Chapter Eighteen

Voldemort was angry, very angry. The Hufflepuff cup sat on a table in front of him. It was, however, not in sight but rather hidden by a box. He sat thinking about the others.

The diary was destroyed and for that he had punished Lucius severely. The wizard had been surprised at the intensity of his anger primarily because he had no idea that the object held one of his master's precious Horcruxes. And Voldemort did not want him to know. Nor did he want anyone else to know; not Lucius who was his second in command, not anyone. For someone to know would make him ever so vulnerable.

Yet, he had come to believe that his secret was no longer a secret and that Dumbledore had discovered it. Voldemort was hoping that it had died with him.

Still, there was a thought that seemed not to be his own and yet came from his own mind. It was distasteful to think that he shared his mind with the Potter boy but he had come to accept it. He had denied that this particular thought was not his own until his minions had come back to him and once again told him that Potter had escaped. And, he had escaped from Slughorn.

"I should have done away with that putrescent fat man the day he told me about the Horcruxes," Voldemort said under his breath. He recalled the day in his mind and how he had manipulated the teacher. He had played the part of the adoring student and now felt repulsed by the thought. I should have told Dolohov to leave him to me, he decided. I'd rip his heart out and eat it while he watched!

"Lucius!"

"What my Lord," Pettigrew exclaimed and stood before him bowing his head and refusing to look him in the eyes. "Did you require something?"

The evil wizard glared at the balding pate of the man before him and felt the urge to play with him, torture him and do away with him. He wanted to make the man suffer as he was suffering. The desire drew his thoughts once again away from the source of his anger and he forced himself to not act on the impulse.

"No! Go away Pettigrew!" he snarled. "I am trying to think!"

Yes, he told himself, as the pathetically horrid little man left him, I must concentrate. The diary, the ring, the cup, the Phoenix, the locket and the wedding picture. That's six.

But someone had discovered the locket. He had gone to the cave himself and found it missing. Only Dumbledore could have been clever enough to find that, he told himself. But did he tell Potter? he wondered. Is that the shadow that haunts my thoughts? Are there now two of us that know about my Horcruxes? And a thought that seemed to swim just below the surface of his subconscious pricked at his mind, What happens when you lose a Horcrux?

I have got to find that boy!

"Lucius!" he screamed, again.

Pettigrew scurried into view once again. "He is not here My Lord. He is still searching for Snape."

Oh yes, I have forgotten, Voldemort told himself. He had killed Narcissa using Snape's double. The man was hunting Snape down even now thinking that it was Snape who had killed her.

Voldemort grimaced and waved a hand towards Pettigrew who once again withdrew. He waved his wand nonchalantly and sent his Patronus out of the chamber. Moments later Lucius arrived. He dropped to his knee before him, his white hair caught in a beam of light. It looked almost like a halo. That was irritating.

"Have you found Potter, Lucius?" he asked. "Or have you been too busy searching for Snape. You know my priority is Potter. I want you to stop looking for Severus and find the boy!"

Lucius nodded and stood. "I have a dozen wizards searching for him, M'Lord. He was followed to the muggle neighborhood where he lived with his Aunt and Uncle. He had just seen Slughorn and you are aware of the outcome. The portrait of Mrs. Black at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place indicates that Potter is not there," he declared and then paused waiting for a response. He continued when there was none, "We are attempting to capture one of the Weasley's. Potter has fled to their home in the past."

"Is this so difficult to do, Lucius?" Voldemort asked, rising to his feet. "You cannot find even one of the Weasley's and interrogate them? Surely, you have enough men at your disposal to capture one of them. The girl, or one of the ginger-haired twins." He strolled to the window and stared out. "Find one of find them or find them all. Kill them one-by-one until they reveal Potter's whereabouts!"

"Yes, M'Lord," Lucius whispered.

"In the meantime, Lucius I am taking a little trip. I shall be gone for the next few hours," he said quietly.

"Do you require assistance, M' Lord?" Lucius asked. There was a hint of scorn in his tone.

Voldemort heard it and ignored it. Malfoy knew that he needed no assistance and was quite capable of taking care of himself. He wanted to return to Godric's Hollow and find the portrait. Then he would go back to the Gaunt's house. It was now in ruin and his spell would still be as powerful as it had been when he cast it. Muggles would find the house haunted and stay away. Wizards and witches would not bother with something that resembled an old shack. Besides there was no one left that knew his connection to the Gaunts. He had done away with them all. He would retrieve the ring. He would proceed to Godric's Hollow and find the portrait. He did not know where the Phoenix was. Like the diary fallen into someone else's hands and this worried him. He knew for a fact that Lucius did not have it.

He needed to gather the Horcruxes, those that were left, and protect them. Hopefully with Slughorn dead, there would be no one who would know how to destroy them.

He wondered if he should tell Lucius that Snape had a doppelganger. He might end up trying to kill the wrong Snape. Then he decided that the double would eventually haunt the real man to death leaving both he and Malfoy to concentrate on other things.

And then he decided to keep that to himself. He enjoyed the thought that Snape was suffering.

Madam Pince was gliding between aisles of the library, much as a ghost would move about. She never left the confines of the area unless she was forced to. She even had private quarters nearby and usually ate her meals there. Her life was with the dusty books that she thought of as her family. She was a very good witch, in terms of everyday life, but was ill-prepared when Snape stepped into the aisle where she stood. She could not have jinxed him or used a defensive spell even if her wand had been in her hand, although it wasn't at the moment. Her spell-work was only and ever had been for the books on the shelves.

"What....!" she exclaimed and almost dropped the book she held. She grabbed it in time and held it protectively to her chest.

Snape stared at her with his dark eyes. "Where are Professor Dumbledore's books? I have been to his office and they have been moved."

