Chapter 37
The month of July passed quickly, followed by the first two weeks of August that came to the end of Harry and Emily's punishments. The two were happy with something at which they can now enjoy themselves the way they wanted to. Harry refused to say anything about what happened in the Department of Mysteries when asked what happened there. According to what his dad and uncle said they would need to prepare for what comes next, Jack was also aware of the situation and sympathized with them. He also felt that the burden Harry held was too much for someone his age should have to deal with.
On the other hand, Severus was quite vocal in his displeasure about Dumbledore knowing about this the whole time and never said a thing. Greatest wizard of all time, his arse! When it came around to Harry's birthday, he was glad that his closest friends could be present, even Miwa, who got permission to come. He was given a variety of gifts that people knew he liked.
Not only that, he and Miwa received their O.W.L. grades that same day and were surprised with what they made. Their scores were exceptionally high, something the adults were pleased with. Now they just had to wait for the others to arrive. Severus placed a few calls to the people they explicitly trusted as a meeting was to happen within the next half-hour. When his son has been at Hogwarts, he has faced the Dark Lord twice, as such circumstances have now forced his hands. Both he and Arcturus were now positive the Dark Lord took precautions to ensure his immortality and used various rituals to make himself powerful. That was only one of the issues they had. The second was Albus Dumbledore.
Arcturus and Severus realized that Dumbledore knew more about Voldemort than he let on and was just as responsible for his creation. The latter never trusted him because he was always able to see past his grandfather's persona. However, he was unaware of how far he was willing to go to accomplish his goals. That alone made him skeptical about what the old man was plotting behind closed doors. Not only that, but he was also perfectly willing to brush things aside and use people to his own ends. Only after they served their purpose for him did he toss them away like some broken toy. While Severus and the boy godfather still had hatred toward each other, they agreed to be neutral for Harry's sake.
At the moment, the Blacks, Stevensons, Harry, Severus, and the Kawadas were waiting in the other guest's main room to arrive. When they heard a knock on the door, Harry sent three of the house elves to let them in. The next thing to happen was the floo activated with Ragnok and Griphook coming through. Harry took out his wand and conjured two highchairs for them, which they happily accepted. His attention was drawn back to the entrance where he saw that his house-elves have completed their inspections of both Professors Yoshi and Yamamoto. The elves then inspected the goblins for anything, and after a few minutes, they said they were clean.
Now all they had to do was wait for two more.
(0^0)
Daphne had just finished practicing her dueling skills on a set of level 4 training dummies and was completely drained at Greengrass manor. A few days ago, she had gotten home from the International Dueling tournament held in Ireland this year. While she didn't win, she learned two things. One: that Harry had been taking it easy on her whenever they trained together. Two: that Kawada girl was really a demon with a blade. Daphne knew she was good but didn't expect her to be that good. She was just lucky that they weren't using any real blades, or she would have ended up with a lot of cuts on her body. During the sword division for her group, it ended in a tie between Harry and Kawada. When it came to the magic division, she made it to the semi-finals, and her opponent was Harry. Daphne worked so hard in her martial magic and amazed the crowd with her level of skills. That came to an end when she was defeated by Harry. She was aware that he be difficult to beat but never expected him to outclass her by a wide margin. He was in a league of his own, with only Kawada able to more or less be his equal.
After the tournament, she made a vow to try and surpass Kawada. That girl was a demon with both sword and wand, and the way she dueled Harry was a wake-up call that she was outclassed. Her mind drifted back to when they briefly dueled at the I.C.W., Kawada was only toying with her at the time. Daphne briefly wondered just how powerful the girl was; those thoughts followed her all the way to the shower. Taking off her clothes, she stepped into the shower and cleaned herself off while simultaneously thinking of how she would beat her. Her thoughts sometimes drifted to Harry. She didn't know why, but she missed his company a lot. During the second semester, she started liking him much more than just as a friend but was unsure what he thought about her. In their time together, she got to see the real Harry. Underneath his cold and hard shell, he was a good person who wanted to protect those that were scared and alone.
It didn't matter that he was the heir to some prominent families. He was him. He never acted like the other spoiled stuck up rich kids who only wanted to bolster their reputation. No, Harry was different. She spent the entire time debating, and after fifteen minutes, she stepped out of the shower, dried off, and put on some comfortable clothes. Her attire is composed of blue jeans and a sleeveless blue top. Arriving at the bottom of the staircase, she saw that he mother was braiding Astoria's hair; looking at the door, she saw that her dad had just returned from a meeting.
"Hello, Daphne," Cyrus said as he approached.
"Hi, daddy," she said as he placed a kiss on her head and went to go do the same to Astoria and place a kiss on her mother's cheek.
Roxanne turned her attention away from Astoria to her husband. "How was the meeting today?" she asked.
Cyrus plopped on the couch next to her. "Boring for the most part. Many of them were having a hard time debating what to do, should another incident like this year happen again."
Daphne watched as her parents talked, then Iroh came in and barked to announce his presence, then went to her. Scratching behind one of his ears, she noticed that he was almost the same size as Sirius was. He was quickly growing from that puppy she had at Christmas. Daphne then turned back to her parents "hey mom, dad can I have my friends over?"
Her mom turned in her direction. "Go ahead, honey!"
Daphne was thinking of what she and her friends could do. Blaise was in Italy with his family and wouldn't be back until next week. So, that left Tracey and Harry. She was pulled out of her thoughts when her father spoke.
"Sorry, dear, but Harry cannot come today."
She couldn't help but feel a bit sad inside. "Why not?" she asked her father.
"Severus called me earlier, saying that he and Harry would have a meeting," Cyrus replied.
Astoria was the next to speak as she wanted to have fun with Emily. "What about Emily! Can't she come over?" She and Emily had quickly become friends due to their penchants for causing mischief.
Cyrus just shook his head. "She's needed for the meeting too," he said.
"So, that means only Tracey can come over," Roxanne said. "Did Severus say what the meeting was about?" she asked as she finished braiding her youngest daughter's hair.
Her husband just let out a breath "the only thing he said was that it was important," he said in a calm voice.
Roxanne suddenly got an idea "then we can make it a girls' day out!" She then turned to her oldest daughter, "give Isabella and Tracey a call and see if they want to come over. she and I were already planning on having a girl's day out. Why not have our daughter come with us" she said in a firm voice.
Daphne walked over to where the crystals were and placed a call to Davis's manor. Two minutes later, Isabella's face appeared "hello, everyone," she greeted them, then turned her head to Roxanne "so Roxie, are you ready to go" she gave a knowing smile.
