I am not J.K. Rowling, and I do not own Harry Potter (although I do own a copy of all the books and movies), and am certainly not making any money off of this. I'm writing this purely because I enjoy it, and I hope you do too.
Warning: Deathly Hallows spoilers in this chapter.
A Sirius Matter
Chapter 38 - Soul Searching
"Congratulations!" said Sirius happily. "Now, we're going to have to name you three new Marauders. What do you think we should call them, Moony?"
Remus Lupin looked at each of the three Animagi before him, finally focusing on the robin that was still flying around the room. "Well, Padfoot, I'd suggest calling this one Redwing - Wings for short."
Ginny sang a few notes of birdsong in reply before changing back into a human. "I like it. What about Hermione?"
"Hm," said Padfoot, looking at the dark brown cat. "How about Miss Kitty?" The cat growled at him, showing her teeth. "Alright, settle down. You don't like it. Then how `bout Catwoman?" Hermione hissed angrily and scratched Sirius' leg as he chuckled. "Ouch! That hurt."
Ginny giggled, "How about Claws?"
Hermione purred and changed back. "Alright. That's acceptable. I think Harry should be called Scar." Harry roared his disagreement, quite loudly. "Fine," she said, petting his mane.
Sirius said, "Lions are supposed to be the kings of the jungle, so how about Kingly?" Harry shook his head.
"Too much like Kingsley," said Remus. "How about Fangs?" Harry nodded his head and changed back.
Sirius cleared his throat and said solemnly, "I hearby dub thee Redwing, Claws, and Fangs - the newest members of the distinguished Fellowship of Marauders," tapping each on the head with his wand as he said their new name.
Ron, Neville, and Luna, who'd been silently watching, applauded. Luna commented, "Now the wrackspurts won't be able to affect you."
-
It took a lot of hard work, using the open slots on their study schedules, but on Friday, July 28th, Harry managed to send two silent reducto's at once - one from each hand - effectively breaking the two practice dummies he'd been using. He wiped the sweat from his forehead while sighing with relief that he'd finally done it.
"Good job, Harry," said Hermione, sounding a bit less enthusiastic than Harry would've predicted. "You did it first." Now, Harry knew the problem.
"I'm sure you'll get it soon," he said with what he hoped was an encouraging smile. "You, too, Redwing."
Taking a deep breath, Ginny said, "I hope so."
Refocusing on the busted dummies, Harry thought, "Repairo!" and both of them fixed themselves.
He continued breaking and fixing them for the next hour, until Hermione announced, "I did it!"
Harry hugged her with a smile on his face. "I knew you could do it." He then gave her a quick kiss. "Now, fix them," he said as he went back to his practice. Fifteen minutes later, Ginny managed it as well, although Harry noticed that her dummies weren't broken as badly as his and Hermione's. He wisely decided not to mention that, instead congratulating her for a job well done. `Besides,' he thought, `the power she can put into the spells will increase with practice. Not to mention that her magical core is a year in development behind mine simply because of her age. She's much more powerful than I was last year.'
-
Dumbledore was very pleased with their progress on his visit the next day. "I can honestly say that I've never seen anyone your ages with as much magical ability as you three. Miss Weasley, you are the youngest Animagi I have ever heard of. Miss Granger, you are the most formidable witch under forty that I've ever known, both in intellect and magical skills. Mr. Potter, the progress you've made this past year is phenomenal. I believe that you are nearly ready to fulfill your destiny." For a moment, Dumbledore seemed sad, but quickly smiled with a twinkle in his eye. "I would like to completely test your dueling ability, Harry. At ten o'clock sharp tomorrow morning, I'd like to duel you with no limits except to not use unforgivables."
Harry's eyes widened. "Er, I don't think I'm ready for that."
"Nonsense," replied Dumbledore calmly. "You're too modest. And besides, if you plan on dueling Riddle, you need to practice against someone of similar abilities, and I'm the closest person to an equal that is available. Good day to you all." He then left Number Twelve Grimmauld Place without another word.
-
Harry spent the rest of that day nervously practicing every spell and dueling technique he knew, while contemplating running away.
"Fangs," said Sirius after Harry beat him in a duel for the third time in an hour. "You're nervous about nothing. Dumbledore won't kill you."
Panting, Harry nodded. "I suppose not."
"The worst he'll do is break a few bones. Maybe cut you or burn you with that fire whip of his. Maybe maim you…"
"You're not helping, Padfoot," interrupted Harry, who was smiling a bit.
"Maybe you should spend some time with Hermione," he suggested. "You know, get one last snog in before…"
"Shut up, Sirius," he said, actually chuckling as he walked toward the door.
After his girlfriend helped him forget about the upcoming duel, Harry went to bed much more relaxed.
-
On Sunday, July 30th, Harry was waiting in the dueling room with Hermione at 9:45 a.m. Everyone else left him alone with her for a few minutes. He'd hardly touched his breakfast, and had done enough of his exercises to warm up, but not exhaust himself. He was wearing a sleeveless t-shirt, shorts, and trainers. He figured that they wouldn't be using armor in this duel. It was supposed to test his abilities - not the abilities of dragon hide.
"Don't be so nervous, Harry," said Hermione.
"Easy for you to say," he shot back. Upon seeing her frown, he quickly said, "I'm sorry."
She smiled. "I know you're under stress, but I believe that you'll do better than you think."
"Do you think I'll win?" he asked. His girlfriend shifted uncomfortably on the floor, answering his question with her body language.
