Thanks again for those readers & reviewers...
Chapter 6
The Darkness Within
A few days later Lily trudged into the staffroom and threw herself onto a deep lounge chair, sighing.
"I can't believe how worn out I am," she said to no one in particular.
"Why does everyone seem to think teaching is easy?" a voice said.
Lily looked around to see who was talking and saw McGonagall in a chair behind her.
"I didn't think it would be easy," Lily said. "Just… just not so hard! How am I supposed to keep up with so many classes each week, each day?"
Lily flopped back into her chair and rubbed her tired eyes.
"Oh my dear I assure you it will get easier," the older professor assured her.
Lily raised her eyebrows in disbelief and turned to the door as Severus entered.
"Good afternoon Professor McGonagall," he said showing a thin-lipped smile.
"Severus."
He turned to Lily. "Professor Dumbledore would like to see us both in his office."
Lily looked at McGonagall then jumped up and followed Severus from the room.
"Do you know what he wants?" Lily asked as they weaved their way down a maze of corridors. "I hope it's good news about the horcruxes."
When they reached the giant stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to the Headmasters office, Severus gave the password and it allowed them entry.
"Ah Lily, Severus," Dumbledore said. "Thank you for coming. Do not bother sitting down as I'm afraid we aren't going to be here long."
"Where are we going?" Lily asked.
Dumbledore pulled a travelling cloak from a hook and examined it.
"I wonder if I will need this?" he thought aloud. "Where are we going, you ask? Off to Little Hangleton, home of Tom Riddle's family."
"Now?" Lily was suddenly excited.
"Indeed. Having explored my memories further over the last few days I am almost certain that it would indeed be the location of a horcrux."
"What did you find?" Severus asked.
"Just down the road from the Gaunts, I do believe I have told you, lived Voldemort's Muggle family – his father and grandparents."
"You did tell us Sir," said Severus. "Why is it so important now?"
"Tom Riddle, Senior that is, and his parents were murdered a short time before Voldemort left Hogwarts. It is my belief that not only were these crimes committed by Voldemort, but that it was the very act of murdering his own father that led him to creating his very first horcrux."
"Wow," Lily said in a whisper. "And he was just a boy…"
Dumbledore, apparently deciding against his travelling cloak, stepped to the office door and motioned for Severus and Lily to follow.
They walked to the Entrance Hall then stepped outside into the late afternoon light. Once they were through the Entrance Gates Dumbledore reached out to touch Severus and Lily on the arms and apparated the three of them. They reappeared on the middle of a small cobblestone road that was surrounded by overgrown hedges.
Dumbledore looked up and down the road in both directions.
"Are we in Little Hangleton?" Lily asked. "Where's the Gaunt house?"
Dumbledore headed off down the road to the left of them with Severus and Lily close behind. The road was long and wound around the hillside, gradually becoming steeper until Dumbledore suddenly stopped atop a small hill. Dumbledore, Severus and Lily looked down at the valley ahead of them. Dumbledore pointed out a small village and to one side of it, a large estate and home.
"This was the Riddle home," he said.
Dumbledore continued walking and led them down the side of the hill along the path once more. They passed a tiny church and neighbouring graveyard before the path became so steep they were almost at a run to get down it. They followed the path as it curved to the right, when Dumbledore stopped so suddenly Severus collided into the back of him and Lily into Severus.
They watched as Dumbledore disappeared through a small gap in the hedges lining the road. Severus and Lily ducked in behind him and followed a very narrow track. The further along the track they went, the hedges around them seemed to be growing wilder. Up ahead of her, Lily laughed quietly as Severus stumbled on a pothole and almost fell over.
Eventually they came to a stop in front of the ruins of an old house. The home, which looked like it had not been lived in for decades, was hidden behind the massive trunks of two overgrown trees.
"It does not look like they wanted this place found," Severus said.
"Indeed," Dumbledore said, nodding. "Which is why I brought you here the long way; so you could get an idea of just how elusive a place it is."
"You mean we could have just apparated here?" Lily asked frowning.
"Yes, but now you can at least appreciate the value Marvolo Gaunt placed on his privacy. No one just stumbled upon this place."
