Harry Potter and the Prancing of Ponies

by The Guy Who Writes

Rehabilitation 13.3: Beyond the Veil

Albus smiled rather widely once he comprehended the initial reason why his mind suggested it, why his mind had returned to that part of his conversation with Mr. Potter. The part where Mr. Potter declared his predicted timescales for learning the true Patronus charm.

His smile widened and widened as he thought further about it, until he burst into full-blown laughter.

Tom did not interrupt or inquire.

Albus settled down.

Perhaps it is too ridiculous. Perhaps it is, hilariously enough, too unfair to Tom.

But one means of being more certain of Tom Riddle's redemption is...

...to have Tom Riddle successfully teach the true Patronus to Albus Dumbledore. That would be truly solid evidence, far stronger than mere words and images. Typically, for a mage to teach a difficult spell, he must know it himself.

Out of habit born from many long decades of transfiguration research, Albus immediately began thinking of all the ways this clever thought might go wrong. And he did indeed see a few important problems.

Unfortunately, while it might be strong evidence, this idea would guarantee nothing at all. It is possible to teach others how to do things you have not done yourself, if you understand the principles well enough, or you have memorized the words of the original master.

As a famous Ravenclaw historian once said, the chain sequence of scholar-apprentice relationships between Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle very well may have broken at Plato, had Aristotle not been such a good student, and had Plato not been such a good storyteller. That Ravenclaw believed Plato to be a terrible thinker, utterly inept at his own attempts in Philosophy, as Diogenes so famously displayed in his parody proclamation of 'Plato's Man'. But that Ravenclaw also believed Plato to be one of history's greatest known transcribers, without whom the legend of Socrates would not be remembered at all. For all that Plato had utterly failed to learn any of Socrates' lessons, he had remembered and retold the story of his teacher's shining example, giving Aristotle the opportunity to learn the true lessons that Plato had bastardized in his own practices. Aristotle then went on to carry a true fragment of Socrates's arts as he lived and worked, both despite of and thanks to Plato.

Then the line of legendary philosophers died, for no true legend came immediately after Aristotle. Such scholars are rare, after all, and it was a miracle of history to have those three back-to-back in the first place.

Albus, of course, did not agree with this Ravenclaw about many things, but he accepted that even a misguided student who then becomes a misguided teacher can still impart keys to important knowledge, which a clever enough pupil can then unlock despite the teacher's ineptitude.

Tom in this case would be Plato, the misguided middle-man of knowledge. But Albus does not expect himself to be Aristotle, the paragon of pupilhood, if he tries to learn the true Patronus, and so Tom would have to seize some true understanding of the spell to impart enough wisdom for Albus to succeed.

Perhaps more importantly than anything else, this idea has merit whether or not there's a conspiracy.

Under the assumption Tom is faking literally everything, he'll likely appear to arrange for 'Luna' to teach those lessons... although come to think of it, Tom's current apparent self is nowhere close to redemption in Albus's opinion (which Tom could have easily meta-orchestrated by making himself appear exactly that way). So Tom will probably insist on Luna giving the lessons whether or not there's a conspiracy.

Regardless, if there is a conspiracy, and if this idea is implemented, it will ultimately be Tom who arranges for Albus to learn, and if Albus succeeds, it will ultimately be Tom who taught him. Vicariously and through illusion, true, but still Tom pulling the strings.

On the other hand, supposing everything thus far has not been a lie, supposing Luna is genuinely a different mind, and supposing she successfully teaches Albus the spell, it will at least be proven that Tom is in the company of those capable of casting the true Patronus and teaching it to others, even difficult cases like Albus Dumbledore (and perhaps, therefore, difficult cases like Voldemort).

Mr. Potter predicted- using questionable metrics, certainly, but he did predict- that Albus Dumbledore would take twice as long in learning the True Patronus as Tom Riddle. (And even if that whole conversation with Mr. Potter was Tom's fabrication, which to Albus's best discerning judgement seems incredibly unlikely, Albus still accepts that particular part of it as true.)

In the worst possible case, supposing Voldemort tricks Albus perfectly, successfully comprehending and teaching the true Patronus without being able to cast it... well, at that point, why wouldn't Voldemort learn it himself? There are rarely downsides to having the ability to cast a spell.

