Seriously, the hits to reviews ratio for this story is absolutely ridiculous. Over four hundred people have looked at this story and yet I have only gotten three reviews, one of which was not even a real review. Unless people start reviewing, this is probably the last chapter that I'll be posting. If anyone wants me to continue the story, then you must review and tell me so. Thanks to Slayerq and VeelaRabidFangirl for actually being considerate enough to take the time to review. In regards to the long delay in posting, you have my sincerest apologies. I just got home from a two week vacation with my family during which I did not have access to the internet.
The Road Not Taken Chapter 3: Leaving Home
A short while later, Harry Potter was alone in the dungeons, preparing to knock on Professor Slughorn's door. 'You better watch yourself in enemy territory,' Ron had said. To which Hermione had responded by swatting him on the arm and pointing out in an exasperated voice that just because certain Slytherins were bastards, that did not give Ron the right to think badly of them all. Harry grimaced at the memory of his friend's words. Until now, he would have wholly agreed with her, but as of late, her sentiments were getting harder and harder to believe. He only prayed that this one Slytherin would still be willing to help him. Raising his hand and hoping for the best, Harry rapped sharply on the door three times. Several seconds of silence passed before he heard a muffled, "Coming! Just a moment!" This was followed by the sound of locks being opened and finally, the door creaked open.
Slughorn was wearing a pair of plain black pants and the same maroon velvet overcoat he had been wearing on the day Harry had first met him. "Oh, Harry, come in, come in. What can I do for you my boy," he said with less spirit than he usually had. He looked tired. "Here, have a seat." Slughorn gestured for Harry to seat himself in one of the two chairs across from his desk. After both of them had settled themselves comfortably, the professor who was now once more the head of Slytherin house asked Harry again, "What can I do for you Harry?"
"I know that this is a touchy subject Professor, but it's terribly important, sir and you're the only one who can help me." Harry molded his features into an expression of worry and distress. His voice too gave the impression that he was a bit more helpless than he really was. Make Slughorn think that Harry looked up to him and was lost with out his assistance. That was the game. Of course it worked.
"Well what is it Harry, by all means I'll try to help you." Hoping that the professor wouldn't change his mind once he heard the question, Harry ploughed ahead.
"It's about the Horcruxes-" He didn't even have to finish the sentence.
"I've already told you everything I know. I gave you the memory, what else do you want?" His voice was edgy and it was obvious that he was nervous. It seemed he carried a lot of guilt around over the fact that he had told Riddle about the horcruxes to begin with. Guilt Harry could use to his advantage.
"There's one thing you haven't told me and one thing you didn't tell Riddle," Harry corrected calmly.
"How would you know if I had left something out? To be sure of that, you would have to know what I left out, in which case you wouldn't be asking me because you would already know." It was clear that Slughorn was making an attempt to confuse Harry into giving up, but as nervous and tired as he was, the professor's distraction tacticswere not at all up to par.
Harry leaned forward, closer to Slughorn, giving the impression that he was almost afraid to ask and when he spoke, his voice was lowered. "No sir, there was something you didn't tell Riddle and I know you didn't tell him because it's something he never would have asked." Harry paused for dramatic effect and put even more insecurity into his voice. "I need to know how to destroy a horcrux." Slughorn looked up in surprise. That had not been what he had expected to hear. He sighed in relief. There was no way that this student was going to do anything horrible with the information he sought. And he had been fearful about asking. No, this one would not cause any harm. It was safe to tell him. Sighing, the former head of Slytherin straightened himself and replied.
"It's a simple spell. Astoundingly simple actually. It requires no ceremony, no bloodshed, no sacrifice. To perform it, you only need a wand and a good deal of power as well as a strong will. It's only two words. Deleo Anima."
"Deleo Anima," Harry repeated skeptically, "That's it? There is nothing else?" Could it really be that easy?
"Yes, it's as easy as, to use a morbid example, Avada Kederva. As I said before, you need nothing more than power and a strong will."
"But how do you know if it worked sir," Harry questioned curiously, "I mean is the object itself destroyed?"
"No," Slughorn explained patiently, now very much at ease, "The object is unchanged. It's only the piece of the soul that's destroyed. I'll tell you how you know it has worked. This spell is dark purple and surrounds the object like a flame. If it works, the flames turn black and then disappear. If the spell fails, then the light will remain purple. If it is not a horcrux at all, then the light will turn white." Harry's brow furrowed as he forced himself to memorize the colors. When he had finished, he looked up at the professor once more.
"Is that all there is to know," Harry asked.
"That is everything," Slughorn replied, silently adding, 'Everything you need to know to successfully cast the spell.' He purposely left out the little details of the side effects the spell could have on the caster. He didn't need to frighten the boy with things that he would never have to encounter.
"Well, thank you Professor," Harry said after a moment and stood to leave. Slughorn accompanied him to the door.
"I trust I'll see you next September if the school remains open," the professor said in his usual cheerful manner.
