Chapter 3: A Newfound Ally
July 31st
Harry lay reading the spellbook, soaking up every word he read. He had begun to gather quite a lot about the author as he read the pages and practiced some of the more minor spells - the man who wrote the book had issues. Half the curses in the book were excellent ways to make revenge personal and satisfying. It was like reading a diary full of all the things a man who hated someone else would like to do in vengeance to the offender.
However, there were some extremely useful spells, charms and even potions in the book as well, and Harry was reading each page voraciously as his mind was exploring newer and newer possibilities, but the main theme of the book was curses. Some of them were horrendous. Harry took great pleasure in imagining himself performing them on Snape - something he wasn't proud of. Still, others Harry was so fascinated in reading because of their usefulness that he eventually took a piece of parchment and started writing down the page numbers of those spells that he really wanted to master.
Turning the page, Harry became startled as the book emitted an ominous gasping sound that he recognized instantly. It was the same wicked gasping he had heard in the cave he explored with Dumbledore...it was the breath of the inferius. The place in the book Harry was reading seemed to be where the sound was emanating from. The top of the page read "Sartorium." Harry read the text with ever-growing unease. The enchantment allowed the caster to gain allegiance of the mindless living for a short time. The stronger the spell-caster, the longer it would take affect. The page went on to list the known subjects the spell could affect. Inferi hordes were the first mentioned, topping a list that included giants, orcs, and gnomes. The text also gave warning that the spell would have no affect on dementors, thestrals, or humans of any kind, among other intelligent creatures.
By the time Harry had finished reading, he was breathing heavily and was near collapse. He stood up, only to stumble onto the floor in a delusional anxiety. He was in a complete panic. Why? He frantically thought, Why couldn't I have come across this page just a week earlier? It keeps coming back to this...What if I lose one of them? I'll never forgive myself. Sirius was a tragedy, Dumbledore left me lost and confused....but Ron and Hermione? What would I do? Where would I go? Voldemort would have me...
* * *
July 24th
As darkness approached, Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked into the Three Broomsticks ten minutes shy of seven o'clock. They were heavily cloaked and cautiously aware of their surroundings. The once-lively place was now half-empty, with only a handful of lone wizards and witches brave enough to go out in public sitting among the many tables. Voldemort had a full grip on the wizarding community again, striking fear into every aspect of life.
After their climactic experience in the basement, they had spent the remainder of the day avoiding people at Grimmauld Place until it was time to leave. When night began to fall, they got under Harry's invisibility cloak and walked until they were a safe distance from the house and then apparated to Hogsmeade. It hadn't been easy because Ginny immediately began to search for them after she was done helping her mother and she was hard to shake when the time came to leave. Harry felt the familiar pang of guilt inside of him after he decided to leave her out of all that had happened that day, but he didn't want her to come across unnecessary danger if he could help it.
They walked across the room and took up a table. Madame Rosmerta was not to be found and Harry was glad. He was hoping he and his friends would not be recognized before the meeting. There always seemed to be an interruption when people saw Harry Potter was nearby, especially in the past few months.
"Do you think he'll see us and decide not to meet you seeing as you're not alone like he asked?" Ron leaned in and asked quietly.
"I don't think so," Harry replied in a hushed voice. "He's the one that so desperately needs to speak with me, and, frankly, I don't really care much for whoever he is at the moment. I almost feel sometimes that because of him, Dumbledore's death was sort of in vain. He had already taken the horcrux, but just left that note and locket there. Why?"
"From the two notes, this person seems pretty shady," Hermione joined in. "Harry, we know you can handle your own, but it's definitely a good thing we are here. Perhaps this is a trap."
"That can't be though," Ron corrected her. "Hedwig would never have delivered that note to Harry if she knew this R.A.B. bloke was no good. There has to be something he wants from Harry, unless he really just wants to destroy Voldemort, in which case, we might have a bloody fantastic ally coming to meet with us."
