Chapter 35: A Darklight in the Darkness
July 11th, 1995
The mood in 12 Grimmauld Place was rather triumphant that evening.
"Well, I have to admit that you really put Fudge's knickers in a twist today," snarked Tonks, who seemed to be spending as much time as she could at 12 Grimmauld Place, "Apparently he ordered Umbridge to take a month of leave time. The only reason that she isn't finished entirely is that she probably knows enough about Fudge to sink him."
Harry had a suspicion as to why Tonks spent so much time at Sirius's home, and it had to do with the frequent presence of a particular werewolf, but Harry wasn't going to touch that with a ten foot pole. That was very much none of his business.
"Daphne did very well," said Molly.
"She was brilliant," corrected Harry, "There's no way Dumbledore would have had the same effect on the Wizengamot. A fifteen-year-old girl utterly crushing the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister in court? Just brilliant."
Percy's owl Hermes suddenly flew into the room, and dropped a letter in front of Harry. Molly cried out in surprise. "You were telling the truth!" she said.
Harry picked up the letter and read it. "Apparently, Fudge has decided that going after me is just going to hurt him. He's going to try to cause a rift between Dumbledore and myself instead," said Harry.
"Sounds like Percy was trying to be helpful," said Ginny.
"Still, it will help me," said Harry, "I won't have to have people wondering why the Daily Prophet's editorials changed so much, as it will all seem to be coming from Fudge. I'd like to keep the purchase of the Prophet on the downlow for the moment."
"Why?" asked Molly.
"Well obviously so You-Know-Who doesn't realize that Harry is able to directly counter him using the Prophet," said Sirius.
"Anyway, I've had a long day, so I'm going to turn in early," said Harry.
"I'll go with you and say goodnight," said Hermione.
"Ginny," said Molly in a tone that made her intent clear.
"I'll keep an eye on them," said Ginny.
"You know Molly, Harry and Hermione never seem to object to Ginny keeping an eye on them," said Sirius as they left the room, "It's almost as if she doesn't actually stop them from doing anything."
"You stashed it in your room?" asked Ginny quietly.
"Stashed what?" asked Fred.
"Keeping secrets?" asked George.
"We're Slytherins, of course we're keeping secrets," smirked Harry. As they passed the drawing room, Harry suddenly felt something in the other room.
"Woah," he said after halting dead in his tracks.
"Something wrong?" asked Hermione.
"Yes, and maybe no," said Harry as he rushed into the drawing room.
"This room isn't clear of dark items yet, Harry," said Fred.
"I can feel that," said Harry.
"Oh, bloody hell, I feel it too now!" said Ginny, "I can't believe I missed it before!"
Harry walked over to a table. It had a locket on it that carried a large S on the front. Harry recognized it immediately.
"This is one of Voldemort's horcruxes," said Harry.
"Horcrux?" said Fred and George simultaneously.
"A fragment of Voldemort's soul, placed in a physical container, to keep him immortal," explained Ginny, "the diary was one as well. Dumbledore refused to tell us that though, so I'd be grateful if you didn't didn't babble that we know about that to the Order."
"But won't the Order need to destroy it?" asked Fred.
"We can do that," said Harry, "In fact, we can do it very easily. We'll tell Dumbledore what he needs to know."
"We'll agree," said George, "If you let us in on your secret war council."
Harry turned to the twins. They would be useful, Harry had to admit. "Done!" he said as he extended a hand to each of them.
The twins grabbed his hands enthusiastically, but when they found that Harry was shaking back just as hard they laughed and left the room.
Harry stopped for a moment, trying to remember the last time Voldemort had seen this horcrux. He'd hidden it in a cave with the help of an elf, Regulus Black's elf. Sirius's brother, who had been a Death Eater had been asked to give his elf to help hide this horcrux. Voldemort had left him in the cave though, but of course, Harry knew house elves could apparate under anti-apparition wards, they did it at Hogwarts all the time.
"Kreacher," said Harry quietly.
The surly elf walked by the door, "What does the son of a mudblood want with me?" he asked.
Harry pointed at the locket. "What is that doing here?"
Kreacher's reaction was telling. "That was Master Regulus's locket!" he cried.
"But you hid it for Voldemort first, didn't you?" asked Harry.
The elf's eyes widened at the Dark Lord's name, but he nodded.
"And Regulus had you retrieve it, and... oh Merlin, he died getting it back didn't he?" said Harry. When Kreacher nodded, he added, "I am so sorry Kreacher. Did Regulus want to destroy it?"
Kreacher just broke out crying. "I tried! I tried and I tried! But nothing I could do harmed it! I could not fulfill your last wish, Master Regulus."
Ginny put her hand on Kreacher's arm, "Kreacher, I know how to destroy it, or at least the magic in it Regulus wanted to destroy."
