Summer's End
The next two weeks passed quickly. On the eleventh Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Joseph, Eileen, Dobby, Winky, Remus, Tonks and Mark all celebrated Ginny's birthday. Harry tried to relax and enjoy himself but it wasn't easy. Oh he smiled and laughed and played and joked around like everyone else but always, in the back of his mind, was the war.
That night, as he and Ginny lay in bed, Ginny cuddled into his chest, his right arm draped loosely across her back, his left hand massaging circles in the small of her back, Harry closed his eyes and began to cry. There was no whimpering or sobbing, just tears.
His tears were small but salty as they leaked from the corners of his eyes. He wanted to reach up and brush them away but dismissed that thought just as quickly because Ginny was breathing comfortably and he didn't want to disturb her. Besides, this had been her day and he didn't want to ruin it by crying on her shoulder.
The rest of the students would be going home tomorrow and they would be spending the day after that in Hogsmeade in celebration of Mark's birthday. Harry had talked to Madam Rosmerta two days ago and arranged a small surprise party for Mark that would include his parents and sister. They would be portkeying directly into the Three Broomsticks with an armed escort of five hit wizards that Harry knew could be trusted.
The day after that Harry would be visiting with the Grey Lady, the Ravenclaw house ghost, and retrieving and destroying her mother's tiara. He needed to explain to her that the tiara had been used to create a horcrux and that it had been returned to Hogwarts, from the forests of Albania, more than twenty years ago. He needed the ghost of Helena Ravenclaw to know that with the diadem's destruction she would be free of that burden; that she could choose to either remain at Hogwarts as the Grey Lady or move on and be reunited with her mother on the other side of the veil.
And then, on the fifteenth, they would all be going into London, to Diagon Alley, where they would buy their school supplies and Harry would meet with Ragnok to receive the other two horcruxes.
And two days after that, on the seventeenth, the one-year anniversary of the Dursley's deaths, Bill and Fleur would be getting married at the Burrow. Arrangements had been made for several of the school's best dueling teams to attend, as ushers, and Bill and Fleur had spent most of July strengthening the wards around the Burrow so that they would be relatively safe; but there was always the possibility that some death eaters might get through. Harry would be using his limited metamorphmagus abilities to go as a fictitious cousin, Robert Weasley, from up Surrey way. He would not be ushering any of the Weasley's relatives, but friends and guests of honor would be fair game. Just in case, he and Neville were to stay close to each other so that, if the wedding was attacked, they could team up. They were, of course, hoping for the best but every precaution was being taken just in case.
After Harry had reviewed his plans for the rest of summer he tightened his arms around Ginny's waist. She responded by cuddling even closer into his chest. Smiling softly to himself he wondered what he had done to deserve such a wonderful girlfriend and soulmate. Breathing in her scent, a smell of wild flowers and daisies, Harry closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, after one final run around the grounds and a sumptuous breakfast, almost everyone boarded the train for the trip back to King's Cross Station in London. The surviving members of all four quidditch teams, except Harry who would be returning to the castle that evening, stowed their luggage in various compartments and mounted their brooms to fly escort. Hermione and Luna, who would be staying at the Burrow with Ron, Neville, Bill, Charlie and Mr. And Mrs. Weasley, were stationed at opposite ends of the train and would be in constant contact with the flyers. If they were attacked it was their job to alert the rest of the students and manage the train's defense while the flyers did battle with their adversaries.
Stationed in compartments all along both sides of the train were at least three-dozen relief flyers. If the train was attacked they would be joining the battle. In addition, each car had a designated medical compartment that was staffed by no less that three student healers. Harry didn't expect anything to happen but so far as he was concerned this was a dress rehearsal and they could not be too careful.
Somehow Mark had slipped into the role of Harry's little brother without either of them noticing it. The trouble was that Mark didn't want to ride on the train. He was determined to fly with Harry. Harry had tried to talk him out of it, even going so far as to ask Ginny not to fly and to stay with Mark on the train, but Mark would not be dissuaded. And since Hermione and Luna would have their hands full organizing the train's defenses and there was really no one else, as Joseph and Eileen had returned to the Elven Realm the night before, Harry gave in on the condition that if any fighting broke out he would not protest when Harry landed on the caboose and handed him off to Luna who would put him to work keeping the student healers supplied.
When this was agreed to, all of the flyers and their brooms were disillusioned and, with Mark riding in front of Harry on Harry's Electra 5000 Battle Broom, the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station with nineteen students flying escort. Almost as soon as they were in the air the communications charm was activated and warming charms cast. While it was relatively warm, being the twelfth of August, the cold created by the persistent Scottish mists in concert with flying at altitude and speed in the open air was not something any of the flyers were looking forward to.
