Chapter Twenty-Six

There are three levels of dark;

the good dark, mid tone dark and the bad dark

...

...

For a moment, Téa could only stare at her godfather in amusement. It seemed like the man was perhaps trying to forget that she had almost died considering she was sitting before him now. Yet it wouldn't be something to simply forget, she could and would never forget what had happened to her as it had brought her not only great pride but also great courage and knowledge.

"Sirius, you do realize that my soul was displaced from this plane of existence right? I was technically dying," she remarked swiftly noticing how some winced at the reminder. "I met your brother during my trials to get back to my body. He was one of my teachers, taught me some good spells. Very polite and nice -" "He was a Death Eater," Sirius grunted darkly yet Téa shook her head.

"Have you never made a mistake Sirius, one you deeply regret? Well, your brother did that. He regretted not doing what you did and fighting against Voldemort and his Death Eaters yet, in the end, he died defecting, and he died trying to help bring the madman down." She declared before rising to her feet. "He made it obvious that I had some research to do in the Black Family Library once I returned to my body,"

"Even if we knew where it was you are not to enter it, young lady! That library will be filled with all sorts of dark and dangerous books! You are a child, not to go near things like that." Molly Weasley ordered yet this made Téa bristle and turn to the woman.

"Mrs. Weasley you are a good woman but you are not my mother, nor my guardian. My mother died for me fourteen years ago, I am the Heiress of the Potter Family" she hissed the ring on her finger glowing ever so slightly as though to emphasize her point. "Secondly I am not a child, in age, I might be a fifteen-year-old teenage girl but in wisdom and knowledge, I am far beyond my years. Many adults cannot claim that they have not only faced Voldemort multiple times but also survived the Dementors kiss."

With that she stepped away from the table, eyes still narrowed she shook her head to Ron and Hermione who moved to follow.

"I need some alone time," she grunted while Attor hissed at those in the room, not pleased by how agitated her Mistress seemed to have become.

With that, she left the kitchen and moved to the main floor. Taking a moment, she rested against one of the walls, eyes closing in both exhaustion and anger at how quickly she had lost temper.

"You's knew Master Regulus?" Came a soft croaking sound that had Téa's eyes opening and her attention flying downwards. There she found – to her curiosity – Kreacher.

"I did, he was a very nice man," she remarked earning a nod from the house elf. "Kreacher – she asked gaining a sudden idea – do you know where the Black Family Library is, Regulus wanted me to find it so that I could find some books to help me."

Here the little creature looked unsure for a moment before it gave a nod and gingerly took her hand. Before she could say anything, they vanished with a soft pop and re-appeared. Blinking away the sense of confusion, she looked around herself to find that they had arrived on the same floor as her bedroom. Instead of facing her bedroom door, though, they faced another door.

Looking down at the little creature, she found him staring up at her with its large eyes.

"Thank you Kreacher, I appreciate this deeply, I presume the library is hidden though correct?" She asked earning a nod. "Well I always liked a challenge, thank you and Kreacher if you need someplace to hid from others you may use my room,"

"Kreacher will come when called by Mistress Téa, yous is nice like master Regulus," the House-elf murmured before bowing to her.

Giving him one last smile, she opened the door to the room. Slipping through, she shut it behind her and rested against it. The room she now found herself in was not large. It seemed to have been used as an office in the past as there was a large desk in the room yet nothing else. The only decoration was a large painting hung before the desk and even the painting held nothing of interest.

Walking around the desk, she settled against it looking at the painting. It was large, large enough to be a doorway yet the painting itself only held a large black door that was curled up by a fireplace. As though sensing her presence the dog looked up, its blue eyes staring at her.

"I find it rather amusing that you look a lot like Sirius' animagus form," she remarked, a smile tugging at her lips as the dog lulled its head to the side and let his tongue out. "I wonder if Sirius' father knew that he had an animagus form because you really do look like Padfoot,"

The sound of a click sounding through the office had Téa jumping off the desk in surprise yet the surprise only grew as the painting swung open to reveal a passageway. Eyes growing wide in shock she slowly stepped through the painting's archway. The moment she did, it shut behind her casting her in darkness until a lantern above her head lit to illuminate her path.

The passageway was not very wide at all, actually standing still, her shoulders brushed against both walls with little effort. Yet it was tall, and the lantern above illuminated it rather well showing the peeling wallpaper that had been placed there years before.

