Chamonix, France
November 13, 2006
"I could get used to this," Ginny noted as she bit into her omelet, taking in the breathtaking view of the Alps. A permanent heating charm warmed them while the brisk air blew her hair back and forth.
"Yes, it's beautiful," Harry deadpanned. "But it would be nice if we could get on with what we came here for."
"You know Harry, he's quite old, maybe he's not quite all there," Ginny whispered to him. Harry didn't buy it; Dumbledore seemed to play the doting old man only when it suited him. Harry was thus far unimpressed and would prefer he just tell them what he knew so they could find the Horcruxes and destroy them already!
Harry and Ginny had been exploring the chateau for the past two days. They had been assigned their own rooms on opposite ends of the house, with Dumbledore giving them a stern lecture about propriety. Harry was fairly certain the old man thought they were teenagers, but had been too dumbfounded to address it at the time.
They had encountered a magical kitchen, looked around a small but seemingly endless library, and spent an extensive amount of time poking at the various baubles in the living room.
Otherwise, it seemed most of the chateau was off limits to the pair. They had gone on a walk, hoping to discern how far they were from neighbors or find some sort of civilization, but it appeared the ski village was long abandoned. Dumbledore himself was absent most of the past two days, claiming he needed to 'prepare.' Harry had mumbled to Ginny later that the old wizard had the past 25 years to prepare.
"Oh wonderful!" Harry whipped his head to see Dumbledore, his hands clasped together in joy and giving them a very patronizing smile. "You have eaten! Are you ready to get started?"
Harry gave Ginny a pointed look.
"Yes," Harry responded, "that would be excellent."
"Very good." Dumbledore gestured for them to follow, and he brought them to a hidden chamber that looked to be a mix of a classroom and a library with a small space Harry assumed was used for dueling. With a wave of his hand, Dumbledore conjured a table and two chairs, gesturing for Harry and Ginny to take a seat. Harry sat down, flashing back to secondary school and was momentarily worried he forgot to do his homework.
"First things first," Dumbledore began, "what do you all know of Lord Voldemort?"
"He's mad," Harry responded.
Dumbledore furrowed his brows, appearing thoughtful. "Perhaps. Anything else?"
"No," Ginny confirmed, speaking slowly. "That's why we're here."
"Yes, of course," Dumbledore agreed. "I have dedicated substantial time and resources into learning what I could about Voldemort since he first rose to power in the 1970s – as I'm sure you both are aware, a person can only be defeated if they are known. I believe we can only identify and locate the Horcruxes by evaluating Voldemort's life." He smiled indulgently at them.
"Sir?" Harry asked, "If you have been working to defeat him since the 70s, how come no one has seen or heard from you since 1981?"
"An excellent question, Harry." Dumbledore's smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "Once I learned of the prophecy, I realized there was nothing I could do except to support the Chosen in their ventures."
"Isn't that a good way to invite a self-fulfilling prophecy?" Ginny asked, eyebrows drawn.
"Dear–" he looked down on her, his eyes peering at her above his glasses, which had fallen to the tip of his nose, "–when you have been around as long as I have, you grow to appreciate and respect a prophecy."
Harry could do nothing but blink a few times. "Alright, so please, tell us about Voldemort."
"Voldemort was born Tom Riddle." He paused expectantly, waiting for some sort of reaction and was clearly disappointed by their blank stares. "What is noteworthy about Tom Riddle, is that he is a direct descendent of Salazar Slytherin, through his mother. His father was, in fact, a Muggle."
"Who is Salazar Slytherin?" Ginny asked, racking her mind.
"Oh dear." Dumbledore frowned. "I've forgotten you children don't learn about Hogwarts." And so Harry and Ginny sat through what could only be described as a lesson on Hogwarts, and the origins of Tom Riddle. Dumbledore's teaching style was patronizing to say the least, but they had to admit, he truly was a wealth of knowledge on Voldemort.
"So," Harry surmised. "Voldemort is obsessed with Hogwarts – right?"
Dumbledore frowned. "That seems like a far over simplified view but, yes, in essence that's correct."
"All I mean is, you describe it as the first place he felt at home, and he was willing to stop killing if it meant he could claim Hogwarts for himself," Harry pointed out.
"An astute observation." Dumbledore smiled. "I would propose it is likely that Voldemort chose items related to Hogwarts to be Horcruxes."
"Great – we're getting somewhere." Harry pulled out a notebook. "Alright – so what kinds of objects or items should we be looking for?"
Rather than answer directly, Dumbledore handed Ginny and Harry a copy of Hogwarts, a History.
Harry looked at him, dumbfounded. "You want us to read this book?"
