Chapter XIV – Thankfulness
Ginny and Hermione popped into Dumbledore's office; he was sitting at his desk, so Ginny left Hermione there and teleported right out and back to where she left Harry. She could see him in the distance near the last building on the street; he was looking toward the center of town. She teleported next to him.
Dumbledore stood and said, "Miss Granger, why are you here? Was that Mrs. Potter with you?"
Hermione said, "Headmaster, Death Eaters are attacking the town. Harry, Ginny, and I were walking when we heard the blasting curses, Ginny dropped me here to tell you and to alert Madam Pomfrey to be ready for casualties."
Dumbledore said, "Miss Granger, you go alert Poppy, I'll send a message to Auror headquarters first, then go to town to help. If you see any professors, tell them what's happening."
Hermione ran down the spiral stairs and almost knocked McGonagall over. She said, "Professor, Death Eaters are attacking the town; Professor Dumbledore sent for Aurors and he's going to the town to help. He said for me to let all the teachers know and to alert Madam Pomfrey to be ready."
McGonagall said, "I'll notify the staff, you go to Madam Pomfrey and stay with her; she may need all the help she can get."
McGonagall pointed her wand and several Patroni came out and scattered in different directions. Hermione said, "Professor, Sue Bones, Hanna Abbot, and Ernie McMillian sometimes help Madam Pomfrey; they want to be healers and Madam has been giving them some training. I don't know for sure, but they're probably in town."
McGonagall said, "Thank you Miss Granger, if I see them, I'll tell them to report to Poppy."
Hermione got to the hospital wing and found Madam Pomfrey; she put Hermione to work starting to prepare for wounded.
Harry turned to Ginny and said, "I see ten or twelve Death Eaters; they're blasting buildings and cursing town's people and students. Do you want to shield and let me attack, or the other way?"
She said, "You shield, I want a chance at these pureblood bastards."
Harry said, "Bludgeoning, and severing curses only; they'll kill us and everyone else if we let them. You can't take your time with lesser curses while they're hurting and killing innocent people."
Ginny nodded, Harry put up a strong shield and they stepped out into the street. Ginny cut the closest Death Eater in half with a severing curse; then crushed the second closest with a bludgeoning curse before three others even noticed them.
All three fired the killing curse, but Harry and Ginny sensed the Death Eaters magic flaring up and were ready. They teleported to a spot behind the three masked figures. Harry dropped his shield and they both cast lightning bolts killing all three opponents.
Harry said, "There's another group on the next block; same thing, I'll shield you attack.
Students and towns' people were streaming toward Hogwarts seeking safety, Dumbledore was headed into the town and reached the main gate when a dozen Aurors Apparated in. Kingsley was with them and he asked Dumbledore, "What's the situation?"
Dumbledore answered, "I have no idea. Miss Granger came to my office and told me the town was under attack, but she gave no details. I notified you before heading into town to protect my students."
Suddenly there was a roar of thunder from the direction of the town, Kingsley said, "Did you know Harry and Ginny were in town?"
Dumbledore said, "Mrs. Potter popped into my office with Miss Granger; but she left immediately and said nothing. Whether they are here or not, we need to get moving and protect the students and townsfolk."
Kingsley said, "Teams of two; spread out and give me flankers fifty meters on each side to watch for ambushes. Let's move; people could be dying in town."
Kingsley stopped several students and townsfolk to ask for information on numbers of the enemy; but nobody stopped to count. Some said they only saw two or three masked people; but it was obvious from the noise that there had to be many more than three.
The Aurors and Dumbledore move forward several hundred meters before taking spell fire from the town. Seconds later, there was another roar of thunder, much louder and closer than the last time.
Harry and Ginny cautiously moved another block toward the center of town and spotted six Death Eaters. They had stopped because two of them were torturing two students with the Cruciatus curse and the other four were watching and laughing.
Ginny said, "The two using the Cruciatus curse are Bellatrix and her husband, I recognize them from their pictures in the Daily Prophet.
Harry said, "The students are too close to use lightning, we might hit them accidently."
Ginny said, "Severing curses at the two using crucio, we have to stop them first; then we'll worry about the others. Now!"
The two Death Eaters were cut in half, stopping the torture of the two students; but the other four Death Eaters quickly raised shields. Harry and Ginny's follow up curses bounced off. Four killing curses were fired at them, but again they knew what was coming and teleported away.
