The Hunt Begins

When he got back to Griffindor's common room, it was already late. He had promised Tom he would think about his offer. He sat near Ron and Hermione and pulled his books and parchments out of his schoolbag. They spent their week end advancing on their work.

Monday morning hit them like a slap. Ron and Harry arrived in the Great Hall for breakfast briefly after Hermione. Harry didn't notice immediately the paper she was trying to push under his eyes. He had slept very badly because of his scar which hadn't stopped burning during the evening. It had been very weird as, on one hand the burn was so strong it had prevented from sleeping, but on the other hand it had put him in a good mood. After his first sip of Pumpkin Juice, once he was able to distinguish the words on the paper, he understood that it was in fact a copy of the Prophet and the strange sensation of his scar made sense suddenly.

"Mass Breakout From Azakaban" He read on the front page. His heart sank in his chest as he read the names of the ten Death Eaters that had escaped. When he was done, he put the article on the table while burying his head in his hands. Voldemort was advancing. He had taken advantage of the Ministry's stubbornness to move his forces in the shadow but now he was striking in broad light.

"Ministry Fears Black Is Rallying Point For Old Death Eaters." And the worse was that Voldemort was right to do it.

He raised his head and darted his most venomous look towards the Professor's table. Umbridge was tucking in her porridge looking rather miserable. It brought him a feeling of happiness, but he knew her uneasiness would be short-lived as soon as she would receive the official propaganda from the Ministry. Then she would employ her malevolent influence on the school to make sure it spreads. He moved his gaze to the center of the table. McGonagall and Dumbledore were deep in conversation, a grave look on their face.

Harry didn't listen in class. He was processing everything. If Voldemort didn't care anymore, it meant he was enough confident in his growing power to risk being uncovered. By the end of the day, he realised something far worse. Even if Dumbledore had been genuine, Harry couldn't ask him for any help. If Voldemort was stepping out of the shadow, Hogwarts would soon become one of his first target. As they were crossing the Courtyard to go in class with Hagrid, Harry suddenly stopped.

Around him students were walking and others were chatting. Despite Umbridge's decrees many were still trying to act normal. It is only when they saw Filch or one of Umbridge's spy that they would part ways and feign nothing had happened. He let his gaze float from one student to another.

They didn't deserve the coming war. No one did.

'Harry what are you doing?' He heard Hermione ask.

He reported his attention on her friend and realised that he had froze in the middle in the Courtyard and that his classmates were looking at him weirdly.

'Oh, I'm sorry it's nothing,' he said while resuming his walk. He didn't explain anything, and Ron and Hermione followed him while glancing at each other.

Another bad news was waiting for them in Care For Magical Creature. Hagrid had been put on probation. He tried to reassure them by saying that it was better than what he had expected but it finished to ruin Harry's mood.

They were heading toward the Great Hall, and Harry noticed that the pointing and muttering he had managed to tame had been renewed. However, he could detect a difference in the tone of the students. They were curious, doubting the Prophet and by extension, the Ministry.

During dinner Harry saw Filch and Umbridge cross the Great Hall. Filch was carrying a ladder. Many students followed them out of curiosity and Ron, Hermione and Harry joined the flow.

"Teachers are hereby banned from giving students any information that is not strictly related to the subjects they are paid to teach."

Once the decree was put on the school board next to the twenty-fifth others, Umbridge turned toward the little crowd of students that had gathered and let her satisfied look lay above it. Once she spotted Harry, she put a smile on her face and left.

'That evil… Evil woman…' Whispered Hermione.

'If even the teachers are being censored,' said Ron in return, 'there is no chance we'll get any information for a long time.'

Hermione glanced at him, a bit surprised by his clairvoyance.

'Where is Harry?' She asked suddenly. Ron turned towards where his friend had stood a few minutes ago and shrugged. Harry was gone again.

He emerged in the Chamber of Secrets with a step so heavy it echoed off every walls. He arrived in front of the fountain and started to pace in front of it, glancing at Tom who was sitting calmly on its edge. Something had changed. And it was grave.

'I reckon you took a decision,' he said in a voice so peaceful it could have rivaled with Dumbledore's usual tone.

Harry stopped in front of him and handed him the Prophet front page. Tom lowered his gaze on it briefly and then looked back at Harry. His eyes were bright.

'He is on the move,' he said with a neutral voice.

Harry nodded nervously.

'This is where he is going to be the most dangerous and the most reckless,' continued Tom without blinking. 'He is still covered by the Ministry's lies and he will try to test their blindness. Each week he will do something more terrible than the week before until the Ministry acknowledges his existence.'