Tom outlined the "military advantages" of the Patronus quite enviously on the day of the Dementor, back when he was pretending to be Professor Quirrell. Even if it was to keep up appearances as a competent tutor, his words of encouragement to Harry- something like "it will be a boon to you and, I suspect, to the greater magical world; but if you cannot learn it, I will understand"- those words suggested at the very least that it would not go against his own interests if Harry Potter learned a spell that his own wand could not cast. Furthermore, that interaction could not have been a ploy to fool Albus for this current plot.

If Voldemort can fake-understand the Patronus well enough to take months, years, or decades of personal effort imparting true knowledge and advantage to someone else, especially his enemies, why not simply stop 'faking' his understanding? Why not seize the advantage for himself when it is right there in front of him?

Unless it's beyond Voldemort's abilities. It always comes back to that. Unless it's infinitely beyond Tom's abilities. Unless his mind was irrevocably crippled by a Dementor-like equivalent. Or unless the spell is far enough beyond his abilities as to seem impossible to him. Or unless it's impossible for any other number of reasons.

In which case, will Albus ever be able to truly tell if Voldemort has truly learned the true Patronus?

...

Well, there's the obvious answer that knowing how to cast it should make Albus better at distinguishing a true performance from a false one. Yet another advantage to the idea.

Listening to Voldemort's stories and maybe helping him write one doesn't seem like the best use of time, even if there's an infinite amount of it, and he's not sure that there is. He suspects himself to still be aging whenever he's retrieved from his own frozen instant. Like right now.

To try to learn a new technique after the old shattered in his hands, to aspire to a higher level despite the daunting challenge, to grow not just as a wizard, but as a person...

A Slytherin would cleverly plot around the problem instead of tackling it head-on, if that was an option. But how could a Gryffindor refuse? Godric would certainly wish to learn it, of that Albus has no doubt.

Although Albus does enjoy the prospect of writing the story of the Harry Potter that could have been...

Well, that can be done in his down time, when his mind needs to relax and take time to absorb whatever lessons he must, no matter how many days or decades it takes.

There's just one last problem with the whole idea. One major obstacle of implementation, even if he himself is willing to try it:

This particular metric of proof would be unfair to the hypothetical Tom Riddle who is not fooling him, who actually succeeds in casting the true Patronus, who requests for the trap to end as originally agreed upon. That Tom Riddle, if he ever comes to exist, would be justifiably peeved at this condition.

Still, perhaps Albus should share the thought anyway. How Tom reacts to it might also be evidence.

And so he did.

And so Tom reacted. Eventually.

"Mr. Potter once imparted crystalized knowledge that I had been following in a muddled fashion prior to his words," Tom said after about thirty seconds of silence, wearing a frown the entire time. "He stated that one part of the scientific art is to not immediately reject ideas the instant you hear one you do not like. And Luna says it's important to be as honest with you as possible henceforth. Those are the only reasons I am going to honestly speak my thoughts of tempted rejection aloud. So that I might be less foolish, and so that I follow Luna's advice, as I promised I would."

"Noted," said Albus. "I saw many problems with the idea myself."

"Such as?"

"First and foremost, it probably seems like I am adding conditions, that I am making it harder for you, not easier."

Tom inclined his head, his frown becoming slightly less pronounced. "Correct. I hesitate to make any major commitments when they might not be needed. Or possible. Even after I learn to reliably cast the Patronus, I do not expect myself to ever be capable of teaching you."

"Elaborate?" Albus prompted.

"Your barrier in casting is not only different from mine, it... stems from circumstances entirely alien to mine. A man who has never known obesity, who has never been drunk, never taken narcotics- such a man, for all that he himself may be healthy, does not know how to help those who are addicted. He is not versed in the art of going from poor health to wellness; he cannot truly understand the plight of any would-be students. Running with the analogy, you are strong yet obese. You do not lack for muscle, but you also must overcome your mind's unhealthy obsession with food. I am weak, yet lean. I have no obsession with food, I have far more self-control and self-awareness in the truth of what my body is telling me, but if I wish to grow stronger, it requires eating more, not less. Our paths to health require completely opposite behaviors; you must eat less, I must eat more."

