Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.
More Important Than Any Broomstick - Chapter 41 - Finding a Horcrux
The door to the Room of Requirement opened, and both the potions and defense teacher walked in. It was a Saturday morning, a week after the second task. They chuckled when they saw that the room had the same swimming pool it had contained when Harry had learned the clue to the egg. They walked to the edge of the pool and were slightly surprised by what they saw in the water.
Instead of just seeing Harry and Hermione snogging, enjoying the affects of gillyweed, they saw Neville and Ginny in another part of the pool doing the same thing. "I really ought to get Professor Brooks to come here," said Sirius with a grin.
"As long as Tonks comes too," said Remus. Recently they had admitted their feelings and were now a couple.
A few comfortable chairs appeared for the men as Sirius said, "Might as well be comfortable while we wait."
About fifteen minutes later, the teenagers started emerging from the pool one by one as the gillyweed wore off. Neville was the first one out of the water. He looked at the teachers and paled. "Er, um, are you gonna take house points for this `cause I'm, er, sor…"
"We ought to give you house points for finding this creative way to snog," said Sirius with a chuckle.
Neville blushed as Ginny came out of the pool. "Hello professors."
"Hi Ginny," said Lupin.
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Harry and Hermione were soon to follow, and then they went to their respective changing rooms where they made sure to put on their armor as well as regular clothes. When they were fully dressed, the pool disappeared and was replaced by a few couches. The couples sat in them and faced the professors. "So, what's up guys?" said Harry.
Sirius leaned closer toward them looking excited. "Professor Dumbledore has found a location that he believes contains a Horcrux, and he's agreed to let Harry and Hermione come with us."
The mentioned teenagers looked excited while the other two looked slightly disappointed. Moony saw those expressions and said, "Ginny, Neville; it was hard to convince him to let those two come with us when he knows that they're more powerful than any of us. He's never seen you two dueling, and he knows how both Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Longbottom would react to you going Horcrux hunting."
"What about Hermione's parents?" asked Ginny.
"They trust Harry and me," said Hermione.
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A few minutes later, Professors Dumbledore, Lupin, Black, and Brooks were in the headmaster's office with Harry and Hermione. They were all seated on conjured chairs and wearing muggle clothing as Dumbledore explained the situation.
"As you already know, I believe that I've discovered the location of another Horcrux. It is the remains of the orphanage where Voldemort was raised."
"You found it?" asked Professor Brooks, appearing to be astonished. "I couldn't."
"I had the advantage of having visited the orphanage myself when I personally delivered Tom Riddle's Hogwarts letter. Although I must admit, it was hardly recognizable. I didn't get the chance to visit the location until after the second task, but when I did visit it, I detected magical protection."
"Which led you to believe Voldemort is hiding something there," said Sirius.
"Yes," said Dumbledore. "I also believe that Mr. Potter and Miss Granger have earned the right to accompany us. Truthfully, I wouldn't want to duel either of you two."
Hermione blushed while Harry's ears went pink. "Thank you sir," Harry said, "but I am curious why you don't feel that Ginny and Neville are able to accompany us. I know they can't do wandless magic, but neither can most of you."
"They helped us fight the people that attacked during the Yule Ball," added Hermione.
The headmaster looked thoughtful for a moment. "I would like to personally evaluate them before asking them to join us, but I don't have time today. I shall evaluate them at the earliest convenience and consider inviting them to our next adventure. But for today, they'll stay at the castle. I've made a portkey that will leave in five minutes. Are there any questions?"
"I have one, sir," said Hermione, "Won't Harry and I get in trouble for using underage magic?"
With a twinkle in his eye, Dumbledore answered, "No. You see, if they detect magic around us, the ministry will assume it's being performed by an adult. You see, they can only detect magic, not who's performing it."
"That's why I got blamed for Dobby doing magic in the Dursley's house," said Harry.
"But sir," said Hermione, "does that mean that they only give warnings to children living in muggle homes?"
