Well, the poll is still running, and while it was about what I expected from the previous attempt, I still feel better about portraying my intentions properly via it. I also fixed what I think was the issue with this story receiving much notice... I had the silly thing rated 'M', when I wanted it to be 'T' hehe... my bad. Anyway, enough chatter, on with the story!
Chapter Twelve
The Purging of the Dark Forest
Hermione was not terribly surprised that Professor Dumbledore agreed immediately to Harry and Faykan's plan about visiting the Funeral, as well as putting a stop to the spider colony in the forest. Hermione hadn't been too sure as to why the spiders were such a big deal, dangerous certainly, but contained in the forest. Harry, Ron, Draco and Faykan had only been attacked because they ventured into the heart of their nest.
Faykan patiently explained that when Voldemort came for Hogwarts, the spiders would be natural allies, heeding his call if the mad wizard sent for them. It was a fight that would be fought either now, or at a more inopportune time. "And besides," Faykan had said in all seriousness, "it will be an important test for one of our more ambiguous allies…"
They had determined that only the students would go to Hagrid's funeral, about which Harry and Faykan would leave a not too subtle comment around Professor Slughorn. Acromantula made many very expensive potion ingredients, not to mention their silk, which was used for many types of clothing, and they all knew that the rather materialistic man would not be able to resist.
Under Dumbledore's direction, Professor Snape left the front door unlocked, so the five students were able to exit the castle with no difficulty after curfew, and their trek out to Hagrid's hut was undisturbed. Just as they were passing the vegetable patch, Slughorn appeared from around the greenhouses, dressed with a somber-looking black cravat, and carrying several bottles in his arms, "Evening Harry," he said soberly.
The five Gryffindors pretending to be surprised, and even managed to pass off a look of fear that they might be punished, but Slughorn waved it off, "No, no need to panic. I couldn't help overhearing you, Harry m'boy, about poor Hagrid and his sorrows. I felt it was such an important thing that I made sure you wouldn't be spotted as you left the castle, as well as brought some things to help send the creature off in style…" he indicated the bottles, and the students brightened slightly, knowing that stage one of their plan was working.
Slughorn went with them to Hagrid's, and found the half-giant in his pumpkin patch. Hermione stopped in shock at the size of the enormous dead spider there, lying on its back with all its legs curled and tangled. It was rather disgusting really. If not for poor Hagrid, she wouldn't really want to be here. Catching Faykan's eye, she understood that this was close to a typical specimen that still remained in the forest.
She shuddered slightly, further understanding why the boy-Istari had been so adamantly against them attending this battle in the forest. But for how much he blustered about the danger, the boys, including Ron of all people, who was mortified of spiders, all insisted that they be allowed to join him and Dumbledore this time round. Faykan had relented, but was rather uneasy with the idea still.
"Hagrid," Professor Slughorn said gravely as they arrived, "So very sorry to hear of your loss."
"Tha's very nice of yeh," Hagrid replied, looking from Slughorn to the Gryffindors, "Yeh shouldn' be outta the castle in the evenin', I know it, it's my fault… yeh not in trouble?" he asked tenativly, but Slughorn waved the question away, "Not at all my good man, wouldn't have dreamed of it, after I heard… sad night, sad night… where if the poor creature?"
"Out here," Hagrid said shakily. "Shall we… shall we do it then?"
The air was silent and sober as the seven of them gathered near to the carcass, and the massive hole that Hagrid had dug for his friend. "Magnificent," Slughorn said as he approached the body, bent over to examine the hairy head, and Hermione heard the distinct tinkle of bottles moving as Slughorn did so.
"Its not ev'ryone appreciates how beau'iful they are," Hagrid replied, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. "I didn' know yeh were interested in creatures like Aragog, Horace."
"Interested? My dear Hagrid, I revere them," Slughorn said as he stepped away from the body. The barest glint of a bottle disappeared in the folds of his robes as he moved, but Hermione and the others chose to ignore it, while Hagrid wiped his eyes with a giant spotted handkerchief. "Shall we proceed with the burial?" Slughorn said respectfully.
Nodding, Hagrid moved forward and lifted the body into both massive arms, and with a grunt, rolled it into the dark pit, which sounded a crunchy thud as it hit the bottom. Hagrid started crying again almost immediately.
"Of course, it's difficult for you, who knew him best," Slughorn said comfortingly, patting Hagrid on the elbow, which was as high as the man could reach. "Why don't I say a few words?"
