-Chapter 8-
Hermione was brought back to reality when she heard Harry call to her for help as his body fell to the floor with a loud thud that rang out throughout the Library.
"Oh my god!" She gasped and rushed to his side, and looked him over. He was covered in sweat and was burning up, she took her wand out to levitate him out of the library but stopped short since she could not use magic while out of school.
"Shite." She cursed under her breath and then she stupidly remembered that the manor had elves. "DIPSEY!" Hermione shouted, and a small pop announced the elf's arrival. "Yes Mis-" Dipsey started to asked but then gasped as she took in the scene.
"Master Harry!" The elf shouted and rushed over to them. Dipsey looked Harry over and from the looks of it, used a health monitor charm to check him over. "We need to get Master Harry into an ice bath, he has a 101 degree fever." She urgently explained as she then levitated Harry and rushed out of the library with him
Hermione followed quickly behind as Dipsey ran Harry to his room. "Missus Hermione, I will need to strip Master Harry and put him in the bath.'" Hermione could hear more than see the tub magically filling in the bathroom connected to Harry's room. "You will have to wait out here til I am done putting him thru the bath."
Hermione was about to protest but then stopped herself as she realized that Harry was going to be completely naked. With a red cheeked face, she nodded at the small elf with understanding.
Dipsey then levitated Harry into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Once Hermione knew Harry was in good hands, she started pacing the bedroom.
'He said "Voldemort" before he hit the ground... Could this be the connection he mentioned last night?' She mulled over.
That's what she was looking into in the Potter Library. She looked for anything regarding that ritual Harry had endured at the Graveyard during the Tournament. However, nothing she read was helpful and though she was sure Harry might have a connection to Voldemort, she could not really believe it was due to the ritual.
'Voldemort and Harry have had a connection for years... Maybe...' She stopped pacing. "His scar!" She proclaimed out loud and raced to her room.
She ransacked the books she had "borrowed" from Sirius that were shoved into her bag to keep away from Molly and found the thick black textbook titled "Secrets of the Darkest Art". She flipped through the pages as her mind raced with the theory she had deduced.
'His head, well his scar, usually was the thing that caused him any pain. And last night, he was clutching his head as he did when he could... feel... Voldemort..'
She stopped on the page she was looking for and read a couple of paragraphs before she stopped, her eyes becoming wide with the discovery. She took a deep breath and dog eared the page she was on before closing it and tucking it under her arm. Her hands trembled a bit as she started making her way back to Harry's bedroom, the realization hitting her like a ton of bricks.
She heard his voice as she walked into the room. "'Mione.. Sorry for scaring you." Harry apologized weakly. Dipsey was making sure he was completely tucked into his bed. She noticed his hair was wet from the ice bath and his lips were slightly blue. "It's quite alright Harry." She said softy, trying to keep calm for him. "How are you feeling?"
"Like a ton of ice and cold water was engulfed me awake." He said, looking over at the small elf, clearly upset with how he was awoken but it didn't seem to faze the little elf beside him.
"Master Harry, I will go make you some hot homemade soup to warm you up. Til then, don't get out of this bed." Dipsey ordered, waiting for Harry to nod before popping away.
Hermione then walked over and sat down on the bed across from him. She took a deep breath before looking intently at him. "Har-" she began to say but Harry cut in.
"I think I saw thru Voldemort's mind.." He shivered a bit due to being cold but continued, "I think we have a connection due to him being back.. I don't know how.. but we could try to-" This time Hermione cut in.
"It's called a Horcrox." She whispered.
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Harry and Hermione stared at each other in silence for a couple of moments.
"A what?" Harry asked suddenly, clearly he tried to remember if he heard the word before but he looked more confused than anything.
"A Horcrux." Hermione repeated as she pulled up the text book, opened it to the marked page, and began to read out loud.
"A Horcrux is an object in which a wizard or witch has hidden a fragment of his or her soul for the purpose of attaining immortality. Horcruxes can only be created after committing murder, the supreme act of evil. This would result in the murderer metaphysically damaging their own soul. A wizard or witch who wishes to create a Horcrux would then use that damage to their advantage by casting a spell which would rip the damaged portion of the soul and encase it in an object.