The twinkle left the aged professor's eyes. "Well, yes. According to ministry records, no pureblood witch or wizard has ever performed underage magic."
"In other words, it's another prejudiced law meant to give the ministry an excuse to stop muggleborns from attending Hogwarts."
"Exactly," said Sirius.
"The Potter Press will definitely have to write an article about that," said Harry with a smirk. Hermione, remind me to call Mrs. Weasley when we get back."
"Definitely," said Hermione.
"Well," said Dumbledore with an amused expression, "If there are no more questions I'd suggest we all grab hold of the portkey," and indicated a muggle tie that had pictures of Mickey Mouse on it.
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The group arrived in an alley with Harry, Hermione, and Professor Brooks falling on the ground while the others landed properly on their feet.
"What? Help!" shouted an apparently homeless muggle about five feet from them as he started to run for his life.
Harry knew he couldn't be allowed to escape, so he put up an invisible barrier surrounding the muggle while Dumbledore stepped forward toward the man who was cowering in fear. The headmaster pulled out his wand and said, "Obliviate."
The group quickly left the alley and followed Dumbledore to their nearby destination. It was a filthy abandoned building that looked like it should be condemned. Brooks commented, "I'll bet dear-old-dad put a charm on the building to make sure muggles wouldn't want to condemn this…place."
"Indubitably," said Dumbledore, "otherwise it would have been destroyed decades ago and replaced with another building."
"Moldyshorts has gone to some trouble to make sure the place is still standing," said Sirius.
"We've got to be very careful," said Lupin.
"I'll go in first," said Brooks.
They all had their wands out as they entered the building through the doorway that had a door hanging on by one hinge. Behind Professor Brooks were Dumbledore, Harry, Hermione, Sirius, and Remus in that order (the kids in the middle). The place was completely full of dust.
Dumbledore pulled out his wand and muttered some Latin phrases before saying, "As I suspected, let's go that way." He pointed in the direction of Tom's old room. They walked into the room with no problem and looked around. There were some dusty old beds in the room, along with a few dressers and a trunk. Harry noticed something and walked up to the trunk.
He looked at the rusted carving of a snake and started hissing at it as the others watched. Brooks whispered to everybody, "He's telling the trunk to open," just before they heard its creaking locks release. "Don't touch it!" Brooks shouted as Harry reached for the handle. He pulled back his hand as she walked up to the trunk and opened it, shaking slightly as though she'd felt a chill. "It was making sure I'm related to Slytherin," she explained. "It would've probably paralyzed you," she said to Harry. There was only one thing in the trunk, and it was standing in the center. Dumbledore exclaimed, "Hufflepuff's cup," and Brooks took it out of the trunk. That's when it happened.
It felt as though an earthquake were happening. Brooks shouted, "I must have needed to do some kind of spell before removing it! Let's get out of here!"
They escaped the room while pieces of the ceiling began to fall around them, but it soon became clear that they would not be able to make it out alive. The whole ceiling collapsed above them. Harry saw this happening and without a word protected them all from the impact (causing everything to fall around them, bouncing off their bodies as though they were walls), but they were soon discovering that they were running out of air in the middle of the debris. All they could breathe was the dust that was now floating all around them. Hermione realized what to do before it was too late. In one moment she put them all under the bubblehead charm, giving them air to breathe. They managed to slowly make their way out of the wrecked building.
Albus spoke once they were clear of the wreckage. "I would create a portkey to go directly to Hogwarts, but I believe that after that, we all deserve a drink at the Three Broomsticks, my treat." He looked at Harry and Hermione, "Butterbeers for you two, naturally." They nodded. "Tell me, have you two mastered apparition yet?"
Adrianna Brooks answered, "I've taught them everything I could, and they've been able to pop all around the Room of Requirement. It might not be a bad idea to try them out from a greater distance. In this group, the ministry shouldn't be able to detect whether they side-alonged or not."
"I believe you are correct," said Albus. "We'll apparate behind the building where no one should see us, just in case. Are you ready, Mr. Potter and Miss Granger?"