All Hermione thought was that the man must of got some high quality venom, for him to be so kind and almost caring about Hagrid's feelings. The Potion's master stepped to the edge of the pit, and with a satisfied smirk on his face, said in a slow and impressive voice, "Farewell, Aragog, king of the arachnids, whose long and faithful friendship those who knew you won't forget! Though your body will decay, your spirit lingers on in the quiet, web-spun places of your forest home. May your many-eyed descendants ever flourish and you human friends find solace for the loss they have sustained."
"Tha was… tha was… bau'iful!" Hagrid howled, and he collapsed onto a nearby compost heap, crying harder than ever. For her part, Hermione felt a little bad, not only at how much this meant to Hagrid, but that they would soon be going into the forest to exterminate the rest of Aragog's family.
"There, there Hagrid," Slughorn said, even as he waved his wand and moved the massive pile of earth to fill the pit, forming a smooth mound over the dead spider. "Let's get you inside, and we'll all have a drink. Get on his other side, Harry… That's it… up you get Hagrid… Well done…"
Faykan ran ahead to open the cabin door, and Hermione, Draco and Ron came in behind Hagrid, Professor Slughorn and Harry, who deposited the teary half-giant in his chair by the table. They all took seats, several conjured discreetly by Faykan while Slughorn was busy uncorking one of his many bottles, which Hermione concluded was filled with wine from the deep red color.
The entire first bottle was required to fill Hagrid's bucket-sized mug, and two more were used to half fill mugs for the rest of them. Faykan glanced at them before lifting his mug as Slughorn pronounced a toast to Aragog, and Hermione recognized it as a warning to not drink more than what they had just been given. Turning to look at Ron, Harry and Draco, she noted that they seemed to understand the look as well.
"To Aragog," Slughorn said, to which they all responded, "Aragog…" Slughorn, Faykan and Hagrid all drank deeply, but the rest of the students only took small sips at a time, savoring the wine. For all of Slughorn's rather negative qualities, he did have an excellent taste for his drink, Hermione mused, but at the same time she guessed that it was probably one of the cheaper qualities of elf-made wine.
"I had him from an egg, yeh know," Hagrid said morosely. "Tiny little thing he was when he hatched, 'bout the size of a Pekingese."
"Sweet," Slughorn replied lazily, the wine starting to affect him.
The pair of them continued to chat about various topics, drinking their way through another bottle apiece, while Hermione and the others remained quite. It was part of the plan for them to just wait until both were heavily inebriated before moving to the next step of their plan. Rapidly the wine was almost gone, but Faykan subtly shot refilling charms at the bottles, keeping the stock going as the two adults carried on.
After roughly an hour or so, the pair began making extravagant toasts for little reason: to Hogwarts, to Dumbledore, to elf-made wine, and even to Harry. By the time they both started singing about Odo the wizard, Hermione decided that it was time for them, with the exception of Harry and Faykan, to leave. Nudging the other two boys, they stealthily made their exit to join up with Professors Dumbledore and Snape.
~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~
Harry sat in silence as Hagrid grasped his arm and shook it vigorously, talking about his parents and how the good died young. Finally the man fell asleep, his head rolling sideways to rest on his arms, just as Slughorn finished singing.
"Sorry," he said drunkenly, "Can't carry a tune to save my life."
"That's alright professor," Faykan said calmly, taking control of the conversation, "Hagrid was talking about Harry's parents dying as terrible."
"Oh," Slughorn replied, suppressing a large belch. "Oh dear. Yes, that was… was terrible indeed. Terrible… terrible…"
He looked quite at a loss as for what to say to them, and resorted to refilling their mugs.
Tilting his head slightly, which reminded Harry a lot of Tom Riddle, Faykan pressed on through the silence, "You lost a lot of favorite students during the last war, didn't you Professor?"
"Yes," the man said sadly, staring down into his mug, "Lily, Edgar Bones, you've heard of his sister Amelia I presume, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the Prewitt twins, related to the Weasley family, Faykan Undol, the father and grandfather both…" he trailed off, in control of his senses to realize that mention the Undol's might have seen a sensitive subject for Harry, but Faykan spoke softly once again, "Horace…"
Harry saw the dim flash of light as Faykan momentarily dropped the illusion of Will Stanton just as Slughorn looked at him. The man's eyes bulged comically, and he stared openmouthed at Faykan. "How can this be?" he whispered, unable to tear his gaze away from Faykan, and tentatively reaching a hand toward him.
