AN: Thanks to my beta Evan Mayerle for assistance in getting this chapter out.
Chapter 15 Letters from Dumbledore
Harry's excitement from the discoveries of the previous day was quickly dampened when he saw Mrs. Weasley the next morning and remembered that she had to bury her husband soon. He insisted on making breakfast and thought it was an indication of how she felt that she didn't object. After talking with Ron and Ginny, he floo-ed Professor McGonagall and told her that Arthur had died the previous day. Minerva floo-ed over and promised to help Molly while the children were away. They promised to return after lunch.
Once they reached Longbottom manor, Harry asked Remus to get Tonks there as soon as possible. While they waited for her Harry filled the group in on the previous day's discoveries: the hope that Mundungus Fletcher would be able to tell them where Slytherin's locket is; closing in on the location of the orphanage; and Harry's information from Voldemort. Hermione was scandalized and Ginny was upset that Luna was in his bedroom in the middle of the night. Luna ignored their reactions. Harry started to tell them that he wanted to wait for Tonks so he wouldn't have to repeat himself, but at that moment the Auror (wearing electric blue hair) appeared.
"Whotcha, Harry? Is there a reason for getting me up so early? I've been on the late shifts the last few days."
"Took out a group of Death Eaters and Dementors last night, huh?" Harry asked.
"Yeah. It's almost routine, now. Hey! How'd you know? Read the Muggle papers? But they wouldn't report the Dementors."
"Voldemort told me."
There were a number of "What!"s by various members of the group. Harry just smiled until the noise calmed down.
"Most of you know that Voldemort can hurt me through my curse scar, and I can sense when he's very emotional -- usually mad. However, the link seems to be widening. I'm getting more information now. Last night he was informed that a group of ten Death Eaters herding Dementors were attacked and defeated. . . ."
Tonks interrupted, "Ten? We only accounted for nine."
"One got away and reported. He was punished, and that what's opened the link last night. But Voldemort also realized that this was the third Dementor group that had been attacked. He figured that the ministry was targeting them."
"We have been. We've been getting good information from the Muggle police, so we can respond really quickly," Tonks confirmed.
"Well, now you have to tell your boss that a spy in Voldemort's camp said that the next time a Dementor group goes out there are going to be four or five times the number of Death Eaters because Voldemort wants to turn the tables on the Aurors. And it will happen in Kendal on August 18th."
"Why the business with the spy?" Hermione asked.
Tonks answered, "You know Harry has this connection, but not everyone does, and we don't want certain people finding out. Like You-Know-Who."
"Oh. Why Kendal? Why the eighteenth?"
Remus answered one of the questions. "August 18th is a full moon. I bet he's going to use werewolves in the battle."
Harry answered the other question, "Kendal isn't that far from Little Hangleton, so it won't take them long to get the Dementors there."
Harry really didn't have anything more to tell Tonks, but she asked numerous questions just to make sure she had all the information. She thanked Harry and promised him a medal once the war was over. She then headed off.
The Ministry group practiced their Appartition for about an hour, then broke for a party. Neville, in deference to Ron and Ginny's loss, was willing to forgo the party, but the Weasleys insisted. Neville's great aunt and uncle joined them, and Fritz the cook had baked a cake. They shared presents and spent a relaxing morning, finishing up with an early lunch. Neville was going to the Ministry that afternoon with his great uncle Algie to get his Apparition license. Harry told Remus that he wanted to go to the Ministry the next morning, rather than have a training session. He wanted to get the test over with sooner, and get whatever Dumbledore had left for him.
Then the group floo-ed back to the Burrow.
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When the group arrived at the Burrow, it was as if there was another party going on. The parlor was filled with with people who Harry recognized as Order members, as well as a few others that he seemed to recall Mr. Weasley pointing out at the World Cup a few years back. Professor McGonagall saw them arrive, and came over.
"Good, you're here earlier than expected. Get cleaned up and in formal robes." She consulted a pocket watch, "The funeral is in 45 minutes."