Whenever they passed near any settlements most of the flyers would go high while a few of the more experiences flyers would fly so close to the carriages that an errant gust of wind could easily push them into the side of the train resulting in instant death. The first time Harry did this Mark was so nervous that Harry had to pull out and cast a calming charm on his cousin to settle his nerves. From that point on, being as Harry did not want to embarrass his cousin by landing on the caboose and making him ride the train the rest of the way to London, he cast a calming charm on Mark every time they approached any of the villages along their rout. And even then he alternated flying flank with Orville Burns, the Slytherin Keeper.
As they approached London and King's Cross Station all of the flyers flew flank, one in front and nine down each side while Luna stood guard at the back of the caboose. When they reached their destination all of the flyers dismounted and removed their disillusionment charms. Mark was as white as a sheet.
Quickly casting a series of drying and warming charms on his cousin Harry led him over to a bench and sat him down. "Are you going to be okay, Mark," he asked gently.
Mark looked up, his face pale and his eyes wide. Tears were beginning to fill his eyes as Ginny sat down next to Mark and pulled him into a hug. Holding his and Ginny's brooms Harry sat down on Mark's other side and listened while Ginny comforted the smaller boy. When Mark's hiccups had subsided Harry reached out and reassuringly gripped his cousin's leg. You did good, Mark," he said. "It takes guts and a lot of courage to do what you've done."
Mark smiled timidly. "Yeah, but if it hadn't been for you and those calming charms I never would have made it."
Harry shrugged modestly. "Maybe so, but you didn't need any calming charms in Little Hangelton. You have the courage to do and become anything you want, Mark. All it takes is a little training and practice."
Mark looked up and smiled. "Thanks," he said, "but I think I'll leave the flying to you guys from now on."
Harry chuckled and patted Mark on the back. "Alright, then! We'll apparate back to Hogsmeade in a couple of hours and on September first you can guard the back of the train with Luna while we fly escort."
Mark smiled and nodded his head. "I like that idea."
While Harry and Mark were helping the others unload their luggage Ginny pulled Harry aside and soundly kissed him. "What was that for?" Harry asked.
"That," Ginny said, her arms loosely wrapped around his neck, "was for what you did for Mark today." When Harry hesitated she continued, "Most guys would have chastised him, balled him out or forced him to ride on the train. You let him have the experience despite your reservations, Harry, and you went out of your not to do anything to embarrass him. It takes a real man to do something like that, Harry, and I have a feeling that you are going to be a wonderful father."
Getting lost in the moment Harry smiled and said, "Erm … thanks."
Ginny kissed him again. This time, however, Harry returned it. In that moment he knew that if it was at all possible he was going to survive the final battle and, with Ginny's help, bring their two children into the world and give them a happy childhood and loving home.
The next morning, more out of habit than necessity, Harry and Mark were up by four and running laps by four-thirty. It was strangely quiet and lonely without the other students, especially give the fact that they were the only students at Hogwarts, and the castle grounds felt somehow deserted. The Forbidden Forest even felt somehow darker, colder and lonelier than it had twenty-four hours earlier.
At breakfast their only company consisted of the ghosts, the headmaster, a few teachers and one or two healers from Saint Mungo's who were helping Madam Pomfrey restock her potions supplies.
As they walked into the Great Hall for breakfast Francis Stone, Harry's friend and 'personal' healer, looked up from his position at the head table and motioned them over. When they were seated, and were filling their plates, Francis said, "Harry, I'm impressed. I know most of them have been working out since late last year but what you people have done is absolutely amazing. Not only have you united the houses, but you have give these kids a purpose and helped then discover talents and abilities they might never have realized on their own."
Harry looked thoughtfully down at his plate as he thought about what Francis had said then turned to look at his friend. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"At the beginning of the summer," Francis began, "some of those kids were lost. All they knew was that they wanted to fight. With what you and the rest of the teachers have done some of those lost souls – take that Millicent Bulstrode for instance – have found a purpose in life. I had my doubts when we first began but, if she applied herself and spent a little time working on her bedside manner, Millicent would make an excellent healer."
Harry grinned and shook his head slightly. If there was one thing he had not expected to hear it was the Millicent Bulstrode would make an excellent healer. Her personality, in his mind at least, was far too coarse for that to happen; but then, as he thought about it, he had to admit that she had shown signs of improvement where her social skills were concerned. "Does she know?" he asked.
Francis smiled. "Oh, yes. She knows. I have even gone so far as to offer her an apprenticeship after the war is over."
This time Harry smiled. "Good," he said with a nod of satisfaction.
"And I've been watching some of the other students as well. Why that Ernie MacMilllan chap would make an excellent engineer. He made several suggestions during the reconstruction efforts that saved a lot of time and energy and, from what the architects were saying, actually improved their designs."