"Would you mind taking it out of analogy?"

"You did not have to overcome absolute emptiness and isolation, so you never lacked for light. I never had to overcome a false belief in the afterlife, so I never lacked for awareness. While we each have what the other needs to cast the true Patronus, we may as well have been born with these qualities, for we can hardly articulate how a grown man might acquire them when starting from scratch... no, when starting in the negative."

Albus nodded sagely. It was close enough to the response he'd been expecting, if a bit wiser than anticipated. "You are absolutely certain you will never be a good fit as my teacher?"

"I am as certain as any reasonable cynic should be. Perhaps I might one day be decent at it, but I'm not going to count on it, and I'd prefer you don't either. And it works both ways. We would make terrible teachers for each other, regardless of who gets there first. Imagine trying to teach me how and why to be 'good'."

Albus almost chuckled. "An apt way to put it. Any other objections?"

"What annoyed me most about you was always, at the core of things, your belief in the afterlife. And it's hard to be a good teacher when you are constantly in a state of annoyance about the thing you are trying to teach. You called me evil and Perenelle good in the same breath because of it, even before I had done anything." Tom Riddle shook his head. "I cannot picture myself ever having that kind of patience, regardless of my own personal progress in the realm of happiness."

"And yet you say you are not rejecting the idea?"

"I do not have the patience. But I know somepony who might."

Again, as Albus expected.

"It would be her choice to help you," Tom continued, "and I cannot force her one way or the other. You can always make the request, and you do have little else to do with your time. Unless you choose to assist with the novel, which I suspect you will find more pleasant-" he paused. Frowned. "Apologies again for trying to influence your preferences with a false dichotomy. I'll state my own preference instead. I'd prefer not to do things that hurt my interests. Do you expect your request to do that? Is it a stalling tactic designed to annoy me?"

"It is not. It is thus far my only idea for piercing through the veil of whatever deceptions you might be weaving. My casting of the Patronus would not be something you could fake. It would not be conclusive, but it would be significant evidence in your favor."

"You repeat yourself, and you did not answer my more important question. Do you expect your request to harm my interests?"

Albus tried his best to consider the question from Tom's perspective. "Not if your interests involve truly learning the Patronus charm, and convincing me of the true fact that you have learned it, once you have."

"Do you intend to delay my release until you learn the Patronus?"

"Not specifically that." But it will help your case if I know it by the time you do, he did not say, for that would again be repeating himself. "I intend to delay your release only until I, as a reasonable cynic about you in particular, have become as certain as I can be that you can truly cast it. I cannot imagine a better method yet. Perhaps your future happy self will think of something. Perhaps I will think of something when I see him. Perhaps something about him will be blatantly, obviously good to me, even if I poke and prod at him for days on end. If you want to rely on me knowing redemption when I see it, so be it. But I know you dislike that prospect immensely. This is my own first attempt at something which is not that. I was laughing at the irony of the fact that it might be unfair to you, if you're being straightforward in all of this."

---

Riddle thought for a time. Regardless of whether it works, ensuring Dumbledore has more information is better, not worse, given that Riddle isn't actually trying a deception here, and given that Dumbledore does seem to be trying to weigh evidence honestly. Adding complication isn't wise in situations of pure bad faith, but Dumbledore isn't quite interpreting everything in pure bad faith.

Openness. Willingness to share information. Answering every question Dumbledore asks (aside from classified information he'd know to respect as classified). All of these should work towards his favor.

But as Dumbledore pointed out, with enough effort Riddle could simply fake every last thing. There is very little that can't possibly be faked.

Except for the honest truth, said his inner model of Luna. As much of the truth as possible, as unfiltered as possible, as unmanipulable as possible, for years on end. Especially if it has the potential to harm your interests. Especially if it does harm your short-term interests.

He frowned at that.

Well, for now he'll just go with his initial impulse to bring someone potentially skilled in the art of unbelieving the afterlife. Perhaps that will help in other ways.

---

"Hello," said a white pony of rainbow mane, winged and horned like all the others Albus has seen so far, though her wings were feathered like 'Luna's', not leathered like Tom's. "I was not expecting a human. Are you the one who might be in need of my help?"

