I do not own Harry Potter, only the OC

Hello guys, Badger here. Back with a new chapter. A chapter which was difficult to write. Those who live in Britain will know, that we have had a bit of a heatwave recently, some areas reaching up to 40 degrees. I know for some of you in places like America, 40 degrees is not a problem for you, but us people in Britain aren't built for such weather. We pretty much keel over and die, if the temperature goes above 20 degrees. Because of the temperature, the heat and staring at a computer screen gave me migraines and headaches, meaning I could only write a couple of paragraphs at a time, before needing a break.

But, hey, I was able to finish the chapter and it's now here for all of you to enjoy. I won't keep you waiting any longer. Read on, enjoy and I will see you at the end.

Chapter 76

Memories and Horcruxes

Dumbledore leant back in his chair, his gaze kept on his hand that was starting blacken and decay. The result of his foolish mistake. He was able to locate the Horcrux, a small ring, which housed one of the Deathly Hallows. Two were now in his possession and Harry, unknowingly, had the third. However, Dumbledore should've known that Voldemort would place a curse on such an object. As soon as he touched the ring, he was infected and cursed. He was able to destroy the ring, but the damage was already done. After being inspected by Severus, the potions master declared that the decay will continue to spread and Dumbledore had at least a year until it killed him. Not how Dumbledore imagined how he would go, but all great wizards must die sometime. This just meant his plans need to be sped up considerably. It took much a lot of convincing and patience, but he was able to convince Slughorn to return to Hogwarts as the Potions Professor. The man had memories of Horcruxes, that could be useful, but Dumbledore knew the man wouldn't let him have them, but Dumbledore was sure he could get Harry to retrieve those memories. If he can get Harry to work with him, that is.

Another thing Dumbledore had to worry about this year was Malfoy and Nott. Severus had informed him that Voldemort had tasked the boys to kill him, to earn their place in the Death Eater ranks. Dumbledore hoped that the boys could be redeemed and brought back to the light. Whilst he was still optimistic that they were still redeemable, he would still need to be careful. He had a plan, should the worse happen. Malfoy and Nott were still young, they needed to see the error of the Dark Lords ideology.

Platform 9 ¾, once filled with joy and laughter was now full of ominous silence, as students new and old began walking onto the train. If the stories were true, war seemed more and more likely each and every day that passed. Harry never thought things would end up like this when he first stepped on the platform. Over the past few weeks, he had gone through a few physical changes. He had developed more muscle mass and had cut his hair. It was no longer the messy mass it once was, it was now short, in a sideswept style, though it did retain some of its wild nature. Remus was standing behind him. Harry was grateful that the man has been looking after him, even though he didn't need it. Remus may not be perfect, due to lack of experience in raising a child, but he was trying. It wasn't long until Harry was approached by James and Neville. The two of them had also gone through some physical changes. Neville was losing more of the baby fat and was developing a lot of muscle himself, whereas James had grown a little bit, his hair still growing, almost touching his shoulders and his face was smoothing out and filling in slightly, becoming more defined and diamond shaped.

"Hey Harry, you okay?" James asked

"I'm fine" Harry replied, hugging his brother "how have things been for you two?"

"Stressful" James sighed "Abigail and Marty are worried about the war that now seems inevitable, they almost stopped me from coming to Hogwarts this year"

"Same with my gran" Neville nodded "She has been in a few Wizengamot Meetings…she hasn't told me much, but things don't seem good…according to her, sides seem to be forming with many choosing to stay neutral"

"Can't exactly blame them" James shrugged "Most of them are people with wives, husbands, children and other loved ones…"

"I guess your right" Harry sighed "Shall we get going"

"You two go on ahead" James said "I want to talk to Remus for a moment"

Harry and Neville looked at one another, before they shrugged and got onboard the train. James watched them, until they disappeared from view, where he turned to Remus.

"How has Harry been lately?" He asked

"Not great" Remus sighed "He was distant most of the time, especially when you weren't around…then again, we can't exactly blame him, he lost Sirius and the two were pretty close"

"I know" James replied "I think, everyone heard Sirius call him 'son' before…you know…"

"Yeah, I know" Remus said softly "I watched how his father and Sirius was when it came to raising him, or looking after him…his father was a brilliant dad and Sirius seemed to fill the role as a father perfectly…I can only hope I can do as well as them"

"I'd say you are doing a good job so far" James smiled reassuringly, where the train whistle blew, signalling it was about to leave "Shit…see you soon Remus"

Remus watched as James ran onto the train. He closed his eyes, praying to whatever gods were listening to him that Harry will grow out of this funk. The werewolf in him could sense a foul darkness in him and feared what would happen if Harry finally snapped.

Harry, James and Daphne sat at the Slytherin Table, where Dumbledore got up the podium and greeted the students before him, after the Sorting. His decaying hand didn't go unnoticed by anyone.

"What the hell is that?" James asked

"No idea" Daphne whispered

"Now don't worry children" Dumbledore smiled calmly, as he saw their gaze go to his hand "It is a minor irritation to the skin, nothing to worry about…now, before the feast I would like to introduce you to our new member of staff…or should I saw reintroduce…After retiring a few years ago, Horace Slughorn has agreed to return as the Potions Professor"

There were claps all around, though some were wondering about Professor Snape, if Slughorn was teaching Potions, though realisation came to most almost immediatley.

