Happy Friday! =)

Chapter 106

Two weeks passed before the goblins notified Jasmine that they had found an illegal artifact in the vaults and that she needed to stop by her office. Ironblood had said it was paramount she come today.

She had decided to stop by after the boys finished the mind healer appointments. Usually, Fred and George would take a much needed nap, while Bill and Charlie would either work on school work or read a book. Euphemia and Monty were with them since Sirius was officially quitting the Aurors today. It was a big day all around for their little family.

When she entered the office, she saw a small pouch like bag sitting on her desk. It had a bright yellow ribbon tied into a messy lopsided bow resting on the top. She ran a few diagnostics on the bag to make sure that it wasn't cursed, and when she detected nothing, she opened it and let out a laugh at the contents inside. The goblins had left a smoldering pile of a ruined horcrux on her desk as a gift for her. Ironblood, one of her favorite goblins, left a note thanking her for her due diligence as a member of Gringotts and reporting the abomination.

Ironblood, it seemed, had a sense of humor.

It was rare to find that in a goblin.

Death was hovering over her shoulder, his power was dancing along the ruined horcrux and pulling the remaining piece of his soul out of the black magic.

"You should befriend more goblins…" Death advised as he finished taking Tom's soul fragment.

She hadn't planned on staying too long. The boys still needed her, but she had a handful of projects that required her in-office notes. Jasmine turned toward the piles of books and parchment around her office and sighed. Merlin only knew where those notes were…

As she was digging through some information on Indonesian warding someone knocked on the door. With a snap of her fingers and the lock clicked and the door opened. With her rune vision she could tell it was Sirius.

She motioned for him to come in with a wave of her hand. His meeting must have just finished. He walked in and approached her from the left.

"Jasmine-" he began to say, reaching a hand out to touch her, but before he could get any closer Jasmine had her wand out. She hit him with a silent, but powerful, stunning spell. He was blasted backwards into the wall. A shower of books pelted him to add insult to injury. She pulled her knife out as she squatted down next to him. The blade was a hair's breadth from his jugular to keep him from moving.

She conjured her patronus with a practiced motion. "Bella, we have someone imitating the Heir to the House of Black in my office."

It was Bella's job to deal with threats to the family.

So, while the stunner was still affecting the intruder, Jasmine went into her desk drawer and pulled out manacles that the goblins had given her to deal with contract breakers.

Jasmine tipped the imposters head with her flat end of her knife after she secured the manacles. "Now, who are you? Because you certainly aren't Sirius."

Jasmine's would be kidnapper helplessly wiggled around on the floor after she had bound and them. The manacles had special enchantments to bind the wearers magical core. They were Auror grade, so she wasn't concerned that the imposter would be able to break out any time soon. She rolled their left sleeve up, there was nothing there, but that would change. Jasmine wanted proof of that they were in fact a Death Eater. It was always one of the first things that appeared after polyjuice started to wear off. Magic as dark as the mark doesn't take kindly to being hidden.

The imposter spat at her from the floor still using her partner's face. She hoped the polyjuice they were using wore off soon. This was more disturbing than she needed her morning to be. Jasmine circled the imitation of Sirius. Her back was to the still open door, blocking their near impossible escape. Jasmine wasn't one to let her prey get away. "Which traitor are you, hmm? I have intel that you're an order member…how will they take it when you're exposed?"

The imposter continued to pull at their restraints and Jasmine rolled her eyes. After a few moments of helpless struggling the imposter went limp on the floor. "What gave me away. I only said one word to you." They asked the timber of their voice changing slightly. It seemed the potion was wearing off.

Thank Merlin for low quality Polyjuice.

She smirked at the question. The answer was far too obvious. "The one word was enough to tell me you weren't Sirius Black."

The imposter hissed and Jasmine's good eye narrowed on their arm.

A large patch of inflamed red skin began to appear where Jasmine assumed the dark mark had been hidden. The imposter started to thrash and moan as the mark returned.

