," explained Didact. His tone was not rude, but it seemed to suggest that Kingsley should have known the object of the request.

It was hard not to mistake the crispness and exactness of Didact's speech. Alexander had obviously picked up his uncle's particular and exact manner of expression. While the boy was not discourteous, he had been woefully direct to the point of impertinence. With Trimble Didact, however, this mannerism that had seemed irritating in the little boy was rather intimidating in the uncle.

"Ah yes," said Kingsley with an amiably rueful laugh. "I forgot you were an Auror for a time and that you spent time in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, as well. I should have known you would meticulously observe the proper protocols."

Kingsley gave Harry another lingering glance. It was a warning to Harry about the interrogation to come.

"Quite," said Didact succinctly. "Interim Headmistress, may I proceed?"

"If Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville have no objection, then neither do I," said Professor McGonagall. She caught and held Harry's gaze as well. It was another warning.

Harry had very large objections, actually, but saw no way to express them without seeming suspicious. He and his friends just nodded their readiness.

At first the "examination" seemed innocuous. The questions focused alternatively on Tom Riddle's Diary, Hufflepuff's cup, Nagini, the Diadem of Ravenclaw, and then Slytherin's Locket. The questions were pointed and pertinent, but never rude or pressuring. After a while, Harry found himself getting used to Didact's mannerisms, and beginning to feel that he was engaged in an informative discussion, as opposed to an interrogation. Ron actually began to look a bit bored, and his eyes drooped alarmingly as the stimulus of the conversation waned.

In truth, Didact was not asking about anything that Harry was uncomfortable revealing, so Harry tried to be as forthright and complete in his answers as possible. After all, Hermione had made a good point when she had said that much of this information was already disclosed. Harry did not feel that there was any reason to keep from Didact some general information concerning their experiences with the effects of the Horcruxes over the past year, though Harry did leave out some of the more personal bits and pieces.

But every now and again, while Didact was questioning Ron or Hermione on some finer detail, Harry would look up to see McGonagall catching his eye, or Kingsley staring pointedly, or Bill looking worried. Then Harry's guard would go back up.

In a roundabout manner, Kingsley had warned Harry that Didact was an experienced interrogator. Harry started to feel that this initial faze of the questioning was meant to be easy, despite the fact that it lasted more than an hour. Harry began to suspect that Didact was softening the students up for the kill.

Neville largely sat to the side and repeatedly gasped as the revelations came from the Harry, Ron and Hermione. Neville did not know the details of the Horcruxes, or that Nagini had been a Horcrux. He seemed amazed at the breadth of his own accomplishment in killing the snake, once he knew its full import.

Eventually the questioning moved to the sword of Gryffindor, and Didact's scrutinizing gaze focused almost exclusively on Neville. Neville was flustered by the questions, but they were a bit perfunctory. After Didact had spent five or ten minutes making Neville look more and more uncomfortable, Professor McGonagall interrupted.

"Honestly, Trimble," said the Headmistress, "is this necessary? The Sword of Gryffindor has been studied for centuries. Its propensity to present itself to any Gryffindor in valorous need is well known, especially among your lot at the Department of Mysteries."

"That is true, Interim Headmistress," said Didact, unruffled. "That is quite true, indeed. But it is important that these circumstances be examined, especially in light of last night's...activity...among the Goblins." Didact shifted his gaze from Neville to Harry.

"What happened with the Goblins?" asked Harry, not liking the tone that Didact used.

"Ahhh, Mr. Didact," said Kingsley, acting as if Harry had not spoken "That, however, does not concern your department. That is for the Goblin Liaison Office...and my office if it gets more serious. Please move on."

Didact nodded in acknowledgment. Again, he did not seem angered or indignant at his questioning being diverted. Harry felt sure that Didact took the change in topic so easily because Kingsley had been correct. It was not Didact's department, and therefore it was proper to leave off the questioning. To do otherwise would be a waste of proper administrative delegation.

That was when it struck Harry that, at no time during this interrogation, had Didact actually seemed interested in the information he was acquiring. That is, Didact did not seem to feel any emotion about the Horcruxes or what their destruction meant. Like an automaton, Didact had dutifully questioned Harry and his friends thoroughly, if not painfully. But Didact did not seem to personally care one way or the other.

Harry began to dislike Didact very much.

At this point, Didact reached into a pocket of his robes and pulled out a folder containing a large number of pages and memoranda on parchment. Harry noticed that his own name was emblazoned on the front of the dossier.