"Horace," Faykan repeated, freezing the man's hand so that it hovered over the table, "We need your help. Only you have the secret that Voldemort has buried so very deep. Do you know how I died Horace?"
The man shook his head, but clearly had no desire to hear, but was unable to prevent the words from falling from Faykan's lips, "He killed me Horace, Tom Riddle himself, blasted a building down on top of me, and proceeded to hunt down and kill my entire family. My son, dead to a torrent of fiendfyre from the Dark Lord's own wand. My grandson, sacrificing himself to save Harry here, hit with the Killing Curse and having his own wand detonated in his hand."
"No… no more…" Slughorn mourned, tear falling down his face, "you brave boy…"
"Horace," Faykan said again, sterner this time, "we gave up our lives to try and stop Voldemort, and we would do it all over again and again to stop him. You have the key, and all Harry and Dumbledore need is a simple memory. Just one memory, you know what day I speak of. Please Horace, be brave like we were. Be brave like Lily and James Potter, who died so that their son could live."
The man was terrified, "I am not proud of what happened that night…" he whispered, "I am ashamed to think that I did great harm…"
"You'd cancel out anything and everything you did by giving us that memory," Faykan assured him. "I would be a great and noble thing to do, a testament to how much we meant to you."
There was a long moment where Slughorn did nothing, and then, ever so slowly, he nodded, and shakily drew his wand. His other hand took out a small empty bottle. The man's hands were trembling so badly that Harry reached out and steadied him as he withdrew the memory and deposited it in the container.
"Thank you for being so brave Professor," Faykan said as Harry corked the bottle, "You've done all our memories proud."
"You were such a good boy," Slughorn said absently, tears still making their way down his face and settling into his walrus mustache. "Please don't think too badly of me once you've seen it…"
And soon he too put his head on his arms, gave a great sigh of emotion pain, and fell asleep.
~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~
Albus smiled wearily as Harry and Alatar finally exited Hagrid hut and made their way around to the small clearing that Albus, Severus and the other students were gathered in. It was coming on close to midnight, and the aged Headmaster was thankful that they could begin what was going to quickly become a long and potentially misfortunate night.
When the boys arrived at the clearing, Harry proudly presented a vial of silver memory to Albus, who took it gingerly in his uninjured hand. He longed to rush up to his office and study it immediately, but his promise of assistance had to be fulfilled, and he agreed with Alatar that the spiders were a threat that had to be removed. He felt truly sorry for Hagrid for what they had to do. The man was too much of a gentle soul for such business, or else they would have greatly appreciated his knowledge of the forest and where the spider's hollow was located.
Albus called Fawkes to him, and had the phoenix flash the vial to his office for safety, before he drew the Elder wand with a small flourish. "Are we ready then, for this dreadful business?" he asked, and the gathered people all nodded grimly.
"Then let's be done with it quickly." Albus said, and together the group of seven pressed into the forest, delving betwixt the trees in search of the colony.
Alatar led the way, the flaming blue light of Glamdring steadily pointing them in the right direction. Harry, Ron and Draco followed him closely, their own weapons drawn and at the ready. Miss Ganger kept back a pace more from them, scanning the forest with her bow out and notched, while Albus and Severus brought up the rear, wands aloft and the Sword of Gryffindor clutched in Albus' good hand.
For nearly an hour they trouped through the trees, with no sign of their quarry except for the increasing light of the ancient elven sword. Albus knew that the forest was far too quiet for them to be truly alone in the trees, and the old man could feel in his bones the many eyes watching their procession.
When they at last paused in their march, Albus quickly made his way over to Alatar. "We're not alone here," he said subtly, and instinctively the others stiffened and cast cautious glances all around them.
"No," Alatar replied, smirking at the situation, "we most certainly are not, but we are very near." He indicated the sword in his hand, which was glowing so fiercely fire seemed to fly from the blade.
A branch snapped somewhere ahead of them, and they all froze, barely daring to breathe. "Into positions, quickly," Alatar hissed at them, and they formed a tight circle, their backs to each other and Miss Granger in the middle with her ranged weapon poised to fire.
