The Orphanage

Finally morning came, Harry had stayed awake the whole night, or though his brain threatened to make him faint. Some people who had come down for an early breakfast, found him still in front of the fire, head in his hands.

"Hey Harry are you ok?" Asked a voice, Harry turned his head, it was Romilda Vane,

"Not really," he said,

"Want to talk about it?" She asked, Harry shook his head,

"I don't want to be rude but now really isn't a good time," he faced the fire again, hearing her walk away. He sighed, and decided also to go down, he was planning on seeing Ginny when she came down, to say sorry for what he had done again. He felt it was his fault, for not studying occumency like Dumbledore mentioned in their last meeting as hard as he should have. He stood up, feeling the blood rush from his face, and walked to the portrait hole,

"Harry, wait up," he turned to hear Ginny running towards him,

"Hey," he said giving her a kiss, "look, about what happened–" he began, Ginny shook her head,

"It wasn't you," she said,

"Yeah, but if I had studied–"

"You still wouldn't have been able to do anything," she said with a smile, "and… look at you!" she said widening her eyes as if she had only just seen him, "what did you do? Stay up all night?" She asked, when Harry didn't reply she stared at him for a second.

"You did," she said frowning, Harry nodded, Ginny looked at the ground. "You are too noble Potter," she said, her face still looking at the ground but her eyes on him. "Go, get some sleep," she said, gesturing to the stairs, Harry shook his head again,

"No," he said, "I can't," Ginny sighed,

"Ok, if I can't convince you, see Dumbledore today; after breakfast, then sleep."

Harry knocked on the door of the office, when no reply came, he knocked again. He pushed open the door, even though no answer came. It was Dumbledore he was after anyway,

"Harry," said Dumbledore,

"Professor," Harry said with a nod,

"My apologies for not answering the door, I just find it impolite to answer it when I am but a portrait with a few memories," he said with a dull smile. "So what brings you here?" He asked, Harry told Dumbledore about the dream, then the possession. After he had finished, Dumbledore remained silent. Unsure what to do about the awkward silence, Harry just looked at the floor.

"And… Miss Weasley is ok now I presume?" Asked Dumbledore, Harry nodded, taking a seat.

"Harry, you have to practice Occumency, Voldemort's power is very strong,"

"I know, I promise I will," he said, Dumbledore nodded,

"Well, while you are here, we should talk about the Horcruxes," said Dumbledore, "Have you managed to destroy the ones you have found?"

"Yes," said Harry, this sounded so easy, "with a spell Ginny found,"

"…You found a spell to destroy the Horcruxes?" Repeated Dumbledore,

"Yes," said Harry, realising now how stupid it was,

"And they worked?"

"They did." Said Harry, Dumbledore frowned,

"Any side effects?"

"Yeah, Uh – it like… drains our power and it explodes,"

"Did it get worse?"

"Apparently," said Harry frowning, Dumbledore knew something that he wasn't letting on,

"It is going to keep on getting worse Harry, who was that book written by?"

"I don't remember,"

"It wasn't perhaps, by R.A.B was it?" He asked,

"Possibly…" said Harry slowly a frown still on his face, "why?" He asked,

"Oh, just an old friend of mine," said Dumbledore with a small smile, Harry's mind instantly jumped to the fake Horncrux.

"Would he have destroyed the Horncrux?" Harry asked, Dumbledore, looking mildly surprised said a small 'yes,'

"Are you sure?" Asked Harry, Dumbledore nodded, so Harry raised no more questions. "So, where should I look for the next Horcrux?" Asked Harry, "the orphanage?"

"It is worth a try," said Dumbledore, "go today, that is, if you are not too tired from staying up all night," he said with a smile,

"How did you know that?" Asked Harry,

"Well Harry, the beauty of being a portrait, is that you can move from frame to frame without being noticed. Report back to me when you get back, if there is a Horcrux there, do not destroy it," Harry nodded,

"Thankyou Professor," and left through the door without another word.