"Ah... perhaps," said Albus. "What were you told?"

"Very, very little," said the pony. "I was told I'm in a good position to help fulfill the wishes of Twilight, myself, and my sister. I was told I could do this by helping someone trapped in this Mirror, whom only Riddle Tome can retrieve, and only by standing in the range of reflection. I was told that, at the start of it all, I should know as little as possible, with as few instructions as possible, if I wanted to help as much as I could as quickly as I could. I was told that Riddle would be perceptible to us, but we would be imperceptible to him unless you give him a signal. And finally, I was told that I am free to ask questions of you, and answer any questions you have of me. And I would like to ask one right away, if I may."

"By all means."

"Are you the being responsible for the barrier between this world and Silver's?"

Albus's eyes narrowed in brief confusion. "'Silver'?"

"Silver Wing," said the white pony. "An... a highly academic young colt," she said, looking like she was carefully thinking about what she could and couldn't say. "He revered science in particular."

Then Albus remembered Harry's alias. "Ah. Yes, I am."

Albus likewise decided to be careful in his words. Should he say Silver Wing was only an alias? According to Tom, this pony would know less than the last. While Albus wouldn't mind blowing Tom's secrets wide open, he was a bit more hesitant with Harry's, which unfortunately meant he had to be more hesitant with Tom's.

"May I ask how you came to be stuck in that position?" she asked politely.

"Hubris, I suppose you could say," Albus answered at what he hoped to be the appropriate level of vagueness. "I tried to outwit someone who outwitted me in turn."

"Who?"

Albus considered how best to answer that. "A Dark Lord who must not be named," he decided to say.

Something flickered in the expression of the white pony, but he couldn't tell what. Anger? Recognition? Suspicion?

"In any case," said Albus, "my folly impacted many lives, Silver's most prominently among them."

The pony began tapping the ground with the tip of her hoof. A nervous gesture? She didn't seem to be deliberately calling attention to it, or herself. "Silver Wing... and Memory Sunshine... they had such an impact... Twilight- many ponies loved them very much. If you know, can you say how they're doing? Are they safe?"

Albus's eyebrows rose. "I wish I could say I know anything for certain. My perceptions in this Mirror are highly limited, and questionable. But I suspect they are fine." And while it was heartening to hear the rest, he didn't comment on it, for it could easily be a lie. "If it is true they found a way to escape, then Time is not passing for them, and it will not pass until..." again, he did not know how much was safe to say.

The white pony sighed. "Until Riddle Tome can demonstrate the Patronus for you."

"Until I believe he can cast it freely, yes. But with a perfect anti-magic barrier between us, and the existence of illusions..." Albus trailed off suggestively.

The white pony sighed even more deeply. "I can see how that might pose a problem. There are no work-arounds?"

"Nothing direct, though I have a few ideas," said Albus. "If you have ever overcome a belief in the afterlife, such that it allowed you to cast the True Patronus, let me know. But first, if I may ask, what is your opinion of Riddle?" He made sure to use the name she knew him by, again as a precaution against spilling Harry's secrets.

Celestia blinked a few times. "He is... he was the absolute worst law-abiding pony I had ever met," she answered at once. "And one of the smartest."

"He 'was' the absolute worst?" asked Albus, focusing on the surprising part.

"He has slowly been getting better. He revived my sister after killing her murderer and protecting my little ponies in the process, so he does not deserve my ire, for all that he irks me. But years of mental habits and judgements can be hard to update, and I still do not enjoy his company. Now, to answer your other question... Expecto Patronum!" A silhouette of a pony blazed into existence, bright as sunlight. "I do believe I might be able to help you with your belief in the afterlife. I do not know how much my experience transfers, but I did believe in one myself, once upon a time, and I helped my nation overcome the belief as I had, though I admit to taking the immortal's easy way out."

"The immortal's easy way out?"

"Multi-generational influence," she elaborated. "It is... safer and less likely to result in harmful chaos, when you have the luxury for it. But it does mean I have avoided trying to change the minds of elder ponies who were set in their ways. I was never the best with confrontations like that. Not when they did not involve a clear divide between good and evil."