Roxanne smiled back. "I am, though I was thinking we can bring our daughters along to join us," she suggested.
"My thought's exactly," Isabella replied, "I was just about to ask Tracey if she wanted to join us." Then the voice of her daughter came, "did I hear my name being called?"
Isabella asked her daughter if she wanted to come with her, Roxanne, Daphne, and Astoria for a girl's excursion. Tracey squealed. "I'm in," she said.
"Hold it, young lady," her mother said, "did you finish your homework? Narrowed her eyes at Tracey.
"I finished everything after we got back from the tournament," she said.
Roxanne spoke, "so why don't you two come over and we can leave together." Isabella said she and Tracey will be over in a few minutes, agreed then shut off the crystals.
Meanwhile, Cyrus had a big smile on his face. "Hallelujah," he said with a happy face, "I get the house to myself. Sweet silence!" that earned him a glare from both his daughters and a smack in the shoulder from his wife.
"If you say that again, then you will be on the couch for the next two nights," Roxanne warned her husband, who cringed.
Cyrus remembered that he had been banished to the couch a few times, and those nights were not pleasant. He wasn't sure if this was true for other married men but wondered if their wives charmed the couches to purposefully be uncomfortable. He remembered his mother sometimes putting her husband on the couch a few times, and he would always wake up feeling stiff. The same could be said for Cameron whenever Isabella put him on the couch.
"I'll be quiet," he said bashfully. Maybe he should take a trip to the store to appease his wife.
While he was thinking, Isabella and Tracey walked came through the floo. Isabella saw Cyrus's distress and knew the expression that marred his features. She let out a short giggle before composing herself. "You ladies ready to go?"
Daphne and Astoria were immediately on their feet; they and Tracey talked about what they were going to be doing today. Roxanne kisses her husband on the cheek, and one by one, they used the floo to go to Diagon Alley. Cyrus let out a breath and relaxed on the couch when they were all gone, relishing in the silence. Though he knew he better gets something go to a shop soon.
(0^0)
Back in Potter Castle, the last two people scheduled to arrive came. The elves checked both Alex and Amelia for any listening charms before declaring that they were clean. The two took their seats in the chairs next to the couches. Harry took that moment to stand up and move to address everyone, with Byakko and Suzaku appearing next to him. "I'm glad you all could come here on such short notice. I do apologize for having you all searched, but things are becoming rather vexing. Especially after the chamber of secrets."
Taymore was the first to speak. "Hadrian, I have known you for years! And I know you never call a meeting like this without good reasons," he began. "But I have to ask why all of us must be present?"
Harry sucked in a breath. "This will be a two-fold explanation. The first consists of Dumbledore and the information she has about the previous two Dark lords. Gellert Grindelwald and Voldemort. The second will be about what lead Voldemort did to become the murdering psychopath he is today."
"You talk as if he is alive," Amelia came in, "but that is impossible. He's been dead for years," she said.
"Unfortunately, no," Harry replied in a firm voice. "He is still alive! Though he may have been defeated. It is not the same as being dead."
Everyone heard the way he spoke, and those that were unaware of what the meeting was about paled significantly. Yoshi regained his wits and spoke, "why don't you start from the beginning" he suggested.
"Then you all better get comfortable," Harry said, "because this is going to take some time and not be pleasant to hear."
When everyone got comfortable, they looked back at him, waiting to explain what was so important. Severus and Arcturus noticed his uneasiness and shot him small smiles of encouragement.
"Alright, we start with Dumbledore with what he's done to either allow them to roam free. But before that," he then summoned two house-elves, "Elena, Morty, Nora, can you three come here?" the three elves popped in front of him. "I need you three to get the portraits of my parents and grandparents and bring the pensive along with that other item from the Lord's study."
They regarded the seriousness in his tone and popped away. Returning two minutes later with what he requested, "thank you three. You may leave now," the elves popped away but not before placing the portraits on the wall and handing him the pensieve and a vial which he tossed to Arcturus.
"As some of you are already aware, Dumbledore has a strange habit of knowing more about Dark wizards than anyone should even know" Harry paused for a few minutes. "The first Dark Lord we know as Gellert Grindelwald. He and Dumbledore have a fascinating history with one another before the first war broke out. Byakko, you better explain this part."
The white tiger stepped forward "you all may not know this, but those two meat bags were old lovers and the cause of so much destruction for over twenty years. When Grindelwald" went to explain about the war that was initiated by the dark wizard and his fanatics. He explained how Dumbledore woefully did nothing and allowed his old love to go around wreaking havoc. That apparently got everyone's attention Arata, Alex, and Jack were listening with great interest. Byakko illuminated how the war got to the point on how the I.C.W. had to step in and deal with the matter "your precious leader of the light just stood back and did nothing and allowed hundreds if not thousands to be slaughtered. Only after the people were on their knees literally begging him to deal with him did he actually do something to him. But even then, the damage was already done, and many were mostly either killed or not the same."
Ichika spoke, "that is rather vexing. I do agree!" he stated, "but how is it relevant to what this meeting is about?"
Charlus growled lowly "because that murdering bastard is still alive," which earned him a slap in the back of his head courtesy of his wife for his language. The others paled significantly at his except for Arcturus, who was seething in his seat.
"That can't be true," Yoshi said in disbelief "there is no way that he could still be alive. There just can't" the death of his sister ran through his mind. There was just no way that Grindelwald could still be alive. "Dumbledore said that he defeated him" he was barely able to find his voice.
Dumbledore says a lot of things," Severus said in a silk voice, "but we think everything he spits out is half a lie.
"What do you mean," Alex asked, not in a happy mood.
"The phrase Dumbledore always seems to use 'the Greater good' that was Grindelwald's phrase," Arcturus said with disgust and anger. "As for him dealing with that swine, that is only partly true."
Jack spoke but was still pale "you're saying Dumbledore lied about killing him," he summarized.
"Yes and no," Arcturus answered. "Dumbledore did indeed defeat him, but he didn't kill him. No, only part of him is dead!"
"Alright, enough word games" Hayato stepped in "what do you know?"
"He is trying to say that Grindelwald is nothing more than a squib," Suzaku replied.
"What" he and a few others shouted.
Alex was got to his feet along with Arata and Hayato "how do you know this? Where is he?" the former asked in a serious voice.
"I believe we can explain that" Ragnok said, bringing the attention to him and Griphook. "You see, my people can always tell whether someone is alive or dead. All we need is a sample of the person's blood" he then turned to Arcturus, who handed him the vial Harry gave him.
