POTTER RESURGENCE
Chapter 21
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to J.K Rowling.
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December 20th 1994
Potter Manor
Hardwin sighed for what felt like the twentieth time. They had been waiting for over ten minutes and Harry had yet to show up from his bedroom. He had been dressed up in some official looking robes with the the Potter crest displayed on the right sleeve and some kind of amalgamation of crests that formed another bigger crest on his left.
Harry had said that the large crest was an amalgamation of all House Potter's vassals. Hardwin hadn't even known that they had vassals anymore. He knew that at one point, lesser houses used to seek protection from those stronger than them and they would be made vassals of that house. What that entailed, Hardwin had no idea, but Harry had told him that the practice had never stopped.
"What in the bloody hell is he doing up there?"
"You will watch your language, young man!" Lily glared at him before she sighed. "But you're right, it's only thirty minutes before the session starts, maybe you should go and check on him."
"That will not be necessary." Harry said and they turned to look at him from where he was standing at the top of the stairs. "How do I look?"
He looked... lordly. He was wearing burgundy robes with black and gold linings. While the material was clearly expensive, it wasn't so outlandish to seem fancy. And with his long black hair that came up to his shoulders, he truly looked like an aristocrat. Except for the hat, it made him look ridiculous.
"You look stupid." Hardwin said. "You should ditch the hat, makes you look like McLaggen."
"Don't listen to him." Lily smacked him on the head before she went and hugged Harry. "You look beautiful, my boy."
"Thanks mom." Harry grinned at Hardwin behind her back who rolled his eyes at him. "You look quite beautiful as well."
"Thanks, Harry. But we seriously need to go." She pulled back and took Hardwin's hand. "And you really need to get rid of the hat."
They winked at him, almost in unison before disappearing with a near-silent pop. Shaking his head, Harry walked over to the floo and picked some powder. He hesitated for a second before pulling off the pointed hat and leaving it on the platform that held the floo powder before disappearing into the floo.
He appeared in the Lord's office, each of the fifty members of the Wizengamot had one where they could meet other with other Lords in private. The office wasn't very big, it had a big table with a chair behind it and two in front. There was also a small couch along with a bookshelf on one side of the office. The Lord or regent was free to put anything there which they wanted.
The bookshelf before Harry had a few tomes. The largest one had all laws made by the Wizengamot, it self updated whenever another was added so the Lord only needed to look through incade that need something. The other tomes had treaties made by house Potter, agreements signed, contracts and anything that had any relation to house Potter.
On the table was a journal which every Lord Potter or regent was required to write in after every Wizengamot session to summarize what had transpired. While preparing for his first appearance, Harry had visited this office a couple of times ever since he had become Lord Potter and read through the laws as well as the journal.
On a rack were the Wizengamot robes, plain black with the letter 'W' at the back. As this was going to be his first time there, he was not required to wear them. Checking his watch, he saw that it was exactly 12:00 which meant that the session had started. He opened the door to the office and walked across the hallway where the large double doors of the Lords' entrance were.
With a flick of his hand, the doors were pushed open and Harry walked in. He was met with silence as he walked, ignoring the seats on either of his sides as he followed the aisle untill he reached the middle of the chamber, right in front of the Chief Warlock.
His eyes swept across the legislative Chambers of the Magical world, taking in all forty-nine figures as they peered down at him. He looked up in the gallery and easily spotted Lily, her red hair standing out among the others like a beacon. Hardwin was seated next to her and gave him a thumbs up when their eyes met.
"What is the meaning of this, Chief Warlock?" Fudge, who was seated just below Dumbledore asked as he looked at Harry.
"Perhaps it would be better if Har_ uhm, Lord Potter explained for himself." Dumbledore replied and looked at Harry expectantly, along with everyone in the Chambers. Harry could feel the weight of their eyes on him and he couldn't help a satisfied smile.
"Lords and Ladies of the Wizengamot." He started, his voice strong and firm, sweeping across the quiet chamber. "For those who don't know me, my name is Harry James Potter and recently, I found my self taking on the responsibility of Lord of the Ancient and Nobel House of Potter."