Albus stroked his beard, intrigued, and perhaps impressed. "I see. You may indeed be able to help me despite that." For unlike Tom and Luna, in this pony he saw hints and reflections of himself, which might help immensely. "And thank you for your testimony. I am sorry, but I hope you'll forgive me for doubting it." Or, more accurately, for doubting that it proves anything, even if it's true.

"Why do you doubt it?"

"Because all I have is testimony. Testimony involving someone competent at lying and fabrications. Not that I am levying any specific allegations, but this is precisely the sort of evidence that illusions are good at fabricating. I needn't even ask what the excuse shall be for why this Mirror must stay here, and why it should not be allowed to reflect random people without precautions, for I know this Mirror as well as anyone else alive, and perhaps better."

"Really?" asked the pony, sounding curious. "Could you explain how to unravel the speakable, yet incomprehensible runes on the backside?" (Which she had covered under layers of mithril long ago for obvious safety reasons. The runes prevent themselves from being understood as written language, you can only speak them aloud, and even then they cannot be understood.)

"Perhaps," Albus answered. It's a somewhat trivial puzzle, allowing you to access the hidden function of the Mirror that shows your heart's desire, but whoever imposed the obfuscation might have had an important reason. Albus didn't care to unobscure it without an equally important reason. "My apologies," he said, "but I just now realized we have not been introduced. May I ask your name, and should I presume you know mine?"

"You may, and you should not. I am Celestia, Princess of Equestria."

"Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Chief Warlock of Magical Britain, and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. Well met."

"May I ask what all that means?"

"I was the head of a magical school, the head of a magical state, and the head of a magical world," Albus summarized, more curt than he normally would be.

"You 'were'?" asked Celestia in a tone which made it obvious she was aware she mirrored his own past question.

Albus nodded gravely. "A word of warning from a wizard who was not wise enough. I weaponized this mirror at my own risk, my own peril, my own doom. Even should Riddle succeed and be freed, I will remain trapped. Perhaps forever."

...

(Celestia did not even know it could be weaponized. Well, she did, but she didn't think of it in terms of weaponization... she grew just a little sadder.)

"May I ask more about that?" she asked. "Does it have to do with the Dark Lord... who must not be named... who outwitted your attempt to outwit him?"

"Yes," said Albus, continuing the conversation conservatively.

But in a brief moment of... weakness? Temptation? Curiosity? A desire to see what happened if he poked the veil? Well, regardless, he decided to be truly blunt, and see what happened from there.

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is what my terrified countrymen called him," Albus explained. Best to start with something that would mean little without context. "He called himself Voldemort. I called him Tom Riddle, when he was a student in Hogwarts. You now call him Riddle Tome."

Not a moment after Albus finished speaking, the rainbow mane of the pristine white pony became a blazing inferno – a transition so instantaneous and intense that, had Albus not already been bracing himself for the unexpected, he might have flinched.

She spun on her hooves, clearly intending to do something to the unawares-Riddle whom the two of them could (theoretically) see but who (theoretically) could not perceive them.

And then... nothing.

She stood there, facing Tom, her expression unreadable at this angle. She did not move. Her mane still blazed. Her Patronus still blazed, pacing back and forth as though impotently. But she remained absolutely still.

"Princess Celestia?" asked Albus.

No response.

"Are you alright?"

Still no response.

After a pause to think, Albus said, "Is he responsible for this?"

There was no verbal response, and the pony didn't move a muscle, but her mane blazed brighter and (presumably) hotter, even as her Patronus wavered. Her body seemed to be locked in place, as if petrified.

Albus waited for Tom to notice, waited for the next part of the play to happen... but nothing came next. Tom continued working at the desk, continued ignoring what was happening at the Mirror, continued appearing as if he had no idea his illusion had just malfunctioned.

As the minutes progressed, Albus decided he might be meant to conclude that this is not illusion, that the ponies on the other side of the Mirror are real, and that, obviously, they're being manipulated by Tom in some no-longer-hidden fashion, punished by penalty of paralysis should they fail.