Harry and Hermione began to sit back and contemplate what Ron had said when they all were startled by a dark, raspy voice. They jumped in their seats as they realized a large man was standing right next to their table - none of them had seen him approach.
"I thought I said to come alone?" the man said angrily, his words cold, sharp knives that seemed to strike into Harry's very heart.
He was a hefty man, with a protruding chest and a chin to match. His face was weathered and slightly wrinkled, like a man who had once made a living at sea, but refined himself. He had very long, thick sideburns and his eyes were black as coal, but a fire could be seen behind them as he glared angrily at Harry. He was wearing a very long, black coat that was riddled with pockets and dropped to his feet. The arms of the coat, however, did not seem to match the rest - they came to a halt abruptly below his elbow, half-way down his forearm. Both of his hands were gloved and clenched into fists, but were down at his sides. He wore a beaten, black hat with a perfectly round rim to top off his traveler-esque style.
Harry was disconcerted for a second, especially after seeing the wand holster wrapped around the rough-looking man's large left forearm, visible to anyone because of his short coat sleeves. However, Harry's courage quickly recovered and he returned the man's glare with an icy one of his own. He narrowed his eyes and then sniffed at the man, crossing his arms and waiting a moment before replying.
"If you are searching for an idiot, you have arranged to meet the wrong person. I meet with no one alone unless I trust them, for, as you can imagine, I have many enemies; I'm not sure if this is a news bulletin for you, but you don't have my trust. What you do have is a very short opportunity to explain who you are and what exactly it is you want." Ron and Hermione glanced at each other, Ron not being able to hide a grin and Hermione showing a slight frown.
"I don't have to waste my time helping you," the man continued to stare at Harry.
"I don't have to waste my time thinking you can," Harry replied coolly.
"The things we must discuss are of a very sensitive and horrifying nature. Have you ever heard of a hor--" the man cut himself off, looking at Ron and Hermione again uncertainly. Ron wasted no time finishing his sentence.
"A horcrux?"
The man's eyes became as wide as saucers and he took a step back while the three people in front of him regarded him with expectant looks. Harry could see he was debating in his mind and he was fine with that. He gave both Ron and Hermione a look as if to say This man has underestimated us from the start. We'll give him a chance for a breather to contemplate how much he's going to level with us. Both of them understood Harry's look and averted their eyes back to the stranger next to them. Finally, the man made his decision and pulled up a chair from a nearby table.
"It would appear I have not given you enough credit Harry Potter. I always assumed you were either lucky or just protected well enough. I see Dumbledore's trust was well-founded and that yours is as well." He nodded in the direction of Harry's two friends.
"Who are you?" Harry asked quickly.
"My name is Ramses Arkane Beauregard. Where I come from is not important. It is where I'm going that concerns us this night. We have a common enemy Mr. Potter - someone we both want to see dead. You have your reasons and I have mine. However, I believe we can be mutually beneficial to each other."
"You haven't told us why we should trust you."
"Indeed. However, trust is a luxury that few people can afford in these dark times, wouldn't you agree?"
"Hardly. To tell you the truth, without my trust in the ones I love, I would be lost and have nothing to fight for. While we may have the same hatred for Voldemort, I plan on utterly destroying him and to do so, I will leave nothing to chance. You are going to have to give me a reason to believe you and what you have to offer concerning the horcruxes."
The gruff man once again contemplated Harry and his two resolute-looking friends and then sighed.
"I used to be a Death Eater. I was one of the Dark Lord's greatest servants. I had knowledge of such things that he found to be of great use, especially concerning horcruxes. My father knew everything about them and thus, my knowledge was highly useful to the Dark Lord. I knew he had planned to create a horcrux, but I inadvertently stumbled across the fact that he replicated the process five more times for a total of seven individual pieces of his soul."
"This was the secret you mentioned you had discovered in the note in your locket?" Harry's eyes narrowed. "That you knew there were not one, but seven pieces of his soul? Dumbledore had deduced that already."
