Harry Potter

The Fight for Survival

By xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related concepts do not belong to me! I am merely borrowing them for my own personal enjoyment. All OC's and anything you dont recognize is copyrighted by me: xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx

Rating: K

Pairing: Marcus/OC - Fred/OC - Harry/Ginny

Genre: Adventure/Friendship/Romance

Warnings: Please do not flame me for anything.

Summary: In order to deal with the future, one must understand the past. As the final battle approches the safety of Hogwarts is called into question. But as danger looms, the fight for magic...may come with a price.

Author's Note: Chapter dedicated too: DJScales, Purple Sunshine56, Razmend and Matt-hardy-lover-101, BamaRose and Harry Potter Obsessed. I would like to apologize for the screw up in updates. It would seem Fanfiction is going through a series of updates and certain areas are being shut down, like the login area; which is quite annoying. So until these updates are done and the problems are fixed, is going to keep shutting area's down. Other than that, thank-you for you awesome comments.

Author's Note Two: In relpy to Razmend, there are enchantments preventing boys from entering the girls' dormitories, although there is no spell to prevent the reverse from occuring. Clearly girls' can be more trusted than boys when it comes to being in different dormtories.

Until next time...

The Memory

Feet pounding against the marble hallway; both Harry and Charlie sprinted down the hallway of the seventh floor and straight towards the stone gargoyle that concealed Dumbledore's office. "Sherbert Lemons!" they shouted at the same time once they had grown near. The gargoyle stepped aside and the two flew up the spiral staircase. Charlie reached the top first, and raised her hand as she hammered on the door deafeningly.

Seconds passed, and soon Dumbledore was opening the door to his office. He was dressed in his bed clothes and looking extremely tired "Good gracious, you two" the headmaster said in surprise "To what do I owe this very late pleasure?"

"Sir, we've got it!" Harry gasped, "We've got the memory from Slughorn!"

Charlie pulled out the vial from inside her jacket pocket and showed it to Dumbledore. For a moment or two, the headmaster stared at them with tired eyes, before a smile broke out over his weary face and he ushered them quickly into his office.

Once the students were inside, Dumbledore retrieved the pensieve from his cabinet and placed it on the desk between Harry and Charlie, and motioned for them to contine.

The Slytherin uncorked the vial, turned it upside down and watched as the memory swirled into the pensieve.

"And now we shall see," Dumbledore smiled, "Harry if you will..."

The Gryffindor nodded, bowed obediently and disappeared into the swirling depths. Charlie following him seconds later.

xXxHarryPotterxXx

Sir..." the teenager Tom Riddle spoke, addressing at his professor "...is it true that Professor Merrythought is retiring?"

"Now, Tom. I couldn't tell you if I knew, could I?" Slughorn asked "By the way, thank you for the pineapple. You're quite right, it is my favourite"

Harry and Charlie landed near the fireplace, as the scene from before played out in front of them. So far it was exactly the same as the last.

"But how did you know?" Slughorn asked, leaning forward in his seat slightly

Tom Riddle grinned "Intuition" he answered

Slughorn smiled uneasily, before glancing arouns as a clock chimed on the far wall of the office. "Good gracious. Is that the time already?" he asked "Off you go, boys and Lady..." he inclined his head at the only female present "...or Professor Dippet will have us all in detention"

One of the other boys, opened the door as Amanda filed out into the hallway "Ice Queen, on the move!" he joked, earning a dark glare from Amanda in the process.

Charlie smirked "Got to admit," she nudged Harry "She's not to be messed with"

"I think you take after her," Harry admitted "Your glares are exactly the same"

The Muggleborn shrugged "Eh, one good thing came out of being his daughter I guess," she mumured, before turning back to the scene "It could have been worse mind you"

Harry smirked, shook his head, and turned back to the scene, as the rest of the group filed out leaving Tom and Slughorn alone in the room.

After his fellow house-mates had left; Tom approached his professors desk and tapped the same hourglass, that Harry and Charlie had seen in Slughorns office before Christmas.

The Potions master looked up and smiled "Look sharp, Tom. Don't want to be caught out of bed after hours" he nodded.

Tom was silent.