Dumbledore nodded. "I gave you all a primer on Tom Riddle and Hogwarts. But it's not just about identifying objects; it's about figuring out where they would be. I would recommend you start with this book and then feel free to peruse the library here; there are many volumes on the houses and the Hogwarts founders." The old man left, leaving Harry open mouthed and staring after him.
"Did he seriously just give us homework?" Harry asked.
Ginny laughed. "It appears so."
"We're supposed to be hunting and destroying Horcruxes."
"Yes, and we came to a former Professor for help. What did you expect?" Ginny pointed out.
"Well, for him to be – less eccentric."
"OK – I think I've identified an object from each house," Ginny confirmed. They had decided to divide and conquer – Ginny would read through Hogwarts, a History while Harry started skimming through the individual founders' journals and biographies, of which there were many. Some written in Old English, forcing Harry to brush up on his translation charms.
"Alright, go."
"Gryffindor apparently commissioned the Goblins to make a magic sword," Ginny started.
Harry immediately shut her down. "Yeah, it's talked about at length in his journal. I don't think that's it; supposedly one of the properties of the sword is that it will appear to 'a Gryffindor in their time of need,' so unless that's total rubbish, I don't think Voldemort would risk a piece of his soul falling into the wrong hands."
Ginny looked annoyed. "Alright. Well then, I have not been able to identify any other artifacts related to Gryffindor. Moving on to Hufflepuff – it looks like there was a cup."
"A cup?" Harry blinked. "Like the Holy Grail?"
"Well, it was only created at the time of Hogwarts' founding so no, not the Holy Grail. It is a magical cup of sorts, but how it's magical is dubious," Ginny explained.
Harry nodded and wrote down Hufflepuff – Cup, and Ginny continued, "Alright, one piece of good news is that the one Horcrux we do have appears to be Slytherin's locket. So presumably we have that taken care of."
"Once we figure out how to destroy it," Harry reminded her.
"Yes, Harry. Once that happens." Ginny grabbed at her temples. "Alright, finally, Ravenclaw. It looks like she had some sort of crown or diadem."
Harry wrote Ravenclaw – Diadem. "Alright, so theoretically we've identified three Horcruxes, one of which we've already found." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hermione theorized that he would have sought to divide his soul into seven parts, where the remaining bit in him is the seventh. In that case, there would still be three Horcruxes left to identify."
"Yay." Ginny's eyes were closed and she continued to rub at her head.
Harry frowned, walking over to her. "You alright?"
"Just – I haven't had to study like this in a long, long time," she explained, smiling softly as Harry started rubbing circles into her shoulders.
"You should try becoming a WEA representative – you get to read all sorts of painfully long bills." Harry smirked.
"I think I'll pass," Ginny mumbled softly, enjoying Harry's touch on her shoulders. "Your hands are amazing."
"I have a few other ideas for pain relief," he told her, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"Oh?" she asked, and suddenly his hands were gone and she frowned.
"Oh," she repeated as he beckoned her to stand up. She complied, watching as he took her seat and pulled her down so she was sitting on his lap, facing away from him. He returned to massaging her shoulders, before progressively moving his hands farther down, until he was pressing circles into her lower back.
She leaned back, her head tilting to the side, sighing at the sensations. However distressing it might be that they were stuck in Dumbledore's chateau until he deemed them worthy of his knowledge, being able to spend time together, away from the rest of the world, was almost worth it.
Harry kissed her exposed neck and moved his hands to her waist, tucking them inside her waistband. "Is this helping?" he whispered into her ear.
She nodded and responded reluctantly, "Shouldn't we be working?"
Harry groaned, burying his face in her neck. "You know, there's a reason I didn't go to University."
Ginny chuckled as Harry returned to massaging the knots out of her neck. "Dumbledore's teaching style is quite–"
"Patronizing?" Harry raised his eyebrows.
"Oh, right there." Ginny closed her eyes. "But yes. I think he's been alone too long."
"I know what you mean." Harry frowned. "He's obviously quite intelligent, but I feel like he's not fighting the same battles as we are. He seems solely focused on defeating Voldemort, as though it's the only thing that's important — completely ignoring the fact the future of humanity is at stake."
"I know," Ginny moaned as Harry's hands skirted back to her waist. "Is this the best place to do this?" she whispered.
Harry responded with a smirk. "I mean, I say if he's going to treat us like horny teenagers…"
November 14, 2006
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as Harry and Ginny gave him a briefing of their work from the day before. "Well done. I concur that Hufflepuff's cup and Ravenclaw's diadem are likely candidates for Voldemort's Horcruxes."
"And you couldn't have just told us this yesterday?" Harry asked, though he didn't really expect a straight answer.