Albus closed his eyes, straining to hear the approaching foe. He could hear the muted scuttling of many legs, as well as something else, more of a light kind of stomping, like booted feet. The sound of a snapping bowstring caused Albus' eyes to fly open. Miss Granger had loosed an arrow into the trees, and a sickening scream pierced the night.
The silence broken and their presence discovered their enemy surged from the surrounding trees: orcs, many of them, running side by side with the spiders of the forest. Alatar roared a war cry, brandishing the sword of the elven king and his staff of power, and battle was joined.
"Elendil!" Draco shouted, leaping forward into the fray, cutting down the first enemy to cross his path. Albus could only momentarily register that the boy was indeed a true Gryffindor before he had his own foes to content with. The snarling creatures were awful, and Albus had to rely on his more powerful spells and sword work to keep them at bay. The Elder wand sang as fire and bludgeoning hexes flew from its tip.
Around him, the students wrought the work of death with blade and arrow to great effect. Miss Granger danced as she dodged the weapons of the orcs, switching between arrows of wood and metal to those made up of pure magic. Mr. Weasley never left Draco's side, the spear he wielded working havoc among the orcs and spiders while his friend took care of any who came too close.
Severus, for all his lack of a melee weapon, was holding his own. The man knew a great arsenal of Dark Arts, and in this fight Albus begrudged the man nothing for using the entirety of his repertoire. Great gouts of blood ran from any who dared to oppose the former Death Eater, limbs flying from his powerful curses.
But above all of them, Alatar and Harry swept above all else, as they not only held the line, but pushed deeply into the ranks of darkness. The twain worked in battle as if they were two halves of the same warrior, one the fury, while the other wisdom, the blade and the wand. None of the horde of dark creatures could oppose them, and many fell away in fear of the pair as they seemed to literally shine with an inner light.
Elvish words of power rang through the air as the pair of powerful wizards laid low foe after foe, but even with all, Albus felt that they would need something akin to a miracle to prevail here.
Just as the enemy was about to regroup, Albus caught a flash from the direction of Harry, and heard the boy's voice cry out, "Aiya Eärendil elenion ancalima!" Light, glorious sunlight blossomed around them all, in an ever growing sphere, causing the orcs and spiders to fall back blinded.
"Draco now!" Alatar cried.
~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~
Draco knew what he was being requested to do by Faykan, and without hesitation, he plunged his hand into a deep fold in his robes, withdrawing the newest of many relics of the kings of old that Faykan had given to him. From an expanded pocket he withdrew a large war-horn, tipped at either end in silver, beautifully carved, but seemed to have at one time been split in two then masterfully repaired.
The runes upon the silver plating seemed to glow softly as Draco held it to his mouth and blew a long loud note. The blast that echoed around the forest caused the very trees to shudder, and the dark creatures fell away, recoiling in terror. Again, and a third time did Draco sound the Horn of Gondor, sending the might sound across the forest, calling all who had allegiances to the Kings of Gondor and Arnor.
The orcs screamed in rage and hate, and after recovering from the final blast of sound and the light of the Phial, began to regroup and attack, but another blaring note sounded in response to Draco's horn. Hooves, hundreds of galloping hooves thundered through the trees, and within moments the shrubbery around the clearing exploded with the massive bodies of centaur. Spears and bows flew in all directions, skewering orcs and spiders with impunity, as the horsemen started to create a perimeter around the humans. The ground soon ran black with the blood of the evil servants of Voldemort.
A blond centaur approached, carrying a gnarled staff in one hand, and bowed to Faykan and Draco, "Hail Sgiathatch Telcontar, heir of Elessar, King of Gondor. I trust we are not too late?"
Draco bowed his head in recognition of Firenze, "Hail, we are most grateful for your timely arrival. As much as I would love to chat, we have a battle to win here."
Firenze nodded, whistling sternly for the surrounding centaur to advance. They did so, crying in anger at the orcs invading their forest, and surged forward, driving a wedge through the creatures so that the group of humans could pass toward the center of the spider's hollow.
Draco wasted no time in following Faykan, with Harry, Ron and Hermione around him as they dashed forward to meet the last line defenders before the hollow, spiders the same size as the centaurs around them. Of all of them, Draco was most surprised that Ron was the first to hit the enemy line, raging like the bull that was his animagus form. Gil-Galad's spear, Aeglos, flashed cold and cruel, as it carved off legs, stabbed eyes, and sliced deeply into the hardened carapaces of the hulking monstrosities.
