Chapter 40 – I Know You Got The Best Intentions
Note: Chapter Title from Katelyn Tarver's song 'You Don't Know'
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.
Now that that's out of the way, let's begin…
Last time,
"Good Morning, third years," Sirius greets with a forced smile, "I am Professor Black. Today we're going to be discussing Animagi."
Now,
"Okay, so, we've got a problem," Harry announces as he enters the Graveyard.
The others look up from the conference table where they had been comparing notes on where things are at to try and work out what in the fuck Harry's actually doing at this point.
"What is it?" Neville asks, a concerned look on his face.
"Is it about your Dad teaching here because straight up yes, that is a problem," Ginny adds earning an eye-roll from Harry.
"No, that's not what I'm talking about. Okay, so, I've destroyed three horcruxes. How many did you say there would be?" Harry asks Ginny who cringes.
"He was aiming for seven, a good number for evil deeds apparently. He'd planned out what four of them would be. We don't know what the others could be."
"I found another one of them so that's five," He says.
"Okay so, the thing is though –" Ginny begins, "– he'd planned to do this over years. Only, from the moment your Father was possessed, there were only four years before the war ended. So I went back and had a look. Now, there was Myrtle. Tom's father was murdered in 1977, you can bet that's related. But beyond that, there's no way to know which death to attribute to Voldemort specifically, and then that he made a horcrux from it. I mean it was in a war," Ginny explains. She sighs, frowning, "But you mentioned about Voldemort hiding in a forest in Albania after Godric's Hollow. I looked around there, and there was a death in 1980 that the magical community over there ruled as a magic murder but found no killer, so it's possible he'd been there before. I mean, otherwise it's a pretty random hiding spot. Still, it's a bit of a leap."
"Bertha," Severus mutters, looking up at them, "A ministry worker was holidaying in Albania a few years back, she went missing and was never found."
Harry nods, "The horcrux I found had to have been made in the last few years so it's possible."
"So in conclusion, we're fairly certain that he did succeed in creating four, and we've destroyed three, but have no guarantee that for one, there aren't more we don't know about, and two, that he isn't still making more," Draco concludes.
"Yes, however that's not the problem I was alluding to when I came in," Harry says, "Severus, you said Dumbledore had one of them."
Severus nods, then sighs, "Right, and he doesn't know how to destroy them, nor can we get it off of him."
"Is it hidden somewhere, could we just steal it?" Ron asks.
"It's a ring, and it cursed him when he touched it which means we can't touch it," Severus replies, shaking his head.
Ginny looks up with a frown, "That should be killing him, how long has he had it?"
"Months –" Severus tells her, "– and it is killing him. But he's convinced there's a way to reverse that."
"Yes but that way would require…" Ginny trails off, frowning, then she nods, a grin slowly spreading across her face. "You told him about Moony, right? About him being the mole?"
"Wait, what?" Neville asks, Luna also looking confused.
"Long story," Draco tells him, looking downtrodden as he has for the last few days since his Father was murdered. Which, fair enough, all things considered.
"Yes, I told him," Severus responds while sending a worried look to his God-Son.
"Right, well, then he has to realise he can't do that anymore. So, theoretically, he should be distracted while looking for some other way to cure himself. That could work in our favour."
Harry clasps his hands together on the table, looking to Ginny, "You assume he's not willing to die for this."
Ron tilts his head to the side, "He might be more willing to see another solution now, though, if his contingency plan has fallen apart."
"Oh, actually that reminds me, I told him you don't remember much from being under the Moral Reversal Spell and that you don't remember it being cast. Just so he doesn't go after you trying to cover up his own involvement in it," Severus explains. Harry nods gratefully. "I can ask him more about the Horcruxes. I didn't before but if I go there, now more determined than ever to stop Voldemort after he messed with my God-Son's mind and killed one of my oldest friends, he might tell me more about what he plans to do with the one he has."
Ginny looks at Harry, feeling a twinge inside her, a flinch more within Tom than within herself. She hadn't recognised it before, hadn't known how she felt it, not while he was blocked. But this is how she knew that the diadem was like the diary. Only that's not the only time she felt it. She felt it with Harry too. Only now she knows what it means, knows what it is. She stares at him, eyes drawn to his scar as she realises, more happened that night in Godric's Hollow than anyone realises.
