"Do you suspect I'm a fake?"
John Dolores's tone made it sound as though Moody was being absurd. "I think you're truly losing it. Do you really believe someone could deal with me in that short a time? Unless the attacker was Dumbledore or You-Know-Who!"
"Hmph. And why did you act without permission?" Moody snorted. He hadn't actually found anything wrong. The John Dolores in front of him looked and sounded perfectly plausible. But that didn't mean Moody was pleased.
"I didn't want to miss an opportunity. I saw a python. It bolted the moment it spotted me, so I worried it was Riddle's spy." John Dolores flicked his wand, and a python as thick as a thigh floated up into the air.
Moody stared at it. For a moment, he couldn't spot anything unusual.
"Then you obviously misjudged it." Moody's voice turned sharp, his annoyance at John Dolores's unauthorized action still plain. When he finished, he strode off to the other side and began investigating on his own, as if he couldn't be bothered to spare John Dolores another glance.
"Don't take it personally. That's just how he is." Tonks stepped in, nudged John Dolores with her elbow, and asked, "So what do we do with the snake?"
"It's useless. Let it go." John Dolores released the Levitation Charm. The python dropped to the ground, immediately coiling in fear and going rigid.
"Keep looking for other clues," John Dolores said, giving Tonks a pat on the shoulder as encouragement.
Tonks nodded absentmindedly, then her gaze caught on John Dolores's wrist. "Hey, were you wearing that bracelet when you came here?"
"I've had it for ages. Made it myself," John Dolores replied calmly, tugging his sleeve down to cover the silver, snake-shaped bracelet. "It blocks some weaker Dark magic."
"Oh." Tonks didn't doubt him for a second. Instead, she turned her attention to the courtyard with obvious interest. "The wings on that sculpture are really delicate."
John Dolores pinched his left wrist with his right hand and let the corner of his mouth lift slightly as he watched the others scatter back to work.
John Dolores, at this moment, was no longer John Dolores.
After Elijah lured John Dolores into the depths of the woods, he took his form.
And the real John Dolores was the "snake" from earlier.
As for Nagini, she was the bracelet on his wrist right now.
Since Elijah completed Imago Magus's transformation, his understanding of Transfiguration had reached an entirely new level. On top of that, the wand with a thunderbird-feather core gave his Transfiguration a dramatic boost.
All of it gave Elijah the confidence to deceive Moody.
Of course, even if Moody's eye could see through him, Elijah wasn't helpless.
There were only four opponents here. Moody, the strongest of them, had limited mobility. It wouldn't take Elijah much effort to deal with the group if it came to that.
He simply didn't want to draw unnecessary attention.
His real goal was to slip into the Ministry of Magic.
Not long ago, after obtaining the Resurrection Stone, Elijah contacted Malfoy again. He intended to ask about Vault 12 and also inquire into the earliest Gringotts vaults, as well as who originally owned them.
Elijah didn't actually know the plot of Hogwarts Legacy in detail. He had bought the game, but the storyline felt too bland, so he never finished it. He'd only watched a few videos and picked up a rough outline.
And according to his own investigation, there seemed to be no record of a fifth-year transfer student attending Hogwarts during the tenure of that notoriously unpopular headmaster.
Yet some of the remaining characters in the game did appear to line up with real history.
That contradiction left Elijah unsettled. Still, one thing was certain: the concept of ancient magic existed.
And the strongest evidence was Lily Potter and her magic of 'Love'.
As for whether Vault 12 held secrets of ancient magic, Elijah intended to see for himself.
After contacting Malfoy, Elijah even returned to Azkaban once to question the Death Eater Rookwood. But Rookwood knew nothing about the key's location. He had never even heard of ancient magic.
In the end, Elijah could only rely on his own deductions and Malfoy's guesses: the key to Vault 12 was most likely hidden inside the Ministry of Magic.
Breaking into the Ministry directly was obviously a poor choice. Elijah didn't care about Aurors, but Dumbledore wasn't dead yet.
So Elijah had no choice but to take a roundabout approach. He needed an identity that could get him through the doors.
Otherwise, even if Moody did find clues, he'd never be able to connect them to the magical traces at the Gaunt shack.
And Elijah certainly couldn't have "accidentally" let Frank speak his name.
If Elijah truly wanted to disappear, the entire town could forget he'd ever been there.
In the end, Moody and the others found nothing.
However, none of them left.
As the sun dipped toward the horizon, an old man in grey robes appeared on the hillside as if he'd stepped out of the air itself, his beard falling all the way to his belt.
Dumbledore.
Facing him again, Elijah felt the familiar weight of pressure settle in his chest.
"Albus," Moody greeted, limping forward. "Is everything all right at the school? With all due respect, you'd better watch out for Sirius. He's more dangerous than an ordinary Death Eater."
"On the contrary," Dumbledore said mildly, "I believe Tom Riddle is more dangerous."
As he spoke, Dumbledore craned his neck to take in the dramatically altered Riddle manor.
He sighed, sounding almost genuinely pleased. "I must say, Riddle's taste is far better than it used to be. I'm glad he no longer prefers that gloomy, oppressive atmosphere."
"I can't think of a place darker than Hogwarts Castle," Elijah complained without much restraint. "If you catch Tom Riddle, before you send him back to Azkaban, you should make him redesign the castle."
"That's a very good idea, Mr. Dolores," Dumbledore nodded, as if sincerely considering it. Then he turned back to Moody. "Alastor, did you discover anything?"
"About four miles away there's an abandoned Gaunt family house," Moody said. "Strong traces of magic were left there. Riddle definitely stayed here and did something, but I can't find his current location."
"I'm very interested in what he did," Dumbledore said, his tone sharpening. "Just in case… I want to be sure there won't be any tragedy nearby. Yes?"
"No. Why would you ask that?" Moody replied, frowning.
"Nothing," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "Only a little concern over an escaped criminal." He paused, eyes distant. "Since he left nothing behind, it means he must have taken something away. It seems we're still too late."
Moody had long since grown used to Dumbledore's riddles.
The old man kept his secrets to himself.
"Anything else?" Moody asked.
"John Dolores found a snake," Tonks said quickly.
"The snake wasn't unusual," Moody cut in.
But Dumbledore clearly wasn't willing to dismiss the possibility. More importantly, he could speak Parseltongue himself.
So he looked to Elijah and said, "Could you bring it to me? I'd like to see it."
Show it to Dumbledore?
Memories could be altered, yes, but it wasn't difficult for a powerful wizard to detect the seams. Dumbledore could see through Slughorn's tampered memory with ease; Voldemort could dig out fragmented truths from minds that had been Obliviated repeatedly.
If Elijah had known Dumbledore would appear, he would never have brought John Dolores, transformed into a snake, along with him.
But now… the pressure on him was oddly light.
"Why, of course."