Previously on Defiance…

Poppy considered the question. "Not good." Seeing the crashed look on Sirius's face, she expounded upon her initial statement. "Potter's core is undergoing some kind of abrupt changes. It is pulsating one moment, morphing the next, it is almost like he is undergoing his magical maturity, but that is impossible since he is only fifteen at the moment."

"He is stronger than most wizards, wouldn't that-?"

"Black, Albus Dumbledore reached his maturity at twenty-one." Poppy hesitated, "besides, even if this is his magical maturity because of some kind of mutation of his magical core under duress, his body is burning. I mean, literally burning. His temperature is way beyond the acceptable limits. I tried to bring him back to consciousness but his magic is rejecting treatment. It is almost like… he is undergoing some kind of metamorphosis."

Sirius looked scared. "He will be alright, right?"

Poppy looked down. "I don't know."

Harry opened his eyes, his heart beating so loudly that he could hear them in his ears, beating like war-drums. He got up, rubbed the sweat off his temples, finding the bedsheet completely soaked in his sweat. Feeling the stickiness, he instantly got up to stand back on his feet and-

He fell down face-first on the cold marble floor.

"POTTER!" Poppy gushed as she ran towards him, slowly helping him to pick himself up. "You stupid child, why did you try to get up on your own?"

Harry looked queerly at the school matron for a moment, before he returned, "I had just woke up some time ago and found myself soaked in sweat. It was sticky so I decided to change my dress."

"And you couldn't have called anyone to do that?"

Harry looked at her as if she had grown a second head. "Madam Pomfrey, I know I was tired from the duel, and it made me magically exhausted, but I am completely fit and fine now. In fact, I think that I rather overslept. Is it time for dinner?" He stared at his hands and felt himself- everything looked just fine.

Poppy regarded him carefully. "Potter, the duel happened five days ago. You were unconscious and in a magical coma for five days."

"WHAT?"

Dumbledore sat in his office, busying himself in the piles of paperwork that was the bane of every educator in the world. At least one good thing had come out of the duel; the devastating show of powerful magic had stilled into everyone's minds what Albus Dumbledore was capable of. While to the trained eye, it was nothing more than just a blunt demonstration of raw magical power, the common masses did take it to mean that there was a reason why Albus Dumbledore was the only one whom the dark lord ever feared. Besides, Harry's own demonstration of magical prowess and raw power had changed the tables, both inside and out of Hogwarts. In one way, it was a good thing that the boy was in a coma for the last five days- at least he was saved from the socio-political turmoil that the duel had caused. People were reconsidering what they knew of Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore, and that had very distinct effects on the population in and out of Hogwarts.

Being a Headmaster had its advantages. One of them was the ability to create portkeys and apparate in and out of Hogwarts. While Fawkes' presence made the fact a moot point, phoenixes were very moody and prideful creatures, and on more than one important event, Fawkes had been unavailable to transport him to his destination. The other fact was that the paintings, the portraits and the house elves, were all answerable to him, or at least, could not disobey a direct order from the Headmaster. That order could only be overridden when the true master of Hogwarts' castle would come up someday, but the origins of the ancient castle were unknown to him. Not even in the very first edition of Hogwarts: A history or in any of the codices left behind by the founders, was there any mention of the family to whom Hogwarts castle actually belonged. The records simply stated that the castle was bequeathed to the founders for the noble pursuit of educating the future generations of the magical community in Magical Britain. However, almost a thousand years had passed, and no one had yet claimed the castle as his or her own, nor had the castle ever displayed any kind of affinity to anyone. Needless to say, it was taken for a fact that the original family had gotten extinct sometime in the ancient past.

His thoughts turned towards the miracle child; yes, the phrase suited young Harry quite effectively. Despite his mistakes regarding the boy's childhood, the boy had grown up to become a human being better than he could ever be. The boy had been in a coma, and importantly, had been going through his magical maturity, which was surprising since most people had their maturity between twenty-three and twenty-five years of age. It was a concept that the stronger the wizard, the faster his magic would mature. Harry was fifteen and already, he packed enough power to lock him and Voldemort in a power struggle successfully. That spoke volumes about what his power levels would be when he crossed his maturity. It also explained why the boy had displayed such irrationally angry behavior. Magical maturity did that to people- the more powerful they were, the more would the maturity process affect their behavior.