Francis gushed about the students and their new outlooks on life for another fifteen minutes. By the time he was finished Harry wasn't really all that amazed that he had missed these changes in his fellow students – he had, after all, been spending most of his afternoons and evenings training for the final battle in the Chamber of Secrets with Ethrindell and Hogwarts – but he was glad that something good had come of their experiences.
After breakfast Harry and Mark went down to visit Hagrid who was in the process of weeding his garden, occasionally evicting a lost bowtuckle or two. Once, while they were helping Hagrid pull the weeds around his tomato plants, Mark looked up and gasped, "What's that?"
When he pointed out a small, dark green creature that looked something like a cross between a monkey and a frog that was scampering along a low-hanging branch near the forest's edge Hagrid stood up and, shading his eyes with one of his massive hands to get a better look, said, "Tha' would be a clabbert." Walking slowly over to the tree, so as not to frighten the tiny creature, Hagrid held his hand out in invitation. The clabbert looked at Hagrid's massive hand, looked up into his face and them back at his hand. The pustule on its forehead was greenish brown in color.
Tentatively at first the tiny creature reached out and touched one of Hagrid's fingers as if testing its stability. Slowly, the clabbert made its way out onto Hagrid's hand where it sat down in the palm of his hand and smiled up at the half-giant. The transition from branch to hand had taken almost five minutes to complete. Hagrid didn't appear to be inclined to frighten or intimidate he creature in any way so Harry and Mark stopped what they were doing and watched as the gentle giant of a man slowly, carefully and very methodically turned around and walked towards them while the clabbert scampered around his hand, looking first off one side and then the other.
When he had reached the edge of the garden Hagrid softly said, "This is a firs'. I've never gotten a clabbert to come to me b'fore. They're gentle, timid creatures, really. They usually stay inside the forest. They don' venture anywhere close to the edges very often."
Looking up, breaking eye contact with the clabbert, he said," They eat insects, mosses an' leaves. An' tha' brown spot on its forehead will turn red if it senses danger." Looking over at Mark he said, "Why don' you gather up a few o' them leaves – be gentle, now – and see if its hungry."
Following Hagrid's advice and example, Mark established eye contact with the tiny creature and slowly began to gather a few of the leaves they had cast aside together. Harry could sense a mental connection forming between Mark and the clabbert. It was almost as if the clabbert was using some form of telepathy to determine Mark's intent.
Mark slowly lifted a few of the leaves he had gathered up so that the clabbert could sniff them, which it did. Then, almost without warning, the tiny creature grabbed the leaves out of Mark's hand and scampered back to the far side of Hagrid's hand where it greedily munched the leaves, spitting out those parts it found distasteful, until they were gone. Then, again almost without warning, it jumped off of Hagrid's outstretched hand and, after landing on all fours, scampered off into the forest.
"Well!" Hagrid laughed. "Tha' was somethin'. I never expected a clabbert to take food from anyone."
Several hours later, after they had helped Hagrid weed the rest of his garden and feed the various animals he was taking care of, Harry and Mark made their way into Hogsmeade. While they were wandering through the streets, doing a little window-shopping, Harry would occasionally catch a glimpse of red hair and knew that preparations were well underway for Mark's surprise party.
At 11:30, to kill some time, as Mark's family was not scheduled to arrive until noon, they stopped in at the Boar's Head for a light lunch and to visit with Aberforth. Throughout their conversation Harry noticed that Aberforth seemed to be avoiding talking about the war at all costs. Every time the conversation drifted into 'dangerous' territory Aberforth would skillfully change the subject to local events or quidditch or just about anything that didn't have to do with the war. Harry suspected that Aberforth suspected that there might be a spy somewhere in town. This was not good because Aberforth was known for his underworld contacts. If there was a spy in Hogsmeade it could mean any number of things, none of which were good.
At 12:05 Harry and Mark left the Boar's Head and slowly made their way down to the Three Broomsticks. Harry could tell that, while he was trying to hide it, Mark was beginning to feel slightly despondent that no one had wished him a happy birthday yet. As they approached Madam Rosmerta's establishment Mark asked, "Why are we going in here?"
His best poker face in place, Harry shrugged and said, "I just want to check in with some friends to see how things are going."
Mark grinned halfheartedly. "Oh, okay."
Mark's head was down as they entered the pub. As soon as the door closed behind them a little girl's voice rang out from behind them. "If you don't look up, Mark, you are going to miss the whole party."
Mark stopped in his tracks, his eyes flying open wide. Spinning around, a hopeful look of shock and surprise on his face, he stopped and stumbled slightly when he saw the familiar face of his little sister. "Chrissy!?" he asked.