"I don't think he'll hurt you too badly," she offered. "Just surrender when you know you're beaten."
He actually laughed. "Thanks a lot."
"Anytime," she said. She then kissed him. "You'll do fine. I know you'll get him a few times, anyway." She then giggled. "How many students have wished they could take a shot at the headmaster over the years?"
He laughed. "You will help me recover, won't you?"
"Of course, Fangs."
"Then it won't be so bad, I suppose."
At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and Sirius' voice said, "Dumbledore's here."
After taking a deep breath, Harry said, "Come on in. Let's get this over with. I hope I don't have to spend my birthday in Saint Mungo's."
"I have the same concern," said Dumbledore as he strode in. He was wearing long, purple robes, which greatly contrasted with Harry's outfit. "I have no wish to use their services as well. That is why I've asked Madam Pomfrey to be here."
It was soon decided that Remus would referee, and an invisible barrier was created to protect the spectators. Before the match began, Dumbledore said, "I want to make sure you fully understand, Harry. Don't hold anything back. I won't."
Harry gulped and nodded. Remus said, "The match is over when one of you either surrenders or is knocked unconscious, since neither of you can be disarmed by simply losing your wand. Take your positions." The two duelers took defensive stances. "Begin."
While pointing his wand at Dumbledore with his right hand, Harry shot a stunner out of both the end of his wand and his left hand, and then he dropped to the floor just in time to dodge a red spell that had been sent his way. He saw that Albus had shielded against both of his stupefies and was standing in the same spot he'd started at. Harry rolled and stood while shooting a blasting hex to keep his opponent on the defensive.
Dumbledore conjured a flock of twenty bats in the air and sent them at Harry, who formed a shield between himself and the bats. That momentary distraction allowed the headmaster to send a fire whip at Harry. It broke the invisible shield, allowing the bats access to Harry, and at the same time hit his wand, which the fifteen-year-old dropped a moment before sending a fireball out of each hand - one aimed at his opponent, the other at the closest bats, eliminating nine of them.
Dumbledore disapparated to avoid the fireball, and reappeared behind Harry, whose karate instincts kicked in. The old man couldn't tell what his protégé had done, but he felt his legs give out and fell to the ground. People started clapping at that moment, while Harry shot two stunners at Albus. With surprising speed for a man his age, Dumbledore rolled out of the way, and shot a tripping hex at the Boy-Who-Lived.
The hex hit Harry, who fell, but managed to roll out of the way before the headmaster's next hexes could hit him. With both of his hands together, he shot two blasting hexes straight at Dumbledore's chest. He conjured a shield in time, but part of the blast made it through and hit its target, pushing him backward five feet, but not knocking him to the ground. The old man was gasping for air, and his complexion was getting a bit pink. Harry sent another hex at him, but he apparated away again.
This time, Harry decided that two could play at this game. He apparated to where Dumbledore had been standing, aimed his hands where he'd been before, and shot two powerful stunners. Harry's guess had been right. The headmaster had once again apparated right behind his foe, but found that his foe had moved. He produced a shield just in time to block the stunners.
Dumbledore then began shooting hex after hex at his opponent in rapid succession, causing Harry to keep dodging without a moment to shoot back. After thirty seconds of dodging successfully, he made the mistake of jumping out of the way and saw that a hex was headed right where he'd land. He knew that it's impossible to apparate while in motion without splinching yourself, so he would get hit. He put up his best shield, hoping it would hold and landed.
The bone-breaker hex was weakened by Harry's shield, but did hit his left ankle, causing a lot of pain. Harry shot two bone-breaker hexes back at the headmaster in vengeance as he fell to the floor. The headmaster looked surprised to see those hexes and conjured a shield, which was destroyed by the hexes hitting it together. A weakened version of the hex hit his right arm, causing the man to scream in agony as it broke.
Harry took the moment of distraction to perform a healing spell on his ankle, but could tell it was still sore. However, at least he could stand up, even if he had a limp. He began rapidly firing stunners at his opponent, determined to end this duel before any other bones got broken.
Dumbledore raised another shield and began doing the same thing his opponent was doing, sending as many stunners as he could. Dumbledore's shield was taking a beating, and at the same time, Harry wasn't moving as fast as before, especially because the remaining conjured bats had finally caught up with him. The headmaster's shield was penetrated at the same moment that Harry wasn't fast enough to dodge. Consequently, they both got hit by stunners at the same time.
-
Harry opened up his eyes, and saw the face of his girlfriend. "How do you feel?" she asked.
He shook his head in an effort to wake himself up more as he thought about it. He didn't feel any injuries, and could see Madam Pomfrey dealing with Dumbledore. "I'm fine. I guess I lost. Not much of a surprise."
"You didn't lose, Harry," she said bemusedly.
"I was knocked out."
"So was he," she said with a smirk. "You both fell at the same moment. It was a draw."
Harry's eyes widened as he stared at her in disbelief. "What?"
"Technically, he was hurt worse than you."
"He must've been holding back."
"Ah, Harry, my boy," called Dumbledore from where he was. "You did very well. The only thing I held back on was the use of lethal spells. I did not wish to kill you. I know that you did the same. As long as you don't hold back lethal spells when facing Riddle, I believe that you will have an equal chance of besting him in a duel."