"Really?" said Kreacher.
"Really," promised Ginny.
"Are you sure you should do this?" asked Hermione, "Maybe I should try it?"
Harry shook his head. "It is dangerous, but Ginny and I have done it before and know what we are doing. But, we only did it because we had to. I don't want you putting yourself at risk like that."
Hermione nodded.
Ginny pointed her wand at the Horcrux. "Legilimens!" she said.
For a moment, Ginny seemed to strain. The locket opened and images of Harry and Hermione in loving embrace came out.
"Is that the best this thing can do?" she asked. The locket seemed to scream in response, then a black mist rose from the horcrux, then dissipated into the air.
"Is that still something that bothers you?" asked Harry.
"No," said Ginny, "but it was the last time I destroyed a horcrux. It was reading the part of me that was connected to the Diary back in first year it seems, or maybe some fragment of the Diary that was still around. Anyway, it's gone."
Ginny paused, "And wow, I thought teenage Voldemort's memories were bad, but boy did he reach a whole other level when he grew up."
Harry picked up the locket. He could confirm, the horcrux was indeed gone. He handed the locket to Kreacher.
"Keep this," he said, "as a reminder of Regulus Black. A man who died to stop Lord Voldemort."
"Thank you Master Harry, thank you!" cried the elf, who ran off with the locket, to hide it.
Ginny shook her head. "Crazy day," she said.
"And it isn't even over yet," said Harry.
The girls nodded, and they made their way into the bedroom Harry shared with Ron. Reaching into his robes, Harry pulled out the prophecy orb. And then, they heard a somewhat familiar voice, but Harry couldn't quite place it..
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as an equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"
Harry stood still for a moment, then broke out laughing.
"What?" asked Hermione, "What's so funny?"
"Harry has the power to defeat Voldemort, but only because Voldemort tried to murder him as an infant," said Ginny.
"Neville Longbottom shares my birthday," said Harry, "And his parents were also members of the original Order of the Phoenix. I bet they faced Voldemort at least three times as well. But he chose to come after me because I'm a halfblood, like him. And in choosing me, he made me his nemesis."
Harry set down the sphere, then drew his wand and leveled it at the sphere. "Reducto," he casually cast. The sphere disintegrated.
"And that is that," said Harry, "And I can use this information now. Dumbledore knows he needs me, which means I can leverage this to finally get him to tell me what is going on."
"Or you could hide that you know this and frustrate the hell out of him," considered Ginny, "I think if he isn't going to be honest with us, we shouldn't be volunteering information to him."
"I don't know," said Harry, "He probably needs to know that he shouldn't waste resources watching over a destroyed prophecy."
"Let him waste his time," said Ginny, "It will be good for him."
"I suppose," agreed Harry, yet something about this struck him the wrong way.
XXXXX
July 13th, 1995
Blaise Zabini entered the Ram's Cradle. It was a rather dingy little pub, but Blaise wasn't put off by that. A couple of fellows were watching a football match on the tevelis… tleshiv… oh to hell with it, Blaise couldn't remember what it was called. A Telly. It had taken him days to get here. The nearest floo wasn't for miles, and Blaise had taken the wrong bus in Cardiff. The Knight Bus was out of the question, as his mother would almost certainly be watching it.
"Hey kid," challenged the barkeep, "Whatcha' doin' here."
"I'm looking for a guy named Pascale," said Blaise, "I heard he spent some time here."
"Whatcha want 'im for?" asked the barkeep.
"I'm his son," said Blaise.
The other man nodded. "In back," he said, pointing to the back room. Blaise walked into the room. It was dimly lit, but he saw his father, smoking a rather long pipe. The man looked shocked as Blaise walked in.
"Hello, father," said Blaise.
Pascale Zabini looked up and saw his son for the first time in years. With a strangled cry he leapt up and hugged Blaise, who eagerly hugged his father back.
"What the hell are you doing here Blaise?" cried Pascale as he let go, "Your mother is worried sick."
"That's why her Death Eater friends tried to put me under the Imperius curse, huh?" asked Blaise, "Because she was worried?"
"If she used the Imperius curse on you, how did you get away?" asked Pascale.
"She had old Goyle try actually," said Blaise, "I'm pretty sure he's gonna need an artificial leg now though, I really did a number on his old one. I might have killed Crabbe, though I can't be sure."
"I heard Goyle did lose a leg," said Pascale thoughtfully, "Though as far as I know Crabbe isn't dead."
"An inch either way could have made the difference between life and death I guess, so I'm not surprised," said Blaise.
"So what are you doing here?" asked Pascale, "Do you think I can protect you from your mother? If I could, I promise you, I'd have done so a long time ago."
