Title: The Last Horcrux

Chapter 14: No Choice

…

"What?!" Chris's voice rose in disbelief, "That's insane!"

"No it's not," Harry insisted, "Think about it, Chris. You'll know I'm right."

"But how could Voldemort have possibly made a living being into a Horcrux?" Chris's head was reeling from this new development- and it wasn't helping that he could feel just how many people in the room concurred with Harry's view on the matter. His head was beginning to throb already.

"It is possible," Hermione informed him, "We thought for so long that Nagini was the last Horcrux, and that's why we could never understand why she never showed up on the H-maps. But-" She frowned, "But if Voldemort did make Wyatt his last Horcrux, then how come we didn't see it on the maps when we made the H-maps for USA? Chris is right, Harry; it doesn't make sense."

"As a matter of fact, Mrs. Weasley," Snape interrupted smoothly, "The process for making a living, thinking being into a Horcrux is somewhat different than that of using an inanimate object. A Horcrux is a shard of a person's soul- it has a will and even a life of its own. That is the danger of using a living, thinking to make a Horcrux- it involves, simply put, the fusion of two souls. Any creature of reasonable intelligence would be affected by it." He shot Chris a pointed look, as if he wasn't sure that his brother fit this definition, and Chris resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Since the act of making a Horcrux is itself so Dark," Snape continued, "And, can only be performed by a Dark and very powerful wizard...Well. Let me just say that the combination rarely results in the creation of what some might call a sunny disposition."

Snape's gift of making an understatement sound like prophesized doom was doing nothing to lighten Chris's mood. "Such being the case," Snape continued, "There is a way to deactivate a Horcrux- to deaden the shard of the soul once it has been torn away from the original. It is very Dark magic, but it is fairly effective. The Dark Lord most likely used it if, as Potter suggests- and I'm rather inclined to agree with him, as circumstantial evidence seems to prove his point- he used your brother as a host for the last Horcrux. The Horcrux would have remained dormant in Wyatt, which is why the H-maps were unable to trace it. From what Draco has told me, Wyatt turned to evil right after his mother's death. It is my belief that his violent reaction, both in terms of emotion and his magic, activated the Horcrux without the Dark Lord's ever intending it to happen."

"Even if that's true, we should still have been able to see it in the last six years," Hermione argued, "The H-maps for the USA were never monitored very closely, but they were checked periodically. If the Horcrux was at large in North America, we would have known it before long. After all, if the Horcrux was activated when Wyatt was sixteen, its movements would have been visible on the H-map from then until now- that's six years. We couldn't possibly have missed it."

Chris cleared his throat. Even though he wanted desperately to continue in his earlier disbelief the entire thing was beginning to make too much sense for him to continue to not acknowledge the possibility of its happening. "Wyatt never left the Underworld if he could help it. He built an impenetrable lair around himself, and never left it- it was one way of making sure that nothing, especially his family, would be able to get to him. He kept tabs on the outside world through his probes, and from time to time he would astral project his image aboveground and terrify people with a few spells. It was all he really needed to do to sustain his rule. The other day was actually the first time he's come aboveground since he first turned evil. And since you don't have maps of the Underworld, you wouldn't have been able to find the Horcrux. Assuming there was a Horcrux," He added, still not wanting to believe it.

"I'm not totally convinced he was, either," Ron said, a frown creasing his forehead. "It would mean that all those years that we thought Voldemort had already made all of his Horcruxes, he hadn't actually done anything of the sort. He made it as recently as ten years ago? 2005? Why would he wait for that long? I mean; all the other Horcruxes were made before Harry was born- that's 1980. It doesn't make sense that he waited."

"The birth of the Twice Blessed was prophesized for many years before the actual event," Snape said, "The Dark Lord could have planned to make Wyatt his last Horcrux for years before he was even born. Perhaps that is why he chose to wait."

"But why would he make my brother the last Horcrux?" Chris asked, "The Twice Blessed? The most powerful being of magic to be born in Wiccan history? Wouldn't he think it far too much of a risk to attach his soul to a power that far exceeded his?"

