Playing on the Harry Potter beach here. All rights belong to J.K. Rowling who gave us a great hero with wonderful adventures. This sandcastle will disappear with the tide and make way for the next fun story someone else shares.
In Chapter 10, the author failed to update the list of dead Horcruxes. Hufflepuff's Cup (Gringotts curse breakers, destroyed 10 February 1996)
Work is demanding my time for the next days, and will update when able.
11 Hogwarts Arguments and MemoryIn Hyde Park in London, a goose landed in a water feature of the park. Nearby, an ibis landed on the frosted grass, and several people wondered if the exotic bird had escaped from the London Zoo. But very quickly, the bird vanished into a stand of evergreen trees. The goose paddled to the bank nearest the trees and waddled out of the water and into the woods. Moments later a couple exited the cover of the evergreen trees in muggle clothing. They spoke quietly as they walked along the streets until they found a restaurant for coffee and a bite to eat. Settling for tea and some English pastries, they ignored everyone around them as they ate and discussed how to avoid future confrontations during this misadventure in Britain. Using magic to confuse the muggles, they left without paying.
If anyone had seen them and made an inquiry, they would have asked, "Why should we pay for anything?"
Before nightfall, the couple began their journey back to Hogwarts by apparating in several stages from London to northern Scotland. They arrived during dinner with their glamours of Rex Harrison and Elizabeth Taylor restored. There were fewer comments when they walked into the Great Hall than they had expected, so they quickly sat with Nicolas and Perenelle at their private table. Throughout the meal, the couple ignored the less than subtle statements from Headmaster Dumbledore at the head table about a meeting to discuss their trip to Gringotts.
Harry Potter remained seated and quiet throughout the meal – he'd received a short note from Sirius that assured his godson he was well and encouraged Harry to not ask any questions. Sirius promised that the headlines in the Daily Prophet the next day would be interesting.
CHANGE SCENE && Waiting for DinnerHarry Potter was anxious to hear about the meeting at Gringotts between the visitors and his godfather. Sirius was his only family and was more important than his classes. But Lady Hogwarts encouraged him to attend his transfiguration class and his friends spent their time laughing and talking so the afternoon passed. Well before the students headed for the Great Hall for dinner, Dobby appeared with a short letter from Sirius.
Don't ask any questions or talk about my meeting during dinner tonight. I promise the Daily Prophet will be interesting tomorrow. Watch for that at breakfast. I am well and satisfied with the outcome of multiple things today. Where would you like to go for a vacation during Spring Break? Or this summer? How about across the pond? Or to the beach in the south of France? The enclosed letter needs to be placed into the hands of the castle by your hand. (It does sound weird to think and write a sentence like that. Does it sound strange when you 'speak' to the castle?)
Wondering along the hallway, Harry ducked into an alcove and called for Lady Hogwarts. When the castle's entity appeared after just a moment, the teenage boy handed over the letter from his godfather. He explained that Dobby brought them from London.
"Rex and Elizabeth haven't returned yet," Lady Hogwarts informed the Boy-Who-Lived before she opened and read the letter. Rather than offering the letter to Harry to read, she simply said, "Your godfather is well and the Horcrux has been destroyed by the goblins. But please say nothing."
Harry grumbled slightly, "Everyone wants me to be quiet."
"Your godfather and I are trying to protect you. We don't want any of the visitors to take notice of you again. I shouldn't have let you be in the Room of Requirement the other night and let them see that you can destroy Horcruxes with a bucket of water."
"I'll be quiet," Harry agreed. Then he remembered the other wizard that appeared and the teenager asked a few questions about Ramesses. "
Lady Hogwarts explained, "In ancient Egypt, everyone spent their entire lives preparing for the afterlife. The Pharoah decided to delay it for as long as possible with this spell. And for three thousand years he's avoided his day of judgment."
"He's probably spent two thousand years crafting spells to protect himself," Harry said.
When the castle entity left him in the alcove, Harry slipped out and began walking toward the Great Hall once again. And he remembered the ancient wizard in his Egyptian finery sharing some memories with him in exchange for the information on Tom Riddle.
'An instant portal to anywhere sounds great. But I'll have to think about how it works before I try it,' Harry decided. Then he wondered, 'Ramesses wants to protect his secrets. I really need to look at his information – the spells he shared – closely. They might all be traps to capture or kill me. These people are not friends for wizards.'