Ragnok took the vial and took a piece of parchment out of his coat pocket. "Watch as I pour this sample of Grindelwald blood on this parchment" he poured the blood and allowed it to hit the paper. Everyone saw that the paper glowed white "you see, if it glowed red, then that would mean he is dead. If it glowed white, it would indicate that he was whole, but since it glowed white, it shows that he is alive but is unable to use his magic."
"How accurate is this" Amelia asked with concern evident in her voice. If what they said is true, then one of the worst Dark Lord's was still breathing them. That would be a huge problem. Many of the old witches and wizards who survived the war against him remembered the devastation caused.
"We are never wrong about these sort of things" Ragnok narrowed his eyes and spoke in a dangerous voice.
"Ragnok, please," Harry stepped in "understand that it was even hard for me and the others," he pointed to his dad, Arcturus, and his late grandfather, "to take in that he was alive." The Goblin king leaned back in his chair.
Yoshi spoke up, "alright, we confirmed that he is alive. However, that doesn't answer the question of where he is. He can't be in Azkaban, people would have noticed.
Arcturus replied, "that was difficult for us to find. But we managed to find out thanks to our house-elves. They found out that he is held up in Nurmengard Castle in Austria."
"Then let's go get him! We have his location" he didn't get to continue as Arcturus cut him off, "that would be good, but there is a complication."
"What kind of complication?" Arata asked.
"Dumbledore," he said groaned, "put up some advanced wards around the place, making it close to being inaccessible. The only ones that can get in or out are him and the house elves that patrol the place."
"How many are there," Karai asked. Harry answered, "six! That's how many that were reported to be in the castle."
"Would it not just be possible to have Suzaku flame you all there?" Miwa said. Everyone looked at her fervently and made her squirm in her chair a bit.
"That could work," Charlus said thoughtfully, "but how do we keep Dumbledore from finding out and the house elves from speaking?"
"I got it," Byakko roared. "Suzaku can flame me and a few others to the castle. Then we can temporarily disable the wards and get him before Dumbledore even knows we were there. As for the house-elves, they may have to work for him, but I'm pretty sure we can convince them to keep quiet or make up an excuse saying that Grindelwald died."
Arcturus, the I.C.W. officers, Arata and Hayato, were debating about the matter. They thought it was a good plan, but they needed to consider a few things before taking action.
"We will discuss this later," Hayato said in a firm voice. "For now, we need to keep our minds on the task at hand" then looked at Arcturus. "Were you able to find any more information about Dumbledore?"
The Black patriarch grunted in confirmation. "Cassiopeia and I were able to find a lot of information about what kind of man Dumbledore really is" he reached into his watch and pulled out two thick folders. "Believe me when I say that the information in these is of great interest," he gave them to Hayato.
Hayato grabbed them and stood up. "Director Bones." He used her Law Enforcement title, indicating that he was serious. "I need you, Commanders Kawada, Taymore, and Captain Stevenson, to follow me into the dining room" he leads them to the dining room. They didn't know what was in the folders, but it should be pretty important if it concerned Lord Black. The people who know Arcturus know that it's usually worth looking into when there is something of concern.
Emily and Miwa went to go stand by Harry. "This is only the tip of the iceberg, isn't it?" the latter asked hesitantly.
Harry gave a single nod. Neither Miwa nor Emily was strangers to noticing micro-expressions. Having grown up with high-ranking I.C.W. officers, they learned when something was either wrong or very troubling. And Harry's may have been subtle, but they knew that he was feeling uneasy.
Emily took his hand "how worse is it?" she asked.
Harry hesitated for a moment then answered, "enough to give even me. Nightmares!"
Emily was no stranger to what his emotions were like. She noticed that he'd been acting a few weeks differently back and could only guess whatever he learned must have really shaken him to his core. "I will always stand with you. No matter what! I will always be with you" she tightened her grip on his hand.
"As will I," Miwa said in a determined voice. "We are a family! Whatever comes the way, we stick together no matter what."
Harry felt both Byakko and Suzaku rub against his sides and then shot all four grateful nods.
Fifty-five minutes later, the five adults that went in the dining room started coming back out sporting a mixture of different expressions of intense rage, disbelief, shock, murderous, and most of all, mortification.
Cassiopeia addressed them as they were coming back. "Those were our expressions, as well," she commented. They sat back down, and Sirius put an arm around Amelia's shoulders while Karai held her husband's hand.
Amelia was going through so many emotions at the moment but recovered her rational mind. "I… Is any of that true?" she asked shakingly.
"All of it," Arcturus said in a firm voice. When he first saw the list himself, he was happy, angry, and disgusted. Those three alone said more than enough, and it had taken him a good two days to come to terms with what he read. "However, that is only the first part of what we have to say."
Amelia looked crestfallen. "I also have some information to share, but I will wait until we are done with this."
Arcturus gave her a nod and motioned for Hadrian to continue.
"What I am about to say here relates to Voldemort and Dumbledore," he began in a firm tone bringing everyone's attention back to him "for those of you who watched my battle with his younger self, he was named Tom Riddle. He rearranged the letters to say the name many others had dared to speak. I am unsure what happened at the orphanage, but apparently, he was bullied quite often, and he took all the anger and pain he received and let it consume him. It is clear that Dumbledore knew about his hatred of muggles and muggleborns; every time he requested to stay, he was sent back, which only served to add more fuel to his already burning hatred."
"No, doubt Dumbledore was aware of all his misdeeds but sat back and did nothing to curve his tongue. It eventually got to the point where he created one of the worst abominations to ever have been brought into the wizarding world… Horcruxes."
The Blacks, Hayato, Severus, and the goblins were royally pissed, some more so than others. Griphook looked like he was about to be sick. Harry quickly conjured a bucket and handed it to him. Griphook accepted it and started vomiting. The others who didn't know what the fuss was about had looks of confusion on their faces.
Arata came in, "judging by everyone's expressions. I can only assume that this 'horcrux' is terrible and highly dangerous."
Harry saw that Ragnok was about to speak and quickly cast the ear buzzing charm on Emily, to which she shot him a grateful look. "A Horcrux is among the darkest and foulest things to have ever been created. It involves a person forcefully tearing apart their souls and placing them in an object. When it happens, they are close to immortal," he said in disgust.
"Not only that," Hayato came in, "the knowledge itself is forbidden in a few magical governments. After what happened with Herpo the Foul, everything about the topic was to be destroyed. How Voldemort found out, I don't know. But it begs the questions. How is it that you even know about that abomination? And is he really dead?"