'You speak as if you were aware of his plan,' spat Harry.

'I have no clue about his plan' replied Tom with an appeasing voice. 'But I remember mine.' He stood up slowly. Harry noticed he was maybe a few inches taller than him. 'The Rise is the most exhilarating part.'

'A Slytherin never hesitates,' whispered Harry remembering Salazar's words. 'There is no stopping him now, isn't it?'

'There is one way,' whispered Tom. His eyes had ever been so intense.

Harry nodded and looked at the paper again. What was the point of surviving if there was no life to live?

'You would let me gather your Horcruxes and destroy them?' Asked Harry suspiciously.

'As a matter of fact, I am,' said Tom with a dark voice. 'I have created the monster who's taking it out on the World which welcomed me as their own. I might have been too blind to see it then. But I won't repeat my mistake twice.'

Harry looked at him a few seconds. Tom wasn't lying. He didn't know why, but he was convinced of it.

'I accept your offer,' he finally said in a low voice.

'You do?' Replied Tom sounding excited. He narrowed his eyes. 'Will you go all the way?' A strange smile drew on his lips. 'When the time comes, will you have what it takes to do the ultimate sacrifice?'

'Let's go find out,' replied Harry with a strong voice.

'Then I suggest we start now,' replied Tom on the same tone. He pointed toward the locket. 'With this one.'

Harry grabbed the locket and a fang from the basilisk carcass. His own snake had come back from hunting and was observing the scene.

'You'll have to open it and it will put up a fight,' warned Tom as Harry was positioning the jewel on the ground in front of him.

He took a deep breath and focused on the snake figure on the jewel's surface.

'Open,' he said in Parseltongue.

A gigantic shadow figure emerged from the locket and Harry distinguished two eyes that looked like exactly like Tom's. He felt like a hand were clutching his soul and a loud icy voice filled the room.

'Harry Potter the Boy-Who-Lived and the Boy-Who-Shall-Die. The boy abandoned by his World who spent his life seeking a family he never had. You think you can destroy me? And where do you think it will lead you? You're so hopeless, you chose to trust the one who were responsible for your miserable life. And miserable you are, Harry Potter. You put your faith in people who end up turning their back on you. Listen to me: no one will come to save you and whatever you do, you'll end up alone like you always have been. And you shall know only despair and pain for I have seen your soul and it is mine.'

Harry was hypnotized by the voice. It wasn't just echoing off the walls of the Chamber. It was shaking him in his very core in a way he had never experienced before. He saw Tom's memory gesturing in front of him. His mouth was moving but his voice seem so distant.

'Don't listen to Him,' he finally heard as he was starting to stumble on his feet. 'He is trying to exploit your weaknesses, don't listen to Him.'

'He will abandon you like Dumbledore did,' continued the voice. 'And because of you, everyone will die.'

A pictured flashed before Harry's eyes like a dark memory from another time. The Courtyard was filled with corpses and Death Eaters were advancing on the school. He wanted to find Ron and Hermione, but he couldn't. He wanted to find Dumbledore, but he was nowhere to be seen.

He realised that this is what would happen if he did nothing.

He let out a scream of rage and, closing his mind to the Horcrux, he plunged his hand holding the basilisk's fang on the locket. The venom exploded inside it while piercing its metal. A long-drawn-out scream replaced the cold voice and soon, the shadows faded out. It was over.

Harry was panting and he looked down at the shattered remains of the locket on the ground. He felt suddenly very exhausted and knew his legs wouldn't hold him any longer. As he felt his body fell on the ground, a shadow passed behind him and he found himself in the soft coils of his basilisk.

'There,' said the snake with a gentle hiss. 'Rest a little.'

Harry raised weakly his hand to pat his neck and breathed deeply.

'You did it,' whispered Tom with a smile.

'Are they all going to fight like this?'

'I am afraid they will,' replied Tom. 'Dark Magic is only as strong as the artefact holding it. And I am afraid I developed a taste for powerful artefacts very early.'

'Does this mean I will have to fight you too?' Asked Harry a bit warily.

Tom laughed. Harry realised he had never heard him laugh ever before. It wasn't the grim hiss that Voldemort could let out. It was the clear and genuine laugh of a young boy who, despite the sadness of his life, still had some humanity within him.

'You won't have to fight me, Harry,' he finally said. 'When I saw you the first time, I thought you were just a wounded child still mourning the loss of his parents. I was wrong. You made me realise things I would have never considered if it hadn't been for you.' His look was almost friendly. 'I won't fight you anymore.'