His little sister nodded her head and smiled then ran into his arms. "Happy birthday, big brother!" she happily greeted.
From across the room, at the same time, a thundering chorus of "SURPRIZE!" was heard from all of the Weasleys, Hermione, Luna, Neville, Harry, Remus, Tonks, Hagrid, Albus, five hit wizards and, most importantly, Mark's parents.
Moments later the door opened and Joseph and Eileen walked in. "We're not too late, I hope," Joseph said as he stepped through the door.
The party went off without a hitch. Chrissy was slightly envious of Mark in that he was on a first-name basis with four elves – Dobby and Winky were helping Madam Rosmerta with the food and drink – but that soon ended when Eileen presented her with an autographed copy of A History of the Elven Realm by Ethrindell Zhazrine.
On their way back up to the castle that afternoon Mark was all smiles. "You knew about that didn't you?" he asked.
Harry nodded and shrugged as he levitated Mark's presents in front of them. "Well, yeah. It was actually Eileen's idea but I did most of the planning."
Mark smiled. "You're the best, Harry. You know that? You are the best."
In that moment Harry wondered what his life would have been like without Voldemort. Would he have brothers and sisters; and what kind of older brother would he have been?
Casting those thoughts aside Harry smiled and marked Mark's friendship down as another reason he wanted to survive this war. Oh, sure, he had other friends but somehow this was different, special in a way, because Mark was family.
The next morning Harry and Mark did their exercises in the garden area in Harry's trunk. If his interpretation of Aberforth's hesitancy from the day before was correct and there was a spy lurking around Hogsmeade Harry didn't want to run the risk of being overheard. While they were jogging through the small forest Harry explained that he wanted Mark to spend the morning with Hagrid because there were some things he needed to do might not be pleasant. When Mark asked him what he was going to be doing Harry hesitated a moment then said, "It's not that I don't think I can trust you, Mark, but Aberforth was acting awfully strange yesterday, like he was trying to tell me that there is a spy in our midst; and if there is one thing I have learned over the past six years it is that, even though Hagrid is a wonderful man and has a good heart, he can't keep a secret. I'm not saying that he doesn't try but things just have a way of slipping out and he has no control over it."
"So why are you telling me this?"
"I'm telling you that I can't tell you what I will be doing this morning because if there is anyone I would trust with your safety this morning, while I am working on this project, it is Hagrid. I would like you to spend the morning with him, helping him in his garden and helping him take care of the animals. I just don't want to run the risk, no matter how slight, of anything accidentally slipping out."
They jogged along in silence for a few minutes before Mark asked, "So what should I tell him if he asks where you are?"
As they emerged from the forest Harry looked over and saw Dobby and Winky working in their garden in the distance. "Tell him …" Harry chuckled, "tell him I gave Dobby and Winky the day off and that I am cleaning the trunk."
Mark laughed. "Are you sure you want be to tell him that?"
Harry shrugged. "Sure. Why not? He knows Ginny and I give them the weekends off. Just tell him that since they have been working so hard over the summer I'm giving them a three-day weekend."
Mark smiled. "Alright, then."
After breakfast Mark went off to spend the morning with Hagrid while Harry went up to the seventh floor and began pacing in front of the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy and his dancing trolls. This time, as he paced, he kept thinking about wanting to find someplace to hide something.
When the door appeared he stopped pacing and walked over and opened it. The room before him was a cavernous expanse filled with row upon row of clutter. The room was easily ten times as large as the large Great Hall and the clutter looked to have haphazardly organized into a small city.
Following his instincts Harry walked through the narrow streets, past stacks of cracked cauldrons; through neighborhoods filled with nothing but old desks and broken bits of furniture, undoubtedly the unintended results of spells gone wrong. He walked cautiously past one skyscraper of dusty old books, wondering briefly what kinds of information they contained, and eased down and alley formed by towering shelves filled with dusty, chipped, and sometimes cracked, potions bottles. Many of the bottles were still corked and full. He wondered what was in those bottles but dared not stop to investigate.
As he made his way into the depths of this metropolis of magical junk he vowed that if he did survive the final battle he would spend some time in this room – a room filled with so much magic that he could almost taste it – investigating Hogwarts' magical history. He might even write a book about what he discovered. Besides, given the age of the school and the amount of dust on some of the stacks of books, there had to be at least one book that was out of print.
Smiling at this thought he wondered if Hermione was starting to rub off on him.
Slowly working his way towards the back of the room, his instincts leading him along a precise path of discovery, Harry made his way past more intriguing, magical artifacts than he had ever thought could exist; and they were all here, in Hogwarts' Room of Requirement. Of course, some of the items, such as the pile of recently used empty sherry bottles, were not magical in the least but those could be dispensed with and possibly sent in for recycling.
