Birth of a Phoenix
Ch.8- Two for the Price of One
A/N: Okay, so some Horcrux action in this chapter, and some Sirius moments (Which, ironically, are not serious at all) which you've all been begging for. So boom. As always, read and review, and I appreciate all that you can give me. Enjoy!
At the outskirts of a small town known as Little Hangleton, a lone manor house stood above a graveyard. The local muggles had long believed the house haunted, and most avoided it like the plague. Tonight however, despite the violent storm that was kicking up as darkness began to fall, two men stood at the door to the crumbling house.
Harry Potter's eyes flicked nervously across the overgrown property, searching for a threat. His wand was gripped lightly but firmly in his hand and he held it in front of him, ready to use.
Behind him, Albus Dumbledore weaved his own wand into a complicated pattern over the doorframe, causing glowing ribbons of energy – mostly in dark purples, blood reds, and sickly greens – to uncoil from the doorframe.
Finally, Dumbledore lowered his wand and cautiously pushed the door open. Its hinges screeched in protest and both of them flinched. With a final sweep of the yard, they ducked inside.
The inside of the manor was even more derelict than the outside. Furniture was moth-eaten and shredded, and by all appearances were home to several small animals. The two wizards surveyed the room carefully, neither knowing what kind of traps or wards Voldemort had erected beyond the fact that they would not be pleasant.
Dumbledore moved quietly into the parlor, the room where Tom Riddle, Sr. had been found dead. Presumably, this was where Voldemort had hidden the Horcrux.
A few quick revealing spells and Dumbledore found a heavily warded floorboard. Harry was struck by the similarity to his own hiding place at the Dursley's.
With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore had lifted a heavy gold box from the space underneath and set it down on a dusty, rotting table.
"Alright then," Dumbledore made like he was dusting off his hands and then waved his wand with a flourish, "That is indeed surprising," Dumbledore commented. The box was only protected by a basic locking charm.
Dumbledore cast a quick Alohomora on the box and flipped back the lid. Inside rested a heavy gold ring with a big black stone embedded in its center.
Dumbledore cast another revealing charm, which came up empty, and he reached for the ring reverently. As soon has he had laid eyes on it, he had seemed almost entranced.
Harry, on the other hand, gasped. Sure, the ring had no obvious curses on it, but Harry's increasingly acute Phoenix senses were going wild. The very essence of the ring exuded evil.
"Albus don't touch it!" Harry shouted, but his mentor ignored him, "Albus!" He tried again, frustrated and frightened. Receiving no response, he did the only thing he could do.
"Dammit Albus, don't touch that ring!" Harry stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Dumbledore's midsection, pinning his arms to his sides, "That ring reeks of Evil. I don't know what would happen if you touched it, and I don't plan on finding out," Harry growled into the older man's ear.
Dumbledore slumped and the strange longing look that had filled his face evaporated. Using a little wandless magic, a skill that Grindlewald insisted he learn, Harry levitated the ring into a small velvet pouch that he had brought.
"There, now let's get the heck out of here, I'm getting the willies," Harry said with forced cheerfulness, and with a thought, the two wizards were gone in a ball of flame.
They reappeared in Dumbledore's office and Dumbledore finally started to return to normal. He shook his head a few times and cast two quick Drying and Warming Charms. Harry nodded in thanks.
"Okay, now let's get rid of this thing, just being around it makes me sick," Harry tossed the bag with the Horcrux in it onto the table and turned to Dumbledore expectantly, "So how do we destroy this? I can go get more Basilisk fangs, they worked on the Diary," Harry turned to leave, but Dumbledore cut him off.
"Actually Harry, I was thinking about the issue of finding the rest, and I believe that since all souls wish to be whole, we could turn this artifact into some sort of Horcrux compass," He stated with a little hint of a twinkle in his eyes.
"No," Harry stated flatly, looking Dumbledore straight in the eyes which made Dumbledore blink in shock, "I can't believe that you are even considering keeping this evil thing in a school for any longer than we have to,"
"Do you even remember what happened the last time one of these things was floating around Hogwarts?" Harry glared fiercely at the Headmaster, who did a slight double-take.
