Chapter 11: Dark Discoveries

"To Mr Harry Potter, without whom… I would not be here." Weasley said gratefully. He was finally with his family and just in time for Christmas. St Mungo's had released him this morning and the Weasley family had already done their sweater drive.

"Harry!" The Weasley's toasted.

"To Harry!" said a voice from the door. Turning around away from the Weasley Christmas lunch, Harry saw Sirius raise a glass of wine to him in toast and gave him a wink which was returned. Sirius walked away towards the drawing room and Harry followed. Sitting in the various pieces of furniture were Tonks, Remus and Hagrid. Seeing Harry, Hagrid stood up and gave him a crushing hug.

"Mereh Chris'mas 'Arry! I lef' some rock cakes for ya in the kitchen" Hagrid said letting go of him and giving him a wide smile. You could always count on Hagrid to be merry.

"Thanks Hagrid. I didn't know you were going to make it today so I had your present sent to Hogwarts. It's a painting of a Norwegian Ridgeback but I like to think it's of Nortberta." Harry revealed. It was quite easy to procure the painting but he knew it would mean a lot to Hagrid and by the second crushing hug he received it seemed like he was right.

"You're a grea' man 'Arry. Nevah let anyone tell you otherwise" Hagrid replied tearily before retaking his seat.

"Alright! Sentimental stuff is done, time for more presents!" Sirius declared to the amusement of everyone.

Sirius got Harry a pocketknife that would unlock doors. Remus gave him his annotated seventh year DADA book and Tonks managed to snag an auror grade wrist wand holster.

Harry got Remus and Sirius a copy of his book that had photos of his parents which was met with teary thank you's and he custom charmed a t-shirt for Tonks that would say 'Witch with a B' on the front if someone said her first name near her which she loved.

The quintet was swapping stories and laughing for much of the Christmas afternoon when the fireplace roared to life and the figure of Albus Dumbledore stepped out. The old mage was met with four wands pointed his way which didn't seem to faze him in the slightest.

"Merry Christmas everyone, I was hoping to speak to you Harry if that's alright?" Dumbledore asked.

"It would have been nice to have some warning but yeah it should be fine, we can talk in the hall." Harry replied leaving the room. It was a narrow corridor, but it would be suitable for now. Harry had a feeling he knew why Dumbledore was here, but he couldn't be sure.

"How have you been Harry?" Dumbledore asked once he was in the hallway.

"I've been okay. Spending time with my family has been relaxing for once. How's your Christmas going sir?"

"That's good. Minerva got me some particularly woolly socks so it couldn't be going better. Do you have any idea why I'm here today?"

"I have some ideas, but it might be easier for you to just tell me" he said impatiently

"Well Harry I wanted to talk to you about two things. First I must ask you to reconsider your refusal to learn Occlumency, Professor Sna-"

Harry cut him off with "Hold it I didn't refuse to learn Occlumency, I just refused to open my mind to a man who hates me. My secrets are my own and I would share them with those I trust, not a petty child who can't get over a twenty-year long grudge."

"So, you have been educating yourself?"

"No one else is stepping up, so yeah. I took your warning to heart, but I found a better way to fill the gap in our defences."

"May I test you? I would know the extent of your abilities."

That stumped Harry, what to do. 'If I let him in and he sees my meeting with Damien and Daphne then I could be in some deep shit. However, I'm confident I could keep him out long enough now, the past few days have seen me improve drastically. Fuck it'

"Sure" Harry agreed.

Dumbledore pulled out his wand and pointed at his head before whispering "legilimens" Dumbledore's psyche was met with a wall that was insurmountable. No trip wires or trick corridors, just pure blockage which, given time, he could probably wear down however for the short time that Harry is asleep then it sufficed. Exiting Harry's mind, he expressed his thoughts on Harry's defence.

"That was the goal. Once I find a more experienced Occlumens that I trust I will ask them to help me build a better defence, but for now it is fine."