Ginny said, "If we tease them far enough away from the students, we can use lightning."
Each time the Death Eaters were about to fire at them, they teleported a little farther away from the students. When they thought it was safe, they killed the four masked figures with lightning.
As the sound of the thunder died, they heard laughter and ten more Death Eaters came from around a corner. As Harry turned to face them, he heard the voice he dreaded yell, "Avada Kedavra"; there was a green flash and Harry thought he was about to die.
He felt nothing, and spun around to face Voldemort in time to see Ginny fall to the ground.
He screamed, "No, not Ginny."
Voldemort said, "I've heard all about your little whore and how she killed Narcissa. I thought I'd let you see me kill her before I kill you."
Voldemort pointed his wand at Harry and again shouted, "Avada Kedavra." Again there was a flash of green.
Harry was in shock from seeing Ginny fall and didn't try to move or block, the curse hit him and he fell next to Ginny.
Everything was hazy, Harry could hear the Death Eaters laughing and he heard Voldemort say, "The boy who lived lives no more. I told you all, nobody can stand against me. Now with Potter dead, the old fool Dumbledore will be next. Soon, all of Britain will bow before me.
Harry wondered how he could still hear Voldemort if he was dead; and if he wasn't dead, he might as well be since Ginny and the baby were dead. Then in his head he heard Ginny's mental voice ask, "Harry, what happened? Are you okay, your scar is cut open and bleeding?"
Harry forced his eyes to focus; Ginny was lying next to him in the street, their faces only inches apart. As the Death Eaters continued to yell and cheer, Harry mentally asked, "Ginny, are we still together even after we're dead?"
Again, Ginny answered mentally, "We're not dead Harry; I hurt too much to be dead. We were careless; we let somebody get behind us and hit us with some curse. We're lucky we're not dead."
Harry whispered back, "It's Voldemort, he hit us with the killing curse; I don't understand why we're not dead."
The Death Eaters were quieting down so Ginny mentally told Harry, "We'll figure that out later; right now we're in trouble. Let's think of how to get ourselves out of this mess. Maybe it would be best to just teleport out and wait for another chance to fight."
Harry mentally said, "I don't like the idea of teleporting after getting hit by the killing curse. If our minds are just a little fuzzy, we could mess up and splinch.
Wait, this could be our chance to get Voldemort; he's walking this way. He may be checking to be sure we're dead and if we kill him, he'll need time to form a new body. Maybe we can destroy the last two Horcruxes before he can return."
Ginny closed her eyes and looking through Harry's eyes, she saw Voldemort walking toward them. She opened her eyes again; what she saw almost made her jump.
She thought to him, "Harry, the snake is ten feet behind you; here's our chance to kill it and him together."
He thought back, "I can't see it without moving; let me see it through your eyes. She did, and he asked, "Are you feeling good enough to fire lightning?"
Ginny said, "Yes, but as soon as I move my hands to point at it, Voldemort will know I'm alive."
Harry said, "He's in range; together, I'll take him and you take the snake; three, two, one."
They both quickly fired the strongest lightning bolts they could. The flash temporarily blinded them and all the Death Eaters nearby. The roar of thunder shattered several windows in nearby stores. The snake exploded, but Ginny still blinded by the flash, couldn't see the piece of Voldemort's soul came out of the snake and dissipated.
Harry's lightning threw Voldemort back ten feet, set his robes on fire, and burned patches of his skin. It didn't matter the body was dead, but Harry knew with one Horcrux still intact; Voldemort would be back.
The Death Eaters were stunned and did nothing for a few seconds; but finally, one of them aimed a curse at Harry. Exhausted by first being hit by the killing curse, then by forming lightning, Harry was too tired to move. He hoped the curse wouldn't be fatal, but just before it hit him, a shield reflected the curse away.
There was a great deal of noise all around them; yells, growls, clanging of swords, spell fire. Then there were popping disapparation noises, and it got very quiet.
A familiar voice said, "Gashnak Lord Potter; our human employee William Weasley received a Patronus saying that you and your mate were involved in a battle against many Death Eaters in Hogsmeade. He asked his supervisor for permission to go help his sister.
The supervisor reported the situation to Griphook, and he thought you could use help. He sent me with a quarter phalanx of guards."
A Goblin voice said, "Ironfist, we killed five and the rest of the cowards fled. The area is cleared and guards posted."
Ironfist asked, "Lord Potter, what further help do you require?"