"Chief Warlock!" One of the Lords called. "We do not have time to listen to the ramblings of a little boy!"
"Regent Smith." Harry spoke before Dumbledore could say anything, turning to look at the man who had spoke. "Had you been the Lord of your house, the Lord's ring would have recognized me as a Lord of a Greater House but as a Regent, you unfortunately don't have that privilege so I will politely ask you to shut up and not interrupt me again."
There was a moment of silence as everyone seemed to wait for the man to react but other than his face becoming increasingly red, he didn't say anything.
"When my grandfather died in 1982, the Lordship should have automatically transferred to my father and the heirship to me." Harry continued. "While the heirship was transferred to me, the Lordship did not go to my father because he was in no condition to take his rightful place."
He paused and surveyed his audience before continuing.
"Those who were part of this body know exactly what condition my father was in which stopped him from taking up the Lordship and for almost fourteen years now, the Potter seat has been empty." Harry said. "On Halloween this year, when my name came out of the Goblet and I was selected as Hogwarts champion, and this ring appeared on my hand making me Lord Potter."
"That_ doesn't make any sense!" One Lord exclaimed and many nodded in agreement.
"I cannot explain how it happened but from what I understand, when my name came out of the Goblet, magic considered me an adult and I was eligible enough to take on the role of Lord Potter." Harry answered. "Which brings us here today. I am a young man, many of you are even older than my father and have a lot of knowledge and experience and I'm willing to learn. Whether you like it or not, this ring makes me part of this body and I would rather we work together and not be pushed to the side just because of my age."
"Is there anyone contesting Harry Potter's position as a member of the Wizengamot?" Dumbledore asked and waited a few seconds. When no one said anything, he turned to Harry. "Welcome to the Wizengamot, Lord Potter."
"Thank you, Chief Warlock." Harry bowed his head a little. "And as my first action as Lord Potter, I would like to petition this house to have the wardship of James Potter returned to House Potter."
"The fact that you're Lord Potter automatically transfers the wardship of anyone underage or not recognized as an adult with the name Potter to you." Malfoy said. "Why do you require consent from the Wizengamot?"
"I am aware of this, Lord Malfoy and yet I wish to get the go ahead of this house given that the Wizengamot was the one that handed him to the ministry." Harry replied. "And once I have him as my ward, I'll be taking him back to Potter Manor."
"James Potter's is a threat to the people, and that is why he is being kept in the Department of Mysteries." Theodore Nott Sr said. "And he is to be there untill the unspeakables find out what he is suffering from."
"I understand why my father is being kept in the Department. The containment room there keeps him from obliterating everyone in London but we have a room just like that at Potter Manor." Harry said. "The minister, Lord Black, a representative from the Department of Mysteries, Regent Bones and two others have seen this room and agreed that it will be sufficient to hold my father."
"Is this true?" Dumbledore asked and the mentioned people nodded. "I understand Mr. Potter why you would wish to have your father near you but wouldn't it be better to have him somewhere where he has a chance of being healed?"
"My father has been at the mercy of the unspeakables for the last fourteen years and no progress has been made about his condition." Harry replied, voice firm. "I don't think that something will miraculously appear in the next year or two years to come. And if it does, then we can always bring him back but for now, I would have him where he belongs. In the ancestral home of the Potters."
Harry looked around, he could see the Lords talking amongst themselves. He caught Sirius' eye and he grinned at him. Deciding to conclude, Harry spoke once again.
"Halloween 1981 almost left my house extinct. James Potter fought bravely, protecting his family with all his being and he was rewarded by being locked up to be prodded and gawked at." Harry said strongly. "Ultimately, the decision is yours and whatever you decide, I'll bide by it as one of its members. But I implore you, members of the Wizengamot, I will truly be grateful if my father is allowed to be part of the family once again."
With his part said, Harry turned around and walked over to his seat, the only one that was empty and had been ever since the last Lord Potter sat in it.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I do not think we really need time to deliberate on this so I will open the vote." Dumbledore said. "All in favor of the petition, please raise your wands."
All the 'Neutral' and 'Light' raised their wands. None in the Dark faction did and when Dumbledore asked for those against, only the Dark faction did. Fudge had voted in favor of the petition while looking pointedly at Harry as if he was doing him a big favor.