"I know for two reasons," Harry replied, "that incident in the chamber of secrets. Riddle said that his diary of his was a Horcrux. If I had to make an accurate guess, he used Myrtle Warren's death to create it. The second is when his killing curse failed to kill me a part of it latched into one of the runes my mother inscribed on me." Everyone went deathly silent and went pale as a bedsheet as he lifted up his hair to show them where it was. Even Miwa and Emily were shaken by what they heard and couldn't believe what they just heard.
Sirius hooped to his feet and shouted, "he turned you into a Horcrux!"
Harry widened his eyes "yes, but it's gone now. My elves managed to use their brand of magic to purge it out of my scar."
"You never told me about that," Miwa said, a little upset that he never told her.
"Nor me," Emily said, tightening her grip on him.
Byakko came in "that was because he didn't even know until the beginning of last month," he said. "If you want to be mad at anyone, be mad at me. Though ask yourself this, would you share something like that with anyone?" he added a low growl: Suzaku and a light trill to help.
Ichika stepped in "what I want to know is how you survived the killing curse? Also, why did he turn you into a Horcrux, to begin with?"
"I don't think that was ever his intentions," Severus said "from what we could gather thus far, he had already torn his soul apart multiple times, that left it unstable. Whatever part of the Dark Lord's soul latched onto the only living thing it could find. As for him surviving, that would be because of Hayato and Lily," he pointed to both of them.
Hayato stood up and explained how he and Lily were able to use old magic and block the curse from hitting Harry, "to put it simply. Lily created a ritual where she gives her life for her infant son, thus allowing him to live. But it was at the cost of her own life."
"If I may ask," Karai bringing the attention to her, "why would he go after the Potters, to begin with? No offense, Hadrian, but why would he target you and your parents?"
"That would be because of me," Severus stood up "when I was still an active death eater, I followed Dumbledore to the Hog's Head where I overheard him interviewing Sybil Trelawney for the post; of divination."
"That woman is nothing but a fraud," Sirius said.
"For the most part, you are right," Severus said, "but she has the blood of a seer and will sometimes get actual prophecies. I was only able to hear the first two lines before I was thrown out, but in my haste, I went to the Dark Lord and told him what I heard."
"You bastard" Sirius was about to lunge at him, but Arcturus lifted his wand and bound him in rope. "What are you doing," he asked his grandfather. "He is the reason why James and Lily are dead."
Arcturus shot a silencing charm at his grandson. "Shut your damn gob and listen, boy," he shouted. Sirius could look at Snape with utter hatred "there is more to it than what has been said. Now you are going to sit down and keep quiet until he is done. Understand?" he roared at the boy.
Sirius gave a reluctant nod. Arcturus was no fool and removed the silencing charm, then turned back to Severus "continue."
Severus spoke again, his voice was with deep guilt and shame "after I brought the information to him, he summoned one of his spies in the department of mysteries to find out who was to be born and when he chose Harry. I begged him to spare Lily's life, but I didn't trust, so I ran to Dumbledore and pleaded for him to find a way to spare their lives." Severus explained how he immediately went to Lily with the information, explained everything, and then went to Hayato for possible aid. Hayato confirmed what he said and gave whatever information he could so Lily and her family could live.
"However, this is where things get murkier," Severus resumed. "Hadrian, Byakko, and I later came to the conclusion that I was set up from the start," he said with anger in his eyes.
"What do you mean by set up?" question came from Cassie.
"Albus normally meets with people who are applying for teaching positions in his office, not in local bars. Think about it why would he meet in a deplorable pub where there were no rooms for privacy and not in his fully warded office. And then make sure someone would overhear the conversation he was having."
Cassie's silvery eyes narrowed with pure hatred. "That goat fucking bastard purposefully set them up to die."
Harry cleared his throat "that is just the tip of the iceberg. We think he never intended for me to live. You remember what happened at Sirius's trial" she gave the nod "well, the big question is why did they move to a small cottage with only a fidelius charm? Why make someone like Wormtail the secret-keeper? Dumbledore is a master legilimens, and Peter hardly had any occlumency shields."
"My guess is that he knew that Wormtail was the traitor in his midst but kept it quiet," Harry concluded.
"I'll kill him," Sirius roared in anger as he tried to reach into his pocket to retrieve his wand, only to find that it was not there.
Arcturus pulled out his grandson's wand and twirled it in his hand "looking for this," he sent a glare to him, "you should really be more careful when you leave it around."
Jack stepped in "so let me get this straight Dumbledore orchestrated this from the beginning having known that Riddle was evil and manipulated others to clean up his mess. Even when he was aware of what was going on in his little society."
Sirius paled at what the older man had said: "how do you know about the Order of Phoenix?"
"That is because of me," James said "after graduation, I was not only working as an agent of the I.C.W. but a magus to boot. My father had me infiltrate Dumbledore's organization and report what I learned about his plans."
Sirius's eyes opened wide as if they were about to bulge out of their sockets "you were a magus and sent to spy on Dumbledore from the beginning! Why didn't you ever say anything?" He had to admit that it was probably a smart move as Dumbledore probably never knew about another spy.
James continued. "My father never trusted him and always suspected that he was up to something nefarious."
Padfoot just lowered his head and silently agreed.
Severus spoke up, "this also concerns Amelia and the death of her brothers and sister-in-law" he turned to face her.
"Don't tell me," she said, barely audible; she has always suspected that Dumbledore knew something about her brothers and sister-in-law's death. However, during the aftermath of the war, he denied everything saying he didn't know anything. The last war cost her the lives of most of her family members, leaving only her father, her, and her niece Susan "you're telling me the reason why my niece became an orphan is because…" she was shaking now.
"Her parents and uncle were a part of Dumbledore's order," Severus finished for her and gave an apologetic look. Amelia now had tears streaming down her face. Arcturus removed the binding on Sirius to let him comfort her.
Griphook put the bucket down "where is the prophecy?"
"Destroyed," Harry replied, "it was originally in the Hall of prophecy at the Department of Mysteries, but we were able to remove it and replace it with a fake."
"What does it say," Miwa asked him. Harry looked at his uncle and father. The latter said, "it is your choice if you wish to share what it says." Closing his eyes, he silently debated whether to tell them.
"Before I tell you all," he began, "I am going to have to put you all under a mental fidelius," Harry stated. He saw the look on everyone's face who didn't already know about the contents of the prophecy "it has to be this way. I don't need Dumbledore to get wind of this."