"So, you are one of Tom's little minions. He must think you're capable if he thought you could capture me," she taunted as the imposter's hair started to change from Sirius's dark curly locks to a familiar dull mousy brown.

And she had given this rat a second chance and he still betrayed them all.

Traitorous bastard.

The imposter's face began to bubble up and start to morph back.

"Our Lord will have you in whatever way he wants when all of this is over!"

"He'll have me? He can't even capture me."

"Capture you? Who said anything about this useless pawn capturing you," a familiar voice mocked from the doorway.

Jasmine turned just in time to see Marlene standing in her office's doorway. Her hand was on the knob. A sinister grin was contorting her face into something ugly. It wasn't a look Jasmine had ever seen on her, and she had fought with Marlene for years.

"McKinnon? What are you even doing here?" Had she sided with Voldemort? Jasmine hadn't suspected Marlene as the second traitor. If she turned traitor over Sirius not dating her Jasmine was going to lose it.

Honestly, she thought that it had been Brightbark that was the second traitor. He seemed like enough of an ass to sell out the Order just to get Jasmine and any one he considered dark killed.

Marlene's eyes flashed a dark red and her manicured hands traced a very familiar chain along her collarbone.

The locket.

Marlene was possessed. Her voice barely sounded like her own as she spoke. "Well, I'm just here to lock you in. I can't take over the ministry if you're getting in the way. Your wards are formidable, but they can be exploited. Have fun in your new cage." Tom said through Marlene and Jasmine ran towards her door, but it was too late.

It slammed shut right as she reached the knob.

The metal was cold in her hands as she attempted to twist it. The damn thing wouldn't budge. She turned her attention back to Peter, who had completely transformed back into himself. He was panting and groaning and pawing at his face. Jasmine stalked up to him to demand an explanation, but found her answer carved along Peter's jaw.

There were runes burned into Peter's flesh. They were still raw and blistered, but their intention was clear.

Tom was using blood infused runes to force Jasmine's wards to imprison her instead of expelling unwanted guests. It was almost similar to the way the Wizengamot chamber had locked down all of those years ago.

Her gaze turned towards her second office, but there was no way that her floo worked, the wards would prevent that.

All basic magical travel methods would be moot.

Jasmine ran a hand through her hair and took a deep breath. She could figure this out. Leaving was going to be a bit more involved now, but not impossible. She still had her magic. She'd need to get a message out to Theo. They needed to torch the other horcruxes.

The real problem was Marlene, she had the last one.

How long had Voldemort been controlling her? It takes time to foster that kind of possession with a horcrux.

Jasmine tugged on the charmed earrings that Theo made for her and felt the magic connect them. She didn't feel Blaise across the pond, but he may not be wearing his pair. "Tom is making his move. Destroy the remaining horcruxes and secure the boys."

It took a moment, but Theo responded. "And what will you be up to while I do that?"

Did he not trust her to take care of herself? "Destroying the final one. Tom is about to try and take over the Ministry of Magic by force."

She could almost hear his eyes rolling from here. "And here I thought he was being more cautious this time around."

Tom had been more cautious this time around, but they had finally reached a critical point. He lost his werewolf army, his bills weren't passing and the Malfoy Family was brining the international wizarding community into Britain. Not to mention that half the Weasley Family survived.

"Well, he thinks he has me locked in my office. He's probably going to be attempting major political assassinations, so Tom Riddle can step in and somehow save the day and sway public opinion."

A moment later, the office shook, pictures unsecured by magic fell off the walls. A few pieces of parchment rolled to the floor.

"I'll destroy the horcruxes and make sure the boys are safe, but then I'm coming to fight. You need as much help as you can get."

The connection severed.

Theo wasn't wrong and she felt Death's presence fill the room for a brief moment before another tremor went through the room.

She wasn't going to let Tom get away with this. Jasmine cast a strong sleeping spell on Peter, she wished she had time to interrogate him. The slimy traitor deserved to have Jasmine tear him apart. Her animagus form would come in handy here. There was no need for apparition when she could just flash from one place to another. Runes couldn't block this. It was something Jasmine had worked into their own wards in case they were ever turned against her.