Both teens excitedly said, "Yes!"
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With several small pops, the group arrived right behind the Three Broomsticks. "Everyone alright?" said Lupin. "No splinching?" All the adults looked carefully at the very happy teenagers who were nodding.
"Splendid," said Dumbledore.
"Well done," said Sirius, slapping Harry on the back.
"I knew you could do it," said Adrianna.
"If I might," said Albus, "I suggest we make our way into the Three Broomsticks so we can give Madam Rosmerta our orders. I'm rather thirsty. Congratulations again on your first successful long-distance apparition. Just remember you didn't learn it from a Hogwarts professor." The group chuckled and went into the pub.
After they'd gotten their drinks, Moony looked at the teenagers. "That was some incredible spellwork you did. Harry, how did you make us all solid enough to not be affected by the roof falling on us? And Hermione, I've never seen anyone perform more than one Bubblehead charm at a time, and you produced six."
Harry answered first, "I just knew what needed to be done and it happened. That's the way my wandless magic works. Sometimes if I want to do something complex and there's a spell that already does it, like charming muggle devices, it's easier to do it with a wand, but simple ideas like, `Shield us so we're not affected by the roof falling on us,' come easy."
"I agree with Harry. That's exactly how it is with me," added Hermione.
"Have you ever considered inventing spells?" asked Dumbledore.
"What?" asked both Harry and Hermione together as the teachers stared at them.
"Although many spells, such as Lily Potter's, originated as a combination of several spells that already existed, our base spells originated as wandless actions, and then the witch or wizard performed a ritual which made them into a worded spell that uses a wand. Surely you're aware that many of the things you do without a wand are actions that have been turned into spells."
"Of course, sir," said Hermione, "I guess we just never thought of it."
"If you'd like, I can try to locate a book on that, although for the most part, base spell creation is handled by the Department of Mysteries at the ministry. It's not illegal to invent spells independently, although some people frown on it as though the Ministry is some sort of divine institution that must always be in charge of all magic. The truth is that the ministry's only functions should be to keep the peace in the wizarding world and to make sure the muggles don't know about us. Beyond that they are overstepping their boundaries."
"Like when they say how thick a cauldron bottom should be," added Harry with a smirk.
"Exactly," said Dumbledore, chuckling. "They shouldn't interfere in any situation as long as no one's rights are being violated and muggles aren't involved."
"The laws should be very simple," said Hermione. "They should specify everyone's rights, such as the rights to life and property, and state that no magic in any form, whether originating from a person or a charmed object, should be performed in front of muggles, with the exception of those directly related to a magical person, such as my parents. Then it should suggest punishments."
"Exactly," said Dumbledore, "Then our constitution could be just a few simple paragraphs, and life would be simpler. For example, why should it be illegal for me to create a portkey as long as I'm not doing it to break into somebody's house so I can rob or kill them?"
"One thing that should be in there is that no one should be put in Azkaban until they have had a trial," said Sirius coldly.
"Naturally," said Dumbledore. "You see, in their efforts to regulate everything, they've forgotten to protect peoples' basic rights. Hagrid has yet to receive an apology for his unjust imprisonment in Azkaban two years ago. The only reason he was arrested is because he'd been expelled fifty years before because Voldemort framed him for the crime at that time. And as we know, he's not the only one who's been thrown into Azkaban without a trial. They should have some other place for untried people to stay where they're not subjected to Dementors."
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The conversation continued, and eventually they all walked back to Hogwarts, where Dumbledore destroyed Hufflepuff's cup in front of them. Harry noticed that when it was destroyed, it glowed green and seemed to scream. While the scream was still sounding, Harry's head, specifically his scar, seemed to feel heavy. Not exactly painful, but uncomfortable.
When Harry tried explaining what he was feeling, Dumbledore's expression grew very grim. The aged man said, "I had hoped I was wrong, but it appears that your scar is a Horcrux, and now that there are only it and one more remaining, you are beginning to feel the weight of keeping Voldemort alive."
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