A/N: Thank-you to all my wonderful readers who take the time to drop me a note! I really appreciate your support. A special thanks to Dementor149 who helps me on my way. My apologies for making you wait for this chapter, Halloween sort of got in the way! This is just another little chapter with some information in it. We have a session with Dumbledore, and some shocking news for Harry. I think you will be interested!
If you see JKR is out there doing reviews, tell her to drop me a line. There are a few things I would like to discuss with her regarding the ownership of these characters. Until then, they still don't belong to me. Enjoy!
Chapter 19
Meeting the Past
We've got Defense Against the Dark Arts after lunch," Ron said between mouthfuls. "I wonder what we'll start with?"
"Well at least we won't be subjected to the Unforgivable Curses this year," murmured Hermione.
"What I want to see," commented Harry "Is a way to fight them. There has to be something we can do or use to stop them."
"There isn't anything Harry. That's why they're are so unforgivable," Ron replied
"But if I am able to fight off the Imperius Curse and I survived the killing curse, why not the Cruciatus too? There has to be something,"" Harry said more to himself than to his friends.
"Well, the nice thing is I can get into the restricted section now, perhaps I could find something there," Hermione said.
"Don't you thing someone would have thought about that by now?" Ron asked. "I mean, they don't call them unforgivable because apologizing will make it all better, they are called unforgivable because there isn't any known counter spell."
Hermione turned and glared at him. "Really Ron, do you seriously think someone has researched all of those books?"
"You mean you haven't?" Ron snorted.
"Madam Pince doesn't even know how many books are in the library." She packed up the books she was reading and stood up in a huff.
"You may have given up on this whole thing but I haven't," she said as she left.
"Wait! I didn't…Harry! How dare she!" Ron turned to Harry looking at him worriedly, the events from Godric's Hollow still fresh in his mind. "You know I'm behind you, mate!"
Harry smiled at him. "I know. Don't worry about Hermione."
"She's always blowing a fuse these days. She is mental, you know that?" Ron muttered.
"Yeah, but in a good way," Harry said as he picked up his books.
Professor Lupin was waiting for them as they entered the classroom. Harry was glad to see him back in front of the class. After learning so much from him these past few weeks, he thought Lupin was a great teacher.
"Good afternoon, class," Lupin said as they settled into their seats. "We have much to learn this year, so we are going to begin right away. I have been reviewing some of your work from last year, and I have decided that we are going to start with non-verbal magic review. I want you to work with a partner and practice calling an object to you."
Harry figured that Tonks and Lupin must have been planning their classes together. Everyone in the class partnered up and Harry worked with Hermione, taking turns calling the book back and forth.
"Excellent!" called Lupin as he walked around. "Now try moving further apart, and then try calling hidden objects."
Harry had always struggled with this aspect, but the lessons with Lupin seemed to make it easier. He noticed with pride that most of the DA members were able to perform the spell as well; although Neville's face was screwed up so tightly that Harry wondered if he was breathing.
Once Lupin was satisfied with their progress they began to work on shielding charms. Harry looked around, watching them as a teacher would, and felt a sense of pride to see how well his DA students were doing. They wouldn't have to dwell on reviews before getting down to the nitty-gritty of learning how to defeat the Death Eaters. Harry began to mentally create some lessons in his mind as the class continued. He was packing up his books at the end of class when Lupin came over to his desk.
"You've taught them well, Harry," he said quietly.
"Thanks," Harry said with a sense of pride. "But I did have some help."
"Well, they seem to respond well to you. Keep it up. We're going to need it," Lupin smiled as he moved away to greet his next class.
It was just before nine that night as Harry made his way up to the Headmistress' office.
"Seeking Snitches," he said and entered the spiral staircase. He approached McGonagall's office to find her sitting behind Dumbledore's enormous desk.
"Good evening Mr. Potter. Albus is waiting for you in his old drawing room behind me."
Harry nodded and moved around the desk to the sitting room behind her. He found Dumbledore's portrait sitting on an easel facing a large overstuffed chair. When he looked at Dumbledore's painting, it was empty.
"Professor Dumbledore, sir?" he called tentatively.
After a moment, he appeared in the frame.
"Harry! Good evening. Is it that time already?" Dumbledore asked.