Harry was right at his side, wand and sword singing through the air as powerful hexes and jinxes impeded the movement of the strongest of these arachnids, while Hadhafang whipped through the air like lightning, gouging many of the smaller vermin that pooled around the legs of the large guardians.
Hermione however, was most indeed the busiest of them all, as dozens of projectiles took flight, impaling the many hundreds of creatures that were attempting to flank them from above, slinking down on thin strands of silk. The centaur all around that had bows were soon adding to the chaos, and bodies began to quickly plummet from above, making maneuvering around the battlefield treacherous.
Faykan pushed through the melee to face off the worst of the lot yet, as an absolutely massive specimen, nearly the size of a small elephant, rose out of a cavernous web in the center of the hollow to meet the assaulting forces of humans and centaur. It looked barely recognizable to Draco's memory of Aragog from their second year, seeming to be far quicker in its movement, and staring at the glowing blue sword in Faykan's hand with intelligent black eyes.
As centaur drove into the center of the hollow, herded the smaller spiders away, crying out hunting calls and yells, Faykan fought the leader, dancing away from the lunging pincers, dripping with venom, bashing and hacking at any limps that got near him. A flash of light from the tip of his staff dazed the massive spider, allowing the Istari to close distance. But, reeling in pain from the light, the creature managed to swat Faykan away with a flailing foreleg. Shaking the stars from his eyes after flying into a tree, Faykan tried to raise himself up and continue to fight, but the massive spider had recovered first, and stomped down on Glamdring, knocking it from Faykan's hand, and sent it skittering across the hollow.
"Fay!" Harry cried, but their way to their friend was blocked by another wave of the massive guards. Inspired by the fear for the Istari's safety, they all pressed harder on the spiders, but there were simply too many, with more descending from the trees above to flank them. There was a flash of fire above the massive spider, and Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, appeared, diving at the spider and gouging at the many eyes, desperately trying to distract it.
The massive creature flailed its arms again, trying in vain to knock the bird from the air, but in doing so, it gave Faykan time to retrieve his staff. A pulse of power sent the massive monster and the other spiders surging around it flying backward. A second flash of fire, and Fawkes had transported Faykan across the hollow to where Glamdring had fallen.
The moment his hand alighted upon it, more fire sprang to life, and Faykan stood, bellowing a curse in the elvish tongue at the creatures, even as the fire coalesced into massive spheres of roiling flame, the bowled forth into masses of congregated spiders and their webs, consuming all that they touched, yet leaving the foliage and trees without so much as a scorch mark.
Their webs in flames, the spiders howled in rage, and fought even harder, starting to push back against the ring of centaur, desperately trying to eradicate them all. The leader, emboldened by their hatred, charged Faykan, jaw snapping as it sought to impale the wizard. Before it could reach him however, a deep, bellowing groan echoed through the trees, and a massive wooden limb crashed upon it, splattering the surrounding ground with its vile innards.
Draco froze momentarily, wondering what new force had arrived, but the spiders and what few orcs remained started to flee in panic as an enormous tree creature strode into the fray, sweeping its trunk-like arms to bat away even the largest of spiders like mere pests.
"Away vile creatures, huraroom… Your time in this forest is over, hoom!" the creature said furiously, amid many groans and creaks of its woody form.
Scattered, and defeated, the spiders fled, slinking back into the trees and disappearing rapidly. What few orcs remained also fled, but their departure was soon answered by more creaking and the shrieks as something out in the forest ambushed them.
"Bregalad!" Faykan shouted with delight, even as the centaur started to gather on the far side of the hollow, gazing at the newcomer with nervous agitation.
"Ah, young master Alatar, hoom. I should have guessed… You do like to make such a ruckus when you attend to things, brurahoom…" the creature replied, bending down to get a good look at them all. "And young Mr. Dumbledore, hoom, you are here as well… it is good that you've come, huraroom…"
~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~
Severus gaped at the massive tree… no, the Ent, as introductions were made of all present. The eldest of all living creatures on earth seemed positively delighted to meet new beings, and took great time, added upon by its slow speech, to learn a bit about each of them. Quickbeam smiled at Severus, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger as they were introduced, and bent low to get a good look at Draco, but paused still when Harry was introduced.
"Hoom," he said, straightening up to his considerable height, "there is a fire that burn in this one, something akin to things I haven't seem in, many ages… huraroom… it is a most interesting thing to meet you, Calenrohtar."