They stared at her for a moment, and started to move.
Luna said, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow. . . . Oh, that's right, we're not meeting tomorrow. I'll see you Friday then." She turned back to the fireplace.
Harry said, "Wait, Luna. Go get changed and come back. People shouldn't be alone more than they have to now-a-days. You knew Mr. Weasley, too."
"Not very well. . . ."
"Come back anyway."
McGonagall added, "Yes, dear, Mr. Potter's correct. If there's no one at your home, you should spend more time with friends. Get ready, and come back."
Luna nodded, and floo-ed away. She was barely gone from the fireplace when another figure appeared. A tall, old man, wearing somewhat worn dress robes stepped out.
"Ah, Mr. Perkins! How good of you to come," McGonagall said.
"Thank you for the invite. You don't work with someone for as long as I have and not pay your last respects." Harry headed upstairs.
The funeral was a simple affair, chairs set up in the graveyard, and a speaker, who Harry thought was not inspiring at all. He magically lowered the coffin into the hole, and caused the dirt to cover it. There were a number of Aurors around. Tonks was there as a mourner, not as an Auror. When Harry mentioned their style of dress to her, she told him they had set up temporary anti-Muggle wards around the place. After the funeral about half of the people went back to the Burrow, and Harry (and Ron, to mixed feelings of sadness and delight) found that many people had brought food to share, and a big buffet was soon set up in the kitchen. Someone had tried to put out a bottle of Firewiskey to share, but Mrs. Weasley wouldn't allow it.
Percy was there with Penelope Clearwater. Harry had a quiet conversation with both of them, but it was all small talk. Percy was given the afternoon off by the Minister himself, who sent his regrets that he couldn't be there in person. Charlie and George were there, but George disappeared back to St. Mungo's after the burial. Charlie was still on what he called "secretary duty" -- answering the floo, and passing messages. He asked Harry if he would mind if he joined them some mornings, just to get out and do something. Harry replied he could join any time.
The most unexpected guests were Bill and Fleur, who had cut their honeymoon short by a few days. Bill figured they would spend the next few days traveling between England and France, mourning with both families. Harry took Bill aside and filled him in on the Fidelius protected room at Headquarters. He thought he could get away that evening and check it out.
Ginny was able to avoid Fleur, but at the cost of avoiding Bill, too. She also steered clear of Luna, although she saw the blond laughing a few times amidst groups of people. She spent some time with Neville, who showed up after passing his Apparition Test. But she really wasn't good company, and Neville eventually went to hang out with Hermione and Ron. Towards the middle of the afternoon, Charlie suggested that Ginny and he keep George company at St. Mungo's. She reluctantly agreed, and they floo-ed over there.
After the guests left, Bill and Harry went to the Black house and checked out the wards on the Inferi room. They had left the door open, and a rope led from the hall into the room, so those outside could get in without needing Dobby, who was busy cleaning up after the party at the moment. Bill was impressed by the house-elves ability to get through the Fidelius charm, and thought it would be useful for getting into the orphanage.
The runes in the room were not trapped. He could find no other magic in the place. Whoever set it up knew that they would not be able to get back to it and obviously thought no one else would get in. However, they were at least a little careful, leaving the five guards.
It took just a few minutes (once he had done his analysis) for Bill to destroy the runes and free the room. Harry was happy that the room was no longer hidden, but would never feel comfortable in it again. They headed back to the Burrow, and Bill and Fleur went back to their own apartment for the night.
Luna had already gone home, as had the rest of the guests. Harry berated himself for not talking to McGonagall about the diary. Well, it wasn't like it was going anywhere.
July 31 dawned overcast, promising rain. Once again Harry was up early, and worked with Dobby (despite his attempts to get Harry out of the kitchen) to make breakfast. Harry noticed that Mrs. Weasley didn't complain about someone else fixing food, and mentioned that to Charlie. He agreed that it wasn't a good sign, but thought they should wait a few days before becoming worried. He was able to get her to agree to monitor the floo for any messages from the Order so he could, as he put it, "be a body guard for Harry."