"I might have found another Horcrux," She says in a dazed voice. Everyone looks to her in shock, she swallows harshly. "I'm looking into it. I'll let you know when I've confirmed."
"All right, good," Harry says with a nod, then he sighs, "And in the meantime, we all have to try and survive Sirius' classes…"
A shudder runs through the group. Severus rolls his eyes at them.
"Why couldn't you just teach DADA again and get Bridget to teach Potions. She ran a potions store, surely she knows what she's doing," Pansy questions.
"The last time I let someone else teach potions the castle got blown up," Severus replies snippily.
"Well yeah but we sabotaged him, he can't really be held accountable for that," Pansy points out. Everyone but the original four look at them in surprise. Pansy's eyes widen slightly, "You lot didn't know that?"
"Maybe? I don't think so. A lot's been going on," Hermione replies with a sigh. Ginny wraps an arm around her.
"Right, there's nothing more we can do tonight. Everyone get some sleep," Harry orders. The meeting breaks up, but not everyone goes to bed.
Ginny sneaks up to the Attic, quickly locating the hair samples the original group kept of themselves and a few friends, originally intended to be used in Polyjuice potions to aid in pranks. Ginny has a different purpose.
"Are you sure this will work, Tom? I mean, I thought it required blood."
"The hair holds my DNA, but it won't be potent enough to create a replica containing my memories and personality. That's exactly what we need," Tom explains.
Ginny nods, pulling off the necklace and opening the vial. "Two drops of potion, right?" Tom answers in the affirmative, so Ginny drops two drops onto the ground before closing the vial again. She puts the hair into the small puddle and steps back as a body begins to grow. Within moments, a fifteen-year-old Tom Riddle stands before her, from his eyes alone she can see he is hollow on the inside. Ginny nods, pulling her wand out and casting the ageing spell she had learnt in Transfiguration a year previous. She makes the Tom before her 34-years-old, as he should be. "All right, ready?"
"You know, I might even miss this."
Ginny rolls her eyes, "You will fucking not."
Tom chuckles in her mind, "No, I won't. But I will miss you."
Ginny smiles, "I might just miss you too."
Tom focuses on the body, pulling himself towards it as Ginny ejects him from within her mind. Tom crosses to the body before them and, for the first time in so very long, he opens his eyes. He blinks, looking around before lifting a hand.
"I…I did that, I made that choice," He says, waving his arm around a bit.
"Yes, yes you did," Ginny replies.
He laughs slightly, before hugging her. "Thank you. I…Merlin, I can never repay you."
"Be a good Father to my friend," Ginny tells him, "And, I don't know, some ice cream would be nice."
Tom laughs, nodding. "So, how are we going to get to Dumbledore without being seen?"
Ginny pulls out Harry's cloak, "Invisibility cloak."
"Where in the hell did you get that?"
"Nicked it from Harry." At his continued confusion she shrugs. "Potters, I mean, what are you going to do?"
He nods his agreement with that statement, covering himself with the cloak and following Ginny as she walks to McGonagall's quarters. She knocks on the door loudly to wake her Professor who blearily answers the door.
"Miss Weasley? What on Earth do you –"
"I need to speak with the Headmaster. It's urgent," Ginny tells her, "It's about Tom Riddle."
Minerva observes the girl for a moment before nodding and taking her to Dumbledore's office.
She leaves Ginny, and unknowingly Tom, in Albus' office before going to wake him up. The two walk out moments later.
"I hear you need to speak with me about something rather important," Dumbledore begins as he takes a seat at his desk and gestures for her to do the same.
"Yes, but, you have to promise me something," Ginny tells him, "You have to promise me that you won't freak out. You have to let me explain before doing anything else."
Albus raises an eyebrow at the girl, exchanging looks with Minerva before nodding. "Very well."
Ginny nods to herself, and then to the supposedly empty space behind her. Tom takes off the cloak, handing it to her.
"You promised not to freak out!" Ginny reminds them quickly as Dumbledore draws his wand and McGonagall opens her mouth to, well, yell, scream, she's not entirely sure. They both freeze.
"I'm not Voldemort," Tom explains, "I swear."