"He was prophesized to be powerful, yes;" Snape interjected with his usual coolness, "But he was supposed to also be the epitome of good magic. He was going to be raised by a Charmed One and a whitelighter. With such a concentration of good magic, no one expected him to turn to evil. And you must remember also that Wyatt would probably have been a threat to the Dark Lord if he grew too powerful. By making Wyatt his Horcrux, it would mean that he would be unable to destroy the Dark Lord- call it a form of insurance, if you will. Not to mention the fact that Wyatt is powerful to the point of being virtually indestructible. Rather than seeing it as risky, I am convinced that the Dark Lord likely saw it as the surest way of safe-guarding the Horcrux."

The room was enveloped in silence after Snape finished speaking. No one knew what to say, because the whole argument had been so conclusive that they no longer had any cause to refute it. No one dared to look at Chris, but that didn't matter in the least- he could feel every one of their emotions, and they were making his head ache so badly he could scarcely think. He took a swig from the Self-Replenishing Vial Harry had given him, which he now wore permanently around his neck on a chain charmed to be unbreakable. He immediately felt the pain ebb away, and was able to think clearly about what Snape had just said.

It was only moments before he was forced to acknowledge everything both Harry and Snape were saying. Wyatt had to be Voldemort's last Horcrux. There was no other explanation of all the evidence in hand. It was a bit of a relief, to know for sure that his brother was not responsible for what he was now. But the realization also filled him with a deep sense of horror. He looked at his father, and shuddered slightly. There was no longer even a faint possibility of saving Wyatt or turning him back to good. Chris had to face something he had feared for the last six years- that the only way to stop his brother was to kill him. And the only one strong enough to do it was Chris, himself. For one, wild moment he considered continuing to deny the truth. It would certainly make his life easier where Leo was concerned. He knew that taking that path would be the surest way of estranging his father for the rest of his life. But duty always came first for Chris, and this time was no exception. With so many people depending on him, he really had no choice.

"Well," He said very quietly, and the word conveyed such a wealth of weariness and sorrow and resignation and determination, that Harry found himself fighting tears. "I suppose that leaves us no choice, does it? My brother has to be stopped."

Hermione's eyes were wet, as she said; "Chris, we won't be able to just stop him. The Horcrux..."

"...has to be destroyed," Chris finished for her, "I know, Mrs. Weasley. My brother has to be killed, and I'm the only one powerful enough to kill him."

"You'll do no such thing!" Leo interrupted angrily. He had been silent until this point only because he hadn't understood what was going on, but he understood only too clearly what Chris had just said. "How can you even think such a thing? He's your brother!"

"Not anymore," Chris said, ruthlessly suppressing the tumult of emotion that threatened to overtake him at Leo's words, "Now he's only a huge amount of magical power governed by the soul of an extremely Dark lower-level witch. The brother I knew would never have wanted his magic to be used for evil. Now that I know that it definitely isn't him in there, that it was something external that turned him, and he's entirely blameless for what he is now-" He was suddenly choked with guilt; because how could he ever have doubted it? How could he have even thought for a moment that Wyatt was corrupted by his own power, or by Excalibur? It felt like a betrayal even to have thought it. "If there's anything of my brother that hasn't been consumed by Lord Wyatt," Chris said, and although his voice shook, it rang with conviction, "He'd thank me for killing him."

"But you can still turn him back!" Leo protested, "If you would just let me talk to him, maybe I can-"

"No."

Leo knew by that tone of voice that there was no use arguing. "Damn you!" He shouted, startling both himself and Chris with his profanity. "Why do you always have to be so stubborn?"

"I'm just trying to keep you safe," Chris said, softly.

"No, you're just being selfish," Leo said, spurred by his anger to say things he was normally too self-righteous to admit even to himself, even though they were true; "You always let your emotions stand in the way of the Greater Good. Wyatt would never have done that. If you had been in his place now, he would have let me try and save you."

"And would you have tried to save me?" Chris asked his father angrily, "Would you have even cared? If I was the one who turned to evil, wouldn't you have expected it? Because I've always been a disappointment to you, haven't I? And that's why you wish that it was me who had turned to evil when mom died; me who had turned my back on everything our family stood for, because that would have hurt you so much less!"

There was a long silence after these words, punctuated only by Chris's harsh breathing. Leo, when he did speak, did not respond to Chris's tirade, as usual refusing to acknowledge that his younger son's emotions counted for anything at all.