Maturity at fifteen… I can only imagine what the boy will be like once he understands how to control and wield all that power. I suppose even Grandmaster Flamel won't be able to stand against him, at least in terms of magical power and brute force.

He thought about how he would explain everything to the boy. No, not boy… young man. After everything he had been though, calling him a child would be an insult to his experience. Perhaps he should come clear with everything, about why did what he did, and what he expected to achieve from his endeavors. Last but not the least, he would have to share the contents of the Prophecy with Harry and then offer him the chance to apprentice under himself. Given how the school was in complete disarray with things going on, and given how Dolores was trying to breath down his and Harry's neck (no matter how unsuccessful), it was clear that the boy would not get the quality education he deserved. He pondered over it. It was almost the end of October now. That meant at least six months before the boy's OWL examination began. Given how the boy's performance in class was, surely it would not be a problem for him to pick up things if he were to be away for say… five months from the scholastic session. He could get the boy privately trained for the five months at the Guild and then continue his training after the holidays begun. It was a sound plan, but first, Harry had to agree with it.

The little statue of a rampaging rhinoceros on the table began to rock up and down suddenly, the animation charm triggered by a certain ward that he had placed in the Hospital wing, precisely, on one single person. He touched the little statue and it stopped instantly, as he stood up from his chair.

It seems young Harry has finally woken up. It will be fascinating to see the changes in him, now that he has passed his maturity.

Harry Potter rested on his bed in the Hospital Wing. Given his propensity to keep on coming to this wing repeatedly over the years, he had scratched his name on one of the beds, claiming it to be his own, not that Poppy minded; after all, he was the one who was strapped on it most of the time. In fact, there had not been even a single year, when he had not stayed at the Hospital wing at least once. Something would happen, and Halloween was a special day on the list of events, and if he missed the Hospital wing by some stroke of fate, the end-of-year near-death experience made it compulsory for him to visit the Hospital wing, he thought, chuckling.

"How are you, my boy?"

Harry looked up from his bed, to find the Headmaster standing at the door, a calm smile on his ancient face. The anger that he had felt in the last week (before falling into a coma, he reminded himself), was strangely missing. His mind felt light, almost as if a huge burden had been removed from his shoulders. The overwhelming sense of rage at the Headmaster was strangely absent.

He nodded his head primly.

Dumbledore invited himself in, quite flamboyantly and helped himself to a seat beside his bed. Taking out a tiny box, he offered it to him, "Lemon drops, Harry?"

Harry shook his head. "No, thank you." He said weakly. Although mentally he felt fine, his physical strength seemed to be missing. It was almost as if his body had been rendered weak and incapacitated for some reason.

"I suppose you are feeling weak in your bones. It is quite natural."

Harry raised an eyebrow, and found that it stung a little as well. "What do you mean?"

"Ah," the headmaster exclaimed, popping another of those sickeningly sweet confectionaries, "You see Harry, you just had your magical maturity."

"Magical maturity?" Harry repeated blankly, not being familiar with the term beforehand. "You mean, coming of age? But I was already emancipated when I took the Lordship."

Dumbledore chuckled. "That was a political thing, and has nothing to do with your body or your magic. You see Harry, witches and wizards undergo magical development two times in their entire lives. The first is at the age of five, normally. Some like your friend Neville Longbottom are late bloomers, who show development years later. Then there are some, like you yourself, who develop it much earlier. I believe you were three when you first turned your school-teacher's hairs blue."

Harry blushed at that fact, but then banished the thought, since it was irrevocably linked to his memories with the Dursleys. He just nodded and the Headmaster continued. "As soon as people undergo their first maturity, they demonstrate a voluntary and conscious link to magic. The second maturity however, shows itself when they are twenty-five years of age. However, powerful witches and wizards have been recorded to have their maturity much earlier. I myself, had had my own maturity at twenty-one."

"I am fifteen." Harry spoke slowly, as if speaking to a child. "Surely it wasn't my maturity."

"On the contrary, Harry, it was indeed. Unbridled emotion, lack of self-control, propensity to allow the primal state of mind and allowing it to overcome the logical senses, magical core mutation, magical coma… I am afraid everything does point out to one thing- for some inexplicable reason, you have matured magically and that means- you are magically an adult now. I suppose I should congratulate you."

Harry scowled. "I was very much in control."

"Your last attack on my person was more than capable to destroy half the school, and raze the entire stadium, had I not intercepted and stopped it. If that is staying in control, I suppose Lord Voldemort should take lessons from you." Dumbledore chatted amiably as if talking about the weather.

