I haven't had much time to write lately, so I'm cramming as much work as I can into what few hours I have today. I literally finished writing chapter 4 30 seconds ago.
And of course, boys and girls, I don't own anything that you recognize. Although I do own my own personal ideas on where the Horcruxes are and how to destroy them. After all, I came up with them.
Quest for the Missing HorcruxesBy Scott Jewett
Chapter 5: The Second Horcrux
"If all I saw was Hogwarts," Harry said, "then it must be here. The question is, where?"
"It's hard to say, Harry" Hermione said. "Think about it. The only Horcrux left that Voldemort doesn't have possession of for sure is something that belonged to Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. Dumbledore himself told you that he didn't know how many artifacts of Ravenclaw's still exist. And the only thing left of Gryffindor's is a sword that was inside the Sorting Hat until you pulled it out five years ago. I think it's safe to say that we're looking for a Ravenclaw artifact."
"Would Dumbledore have known if any of Rowena Ravenclaw's old things were here at Hogwarts?" Ron asked.
"I expect so, being headmaster" Hermione replied. "But if he made a list of any kind, it would probably be in his office, and how do we get in there?"
"Maybe we need to do some research in the library," Harry suggested, ignoring the look of horror on Ron's face, "or maybe I need to try the spell again. After all, it took me two tries to find the first Horcrux. Maybe this second try will be more detailed." And before they could argue against it, Harry cried "Horcruxia" again.
Once again, the world went dark. Harry saw Hogwarts again…then two more things floated into view. A familiar looking gargoyle…and a very familiar looking brass door knocker…
"Dumbledore's office!" he exclaimed as he came out of it.
"What?" Ron and Hermione said together.
"It has to be in Dumbledore's office. I just saw the gargoyle, and the knocker on his door. It has to be in there!"
"But how do we get in?" Ron wondered. No one paid attention.
"But, Harry," Hermione said, "it's not possible. If something of Ravenclaw's was in Dumbledore's office, wouldn't he have tried to destroy it already?"
"Maybe he didn't know" Harry said. Voldemort could have hidden it somewhere, or Transfigured it, or…something…hang on a minute…" Harry was remembering something else. Something he had heard a few years before. A song, oddly enough…
"That's it," he said. "Let's go. I know what the Horcrux is." He dashed out of McGonagall's office so fast that Ron and Hermione could barely keep up.
"Harry!" Hermione shouted as they ran. "How do you know what it is? Did you see it while you were in Dumbledore's office?"
"Yeah!" Harry replied, flying towards the staff room. "And you've seen it too! So has Ron! So has every student who passed through the school!" He skidded to a halt as Professor McGonagall came out of the staff room.
"Well, Potter, you seem to be alive and well" she said, but Harry interrupted her.
"Professor, it's the Hat. The Sorting Hat is a Horcrux."
Not surprisingly, Professor McGonagall wasn't expecting that at all.
"The…the Sorting Hat, Potter?"
"Yes" Harry said, breathing heavily and holding his side. "I just did the spell again. It showed me that there's a Horcrux in Dumbledore's…I'm sorry, ma'am…your office. And besides Gryffindor's sword, it's the only relic of Ravenclaw's or Gryffindor's in there."
"Harry," Ron asked from behind him, "how can you be sure?"
"Exactly!" McGonagall said. "You need to be very sure before I can let you do anything with that Hat, much less let you into my office!"
"…he whipped me off his head…" Hermione whispered behind Harry. McGonagall looked around him.
"What was that, Miss Granger?" Hermione looked up, her eyes bright.
"'Twas Gryffindor who found the way, He whipped me off his head, the founders put some brains in me so I could choose instead!' It was part of the Sorting Hat's song in our fourth year, Professor! The Sorting Hat is Godric Gryffindor's hat! And of course it's in the headmaster's office, just like Harry saw! The Sorting Hat must be the next Horcrux!"
"I don't know…" McGonagall said. "Isn't it possible that it's the sword?"
"It's unlikely," Harry said. "Even if Voldemort knew about the sword, he couldn't have pulled it out of the hat. Dumbledore told me that only a true Gryffindor could have done that."
"And besides," Ron added, "Voldemort could have learned about the hat's history much easier than an old sword, just by paying attention to its' song. There must have been some variation on what it sang to us sometime in the past." McGonagall thought for a minute.