"You have pleasantly surprised me Harry, however we have another topic I must discuss with you. For no reason at all are you allowed to leave this house, Molly mentioned that you went to Gringotts last week"

'Damn it Mrs Weasley, it was probably an accident though. How to spin this? I could say I was just going for gold but that wouldn't have lasted over an hour. Aha I've got it'

"I did, I needed gold for Hagrid's present and I needed to sort some things out as the Black Heir." Harry semi-lied. Half-truths are the headmaster's forte so it was ironic to throw one back at him.

"Ah yes apologies I forgot about that. There were no problems I trust?"

"None, just moving coins around is all. The house is still secure and I didn't die so it went fairly well." Harry joked.

"Yes and for that we are all thankful. I must ask that you stay here for the rest of the break, we don't need to put ourselves in any unnecessary danger." Dumbledore implored.

"You may ask but I have the right to refuse. However, should I decide to go out, I will take as many precautions as humanly possible. Is that acceptable for you?" Harry counter offered.

Looking like he wanted to argue more Dumbledore donned a look of defeat before replying "that is acceptable yes. Just be careful Harry, you are so very important to a great many people." Casting "tempus" Dumbledore checked the time and looked alarmed. "Sorry Harry I must take my leave, I have an appointment with a goat man. Merry Christmas"

"Merry Christmas Professor"

With that Dumbledore left the hallway and returned to the drawing room. There was a flash of green light and Harry knew that he had left. He didn't re-join the celebrations though, opting to first appreciate the sound of laughter coming from both the drawing room and dining room. Harry walked to the dining room door and peered around the corner, the image that greeted him was one that could be used to define 'Christmas Spirit.' The Weasley family was engrossed in their own separate conversations, only stopping to laugh and enjoy the feast in front of them. Ginny spotted him and indicated that he should join them, eyes flicking to the open seat next to Bill. Harry thought about it for a moment but thought it was best not to interrupt their family get together, communicating his decision with a small shake of his head before he moved fully into the hallway heading towards the drawing room.

'It's a shame,' Harry thought walking through the dark hall of the Black home. 'There won't be moments like those in abundance for quite some time, especially if I fail. That's not an option though, whatever it takes I will kill that bastard.'

"You're back! Hagrid was just telling us about your first meeting with Buckbeak" Tonks declared excitedly as he strolled into the drawing room for the second time that morning. Retaking his seat, Harry took the shrunk down grimoire and resized it flipping the pages to where he left off.

"How about you tell them about what that nonce Draco did after I got back?" Harry suggested to Hagrid.

"Yes well fa' be it from me tah show favourites 'Arry. The lad didn't follow instructions and 'e got 'urt" Hagrid replied surprisingly diplomatically, maybe there was more to Dumbledore seeming him to the giants than his obvious genetic advantages.

"Sounds like my cousin's a ponce," Tonks guessed.

"If he was raised by dear old Lucy and Cissa then definitely, they basically ooze classism and superiority complexes" Sirius supplied.

Harry zoned out the conversations and turned to his book, reading the chapter title:

''Soul magic' sounds interesting. Let's see what the introduction has to say.'

The grimoire gave helpful rundowns for each chapter which gave brief details on each type of magic that branches from the main overarching category. For instance, under parselmagic, the introduction gave Harry the three types of magic it excels at, wards, self-transfiguration and enchantments.

'To the Black that is reading this hallowed tome, be warned. Soul magic is one of the mystic arts that should be revered and feared above most others. The information that has been gathered for your benefit is not only highly experimental but indescribably dangerous. When a wizard tampers with the soul they interfere with designs above our ability to perceive and thus have the possibility of damning themselves in unimaginable ways. For instance, the enslavement of the Elven race is dredged in soul magic and as you can likely see the effects are still felt in our modern times. The wizards responsible in the late Hellenistic age toppled the great city of Atlantis and caused the tear between our world and the netherworlds known as the veil of death. Through soul magic one can also achieve a measure of immortality, though the process is not detailed in this book, all that we know of the magic is that it degrades the psyche of the person performing this magic. Continue at your own risk, once you learn the depths humanity has reached to for power, you may never be able to look at the world the same.