Hermione, Charlie, Ron, Ginny and Harry floo-ed to the ministry after breakfast. They checked in with the receptionist, and very shortly an apparition examiner came to the lobby and escorted them to an alley near the phone booth that the ministry used.
While Harry and Ron were being given their tests, a group of wizards in Auror robes entered the alley accompanying the Minister of Magic. The minister didn't say anything while Harry and Ron completed the last part of the test -- a long distance Apparate to a location they hadn't been before, but were only given the coordinates. As Harry and Ron returned from a successful Apparition to a park near Shakespeare's house, they found themselves in a firefight. Harry and Ron appeared next to the body of their instructor.
As they appeared, one of the Death Eaters yelled, "He's there!" At the same time Harry Disapparated. Ron jumped out of the way of a spell, and took in the situation.
The alley was about fifteen meters long, wide enough for a lorry to back in, maybe four meters wide. The last three or four meters were wider, perhaps giving the theoretical lorry driver room to unload his truck. The Aurors, as well as the Minister and rest of Harry's party were bunched behind the building in the wider portion of the alley. The Death Eaters were at the entrance, and were keeping the group at the other end pinned down. Ron was the only person out in the open, and leapt towards the rest of the group, in the relative safety of the side of the alley, dodging a number of nasty looking spells as he did so.
As he got there, he found Hermione and Ginny fighting with some of the Aurors.
"We need to get you to safety!" an Auror said, as he finally got a good hold on Ginny. But then nothing happened. "Sir," he addressed the Minister, "They've activated anti-Apparition wards. We're stuck at the moment."
Hermione looked at Ron and said, "Shall we try that thing Harry did to us?"
Ron smiled and nodded. Hermione transfigured various bits of garbage into bludger sized metal balls. After she had a dozen or so, Ron started levitating them into the middle of the alley. Very quickly, Hermione banished them down the alley towards the death eaters.
As the cannon balls were heading towards the Death Eaters, Ron said, "Attack."
Hermione and the Weasleys jumped out, firing curses down the alley. It was a good trick, the Death Eaters were too busy dodging the cannon balls to dodge the curses. However, it didn't matter. Some were hit by the spells (and the Aurors, seeing the plan, had joined in the spell attack), but most were hit and killed when about fifty of the cannon balls fell from the sky on top of them.
As the Aurors carefully approached the downed death eaters, there was an Apparition pop behind them. They spun and pointed their wands at Harry.
"I surrender!" he said, putting up his hands.
"Harry!" several of his friends yelled.
"Did you do that?" Hermione asked, pointing to the carnage at the start of the alley.
"Yes. When I saw we were under attack, I thought I better get out of there before they put a stop to Apparating."
One of the Aurors asked, "How did you know they would do that?"
"They almost always do that. From what I've read, it's one of the first things that Death Eaters do in a confrontation -- stop people from escaping. I Apparated to the top of the building." He pointed at the roof, four stories up.
"Why didn't you go for help?" the Minister wanted to know.
"I wanted to evaluate the situation first. If they had overwhelming forces, I would have. I saw they had about a dozen bunched near the entrance, so I dropped some heavy weights on them."
"A variation on what you did to us in practice," Hermione said.
"Yes. I didn't have to banish them, though. I just let gravity take care of that."
They had reached the Death Eaters, and it was not a pretty sight. Most of them had been crushed by Harry's weights. A few appeared to be unharmed.
"What happened to them?" one of the Aurors asked, pointed at the intact bodies.
"When the weights missed, I just stunned them. They were too busy at the time avoiding your spells to notice me. How's the instructor?"
"Finn took him to St. Mungo's. We probably won't know for a while. He was still alive when they left."
