Disclaimer: Being neither British nor Japanese, it should therefore come as no surprise that I own neither Harry Potter nor Naruto, nor anything from their respective franchises.
CW: Brief mention of the possibility of rape via mind-affecting substances
The following weekend, the Horcrux hunters gathered once more in the Headmaster's office; the mood soared in response to the news that the Horcrux inside Hogwarts had been found and destroyed. "If this one was Ravenclaw's Diadem, that means the one still missing must be Hufflepuff's Cup," Sirius observed.
"That may be good news as well," Remus said, deep in thought. "A bit over two hundred years ago, Patroclus Carrow stole a jeweled electrum ring that had been in the Shafiq family for generations; apparently he wanted it as a gift for a witch he was wooing. The Shafiqs noticed the theft and demanded he return the ring, but he claimed it was in payment of an outstanding debt. When he couldn't produce any evidence of this supposed debt, the Wizengamot ruled in the Shafiqs' favor and ordered him to hand the ring over. In response, Carrow deposited the ring in his Gringotts vault and sent a long, angry letter to the Ministry that basically boiled down to 'Let's see you try and take it now'."
"Neither the Ministry nor the Wizengamot were amused," the werewolf continued, "and promptly passed a law stating that the bank had to hand over to the Ministry any family heirloom officially recorded as stolen. It wasn't particularly hard to enforce at the time, since the bank wouldn't fall fully back into goblin hands until 1865. Nowadays, there's a fair amount of parchmentwork required alongside official records of the item's proper ownership and reported theft, and it takes a senior Ministry official to deliver any such request - in other words, the usual ways goblins try to remind the Ministry that they're not just a bunch of fiscal house-elves. From there, it's largely down to whether the Ministry official can convince the goblins that the alleged owner is the rightful owner of the item, which seems to depend largely upon how the Ministry's been treating the goblins lately and the mood of the particular goblin hearing the request."
Bill gusted out a sigh. "Lucky break for us, then. If it'd been Slytherin's Locket, we'd have had no chance, but the Smith family is supposed to be descended from Helga Hufflepuff." He received a round of blank looks in reply. "Goblins view ownership a bit differently from humans," he explained, "with something only ever truly belonging to whoever made it and their descendants. As far as they're concerned selling an object is simply a long-term lease, usually for the life of the buyer. They hate it when witches and wizards pass goblin-made items down through their own families, since to a goblin doing that is effectively a form of theft, stealing the items from the family of their maker."
"So if it'd been the Locket, they'd have considered it Riddle's rightful property and denied the request," Iruka summed up, "but they'd consider the Smiths to be the rightful owners of the Cup?"
"Exactly," Bill confirmed.
"I'll talk with Amelia," Moody said, "at least once we've got some idea of what vault it's in. She's plenty high up in the Ministry and she can keep her mouth shut."
Albus nodded. "Then I shall have Severus enact our earlier plan. With a bit of luck, we should soon have an indicator of which Death Eater was entrusted with the Cup."
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The high spirits brought about by their progress on eliminating Horcruxes lasted about a fortnight. Katie Bell, a Seventh-Year Gryffindor girl and one of the Chasers for their Quidditch team, had been nearly killed by a cursed necklace she'd somehow acquired in Hogsmeade. Based on the account of a friend that was with her at the time, the current theory was that she'd been placed under the Imperius Curse and ordered to deliver it to someone at the school. The DMLE were investigating the incident, of course, but with Bell still comatose in Saint Mungo's they didn't really have any leads to work with.
Rumors abounded as usual in Hogwarts, but nobody seemed to have any solid reason to suspect a particular culprit. Popular consensus was that the necklace had been intended for either Harry or Albus, as some sort of assassination attempt by the Death Eaters.
"Could it have been Malfoy?" Iruka asked the Headmaster. "We already know he's been assigned to kill you, and the clumsiness of this plan almost screams 'amateur': If the perpetrator was someone inside the school, they had to have known about the security measures in place, yet thought that the necklace would somehow slip by or simply disregarded them as an obstacle. An outside party would have to be either similarly overconfident or have completely failed to do even basic reconnaissance. Even if Katie Bell had gotten the necklace past Filch, she'd have had to successfully deliver it to the target, though I suppose that could argue that this plot was aimed at Harry; he'd be a lot less likely to question an unexpected package from her than you would, at least as far as most would expect."