"What you propose doing – identifying and destroying these Horcruxes – will take more than just knowing the answers. By understanding these items' histories and the histories of their creators, you will be in a much better position for your inevitable quest." Dumbledore smiled.
Harry blinked and heaved an exasperated sigh but chose to move on. "Alright. So, we also created a list of locations that may hold some meaning to Voldemort, based on the history you told us and generic knowledge of the magical world." Harry looked to the older wizard for acknowledgment. When Dumbledore gave a nod of approval, he continued, "He had a bit of a complex – feeling as though he didn't have a place in the wizarding world, right? So, I wouldn't be surprised if any notable wizarding establishment in the UK could potentially have a Horcrux. So far, we're thinking Gringotts, the Old Ministry of Magic, Platform 9 ¾, and Slytherin's estate – assuming it still exists."
"This is an excellent start." Dumbledore beamed at them. "I have only one humble addition – the home of Riddle's maternal mother, Merope Gaunt."
Harry looked confused. "But wouldn't that theoretically be the same as Slytherin's estate?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "Slytherin's estate, if it exists at all, has been lost to history. I would perhaps start with the others and save that for last."
"Alright." Harry nodded, looking at his notes and examining their work. "I'm thinking we go to the Old Ministry of Magic first. I would expect it to be safe – and empty."
Ginny frowned. "How will we get there?"
Dumbledore smiled. "Portkey, of course."
Harry blinked again, grinding his teeth. "So, you just make portkeys?" he asked, attempting to keep his voice neutral.
"Yes, if the situation calls for such a thing," Dumbledore explained patiently.
"Are you aware that developing portkeys without a waiver from Justice is illegal?" Harry pointed out.
Dumbledore smiled condescendingly. "I am an old man, Harry. I don't make a point to keep up with the local politics."
Harry took a deep breath; the man consistently reminded him of some of his least favorite politicians. "So do you believe anyone should be allowed to make portkeys, regardless of the law?"
"I believe that what we do here is for the greater good, and to let small regulations get in the way would be foolish." Dumbledore appeared serene and unbothered.
"Harry." Ginny turned to him. "Let's save the politics for another day and say 'thank you' for the portkey."
"Yes, thank you," Harry ground out.
London
"Have you ever been here?" Harry asked Ginny. They had just arrived at the Old Ministry of Magic atrium.
"A few times as a child – my father worked in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office." She smiled, looking a touch nostalgic. "I don't recall all that much, but I do recall this being bigger." She looked around the long abandoned empty hall. Elevator bays and fireplaces stood scattered along the edges of the hall. Signs, likely once magical but now relegated to either stillness or only the smallest of motions, indicated where the various departments were located.
"I was thinking the same thing. My dad was an Auror before the Event. I just remember this place being so chaotic. It's a bit spooky," he remarked as they walked in a circle, taking in their surroundings, their footsteps causing a perpetual echo.
"Where should we start?" Ginny asked.
"From Dumbledore's story, I would assume Voldemort would have had a fascination or desire to work for the Department of Mysteries." He shrugged, leading them to the appropriate elevator bay. Before letting Harry get in, Ginny did a quick check for the integrity of the lift. Harry's mouth quirked in amusement. "You know, you're not my bodyguard anymore."
"Old habits die hard. You're also a magnet for trouble." She smirked, beckoning him into the lift.
A soft voice asked for their location, crackling like a radio stuck between stations. They exhaled in relief when the lift started moving at a reasonable pace, though Harry clutched the return portkey between him and Ginny, just in case. 'Dep-t-ent -f -ster-s' the voice cracked as the lift came to a surprisingly gentle stop.
"Lumos," Ginny whispered as they stepped into a pitch dark room, once again forcing him to stay behind her as she evaluated their surroundings. She tensed, grabbing Harry's arm.
"We're not alone," she whispered to him.
Harry pulled his wand out, emulating the witch and turning so they stood back to back. His wand lit half the room and Harry saw what looked like old boxes and office furniture covered in a thin layer of dust. "Are you sure?" Harry responded.
"What do you see?" Ginny asked, Harry could hear her grabbing for her gun with her left hand.
"Old boxes and furniture – it looks abandoned," he whispered.
"It's an illusion," Ginny told him.
Harry was suddenly alert. "Whoever is there, show yourself!" There was only silence. "We're not looking to harm anyone, we're just looking for something."
Somehow, their wands were extinguished, and the room was completely dark once more. A single globe lit up above them, giving the appearance of a spotlight on Harry and Ginny. He heard steps to his left, which, based on his perception of the room, were impossibly far away. He and Ginny turned towards the sound, and his eyes wrinkled in confusion as he took in the older woman headed their way. Her gray hair was pulled back in a neat bun on the back of her head, her wrinkled face marked by a stern frown.