Keeping that potential meta-deception in mind, Albus gave the signal that Tom pre-arranged to pierce through his awareness barriers, a bright illusory light of a certain exact shade of green. Tom's idea of a joke, of course. Though it was at Tom's own expense; he very convincingly hurled himself in an unpredictable direction every time.

As Tom recovered from his sudden dodge, he seemed to notice the frozen Princess, causing him to freeze up himself for a moment, locking a hard gaze upon the pony who was not quite glaring back at him. She was glaring at where he had been before the signal caused him to move.

Tom then cautiously approached the Mirror, giving Celestia and her pacing Patronus as wide a berth as the Mirror's range of reflection allowed. Celestia's Patronus, unlike Celestia herself, tracked Riddle unobtrusively, staying firmly between him and her.

"The cracks are beginning to show, Tom," said Albus. "What did you do to her, exactly?"

Tom's frown deepened. "She willingly acquiesced to the Equestrian equivalent of an Unbreakable Vow." He conjured a parchment, then held it before the Mirror.

Albus adjusted his glasses and leaned forward, taking a moment to read this part of the play. "Precisely how is it enforced?" he asked afterward.

"Upon attempted violation of this contract, the signatory is paralyzed for an hour-"

The mane of the pony blazed outward in a flash, rushing towards Tom, who barely managed to react fast enough to protect himself. Who did not react fast enough to protect the piece of parchment.

Tom was now the definition of 'Fight, Flight, or Freeze,' staring down the threat as his singed fur regenerating before Albus's eyes.

Celestia's mane slowly diminished again. She still did not move to face them, or move at all.

After some time elapsed, Tom spoke. "That was a copy, stupid mare." The mane flared up again, though not quite as strongly as before. "Thank you for unambiguously demonstrating that you are able and willing to violate contracts, and that your word is worthless. That is important information." Her Patronus wavered. Hard. But it did not break. "Now excuse me while I exclude you from the rest of my affairs."

A visible blur sprung up, separating her from them.

"If you are truly set on getting out of this Mirror," said Albus, "I would not recommend excluding her from my affairs."

After staring at her blurred form for a few more seconds, Tom turned to face Albus again. "Explain."

"She claims she likely has the knack for overcoming false beliefs in afterlives. If I am inclined to believe anything at all of what I am seeing, I am inclined to believe that much."

Tom was frowning. Then sighing. "Very well. I do see cause to let her hear what comes next in any case." The barrier of blurriness vanished, presumably meaning she was no longer blocked from hearing the conversation. "I take it you told her something that strongly urged her to act against my interests," he said. "I would ask what it was."

Albus tried to anticipate what Tom might be plotting, but he concluded that he was meant to conclude that the plot involved Tom's Mirror-world affairs and not Albus at all. With that in mind, Albus decided to speak the truth. Even if it harms Celestia, he can't afford to care more about Mirror inhabitants than the fate of his own world.

"I told her little enough. Only that our countrymen were too terrified of you to speak your name, that you were a Dark Lord, and that your name was Tom Riddle before it was Voldemort."

"Nothing else?" asked Tom with a more pronounced frown than usual.

Albus considered for a moment. "In the course of warning her as an unwise wizard might, I told her that my folly in attempting to outwit you landed Silver in her world, and landed me in this Mirror. But that was earlier in our conversation, and she did not know I was talking about you at the time. I told her nothing of your other deeds. If she pieced together a picture of your true nature and past from those tidbits alone, I admit I am impressed at her ability to pick up on patterns."

I would be too, thought Tom, if this did not suggest something else entirely. Unfortunately for Mr. Silver, she almost certainly did not deduce it herself. The worlds in which he intentionally betrayed me now have significantly more weight. And unfortunately for HER, I am CURRENTLY LIVING in a world where SHE intentionally tried to betray me.

"What are you thinking, Tom?"

"Nothing good," he said honestly.

"You realize all this secrecy and manipulation is not helping your case?"

Tom glared at Albus for a moment. "Very well. I shall tell you that part of the story. To start, if it was not obvious from our previous interactions, I have no hard knowledge, no first-hand account of Mr. Silver and Ms. Memory's escape. I had to piece it together from context. Celestia, on the other hand, likely does have a first-hand account, though she claims she made an oath of secrecy about it."

