Chapter one

A month after the battle of Hogwarts and all the funerals were over, the Weasley family were trying to come to terms with the loss of one of their own. Hermione and Harry offered to give them some time to themselves, but Mr. and Mrs. Weasley wouldn't hear of it. So they both stayed at the Burrow, but Harry told Mrs. Weasley that he was using the tent down in the orchard. At first she tried arguing, then yelling at Harry, which didn't work. Harry explained to her that he liked his space and wasn't a child anymore, but also he knew his nightmares would be loud. So finally she agreed, Harry set up the tent up in the orchard. This tent was the one Hermione had Bill get when they stayed at Shell Cottage, but they never got a chance to use.

Harry always seemed to wake early, even before Mrs. Weasley. So he'd got into a habit of going up to the house, making himself a cup of tea, then sitting outside watching the beginning of the new day. When Mrs. Weasley started breakfast and everyone slowly made their way to the kitchen table, Harry joined them. Sometimes he helped make breakfast, other times he would just sit with Hermione and Ron, Hermione always in the centre of the two young men.

Harry noticed that Ginny kept staring at him, sometimes with a hopeful look, other times she was angry. Hermione told Harry that Ginny hoped they got back together even if she was still a little angry with Harry. Harry didn't know what he wanted, so he just told Hermione to tell Ginny that he needed to sort out his feelings and life before he could decide what he was going to do. Harry did care about Ginny, but wasn't sure if anything would come of it because he knew he needed time.

As everyone at the Burrow started eating, Kingsley Shacklebolt and another man stepped inside the kitchen.

'Sorry to disturb your breakfast Weasley's, Granger and Potter,' Kingsley smiled at everyone.

'You're not Kingsley, why don't you and your friend sit and have a cup of tea,' Arthur said gesturing for them to sit down.

'Thanks, Joseph have a seat.'

Kingsley and Joseph sat down, 'So what can we do for the newly named minister?' Arthur asked.

'Well, I need to get a press release ready, also as much information I can before the trials for those death eaters we caught. But first, Harry, we all heard what you said that night, so I was wondering if we could sit and you can fill me in?'

Hermione and Ron glanced at Harry, who looked at them before he turned back to the minister.

'I can do that, but there will be one thing that won't be released to the public, I need your promise on that Kingsley, sorry minister.'

'Forget the minister Harry, we're friends, have been for a while. This bit you want left out, is there a reason why it shouldn't be told?'

'It's personal and won't make a difference to the information. So even though we're friends, you either promise, or I don't tell you. You know I don't trust the ministry, or anyone that works there, well apart from Mr. Weasley, you and a couple of others. But your minister now, I've had two of those that made my fucked up life harder, sorry Mrs. Weasley,' Harry said quickly.

'I know you have Harry and I will never use you, lie to you or about you. I've known you to long and what you've been through. So you have my promise I won't repeat anything you don't want me to.'

'Thanks and sorry if I sounded abrupt, but only Hermione and Ron know everything. But I have been planning on explaining to the Weasley's, Neville, Luna, Dean, Seamus, Professor McGonagall, Aberforth, Mr. Ollivander and you. So I don't have to tell the story more than once, can we organise to have the others here?' Harry looked at the Weasley's.

'How about after lunch, we should be able to get everyone together Harry,' Molly said.

'Thanks Mrs. Weasley, but about your friend there?'

'I'm the minister's auror guard, so I have to be present, but you have my word not to repeat anything you say Mr. Potter.'

'It's Harry and if Kingsley trusts you, that's good enough for me. I've trusted Kingsley since I met him, even with my life.'

'Thanks Harry and you can trust me and Joseph. We've worked together for a long time.'

'Okay, well, I can send my patronus to Neville, Luna, Seamus and Dean.'

'You do that now Harry, I'll contact Minerva, Aberforth, then go see Ollivander. We'll meet back here after lunch.'

'Thanks Kingsley.' Harry nodded, then watched them leave.

'So we're finally going to know what you three were doing before you turned up at Hogwarts?' Charlie asked.

'Yeah, there's a lot to go into, Hermione and Ron will help explain everything,' Harry looked at his friends, 'You are going to help, aren't you?'

'Yes, of course we will Harry.'

'Yeah, we'll help mate, but are you going to tell them everything?' Ron raised his eyebrows.

'Yes, everything, you're family means a lot to me and are trustworthy, but I also think they deserve to know. The others helped a lot, so they should be told as well. I don't think they realise how much they did help, that's why I want them to know.'

'Even the stone?' Hermione asked trying not to give anything away.

'Yeah, even that,' Harry saw everyone look curiously at him, 'You'll hear it all soon.'

'We all just need a bit more patience,' Arthur nodded to his family, 'I'll contact Bill and Percy.'

'Are you sure Percy will keep his mouth shut about this dad?' Ron asked.

'I'll explain Ron.'

'It's fine Ron, you could see how much he changed when he turned up and he's part of your family.'

'Okay, I still don't trust the git though.'

'Go send your patronus Harry, then everyone can just relax until lunch.'

Harry nodded and walked outside, thought about what he wanted his patronus to say, then conjured Prongs and sent him on his way before Harry went back down to his tent. He never went in, just sat outside staring around at all the trees.