Lily scowled up at the house with its broken windows caked thick with grease. A squirrel jumped from branches hanging over the house and onto the moss-covered roof. Lily screwed up her face in disgust.
"I suppose there's no avoiding going in there," she said sadly.
Dumbledore stepped up to the small front door and pushed it open. He stepped over thick tree roots and went inside. Severus followed close behind and Lily, after looking the house up and down once more, stepped through with a sigh.
Old floorboards creaked loudly as they walked across them
"Ugh!" Lily complained, brushing cobwebs out of her hair.
Dumbledore laughed at her and pulled webs out of his own beard.
"I'm afraid the house has been abandoned for many years," Dumbledore said smiling. "I would expect it to be a little rundown."
Neither Severus nor Lily smiled back. Severus instead started walking around the small main room, examining furniture and random ornaments. Dumbledore took out his wand and held it at arms length, waving it slowly around the room as he mouthed something silently.
"I can feel the presence of strong dark magic nearby," he said. "I've no doubt the horcrux is somewhere in the house, somewhere close."
Dumbledore continued moving around the room as if led by his wand, and stopped suddenly in the centre of the room. He lowered his wand to point down at the floorboards and tapped the ground with his foot. Severus and Lily stepped closer as Dumbledore began bouncing up and down on the spot; the floorboards creaked slowly.
Dumbledore stepped back and knelt down; Severus knelt beside him and the two men tried to pull up a piece of the floor. The board, rotting and brittle, began to come up from the floor easily, and Lily held out her lit wand for them to better see down.
They continued pulling the board until it snapped in half and Lily lowered her wand into the dark space beneath the floor.
"Be careful Lily," Dumbledore warned. "No doubt Voldemort would have made it a little harder to get to than this."
Dumbledore pushed his own wand down the hole and began muttering a series of incantations quietly. When he finished, Dumbledore tucked his wand back beneath his robes and reached down into the floor and pulled out a small golden box. He placed the box carefully on the floor and slowly opened the lid. Inside sat a ring. Dumbledore reached down to pick it up but Severus grabbed his wrist.
"What are you doing?" he warned. "The thing is probably cursed."
Dumbledore's hand went limp and he looked at Severus.
"I-I don't know what I was thinking," he said, shaking his head. "I just felt entranced."
Dumbledore stood up and stepped back as Severus picked up the box. The trio gathered in close to examine the ring.
"It looks like an ordinary ring to me," Severus said.
"Except for that ugly black stone," Lily added. "I wouldn't be seen wearing it."
Severus raised an eyebrow at her. Dumbledore waved his wand and the ring floated a short way into the air.
"There appears to be something etched on it," Severus said.
Dumbledore leaned in closer and read the inscription. "Curious,"he said. "This appears to be the Peverell family coat of arms."
"Do you think it could be a horcrux?" Lily asked.
Dumbledore nodded.
"I believe so, based on the strength of the enchantments on it and I have no doubt it is also cursed."
"Signs Voldemort was protecting something valuable," Lily agreed. "But why hide it here? Did he think the horcrux would be safe hidden in a house no one would stumble across?"
"Voldemort would have considered the house itself more important," Dumbledore suggested. "This house represented his blood, his Wizarding family line. As for the ring itself, I suspect it belonged to Voldemort's grandfather, Marvolo Gaunt. For Voldemort, creating a horcrux out of such an object would have been very meaningful."
"If the Dark Lord did not know about his family then how did he happen upon the ring, this house?" Severus asked.
Dumbledore tapped his temple with a finger.
"This is why I needed time with my old memories," he smiled. "Morfin, Riddle's uncle, had many troubles with the Ministry for his blatant disreguard for the treatment of Muggles. I believe that after Marvolo Gaunt's death, Voldemort paid his uncle a visit and let's say, convinced him that he had murdered all members of the Riddle household."
"I don't understand,"' Lily said.
"Morfin Gaunt was in fact imprisoned for the murders but I believe it was Voldemort's crime. After killing his father, Voldemort used this ring, stolen from his uncle, to create his first horcrux."
"When did all this happen?" Lily asked.
"Riddle was in his fifth year at Hogwarts."