CHANGE SCENE && MeetingAfter dinner, Dumbledore insisted on a meeting with the visitors and the five adults walked the halls to the headmaster's office. Lady Hogwarts listened unseen in the walls of the headmaster's office as Rex and Elizabeth replied to the headmaster's questions with half-answers and their own questions about Dumbledore's history with the goblins. Rex was bombastic at times while Elizabeth remained coy and sighed a great deal reminding Lady Hogwarts of the few times Albus had been called on the carpet by some government official or angry parent over the past fifty years.
And most curiously, Nicolas and Perenelle remained silent through the entire interview. When the hour grew late, Lady Hogwarts appeared in the office and reminded the visitors that their time within her walls ended after only six more days.
"The Flamels must finish their updates to a book we're going to publish," Dumbledore argued. "They may need to remain past that date."
"No. They all leave on 17 February."
"Yes, 17 February," Perenelle agreed though Nicolas remained silent.
"What book are you publishing?" asked Elizabeth Taylor.
"The Flamels want to update a book about the Horcruxes supposedly written by someone named Cleopatra two thousand years ago," Dumbledore replied. "We're going to publish it as an updated translation under my name."
Perenelle and Nicolas kept their attention on Elizabeth who made a sour face but didn't comment otherwise about 'her' work being stolen. After two thousand years, she didn't really remember what she'd written.
Lady Hogwarts decided to not muddy the waters with any questions about Gringotts and escorted the visitors from the headmaster's office back to their quarters.
CHANGE SCENE && ChessThe round-robin chess tournament was in the third round with Ravenclaw's Priscilla Dawlish giving Ron a hard time in their chess match. She'd eliminated her rivals in Ravenclaw and was the first winner to play Ron from outside Gryffindor in this round. They'd traded pawns before she took a knight and a bishop unanswered, and Ron was in danger of losing a game. After another twenty minutes of play, Priscilla cornered Ron's king and declared, "Checkmate."
Ron Weasley was shocked but responded properly with a handshake and clearly stated, "Congratulations."
Harry got Ron away from the hallway for a while and they walked down seven flights of stairs to the kitchens for a snack provided by the elves. After a butterbeer and some sandwiches at 11:00 PM, Ron's spirits began to recover. He spoke of how he'd change his strategy in his next game and Harry grinned to hear the other Gryffindor charge ahead. Ron wasn't eliminated from playing for the ultimate championship, but he'd have to sit out a few games while Priscilla was the leader. Eventually, Ron would get to play her again.
And again, Harry found himself thinking about Hermione Granger. What would she think of the Horcruxes, the Holy Water, and an improved Ron Weasley?
'If I can get the Pharoah's instant portal to work safely, I might be able to find her again. The world is a big place but if can get anywhere instantly, what's to keep me from locating Hermione?' he thought.
CHANGE SCENE && Seventh Floor RealizationsJust at that moment, Lady Hogwarts appeared. She'd left the visitors at their doors and come to the hallway on the seventh floor where Draco Malfoy had just been defeated by Hannah Abbot in a quick chess match.
"What happened to Malfoy?" Lady Hogwarts asked Harry and Ron who were watching the matches.
"Malfoy was too confident and assumed his opponent would play like a tentative girl," Ron explained. The fifth-year Gryffindor made a face before he admitted, "Like I did in my game with Priscilla Dawlish. I thought she would play like a girl, and she beat me."
Lady Hogwarts nodded. "A witch can be as formidable an opponent as a wizard. Never doubt that for a moment, gentle wizards."
CHANGE SCENE && FoundersThe Daily Prophet headlines were in large type – Founders Come Back and Attack Gringotts.
The previous day, there'd been a battle inside Gringotts between the goblins and a wizarding couple who were guests. The wizards fled before the armed goblins after blasting a hole in the ceiling of the meeting room and injuring several goblins. The reporter quoted Director Amelia Bones of the DMLE with details of the meeting between Hogwarts visitors and a Gringotts representative.
'As soon as they entered the bank, the glamours of muggle movie stars fell away and revealed the true appearance of the two. Gringotts named them as be Helga Hufflepuff and Godric Gryffindor. And while Helga appeared to be level-headed for a thousand-year-old witch, Godric was a hot-headed wizard who drew his wand and fired spells at goblins from inside Gringotts.'
Elizabeth smiled – they thought she was only one thousand years old; half of her true age. Rex was disgruntled to be called hot-headed and to have the picture of his goose form pictured falling out of the window and then flapping his wings desperately to fly over Diagon Alley and escape. The ibis was graceful and lovely in her flight from the window and over London.