With a heavy sigh of resignation Harry turned the last corner and walked down a narrow passage. Halfway down this passage he stopped and looked down at the chipped and cracked bust of a particularly ugly wizard wearing an old, worn out wig and a tarnished tiara. Gingerly lifting the tiara from its perch he could feel the darkness it contained and knew that to place it on his head would to invite death.
Turning it around he read the phrase the raised letters spelled out. "Wit Without Measure is Man's Greatest Treasure." Nodding to himself Harry confirmed that this was Rowena Ravenclaws "lost" tiara. Is was shame, he thought, that Rowena's daughter had stolen this tiara from her mother, fled to Albania and paid the ultimate price, at the hands of the Bloody Baron, for refusing to return her mother's side when Rowena lay upon her deathbed.
Placing the diadem in the simple cloth bag he had brought with him for this purpose Harry began the long journey back to the entrance to this most magical of rooms. While he could simply take it down to the Chamber of Secrets and destroy it he felt an obligation to at least try to talk to the ghost of Rowena's daughter.
When he had finally reached the entrance Harry put his hand on the doorknob and the stopped. Turning around he looked back at the city of clutter and, wile admiring the founders' ingenuity, shook his head at Tom's craftiness for hiding one of his horcruxes in a room at Hogwarts so filled with clutter that, under normal circumstances, the only way anyone would be able to find it would be if they stumbled upon it by accident; and even then it was unlikely they would recognize it for what it was and even less likely that they would realize what it had been turned into.
Reaching out to the castle Harry asked, "My friend, do you know where Helena Ravenclaw's ghost is?"
The castle responded, "Helena usually spends her summers in her mothers classroom on the fifth floor. It hasn't been used in years because it has more or less become Helena's sanctuary but it is at the end of the north hall." Hanging his head Harry sighed, closed his eyes, nodded and, with an almost resigned determination, set off for the fifth floor north hall
The halls were cold and drafty as Harry made his down to the fifth floor. Without the students the castle was extremely quiet. It seemed to Harry, as he made his way along the corridors, that the walls were whispering to each other as he passed. Briefly, he wondered if there were more ghosts in the castle than those everyone knew about and could see.
As he approached the door at the north end of the fifth floor Harry could feel an unnatural chill in the air that was mingled with a sense of haughtiness and remorse. He already knew Helena's story from the time he had spent with Rowena during his maturo auctus, his conversations with the castle and his remote viewing of the tiara's history and so was not overly surprised at the emotions radiating from Helena's sanctuary. What surprised him, however, was their intensity. They were almost overwhelming and he had to fight to keep from becoming depressed himself.
When Harry reached the door he hesitated, sensing that Helena did not wish to be disturbed, and then knocked softly to let her know that someone was about to enter. He waited a few seconds to give her time to compose herself then lifted the latch and opened the door.
The room was icy cold. The windows, tall, narrow panes of leaded class set deep into the stone walls, were dusty and let only a small amount of filtered light into the room. The torches, in their brackets, had long since been extinguished and provided neither light nor heat, not that the room's occupant desired either of these.
Stepping into the room Harry looked around at the rows of dusty desk and wondered if, through their centuries of disuse, they had become ghosts as well. Closing te door softly behind himself Harry turned around and scanned the room for any sign of the Ravelclaw specter. He found her floating near one of the dusty windows in the back of the room. She was floating several feet above the floor with her back to him, gazing mournfully out the window. "How many times must I tell you, Baron," she said haughtily without turning around, "that I am not interested. I wasn't interested then and I am not interested now."
"Erm … I'm not Hugo," Harry said gently. "I know we've never met, Helena, but my name is Harry Potter and I need to talk to you."
The Grey Lady spun around, facing Harry for the firs time, and Harry noticed that she was really quite beautiful, for a ghost. Her long, silky hair flowed down around her shoulders framing her face in a way that reminded him of Ginny. Her clothes, although shimmering and translucent, were of the finest quality and cut for her day. It was apparent that she had been a young woman of some standing when she had died and she had carried that haughtiness with her into death.
Floating gracefully down and across the room the ghost of Helena Ravenclaw approached Harry, stopping several feet in front of him, her ghostly body protruding up from the center of a desk. She smiled sadly at Harry then, taking note of her awkward position, floated the rest of the way through the desk and stood before him her head held high. "How do you know my name?" she asked indignantly. "And how dare you enter my sanctuary?"
Harry chewed his lower lip for a moment, thinking about how to broach the subject, then, walking over to what he could only assume had been Rowena's desk, placed the cloth bag on the desk. "I've come to talk to you about this," he said as he opened the pouch and withdrew Rowena's diadem.
