'Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.'
~Lao Tzu
It felt strange, sitting in this office, telling Dumbledore of his father's innermost secrets. The portraits were all listening, some looking sceptical whilst others smiled at him kindly. Finally, when he had finished, he looked up at the Headmaster, his eyes having been glued to the floor throughout the confession.
"Harry... are you sure you want to do this?" Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling, and it took Harry a moment to place the emotion swirling in them as happiness. It lifted his guilt slightly, and he knew this was the right thing. It was the only way to prove to his parents... and Ginny... that he had changed... that he would no longer work for Voldemort.
"Yes, Sir. If I wasn't then I wouldn't have came," said Harry confidently, seeing the glimmer in Dumbledore's eyes brighten.
"How would you suggest the best way to get to the horcruxes are?"
"I would say just you and I. We do not know where Voldemort's spies may be lurking, and if the student populace found out mass panic could ensue."
"Where are they hidden, and what enchantments are there?" asked Dumbledore, resting his chin on steepled fingers.
"In the cave, there is a basin containing the locket, the liquid concealing it must be drunk. The potion makes the drinker re-live all their worst memories, before making them want water so badly, that they will go down to the lake before being claimed by the inferi. This is the most advanced protection. Voldemort relied on Gringott's security to protect the cup, and the diadem is in a room only he knows the location of."
"I have leverage in Gringott's and so I'm sure I can retrieve the cup. As for the diadem, there is a myth amongst the house-elves of a Come and Go Room, or more eloquently, the Room of Requirement, few have stumbled upon it once, and even fewer a second time. Those we can deal with first, however, I must insist we go to the cave together," Dumbledore paused, rummaging in his desk before pulling out a paper bag. After a quick selection, he popped what appeared to be a lemon drop in his mouth, extending the bag to Harry.
"No thank you, Sir. I'm sure if you get me a house-elf I can dispatch of the diadem within the hour," said Harry.
"Of course. Now, is there a way to bypass the potion in the cave?" asked Dumbledore, looking satisfied with Harry's proposal.
"Voldemort only ever thought a wizard or witch would be able to find the cave. Because of this, he has left house-elves and other magical creatures able to penetrate the wards."
"Dobby," called Dumbledore out quietly. A sharp crack filled the room, and Harry came face to face with a house-elf unlike any other house-elf he had seen before. He had what appeared to be a tea cosy on his head, along with a knitted maroon jumper that reached his knees. On his feet were mismatched socks, one a mustard yellow, and the other patterned with snitches.
"Dobby was freed from the Malfoy's by your friend Ronald Weasley in his second year," explained Dumbledore, amusement entering his otherwise serious expression.
"Master Dumbledore, Sir. How can Dobby be of service?" asked the elf, his green eyes brimming with happiness at being called by the Headmaster of Hogwarts.
"Dobby, this is Harry Potter, I want you to show him the Room of Requirement if you will."
"Of course, Sir. Master Harry Potter, Sir, please follow Dobby." Harry said goodbye to Dumbledore before following the elf.
"I have heard a lot about you Master Harry. Is it true you were in the service of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" asked Dobby, as they made their way through the castle.
"He was for all intents and purposes my father," replied Harry stiffly.
"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named raised you! Please do not take this the wrong way, Sir, but that is surprising to hear."
"And why is that?" Either the house-elf was oblivious to his cold tone, or it had been free for too long. Harry suspected it was the latter.
Dobby looked mildly surprised. "Because you're good."
"I've done bad things," he murmured, feeling the elf's gaze land on him.
"No, Master Harry Potter, you have done good things, even thought others may think they are bad!" Dobby pressed his index finger into his forehead as if to emphasis his point.
"I hadn't thought about it that way," mused Harry. Oddly he found himself liking the elf, he was a little too enthusiastic, but he seemed alright.
"Wizards focus too much on here," Dobby made a frantic motion with his hands that Harry took to mean the environment, "Than here," once more he pointed to his head. "Ah, here we are, Sir! Is there anymore you will be expecting of Dobby?"
Harry had almost walked past it, and narrowing his eyes he wondered if Dobby took him to the wrong place. Although his mind recognised that that was impossible, once ordered, a house-elf had to comply, and this elf clearly served Dumbledore, be it through free will or otherwise.
"How do you get in?" Harry felt stupid for asking the question, but the house-elf looked delighted to be needed.
"You walk past three times, and think!" he answered triumphantly.
Walking back and forth, Harry thought confidently:
'Show me the place where the diadem is hidden.'
'Show me the place where the diadem is hidden.'
Show me the place where the diadem is hidden.'
After the third time, a door became to appear, spreading like moss on the blank canvas that moments prior had been a wall. Dobby acted as if this was perfectly natural, and Harry remained impassive, not alerting the elf to how awed he was. To have hidden something so masterfully was beautiful, and Harry felt his appreciation of Hogwarts grow slightly.
"Wait for me here," he ordered, grabbing the brass handle and entering the room. Broken and damaged furniture was stacked in piles, shelves of discarded books lined the walls, and odd statues and paintings littered what space they could find. It was boggling that so much stuff could fit in one room, but as Harry meandered through the junk, his magic fixed onto something. Going deep within his mind he realised it to be another magic source, and going even deeper he realised it was the magical signature of Voldemort.
