Chapter Ten: Horcruxes Revealed
Egypt was absolutely beautiful. Harry couldn't wait for Remus and Tonks to show up so that they could see it. Harry could see the sprawling city of Alexandria from the plane before they landed. It was amazing.
When they did land, Ari and the others were met by an onslaught of camera flashes. She ignored all questions from the press as they made their way to the limo. Harry slid in after her, trying to ignore the fact that every camera person knew his name.
Ari smiled at them all as they arranged themselves around her. "I hope that wasn't too overwhelming for you."
The rest of them laughed and told her that it was fine. The ride to the palace took about twenty minutes. When Harry saw it for the first time he thought that he would faint. It was huge! There were terraces and fountains and grand double-doors. There were exotic trees and animals. The entire place was surrounded by guards with big guns and the press stood outside the iron gates trying to get a picture of the small group coming out of the limo.
"Her Majesty, Queen Arianna, Lady of the Two Lands and Mistress of the Nile, has arrived!" a tall man with a stern face and a very ornate outfit shouted, announcing the queen for the first of what Harry assumed would be many times.
Shoulders back and chin raised, Ari walked towards the front doors. The guards standing before it moved their weapons out of the way and allowed her to pass. Harry and the others followed her proudly, trying to be mature and adult.
When they entered, the first thing that Harry did was pick his jaw up off the floor. He had never seen anything so beautiful in his life! Sweeping staircases and marble floors adorned this place. There were attendants everywhere he looked. And then he saw Percy Weasley enter with a clipboard and pen in his hands.
"Hey Ari," he said without looking up, "busy day today. Remus and Tonks will be here shortly. You have your first coronation in two hours and forty minutes and then the next one will be held tomorrow afternoon. There is a press conference immediately following each one. The muggle press that you'll be facing today can be somewhat brutal. Especially the woman with short brown hair that always wears the blue suit. You want to avoid her as much as possible. You have a meeting with the former Egyptian president right after the press leaves. Immediately following that you will be having dinner with…" he flipped through his noted quickly. "…the American senator from New York, requesting that you invite the American president to the palace so that he can smooth things over with the new government. And you have an invitation from Queen Elizabeth to a royal ball some time this winter. It's best if you respond promptly. But for now, there is a lunch set up for all of you in the Queen's suite upstairs. Follow me."
"Oh, Percy," Ari whined, "please say that they didn't make any ridiculously extravagant meal."
"They tried to," he said smiling at her, "but I talked them into ordering Chinese. You have no idea how hard it is to find a Chinese restaurant in Egypt. I even left the food in those silly little containers that you like so much."
Ari wrapped her arm around Percy's waist and said, "What would I do without you?"
"Not much, I expect," was his cheeky reply.
She and the others laughed, following Percy up the stairs. They entered a long hallway and at the exact center was the door to her room. They all held their breath while Percy pushed the door open.
There was a huge bed at the end of the room. Harry guessed that you could fit about ten people in that bed comfortably. At the other end, directly opposite of the bed, was an entertainment stand. There was a huge t.v. and stereo. Game systems and games lined the wall. In the center of the room was an enormous table, laden with little white containers of Chinese food. It was very low to the ground and instead of chairs, it was surrounded by big puffy cushions.
"Holy shit," Ari whispered in an awed voice. Evidently no one had even told her how extravagant it would be.
"Those French doors," Percy said, pointing at the ornate double doors directly across from the one through which they entered, "lead to your terrace. It is there that you will make public announcements."
She nodded before sitting down on one of the fluffy cushions. "Okay, Perce. Come on everyone. Lets eat."
They all found their seats quickly and sat down with folded legs and growling bellies. Percy, however, remained standing.
"Aren't you eating with us, Percy?" Ari asked.
"No," he said, heading for the door, "I've already eaten. Right now I am very busy. I have to see Remus and Tonks to the palace. I will see you soon."
After the door was shut and Percy was gone Ari said, "That man is the one who really runs the country."
"He's good at running things." Fred said.
"Okay," Ari said slurping noodles from the grasp of a pair of chopsticks, "We need to start brain storming. Voldemort made seven horcruxes total. The first was the diary, which has been destroyed. The second was the ring, which Grandpa also disposed of. The third is a necklace. This artifact is currently in the custody of someone else. That leaves four unaccounted for. Any ideas, people?"
"Huffelpuff," Harry said, "there was something in the pensieve that he found that belonged to her. I think that is one of them."
"Okay," she nodded, setting down her food, "one down, three to go."
"We need something of Ravenclaw's and Gryffindor's," Harry said now, "The ring was Slytherin's. What could the other founders have had that was important enough to make a horcrux out of?"
"Ravenclaw's most cherished possession," Hermione piped up, "was a golden feather, which had been passed down in her family. I read about it in 'Hogwarts; a History'."
"I absolutely love that book," Ari said now, "I thought that I was the only one to have read it." Hermione smiled and cast the others a look that said 'I told you so.'
"So," Ari continued, "it is safe to assume that Voldemort may have left the feather in the possession of the Ravenclaw family. It would be safe there and easy for him to find if he ever needed it. Who are the last descendents of the family?"
Hermione cringed, "The Blacks," she said, "were directly descended from the Ravenclaw line. That means that if the feather is anywhere it's at Grimuald Place."