Arriving at a series of steps, she walked down until finally arriving in a very grand and opulent room that she so very recognized. How the Black Family Library could be here was beyond her capabilities to understand but she knew the Blacks had been powerful in their own right and very intelligent. Magic – especially weaved just right – could do unimaginable things.

"The Black Family Library wasn't so hard to find after all – well if you know the right people," She remarked yet it seemed speaking had roused the Portrait leaning against a wall she hadn't seen as with a snort the man woke pulling her attention from the library to him.

He was a handsome man, with short well-combed black hair that was nestled with gray, a well-trimmed beard covered the lower half of his face and his upper lip. He was a tall man with broad shoulders yet wasn't a heavy man. Dressed smartly in a black three-piece suit with a white dress shirt underneath and a blue tie he seemed ready for a formal event.

For a person who had met both Sirius and Regulus, it was clear to see that this man was their father, the Lord Orion Black.

"My, my what do we have here, the first to visit this library in many a year," the man greeted rather warmly which was surprising considering she hadn't pegged the man for being such even if she knew very little of him.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance Lord Black," She greeted ever so glad for her training in etiquette. "Allow me to introduce myself; I am Téaleon Potter, Heiress to the Potter Family."

Here she gave a light curtsy before straightening her posture and looking at the painting who was giving her an amused expression yet rather pleased by how she had addressed him.

"Téaleon Potter, how pray tell did you enter Grimmauld Place little alone find this library. My only surviving heir is currently facing a life sentence in Azkaban for the treason of your parents no less." He remarked giving evidence that the man had died at some point after Sirius had been placed within Azkaban. "I could never have believed that Sirius would have followed in the rest of the families footsteps. Some part of me had hoped that Sirius would have saved us all from our ways, or at least make the Black name a respected one once more."

"Clearly you've not been made aware of things sir, shall I inform you what has been happening in the last few years?" She offered and with a nod, she jumped into her tail, telling the man as much as she could even going into detail about her time out of her body.

The man listened with great attention, a frown sometimes marring his features. When he learned of his son's innocence, he first looked relieved before anger towards the Ministry took over. Yet he did not speak, he did not shout he simply motioned for her to continue. When informed about the Dementors kiss his shock returned and only grew as she told him about the tasks she had faced.

"So that is how you learned of this place, Regulus – bless his heart – taught you and told you of it." The man remarked a smile dancing upon his lips as he realized that his youngest was at peace, helping others.

"Your son was a good man sir, he tried to bring down Voldemort and with his information, I hope to be able to learn more and finally bring him down to avenge all those who have lost their lives to him." She declared stubbornly.

"Well then, you've come to the right place, my dear. This library is my pride and joy, I have amassed a large collection of books from all around the world. Some I have translated myself, others in their original language. This library is filled with books from generations of Blacks. We might have some of the darkest toms but we also have other lighter ones, any information you seek on the darker aspects of magic you will find in this room. Yet I warn you child, what you find will not be pleasing to your mind." He warned.

"Magic is about intent sir, the intentions behind a spell are what matters," Téa whispered before looking around at the vast amount of books.

"Perhaps if you tell me what subject you are specifically searching for I could aid you," the man suggested.

"Before he could finish telling me we were separated but he was able to say something about a Horcrux?" Téa remarked thoughtfully. "I don't know what that is -" "Evil magic," Lord Black swiftly stated causing her to turn back to him to find that his expression looked very severe. "That is the foulest of evils, if – truly he has done so – Voldemort has done what other Dark Lords could only dream. Grindelwald had not even dared do that."

"Voldemort is a monster, he would do anything to keep power, doing something no other Dark Lord would do seems to be right up his alley," she sighed tiredly.

"You'll find the information you seek in the far right corner, third shelf, I warn you child those books are not to leave this library, they are considered illegal and would be burned." Lord Black warned and with a nod of thanks, Téa swiftly made her way to the section told.

Running her finger over each spin, she thankfully finds two books she needed and pulled them. Both were old, bound in the blackest of leathers. The corners and spine were decorated in silver accents while the books title was done in the same silver.

Walking to a table, she gingerly placed both books down before taking a seat. Opening the first, she swiftly began to read.