"When the diary possessed me years ago I tried to fight back. Ar-…Voldemort couldn't supress me, not enough, so he shoved me into the diary alongside Tom," Ginny begins explaining, shocked looks already plastered over both teachers' faces. "When Harry saved me, I pulled Tom into my mind when the piece of Voldemort in the diary was destroyed. He's no longer in anyway corrupted or possessed by it. I used the potion Salazar Slytherin made to grow a new body for Tom and pushed his mind into it."
"When Ginny said she didn't remember anything, she wasn't lying. Her mind, it felt the intrusion and repressed me within her mind, and her memories of the incident along with me, for the most part. It was only recently that that was all unlocked, only unlike five years ago, there was a way to give me my own body back again."
"Harry said the version of you within the diary was a teenager," Dumbledore states, unsure what else to address here.
Tom nods, "Ginny aged my body forward to what it should be now. But I don't remember anything past 1977."
"Then why age him?" McGonagall asks Ginny, still feeling rather understandably discombobulated.
"We've all known for a long time that Tom was possessed, that he's innocent. Most people don't know that he and Voldemort were, supposedly, the same person. I figured if I aged him forward, he could continue his life alongside those he cares about. He can't do that as a teenager." Dumbledore frowns, concerned. Ginny leans forward, looking incredibly serious considering she is all of fifteen. "Headmaster, Remus and the others, they've been trying to find a way to free Tom for almost twenty years. I found that way. Please, give them their friend back. If you explain to them that he's no longer possessed, they will welcome him back, I know it."
Dumbledore looks to Minerva before he moves around to stand in front of Tom who swallows nervously. "Let me see," He requests. Tom hesitates, obviously having an issue with letting something into his mind again. But it's the only way to convince them and he knows it. He nods, allowing the Headmaster to look into his mind. A moment later, Dumbledore withdraws and nods. He places a hand on Tom's shoulder. "You have been sorely missed, Tom."
Tom smiles, tears in his eyes as he once more realises that, finally, he truly is free.
"Mr Potter isn't going to react well to this," Minerva comments with a frown.
Ginny shakes her head, "I actually think he'll be fine. I mean, I know he's had trouble allowing his family to be close with him again, but Tom's the only one involved that hasn't lied to him or in some other way pushed him away. Despite everything, he might have the easiest time connecting with Harry."
"I still can't believe Del didn't tell me she was pregnant," Tom mutters.
"You had just killed Myrtle, I think she had fair reason to be afraid," Ginny deadpans.
"That wasn't me," Tom emphasises strongly, "And even Voldemort didn't actually intend for that to happen."
"Really?" Minerva asks as Dumbledore walks over to the floo.
"Yes, it's… a long story."
The floo activates and Severus walks through, then Sirius. Severus, of course, being a zombie, looks fine. Sirius looks like he just got dragged through the pits of hell.
"Why wake now?" Sirius asks, rubbing at his eyes. Then he spots Tom and is quite suddenly wide awake and pointing his wand at the man. Ginny steps between them.
"Now, calm down, everything's fine," McGonagall tells them, trusting that if Dumbledore is convinced after looking in his mind, then it truly is Tom.
"How in the fucking what?" Severus exclaims. Ginny snickers sightly.
"Miss Weasley found an…ingenuitive way to save him," Dumbledore explains. The two look at the girl in shock.
Ginny shrugs, "You were all busy with other things."
"It is…quite a long story. But this Tom only has memories up until 1977," Dumbledore informs them.
"Never thought I'd see the day when Sirius Black wore a three piece suit," Tom comments, looking him over. "What happened to your punk rock vibe?"
Ginny's head snaps up, "Your what now? His what now?"
"I think you can return to your dormitory now, Miss Weasley."
"Y-no! Punk Rock? Sirius went through a punk rock phase?!" Ginny all but screams as Severus herds her out the door.
"…Yeah that's not the end of that," Sirius says with a grimace before he turns back to Tom. He'd intended to glare at him, but suddenly finds his eyes filled with tears as he moves to hug the man who was once one of his closest friends.
"How much do you know about everything that's happened since then?" Severus asks with worry.
"Very little," Tom replies, "Only that Harry exists and that I've nearly killed him several times."