Harry was shocked. "You believe I'm as good as Vold…"
"Harry! Remember that his name is taboo. Saying it could reveal our location." He sighed. "I wish the Ministry had put a taboo on the Unforgivables. I wish I'd thought to suggest it to Minister Vehosia." He then looked back at Harry. "I know that Tom has much more experience than you, and knows a lot more curses than you, but your power is about equal, and it doesn't take a thousand spells to end a duel - just one. You also have the advantage of youth and agility. If you can dodge his spells, it doesn't matter what he tries to hit you with. I was pleased that you didn't depend much on shields, because I doubt that any spell Riddle sends at you will be blocked by a simple protego."
"So, you're saying that as soon as the Horcruxes are gone, I'll be ready?"
Dumbledore's face held a smile that did not quite reach his eyes when he said, "Exactly. On that front, something that may help us has occurred. It seems that a Death Eater murdered a goblin at Gringotts when he was taking too long to wait on him. While that death is most regrettable, this has the Goblin nation very upset, and more predisposed to grant our request. I have a meeting with Minister Vehosia later today, where I'll ask him to request that the goblins allow us to search known Death Eater vaults for Dark objects. Hopefully, we'll be able to find a Horcrux."
They all wished Albus good luck before he left.
-
The next day, Harry woke up early with anticipation. It was his fifteenth birthday, and for the first time in his life, he was actually expecting a celebration, along with gifts. It was true that he'd gotten them before since he'd joined the wizarding world, but it had always been a surprise to him. This time, he actually did expect his birthday to be recognized. He was having a party that wasn't a surprise. Despite that fact, he still had to do his training.
He threw on his exercise clothes and walked down to the training room, finding that Hermione was already there. She walked up to him and gave him a kiss.
"Happy birthday."
"It is now," he said before kissing her.
A throat was cleared behind them. Harry didn't respond, but Hermione separated from him. He reluctantly turned to see Sirius. "Happy birthday, Cub."
"Thanks."
Ginny, Neville, Luna and Ron showed up a few minutes later to join in the exercise, each wishing him a happy birthday, although Luna added, "Make sure the yeltines don't bite you. They like to bite people on their birthdays."
After an hour of that, the teenagers separated into two trios for their studying (Harry, Hermione and Ginny in one group with Ron, Luna and Neville in the other) based on the topics they were covering. On this day, Harry's group was continuing to practice nonverbally and wandlessly casting more than one spell at once. They all could do it, but wanted to make it second nature so that they could try more than two at once. The other group was learning advanced defensive magic.
After that hour was over, they began their duel. Since Harry needed to be best, he wanted the odds as bad as possible. Currently, it was Harry and Hermione dueling Sirius, Ginny, Neville, Ron and Luna.
At first, the outnumbered couple stood back-to-back as they each cast spell after spell, keeping the others on the defensive. However, the other team soon realized that they could pair off, with one shielding while the other kept firing offensive spells. Soon, Harry and Hermione were separated as they dodged away from curses that never seemed to stop coming. Whenever they got a chance, they fired spells that could penetrate shields, but they had to keep moving so fast that they would be dodging someone else's spell before they could stun the person. They'd have a new shield up before they were shot at again.
Harry got sick of this and shot a spell at the floor beneath Luna. He'd learned about it in an advanced transfiguration lesson, and had been surprised Dumbledore hadn't done it to him. The floor beneath the blonde girl's feet moved up into a speed bump, effectively tripping the girl. Harry stunned her. In this practice, stunned combatants couldn't be revived, otherwise they'd have to use lethal spells to decide a winner. If Harry had been fighting a Death Eater, he'd have probably used a reducto.
At the same moment, he heard Ron swear. He quickly glanced to see his first friend lying on the floor without a wand, in the process of being stunned. Harry had to quickly duck to avoid a stunner from Sirius, and mentally berated himself for getting distracted. "You take Sirius," shouted Hermione. "I've got Ginny."
"At least you think you have," said Ginny while Harry shot two curses at his godfather. He didn't watch the two girls' battle as Padfoot changed into a dog, with the spells flying over him. The grim jumped toward Harry, who jumped at Sirius changing into a lion, so that they both were animals when they rammed into each other. They both roared, distracting Ginny for one second, during which she was stunned.
Hermione watched the cat and dog wrestling on the ground, and wondered if she should interfere. She didn't want to risk stunning Harry by accident, and that went for any other spell she could try. She decided to just watch. She believed that Harry would win, but if he didn't, she'd hex Padfoot, so their team would win anyway. She thought that it wasn't very smart of Harry to change forms, but wasn't sure that she wouldn't have, under those circumstances. The huge dog and lion were almost evenly matched, and the dog had a lot more experience fighting in that form. All three of the `New Marauders' were just getting used to moving in their forms.
Just when Hermione thought that Padfoot might get the best of Fangs, a red light shot out of the lion's front right claw straight into the dog's chest. He fell, stunned. Harry changed back into a human, and was panting. Hermione could see a few scratches on her boyfriend's face, so she quickly healed him before walking to each opponent and, "Enervate"-ing them. She then turned to Harry. "How did you perform a spell in your Animagus form?"
"He what?" asked Ginny, while the other boys stared at Harry.
"That's supposed to be impossible," Hermione continued.
Harry looked nervous. "I don't know. I just wished I could stun him, and I did. It didn't feel any different than when I use magic as a human."
"Hm," said Sirius, while scratching his chin. "I would guess that most, if not all, of the people who become Animagi only do magic with their wands. If that's the case, then they probably can't hold a wand in their forms, unless they're some sort of monkey."