"Uh, yes sir," Harry answered.
"Well I don't want to take up too much of your time, so let's get started, shall we? Let's talk about the Horcruxes. Remember, we found out that Tom had to kill someone in order to put a piece of his soul into an object. When you destroyed the book and I the ring, we released two parts of Tom's soul. at this moment they are stranded between the living and the hereafter. They cannot move on until all of the surviving pieces have been joined together."
"So Voldemort can't get those pieces back? Harry said as he seated himself in the chair.
"Not without dying. The parts of his soul are like a kneazle with 14 lives. Once they have been lost, they cannot be reclaimed. Tom was looking to use those pieces as he used up the one in his body, so in a sense remain immortal forever. That, and the Philosopher's stone. Unfortunately for him, you and I have thwarted his plan at every turn, which has angered him. He didn't get the stone and he has lost two parts of himself. He may not know of the parts of his soul that he has lost, but he does know about part of the prophecy. He knows that you must die in order for him to live. Therefore, he seems to be spending a lot of time and energy at this point trying to get rid of you."
"Great," murmured Harry. "Back to the prophecy."
"The prophecy, Harry, is very serious. Do not take it lightly. I know that Tom does not. If he felt that it was of no importance, he wouldn't have killed your parents and attempted to kill you. Mark my words; he will plan for your final meeting to be in his favor. You must be prepared. You need to destroy the Horcruxes, Harry, once we find them. Then, Voldemort can be destroyed, and Tom Riddle will be free to move on."
"Pardon, sir?" Harry said confused. "Aren't they one and the same?"
"Tom Riddle became Lord Voldemort, Harry. The first time he killed someone, he created this new persona. Tom lost himself to the evil of Voldemort."
"How could Tom be saved? He will die when Voldemort dies, won't he?" Harry asked.
"Death is such a finality with the living," Dumbledore said smiling. "There is so much more, Harry, but I don't have time to go into it. Let's just say that Tom's soul will be saved."
"I don't get it, sir. If Tom became Lord Voldemort, wouldn't that piece of him be gone?"
Dumbledore sighed and sat back, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "We could be going in circles all night, Harry, and I don't have much time. We can discuss this again later. Right now, I want to discuss the Horcruxes."
Harry nodded in agreement, even though he was still trying to figure out the Tom-Voldemort Puzzle.
"Let's look at what we know, starting with the book," Dumbledore said as he steepled his fingers.
"Well, Lucius Malfoy gave Ginny the book and she began writing in it. That's how Voldemort was able to communicate with her and eventually take over her body. Ginny said there were periods of time that she didn't remember. When I found her in the chamber, she was cold," Harry said, frowning at the memory.
Dumbledore nodded. "Voldemort was using her, draining her life, to strengthen himself."
"He must have been gaining form, becoming more solid as Ginny slowly died. When I stabbed the book with the poisonous fang, he just disappeared," Harry said.
"Because part of Voldemort was still attached to the diary, the poisonous fang destroyed him," Dumbledore explained.
"So what happened to your arm sir?" Harry asked.
Dumbledore held up his hand and looked at it, studying the now smooth pink flesh, lost in thought. "After your success with the diary, I thought Tom had simply put a piece of his soul into an object. What I failed to remember was that it was a much younger Tom who made the first Horcrux. It was a much more experienced Voldemort who used the ring to create a Horcrux. It takes a powerful dark magic to create Horcruxes, Harry, and it takes powerful magic to destroy them. I underestimated Voldemort," he looked up sadly at Harry. "In my foolish belief that I could do it alone, it cost me my hand. The first thing you need to understand, Harry is you can't do it alone. You will need support," Dumbledore sat forward and looked seriously at Harry.
"The Horcruxes contain a piece of soul whose only goal is to be set free to live or meet up with its other parts. It feeds off of any soul it comes in contact with to strengthen itself. Sometimes," Dumbledore frowned, "there are repercussions. Because of having a strong sense of self-preservation, the fragment fights for all its worth. You will need to separate enough of the soul fragment from the Horcrux to destroy it. In order to do that, the fragment must attach itself to another soul, and be pulled from the Horcrux in order to weaken it before it can be destroyed."
