Hi guys!
I'm sooo sorry for the long wait! But I had some trouble with my family and I simply didn't find the time to write... I hope this chapter makes up for that!
Thank you EKdude for your wonderful and quick beta-work!
Enjoy!
Chapter 41
Harry sighed. He didn't know how long he had been sitting on the floor, holding Hermione in his arms. His eyes every so often hushed over to his friends, who each seemed to be in their own worlds and then back to his girlfriend.
Hermione had calmed down and was now taking deep steadying breaths. She sniffed one last time and reluctantly let go of him. "I... I'm sorry Harry... it's not like me to get like that..."
He shook his head and tried to give her a smile, but knew that it looked more like a grimace. "It's okay... how about we get up off the floor?"
She nodded slowly. He rose up and held his hand out to help her up as well. Harry then turned back to his friends, who still hadn't said anything after his revelation and the two walked over to them and sat down on the last free sofa.
"So... Horcruxes," stated Harry and sighed when all of them flinched slightly. He was slightly surprised that after the initial shock was over, he was pretty calm - even though his hands were still shaking a little bit. But that was something he passed down to his only a short while ago healed injuries.
He waited, but nobody said anything. He shook his head. "What d'you know about them? You wouldn't have reacted that way if you didn't have a clue of what I'm talking about. I know how Draco knows about them, because Nick was the one who told us both about dark rituals."
Said blond shook his head and it seemed to Harry, as if he was shaking himself out of his stupor. Draco then groaned and leaned back into the sofa. "Just our luck... we got ourselves an enemy that's nearly immortal!"
Harry more felt than saw the glare Hermione was sending him and despite the seriousness of the situation had to suppress a chuckle.
It was Neville who spoke first. Harry noticed he threw a short look at their resident bookworm. "When we started to learn about rituals, Hermione was the one who accidentally came across the word Horcrux. I don't remember in which book it was. We... well..."
"Hermione, Neville and I wanted to find an explanation of how Voldemort was able to come back," continued Ron, who had his arms crossed tightly in front of him. "And because we have access to the restricted section we quickly found some books about Horcruxes... even though they weren't very useful."
Harry felt his eyebrows rise up and looked at each of them. "If they weren't useful how d'you know what Horcruxes are?"
"Luna," answered Hermione and Draco, who hadn't known about their independent research as well, gave Harry a disbelieving look.
He was surprised when Ron slapped his forehead. "That's why you were talking to her! Now I understand! I should've guessed that she had something to do with it when you came with those three books a day later!"
Harry blinked. "Hold on a sec! You've totally lost me. What the hell does Luna have to do with Horcruxes?"
Hermione adjusted her position on the sofa. "Well, not Luna directly but..." Her eyes lit up. "Do you know that her mother was an inventor?"
Harry blinked. "Um... no?" He shared another clueless look with Draco and then looked at Neville and Ron. It didn't help much because the two seemed to be as confused as he himself now.
"Even though Luna's mother wasn't very famous, she was one of those not just tinkering around trying to come up with things like better cauldrons or sneakoscopes. If what Luna told me is true, then her mother must've been one of the most brilliant witches of all time!"
Harry had to smile at the excitement that laced his girlfriend's voice now. Hermione once again shifted on her seat and continued: "Samantha Lovegood – that was her name - invented new spells, curses and everything that had to do with wand-work. According to Luna, her specialties were counter curses against dark rituals and dark magic in general. That's-"
"That's why she searched for information on Horcruxes," finished Draco and understanding dawned on all of them. "And apparently one of her experiments on finding a counter went terribly wrong."
Hermione's eyes hardened. "Yes... it was Luna who found her body. It amazes me that she was able to react fast enough to save her mother's research, before the fire that broke out in her lab got a hold of them."
"She... she..." Ron didn't seem to be able to formulate a coherent sentence, but Harry was sure, he knew what the redhead wanted to say.
"I didn't expect Luna to act like that in a situation like this. It may sound cruel, but apparently her mother was already beyond saving, so she did the only real thing she could think of: Save the work her mother had died for..."
They were all silent for a short while, until Hermione continued. "Well... this is how she got a hold of books about Horcruxes, but... it was strange how I found out about it."
Harry smiled. "Let me guess: One day she simply approached you and told you that she had those books and would give them to you if you wanted to know about Horcruxes."
Hermione blinked. "That's... that's exactly what happened! How do you...?"
He smiled and caressed her cheek. "I've taught that girl for months now and have come to terms with her knowing thinks she normally shouldn't."