Professor Sprout and Professor McGonagall worried that the founders of their houses at Hogwarts were present and hidden. Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick started at Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel more closely – were they Rowena and Salazar under some glamor? Headmaster Dumbledore dismissed the notion that the founders were still living. He would have known or felt their presence in his castle.
'Now the goblins will make noises of rebellion and saber-rattling until they win some meaningless concession from the Wizengamot,' he thought and dreaded the speeches he'd have to tolerate from so many members who were prejudiced against the little blighters.
Aurors did appear in the Great Hall at lunch to deliver scrolls to the headmaster (from Bones, Fudge, Longbottom, Ogden) and to Rex Harrison (from Ragnock with insults, and Sirius Black with platitudes worthy of Albus Dumbledore).
CHANGE SCENE && More HeadlinesWith only four days left in their visit, the next morning, the four visitors gathered early to plan how to move forward with their tasks for Lady Hogwarts.
"What do we do if we haven't found this ring or dealt with the Homunculus?" asked Rex. "Hogwarts will throw us from the parapets if we try to remain one moment more than her invitation."
Nicolas replied, "There's an endless supply of roofs to shelter us in Britannia."
"Who will give us house room?" asked Elizabeth.
Perenelle explained, "They have establishments called inns where we can sleep relatively safely at night."
"How prevalent are they in Magical Britain?" Elizabeth asked. "They are very provincial here, but the hotels in Spain are marvelous."
Rex seemed to be delving into his memories and commented, "We had inns a thousand years ago."
"Only occasionally and the establishments were never particularly safe among the Scots and Picts here in the north," Perenelle remembered.
"The homunculus is housed somewhere in England…probably with Lucius Malfoy."
Nicolas immediately stated, "Rex, you will not touch the Malfoy boy. If anyone goes to him for information, it will be Salazar and Rowena."
Waving away the threat, Rex stated, "That leaves the ring for Elizabeth and I to retrieve.
Perenelle frowned, "So you're giving us responsibility for the Homunculus, Rex?"
"How difficult can it be? The construction is weak. Cast Finite Incantatem and be done with it."
"Are you anxious to return to your throne in Spain?"
"No," Rex replied. "I think Elizabeth and I shall venture to a warded property in Italy to think and study for a hundred years or so."
"But what of the king and queen in Spain?" asked Nicolas.
"Are themselves. We use a spell that allows us to share their shells…being king is boring in this century," Rex said and dismissed the topic from further discussion. The Flamels exchanged glances – Rex and Elizabeth were playing with forbidden magics again.
Hissing with frustration, Perenelle said, "Rex, you're playing with the Statute of Secrecy! If the ICW notices, you and Elizabeth could be questioned. That might expose us as well."
Rising from his chair without finishing his meal, Rex left the Great Hall. Several pairs of eyes from different tables followed the wizard but he paid no attention to them, wrapped in his own thoughts. Albus Dumbledore debated following and questioning Rex or focusing on the other three visitors. But his attention was captured by the Daily Prophet being delivered with another day of giant headlines.
'Gringotts Protects Sirius Black! Director Bones Clears all Charges! Lord Black is Back!'
Growling with frustration, Dumbledore realized none of his minions in the DMLE had called him on the floo with this news.
'Are they all locked up again?' he wondered. 'And Black is free. Merlin's mushrooms, Potter will never go back to the Dursleys again.'
CHANGE SCENE && Magical Books and PortraitsThat morning, Perenelle Flamel in the company of Lady Hogwarts, approached Harry Potter for his help. The visitor understood from the castle that Potter – like all of her students – was protected from the visitors, schemes, or machinations. Perenelle remembered the reason for creating the school a thousand years in the past and continued to believe it was important to protect and educate the young witches and wizards.
"Young Potter, I understand that you have seen this Dark Lord Tom Riddle in his spirit and mortal form."
"Beg pardon?"
"You saw this Tom Riddle as a teenager rising from the memory in his diary, you saw the spirit for in your first year, and this past equinox, you saw his homunculus rise from a cauldron."
Harry stared at the witch with eyes much older than his fifteen years and frowned. Then he replied, "I did."
"There is a spell that will allow you to move the memory to a sheet of fine paper. Then the pictures can be used in the new book we're going to publish on the reasons not to make Horcruxes."
"Why do you want his pictures?" he asked.
"I want people to see the changes and pain inflicted upon the wizard stupid enough to make more than…to make multiple Horcruxes."