"Guy's we are going," he said in passing to Ron, Hermione and Ginny,

"Where?" Asked Hermione, turning to Harry, books in her arms,

"For the…thing," said Harry, pausing on the stairs, before running up the Dormitory stairway again, "get changed!" He yelled when he was half way up. Harry got changed fast, Ron was just behind him. Grabbing the bag full of supply's he always had hidden in his trunk; they rushed down the stairs, or though there was no real need for the hurry; Ron putting his coat on as he went down. Ginny and Hermione weren't changed yet, Harry rocked from side to side impatiently. The girls came down and they headed out the portrait hole,

"Where are we going?" Asked Ron,

"Wait till we are out of the grounds," said Harry, students gave them odd looks as they passed,

"Where are you guys going?" Asked Neville, coming up from breakfast,

"Out," said Harry, walking swiftly past him. They were soon out onto the grounds;

"Ok," Said Harry, when he saw one was in sight, "we are going to the orphanage,"

"Where's that?" Asked Ron,

"I know, I guess I'll have to apparate you all,"

"Is that even possible?" Asked Ginny, everyone looked at Hermione,

"I…guess," she said slowly.

"Ok, grab my arm," said Harry, Ginny on his right, and Hermione on his left. He apparated to an old London street. This was slightly more worn down than when Harry had last seen it. Yet the building he had seen in the memory was still intact; Harry walked through the black iron gates to a courtyard, now fully paved with nothing but a pot plant as a sign of life.

"No wonder Voldemort didn't like it," said Ginny, looking up at the dull building painted steel grey; its windows covered in spider webs but clearly still in business.

"You think the Horcrux is here?" Asked Ron,

"Well, Dumbledore agreed it was worth a try," said Harry, walking towards the door. He knocked on it once; he heard movement on the other side of the door, coming closer. The door opened revealing a stout woman, her grey white hair twisted into a small messy bun. She wore a small apron and was rather thin.

"Hello, how can I help you?" She said, looking at the teenagers at her door,

"Yes, I was just wondering about one of the residents you had a little while ago," said Hermione when Harry was stuck for words.

"Which one are you interested in?" Asked the woman, standing aside to let them through,

"Tom Riddle?" Harry said, the woman frowned,

"What would you like to know about him?" She asked, waving her hand in the direction of the couches. She took a seat herself,

"I'm sorry, but what's your name?" Asked Harry,

"Martha," she said with a small smile, "I ask you the same question," she said raising her eyebrows,

"My name's Harry, and that's Ginny, Ron and Hermione," Harry said, pointing to them in turn, "we are just wondering if we could have a look at the room he lived in,"

"And why would you want to do that?" She asked, not rudely, but just out of curiosity.

"Well, I am his distant relative," said Hermione, Harry shot her a glance. "We are all doing a project from school where we have to look up a relatives history and seeming I know nothing about him, I was just wanting to see where he grew up that's all," she said, Harry admired her ability to think quickly. The lady seemed to think it was applicable; she tilted her head to one side and shrugged,

"Fair enough," she said, "would you like to know about him, or just see him room?" She asked,

"I think just seeing his room would be best," said Harry,

"Yes," Said Hermione, Martha nodded,

"Just this way then love," she said, leading them up some stairs, a young orphan walked down the stairs, casting a look at all of them. "Your breakfast is on the table Billy," said Martha,

"Thankyou miss," he said politely, he adverted his gaze from Harry to the stairway ahead of him.

"So this place is still an orphanage?" Asked Ginny,

"Yes, and will most likely continue to be, as long as there are still residence," Martha said with a smile, "I actually looked after Tom myself, he was quite a well-mannered boy, but strange things kept on happening around him," she said, shaking her head, "especially when he was accepted to that school, um, Hogwarts or something?"

"What happened then?" Harry asked,

"Well, he had to come home every summer, after his first year though, he seemed way more… you are going to think I am insane, but more powerful. He always had a strangeness about him, but when he came back for that first summer, it was like he could do whatever he wanted," she shrugged. "Here we are," she said, opening a door.