Harry said, "Help me and Ginny up; we're not hurt, just exhausted. Have your guards check on those two students over there, they were under the Cruciatus curse."
Ironfist gave orders to two Goblins who went to check the students. Ironfist then grabbed Harry's arm and a human voice yelled, "Goblin, release that student and surrender."
Kingsley and his Aurors were under fire from eight to ten Death Eaters. The Aurors fired stunners, the Death Eaters a number of different lethal curses. Three Aurors had been killed and three Death Eaters stunned; but the Aurors pushed forward and forced the Death Eaters back to the next block.
Dumbledore went off to look for and help students. To save time and rescue as many students as he could; he only fought when he needed to.
A tremendous flash lit up the area and the thunder was so loud windows rattled. A minute later, all the Death Eaters disapparated.
Kingsley yelled, "Be careful, it could be a trap; move forward and check every building for an ambush. Jamison, Apparate to St. Mungos and tell them we'll need a dozen healers and supplies at the Hogwarts hospital wing. They can do triage there; many of the injured are students."
Jamison Apparated away, the rest of the Aurors move through the streets checking for an ambush, but also checking for wounded.
Auror Tomkins was the first to reach the far end of town. He saw four teens lying in the street and Goblins with swords standing over them. He never did trust those Goblins and when he saw a Goblins grab one of the injured students and pull him up, he had seen enough. He yelled, "Goblin, release that student and surrender."
Harry looked in the direction of the voice and yelled, "Auror Tomkins, you put away your wand and don't threaten my friend Ironfist. If he and his guard didn't help, we and a lot of other people would be dead. They did your job."
Tomkins thought that voice sounded familiar, and clearly the boy knew him since he used his name. But he couldn't recognize the teen in the dirty, blood, torn robes, so he said, "I'm a ministry Auror, I give the orders here, not you."
Harry was on his feet by then and Ironfist was helping Ginny to get up. Tomkins yelled, "Don't touch that girl Goblin."
Harry said, "Tomkins, if you don't show some respect, I'll see to it that you're fired, and your account with Gringotts is closed.
Who's in charge of the Aurors here in town?"
Tomkins didn't know how much pull this boy had, but he liked his job and couldn't afford to have Gringotts lock him out; he answered, "Head Auror Shackelbolt."
Harry said, "Find Kingsley and get him here now, and get some Aurors to block off this area. Don't let any civilians, especially no press near here. The Goblin guard will block the street until your men get here to relieve them."
Tomkins was close enough now to recognize Harry and he knew Harry was connected to not only Kingsley, but with Madam Bones to. He said, "Right away Lord Potter."
Ginny was standing, but wobbly and said, "We should teleport those two students that were being tortured to Hogwarts, they need medical help."
Harry said, "We do to, in our condition we could make a mistake. I don't know if you can splinch while teleporting like you can Apparating; but I don't want to take the chance. Help will be here soon."
Tomkins returned with Kingsley and five other Aurors and Harry said, "Kingsley, set you people to relieve the Goblin Guards and block off this area. We've got something you need to see."
Kingsley heard the seriousness of Harry's voice and gave the order. Harry thanked Ironfist for the Goblins' help and explained that the attack had everyone on edge. He asked him to take his guard back to Gringotts before there was an accidental confrontation with the Aurors or towns folk.
Ironfist saluted Harry and Ginny, called in Gobbledygook, and his guard fell into formation then disapparated away.
Harry, Ginny, and Kingsley were alone now and Harry said, "Kingsley, that body is Voldemort; but you know with a Horcrux still out there, he's not really dead. We can't let people or the press see him; they'll tell everyone he is dead and there'll be trouble for Amelia and the ministry when he returns again."
Kingsley whistled and said, "You right, but how do we keep it secret?"
Harry said, "Don't worry about the Goblins, you know how tight lipped they are. Only we three and the Death Eaters that were here know, and I don't think the Death Eaters going to spread the news to the Prophet that their leader is dead. If we burn the body, no one else will have to know."
Kingsley agreed. He conjured a sheet to cover the body, ropes to tie it, and levitated it all out of town using side streets. When they were far from town, they cast Incendio spells and destroyed it.
By the time they got back to town, a crowd had gathered in the area where Voldemort had been killed; the snake's remains and bodies of the Death Eaters still lay in the road. The Aurors Kingsley had posted were keeping the crowd away from the bodies. Dumbledore was talking to Tomkins.