"It was?" Harry asked- the pain in his bones forgotten.

"What do you remember?"

Harry closed his eyes. His memory was a bit shifty at the moment. "I remember- I remember getting angry and then- I was almost out of power, and then-" he looked confused,"- I think I got some more power and I cast-" He turned towards Dumbledore. "I can't remember."

"Not a problem, Harry. Your memories will return to you shortly. Your mind has been... overhauled, for lack of a better term." He smiled as he continued, "For your information, it is good that the spell you used is classified as family magic. A word of advice from a battle-transfiguration expert Harry, never use that spell in public."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "I don't even remember what I cast."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Well, the spell you cast was once known as the Fury of Death, a powerful and ancient battle spell, and I am not going to ask how you came across it, but the spell kind of, makes an unforgivable curse look like a bluebell flames charm."

Harry widened his eyebrows. "I cast- an unforgivable?"

"No. You did not. You cast something, much, much powerful and devastating. That spell can be cast with only one objective in mind. Destroy the opponent, no matter, what it takes, even the caster's own life. It is almost fascinating that you had enough hatred in you to be able to even cast the spell, let alone wandlessly. I am not sure whether I should feel devastated or exhilarated that I had done something to conjure that much hate in you."

"So… will I be sent to Azkaban for that?"

"Dear Merlin, no." Albus chuckled. "As I said, that spell is unknown to almost everyone, except those familiar with the ancient lores of magic. Not something, the Ministry or the Aurors would know. They took it as family magic. However, I am worried if you still have that level of hate against me."

"I feel great at the moment though." Harry replied, his expression almost cheerful. "Except the slight itching and pain in my bones."

Dumbledore smiled. "Good to know. My boy, do you remember the terms of the duel?"

Harry closed his eyes, trying to reconnect with his memories. It felt a little easier this time. "Yes," he said with a scowl, "-now I have to listen to whatever it is that you want to tell me."

Dumbledore relaxed comfortably on his chair. "Yes, and after I am done explaining, you are free to act as you like. You may decide to have to do nothing with Britain or me for the rest of your life, and I will not stop you. You may decide to call me your enemy and I will not stop you then either. However, I am hoping that you will listen to my reasons and find it in your heart to forgive me and move forward."

Harry shrugged. "I don't really have an option, do I?"

"Well, yes, you do. You can decide to spend some time with the lovely Miss Greengrass, who has made it a schedule to visit you to five times a day between her classes- and then talk with me when you are comfortable."

"Let us be done with it at the moment." Harry returned, trying to lift his hands. "As it is, even if I get angry, at least I'm not in a position to destroy the Hospital wing, not that I want to face Madam Pomfrey's wrath after that." He chuckled.

Dumbledore raised his wand, manifesting a privacy dome around them. Harry noticed that it was different from the one he had seen previously. "Professor, what happened to your-"

"My wand? Well this is my original wand. That one, well—it is a long story, one I'm sure you will get to know in the near future." He paused, "I must say, that to use one's original wand after so long, the feeling is indeed peculiar. Nostalgic, in a way."

Harry wanted to ask why the Headmaster had chosen another wand over his own then, but he kept it to himself. Dumbledore continued, "Before we begin, Harry, I wish to say something." He raised his wand and whispered, "I, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, swear on my life and magic, that I have never tried to harm Harry Potter, and my intention had always centered on his own good. So I swear, so mote it be." A flash of blue washed over the old man's person, leaving Harry Potter shell-shocked.

"What was that for?" He asked, almost anxiously.

"That was my… insurance, because I am afraid things are going to get murky and heated from now on." Dumbledore replied simply. Harry nodded.

"I suppose it has been in your mind about how I bought your best friends, and they sold out your privacy to me."

A rush of anger flooded into Harry' mind, not that the way Dumbledore had described it helped matters. "Yes." He replied stiffly.

Dumbledore sighed. "It was an experiment. And a necessary evil."

Harry did not reply.

"I am the leader of the Order of the Phoenix. If I decided that a group of students would be introduced to the members of the Order, it meant that the group of students would be introduced and included into the Order, eventually. As leader, it was my duty to check the true loyalties of the members from time to time. I may not look like it, but do not think me as a dotty old man who keeps on trusting everyone at face value. One does not hold the Chief Warlock's position for fifty years with that attitude." He paused, "I have always played my cards close to the chest, keeping the members operating at a bare minimum and have tested them relentlessly under different circumstances, making sure they are ignorant of the fact."