Hermione's face brightened. "So, since we don't need our wands to perform spells, using just our bodies as magical conduits, we can use magic. I've got to test this!" she declared before changing into a cat. The feline pointed a paw at her boyfriend, and a beam of light shot him. He immediately began laughing uncontrollably, under the influence of the cheering charm. Soon, Redwing was shooting spells out of her wings in midair, with the small problems that she'd start to fall when she stopped flapping her wings to shoot a spell, and then her aim was off.
Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment before suggesting, "Shoot the spells out of your feet." The robin tried it, and hit her brother with a stinging hex.
"Ouch! What'd you do that for?"
"Because I could," she said happily after changing form.
-
All too soon, Harry, Hermione and Neville had to leave for their karate lesson, which left the others the chance to set up for the party. By the time they returned, the decorations were all set up, and the party would start an hour after they returned, which gave them plenty of time to clean up. Harry wasn't allowed to see the decorations yet.
After Harry showered in his bathroom, he put on the animated `Heart of a Seeker' t-shirt that Ginny had given him at his party the year before. Finding that it was a bit tight around the chest and shoulders, he quickly performed a spell to enlarge it a bit and looked in the mirror, and noticed that the Snitch was moving very slowly. He closed his eyes and focused and sending some of his magic to replenish the spells on his t-shirt. He opened his eyes and admired how the picture of a Snitch began zooming around until it was caught by a hand coming from his heart.
When he walked down the stairs, he found that most of the guests, including the Weasley family sans Percy, had arrived. Naturally, Sirius and all the Grangers, who were living at that house, were there. Luna, Neville, Remus, Tonks and Hagrid were there as well. Dumbledore and McGonagall had said they'd be there, but hadn't shown up yet. Harry could see a table full of wrapped packages in one corner of the room
"You wore the shirt I gave you last year!" said a beaming Ginny, who walked up and gave Harry a hug. "Happy birthday!"
Hermione walked up to her boyfriend and gave him a quick kiss. "Happy birthday, Harry."
While the others were wishing Harry a happy birthday, both McGonagall and Dumbledore came in through the floo.
"Happy birthday, Harry," his head of house said as she placed a present on the table.
"Yes, I do hope you're having a joyful birthday," said Albus jovially. "I would like a private word with you before this celebration begins." He then placed a small package on the gift table.
"Of course, sir." The two of them walked to Harry's bedroom, where Dumbledore closed the door and cast some privacy charms.
"I wanted to inform you that Minister Vehosia was able to get us permission from the Goblins to visit the vaults of known Death Eaters. They are angry enough with that organization to unofficially take sides. We will be able to inspect the contents and destroy cursed objects, but not remove anything from the vaults." He then sighed. "Alas, we have also agreed to give the Sword of Gryffindor to the goblins by the end of the year, and Minister Vehosia didn't wish to discuss what other concessions he made to the Goblin nation. I shall, of course, be bringing that wonderful sword with me, and the Minister made it clear that it is necessary to destroy certain dark objects.
"Therefore, tomorrow, you, Hermione, Ginny, Sirius and I will be visiting Gringotts. You and Hermione will be under your Invisibility cloaks while I will also be invisible. Sirius will claim that he's going to visit his family vault with the goblin Griphook. We will all follow, and once we're in the cart, we'll reveal ourselves and visit the highest security vaults belonging to Death Eaters. That is the Malfoy, Carrow, Lestrange, Avery and Dolohov vaults. I find it highly unlikely that Tom would trust a Horcrux to be in any less secure vault than that. There is a dragon guarding each of them, but fortunately the goblins will be restraining them."
"That's good, but why can't Neville, Luna, and Ron come too? They are training, too. Maybe not for as long, but this shouldn't be too dangerous if the goblins are helping us."
Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure…"
"It sounds like a bunch of busy work if we have to check every item, so I think that the more people we have helping, the better. We'll all be wearing dragon armor."
"Yes, I believe you're right. I shall also invite Remus. I shall speak to the adults, and leave the teenagers to you. Be ready at 2 o'clock sharp. That should give you time to return from your karate school. We'll try to finish up by 8 p.m., but will be allowed to spend the night there if necessary. That is, all but Sirius, who will have to be seen returning to avoid raising suspicions."
"Alright," agreed Harry, and they both returned to the party. They all had a good time. Mrs. Weasley used the same charm she had the previous year to put a picture of Harry catching the Snitch on his cake. Harry received various books from many people, another t-shirt from Ginny that showed a dragon flying around, and a pocket-sized foe glass from Dumbledore that he was encouraged to keep with him at all times, along with a new Sneakoscope from Sirius. Hermione gave him a bottle of the same cologne she'd bought him the previous year. Her parents gave him a collection of classic English literature that contained twelve famous books.
Harry wanted to ride Sirius' motorcycle to the Dursleys to dung-bomb the house again, but Sirius was sorry to say that, "With Riddle out there, we can't risk trips like that. I will be taking you and Hermione to my island before the summer's out, though." That seemed to satisfy Harry for the moment, although he did decide to prank Privet Drive once the war was over.
Most of the guests (with the exceptions of Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Molly) participated in a game of indoor Quidditch (which didn't use brooms). Adam Granger and Arthur Weasley particularly enjoyed it. Marissa Granger was referee. McGonagall and the others did enjoy watching it. After the match, Harry got the chance to let the other teenagers know to be ready to visit Gringotts the next day.