"Now, Mr. Potter," said Didact, rifling through the parchment until he came to the page he was looking for, "it appears there was one more Horcrux. Is that correct?"

Didact looked Harry in the eye very pointedly. Harry began to feel uncomfortable under the questioning for the first time.

"Yes," replied Harry cautiously.

"What was that Horcrux?" asked Didact, still looking Harry in the eye. Harry returned the gaze, but he started to hear a slight buzz in his head, like his ears were ringing.

"It was a signet ring," responded Harry.

"It belonged to the Gaunt family, who were related to Voldemort on his mother's side," volunteered Hermione, sounding for all the world like she was answering a professor's query in class.

"I did not ask you the question, Ms. Granger," said Didact softly, his gaze never wavering from Harry's eyes. "Mr. Potter?"

The buzz in Harry's ears increased and he got a very slight queasy feeling in his stomach. There was something unpleasantly familiar with this sensation, but Harry gave no outward sign that he was affected.

"What Hermione said," answered Harry. "She has it right."

Harry heard Ron shift in his chair. Despite his exhaustion, Ron had apparently picked up on the increased tension in the situation. McGonagall, Bill and Kingsley were stock still. Their faces were unreadable stone.

"Was there anything else unusual about this ring?" asked Didact emotionlessly. The buzzing increased again and Harry had a sudden image in his mind of Snape standing over him. It was a memory of Snape casting a spell that Harry had never managed to deflect, which Snape used to invade Harry's mind at will.

"Legilimency," thought Harry, feeling momentarily panicked. "He is using Legilimency on me now."

"It...it had a curse on it," said Harry. "It made Dumbledore sick...it would have killed him eventually if Snape hadn't done."

"I see..." said Didact distractedly, but then he struck like a snake. "Isn't that why mastery of the Deathstick did not pass to Severus Snape upon Dumbledore's death?"

The buzzing in Harry's ears sounded like a high wind. Harry felt lost. He had never successfully resisted this spell before. Any second, Harry was sure that he would feel Didact invading his mind. He felt certain that Didact's robotic intellect would parse through Harry's memories and discard all that did not suit his mission, and mechanically extract those that would be damning.

Harry braced himself and attempted to screen Didact from his mind as Snape had tried to teach him. Harry still had no idea how to do it as Snape had taught, but decided that it must be similar to what he had done to push Voldemort's thoughts from his mind. Harry tentatively tried a bit of the mental shoving he had used in those moments when Voldemort had seemed to possess him. To Harry's elated surprise, the buzzing in his ears dropped to muted whispers in the distance.

Pushing Didact away had been startlingly easy.

"Sorry? I don't really know what you are talking about," said Harry. "I thought we were talking about Horcruxes."

For the first time, Didact looked nonplussed. He looked down hesitantly at the parchment in his folder, then back up at Harry. Didact quickly recovered his detached air.

"We are now talking about wands," said Didact coolly. He scrutinized Harry again, and the muted whisper became a quiet buzz again. "Are you familiar with wandlore at all, Mr. Potter?"

"A little bit," answered Harry honestly. The buzzing ratcheted up slightly.

"Are you aware that wands can change owners if they are forcibly taken from a witch or wizard?" asked Didact. His gaze was fixed on Harry like an intense beam of light. The buzzing began to become annoying again.

"I have heard of that," replied Harry flatly.

"Are you aware that there is a school of thought among wand makers which holds that a wand may switch ownership very easily if it has already switched ownership many times before?" asked Didact.

"No, I've never heard of that," replied Harry honestly. This was a theory that Olivander had failed to mention, if he had known of it.

Yet it made sense. When dueling Voldemort, Harry had thought, or rather hoped, this to be true. By blind luck or instinct, Harry had bet his life on the idea that the Elder Wand had switched its allegiance to Harry simply by virtue of Harry having disarmed its master of a different wand. Harry now felt sure that this must be an unusual characteristic of the Elder Wand.

The buzzing seemed to be overcoming Harry's initial tentative shove, and was getting decidedly uncomfortable again.

"I have very solid and corroborated information, Mr. Potter. This information indicates that Voldemort referred to his wand as the Deathstick during his duel with you. The Deathstick is also called the Wand of Destiny and the Elder Wand. It is an extremely powerful weapon that has caused much death and violence over the centuries. It belongs in the safekeeping of the Ministry. Were you aware of that Mr. Potter?"