The petition was passed and James Potter officially became Harry's ward, all that was left was picking him up from the DOM. When the session was finished, Harry was among the first people to leave, not wishing to be pulled into plots yet. He went to his office and flooed back to Potter Manor. Lily would handle James' transportation.
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With their improvements on the containment ward, James was nolonger just a swirling mass of magic similar to an Obscurus like he had been in the ministry. Now he was contained only at the bed and his body was now visible. While it was glowing slightly, and it would disintegrate in random areas from time to time, this was the closest he had come at looking like his old self in fourteen years.
The three Potters along with Sirius watched him silently, all absorbed in their thoughts. The silence was broken by Hardwin.
"Do you think he's in pain?" He asked. "Is he even capable of feeling pain?"
"I don't think he can feel anything." Harry said. "His mind is probably in a state of a comma. Whatever is happening to his body has no effect on his mind."
"Are you sure, Harry?" Sirius asked and Harry nodded.
"So even if we do something about his body, he's still going to be irresponsive?" Hardwin asked and Harry shook his head. "He'll still be in a comma, trapped within his mind."
"No, that will be a piece of cake." He smiled. "Or have you forgotten who the master of the mind arts is?"
"Not with a head that big, we can't." Sirius replied and the rest laughed.
"What do we do, now?" Lily asked.
"We figure out why he's like this and_"
"I know why he's like that." Harry interrupted him. "Whatever the Dark Lord did to him, it shattered his magical core and now his entire body is one giant unstable core."
"Under normal circumstances, he should have died in that night." Lily said. "But for some reason, he didn't. We're not sure if stabilizing his core will kill him or heal him."
"How are we going to go about that?" Hardwin asked.
"Through trial and error like the unspeakables have been doing for the last fourteen years." Harry replied. "Hopefully, we shall have more success."
Harry drew his wand and approached the bed. The others didn't stop him, trusting him to know what he was doing. He pointed the wand at James and shot a pale white spell directly at his chest. At first there was no effect and then slowly, his hands which had disintegrated into floating particals fused together, and he was whole.
The ominous glow on his skin disappeared and even the heavy presence in the room seemed to disappear. For about twenty seconds, James looked like he was just sleeping. There was even color in his cheeks and Harry saw the resemblance he and Hardwin had with their father. Suddenly the heavy presence in the air came back and James was back to the way he had been before Harry had cast the spell.
"What was that? I thought it was working?" Hardwin asked while the two adults just looked at him, waiting for an explanation.
"That spell I used is a very dark spell, it absorbs the victim's magic and unless countered, it could kill a person." Harry said. "Very painfully."
"Where did you learn such a spell?" Lily asked, looking pale while Sirius just stared at him with wide eyes.
"In the library, I was trying to search through spells that affect a person's Magical core in the hope of finding out what the Dark Lord did to father." Harry explained before looking back at James. "If Dad doesn't have magic, then he won't be a ticking bomb and we'll just be left with waking him from his comma. Unfortunately, it seems the spell won't be enough."
"As much as I don't like the fact the we'll be using Dark magic, at least we know it works to an extent." Lily sighed. "So it gives is something to work with. All we have to do is find something stronger and permanent that won't drain him of his magic completely and kill him."
"What can I do to help?" Sirius asked.
"We'll tell you in case we need you, Padfoot." Harry told him with a smile. "Has there been any news about Moony?"
"No. The last werewolf settlement he visited say that they last saw him on Halloween, the day he was supposed to come back." Sirius ran a hand through his hair. "Clearly something happened to him on his way between there and back here."
"But something is being done to find him, right?" Hardwin asked.
"Of course." Sirius replied. "Members of the order are scouring the whole of England for him."
"You two however shouldn't be concerning yourselves with this." Lily said, hugging both her sons. "You should be preparing for the ball, I believe you went shopping yesterday?"
The twins shuddered in unison and Lily just laughed. "Surely, it can't have been that bad."
Another shudder was the only reply she got.