Severus was uncertain what the elvish word meant, but Faykan smiled at it while Harry flushed slightly and thanked the ancient ent.
"With the spiders gone, will it take much longer for the forest to awaken?" Faykan asked, to which Quickbeam chuckled, slow and booming. The centaur jumped slightly as the ground rumbled at the sound.
"You can't hasten these old trees, Master Alatar, hoom... Long ages they have slept, and awakening them is a… lengthy process. But I think we'll manage it in due time, brurahoom." The Ent then bid them all farewell, and stalked back into the forest, blending in almost immediately with the other trees around him.
The battle won, the centaurs vanished soon after, and Faykan and Albus led the way out of the forest, locked in conversation about how pivotal the allegiance of the centaur would be in the coming war. When they finally exited the Dark Forest, Albus bid them goodnight before being teleported by phoenix fire back to his office, while Severus escorted the five Gryffindors back to the castle.
Only when he entered his personal chambers in the dungeons, did the Head of Slytherin feel the draining effects of the amount of magic he had expelled during the battle. Before he could crash into blissful slumber however, he had a few things to prepare. He had left several potions in stasis when they left to go into the forest, and at least one had to be finished before it slipped into uselessness.
As he stirred the last few needed ingredients into the cauldron, Severus pondered what had occurred that night in the forest. Several of the Dark Lord's creatures had been apparently working, or attempting to work, with the spider of the forest, possibly to form an alliance between the Dark Lord and the intelligent denizens of the forest. Faykan must have realized this possibility, which made it plain why he was for clearing the dark spiders away completely.
Then there was the existence of the massive Ent. He had had a clue from Albus of some new creature that Faykan had brought to the forest for their protection, but he had never expecting something of this magnitude. It was simply too much to believe at some times, the sizable amount of things that the Istari in a child's body was capable of.
As soon as the potion was finished, Severus dragged his exhausted body to his private rooms. Hardly bothering to even so much as change his clothing, opting to only cast a cleansing charm to remove the grit and dried blood from his robes and skin, Severus collapsed onto his bed, he promptly fell asleep.
~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~
Albus sigh in resignation as he emerged from Slughorn's memory that Lord Alatar and Harry had procured that evening. Everything was just as he feared. Horcruxes: he had long feared since seeing the battered and burned book in Harry's hand when he emerged triumphant from the chamber of Secrets that it might have been what that was. The Ring he destroyed the summer before had been the second clue, but now this. Albus recognized instantly that Tom would not have stopped until he had made six Horcruxes; until he had torn his very soul into seven pieces, under the belief that it would make him invulnerable from any threat on his life.
Shaking his head, Albus mourned the misguided genius that Tom Riddle had represented. Such a gifted boy, magically and intellectually, but twisted by power and evil. It was such a loss to the world. But now, armed with this knowledge, Albus knew that there were four more of the vile creations out there in the world, and he had a dear few good guesses on at least three of the four. Slytherin's locket, which had originally been owned by Tom's own mother, was the most obvious, as well the cup of Helga Hufflepuff which had been stolen with the locket so long ago.
And with two items from Founders of the school that he most beloved, Albus was sure that Tom would have sought out other relics from either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Glancing at Godric's sword, which was placed in a glass box next to the sorting hat, Albus felt that it was unlikely that the goblin-made blade was hiding away a piece of Voldemort's soul. It was far more likely that something of Ravenclaw was found first.
Finally, Albus felt a strong suspicion about Tom's personal creature, Nagini the snake. There were too many peculiarities about that serpent and its relationship to Tom for it to be mere coincidence. Albus felt sure that the snake itself was another Horcrux.
That would account for six Horcruxes. At least, the six that Tom intentionally created. Shuddering at the thought, Albus dwelled on some of the subtle hints surround Harry himself. He had tried to warn Lord Alatar about the possibility, but the old Istari was adamantly against even the notion that Harry might have to perish to destroy Voldemort for good.
Pushing the thought from his mind for the moment, as he didn't want to dwell on that unpleasant thought, Albus started to work on how he would break the news of the Horcruxes to Harry and Alatar. He was certain that the Istari already knew what they were dealing with, with the unsubtle hints to reveal the information prematurely. Albus also knew that both would be up to see him as soon as they had recovered from the night's adventure, and he would not only need to be ready to explain all that he could, with regards to Voldemort's six Horcruxes, but also with a plan of action to locate and destroy those that had not as of yet been recovered.