"It is certainly possible," Dumbledore allowed, "and Severus has heard nothing from within the Death Eaters' camp either before or after this incident to indicate that it was one of their number that was responsible. Neither were any known or suspected followers of Lord Voldemort sighted in Hogsmeade that day, although that is obviously far from conclusive. However, we know that young Draco already has a plan in progress to fulfill his objective; it seems unlikely that he'd have divided his efforts thus. He would also have had to get the necklace to Hogsmeade somehow, and I very much doubt that it would have been missed in the searches at the start of term. More significantly, he did not go to Hogwarts at all that day, being in detention with Minerva for neglecting his Transfiguration homework."
Iruka frowned. "It's not impossible - he could have placed the curse on Bell at some point before she left for Hogsmeade, though that doesn't answer the question of how the necklace came into her hands. Still, you're right; he's a weak suspect at best. Unfortunately, that means that we may well have another would-be assassin in the castle, one that we haven't yet identified and put a watch on. Wonderful."
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It was another two weeks before Severus Snape was called to a general meeting of Death Eaters. Albus relayed to the Horcrux hunters his report that Bellatrix Lestrange had reacted even more angrily than he would have expected, with a hidden undercurrent of fear.
"Why am I not surprised," Sirius groaned. "Bella was always a fanatic, so it makes sense that she'd be the one picked. Probably also doesn't hurt that she's one of his best fighters, so not someone to be captured easily."
"Amelia's already got a lot of the forms filled out," Moody informed them, "just waiting on findin' out whose vault the Cup's in. I'll let her know soonest, so depending on how quick the goblins are about things we could have it by this time tomorrow. Not going to hold my breath, though."
"Just make sure that Amelia knows to impress upon the goblins how important it is that this seizure remains secret as long as possible," Albus urged.
"How secret they keep it will probably depend mostly on how much they like Lestrange," Bill commented, "and how little they like the Ministry. Madam Bones is at least not disliked nearly as much as a lot of witches and wizards, since she tends to be respectful, professional, and honest in her dealings with Gringotts. I can't imagine a Death Eater would be likely to show goblins any respect except at swordpoint. Still, the Ministry hasn't made any friends among the goblins, especially while Umbridge was still working there. I'd recommend offering to pay a 'confidential processing fee' just to be safe - once they take money under a contract we can at least mostly trust them to hold up their end. It'll just cost more if they're not feeling cooperative..."
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In the end, Madam Bones had paid a moderately large bribe (funded directly by Sirius to avoid questions) to secure the goblins' cooperation and silence. Unfortunately, this left them without the ready funds to afford the requested "expedited processing fee", so it would likely be some time still before the Cup would be handed over, assuming they were correct about its location. If they weren't, they'd be out a not-insubstantial amount of gold with nothing to show for it but some annoyed goblins.
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The weeks continued on, and the war with them. Outside the castle, the Death Eaters continued to launch sporadic attacks against soft targets in both the magical and Muggle worlds. Inside, more often than not the morning post would include the letters sealed with black wax that informed the recipient of a death in the family.
At least once a week, Albus would slip into the Room of Requirement while Malfoy was busy elsewhere to check up on his progress in repairing the Vanishing Cabinet. According to the Headmaster, it was still many months from completion at the present rate, though expert hands could obviously do it in far less time.
Katie Bell had woken up and was projected to make a full recovery, though it would take months. Fortunately for her, she didn't remember being cursed; from eyewitness accounts, the necklace's curse was torturous. Unfortunately for the investigation, she didn't remember anything between walking into the ladies' room at the Three Broomsticks and waking up in Saint Mungo's.
Fall turned to winter, and as the holidays approached Harry, and to a lesser extent Neville, found themselves increasingly having to dodge groups of girls that tended to congregate under hangings of mistletoe when either or both of the young wizards passed by. It was actually getting to the point where these gatherings had begun blocking traffic in the corridors, which only gave the two boys more incentive to take mistletoe-free routes through the castle.
"I told Sasuke about your fangirl problem," Naruto (or at least one of his Shadow Clones) said over the mirrors during an S.E.N. meeting. "He sent his sympathies."
"You mean he laughed so hard he almost fell out of his chair?" Kakashi asked with an eye-smile that was his equivalent of a shit-eating grin.
"That too..."
