Chapter Fifteen: Revelations and Mystery
October 9th
2:47pm
Hogsmeade, Scotland
Harry
Hogsmeade weekends were one of Hogwarts' best distractions to the disappearances and deaths in the outside world. Students could spend a day out with their friends and live carefree for but a small nugget of time before they had to return to the cold grey walls of Hogwarts where absent classmates or cancelled classes hailed more bad news. The cobbled street was home to mud and puddles galore due to the unnaturally heavy rainfall that had plagued Scotland for the past week and a half. However, this didn't affect the atmosphere in the three broomsticks, where, as always, the place was full to the brim with wizards and witches spending their hard-earned money on the various alcoholic beverages that Madame Rosmerta had on offer. It was for that very reason that Harry and his comrades chose to rent a room to spend some time with each other, away from prying eyes and cupped ears.
"How are we doing with the orphanage lead? Damien hasn't given us an update for quite some time now," Harry asked after he took a sip of butterbeer. Sirius and Remus had decided that a week apart was far too long and had opted to visit him in Hogsmeade for a much needed catch up.
"Progress is slow," Remus admitted. "The two children who Tom attacked have appeared to 'go off the grid' as the muggles. Finding them has proven more difficult than we anticipated, even with Damien's resources.
Harry frowned at that, acquiring these horcruxes was taking too long. "What about Salazar's locket and Helga's cup?"
"Those we have information on," Sirius supplied happily, pulling two documents from his fine red robes. He unrolled them and handed them to Harry. "That right there is a receipt and contract for the purchase of two heirlooms of 'great cultural significance' to Hepzibah Smith, a renowned collector of artefacts."
"We knew that already though, Smith was killed by Riddle who then blamed it on her house elf," Harry said unimpressed.
"Indeed. But considering the situation with Slughorn and the fact the elf's memory was modified, this supportive information can ease our suspicions of more misdirects," Remus explained. "They were not easy to acquire, Dora spent four shifts in the ministry records department searching for them."
'Misinformation is much more dangerous than no information I suppose,' Harry thought, reminded of the ministry fiasco. "Tell her she's done well; we can comfortably follow this lead now. What about where they are?"
"Nothing but speculation I'm afraid," Sirius admitted after necking the last but if his drink. "The reality is, we simply don't understand Voldemort as well as you or Dumbledore. We can make our guesses, sure, but at the end of the day they're still guesses."
Harry nodded; he knew at the start of their hunt that it would be mostly guesswork anyway but it was becoming much too common a replacement for hard evidence. "I understand, what have you guys come up with?"
Remus leaned forward, a tell for those who knew him that he was about to say something long winded. "As we know, Voldemort has proven to be a sentimental individual."
"Despite his claims otherwise," Sirius muttered.
Remus gave him an annoyed expression before continuing, "this leads us to believe places of importance and people of importance would be the likely hosts of horcruxes. As such places such as Malfoy Manor, Hogwarts, the cave the matron mentioned to Damien and Little Hangleton would be prime culprits to search."
"However," Harry continued, "the rest aren't likely to be in Malfoy Manor or Little Hangleton, which already held one horcrux each"
"Precisely," Remus affirmed. "We believe tha,t without more information, those places are a bust." He then looked at Sirius and gave him a nudge to reveal the rest of what they had discussed.
Sirius popped open another label less bottle and took a swig. The sight made Harry concerned but it didn't seem to bother Remus, so he said nothing. "Right then, the places are sorted so now you ask yourself, who would be lucky enough to house a little bit of Voldemort in a conveniently sized container?"
Harry didn't reply and Sirius stared at him for a few moments. He soon realised it was rhetorical and answered to break the awkward silence, "his top death eaters, the inner circle."
Sirius clapped once and loudly proclaiming, "ten points to Gryffindor! Even among the inner circle there are those who have been in favour far longer than others. The Lestranges, Malfoys and Dolohovs are speculated to even have been friends with Voldemort since his time at Hogwarts; however, it is their sons and daughters that we have to deal with now."
"Right and if we continue the logic that he wouldn't put all of his eggs in one basket, the Malfoy's are out again," Harry surmised.