"If she was sworn to say nothing, how can you know she was there?"

"She was sworn to say little, not nothing. In retrospect, she's always had the proclivity to skirt around the spirit of her oaths." Again, the wavering Patronus in the background. "She was the one who first informed me of Mr. Silver's escape. I already had cause to be actively monitoring Mr. Silver at the time, though I could not do so directly. Despite my active involvement in the situation, she learned of his departure sooner than I did. She was the first to inform me that Patronus messages were no longer reaching him. And she later admitted to knowing hidden knowledge she'd been sworn to protect-" and to the facts that a phoenix had come for Ms. Memory and that Mr. Silver had asked to be taken with her at the last moment, which were not covered by her supposed oath "-though she always fell back on her oath of secrecy whenever I pressed for more information."

"Has she said why she was sworn?"

"She gave no reason, only implied the reasonable excuse of dangerous knowledge. Even I cannot complain about that, and there is likely a grain of truth to it, but knowledge of dangerous magics alone would not cause her to react-" he glanced over his shoulder "-like that. From the very beginning, my prediction was that, in the course of his successful escape attempt, Mr. Silver took the calculated risk of Celestia eavesdropping on his plot. Since he could not avoid her, he swore her to secrecy. And then Mr. Silver showed Ms. Memory and Celestia his recollection of Azkaban. He needed Ms. Memory to be inspired to action against Dementors in particular. But that would have also meant showing his pretense at being me, and more importantly, showing his memories of my dear Bella- ah. Thank you for confirming that I'm right on point, Celestia. That will be all. Frigideiro. Quietus."

A large wave of frost and cold seemed to combat the ever-increasing blaze of fire, seemed almost to freeze over the entire room, and though the blur did not visibly return, there was the implication that its effects were back in place. No doubt stronger spells than the two he'd spoken had been used, and this was merely Tom's way of being dramatic. 'I am so strong I shall not deign to use more than first-year spells against you.'

"In any case," said Tom, once again facing Albus, "Mr. Potter would have had to explain a number of things to give those memories proper context, presumably including the name of the Dark Lord responsible for Bellatrix. Though obviously he explained it in such a way that neither Miss Granger nor Celestia would know that meant me."

"Until now," said Albus, stroking his beard again. "And that realization was enough for her to break through all previous obfuscations of your past and attempt to incinerate you."

"Attempt to incinerate the contract responsible for paralyzing her. But yes, presumably me too, thereafter."

A completely understandable reaction to comprehending the true nature of Voldemort, Albus thought. "And is the paralysis indefinite?" he asked aloud. "Or does it only last until she stops trying to violate the contract?"

"Hm... now that you point it out, contracts are a bit 'inequine' by pony standards. Your guess would be far more fitting to their moral systems and styles. If they had been invented today, I suspect they would have your proposed mechanics. But no, it lasts for an hour unless the contractor personally intervenes."

"Mm," said Albus, thinking. "Suppose I asked you to 'intervene' in her paralysis and include her in our conversation. Would you?"

"Not without a reason conducive to my interests."

"Acquiescing to my unexpected and unplanned requests immediately, without leaving the range of the Mirror to prepare a lie, can only help you. If you are not conspiring to fool me. And it will also help you if you are conspiring, so long as the results reinforce your illusions."

"Hmm... not conducive enough." Tom tilted his head. "But I've just thought of something that is. Very well." Tom turned to face the pony. His horn glowed briefly.

Celestia gave a brief twitch.

Tom snorted, then his horn glowed again.

Celestia gave more than a twitch this time, succeeding in turning around about a quarter of the way to facing Tom. When she froze this time- as soon as her gaze met Tom's- her stance was unbalanced and she fell over. Her frozen body came to an extremely awkward-looking stop after a few seconds of wobbling, for her position while turning was not at all good for lying on the ground, and she was locked to it.

"You were right, Professor Dumbledore," said Tom, his grin much wider now. "This is interesting. Frigideiro," he said to the resulting blaze of fiery mane. His horn glowed without waiting for her apparent anger to subside.

Once again, Celestia barely managed a twitch before freezing up.

"Come now, Princess," said Tom, his voice light and mocking. "You're supposed to getting better each time, not worse." Another glow.