Harry nodded. "That's good. Uh, does this mean we have to take the test again?"
Scrimgeour laughed; it was a deep, rich laugh. "No. If you hadn't passed the last part, he wouldn't have come back so soon. And as you're obviously not splinched, I think you've earned yourselves your Apparition licenses. Congratulations."
The minister and one Auror went into the Ministry with them, and requested that Harry and his friends come to his office. Once there, he summoned Percy and asked him to get Ron and Harry their licenses. The Weasleys greeted each other in a friendly manner. After Percy left, the Auror closed the door.
The minister turned to Hermione an asked, "Excuse me, I don't believe we've met? I'm Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic. And you are?"
"Hermione Granger, sir."
Scrimgeour asked the Auror, "Are you sure she's the one?" The red robed man nodded, and the minister turned back to Hermione.
"Well, Miss Granger, would you mind telling me what you were doing at a Muggle government office during an attack by the Dark Lord himself?"
Hermione, caught off guard, sputtered a moment and looked at Harry.
"She was there researching Tom Riddle, now known as Voldemort."
"And what did you hope to learn there?"
Harry thought quickly. The closer to the truth his answer, the better he thought it would be.
"Dumbledore thought that something in the Dark Lord's past would be instrumental in defeating him; something important, whether an object, or a place, or both; but something important to Voldemort. He had done research into the time between Riddle leaving Hogwarts, and his disappearance after he killed Hepzibah Smith and quit his job at Borgin and Burkes in the '40s. He then disappears for most of 30 years, reappearing as Voldemort to start his reign of terror in the '70s. Hermione was looking for anything the government had on him; we expected only information on his orphanage and early years, but we couldn't be sure. Somehow he must have found out that someone was researching him. I'm just glad she got out alive."
Harry noticed Ginny look up at him suddenly while he was speaking. Her eyes were wide, and she looked, frankly, shocked. She didn't say anything, but seemed to get her emotions under control.
"And the other witch with you?" Scrimgeour asked.
"That was Luna Lovegood, sir."
"And would you mind telling me how you got all those Muggles to walk through a wall? A bunch were talking about homogram walls or some such. Could you fill me in?"
"Well, um, she had a potion she called a Quasilocus Potion, that allows you to walk through walls when you put it on the wall. She said it was made from bollywoggles, and I know it's not in any of our school potion books. Beyond that I don't know anything about it."
Scrimgeour looked at the Auror, who shrugged his shoulders, and then nodded. Scrimgeour nodded back.
"Very well done, then. You and your friend probably saved a lot a people that day.
"Now Harry, I have something for you." He moved a stack of papers on a shelf that were sitting on a cubic wooden box, about six inches long on all sides. A tag attached by some spello-tape said "Harry Potter." The box had a hinge and a simple latch. Harry was a little disappointed. He had hoped that Dumbledore would have given him some books or something on Horcruxes. He felt that the old wizard had left him unprepared to complete the task. And the box didn't look big enough to contain much useful information. He flipped the latch and opened it.
"Well, this is unexpected!" he commented, as he reached in the box and pulled out a metallic, silvery instrument. It was made up of circles of metal with runes stamped into them at various places, and in the middle an arrow shaped bar hinged to move freely up and down and around. He seemed to remember seeing it on a shelf in the headmaster's office. There were some papers beneath it. He put the device on the Minister's desk, and took out the papers. One was a letter, addressed to him. The other appeared to be several parchments of closely written Gothic script. He hated reading Gothic script; the strange, ornamental characters were difficult to read and gave him a headache. He opened the letter, and read it. It was from Dumbledore and dated last August..
Dear Harry,
If you are reading this, I am sorry to say, it means that I did not survive the war. I apologize that I am not there to help you, and hope you are doing well.