"Of course you are correct, my boy, best that we get rid of this as soon as possible," He conceded.
"I don't, however, believe those fangs will be necessary. When you stabbed the Basilisk, the blade of Gryffindor's Sword became coated in venom. Being goblin-made, the blade absorbs anything that will make it stronger," Dumbledore stood and removed the blade from a glass case in the back of his office.
He handed the sword to Harry and emptied the velvet bag onto the table, exposing the cursed ring.
"All due respect sir, but shouldn't you do it?" Harry asked curiously, gazing at the blade.
"I would, but that blade can only be wielded by a true Gryffindor; someone that the blade has chosen, I cannot even raise the weapon to strike with it," Dumbledore said, with some measure of sadness in his voice.
"I see," Harry looked contemplative for a moment, "So how did you plan to destroy it if I wasn't around, seeing as you would be locked out of the Chamber and unable to swing the Sword?"
Dumbledore looked embarrassed for a moment, "I was going to, erm, just hit the Horcrux against the sword blade and hope it cut it," He had the decency to look at his feet and blush a little.
Harry just chuckled and raised the blade above his head. With a quiet shout, Harry brought the sword crashing down into the ring.
The blade cleaved through the metal band, and it released a swirl of black smoke and emitted an unearthly shriek. A blast of magical backlash whirled about the room, tossing things about.
Unfortunately, the ring was not the only thing unable to stop the blade and it continued through Dumbledore's desk as well, embedding itself into the floor.
Harry released the blade and stepped back, looking a little sheepish.
"Good swing, my boy, good swing," Dumbledore crowed and clapped appreciatively, patting Harry on the back. Harry shot him a grin.
Suddenly, a black shadow coiled its way up the sword's blade and seemed to settle into it. The whole weapon seemed to shiver for a moment.
Dumbledore crossed the room and knelt down, waving his wand over the blade. His face paled slightly.
"Harry, I do believe I owe you a large thank you. That curse that the sword just absorbed would have caused me a slow and painful death," Dumbledore stepped towards Harry, and Harry extended his hand.
"There's no need for that, after all you've done for me this summer alo- ," Harry was cut off by Dumbledore stepping past Harry's hand and wrapping him up into a hug.
Harry could do nothing for a moment, utterly stunned by the sudden occurrence. He was being hugged by Albus-bleeding-Dumbledore, the Greatest-Wizard-of-the-Age. He recovered enough after a moment to return the embrace and he squeezed the man tightly.
After a little more discussion about everything and nothing, the strange pair took a leisurely stroll through the halls back to Harry's quarters. They walked in amicable silence, enjoying the tranquility of Hogwarts in the wee hours of the morning.
They arrived at Harry's door and Harry placed his hand on the doorknob and released a brief pulse of Phoenix fire, which unlocked the door.
Much to his surprise, as he entered he saw Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Flitwick, Hagrid, and Fleur sitting around the small kitchen table, with several bottles of Firewhiskey – all in various stages of consumption – clustered in the center of the table.
"What's going on here boys?" Harry sent a mock glare at his Godfather and Furry Godmother, "Can I not go anywhere without you two throwing some kind of party?"
"What, this?" Sirius gestured around him, slurring slightly, "This ain't a party; this's a meetin' of the 'People Umbitch Hates Club', it's the firs' one," Sirius explained. Harry raised his eyebrows.
"You see, you got me, the filthy blood-traitor escapes convict that deserves the Kiss," Sirius elaborated and then gestured to Remus.
"I'm a dirty half-breed Dark Creature that has to be put down like the animal I am," Remus growled. He sounded a less drunk then Sirius, if only by a little.
Tonks was next, "I'm a freaky Metamorphmagus slut who slept my way onto the Auror force when the only job I should be allowed to do is prostitution," She too was steaming.