"Where the fuck else am I supposed to go?" asked Blaise, "I'm only fifteen. Listen, I can take care of myself, but the Ministry is looking for me. And if they send me back to mum, I'm cooked. I need to get out of Britain. Or, you could contact Sirius Black and Bryant Greengrass. With their help, I bet you could get custody of me."
"How long would I keep it before your mother's goons got to me?" said Pascale, "I stayed away for a reason. Clarise's behavior towards me looks oh so innocent in the light of day, but she threatened to kill me if I interfered."
"We could go to Ireland," said Blaise, "She can't touch us there. Ol' Danny won't let her, not once he learns what's going on. But I can't get to Ireland on my own. Half the fucking British army's in the way, what with the Troubles and all."
"Where would you stay in Ireland?" asked Pascale.
"I have a mate there, Seamus," said Blaise, "He'd take me in."
"Clarise contacted me, you know," said Pascale, "She said you were taken with some Irish boy. Wouldn't be that Seamus, would it?"
"What if he is?" said Blaise, "Does it matter? We care about each other, that's all that matters."
"Heh," said Pascale, his face a mask of grim humour, "Serves her right. All she cares about is her precious blood, and she gives birth to a son who would never willingly pass it on. I'd almost call that cosmic justice."
Blaise relaxed.
"Don't worry, I'll get you to Seamus," said Pascale, "But you'll have to deal with Ol' Danny, while I'll have to deal with the Wizengamot."
"Danny's not a problem," said Blaise, "If mum hadn't been a Death Eater, she could have handled him."
"That's always been the if with your mum," said Pascale mournfully, "Now we better get you into hiding now. Your mum doesn't run things in Wales, but she sure as hell has eyes here."
XXXXX
July 29th, 1995
Two days before Harry's birthday, Sirius walked into Harry's room and sat down at the foot of his bed.
"So, I've been putting off this conversation, but I don't think we can anymore," said Sirius, "Now you may recall that I'm aware of your living situation at Hogwarts."
"I had actually forgotten that," admitted Harry, "Is there an issue?"
"You tell me," said Sirius.
"Hermione and I have never… we've been relatively circumspect," stammered Harry, "We haven't been… intimate if that's what you want to know."
"I wasn't going to ask, but it's good to know," said Sirius, "Listen, Harry, I'm not worried about that exactly. You're at an age that you are going to do what you are going to do. But the fact that you are living together could add some complications on top of that. Most teenagers your age don't really have the opportunity to sleep with each other every night…"
"We are not doing that," said Harry firmly, "And we won't be after we… well you know…"
"Good," said Sirius, "I know in some ways you've been forced to be an adult early, but development in this area can get very messed up if not allowed to progress normally. As I said, you're at the age where this is a thing you are going to consider, and I know you and Hermione will be responsible. But you are too young to be doing that all the time."
Harry nodded in agreement. And then he decided. He would trust Sirius, at least with this. "Dumbledore and Molly Weasley put me in a marriage contract with Ginny. Without telling either of us."
"WHAT?" shouted Sirius, "No wonder you haven't been getting along with them!"
"I think Molly regrets it, and that she wouldn't have done it if she hadn't been convinced by Dumbledore," said Harry, "Please don't make a thing of this. The contract has a virginity clause, and at some point in the near future I think Hermione plans to, uh, take care of that. We'll deal with it, and it'll be over. No need to let Dumbledore even know that we know."
"All right, if that's how you want to play it," said Sirius begrudgingly, "I bet Ginny was happy though."
Harry shook his head. "Ginny was devastated. Prior to the signing of that contract, I was interested in both her and Hermione. After though… well she knew what my reaction would be."
"Poor girl," said Sirius, "And, well, I guess I have a better idea of why you don't want to just trust Dumbledore."
"I wish I could," said Harry, "I wish he'd talk to me. I wish I could tell you everything as well."
"What if I promised that I would not tell Dumbledore any of your secrets?" asked Sirius.
"I'd rather Dumbledore explain himself," admitted Harry, "I really need to speak with him. I should have spoken with him before I left school, but I was too livid."
"Okay, how about this then," said Sirius, "We'll see if we can get Dumbledore to come clean with you. If not, then you tell me everything. And I promise I won't tell Dumbledore."
Harry nodded reluctantly. He had to hope the headmaster was willing to listen to reason.
XXXXX
July 31st, 1995
On Harry's birthday they had a small celebration. A few presents and a cake, nothing fancy. But the festivities were interrupted when Daphne came barreling through the Floo.
"Blaise is in Ireland!" she said her voice sounding relieved, "He sent me a letter. Apparently his mother found out…" she trailed off as she realized that Molly, Sirius and Remus were present.
"Found out what?" asked Molly.
Daphne nodded. It looked like everything was going to have to come out.