-
At precisely 2:05 p.m., a rather large group of people arrived by portkey behind Gringotts. Albus Dumbledore quickly became invisible while Harry, Ron and Neville crowded under his Invisibility cloak. Hermione, Ginny and Luna huddled under hers. Remus Lupin disillusioned himself. They all made their way toward the entrance of the bank, with the teenage boys walking the slowest because Ron was getting too tall to fit under the cloak.
They made it to the entrance just in time to see Sirius Black walk into the bank. He'd arrived very publicly, and the others waited for the next customer opening to door to get inside. The others made their way into the bank just in time to follow Padfoot and Griphook through the door that let to the carts. Once they were all in the now crowded cart, Dumbledore and the others became visible. Harry and Hermione stuffed their cloaks into their pockets.
Griphook quickly began the trip before speaking. "I was not informed that so many of you would be joining us on this journey."
"We realized that the mission would go much more quickly with more people helping," said Dumbledore. "You can trust every one of them."
"Very well." They sped through the caverns in silence, until finally it stopped near a blind dragon. "This is the first vault on your list - the Malfoy vault. Remember, you are not to take anything outside of this vault."
"Of course not," said Dumbledore amicably. "We are not here to steal, only to prevent further deaths."
Griphook opened the vault, and Harry had to admit that there were a lot of gold and beautiful treasures inside it. Dumbledore said, "He wouldn't have cursed a random Galleon, so just test all the objects without touching them."
Hermione had taught Ron, Neville and Luna the detection spell that she, Harry and Ginny had used the previous year while cleaning out Black Manor, so they all separated and began working. Harry tested a few trophies, an Order of Merlin, antique clocks that had obvious muggle origins, jars with shrunken heads in them, and many objects he couldn't identify. Every now and then, he'd find something that had a dark curse on it, and destroy it with a spell Dumbledore had shown them. While their primary objective was to find a Horcrux, there was nothing wrong with destroying a few other cursed items.
After an hour, they were finished, twenty dark artifacts were destroyed, but none of them were Horcruxes. Harry hadn't thought Voldemort would've given Malfoy two of them to protect. They then went to the Carrow vault with the same results, except that it was thirty cursed items.
They walked into the Lestrange vault, and found it crammed from floor to ceiling with golden coins and goblets, silver armor, the skins of strange creatures - some with long spines, others with drooping wings - potions in jeweled flasks, and a skull still wearing a crown.
After less than a minute of scanning objects without touching them, Dumbledore announced, "It is here!" Harry turned to see that Dumbledore was pointing his wand at what was unmistakably Hufflepuff's cup. After a few seconds, he added, "They have added Gemino and Flagrante Curses. It is quite fortunate that we haven't been touching anything." He then performed a spell on the cup, presumably to remove the curses, and said, "I want you all to stand back."
He then pulled the Sword of Gryffindor out of a tiny pouch he'd carried. It still seemed funny to Harry to watch something that big come out of that small of a container, even though he owned a trunk with similar properties.
"May I do it?" asked Ginny, surprising everyone. "I'd really like to destroy a Horcrux." Harry realized that this was because of her experience with the diary.
Apparently, Dumbledore realized it, too, because he handed her the sword. "Of course, Miss Weasley."
He watched in silence as Ginny raised the sword in her arms and chopped the cup with all her might. There was a clang of metal, and a long, drawn-out scream. The cup had been cleaved in two, right down the middle. The redhead returned the Sword of Gryffindor to the headmaster.
Dumbledore moved the two pieces of the broken heirloom around and performed a sticking charm. The end result was that at first glance, the cup looked undamaged. "Very well. I believe that we shall leave the rest of this vault untouched." He then put the protections back on the cup. "Hopefully, no one will be able to tell that we were ever here," he said with a twinkle in his eyes.
They checked out the vaults of Avery and Dolohov, and got similar results to the Malfoy and Carrow vaults, and were back at Black manor by 7 p.m. to celebrate the destruction of another Horcrux. Bolstered by their success, they agreed to search the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts that Saturday.
-
It was a filthy and disappointed group of people that flew up into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom on broomsticks at 2 p.m. that Saturday. They'd been down there since 8:30, and had searched every inch of the legendary chamber and found nothing but a rotting basilisk corpse and a lot of rodent bones. Dumbledore did, however, magically extract the basilisk's fangs, which would be very useful if they had to turn over Gryffindor's Sword to the goblins before they destroyed all the Horcruxes.
Neville had held Ginny's hand through the entire ordeal. At first, she'd been shaking, but after an hour she'd been able to help search. After following the tunnel behind Slytherin's mouth, they only found more rodent bones. It was really quite unpleasant, and the air smelled awful. Even after the air had been cleaned by a spell it still didn't seem right. They were glad to be out of there, but wished they hadn't gone.
"I suppose I should have known," said Dumbledore as he scourgefied himself. I'd monitored Riddle's movements during his visit, and he didn't make his way anywhere near here. I had thought he might have hidden one down there while he was still a student."
"Where did he go?" asked Harry.
"Straight to the seventh floor, where the entrance to my office is."
"There are a lot of other places on the seventh floor," said Hermione. "The entrance to Gryffindor Tower, for example."
"I doubt he hid a Horcrux in our common room," said Ron, earning a glare from Hermione.
"Maybe not," said Harry, "but there's also the Divination classroom."
"He didn't go that direction," said Albus.
"Isn't Flitwick's office there?" asked Sirius.