"I have a touch of Goblin blood in me, which makes me a cheat, a thief, and an un-trustworthy sub-human," Flitwick was standing on his chair in order to reach the table, and he seemed to be shaking with fury. Harry was surprised by the look on the normally-jovial Professor's face.
"I'm jus' a stupid, worthless, 'alf-Giant that's got te' be tossed in Azkaban," Hagrid had obviously been crying, and his huge lacy handkerchief was in hand.
"I am supposed to be considered only fit to be a mistress or a consort. Of course, if I am lucky, I would be allowed to join Tonks in prostitution so that I may sate my Veela desires with many men," Fleur's voice was sharp with sarcasm, and her hair seemed a little feathery. Harry was surprised by how much her English had improved, especially since he doubted that much of her time spent in 'English lessons' with Bill Weasley was spent speaking.
Harry surveyed the table, nodded once, and gestured Dumbledore into the room before conjuring two more chairs, "So, do you have room for an attention-seeking pathological liar and a senile old man?" He asked with a wry grin as he and Dumbledore took their seats and grabbed glasses.
The group drank and wallowed in their hatred of the toad-woman until the sun began to rise, at which point they dispersed. Dumbledore informed them that they would all meet in the Great Hall for important Order business the next morning.
As the others stumbled their way to various flat surfaces to sleep, he also asked Harry to meet him that afternoon. Then he left, looking a little unsteady on his feet.
Harry collapsed into an armchair and clutched at his pounding head, "I'm assuming a hangover doesn't warrant any healing tears, eh Fawkes?" Harry asked sardonically.
"Nope, I'm afraid not. You could just use a little Phoenix magic to burn the toxins out of your blood though," Fawkes alighted on the back of Harry's chair.
Harry looked up at the bird incredulously, "I can do that? That's bloody convenient,"
"Sure you can, you just have to be careful or you'll boil all the blood in your veins, which I'm told is a very painful way to go," Seeing Harry's look, he snickered, "Kidding, kidding, that was a joke,"
"I am way too inebriated to get a joke like that right now, buddy," Harry deadpanned. He took a deep breath and focused on the internal fire that was his Phoenix magic and then reached out, targeting the foreign alcohol in his system.
Instantly, every inch of Harry's body began to tingle and the lines on his skin where his veins were glowed a shocking gold. Gradually, Harry drew back the magic and blinked.
His vision had cleared, his head had stopped pounding, and he instantly felt steadier. "Wicked," Harry said out loud to no one in particular.
Harry then trudged upstairs to go to bed, and collapsed into its warm softness. It didn't take long for sleep to claim him after the massively eventful day.
When Harry awoke again, midday sun was pouring through his windows. Outside it was a gorgeous day and Harry grinned. With the castle beginning to set itself up for school and Umbridge on the prowl, most of his classes had ceased, so he could go and enjoy the day.
Harry slipped out of the Entrance Hall doors and on to the sunlit grounds and down towards the lake. He was trotting down to his favorite tree to work on his Animagus form when he spotted three forms by the shore.
Harry bounded towards them, and as he approached he realized that they were Remus, Sirius, and – to Harry's surprise – Snape. Remus and Snape seemed to be doing some kind of odd, rhythmic karate in slow motion.
Remus noticed Harry coming towards him and waved him over. Seeing Harry's curious gaze, he shifted into what Harry and Sirius called 'Professor Mode' and began to explain.
"Good morn- er, afternoon Harry, I'm sure you're curious as to what this is," Remus gestured at Snape, who had not acknowledged Harry except for a slight scowl, and Harry nodded.
"This is a Muggle martial art called 'Tai Chi'. Muggles use it to center their Chi energy in order to promote relaxation and well-being. I, on the other hand, use it as means to control my wolf side," Remus explained.
"I find it quite useful for strengthening my Occlumency shields and readying my mind for my second job," Snape interjected, placing special emphasis on 'second job'.
"I can show you some if you like?" Remus offered, and Harry nodded in the affirmative.
"Okay, so first you want to adopt a stance like this. Remember, it's all about fluidity and allowing your Chi energy to circulate freely," Remus began.