Tomkins said, "That's all I know, Head Auror Kingsley left with Lord and Lady Potter."
Kingsley said, "I'm back Tomkins. Dumbledore, Harry and Ginny need medical help; can we get them back to Hogwarts before we discuss what happened."
Dumbledore agreed and said, "Mr. and Mrs. Potter, do you feel well enough to Apparate to the main gate?"
Harry mentally asked Ginny and she said she was still feeling tired, but the dizziness in her head had cleared up and she felt able to teleport now. Harry nodded and they disappeared. Seconds later Dumbledore and Kingsley joined them at the main gate.
As they walked to the castle, Harry said, "We should tell you what happened out here while we're alone instead of in the hospital wing surrounded by people."
They told Dumbledore and Kingsley the story of the fight, including getting hit by Voldemort's killing curses.
Harry ended with, "I guess my mother's blood protection is still working on me even thought Voldemort took my blood in the cemetery to make his return. What we don't understand is how Ginny survived; we're married, but she's not a blood relative."
Dumbledore said, "She's not, but you baby is, and to protect him or her, the blood ward must protect his or her mother. Does that make sense to you?"
Ginny said, "Of course, but it means I'll only be protected until the baby is born."
Dumbledore said, "Yes, and remember, you're both protected from Voldemort only; not from a killing curse from some Death Eater."
They had reached the hospital wing by then and saw it was a scene of chaos. Every bed was occupied by the severely injured and more people with lesser injured were sitting on conjured chairs. Kingsley noticed a large number of bodies covered by sheets in an adjoining room.
Madam Pomfrey came over and said, "Mr. Potter, do you need immediate help, I'm quite busy?"
Harry answered, "I'm not injured, Ginny and I were both hit by the killing curse; but it seems to have not hurt me again. It also seems Ginny wasn't hurt either, but I want you to check her and the baby just in case."
Madam's face went white and she said, "Mrs. Potter should be examined immediately, and Mr. Potter, you are bleeding from your scar, it is split open and it looks like you were hit there by either a curse or some object. But I have people that are seriously injured and may die if I don't see them first; I was told St. Mungos was notified, but no healers have arrived yet to help.
As she spoke, six healers, each carrying supplies, arrived through the flue. The first said, "Madam Pomfrey, we came as soon as we could gather potions and balms we thought would be needed to treat attack victims. Where do you need us?"
Madam said, "Pick a bed, all these patients are critical; and there are several dozen others with lesser injuries that can wait. I will be back soon; I have two people here that just came in and need to be triaged first."
The healers move into the room to different beds, and madam took Harry and Ginny into her office. She examined Ginny first, then said, "You and the baby seem to be fine, thought I can't understand why, if you were hit by a killing curse. You have a mild case of magical exhaustion, but a good night's rest should take care of that.
Then she examined Harry and said, "You also need rest, but I can't explain what is happening with your scar. It showed no sign of healing for fourteen years, but now it seems to be closing up and fading. Whatever that first killing curse fourteen years ago did, this second one seems to be reversing. I wouldn't be surprised if your scar completely fades away within a week or two.
Dumbledore asked Harry and Ginny to come to a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix tomorrow night to tell all the members what happened and to plan what to do next. They agreed, and wanted to talk to Hermione before returning to Potter Manor to rest.
Hermione had been helping Madam Pomfrey with the injured, but now the healers from St. Mungos took over and Hermione went with Harry and Ginny to Gryffindor tower. There were students filling the common room talking about the attack, so they went to the boys' bedroom that Harry shared before leaving Hogwarts.
They were half way through their story when Ron walked in. He looked at the three teens, then asked, "What's going on? Everyone in the common room said there was an attack on Hogsmeade. I had to come back through the tunnel under the Whomping Willow and missed everything."
Ginny said, "Have you calmed down? Can we talk reasonably or are you going to start ranting again?"
Ron turned red and said, "I'm calm, I still don't understand about you and Harry; but I guess I can accept that that's you business. Now what happened in Hogsmeade?"
They started the story over and ended with what Dumbledore said, that Ginny was protected because the of baby's blood relationship to Harry's mother.
Hermione asked, "Are you two going to return to school now?"
Harry answered, "No, we're taking private classes with some of the best tutors you can imagine. We're taking our OWLs before Christmas and will start NEWTs classes after New Years."
Ron said, "You mean you right, not Ginny; she's only fourth year."