Harry gaped at Dumbledore as the seriousness of the situation set in. Someone would have to make some kind of sacrifice in order to destroy the Horcrux. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach.
"You mean to tell me sir, that someone will have to sacrifice his life in order to destroy the Horcrux?"
"A few months ago I would have said yes. But no, Harry, no one should die in the attempt."
"Should?" Harry asked.
"Well, we are going to be dealing with very old magic that I have learned about during my stay here. You will need to practice before you attempt anything though. Professor Lupin will help you with that. I have discussed it with him. Now, Harry, your assignment has two parts to it. First, I want you to research all you can about old magic and it's strengths and weaknesses. Secondly, you need to figure out what that last Horcrux is. Something from Rowena Ravenclaw, I think. We will get together again once you have had a chance to practice some of the old spells and find the last Horcrux. Now, Harry, if you would be so kind as to ask Professor McGonagall to come and see me on your way out? Thank you."
Harry stood and headed back into the main area to relay the message. He became lost in thought as he made his way back to the common room. It amazed him to think that he still didn't know everything, and that he hadn't been told everything. But this latest revelation…He shook his head. It really scared him.
The thought that someone he knew, someone close to him, may have to connect themselves to a piece of Voldemort's soul, well, he wasn't going to have any of that. If anyone was going to be attached to a piece of Voldemort, it was him. Besides, he figured, he already had a connection to him, so he should be the one to make the sacrifice.
He absentmindedly gave the password as he headed into the common room. Both Ron and Hermione looked up from where they were studying to watch him come in. Harry flopped down on the couch, still lost on thought.
"All right there, Harry?" Ron asked.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, just a lot to think about," Harry replied.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Hermione asked, with concern in her voice.
"No, not yet. I need to think about a few things first. I may need your help though. I have to do some research," Harry said wearily as he leaned his head back. I need to figure out what that last Horcrux is, and I need to learn about ancient magic."
Hermione jumped up and went to the bookshelf where she had organized her books. She grabbed a few and brought them back to the couch.
"Here, Harry. These are some of the books I brought from Godric's Hollow. We can start there." Hermione held the books out to Harry.
Harry stared at her, noticing the worry mixed in with the tiredness on her face, and suddenly he felt very tired too. He couldn't even remember what Hermione said.
"Harry?" Hermione asked worriedly as she searched his face to see what was wrong.
Harry sighed and closed his eyes. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I think I just need some sleep. I'll see you in the morning." He got up and went to his room without another word; his friends watching him go.
"What do you think Dumbledore said?" asked Ron.
"I don't know," Hermione said with trepidation. "Do you think he's okay?"
"Don't know," said Ron. "Maybe he is just tired. Where are you going?" he asked as Hermione stood up.
"I want to see if he's really okay," she replied as she headed towards the closed door.
Harry was lying on his back, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling, his mind buzzing, when he heard the soft tap at the door.
"Harry?" Hermione called tentatively as she stuck her head around the door.
"Yeah," Harry replied tiredly.
Hermione came in and made her way to the side of his bed. Harry rolled to his side and scooted towards the wall, making room for Hermione. He propped himself up on his arm, letting the blankets slide down to his waist, exposing his bare chest. Hermione sat down facing him, taking in the broad expanse of his chest, causing her heart to flutter. She longed to touch him, but held back, knowing there would be no turning back once she crossed that line.
"Talk to me, Harry," she said gently. "Obviously Dumbledore said something to upset you."
Harry sighed and reached out to gently stroke her arm with the back of his finger.
"He gave me some more information about Voldemort, but I need to think about it first before I talk about it, okay?" He smiled sadly at her.
Hermione leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "We're here if you need us," she said.
Harry had closed his eyes when she kissed his cheek, and now he slowly opened them to look at her. Hermione looked into his dark green eyes and became lost in the emotions she saw there, sadness, longing…and something else she couldn't name, but it was pulling her in. She felt herself leaning back in towards Harry's face again as his hand made its way to the back of her head and pulled her close. She closed her eyes as their lips met, and as he kissed her softly, Hermione heard `stay…' in her head. She pulled back to look at him and suddenly knew what he wanted, but she couldn't, not yet. She slowly got up and backed towards the door, Harry's eyes following her longingly.
"Goodnight Harry," she whispered as she left.
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