"This is in fact Billy's room now, the boy we met on the stairs?" She said, leading them into the room, "I don't know what you expect to find here," she said, "all of Tom's possessions are either with him or up in the attic, which you are welcome to look at. Well, I'll give you some time," said Martha,

"Thankyou," said Hermione, as Martha left,

"Not at all!" She said, walking down the hall.

"Well, it's not in here," said Ginny, glancing at the room's interior. There wasn't much to look at; there was only a bed and a wardrobe. The walls were an awfully dull light grey with a white ceiling which looked as if it has just been painted it was so white. The sheets were old, but clean and there was one single picture hung above the bed showing a lady in a grey suit.

"I think that was Voldemort's wardrobe," said Harry opening it, he did not feel it right to open someone else's wardrobe without there permission, but he had to see if there was anything of Tom's in there. He looked inside, it was almost bare, but there was nothing of Tom's in it, he closed it.

"Nope," he said,

"Attic?" Asked Hermione,

"Might as well," he said heading out the door; it wasn't hard to find the attic; it was just down the hall. The stairs dropped down from the roof or though there was no clear way of how,

"Reckon we could use magic?" Whispered Harry,

"With all these orphans around?" She said nodding in the direction of two girls who were looking at them, amused, as if watching a TV show.

"'Ye have to use tha'!" Said the youngest of the girls who had long black hair, she pointed to the extremely thin wooden door which couldn't possibly fit any human. Harry opened it and a steel rod came out,

"It goes in there," she said with a laugh, pointing to the hole in the compartment up the top. Harry pushed the rod into the hole and twisted it, then pulled it down revealing stairs,

"Thanks," he said,

"No problem," said the girl, "I wouldn't suggest goin' up there though, I reckon it's haunted, as does everyone else; Miss. Martha is the only one who ever goes up there," she said with a shrug, "not tha' I'd know, I haven't go' the guts to go up there myself, just heard the stories tha's all,"

"Stories?" Asked Ginny,

"Yeh. Like, one girl apparently wen' up there and never came down. Could jus' be a story I dunno, I wasn't alive at the time. But I wouldn' exactly like to find out," she said with a smile, "anyway, we better be off to ge' our breakfast," she said,

"Oh, well thanks," said Hermione,

"Don't worry about it, bu' if you come out alive, tell me," she said walking off. Harry shrugged, pushing down the stairs. Harry walked up them, into the roof; it was extremely dark; he felt along the wall for a light like a blind man but to no avail. Ron shut the door after him,

"Lumos," said Harry, when he still couldn't find a light, his wand ignited, he searched around for any lights and found a small desk lamp plugged into the wall, he turned it on; it wasn't bright but it'd do. He pocketed his wand and went searching around the crowded attic, his friends doing the same. He first looked in a draw of a table; he found a whole lot of paper's which looked a lot like,

"Birth certificates," said Harry handing one to Ginny, he looked at the names along the top of them; there were a decent few in the drawers,

"Why would they keep them up here?" Asked Ginny, looking also,

"I think, these are people from ages ago, look," said Harry, pointing to the date of birth of one of the papers, "18th of April 1870," he read.

"This must be a pretty old building," said Ginny,

"Looks it too," said Ron from the other side of the room, he was looking in an oak trunk. Harry continued sorting through the pages, and he stopped, looking at the name of his mother and father's killer, Tom Riddle.

"Here," he said, "found it," he put it on the ground for them all to see. The second page was a death certificate,

"They think he is dead," said Ginny,

"Well he kinda was," said Harry, looking at them. He scanned them with his eyes, but there was nothing on it he didn't already know. He stood up and continued looking.

"Hey Harry!" Said Hermione, running over to him, "look at this!" he stood next to him and handed him an old photograph, which was clearly muggle as the pictures were not moving. Harry turned it over,

Tom Riddle and his mother

It was written in clear black pencil, he turned it back over. There sat a baby, in a grey sheet, his eyes just looking up at his mother. His hand on top of her finger, his mother was holding onto him or though looking clearly sick, very pale with diluted eyes.

"This must have been the last time she ever held him," Harry said.

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