There is no darker magical art then the creation of the infamous Horcrux. Their origin is unknown, nor is the person responsible for this find in magical history. What is known is this, a Horcrux is the word used for an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul. To do this meant that you separate your own soul into two pieces, keeping the so-called 'Master' soul in your body while placing the other piece into an item. This allows a person to survive even if one's body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die, for part of their soul remains earthbound and undamaged.

To create a Horcrux, a wizard must first purposely commit murder. This act would result in damaging their very soul. A wizard who wishes to create a Horcrux would then use that damage to their gain by casting a spell, which would rip the damaged portion of the soul off the whole and encase it in an object. For safety reasons, the spell shall not be listed within the folds of these pages in the hopes that no more shall be created.

As stated before if the maker was later killed, he or she would continue to exist in a non-corporeal form, although there are possibilities of regaining one's body that is for another chapter.

As a fragment of soul, a Horcrux seems to retain the identity of its creator at the time of its creation. Yet a Horcrux is said to be the opposite of a person. Where a person's container – their body – could be destroyed without any damage to their soul, the fragment of soul contained inside a Horcrux was dependent on the container for its existence. If the container was destroyed or damaged beyond repair, so would the fragment of soul within it.

Destroying a Horcrux requires that the object containing the soul fragment be damaged to a point beyond any and all physical or magical repair. When a Horcrux was damaged to that point, a scream may be heard as the soul fragment perishes. Yet the creator would often use powerful enchantments and other protections on the container to protect them from damage. These limits the types of ways one could destroy a Horcrux, known ways are the following. The use of Fiendfyre, which requires extreme skill to control, the curse of the Dead.

As to be expected, tampering with one soul will cause various side effects as noted through my experience facing such a wizard, it is the first of Adalbert Waffling's Fundamental Laws of Magic : Tamper with the deepest mysteries – the source of life, the essence of self – only if prepared for consequences of the most extreme and dangerous kind.

The first side effects come in the form of dehumanization; I would only assume it would worsen with how many Horcruxes one would make – as a person could make more than one. One would become less human the more Horcruxes they made both emotionally and physically.

The next comes in the form of their appearance. Through my experiences, I have noticed that a person who splits their soul more than once will sustain notable changes in their appearance. Their features will become distorted, less human-like.

Finally, comes the instability, I notice clear instability within him, a shame considering he was such a brilliant wizard before all of this happened.

Disgust, it was as clear as day upon her face as she stared down at the book. She was certain this was the information she needed. Voldemort had made a Horcrux – or more than one. It was a strong possibility and she strongly suspected that one had already been destroyed.

"Tom Riddle's diary," she whispered before sitting back in her chair. "It must have been one, Diary Tom possessing Ginny, using her life force to try and regain his own body. It fits yet if that had been destroyed it means he had made more than one."

"Mistress," came a soft croak, pulling her from her thoughts and forcing her to look down to find Kreacher there. "Bad Master is searching for Mistress, old wizard be here to speak with Mistress,"

"Old wizard – oh Dumbledore!" She exclaimed earning a nod from the House-elf. "Thank you Kreature, let me just put these books away and I'll make my way up, they're in the sitting room?"

"Yes Mistress," the elf croaked.

Rising from her seat, Téa swiftly placed both books away before leaving the room, bidding the Lord Black farewell and promising to return.

Walking through the narrow path, she exited into the small office. Just as the portrait shut behind her the door to the room opened and Sirius stuck his head in to look about. Spotting her he seemed to grow relieved.

"There you are, I've been looking for you, and Dumbledore is here to speak to you." He hurried to state before opening the door fully. "I also wanted to apologize for this morning Téa, I – understand that you've gone through a difficult event in your life, actually more than one, but I hope that you won't let that stop you from enjoying your life."

"It won't Sirius, I promise that and we'll talk more about things later right now though I don't want to keep Dumbledore waiting," she remarked before slipping past him and making her way down the stairs.

Arriving on the main level, she entered the sitting room to find the aged wizard sitting on one of the sofas looking perfectly content with his surroundings. Upon seeing her, he gave her a warm smile that she returned.

"Ah Téa my dear, I had hoped to speak to you privately today, after all, we have much to discuss." He murmured gently.

"Indeed sir, we do, I have questions of my own I hope you could answer before we start anything else, though." She hurried to speak earning a soft smile before the man gave a nod of agreement. "But first I think, some privacy would be in order,"

"I have already placed certain precautions around the room, as the information I wish to tell you is a sensitive manner. You are – of course – welcomed to share the information later on with your friends but – it would be wise to choose wisely those you tell. For now, though nobody else is privy to are discussion."