"Blaise isn't interested in girls," explained Ginny, "He and Seamus are an item."
"Ginny!" objected Ron, "I don't think Blaise wanted that getting around."
"They have to know," said Daphne, "It's the only way Fudge lets this get a hearing. Madame Zabini had the elder Crabbe and Goyle try to Imperius Blaise. Blaise got away, managed to talk to his father. Apparently, Clarise has been threatening Pascale Zabini's life if he tried to get in contact with his son. In any case, Pascale is going to try and get custody of Blaise, but Fudge will never let it go through unless we make it completely clear that this has nothing to do with Death Eaters."
"Fudge has been relatively willing to hear cases involving abused gay teens in the past," said Remus, "apparently his cousin was a lesbian who was badly abused by her family. I wouldn't have thought Fudge would be sentimental about things like this, but apparently he liked his cousin enough that its had an impact on him."
"Either that or he uses that story to humanize himself with the voters," said Harry, who thought this was a far more likely explanation.
"More likely it's a mix of both," said Daphne.
"I assume Bryant will be taking the lead on this?" asked Sirius.
"Yes," answered Daphne.
"If he needs any help…" said Sirius.
"I'll be sure to let him know," said Daphne.
"Ginny, you have to let Percy know about this," said Harry, "He can help convince Fudge this isn't Death Eater related."
Ginny nodded.
Harry hoped that Blaise was safe in Ireland.
XXXXX
August 1st, 1995
Daniel O'Keefe was the leader of the Irish magical underworld. He had been so since Ireland had tried to rebel from the United Kingdom in the First World War, hence his nickname: Ol' Danny. And he was, Blaise decided, a rather difficult man to hunt down.
There weren't any warrants for his arrest or anything, but Danny had always felt that it was best to keep out of the limelight. There had been times when the British Ministry had very much wanted to get ahold of him. And once the Irish Ministry had spun off the British Ministry, the Irish Ministry had continued that tradition. Danny saw the Irish Ministry as stooges of the British Ministry, so he was just as happy not being in their custody.
But Seamus and Blaise had finally managed to secure an audience with him. With his help, Blaise could try and turn his situation around. Without it… well he'd just have to see, wouldn't he?
The pub they had gone to was in Belfast, which was a surprise in itself. Blaise had assumed that Danny would be in the Republic proper, but apparently he was making a play for Northern Ireland. The pub was a rather exclusive establishment. Danny's private pub, most likely. Blaise and Seamus had needed to show his letter to them to get in.
Entering the pub, Blaise and Seamus were led to a private room. There they saw Danny, who had white hair and a scraggly white beard, and about four guards. Well he did have a right to be suspicious, Blaise supposed. The last time Blaise had been in Ireland, his mother had tried to kill Danny.
"Seamus Finnegan," said Danny, his face smiling as he greeted the boy, "It's been a while."
"Only because you don't visit your cousin enough," said Seamus.
"Seamus is my cousin's godson," explained Danny, "He's a good lad. And it's for his sake that I'm giving you this meeting Zabini."
"I'm here because my dear mum has tried to place me under the Imperius curse," said Blaise.
"She back to her Death Eater ways?" Danny asked, his hands raised above his head as if he was trying to scare a small child with a boogeyman.
"A bit, but there was more," said Blaise as he glanced at Seamus.
"Ah, say no more," said Danny, "I've seen that look before. Well I'm not one to judge. After all, we're all the dregs of magical society here, so we've no place to be doing so. I daresay that's one of the better reasons to take a stand against one's kin, though."
"I can give you names," said Blaise, "Names of my mother's contacts in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England."
"And why would I be interested in your mother's contacts in Wales?" said Danny, "I can't even get her out of Northern Ireland."
"It's called fire in the rear," said Blaise, "Plus, my dad is trying to organize resistance there. If they are successful enough, she might get kicked out of both Wales and Northern Ireland."
"Ah, there's the rub," said Danny, "But you've been up front with me. More than most people are. I hear you don't hold with that pureblood garbage your mummy has been spouting."
"One of my best friends is a muggleborn," said Blaise, "You know, I used to think that maybe magical society should be controlled by those familiar with it, but then I realized that even they still just fuck it up. So what's the difference right? What makes almighty Malfoy or Greengrass the boss of us? Fuck it, I'm done making excuses. I say, the time is right to shake things up."
"Damn right, boy," said Danny, "you know, I might be starting to like you. Well, how 'bout this: you stay here, well back in free Ireland, safe for the rest of the summer, and when you come back from Hogwarts next summer, we put you to work?"
"Seamus and I are pretty good at setting things on fire or blowing them up," said Blaise.
"Haha!" shouted Danny, "I like your optimism boy! As if I won't have you running simple errands. Oh, and I've heard your friends with the Potter boy. Tell him: if things get too rough in Britain, he has a safe haven in Ireland."
