Sensing Magic
by Teddylonglong
Please refer to chapter 1 for my disclaimer and warnings. Thank you.
Marvolo let out a deep sigh. 'Harry, let me explain about this personally, not through telepathy.'
'Of course,' Harry replied, wondering what the matter could be about. 'Will you come over?'
'Will your parents be all right with it?'
'Just floo to the founders' quarters then.'
Five minutes later, Harry and Marvolo met in the founders' quarters, where Marvolo told him everything about Horcruxes.
"I believe that one has been destroyed a few years ago, another I collected at Hogwarts some years ago, after we met in the Chamber of Secrets. However, there should be three or four others. I will do a ritual on the Summer Solstice to determine which I still need to collect and where they are. You're very welcome to attend the ritual if you're here. Afterwards, I will try to collect them all and then do another ritual to reunite all the pieces into my body."
Harry nodded in understanding. "Thanks for telling me everything. I won't tell Dumbledore about it, and I won't accompany him to speak with Mr. Slughorn either."
Marvolo smiled. "Thank you, Harry. I appreciate it."
They talked about several other matters, before they separated with Harry promising to attend Marvolo's ritual on the Summer Solstice if he was back from the Isle of Elves on time. "They still won't allow me to travel to and from the Isle of Elves just by myself. Apparently, it takes too much magic."
HP
In the end, it turned out to be a good thing that Harry was not back from the Isle of Elves. Marvolo stared at the parchment in front of him in shock.
'Harry is a Horcrux. It must have happened, when I killed his mother. I can't believe it,' he thought, feeling horrified at the idea. 'It makes sense though, as it explains why we are connected to each other.' He pondered the matter for a few days, wondering how to explain it to Harry or if he should speak with Severus beforehand and pondering a possible ritual to return the Horcrux from behind Harry's scar to his own body.
In the end, he decided to speak with Severus, considering that Harry was only going to be fifteen soon and the man was his father.
HP
Regina smiled, when Marvolo elegantly stepped out of the fireplace. "Marvolo," she greeted him in surprise. "Did you come to speak with Severus?"
Marvolo nodded. "With both of you in fact."
"Let me quickly fetch him. He's in his lab. Please make yourself comfortable."
She stepped over through the connecting door into her husband's private lab and informed him that Marvolo had come to visit.
"Does he know that Harry is absent?" Severus quirked an eyebrow. "He rarely ever comes to speak with us."
"Please just come, and then, we can tell him that Harry's on the Isle of Elves."
Five minutes later, the three adults were sitting comfortably in the sitting room nursing a cup of tea.
"This is not just a social visit." Marvolo came straight to the point and explained the reason for his visit.
"Harry is a Horcrux?" Severus' voice was dangerously quiet.
Marvolo nodded. "I am sorry. I only knew from the ritual, and I am now working on a ritual to remove it from behind his scar. I am still in shock from this revelation, and I wanted to share this most disturbing news with you."
"Thank you for telling us," Regina said, kindly, knowing the man had not willingly done anything to harm Harry. "Will Harry be all right?" She looked from Marvolo to her husband.
"Yes." Marvolo was the first to respond. "I promise that I will try everything to not harm him in any way. Severus, would you be willing to support me in case your assistance is needed?"
Severus nodded, sharply. "Of course. If there is anything I can do, I will of course do everything to keep Harry safe. I suggest that we work on the ritual before telling Harry anything though."
Regina immediately agreed, glad when Marvolo also promised to not speak with Harry about the matter. "When do you think you could do such a ritual?"
"Hopefully on Samhain."
Severus nodded his agreement.
HP
While Harry, his parents and his little siblings spent the second half of the summer holidays in their home at Inis Rún, Marvolo relatively inefficiently tried to find his Horcruxes and Albus Dumbledore did his best and finally efficiently managed to retrieve information from Horace Slughorn.
On his birthday, Harry received a letter from the headmaster.
'Dear Harry,
I wish you a very happy fifteenth birthday. Just two more years, and you will be an adult in the magical world.
In the meantime, I have received the information we discussed during our last lesson before the holidays. There are several objects, which we need to retrieve, and I would like to ask you to accompany me to several spots, where I believe them to be hidden. Will you perhaps be able to return to Hogwarts earlier this summer, so that we could visit a few sites during these holidays?
Best regards
Albus Dumbledore,
Headmaster of Hogwarts'
'He found out about the Horcruxes,' Harry realised, 'and wants me to help him find and destroy them? Fat chance.' Feeling quite upset at the old headmaster for sending him such a letter for his birthday, he showed it to his parents.
"Mum, Dad, would it be very impolite if I simply told him 'No'? These things are Marvolo's, and I know that he intends to take care of them himself."
"No Harry." Severus shook his head in apparent annoyance. "It wouldn't be impolite. It would be the right thing to do. I do not wish for my son to be involved in that kind of things."
"Exactly." Regina's voice was firm.
"All right." Smiling at his parents, who had reacted as he had expected it, Harry summed parchment and a quill from the shelf and set to compose a response, knowing that he only had about thirty minutes, before his friends were going to arrive for his birthday party.
'Professor Dumbledore,
I am sorry, but I have plans for the remaining weeks of the holidays, and my parents have told me that they do not wish for me to participate in the hunt for dangerous items.
Best regards
Harry Prince,
Owner of Hogwarts'
HP
It was a few days later that Marvolo suddenly contacted Harry, sounding very upset.
'Harry, have you told anyone about the Horcruxes?'
'No, of course not, but I think Dumbledore has spoken to Slughorn and has found out himself. He even asked me to go searching for the objects together, which I declined of course.'
'Oh no. He probably already found one. I was too late.'
tbc...
Thank you so very much for the kind reviews for the previous chapter.