The four spent several hours by the lake, practicing Tai Chi. Or at least, three of them practiced Tai Chi while Sirius ran around them, making 'Hi-yah' noises and doing outlandish karate moves.
Harry had quickly picked up the discipline under Remus' skilled tutelage, but instead of feeling a deep trance-like relaxation like Remus described, Harry felt something else.
As Harry slowly moved his body, he began to feel something within him which began to oscillate with every movement like some kind of tide.
As Harry continued to move, the feeling grew stronger. On a whim he put forward a hand and opened his fingers. His whole hand seemed to glow with a soft light. Harry realized that he could literally feel his magic.
Unfortunately before he could explore this discovery any further, his concentration was broken by an outraged shout.
"Black!" Snape looked furious, "Can't you be serious for a single second?" Apparently Sirius had performed something called a 'Crane Kick' inches away from Snape's hooked nose.
"What do you mean? I'm Sirius all the time!" Snape snarled and went for his wand, but Remus leapt in between them.
"Severus, calm down, he doesn't mean any harm," Remus told Snape quietly and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Sirius, it's about lunchtime, you want to head down to the kitchen and place our order with the elves?" Remus turned and asked Sirius, who gave him a silly grin. A moment later a big black dog was bounding across the grounds.
"Severus, I'm sorry about him, but you've got to ease up on him," Remus turned his attention back to the tense Potions Master.
"Why? He's like a child stuck in an adult's body?" Snape asked sharply.
"He really is, I mean think about it. He was raised by the Blacks, and you know how they raise children, and then almost as soon as he was free from them, he was tossed into Azkaban for 12 years," Remus explained, and Harry listened intently. Snape just sneered.
"You see, he's never had a chance to be childish, he's spent his whole life as a prisoner, and now that he's free, well, he's trying to experience the childhood he never had," Remus finished and placed both hands on Snape's shoulders, looking straight into his eyes.
"I'm not asking you to like him and I'm not asking you to support his antics, I'd just like for you to cut him some slack, please?" Remus seemed to plead.
He removed his hands and strode into the castle with Harry following quickly after, leaving Severus Snape alone on the grounds with his thoughts.
Harry made his way up to Dumbledore's office that evening, mildly curious as to what the man wanted to discuss.
He pushed the door open and found Dumbledore pouring over a map, scribbling notes intently on a piece of parchment beside it. Harry shut the door behind him and coughed quietly.
"Ah, Harry, I wanted to talk with you about the Horcruxes and what our plan will be to destroy them," Dumbledore gestured to a seat across the newly-repaired desk.
"Okay, are you sure this won't endanger you with your Vows?" Harry asked with concern.
"Not at all, you see, I can't teach you anything, technically, about Voldemort's Horcruxes because you know everything that I know, more or less, so it becomes simple discussion," Dumbledore's eyes glinted with mischief.
"Okay, so how do we do this, because I imagine I'll have a hard time getting out of the castle this year," Harry said.
"Harry, I know that you will be the one to go wand-to-wand with Voldemort at the end of things, but that doesn't mean you have to do all the work," Dumbledore smiled sadly at Harry.
"Like you told me in Little Hangleton, the Order is full if experts in their various fields. Tomorrow, we will have a meeting with all of those who are stationed in the castle, as well as some others I've brought in,"
"You and I will try to figure out 'what' and 'where', and they will go to retrieve them for us to destroy," Dumbledore used his tone of command and Harry nodded once, looking uncomfortably at his feet.
"Good, now we must come up with a list of things that Voldemort could have made into Horcruxes. I'll assume that you've seen the memories of Tom Riddle that I've oh so forgetfully left in my Pensieve all summer," They both chuckled and figuratively put their heads together well into the night.
The next morning found the members of the Order who were stationed at Hogwarts, along with a few others like Bill Weasley, were gathered in the Great Hall, waiting on Dumbledore.
At not a minute past 8, Dumbledore and Harry swept into the Hall and took seats at the head of the table where the group sat.