Harry nodded.

"Ever since I learnt that it was Pettigrew and not Sirius, I had to put on this enforcer attitude even more, knowing it from experience that an inside man can always betray you. Ronald and Miss Granger, they were tested. Miss Granger, while she is innately a good person, suffers from this thing, which I believe young people of your age like to refer to as being a 'teacher's pet', characterized by an inherent propensity to trust in authority. Not a bad thing, but she needs to set her priorities straight. It could very well be someone imposing as me, and she would spew out all your secrets without a thought. The fact that she was so willing to choose her faith in authority over your friendship, is not something I condone, but as I said, that doesn't stop me from gaining information when it comes to me."

Harry looked at him with an expressionless demeanor.

"Ronald, on the other hand, makes me question why you, this eleven-year-old just had to be friends with him. Why couldn't you have been friends with someone like Mister Longbottom, or any other student from the other houses? I am sure you know how much petty jealousy inspires young Ronald's actions. The Triwizard should have been a giveaway in that case."

Harry did not reply.

"You can think me as evil and manipulating, and I won't blame you if you decide to hold me responsible. All I want is to make you ask this question to yourself- what does it say about your best friends if all it takes is a person of authority to come up, and they sell out all your secrets?"

Harry stayed silent.

"I know you said you do not care about the Prophecy, and I will go and wager a guess that you believe that I wanted to make you some kind of martyr, but as my oath goes, nothing I ever did had any kind of harmful intentions towards your person. If you wish to discuss the Prophecy with me, I will not be disagreeable to it. After all you have been through, I suppose you deserve it and some more."

"I-I understand what you are saying and what you are trying to tell me, but it doesn't make you innocent." Harry countered.

"I never said I was, Harry." The twinkling eyes were gone, and were replaced by stern blue eyes of a man who had fought too many wars for too long. "As I said, you might just decide to give in to your anger and blame me for everything, if that is what you wish to do. However, given the amount of resourcefulness you have demonstrated, I would have preferred it if you would accept my one last offer."

"And what is that?"

"An apprenticeship, in the arte of battle-transfiguration, under the Transfiguration Masters Guild." He paused, "My apprentice."

"Your- apprentice." Harry uttered slowly.

"My apprentice."

Harry paused, registering what it meant in his mind. "What does that entail?"

"Well," Dumbledore began, "the first thing it does is that it grants you a transfer from Hogwarts to the Transfiguration Masters Guild. You will not be a Hogwarts student any more. Yes, that means that you will not be staying at Hogwarts for the rest of your fifth year, at least as a student. I intend to take you to the Guild and help you hone your abilities under the tutelage of a variety of Masters who are, shall we say, accomplished in their skills, and will teach you how to successfully hone that power you have in your fingertips."

Harry considered it. It would be foolish to think that he would be able to hone all of his abilities by self-practice and self-study from the grimoire. This was his chance of actually learning how to develop his skills, and from what the Headmaster said, be in the tutelage of powerful and learned Masters. It would be a folly to lose such an opportunity. Even if he did not like what the Headmaster had done to him, his Slytherin side told him that letting such an opportunity go just because of his anger would be an incredibly foolish thing to do. However-

"What about my OWLS?"

The Headmaster gave him a 'don't-be-stupid' look, and explained, "My inference from speaking to your professors is that if you were to sit for your OWLS at this moment, you would pass out with at least an EE. I have no doubt that you could carry on studying for your OWLS privately should you want it." He paused, "if it is any better, you will be back in Hogwarts by the beginning of April. That should give you enough time for the OWLS which are held in May."

"So I will be away for…" he did a quick count, "-five months?"

"If you accept the offer, yes. Of course, you will have to be back with the Guild during from July, once again. "It will grant you a month to spend time with family and Miss Greengrass."

His mind went back to his betrothed. "If I am gone, that means her train-" he stopped midway, realizing that he was almost about to mention it to Dumbledore- "I mean, what about her?"

"Well," Dumbledore looked thoughtful, "I suppose you could come to Hogwarts now and then every two weeks or something, and spend some time with your betrothed. The Guild isn't that allowing but I suppose we will be able to get something to make that possible."

Harry nodded.

"Am I to consider that you are agreeing to this?"