The trail led him to a cabinet, inside was a bust of a wizard, a pink wig and diadem on his head. It would have been comical, if not for what that diadem contained. Gingerly, Harry lifted it up, feeling the magic thrum as it recognised its handler. It seemed happy, and Harry felt a tiny stab of guilt, but not enough to make him stop.
Making his way back, he met Dobby outside, the elf grinning at him, and greeting him with a 'You're back, Master Harry!' before walking back to Dumbledore's office in silence.
Dumbledore must have been expecting him back quickly, for the gargoyle immediately jumped aside, allowing him access to the spiral staircase. Just before he knocked, he heard Dumbledore say "Come in, Harry. Bring Dobby with you."
Once inside, Harry was surprised to see the cup of Hufflepuff sitting proudly on the Headmaster's desk. The ornate 'H' gleamed in the soft light, and Harry saw Dobby's eyes widen as he too spotted it.
"I hadn't thought you would be able to retrieve it that quickly, Sir," admitted Harry.
"The goblins owed me, and they pay back their debts in full," said Dumbledore cryptically. "Do you have the diadem?"
"Yes," replied Harry, placing the diadem next to the cup, whilst Dobby moved to the corner, seeing he wasn't needed for the moment.
"I read that only basilisk venom or fiendfyre will result in their destruction," mused Dumbledore.
"Fiendfyre is unstable at best, and unless you have basilisk fangs in your drawer, I highly doubt we can destroy these just now," Harry couldn't help sarcasm leaking into his tone.
"I never told you how one of the other two horcruxes was destroyed. Ron Weasley ventured into the Chamber of Secrets to save his sister from the horcrux contained within the diary. In doing so, he slayed the basilisk guarding it by stabbing it with the Sword of Gryffindor."
"I have heard of that incident, however, I do not see-" started Harry, he had always wondered how Ron could have done something like that. Now, however, he knew he would have done the same, regardless of the consequences.
"The sword imbues all that strengthen it, when it killed the basilisk it absorbed it's venom," said Dumbledore patiently.
"If we stab them with the sword it should destroy them," concluded Harry.
"Exactly. And I happen to have the sword here," Dumbledore ventured into one of the many cabinets, and produced a glass case, the sword glinting as the light hit it.
"Destroy them then," said Harry impatiently. If Dumbledore knew all of this, what was the point in lecturing him!
"I think you should," said Dumbledore, handing Harry the sword. It was heavier than expected, but Harry never knew if that was just because of the deed he was about to commit with it, or the actual weight of the sword.
The horcruxes seemed to realise something was amiss, as they began to shake, rattling more violently as he drew closer.
With no hesitation, he stabbed the cup, a high pitched scream resounding throughout the room at the impact, and striking Harry to his core. The diadem, knowing it was left, emitted a black fog, obscuring the room. Images formed in the mist, pulsating slightly, and Harry saw Ginny, her eyes cold and steely, as she surveyed him with barely concealed scorn.
"I knew you were too weak. You're a coward, hiding behind Dumbledore when all around you the war is being waged. Look at you," her voice turned icy cold, "You can't even destroy a horcrux, what hope is there for anyone if Harry Potter can't fight!"
"Harry, just stab it, it isn't real," Dumbledore's voice seemed far away, and despite his words Harry's grip slackened on the sword, causing it to fall to the floor with a loud thud.
How could he destroy Ginny?
"Master Harry, you must destroy it," Dobby's desperate cry wasn't registered, and dimly Harry saw a figure kneel down to pick up the sword.
"Why would I even pick you! There are far better choices out there for a girl like me," aged fingers forced him to accept the sword, before forcing him to strike down upon the diadem. A scream tore its way up Ginny's throat as she faded, and Harry ran forward, his hands reaching out, and clenching around nothing. Slowly the light returned, and they were left with a pierced cup, and a diadem cut into two.
"Harry, are you alright?" Dumbledore's voice was filled with concern, and Harry - much to his embarrassment - felt tears pooling in his eyes as he trembled. Logically he knew it wasn't Ginny, but still, her words were etched on his skull, weighing down his thoughts.
"Master Harry, please respond," Dobby squeaked anxiously.
"I-I'm fine. So, two more to go, right?" He tried to inject some normalcy into his tone, but even he knew he had failed miserably.
"Yes," Harry was grateful that Dumbledore ignored his state, instead getting on with the matter at hand.
"Does Masters need Dobby for anything else?" asked Dobby eagerly, the event that had just transpired seemed not to have affected him, and for a moment Harry was envious of the elf.
"Well, Dobby..." began Dumbledore.
A/N: Thank you so much for the feedback! I know I'm late updating, but this chapter was really hard to write - this is the second draft, and even that has been edited a lot! Even now I'm not so sure about it, but I hope it suffices :) There are only at most three chapters left, and so I want to get it finished within the next three weeks :) I couldn't resist adding Dobby, and to make it clear, Ron filled in Harry's role in the Chamber of Secrets, personally I think he was capable.
Next chapter is the cave, and planning for the attack, and I hope you have enjoyed this chapter :D
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter :(
I apologise for any spelling and/or grammar mistakes contained within this chapter.
Please Review!