Helena gasped. "How … Where … I left that in Albania! How did you find it?" she asked in a rush.
The room quickly grew several degrees cooler and Harry could tell that Helena was upset. "Do you remember a student, about fifty years ago, named Tom Riddle?"
Helena drifted around the desk, eyeing the diadem with uncertain curiosity. After circling the desk twice, closely examining at the tarnished tiara from every angle, she stopped and looked at Harry from across the desk. A small smile played across her lips as her cheeks grew slightly more opaque. "Yes," she said. "He was a very charming boy."
Harry nodded knowingly. In his day, Tom Riddle could be very charming if he wanted to be. "Do you remember telling him about this diadem?"
Helena nodded, eyeing Harry curiously.
"After he left Hogwarts," Harry said, trying to break the news to her as gently as he could but not wishing to spend any more time in her sanctuary than absolutely necessary, "Tom Riddle traveled to the remote forests of Albania and spent several years searching for this tiara while finalizing his plans."
"Plans?" Helena asked. "I told him about it because he wanted to help set me free."
Pinching the bridge of his nose Harry nodded then sighed, his warm breath becoming visible in the frigid room. This was not going to be easy. "He lied to you, Helena," he said softly. "I know what he said and I know what he did. He went to Albania to find your mother's diadem because he wanted to turn it into a horcrux."
If a ghost had blood and if that blood could have drained from Helena's face it would have described Helena's reaction perfectly. Her face drained of color until it was perfectly white and almost completely transparent. The room grew colder still and Harry had to start rubbing his arms to keep warm. "But … but what happened? He was so charming and seemed so sincere."
"By the time you met Tom Riddle," Harry said through chattering teeth, "he had begun calling himself Lord Voldemort. This is one of six horcruxes he created. I'm destroying them in order in the hope that he will not notice their destruction until it is too late. I've already destroyed the first two. This one is next."
Helena's eyes grew wide with shock then sad with understanding. To Harry's relief the room, while not warming up exactly, grew less cold. "I suppose you must," she said.
"What I would like to know," Harry began tentatively, "is if its destruction would release you of your debt. I know your mother would like to see you again."
When Helena looked curiously over at him he added, "I had a near-death experience last summer and met your mother."
Helena smiled. "How is she?"
Harry smiled at the memory of the time he had spent with Rowena. "She's doing well, actually. But she misses you terribly."
Helena smiled wistfully for a moment and then frowned. "No," she said sadly. "As much as I would like to see her again I am still paying for my crime. Knowing that it has been destroyed, especially given what it has become, will lift a heavy burden from my heart but there are others..."
Harry watched as Helena turned and drifted back to the window she had been gazing through when he entered then put the tiara back inside the bag. When he opened the door to leave He Helena said, "Thank you, Harry Potter. You are a good man."
Fifteen minutes later, after visiting briefly with Moaning Myrtle, Harry was in his workroom in the Chamber of Secrets. The diadem was lying on the workbench, a jar of basilisk venom standing beside it. Rummaging through one of his cupboards, after exhausting his desk drawers and most of the other cupboards Harry was searching for his earmuffs. He didn't know what would happen with the destruction of this horcrux but he really didn't want to take any chances where his ears were concerned.
Feeling around in the back of the top shelf Harry felt the fuzzy earpieces of his earmuffs. Wrapping his hand around the fuzzy coverings he pulled them out and, just in case, cast an additional sound repelling charm on each muff.
Securing the earmuffs over his ears he cautiously approached the workbench, fully prepared to run if something went wrong. Opening the jar he carefully laid the lid aside and turned his attention to the diadem. It was sad, really, he thought. It was too bad that Tom had to be so … determined that he would priceless relics for his horcruxes. Most people would be hesitant to destroy such treasures but Tom was forcing his hand. If he didn't destroy them Tom could not be stopped. Oh, sure, he could be slowed down but Harry knew that so long as even one of Tom's horcruxes was in existence he would find a way to come back and resume his reign of terror. Harry could only hope that they could find a way to destroy Nagini before the final confrontation. If they didn't, and Nagini was destroyed after the fact, Tom would survive as a dark, malevolent presence, less that a ghost but more than a shade, that would be impossible to kill. They simply had to destroy Nagini first.
Dropping the tiara into the jar of venom Harry quickly stepped back and watched and waited by the entrance, ready to duck out of site at the first sign of trouble. Even through the earmuffs he could hear the screaming. He could tell that it was not as loud as it had been with the ring but it was still loud enough to echo up and down the length of the chamber. This time, as the tiara was ultimately and finally destroyed, the venom boiled and smoked, shooting the occasional spark into the air. When it was finished he walked over and looked down at the swirling mixture.
"So that's it, then," a voice said from the entryway.