After everyone had an enjoyable lunch, Kingsley and Joseph arrived not long after, then Neville and Luna turned up, before Aberforth, and Minerva McGonagall who helped a still frail Mr. Ollivander inside and last Seamus and Dean arrived. Everyone took seats around the Weasley's living room, Harry, Hermione and Ron stood, but Hermione and Ron looked at Harry and could see he was a little nervous.

'Well, you all heard me say horcrux, well horcruxes, who knows what they are?'

Only Kingsley, Joseph and Minerva nodded, 'We know what they are, not anything else about them, but you said horcruxes, plural,' Minerva said.

'Yeah, Voldemort really didn't want to die, so he made seven. But first I should explain to everyone else what they are,' Harry blew out a huge breath, 'Dumbledore and I used to sit in his office going over memories that he had been collecting for a long time, all on Voldemort. From the time he was Tom Riddle as a kid in the orphanage, to after he changed his name to Lord Voldemort. Dumbledore suspected a horcrux back when I was twelve, but wasn't positive or if it was just one. Finally he worked out that's what Voldemort did and there were more than one. We used to meet, work out how many, what they were and where he might have hid them.' Harry took a deep breath before continuing.

'A horcrux is an item that someone will place a piece of their soul into, so even if their body is destroyed, they cannot die. You do this by killing with the intention of splitting your soul,' Harry heard a few gasps go around the room. 'He always planned to make seven as he, like a lot of people believe seven is the most magical number. We believe he planned to make another with my death as a baby. He had five before he turned up that night.'

'But he disappeared that night, you survived, but you also said he made seven,' Bill said looking confused.

'I'll get to that Bill. Anyway, two were destroyed before Dumbledore died, he destroyed one, I destroyed one. The night he died, we did go to find another one, but it turned out to be a fake. Regulus Black, Sirius's brother had found the real one and wanted to destroy it, but couldn't. I'll explain that later though, it's a long story on its own. The first one he made was when he was only a teenager and still a student at Hogwarts, his diary,' Harry glanced at Ginny who looked up at him with shock on her face.

'The one I used Harry?' she asked in a quiet voice.

'Yeah, that one Ginny, so I destroyed it to save you, but never knew at the time it was a horcrux. We think the second one he made was a ring that belonged to his wizard grandfather, Marvolo Gaunt. He made that while he was a student as well, Dumbledore destroyed that one, but it was also the reason he had a cursed hand and was dying. Dumbledore knew he was dying and thanks to Snape who was able to trap the curse in his hand, but could only give him a year at the most to live. So Dumbledore asked Snape to kill him at the right time. Snape didn't want to do it, but Dumbledore made him promise. That's what happened that night on the astronomy tower.'

Harry paced a little before stopping, 'But back to the horcruxes, right after Voldemort left Hogwarts, he got a job at Borgin and Burkes. They used to send him out to find things. Riddle as he was still called at that stage, used to visit this old woman, Hepzibah Smith, a descendant of Helga Hufflepuff. She was old but taken with Riddle, so he used that. One day she had her house elf, Hokey bring out two items, a cup that belonged to Helga Hufflepuff and a locket that belonged to Salazar Slytherin, I'll explain more about the locket later. He ended up killing the old woman, modified the house elf's memory, making everyone think she killed her mistress. Riddle took the cup and locket, turned them into horcruxes. The cup he hid in Bellatrix Lestranges vault, the locket he hid in a cave that he'd visited with the orphanage, the same cave Dumbledore and I went to on the night he died.'

'So two items that belonged to the founders and you asked about Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem,' Minerva McGonagall said.

'Yes Professor, when he was a student, he'd heard the story of that diadem, so he spoke to the grey lady, who happens to be Helena Ravenclaw, Rowena's daughter. She was the one that took her mother's diadem and hid it in a tree in Albania.'

'Albania,' Kingsley said looking stunned.

'Just like the rumours said Kingsley, that's why he was there. He found it, killed some poor bloke, turned it into a horcrux, then brought it back to Hogwarts. He used the excuse to ask Dumbledore for the defence against the dark arts job right after Dumbledore became headmaster. Voldemort knew Dumbledore wouldn't give him the job, but it gave him the chance to hide the horcrux in the room of requirement. He was so arrogant that he thought he was the only person to find that room. But I've hid things in there, Trelawney hides her sherry bottles in there, we, the DA used it to train in. Anyway, Dumbledore believed that Nagini was the closest thing to Voldemort. For someone that couldn't love, he did feel something for the snake. So he turned her into his seventh horcrux, we think he did that not long after he got his body back when I was fourteen but we're not sure when the snake was made into one,' Harry turned his back on everyone, 'One more to go,' Harry never turned back around, 'Most of you know I saw Mr. Weasley get attacked by the snake, I can speak parseltongue, the only non Slytherin who can. I felt him all the time and saw things through his eyes. I told Professor McGonagall he was on his way to Hogwarts that night, all that was because he turned me into his sixth horcrux that night seventeen years ago.'

Everyone apart from Hermione and Ron stared in shock at Harry's back. But all of them finally understood why Harry saw things, felt things and seemed to get angry a lot. But they also knew this was going to be one thing that Harry would not get over for a very long time.