Chapter 14
"Why do we have to stay here? We want to know what's going on!" Hugo protested.
"Yeah! Who was that creepy guy that did that weird thing to Hugo?" Mark asked.
"You three don't need to know anything right now," Ginny said.
Hermione walked into the room. Ginny glanced at her before turning back to the three kids.
"Off you go," she said. "If you behave, we'll tell you some things later."
The three kids reluctantly nodded before walking off. Ginny turned on Hermione as soon as they turned the corner.
"What the hell?!" Ginny gritted out. "You know we both want to help Alex; why did you stop me?! Why did you agree to go home?!"
"Ginny, if we want to help Alex, we're going to have to go behind Eric and Ron's back. They'll be too busy with the hunt to notice we're gone until it's too late." Hermione said. "I owled Lily; she agreed to watch after the kids and will be here soon. Eric and Ron are already at the Ministry. We're going to take a portkey back to America; hopefully, Alex hasn't already left."
Ginny calmed down.
"I forgot how cunning you can be," she said.
"That happens when you hang around people like Alex and Harry," Hermione said, smirking.
"Touche; those two are the most devious and cunning people I have ever met," Ginny said, smirking back.
There was a knock on the door. Hermione and Ginny went over immediately to answer it.
"Hey you two," Lily said, smiling. "Where are those three?"
"Playing somewhere in the house," Ginny said, smiling.
Lily raised an eyebrow.
"So, why'd you call me here? Does it have something to do with the manhunt for the miraculously alive Harry?" she asked.
"...Something like that," Hermione said.
"No need to hide it from me," Lily said, sighing. "I can't say I understand why you want to find him before the Aurors do, especially after everything he's done, but I know nothing I say will change your mind. You go find him; I'll watch after Hugo, Rose, and Mark."
"Thank you for doing this, Lily," Ginny said.
"It isn't like I have anything better to do. James is part of the manhunt too," Lily said. "You two better hurry if you want a head start though."
Hermione and Ginny hugged Lily quickly before rushing out the door. Hermione pulled out the portkey—a keychain this time—and Ginny grabbed it as well.
"Good luck!" Lily called. "And stay safe!"
"We will!" Hermione called back.
Ginny pulled on the portkey twice and they were whisked away.
They landed in the alleyway. Almost immediately, they Apparated to Alex's cottage.
"Please be here still..." Hermione muttered under her breath as she rushed towards the door.
They burst into the cottage, looking around.
"Looks like he's packed up everything already," Ginny observed.
Every book was gone and the wards were also down.
"Alex?!" Hermione called.
"Alex, are you here?!" Ginny called.
"Alex!" Hermione called.
"Damn, are we too late?" Ginny asked.
"Too late for what?" Alex's voice came.
They turned around to see Alex standing in the doorway.
"Alex! Good, you haven't left yet," Hermione sighed in relief.
"I was just about to leave until I felt you two enter the cottage," Alex said. "Why are you here?"
"We're here to help you," Ginny said.
"We're going to help you whether you want our help or not," Hermione added.
Alex frowned at them, his ice blue eyes staring at them suspiciously.
"Eric and Ron don't know you're here, do they," he stated.
"Nope," Ginny said, smirking proudly. "So, what are we waiting for? Let's get started! We have a lot of ground to cover and limited time!"
Alex sighed.
"Well, since I'm not going to be able to get rid of you," he muttered.
Alex gestured for them to follow him outside. They walked into the field.
"Where are we going?" Hermione asked.
"Just need to get far enough away," Alex said.
"Why?" Ginny asked, frowning in confusion.
Alex looked at them pointedly and snapped his fingers. There was an explosion. Hermione and Ginny jumped and whirled around. The cottage had exploded and was now a pile of ashes and wood, with flames flickering all over.
"What'd you do that for?!" Ginny shrieked.
"I can't afford anyone coming to the cottage to search it. I've destroyed every trace that Harry and I lived in America," Alex said. "I did the same with Riddle Manor."
"At least warn us next time," Ginny grumbled. "Now what?"
"Give me the portkey you came here with," Alex said, holding out his hand.
Hermione handed him the portkey. Alex closed his hand over and then opened it a second later. Dust fell from his hand.
"We can't afford to be tracked, especially since this portkey came from the Ministry." Alex said. "Don't use too much magic; they'll be able to track you. Only use it when necessary, unless you two can use wandless magic now."
"We know some, but nowhere near what you and Harry can do," Hermione said.
"That's fine. First, we need more information on the different types of dark magic. Harry took that pendant for a certain reason. His research on it says nothing about." Alex said. "Harry took all the books in our library and Riddle Manor is destroyed. That leaves one place."
"What?" Ginny asked.
"Number 12 Grimmauld Place, where all this started," Alex said.
Alex pulled out a small keychain.
"Hold onto me," he said.
"I didn't know you had a portkey," Ginny said.
"It's Harry's," Alex said. "And technically mine; he created it to portkey through wards. It's how I got in and out of Hogwarts when I needed to."
"Wow," Ginny breathed incredulously.
Hermione and Ginny linked arms with Alex. Alex looked at the portkey and pulled on the ring. A second later, they were standing in the empty hallways of the former headquarters of the Order. Alex brushed past Hermione and Ginny and walked up the stairs. Hermione and Ginny glanced at each other before following Alex. They stopped before a portrait that was covered by cardboard and curtains. Alex waved his hand over the covers and they vanished, revealing Walburga Black.