Harry jumped slightly at the unexpected intrusion then turned around. "Breathing a sigh of relief he nodded his head. "Yes, Helena," he said. "That's it. I'm sorry it had to come to this but …"
Helena glided across the workroom, staying close to the floor so she was closer to the actual height she had been in life, reached up and planted an icy kiss on his cheek. "Thank you," she said.
At ten o'clock the next morning, Harry apparated Mark and himself to a dark alley across Charing Cross Road from The Leakey Cauldron where they were met by Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Ginny and Mr. And Mrs. Weasley. "I don't like apparating," Mark said as he bent over, hands on knees, to catch his breath.
Neville sniffed. "Me neither, Mark," he said, "but the main floo network is too dangerous and unless you have been granted special permission," he said, quickly glancing over at Harry, "the ministry is really cracking down on portkeys."
After catching his breath Mark nodded his head. "Yeah, I know. I just wish there was an easier way."
Luna suddenly gasped. "Don't look now but I think we are being watched."
Almost immediately, everyone drew their wands and assumed fighting stance. Quickly scanning the alley, searching for anything that seemed out of place. There were a few rubbish bins scattered up and down the length of the alley. The fire escapes in the narrow alley were all empty but a few of the clothes lines crisscrossing the alley were occupied, some by clothing that had been hung out to dry and others by the occasional bird. For a moment he wondered if Luna was referring to some of the birds who had definitely noticed their presence or, perhaps, the pair of long underwear hanging from a line at the far end of the alley. He couldn't sense anything himself but that didn't mean that Luna was imagining it. She had become less … unpredictable since the end of her fourth year but she still did have her moments. "Where?" he whispered.
Luna, who had not even drawn her wand, pointed up towards the roofline at the Charing Cross Road end of the alley. Following he direction of her finger's indication Harry spotted a tiny camera mounted on a bracket near the roofline of the building on the right. A tiny pinprick of red light near the camera's lens indicated that the camera was operational.
"That's a CCTV camera," Mark said.
"The muggle police use them to monitor the streets of every major city in Great Britain," Hermione added.
Neville chuckled nervously. "Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about those," he said. "When I was working on security for Diagon Alley last December, when we were preparing for the possible evacuation of the castle, one of our contacts in the Prime Minister's Office provided us with a list of all CCTV cameras in the area. There are actually ten of them in the immediate area around Charing Cross Road. Our contact assured me that their feeds are being monitored by a squib."
Breathing a sigh of relief Harry relaxed his stance and let his wand arm drop to his side. After re-holstering his wand he looked up at the camera and offered a twisted smile, uncertain as to whether he was glad that the feeds were being monitored by a squib or upset that the cameras existed at all.
Three minutes later, after Harry had donned his signature faded red baseball cap, they entered The Leakey Cauldron and passed through the dingy pub without drawing too much attention to themselves. It helped, of course, that Remus, who had been sent ahead to clear the way, was keeping Tom occupied at the bar.
Bill and Charley and Fleur met them in the back alley. When he saw them Harry could not help but groan and shake his head. "You do realize that I can take care of myself don't you?" he asked.
Charlie laughed. "It's not you we're worried about, Harry," he said. "It's Ron, Hermione and Ginny we're worried about." At Ron's look of indignation and Ginny's glare he said, "Perhaps I should rephrase that."
Ginny growled, "Too right you had better rephrase that, buster."
"We know that you can all take care of yourselves in a fight," Charlie said, "but it has been less than a month since the were injured on the battle for Hogsmeade and, from what we hear, they all went down far too easily in your little demonstration duel earlier this month…"
"We also know zat each of zem could probably take on all three of us and win wizout much effort," Fleur added.
"The thing is," Bill concluded, "is that we will feel better if we are able to help keep an eye on things while you are getting your school supplies."
"I don't think you will have to worry about that," Remus said as he entered the alley from the pub. "We worked out a shopping schedule with all of the students before they left," he explained. "If you guys knew how much fire power is walking through Diagon Alley right now, most of which is disguised as returning fifth-, sixth- and seventh-year students, the only thing you would be worrying about is the fate of any death eaters stupid enough to show their faces in public."
When they stepped into Diagon Alley moments later the first thing Harry noticed was an increased awareness, on the part of most of the shoppers, of what was happening around them. Their first stop was, of course, Gringotts where Harry took Mark with him up the wild ride to his trust vault. When Griphook opened the vault's door Mark's eyes bulged in their sockets. "Wow!" he said when he saw the mountains of gold, silver and bronze. "Is this all yours?"
Harry grinned despite himself. "Yeah," he said sheepishly, "It's all mine."