"I- I need some time to reflect on it."

"Of course, take your time. I will wait for your answer tomorrow evening, after dinner."

Harry nodded.

"I know I have wronged you, my boy. However, I hope, we will be able to look beyond that and work together. As it is, Voldemort is going to come after you repeatedly, and this is your chance to be the best you can be. I may be powerful, but that does not make me any younger. It is a pity I never shared my extensive knowledge with anyone. I hope that this is the chance I have to make sure that my knowledge and skills are passed into- 'more capable' hands. Won't you take the chance?"

Harry nodded. "I will give an answer tomorrow after dinner."

"That is all I ask." Dumbledore got up, as he vanished the privacy dome. "Rest Harry, you will need it."

Some hours later…

"What do you think I should do, Sirius?"

Sirius considered the question. While on one hand, he wanted nothing to do with Albus Dumbledore; on the other hand, he knew that this was a chance of a lifetime. Very few people were lucky enough to acquire a Guild's attention, and to be offered an invitation, it was like Christmas come early.

"I think you should take it."

"You do?"

"Yes." Sirius looked as if he had just swallowed a bitter pill. "The coot is right—this is your best chance, to actually hone all that power you have under your fingertips. There is only so much you could do with self-study and practice. The Masters in Guilds have access to ancient scrolls of magic, magic lost to the modern world for centuries- the Masters are highly accomplished mages and you will have a chance to learn powerful magic, just like the ones in your grimoires. I say, grab it."

Harry nodded.

"Are you thinking about your would-be betrothed?" Sirius urged.

Nod.

"I say you talk with her about this. I am sure she will agree that you should take the offer. Besides, it will only increase your popularity if you are a member of a Guild. I am sure Miss Greengrass is Slytherin enough to recognize a political opportunity when it comes."

Harry looked at him. "Sirius, do you think- think that this… betrothed thing was a little too quick?"

"Why would you say so?"

"It's like… we barely know each other that way. All we have been is… dueling partners."

"Well," Sirius drawled, "I think you should just accept it and move on. I believe that despite Miss Greengrass's political machinations, she is a good choice for a wife."

"And why?"

"Well for starters, she has got a killer rack."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "While I know I should be pummeling your face with my fists for checking my would-be-betrothed out, I can't help but ask- you want me to marry her because she has a huge breasts? I think I understand why your animagus form is a dog."

Sirius guffawed. "Someday godson. Someday, you will appreciate the true worth of a killer rack." Harry whipped his wand out as Sirius transformed into a dog and jumped out of the way.

"You can run but you can't hide, Sirius. I can walk, now." He got up from the bed, using a cane for support as he did. Padfoot gave a bark of appreciation as he dodged another stinging hex Harry sent his way.

"HOOOT!"

Instantly, Harry threw his wand on the bed and raised his hands on top of his head in defense as a pretty snowy owl dive-bombed at him. She flapped her wings angrily and smacked him in the head with her talons, biting into his shoulder as she carried her relentless offense.

"Hey! Stop it, Hed! Oww! That hurts!" He did not however, try to stop her forcefully as he simply put his arms over his face and head, trying to escape from her wrath. The owl seemed satisfied by her chastisement of her dumbass two-legged pet and after an elegant pause, slowly extended a limb at him.

A parchment.

Harry slowly raised his fingers, ignored the sharp pain as Hedwig bit into his finger, but he ignored it as he pulled the parchment from her limb and unfurled it. It was a missive from Gringotts, and especially Nagnok. That would have explained why Hedwig had brought it to him. Gringotts had a charm set up that would attract the receiver's owl towards them, and then they would tie the letter and sent the animal back. It made sure that the missives were not lost because of family wards or anything of that sort.

Must be something about those tests he mentioned.

"Sirius, we need to go to Gringotts."

"What? What about Miss Greengrass?" Sirius asked, surprised at the change of plan.

"Later. We need to go to Gringotts, now. This is about…. You know what…"

"Right." Sirius did not need any more convincing. "I don't suppose you should apparate in this condition. I suppose we could Floo in there."

"Mcgonagall's office has a workable Floo. We could use that." Harry returned.

"You are going nowhere, Harry Potter," asserted an irate Madam Pomfrey. Harry and Sirius glanced at her in surprise and then he explained, "Madam Pomfrey, this is urgent. Besides, I am having no trouble walking, you see." He walked a couple of steps back and forth to prove his point.