"Fifteen more points to Gryffindor! We also figured that Dolohov wouldn't be a candidate anymore even if he was one since Daphne blew up his legs. What good is he to Voldemort if he can't even stand on his own two feet?" Sirius continued. He had finished another bottle and was reaching for his third when Remus vanished the bottle in his hands causing him to get splashed with the liquid inside. Sirius poured and took his own wand out to dry off his robes. "Point taken," he said to Remus.
Harry had watched the interaction with amusement and appreciation for Remus. 'I have no idea how to keep the man in line, but it seems I don't need to as long as Remus is around.'
Sirius cleared his throat and picked up where he left off. "With Malfoy and Dolohov out of the picture we can turn to the Lestrange family, Rabastion, Rodolphus and Bella. All of them are particularly nasty members of our community. Muggle baiting, torture and murder were and are regular pass times of theirs, but it was their prowess in battle that elevated them to the inner circle after the elder Lestrange was killed by Moody."
Harry frowned; it was clear who Voldemort would pick out of the three to protect a piece of his soul no matter how skilled the brothers were. "But of the three, Bellatrix was most favoured, right?"
"Yes Harry," Remus interjected. "Although the brothers were credited for besting great wizards like Edgar Bones and the McKinnon's, Bellatrix Lestrange's propensity for violence and death endeared her to Voldemort so much so that she is his most trusted ally and commander."
"Therefore, she is the most likely to know where a horcrux is and therefore presents an even greater challenge of acquiring them," Harry said angrily and strode over to the window. 'Getting her to talk will be impossible, let alone capturing her,' he thought as he watched people walking up and down the street, 'how I long for the days when this is over.'
Harry was about to ask another question when a feminine scream resonated throughout the village. He searched for the source from the window and saw a student suspended in the air with their arms stretched side to side. 'Bloody hell, it never ends.'
October 9th
2:43pm
Hogsmeade, Scotland
Daphne
"How are you feeling?" Daphne asked in a raised voice to be heard over the bar's other patrons. Her and Astoria had opted to spend the afternoon in the fabled pub since they hadn't spent much time together recently. Not to mention Daphne only found out she'd been in the hospital wing for three days this morning.
"I'm fine Daph, I've been taking it easy so it should pass soon," Astoria replied. Astoria was the spitting image of Daphne for the most part, blonde hair, same eyes but her face was more rounded, and it was clear she wasn't going to be as tall as her sister.
"Good," Daphne said as she nodded, "that's good. What did the healers say?" Daphne watched Astoria cup her drink nervously, so she braced herself for bad news.
"They said that it's fine, standard for someone with my… affliction," Astoria said with a tinge of disgust. Daphne frowned, last time she had an episode the healers said that it was worsening at an alarming rate and as much as she would like to believe the good news it was doubtful.
"Astoria," Daphne intoned disbelievingly
The youngest Greengrass sighed and took a sip of her cocoa and her expression turned sour. "Fine," she said tiredly, "they said that if I do something like that again then I could be hospitalised for a long time."
Daphne looked at her sister with pity, no doubt their parents had already berated and threatened to punish her tirelessly. They both loved Astoria very much and the blood curse in their line was tragic that much was true, but Daphne figured Astoria had grown bored of sadness and feeling sorry for herself. She could see in Astoria's eyes that she felt that her time in the hospital wing was worth whatever brilliant revenge she had concocted so instead of the generic questions like, 'I'm sorry' or 'I'm here for you' Daphne felt she'd appreciate something else.
"Did you get the little brat?"
Astoria beamed and hyperactivity began describing the cruel punishment she had inflicted on the poor boy who dared to enchant her hair to clever her face. Just as she was detailing her finishing touch, a hex that moves an itch every time it's scratched, Daphne noticed something odd. She spotted Draco Malfoy looking around in suspicion before ducking into the bathrooms. This wouldn't generally be cause for concern however she knew from Blaise that Draco should be in detention with McGonagall for another three hours.
'It wouldn't be the first time he's gotten one of his two apes to substitute for him, best keep an eye on him,' Daphne figured as she watched Katie Bell go in after.
"And then when he'd finally had enough, he burst into tears in front of the whole dorm!" Astoria exclaimed through her giggles. Daphne turned her attention back to her sister and smiled, if anyone could appreciate a good revenge plan it was her.