"I will," said Blaise.
XXXXX
August 8th, 1995
Percy had apparently managed to explain the situation to Fudge. With Fudge on their side, the situation in the Wizengamot went from hopeless to a foregone conclusion. Clarise Zabini went in expecting the governing body to easily side with her, and instead she left having lost custody of her son. She wasn't happy.
Which Sirius didn't care about right now. He made his way over to Dumbledore quickly. Fudge had finally been forced to give Sirius his Wizengamot seat, not that Sirius was all that enthusiastic about it.
"I need a quick word," said Sirius.
Dumbledore nodded. "Meet me in my office."
Dumbledore's office in the Ministry was a rather barebones affair. It was really just a place for him to sit while he was awaiting a session to start to be honest. Dumbledore walked into the office moments after Sirius.
"Is there a problem with Harry?" asked Dumbledore.
"You're damn right there is a problem with Harry," said Sirius, "He's within an inch of deciding to write you off and start figuring out how to defeat You-Know-Who on his own."
"I doubt Fudge's pronouncements have been helpful in that regard," mused Dumbledore.
Indeed Fudge had been openly claiming that Dumbledore was just using Harry, and trying to drum up support to take over the Ministry.
"Give Harry a little credit," said Sirius, "He sees through Fudge. But he is still angry at you from last year, and the thing with Hermione has him livid. He also has other grievances, but he has been much less forthright about those."
"I know this has been hard on him, but there are security concerns…"
Sirius shook his head. "I think Harry has figured out that you need him more than he needs you Albus. He hasn't exactly wanted to put it that way, but he is on the edge right now. Whatever bad you think may come of meeting with Harry, I'm willing to wager a whole stack of galleons that not meeting with him would be worse."
"Though, honestly, I don't know what you are worried about," noted Sirius, "Harry's Occlumency is shockingly good for someone his age."
"Perhaps you are correct," said Dumbledore, "Perhaps I need to see to this matter myself. Tell Harry I will be by in a few days."
XXXXX
August 10th, 1995
"Hogwarts letters are here!" shouted Ginny as she poked her head into Harry and Ron's room at 12 Grimmauld place. She was gone in an instant. Harry ran downstairs. Molly and the twins were in the kitchen already, with Ginny. Hermione was already there, holding her prefect badge. Harry opened his letter, and indeed, a prefect badge was there for him as well.
Ron walked into the kitchen, still yawning. He took his letter and opened it, dumping it's contents on the table. Everyone heard a clunk as another prefect badge hit the table.
"Congratulations Ron!" said Molly excitedly, "That makes everyone in the family!"
"Hey!" said Fred, "What are we, chopped liver?"
"I'm not even old enough to be prefect," said Ginny, "Not that I'd want to."
"Oh Ginny, you are definitely going to be a prefect," said Hermione.
"Everyone else in your year is scared of you," said Harry, "Casually defeating a Death Eater in front of the entire school probably hasn't helped that any."
"I could turn it down," said Ginny.
"Oh Merlin, can you imagine Luna as prefect," said Ron.
"Mandatory hugs and wrackspurt inspections," said Hermione.
"I mean, I like hugging Luna, but that doesn't mean everyone else in Slytherin wants to," said Harry.
Sirius walked into the kitchen, yawning.
"Man, I'm tired," said Sirius, "I got a letter from Dumbledore. He's going to stop by to talk to you later today."
"Finally," said Harry.
"I think he wanted to wait until you got your prefect badge," said Sirius, "He knows it's going to be a difficult conversation. Try not to go too hard on him regarding what happened with Hermione. From what I gather, Dumbledore was only doing what Snape asked him to."
"I will try to keep that in mind," said Harry noncommittally.
XXXXX
August 14th, 1995
"Harry, it is good to see you," said Dumbledore as Harry sat down in the drawing room across from him, "Congratulations on making prefect. I will admit, I wasn't sure that it wouldn't be too much for you, with all your other problems, but you have earned it."
Harry had dressed in his casual robes. He noted that his resizing charms weren't quite cutting the mustard anymore. He'd need to get new ones soon.
"Thank you Headmaster," said Harry calmly, "We should talk more than we do, given what is going on."
"Have you seen Fudge's latest spin?" asked Dumbledore.
Harry nodded, "He's clearly trying to push us apart, which would be clever if it wasn't so transparent. If he'd tried this from the start it might even have worked."
The headmaster's face seemed to relax a bit. Harry couldn't really blame him. Fudge was proving rather intransigent on the matter of Voldemort's return. At this point reactions on both sides were starting to heat up.
"I want to start with something important," broached Harry, "Why have you refused to see me? Is it because of my connection to Voldemort?"
