DiscLAMER: This is getting really lame writing these disclaimers.

Chapter2:Horcruxes

June24th,1942 Later

After a very cheerful chat over dinner with Alastor, John Dawlish, and Caesar Proudfoot, the three followed Formosa Chang, a seventh year Ravenclaw, down to the dungeons for their "Slug Club" dessert party. Once there, she saw Tom Riddle and his usual gang of Slytherins. A seventh year Slytherin by the name of Viridus Parkinson was talking to Professor Slughorn, who was sitting at the front of the circular table. The four Gryffindors sat together, Minerva on the end, sitting next to Eldritch Diggory, a seventh year Hufflepuff.

"Ah, glad you all could make it!" Slughorn said cheerfully once everyone sat down. There were various types of candy, cakes, ice cream, and pies at the center of the table. "And now we can chat!"

Then Riddle stood up, reached into his robes, pulled out a rectangular tin box, and said, "Professor, I brought crystallized pineapple, because I know it's your favorite," he handed it to Slughorn, who took it and opened it eagerly.

"Thank you very much, Tom m'boy!" Slughorn said gratefully. "This is very considerate of you! Look everyone!" he said, getting everyone's attention. "Tom has brought me my favorite snack! Again! Do you see how considerate he is of his teachers! You should all learn from him! I am very happy that I have such a student in my House! Twenty points to Slytherin, Tom!" Half of Riddle's gang cheered, while the other half sniggered. "Well, back to socializing!" Slughon said, and everyone went back to their private conversations.

"Unbelievable!" Alastor whispered to Minerva and the other Gryffindors. He could not be heard by anyone else because everyone was talking. "That is true sucking to teachers. Just because he happened to know what Slughorn's favorite food was means that he gets extra House points! I mean everyone from Gryffindor knows he's evil!"

"I know!" Minerva replied in a whisper. "Most of the teachers are blinded by how good his grades are and how he acts in class! They all think that he is a model student!"

"I mean he's so suspicious," said John Dawlish. "I mean, what family does he have? Where does he live outside of school? And if he has no family, then where did he get that ring from?" Minerva stole a look at Riddle and for the first time noticed that he was wearing a gold ring with a small black stone on his right hand. "There's a rumor going around that he got it from his grandfather, except everyone knows he has no family. He couldn't have just found something like that, so I think he stole it."

"I couldn't agree more," said Minerva, and she meant it. Riddle was indeed a very suspicious person. "Also, there's talk that he's the Heir of Slytherin, which I think proves that he was the on who opened the Chamber earlier this year. I mean, did you notice the way he was sorted? The Sorting Hat didn't even touch his head when he screamed 'SLYTHERIN!' at the top of his lungs!"

They could not talk anymore about Riddle because just then, Slughorn had posed a question about politics, everyone was silent, and their cover for secret discussion was gone. They were talking for about half an hour when the discussion changed to Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Riddle asked, "Sir, is it true that Professor Merrythought is retiring?"

"Tom, Tom, if I knew I couldn't tell you," replied Slughorn, wagging a finger reprovingly at Riddle, but Minerva thought she saw Slughorn wink at the same time. "I must say, I'd like to know where you get your information, boy, more knowledgeable than half the staff, you are." And when he finished, most of the Slytherin group laughed, while Tom cast his usual fake smile that every teacher seemed to buy. "What with your uncanny ability to know things you shouldn't and your careful flattery of the people who matter- thank you for the pineapple, by the way, your quite right, it is my favorite- I confidently expect you to rise to Minister of Magic within twenty years. Fifteen, if you keep sending me pineapple, I have excellent contacts with the Ministry."

By now the Slytherins could barely hold their laughter. Riddle, Minerva thought, was just sucking up to Slughorn again. "I don't know that politics would suit me, sir," he said when the laughter had died away. "I don't have the right kind of background, for one thing."

"Nonsense," he replied. "Couldn't be plainer you come from a decent Wizarding stock, abilities like yours. No, you'll go far, Tom, I've never been wrong about a student yet." Just then, Slughorn's clock chimed eleven o'clock and Slughorn said, "Good gracious is it that time already? You'd better get going or we'll all be in trouble. Lestrange, I want your essay by tomorrow or it's detention. Same goes for you Avery."

