A/N: Harry makes his first appearance in this one! Hooray Harry. Yeah…so as previously mentioned, in this AU Dumbledore is alive. And now he and Harry will have a nice chat. It shall be great. And the thing that happens in Potions does so at Kät-the-beta's suggestion. Thanks. Enjoy, review, no kill.

Chapter 2

Harry's journal

The year has started off calm enough, considering the events of my sixth year. No word from Dumbledore yet on RAB or the other Horcruxes. Somehow it's nice to not have anything immediately tangible bearing down on me for once, but then again, what lies ahead is certainly enough to be getting on with.

Malfoy's crowd has been acting strange. Zabini has been talking to Dumbledore and Queenie and Parkinson are hovering around Malfoy more than usual. He's not looking his best, either. Of course, having a father in Azkaban can't help much. I wonder if he's taken the Dark Mark yet in replacement of dear old Lucius. Maybe I'll do some investigating…

The Gryffindors and Slytherins had potions together on Monday. Malfoy was there, looking tired and ill. Harry watched him surreptitiously, wondering what was going on. Daphne Greengrass and Parkinson were shooting Malfoy nervous looks from their table in the corner, and Zabini wasn't there at all.

Harry was so distracted by these Slytherin anomalies that he quite forgot himself while brewing that day's potion, which was meant to cure food poisoning. His eyes drifted to the Slytherin corner as he stirred his cauldron haphazardly.

"Ouch!"

Harry looked around in surprise. He had accidentally slopped some of the thin yellow potion onto Ron's hand, where it was fizzing nastily. As Harry watched apprehensively, Ron's eyes bulged, and a second later, he was covered in orange feathers the exact shade of his hair. As the class roared with laughter, Harry flushed and grinned awkwardly at Ron. Slughorn sighed wearily and waddled over to get rid of the feathers. As Slughorn poked around with his wand, making Ron cluck in discomfort, Snape entered with Zabini in tow.

"I apologize for the…ah, further disturbance, Professor Slughorn," said Snape, looking with disdain at Harry's slopped-over cauldron and Ron. "Mr. Zabini had an appointment with the headmaster. Could I borrow Mr. Potter?"

Slughorn nodded his assent, now brewing a quick antidote for Ron's feathers, and Harry stood up, wondering if he was in trouble. As he headed out the door with Snape, he glimpsed Zabini sitting down next to Malfoy. The blonde immediately began whispering furiously to Zabini, who looked apprehensive but not the least bit guilty.

"Professor, er…where am I going?" asked Harry, though really wanting to ask what Zabini had been doing with Dumbledore.

"The Headmaster has requested your presence in light of his earlier meeting with Mr. Zabini, Potter. Hurry up."

Harry was burning with questions and opened his mouth to speak, but shut it quickly at a look from Snape. Snape gave the password at Dumbledore's gargoyle and left Harry without another word. Dumbledore greeted Harry at his door with a weary smile.

"Harry, come in."

"Did you find something, Professor?" asked Harry before he could stop himself.

Dumbledore sighed. "In a way, perhaps I have. Sit down, Harry."

Harry sat, nonplussed.

"Mr. Zabini has just been to see me with some interesting facts concerning our friend Draco Malfoy."

Harry recalled the scene in Slughorn's classroom, and he sat up slightly. "Really, Professor? Like what?"

"Blaise tells me that Draco has been talking recently about an odd affliction which he has suffered since infancy. You'll find its symptoms most intriguing. Draco has told Blaise that he feels as though there is something dark and terrible trapped inside him. It strains to get out and plagues him with nightmares and screams only he can hear. Draco also says that it feels as though it is part of a whole and wants to rejoin others like it. And finally—I think you'll find this most interesting of all, Harry, as I believe you have suffered similarly—this feeling is worst when there is activity by Voldemort and his followers. The severities of the activity and the feeling are proportional."

Harry blinked. So this must have been why Malfoy was looking less than healthy; there had even been that raid on Scotland in the paper this morning. Harry wondered if Malfoy had known. He waited, but Dumbledore merely looked at him.

"Well," he said cautiously, "that's…er, very interesting, Professor. I dunno…it sounds like he's got some animal inside him or something."