Another twitch.

"I am tempted," said Albus, "to ask you to give her more time in between attempts."

"This is more fun." Horn glow.

Twitch.

By now, Celestia no longer looked uncomfortably arced against the ground, at least. The series of twitches had slowly adjusted her frozen position away from that of a quarter-turned standing pony to something more conformed to the flat floor.

Horn glow.

Twitch.

Albus decided to say something again. "I thought you were trying to demonstrate that you are becoming a better person."

"You think I'm not?" asked Tom, his voice still light and mocking, his lips grinning. "In response to her attempt at violating a solemn vow, I am nothing but magnanimous, gracious, and forgiving. She overtly and explicitly attempted to break of an oath of secrecy and inaction that she knew might involve things she wouldn't like when she learned, she deliberately tried to betray me in as conscious a manner as any intelligent being could, and here I am, forgiving her in the most explicit way possible, giving her chance-" horn glow, twitch, "-after chance-" glow, twitch, "-after chance to do better." Glow.

Pause. Twitch.

"One might even call my actions kind and generous."

The mane flared back up to contract-burning levels again, though this time Tom was clearly prepared for it.

"She is the sister of the other Princess, yes?" asked Albus. "What would Luna say about your current behaviour, Tom?"

The grin vanished. "Oh, very well," he sighed. "A minute to recover."

The burning mane diminished. Somewhat.

Albus was half-surprised that worked. It surely wouldn't work again if he tried to repeat the tactic, and doing so might also interfere with Tom's redemption-

"Sixty. Fifty-nine. Fifty eight. Fifty seven."

And the burning mane blazes again.

Albus sighed and resolved to try a slightly different approach. "Does Luna know about Bellatrix?"

"No," Tom answered, cutting off his own counting. "Truthfully, I don't remember much of it myself anymore, only the broad strokes. I locked many memories away, of more than just Bellatrix, though there are many blank spots about Bellatrix in particular."

That came as a surprise. "What? Why?"

"A precaution."

"Against what?"

"Guilt-driven suicide."

...

Albus had nothing to say to that.

And he wondered if Celestia would have been equally silent, had she the freedom to speak. Her mane of fire had extinguished, returning to... not quite its previous brilliant rainbow sheen. The colours were more muted, more pastel, more sombre. Her Patronus had winked out too.

"Though I do intend to unlock them after I learn the Patronus," said Tom. His horn glowed.

Pause.

There were no immediate twitches this time.

Slowly, Celestia rose to a stand.

Comments

[keybounce]

... Day Breaker returns!

So we find someone pony that is soo horrible it actually brings out her own internal nightmare killer being.

... and it's her sister's fool :-)

[Booster Spice]

And thats with Mr Paraniod keeping passive and hair trigger defenses up all times verses power levels that take time to ramp up even when prepared.

Something only very weakly relavent that sprung to mind reading this about the meaning and intent of magic, oaths and words etc?

How do gender denying Karens handle languages where the very words are gender based? Or are they currently so entrenched in English, they havent realised such languages exist?

[Luminous Lead]

Celestia stutter-stepping through a rage sounds really funny.

[Fireeaters]

nice chapter

[Bahamuttone]

11670652
Uh what do you mean?
I’m Italian. Gender is something separate from sex.
That something that English speaking person seems to not really get.
In Italia they’re no neutral so EVERYTHING is either masculine or feminine. For example a chair (una sedia) is feminine.
Additionally everything is declined so as up there with the chair you have the indeterminative article declined as “una” while for a boot (stivale) it would be “uno” as it is masculine.
This I think makes it easier to see that the sociological gender is just a social construct based on stereotypes.

[Skulltan]

I think this chapter brought out a side of Riddle that we haven't seen for some time in the rehabilitation chapters. It reminds me somewhat of how he behaved in The Truth chapters in HPMOR, which is not a good sign. Though I'll have to see how it goes over with a calmer Celestia after this scene.

[harts fire]

Celestia is vary hard headed and has needed someone to slap it out of her for a good long while.

awesome chapter.

[Black--Soul]

Wow... that escalated quickly...
But the end once ? More is baffling.