"Of course," Harry lied, a smile on his face, "I wouldn't dream of staying away if I had the option to return."
"Good to hear, good to hear, my boy. Enjoy your summer."
"I'll try, sir." Harry employed a sad, suffering smile, the one that made him seem like a martyr.
"And study hard," Slughorn advised.
"Oh, I will sir," Harry assured him, determination clear in his eyes. Slughorn seemed pleased with this answer. 'If only you knew what I'll be studying,' Harry thought. Finally, he bid his teacher farewell and set off, up the corridor toward the entrance hall. As the door closed behind the young Gryffindor, Slughorn's bloodshot eyes widened as he suddenly realized what the boy intended to use the information he had just received. "What have I done?" He asked himself, praying that he had not just handed another boy the keys to his doom.
Harry had climbed two flights of stairs and was only one floor below the entrance hall now. Looking down at his feet, he noticed that the shoelace of his left sneaker was untied. Deciding that with his luck, he was likely to trip over it if he left it that way, Harry bent down to fix it. He finished tying the double knot and stood up, about to continue on.
"Harry Potter, you must wait!" The voice that cried out was forceful and urgent. Harry was lucky he had stopped to tie his shoe or he might have fallen down the stairs in alarm at the sudden noise in the otherwise silent corridor. To his further surprise, the person who had addressed him was none other than the supposedly silent ghost of Ravenclaw house. "You must wait. I have something very important to tell you and there is very little time before you must leave Hogwarts forever."
Still gaping, Harry stood up and walked back down several steps to stand in front of her. She had curly hair which came to her shoulders and apretty face. She must have been fairly young when she died. "My name is Melanie Duval," the ghost revealed, "but no one save your friends needs to know that." He didn't really know how to respond. Somehow he didn't think a 'Hi Mel, nice to meet you and if you don't mind, why are you talking to me since you've never spoken to any of the other students before,' would be very appropriate. Therefore he opted for remaining silent. "What I have to tell you has been a very well kept secret for many years. It was so well kept in fact that not even the late Headmaster Dumbledore knew about it. It is the truth about your family Harry. There are many things that you don't know about your heritage."
"Like what," Harry asked, enthralled.
"For instance, your mother was not a muggleborn." Harry would have commented on this, but the ghost continued on before he had the opportunity to do so. "I can't explain it all in person because I might be overheard. What I can tell you is that I have left an urn, like a pensive full of memories that will show you the truth about your heritage. I'm so sorry that I have to be so cryptic, but I must tell location of the urn to you in a riddle." She paused for a moment, as if trying to remember it. Harry got the impression that she had been waiting to tell him this for a very long time.
"This riddle has two beginnings here.
One in life and the other in fantasy.
The direction you want is straight forward,
But you must look like it is diagonally.
What you wish to find, though very full,
Is within a hollow still.
The answeris not in memory
But in memory of a dream." The sixth year Gryffindor stared at her, bewildered.
"I don't know if I will be able to remember all that," he confessed with concern.
"Don't worry," Melanie assured him, "you will not forget it. Remember that you must find the urn. It's very important." He nodded. "Now you must go." Looking at his watch, Harry saw that it was indeed time for the students to go down to the train station, Harry broke into a run and sprinted up the remaining flights of stairs to meet his friends in the entrance hall.
"That was really pushing it close to the time limit," Ginny declared as Harry clutched her arm for support while he caught his breath from running up four flights of stairs. "So did he tell you?"
"Yah," Harry answered, once his breathing had returned to normal, "It's a lot easier than I thought, but I can't tell you here. Besides, there isn't time. We've got to catch a carriage quickly or with my luck, we'll be stuck with the Creevy brothers." With that thought as motivation, the quartet made it down to the carriages in record time. For once it seemed that Harry's luck was not all bad. The were not stuck with the Creevy brothers, only with two second year Ravenclaws who they had never spoken to.
An half an hour later, they were settled in to their compartment on the train, pulling out of Hogsmeade station. Once the train was well on its way, Harry decided it was now safe to tell his friends what he had learned. Just to be safe, he cast an Imperturbable charm on the compartment. Then he explained to his friends what he had learned from Slughorn and what he had been told by the ghost of Melanie Duval. He asked Hermione if she had heard of such a person. Unfortunately, she had not. Fortunately, Ginny had.
"How do you know who she is when even Hermione has never heard of her," Ron demanded of his sister in shock.
"I never said I knew who she was, Ron. I said I'd heard of her." She rolled her eyes at her brother's antics. "I know I've heard the name before, but I can't place it," she mused. "Oh well, I suppose I'll think of it eventually."
"Any effort is helpful," Harry told his girlfriend. Then he turned to Hermione and asked, "So do you think you can help me figure this riddle out?" He was thinking back to their adventure in their first year. She had solved the riddle in the room with all the bottles. This riddle wasn't exactly the same type of thing. For one, it wasn't based on logic, but she was probably still the person most likely to solve it.