"Hello, Good morning, and thank you all for coming. The information we have to share today is of the utmost secrecy and all of you here I trust intimately," Dumbledore began.
"What about that Umbridge woman?" Interjected Snape, and several others voiced their consent.
"I believe that the corridors around her quarter are feeling rather, fickle, today," Dumbledore responded, his eyes twinkling madly.
"That being said, I have found a safe place for us to talk without being overheard. Follow me," Dumbledore rose and left the Hall with the Order members trailing after him.
They arrived at a seventh floor corridor across from a tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy and Dumbledore paced back and forth in front of the blank wall for a moment.
Suddenly, a heavy door emerged from the solid stone. Dumbledore opened it and gestured them inside before closing and warding it behind them.
"Yes, I was introduced to this magnificent room by the Hogwarts elves only recently, and it is quite wonderful. It is called the Room of Requirement, and it can become almost anything the person in it desires," Dumbledore opened his arms as if to present the room, which had a circle of plush couches.
He and Harry dropped onto one couch and the Order followed suit. With a flick of his wrist, Dumbledore conjured a large map and several photographs and paintings of various objects.
"Over the course of the summer, Mr. Potter and myself have been investigating how Voldemort survived the Killing Curse in 1981, and we are pleased to inform you that we have finally discovered the answer," Dumbledore spoke firmly as he dropped the bomb on the Order.
"Who here is familiar with a Dark artifact called a Horcrux?" Dumbledore asked, and only Bill, Remus, Moody, and Snape raised their hands. All four looked slightly sick at the thought.
"Well, a Horcrux is an item that has been infused with a piece of its creator's soul, effectively tethering him or her to the physical realm. Voldemort made seven," Dumbledore stated bluntly. The room gasped and Bill went wide-eyed. Even Snape looked a little sick.
"We have already destroyed three, but four remain, and we want you to help us find them," Harry spoke for the first time, "Behind us are places that are significant to Voldemort which he may have used as hiding places and also artifacts of considerable value that Voldemort may have turned into Horcruxes," Harry gestured behind him and the room sat in silence for a moment.
Finally, Sirius spoke up, "You know what, I bet the Black Library has a bunch of creepy books about this type of stuff," He thought for a moment.
"Kreacher!" An ancient house-elf appeared at Sirius' feet, literally kicking and screaming.
"Kreacher won't! Kreacher won't serve the blood-traitor! Blood-traitor is not a Black!" It screamed and Sirius growled in frustration.
The rest of the room looked on as the spectacle in front of them played out.
"Kreacher! You will go to the Black Library and you will bring me any books about artifacts or rituals! Go!" Sirius barked, but Kreacher did not hear him. Instead, he seemed fixated on an image floating behind Harry and Dumbledore.
He slowly shuffled over and reached out, hesitantly touching the image of a heavy golden locket with and elaborate 'S' carved on its face.
"Master Regulus' Locket? Why is you having a picture of Master Regulus' Locket?" The elf stroked the image reverently.
"What do you mean, you st- ," Sirius began, but Dumbledore cut him off with a look.
"Kreacher, do you know where that locket is?" Harry had dropped to his knees to look the elf in the eyes.
Kreacher's eyes went wide and he clutched something over his heart that was concealed by his dirty pillowcase. Harry's eyes were drawn to the thick gold chain around the elf's neck.
"Why is you asking about Master Regulus' Locket? Is you going to steal it?" Kreacher recoiled quickly and snarled.
"No Kreacher, we need to find it so we can destroy it. It is full of evil magic," Harry told the elf softly. The elf's head snapped around, his tennis-ball eyes going wide.
"You is going to… destroy Master Regulus' locket?" The elf asked hesitantly, and for a moment Harry thought he had said the wrong thing. Then the elf began to sob.
"Kreacher is a bad elf! Kreacher tried so hard to destroy the locket like Master ordered, but Kreacher could not! Kreacher is a bad, bad elf!" He drew from his pillowcase a heavy locket and held it out to Harry while beginning to whack himself in the face with his fist.