"That is it precisely," said Dumbledore, "Voldemort is a master Legilimens. If he were to possess you, he could attempt to read my mind through your eyes."
Harry nodded. "That's a reasonable concern, though I would argue the moment it became a possibility you should have warned me about it."
"You are correct," admitted Dumbledore, "I thought letting you know might make it more likely that Voldemort would detect it, but as it seems you already suspected it seems my efforts were wasted."
"In any case, I have greatly improved my Occlumency," said Harry, "I'll never be a master Occlumens, but I can keep small pieces of information completely hidden, and Voldemort would have to seriously exert himself to enter my mind. In fact, I would be able to drive him from my mind in short order by using counter Legilimency." Harry didn't mention that the connection between them had been severed, and he'd have to be facing Voldemort for this to happen. He would mention it if the headmaster came clean.
"Do you mind?" asked Dumbledore.
Harry wasn't thrilled with the idea of Dumbledore poking around in his head, but he realised that it was a legitimate concern. Harry gestured at the old man to go ahead. He soon felt a pressure against his mind. It intensified suddenly, but Harry's barriers held. Suddenly it stopped. As it stopped, Dumbledore seemed to grow even more relaxed.
"Very good, Harry," said Dumbledore, "I believe that you have sufficient defenses to keep Voldemort from possessing you at least. That is a large worry off of my mind."
"Now as to why you dismissed my claims about Crouch last year," said Harry, his eyes narrowing.
"I made a grave mistake," admitted Dumbledore honestly, "I believed he was Moody, largely because he refused to condemn you for being suspicious of him. Also, some of the things you were doing seemed suspicious, especially training with all the other champions. I've rarely seen such a generous act from a Slytherin." Strange. It sounded like lame justifications again. Did he not want Harry to know the real reason? Or did he not know?
"You shouldn't judge people based on their house," admonished Harry.
"No, I shouldn't," said Dumbledore, "In truth, much of what you are doing still disturbs me. You use people, Harry." The last was said accusingly.
"I do occasionally," admitted Harry, "But I try to do so in a way that doesn't conflict with their own priorities. I'm not trying to manipulate people into doing things they wouldn't do otherwise, I just give them encouragement to help me along with whatever else they were planning to do. I realize it might seem somewhat shady, but I need to protect myself and Hermione. Speaking of which…"
Dumbledore put out his hand to forestall Harry's next point. "I am aware that you are upset about how Miss Granger was treated earlier this summer. I had promised Snape I wouldn't let anyone contact you until it was safe to do so. Looking back, I should merely have insisted that they practise information security when contacting you. Refusing to allow Miss Granger into a place of safety did not sit well with me at the time, and in retrospect I wish I had not done it."
"If you do it again, it will be more than a problem," said Harry menacingly, "If she comes to harm, and I find you could have prevented it…"
"I will not let that happen," said Dumbledore, "But I wanted to speak about how you have been using Miss Lovegood."
"Luna," said Harry, "Is a very special friend. I am not using her for anything. Everything she has done for me, she has volunteered to give."
"Even her aura-reading?" asked Dumbledore.
"I only ask her about that on very rare occasions, when I have no other options," said Harry, "Only once has it been vital to my plans, and that was only after I started to suspect Crouch was impersonating Moody. Her reading of Crouch made me very suspicious."
"Yet, you encouraged her to be sorted into Slytherin," said Dumbledore.
"I… I just wanted her to have friends," said Harry, "I knew I would be her friend, and so would my friends. I thought that she'd be all alone in Ravenclaw, and it kind of broke my heart."
"Listen," said Harry, "I love Luna, just like I love Ginny or Daphne or even Blaise. I know for some reason you suspect I'm some sort of Dark Wizard coming up, but I am capable of love, whatever anyone else tells you."
"And Hermione?" asked Dumbledore.
"I love her as well, but… that's different. And none of your business," said Harry.
"I don't think you are a Dark Wizard, Harry," said Dumbledore, "Only… maybe your actions place you in a certain peril. Still, it is possible that those fears are overblown. Sometimes I almost feel..." Dumbledore trailed off, as if somehow he couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence.
Dumbledore's face suddenly brightened. "Oh, I did wish to say that I did not disapprove of you bringing Miss Greengrass here. While I will not hide that I have had my suspicions about you, as far as I'm concerned Miss Greengrass is an intelligent and loyal young woman. I would have approved of her coming here, had I been present."
"I appreciate that," said Harry.
"The question is, how far are we going to trust each other?" asked Harry, "Because we need to do so. Badly. Yet you have lied to me in the past."
"I know," said Dumbledore, "Yet there are some things that are too dangerous for too many people to know."
