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So far... Susan has been rescued from Azkaban but Sirius was killed. Harry and Ginny informed Mad-eye Moody and learned that Harry is now the owner of 12 Grimmauld Place. But Harry is curious about a strange package Mr Weasley gave to Moody. Now read on...
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Chapter 55
Chary Potter and the Lost Souls Part 10
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~~~ Fallen ~~~
By the time Harry and Ginny Portkeyed back to Harby later that day, Hermione and Luna were already hard at work in the front room preparing a publication of The Corrector for the following morning. Hermione was trying to print a document but was distracted by Luna who was trying to coax the PC mouse along with her wand.
"How's Susan?" asked Ginny. She pointed at a camp bed in the corner that had not been there when she and Harry had departed for Grimmauld Place. "She's sleeping in here?"
"Angry," said Hermione. Harry raised an eyebrow, but Hermione explained, "Now she understands what has happened to her, she's furious at Umbridge and Greengrass, and especially at Riddle. No, that's Neville's bed for now. Susan's still recovering on his sofa in the parlour."
"But you told her that it was Sirius that saved her, right, like we agreed? And you kept the Horcruxes secret from her?" said Harry.
"Of course, but she knows it was no ordinary curse on the locket that possessed her. If she starts talking to people about Riddle's soul being connected with the locket somehow then the secret will be out."
Harry sank into the office chair and swivelled to stare at the PC screen while he thought what to do. The monitor glared back at him:
THE HEROIC SACRIFICE OF
SIRIUS BLACK: THE TRUTH
"That's tomorrow's main story," said Luna, holding up a printed copy. "May I read the lead-in to you?"
Harry nodded. "You wrote this?"
"Hermione mainly, and I did the twiddly bits. It's very good."
He braced himself. "Hit me."
Luna hesitated. "You want me to...?"
"I mean, go ahead, read it to me."
Luna sat herself near the big printer beside Hermione, who, clutching a print-out, had an ink smudge on her cheek, and looked a little flustered.
"It begins...
"There can be no heaven whilst a good and valiant heart suffers hell unjustly. We speak of Sirius Black, whose friend, Peter Pettigrew, betrayed him, slew many Muggles, then disappeared, leaving Sirius to take the blame and be despatched to Azkaban without trial. For twelve long years he endured until, burning for revenge, he found a way to escape. No one knew better the cruelty of the prison guards yet, upon hearing of the equally false incarceration of Susan Bones, a child tormented, he did not hesitate. He rescued the young girl, sent her to safety while he sacrificed himself to the Dementor's Kiss as a diversion. Full details below."
Harry nodded, deep in thought.
Ginny said, "Can't we add another article that Pettigrew and Bellatrix are both dead? So Voldemort's most important supporters are now even less? We can't give full details, though."
"Then might we pretend she died in Finland?" Luna suggested, "That would put doubt into Voldemort's mind about what he thought happened at Gringotts? Perhaps Mr Wormtail too?"
"Mmm... tempting, but we ought not to," Harry said firmly. "The Corrector should only present the truth — at least, as much of the truth as we dare — or we're no better than the Prophet. Which reminds me, did you see yesterday's issue? The Ministry were still not sure anyone had escaped from Azkaban."
"They are now, Harry," said Hermione, solemnly. She handed him the print-out of the story that had recently arrived from his stealth camera at the newspaper's main office.
Ginny leaned over to read it with him and they both gasped in shocked disbelief as they read the headline:
SUSAN BONES - NOW A POWERFUL BEAST,
BROKE THRU AZKABAN WALLS TO RIP OUT
MINISTER'S HEART IN ACT OF VENGEANCE!
Harry closed his eyes for a few moments then opened them wide. "LUNA! Tell me this is one of your... jokes." Her expression told him it wasn't.
Hermione confirmed it. "It says they knew she had gone mad in her cell because that was in Marchbanks' earlier report, but the rest is made up. I mean, the Minister must have been killed, of course — they can't fake that — but surely by Death Eaters. They're evil! They must have desecrated Scrimgeour's body to make it seem like a monster attacked him, then pinned the blame on Susan."
"Have you said so in your story?" said Harry.
"This only came in just before you arrived. I printed it a minute ago to study. We'll revise our story. Tell everyone it's nonsense what the Prophet says. We'll time our issue to an hour after theirs tomorrow morning."
"So this is not on the streets yet?"
"No, it's too late for their evening issue. But we daren't issue The Corrector tonight or the Prophet people will know we're getting information before they even publish. We don't want them searching their offices for your camera, do we?"