"Yes," said the headmaster, but I doubt that he'd have hidden a Horcrux in the Ravenclaw head's office.
"There's got to be something else," said Ginny. Looking around, she said, "Is there a loo up there that might have another hidden chamber?"
"Not in the boy's restroom," said Harry. "Ever since I came down here the first time, I always check the sinks for anything weird."
"Me, too," admitted Ginny quietly.
"There may be something," said Dumbledore, deep in thought. "Last Christmas, I found an excellent restroom near the entrance to my office when my bladder was exceptionally full. Later that day, I investigated it, and couldn't relocate it."
Harry blinked to get the image of Dumbledore's full bladder out of his mind. "So, this room appeared out of nowhere and disappeared?"
"Exactly," replied the headmaster. "I investigated further, eventually enlisting the aid of a house elf. You see, they seem to know more about Hogwarts than anyone else. Anyway, she explained to me that it is called the Room of Requirement and will come and go at the user's need. If Tom Riddle had discovered the room during his stay at Hogwarts, he may have hidden a Horcrux there.
"Sounds like we should check that out," said Sirius.
-
Before long, the group was standing in front of the painting of Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls to dance. Dumbledore had explained how to activate the room, so Harry was pacing back and forth, thinking, `I need a place to hide my Horcrux...I need a place to hide my Horcrux.'
A door suddenly appeared, so they opened it to find a room the size of a large cathedral, whose high windows were sending shafts of light down upon what looked like a city with towering walls, built of what Harry knew must be objects hidden by generations of Hogwarts inhabitants. He gasped, and found that he wasn't the only one. The others were looking around in amazement. Hermione unsuccessfully tried to summon a Horcrux, but Dumbledore pointed out that Riddle wouldn't have made it that easy, so they split up and began checking every item for a curse.
While Hermione decided to check a group of books, defending her decision by declaring that, "The first Horcrux was a book," Harry chose a corridor that that contained broken furniture, winged catapults, Fanged Frisbees, and chipped bottles with old potions. He checked every single thing and moved further down. Then he checked a bunch of hats, one of which did have a mildly dark curse, so he destroyed it, but knew it wasn't the Horcrux. He looked through jewels, a few of which had other curses on them, which he eliminated. He went through a bunch of old cloaks, and then saw what appeared to be broken dragon eggs. He found a bunch of corked bottles full of poisons he recognized from his extra studies and vanished them before coming across rusted swords and a bloodstained axe. After he checked a huge stuffed troll, he noticed a tarnished tiara, so he cast the dark detector spell on it.
It definitely had a powerful enough dark spell on it to be a Horcrux. Harry was afraid to touch it, because there could be jinxes on it. "Professor Dumbledore!" he called out, "I think I found it!"
"Where are you?" came Albus' voice. "Would you be so kind as to shoot up red sparks please, so that I can find you?"
Within a few minutes, the headmaster had found Harry, and was running his own spells on the diadem. With a twinkle in his eyes, he declared, "You have indeed located a Horcrux, and I believe that this is the lost diadem of Ravenclaw, said to bestow wisdom upon the wearer." He was clearly in awe of the priceless artifact. "I wonder how Tom ever located this." He sighed. "It seems such a pity to destroy it, but what must be done must be done." He pulled out the Sword of Gryffindor and looked at Harry. "Would you do the honors? I'm afraid I cannot bring myself to destroy it."
"Okay," he said, grasping the sword in his hand and chopping the precious relic in two. After they heard a loud scream coming from the tiara, Harry said, "Do you think you can fix it? Y'know, to put it in a museum or something after the war?"
Albus smiled down at the young man. "Alas, it can't actually be repaired, but I can stick the two halves together like I did Hufflepuff's cup. It won't look that bad in a case. It certainly won't bestow wisdom anymore." He then frowned. "If Riddle would've put this on, he may have realized that what he was doing was wrong. In any case, we've already been in here for an hour and a half. It's time we left."
-
When they returned to Black Manor, after asking Dobby and Winky to leave the room so they could have some privacy, Dumbledore told them, "I believe that the sixth Horcrux is Riddle's snake, and that she is usually at her master's side. Therefore, I don't believe we'll be able to reach her until we face him."
"So that's it," said Harry happily. "We make sure to kill his snake and then I duel him."
With a sorrowful look on his face, the headmaster shook his head. "Not quite."
"What do you mean?" asked Hermione.
Looking sadly at Harry, Albus said, "Do you remember in your second year, when I told you that Riddle had accidentally put a bit of himself in you?"
"Yea…oh NO! NO! You are not saying that…" Harry backed up with a look of horror on his face.
Closing his eyes, Dumbledore nodded his head. "I'm afraid that when he attacked you as a baby, his soul was so torn apart that a fragment of it was blasted apart from the whole, and latched itself onto the only living soul left in that collapsing building. You. That is why you speak Parseltongue. That is why you have your connection to him. I'm sorry not to have let you know earlier, but I couldn't bear to. I'd detected the Horcrux when I examined you after your parents died."
While backing up further still, Harry found he was trembling slightly as his face paled.
"No," said Hermione as tears began to form in her eyes. "You can't mean that Harry has to…You can't!"
That was all Harry could take. He turned around and bolted to his bedroom, magically sealing and silencing the door behind him. He collapsed on the bed, not caring that tears had begun falling from his eyes. "To think, he muttered as his throat constricted as his jaw trembled. "I actually thought I might live through this." He stayed like that all night, still in his clothes, until sleep finally claimed him several hours later.
