Midnight. The basement of the Knockturn Alley print shop.
Candles burned slowly while the young professor idly flipped through stacks of cheap pirated books to pass the time.
The whole workshop was quiet, broken only by the occasional rustle of pages. The massive printing presses sat upstairs; paper, ink, and other supplies were stored down here. Simple anti-theft measures had been added—peepholes in every door and window that monitored magical fluctuations throughout the building.
The few gaps were only big enough for a rat to squeeze through.
Which was perfect, because tonight's guest was a rat.
The faint scratching sound grew closer—tiny claws on stone. Candle flames in the corridor flickered as something small hurried past.
The rat stopped outside the door. The alley was dead silent at this hour. Only this room in 17B still had a light on, so there was no chance of knocking on the wrong one.
The rat didn't knock right away. It straightened up, spine lengthening, body swelling like a tree growing in fast-forward, until a short, plump middle-aged wizard stood in its place.
Knock… knock.
Wormtail pushed open the basement door.
The Knockturn Alley workshop wasn't big on décor. The basement looked half office, half storeroom—shelves crammed with worthless pirated prints, no windows, and behind the desk sat the young professor Wormtail hadn't seen in a long time.
He wore a gray-black cloak and was casually flipping through a travel guide.
Wormtail stepped inside, stepping fully into the candlelight. His face was pale. The soft, lazy fat he'd once carried had melted away, leaving dark circles under his eyes that he couldn't hide. He looked exhausted.
Compared to when he'd left Azkaban, his bald spot was worse and new wrinkles had appeared. He seemed to have aged several years in just a few months.
"Professor Levent… I came as promised."
Wormtail spoke with careful respect. His breathing was heavy. His beady eyes refused to meet Melvin's directly.
The improved Ouroboros mark worked across any distance. One thought from Melvin and Wormtail would feel the summons. Since traveling with Voldemort made daytime meetings impossible, they'd agreed on midnight.
"Long time no see. How was the trip to Albania?"
Just to be safe, Melvin checked with his second-layer vision, confirming no second face lurked behind Wormtail's head. Only then did he raise a hand in greeting.
"I found you a new helper—Miss Umbridge. She's not very likable, but I have to admit she has talent in certain areas."
Wormtail opened his mouth, forcing a smile. "She did help quite a bit. We smuggled back into Britain without registering at the Ministry. The only reason we got through cleanly was because Umbridge knew the inspection gaps, and the Quidditch World Cup kept everyone too busy to notice."
He played along, trying to keep the mood light.
Umbridge had helped, but she'd also caused trouble. If she hadn't pissed off those Albanian dark wizards, they wouldn't have had to take such a long, exhausting detour.
"Tell me about your time in Albania. Was finding the Dark Lord difficult?"
Melvin poured him a glass of ice-cold butterbeer—perfect for a secret midnight meeting in summer. "It sounds like there were a couple of extra traveling companions than expected."
"It was extremely difficult. Albania was much bigger than I imagined. The forests go on forever, full of snakes, insects, and mosquitoes…"
Wormtail clutched the butterbeer and started complaining with dramatic sighs. "For the first few months I checked hundreds of snake nests and never saw any sign of the Dark Lord. I almost got bitten by a venomous snake and left in that forest forever."
Remembering those miserable months, Wormtail nearly started crying for real and gave a couple of theatrical sniffles.
Melvin completely ignored the performance. He only wanted news about Voldemort.
"On the way back to the tavern for supplies one night, we ran into dark wizards chasing Umbridge and Jorkins. At first I thought they were Ministry people and planned to stay hidden, but then I saw your mark on her arm, so I rescued her—and the witch named Bertha Jorkins. After that… we finally found the Dark Lord…"
"…"
Melvin's mind flashed to the witch's face. He'd seen her a few times at the Ministry. He'd heard she'd been bright when she was younger, but Crouch's Memory Charm had scrambled her brain.
