Animal I've Become
Chapter 14
Truth Revealed
Breathless, Harry stood outside Dumbledore's office having run all the way there from Hagrid's hut. Harry took a moment to catch his breath before reaching up and grasping the brass griffin doorknocker and knocking it. Within a few minutes, the door opened and there stood Dumbledore who was dressed in a pair of wooly midnight blue pajamas. Dumbledore was just getting ready to go to bed when he heard Harry knock.
"Harry? What is it is something the matter?" Dumbledore asked.
Instead of replying, Harry grinned as he held up the potion vial that Slughorn had given him for the memory. Inside, Dumbledore saw the strand of the silvery grey memory. A small smile appeared on Dumbledore's lips. "Oh Harry you did it, this will be a great help".
Dumbledore then opened the door wider and stepped aside so Harry could walk in. Heading over to the desk, Dumbledore flourished his wand and gave it a flick, levitating the pensive out and over to the desk. Once the pensive was in place, Dumbledore gave Harry a slight nod and Harry tipped his wrist, spilling the potion vial over the pensive, dumping the memory into it. Just like before as the memory touched the surface of the pensive, it broke off into black streaks and within a few moments, Harry and Dumbledore was watching Slughorn's true memory.
~*Memory~*
The room which was usually cold and damp, considering it was in the dungeons was now warm and cozy. A fire was crackling in the fireplace, showering the room in light and warmth. Horace Slughorn had just finished a small dinner party with some of his students from Slytherin house. The students who attended were; Tom Riddle, Lestrange Sr, Rosier Sr, Mulciber Sr, and Nott Sr. This group was collectively known as The Knights of Walpurgis.
"Mm that was really good and you were right Tom, the crystallized pineapple is my favorite" Slughorn said looking at Tom.
Tom bowed and turned to Lestrange and listened to what he had to say. Glancing at the clock, Slughorn bid the students good night and that they needed to get back to the dorm before they were found out after hours. Standing up, Horace walked into his room to put the box of crystallized pineapple on his nightstand when the familiar twang sounded from his office where he had just left. Setting the box down, Horace walked back and was surprised to see Tom still there. The boy was currently admiring his hourglass. The hourglass itself was made of two glass vessels that connected with a narrow passage through which sand and a green fluid flowed, along with green serpentine features adorning the outside. The sand itself ran accordingly with the quality of the conversation, if the conversation was stimulating, the sand would move slowly.
"I'm sorry, Tom is there something you wanted to talk to me about in private?" Slughorn asked.
"Well actually, Yes Professor Slughorn there is something I'd like to talk to you about. You see I was in the library the other night working on an essay for Defense and I wanted to do some more research so I got a note from Professor Merrythought, and went into the restricted section to get the proper book. While reading it, I came across a strange term that I haven't heard before and I was hoping you could shed some light on it" Tom said.
"Alright what was the term Tom?" Slughorn asked taking a sip from his wineglass. His gooseberry eyes locking with Tom's.
"It was Horcrux" Tom says.
At the mention of the word Horcrux, Slughorn paled significantly and had to take a few moments to phrase how he would explain what a horcrux actually is. "Now Tom, I trust this is all academic of course?"
"Of course Professor, just academic and curiosity" Tom explained.
"Well, a Horcrux is a powerful object in which a dark witch or wizard hides a fragmentation of their soul for the sole purpose of obtaining immortality".
At the mention of Immortality, Tom's dark eyes took on a reddish glint. Obviously wanting to know more, Tom asked, "How does one split their soul?"
"You should well know the answer to that Tom" Slughorn said.
"Murder" Tom whispered to himself.
"That's right, the very act of murdering another person, makes the soul unstable and the act makes it ripe for splitting apart" Slughorn explained.
"Now if a dark witch or wizard had wanted to make a horcrux, wouldn't seven be ideal?" Tom asked, fingering the ring that was on his finger. As Harry looked closer, he could see that it was the same ring that Dumbledore had shown him.
Slughorn was overcome in both shock and fear. "Seven horcruxs Tom? Isn't it bad enough to consider killing even a single person?"
~*End Memory~*
Pulling away from the pensive, Harry and Dumbledore locked eyes, and Harry saw that Dumbledore's eyes were alight in a mixture of joy and apprehension that he had been right about his former pupil. Sitting back in his chair, Dumbledore placed the tips of his fingers together and sat in thought while Harry himself was also processing what he just saw.
"So it's true sir? Voldemort succeeded in making a horcrux?" Harry asked.
"Yes Harry and not just one Horcrux, You heard that he asked Horace about the possibility of making seven horcruxs. Seven being the most logical and most revered number in both wizard and muggle word".
Harry couldn't help but open his mouth in surprise. "Seven? He made seven Horcruxs?"