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December 25th 1994
Hogwarts
"Hello, Harry." Fleur greeted him arriving with her date, Roger Davis. She was looking stunning in robes of silver-gray satin and flashed him a beautiful smile which he returned. "Where is your date?"
"She'll be here soon." Harry replied. "I just hope she hasn't forgotten."
"What kind of person could forget that they have a date on a day like this?" Davis scoffed.
"My escort, apparently." Harry replied before turning to Krum who had just appeared with his date. "Hello Viktor, Daphne."
"Hi, Harry." Daphne smiled. It had been Harry who had suggested to Krum to ask Daphne out, he wasn't sure though if the Bulgarian Seeker had told her.
"How are you, Potter."
"I'm fine, thank you." He smiled. "Beautiful weather we are having today."
"Where's your date, Harry?"
"No idea, Daphne." He replied. "At this point, I'm beginning to wonder if she'll even show up_ oh, there she is."
Tonks had arrived and she looked like she had been running.
"Hey_ guys." She panted.
"Have you been running?" Harry grinned and she gave him a fake-confused look.
"No, why?"
"Nothing, you just look a little flushed that's all."
"Oh, right." She took a deep breath and her whole body shimmered, like someone had waved a sheet, and before their very eyes, she transformed.
She became taller, almost as tall as Harry and her body filled out a little more. Her hair transformed into dark brown with a few streaks of red, her jaw became firmer and defined and her eyes transformed into an almond shape. The white dress also transformed into a long flowing modest one which still managed to hug her in just the right places.
There wasn't much makeup on her face but it still looked amazing. When the transformation was complete, Harry couldn't suppress a satisfied smile as he looked her up and down. She smiled, her perfect teeth sparkling slightly. "Well, what do you think?"
"You look perfect." He said with a smile as he placed a kiss on her hands. "Though you should probably get rid of the sparkle."
"What sparkle?" She grinned, her teeth sparkling once again. Harry just laughed but his reply was interrupted by the arrival of Hardwin and Hermione.
"Hi guys." Hardwin grinned, his hand wrapped around an embarrassed Hermione. "Thought I should pass by before you lot go up to the high table."
"You mean you decided to come and show off Granger?"
Hardwin just grinned wider. "If your date looked this fine, you'd want to show her off too."
"No offense, Granger, you may look breathtakingly beautiful but you don't hold a candle on this angel right here." Hermione blushed at Harry's words and looked away. "I see you finally did something about your teeth. Now you look perfect, you must be feeling very accomplished, brother."
Grinning even wider, Hardwin steered a furiously blushing Hermione away towards the great hall. About a minute later, McGonagall came and called the champions for their grand entrance. They did so, and everyone in the Great Hall applauded as they entered and started walking up toward a large round table at the top of the Hall, where the judges were sitting.
The walls of the Hall had all been covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The House tables had vanished; instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people.
Harry and Tonks were at the head of the line and they both smiled and waved at everyone as they approached the round table. Tonks, by some miracle managed to walk up to the table without tripping, something Harry was going to tease her about the whole night.
Once they made their orders and the food appeared, people delved into conversation. Daphne and Krum were talking about about Durmstrang, while Fleur was struggling with English as she described the feasts at her school with Roger staring at her in a daze. Tonks was telling Harry of some of her best moments at the Auror academy.
"You actually managed to prank, Moody?!" Harry was laughing. "And he didn't even notice."
"Well, I was trained by the very best." Tonks smiled, tipping her goblet at Padfoot who was seated with the Hogwarts teachers with Lily as his escort. "Besides, I was made to scrub his leg for the next month everyday but I assure you it was well worth it."
"I've been told he is too paranoid that he could blew your head off if you sneezed too loudly for his liking."
"Yeah, that's probably true." She laughed. "Then again, he would never have done that to his protege. Unless he was teaching something, actually now that I think about, he did it to me a few times. Then pretended that he was testing my reflexes."
"Let me guess..." Harry grinned. "Half the times you tripped and fell but everyone thought you were dodging?"
"Right in one."
Their laughter didn't seem to affect anyone else on the table as they were all in conversation. Bagman was talking Crouch's ear off while the pale man didn't seem to even hear him, instead staring ahead and mechanically eating his food. Dumbledore and Karkaroff were also deep in conversation.