This instrument was given to me as a gift when I became Headmaster of Hogwarts, lo these many a year ago. The very nice lady who gave it to me thought that it had been created by Rowena Ravenclaw herself, but my research cannot date it earlier than the seventeenth century. It is an early version of a device similar to the Weasleys' wonderful clock; when attuned to someone, it can give you their state of safety, and in some general way, their whereabouts. However it is difficult to attune and as Headmaster, I had too many children to keep track of; it was not practical.
I give it to you as a goal: once you have survived this war, you may have a child of your own, and this device could come in handy.
I am not big on prophesies, but if you may indulge an old man's whimsy for a moment, I will tell you my secret hope. I see you married with a house full of children, playing professional Quidditch as the greatest seekerof the age. Your friend, Ronald Weasley backing you as keeper, and in the VIP box, rooting for you both, is Minister of Magic Hermione Granger. Well, I can dream, can't I?
Harry, never let the cares of the world get between you and your friends. You have a tendency to push people away when you are in trouble, but your friends, and teachers, yes, even Professor Snape and Professor Hagrid,would do anything in their power to help you. It is not weakness to seek assistance.
How do you finish up a goodbye letter? All I can say is that it has been a pleasure working with you, and seeing you grow up.
With affection,
Albus Dumbledore
There are no titles between friends.
A tear leaked from Harry's eye and he read the note. He handed it to Hermione, who let the Weasleys read it. Harry noticed that the instructions, if that was what they were, for the locator were opened, and Scrimgeour appeared to have been looking over them. He smiled at Harry, and folded them up, putting them back in the box. Harry put the device back in it's box, too. He took the letter and started to fold it up.
"May I read it?" the Minister asked.
Harry shrugged, and handed the letter over. Scrimgeour read it quickly and passed it back. "Well, if he was going to give you any advice on the war, that wasn't it."
Harry shrugged again, and turned to go, but then turned back to the Minister.
"Sir? Is it possible to visit Azkaban?"
"What? Why would you want to visit the prison?"
"Mundungus Fletcher, who is in there for theft, stole some heirlooms from the house I inherited from Sirius Black. I'd like to ask him if there are any he hasn't sold yet, and try to recover them."
"I suppose it could be arranged. When would you want to go?"
"Just about any time. We're not doing much this summer, just getting some defense training from a private tutor."
"Yes, I saw the results of your training. Your tutor is good. If you don't mind, I can set it up for tomorrow afternoon."
"That would be fine. My understanding is that we go to the boat dock, and only one boat is enchanted to get to Azkaban?"
"That is correct."
"And if you don't mind, could you keep this quiet. I'm sure that someone leaked the fact that I'd be here today for my Apparition test, and that's why our Death Eater friends showed up."
Scrimgeour looked abashed. "Yes, I'll keep this quiet."
Harry thanked the Minister, and walked out. As they reached the lobby he stopped.
"Well, now that I'm legal, I want to do some Apparating. Charlie, could you take Ginny home? I think I want to go to Hogwarts, and see how this will work out for traveling long distances. Ron, Hermione? You're free to join me."
Ginny protested, but Harry insisted that they would be back for lunch. Ginny gave in, and the trio headed up the elevator to the street. They walked the block or so to get away from the anti-Apparition wards, and travelled to the gates of Hogwarts.
Meanwhile, in the Minister's office the Auror who had been there the whole time and the Minister were deep in conversation.
"So Potter's explanation of the Dumbledore's goals was truthful?"
"Yes, sir. I would say that he was probably holding something back, but there's no way to be sure what that was when using passive Legilimency. At a guess, he knows what he's looking for, just not where to find it. Or else he's discovered where it is, but not what. It could be related to the trip to Azkaban."
The minister mused, "At a guess, I'd say they found some weakness of the Dark Lord, but it isn't enough or isn't complete. Otherwise the Granger girl wouldn't have been still looking. The Weasley girl thought of something, though. I wonder what she figured out?" Getting nothing from his man, the Minister continued, "Did you get a look at the letter?"
"Yes, sir. As he said, a goodbye. A bit rambling, mentioned two of his friends, a few teachers, hopes for the future, things like that. Said the device was a primitive family clock."