It was bold of Voldemort to assume she hadn't thought of that before locking her in her office.

Jasmine closed her eyes, took a deep breath and felt fire consume her.

When she opened them again she was on the other side of her door, though she was far closer to the ground than she had been a few moments prior. It wasn't often she got to spend time in her animagus form. It was far too conspicuous and if people knew what she could turn into, she'd be even more talked about than she already was. Hell, the Black Family probably would have pushed Sirius to marry her more relentlessly if they knew.

It was very rare for someone to be able to turn into a magical creature. Honestly, it was so rare it was almost unheard of. Lady Magic had given her this ability and through her various lives she earned the right to have this form.

Jasmine Peverell rose from the ashes of the nine previous lives of Harriet Potter.

So, she stretched her crimson wings and readied herself to go after Marlene. She had her horcrux hunting charm in her beak. It never disappeared with her clothing, but it was made by Blaise and Theo. They played around with American magic and Merlin only knew what they did with it. Her ruby feathers sparked as she let out a quiet trill.

The charm pulsed as it latched onto the remaining horcrux.

It was time to hunt.

As a phoenix traveling was quick and easy, even when there were battles raging down below.

It was obvious that the Ministry was under attack. The various explosions and flashes of spell fire were proof enough. Tom was attempting a coup, that much was for certain. Though, Jasmine wasn't sure if he had enough support within the government to pull it off. He had greased a few pockets, threatened quite a few others, but the Black Family was still in power, Dumbledore was alive and Jasmine sure as hell wasn't going to bow to him.

As she flew above she saw Order Members clashing with Death Eaters. No doubt some of her people were mixed in the fight as well. She hoped everyone stayed safe long enough for to destroy the last horcrux and maybe even save Marlene in the process.

Flashing from one point to another was nearly as easy as breathing. It wasn't the most stealth conscious approach, but it would get Jasmine where she needed to go.

She could sense the horcrux near the depths of the Department of Mysteries. Only the Black Family had access to the lower levels, at this point in time, and only those with Black blood could even open the doors without triggering the security protocols.

Marlene was more than likely setting traps for something even more sinister. Every now and again, Jasmine heard rumbling coming from the floors above. Tom was planning something and Jasmine wasn't going to let him out smart her again. She had lost too much and had come too far to let him win right before she could finally rest. Jasmine sure as hell wasn't going to let him win while he was wearing Marlene's face. That woman had made her life hell for years, and Merlin be damned, Jasmine wasn't going to lose to her now.

Jasmine focused on the horcrux and pushed herself towards it in a burst of flames. She rocketed through a handful of walls and down sixty-four floors and to land in her human form, flames flickering around the hems of her robes, the horcrux hunting charm was back around her neck, her knife was in her right hand, while her wand was in her left.

"What the hell do you think you're doing all the way down here?" Jasmine asked as she dusted off the last bit a stray ash from her robes.

The possessed Marlene lost her balance landed on her ass. The locket tumbled out of her robes to hang freely around her neck. Her crimson eyes were narrowed at Jasmine's form blocking the entrance to depths of the Department of Mysteries. "How did you get out of your cage?" Tom hissed out through Marlene. The young woman's arms were full of cheaply crafted rune stones that would function well as explosives while others were meant to stun and daze. They wouldn't work well together.

Hogwarts needed a better rune program if this was the best a Dark Lord could come up with.

Or, maybe powerful wizards should stick with what they're good at instead of dipping their toes in all magical fields and making an absolute mess.

Jasmine grinned at the question and almost traceable fear in Marlene's voice. "Did you think I wouldn't have a way to escape my own wards? I don't delude myself and think I'm infallible. Only idiots do things like that. Now, you didn't answer my question. What are you doing in the depth of the Department of Mysteries? If you even touch the door behind me you could die. It doesn't matter if you think your immortal."

"I am immortal, you stupid girl!"