"And what is so damned important that you cannot wait for a day?"

"Family business." Sirius deadpanned, leaving no room for argument.

Poppy gave him an annoyed stare, and then sighed. "Well if you must, then I suppose you can Floo from here instead. There is no reason why you should walk three floors to take the Floo from Minerva's office."

Harry shrugged. Sirius nodded.

Poppy sighed. She walked up to the fireplace, took out a small vial containing Floo powder, and forwarded it to Sirius. "Where to?"

"Gringotts." Sirius replied.

"Of course." Poppy replied briskly. "Make sure that, that one stays intact, else I am blaming you."

Sirius swallowed. "Of course, Poppy."

Sometime later in the office of Chief Shaman…

"Thank you for coming at such short notice," Nagnok expressed. "I am afraid I am not familiar with your friend." He cast a pointed glance at Sirius.

Harry coughed. "This is Sirius Orion Black, my sworn godfather and now my adopted father." Sirius gave a formal nod at the goblin, who jerked his head.

"Ah, yes, I had read about your being the Head of another ancient family. I must say, young Lord, you are quite an interesting person."

"My tests," Harry began, "you mentioned that there were some things you got to know?"

Nagnok nodded. "Straight to business then, very well. Yes, I found something, very interesting about you in the tests. In fact, I dare say that you are the most interesting client I have ever had."

Harry lurched a little at the off-handed comment. "What do you mean?"

Nagnok smiled, the sharp teeth protruding out of his lips as the grin became a lot scarier. He took out a bundle of reports and gave a quick look at them. "There is quite a lot I have been able to figure out from the... samples you left behind, but first, let me ask you this."

He paused.

"Tell me, young Lord, do you know what a horcrux is?"

The reaction was instant. Sirius's demeanor suddenly turned feral as he whipped his wand out. "Why would you know about such an abomination?" He hissed. Nagnok observed his behavior and considered the imminent threat upon his person. "Mister Black," he returned calmly, "if you do not put that wand back into your robe within the next ten seconds, I assure you that Ancient family or not, you will spend the rest of your life working in the underground caverns with the rest of the prisoners. I assure you it is not a happy life."

Harry hissed at him, and Sirius instantly placed the wand back into his robes. "Harry- you don't understand- that thing is—is-"

"Wizards and their hypocrisy." Nagnok commented off-handedly, as he turned his attention to Harry who seemed to be puzzled. "I take it that you are ignorant of such a term?"

"Yes." Harry confessed.

"Hmm..." Nagnok paused, "to be precise, young Lord, a horcrux is simply a piece of soul, extracted from a person under his consent, stored in a… container, shall we say… thereby granting the person a form of immortality."

"Okay." Harry was not sure what to say.

"Until the moment a horcrux survives, there is absolutely no way that said person could die completely. No matter how many times said person is killed or... Destroyed, he will keep on surviving, and can always be resurrected back into mortal form."

"You mean that Volde-"

"Yes."

It was shocking. That meant that unless Voldemort's horcruxes were destroyed, Voldemort was immortal. Not that killing him was an easy thing anyway."

"What has that got to do with Harry?" Sirius asked, keeping the awe and shock away from his voice.

"Mister Potter, as it seems, housed a horcrux for thirteen years, until one Avada Kedavra nipped it out of him. Precisely, the Avada Kedavra that hit him in the graveyard. Mister Potter, I assume you are keeping up?"

Harry's hand automatically went up to his scar.

"Yes, that was it, though to be technical, the scar was only the manifestation of the fact that you were holding a horcrux that was leaching into your soul and your magic for all these years. The moment you were freed of it, the scar began to fade, and as I can clearly see, it is just another normal scar, albeit one that I confess will stay for as long as you live."

"So Harry is free of the horcrux- Voldemort's horcrux?" Sirius stammered.

"The night he came for me-" Harry muttered, more to himself than to others, "—something happened and his body was destroyed. I assume that was how-"

"A part of his soul broke and leached into you, yes. However, that is not the important part."

Harry and Sirius blanched, staring at Nagnok as if he had grown three heads.

"What else could be more important than that?" Sirius accused, half in shock and half in confusion.

Nagnok scowled as he regarded Harry once again. "Let me walk you through the sequence of the night. Using divination and arcane arts that you have no reason knowing, I was able to draw out a perfect conclusion of what happened that night." He got up from the chair, as he walked towards Harry.