In spite of her age – Harry would have guessed she was at least 80 – she walked with strength, dark gray robes swaying and an old fashioned witch's hat perched atop her head.
"Who are you?" the woman asked, stopping a couple of meters in front of them, her wand held lightly in her right hand. In spite of having two wands and a hand gun pointed in her direction, she looked calm and confident.
Harry lowered his wand. "I'm Harry Potter, Represe– Former Representative to the WEA Parliament. This is Officer Ginny Weasley." Ginny stayed on alert, unwilling to disarm.
"And might I ask what you're doing here?" the woman continued.
Harry and Ginny shared a brief look before Harry responded, "We're looking for something."
"No one has entered the Department of Mysteries in nearly a decade," she stated.
"Then why are you here?" Harry asked.
The woman seemed to consider the question, watching Harry as if looking for something before snapping her fingers, causing the entire facility to light up. Ginny had been right; the previous scene was an illusion. What he saw now was a series of hallways, appearing endless with countless doors every couple of feet. Unlike the atrium, he could feel the dull thrum of magic throughout.
"My name is Minerva McGonagall," she told them. Ginny lowered her weapon, replacing her gun in its holster but keeping her wand steady. "I am the caretaker of the Department of Mysteries."
Harry looked confused. "But I thought the Ministry was abandoned?"
McGonagall gave a slight nod. "It was, but the Department of Mysteries contains experiments and magic that would not be – appropriate – to leave unattended."
Harry raised his eyebrows; as far as he was aware, a part of the WEA constitution required that magicals give up their independent government in order to be represented within the WEA. One of the non-magicals' greatest fears was the existence of a shadow government or other organization that attempted to subvert the WEA.
"Does the Alliance know you're here?" Harry asked.
She shrugged. "I do not know. I have never concerned myself with such things. I'm merely here because someone must be." She was stern, matter of fact, and Harry found himself much more tolerant of her than he was of Dumbledore.
"Harry," Ginny said, her eyes firmly on the older witch. "I recognize her name – she was a professor at Hogwarts under Dumbledore. He spoke very highly of her."
McGonagall's demeanor shifted instantly. "Dumbledore? He's back?" Her face softened and she took a step forward, her eyes darting between Harry and Ginny.
Harry shook his head. "Not quite – we found him, I guess. He's assisting us with a bit of a quest."
She looked disappointed. "Is that why you're here?"
"Yes," Harry said and handed her the portkey, hoping perhaps the trinket would help verify their story.
She looked at it with a wistful smile. "He always had a sweet tooth," she mumbled, "You wish to look for something?"
Harry exhaled. "Yes, we're looking for two objects. We suspect someone may have hidden one of them here. We'd like to look around for it."
McGonagall shook her head. "The Department of Mysteries is endless; if you do not know where to look, you may never find it."
Harry and Ginny shared a silent conversation before he responded, "The object we're looking for is dark in nature."
She shrugged. "We have many of those here."
Harry shook his head. "This is – different. We're looking for Horcruxes."
McGonagall's eyes went wide. "You believe someone placed a Horcrux here?"
Harry nodded. "Yes – it's a theory."
The older witch looked thoughtful for a moment. "Come with me." She beckoned them, turning on the spot and heading towards the hallway to the far right. Harry and Ginny had to jog for a moment to keep up, following the woman down the endless hallway until they came across a black door. She placed her wand on the handle and closed her eyes, mumbling a short incantation.
The door creaked open and the three walked through, the sconces along the wall lighting up in response to their movement. Shelves cluttered the walls, full of all sorts of baubles, and a table sat in the center, a cauldron atop it holding a thick liquid. Harry peeked in curiously, wondering what was brewing, before he noticed McGonagall turn her attention to an object in the back corner.
"What is it?" Ginny asked, looking wary.
"This," McGonagall responded, frowning, "is called an animameadeprehendere; it is able to discern matters of the soul. I believe we can use it to locate a Horcrux–'' she shivered reflexively, "–-if one truly was left here."
"A Horcrux detector?" Harry asked, eyes wide.
She frowned. "That is but one element of the device. But yes, we should be able to use this to detect a Horcrux." They followed her out of the room and watched as she whispered into the device and frowned.
"What is it?" Ginny asked, concerned.
"I do not believe there are any here." McGonagall looked at the device thoughtfully before continuing. "I believe, however, there is one elsewhere in London."
Harry nodded. "That's very helpful, thank you. Any chance you could narrow it down a smidge?"
The older witch shook her head. "I cannot – but I can give you this." She handed Harry the device.
His eyes went wide, surprised with her helpfulness, given their rather cold introduction. "Thank you."
She smiled. "I don't know for certain why you are here, but I can wager a guess. If you need anything else, please do let me know."