"Of course I'll help," Hermione said, "but I think I'll need a night to sleep on that one. Ask me tomorrow morning if I've come up with anything." Harry nodded, thinking about how odd it would be to be living with Hermione Ron twenty-four seven. It had already been decided that the three of them would be living in Grimwald Place. Hermione had written to her parents, saying that she would be staying with Harry and Ron until after Bill and Fleur's wedding. She forgot to mention that she wouldn't be coming home after the wedding. She felt bad about tricking her parents, but it was a necessary sacrifice. Ron had, over many fire calls, some how –Harry, Hermione, and Ginny had still not figured out how- convinced his parents to let him live withHarry and Hermione over the summer on the condition that the trio came to the Burrow for dinner every Saturday and Sunday. Ginny was given permission to stay at Grimwald Place during the day, but because of her age, Mrs. Weasley absolutely forbade Ginny to live anywhere other than home. He contemplated the subject for a long while, but didn't say anything about it out loud, aware that it would only irritate Ginny.
By the time the train was only an hour away from Kingscross, Ron had fallen asleep. Hermione and Ginny were both looking at a book, occasionally pointing things in the text out to each other in hushed voices, careful not to wake the sleeping boy in the next seat. Harry sighed almost inaudibly and crossed his arms over his chest as his eyes unfocused and he drifted into a daydream.
"Merry Christmas Melanie," he said, handing her a small box wrapped in silver paper with a blue ribbon. The seventh year looked up at her boyfriend insurprise. She hadn't expected him to get her a gift. Knowing how little money he had, she hoped it wasn't anything expensive. She pushed her curly red hair out of her bright blue eyes and began opening the gift. She carefully untied the ribbon and placed on the table beside her. Then she pulled the shining silver paper off. The box itself was simple enough, plain, white, and made of cardboard. But when she opened the box, she gasped.
"Oh, Tom," she said, sounding almost sorry, "You really shouldn't have." She held the beautiful present to the light. It was a heavy gold locket on a delicate chain with an ornate S, which reminded her of a snake, engraved on the front. He could tell that she was worrying about the money she thought it cost him. Being reminded once again that he was poor was embarrassing, but he didn't let it show. Instead he shook his head and explained.
"Don't worry, I didn't buy it. It was my mother's."
"Your mother's? I absolutely can't take it then. It's the only thing you have to remember her by," the young woman declared. It was clear from the expression in her sapphire eyes that she both wanted to accept the gift very much and felt very guilty about doing so.
"It's not like I'll never see it again. In fact, I'll see it everyday, now that it will be around your neck instead of in a box in the bottom of my trunk. And besides, I want you to have it." He didn't give her the chance to continue arguing. Instead he took the locket from her hands and fastened it around her neck. Finally, she gave in and pushed the pointless guiltiness out of her mind. If Tom wanted her to have it, then he wanted her to have it and it was stupid, not to mention rude to refuse such a beautiful and special gift
"Thank you so much," she said at last with a smile. He smiled back and kissed her lightly on the lips.
"Harry. Harry! Wake up, would you." He was abruptly woken when his girlfriend jabbed his shoulder forcefully with her wand. "Honestly, you're worse than Ron," she muttered, before continuing in a very Mrs. Weasley-ish manner, "Harold James Potter, if you don't get up this instant, I'm going to hex you silly." Blinking in confusion, He pushed her arm away.
"I'm awake, I'm awake. You don't need to threaten me," I declared, annoyed. Then he looked around suddenly, as if sleep's hold on him had only now disappeared and he was alert for the first time. "We're here already? I'm sorry I snapped at you. Thanks for waking me up." Stretching, he stood and pulled his trunk down from the overhead compartment and filed the odd dream away in his head for future contempletion. The Quartet exited the Hogwarts Express as one. None of them allowed themselves to think that this would be the last time they would ever be on that train. They forced themselves to think only of the celebration that would soon take place, as they strode toward the Weasley clan, which had gathered in its entirety on the platform to great their two youngest members and the two others whom they considered part of the family. Pulling his trunk along behind him, he thought about how lucky he was to know people like the Weasleys, who could make even an orphan feel like he had a family. Mrs. Weasley enveloped him in a hug and the twins clapped him on the back in greating. He felt himself smile for the first time in days, thinking, 'What would I ever do with out them?'
The next chapter will be called 'The Gift' in which (predictably) Harry recieves a gift. If anyone wants to guess who gives him the gift and who it belonged to before him, you can put that in your review.
Thanks for being so patient! I hope you can continue to be patient for a while longer. I'm afraid that I won't be able to post the next chapter until the first of September at the earliest, due to the fact that I am a horrible procrastinator and have yet to finish the abhorrent amount of summer homework which I unfortunately have to do. Once I have passed it all in and the stress is off, I should be able to get the next chapter done fairly quickly. I will of course post it sooner if I have the opportunity, but that's highly unlikely. Again, thank you for being patient and feedback is greatly appreciated.