Everyone silently debated about the matter for ten minutes and after exchanging a mixture of the face. They all gave the nod.
Harry used his wand and performed the enchantments over everyone in the room. The charm was created by his mother and after waving his wand and speaking the incantations. He had Byakko become the secret keeper.
"Alright, now that the charm is in place, here is what the prophecy says," Hadrian began. "The one with the power to defeat 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 his 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 defeat the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."
Everyone paled significantly and was in pure shock.
It had taken close to fifteen minutes before one of them spoke. "Merlin," Alex said, barely audible, "so that means you've been chosen."
"Yes and no," Harry answered. "While I was chosen, there were two babies born at the end of July. Neville Longbottom and I."
"What" everyone exclaimed.
Severus took that as his cue "Frank and Alice's son was born on the 30th and Harry was born the 31st.
He let that sink in as they all were sporting looks of disbelief.
Harry picked up where his dad left off, "but for whatever reason, the prick chose me, and not only was part of his soul transferred to me. I also gained some of his memories but their only fragments and, if anything, passive."
Severus stood up and placed a hand on his right shoulder "during our occlumency lessons, I placed a series of mental barriers to lock them, away in Harry's subconscious mind," he explained in his usual silk voice.
"They should have held, but after the fiasco in the chamber of secrets, they began to weaken until they were completely gone."
"This is beyond anything that I could have ever imagined," Hayato said in a gruff voice. "So, to sum up, we have one Dark Lord who is little more than a squib and being held captive in his own headquarters. The other is out roaming free, and unless we know how many he made, we will never truly be rid of him." He massaged his temples "this is one hell of a mess. Where do we go from here?"
"I may have an idea," Alex piped up, then turned to Harry. "Hadrian, what I am about to ask you is very dangerous. But is there any way that" he didn't get to finish?
"You can forget that idea, right now" Severus walked in front of Harry. "There is no way in hell that I'm allowing him to go and view that monster's memories" he stared with defiance.
"Severus, I understand your feelings," Alex shot him, and Harry sympathetic looks "no child should have this forced on them. But if Voldemort is still alive, then we need every advantage we can get to get rid of him."
"Over my dead body," Severus said in a cold voice. "I've spent more than enough time in his presence and know better than anyone what it felt like. Do you honestly think I am going to allow my son anywhere near that murdering bastard's mind? The few times I've seen the memories were twisted beyond comprehension."
Hayato halted Alex before he could say anything further "does this have anything to do with what happened a few years ago?"
"What happened a few years ago," Sirius asked with worry in his voice. Emily leaned in as the ear buzzing charm wore off.
Severus and Harry paled, the latter much more than the former. "Years ago, when Harry was nine and home for the holidays, he went to go meditate in the gardens. He accidentally viewed one too many memories from the Dark Lord, and after an hour or so, he collapsed."
"There's more to it than that, isn't it?" Karai asked gravely.
Severus "it fried his brain," he replied in a cold voice. Many of them gasped, while a few let their jaws drop. "I was just lucky that I was with him at the time, and Byakko was able to help repair his shattered mind."
"I didn't know," Alex replied guiltily.
Severus sneered at him "now do you understand why I don't want him seeing those memories" he said in a cold voice.
Harry stepped forward "the reason why you all were called today is that the situation in and outside of Hogwarts. Dumbledore and Voldemort are major problems and are more than likely to do whatever it takes to obtain their objectives. They need to be cut down," he said in a stern voice.
Alex stood up "after hearing everything that has been said today and after viewing what Dumbledore has done thus far. There is no way I am going to allow him any more free reign. He is going down," he said in a determined.
"Count me in," Ichika said along with his wife and daughter.
The rest of the Blacks agreed as they wanted revenge for all the pain Dumbledore and Voldemort have caused their family.
Amelia was the next to speak "in the memory of my siblings, I will help you in any and every way I can," she declared. The rest of them agreed to help bring an end to Dumbledore and Voldemort.
"Is there anything else?" Arata asked.
"Fortunately, yes," Ragnok said, getting their attention. The goblin king turned to Hadrian, "you should know that your status has changed and is now the heir to the House of Slytherin."
Harry did a double-take at what he said. "How is that possible? My family doesn't have any relations to Salazar Slytherin or any members of his family."
"I believe Griphook should explain," Ragnok said. Harry looked at his colleague "you see Harry after you defeated him in the chamber of secrets, you won the title of an heir from him. Therefore, you are now next in line to become the head of the house of Slytherin. There is also the chance of you becoming the Head of the House of Gryffindor."
Harry's mind was racing with this information "how?" he tentatively asked.
"All you have to do is call forth the sword of Gryffindor, pour a few drops of blood on it, and declare your heritage," he explained.
Harry sucked in a breath. "Alright, I'll give it a try. I, Hadrian James Potter scion of the House of Gryffindor, hereby summon Godric Gryffindor's sword. So, mote be it" the next moment, the sword appeared in his left hand. Taking a bite out of his finger to make it bleed, allowing a few drops of his blood to hit the blade, it started to glow, and the heir apparent ring appeared on his ring finger on his left hand.
With that done, he spoke again, "I, Hadrian James Potter, scion of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Gryffindor, I hereby swear to bring back and uphold the honor and traditions of my house. So, mote it be." This time he glowed and was enveloped in a red and gold magical aura. The House of Gryffindor family magic judges him worthy and has now declared him Lord Gryffindor. Evidence by the Lord's ring appearing on his right hand. It comprised of a gold band and red ruby with a roaring lion running through flames. There he received information about Gryffindor Castle's location and was now able to access the family magic, among other things. After that, a brown scabbard appeared on the left side with King Arthur's seal on it.
Harry sheathed the blade then turned to Ragnok, who said, "welcome back, Lord Gryffindor."
"Now that I am Lord Gryffindor," Harry began, "I need to ask something of you." Ragnok raised an eyebrow and gestured for him to speak "as I'm sure you know already, I have no love for politics. Would it be possible for either you or Griphook to sit as my proxies on the Wizengamot?"
Ragnok and Griphook stared at him comically. "What you are asking has never been done before, and I doubt many of the other members of the Wizengamot would approve."
"I don't care if they like it or not," Harry declared "if they have a problem with it, then that's their issue. What I am trying to do is reunite witches and wizards with the magical world. For far too long, we were divided, and if there is even a slim chance to fix things, then I want to go for it."
Ragnok flashed him a big smile that showed his pointed teeth. "You really are the one chosen to bring the magical world back into balance," he praised. "We will look into the matter and let you know what we find."