The matter got decidedly less funny when Hermione reported overhearing several other girls discussing the best method for slipping Harry a love potion. At least they didn't have a large supply according to what she'd heard; Sirius had fortunately talked the Weasley Twins out of selling love potions in their joke shop, probably recalling what he'd learned about Voldemort's origins. Regardless, Iruka brought the matter up with Albus who made an announcement at dinner.
"It has come to my attention that some among you have been considering the use of love potions in order to compel an individual of your choice to bring you as their date to Professor Slughorn's upcoming party, and perhaps exploit their affections in other ways as well. I shall not mince words: Should any of you manage to inveigle another person into intimate activity through use of mind-altering magic, that would be rape, and would be treated as such if discovered. It is one thing to use a mild and short-acting potion just to draw the attention of the boy or girl you're interested in, but it is a very different matter to enthrall them with stronger potions."
"And just in case any of you do consider it acceptable to manufacture your chosen relationship with potions, I ask you to consider the prospect of such potions being used on you and keyed to someone in whom you have no interest. Consider the idea of being trapped in a relationship with such a person, your own wishes ignored, and ask if you truly wish to inflict such a fate upon someone for whom you claim to feel affection."
"I firmly believe that every single one among you can find real love in your lives. At the right time and with the right person, you will have no need of potions or other such falsitude. Treasure this when it comes, and do not debase yourselves with trickery or coercion - you, all of you, are better than that."
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In early January, the goblins finally decided they'd kept Madam Bones waiting for a satisfactorily long period and handed over Hufflepuff's Cup. Within the hour, Voldemort was down to his last two Horcruxes.
"What about Harry?" Sirius asked. It was once again just him, Iruka, and Albus in the Headmaster's office.
Dumbledore gusted a sigh. "With the assistance from our... consultant in the Elemental Nations, I have devised a ritual that we believe should extract the soul fragment without costing young Harry his life. Our efforts at present are focused on refining this ritual, maximizing its safety and chances of success. It is for that reason that I have not broached the subject as yet - I wish to refine the ritual as much as possible before attempting it. Given the fact that its original form would have required the sacrifice of another person's life, you can perhaps understand my reasoning behind the delay."
"The preparations required are... extensive," he continued, "and I would very much like whatever assistance I can get in working on them."
"You've got me," Sirius replied, "pretty much whenever, and I'm sure Iruka's in much the same boat."
Iruka nodded. "You might want to include the rest of the Horcrux team as well. I'm sure a skilled Curse-Breaker like Bill would be a lot of help in whatever time he has available. Filius has been in the circle of trust about my abilities for years now, and he's one of my best Sealing students at this point, so he might make a good addition to the prep crew."
Albus hesitated momentarily, then gave a somewhat reluctant nod. "Yes, I suppose that would speed things significantly, though until and unless I get Harry's permission I will not share any details regarding the end goal of the work. If asked, I will merely reply that it is a task essential to Lord Voldemort's ultimate downfall. They will no doubt suspect something of the nature of that task, but that cannot be avoided, and I will not be cavalier with such an important secret."
A week or so later Iruka received a delivery via Toad Express that comprised a scroll from Orochimaru filled with instructions, including much of the sealing work that would have to be done.
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Tragedy struck the castle in early March. After he failed to show up for his class, Horace Slughorn was found dead in his quarters. The investigation that followed revealed that he'd been poisoned, with said poison being delivered in a bottle of expensive spiced mead. It was found that Madam Rosmerta at the Three Broomsticks had sent the bottle up to the castle, and she'd been quickly taken into custody. Her behavior when questioned, however, was odd enough that she wasn't being charged at present because she was strongly suspected of being under the Imperius Curse or other mind-altering magic. Head Auror Rufus Scrimgeour had pushed for her to be charged as a Death Eater, but had thankfully been overruled by Madam Bones.
Headmaster Dumbledore was firmly in the camp of suspecting the Imperius, and thought it likely that someone in the Death Eater camp had used Madam Rosmerta as a catspaw to eliminate Slughorn at their master's behest. Iruka pointed out that Katie Bell seemed to have been Imperiused at the Three Broomsticks, suggesting that the necklace incident was an earlier attempt in the same plot. Albus thought that a likely prospect as well and passed the suggestion along to the DMLE, though there still weren't any clear leads to the true perpetrator.