"Was I aware of which part?" answered Harry evasively.

Didact's eyes narrowed a bit and the buzzing grew yet more intense. Harry noticed a trickle of sweat on Didact's forehead. He was trying very hard, indeed.

"In fact, the Deathstick is purported to be unbeatable in a direct duel, Mr. Potter. You disarmed Voldemort during your duel with him. I have very reliable information that you took Voldemort's wand in that duel."

Didact stared at Harry. The buzzing in Harry's ears began to feel like the scrabble of cold hands on the surface of Harry's mind. The sensation repulsed Harry. The thought of Didact piercing his mind no longer made Harry fearful. It made him angry.

"Would you care to explain any of that, Mr. Potter?" asked Didact.

"I couldn't begin to explain," replied Harry in cold fury.

Didact simply plunged along.

"And then of course there is the last Horcrux...the ring from the Gaunt family. That is an interesting treasure, is it not? Quite unique."

Harry simply shrugged in reply.

"Have you ever heard of the Deathly Hallows?" asked Didact, staring into Harry's eyes with rapt intensity. For the briefest instant Didact showed his first flash of emotion. A look of pure avarice overspread Didact's sweaty face and a hungry tone entered his voice.

Harry's heart skipped a beat at the question as Didact's eyes filled Harry's vision. Harry felt Didact's Legilimens spell battering unrestrainedly into his mind. Rage swelled in Harry at the thought of this horrible man parsing through his thoughts.

To Harry, the idea of yet another Ministry official attempting to force from him that which he was unwilling to give, and about which he felt a right to withhold, was infuriating. As Didact attempted to push into Harry's mind, Harry pushed back with all of the force that he had learned through months of wrestling with Voldemort's invasive thoughts.

It was like swatting a fly with an automobile.

Harry deflected Didact's spell back to its caster with the force of a hammer striking a gong. For an instant Didact's face went blank and he sat up straight with a quiver. He then slumped to the side and fell out of his chair.

Harry had finally learned Occlumency.

After several moments, the Head of the Department of Mysteries awoke. He was helped back into his chair by Professor McGonagall and Kingsley. Both of them were very concerned for Didact because they could not tell that Harry and Didact had been silently locked in a mental duel. Kingsley shot another warning glance at Harry, but Bill was hiding a smile behind his hands. Didact looked grey as he reviewed the parchment in his folder and then looked at Harry again.

"It seems," breathed Didact shakily, "that I have some very out of date information concerning your skills, Mr. Potter."

"Yeah," replied Harry insolently. "I'm full of new tricks."

"What are you hiding, Boy?" asked Didact angrily, his meticulous manner slipping from him as color returned to his cheeks.

"Trimble..." began Kingsley soothingly, looking worried.

"Well, I don't think it's a matter of hiding anything," interjected Hermione sharply.

"What, Girl?" snapped Didact, looking at her.

"Well, look at what you asked!" said Hermione angrily. "You just asked Harry if he disarmed the most powerful dark wizard of all time, who was supposedly armed with some sort of...some sort of...super-powerful wand. It's ridiculous to think Harry could have done that."

Harry was impressed with Hermione's ability to act as if she had never heard of the Elder Wand before.

"Yeah! And what in the hell are the Deadly Hedgerows? Does that have something to do with wands?" asked Ron indignantly. Ron managed a passable imitation of Olivander's bewilderment when, all those weeks ago, Harry had asked Olivander about the Deathly Hallows.

Neville's head swiveled to look at each person in the room with a complete lack of comprehension.

Didact ignored Ron and replied to Hermione instead, acting as if he was speaking to an imbecile. "I did not ask him that, Ms. Granger. I know that it did happen. I asked him to explain how it happened."

"Well your question contains an impossible premise," replied Hermione angrily. "Therefore it is an illogical question. From those circumstances, the only likely conclusion is that Voldemort did not have a super-powerful wand."

"It is not an illogical question if the Deathstick had not switched ownership to Voldemort, Silly Girl!" hissed Didact.

Hermione seemed to have hit a nerve with Didact, and he harrumphed as he realized he had revealed too much of his thoughts on the subject. He visibly tried to resume a calm demeanor.

"It doesn't matter," said Harry, still feeling rage boil within him. "I don't answer questions for those who try to force answers from me."