"Thank you, my friend," he said in gobblegook and gave a respectful bow.
He then turned to the others "there is something else that you all should be aware of. Severus, Uncle Arcturus, and I were able to ascertain the identities of three more Horcruxes Voldemort has created."
"What are they" Ichika fervently asked.
Harry responded, "the items that have belonged to three of the four founders of Hogwarts. Helga Hufflepuff's cup, Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem, and Salazar Slytherin's locket."
Amelia spoke, "he converted the founders' most treasured possessions into Horcruxes!" she exclaimed. "Do you know where they are?"
Harry shook his head. "Though I do have an idea, where one of them is."
"Lucius was one of his top lieutenants during the war, and I have a suspicion that he may have given one to the Lestranges for safekeeping," he continued. "Over the past few weeks, I've got memories of him handing something to Bellatrix and telling her to protect it with her life. If I find any more information, I'll pass it on!"
Cassie came in "you leave her to me. If she does know where it is. I'll get it out of her" she no longer considered Bellatrix to be a member of the family, and neither did Arcturus. "Is there anything else that needs to be discussed?"
"Unfortunately, I have grave news," Amelia stated, "Pettigrew has escaped Azkaban."
"What" everyone shouted in disbelief. Harry, Sirius, Arcturus, Severus, and Cassie were looking murderous. "How did he get free?" Harry asked.
Amelia resumed, "apparently, he was able to severely injure himself enough to require medical attention. The author who was on duty failed to put magical suppression cuffs around him and when they were in the medical wing. Pettigrew knocked him unconscious and was able to get out of the shackles. Her face then became hard and bit out, "not only that, but he also freed Dolohov, all the Lestranges, Travers, Rockwood, Judson, Mulcibur, and Rowle. All of which were high-security prisoners that were once imprisoned are now free. This was three days ago."
"The Auror in question has been suspended for two months without pay, pending further investigation. She then looked at Harry "and Harry, you're going to need to be careful," she warned.
"Why is that?" he asked, still angry at the fact that the person who betrayed his parents was now free.
Amelia saw the look of anger and revenge on his face "because a few of the Aurors stationed at Azkaban reported that Peter had been muttering about you and revenge."
Harry gritted his teeth before calming down a bit. "If he wants to come after me, then he better has some backup. I may have spared his life before to get Sirius free, but that was then." He pointed to her "you better hope you and your Aurors find him before I do," he pointed back to himself," because if I get my hands on him. There will be nothing to prevent me from tearing him apart." The venom in his voice let them know that he meant it
"In the meantime, you might want to release it to the public announcing the death eaters escape from Azkaban."
She understood his anger and wanted justice against those animals. Alex stood up. "I'll put an all-points bulletin around Britain and Ireland. If they're still in the country, then we'll find them."
Ichika stood up "there is no way I am letting those animals anywhere near my sovereign land," he said with angry determination.
"Alright, the meeting adjourned," Harry said, "but remember to stay vigilant. They will most likely have regained their wands and won't go down easy." Everyone nods, understanding the danger they were in; Harry, Emily, and Miwa went out to the backyard with Byakko and Suzaku following behind.
As they approached a shaded area, Harry was in deep thought, "this is a real mess" he massaged his temples.
"That's an understatement," Miwa replied downcast as they sat down under the shade. She could hardly believe what was said just a few minutes ago. It was positively one of the most shocking things that she had ever heard in her life. While she did understand why Harry didn't say anything till now but couldn't help but feel bad for him. All the pain that he went through up till now was shell-shocking, to say the least. Though looking at it from his point of view, she understood why he didn't say anything. No one should be forced to go through what he did.
Emily was sensing her brother's inner turmoil and sent whatever positive emotions she could to him. Deep down, she was terrified for him. So, she did the only things she could do to comfort him the best way she could and sing something.
For the next hour or so, she continued to sing and managed to cheer him up a bit for the most part.
(0^0)
A week had passed, and things have recently picked up. The library had been built, and many of the books had come in. Sirius took the children to view it, and they were surprised (Harry being the most) as the place had everything he wanted and more. Kids can now have a calm, quiet place to do their homework or just be themselves. It had taken more than two hours to make sure that everything was ready. When it was all mostly done, the only thing needed was the last shipment of books to arrive. The Grand opening was to happen on August 21st. When the date was released, many people could pass by, waiting to see the library's inside.
The Daily Prophet, of course, had been hounding him for days. Asking different questions on why he had a library built in the first place, among other things. Harry only told them to wait till the grand opening, and then he would answer their questions as long as Rita Skeeter was banned from attending and would not be allowed to write anything. According to Sirius, the ugly woman was livid at being denied to report or do anything and was further enraged when Jack put a restraining order on her. Thereby preventing her from going or saying anything to his family for a full year. Rita tried going to her boss and complain about the matter but was shut down as he had been warned that if he allowed her to write anything, he would be sued and have her fired.
Harry could rest easy with her effectively to check that the infamous journal columnist had a tighter leash on her. The next day Sirius took Harry to Grimmauld to see the changes he had made. When they entered the house, Sirius asked, "what do you think?"
Harry looked around in the hall "it doesn't look like the hellhole you describe it to be" he noticed that there were some snake statues around the lit house.
Sirius snorted. "Oh, believe me, this place was much worse when I was a kid. I hated this place with a passion. I lived here for sixteen years until I ran away to Potter castle. My mother's doing. The bitch wanted me to be a pureblood supremacist that hated muggle-born and anything that was below the station of the House of Black," he said in disgust.
"Wow," he said a bit dramatically, "you must have really hated your mother," he jokingly said. "Was she that bad?
"You have no idea," Sirius said with a grave expression on his face, "and it didn't help that Kreacher helped in making my time here a living hell," he said as they went into the kitchen.
Harry just raised an eyebrow "hmm. I never did meet Kreacher before. Well, look at it this way; you now have other house-elves to keep you company," he said with a grin.
"Yes, thank you for that," Sirius said. "It makes this place tolerable," he said, leaning back in his chair. "However, only a few problems remain. The biggest is my dear charming mother, calling me a disgrace and saying how I should have been a death eater."
Harry looked at him with confusion. "You talk about her as if she is still alive. I thought she was dead."
"She is thankfully dead," he said happily, "though her portrait is still on the wall. So, in a way, she is still alive with those ear-destroying vocal cords."
His godson tilted his head a bit to the right "wait, you said her portrait. What portrait?"