"But I am one of the people who needs to know!" insisted Harry, "It is obvious that Voldemort targeted me as a baby, not my parents. It is obvious that something about me scared him, even as a baby. I'm not dumb! I know I am going to play a key role in this war. You need me! And frankly, no matter what the truth is I need to know. Because not knowing scares the hell out of me."
"Harry, it isn't so simple. Even Voldemort doesn't know the full extent of his folly. Coming after you was a grave mistake, one which he doesn't know he made! If I were to tell you, he might be able to figure it out," said Dumbledore.
Harry shook his head, "I need to know that you trust me Headmaster. I need a gesture. Can you tell me what Tom Riddle's diary was? Can you tell me what you are doing to combat Voldemort now? Can you tell me how you want me to contribute to the fight? I need something!"
"I told you that I did not know what the diary was," said Dumbledore.
"And I told you that I knew you were lying," said Harry, "By which I mean I knew it! You were lying! It wasn't a guess. It was a test. And you failed it. Please, don't fail this one."
"Harry, you need to trust that I will tell you what you need to know in the proper time," insisted Dumbledore, almost as if by rote.
"If it was just me? I'd do it in a heartbeat. But it isn't just me! It is Hermione and every muggleborn! It is every pureblood labeled 'blood traitor!' Please give me something, anything to let me know that you aren't leading us down another dead end. You nearly lost in the last war. I need some assurances that this one is going better," begged Harry.
"Harry, I need you to trust me," said the headmaster. There was no force behind that demand. In a way, Harry found it pathetic. Yet it also disturbed him in a way Harry couldn't quite put his finger on.
"I need you to trust me," said Harry, "But I see for whatever reason you can't. How disappointing."
Dumbledore's face fell, "Harry…"
"No, you've made your position abundantly clear," said Harry, "We aren't enemies Headmaster, so don't think I'm going to turn on you. But it is clear that we aren't really allies either."
And with that, Harry stood. "I will see you at Hogwarts, Headmaster," Harry said before turning and walking out the door.
XXXXX
Sirius made his way into Harry's room, where both Ginny and Hermione had gathered to console Harry. Harry looked up at his godfather, hoping that he meant to keep his end of the bargain.
"I take it things went poorly," said Sirius.
"He wouldn't tell me anything," said Harry angrily.
Sirius nodded. "Well, I meant what I said. Let me into your confidence. I won't tell the headmaster a thing you don't want me too."
"Voldemort is staying alive because he created dark artifacts called horcruxes," said Ginny immediately.
"Horcruxes!" yelped Sirius, "That's very dark magic. Makes sense though. It's one of the few things that could do it."
"Three of the horcruxes have been destroyed," said Harry, "but he made four more. He only meant to make six, but he accidently turned me into a horcrux when he tried to kill me."
"What?!" demanded Sirius, his face turning to one of abject terror.
"Don't worry, I've already been cured," said Harry, "As such I actually no longer have my connection with Voldemort. But what I do have are his memories."
"We destroy the horcruxes by absorbing the magic from them," said Ginny.
"That's incredibly dangerous!" said Sirius anxiously.
"The first one we had no choice," said Ginny, "It was already about to kill me. I destroyed it that way in self-defense. Harry had to do the same with the one in his head, for obvious reasons."
"I suppose you wouldn't want to use fiendfyre on yourself," admitted Sirius.
"But the magic comes with what I would call an imprint of all of Voldemort's memories," explained Harry, "at least those memories he made up to creating the horcrux."
"So you know where all the other horcruxes are?" asked Sirius.
"Yes," said Harry, "One is at Hogwarts, another is in the Gringotts vault of Bellatrix Lestrange, and one is in the shack that Voldemort's mother lived in before she died. The last horcrux is his familiar Nagini. That one I know because I was connected to her when Voldemort resurrected himself."
"We have to be careful not to get caught going after any of the other horcruxes," said Hermione, "if we do, he might move the others."
"Wow, that's one hell of a secret," said Sirius, "Dumbledore knew you were a horcrux?"
"I'm certain of it," said Harry.
"That bastard," swore Sirius with a cold anger in jos voice.
"We're organizing a faction at Hogwarts," said Harry, "and some of the people who are helping us will be graduating this year. Once that happens, we'll need someone on the outside to help start organizing things."
"That's what you want me for," realised Sirius.
"Exactly," said Hermione.
"Count me in," said Sirius.
Harry smiled. Now things were really moving.
XXXXX
September 1st, 1995
"Did you hear!" squealed Tracey as she ran to embrace Harry and Hermione on Platform 9 and 3/4, "I'm Quidditch Captain!"
"Great!" said Harry as he hugged her.
"How was your summer in Bulgaria?" asked Hermione, as she also leaned in for a hug.