-
The next day, Harry didn't show up for morning exercise. Hermione wasn't positive that it was deliberate. He could have simply overslept, but she doubted it. She and the others went through their routine without once mentioning the fact that he was missing, as none of them knew how they would handle being told that they were a Horcrux that needed to be destroyed.
Hermione had followed after Harry the night before, only to find that she was too late to stop him from locking himself away. She thought about camping outside his room all night, but figured it was pointless. She cast a charm on the door to inform her the moment it opened and walked back to the living room. It looked like a funeral. Dumbledore was already gone, and the other teenagers looked about to leave as well. They all looked at her expectantly. "He's locked and silenced his door," she said sadly. Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna, who surprisingly didn't have anything to say about Nargles or some other nonexistent creature, portkeyed away.
Hermione was in the middle of some particularly painful stretches when her wand vibrated to let her know her boyfriend had opened his door. She stopped and got up, running out of the room without a word.
She arrived at his door just in time to hear a flush from the nearby bathroom. She smiled briefly, realizing why he'd left his room. No matter how miserable you are, there are some things you can't ignore. Deciding what to do quickly, she slipped into his room, leaving the door exactly as it had been, and hid.
-
The door opened and Harry entered his room, quickly renewing the charms. Hermione gasped as she took in his appearance. His eyes were bloodshot. His complexion was full of pink patches. There were tear stains running down his cheeks. He even had some whiskers on his face. His clothes were wrinkled and his hair was messier than usual.
"Who's here?" he demanded, pointing his hand in his intruder's direction.
She stood up. "It's me, Harry. I wanted to see you."
"You have," he said indifferently, "Now you can report that I'm alive."
"Harry?"
"Go on," he said, gesturing toward the door, which glowed for a moment and then opened.
She pointed her own hand at the door, which closed and glowed again.
"Get out!" he hissed. "I already know why you want to talk. I understand. I wouldn't want to date me either."
"What?" she asked, confused.
"You want to break up. I understand. I wouldn't want to snog a Horcrux either. Now go." He pointed at the door, which glowed for a moment and opened.
"Stop it!" she yelled, magically slamming the door. "I'm NOT leaving, and I didn't come here to break up with you!"
"Oh. I get it," he said evenly. "You always were too kind. You'll endure it so that I enjoy my last few…"
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" she yelled.
He looked at her in shock. "Didn't you hear? I've got a bloody Horcrux inside me! That's what's wrong! I'm a freak! A freak with a death sentence!"
"You are not a freak!" she shouted, as she began to cry. "You're a wonderful, caring man who…"
"Who just happens to have a piece of a murderer's soul inside me that helped keep him alive!"
"He's got some of my blood inside him!" she reminded him. "How do you think I feel knowing I helped him get a body?"
He seemed taken aback for a moment as he sat on his bed, but then retorted, "At least you don't have to die," but said it with less venom.
She walked up and sat next to him, putting an arm around his shoulders. "We'll find a way," she said, hoping against hope that she was right.
He turned to look at her with a sad expression. "If Dumbledore doesn't know how, then no one does. Face it. I'm gonna die." He took a deep breath. "My biggest regret is that I'll never get to marry you," he said as a few tears began to fall. "I love you."
She embraced him as her tears joined his. "I'll love you forever."
-
They both missed their study session, but Hermione showed up for the dueling while Harry cleaned up. He came downstairs for lunch and sat next to Hermione, who kissed him quickly.
"Hi, Harry," said Ginny guardedly.
"Hi. Sorry I missed exercise, everybody."
"That's okay," said Sirius with a fake smile. "Everyone deserves a break, sometimes."
"I suppose this is what it's like to find out a friend has a fatal disease," said Luna, being painfully honest.
Harry shrugged. "I, I suppose."
"What is you meaning that someone has a fatal disease?" asked Dobby, who'd been serving Neville a glass of butterbeer.
"Nothing, Dobby," said Harry sadly. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"
"Is Master Harry Potter sick?" Dobby asked, looking concerned.
"Don't worry about it, Dobby." Harry took a deep breath. "There's nothing you can do."
Tears were now flowing freely from the elf's eyes as he hugged Harry's knees. "Harry Potter is a good master! He should not be dying! What is he dying from? Maybe Dobby can help."
Harry returned the hug. "Dobby, you're a good elf, and a good friend. I'm afraid that there's nothing anyone can do. Now, take the rest of the day off."
"Yes, Master Harry," he said, before disappearing with a loud crack.
Harry looked at everybody with a smile. "I just can't get him to stop calling me master." Everyone chuckled a bit.
Somehow, after that, the conversation became a bit more normal. After lunch, Harry, Hermione and Neville went to karate class.
-
Although things were a bit more solemn, they were mostly back to normal. Harry seemed to get back into his training with a passion, and was soon facing everyone and lasting five minutes before being hit. Hermione tried the same thing and only lasted two.
Harry and Hermione were spending a lot more time alone together for the past week. The unspoken sentiment was that if they couldn't have the lifetime they wanted, then they wouldn't waste a moment that they had. The day before Ginny's birthday, Hermione and Harry were alone in his room when he said, "Hermione, I've been thinking."
Recognizing his sad tone of voice, she realized that this was probably about his upcoming death. He'd already told her how he wanted his funeral handled. She would've told him not to talk about that, except that she realized that he really would die, and she wanted to honor his last wishes. "What about?" she asked in a neutral tone of voice.