"That's what the other papers said, too. Rather complicated ritual to set the locations and person it tracks. Needs some of their blood, too. Not too useful."
"Why did he have you deliver it, sir? What was this all about?"
"The only thing I can think of is that Dumbledore wanted to make sure we knew that he wasn't passing anything useful to Potter."
"And do we know that?"
"No. But I'm pretty sure that we know he didn't pass anything with the box. But we did get some information. Try and find what happened to Tom Riddle after he left working for Borgin and Burkes. Also find out about the murder of Hepzibah Smith, sometime in the '40s. Maybe we can find something that Dumbledore didn't, and maybe trade information with the kid. If he knows the Dark Lord's weakness, I want to know it! Also, I want a complete report on what he says to Fletcher."
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Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way up the road towards Hogwarts.
"Harry," Ron asked, "Is there a reason we're here? Or is this just a bit of what my parents would call teenage foolishness?"
Harry chuckled. "Yes there's a reason. In this note," he brought it out, "did you notice anything special about any of the words?"
Neither Hermione nor Ron did.
"It must be spelled only for me then. There are some words that stood out. They spell "The secret keeper is Hagrid." It sounds like Dumbledore put something under the Fidelius and Hagrid is the man we need to see."
They made their way to Hagrid's hut only to find it empty. The damage from the fire had been repaired, and it looked lived in, just no Hagrid.
"I wish I brought my broomstick," Harry commented. "I could cover more ground while searching."
They went out the back door, and saw Hagrid in the woods about twenty meters away.
"Hagrid!" Harry yelled. Hagrid looked up, and waved, and they saw a unicorn bound away from him. He headed in their direction, and was soon in his house with them, offering tea.
Harry glanced at his friends, and neither of them seemed in the mood for tea, so he got straight to the point. "Hagrid, I received a note from Dumbledore that said you were the secret keeper. What secret, Hagrid?"
Hagrid looked confused for a moment, and then it was like a light bulb had turned on. His face lit up with amazement. "Blimey! 'Arry! I can't believe I forgot. But it were las' summer, before school started, Dumbledore took me and Filius and der professor cast the spell, Flitwick, I mean, an' I were the secret keeper. Den Dumbledore cast a spell, and we couldn't remember unless'n you reminded us of it. And the fool thing worked, too. But o' course it did! Dumbledore always were the greatest wizard, so when he came up with a plan it worked!"
"Yes, Hagrid, but what's the secret?" Harry wanted to yell, but he also had great affection for the grounds keeper, and kept his voice calm.
"Why, 'twere your parent's 'ouse in Godwic's 'Ollow. Dumbledore kept it hidden, waitin' for you, all these years, but las' summer, after his hand were cursed, he wanted someone else to 'old the secret, just in case." Hagrid sniffed. "Turns out, dis were another of his plans that worked." They stayed with Hagrid until he calmed down, got the location from him, then took their leave. They headed for the gates of Hogwarts.
"Why didn't he ever tell me?" Harry asked, upset.
"He couldn't Harry. Dumbledore spelled him so he couldn't tell unless you asked," Ron said.
"No. Why didn't Dumbledore tell me about the house? Why the secrecy?"
Hermione looked at him, and answered, "I think I know part of the reason."
"What?"
"If you had a place of your own, would you have considered the Durlsey's place 'home'? You wouldn't have, and the blood protection would have failed. And the requirement that you have your Apparition license? Without that, you would have to take the Knight Bus or drive, and in either method you could be followed."
"Alright, so he had reasons. Good reasons. I don't have to like it, do I?"
Ron and Hermione saw that he was half joking and laughed. They exited Hogwarts and Apparated to the picnic spot. They looked around, recalling the location that Hagrid had given them, "Harry's house faces the pond at Godric's Hollow."