"I told no one of this and was faithful to my master. I don't know how he could have done so. However, I
kept that secret because I was also a loner and wanted to do things my own way. I was a servant to the Dark Lord only
because it served my purposes. I was a money mongerer and he paid the best."
"I've since come to realize the error of my ways, but not before he decided he had little use for me after he
had accomplished what he set out to do. He ordered me to serve him completely; more to the point, become his slave like
the rest of his brain-dead Death Eaters. I refused and he nearly destroyed me. I escaped, but I was almost to the point
of death. While I recuperated, the Dark Lord destroyed everything I held dear and I vowed to bring him down."
"So Voldemort had no idea anyone knew that he had made not one or two, but seven horcruxes," Hermione began to piece the story together in her head.
"The Dark Lord now knows you are aware," Beauregard said gruffly. "He has learned of Dumbledore's attempts for the pieces of his soul and has fortified his defenses around where they hide. He knows one has been destroyed, which he was not aware of until recently; however, at the same time, he is seeking an even greater treasure than anything he has come across before."
Harry, Hermione, and Ron all leaned in, expectant, as Beauregard continued his story. "The Dark Lord has caught wind of a legend. It was a story I assumed only my father and I knew of, and something I never personally believed. According to my father, back in the days of the founding members of Hogwarts, Salazar Slytherin possessed great knowledge of horcruxes. Most people know the story of how Slytherin was vanquished by Godric Gryffindor when Slytherin turned evil."
"Yes," Hermione began to nod. "According to Hogwarts, A History, Slytherin set out to eliminate all non-pureblood wizards and witches. Rumor has it he had gone mad and was a terrible threat to wizard-kind. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw opposed him and, together, destroyed him."
"That is a story only half-told." Beauregard sat back in his chair and seemed to think for a second before continuing. "According to the records my father possessed, Slytherin had also divided his soul in the attempt at immortality. One part resided within himself; the other, he placed within an orb of great and powerful magic. My father said that he placed this ancient orb on a staff he favored and used it in combination with his wand to enhance his powers ten-fold. However, the legend also states that his fractured soul was unable to cope with the loss of the other half and it drove him to madness and hatred, pitting him against his former friends. He was supposedly destroyed at the hands of the remaining three Hogwarts founders.
"Now, the orb had a very special ability. It was able to protect Slytherin's own horcrux against powerful attacks. At the same time, the orb was able to destroy a horcrux and protect the wizard who possessed the orb from many curses in the attempt to do so. To my father's dying day, he believed this orb existed, but no proof has ever been found to believe otherwise."
"Voldemort believes it though, doesn't he?" Harry asked.
"He wants to. He's definitely put an effort into trying to find out. He had sent me looking for a book of magic years back that Slytherin himself apparently wrote. He believed if he ever found that book, he would find the orb of Slytherin."
Harry's eyes widened for a second, but he quickly recovered - but not before Ron had caught it. Harry gave a little shake of his head which Hermione then caught. Harry focused his attention once again on Beauregard as he continued.
"Voldemort almost succeeded in finding the orb, too, had I not been there to stop him."
"What do you mean?" Harry's eyebrows rose to the ceiling. "Do you mean to tell us you know where the orb is located?"
"I believe I do, but I haven't actually seen it. I was searching in a certain mountainous region, when I heard rumors of a large snake wandering about the area. I knew it was possible that it was Dark Lord's servant, Nagini."
"Mmm, yes I know who Nagini is. Dumbledore believed Voldemort may have placed a horcrux inside her. If that's true, Voldemort will keep her protected. She's going to be a real challenge when I eventually face Voldemort."
It was Beauregard's turn to raise his eyebrows.
"So you really do believe you're `the Chosen One?'" he asked curtly. He evidently did not believe anything people said about Harry.
"That kind of talk is for the birds. However, there will come a reckoning. I plan on being ready."