"Wonderful then you can tell me when exactly you were going to tell me that Voldemort had created Horcruxes," she remarked in fake happiness, creating a result that was rather amusing for her as Dumbledore could only stare at her in complete and utter shock.

Before the man could regain his wits though she continued, fully intending to finally know everything she can about the man who had destroyed her life.

"I know about his Horcruxes sir," She growled, eyes narrowed in anger. "The Diary that had possessed Ginny in her first year, that was one, yet it was destroyed beyond repair meaning he made more than one before he attempted to kill me that Halloween night. He wouldn't have been able to survive if he hadn't. Tom Riddle was a smart man, crazy but smart, he would have created as many as he could if it meant cementing his existence on the human plane." She remarked before folding her legs together and sitting back against the sofa. "The side effects are also all there, dehumanization, appearance, and instability – because Voldemort really is a nut case."

"You are a smart girl Téaleon, I do not know how you were able to learn of this information but you are correct. Voldemort did indeed create Horcruxes, several to be in fact." Dumbledore confirmed looking every bit his age.

"I learned it from Regulus Black during my time out of my body; he taught me something that you – Headmaster – should have told me the moment you learned. You should have prepared me because you knew Voldemort would stop at nothing to get to me yet you did nothing. You told me nothing, you hid the through away from me now that ends here and now." She snarled before relaxing and grinning. "I'm not the child you knew before Headmaster; I am my own person, time to treat me as one. So you're going to tell me what you should have told me before and everything to do with what's been going on."

"It seems that we have far more to discuss," the aged wizard relented yet Téa only raised an eyebrow.

Three hours after Dumbledore arrived, he left leaving Téa sitting in the sitting room alone and contemplative. The first to approach her were Ron and Hermione who observed her for a moment before finally speaking.

"So I'm guessing you learned things that don't sound too good," Ron remarked as though it was normal.

"You know Ron, we have fucked up lives," she declared, not turning her eyes from Attor who was curled on her lap. "Really fucked up,"

"Well, we'll just have to fix that, together. What do you think we need to do Téa?"

"First, I need to go to Gringotts." She declared thoughtfully before a smirk covered her lips and she looked up. "That will happen by the end of the week."

"How? They won't let you leave the house alone and there is no way Mrs. Weasley is going to let you go," Hermione remarked.

"Hermione, Mrs. Weasley is a wonderful woman, don't get me wrong but she isn't my mother and has no control over my actions. I'm going to Gringotts by the end of the week, whether people like it or not."

…

The evening air was cool as a Téa stepped out of Grimmauld Place. Covered by a thick fur-trimmed coat she looked around before stepping off the step and disappearing with a spin. As she reappeared, it was by an old pub, its paint was peeling and its sign read closed. Walking to the door, she gingerly placed her hand on the knob and the lock clicked open.

Slipping through, she shut the door behind her and slowly walked through the stacked tables until she arrived at the back of the bar. Opening the door, she slid through until she arrived in a fully stocked storage room.

There she moved to the back and pulled her wand from her pocket. Tapping the wall she watched as it caved in on itself until an archway was formed – a passageway actually.

This old pub was an old entrance into Diagon Alley. The Goblins had told her about it considering it came out beside the bank.

Walking through, she shed her cloak as she went. Glad to be rid of the heavy material she hung it on a hook before continuing. Now only dressed in a set of old jeans and a long sleeved sweater she had found that actually fit her new figure, she was glad when she finally entered Diagon Alley.

At night, it was pretty much deserted and although there were one or two Aurors patrolling at, this time, she was able to enter Gringotts with little effort. The moment she walked in, two goblin guards welcomed her.

"I'm here to speak with Lord Grimtooth," she spoke softly yet respectively.

"Heiress Potter, welcome back to the human plane," came a male voice that had her eyes turning towards the other end of Gringotts where an elder Goblin stood.

"Lord Grimtooth, a pleasure to see you again, I think we have some rather important items to speak about." She greeted which earned her a chuckle in response.

Author note:

Wow! Another update well that's because I've gotten a sudden grand bit of inspiration! Plus all these amazing reviews that are pushing me to write and update as swiftly as I can is always nice to get. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, soon - as in the next three or so chapters - she'll be returning to Hogwarts and even more fun will be had!