After filling two pouches with galleons, sickles and knuts – one for Harry and the other for Mark – they rode the cart back up to the lobby where Remus and Tonks were waiting for them. "How'd it go?" Remus asked, a mischievous grim planted firmly on his face.
Harry scowled. "Alright, Remus, what's up? Why is my trust vault so full?"
Remus burst out laughing. "Harry, my friend," he said, "please don't tell me that you didn't know my father was an investment banker in Kent. I seem to have inherited a fair amount of his financial instinct as well as my mother's magical abilities. When you main cash vault grew too full I asked the goblins to put the interest in your trust vault until we can arrange for a second cash vault. I believe the contents of your trust vault has grown by two hundred percent in the past three months."
Harry's mouth fell open. "The past three months," he gasped. "What am I going to do with that kind of money?"
Remus shrugged. "Beats me," he said nonchalantly. "If I was you, though, I would think about adopting a family." As Remus said this his eyes quickly darted to Mark and back. The suggestion was not lost on Harry.
Shaking his head and smiling softly to himself Harry said, "I have some more business here so would it be alright if Mark went with you for a time?"
Tonks smiled cheerfully and ruffled Marks hair. "Sure!" she chirped. Then, turning towards Mark, asked, "You don't mind being seen with your teachers do you, Mark?"
This time it was Mark's turn to shake his head and laugh. He had gotten to know Remus and Tonks quite well over the summer and seemed to thoroughly enjoy their company. "On one condition," he said.
Looking mildly surprised Tonks said, "Oh; and what's that?"
Grinning mischievously Mark said, "No green hair."
Harry and Remus burst out laughing as Tonks pouted. She had jumped out from behind a desk with frazzled dark green hair several weeks earlier and Mark, to put it mildly, had not been amused and Tonks had learned not to startle Mark, especially so soon after returning from a rescue mission to Little Hangleton.
Several minutes later Harry was once more sitting in Ragnok's office. Two small parcels wrapped in dragon hide and tied with treated dragon leather strings were resting on the worn inkblot. The smaller of the two was definitely Slythein's locket and the other, by shape and size, had to be Huffelpuff's goblet.
Reaching out with his senses Harry could feel the severed portions of Tom's soul contained within each. The part of Tom's soul contained within his own body was trying to reach out to them but it was too weak to do much more than recognize them as two portions of the greater whole of which it had once been a part.
Ragnok, who was sitting behind his desk, looked over at Harry and said, "My part of the oath has been fulfilled, Mr. Potter. I have faith in you, sir, and feel certain that you will fulfill your part as well."
Harry took a deep breath and left it out slowly. "I will do my best, sir."
Ragnok smiled his awkward, toothy smile and nodded his head. "I believe you."
After Harry had carefully placed the horcruxes in two of the inner pockets of his traveling cloak and magically sealed the pockets he turned to Ragnok and said, "I would like to set up two trust funds."
Ragnok looked up curiously. "I don't usually handle trust funds, Mr. Potter, but I understand your reasons. Whom would these trust funds be for?"
Harry smiled his relief and thanks. "I would like to set up two fifty thousand galleon trust funds. The first is for my second cousin, Mark Evans. The second is for his sister, my second cousin, Crystal Evans. Mark will be entering his second year next month and Crystal will be starting her first year next September."
Half an hour later, after all of the paperwork had been filled out and the funds transferred, Harry left Gringotts and went directly to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. Fred looked up as he entered but Harry shook his head, indicating his desire to pass silently through their shop without notice. Fred nodded and returned to the customer he had been helping.
When he reached the back room Harry moved to the darkest corner and, in the twinkling of an eye, wrapped himself in a blanket of energy and mentally transported himself, his clothes and the horcruxes and their wrappings to his workroom in the Chamber of Secrets.
It had been decided that, since Harry had his apparation license, it would be best if he only used teleportation, which was untraceable, when he was on covert operations or when he did not want anyone to know of his activities. Transporting the horcruxes from Diagon Alley to the Chamber of Secrets, in his mind, qualified as one of those times when he did not want anyone to know what he had been doing.
After carefully placing the horcruxes inside a cabinet and locking it with a locking charm Severus Snape would have been proud of Harry teleported back to Fred and George's workroom. Taking a moment to straighten his traveling cloak, so that it didn't look as though he had left anything behind, Harry stepped out of the back room and did his best to blend in with the rest of the customers.
An hour later Harry met Remus, Tonks, Mark, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the others at The Leaky Cauldron for lunch. An hour after that they returned to Diagon Alley where they finished their shopping without any problems or confrontations and received instructions for the next day. Harry was to teleport Mark and himself to the Burrow by no later than eight o'clock in the morning where he would become Robert Weasley. Even though it was known that Harry was a friend of the Weasleys they didn't want anyone to know that he was there.