Beauregard began to look at Harry intently again, his eyes as sharp as a hawk's. Ron and Hermione both had very proud looks on their faces. After a few moments, he continued once more.
"As I was saying, Voldemort is desperate to find a way to protect his horcruxes, as well as make sure no one else even knows what they are. He has killed anyone who knows anything about them... killed them or tried to: Ollivander, Fortescue, Bones, Dumbledore, and, soon enough, Slughorn. In the meantime, he has searched relentlessly, having his Death Eaters search throughout the world, following any miniscule lead. I was on just this very task when I came across Nagini in the before-mentioned mountains. I followed her, because there was something suspicious about her I could not place. I lost track of her at first, but at last found the small outcropping and cave she had entered."
"As I looked inside the shallow cave, I saw the snake exiting what seemed to be a door, an immense half-circular doorway that instantly closed the moment she left. Voldemort's pet started on its way back down the mountain, but I went inside and tried to open the door she had just exited. It had a strange language above it that I could not read. I knew it must be something only a snake could read, because Nagini had not seemed to have any trouble. I knew this was the leverage any Death Eater could hope for against his master, so I quickly made up my mind. I caught up with Nagini and performed a powerful memory charm on her, so that only I knew where the cave was."
"Regretfully, while I am a good Occlumens, I could not completely deceive the Dark Lord when he asked me about what I had found on my search. He knew I was somehow deceiving him and ordered me to swear complete allegiance to him then and there or face death. I was dead either way, so I ran. I'm not sure how I escaped from the Dark Lord's grasp, but I did just the same, which is a story for another time."
Harry was beginning to see now why this man had come to him. He assumed he needed a Parseltongue to get inside that cave, but there was something different. He seemed to fear Voldemort more than he let on. Every time Harry said Voldemort's name, Beauregard gave the same kind of wince he had been used to seeing when Ron heard it. He had the same kind of small fear in his eyes Harry had seen before in Snape's, Karkaroff's and Malfoy's. Voldemort instilled a fear in everyone, even his supporters. He looked to his friends and saw Hermione was thinking the exact same thing.
"Why do you still call Voldemort the Dark Lord?" Hermione asked confidently. "If you hate him so, why do you still fear even his name?"
Beauregard turned his head slowly to Hermione and gave her a look that withered her to the core. "You have no idea the power he possesses. All three of you are very brave, but there is something you need to understand about the Dark Lord. He is a man devoid of most of his heart. He is a ruthless wizard who does not hesitate to maim or inflict suffering. If one is to die by his hand, then that person hopes beyond hope the Dark Lord does not give a thought about him, because if he does, he doesn't just inflict death - he causes pain that is said to be beyond dying."
He turned his head to Harry once more. "You have felt this pain haven't you? He makes you want to think dying is the only way you can ever keep your sanity."
Harry and Beauregard stared directly into each other's eyes while Ron and Hermione had their focus on Harry.
"Harry?" Ron broke the silence quietly. "Is this true?"
The tension between the four people at that table could have been sliced cleanly with a dull blade. Harry continued to look at Beauregard with steady and confident eyes, his arms folded, but his insides were boiling and the man knew it. When Voldemort had inflicted the Cruciatus Curse on him... when he was inside his head - they were times more painful than he could ever describe, but, at the same time, he was not afraid of Voldemort. What happened had happened and Harry was going to move on and be prepared for the next time they faced each other.
"It is true," Harry finally answered. "However, I'm still here and I do not fear him. I call him Voldemort, but I should be calling him Tom as Dumbledore did. He's a pathetic has-been and I am intent on proving it... I MUST!" Harry slammed his fist on the table that made the few other people in the Three Broomsticks look around.