"Oh I would never dream of assuming I know all Hogwarts' secrets, Igor," Dumbledore was saying amicably. "Only this morning, for instance, I took a wrong turning on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I have never seen before, containing a really rather magnificent collection of chamber pots. When I went back to investigate more closely, I discovered that the room had vanished. But I must keep an eye out for it, maybe young Harry knows about it? I've been told that you know quite a number of Hogwarts secrets."
Dumbledore was looking pointedly at Harry, clearly expecting him to contribute to their conversation.
"I know the secrets of this school just as much as any students." Harry said. "Except for the Weasley twins maybe, if there's a mysterious room in the castle, then those two probably live in it."
Dumbledore laughed jovially while Karkaroff looked like he had swallowed a lemon at the mention of the twins. Given his usually uptight attitude, Harry wouldn't be surprised if he had an encounter or two with the two Marauders-wannabes.
When all the food had been consumed, Dumbledore stood up and asked the students to do the same. Then, with a wave of his wand, all the tables zoomed back along the walls leaving the floor clear, and then he conjured a raised platform into existence along the right wall. A set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and some bagpipes were set upon it.
The Weird Sisters now trooped up onto the stage to wildly enthusiastic applause; they were all extremely hairy and dressed in black robes that had been artfully ripped and torn. They picked up their instruments, and Harry, who had been so interested in watching them that he had almost forgotten what was coming, suddenly realized that the lanterns on all the other tables had gone out, and that the other champions and their partners were standing up.
"Well, Tonks dear_" Harry stood up and offered her his arm. "Will you dance with me?"
"Why of course fine sir." She laughed as she stood up and the two followed the other two pairs into the middle of the brightly-lit dance floor.
The Weird Sisters struck up a slow, mournful tune and Harry placed one hand around Tonks' slim waist while he held her other hand. She put her hand on his shoulder and they started dancing, staring into the other's eyes. Tonks' brown eyes slowly turned into emerald green, a perfect copy of Harry's.
"This is nice." Harry commented and Tonks nodded.
"Yeah, it is." She looked around as the other people joined the champions on the dance floor. "Harry, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Are we dating?"
"I don't know." Harry replied. "You're the one who has had relationships before, you tell me."
"I'm not sure if what we have falls under the 'normal' category so there's not much to compare it to." Tonks laughed as they continued dancing. "For starters I'm practically six years older than you."
"I've heard muggles say that age is only just a number." Harry said with a raised eyebrow. "I mean I'm fourteen years old but a Lord of the Ancient and most Noble House of Potter, so age hasn't exactly been something I put in consideration for the most part."
"It just...feels wrong, I guess."
"Not from where I'm standing." He pulled her closer. "Does this feel wrong to you, Dora?"
"Quite the opposite actually." She replied. "But...it's not that simple, Harry."
"Oh, but it is." He said seriously. "You want this as do I. Anyone who has a problem with that can take it up to me. What's the use of having all this power when I can't do what I want?"
Before Tonks could reply, Daphne cleared her throat. "You owe me a dance, Potter."
"That I do." He switched with Krum and soon enough, he was twirling away with Daphne. "You're a great dancer."
"Thank you." She smiled. "I've been dancing from the moment I could stand on my feet. Mother wouldn't have it any other way."
"She seems like a great woman." He commented. "And seems to love you greatly, just like your father."
"He told me to woo you if I can." Daphne said. "Whatever you two talked about sure impressed him."
"Really?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "And here I was thinking that he was afraid of me."
"My father, afraid of anything?" She laughed.
"Everyone is afraid of something, Daphne." Harry told her softly. "Some just don't know what they're afraid of yet."
"What are you afraid of, Harry Potter." Harry's eyes trailed to Lily and Daphne laughed. "You're afraid of your mother?"
"Lily Potter is a very scary woman." Harry said defensively.
"I agree." They turned to look at Hardwin who had materialized out of nowhere with Hermione. "Ms. Greengrass, would you honor me with a dance?"
"Of course."
At that moment, the Weird Sisters started a fast song and students whooped as they started dancing faster. He looked at Hermione and smiled. "Wanna grab a drink."