Harry nodded. "But make sure you print only facts and make it clear that conjecture is just that — editorial opinion by us and not real information."
"Of course we will!"
"As for Lestrange and Pettigrew, all we can release for now is that both their deaths were accidents — one in an explosion and the other by a wild creature — and were witnessed. They'll find Lestrange's body anyway sooner or..."
Harry frowned as if trying to recall something. "What did you say before that?"
Hermione blinked. "I said, of course we will — print only facts."
"No, no, before. You said they desecrated Scrimgeour?"
"Well, what else would you call it when his heart is ripped open!"
"I didn't... I hadn't thought..." Harry turned his head away.
"What is it, Harry?" said Ginny.
Harry's voice was flat and empty when he finally answered, "Dumbledore. Pettigrew cut him bad too with the sword, remember? He was... slashing at his chest when you woke me. I thought he was only marking him but suppose Wormtail took Dumbledore's heart? Fudge might have hushed that up. It was Dumbledore, after all."
"Oh, Harry, that's awful," said Ginny. "But why?"
"Foul, ritualistic killing," breathed Hermione, "to terrify people. You realise what this report means? The fact that they are not blaming Death Eaters, I mean?"
"Their own supporters don't accuse Death Eaters," said Luna, "so they must be in charge already."
"Exactly. Now Scrimgeour is gone, both the Ministry and the Daily Prophet will be controlled by Voldemort!"
"So, the Ministry has finally fallen in all but name," said Harry, morosely. "Luna, you'd better send an urgent message to Mad-eye Moody. This is a total game-changer. Likely he already knows from Mr Weasley though."
Ginny clutched Harry's arm, "Dad! And Mum! Luna, send my mum a message first! She can warn Dad! Oh, and Bill and Charlie!"
"Why, Ginny?" said Harry.
Hermione said, "The Weasleys are looked upon as blood traitors. How long do you think they'll last? They'll use Ginny and Ron as an excuse. I mean, there's already a price on your head, Harry! And by association, perhaps on all of us. Technically, I think there are still orders for our arrests in connection with the deaths at Thrust and Parry but they were shelved when Fudge was deposed after Dumbledore's death. The new Ministry probably won't take such a lenient view."
"Pius Thicknesse!" said Luna, from the PC.
"What about him?" said Harry.
Hermione said, "He replaced Madam Bones as head of law enforcement yesterday."
"Not anymore," said Luna, still reading from the PC screen. "He's been promoted again! He's now the new Minister for Magic."
"Well, that's not as bad as I thought," mused Hermione. "He's not a hardliner. Perhaps he can bring stability to the Ministry. Let's wait and see how things develop. Just tell Moody then, Luna. He'll know what to do. No point in panicking your mother, Ginny. Moody will inform her if necessary."
Ginny looked doubtful. "I'd still like to talk to Mum. I'll owl Mum and ask if we can meet."
"What's this about?" said Ron as he walked in the door.
"Changes at the Ministry," said Hermione. "We were wondering if the Weasleys would be safe much longer."
"Dad will know what to do," said Ron, but like Ginny, he didn't sound very convinced.
"I'm owling Mum," said Ginny, firmly. "I'll only say I'd like to see her about 'developments' and if Dad could come too, that would be great."
Ron relaxed a little. "So, how'd it go yesterday with Moody?"
"About what we expected. Moody guessed we were involved in the rescue but he doesn't know any details."
"And we heard him killing a little pig," said Ginny.
"Oh that's dreadful!" cried Luna.
"It was a hamster, and we don't know for sure what he did," said Harry.
"You mean he was testing a potion on it as a guinea pig?" said Hermione.
"Not a potion, Hermione, it was the killing curse."
There were several sharp intakes of breath.
"Why?" said Hermione.
"We don't know. We only overheard through a locked door. We don't even know if... what I mean is, Mr Weasley brought it and I saw that package the next day in that old Boggart cabinet — remember? In the drawing room?"
"Harry! You didn't say!" cried Ginny. "What was in it?"
"Dunno, Moody caught me before I could read the label, and he took it away. They're up to something, him and your dad."
"But trying to stop a killing curse..." mused Hermione. "You don't suppose they're trying to work out why Voldemort didn't die from that curse that rebounded from you as a baby, do you?" said Hermione.
Harry looked hard at Hermione. "I hadn't thought of that. So... that would mean they've no idea about the real reason — the Horcruxes, wouldn't it?"
"Yes. And you're sure it was a guinea pig?"
