Chapter Seventeen- Voldemort's Secret
"Good evening, Harry."
"Hello, professor." Harry reached into his robes. "Sir, I got that memory you asked for."
"Oh, wonderful Harry. I knew you could do it. We will view it last as it may color our perceptions of the two memories I have for us tonight."
"Sir, I think your perceptions are already colored."
Dumbledore chuckled. "Quite right. It may color your perceptions. So, we will move into the guesswork and speculation portion of our lessons. Now Voldemort, upon graduation, had asked Headmaster Dippet to be allowed to stay and teach."
"Which job did he want?" Harry asked, though he thought he knew the answer.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts. Dippet, however, said eighteen was too young and asked him to reapply in a few years. Well, Voldemort ended up working in Borgin and Burkes. He proved to have a talent for convincing people to sell their valuables which brings us to our first memory I acquired from an old house elf named Hokey.
"About two days after this scene, Hepzibah Smith was dead and Hokey admitted to accidentally poisoning her mistress' evening cocoa."
"I don't believe it."
"Nor should you. Now, Smith's family looked through her house to find the locket and the cup gone. At the same time Smith died, Voldemort quit his job at Borgin and Burkes. Our next memory takes place ten years after our first one. It is my memory and any guesses we draw from it will be confirmed or dismissed after viewing Slughorn's memory."
Harry shook his head at the startlingly change Voldemort had undergone in just ten years. The skin was pale white while the whites of his eyes had a permanent bloody look to them, his features were burned and blurred; waxy and oddly distorted. He was no longer handsome, but bore a resemblance to the Voldemort he knew. "Sire, was he after the same job?"
"He was. We have not been able to keep a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for more than a year since I refused the post to Lord Voldemort."
"Then, it is jinxed? It's not just a rumor?"
"It is no rumor, Harry." He smiled at the distressed look on the fox's face. "A jinx like this has no effect on magical foxes. Severus will be staying and perhaps in a higher position than a teacher, perhaps. Now, let us take a look at the memory you secured."
I was right, Harry thought minutes later. Horcruxes are very Dark magic. Objects to house a piece of your soul with the catch being you have to kill someone. That's just terrible. I can't believe Voldemort would be so desperate to avoid death that he would kill people.
"Well, Harry. This confirms the theory I've had for years."
"So, he succeeded then? In making at least one Horcrux? That's why he didn't die when he attacked me when I was a baby?"
"A bit…or more, yes. Four years ago I received proof that Voldemort had split his soul."
"You did?"
"The diary, Harry. Tom Riddle's diary. It was a Horcrux as well as instruction to open the Chamber of Secrets. However, since you destroyed it, it is no longer a Horcrux. But, if you recall, Riddle did ask if seven was the most magical number, which it is."
"He made seven Horcruxes!?" Harry gasped in horror.
"Not quite, Harry. First, a piece lives in Voldemort's body. Second, two Horcruxes have been destroyed: The diary and Marvolo's ring."
"The ring was a Horcrux?"
"It was and it had a terrible curse upon it: The one that is slowly killing me, as you know."
"So…there are four left?"
"I believe so."
"But, what are they and where are they? They could be anything and anywhere."
"I am glad you appreciate the magnitude of the problem. Allow me to eliminate the problem of what the objects are. Through our first memory tonight, I have reason to believe we've seen two likely Horcruxes."
It didn't take long for Harry to recall the events of the first memory. "The locket and the cup!" he said.
"Yes. I would guess they became Horcruxes three and four. Voldemort would find the objects of the four founders of Hogwarts to be suitable items to house parts of his soul. However, I am sure the only remaining relic of Gryffindor remains safe." Dumbledore gestured to the case where the sword resided.
"Okay. So, he might have something of Ravenclaw's, but what of the last Horcrux?"
"Yes. I wonder. What would you say if I say I've been curious about the behavior of the snake, Nagini?"
"What? Animals can be Horcruxes?"
"They can, though it is inadvisable to confide part of your soul to something that can move and think for itself. However, she underlines his Slytherin connection and to Parseltongue, which enhances his mystique. As to your concern about locations, that is why we've been exploring Lord Voldemort's past as the places he's been may be where he's chosen to hide his Horcruxes. The ring, for example, was hidden in the Gaunt's shack."
That was when it hit Harry. "Sir, is that what you're doing while away from school? Trying to find a Horcrux's hiding place?"
"It certainly is and I believe I'm close to finding another."
"If you do, could I come with you? Help you get rid of it?"
"Yes, you may."
Harry was taken aback by the affirmative answer, yet his tail wagged. "I can, sir? Really?"
"Yes. You've proven yourself capable of handling difficult challenges and I may need your assistance. Plus, destroying Horcruxes will help you survive; when you face Voldemort, hopefully all his Horcruxes will be gone."
Harry felt elation and dread at the same time. He was happy that Dumbledore was willing to take him along to destroy a Horcrux. But, he also felt dread at what he might be facing in retrieving it, not to mention facing Voldemort one final time. Neither can live while the other survives. Harry's tail twitched as he recalled the last line of the prophecy.
"It is getting late, Harry and I'm sure a certain mate is eagerly awaiting your return and hear what we've learned."
"I'm sure he is. Good night, sir." Hari left the room, eager to tell Severus and knowing he would tell Ron and Hermione in the morning. He reached the bottom and gave the special knock. He entered to find Snape in bed, but alert. Harry climbed into bed and into Snape's arms. The red and black fox nuzzled Harry's ears a little bit before speaking.
"So," he said. "What did you learn tonight?"
"Quite a bit. Turns out your job is jinxed and all because Dumbledore refused the post to Voldemort."
"He wanted to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts? That's curious."
"Dumbledore thinks he didn't really want the job but was using it as an excuse to enter the school."
"But, why?"
"Either to find an object of Ravenclaw's or to hide it."
"An object of Ravenclaw's? Why something from Ravenclaw? He's a Slytherin."
Harry took a deep breath and told Snape what he saw in Slughorn's memory and the subsequent conversation he had with Dumbledore.
Severus's jaw dropped. "V-Voldemort made six Horcruxes and there are possibly four still intact?"
Harry gave a grim nod. "Dumbledore said the diary was one and that the Gaunt ring was another."
Severus frowned. "Ah, that is why there was a curse on it. V-Voldemort did that to kill whoever found it. Lucky, I acted when I did, though I wish I had acted sooner."