"The dark lord entered into your cottage, killed your father in a short and hardly significant duel, and then proceeded to climb up the stairs in search of you and your mother. He found both of you and then- your mother offered him her own life if he agreed to let you live."

Not Harry! Not Harry! Please kill me instead! Take me instead! Please not Harry!

"The dark lord offered her a chance to move out of the way, which in itself is confusing, since your mother was a muggleborn and the dark lord despised muggleborns. Yet, he gave her the chance to stand away, not once, not twice, but three times…."

Stand aside, silly girl! Stand aside…

"But even on the third chance, your mother did not change her wish. She was willing to sacrifice her life."

Last chance! Stand aside and I will let you live…

Please not Harry! Kill me instead!

Nagnok paused. "And then he fired the killing curse."

Sirius was looking pale, his knuckles white. Harry's face was expressionless as he was reliving the scene he could see whenever the Dementors were near him.

Avada Kedavra!

"There are three basic requirements for the creation of a horcrux. One, the murder has to be done in cold blood. You cannot kill someone in anger and make a horcrux out of the process."

Silence.

"Two. The person to be sacrificed, or should I say... killed, must be a willing participant, for the horcrux to be formed."

Please kill me! Not Harry!

"Three. It is impossible for a human being to be turned into a horcrux."

Silence.

"Excuse me….I think I might have heard you wrong, but did you just say that it is impossible for a human being to be turned into a horcrux?" Sirius asked. Harry just sat quietly, trying to warp his head around the contradictory facts.

"Yes. I believe I did."

"And you also said that Harry was a- was a horcrux?"

"Right again."

Sirius just stared at him blankly.

"Let me explain." Nagnok raised his hands to settle them. "A human being, by definition, is someone that houses a complete, unadulterated soul. The power of a full-complete soul is not to be underestimated. In case a foreign, whole spirit decides to possess a person, what actually happens is that the foreign spirit actually drains the power of the original soul and tries to throw it out of the body. The only exception is when the host is a willing one, in which case, the resident soul and the possessing spirit both occupy the body, which-I must state- being unable to have enough magical power to house two souls instead of one, begins to rot away. Such a willing possession withers away and dies soon. I assume Mister Potter here would agree with me, given how he has seen such a thing happen first hand."

Harry thought of how Quirrel had withered away, and how he had to wear a turban filled with garlic to hide the stench of his rotting body.

"What if the host is unwilling?" Sirius asked.

"If the host is unwilling, Mister Black, then there are two outcomes. Either the possession is unsuccessful in which case; the host soul throws the foreign spirit, usually after a struggle with the possessing spirit. Or, in case the host is not strong enough, the possessing spirit will likely drain the host soul out of the body."

"Drain it where?" Harry spoke out for the first time, wishing his deepest fears be proved wrong.

"Either into the astral dimension, which is to say… afterlife in a way, if the soul decides to pass on, or perhaps it can remain back as a ghost. The other alternative would be to put the host soul into some form of container…. Though the power of the container to hold a resisting soul should be quite large."

Like Riddle's dairy. Riddle was pouring his own soul into Ginny, and sending hers slowly into the diary. Had I not stopped him, Riddle would be in control of Ginny's body and Ginny would have been trapped inside the diary forever! Merlin!

Nagnok eyed him for some reason. "Mister Potter? Are you following?"

"Yes... Yes I am."

"But that doesn't explain why Harry-"

"Mister Black, has anyone ever mentioned it to you that a little patience is a skill to have?" Nagnok snapped.

That shut Sirius up.

"Since it is established that it is not possible for two souls to reside in one body without any detrimental effects, I believe it should be clear why a human being cannot be made into a horcrux."

No one said anything to refute that.

"Now we come to the final and perhaps, the most interesting point. Mister Harry Potter, who for some reason, housed a horcrux all these years without any kind of distinct effect on his person- physically, mentally, magically and psychologically." He paused. He turned to Harry and gave him a scary expression. "The reason for that is that, Mister Potter was not born with a complete soul."

Harry and Sirius looked towards him so sharply that he almost feared they had snapped their necks. "What I mean is, the incomplete nature of Mister Potter's soul gave the horcrux a …. Space, for lack of a better word, to co-exist when the dark lord created a horcrux unwillingly while killing the late Mrs. Potter." He regarded Harry warily. "In short, Mister Potter, you were born to be a horcrux."