"The Dark Lord had a python with him—a servant he found in the forest. Her name is Nagini. That snake…"
Wormtail's voice grew a little higher, almost squeaky. The candle flames flickered as if sensing his fear. "She's very strange. Her venom is deadly—one small bite and you lose all resistance. Her skin is incredibly tough; ordinary spells barely scratch her."
Wormtail still remembered the scene clearly. They had just shaken off the Albanian dark wizards when they felt something terrifying watching them. They kept moving carefully, never stopping, but before dawn they ran into the same gang again.
The dark wizards had been following the whole time, waiting for them to lower their guard. Their plan worked—until it didn't.
Wormtail's voice trembled. "About a dozen dark wizards charged us. We were ready to give up… and then the snake struck. Every part of her body was a weapon—fangs that killed on contact, coils that could crush the life out of you. She finished them off in moments."
He paused, head lowered, and took a sip of butterbeer. Those blood-curdling screams still echoed in his ears across a thousand miles.
He could still picture the wizards being torn apart—bones snapping under crushing force, blood pouring from their mouths and noses with every squeeze, their screams growing weaker.
"For two whole months, neither Umbridge nor I could figure out what kind of magical creature she was."
Melvin narrowed his eyes. If Nagini had committed murders in Albania, did that mean Voldemort's soul had split again and he now had the conditions to make another Horcrux?
Was Nagini still just a snake controlled by Parseltongue, or had she become a Horcrux carrying a fragment of Voldemort's soul?
He leaned back in the swivel chair and said softly, "She isn't a magical creature. She's a blood-cursed beast-person."
"A blood-cursed beast-person?" Wormtail blinked.
Melvin explained quietly, "She started as a human—possibly even a natural Animagus who could turn into a snake. But it wasn't a gift. It was a blood curse passed down from her mother's side. As she grew older, she gradually lost her human form and became a python permanently."
"So… is she still the same person she used to be?" Wormtail felt cold all over and swallowed hard.
"The old Nagini is dead. Inside that python body is nothing but a beast… or perhaps Tom's soul."
Melvin spoke the last part very softly.
Wormtail didn't quite catch it and didn't ask. He kept going. "I told the Dark Lord that Umbridge was a companion I'd found. He seemed short on manpower, so he didn't ask too many questions…"
"He was very weak and couldn't travel far, so we had to stay in Albania for a while. We used Nagini's venom and unicorn blood to make him a temporary body."
Melvin's mind flashed to the grotesque infant form—snake-faced, hideous, wrapped in rags.
"Now we're back in Britain. We're staying temporarily at the Riddle House in Little Hangleton. The Dark Lord seems very familiar with the place."
Wormtail's face showed clear dread. "I didn't dare ask too much. Umbridge tried probing once and got hit with the Cruciatus Curse. She nearly became food for Nagini."
"Wait…" Melvin interrupted. "What about Miss Jorkins?"
"Oh, Jorkins… she's quite special too…"
Wormtail suddenly remembered the witch. "Umbridge said she was just a Ministry idiot she'd tricked into coming along as cannon fodder, but the Dark Lord noticed something strange about her condition. Jorkins wasn't born stupid—her mind had been scrambled by a Memory Charm."
No surprise there. Voldemort might have lost his body, but his mastery of dark magic was still terrifying. The entire Ministry had never figured out why Jorkins was so dim-witted, yet Voldemort saw through it in a few sentences.
Melvin raised an eyebrow. "Given Voldemort's nature, I'm surprised he didn't try using Cruciatus on her to dig out whatever the Memory Charm was hiding."
Wormtail sneaked a glance at Melvin, thinking the professor really did think like the Dark Lord. Voldemort had planned exactly that. "He was going to, but something Umbridge told him made him change his mind."
"Tell me."
Wormtail explained in detail. "Umbridge said the Ministry is about to restart the Triwizard Tournament. Jorkins was close to Mr. Crouch. As a low-level Ministry employee, she could easily be pulled into the Department of International Magical Cooperation to help with the event."