"I must be out of my mind" she sighed. "The three of you can go up to the headmaster's office…and no it's not mine, that decision hasn't been made yet…and TALK to the Hat. Don't start doing any spells on it unless you're sure of it. The password is 'Sugar Quill'." The three of them didn't need another word. They practically flew up to Dumbledore's old office. The gargoyle leapt aside as they mentioned Sugar Quills, and they dashed up the stairs and inside.
Harry felt a pang in his stomach as they entered Dumbledore's office. Except for the new portrait of him over the desk, nothing had changed yet. He could still remember being in this room only months before, ready to join Dumbledore in a journey to find the necklace that contained a fragment of Voldemort's soul…and the way he'd felt when he came back to this very room not long after, to find that Dumbledore's picture had joined the ranks of previous headmasters and headmistresses…
"The Hat!" Hermione exclaimed. Sure enough, the Sorting Hat was resting in its usual place on its shelf. The three approached it cautiously.
"How do we do this?" Ron wondered. "What kind of defensive spells are there on it, d'you reckon?"
"If I had to guess" Hermione said, "I'd actually say none. I can't imagine Voldemort putting a spell on the Hat that kept anyone from putting it on…and of course he didn't. I suppose it could be spelled to not say anything about Horcruxes…but Voldemort thinks he's the only one who knows about what he did to the Hat, so maybe he didn't waste time with a spell like that."
"We need to take action," Harry said, snapping out of his reverie. He strode up to the shelf. "Hat!"
The Sorting Hat opened its eyes about as well as a hat with no eyes can. "Potter? You again? Weren't you in here just a month or so ago, when school let out? And why aren't you on holiday?"
"Important business. Business that you're involved in, actually. How far back would you say you remember?"
The Hat gave a very hat-like smirk. "Potter, I remember everything I've seen and heard since the founders made me magic! I remember Alice McAdams…the only person in the history of this school who actually begged to be a Hufflepuff! Seems her family told her they were directly descended. Well, I didn't tell her the truth…she was really a distantly descended Ravenclaw. I'm sure she wouldn't have believed a silly hat over her entire family. Turned out to be the smartest Hufflepuff ever. Highest marks that House ever saw. That was seven hundred and fifty-four years ago. And did you know that Slytherin and Hufflepuff had an illicit affair? Their daughter Gwendolyn was the first student at Hogwarts. Took me so long to place her, I nearly blew a seam."
"As fascinating as the private lives of the founders are" Harry interrupted, "I need to know about Tom Riddle." The Hat looked shocked, somehow.
"Riddle! Oh, I remember him. I sensed Slytherin in him before I even touched his head! One of the easiest placements I ever had…besides that Malfoy boy six years ago. Why do you ask, Potter?"
"I have reason to believe" Harry said, "that he has split his soul into seven pieces, so he can never die. And that six of those pieces were used to make Horcruxes."
"Ah, yes, Horcruxes" the Hat said. "I believe I once heard Headmaster Dippet discussing them with Riddle. Something about catching him in the Restricted Section without a teacher's note."
"What?" Hermione exclaimed, shocked. "How did he ever find a book that mentioned them? I looked everywhere!"
"Calm down, Hermione" Ron said. "It's possible that Professor Dippet had the book removed, if there ever was one."
"Exactly!" the Hat said. "But if you ask me, I think Riddle had already gotten what he needed from it. He didn't seem to pay much attention to Dippet lecturing him."
"So Riddle already knew about Horcruxes" Harry said. "And he was in this room, with Professor Dippet and you."
"That's right" the Hat replied. "And then…" The Hat trailed off. It seemed to be thinking.
"Yes?" Harry asked.
"You know, Potter," the Hat said, "it's surprising, but I don't seem to remember exactly what happened next. There was a flash of light of some kind, and Headmaster Dippet stopped talking. Then…he turned and pulled his wand on…me!" Harry's eyes went wide, as did Ron's and Hermione's.
"And then?" Harry pressed.
"Another flash of light…but then, I can't remember until what seems like much later. Riddle was gone, and so was Professor Dippet." There were a few moments of silence, broken by Ron.
"Riddle must have…he must have Imperiused Dippet!"
"And made him cast the spell!" Hermione added. "Maybe only the headmaster can perform spells on the Sorting Hat, for whatever reason. A safeguard built in by the founders, maybe."