"Yes, thanks."
He led her to the table where there were all kinds of drinks.
"You really look nice today, Hermione."
Hermione blushed. Harry looked like he was in a very good mood today. "Thanks, Harry. Daphne dragged me to Madam Pomfrey to reduce my teeth."
"It's not just about the teeth, everything about you looks more beautiful than it usually is." He shook his head. "Though now that you mention it, I never realized you had such a pretty smile."
"Are you drunk, Harry?" She asked evern as she blushed from his praise.
"No, I've barely taken more than three sips of butterbeer." He frowned at her. "Why do you ask?"
"You're unusually nice." She said and Harry laughed. Genuinely laughed.
"I can be nice, Hermione." He said. "And not just when I have to. But today is special, I thought I should just be myself for once and not care what others think of me like I always do."
"So this who you are when you're at home?"
"More or less." He replied. "There are not many people I'm comfortable enough with to just be myself."
"So the Harry we see at Hogwarts everyday.." she ventured. "Is he just a mask?"
"No, it's not a mask, it is real." He sighed. "But this, this is me when I'm not letting the society get to me. When I'm not worried of what my life will be after Hogwarts, when I'm not worried of the Dark Lord coming back. Generally it's just me being a normal fourteen-year-old."
He paused and looked at her. "If anything, this is the mask because when I'm like this, I forget about the reality, I ignore all that is real and let myself live in the moment."
Hermione was silent, she understood what he was talking about and for the first time in her life, she felt pity for the boy. He had worn a mask for so long that the mask had become his reality. He couldn't afford to leave it behind, as he would also be leaving behind all that he knew and thrived in.
"I like this Harry." She told him. "I understand this Harry."
This Harry that she was sitting with was almost a copy of Hardwin. Now she understood what made the twins different, even though deep down, they are almost the same person.
She was pulled out of her thoughts by something vibrating. Harry reached into the pocket of his dress robes and pulled out a phone, the one she usually used to talk to her parents.
"Bill?" He said and listened to the person on the other end. The relaxed expression on his face disappeared and he looked completely serious. "Alright, I'll meet you there."
He put the phone back in his pocket and smiled at her. It didn't reach his eyes. "Well, Ms. Granger. It was nice talking to you but if I stayed here any longer, my brother will probably gut me in my sleep for chatting you up."
He bowed at her and left. And just like that, the Harry Potter she knew, the Devil of Slytherin was back. She watched him walk across the dance floor, occasionally dancing with a female student before effortlessly steering them into the arms of another boy. He didn't miss a step, almost like he knew exactly what to do and when.
Within two minutes, he had danced with more than twenty girls without breaking his advance towards Tonks and the entire time he had been moving. She saw him whisper something to the older girl who smiled at him and nodded before he left. Hermione could see that Tonks' smile didn't teach her eyes either and the Auror watched the boy untill he disappeared through the double doors.
"Hermione!" Hardwin called, looking pink and sweaty from dancing. "Where's Harry?"
"He just left." She told him. "He received a call from, I'm guessing Bill Weasley and left."
"Oh." Hardwin sobered, his face becoming serious. "I see."
"Do you know what it's about?"
"Yeah, I do." He said with a far away look. "And for all our sakes, I hope he is successful."
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When he left the great hall, Harry went to the dorms and changed from his dress robes. He changed into black jeans, a t-shirt and a pair of boots before donning his favorite coat. Even as he had grown taller, the coat still went up to the back of his knees.
Like a ghost, he silently walked through the empty hallways and soon found himself in the Shrieking Shack. Without even getting off the broom he had used to cross the tunnel, Harry pulled out the 'tele-watch' as he had come to call Bill's watch and disappeared, appearing silently in a small forest outside of Little Hangleton.
In the darkness of the night, he was practically invisible. He still cast a wandless disillusionment charm over himself and the broom and he disappeared completely. He navigated through the trees expertly untill he found himself at the edge of a clearing in which was the ugly Shack.
With Meg's eyes Harry could see clearly in the dark and could make out the Shack's features. It wasn't a very big house, and it looked like it would collapse any second. Its walls were mossy and so many tiles had fallen off the roof that the rafters were visible in places. Nettles grew all around it, their tips reaching the windows, which were tiny and thick with grime.
