A/N And with this Monday comes another installment of Horcruxes. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The plot belongs to JK Rowling, the thoughts to me.

Dumbledore's blackened hand always drew his eyes to it, a constant reminder of what he had done. Or rather, what he had tried to do.

Dumbledore entered the decrepit house that looked more like a shack. He looked around briskly, and upon realizing that no one was there, he started rifling through the debris on the ground. It took him at least a quarter of an hour to find it, but in the end he did.

This was it. With this ring he could fix everything he had ever destroyed. He could forget about that day, so long ago, he could stop doubting, he could start breathing easily. Dumbledore reached out for the ring. He picked it up and put it on the palm of his hand. The temptation was so strong; he had not prepared himself for this. He thought it was just because of his regret. He should have known better. Dumbledore slipped the ring on to his hand, thinking of his dearest Ariana as he did so, hoping to bring her back.

But then, to his shock and utter disbelief, the ring seemed to glue itself to his finger; he could not get it off. There was something that resembled an explosion. Everything went black.

Dumbledore sighed and closed his eyes at the thought. His sister was so innocent, so sweet… She didn't deserve to die. And all because of his stupid, stupid infatuation with someone so decidedly lower than him.

Dumbledore sat in silence, inspecting his blackened hand. He remembered the night he got it, he remembered the pain, but he also remembered not thinking much of it. Thinking that if he died, he would die and there was nothing that could be done for it. Strange, he mused, I never thought myself to be suicidal. Perhaps not suicidal, more like wise. When one thought about it logically, if he were to die in that situation, there was truly nothing he could do about it. It was only luck that he had stayed alive as long as he had. There were times when Dumbledore felt as if he was living on borrowed time. There were times he felt too old for his body. There were times when he felt remorse. Ever since that day, he had never been the same. The Dumbledore of so many years ago was lost now to the world.

The ring glinted on a table next to Dumbledore's desk. He looked at it and his lips quirked. Such a funny little thing. Giving so much hope to some, and dread for others. He had cursed it in the past, thinking it to be a false hope. But he now knew that as soon as the Horcrux was destroyed, the stone would be usable again. But would I truly use it? Dumbledore wondered. He found that he wouldn't. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't see his sister again, couldn't face her. He was a coward. And that was that.

Dumbledore sighed, adjusting his glasses on his face. It had changed him, that incident. He was no longer carefree; he felt constantly concerned about everything. Tom was back; he had been for two years, and still, there were at least six horcruxes still waiting to be destroyed. And yet there were still those small things that made everyday alright. A first year finding the wonders of magic, a threstral flying in the cool spring breeze. Something kept him going, something kept him from going mad.

Dumbledore eyed Gryffindor's sword, admiring the craftsmanship that must have gone in to creating it. Goblins, he thought, shaking his head. According to them, the sword was never truly any humans'. No matter; he didn't know why he was concerned with that. The sword was here now and no one was trying to take it away.

Dumbledore remembered a certain second-year receiving the sword. He admired Harry's courage, though he wished Harry could be less impulsive. He closed his eyes, hoping that after he died, Harry would be able to complete the dire task at hand. Dumbledore remembered Harry's face after defeated the basilisk, his face covered with blood and slime, yet still triumphant and satisfied.

Suddenly, a thought struck him. The sword was imprinted with basilisk blood; it was poison. Even to a Horcrux. Dumbledore rose from his chair and approached the cabinet holding the sword. He opened it slowly and took the great sword in his hands, gripping tightly. It was time for all the ghosts to leave. Time for temptation to be fought.

"Too long have you haunted me," Dumbledore growled at the ring. "No more!" Dumbledore was shaking at this point. He didn't know what had come over him. Something had changed, something he didn't realize. I'm sorry, he thought, though of whom he was thinking of he did not know. The sword was still in his hands. He brought it up until it was perpendicular to the floor.

Then it snapped. In a fit of rage, Dumbledore threw the sword at the ring, breaking it in half. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply. It was over. The temptation to try on the ring had ended, and now there was truly nothing he could do for the dead. They could rest in peace. And he could finally breathe easily.

He opened his eyes slowly. He looked at the ring to find that the stone was still there, intact and unmarked. But no, on closer inspection, the black stone had a crack down the middle; a crack on the line representing the eldar wand. Of course it wouldn't have been destroyed; it wasn't part of the Horcrux. But still, Dumbledore had hoped that it would also be destroyed, killing all his temptations. He wondered briefly if Tom knew that the stone he had procured was, in fact, one of the deathly hallows. He doubted it, for if Tom had known, he surely would have taken it for himself.

Dumbledore smiled, knowing that now there was one less Horcrux in the world. Though the stone remained, at least some evil had been vanquished tonight. Of course not. Why would his needs ever be satisfied? There were other things, more important things that needed to be looked after besides an old man's guilt.

He thought about telling Harry about the sword and how he had destroyed the ring, but thought better of it. He'll find out, in time, Dumbledore thought contentedly.

A/N Enjoyable? Really, I'm curious; drop a review! Merci. Bisous ~ the shattered star