Potions classes after Professor Slughorn's death were, to put it bluntly, a fiasco. Snape was too busy teaching seven years of Defense classes to return to his previous position, and there just weren't any other qualified candidates available to teach full-time that the Headmaster was willing to trust inside the castle with the war raging on outside. The result was a mishmash of lessons taught by other staff members with Potions qualifications (particularly for the younger years), lessons from visiting Order members and trusted employees of the Ministry and Saint Mungo's coming in during time off (and in some cases actually using vacation days), and cancelled classes or supervised study sessions.
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In early May, Albus stated that he felt that the Vanishing Cabinet was close enough to being fully repaired that they would need to act soon, lest Malfoy finish his work and open a path into the heart of Hogwarts for Voldemort's forces. A few days later, Moody and Shacklebolt led an Auror raid on Borgin and Burkes, seizing a large haul of questionable items along with the Vanishing Cabinet there. Naruto had finished charging the seal array to send Gamato with enough chakra to bring one of the pair Vanishing Cabinets back to Konoha, so once the Cabinet from Knockturn had been inspected and confirmed to be intact, ready for use, and free from any sort of curses or booby-traps, it was sent off via Toad Express. They'd fix the damaged Cabinet on-site at Hogwarts.
At around the same time, Albus and several other staff and Order members (deliberately not including Severus Snape) took Draco Malfoy and his two cronies into custody at Hogwarts: The teenaged Death Eater, who had been growing increasingly haggard as the year went on, looked almost relieved to be caught out. Each of the three were relieved of their wands and searched thoroughly before being more-or-less walled up in separate suites of rooms in the dungeons with their food being delivered via house-elf. It was an ugly solution, but all involved were reasonably certain that it wouldn't be for long... one way or another.
Afterwards, Albus sent off a Patronus messenger and asked Iruka to accompany him back to the Headmaster's office. They arrived to find Sirius waiting to Floo in. "It occurred to me," the Headmaster said once they were all seated, "that we may well be out of time soon to remove the soul fragment afflicting Harry. If Lord Voldemort realizes our intent with the Vanishing Cabinets, and if he has any inkling of the strength of the reinforcements we hope to gain access to, he will have no choice but to act, to attempt to thwart us no matter the cost. Such an effort would almost certainly involve his direct participation, and might well be the best opportunity we will get to destroy his snake and put Voldemort himself down for good. Before that happens, however, we must deal with the soul fragment in Harry, else Voldemort would still be tied to life and all our efforts might be in vain."
"It is my intention, if you agree Sirius, to call young Mr. Potter up here to explain the situation to him and ask if he is willing to undergo the cleansing ritual. Even if the ritual could be performed with an unwilling participant - and it cannot - I would not do such a thing to an innocent child like Harry."
Sirius gave his agreement, and fifteen minutes later Harry came in through the door.
"I first wish to apologize, Harry," Albus began, "for I have kept from you a vital and terrible secret these past few years. While I do not believe that telling you earlier would have done you more good than ill, the fact remains that I have held back information directly pertaining to you, and have pressed Sirius and Iruka into doing the same."
A flash of anger crossed Harry's face, before he visibly calmed himself. "I take it you've called me here to share this secret, sir?" His voice betrayed more than a hint of nervousness.
Dumbledore nodded. "You recall the Horcruxes which we have been hunting?" Harry nodded. "As I explained, each contained a fragment of Lord Voldemort's soul, torn off in part by the act of remorseless murder. He had already made five of these abominations by the time of his original downfall, and it seems likely that he intended to use your death to make the sixth and final anchor he had planned. When your mother's loving sacrifice caused his Killing Curse to rebound upon him, however, something unexpected happened."
"He had presumably already performed the preparations required for crafting a Horcrux," the Headmaster continued gravely, "and that very night committed two new murders, freshly wounding his soul. Those wounds, his preparations, and the damage caused by tearing five other pieces away previously left his soul in a state of profound instability. When he was then struck down by his own curse, it sundered his soul once more. One portion, presumably the larger if such a concept can be applied to souls, fled as the wraith that would later possess Quirinus Quirrell. The other sought out the most promising vessel nearby."
Harry's expression had been shifting into a mix of confusion and worry. Now his eyes widened in shock and horror. "I'm a Horcrux?" he croaked out, "I have to die to kill Voldemort?"
