Chapter Seventeen: A New Light on an Old Situation.
The next day Ron and Hermione left for their honeymoon destination, Paris, for five nights. Harry felt a little lost at the Burrow; he'd never been there without Ron before. Those five nights that Hermione and Ron were away Mrs Weasley talked almost constantly about Harry and Ginny's engagement, Ron and Hermione's wedding and the immanent arrival of the first Weasley grandchild. Everyone seemed to want it to be a girl because there weren't any Weasley girls apart from Ginny.
Mr and Mrs Ron Weasley returned in very good spirits the day before New Years Eve. Harry and the Weasley's (Hermione having changed her last name to Weasley) celebrated the new year together but there was a gloom to the air now that everything was over and it was nearly time to go back to school.
Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione caught the Hogwarts express back on the third of January. Already rumours had caught their ears about Ron and Hermione but so far no one had outright asked what the deal was. There were also rumours abound about the new piece of jewellery on Ginny's finger.
Hermione had a check up the day after their return and everything was fine, she had only four months to go and the reality had hit both Ron and Hermione hard, they'd be parents soon!
Harry was still not progressing with the Horcrux search, he decided that it was time to go and talk to Dumbledore's portrait again, after clearing everything up with McGonagal Harry went up to the head's office. The portraits were all snoozing in their frames, all but one.
'Evening Mr Potter' Dumbledore's portrait said.
'Evening Professor' Harry replied.
'I take it you have come for some advice on a situation?' Dumbledore said.
'Yes sir, I've had a look at about a thousand memories, I've managed to find and destroy the real locket Horcrux but I'm having trouble with finding the cup and the thing of Ravenclaw's or Gryffindor's. The snake will be where ever Voldemort is so apart from the part of the soul that's still in Voldemort that'll be the last thing I destroy' Harry replied.
'Harry, think about this, each house represents an element, Gryffindor represents…' Dumbledore said.
'Fire' Harry said coming to a realisation.
'Hufflepuff represents earth; hence the badger is the mascot…' Dumbledore replied.
'And Ravenclaw's an eagle, that's air, so Slytherin must be water' Harry said.
'Yes Harry' Dumbledore said.
'We had to go over water to get to Slytherin's locket… Professor, do you think that I'll have to encounter each element to find all the Horcruxes?' Harry asked.
'I believe that's the idea' Dumbledore replied.
'So the cup is somewhere to do with the earth. Maybe rocks or it could be buried' Harry said.
'That's to simple Harry. I think that you should revisit one of your own memories, perhaps even two, both are painful and both are linked to Voldemort in some way, think… the second triwizard task' Dumbledore said.
'That was in water though, not earth' Harry replied.
'It is the merpeople's riddle that I am speaking of Harry, it is possible that it could be interpreted differently together with the second memory, the end of your fifth year at the department of mysteries' Dumbledore said.
'Sirius' Harry automatically said. That's where his Godfather had been killed.
'Your Godfather may help you Harry' Dumbledore said.
'But he's dead sir' Harry said.
'Perhaps he's not, not properly anyway, maybe transported to another plain of existence, I believe they do exist and the department of mysteries research them' Dumbledore went on to say.
'What?' Harry asked.
'Think Harry, the riddle' Dumbledore said.
All of a sudden Harry's head was full of eerie singing. 'Come seek us where our voices sound, we cannot sing above the ground, and as you're searching ponder this, we've taken what you'll sorely miss, an hour long you'll have to look and to recover what we took, but past an hour the prospect's black, to late, it's gone, it won't come back.' Harry said out loud.
'Very good Harry, now, how else could you interpret that?' Dumbledore asked.
'Come seek us where our voices sound, above the ground. Dead people are buried; they can't talk, well unless they're ghosts. Could it be buried with? No, that's too easy. Taken what I'll sorely miss, well I miss Sirius' he muttered to himself more than the portrait he was having the conversation with 'an hour long, that's a time limit, past an hour, prospect's black, to late it's gone it won't come…' Harry's face lit up as he realised 'Sir, I have to pass through the veil and find the cup, within an… but what's that got to…' Harry gasped, 'Does this mean that Sirius can come back? You said he never died properly… I'll have an hour to bring back Sirius and the cup,' Harry said.
'I believe Voldemort thought that whoever wanted to find one of his Horcruxes would have to experience the one thing that he most fears, death, before being able to destroy it, he hid it in limbo thinking that no one could return from it, but, like I said, you have to die properly or else you just exist somewhere between life and death' Dumbledore explained.
'If it's possible to come back, why didn't Sirius just come back then?' Harry asked.
'I think that's where the time limit of an hour comes in. The veil is invisible in limbo, it's almost impossible to find again once you pass through it, if you are not properly dead, you have an hour to come back, if you can find it that is.' Dumbledore said.
'Couldn't you just use a spell?' Harry asked.
'Magic doesn't work in limbo, after an hour you cannot return at all, unless of course, somebody rescues you, and that may prove to be a task' Dumbledore answered.
'How could I find the veil again Professor?' Harry said.
'Tie a rope around you and leave something at the entrance, get someone on the other end of the rope to pull if you take to long.' Dumbledore answered.
Harry nodded, he was overwhelmed with all this information and the though that he could possibly get his Godfather back.
'Harry, I know that you can do this' Dumbledore said.
He nodded again 'I've got some planning to do' Harry said 'Goodnight and thank you Professor' he finished.
'Goodnight Harry' Dumbledore replied.
Harry left the office; on his way back to Gryffindor tower he was lost in thought.