"No, it was a hamster, a golden hamster to be precise. Dudley had one once. It... well, you don't want to know what happened to that."
"It's not a hamster," said Luna, who had been listening quietly to the discussion.
"Yeah, it was, Luna," said Harry, tiredly. "Probably Mr Weasley is unable to cast a killing curse so he took it to Moody to try."
"And did it live?"
"Dunno."
"What size was the package?"
"I don't know... hamster-size, I guess."
"How big?"
Harry groaned and gestured with his hands. "About this big."
"With holes so it could breath?"
"Yeah... probably."
"You didn't see any, though?"
"Sure I did," sighed Harry, who was tiring of this conversation, "probably."
"Why would Mr Weasley bring a little animal in such a tiny package without any air holes, then try to kill it, then wrap it up again and put it in the cabinet."
"Luna, I don't know, do I?" moaned Harry.
"It's not a hamster," said Luna, flatly. "I don't want it to be a hamster."
"Oh, that's because you don't like to think of little creatures suffering,"
"No, it's because if something doesn't make sense then it probably has some other meaning."
"Like what?"
"Well something that sounds like a hamster but can be carried to keep you safe from harm."
She turned back to the PC screen. "Oh, look, there's a Mr Yaxley — he's head of the Department for Law Enforcement now."
Everyone was looking at each other, flummoxed, as usual, after one of Luna's explanations.
"Luna, what are you on about?" said Harry.
"It was Madam Bones' old job."
"No, about the hamster."
Luna turned around with a puzzled frown. "I thought we agreed it wasn't a hamster?"
"What was it then?"
"Most likely it was a hamsa, don't you think?" She turned back to the screen.
"A what?"
Hermione let out such a long sigh, that Harry could have sworn she deflated several chest sizes. "They're only Muggle trinkets supposed to ward of the evil eye. They're not actually magical, Luna."
Luna spun her chair around again. "Oh, do Muggles have them too? I didn't know that."
"They don't work. It's superstition," insisted Hermione.
"The ancient ones did. Those hamsas were wonderfully protective because they were created within the magical influence of the very first one. They say Merlin made one of them but that's not true — they are much older than him, so old that their enchantment is not so strong as it once was. But the original is older than the world — made at the dawn of time by the very first wizard, whose name is lost to history." Luna's eyes took on a very misty, dreamy look as if she were gazing far, far away. "Its magic will not fade until the end of all things."
Hermione's head was turned away but Harry could tell her eyes were rolling up to the ceiling. He was glad in a way that Luna never noticed because her woolly thoughts were still in the clouds, but, quite abruptly, her attention focused on Harry, and pierced him with its fervour. "Oh, you don't suppose it could be that one, do you!"
"Luna, what are you talking about?" said Harry.
"The very first original hamsa of course! It protected against all possible magic and was fashioned from a lake of pure yellow gold then cooled by the breath of ice maidens. It was called... The Hand of God."
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~~~ The Hand of God ~~~
Not a sound could be heard in the front room of 148 Overpool Road as the youngsters tried to digest what Luna had said. Hermione looked very sceptical.
"The Hand of God?" said Ginny. "Where would Dad have got it from?"
"Your mum said something about the Ministry," said Harry. "I thought she was trying to fob me off with some made-up story. And what would Moody be using it for?"
Hermione looked at Ginny. "I expect your dad wanted to prove it wasn't magical. He might have asked Professor Moody to try to kill a beetle or an aspidistra or something to show him it's just a useless trinket."
"Well," began Harry, "at first we thought—"
"Noooo..." wailed Ginny, and sank down into the nearest chair.
"Whatever's the matter, Ginny!" said Hermione.
Harry explained, "We thought Mad-eye had attacked Mr Weasley to begin with, then we thought maybe they had used a hamster as a guinea pig. But if there never was any hamster then..."
"You mean Moody actually tested a killing curse on Mr Weasley!" cried Hermione.
"No way!" said Ron. "Dad would have to be barking mad."
But Hermione's face had gone very pale and her eyes bulged with astonishment. "Not if it had already been been shown to work on plants and insects and... creatures at the Ministry" — she cupped her hands around her face in horror — "and Mr Weasley wanted to prove to Mr Moody that it protects humans too."
"What the Merlin's funny bone was a thing like that doing at the Ministry?" said Ron. "Dad's never mentioned it. Do you think they got it off one of those Death Eaters at Thrust and Parry?"
Few a few seconds, nobody spoke, then Hermione sat down suddenly. "Oh heavens, it all fits. It's real, and I think I know what it must be."