"It was fun," said Tracey, sounding a bit cagey, "Viktor was nice, but I think he just wanted me there so some of his female fans would lay off of him a bit. He was a perfect gentleman the whole time. Maybe a bit too perfect. I wouldn't have minded the odd groping or two you know?"
"So…?" asked Harry.
"We are not an item," said Tracey, "Though I do think of him rather fondly. Guess I'm still on the market."
"Harry!" shouted the voice of Luna Lovegood. She ran over and jumped onto Harry, throwing her arms around his neck. Harry just barely managed to get his arms under her so she didn't fall down. Suddenly she kissed him full on the lips.
"Uhhh," stammered Harry but suddenly Luna let go, and she turned and did the exact same thing with Hermione, then with Tracey.
"I'll see you in a bit!" she said happily as she ran onto the train.
"She seems to be less depressed," said Hermione.
"I talked to Susan and I think I found out why Luna flipped out last year," said Daphne, "Susan says that Neville has a crush on Hannah. Apparently Luna thought catching Crouch would impress him, which is why she didn't come to you with it. Failing to catch Crouch made her feel like she had nothing to offer anyone."
"If I know Luna she won't stay down for long," said Harry, "She'll figure out a way to snap back. I wouldn't be surprised if she has already."
"Harry, I'm surprised at you," said Blaise as he walked over, seemingly out of nowhere. "You had a nice handful of Luna's backside there." Blaise's voice was faux mocking.
"I was just trying to keep it from crashing into the ground," explained Harry, turning a bit red.
"Ignore Blaise," said Daphne as she also walked up, "He's been manhandling Seamus all day already."
"Seamus is my boyfriend," said Blaise proudly, "But I thought Hermione was Harry's boyfriend."
"Oh, quit it," said Hermione, giving Blaise a withering glare, "I am perfectly content with Harry's behavior."
"We'll stow our stuff with you guys," said Harry, "but we do have a prefects' meeting to get to."
"Oooh, rub it in," said Tracey.
XXXXX
Cedric Diggory was the Head Boy, and a Ravenclaw named Rebecca Larson was Head Girl, though rumour had it that she was only Head Girl because Angelina Johnson turned it down in favour of being Quidditch Captain for Gryffindor. Still, Harry knew very little about Larson. Cedric on the other hand...
"Given that You-Know-Who is back, we have to be extra vigilant this year, and make sure that students are observing curfew," said Cedric.
"According to the Minister, You-Know-Who might not be back," tried one of the seventh year Slytherin prefects.
"Well, I saw him come back, so I think we can put that one to bed," replied Harry.
"As far as I'm concerned, that settles it," said Rebecca firmly.
"I think we all need to be on the watch for purebloods bullying muggleborns as well," said Harry, "Previously it just might have been some bigotry on display, but now? It could be a sign of Death Eater sympathies."
"I agree fully," said Cedric, "I expect all of you to have a zero-tolerance policy for anti-muggle and muggleborn bullying. We must be united against this threat, and we must make it clear that anyone who acts against one of us, acts against all of us."
Most of the prefects nodded, including the sixth year Slytherin prefects.
"Fifth years have the first patrols," said Cedric, "then sixth, then seventh. I'll be here if you need me, Rebecca will be near the rear of the train."
Everyone nodded. The fifth year prefects gathered together. Ron and Parvati were the Gryffindor prefects, while Ernie and Susan were prefects for Hufflepuff and Padma and Anthony Goldstein were the prefects for Ravenclaw.
"We should let Ron and Parvati take first patrol," said Padma, "I'm sure Ron wants to get back to his girlfriend."
"I have no objections," said Harry.
"Thanks!" said Ron, as he headed out with Parvati.
Harry and Hermione had the second patrol. They only had one incident, where they found Draco, along with Crabbe and Goyle, hexing several Gryffindor second years.
"10 points from Slytherin," said Harry angrily.
"You can't take points from our own house!" objected Draco.
"Watch us!" shouted Hermione.
"That's it, Potter!" said Draco as he drew his wand. Crabbe and Goyle also went for their wands.
And with a single wave of his wand, Harry froze all three of them in place. Actually it was three quick jerks that looked like one fluid motion, but Malfoy wouldn't see that.
"Attacking a prefect? That'll be a detention," said Hermione.
"And stop bringing shame on Slytherin House!" roared Harry.
The Gryffindor second years cheered him. It felt pretty good.
Author's Note: As you can see, the story is starting to branch out a bit. There are some new elements entering into the story, like Blaise and Seamus in Ireland, though they won't really play a major role until later.
There have been a lot of chapters in this story where I was mostly doing setup and not very much has happened in them. I understand that it has been a long slow build. The next chapter is probably the last chapter we have like that. Events are accelerating, and once things start to move, things are going to move fast.
Anyway, next time, Umbridge is at Hogwarts, and she has a grudge, but it isn't against Harry.