Ginny said, "No, I'm taking my OWLs too; our connection means I know everything Harry does, so I'm ready for the tests."
Harry said, "There is one thing, we think the last Horcrux is here at Hogwarts. We're going to try and get Dumbledore to let us come and search for it; but we're not sure he'll let us. If he does, we don't know when that will be; hopefully before Voldemort can get another body."
Ginny said, "We're knackered and Madam Pomfrey told us to get a good night's rest. So we'll let you know if and when we'll be back; we're meeting with the order tomorrow night and will try to get Dumbledore to let us come back and search."
Ginny hugged Ron and Hermione, Harry hugged Hermione and extended his hand to Ron. Ron shook it and said, "I'm sorry Harry, but it's a shock to hear your fourteen-year-old sister is not only married, but pregnant too. I should have reacted better."
Harry and Ginny teleported to Potter Manor, had a bite to eat, and got to bed to rest. Next morning they slept late, and when they got up, Bandi had the paper at the breakfast table. The story of the attack on Hogsmeade filled several pages, the names of ten students and twelve townsfolk were listed as killed; it also said dozens were injured, but their names were not given.
At eight that night, Harry and Ginny teleported to Grimmauld Place. First there was a general meeting at which Harry and Ginny told what happened in Hogsmeade; including that Voldemort's body was destroyed, but that he wasn't dead and would return again like he did last time.
Several people that didn't know about Horcruxes asked how Voldemort could keep coming back; and if it was possible to permanently kill him. Dumbledore said it was possible to kill Voldemort, and that there was a group working on doing just that.
After the general meeting ended, there was a meeting of those who knew of Horcruxes and the progress at destroying them. Besides Harry and Ginny, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Dumbledore, Kingsley, Madam Bones, Tonks, Bill, Fleur, and Sirius were gathered around the kitchen table.
Dumbledore started the session, saying "The general public knows only what the Prophet reported, nearly two dozen Death Eaters were killed and several captured. You just heard how Mr. and Mrs. Potter survived Voldemort's killing curse and then killed him in turn and his snake, Nagini.
The others at the meeting know Voldemort will return, but not why or how. You here, and a few others that can't be here, know about Voldemort's Horcruxes."
Madam Bones interrupted, "How many others know about the Horcruxes, and who are they? I think it's important we know for security reasons. If someone approaches one of us and mentions or even hints about Horcruxes, how are we to know if they are on our side, or a Death Eater trying to get information on what we know?"
Harry said, "The Goblins' Board of Directors, Ironfist, the head of the Goblin Guard, and Griphook, the Potter family account manager know; they helped us destroy the one stored in the Lestrange vault. Ron and Hermione know; we hope they can help us find the last one."
Dumbledore added, "Alastor knows everything; Professor McGonagall know the Horcruxes exist, but not how many are left."
Bill said, "Percy knows that the Horcruxes exist, he heard about them the day he, dad, and Tonks were rescued by Harry and Ginny
Madam Bones asked, "Anyone know of anybody else?"
Nobody said anything, so Dumbledore continued, "Then here's what I want done. I finally found where Horace Slughorn has been hiding and I want to take the Potters there tonight after we finish here to talk with him to try and confirm that Voldemort only made six Horcruxes.
Next, we have to find the last Horcrux; Mr. Potter, tell us what you think about it and its location."
Harry said, "We strongly believe it is the diadem of Ravenclaw and that it's at Hogwarts somewhere."
Madam Bones asked, "Why? If I remember correctly, the diadem has been lost for a thousand years. How could he find it; and if he did, how could he get into Hogwarts to hide it?"
Dumbledore started to speak, but Harry interrupted, "We know quite a bit about Voldemort's early life by viewing memories in a Pensive from a number of people that met him from the time he was a child to just before he attacked me and my parents.
The memories show that he had an obsession with three things, his mother's family, the founders of Hogwarts, and with the castle itself. He made great efforts to find objects that belonged to his family and to the founders to make his Horcruxes.
He used a family ring and, his diary that proved he was Slytherin's heir by opening the Chamber of Secrets. He found and used Slytherin's locket and Hufflepuff's cup. He used a snake; again because it was proof he was a Parselmouth and Slytherin's heir.
The only objects left that would tie him to the founders are Gryffindor's sword and hat, which we have and know are safe; and Ravenclaw's diadem.