"Eh, a lot of people have, he'll get over it," Sirius states, face still buried in Tom's shoulder, Tom hugging him back.
"The fuck, Sirius?" Tom demands.
"He's right," Severus tells him, "And as for everything else. Well, let's see, 1977. Okay, so, turns out Mary's alive."
"Seriousl-shut up Sirius!" Sirius snickers as he steps away from his friend.
"Yes, but, pretty much everyone else is dead." Tom's mouth drops open.
"Well, Narielle and Del are alive and fine. Remus as well. Apart from that, no one else I remember you knowing particularly well is still alive, aside from us that is," Sirius expands, glaring at Severus slightly.
"Oh, and Peter!" Severus suddenly says, "But yes, even Slughorn's dead."
"Holy shit what in the hell happened?!"
"War be like that?" Sirius offers, getting a glare from almost everyone in the room. Dumbledore just drops his face into his hands with a sigh.
"Regulus?" Tom asks quietly, pain etched onto his face. Sirius looks back at him hesitantly, then shakes his head. Tom drops into the seat Ginny had been sitting in, unable to believe what he's hearing.
"If a piece of his soul was in that diary, Albus does that mean the diary was…" Minerva trails off, a hand at her chest in disbelief.
"A horcrux." Dumbledore shook his head. "I knew when Harry brought it to me five years ago that it was a different kind of magic. Powerful. But until this moment I did not realise how powerful."
"He had planned to make more," Tom reveals, "Obviously I've no idea if he did or not. But Ginny, with me inside her mind, she should have sensed something if she were near one. I mean, it's a long shot, but she might know something."
"I'm sorry, in her mind?" Sirius asks, Tom waves him off.
"If we found them, could you destroy it? Do you know how?" Dumbledore asks him, clasping his hands together carefully.
Tom shakes his head, "No, but, Harry destroyed the diary, didn't he? He can do it, apparently."
The others exchange looks, unsure what to make of the child somehow knowing how to destroy a horcrux. Of course, Severus already knew that, having seen multiple horcruxes that Harry has destroyed, though the kid still hasn't told him how he's doing it.
"The ring," Severus says, looking to Dumbledore who nods.
"My thoughts exactly."
"My mother's ring, he did do that, then?" Albus and Severus nod.
"Look, not to mimic Remus' tactical mode or anything but, Tom could have information that could help us. We should take him back to the Order," Sirius suggests.
"We can't until Peter's awake. He's got a baby, I'm inclined to let him sleep while he can," Severus reminds him, Sirius nods.
"Pettigrew has a kid?" Tom asks in surprise.
"Everybody's got kids. Well, not Nari. Or Mary, okay so not everybody has kids."
Tom rolls his eyes at Sirius before realising what he said, "Oh Merlin. You have kids?!"
Sirius stares at him awkwardly for a moment, glaring at Severus and then Minerva when he sees the amused looks on their faces.
"Why don't you all go back to bed. I'll fill him in on everything and then he can take the bed in my quarters for the night. We'll sort everything out in the morning," Severus suggests. Everyone agrees. Severus takes Tom back to his room, slowly filling him in on everything he's missed.
The five meet in Dumbledore's office again in the morning, unaware that their absence at breakfast has caused a lot of worry amongst the staff and a lot of bets among the students, mostly revolving around what stupid thing Professor Black did that they're trying to fix. Sirius looks awkwardly at Tom who rolls his eyes and huffs.
"Sirius, I'm not mad at you."
"You aren't?" He asks unsurely.
"Of course not you idiot!" Tom sighs, "When Del and I first started dating you told me to make her happy. I couldn't do that. I'm glad you did."
Sirius smiles at him, tears in his eyes again. "Nobody mention all this tearing up business to the Order, there's a whole thing going on."
"Something to do with why everyone keeps making tender heart comments?" Severus asks, Sirius nods, "Telling them as soon as I see them again."
"Fuck you too, Sev."
"I just still can't believe Lucius cheated on Narcissa again." Tom tilts his head to the side. "Except for the part that I can."
"Yeah, Narcissa was not impressed when she found out. Although, she slept with Remus to even the score a bit and then teased them both endlessly so it all worked out in the end," Severus reveals, smiling sadly. After everything they'd been through together, the years after the first war when he, Remus, Lucius, and Narcissa relied on each other so very much…it's so hard to just accept that they're both gone.