Thankfully, he had a suspicion where one more might be, and with the information that there were definitely more out there, he was more than certain that one would be located in that seaside cave. It would be more than wise to bring both Alatar and Harry along in case of whatever dangers might be present guarding the seventh of Voldemort's soul.
~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~
Bellatrix laughed as he ran the full gambit of spells that she had had Abdurahman teach her over the last several weeks. The dark powers raced through her as she fired off dark curse after curse, pummeling the targets that the Arab was conjuring for her to target. Each and every spell was a delight, both to see their unique properties and think of their damaging potential.
Spells to detonate bones from within the body, hexes that would eat away at the flesh, curses that would rend a person limb from limb when struck, each were gleefully tossed about until she started to feel the magical strain in the back of her mind.
As she lowered her wand and Abdurahman vanished the remains of the many destroyed targets, she felt her blood boil. Her stamina was excellent, her power dangerous, but it still wasn't enough to content with the likes of Alatar. The blasted Light Lord was a powerhouse of energy, and she, despite her increasing knowledge, could not stand against him any more than a tree before a tidal wave.
She started when she heard clapping from the direction of Malfoy Manor. Turning, she immediately bowed when she recognized her Lord had come out to watch her train. "Excellent, Bella, a most excellent performance," the Dark Lord said merrily, bidding them both to rise. "But somehow I feel that you are less than pleased with the results…"
"Yes, my Lord" Bella admitted. Before she could continue, Voldemort spoke again.
"You still have much to learn, my strong right hand, and if you wish to fight against the likes of Dumbledore and Alatar, you will need more intricate skills than mere Dark Arts and curses."
Was it her imagination, but did Bella hear a different sort of voice from the Dark Lord. "Come, dear Bella, I have a task for you to complete, and you will need certain skills to learn to complete it."
Whatever her fears or inclinations towards the Dark Lord's personality, Bella knew that he still cared for her as his most loyal, and that was all that mattered in the end. She would remove the opposition to her Lord's ascent, and be rewarded for her loyalty with honor and riches.
~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~
Harry still felt exhausted the next morning at breakfast, and he could tell that his friends all were suffering from the lack of sleep. They all sat in a pocket of muted silence amid the sea of chattering students, who were all none the wiser of the battle that had taken place so close to the castle only the night before.
Ron was in a particularly bad mood. Lavender had been waiting for them when they entered the common room before they came down, and started immediately starting into Ron about where he had gone the previous night. Eventually the girl had pieced together that he had been with Hermione, and despite it not being remotely close to what the truth was, she went ballistic.
But something had changed in Ron during the night out in the forest. He had grown up a little bit, and Harry personally thought it had something to do with standing up to his long held fear of spiders, but he snapped back at Lavender, and broke up with her on the spot. The girl was currently farther down the table, still glaring at them jealously.
Harry for one ignored her, he was far too busy with trying to make sure his fork and spoon safely entered his mouth, as well as being lost in thought. He was starting to understand why Faykan was so protective of them when it came to full scale battle. They had had the element of surprise during the summer, and still there had been many near casualties among just the students from Hogwarts. This time however, they had walked straight into an ambush, and if not for the plans beforehand with calling the centaur, and at last the arrival of the Ent, they could not have won.
It was difficult, Harry mused, to fight at your fullest when you were worried about those at your side. Not that any of them had been a hindrance in the skirmish, but even Harry's momentary pause when Faykan was thrown by the massive lead spider could have been potentially fatal. He promised himself that he would train harder, so that he could focus on staying alive for his friends, so that neither nor he nor they were distracted by worry over the other.
"Harry Potter," said a voice behind him. snapping out of his thoughts, Harry turned to see a small Hufflepuff first year, who handed him a piece of parchment without a word and departed.
Glancing at it, he recognized Dumbledore's swirly handwriting, inviting both he and Faykan to his office that evening after classes to review Slughorn's memory, and to speak about certain matters that the note deemed 'highly important.'
As he relayed this information to the others, Faykan smiled widely at the news. Harry could only presume that he had some idea of what was finally to be revealed by the Headmaster, but that Harry would have to wait until that evening to learn of it.
And right now, he was simply too tired to care, and would willing wait for the news from Dumbledore's own lips.