"When I beat Riddle, I'll need to be killed immediately. Someone will have to be there to…to destroy the last Horcrux so he dies."
Making sure to keep a stiff upper lip, she responded in a business-like tone of voice, "I suppose."
"I," Harry swallowed nervously. "I think would prefer if your face was the last thing I see." He swallowed again. "If you don't want to, I'll understand. But I, I'd like you to destroy the bit of Riddle's soul in me."
Hermione looked at him, astonished. She blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall. She did not think she was capable of doing what he asked. She didn't know what to say, but was saved from responding by a squeal of joy coming from the other side of the room.
"Who is that!" shouted Harry, immediately getting between Hermione and the noise.
"It is Dobby!" he said excitedly. "Dobby is sorry Dobby is spying on his master, and Dobby is deserving of whatever punishment Master Harry Potter inflicts, but Dobby is wanting to know what Master is dying from! No one is telling Dobby, saying it is Master Harry Potter's business, so Dobby is having to find out. All Dobby is hearing is the word Horcrux that Dobby isn't knowing. Now, Dobby is hearing that a bit of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's soul is inside Master."
"Er, yes," said Harry after reviewing what his small friend had said. "He can't die while that piece of his soul is inside me, so I'll have to die when I kill him."
"No, master. You is not having to die. Elves is knowing ancient magic of souls. This is being from before elves is being enslaved. Elves is doing powerful soul magic to fix a broken soul or even separate and banish a destroyed portion of a soul before it is infecting the rest of the soul. One day, a very bad and powerful wizard is catching an elf named Frugey trying to heal his soul and he is binding Frugey and his descendents as slaves forever with very dark magic, and is stopping them from using soul magic as long as they is slaves. The other elves is leaving because they is being afraid he is doing the same to them, but Frugey's mate is staying with him and is allowing herself to become a slave. Although they wasn't being allowed to do soul magic, they is teaching it, and it is taught to all elves."
Hermione's eyebrows furrowed in thought. "I'll want to talk about that history more later, Dobby, but are you saying that you know how to get rid of the piece of Tom Riddle's soul inside Harry without harming him?"
"Yes, Dobby is knowing how and can be doing it because Dobby is free."
She looked intently at her boyfriend. "Do you want to try?"
He turned to the free elf. "What do you need to do?"
"You must be lying on the floor where Dobby can touch your head."
Harry complied, and Dobby went through a process wherein he did detect the foreign soul attached to Harry's. The moment Dobby severed its connection was painful, causing Harry to scream, but it didn't last long. Harry began to feel happier than he'd ever been. He felt light as a feather, as if a weight he'd been carrying for years was finally released.
"How do you feel?" asked Hermione, bringing him back to reality.
He grinned at her. "Never better."
Hermione performed the detection spell on her boyfriend, seeing, "No dark magic! You now really are just Harry!" She hugged and kissed him, and then turned toward Dobby, who was shocked at how fast she picked him up and hugged him tightly, kissing his forehead. "Thank you so much!" She realized that she was crying again, but this time was out of happiness.
-
Harry and Hermione soon marched down the stairs with Dobby, who was blushing madly while sitting on their shoulders. Sirius and the Grangers (who'd been told the truth after they demanded to know why everyone was acting like they were at a funeral) were the only ones there, and were thrilled to hear the news. They fire-called Dumbledore immediately, who came and confirmed that the Horcrux was no longer inside Harry.
The next morning, the others celebrated the good news as well, and Ginny's birthday party at the Burrow unofficially doubled as a `Harry's Gonna Live!' party for those who knew what had happened. The next day, Hermione, Harry, and Sirius went to his island that is the Bermuda Triangle for the weekend.
-
Early in the morning, the indigenous animals of Black Island were treated to a strange sight. A brown cat was chasing a big black dog that was chasing a lion with a wild, black mane. They raced around the island, away from the beach, where the cat managed to pass the dog. By the time they reached their destination, one of the runes that protected the island, the cat was one paw ahead of the lion and touched it first.
The cat transformed into Hermione, and was soon followed by Harry and Sirius changing back as well. All three of them were panting, and Hermione was positively glowing. "I beat you, Harry!" she exclaimed happily.
"Fine," he said with a mock pout, "I'll pay up the bet once we get rid of Sirius."
"What bet?" asked Padfoot.
"Well," he responded shyly, "I owe her a snog."
"Really," Sirius replied with a smirk. "You should always pay your gambling debts. I'll be going back to the cabin. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"What wouldn't you do?" asked Harry with a grin.
"Keep my girlfriend waiting for a snog. See you later." He turned back into Padfoot and ran off.
Looking at his girlfriend, Harry smirked. "I just remembered a bet we made here a year ago, over who would complete their transformation first. You owe me five snogs."
She looked at him in mock indignation. "Just because I changed fifty-two seconds after you doesn't mean you win."
"Earlier is earlier," he said as he put his arms around her and began to pay his gambling debt.
-
After spending a few days enjoying the island, the beach and Hermione's bathing suit, Harry had to admit that his holiday was too short. They returned to Black Manor for the last week of summer to find that Remus had picked up their school supplies in Diagon Alley. The last few days of summer went by without incident, and before they knew it, September 1st had arrived.
-
Please review. Thank you to those who have.
By the way, I had the goblins cooperate because I don't believe myself capable of writing a Gringotts robbery better than JKR did in DH. That was my favorite scene of that book.
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