Dumbledore nodded. "In a way, I believe he has. But before I elaborate, let's here more of your thoughts on the subject."

Harry frowned. "That last bit…it sounds like how my scar acts sometimes. Like a

warning or detector for dark things."

"Quite."

"And…what was that about…something like it feeling part of a whole?" Dumbledore was silent, and Harry didn't know what to say. "I…hm."

"I wonder," said Dumbledore, frowning slightly, "if you think that Draco's ailment sounds at all like the possible nature of something else we have discussed at length."

Harry blinked, incredulous. "Well…I mean, it crossed my mind…but you don't really think…a Horcrux?"

"Quite exactly my conjecture, Harry. I was going over our list of probable Horcruxes—"

"The cup, the locket, the snake, something of Gryffindor's or Ravenclaw's."

"Precisely. I was wondering if perhaps we were wrong in thinking that Nagini, the snake, was one of our remaining four."

"Why's that, sir?"

"I thought that maybe Voldemort had thought of a better expression of his pureblood Slytherin roots than the serpent. What better to emphasize purity of blood than an actual pureblood? I wonder if Lucius did not agree to give his son to this purpose. Think about it, Harry—the supreme act of devotion, giving up one's first-born child. This loyalty is what Voldemort demands in a servant. So the Horcrux made would have served the dual purpose of signifying purity of blood and unswerving devotion to such."

"But why would Voldemort have told Lucius about the Horcruxes? I thought he was more…I dunno, paranoid about it."

"I have speculated for some time now that, in light of Lucius' actions with the diary Horcrux, Voldemort might have felt it was safer to open up a little more about it. However—" he added, holding up a hand as Harry opened his mouth to speak, "I do not imagine for a second that Voldemort would have explicitly told Lucius of his grand scheme involving the Horcruxes, and of Draco's involvement. I think he probably told Lucius something along the lines of that he wanted to instill Draco with a powerful dark magic designed to protect him, Voldemort, from attack, and that he would have to do it immediately after killing you. Especially if Draco was not yet born when Voldemort told Lucius this, I doubt Lucius would have said no. He would never have defied his master, and his paternal instincts weren't fully operational yet. So it is likely that Lucius was near Godric's Hollow the night Voldemort tried to kill you."

"So…well, he couldn't use me, so does that mean Malfoy's Horcrux was might have been made with one of my parents' deaths?"

"It is possible, yes. However, he might have been too weak to do it at the time. Lucius may have fled with his son upon learning that the Dark Lord had been destroyed. If these things were true, Voldemort is more apt to have used the death of Frank Bryce, the Muggle caretaker of the Riddle manner who was he murdered the summer before your fourth year."

"But it's possible, sir?"

"…It is, Harry," said Dumbledore hesitantly, looking concernedly at Harry's expression.

Harry stiffened, feeling somehow shaken by the news that a piece of Voldemort's soul not only resided within Malfoy, but that it was also perhaps created by the murder of his mother or father.

"Professor," asked Harry quietly, "does Malfoy know?"

"I do not know, Harry. This is difficult. I will speak with Draco and Professor Snape. I may also call you back. However, in the interim, put the matter from your mind. Remember, there are four others to worry about."

"Don't you mean three, sir?"

"I mean four, Harry. Do not forget that seventh piece of soul that still resides within Voldemort himself."

"Ah. Right. Er…"

"Thank you, Harry."

"Er, goodbye, Professor," said Harry awkwardly, rising to go.

"Goodbye, Harry."

As Harry closed the door, he glimpsed Dumbledore leaning over the Pensieve, wand to his temple.

Harry's journal

Malfoy? A horcrux? Merlin. Poor bloke. Well, I shouldn't say that. Because if he is one, I'll have to destroy him, won't I? Blimey. This could get interesting.

A/N: Oh, it will, Harry, never fear. Sorry this was boring, but I think it was necessary. I tried to stay as canon as possible (besides the whole Dumbledore and Snape thing… "), sorry if I made any errors. Thanks to Liz and Kät and a little Maddy for beta'ing! You guys OWN me. And yeah I know the whole scenario with the horcrux is a little sketchy, sorry. It's a stretch but I think it works out ok. It would work better if I didn't suck as much. Ah well.