There was a long wait as they watched her gathering her thoughts.
"It's a Horcrux!" She looked up at the others. "Haven't you ever wondered what happened to Voldemort after he tried to kill Harry as a baby?"
"Yeah, he flew off to Albania," said Harry.
"No, that was his spirit. I mean what happened to his physical remains?"
"Blown to bits, I should think. Sirius told me the bedroom was destroyed and part of the roof fell in. Voldemort took the full force of my mother's sacrifice protection as well as his own killing curse that rebounded off me." Harry gestured towards the scar on his forehead. He could see everyone was visualising the occasion all those years ago.
"Bits... possibly..." murmured Hermione, "or vanished — the stories are very vague. I suspect Professor Dumbledore might have tried to convince people there was something odd about the disappearance. But at least there must have been... shreds of Voldemort's robes... and probably his wand. Don't you think it's likely that the appropriate Ministry department would have examined your parents' home and cleaned up everything like that? How else would they know he was killed? Fifteen years ago, Fudge was the junior minister who dealt with magical catastrophes. Why do you think he was so positive that Voldemort could never return and was likely dead? But they kept the remnants secret because without absolutely identifiable remains, they cast doubt on his death."
"Well, he wasn't killed, was he?"
"No, but the Ministry, Fudge in particular, like all politicians, wanted to impart good news to the public, not confusion and doubt — he wanted to believe he was dead. They must have hidden whatever they found at the Ministry, probably enough to suggest it was him but not enough to prove to the public should they ever find out. Perhaps they asked Ollivander to identify his wand. It was not part of Voldemort so would not directly be a target of your mother's protection. It most likely would have survived intact."
"But how did he have his wand at Thrust and Parry?"
"I would think a rat could slip easily into the Ministry, Harry."
"Pettigrew! You think he retrieved Voldemort's wand?"
Hermione nodded. "And I think Pettigrew was also sent after something else that was originally in the pocket of Voldemort's robes as well — the hamsa. But he never found it because it would have already been taken away for study. Hamsas are Muggle ornaments, there are millions of them. They ought to have known that Voldemort would not trouble himself with Muggle junk but you see, nobody's ever heard of a genuine magical one."
"Oh, they have! Lots of people read Daddy's article in the Quibbler two years ago. Didn't you?"
"Er... I must have missed that one..." Hermione composed herself before continuing, "Anyway, at the time when Harry was a baby, the hamsa would have been regarded as a Muggle object in the possession of a dark wizard, and for all they knew it might have been jinxed or even cursed. Eventually it would have been passed to the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office — of which Mr Weasley is the head. But they would never think of testing to see if it was a Horcrux, and Voldemort would not have had time to cast a protective curse upon it, so the hamsa might have been stored away as 'not dangerous' in the department's archives for years until..."
Hermione lapsed into muttering for a few seconds, thinking it out. "...until Wormtail stole back Voldemort's wand about two years ago — before the winter solstice, remember? Oh, it would have not attracted much attention within the Ministry; they would have thought of it as common theft by an unknown dark relic hunter, and they certainly would not have informed the Daily Prophet. But it would have started Mr Weasley thinking again about what was on the back shelf in his office."
"Especially if he read Daddy's Quibbler article at that time," said Luna.
Hermione looked thoughtfully at Luna. "That is a real possibility. Could it even be that Wormtail... well it's unlikely, but suppose the information in that article came to You-know-who's attention somehow and reminded him about his missing relic? It all happened about that same time. He would certainly want its magical protection again."
"Well, it didn't do him much good before did it?" said Ron, sceptically. "Not if he was blown to bits."
Luna smiled. "But he would not have used it, Ron, would he? He would see no reason to protect himself from a baby he was about to kill."
"Used it? How does one use it?" said Hermione.
"To gain its protection, the hamsa must be held upright before its possessor with the palm facing forward as a shield." Luna held up her hand to show them. "This gesture is called the Abhaya Mudra. Just having the hamsa in your pocket or attached to the front of your robes is not enough."
"Tricky..." said Ron. "When you're trying to use your wand at the same time, I mean."
"Perhaps Voldemort never needed to use it as a shield or didn't know how," said Luna, "but the Hand of God is the most ancient, most magical relic there is so it would make an ideal Horcrux — especially since it's indestructible until the end of time."
"Hang on, you really think it's a Horcrux?" said Harry.
"It might be."
"And I think so too," said Hermione, "a murder is necessary to make a Horcrux. I think he intended to create one when he killed you. He must have taken the hamsa with him that night when he went to your parents."