"I'd say you showed him exactly why you shouldn't mess with a Greengrass and for that your next cocoa is on me," Daphne said conspiratorially to Astoria's delight. "Why don't you go grab yourself another one now?"
Astoria jumped up, enthusiastically accepted the sickles that Daphne had offered in her hand and rushed over to line up at the counter. Daphne could only look on fondly for a moment before she had eyes for the bathroom. She casted a notice me not on the booth she was sitting at and made a beeline for where she saw Draco disappear. When she reached the girl's bathroom, Katie Bell, the sixth year Gryffindor she'd enter earlier, pushed past her.
Daphne turned and confronted the girl, "what's your problem Bell?" When the older girl turned around, Daphne had half a mind to think she was dead.
Her eyes were glassy and her face emotionless, but she proved that theory very wrong by replying in a monotonous voice, "I have to see Dumbledore."
It was only then did Daphne notice the package in the girl's hands, something wrapped in leather bindings. The clues began to formulate into a theory in Daphne's mind, 'Draco goes in, Bell comes out. Her eyes are glassy and her usually boisterous personality is muted to the point of nonexistence, more than likely she's been enchanted or worse. She has tunnel vision for Dumbledore and is clutching a package she didn't have when she entered. It all points to foul play and using Katie as a diversion. This is way too sloppy, it certainly has Draco's name all over it but why go through all that trouble for Dumbledore unless… shite.'
In the time that she had been deducing the plot behind Katie Bell, the girl in question had slipped away and Daphne could see her leave the pub with a confused Leanne. Daphne raced towards the exit, passing a stunned Astoria on the way out and shouting, "stay here," to her.
"But I don't understand, why do we need to see Dumbledore right now?" asked Leanne. The girl was practically hanging off of Katie Bell in the street trying to bring her back to the Three Broomsticks.
Katie pulled her arm free and replied robotically, "it doesn't matter if you don't understand, I'm going to see Dumbledore right now. He must receive this package."
"But why?" Leanne begged.
When she received no answer, she latched onto her best friend once more which caused a light scuffle. Daphne ran up the street and yelled, "she's been cursed, get out of here!" But it was no use, Leanne and Katie's grappling had caused the wrappings to come loose and Katie came in contact with whatever was in that package. The magical effect had sent Leanne to the floor and flung Katie into the air, her arms spread out and her mouth open in a silent scream. The sight was truly horrifying, and it wasn't long before Leanne was screaming at her friend's plight.
Daphne drew her wand and used it to wrap the cursed item up once more. Once the item was secure, she turned towards Leanne who was in the process of reaching out to her friend who fallen back to the floor.
"Stop!" Daphne cried as she stepped forward to supplant herself between the two, "are you daft? That's dark magic right there and you wanted to touch it?" Before Leanne could reply, heavy footfalls were heard as Harry, Remus and Sirius arrived at the scene.
"Daphne, what happened?" Harry asked although he only had eyes for his suspended friend.
"She's been cursed, she needs a healer as soon as possible," Daphne said quickly. Without a prompt from anyone, Remus stepped forward, lifted the girl in his arms and disapparated to St Mungo's. "I'm fairly certain I know who did this," Daphne said and at Harry's expectant look she revealed, "Draco."
Harry nodded like he knew someday that Draco would upstage himself from playground insults to attempted murder. "Alright," Harry spoke tiredly, "let's get that package back to base so the others can take a look at it."
"There's no way a student was the target for this attack, I got a glimpse of that necklace, and it doesn't come cheap. Someone important was saved an awful lot of trouble today," Sirius deduced.
However, his words didn't go over so well with the distraught Leanne. "Important?" she yelled angrily with tears in her eyes, "are you saying Katie wasn't important? That she was just some unfortunate casualty?"
Sirius backed up and stammered out, "ah... no what I meant to say is…" but he trailed off when he saw Harry's unimpressed expression.
"I'm sorry, Leanne, you remember Professor Lupin?" he asked tactfully, taking over Sirius' blunder. At her nod he continued, "well she's getting the best treatment there is right this very second because of him. You did well trying to stop her, we all know how important Katie is, that's why if there is anything you can tell us about this then that would be helpful."