"Hang on, what?!" Sirius cries in outrage, "I'm going to kill him! Are you kidding me?!" Sirius starts stalking towards the floo, ignoring Minerva trying not to laugh.
Severus grabs his arm. "Someone's still got to tell Harry. I'll grab Peter, you go get your Son. It'll be best coming from you."
Sirius huffs, "Yes, okay good point. But I'm yelling at Remy later!" With that, Sirius walks to the Great Hall. He walks in, spotting Harry at the Main Table and walking over.
"Good morning, Professor," Harry greets, grinning cheekily.
Sirius huffs, but a fond smile is clear on his face. Then the smile fades, "Come on, we need to talk."
"Is everything okay, Dad?" Hermione asks him, Harry's grin fading too.
Sirius nods, "Yes, there's just something Harry needs to know."
Harry frowns but nods, getting up and following him out of the Hall. Sirius starts leading him back towards Dumbledore's office.
"It's about your Father."
Harry's eyes widen, then his face closes down, "I told you, I don't want anything to do wi-"
"Not him." Harry looks to Sirius in confusion. "Do you remember me telling you that if we saved Tom from Voldemort, he wouldn't be okay afterwards?" Harry nods. "Well, a version of him has been saved, but it's one from 1977. So, his memories, they end when he's fifteen. The bad that happened, he doesn't remember it. He can move on."
"Wait, hold on. My Father, he's…he's free? He's okay?" Harry asks him, Sirius nods. He'd certainly never say it out loud, but it stings a bit how Harry seems so much more excited about that than he's ever been about Sirius being around. Of course, Sirius knows that's his own fault, but he'd finally been making progress on his relationship with Harry, and now he's worried he won't view him as a parent anymore. If he even did to begin with.
"He's up there," Sirius tells him, pointing up the stairs to Dumbledore's office as he stops them at the base of the stairwell. "Now, we need your help with something. I can go up there and have them take him back to the Fortress if you don't want to see him so that we can still talk to you. But, if you want, I know that he'd really like to meet you."
Harry frowns, debating this for a moment before he nods. "I want to meet him." He's nervous, but it's not even really about Tom. It's about going back into that office considering what happened the last time. He feels almost like a child as he takes Sirius' hand, but he knows that if Dumbledore raises a wand to him, Sirius will have Harry's back instantly.
Sirius holds his hand, giving a reassuring smile as he leads him up the stairs and into the office.
"Hawwy!"
Harry looks over in surprise to see Rema Pettigrew toddling towards him. His face breaks out in a grin as he scoops her up into his arms. "Hi there, Baby Bird." Rema hugs him which makes Harry smile even wider.
"You brought Rema?" Sirius asks Peter, giving a token effort to mask the animosity in his voice.
"McGonagall requested it, something about it showing that you all trust the situation enough to have my kid in it?"
"She thinks Rema's cute," Severus throws in earning a smack on the chest from said witch.
"She is pretty cute," Tom adds.
Harry looks over, seeing his Father. He's seen him before, of course, in the Chamber of Secrets. But there's kindness in his eyes that wasn't present then, nor in the times Harry's seen Voldemort since.
"H-Hi," Harry greets awkwardly.
"Hi," Tom replies, just as awkwardly. Both wince at the awkwardness in an identical fashion which has Severus huff out a laugh. Rema suddenly blows a raspberry in Harry's face. Having spent more time with Delphini lately, he doesn't even flinch, just uses his sleeve to wipe it off with an unimpressed but resigned look on his face.
"Well, we're not needed anymore so, I think we'll head back," Peter tells the others, taking Rema from Harry and stepping back through the floo.
"So, Del will be glad to see you," Harry states after shuffling uncertainly on his feet for a few moments.
Tom's face lights up at the mention of her, "I hope so."
Everything is silent for a few moments before Severus clears his throat, "Yes, well, I have a class to teach and it promises to be significantly less painful than this conversation. Also, Harry, Lillie and her parents have returned to India, they asked me to let you know they'll be keeping in touch."
Harry nods to him. Severus leaves the room, followed by McGonagall who also has a class to teach.