The first time Harry had been here when he found the horcrux during his horcrux hunt, there had been all sorts of wards and enchantments at the edge of the clearing all with the intention of deterring people from approaching the shack. There were bones and skulls around the clearing and not all belonged to muggles given the lingering magic in them.
Bill and his team had gotten rid of them and had put their own. Still on his broom, Harry flew through the curtain of wards and blinked as the disillusionment charm was washed away. He landed gently and shrunk the broom before stowing it back in his pocket.
"Harry." Bill shook his hand. "Are you sure we couldn't have done this on another day? I feel bad that I had to pull you away from the ball."
"No, it's fine." Harry said and greeted the others. "Besides, if we don't do it today, we stand a higher chance of being discovered when we do it later."
"But why today of all days?"
"The Dark Lord is in Russia." Harry said. "So even if we tripped any of his alarms, by the time he finds out, let alone come back here, it'll already be too late."
Bill didn't ask how he knew. After what he had seen that Harry was capable, he had absolute faith in the younger boy.
"If you say so." Bill shrugged. "The ward at the door can be dispelled but we wouldn't be able to put it back and I got the impression that you don't want it to be so blatant that someone was here."
"That's right." Harry nodded. "Is there no other way?"
"There is, and it's much easier as all it needs is a perselmouth to deactivate it and activate it again after we're done."
Harry walked forward and drew his wand. He cast a number of detection spells made specifically to understand wards and just like in the tomb, he knew exactly what words to say. Harry hissed the password and the snake skeleton came alive. It slithered to the bottom of the door frame and following the frame, went upwards, across and down again before coiling on itself at the bottom.
Harry stepped back and let the five curse-breakers enter led by Bill. He wasn't far behind either, his wand at the ready for action. Torches on the walls flared to life, bathing the house in light.
"Any idea on how what we're looking for is supposed to look like?" Bill asked.
"Don't worry, you'll know when you find it."
At his answer, the five exchanged looks before fanning out, casting spells every three steps they took. It was clear that no one had been here in a long time. All the floor-boards they stepped on were creaking and there was dust everywhere, the wooden table and chairs on one side of the room had rotted on one side and looked like they would collapse from a single touch.
Harry stayed next to the door, the stench of death and darkness filled the whole room and he was beginning to fear that all this darkness may mask the horcrux. He shouldn't have however as three minutes after they had entered, one of the curse-breakers called out.
"I think I found something." His French accent was almost non-existent. "I can't say for certain but I feel something very wrong under this board."
"Alright everyone, we have to be very careful here." Bill called out. "Let's all go to Michael but make sure you don't trip anything."
They slowly walked forward, dispelling traps as they approached. The whole place was littered with booby traps and Harry was sure he would never have made it by himself, magic sensing ability or not.
When all five were surrounding the board, Bill started casting detection spells and whistled. "This is one complex matrix. We need to be careful and take our time, any mistake we make will trigger every single trap in here, even the ones we deactivated."
The others nodded before kneeling down and they all started casting. Harry wasn't sure what exactly was happening but whatever it was, the group of five was clearly used to it. They worked in tandem, no words were spoken but they all seemed to understand each other perfectly.
After about ten minutes, Bill sighed and the others leaned back. He reached in his pockets and retrieved a pair of thick gloves. Harry wasn't sure what material they were made from but he knew that they were very expensive. Not many curse-breakers could afford them which was why many usually ended up losing their arms.
With the gloves on, he carefully pried the floor-boards from their place and retrieved a small golden box. One of the others placed on the floor a block of lead and Bill gently put the box on it. He pulled off the gloves and once again, they started disabling the box's security.
This time it took them over fifteen minutes and when they were done, Bill signaled to Harry to come over. "The last one needs a perselmouth. Don't worry, the way is clear from the door."