"You have courage, Harry Potter, I see that now. I'm sure no one tells you this, but it's something you must know. Outside of Albus Dumbledore, your father and mother were hated by the Dark Lord the most. They had become so good at eluding him as well as foiling his plans and capturing his followers that, at the time of their deaths, he had been doing nothing but concentrating on how to destroy them, giving your Order a lot of valuable time. While your father was one of the unfortunate few who the Dark Lord spent his time to enjoy killing, all the Death Eaters were beginning to believe that there were wizards and witches powerful enough to contest him and you being his downfall did not surprise us as much as it did the rest of the world."
Hermione now had tears in her eyes and Ron looked visibly afraid - Harry couldn't expect anything more than that. He had to remind himself that Ron and Hermione had never faced Voldemort. He admired their bravery for being with him anyways.
"Well then Mr. Beauregard, you understand why we are careful about all things subject to this war. If I'm not enemy number one now, I soon will be. However, we need information. The first thing I want to know is how you got Voldemort's horcrux in the seaside cave, what you did with it, and why you left a dummy locket in its place?"
Beauregard paused and, for the first time since he confronted the trio, softened his expression.
"Yes, I heard of Dumbledore's exhaustion being one of the reasons he fell. You must simply take my word at the fact that I had no idea anyone else even knew of the horcruxes. I had made this my own vendetta. I figured if I left a locket and reset the Dark Lord's safety spells, I could buy some time in case the Dark Lord ever came calling.
"Getting past his trials was actually very simple, which is why I went after the locket first. I knew the Dark Lord had protected it with inferi, and there are very few who know the spell to take control of the dead and make them the undead. There are fewer people, however, who know a spell that takes control of the undead or mindless. In fact, only those within my family know of it. I used the spell on the inferi. I then had one of them drink the potion from the bowl, exposing the horcrux. After that, it was only a matter of taking the locket and replacing it with the note I admit I had great pleasure in writing."
"Did you destroy the horcrux?" Ron asked.
"Yes. It was difficult and dangerous, but it is gone, leaving six more pieces of his soul."
"Actually, that leaves four," Harry corrected.
"Four? You've found two others?" Beauregard replied skeptically.
"Indeed. One I destroyed in my second year at Hogwarts. He had placed the horcrux in his Hogwarts diary. It nearly killed my... friend." Harry had trouble saying the last word and glanced askance at Ron as he said it.
"The other was inside a ring that belonged to Slytherin," Hermione finished. "Dumbledore had found it and destroyed the horcrux inside, but Voldemort had placed a very powerful curse that nearly killed him had it not been for... well, let's just say he was grateful his hand was the only thing he lost use of."
"Had it not been for who?" Beauregard prodded.
"Professor Snape," Hermione said meekly.
"Severus Snape," Beauregard said thoughtfully. "Now that man is more slippery than soap itself. I've never trusted him and I doubt the Dark Lord truly does either, even though he is now the most revered Death Eater within their circles without a doubt."
"He is pond scum," Ron said. "I'm going to have great pleasure in watching him whimper while the three of us dismantle him. You know, I always knew he was up to no good."
Harry smirked, but was glad Ron was showing bravery in light of the revelation they had just received from their new ally.
"You know why I have come to you," Beauregard stood up. "Only a Parseltongue can enter the cave I spoke of. However, there is another task you and your friends could be well suited for. Albus Dumbledore knew many things about the Dark Lord and his horcruxes - I see that now. Perhaps his personal things might have clues we seek, but I have little chance of getting onto Hogwarts grounds, much less his office. I'm sure you see where I'm going with this. Send me an owl when you have made your attempt at all the information that is possible and we will be off as soon as possible."
Beauregard paused, before speaking once more. "I see that you come with company and will not part with them, but they have partly impressed me and therefore I will allow it, but if they get in my way-"
"Making threats is not the best way to go about things," Harry interrupted him. "Especially considering I still do not trust you. Do not underestimate us, Mr. Beauregard, or you will find yourself numbered among the apologetic."