Melvin caught on immediately. "Jorkins's dazed, stupid appearance would make her perfect for Polyjuice Potion. She could be replaced and slipped inside the Ministry… and then into Hogwarts castle."
"…"
Exactly the same line of thinking as Voldemort.
Wormtail kept his head down, not daring to meet those eyes. "I suggested letting Umbridge impersonate Jorkins and go in, but the Dark Lord doesn't trust her loyalty. He wants me to do it instead."
Impersonate a witch and sneak into the Ministry, surrounded by Aurors every day.
When Voldemort suggested it, Wormtail's rat heart had nearly burst from terror. He didn't want to, but he didn't dare refuse.
Melvin saw the look on his face and gave a faint, mocking smile. "Of course you're the perfect choice. After all, you managed to spy right under the Order of the Phoenix's nose—and under Dumbledore's—while earning everyone's complete trust and stealing the most critical information."
"That… that was only because… James and Sirius…" Wormtail jerked his head up, stammering, words tumbling over each other in panic. He was terrified Melvin would also order him back into the Ministry as a spy.
"Because they thought of you as their best friend and never imagined you would betray them."
"…"
Wormtail lowered his head again. For once, a flicker of real guilt crossed his face.
"You don't want to go back undercover in the Ministry?"
"Not at all. Not even a little."
"I have some information that might help you."
Melvin watched hope bloom in Wormtail's eyes and continued slowly, "I recently learned that another loyal Death Eater escaped Azkaban. He's been thinking about nothing but returning to the Dark Lord's side for years."
...
...Riddle's eyes flashed red as his figure vanished into the twisting alleys of Knockturn Alley.
The Mirror's image ended there. The rest of the recording wasn't anyone's memory—just clippings from old Daily Prophet issues, dated a couple of years after Voldemort's graduation.
«…Hepzibah Smith, descendant of Helga Hufflepuff, found dead. Aurors suspect the family house-elf Hokey, who claimed she accidentally put something in her mistress's cocoa. It turned out to be a rare and deadly poison instead of sugar. The ruling was not intentional murder, but old age and poor eyesight.»
«…Knockturn Alley news: Antique shop owner Caractacus Burke announces his retirement and hands the business over to Mr. Borgin, along with another knowledgeable pure-blood wizard.»
«…Smith family heirs take possession of Mrs. Smith's estate and insist the murderer is still at large. A family heirloom has gone missing—rumored to be a Hufflepuff relic.»
The Mirror gradually darkened. Harry sat in front of it, the scenes from the memory replaying over and over in his mind. Young Riddle's face wore a strange smile, his eyes already showing the first hints of snake-like slits. The moment he heard about Slytherin's locket, a red light had flashed in them.
Not long ago, while staying at Grimmauld Place, Sirius had taken him to pay respects to Regulus and told him the story of his brave sacrifice. Harry already knew what the locket had led to.
Today he learned how it all began.
Had Mr. Burke been murdered? What was the other missing treasure? Hufflepuff's cup? Had Professor Levent's golden cup once been in Voldemort's hands too? And what about that strange Professor Gaunt from second year—did he have any connection to Voldemort?
Why had Professor Levent wanted him to see this memory?
Question after question bubbled up in Harry's head. He extinguished his wand and sat in the dark room for a long time, but no answers came.
"Adventure's over. Time to head back to the Leaky Cauldron."
Melvin suddenly pushed the door open and stood calmly in the doorway.
"Oh—right, coming." Harry scrambled up, grabbing his Invisibility Cloak and wand.
He had the strange feeling of a class bell ringing. This was exactly how Professor Levent ended lessons—closing the book at the lectern and telling them to head to the Great Hall early so they wouldn't get stuck on the stairs. That was why Muggle Studies was the most popular class and Professor Levent the most popular teacher.
"Professor, I still have some questions…"