"But we cleaned that place top to bottom!" Ron yelled, "We threw everything away!"
"Not everything," Harry said, "If anyone knows where the feather is, it's Kretcher."
"Alright then," Ari smiled and nodded, "We're getting somewhere. When we get home, we'll go looking for it. Harry can make Kretcher tell us where it is."
"That still leaves two other things," Hermione said, "What else would have been used?"
"Maybe he used an animal," Ron said, "or even a person."
"No," Harry said, "It's unlikely that Voldemort would put his soul in something that could think for itself."
"Unlikely," Ari said, "But not impossible. Harry, do we have the pensieve?"
"No, I haven't gotten it yet."
"But you know that Voldemort used to work at that shop on Knockturn Alley?"
"Yes," Harry said, not really understanding.
"That place doesn't do a whole lot of business. They don't sell much. What they do sell is very expensive," she rolled her eyes, thinking of the prices, "But there's a chance that whatever was there in Voldemort's day is still there. Have you ever been there?"
"Yes," Harry said, "once. But I didn't stay long."
"Did you see anything that stuck out?" Ari asked him, "was there anything that caught your attention?"
"I don't know," Harry said.
"Think!" she said, "Your connection to Voldemort might have made you sensitive to his horcruxes. You found the diary fascinating after all. Tell me, is there anything you saw in particular?"
Harry thought hard. He remembered the closet. He remembered Malfoy walking in. He remembered when Malfoy touched the hand on the shelf. That's it! he thought. "The hand!"
"What?"
"The hand that gives light only to the owner," Harry said excitedly, "It grabbed me! I remember!"
"Alright," Ari smiled again, "now we just have to think of something of Gryffindor's that might be a horcrux."
"What about the sword?" Hermione suggested.
"It's been examined," Ari answered.
Everyone fell silent. They couldn't think of anything. Hermione couldn't remember anything about Gryffindor's most prized possession. The author of the book said that the thing he loved most in the world was his family.
"Hello everyone," Remus said brightly, walking into the room closely followed by Tonks.
"Hi," they all said as the two of them sat down.
"Thanks for sending us the late plane," Tonks said, "just had too much to do."
"It's fine," Ari said.
"So," Remus began, "what were you lot talking about?"
"Horcruxes," Harry said, "we think we know what six of them are. We need to figure out the seventh. The one related to Gryffindor."
"Okay, what have you got on Gryffindor so far?"
"Nothing," Ari said, "the sword was tested and, aside from that, he had nothing of a material nature. All that he loved was his sword and his family."
"Maybe old family documents could help us find something," Hermione suggested,
"Who are the descendents of Gryffindor?" Harry asked.
"You mean you don't know!" Remus was shocked, "I thought it was common knowledge."
"Well, I have no clue," Harry said. The others all shook their heads and shrugged. Lupin seemed even more surprised that none of them had any idea.
"The only two families," he said, "with any of Godric Gryffindor's blood in them are the Longbottom's and the Potter's."
They all looked shocked. "Are you sure?" Hermione asked, "I thought that the Shaw's," she nodded towards Ari, "might be relatives."
Ari shook her head, "My family descend from Slytherin. We were disowned, however, for being a bunch of 'blood-traitors'."
"Harry and Neville are the last of the line," Remus said, "Maybe Neville's grandmother has something. But the Potter's are the closest relation. James' middle name was even Godric. And that's also why he wanted to live in Godric's Hollow. They would be the most likely ones to have anything that Voldemort might use. But I'm not sure what it could be."
"Could it be my invisibility cloak?" Harry asked.
"No," Remus answered, "James got that from his mother. Her family had no relation to Gryffindor."
They sat in silence. Everyone was trying to think of what the answer could be. "Could it be my ring?" Ginny asked a little anxiously as though she didn't want to have to give it up.
Remus shook his head. "That also came from James' mother."
Harry was becoming increasingly more terrified. He knew what Voldemort may have used. The more he thought about it the more he was sure that this was the answer. It all fit. Everything seemed to fall into place. It made him feel sick, but he knew that it was the truth.
"It's me," Harry said, his eyes on the ground, "I'm the horcrux."
"Harry, don't be ridiculous," Hermione said, "Voldemort would never use a human…"
"Unless he had no other choice," Harry said, looking up into her eyes, "It all makes sense, Hermione. His soul was shattered because he had already killed my parents. Gyffindor's most prized possession was his family. It's all clear. He put a piece of his soul in me. That's why we're connected."
"I have that connection too, Harry," Ari said, "but he didn't put his soul in me."
"But I can speak Parsle Tongue," he said, "Can you do that? You didn't get his power or his abilities. I did. I'm the horcrux I know it."
"But the only way that we can destroy that part of his soul," Hermione said, "would be to…to…"
"To kill me," Harry breathed, swallowing the lump in his throat. Everyone looked down at the floor, not wanting to accept this as the only answer.
"Not necessarily," Ari said, biting her lip like she always did when she was nervous, "there is one other way."
Harry looked at her and slowly it dawned on him. "Oh, Hell no."
"It's the only other way, Harry," she said, smiling sadly.
"I can't!" Harry yelled at her, "How could I?"
"What?" Remus asked in confusion.
"We have to get a dementor to give Harry the kiss." Ari said, resigned.