"While a Horcrux can be anything at all, including a living being, it was most advisable to create a Horcrux out of an inanimate object to decrease the chances of it being destroyed. If the maker was later killed, he or she would continue to exist in a non-corporeal form, although there are methods of regaining a physical body."
Hermione looked up at Harry at the end of the paragraphs. His face was hard with concentration but said nothing so she finished reading.
"Horcruxes by their nature are to be extraordinarily durable, as only very destructive magics and processes can truly destroy them."
"There is not much else on the subject, when I read the book the first time, I noticed that there are pages missing and more than likely it was those precise pages that explain what spell is to be used to create a Horcrux and how to destroy them in more graphic detail." Hermione explained as she put the book down.
"Tom Riddle's Diary... it had to have been a Horcrux." Harry stated, his brow scrunched up in concentration. "Yes, I thought so too when I stumbled upon the passage." Hermione confirmed then added "Your scar is one too."
Harry scoffed. "That's not possible, He would not make a Horcrux with a living being! He wou-" Harry tried to protest but was cut once more off.
"You are correct, he would not do so intentionally, but Harry think!" Hermione wanted to shake him sometimes. "The night your mother refused to step aside, whatever ancient magic she used made the Killing Curse that Voldemort tried to inflict on you rebound and hit him instead. He made an act of supreme evil by killing your mother moments before." She explained and saw the wheels of his mind come to the same conclusion she had. "
"And his remaining soul latched onto the only living thing in the room for protection... which was me.." Harry finished in almost a whisper.
Hermione noticed as realization swept thru Harry, he looked even more pale than before. "If I am one, and the Diary was the other, how can he still live? I destroyed the Diary with the Basilisk Fang and if we are correct, the fragment of his soul is still in my head. How did he come back if he did not have me in the first place to begin the ritual?" Harry asked, mainly to himself than to her.
"Maybe there are more.. Remember what Hagrid said our first year. Voldemort disappeared but there was a possibility he was still out there but he was too weak and hiding out. Maybe one of his loyal servants found another horcrux and found a way to use the fragment of his soul in that one to bring his body back but only partially til he was able to get to you and enforce that ritual.." Hermione explained her theory and watched as Harry nodded slowly.
"At the Graveyard, he looked like he was a very mangled toddler before he was tossed in the cauldron. It could have been possible they used a child at first but it could not allow him an actual body as his soul was already too damaged and one horcrox would not be enough. The Ritual brought him back to an adult body, yes, but he looks... deranged, snake like even. Like he split his soul more than a couple of times.." Harry confirmed, shuttering at the memory of that night.
Hermione nodded and noticed Harry was looking at the book in her lap. "Was that in the Potter Library?" He asked curiously but Hermione shook her head. "No, Sirius snuck it to me to read at Headquarters from the Black Library since Molly isn't letting us in til Remus and Sirius get rid of the darker objects in there. He said it might be useful for DADA but I don't think it ever belonged to anyone in the Black family."
Hermione opened the book's front cover, and stuck on the Table of Contents was the typical Hogwarts check out card holder.
"It was at Hogwarts before it ended up in the Black Library. More than likely in the Restricted Section." Hermione explained grimly as she handed the book to Harry to look over.
They were both quiet again. Both stuck in their own thoughts. Harry, with a heavy sigh, set the textbook on the nightstand beside his bed before speaking.
"Tomorrow, I need to make a quick stop at Gringotts, I have a few things I need to take care of there and then after we will head to Headquarters." Harry said with another sigh, "As mad as I am at Dumbledore we need to discuss this with him sooner rather than later."
Hermione nodded in understanding, her hand playing nervously with her hair. "If we are correct, if there is more than one what are going to do?" She asked, worry lacing her voice.
"Destroy them." Harry said determinedly then sighed one final time. "There is another thing... it about Draco Malfoy."
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