Chapter 21
"Wow, this is amazing!" Ginny exclaimed, looking around wildly. "Look at all this art!"
"Ginny, don't get carried away. Remember why we're here," Hermione said.
"It's called blending in. People come to here to look at art. We'll look suspicious if we're not at least looking at a few things along the way. Besides, don't tell me not to get carried away when you're doing the same thing," Ginny said, raising an eyebrow.
Hermione huffed and forced herself to stop looking at a statue she had been studying.
"Are you two done?" Alex asked, glancing over his shoulder at them.
"How can you not be fascinated by all this? I mean, the Louvre is the largest art museum in the world." Ginny said.
"I have a mission to complete; I have no time to gawk at paintings and statues," Alex said coldly, turning back forward.
"Killjoy," Ginny muttered. "Would it kill him to enjoy life every once in a while?"
"Ginny," Hermione scolded.
Ginny snorted.
"It's true, and you know it is," she replied.
"Come on, or he's going to leave us behind," Hermione said, taking her friend by the wrist and dragging her forward.
"Where even are we going to start looking for the jewel we need?" Ginny asked. "This place is huge; it'd take days to search through everything."
"That's why we ask for directions," Hermione said.
"Too late," Ginny said, pointing. "Looks like Alex is a few steps ahead of us."
Alex was talking to a guard, who pointed down the hall, saying something. Alex nodded in thanks and walked towards Hermione and Ginny.
"Come on," he said. "The jewel is at the far side of the museum."
"So far away..." Ginny groaned.
"Quit it," Hermione said. "We can look around on the way there."
Ginny perked up at that. It took about half an hour before they finally arrived at their destination. There were jewels everywhere, ranging from small tiny jewels to large jewels.
"That one's huge!" Ginny exclaimed excitedly, pointing to a large diamond.
"Alex, how big would this jewel be?" Hermione asked.
"Not very big; I would say in the small to medium range," Alex said.
"Hey look, there's a bunch of red jewels over there," Ginny said, nodding in said direction. "That guy at the church said it was a red pyrope garnet jewel."
The three walked over.
"Most of these are just rubies," Hermione said.
"Over here," Alex said.
Hermione and Ginny walked over to Alex. They looked at the jewel. It was quite small and a deep red color, much like the color of blood.
"How do you know this is the one?" Ginny asked.
"The plaque."
Hermione and Ginny looked at the plaque.
"Oh," Ginny muttered.
"The jewel of the 'Diademe de Calamite'," Hermione read.
"Doesn't look like much," Ginny said.
"Appearances can be quite deceiving," a French accented voice said from behind them.
Hermione and Ginny turned to see one of the curators of the museum. The curator came closer. Alex didn't even acknowledge her; he just kept staring at the jewel, his disguised brown eyes intense and hard.
"This jewel is said to be cursed, blood red from the massacre that happened hundreds of years ago," the curator said. "It's the only thing left of the beautiful 'Diademe de Calamite'."
"Where did you find it?" Hermione asked.
"Near the border between France and Belgium," the curator said. "While it was being transported up to France, it was ambushed by followers of the Egyptian pharaoh that had taken the circlet in the first place. The circlet itself was destroyed and the jewel was taken away by one of the followers. It was eventually found in a small city bordering Belgium. It is the genuine jewel, checked and rechecked; if you look closely enough, you can see the small dents where the jewel lied in the circlet."
"Wow..." Ginny breathed, staring at the blood red jewel.
Suddenly, Alex turned around.
"Let's go," he said.
"H-hang on, Alex! This is the real jewel!" Ginny exclaimed.
"No, it's not," Alex said. "It is a real jewel, yes, but it is not the one we're looking for."
Without another word, Alex left the room.
"I'm so sorry," Hermione said to the curator, smiling apologetically.
Hermione and Ginny rushed after Alex, leaving a sputtering and very confused curator behind.
A five year old Harry read the page from a Herbology book quickly with glittering innocent green eyes. He wore slightly worn, slightly too big clothes, all handed down from his twin brother. His black hair was messy as usual with his bangs covering his eyes slightly. His skin was pale white as he wasn't allowed out of the manor.
"Gillyweed..." Harry muttered, reading about the plant intently.
Harry put down the book and looked at his hands, tilting his head curiously. He squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated hard, his face scrunching up from the effort. He felt a slight stinging pain and opened his eyes. His hands were webbed. Harry blinked before grinning in excitement. He spread his fingers out, studying the webs between his fingers.
Harry scrambled to his feet and hurried over to the door. He peeked out; there were no Death Eaters in sight. He rushed out of the door, running to the throne room. He pushed at them, but they were heavy, especially for a five year old boy. He could snippets of a conversation within, but his excitement to show his father a perfect wandless transfiguration overruled the threat of being punished for interrupting a likely important meeting.
Finally, Harry managed to push open the heavy doors. He stumbled when the doors gave and the conversation from within became clearer.
"-trust you with my Horcrux, Bellatrix," Harry only heard the last part of his father's sentence.
