31 October 1992, Hogwarts
It was odd, seeing this imperfect reflection of his own face. The man's silver eyes were glowing like full moons, but there was something else bothering Harry about them. Ah, yes, they were old eyes, wise eyes, that just didn't look right on someone his age.
Deciding to take the initiative, Harry calmly asked, "Who are you?"
"My name is Ignotus Peverell, young Potter. And I believe we have much to discuss."
For a second, Harry's face froze in shock. This was Ignotus Peverell? The man that had outsmarted Death itself? He looked so normal. From the legends, he should have looked older. After all, he's the only one of the Peverell brothers that greeted Death like an old friend when he died of old age.
Wanting to clarify, Harry asked, "As in THE Ignotus Peverell, from the tale of three brothers?"
The man's neutral face frowned slightly, "Do not always take legends and stories too seriously. Yes, I am that Ignotus Peverell, but I can tell you with absolute certainty that most of the legends of the Hallows are false. My brothers and I did not defeat Death by conjuring a bridge, that's for sure."
"So, where did the Deathly Hallows come from, then?"
The man gave Harry a mysterious grin, "Perhaps one day, young descendant, when you have proven yourself worthy, I will explain how the Hallows were made. But that's not why you're here, is it? You used a spell to communicate with your crest. So, tell me what you need. Why have you come?"
"Riddle. Tom Riddle. I need help dealing with him," Harry responded reluctantly.
It was a bit of a flaw of Harry's that he didn't like asking for help. He liked figuring things out himself, and sometimes, he tended to be too proud to ask for aid. He knew that it wasn't something good, but he had lived for a decade with the Dursleys without the luxury of help in any way, and old habits die hard.
Anyway, if there was anything he could trust, it was his very own crest. And he really needed the help. Tom Riddle had outsmarted him very easily, and it didn't seem to be changing anytime soon. The older student had a network of people under his control, including a professor. It was funny, in a way, that the soul shard of a Dark Lord, had deemed the man to be so incompetent that it put him under its control and made him teach properly. Riddle was evil and all, but at least he had standards.
So, yeah, he needed to know how to deal with a Basilisk in case that happens, and a way to track down the real Diary. He also needed to figure out how Riddle was controlling his victims. Mind control spells of that duration need some kind of anchor for the spell to work without it being obvious. The Imperius Curse, for all its advantages, was very easy to throw off after a few days without being reapplied, and Riddle wouldn't risk it on such a large network that he didn't always have access to, especially if he's masquerading as a student. So, he had to rely on compulsion charms that are connected to the diary and anchored with some kind of physical artefact to act as a target. That would allow him to send orders from far away without needing to connect to any other. Each order was technically a new spell, and if the compulsion charm was subtle enough, it wouldn't be obvious.
As far as he could tell, this was the method Riddle used, since it was the only way to order around Lockhart from inside the chamber without leaving it. So, Harry needed to find the artefacts on every single control victim, and destroy them, just to break Riddle's network.
Harry's ancestor broke him from his thoughts, "Ah, the soul shard. A very peculiar opponent, I must admit. I have to say that I have never seen something as delicate as a Horcrux used as a weapon and gain this much autonomy."
"I think he made a mistake during its creation. He killed another student by accident so he rushed it, so that her Death wouldn't be meaningless."
The silver eyed man snorted, "All deaths are meaningless, child. The Dead do not care about the living, it's why they're dead, after all."
"Then, why are you here?"
"I'm not really here. Ignotus Peverell died after living a long and fulfilling life. I am just an imprint of his consciousness in the magical crest that he granted his descendants. The fact that you're compatible enough to theoretically be his successor, is the only reason I showed myself. Of course, being compatible isn't enough. You have to prove yourself worthy of this knowledge, and well, I'm not holding my breath."
Harry gritted his teeth, "Why am I not worthy, then?"
"Because you're a coward," the man simply answered, "Oh, don't pretend to be angry at me. You know you're a coward, I'm inside your head, remember? If it was up to you, you would leave this school, go abroad and study magic in peace. You wouldn't concern yourself with this Voldemort and the Champion of Light. And well, I can't have someone so passive, so unwilling to do anything, be worthy of Ignotus' legacy."
"What about Riddle, then?" Harry protested, "How am I a coward in that case?"
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