Beauregard turned to go, but paused and gave a small glance at the steadfast and resolute-looking Harry. He gave a smirk and a slight nod before disappearing, apparating out of the Three Broomsticks. The three remaining occupants of the table sat silently for a few minutes, running through everything they had just heard and contemplating what was about to come next
Harry shuffled his chair with the intent to let his friends silently know he wanted to go home to discuss what they had just learned when there was a horrific scream from outside, followed by another and then an explosion that caused everyone in the room to panic. People were rapidly scrambling for the door and Harry, Ron, and Hermione were quick to join the small mob of witches and wizards who were trying to escape to the outside where the explosion could be seen.
As Harry was following Ron and Hermione, he was shoved by one of the more desperate people trying to escape and fell off to the side near the bar. By the time he had shaken his head and gotten up, Ron and Hermione had already found their way out and Harry hastened to catch up. He could only imagine what was going on outside.
Once he was out, Harry stopped short and surveyed the chaos that was happening in front of him. One of the shops was on fire and he surmised the explosion must have originated there as he surveyed the rest of the village. Then, he saw them. Limping placidly into the town were pale, ugly-looking corpses that had hollow eyes set on the delirious and crazed people running about who were unable to see much of what was in front of them because of all the smoke.
Inferi...Voldemort is going to destroy this world one piece at a time.
Harry was looking desperately around for Ron and Hermione. They had never faced these creatures and he feared they wouldn't be able to stop an inferius by themselves. He finally spotted them, but Harry's heart sunk to the bottom of his gut as he saw that both of them were surrounded by at least fifteen zombified bodies, near the building that had caught fire. Ron was bravely throwing curses at them, but not doing much good, and Hermione was huddled behind him, grasping her wand, but unable to accomplish much because of how much she was shaking.
As Harry was deciding what he should do, there was another explosion from the building that had caught fire and Ron and Hermione were sent reeling, knocking them unconscious. The inferi were caught by the blast as well, but it had little effect on them and they started to quickly close in on Harry's now helpless friends.
Harry quickly made up his mind, concentrating as hard as he could in the midst of the chaos and apparated his way in between his fallen friends and the moving corpses. He quickly pulled out his wand and shouted the first spell that came to mind.
"INFLAMARI SOSIA MAXIMUS!!"
A weaker form of the whip of flame Dumbledore had procured that fateful day wound from the tip of his wand and wrapped itself around him, as well as Hermione and Ron, but Harry knew it wouldn't last long. Harry had been working to master every spell Dumbledore had written down in the notebook he had given him, but the protective spell of fire was one Harry had found difficult to completely accomplish. It required a large amount of concentration, much like the Patronus. The whip quickly started to lose power and Harry knew he didn't have much time left.
The inferi, meanwhile, were gathered around Harry and were inching closer as the flame started to shrink. Harry meanwhile was desperately wishing he had asked Beauregard what the spell was that he used to control the inferi. They gave off an eerie feeling of dead excitement as they backed Harry against the wall of the building next to the burning shop.
What do I do? What do I do? How can it end here? I will not lose them! Voldemort will never have them! Deciding what needed to be done, Harry quickly lowered his wand, breaking the whirlwind flame spell and pointed it at Ron and Hermione. As the inferi closed in on them, Harry levitated his friends to the top of the building he was now backed up against and placed them gently on the roof, out of the reach of the oncoming corpses. Once Harry knew they were safe, he pointed his wand at the dead bodies creeping toward him and decided he would give them a fight worthy of death.
"Sectumsempra!" "Petrificus Totalus!"
Harry threw spell after spell, felling many, but unable to stop the advance of the large number of inferi who had gathered around him. They were finally upon him, grabbing numbly with their cold, slimy hands, and Harry started resorting to using his fists, but they did no good to the unfeeling zombies who were all starting to clutch at him and bring him down to the ground. Almost as soon as Harry was beginning to think it might be the end, there was another explosion, this one much larger than the previous two, as the burning building was completely decimated. Harry and all the nearby inferi were launched across the street by the blast. Harry could feel his body skidding across the dirt road, before he blacked out into the warm feeling of nothingness.
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