Tom dropped the rune stones to the ground and drew Marlene's wand. It seemed that Jasmine struck a nerve mentioning his immortality or soon to be the lack of. The stones bounced and rolled across the tiled floor and did absolutely nothing.

Poor craftmanship would do that. Jasmine's stones would at least break on impact. They would have destroyed half the room by now.

Death was nearly vibrating with excitement around her. She could feel the deity's cloak brushing her shoulder as she pulled out her knife.

Stabbing something sounded like a fantastic plan right about now.

"Why Marlene? How long have you been possessing her?"

Tom smirked, "She's been mine on and off for nearly three years. I noticed her at the graduation. She looked at you with such loathing, I had to have her for myself. Ms. McKinnon wasn't nearly as impressive as I hoped, but she's adequate."

He had been slowly taking over her life for three years? Ginny had lost herself to the diary within months. Then again, the diary had half of Tom's soul, this was this third horcrux. He more than likely couldn't possess anyone with a horcrux made after this one.

"You decided to possess her because she didn't like me? A lot of people don't like me. There had to be more than that."

He snorted. "Yes, well, she was close to many different light families. She was the lovely lady that gave me the location of the Weasley Family. Seeing you at that meeting was enough of an incentive to destroy their home and family. I hope that your little protégé knows that I only targeted them since you were his teacher. You killed his family, Peverell. How does that make you feel?"

Jasmine gritted her teeth, so that was why they were targeted so out of the blue. Tom was truly a petty bastard. She wasn't going to be the one to cast the first spell. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

"You do realize that you're the one that ordered the attack, and reveled in killing a pureblood family. You're also illegally possessing a young woman and making her commit all kinds of crimes. I don't see how any of this is my fault."

He scoffed and twirled a finger through Marlene's hair, tugging at it to the point it looked painful. "So much of this suffering is your fault. If you would just side with me we could end this pointless war. Together we could take over the Ministry and irradicate Dumbledore, but instead you fight both of us at every turn. Therefore, you must be punished. And Death shall be your teacher."

Jasmine had to resist laughing at that sentence. Death had been teaching her more than Tom Riddle ever could.

"Death has taught me many lessons over the years, but do you truly think you outsmarted Death with your horcruxes?"

For a moment Tom is silent, his gaze drifts towards the locket and then back to Jasmine, who has her dagger raised and ready.

Marlene smirks at her weapon, her wand was still trained on Jasmine. She could feel the horcruxes power pulsing through the locket. The black magic was oozing into Marlene's very being and Jasmine hoped it wasn't too late to save her.

"I think that Death fears me. I have created a full proof way to live forever. Death can't take me if I can never truly die. You can't destroy my locket with a mere dagger and a wand. You can't beat me, Peverell. I am Lord Voldemort."

Death snarled from over her shoulder. "The others have burned. Destroy the last soul vessel."

She could feel the indignation from the incorporeal being and the hunger Death had for Tom's soul. Jasmine rolled her eyes. "Death fears no one, Thomas Riddle. Are you really going to fight me using the body of my old schoolmate?"

Tom gave her no answer as he began to fling spells at her. Jasmine deftly dove and weaved between jets of light. All the spells were dark in nature, some were pure black magic. There was a large variation of cutting and severing hexes, the killing curse flew by a few times and then there were some odd purple curses that caused the ground behind her to melt on contact.

Though, Tom's spell work could use a bit of work and more variety. She was fighting against a horcrux of him at a much younger age. She supposed she couldn't expect too much more than this.

It was time that she finished this.

And the final battle as begun! The traitors have been revealed! Next chapter will be the fight against possessed Marlene. Warning, the next chapter is going to be graphically gory. I will put another warning before the start of that chapter.

So, I finished the first drafts of the remaining chapters. I now only need to edit the chapters out on Fridays. I can't believe after three and a half years I finished writing it.

Thank you for the favorites, reviews and follows.

I should be able to post another chapter next week. =)

See you soon,
Animerocker