"You...I know you...which one are you?" Walburga asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Alex," Alex said.
"Ah yes, the stiff twin," Walburga said, huffing. "You are here because of Harry then?"
"So you knew," Alex stated.
"Knew about what? That Harry was alive? Sure I knew; why else would he ask me about a book on Horcruxes? You don't ask about Horcruxes merely out of pure interest." Walburga asked, chuckling darkly. "But if you want to know about anything else he's planning, I'm the wrong person to ask."
"Did he come here earlier?" Alex asked.
"He did," Walburga said. "He came with that infernal cat of his...Hedwig, yes? He went to the library but came out with nothing, at least from what I could tell. We all know how good he is with magic; he could've easily taken anything without me knowing. Anyways, he left without saying another word."
"He didn't say anything?"
"No," Walburga said. "Well...he said hello to me before covering me up again. There was one other thing though..."
"What was it?" Alex asked emotionlessly.
"Why is this so important to you, Alexander Riddle?" Walburga asked, stalling for time out of curiosity.
"Harry has revealed himself to the world. He's planning something and I want to find out what it is. If you saw anything, I want to know every detail." Alex said coldly.
"Very well. I noticed Hedwig was in pain...not exactly agonizing pain, but she was in a lot of discomfort," Walburga said. "It was subtle, but being a living Horcrux, it was clear in her eyes."
"I see..." Alex muttered thoughtfully. "So, Harry's plan has something to do with Hedwig and the Horcrux inside her."
"Perhaps he is planning to transfer the Horcrux inside Hedwig to another object," Walburga said. "That is the most likely option."
"Yes," Alex said. "That is very likely. Hedwig has been alive for too long, at least twenty years, which is far beyond what a cat like Hedwig should be alive for, magical or not. But, how is Harry going to do the transfer? Why is he doing it now? And what does he need that pendant he stole for?"
"I don't know," Walburga said. "Perhaps he left a clue for you in the library."
"Many thanks, Lady Black," Alex said, bowing his head slightly.
"Leave me uncovered; that'll be thanks enough," Walburga said.
Alex nodded once before leaving to the library.
"Transferring a Horcrux?" Hermione asked.
"Can you even do that?" Ginny asked.
"It is almost impossible, almost being the key word. A living Horcrux is dangerous because the animal is still vulnerable to aging and disease. Once the animal dies, the Horcrux dies with it. Harry's had Hedwig since our second year, which makes her at least twenty years old by now."
"How is she still alive?" Ginny asked.
"Harry's been possessing her for fourteen years. Even now, he's still connected to her through the Horcrux and his half of his soul," Alex said. "He kept her alive all this time and is still keeping her alive. But he can't do it forever, so Harry's most likely trying to find a way to transfer the Horcrux from Hedwig to an inanimate object without any sort of consequence."
"But then Hedwig would die!" Ginny exclaimed.
"Not exactly," Alex said. "It is past her time already. She's in pain because her body is breaking down, rotting from the inside out. The only thing keeping that cat together is Harry's magic."
They entered the library.
"Don't touch anything; some of these books are cursed." Alex warned.
Alex closed his eyes and spread his magic out. He was searching for traces of Harry's magic. He found a few books that had traces of Harry's aura on it, like a fingerprint. Alex opened his eyes and walked forward. He could feel the dark magic radiating from the books. He quickly broke the curses surrounding the books before picking them up. He brought them back to where his two companions stood. He put the two books on the nearby table and opened the first one.
"A book of cursed objects," Hermione said, looking at the title.
Alex flipped through it. He was about halfway when he paused, feeling Harry's magic on a page. He smoothed the book out and looked at the page's contents. It was a strange object, a kind of silver circlet with set jewels that consisted of small onyx stones with a larger jewel; a red pyrope garnet gem, as described by the small description near the bottom. Alex memorized the page before flipping through the book. He didn't find anything else and flipped back to the first page.
"This circlet," he said, showing Hermione and Ginny the pictures. "Apparently, it is rumored to be cursed, but the dark magic surrounding the object is described strangely."
"Is there anything else about it?" Hermione asked.
"Not too much," Alex said. "I memorized the page, so I'll tell you more later."
Alex switched to the next book, which was in a completely different language. This book was old, the lettering slightly faded.
"What language is that?" Ginny asked.
"Latin," Alex said, sighing slightly.
Hermione squinted at the title.
"What does it say?" Ginny asked.
"It's a book on cursed objects like the last one, but this one seems to list where you can find them," Hermione said.
"Correct." Alex said. "It is on the history of where abnormally cursed objects were used as well as where they were buried, specifically the most common places they were buried."
Alex flipped through the book until he found Harry's magical fingerprint. He read the page.
"There are too many places on this list, but at the top of the list is Egypt. Given that his magic is on this page, I wouldn't be surprise if Harry's already gone to Egypt; he tends to move quickly."
"What artifact could he want in Egypt? There are too many to count," Hermione said. "We'll have to go there to find any clues he left behind, but it's likely that circlet and two bracelets from the previous book, right?"
"Very likely," Alex said.
"There's only one way to find out. To Egypt?" Ginny asked.
Alex closed the two books and nodded.
"To Egypt."