"Is something on your mind, Tom?" Slughorn asked with concern

"Yes, sir," Tom nodded "You see, I couldn't think of anyone else to go to. The other professors, well, they're not like you. They might misunderstand"

Slughorn nodded his head, "Go on," he took a sip from his drink

"I was in the library the other night," Tom continued "in the Restricted Section, and I read something rather odd about a bit of rare magic. And I thought perhaps you could illuminate me" he paused "It's called, as I understand it...a Horcrux"

Slughorn stared at him "I beg your pardon?" he questioned

"Horcrux," Tom repeated "I came across the term while reading, and I didn't fully understand it"

"I'm not sure what you were reading, Tom," Slughorn spoke once more "But this is very dark stuff, very dark indeed. You'd very hard-pushed to find a book at Hogwarts that'll give you details on Horcruxes"

Riddle looked indifferent "Which is why I came to you" he nodded "I mean a wizard like you - sorry, I mean if you can't tell me, obviously - I just knew if anyone could tell me, you could - so I just thought I'd ask -"

"Smooth," Charlie complimented "Definitely smooth!"

Harry nodded in agreement

"Well, it can't hurt to give you an overview, of course. Just so that you understand the term..." Slughorn agreed "A Horcrus is an object in which a person has conealed part of their soul"

"But I don't understand how that works, sir" Riddle responded, his voice carefully controlled and quelled of excitement

Slughorn looked nervous "One splits one's soul and hides part of it in an object," he explained "By doing so, you're protected, should you be attacked and your body destroyed"

"Protected?" Riddle questioned

"That part of your soul that is hidden lives on," Slughorn continued, as if under a truth serum "In other words, you cannot die. But, of course, existence in such a form..."

Harry frowned and glanced at Charlie who was muttering under her breath "What are you saying?" he asked

"Two years ago, Voldemort told us;" Charlie responded "'I was ripped from my body. I was less than spirit. Less than the meanest ghost...but still, I was alive'" she quoted "Remember?"

The Gryffindor nodded, turning his gaze back to Slughorn and the teenage Voldemort

"...few would want it, Tom, very few. Death would be preferable"

But Riddle's hunger was no apparent on his face "How does one split his soul, sir?" he asked, turning away and walking towards the fire

"I think you already know the answer to that, Tom" Slughorn responded

"Murder..." both Harry and Charlie whispered in answer to Slughorn's direct question

Riddle fiddled with the ring on his finger "Murder!" he answered

"Yes" Slughorn nodded "Killing rips the soul apart. It is a violation against nature"

"Can you only split the soul once?" Riddle questioned "For instant, isnt seven...?"

Slughorn paled in comparison "Seven?" he gasped "Merlin's beard, Tom. Isn't it bad enough to consider killing one person?" he breathed "To rip the soul into seven pieces..." Slughorn looked deeply troubled now, and was gazing at Riddle as though he had never seen him plainly before. "This is all hypothetical, isn't it, Tom?" he asked "All academic?"

Riddle turned to face Slughorn "Yes, sir, of course," he said quickly

"But all the same, Tom...keep it quiet, what I've told you - that's to say, what we've discussed. People wouldn't like to think we've been chatting about Horcruxes. It's a banned subject at Hogwarts, you know...Dumbledore's particularly fierce about it..."

Riddle nodded "I won't say a word, sir" he spoke "It'll be our little secret"

And he left.

Catching Harry's arm, Charlie felt herself rise out of the pensieve and...

xXxHarryPotterxXx

...her feet slammed into solid ground, as she and Harry reappeared in Dumbledore's office.

"Sir..." Harry speaks, but Dumbledore held up a hand to silence him.

Charlie frowned, as she watched her troubled Headmaster round his desk and sit down. Exchanging a look with Harry, she followed him and sank into one of the chairs opposite the headmaster as she tried to collect her thoughts. Riley had been right...Voldemort had found the book on Horcruxes; but did that mean he had created them?