And there it was. The path they had followed the other day didn't end -- it continued by the side of a large, friendly looking house. There was a covered porch to one side, and a couple of columns holding up a small balcony above the front door. The path led past the left side of the two story house, to a one car, detached garage with a shed on the side. They walked to the front door.
It was unlocked, and they found themselves in a hall. Two arched openings led to the sitting room on the right and to the left, a dining room, with a huge crystal chandelier over a beautiful wooden table. A stairway led up, and an open door ahead of them gave a small view of a kitchen. The living room had a couch, chairs, a baby grand piano, and a cozy fireplace. Two doors led out from the living room -- one straight across from the arched entry, the other at the back of the room. Across from the arch in the dining room was a window looking out across the field to the woods, and towards the back of the house was a closed door, that they figured led to the kitchen. They went into the sitting room.
The door across from the entry led to a solarium -- a small room surrounded by three walls of windows, with flower boxes all around the inside. There was also a door to the front porch.
The door at the back of the living room led to a den.
It could, theoretically, be called a library. There were three chairs in there, and three walls were covered in books shelves from about waist high to the ceiling. The shelves were mahogany as was the desk, and there was window facing the back yard of the house, which also looked wild and overgrown. On the desk was a wooden box.
It was about a foot and a half on a side, and two feet high. It was plain, and the top was hinged. The top did not move as Harry tried to open it. The metal latch on the front had a red button in the middle of it, but no indication of a keyhole or any other opening mechanism. Harry looked at his friends, shrugged, and pushed the button.
"Ow!" Harry jerked his hand away from the box, looking at his finger. There was a drop of blood appearing at the tip. "A pin or something poked me!" he said, as he pressed his thumb to the tiny hole on his index finger.
"Must be some sort of lock that only opens to someone of the right blood?" Hermione wondered, as there came a click from the mechanism. She reached out, and opened the lid. Harry's eyes widened as he saw what was in it, and he started taking things out.
First came Slytherin's ring, smashed, cracked, no longer usable as a ring.
Then came the diary. Harry looked at the back, and the address was still visible.
"Vauxhall Road! That's where the diary came from, and somewhere around there is the orphanage!"
Then came a stack of papers covered in Dumbledore's writing. The first one was a spell that determined if an object was a Horcrux. They took a few minutes to learn the spell, and cast it around. None of the objects (books, chairs, nick-knacks on the shelves) were found to be Horcruxes.
Below that was a multi page list titled "Possible locations." At the top of the list was the name of the orphanage. Most places were listed and crossed out, like "Cottage in W. Düsseldorf where he lived May - Sept, 1968." One crossed off entry, "Cross Keep, Dinu Pass, Romania" had the comment, "Don't ever go there!"
Several pages in, they found "Gaunt Cottage, Little Caledonian" followed by a set of exclamation points. After that was "Riddle House" with the comment, "Currently occupied by Death Eaters."
Beyond that was a time line, starting in 1945, but with lots of gaps, with locations of where Riddle was. He was in Egypt through most of 1953 and 1954. They found that he was working with a Professor Max Krassman while in Düsseldorf during the time he lived in the cottage they had already read about. They looked it over, and set it aside.
Below that were pages of information on relics of the founders. Ravenclaw had a scrying mirror that was know to exist as late at 1820, and a knife in a Gringotts vault in America, owned by a wealthy wizard who was warned of Riddle's possible attempts to get at it. It was not a Horcrux as of fall last year. She also owned a necklace that was stolen from the owner in 1968. Supposedly there was a tracking charm on it that would allow Ravenclaw's husband to find her when she wore it, but the charm, if it ever existed, is unknown.
Gryffindor's known relics were the sword and the sorting hat, neither of them Horcruxes.
Hufflepuff, besides her missing cup, also had a set of combs that were mistakenly believed to be part of the Romanov treasures, were sold by the Soviets for hard currency during the 20's and are currently part of the Croft estate. The owner, having been warned of Voldemort's possible desire for them, had them moved to a secure location. Dumbledore wasn't able to determine the location, but was assured it was protected from magical theft. He hadn't been able to prove to himself that none of them were Horcruxes.