"Do you think she is a seeress?" asked Neville softly. "How else would she be able to know those things?"
"If she is, she could take Trelawney's job in an instant," said Draco and then shook his head. "Even though teaching divination in school is utter rubbish. You are a seer or you aren't. There's no use in trying to teach someone who doesn't have a gift for it."
Hermione looked at Draco as if he had lost his mind. "Do you want to tell me, you actually believe there is such a thing as being able to look into the future?"
Ron frowned. "Now that you mention it... I don't think she's looking into the future. I think it's more like she knows what's going on around her in the present without having to ask."
Hermione didn't argue against that, but Harry knew she would start looking through the library as soon as she had enough time to do that.
"I..." Hermione took a breath, shook her head in exasperation and surprised him with what she said next: "Even though we were able to find out so much about Horcruxes... no one of us made a connection to Voldemort... how could I've been so stupid?"
Harry smiled slightly and shook his head. "Don't act as if it's your fault. Draco and I researched Horcruxes as well and neither of us thought about Voldemort having some..."
The slightly darker mood was back and Harry felt rage starting to burn in him. He didn't really know where this sudden feeling had come from, but he knew that he definitely needed to calm down now. With that, he tuned his friends out when they started to talk once more and tried to keep his emotions in check. Leaning back into the cushions of the sofa, he closed his eyes.
"Harry? Would you..." Hermione hesitated slightly. "Would you like to help me looking up some things about divination? I just can't believe it really exists..."
He shrugged, once again feeling the tiredness returning. The soft aching of his body didn't help either. "Sure, why not?" he replied sarcastically, well aware of the slight flinch that Hermione gave. "I'm sure there's no such thing as divination at all and the prophecy that got my parents killed is just some sick joke!"
He shook his head and continued, his voice unnoticed by him, laced with more malice in each passing word. "I can't think of something more exciting. Sitting in an old dusty library pouring over books about esoterics, half-truths and other hocus-pocus that god-forsaken frauds like Trelawney came up with in a flood of inspiration, insanity or whatever you may call the abnormal things, fucking with those peoples' heads!"
Hermione touched his arm, but he ripped it away. "Harry what...?"
"Don't!" he hissed and stood up. "Just... don't. I've had it with things like that trying to dictate my life! It's enough that I have that damn prophecy looming over my head! That's all about divination I want to know and it's bloody well enough!"
"We know that it's not easy, but you're not alone in this mate!" said Ron with heatedly.
Harry momentarily closed his eyes and tried to get his temper in check, but failed miserably. "Yeah sure, but for how long? Would I be able to, I would kill Voldemort as soon as possible and you know what?"
His friends shook their heads and Harry ignored the frown that adorned Draco's face.
He clenched his fists. "I would just love to get my hands on him and make him suffer until the monstrosity he calls his body isn't able to handle any more pain. What would I give to hear that thing beg for mercy now. But shall I tell you something?"
He paused shortly to comprehend what exactly he had just said and was shocked that he really felt like that at the moment. He sighed. "It wouldn't do any more good than giving me a short rush of satisfaction, for he would return and continue killing the people I care about."
His friends were now simply staring at him with disbelieving faces and once more tears had gathered around Hermione's eyes, while Neville seemed to be trying not to shake.
"I... sorry." Harry sighed and drove a hand through his hair. He went over to the door. "I guess I simply need to be alone for a little while... I haven't gotten enough sleep to think clearly at the moment."
His friends didn't answer and he simply left them sitting there.
...HPHPHP...
"Let him go," Draco said when Hermione wanted to hurry after Harry. She bit her lip, but to the blond's relief sat down again.
Draco didn't know what exactly he should think of Harry's abrupt exit at the moment. Merlin, he wasn't even sure what to think about this sudden turn of events. One second he had seemed fine and the other Harry had suddenly snapped.
Then suddenly it clicked and the blond mentally shook his head. 'No, I know what's going on and I shouldn't pretend otherwise.' He knew this side of the raven haired wizard all too well. It was nearly the same reaction Harry had shown after those dark wizards in Australia had insulted his mother, although this time there wasn't any blood involved.
He knew that this was a side of the raven that was normally deeply hidden and only came forth when he was under lots of stress. He sighed and looked at the others.
"Look... don't worry about him, okay?"
He felt three pairs of eyes focusing on him.
"Don't worry?" echoed Hermione slightly panicky. "Don't worry? Draco, have you heard what he just said?"