"Don't you have Little Benni's class this morning?" Harry asks Sirius who shakes his head.
"I cancelled the class."
"Why?"
"Because my kid needed me." Harry looks at Sirius for a moment before he hugs him. Sirius smiles, hugging Harry back.
"Little Benni, that's Remy and Sev's daughter, right? The younger one, that is," Tom checks, Sirius nods to him. "Still can't believe those two were married."
"Oh, finally, someone gets it!"
Harry shakes his head and rolls his eyes, turning to Dumbledore, "Sirius said you all needed my help with something?"
"Yes, we believe we discovered last night what exactly the Diary of Tom Riddle was, and how it had the power that it had," Dumbledore begins. Harry can't help but notice how that gave away practically nothing. "Another such object has turned up and we're hoping you can destroy it like you did the diary."
Harry shrugs, "Sure."
Dumbledore hands him the ring, wrapped in a rag. "Don't touch the object inside. It's cursed."
"Oh I know that feeling," Harry mutters as he takes the horcrux from the Headmaster. "Right, I'm gonna get this over with, I'll be right back."
"Hey, wait!" Sirius calls, "This won't hurt you will it?"
"No, it won't," Harry assures his Dad.
"So you won't be in any danger?"
"None at all."
"You're sure?"
"Yes!" Harry insists, looking irritated.
"Alright, alright," Sirius says, backing off. Harry huffs as he turns and leaves the room. "You know if you didn't keep putting yourself in harm's way I –"
"Wouldn't have to keep bringing it up. Yeah, yeah," Harry calls back as he descends the stairs.
Sirius smiles fondly before something suddenly occurs to him, "Oh my. I sound like Hope."
"Hope is parental goals," Tom tells him, Sirius nods his agreement.
Harry returns a few minutes later, putting the broken ring on the table.
"Reparo," Dumbledore casts before he hands it to Tom, "I believe this is yours."
Tom looks at it for a moment before he shakes his head, "I think I've had about enough of that family."
"You've got your own now anyway," Harry reminds him, "But for the record, your Uncle's actions are no more his fault than Voldemort's are yours."
"Which, of course, begs the question. Whose fault are they," Dumbledore adds, still puzzled as to what non-human spiritous apparition could be behind all this and why.
Harry frowns at him, though not in confusion as Dumbledore believes. "That it does."
"Would it change anything if you knew?" Tom asks him.
"Would it have changed anything?" Albus stops speaking, "No really, had you known, would it have changed anything?"
"They needed to be stopped Remus." Remus nods.
"Yes, that's what I thought."
Dumbledore frowns as his confrontation with Remus floods through his mind, he shakes his head. "Not even when it should." Albus frowns, "I'm going to go with Tom to the Fortress. I trust you'll look after young Harry?" He asks Sirius who smiles and nods.
Tom and Harry stand, Harry hugging him instantly. "I'm glad you're back, Father."
Tom hugs him tightly, "I am so glad to be with you."
"Come on," Sirius says to Harry, "Let's grab some Treacle Tart from the kitchens before class."
"Class has already started," Harry points out.
Sirius throws an arm over his shoulder as he guides him out the door, "That's totally beside the point."
Harry laughs as they go.
"Holy fucking shit, it's true!" Remus exclaims as Dumbledore and Tom enter the Fortress' main living room.
"Wolfie! Child!" Bridget chastises.
"And she's so cute!" Remus responds, booping Rema on the nose.
"Not the point."
"That's always the point."
"Good to know you haven't changed at all in almost twenty years, Remy," Tom says earning an amused smile.
"Well, it appears I was worried about that for no reason," Dumbledore mutters.
Mad-Eye nods, "You and me both."
"Very much same," Remus adds. They look at him in shock, he shrugs, "I don't always know what's going to trigger me anymore than you do. It was a possibility." Tom winces at that. "Not that I blame you, or anything!" Remus hurries to add.
Peter pats him on the arm, "Know when to stop talking, Re." Remus huffs.
Del hears the noise and walks into the room, assuming that means they're here. Her breath catches as she sees Tom. She'd believed Pete, of course she had, but seeing it is always different, especially now.
It's a moment before Tom looks over and sees her, his eyes light up, a smile gracing his features, and it's just like it used to be. Before the darkness and the corruption. He'd always looked at her this way.