"They....why.....they are here of course!" she exclaimed. "Where else would they be? The collections of every headmaster since the beginning of time are in this library."

He nodded.

"If...if...you intend to hurt me..." she began and backed away.

He frowned. "I would have done so by now. I suggest you talk to Minerva McGonagall. She is aware of my situation. Right now I want to examine some of the books in Dumbledore's collection."

She nodded in the direction of the restricted section and watched him turn. She could not have denied him access since he could easily overpower her. But she did have the ability to block his access to any book on the shelves which she did promptly without his realizing it. Really! she thought. How dare he return to Hogwarts! He acts like nothing has happened!

She left her library, an extraordinary event, and headed for Dumbledore's office seeking out the new headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, leaving him to discover for himself that he could not touch any of the books..

At the same time, Hermione slipped into the library and studied the layout. Madam Pince was nowhere to be found and some of the books were hanging idly in the air waiting for instructions.

Hermione ducked around them, pulled off the invisibility cloak from her head and headed towards the restricted section. She found him there staring at the shelves with his hands on his hips. He was glaring. She removed the cloak and stuffed it in her bag before allowing him to see her.

"What is it Professor?" She stepped to his side. He acknowledged her by glancing at her and then back to the books.

"Pince has put a spell on the books. I can't remove them from the shelf," he growled.

"Oh," she replied and studied the books in front of her. Their titles revealed their dark nature. "I was thinking...".

"You needn't call me Professor," he said.

"All right," she said and continued. "I was thinking that you-know-who will be searching for..." she glanced at him and then turned back to the books, "you-know-what."

"Yes."

She raised her wand and thought for a moment before waving it slightly. Not only did it break the charm, it sent books leaping off the shelves to float complacently in front of them.

He glared at her.

"There," she said absentmindedly. "You-know-who will be looking for his you-know-whats in the places he last left them. If we have someone watching those places, perhaps we could lure him into a trap. Maybe leave a clue that he could follow."

"How did you do that?" he asked, staring at the floating books.

"I spend a lot of time here and Madam Pince showed me how to do an unlocking charm," she answered.

Snape reached for one of the volumes. He wore white cotton gloves that he had transfigured from thin air.

"What do you think?' she asked when he did not respond.

He had opened the book and was reading when she asked and he glanced up and said, "Aren't you getting ahead of yourself Miss Granger. You want to lure him into a trap and do what precisely?"

She felt the heat of his stare and wanted to shrug away from it. Instead she set her jaw and replied, "Well that's after we destroy the..." she looked around for Madam Pince and then lowered her voice, "the you-know-whats."

"By the way, Miss Granger, how do you know I am not my doppelganger?" he asked.

"I can see your reflection in the window," she said pointing at the window behind them. The light from the lamps reflected the objects in the room. "So I know a little bit about destroying them and Harry has learned more...."

"Where is Potter?" This time he looked up and waited for her answer.

"He's here," she said and reached for a book. "At Hogwarts."

"NO!" He grabbed her hand and kept her from touching the floating volume.

She stopped.

"Touch only what I tell you to touch and only with gloves." He dropped her hand.

"Thank you," she said and took a deep breath before pointing to one nearby. He read the title and nodded curtly. She used her wand to make a pair of gloves for herself appear. "I found two books in Knockturn Alley and Harry got information from Slughorn. If we find more here then I think we can destroy them. We have the locket..." she stopped and Snape stood watching her. She was ignorant of his stare and continued, " and maybe another one. So we can try to destroy them..." she flipped open the cover of the book. "Essentially, that's suppose to weaken Vol..." she stopped and started again after pausing, "you-know-who. That will be four out of six that are gone."

"You intend to lure him into Gryffindor castle," Snape said. "At least Potter alluded to that earlier."

"Did he?" she exclaimed. She was chewing on her lip and nodded. " Not bad. That's probably too simple. Maybe we need a more sophisticated plan. But the castle certainly seems to have some special qualities. Vol...You-know-who, is still a wizard just like the rest of us, even if he has special skills... and is possibly immortal." She shrugged and then shrugged again. "Why couldn't he become trapped just like we were?"

Snape stood still and stared at her.

"Well!" she snapped catching his look. "If you think you have a better plan....!"

"Miss Granger," he began. "Did I say that your plan was not a good plan?" He snapped the book shut and set it on the shelf where it immediately took flight once again, like a bird free from its cage.. He ignored it and paused before continuing. "I do not know what is a good plan. That is why I am standing here reading these books--or--attempting to. I think the Dark Lord may very well be looking for these objects. Perhaps he can be lured into Gryffindor castle. Keep in mind that he is quite brilliant. He may have already thought of these possibilities and will defend himself against entrapment. In the meantime, there are tremendous risks involved."

She nodded.

Snape reached for another volume. "I don't know if he will be weakened significantly if his Horcruxes are destroyed. Who will be the first to test your hypothesis? You? Mr. Potter?" He bent his head again and appeared to dismiss her.

She waited and then opened her own book. "No, Mr. Snape. Your doppelganger. But it will mean that you have to talk to him...confront him."

He looked up, his face a mixture of alarm and surprise and met her gaze. They both understood what that would mean.

Madam Pince met Neville in the hallway on her way to see McGonagall. She was aware that he had taken residence a little earlier then other students and that he was apprenticing himself to Madam Sprout.

"Don't go that way, Mr. Longbottom!"

"Why?" he asked, astounded at seeing her out of the library and at her announcement.

"The murderer....Professor.....Snape!" she finally managed. "He's in the library. I am on my way to tell McGonagall." Neville watched her charge off down the hallway and then turned in the direction she had come. A strange look appeared on his face and his hand went to the wand that was stuck in his trouser pocket. He started off down the hall and his steps speeded up.