"But he never killed me!"
"He killed your parents though," said Hermione.
Harry thought for a moment. "Hermione, how exactly does one create a Horcrux?"
"Don't make me say it all, Harry, it's sickening. The ritual begins with an awful incantation to prepare the soul for division. I think he must have done that before entering your bedroom, but why didn't he...?" Hermione gasped. "Harry, what if he never intended to kill your mother!"
"Why wouldn't he?"
"I don't know, Harry, I don't know. But just suppose he had begun the ritual intending then to kill you! But your mother obstructed him, so he had to kill her first and that murder instead would have begun the separation of part of his soul. It's a slow, dreadful experience but he would be obliged to complete the ritual by directing the soul fragment into the hamsa before trying to kill you."
Harry went to the window to gaze out at the street. It was a dull day and a dull street, with nothing to indicate the momentous, monstrous ideas that were being considered at Number 148.
"You don't suppose," he said finally, "that somehow it was the Hand of God that protected me all those years ago? I've often wondered how a mother's sacrifice could protect anyone. I mean, lots of mothers must have sacrificed themselves in vain over the years for their kids."
"But most of them would be Muggles, wouldn't they?" said Luna. "The protection needs magic. Your mother was a witch, Harry. The protection would draw out all her magic as she died, I think. That is why it is so powerful. The Hand of God could not have saved a baby anyway even if you had clutched it instinctively. It, too, draws upon the magic of its possessor, so one needs to be of age for it to work. But the question is, where is it now?"
"Moody must still have it!" cried Harry. "I bet he took it home! We can get it while he's at a meeting of the Order!"
Ron said, "The man's fanatical about security. His house will be full of Sneakoscopes and curse traps, you can bet on that. 'Constant Vigilance', remember? Can't we just ask him?"
"And say what? 'Excuse me, can we borrow your secret priceless relic that we're not supposed to know about? What for? Oh, well, it's not because it's a Horcrux, honest.' No, we don't want him looking too closely at it. Anyway, he's already made it quite clear he doesn't want me or anyone to see it. No, we need to think about this a bit. A little trickery might be called for."
"At least it's in one of the safest place in the country!" said Ginny.
"That's right," said Harry, thoughtfully. "No way did they intend for it to be returned to the Ministry or Mr Weasley would have took it, not Moody." Harry's certainty and relief were evident in his expression. "Kind of removes the urgency while we plan how to get it."
"Let's put it on the blackboard anyway, and tell Neville," said Ron. He was almost rubbing his hands together in glee.
In the parlour, he added 'Hamsa' and 'Moody's' to the board then rubbed out 'Hogwarts' from against the diadem. "If Ravenclaw's diadem is a Horcrux then it must be the one on the moors. We now know all six Horcruxes and where they are!"
Harry nodded. Things were certainly looking up for once.
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~~~ All Done With Mirrors ~~~
Not until late in the evening, as everyone was preparing for bed, and the chair nearest the sleeping Susan held an extra blanket and a shawl should she need it in the night, only then did Harry remember Sirius's room. He sat alone in the parlour, listening to the footsteps overhead. The parlour door opened and Ginny came in wearing her shabby old dressing gown. He sighed softly. It seemed so unfair that he had so much now while the Weasleys struggled to get by. He longed to give her everything.
She looked at him with a puzzled expression on her face, trying to read his thoughts, but all she said was, "The bathroom's free now if you wanted to brush your teeth."
"I have something for you, Ginny," said Harry. He took out Sirius's mirror from his pouch and ransomed it for a kiss.
"We'll always know each other is safe now," he smiled, "wherever we are."
In the shadows that night, sharing the dim nightlight spilt from the stairwell through doors ajar, they both lay gazing at each other and murmuring softly until they fell asleep. It had been a good day.
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—oOo—
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Author's Notes
There is a possibility this idea that Voldemort intended to make a Horcrux when he murdered Harry as a baby conflicts with canon. But as I recall, it was only Dumbledore's theory that Lily's magical protection also split Voldemort's soul. It makes more sense to me that only a special ritual can do that, and it also makes sense that Voldemort would try to use that special murder to turn some artifact into a Horcrux.
I wish to credit J K Rowling with a few of the lines which are brief, fair use, direct or modified quotes from Half Blood Prince (because I felt they were irreplaceable and the situation unavoidable) to preserve canon as closely as possible unless changed as a consequence of Chary's character.
Many thanks for all comments and reviews. These are most welcome and very encouraging. :)
- Hippothestrowl
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