"Kreacher, stop! That locket is protected by very powerful defenses. It's not your fault you couldn't destroy it, you simply didn't have the right tools. Stop punishing yourself," Harry placed a hand on the elf's shoulder.
Harry gave Dumbledore a look and he caused a heavy marble block to rise from the floor before ushering everyone to the edges of the room.
In a flash of fire, Fawkes appeared and laid a single Basilisk fang on the block. Harry laid the locket across the block and picked up the fang.
Harry then turned to Kreacher and held out the fang, "Come Kreacher, fulfill Master Regulus' orders," Trembling with a mix of emotions, the tiny elf gripped the poisonous fang and approached the block.
Harry pictured a snake in his head and hissed out, "Open," causing the locket to crack open. A black wraith began to rise out of the locket to defend itself, but in creating its defenses, Voldemort failed to account for an impassioned house-elf wielding a fang from the King of Serpents.
The fog was not even full out of the locket when Kreacher flew at it; swinging the fang like a madman. He struck at the locket again and again, screaming some kind of battle cry.
When Kreacher finally stopped stabbing, the locket was riddled with holes and the Horcrux it contained was no more.
"Excellent work Kreacher, your Master Regulus would be proud," Harry smiled at the elf, who suddenly burst into tears again and flung himself at Harry's leg, sobbing incoherently.
"Kreacher, that's quite enough," Sirius said as gently as he could. Kreacher's tennis-ball eyes swung around to fix on him.
"Master Sirius! You is helping! Thank yous, Thank yous!" Kreacher turned and flung himself upon Sirius' leg, belting out more incoherent wails. Sirius gazed down at the elderly elf in open-mouthed shock.
As the meeting was dismissed and assignments were handed out to each member, Dumbledore pulled Harry aside.
"Well, my boy, why do I get the feeling that the last three won't be this easy?" He placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and Harry chuckled.
"Because they won't be. Merlin knows, we'll probably have to break into Gringotts or something insane like that," Harry grumbled. He hated it when he had good luck when it came to Voldemort. It just meant that something big was building up to bite him in the arse.
Dumbledore laughed at Harry and gave him one last pat on the shoulder before he too exited the room, leaving Harry alone in the magical room on the seventh floor.
Harry flopped down on one of the couches and contemplated the events of that summer. Sure it had been one of the best summers of his life, if not the best, and he actually felt like he could beat Voldemort for once, but he also was tired.
For the whole summer Harry had been getting up early and going to bed late, working so hard that his usual chores with the Dursleys looked like twiddling his thumbs, and he was ready for the relaxation of his OWL year.
Harry snorted at the thought. What would Hermione say if he told her that? Which brought Harry to his next issue; he missed his friends, badly. Other than two blissful days around his birthday (Which had ended in a disaster) Harry hadn't seen anyone.
Next Harry had to consider what he would tell his friends about the summer. All the sudden he was in great shape, was way better at magic, and had a Phoenix. None of that could've happened at the Dursleys'.
Surprisingly, it wasn't a hard decision for Harry. He would tell them everything. Well, everything but the Prophecy and the Horcruxes anyways.
Harry gave a long sigh and picked himself up off the couch and stuck out his forearm. In two flashes of flame, Harry was in bed and waiting for September 1st to arrive.
A/N: Okay, summer is over, and we can finally bring in more characters. I know, I know they destroyed two Horcruxes in this chapter. I promise the other 3 will be way harder to find. Not to mention ole' Voldie himself. Also, about Sirius: Amelia, who is currently the Director of the DMLE, pulled some strings – under the advice of Dumbledore – to get Sirius declared dead by the Ministry. This makes Harry Lord Black on the Wizengamot, but not anywhere else. It also ends the Auror manhunt for him. So that's that for those who are confused, I hope it helps. I'm also sorry if you don't like how or how often my characters are in my story, but I'm doing the best I can. In happier news, H/G next chapter! It happens! Just thought I'd let you know. As always, leave a review and you're all the best!