Dumbledore had been unable to find any information on any further relics of Slytherin. There was a note that he hadn't been able to search the Chamber of Secrets, and he hoped to do that this summer after Harry left the Dursley's.
The next items removed from the box were little bottles filled with silvery mist or swirling liquid.
"The memories that he showed me," Harry explained. "If we can get a hold of a pensieve, we could see them again."
Hermione took the final object out of the box. An old, leather bound book. The book had several iron bands around it, locked together. There was a note attached to it, also in Dumbledore's hand. Hermione read it out loud.
"Harry,
"If you are reading this, then I am no longer with you. Here are my notes on where I have searched for the Horcruxes and what I believe they might be. The book is the British Museum's copy of Olaus Wormius' Latin translation of the Alhazred tome. It is one of only five known copies. It is the only book that has the Horcrux detection spell in it. I would suggest you not open it -- it is loaded with Dark Rituals and plays on the mind. Men have been known to go mad from reading it. Besides being stolen, just owning a copy of this book will likely get you time in Azkaban. So, please be careful.
"I can only hope that these notes will help you with your quest. Good luck, Harry. I am proud of you! I know you can defeat him!
"Albus Dumbledore"
Harry took a big breath and let it out slowly. Ron and Hermione watched him.
"It's more than I expected, but less than I hoped."
Ron asked, "What did you expect?"
"Almost nothing. I didn't think I'd get anything more than he'd already given me. You know, it's rather disappointing when you think about it. He knew the prophecy since before I was born, and never saw fit to teach me anything I would need to fight Voldemort. And even at the end, all he did was give me some memories that probably are less useful than these notes."
Hermione asked, "What did you hope for?"
Harry smiled a little. "The location of one or more Horcrux? Something that will help when I finally meet Voldemort face to face? The mysterious secret weapon the Order was supposedly guarding instead of the stupid prophecy? Instead I get a book that is so evil we're not supposed to use it. Could this be some sort of reverse psychology?"
Hermione shook her head. "I don't think so. If you remember Dumbledore's warning first year, it was a real warning."
"I guess. Well, let's put this back, except for the notes, and then I want to look over the rest of my house. We did promise to be back at the Burrow for lunch."
The tour of the rest of the house was an emotional experience for Harry. The house was essentially as his parents left it -- the master bedroom had their clothes in it; the nursery had baby clothes and stuffed animals. There was no bed or crib -- presumably they were destroyed in the attack. Harry didn't break down, but cried a lot when he found a black stuffed dog that was obviously based on Sirius. He didn't do a complete search - most rooms he just glanced in. He said he'd do a more thorough examination when he had more time.
They found another letter from Dumbledore on the mantle over the fireplace in the kitchen (there was another one in the living room) along with a brochure from the Floo department of the Ministry of Magic.
Harry,
This fireplace is hooked into the Floo network. It does not have an address yet. Follow the instructions in the booklet for setting it.
Good luck,
Albus Dumbledore
Harry shrugged, and looked through the booklet. "Suggestions for a floo address name?" he asked.
Hermione answered right away, "Godric's Hollow? Potter's Place?"
Harry shook his head. "How about something less obvious. Something almost no one would think of, or even say? 'Voldemort's Downfall'?"
Ron smiled at that. "I can't imagine many people saying that."
Hermione looked a little put out, and said, "It doesn't matter, though, because of the Fidelius, no one can get here unless they first get the address from Hagrid."
"Even, so..." Harry answered, and set the floo address to 'Voldemort's Downfall.'
There was a pot of floo powder on the mantle, Harry lit the fire with his wand, and exclaimed, "I'm legal! I forgot about that! I can do this all day and the Ministry can't do a thing to me!" They laughed at his exuberance, and floo-ed to Ron's house.