"No," Albus shook his head, "you do not, and you are not a Horcrux, not precisely. You were not prepared as a receptacle, nor was the ritual performed to bind the soul fragment to you. It is likely that the soul fragment attached to your scar might perform the same function as a Horcrux, but it is almost certainly not nearly as irrevocably attached. I have, with some assistance, been working for some time on a method by which this soul fragment can be safely removed. With all of the true Horcruxes save for Voldemort's snake now dealt with, and with other events possibly soon pushing this conflict into its endgame, the time has come for me to ask of you - ask, not require - that you undergo the ritual we have devised."
"As soon as possible," Harry stated firmly. "It was bad enough just having a connection with Voldemort, but to find out that I've got a piece of him attached to me? I want that filth gone!"
Sirius put a supporting hand on his godson's shoulder, and all three adults in the room favored the teen with warm, proud smiles. "Gryffindor courage at its finest," the animagus said.
Harry blushed slightly and ducked his head, still not entirely accustomed to praise, before straightening and addressing the Headmaster again. "Professor, you said the soul fragment went for the most promising vessel - what did you mean by that?"
"On that matter, I'm afraid, I can only speculate," Albus replied. "It could be that you simply represented the highest concentration of nearby magic, or that you bore lingering traces of Tom's magic from his failed curse, or any of a thousand other factors or even pure chance. Perhaps the soul fragment retained enough intelligence that it thought you young enough that it could take control over you, or at least exert influence, only to be thwarted again by your mother's protection."
"Now," the Headmaster said, "we have a number of preparations to make before the ritual can be performed. With your permission, Harry, I would like to contact such friends and family of yours as I can reach to gather them here at Hogwarts if they are not already present. One of the refinements I've made to the ritual is the inclusion of those who feel love for the subject, whether familial, romantic, or platonic. Your mother's love has helped protect you these past fifteen years, and the love of others will bolster that and aid in countering the hatred infusing all parts of the soul of Lord Voldemort. In addition, the show of support can only help to strengthen your spirit."
Iruka had a sudden thought. "Albus, do these people need to be physically present, or can they join in remotely?"
The habitual twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes brightened. "I dare say that it is at least worth the attempt."
The chuunin nodded, pulling out his mirror to call Konoha while Sirius and Harry began working on a list of who to invite. Given the fact that several of those invitees had jobs and their coordinated absence would draw unwanted attention, it was decided that the ritual would take place that coming Saturday.
Omake: Other versions of Sasuke's sympathies...
"I told Sasuke about your fangirl problem," Naruto (or at least one of his Shadow Clones) said over the mirrors during an S.E.N. meeting. "He sent his sympathies."
"You mean he scowled and said 'Hn'?" asked Kakashi.
"Hey, I'm translating! Not everybody speaks Broody Avenger..."
"I told Sasuke about your fangirl problem," Naruto (or at least one of his Shadow Clones) said over the mirrors during an S.E.N. meeting. "He sent his sympathies."
"You mean he laughed so hard he almost fell out of his chair?" Kakashi asked with an eye-smile that was his equivalent of a shit-eating grin.
"He did not! He just... kinda smirked and chuckled a bit."
"Which, for Sasuke, is the equivalent of falling on the floor laughing."
A/N: Things haven't changed in a way that would have altered/prevented the necklace incident, so I included it here, but it is one of many Grawp-sized plot-holes in Half-Blood Prince: First off, even though it's canon I hate the idea that the Imperius can make people use Unforgiveables themselves. They're supposed to require strong hatred/sadism/etc. to function properly, and how is someone going to call up those feelings while in a blissed-out fugue state? It'd be at least semi-plausible if they were already inclined to use that curse on that target, or if the Imperius allowed for a more direct possession, but as it is it doesn't make sense to me. Also, if this was the first Hogsmeade visit, then when did Draco put Madam Rosmerta under the Imperius and give her the necklace to pass along? I suppose one could say that he did it during the summer, which would also explain why he didn't account for Filch's Secrecy Sensor, but it's never properly explained.
There actually was at least a loose color-code in sealing wax historically, with black basically meaning "You're going to want to sit down before you read this." I see no reason that this wouldn't still be in use among wizards, so I included it here.
Fic Recommendation: "Uprooted" by Orrunan - Who thought it would be a good idea to let Naruto be sent to join ROOT?
Posted 23 February 2020