Everyone filed out of the room, but on the way out, Minerva noticed that Riddle was staying behind. "See you guys back at the common room," she said to the three Gryffindors, and when the coast was clear, she cast "Suprasensio"on her ears to make her listening much greater, and stood by the door and hear Riddle say, "…came across the term while reading and I didn't fully understand it."

"No…well…you'd be hard pushed to find a book at Hogwarts that'll give you details on Horcruxes, Tom, that's Dark stuff, very Dark indeed," Slughorn said.

"But you obviously know about them, sir? I mean, a wizard like you- sorry, I mean if you can't tell me, obviously- I just knew if anyone could tell me, you could- so I just thought I'd ask," Minerva could tell by way Riddle talked that he wanted the information very much, and probably had been working on wheedling out the information for weeks.

"Well…well it can't hurt to give you an overview, of course. Just so you understand the term. A Horcrux is the word used for an object in which a person has concealed part of there soul."

"I don't quite understand how that works, though, sir." Minerva listened more carefully, for she did not understand the term herself. She could sense his excitement.

"Well, you split your soul, you see, and hide part of it in an object outside of your body. Then, even if one's body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die, for part of the soul remains earthbound and undamaged. But, of course, existence in such a form… few would want it, Tom, very few. Death would be preferable."

"How do you split your soul?" asked Riddle, and Minerva could hear the eagerness in his voice.

"Well," said Slughorn uncomfortably, "you must understand that the soul is supposed to remain intact and whole. Splitting it is an act of violation, it is against nature."

"But how do you do it?"

"By an act of evil- the supreme act of evil. By committing a murder. Killing rips the soul apart. The wizard intent upon creating a Horcrux will use this to his advantage: He would encase the torn portion-"

"Encase? But how-?"

"There is a spell do not ask me, I don't know! Do I look as though I have tried it- do I look like a killer?"

"No, sir, of course not," said Riddle quickly. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to offend…"

"Not at all, not at all, not offended," said Slughorn gruffly. "It's natural to feel some curiosity about these things… Wizards of a certain caliber have always been drawn to that aspect of magic…"

"Yes, sir. What I don't understand, though- just out of curiosity- I mean, would one Horcrux be much use? Can you only split your soul once? Wouldn't it be better, make you stronger, to have your soul in more pieces, I mean, for instance, isn't seven the most powerfully magical number, wouldn't seven-?"

"Merlin's beard, Tom!" yelped Slughorn. "Seven! Isn't it bad enough to think of killing one person? And in any case… bad enough to divide the soul… but rip it into seven pieces…" Minerva could tell that Slughorn was regretting entering into this conversation at all. "Of course," he muttered, "this is all hypothetical, what we're discussing, isn't it? All academic…"

"Yes, sir, of course," Riddle said quickly.

"But all the same, Tom… keep it quiet, what we've discussed. People wouldn't like to think we've been chatting about Horcruxes. It's a banned subject at Hogwarts, you know… Dumbledore's particularly fierce about it…"

"I won't say a word, sir," said Riddle. At this, Minerva ran to the end of the hallway and up the stairs so Riddle wouldn't see her when he came out of the office.

"So that's what he wanted with Slughorn," she thought. "To find out a way to make himself immortal. Everyone knew that his worst fear was death, because everyone saw his boggart. Now it made sense. He was going to make, not one Horcrux, but seven!" As Minerva made her way back to the Gryffindor common room, a horrifying thought struck her- In order to make seven Horcruxes, Riddle was going to have to commit sevenmurders.

But she couldn't tell, she would just get Professor Slughorn in trouble, and she knew that he was good, that he was innocent. Also, people wouldn't believe her, an "excellent student" such as Riddle talking about Dark things such as Horcruxes. It might also, she thought, make her one of the seven people Riddle had to murder in order to make his Horcruxes.

But there was always the option that Riddle had just came across the term while reading, like he said, and just wanted a proper understanding of it, and was never actually going to make a Horcrux. Yes, this was it, she thought. Riddle was just a suspicious person who wanted to know about suspicious things. There was nothing actually wicked about him.

How very wrong she was.


This is the last chapter when Minerva is still at Hogwarts. Next stop: Ministry of Magic!