The memories also showed his desire to learn everything there is to know about the castle and its magic. He wanted to stay at Hogwarts so much, in his last year, when he was only eighteen, he asked old headmaster Dippett for the position as DADA professor.
Years later, he asked Professor Dumbledore for the same position; even though his reputation as being dark was well known by then. He had to realize that Dumbledore, who was suspicious of him for years, would never give him the job.
So why did he come to Hogwarts to ask the headmaster for a teaching position if he already knew the answer would be no? We think he came to hide a Horcrux in a place he was fascinated with and believed to be safe.
What we don't know is where he could have hidden it; the castle is huge and has so many places to hide it."
Dumbledore said, "I agree with your assumptions, but how do you plan to search the entire castle?"
Ginny answered, "You all know that Harry and I can sense a Horcrux if we're in the same room as it. It will take time, but we plan to go into every room in the castle. The problem will be that there are hidden rooms; we intend to ask the house elves to help us find any room hidden to us, but that they know of. Still, there could be room even they don't know of."
Harry loudly said, "Rooms the elves know of; how could I be so stupid. The Room of Requirement, it can take hundreds of different forms; maybe Voldemort learned about it from the elves it just like we did.
He would think it's a perfect place to hide a Horcrux. Even if someone discovered the room existed, and they went into a dozen different forms of the room, to find it, they would have to ask specially for the form of the room the Horcrux is in."
Ginny said, "You're right. I say we try to find the correct form of the Room of Requirement first; if it doesn't work, we can still search the rest of the castle."
Dumbledore asked, "When do you plan to do this search?"
Harry asked, "How long do you think it will take Voldemort to form a new body? We would like to destroy the Horcrux before he has a chance to return again; if we do, the rest of his soul will die with it, right?"
Dumbledore said, "That depends. If he's still in spirit form only, yes, that part of his soul will die. However, if by then he's possessing someone or has made a proto-body like the one you saw in the cemetery the night of the third task, no, he won't die.
We have no way to know unless you see a vision of him like in the past."
Harry said, "I don't think I'll have any more visions. Madam Pomfrey said that killing curse yesterday reversed whatever happened when I was one. She meant my scar, which never healed in fourteen years, has started to disappear since yesterday.
I think there's more to it. I think my scar held part of Voldemort's soul like some type of Horcrux; that was what caused my visions, my connection to him. He accidentally made the connection the first time he tried to kill me, and he accidentally killed that part of himself and broke the connection this time."
Dumbledore said, "I had a suspicion that was the case; but no way to prove it. I also knew no way to separate it from you other than to kill you; so I never told you about it. Since you came to the same conclusion independently, it is probably correct. It doesn't matter now if you're sure that soul fragment is destroyed."
Harry said, "That's right, but I still think I had the right to know your suspicion. What would you have done if I didn't figure it out myself, we destroyed all the other Horcruxes, and Voldemort didn't die?"
Dumbledore said, "Then I would have been sure, and I would tell you then."
Ginny said, "Let's get back to Voldemort returning. I guess he could possess someone at any time; but how long will it take to make a proto-body and perform the ritual to return like in the cemetery. I think that's important to know since the only way we'll know he's back is when we see him again."
Dumbledore said, "After being killed by your lightning, I doubt he will have the energy to possess someone for at least a few weeks.
To form a proto-body, he has to find, or get one of his followers to find, a woman less than three months pregnant. After three months, the child's soul would be too strong to destroy and he would have to share the body.
He would then possess the baby and destroy the child's newly forming soul changing a normal baby's body into a proto-body with his soul in it.
The mother would then be given a number of potions to accelerate the growth of the body. The potion will make the proto-body able to live independently in two to three months depending on how far along the pregnancy was when he first took possession of the baby."
Harry said, "So he could be ready to perform the return ceremony in as little as two months if he finds a pregnant woman quickly."
Dumbledore said, "Three months would be more likely; don't forget he'll need time to save the energy he'll need to possess the baby."
Harry said, "Then we'll begin to search Hogwarts over Christmas break when there are fewer students around. We're taking our OWLs for the next two weeks and need to revise this week so it can't be sooner.
We'll just have to hope he's not possessing someone before then."
Dumbledore said, "That sounds to be reasonable, if there are no more Horcruxes. Unless anyone else has a question; I think the Potters and I should go see Horace and find out if he knows the number of Horcruxes for sure."