"This is beyond anything I imagined," Dumbledore finally spoke, drawing Charlie from her thoughts

"You mean to say he succeeded, sir, in making a Horcrux?" Harry asked

Charlie nodded "Oh, he succeeded all right," she agreed

Harry frowned, but didnt have a chance to reply as Dumbledore spoke "Your Locket, Charlie, where is it?" he asked

"In my dorm room," Charlie answered "I recieved it a few months after Christmas; Dobby gave it to Nikki and Marcus, who in turn returned it to me"

Dumbledore nodded "How did it react when you touched it?" he asked

"Well, given I have this," she touched her pendent "I was protected from Dark Magic. The Phoenix heated up and it burnt me," she moved her chain aside to reveal the burn mark "Sir...are you saying my Locket is now a Horcrux?"

The Headmaster nodded "I believe so, my dear," he sighed "I belief so..."

"If its a Horcrux, why has it been returned to me?" the Slytherin questioned "Wouldn't Voldemort want to keep it safe?"

Dumbledore looked thoughtful "If I had to venture a guess," he started to respond "I would say that Voldemort believes that you will return to his side before the final Battle of the Wizarding World." he explained "Which is why he has sent you the Locket, he believes you will protect it from harm, until it his time for him to return...he believes in you Serenity..."

"But I am not Serenity!" Charlie reacted "I am not Serenity Riddle! I don't want to be Serenity Riddle!"

"You cannot deny who you are anymore, child" Dumbledore quelled her "You must embrace it...and let go"

Charlie sighed and glared at the desk

"What are Horcruxes, exactly?" Harry asked, bring the conversation back to the subject at hand

"Could be anything," Dumbledore answered, looking up at Harry "Most commonplace of objects..." he removed two objects from his desk and pushed them towards Harry and Charlie "A ring, for example..." a golden ring rattled on the table "...or a book"

Harry gasped "Tom Riddle's diary!"

"It's a Horcrux?" Charlie asked

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded "Four years ago, when you saved Ginny Weasley's life in the Chamber of Secrets, you brought me this" he held up the diary "I knew then this was a different kind of magic. Very dark, very powerful." he explained "But until tonight I had no idea just how powerful"

Charlie glanced at the Ring "And the ring..." she mumured "Its Morfin Gaunt's ring," she pointed out, reaching towards it. Her fingers barely brushed the golden coil and her Phoenix pendent heated up immediately. The Slytherin pulled back in fear of being burnt again.

"The same as the Locket belonged to his mother," Dumbledore nodded "The ring was difficult to find. Even more difficult to destroy" he held up his blackened, dead hand.

Harry's breathing heightened as he tried to get the rest of his words out "But if you could find them all, if you did destroy each Horcrux..."

"One destroys Voldemort," Dumbledore answered

"But how would you find them?" Charlie asked "They could be hidden anywhere..."

Dumbledore nodded "True. But magic, especially dark magic..."

Harry touched the ring, causing it to spin on the desk and unleashing several different images of Tom throughout the years. The Phoenix around Charlie's neck burned brilliantly, the emerald in its eye glinting furiously as the Muggleborn struggled to remove it from her skin.

"Get it off!" Charlie cried, finally managing to open the clasp and drop the pendent down onto the desk.

"...leaves traces" Dumbledore finished "and now we have another within our reach..." he looked expectantly at Charlie "But this time, I cannot hope to destroy it alone" he returned his attention to Harry "Once again, I must ask too much of you both,

The Gryffindor nodded "Charlie..." he started

The Slytherin looked up "When would you like the Locket, by Professor?" she asked

"As soon as possible, my dear" Dumbledore nodded

Charlie nodded as she glanced up and caught Harry's eye, they had just found the last piece of the puzzle; and now the fight for survival was on, using this memory to their advantage would determine the survival of the Wizarding world, and facing death in the face with a fierce pride, would be their biggest challenge...

...but that would make all the difference in the world!

A/N: Again, apologies to any screw ups in updating/reviewing and things, but it wasnt my fault. Fanfiction had another update and therefore shut down the login factor last night, so I was not able to log in and upload my new chapter. Was well gutted too, because I had just finished writing and wanted to update. Anyway; here's the next installement.

Review (please)

~*Kara*~

All OCs and anything unrecognizable is copyrighted (c) and belongs to me xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx

Chapter updated 11 April 2011 at 12:16pm