"Why not get these pictures from the headmaster?" he asked.
Perenelle smiled, glanced away, and explained, "Albus Dumbledore wants his name on the book, but he refuses to share his memories."
Now, Harry glanced toward Lady Hogwarts who looked embarrassed by the witch using information she'd shared with Perenelle/Rowena. She'd never know Theodora and didn't ask for that persona's opinion of anything.
In the deserted classroom where Lady Hogwarts and Perenelle led him, Flamel taught him the spell to transfer the memory from his wand to a sheet of paper. First, Harry cast the spell to bring his memory of Tom Riddle from the diary (1940) and then Perenelle produced pictures of Tom Riddle in 1950, 1970, and finally 1981. That year, Tom Riddle still had a nose though he'd lost all his hair in the 1970s. Then Harry cast the spell to show what the Dark Lord looked like on the back of Quirinus Quirrell's head.
Finally, Harry cast the spell that captured the image of the homunculus that rose from the cauldron the previous summer. The Homunculus in 1995 was a monster without any humanity in his visage. The pages in Perenelle's hands were the photos she wanted for the book.
"This spell was created a long time ago…by an acquaintance of mine," Perenelle explained. "Many magical artists still use it today as the basis for their magical portraits.
Harry couldn't hide the surprise in his question, "Don't wizards paint the animated portraits that hang on the walls?"
Perenelle shrugged, "Witches and wizards are lazy. Leonardo scoffed whenever we showed him a magical portrait and showed us what was wrong with it. Even today, the true artists in magical society will create a portrait and then improve it with their brushes and paints."
END SCENECharacters with Multiple NamesCleopatra (Helga Hufflepuff/Elizabeth Taylor)
Caesar (Godric Gryffindor/Rex Harrison)
Theodora (Rowena Ravenclaw/Perenelle Flamel)
Justinian (Salazar Slytherin / Nicolas Flamel)
SCENERY: Updated List of HorcruxesCleopatra (Helga Hufflepuff) Bust Marble
Caesar (Godric Gryffindor) Gold Roman Victor's Crown
Theodora (Rowena Ravenclaw and Perenelle Flamel) Jeweled Necklace
Justinian (Salazar Slytherin and Nicolas Flamel) Iron Buckle for Robes or Belt
Alexander the Great (not seen since WWI) Golden Knife Sheath
Ramesses the Great (not seen since WWII) Golden Ankh
Marc Antony Greave. Destroyed by Harry Potter on 28 January 1996.
James I (died 1620) Crown. Harry Potter destroyed 10 Jan 1996
Charles I (died 1640) Crown Harry Potter destroyed 10 Jan 1996
Charles II (died 1685) Crown. Harry Potter destroyed 11 Jan 1996
Edward I (died 1307) Crown. Harry Potter destroyed 11 Jan 1996
Edward the Black Prince (died 1376) Crown. Harry Potter destroyed 12 Jan 1996
Edward III (died 1377) Crown. Harry Potter destroyed 12 Jan 1996
Henry V (died 1422) Crown. Harry Potter destroyed 15 Jan 1996
Henry VI (died 1471) Crown. Harry Potter destroyed 15 Jan 1996
Charlemagne (died 814) Shield. Harry Potter destroyed 7 Jan 1996
Attila the Hun (died 453) Sword. Harry Potter destroyed 7 Jan 1996
Eleanor of Aquitaine (died 1204) Crown. Harry Potter destroyed 16 Jan 1996
Henry III (died 1272) Crown. Harry Potter destroyed 16 Jan 1996
Henry II (died 1189) Crown. Harry Potter destroyed 17 Jan 1996
Richard the Lionheart (died 1199) Crown. Harry Potter destroyed 17 Jan 1996
Thomas Riddle (died 1981, 1991, 1992) Diadem Harry Potter destroyed 7 Jan 1996
Other dead Horcruxes
Diary of T.M.R. (destroyed by Harry Potter in June 1992)
Nagini (Maledictus) (destroyed by Auror Shacklebolt, 19 December 1995)
Slytherin's Locket (destroyed by Harry Potter, 23 December 1995)
Scar (destroyed by Harry Potter, 23 December 1995)
Ravenclaws Diadem (Harry Potter, destroyed 7 Jan 1996)
Hufflepuff's Cup (Gringotts curse breakers, destroyed 10 February 1996)
Remaining Riddle Horcruxes
Gaunt Family Ring
Tom Riddle Homunculus