"Del," He breathes.
Del stares at him for a moment, unsure what to say or do and suddenly thinking that perhaps Harry got his ability to handle emotion from her. Then she stops thinking and crosses the room, throwing her arms around him. "Tom."
Harry's working in the Graveyard that night, crossing another horcrux off the list.
"Now what to do about the snake."
"Harry."
Harry turns, seeing Bellatrix behind him and raises an eyebrow. "This is becoming a habit." Harry looks at her curiously, "Remus, he said you stopped him from giving in to Rodolphus back when they had us captured. Was that really a hallucination? Or have you been here to help him as well?"
Bellatrix smirks as she crosses her arms and leans against a wall.
Then she frowns, "A part of you needs to die, Harry. Just as it does Remy."
Harry frowns, then he sighs, "I don't know why the bloody hell that hat thought I belong in Slytherin. Considering I hear that and barely hesitate."
Bellatrix nods, "Remus has been trying to tell all the kids something for years, something very few people seem to understand. It's also never really been that important that people understand."
"Tell me," Harry requests.
"You aren't sorted by which traits you have, but by which traits you value most. The hat thought you would do well in Slytherin because of your sense of self-preservation, you've always had to keep yourself alive because no one else would. You ended up in Gryffindor not because you asked, but because your sense of justice and the courage to do what you believe to be right will forever out-weigh your need to survive." Harry looks at Bellatrix in shock. "You have always been the best of them, Harry. Don't give up now."
"You're wrong, Bella," Harry tells her, "I'm not the best, I have the best, and that's exactly how I know we'll win."
"Harry!"
Harry spins, seeing Ginny behind him. He turns back, but Bellatrix is gone. He shakes his head, pinching his nose for a moment before looking to Ginny once more. "Yeah?"
"We need to talk." Harry raises an eyebrow at her. She sits on the desk beside his chair. "It's about the horcrux I found."
"You've confirmed it?"
"It was never in doubt, I just didn't think it should be brought up in front of the others and I had something else I needed to do last night."
Harry nods, a frown on his face. "So what is it? Where is it?"
Ginny hesitates, looking more uncertain than he's ever seen her. Then she reaches out, touching his scar. "It's here."
"What are you talking about?" Harry asks, jerking back out of reach.
"I don't know how it happened, I didn't know living things could be horcruxes. But I would bet it happened that night in Godric's Hollow. It's the only time that makes sense."
Harry frowns, "The curse, it…no, it can't have done that. He didn't kill anyone that night, I did."
Ginny shakes her head, "I don't know what you mean by that, though I can guess. But Harry, I've been talking to Neville about his research. The power that fills you when you're cursed with the Killing Curse, it belongs to whoever cursed you. So if my assumption is correct and Voldemort's spell hit you and you accidentally then cast it, it was still his magic who did the killing. His soul was in pieces by that point, so he couldn't die. I think part of his soul latched itself to the only living thing around."
"Me," Harry realises, getting up and looking horrified.
"A piece of Voldemort's soul lives within you."
"H-How do we get rid of it? Do I have to die?" Harry asks, looking depressed yet determined, horrified yet willing.
"I don't think so, but my idea does risk that." Harry looks confused. Ginny clears her throat. "What the Order was talking about, with controlling the killing curse to only kill part of Professor Lupin's mind. You could do the same thing to the horcrux in you. Maybe." She shrugs, "It's all we've got without taking a Basilisk fang to your forehead and killing you as well."
Harry frowns, truly frowns. He closes his eyes, nodding resignedly. When he opens them again, it's with a steely resolve. "Then we do it now. And if it fails, if I die, you should know. The other horcrux, it's Nagini, Father's snake."
Ginny nods her understanding. "Maybe we should wait until –"
"Until what?" Harry asks, "If this doesn't work, nothing and no one can save me anyway." Ginny bites her lip but nods. "I'm going to need you to cast the spell on me to begin with. I don't know how to start it without that catalyst."
Ginny nods, "I know."
"Don't worry. And no matter what happens, it won't be your fault," Harry assures her, not wanting her to live with the kind of guilt he feels over Cedric's death.
"Avada Kedavra!"