"The one that is facing the staircase," he said. "You didn't see her because there were curtains around her. However, I should warn you. If you accidentally make too much noise, then the curtains will fly open, and she will screech louder than a banshee. So, if you want to don't want to lose your hearing, then be as quiet as possible and don't let her hear it."
"Noted!" Harry said. "Now what about the house-elves you got. How are they settling in?"
Sirius had a big grin on his face. "Why don't you ask them yourself?" if possible, his grin became bigger. "I want all the house-elves present in this house to come here."
A collection of pops was heard, and the four house-elves appeared before him. Harry saw that they were happy except for Dobby, who was elated to see Harry again and thanked him profusely for getting him free. The second was an old severe-looking elf, who looked like he smelled something rotten. He didn't pay attention to Harry; instead looked at Sirius. "Smells like a drain and a criminal to boot, nasty old blood traitor Master has the nerve to call poor Kreacher in Mistress's house. Oh, my poor Mistress, if she knew, if she knew how far her house, what would she say to old Kreacher" he didn't get to finish.
"Kreacher, that's enough of you bile," Sirius commanded.
"What can Kreacher do for blood traitor Master? Master ran away from home and broke Mistress's heart. Now master comes back and orders Kreacher around. Master not fit to be the scum on Mistress' shoes..."
"Kreacher! I order you to stop. Now" Sirius commanded.
Kreacher stopped. He then looked at Harry with an unreadable expression before speaking. "What did master call poor creature?"
Sirius was about to snap at him again, but Hadrian intervened. "Sirius," he said, getting his godfather to look at him. "Let me talk to him" he narrowed his eyes at him. Sirius leaned back in his chair to let Harry have a crack at him. Getting up from his seat, he took a knee and leveled himself in front of the elderly house-elf. "I have only been hearing for five minutes, and I am less than pleased with the way you have behaved, Kreacher."
The elf sneered at him. "Whos be you?" he croaked.
Harry kept his eyes trained on him. "I am Hadrian Potter, grandson Charlus and Dorea Potter nee Black," he announced. Kreacher's eyes opened wide. He may have been old, but he remembered that Mistress Dorea was Lord Black's younger sister. It also helped that she was always kind and never hurt him.
"Yous be, Mistress Dorea's heir," he said, but this time he was sobbing. "poor Kreacher will be punishing himself later for angering the heir of lovely Mistress. Dorea."
"Kreacher, you will no longer inflict pain upon yourself," he said in an authoritative voice. "However, they're some rules we will be going over, and this is for everyone" he looked at the other four. Harry listed out the rules. The first was that they were not allowed to physically harm themselves in any way. If they messed up on something, then they would just get a time-out. The second was to get out of their potato sacks and dress more appropriately like Edward. The third rule was that there was to be no use of any bigotry words like mudblood or any other racist name. If they didn't like anyone, then they could sneer and shoot hateful glares at them, but that's it.
The fourth rule was if they had a problem with something or if there were any disputes, then they would speak about it with him or Sirius "also, you will all refer to me as Hadrian or Harry. None of this master business; I trust these rules are acceptable."
"Yes, Hadrian, sir," they all said. The elves seemed happy with the rules, especially Kreacher. "Then everyone, you are dismissed. Except you Kreacher, I like for you to remain" every elf returned to what they were doing, leaving Kreacher behind.
"Now," Harry began in a calm but stern voice, "Kreacher, I understand that you and Sirius do not get along. Whatever happened in the past is the past. You two may not have to like each other, but it won't hurt you two to be civil with one another." He then turned to his godfather, "Sirius, I have heard you complain time and time again about the way Kreacher is, but that ends now. You do not have to like him, but it won't kill you to give him a little respect." Harry then turned away from his chastised godfather and back to Kreacher "the same goes for you. You two may dislike each other for whatever reasons, but you both have a few things in common."
"One, you are both members of the House of Black and expected to conduct yourselves as such. Second, you both cared for Regulus," that got both of their attention, "and I believe if he were here. He is most unhappy to see you two fighting. So, can we make peace? Please!"
Sirius and Kreacher looked at each other with disgust but considered what Harry said to them. After silently debating amongst themselves until Kreacher decided to speak.
"Kreacher is willing to give bad master Siri" he then paused himself. "I mean master Sirius respect if he receives the same" he held out his hand.
Sirius took his hand and shook it, "and I agree to give the bad" he didn't get to finish as Harry kicked him in the shin that made him yelp in pain and sent a cold glare to him. "I mean, give you a chance in honor of my brother Regulus."
"For, master Regulus" Kreacher had to chock back up his tears, remembering his favorite master. He then popped away to go change into some appropriate clothes.
Sirius then looked incredulously at Harry. "I cannot believe you just did that" he was very impressed and, if not a bit surprised.
Harry just smirked at him "you're welcome. Hopefully, now, you two can behave in a civilized manner."
"But how do you know that Kreacher will comply?"
"Sirius, they're house-elves at Potter Castle and at Black Castle," Harry began. "I have spent enough time with them to know that what they mainly want is some respect. In Kreacher's case, he may be old, but have you ever thought about looking at it from his point of view? He spent a long time being mistreated by your mother and other members of your family and now believes that he has to act that way towards you and everyone else who is below the family he serves" he paused.
"As I said, whatever happened in your past, that is his and your business. However, he may have acted. You are not completely free of fault either." He finished and saw the shocked look on Sirius's face as what he said to cut into him like a knife.
Sirius didn't even know what to say. Sure, it was true that Kreacher was a right bastard to him growing up, but he also remembered that some of his actions against the elf were less than ideal. "Alright, I will try to be civil with him."
"That is all I ask," Harry said with a grin.
They then began discussing the fact that Remus Lupin would be becoming tomorrow. Harry's mood instantly changed, and he was incensed. The fourth best friend of his late father wanted an audience with them. Initially, Harry wanted to refuse, but Sirius begged to let Remus say his peace. Very reluctantly, he agreed but gave the condition that he was not supposed to set foot in Potter Castle. Sirius agreed with him and said Remus would be arriving at Grimmauld at 1 o'clock. That suited Harry as he said that he won't give the man would not receive any warm greeting from him as he had a bone to pick with Lupin. The conversation then went to the orphanages built worldwide, one being in Wiltshire, near Stonehenge. It was next to the magical ley line and mostly away from any muggle towns.