Leanne sniffled and wiped her face to get rid of the tears. "I didn't see who bewitched her if that's what you're after. All I know is that she went into the bathroom, didn't come back for a few minutes then wouldn't stop saying she needed to see Dumbledore."
Harry looked at Daphne who nodded to confirm the tale. "Alright," he said and patted her on the shoulder, "thank you for your help. I think you should go let her friends know that she won't be around for a while, can you do that?" Leanne nodded and left the three of them alone in the street, each contemplating how to move forward.
"Draco has moved up in the world," Daphne stated with disgust. "He can't be allowed to roam free after this."
"Reckon he's got the mark?" Sirius asked aloud.
"It doesn't matter," Harry ruled, "mark or no mark he's a danger to us. Daphne, have Blaise follow him, I have a feeling he's not done yet. In the meantime, it's time we gather some reinforcements."
October 13th
2:21am
Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire
Voldemort
"Give it to me, Gregorovitch," Voldemort said in a commanding tone, towering over the second elderly wandmaker to grace his cells.
"I have it not, I have it no more!" the dishevelled man cried. "It was lost, stolen from me in the night, many years ago!"
Voldemort hefted the aged man off the ground by the neck and yelled in his face, "do not lie to me! Your thoughts are mine; your actions are mine and your memories are mine!" With that, Voldemort plunged a legilimency probe deep into the man's mind.
Images, memories of the Elder Wand began to surface. The young Gregorovitch obtaining it from a wizard's tomb. A more mature Gregorovitch lovingly caressing it. An older Gregorovitch studying it's properties. The memory he had been searching for, a cold night, a loud bang, Gregorovitch goes to investigate, he slams open a door and is only allowed a glimpse of the thief before the red hue of a stunner puts him on the floor unconscious.
Voldemort extracts himself from the man's mind and drops him to the floor, "who was the thief?"
The old man sputtered and coughed but managed to croak out, "don't know."
Voldemort let out something akin to a growl, "if you cannot help me find the wand then your usefulness is coming to an end," he threatened. "Give me a name!"
"I don't know! Please just let me and my family go, I will tell no one of what you seek," Gregorovitch pleaded.
Voldemort watched the man beg impassively, 'once more I am betrayed by my lessor's stupidity. No matter, the wand leaves a trail of blood through wizarding history, one must simply be skilled enough to follow it.'
"Fear not," Voldemort said reverently, "your family will be freed." Voldemort watched the man's eyes cloud as he accepted the small mercy and his own fate. "Yes, freed from their filthy, pathetic lives." The old man's eyes turned to panic but before he could plead anymore, a green light enveloped him and threw him across the room. Europe's most prominent wandmakers were no more.
A/N: Chapter fifteen everybody! Sorry it's taken so long, I've been focused on achieving a certain rank in a video game and there's only a little bit of time left to do it. That being said, progress never stopped for this fic it just slowed down.
If you're reading this on then I'd just like to mention that the story has been posted and will be similarly updated on Archive Of Our Own. I know some people have a preference so now there's options.
Not much changed about this chapter from the plan besides dates. It takes place on a Saturday and it was one week from last Saturday which was the Slug Club so I had to do some tweaking. Here was going to be a little segment where Blaise follows Draco to the RoR but it's too soon for that I think.
Little bit of exposition with the lads. Had to be done. Real development in their process is something I'm finding fun to write because it makes me go back and do research on how the trio figured out all of the horcruxes.
So Astoria's curse is being talked about now. I hinted at it once before but as you can see it is finally a plot point. The way I'm describing it is the excessive use of magic or energy makes her more sick every time and thus retaliating against that guy who pranked her was a trade off for her health.
Yes Gregorovitch managed to evade Voldemort for some time in the books but as you can probably tell, much of the story in book 7 is beginning now. That's because book 7 or part three for my story is going to be a major canon diversion so these storylines need to pick up faster.
This chapter's recommendation is 'Old Wounds and New Starts' by HonorverseFan. I really cool tke on a post battle Hogwarts with heavy mystical tones.
Hope y'all enjoyed :)
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