There were no questions, Harry and Ginny took Dumbledore's hands and he guided them to a modest sized house in a small town, Dumbledore said, "Horace is inside, let me talk first, then follow my lead."
They walked up the path to the house and saw the door was off its hinges; Dumbledore said, "Be ready."
They entered and looked around, the house was a mess. Broken furniture and cracked walls weren't the worst; there was blood on the walls. Dumbledore touched the blood and brought the finger to his nose; he smelled it, then touched it to his tongue.
He made a face, then began to look about; his gaze fell on an overstuffed chair in one corner of the room. It was the only piece of furniture not tipped over, torn, or bloody. Harry and Ginny extended their senses and Ginny said, "That chair is alive."
Dumbledore poked the chair with his wand, poked it hard. The fabric at the top of the chair split and a fat old man's head popped out. He said, "Easy Dumbledore, I'm not a piece of meat to be skewered on a spit."
The arms of the chair became the man's arms and he stood; the fabric of the chair changed into his robes.
Dumbledore said, "You make a fine arm chair, Horace; but why were you hiding?"
Slughorn said, "When my ward alarm sounded, I didn't know who was coming. There have been too many Death Eater raids lately."
Dumbledore said, "Well you'll be able to rest a little easier at night since yesterday; 25 Death Eaters were killed or captured."
Slughorn asked, "Are you sure? I did see that in the Daily Prophet; but the prophet isn't always that reliable."
Dumbledore said, "I'm sure. We were all there; and Harry and Ginny here were responsible for most of them."
Slughorn looked away from Dumbledore for the first time and noticed there were two teens with him. He focused in on Harry, then said, "Oh, Mr. Potter, I'm pleased to meet you. I assume this young lady is the same one that was mentioned in all the news articles with you."
Harry said, "I'm pleased to meet you to professor; let me introduce my …".
Ginny sent a quick mental note not to tell Slughorn they were married; she didn't know if they could trust him. Harry quickly sent back that the Prophet printed that they were married in the article about killing the Malfoys. Ginny replied, "I forgot about that, you may as well tell him."
Harry finished his sentence without missing a beat, "… wife, Ginny Potter."
Slughorn said, "I'm pleased to meet you Mrs. Potter. From the articles in the paper, you seem to be as formidable a fighter as Mr. Potter."
Ginny said, "Thank you professor, I'm pleased to meet you too."
Dumbledore said, "I brought Mr. and Mrs. Potter here because they need to ask you an important question. Yesterday, Mr. Potter killed Voldemort and Mrs. Potter killed his snake; a snake that was a Horcrux."
Slughorn said, "Are you sure you killed him?"
Harry said, "That's what we want you to tell us. We destroyed five of his Horcruxes, counting the snake. How many did he make?"
Slughorn hesitated, then said, "Why would you think I know? If he learns I talked with you, he'll kill me."
Harry said, "He's dead, right now at least. If we can be sure we destroy all his Horcruxes, he'll stay dead; but we need to be sure we got them all. Now we destroyed five; tell us how many he made. We know that you know the truth."
Slughorn said, "He made six; at least he planned to make six. He firmly believed that seven was the most powerful magical number, and he told me that in a talk we once had, a talk where he asked me about making multiple Horcruxes.
That's all I know. I'm sure he wouldn't make more than six; but I'm not sure he actually did finish making all six."
Ginny said, "Since we destroyed five, and we're pretty sure there is another at Hogwarts, he must have finished what he intended to do. We just wanted to be sure he didn't make more."
Slughorn said, "I wish you best of luck getting rid of the last one and 'He Who Must Not Be Named'."
Harry said, "You know his name is Tom Riddle, or Voldemort if that's what you want to call him."
Slughorn shuddered and Harry continued, "Then use Tom Riddle if you're too frightened to say the name he picked for himself. But don't let him make you afraid to say one of his names."
Dumbledore said, "Well Horace, we have to go. Have you rethought the offer I made? We still need a full time Potions Master; the people we have filling in aren't up to your standards."
Slughorn said, "I have thought about it, but if you think there is a Horcrux at Hogwarts, I don't want to be there in case 'He Who Must …', forgive me, in case Tom decides to return to retrieve it."
When they got outside, Harry said, "We'll come to look for the Horcrux the first day of Christmas break."
Dumbledore said, "I'll let you know if any of my informants hears anything about Voldemort's return."
Harry and Ginny returned to Potter Manor; Dumbledore to Hogwarts.