"Harry, Mr. Didact is here at my invitation and ..." began Kingsley.

"No, Minister!" interrupted Harry with finality. "He just tried to use Legilimency on me. He tried to take without asking, and I just taught him a lesson for it. I am finished with this."

"You think I don't have the right to take answers from you, Boy?" asked Didact. He tried to weight his voice with cold calculation, but the color in his cheeks destroyed the previously intimidating effect.

"No, I think that you are not able to take answers from me, Didact," replied Harry with a touch of smug disdain. "Because, to be quite honest, knocking you out of my mind wasn't even very hard."

"Didact!" exclaimed the Minister angrily. "I invited you here to interview these students, not to cast Legilimency on them. This was not supposed to be an interrogation. You have violated the protocol that we discussed."

"And I certainly will not authorize such treatment of my students!" fumed Professor McGonagall.

Didact's mouth opened and closed powerlessly as he looked from McGonagall to Kingsley to Harry. Then suddenly Didact's face became a stony mask. He meticulously closed his folder and tucked it into his robes. He rose and exited the Headmistress' study without further acknowledgment of the existence of anyone else in the room.

Kingsley watched him go with a look of regret.

"He is going to be trouble," said Professor McGonagall.

Harry just shrugged angrily. "It seems I cannot avoid trouble."

"That was too bad, Harry," said Kingsley sadly. "Now don't look at me like that! I don't blame you for deflecting his spell. That was low, and not consistent with Didact's usual manner."

"Seems to me that bloke is capable of just about anything. I felt like we were being shoved through a machine," said Ron, shaking his head.

"No, not anything, Ron," said Kingsley. "Didact is not a cruel man, or evil like a Death Eater. He is not sadistic. He is just cold. He has never broken the law as far as I know. Honestly, his use of Legilimency just now is the first time I think that I have ever heard of him breaching any guideline or protocol."

"Well, that can be evil, too, right Harry?" asked Hermione. "Didn't Dumbledore once tell you that there were a lot of ways to be evil?"

"Yeah, he did," answered Harry, remembering the hungry look on Didact's face when he mentioned the Deathly Hallows. "Dumbledore told me that when he was talking about Dolores Umbridge."

"That is a good comparison," said Professor McGonagall, a look of distaste on her face at the mention of Umbridge. "Didact comes from the same school of thought as Umbridge. His goal always has been what is best for the Ministry. He does not care about people that get hurt in the process."

"Kind of like Barty Crouch?" suggested Ron, suppressing a yawn. Hermione looked at Ron worriedly.

Professor McGonagall nodded.

"Well, that is why I want nothing to do with the Ministry. Not if people like Umbridge and Didact can reach such high places," said Harry angrily, flexing his scarred hand.

"I can sympathize with your feelings on that score, Harry," said Kingsley in his calmest baritone. "There are many in the Ministry who think and feel as Didact does. They feel that government is self-fulfilling. They feel that government it is not just a means to an end, but also that government itself is the end. But I have worked for the Ministry for my entire adult life, and we are not all so inclined."

"I didn't mean..." sputtered Harry apologetically. He had not meant to cast dispersions on Kingsley. He had been a good friend and protector to Harry.

"I am not offended," said Kingsley, waiving his hand wearily. "I am just reserving my judgment on Didact and those like him...for the time being. Didact is very capable, and useful to the Ministry in its current state. We have too few officials left after the fall of Voldemort. We cannot afford to let talented ones go."

Kingsley sat back in his chair, once again looking as if he was engaging in a fireside chat.

"Also, you should know that Didact is in a position that he did not want," he continued. "The Death Eaters shunted him into the Department of Mysteries to get rid of him. He was not sufficiently 'sympathetic to the cause,' as they put it. I have declined to shift him out, and he is bitter about that."

"Why didn't you shift him out?" asked Neville.

Kingsley smiled. "Because he is not sufficiently sympathetic to my cause."

"Cause?" asked Harry. "What cause?"

"Oh we will talk about that, My Young Friend," said Kingsley with a smooth chuckle. "That actually leads us to our last bit of business that we need to discuss."

At this, Professor McGonagall looked towards Bill. Bill came forward and took the abandoned seat next to her.

"Well, I hate to pile things on, Harry," said Bill apologetically, looking towards the Minister.

Kingsley nodded.

"Alright, then," said Bill with a sigh. He looked at Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville seriously. "I trust that you all heard what Didact said about the Goblins?"