They talked for another hour before Harry said that he wanted to look around the place. Harry gave him a nod, and with that, Harry got up and went to go explore the house. Spending the next hour or so looking through the various rooms, he stopped in the drawing-room. The place looked well kept and seemed to have been recently cleaned from Harry's point of view. Checking around the room and eventually sitting down in one of the couches, he began to ponder what life must have been like for Sirius growing up in a place like this. All he knew was that he hated it because his mother had mostly made it unbearable. His father may have been cold but definitely a lot warmer than Walburga ever was. Regulus was another story.
Sirius spoke highly younger brother and said that he had amazing potential. He even explained after he ran away, his mother forbidden him from having any communications with Sirius ever again. The two brothers hugged each other and said a final goodbye. Though that was mostly on Sirius's part, he didn't want Regulus to get hurt by his mother. The next thing he heard, Regulus had but all been pressed into the service of Voldemort, once again courtesy of his mother and all but vanished a few years later. Thinking about it made Harry's stomach turn as he would do anything to protect Emily and would never abandon her. The more he thought about how Sirius and Regulus were as children, the more he began hearing a familiar cold voice that sent a shiver down his spine.
Harry hopped to his feet and used his elemental eyes to look around. His gaze stopped at a glass case; flicking his wand out, he carefully walked forward until he was inches away from it. Deciding that he was close enough, he immediately sensed the familiar magical signature in the Chamber of Secrets.
(0^0)
Sirius was drinking a glass of Firewhiskey when Arcturus, Cassiopeia, and Severus came through the floo. Rising to his feet, he welcomed them and gave Severus a polite nod, which he returned. Arcturus looked around the kitchen with disdain, the last time he was here, he was disgusted when he saw the state of the house. It may have improved now that his grandson now had four house elves to help clean the place, but he was still dissatisfied with the house as a whole.
Sirius offered them some Firewhiskey, which they accepted and summoned Kreacher to serve them some. Surprisingly, the elf that loathed him didn't say anything and vanished after serving the others. No one was more surprised than Cassiopeia, who asked why Kreacher didn't start his usual tirade about Sirius being a bad maser and wearing the uniform. Her great-nephew explained that Harry had a talk with all the house-elves and listed some rules and told him that he and Kreacher may not have to like each other, but they could be civil. He elaborated that his actions against Kreacher were no better than the treatment he received from him.
"That boy really is something," she praised.
Cassiopeia would have said more, but a slightly paled Harry walked in levitating a golden locket and a sobbing Kreacher "what is the matter?"
"I found another Horcrux," he replied, and everyone scrambled to their feet and away from the table as he lowered the locket.
"Where did you get that?" Arcturus narrowed his eyes at the familiar locket. It was a Black's family heirloom that was given to his youngest grandson.
"Ask him," Hadrian directed at Kreacher.
"Elf, how did this locket come into your possession?" Arcturus bit back.
Kreacher croaked, "before master Regulus died, he ordered Kreacher to destroy it, but no matter how hard Kreacher tried, he could never do it," he said shakingly and began sobbing again.
Harry spoke, "Kreacher look at me" the sobbing elf turned to him, "you are not in trouble. I just need you to tell us everything you remember about Regulus died and what you know about this locket. Can you do that?"
Kreacher dried his tears. "When the bad Dark Lord requested master Regulus to borrow Kreacher, he complied but told Kreacher that once he was done, then he would return home. The bad Lord then took Kreacher to a cave near the sea where he put up some enchantments and placed inferi's in the water. He then placed the locket in a crystal basin with a dangerous potion and had Kreacher test it to protect it. Kreacher complied, and after serving the bad Lord was satisfied and left Kreacher to die in the cave."
"When he was gone, Kreacher returned to master Regulus's side where Kreacher explained everything, and he nursed Kreacher back to health. Once I was better, he ordered me to take him to the cave with Inferi to destroy the abomination. Kreacher begged master Regulus not to but was insisted that it be this way and drank the potion till nothing was left. He then switched it out with his own locket with a note inside and tried to get water from the cave, but it made the Inferi started rising. Before he was dragged in, he ordered Kreacher to destroy the locket.
Cassie and Sirius were extremely pale at what they heard. Arcturus was torn between being furious, prideful, and heartbroken. To hear that his grandson did all that was a relief now he knew what really happened. This only served to make him furious for what that bastard Riddle did to his family. He only wished the boy had come to him, so this would have never happened.
Harry saw the looks of anguish on his relative's face and spoke again, "Kreacher, do you know what was said in the note, Regulus left?"
Kreacher gave a curt nod and croaked. "Kreacher does:
'To the Dark Lord
I know I will be dead long before you read this, but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more.
R.A.B.'
Now Sirius had started sobbing. Harry bowed his head a bit. "I believe I know how we can fulfill Regulus's dying wish" he then summoned the Gryffindor sword to him and removed it from its holster "everyone stands back" he was just about to speak in parseltongue but turned to Arcturus. "Uncle, you should have the honor of destroying it" he handed the sword to him, which Arcturus accepted without delay and moved forward.
"I will open it on the count of three," Harry said "one… two… three. Open," he hissed.
The next moment the locket opened, and out came a torrent of Black screeching fog. Before it could say anything, Arcturus cut him off, "this is for my grandson" eh then stabbed the locket with the sword and watched as it shrieked in pain till it was destroyed and the fog vanished. Another Horcrux was destroyed now.
Arcturus handed the sword back to his nephew "thank you, Hadrian."
Harry only said, "for our family," then sheathed the sword. Arcturus looked at him with pride before scanning the now destroyed locket for any magical residue "it's all gone. That makes the diary, locket, and the one that was in your scar destroyed."
Arcturus then took the locket and placed it in the pocket of his robes. He had a feeling that it was going to be of use and wanted to study it more later.
A/N: To summarize Harry had a meeting with some people and explained about Voldemort origin and Dumbledore's reluctance to do anything about either him or his former lover. Here they learned that Grindelwald is alive but held a prisoner in his own fortress and that Voldemort is indeed a live and created Horcruxes to ensure he could never die. Amelia learns the truth about why her niece was close to being an orphan and that Dumbledore lied about knowing anything. Harry became the new Lord Gryffindor and is one step closer to uniting the magical world.
The locket that was in Grimmauld is discovered to be a horcrux and is now destroyed. The Black's have learned what really happened to Regulus and what he did to try and end the Dark lord. Sidenote: looking back on Regulus. From what I know he was pressured into becoming a Death eater by his mother something in which he probably never wanted. Based on what I read about Walburga from her Bio page she is was a right bitch.
Next chapter: Something funny happens and shocks both Harry and Daphne making them embarrassed.
FYI: I'm still wondering how I should play Remus in this story.