"So he was still a student?" Lily was shocked. "He was a child and he murdered three people?"
"All evil must have a beginning," Dumbledore said solemnly.
He let the ring drop back into the box and closed the lid. Severus handed it to Dumbledore and he placed it carefully in the pocket of his robes.
"So what do we do now?" Lily asked.
"We will need to destroy it," said Dumbledore.
"We do not even know how to handle a horcrux safely," said Severus. "How are we supposed destroy it?"
"I'm not sure just how yet," answered Dumbledore. "It certainly won't be an easy task. In the meantime I will keep the ring safe in my office."
Lily crossed her arms and looked around the house wearily.
"Can we get out of here now?" she said. "I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to."
It was well into evening several nights later Severus sat at a desk in the restricted section of the library. Beside him was a small stack of books, one large volume open on the table that was lit by lamplight.
Distant footsteps caught Severus's attention and he looked up. The light from a lamp drew closer and Severus stood up, frowning at the thought of someone in the library so late. Seconds later it was Lily who rounded the corner into the restricted section. Severus stood up quickly.
"You're here," she said.
"As are you."
Lily looked past him to the books on the table.
"I guess we both had the same idea," she said pointing to Severus's books.
He nodded and sat back down.
"I have been concerned about the horcruxes but there seems to be so little information to be found about them."
"I'm not surprised," Lily said. "It's not exactly a subject we'd want the students stumbling across."
Severus yawned loudly and ran his fingers through his long hair.
"Tom Riddle obviously did," he grumbled. "How else could a mere boy have learnt about such dark magic?"
Lily sat down beside him and pulled a book off the top of the pile.
"Have you looked through all of these yet?"
Severus nodded.
"These are all the books I could find with any reference to horcruxes. Not that they tell us anything substantial."
Lily flopped back against her chair.
"You are welcome to check them for anything I may have missed."
Severus picked up another book and held it out to her. Lily reached for it and for a moment their hands touched. Lily pulled her hand quickly away and stood up.
"It's late," she said.
They looked at each other briefly then Lily picked up her lantern and left the library. Severus watched until her light faded, then turned back to his books.
"Why should we stir the potion counter-clockwise?" a first year student asked Lily. "In the book it says it's supposed to be clockwise."
Lily pondered the boys question.
"Sometimes potions aren't so much a science and need to include a bit of artistry," she said. "That is to say that during my own time as a student here I was lucky enough to have a friend who taught me a lot about being more creative."
For the rest of the class, Lily wandered around the room checking on the students.
"See the colour," she said to a young girl. "It's still a little too purple; try adding a tad more armadillo bile."
"Thanks Professor."
After class the students filed out of the dungeon and made their way up into the Entrance Hall.
"Professor Potter is terrific!"
Severus rolled his eyes as he passed the small group of students. He imagined what the students said about him. Not that he cared; Hogwarts wasn't a popularity contest to him.
"Professor Dumbledore!"
Severus rushed to meet the Headmaster as he descended the stairs. They continued walking together.
"Sir, I have been searching the library for information on… on that topic," Severus looked around to check no one could overhear her. "But there is so little information available."
Dumbledore let out a slight chuckle.
"Of course you won't find anything in the library; even the restricted section isn't secure enough for a topic like that."
"So you knew there was nothing in the library to find?" Severus asked impatiently.
"All books on… that subject, are in my office."
"What? Why didn't you feel the need to share this with Lily and I? Since we are your so called team?"
"Forgive an old man his faults," Dumbledore said. "But I knew the two of you would be keen to seek information, that you would be relentless about it – that is something I always admired in you both. I thought perhaps it might have enabled you both the chance to renew your friendship."
Severus slapped his hand on the passage wall angrily.
"Is this all a game to you? Have you invented the idea of these horcruxes just to play match-maker?"
Dumbledore shook his head.
"Sadly Voldemort's horcruxes are very real."
"If finding them is as important as you say then we do not have time to waste on your foolishness. Do not attempt to interfere with my life again."
"I am sorry Severus," Dumbledore said bowing his head for dramatic effect. "Please come and search my personal library and take whatever books you need."