Nonetheless, Harry cast his own spells as he walked forward just to be sure. The curse-breakers made room for him and he knelt before the golden box and hissed in perseltongue. ~open~
The box clicked, even though there were no visible locks and slowly opened. Harry peered inside to see a ring. Just a normal ring with a stone on top, Harry could feel it resonating with the one on his finger and he just knew it was an old one. It belonged to an old pureblood family for sure, probably Slytherin too and Harry would kill to become Lord Slytherin.
Only he was Lord Potter!
He practically shouted in his head and blinked as the complusion faded. His hand was shaking from his side as he had been unconsciously fighting against picking up the ring while lost in his thoughts. Even as he shook his head to clear it, he glimpsed a hand reaching into the box.
He didn't need to think. His mind cleared just as Micheal's hand made contact with the ring and he summoned his dagger in a heartbeat and sliced off the hand. The dagger passed through the flesh and bones cleanly like a hot knife through butter. Michael pulled back, screaming and holding the bleeding stump with his other hand.
His screams pulled out the others from their stupors and they attended to him.
"Bloody hell, that thing is dangerous." Bill said to Harry while the others carried Michael outside. "Just destroy it and get it over with."
The part of Michael's hand that Harry had cut off had shriveled and was disintegrating within the box. In a few hours, there was going to be nothing left of it. If Harry hadn't reacted as fast as he had, Michael would have not only lost his entire arm but also his life too in time.
Harry nodded and resummoned his dagger. He drew his wand and with a flick, a containment shield in form of a circle appeared around the ring and Harry brought down the dagger. At the dagger's approach, the circle parted to let the hand through and Harry sliced the ring and stone on top of it in half. The circle came grew back as Harry withdrew his hand just as the horcrux seemed to come to life.
A black shadow appeared within the shield, taking on a human shape with blood red eyes. It then fought to break through the shield even as it screamed and died, all the time trying to reach Harry and Bill. Once that was done, Harry dispelled the shield and knelt down. He extended his senses towards the two halves and just like the other horcruxes, it was dead and there was absolutely no magic coming off it.
He picked up the two halves and slipped them into his pocket while Bill, still wearing his gloves put back the box under the floor boards and stood up. "That should do it."
"What about the wards?" Harry asked and Bill smiled.
"Don't worry about them." He said, leading the way outside. "They'll all be back up in two hours after we leave."
Just as they crossed the doorway, the candles on the walls went out and the door slammed shut. The snake skeleton slithered back into place and it looked like no one had been here. Harry stopped Bill before he could join his friends in the clearing.
"Thanks, Bill." Harry told the eldest Weasley. "After tonight, the path to the Dark Lord's death is more clear and there's nothing more I want in this world than ending him."
"It's alright, Harry." He replied. "You saved our lives, it was the least we could do, and thanks for saving Michael as well."
"Here, this should fix him." Harry handed Bill a vial of his elixir. "I brought some of this incase of an emergency, I'm glad I only needed to use one."
"Harry, this is not necessary." Bill shook his head. "He should have known better than just grabbing anything, especially in a place like this."
"Either way, I must insist that he takes it. You and your team were working for me and I'll not have someone lose their arm for me." Harry told him. "Besides, the dagger I used won't allow him to regrow it back, not the mention the fact that he probably has basilisk venom burning through him right now so just take the elixir, Bill."
"Oh." Bill looked in the clearing that was illuminated by a ball of light and he could see Michael was out but kept twitching ever few seconds. He took the elixir and went and poured it in the French man's mouth.
-PRPRPRPRPR-
When he got back in the castle, the ball had ended and people were back to their dormitories. He changed from his clothes and put on his sleepwear. Before hanging his coat, he checked in his pocket for the former horcrux and promptly pulled out his hand like he had been burned.
Eyes wide, and breathing short breaths, he put back his hand and pulled out the ring. The completely undamaged ring which had been in halves the last time he saw it. He couldn't feel the magic of the horcrux on it, but there was something else in it. Something that felt familiar, almost like his Invisibility Cloak's signature.
Studying the ring in the low light, Harry's eyes became slitted as they shifted into Meg's and he could clearly make out the sign of the Deathly hallows on the stone.
He was holding the Ressurection Stone.
-PRPRPRPRPR-
AN: Hi guys that's the latest for you, hope you liked it. Please tell me what you thing.
Keep safe.