The conversation was cut short as Voldemort and Bellatrix turned when the door opened. Harry saw a shiny cup in his father's hand, outstretched towards Bellatrix. Voldemort's crimson gaze darkened significantly.
"Go," he ordered Bellatrix.
Bellatrix bowed and took the cup. She brushed past Harry, giving him a nasty grin. Harry looked after her, wondering what a Horcrux was. However, he was forced to push it to the back of his mind as his father turned on him angrily.
"Harrison! What do you think you're doing?" Voldemort demanded coldly.
Harry flinched at the harsh tone before holding up his hands.
"I just wanted to show you what I did, father," he said.
"I do not care of your feats with accidental magic," Voldemort spat.
Voldemort whipped his wand out and pointed it at Harry.
"Crucio!"
Harry's eyes widened in fear and a second later, he was screaming in pain. It was excruciating, agony wracking every inch of his body. It seemed to go on forever, his father's rage fueling the curse and making it even more powerful.
Finally, Voldemort lowered his wand.
"I should've killed you the day you were born," he hissed. "Get out of my sight before I change my mind and kill you right here and now."
Harry somehow managed to get to his feet. He limped out of the throne room, his entire body trembling from the aftershock of the curse. He finally got to his room, managing to close the door before his legs gave out underneath him. He curled up in the corner nearest the door, sniffling. He tried to hold back his tears, but they escaped anyways.
Harry wiped the tears furiously. The webs on his hands had disappeared a little while ago. He sat there for who knows how long. Hours? Minutes? Harry didn't care anymore.
He didn't notice the door open and close, but he did notice a presence near him. Harry chanced a glance over to see Alex sitting next to him and staring at the opposite wall, his ice blue eyes cold and emotionless even for their young age. His twin stayed silent, not offering any words of comfort; that was just how he was. Alex had always been apathetic, never caring what happened to Harry. But Harry had always admired Alex from a distance. His older twin brother was strong, powerful, cold, and emotionless; the son Voldemort had always wanted.
Harry gradually calmed down. Even though Alex was cold towards everyone, including his younger brother, he always seemed to be able to calm Harry down with just his presence. Harry had no idea why; he didn't even feel close to his twin. They lived in separate worlds. Alex was wanted and Harry was not. It was as simple as that.
"You should stop trying to please father," Alex suddenly spoke. "He will never care about you or what you do. He will never acknowledge you. Stop trying to be someone you're not."
Then Alex stood up, putting a small bundle where he had been sitting a few seconds ago. Without another word, he left the room, leaving the younger twin to contemplate those cruel yet eye-opening words. Harry blinked after him before looking down at the small bundle. He touched it; it was soft. Harry picked it up and unfolded it. It was a scarf, dark gray in color. Harry hesitantly wrapped it around his neck. It was warm; Harry closed his eyes and smiled a genuine smile.
"Thank you...big brother," he muttered.
Harry gasped awake. He had been dreaming, but why would he dream of the past? And why of now all times?
He sighed and sat up, groaning as blood rushed to his head. He closed his eyes, waiting for the headache to go away. It took a few moments before it disappeared. Harry opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings. He had landed on a shore close to a river. He could hear a waterfall nearby. Harry got to his feet and spread his magic out to figure out where he was.
"Argentina...so it did work," Harry muttered, huffing.
Harry hissed in pain as he leaned on his left foot.
"Damn it, sprained," he muttered, glancing down. "Must've landed on it wrong during the transportation."
Harry concentrated his magic on his left ankle where the sprain was. The sprain healed, but it took a few more moments than he would've liked due to the slight fluctuations in his magic. Once it was healed, Harry walked towards the waterfall, taking out the two halves of the bracelet. They were both leaking the strange dark magic. He fit the pieces together and whispered a repairing spell. The bracelet melded together, but Harry could feel it oozing dark magic still.
"Let's hope the waterfall will fix you completely," he muttered.
Harry tucked the bracelet into his pocket. He tugged his dark blue scarf down slightly. He grimaced; the scarf was covered in sand and dried blood. He would have to wash it later.
He rounded the corner to see the waterfall.
"Devil's Throat Waterfall," Harry said, gazing at the beautiful waterfall. "I hope you're enough to activate this bracelet."
He hurried to the waterfall and balanced precariously on a rock. He took the bracelet out of his pocket and held it under the powerful force of the waterfall. Suddenly, he felt like there was no air in his lungs and Harry gasped for air as if he were drowning.
Then it was gone. Harry panted slightly to catch his breath before leaping off the rock. He looked at the bracelet. It was completely repaired. He could feel the magic; it was a lot more powerful than before. Suddenly, the bracelet vibrated and leapt out of his hand. It opened and latched onto his left wrist, connecting with his own magic. Harry winced at the sensation. It was cold and flowed like water. His magic flared outwards. It felt like before, but increased tenfold. Harry shook his head to clear it and looked down. He blinked when he saw he was completely soaked in water.
He sighed before taking out his portkey, disappearing within seconds.