Contents:

Slavery and Subjugation p. 306

Veil of Death p. 316

Immortality p. 318

'Immortality huh? That might help me figure out how Voldemort stayed alive after mum blew him up' Harry thought. Flipping to page 318, he made a vow to himself to never let Hermione know about the elves, it would shatter her hope in the wizarding community entirely. Beginning at the top of the page Harry started reading

'You are either a fool or truly desperate to seek out this information. For those who tamper with the natural cycle of living things is doomed to suffer for eternity. Not much is known about achieving immortality through the soul however it is apparent witches and wizards have been communicating and even bargaining with higher powers for millennia.

The Grand Mage of the Sicilian institute for Magic in 317 AD was said to have bargained his soul with a demon to gain control of the island forever. It is said that the exchange was so powerful that the Grand Mage's body could not withstand the union and he shrivelled up and died. After the man had died the demon, with an unnaturally large grin, dragged the body into a portal where the sounds of agonising screams could be heard.

Furthermore, the Ancient Greek Dark Wizard, Herpo the Foul*, contributed perhaps the most accessible form of immortality to soul magic through the use of the horcrux. The exact process is unclear however it is apparent that the act of murder plays a pivotal role in the creation of such an item. According to Herpo's notes, an item or being of appropriate magical essence can be used as a container for a piece of one's soul. From the evidence gathered, the person attempting to make the horcrux must first complete an unknown ritual with the intended soul container and be in possession of the aforementioned container when they kill someone. This container, in essence, would tie the soul of the person to the earthly plane thus rendering the practitioner semi-immortal. There is no research into the possibility of creating multiple containers; however, theoretically the stability of the practitioner's mind would deteriorate in accordance to how many times they split their soul.

Most interestingly about the horcrux is its unparalleled drive to be reanimated. The soul inside the container is extremely defensive and, depending on the magic imbued in the item, may be able to act in a defensive way. Herpo the Foul's horcrux was so powerful that it influenced the wizard testing on it to kill his family by implanting thoughts in his head. These items are not to be taken lightly. Its defensive nature is likely because of its desire to become corporeal once more and becoming a corporeal form through possession is entirely possible as possession is a derivative of soul magic.

Should you ever come across such an item, do whatever you must to destroy it. No man, no matter how powerful, deserves immortality and in their quest to acquire it, they violate the laws of the universe.

*see more on Herpo the Foul in chapters: 'Dark Creatures: Acromantula to Vampires,' 'Founders of the Arts' and 'Parselmagic: Observe, Ensnare and Eliminate.'

'Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. The fucking diary, it was a horcrux there's no way around it. Possession? Tick. Desire for corporeal form? Tick. The bloke basically spelled it out for me when he said he was immortal. Shit-fuck we are so screwed. What if he has multiple? How are we going to make him mortal if we can't find the damn things?"

"Fuck!" Harry yelled a few moments after he completed the passage. The knowledge that Voldemort was and still is immortal completely shaking him to his core. The chatter of the occupants in the drawing room was drawn to a haunt and all eyes snapped to Harry. He realised that all the attention was on him and the time for expressing his terror was not now.

"Hagrid, I need to speak with Sirius, Remus and Tonks in private. Is that okay with you?" Harry asked in a tone that made it so it wasn't a request. Hagrid looked at him suspiciously but seeing how serious the young man looked he acquiesced.

"O'course 'Arry, it's gettin late anyweh so I'll jus' be off then. Goo'bye everyone!" Hagrid declared walking to the floo and travelling back to Hogwarts. The remaining members of their little group turned their attention from the fireplace back to Harry and looked at him expectantly.

Standing from his armchair, Harry sighed and looked at them each individually before deciding on his words. "As it stands, Voldemort is, and has been for quite a while, immortal." The room exploded into chaos at this revelation, but Harry was locked inside his own head.

'May whatever gods exist help us'