"If Wyatt dies at your hand," He said, and his voice carried a note of pure truth in it which nearly broke Chris, "Then so help me God, but I'll never forgive you." He orbed away.

Chris was not far behind him.

It was some hours after the meeting when Harry cautiously entered Chris's room to find him sitting with hunched shoulders at the foot of his bed, his face buried in his hands. His heart clenched at the sight, and for a moment he even thought Chris might be crying. But Chris looked up, and Harry saw that his face was perfectly dry. He hesitated for a fraction of a second, and then sat down beside him.

"I read the journal," He said softly.

"I know," Chris said, "I felt it. I knew the moment you got confirmation for the conclusion we came to during the meeting. And you knew I would. That isn't why you're here."

"I'm here because I'm concerned for you," Harry said, "What happened today-"

"Please, can we not talk about that?" Chris all but snapped.

Harry didn't say anything in reply, merely regarded him with silent compassion, causing him to drop his eyes in consternation. "I'm sorry," He said, "I didn't mean to snap - not at you."

Harry didn't say anything for a long moment. Then suddenly, he said, in a voice choking with some nameless emotion, "Leo doesn't deserve a son like you."

"That's not true. Wyatt was a far better son than I ever was," Chris said, his green eyes dark with anguish. "You didn't know him. He could never have disappointed Leo the way I have."

"He could also never have stood up to him the way you have," Harry said, "Or am I wrong? Would Wyatt have been able to defy him? Would he have been able to go up against him, to actually cast magic on him against his will, to protect him?"

Tears stung Chris's eyes, because he couldn't deny the truth in Harry's words. "I'm not as strong as you think," He whispered, "Sometimes, I actually consider taking off the spell. So that at least he would stop being so angry with me." He laughed, harshly. "And that's so pathetic, right? Because he's the greatest bastard who ever walked this earth, and he was the reason my mom died. I should have stopped acknowledging him as my father long ago. Hell, I promised myself that I'd stop calling him 'Dad' right when I was sixteen. But I still care what he thinks of me."

"That's only natural," Harry said gently, his heart going out to the young man, "He's your only living family; your father- and that won't change even if you do refer to him by his first name. Ties of blood are hard to sever." I should know, he added silently, thinking of the Dursleys, whom he had walked out on for good on his seventeenth birthday. And yet, only two years later, he had dragged them to Hogwarts against their will, even though they hadn't understood that he'd done it for their protection. Even now, his aunt, now an old, greying, crotchety old lady fast approaching her eightieth year, grumbled about it whenever she saw for him; and his uncle had exploded about it regularly, until his death two years ago.

"It shouldn't be this hard," Chris whispered, looking utterly lost and not remotely like the hardened Resistance leader that Harry was so used to seeing after the past few days.

"I know," He agreed softly, feeling even more paternal than usual towards the young man than usual, because of the day's event. What he had seen of Leo's father sickened him; and his first reaction when the man had orbed out, was the sudden thought that if Chris had only been his son…Embarrassed, because he knew that Chris had ready access to his emotions, he had cut the sentence of before he could finish it, but it lurked still, unacknowledged, in a dark recess of his mind.

They were silent for a few moments, and then Chris's head snapped up, his shoulder's straightened, and he was back to his all-business mode. "So this means that we have to plan some sort of strike against Wyatt," He said, "With me at the forefront of course. We'll have to figure out the logistics. And we'll need ammunition, too- I'll tell Jenny to make some Potions; mom taught her everything there is to know about that, and she's really good. Snape can probably help, too," He added musingly.

Harry, in the meantime, was looking at him as though he had lost his mind. "Are you insane? It would be suicide to even consider going up against Wyatt in your condition!"

"What do you mean?" Chris asked, sounding, to Harry's frustration, genuinely bewildered.

"Do you think I haven't notice how easily you tire these days? The number of times you take a draught from that vial around your neck? And even then, your eyes are slightly bloodshot, and I can tell you always have a headache in spite of the Potion, because I've seen you rubbing your forehead more times than I can count!" Harry shook his head emphatically. "You need to be at your best to go up against Wyatt, and to do that, you have to first get used to having so many charges. And for that you need to be able to block out their emotions, Chris."