"Yes and no. At first he only created six. The diary you destroyed during your second year in the chamber of secrets, the gaunt ring which I destroyed at the beginning of this school year. Now when in his youth, Voldemort felt a connection to the founders of the school. The main reason he felt like this was because how he grew up in the orphanage. Now I have on good authority that he wasn't able to get anything from Godric Gryffindor."
"So that just leaves Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin?" Harry asked.
"Yes, when Tom had graduated Hogwarts he had taken work at Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley. Borgin would send him to rich and very well off families and try to convince them to sell their valuables. One of the families that he was sent to had a cup or goblet that belonged to Helga Hufflepuff. Once the owner had let that fact slip, Tom murdered her and set it up so it looked like her house-elf had did it. Now when he first started working for Borgin and Burkes while cleaning he found an old, yet intricate locket with an emerald S, after doing some research he found that it belonged to his mother."
"All that's left is something of Ravenclaw's" Harry said.
" Yes, but there's also his snake Nagini, while animals can be used, it makes the soul attached unstable and weak. Now there is something you must know Harry".
"Uh alright what is it?"
"Well first, tell me after making the deal, has your scar hurt? Or have you been having any input on Voldemort's emotions and thoughts?"
Biting his bottom lip, Harry thought back to when he made the deal with Mephistopheles, He remembered that once the deal was made, Mephistopheles mentioned that he had removed something bad from him. Looking up at the headmaster, Harry shook his head. "No actually my scar hasn't been hurting since I made that deal".
"When Voldemort attacked you all those years ago, After killing your father and mother and then finally turning his wand on you. When he did the killing curse and it rebounded on him, a small part of his soul latched onto the only living thing in the room. You Harry, that's why you can feel his emotions and hear his thoughts. This is also why you can speak parseletongue. However when you made the deal, that part of Voldemort was killed. So in retrospect we have destroyed three horcruxs, the diary, the ring, and in part you".
"Sir If I hadn't made the deal, then Voldemort's soul would still be attached to me, and then in order for it to be removed, Voldemort would have had to kill me?"
"Unfortunately, Yes however you'd be given the choice to move on or come back".
"I have just one more question sir"
"Fire away Harry".
"Well I was wondering, Could it be possible for Voldemort to repair his soul? To bring all those pieces that haven't been destroyed back into his body?"
"Yes it is possible but in order to do that, he'd have to feel deep, regret for what he has done and both of us knows that Voldemort is not a regretful person."
...
Back at Malfoy Manor, all was in place for Voldemort's ritual to bring back his soul pieces. Now since he wasn't doing this by normal means, it was going to hurt a lot more then if he was. Setting himself on the floor of the library, he pulled the large leather bound book towards him, re-reading the page, wanting to make absolutely sure he had everything that he needed. If just one little thing went wrong, He'd shrivel up and die in a matter of seconds. Setting the book aside, Voldemort picked up a long, thin dagger and held the blade over his pale right arm. Without flinching, he pulled the blade across his arm, making a long cut. With blood dripping down his arm, he began to draw a pentagram on the floor with his blood.
Once the pentagram was drawn, Voldemort picked up Helga Hufflepuff's goblet and rubbed some of his blood on it before placing it inside the pentagram. He then proceeded to do the same with each horcrux, when it came to Nagini, Voldemort apologized in parseletongue before placing a blood mark on her and telling her to get in the pentagram. With four of the five spaces of the pentagram occupied by a horcrux, Voldemort pulled a glass potion vial from inside his robes and let some of his blood drip into it. When the vial was half full, Voldemort placed the vial in the second to last free space. Taking his wand, he gave it a flick and healed his arm. With everything now in place, Voldemort stepped inside the pentagram and sat down in the middle spot, his horcruxs surrounding him.
Picking up his wand once more, Voldemort began to chant in Latin. "Ut animam meam condita frusta venire ad me et virtus sunt confirma me". As he chanted, the room grew darker until the only light that was available was from the candles that he had lit before he began. As the chanting grew louder, the horcruxs started to levitate in the air. One by one, each horcrux disintegrated into thick inky black smoke. The smoke itself materialized into each murder victim that had been used to make each horcrux. When the last victim materialized, they all attacked Voldemort, forcing their way into his body by way of his mouth. Almost at once, Voldemort felt himself go limp as unimaginable pain wracked his body. It was as if he was being held under hundreds of thousands of cruciatus curses. Finally after what seemed like forever, the pain subsided. Sitting up, Voldemort could already feel the new power pumping through him. A smirk appeared on his lips as his eyes shot open. Instead of their usual red, they were now pitch black. The time had now come for him and his followers to march upon Hogwarts.
A/N: End of Chapter 14. Please read and review. No flames. Nobody likes them. Constructive Criticism is welcomed. Also, Ut animam meam condita frusta venire ad me et virtus sunt confirma me, translates to May my stored soul pieces come back to me and may the power they have strengthen me.