"Of course, with Slughorn teaching Potions, that would mean Professor Severus Snape would be out of a job" Dumbledore continued "However, the Defence position was still available and so…may I introduce you to the new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Severus Snape"

"Holy shit, he got his wish" James whispered, as there were polite claps across the Great Hall

"Now, I won't keep you waiting any longer" Dumbledore clapped his hands together "Let the feast begin"

Food appeared on all tables and people wasted no time, in tucking in, Ron Weasley especially. As they were eating, Blaise called out to James and Harry.

"Hey, Badger, Potter, will there be more Duelling Club sessions this year?" He asked

Students who heard his question, immediatley looked at the two, curious themselves. Seeing that Harry wasn't going to answer, James was the one to reply.

"I haven't thought about it" He said I'll talk to Professor Snape and Flitwick about it…though, it's a shame Cedric graduated, he was very helpful with the demonstrations"

"What is Cedric doing now anyway?" Daphne asked

"He's trying to get a job as a Curse Breaker, to help out with the inevitable war" James replied "Apparently he is being tutored by Bill Weasley, he sent me a letter about it"

"Really?" Harry asked, looking up from his plate for the first time "Good for him"

"Mr Potter?" A voice said, alerting Harry of Professor Snape standing behind him "Professor Dumbledore has asked that you go to his office after the feast"

Harry nodded, but there was a frown on his face. He couldn't stand the man at the moment, and didn't want to be in the same room as him, but seeing as he had questions of his own, Harry decided he was going to get answers.

As soon as the feast was over, Harry made his way up to the Headmasters office, where the door immediatley opened, as soon as he approached. He was surprised, but entered all the same, where he saw Dumbledore sat at his desk, waiting for him.

"Ah, Harry, do sit down" Dumbledore said, gesturing to the empty seat

"What did you want, sir?" Harry asked, as he sat down, trying to be polite

"I wasn't entirely honest, back in the Great Hall" Dumbledore said, raising his decaying hand, as clarification for what he was talking about

"No surprised" Harry scoffed "You have a lot of secrets"

"For good reason dear boy" Dumbledore replied seriously "I'm not going to sway around it Harry, but I am dying"

Harry's eyes widened in slight shock. He may not like the man, but he wasn't expecting that.

"How?" He asked, eyes narrowing

"From this" Dumbledore replied, placing a broken ring on the desk

Harry looked at the ring, where he could feel a faint feeling of disgust. It felt vile.

"What is it sir?" He asked

"It was the same thing as this" Dumbledore replied, holding up the diary Harry destroyed in Second Year, something Harry didn't expect to see again

"I…I don't understand sir" Harry said, after a moment

"Tom Riddle, who you know to be Voldemort, wanted to achieve immortality" Dumbledore sighed "And I'm afraid he succeeded…by creating several fail safes, called Horcruxes, he was able to do so… for Voldemort to properly be destroyed, his Horcruxes need to be destroyed first"

Harry was silent, as he thought about what Dumbledore just said, before he began to laugh. It started off as a small chuckle, but it soon turned into a full on, maniacal laugh.

"This is exactly why I can't trust you!" He snapped "You knew….YOU KNEW, that he wouldn't be able to be destroyed, with these Horcruxes still around and yet you make sure I'm trained to make sure I'm ready to kill him…I sometimes question your reasoning professor…if you told me about these Horcruxes sooner, we could have defeated him years ago, but instead you choose to keep secrets and just throw me into the deep end without teaching me to swim first…Why keep this a secret, are you trying to get me killed?"

"Besides the fact that Horcruxes are the most vile aspects of magic, that should be forgotten" Dumbledore replied "I wasn't sure to begin with…I had my suspicions, but it wasn't until you destroyed the diary where my suspicions were confirmed…I have spent the last few years looking for the others…however, it's difficult to know what they are and how many he made"

"So, what does this have to do with me?" Harry asked, after a few seconds of silence

Dumbledore looked at Harry for a moment, before standing up and moving to a golden cabinet, opening it up, revealing dozens of glass vials and a bowl full of water.

"You don't trust me Harry, that's fine" Dumbledore sighed "However, I hope that you can put that distrust aside for a while, so we can work together in discovering the rest of the Horcruxes and destroying them, so we can properly defeat Voldemort"

"I guess I don't really have a choice" Harry growled slightly "So what do I need to do?"

"Every one of these vials contain memories that could help us discover what the other Horcruxes are, but there is something more vital then that" Dumbledore replied, pulling out an empty vial "Horace Slughorn knows about Horcruxes, Voldemort asked him about them when he was still a student in the school, that memory could help us, but I know Horace won't allow me to have the memories…I leave it up to you, to convince him to give you the memories"

New chapter done. The temperature didn't help, but things seem to be cooling down where I'm living, so we should be fine.

What did you guys think? Good? Bad? Terrible and I should just stop? This chapter was originally longer, but due to the constant migraines, I probably probably forgot to include a few things. I will make sure to include them in other chapters, when I remember what they were. There was also supposed to be another chapter before this one, set during the holidays, however it would be full of pointless filler and I try to avoid pointless filler, as best as I can.

As you can probably tell, we are now in Half-Blood Prince. Harry is still having trust issues towards Dumbledore. I think any of us would be in his situation. I wonder how things are going to go now. We are getting closer and closer to the Deathly Hallows, meaning we are getting closer and closer to the end of the story.

That is all for now. I hope you enjoyed and I will see you in the next one.

Badger Out.