"And how do I do that? I feel them all the time- sometimes, if they're really strong, I even confuse them with mine!"

"I know you've arranged to have Occulemency lessons with Snape," Harry said, "Those will help…although I have to warn you, it's not an easy skill to learn." He remembered his tryst with Occulemency and Snape, years and years ago in his Fifth Years, and snorted silently at the understatement. "It will take at least four or five months."

"Four or five months?!" Chris protested, "But we can't wait that long! He'll have killed so many innocents-"

"It'll be nothing compared to how we long we'll have to wait and how many innocents will die if you go and get yourself killed!" Harry said sharply.

Chris couldn't argue with that tone; it reminded him too strongly of Piper. Not to mention the fact that Harry did have a point, though he would rather have died than admitted that aloud. "Alright. But we have to use these months properly. We're going to train everyone, come up with some really strong Potions. I've been thinking of unlocking a few people's Wiccan magic, like Ian did- if they're agreeable. It could give us some really strong fighters. But then they'd have to be trained hard; taught to control their powers. We'll need to research ways of combing our type of magic with yours; I have a feeling we'll get really good results there…"

Harry stared at Chris as he continued to talk. He was amazed at the speed at which the young man's mind worked. Four or five months were starting to sound like too little, now, he thought, a bit dazed. A year would have been more like it.

…

"Hello, Lily."

She jumped at his voice, whipping around in surprise. "Hey. You scared me half to death."

"Sorry." He studied her intently for a moment, wondering if he was doing the right thing. "You know I can't tell you what happened in the Order meeting," He said finally, responding to what he knew of her emotions.

"I know. But it was something big, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was. But I didn't come here to tell you that. I'm here to ask if you can make yourself useful without asking any questions or pestering your father about it." His voice dropped. "Every day, every time he sees you or someone mentions you, I can feel his need to protect you from all this. But I can feel your frustration, too- I know you want to be a part of this; want to do something significant. Well, you can, now. We need Potions. The strongest ones you know how to make- and I'll need you to experiment with them too, with Jennifer, and Snape. I spoke to a couple of people, and I know you're more gifted at Potions than the average Seventh Year."

"It's my subject of choice," Lily confirmed.

"So are you willing to do it?" He asked. "I hear that Seventh Year is quite a difficult one-"

"It's not a problem," She interrupted, "I'll do it. And don't worry," She added, anticipating his next sentence, "Dad won't find out. And I won't take it farther than just helping. I remember what you told me."

"Alright, then," He said, after a moment of studying her.

He was about to orb out when she spoke. "Why do you care so much about me? You must have a thousand other things to worry about."

Because you're Harry Potter's daughter, the answer came to his mind against his will, and even though it shouldn't matter, it does. But of course, he couldn't say that. "You're my charge. It's my job to worry about you. I told you that once before."

"Yes," She said, "Yes, you did."

"It's not just that, though," He added, not sure why he felt the need to continue, because hadn't he already given her one explanation? "I think you really will be able to help us. I wouldn't have called on you, otherwise." There was something about Lily that made him feel the need to justify his actions.

She didn't say anything, but a smile broke out on her face, and Chris felt a sudden burst of joy and purposefulness from her direction, like a ray of sunlight. And for the first time in a long time, he smiled too; genuinely.

…

TBC…

Next time, the first Occulemency lesson!

Oh, someone was asking about Rakshabandhan last time. It's a Hindu festival revolving around brothers and sisters. The sister ties a rakhi (sort of like a friendship band, only not) around the brother's hand, and the brother gives the sister a gift. It's supposed to be a reaffirmation of the brother's duty to protect the sister, that's what "Rakshabandhan" translates to; 'protection-bond.' But it's become a commercial festival nowadays, more than anything else. And somewhat of a joke, too. For example, the best way of telling a guy you're not interested is considered to be tying a rakhi to him on Rakshabandhan. And one of my friends kept running around asking every male in sight if they'd give her a gift of Rs. 100 if she tied them a rakhi, because she was totally broke. It was really funny, because all the guys refused outright. Anyway, so that's Rakshabandhan.

I'm off to bed now, it's 2 in the morning and I'm totally sleep deprived. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter.