then inspects the dioramas

with increasing concern.

"This is . . . not entirely unexpected, but the magnitude of the problem is greater than I thought. However, I can say that mister Potter is in no immediate danger."

"...okay, cool. What is going on exactly, 'not in immediate danger' leaves so much room."

"I believe he can be trusted. He has been nothing but helpful so far, and without him we would still be unaware of the problem."

"I'm very helpful."

Dumbledore gives Cam a long, searching look, his eyes twinkling, then turns to Harry. 

"The matters we are about to discuss are distinctly unpleasant and unlikely to require you to do anything any time soon. I suggest you go enjoy your dinner."

Harry gets out (and determines the door to be inconveniently soundproof, and gets the rest of the way out).

"Before anything else, I should inform you of the events of today in more detail." She explains about Ginny, and the basilisk, and the fiendfyre, and about Lockhart and her unilateral decision to sack him ("I have secured Remus Lupin as a replacement"), and Malfoy's unfortunately unprovable involvement, and the business with all the excess Tom Riddles. 

"Unpro- okay, I guess you probably don't have a system to make forensic conjuration admissible but I'm starting to really dislike what I've seen of wizard mechanisms for keeping your preteen children safe."

"I'm afraid you've seen a rather unusual series of events. I've had more trouble keeping my students safe today than in the entire rest of my career to date."

"And today is, I am afraid, not over. To begin with, Minerva, your suspicions were correct: Tom Riddle and Lord Voldemort are one and the same."

...Cam double-checks this real quick with especially tiny models, then dumps the especially tiny models into the Albanian forest.

Yup, same dude collective of random objects.

"I know you suspected he was still alive, but what does it mean that he's in multiple locations? And that one of them is mister Potter's scar?"

"I believe he may have undertaken certain Dark rituals to preserve his immortality, and that the diary and other objects tie him to existence. I will need to think on the implications regarding the child."

"Are we talking possession, reincarnation, backup copy, respawn location, telepresence -"

"He is currently lacking a body, but one of his followers may be able to restore him to one. He made an attempt at the Philosopher's Stone last year while possessing someone, and had he obtained it that would have sufficed."

"Good to know and not what I asked."

"The items are what enables him to exist without a body, rather than passing on to what comes next."

"In... what way. - it is like the nineteen nineties and probably wizards don't read a lot of science fiction, I apologize, I'm asking what kind of interactions he is having or will have with the various locations in which he exists. Are those locations passively storing information about his experiences moment to moment for him to pick up in case he loses access to whatever his main storage is? Can he act through those locations in any way, especially the Harry location? If you don't know, can you tell me about past instances of similar magic being used so I can forensic it?"

"I do not believe him to be interacting with them at all. They tie his soul to this world; he will become mortal if they are destroyed. Harry's case is stranger, and I know of no precedent for it. He has mentioned his scar hurting when Voldemort is nearby."

"...okay. Do you think it's the same kind of thing as the other ones different only in that it's applied to a kid's head?"

"I fear, or perhaps hope, that it is not. Multiple forms of rare magic were interacting that night, and I cannot imagine that Voldemort intended this or any other of the consequences."

"Wait a moment--you said he will become mortal if they are destroyed. What does that mean for mister Potter's safety?"

"I assure you, Minerva, I will take all reasonable steps to sever the connection without harm to the boy."

"I am not an expert in this sort of magic but it doesn't seem very large. It's centered right on the scar, which is pretty superficial and has nothing else to extend into beyond his forehead in the outward direction. One could maybe just carve it out and I can put back some non-magical skin, I guess maybe also some skull if it's got some deeper bits? It'd be pretty invasive as mundane surgery goes but I could expect to do it in about five minutes without a twinge, though I dunno what your state of the art is or how much the soul anchor would object to the process."