"And the spell" Harry said, "made the Hat a Horcrux, but the power of it messed with the Hat's memory. Or there was an extra spell mixed in. Dumbledore told me that it's dangerous to put part of your soul into something that can think for itself. Riddle might have come up with a way around that." He turned back to the Hat. "Professor Dippet made you a Horcrux, didn't he?"
No one was really prepared for what happened next. The Hat went completely rigid for a moment, and then its mouth opened again.
"AVADA-"
But Harry, who knew that spell as well as he knew his own name, and Ron, who was a talented Quidditch player with great reflexes, had both grabbed Hermione and forced her to the floor as a jet of green light shot over their heads, smashing into a cabinet on the other side of the room. The three of them dived behind Dumbledore's desk for protection as the Hat kept performing the Killing Curse.
"How did he do that?" Hermione wondered. "A magical object performing a spell? And without a wand?"
"I don't want to know how he did it" Ron muttered. "I want it to stop."
"Look" Harry shouted over the sound of many glass things breaking. "Obviously, this is Voldemort's defense mechanism for the hat. We have to stop it somehow." He stopped yelling as the Hat got quiet.
"Do you think it's ok?" Ron asked, peeking over the edge of the desk.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Ron ducked again as a large blast singed the edge of Dumbledore's desk.
"Well, that's a no" Harry replied. "And I don't think we'll be making it to the door anytime soon."
Hermione hadn't said anything for a minute.
"Are you okay, Hermione?" Harry asked. She looked at him vaguely.
"Think I've got an idea…" Before Harry or Ron could stop her, she shot out from the edge of the desk. The Hat fired Killing Curses at her. One of them, missing low, knocked over a small table that Hermione immediately hid behind.
"Oh, great!" Ron yelled. "Now we're split up AND at the mercy of a homicidal hat! Nice plan!"
Hermione didn't say anything. For her, the world had slowed down. As though in a dream, she felt herself standing, slowly. The Hat saw her, and the rip in its brim that served as a mouth opened. Quicker than she imagined she could, she raised her wand.
"Bastius Vocalis!" she yelled.
In a flash, large black threads had formed, stitching their way across the brim of the Hat, closing the rip it used as a mouth. The Hat, not being able to keep from performing the Killing Curse, said it, but mumbled and practically inaudible.
Then it happened. The Hat needed its mouth to expel the Killing Curse from itself, but now its mouth was firmly stitched shut. As Hermione watched, and Harry and Ron dared to look up, the Hat started to swell. It got bigger and bigger, the seams stretching. It swelled to almost the size of a beach ball, its eyes wide in horror. And as Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched, the Hogwarts Sorting Hat disappeared in a huge flash of green light that completely dissolved it. The three of them ducked for cover as the light spread, but the desk and table protected them.
As the flash died down, Harry risked a look at the place where the Hat had been. There it was, another piece of Voldemort's soul. It didn't look like the other one. It was much whiter, although not completely white. There were streaks of black across it.
"He was younger," Hermione said. Harry, startled, turned to look at her. "He had already killed his uncle, so his soul was stained. And of course he had killed someone else to split it again. But he wasn't completely evil…yet. There may have been enough good in him still to save him, even."
"Well, obviously not" Ron replied. "I mean, we've seen the outcome."
"But what if someone had reached out to him, Ron? What if someone had tried being a real friend to him? Would all this have happened? Would we even be having this discussion?"
"We can't ask questions like that, Hermione" Harry said. "We still have work to do. There's at least one more Horcrux out there, maybe two." Hermione rounded on him.
"Yes, I know! The necklace and the snake! Have you thought about how you're going to go after Voldemort's pet snake without being killed, Harry? Cause I have! And I don't see it ending well for you!" She ran from the room, her face in her hands.
"You know" Ron remarked from behind Harry, "I hope she uncovers her hands, cause those stone steps will probably hurt if she doesn't see them." Harry had to fight down his laugh.
"She's right, you know," he said quietly. "It's going to come down to him and me, and I have to kill his snake before that at least. And there might be a whole other Horcrux to worry about."
"Well, why don't you find out?" Ron asked. "Use your handy Horcrux radar you've got in your head." Harry nodded and closed his eyes.
"Horcruxia!"
(A/N: Well, there's another one down. I'd like to think I drew logical conclusions about these two Horcruxes. And I want to thank my reviewers…even if I wasn't nice enough to use their ideas. My bad. Review please!)