"Yeah," added Ron and looked down to the floor. "That's not normal. I understand that he's angry, worried, heck, even that he's tired. I believe we all do, but that... just now... was not normal."
"D'you really expect Harry of all people to be normal?" asked Draco incredulously. "How would you react if you were in Harry's shoes? Do you even know what he feels?"
He stopped shortly, sighed and composed himself. It wasn't fitting for him to lose his cool like that. "No, forget it. No one of us knows how he's feeling at the moment and to be honest... I don't really want to know. I may sound like a psychiatrist now, but that cold anger and the malice he just displayed is a form of let-out for him."
Hermione whipped her eyes and sighed softly, while Neville had started to frown. "A let-out? Don't you think... that's an understatement?"
"But what he says is true."
They all flinched and whirled around. Nicolas stepped out from behind one of the shelves, followed by Sirius.
"How long have you been there?" asked Draco, not bothering to pretend he didn't know the two had been eavesdropping.
"Long enough," replied Sirius gruffly when he and Nicolas sat down. "And to be honest I'm surprised Harry didn't blow something up. His father was the same, y'know?"
At their confused faces he smiled slightly. "If I hadn't just seen it myself, I wouldn't have thought my dear godson had inherited that particularly nasty trade, but apparently it's something that's simply part of being a Potter."
"Just wait a moment!" exploded Ron. "You mean to tell me that was normal? Sure, I've seen Harry lose his temper before, but that?"
Draco rolled his eyes and leaned back into his chair and murmured to himself. "Didn't I just try to explain that it's nothing to worry about?"
"Yes, Ron. It's perfectly understandable," the now ex-convict answered and he and Nicolas exchanged a look. "You can of course say he's going through puberty..." He chuckled slightly. "But that would be lying."
Draco was surprised to notice; that those two seemed to know each other for longer than just the few times they had talked during Order meetings. "You would be surprised how often I had to keep Lily away from James when he was in one of those moods after some Death Eaters had killed innocent people. Often people James knew." He smiled ruefully. "I don't know how many times I've been hexed by her."
"But... the Potters are a light family, aren't they?" asked Neville quietly. "How's it possible for them... if they... well..."
"Sometimes lose it like that?" asked Sirius nonchalantly. "Well it's only natural." Then his eyes darkened. "Can you really expect someone who lives in times like we do and is in the middle of a war to get away unscratched? I can speak from experience when I say that it's not possible. And... most people to be at the receiving end of a Potter's wrath deserve what they get."
"Sirius, be reasonable," Hermione said as if talking to a small child. "We're not talking about simply slapping someone in the face. If we think about what Harry said, then we're talking about torture here!"
Draco saw Sirius silvery eyes darken slightly and settled for watching Nicolas as he stood up and went over to the potions section of the room to examine some of Draco's current work. Repressing the urge to rise and follow the famous Alchemist, he turned his attention back to the conversation.
"I know what we're talking about, but you don't," answered Sirius icily and Draco was actually a bit surprised that the normally happy-go-lucky man was suddenly so cold. "Hermione, the Wizarding World is different from the Muggle World. You have to understand that." Sirius tone changed when he saw the small flicker of hurt in Hermione's eyes. "Our world is not as peaceful as you imagine it to be – and I'm not talking about Voldemort here."
"But what are we talking about then?" wanted Ron to know, who seemed to be as curious as Hermione now.
Sirius, however, didn't answer the redheads question, instead he looked at his watch and rose to his feet. "Draco, do you mind explaining? I have something else to do right now, I was just curious what you five were up to."
Draco sighed and with a slightly annoyed glance at the Head of the House of Black, who was now leaving the room, nodded. He mostly focused on Neville and Ron now. "We're talking about an entirely different way of life here, with our customs, culture and views being different from any others. Ron, Neville, you may know the gist of it, but nothing more. I don't expect you three – and sorry Hermione, but you the least of all – to understand what exactly we're talking about here."
"When you put it like that, you sound like a total bigot, y'know?" mumbled Ron slightly perturbed and Draco had to smirk at the pout on the redheads face.
Hermione had a frown on her face and was looking down at the floor. After a short silence, she looked up. "Let me at least try to understand then."
Draco chuckled slightly and conjured himself a glass of water, before his face became serious once more. "The Rack, the Catherine Wheel, the Iron Maiden, the Crocodile Tube... do those things ring any bells?"
Hermione had gone pale and nodded slowly, while Ron and Neville still seemed a little clueless. Draco was slightly surprised that Hermione knew about those things.
"Those torture devices were invented by purebloods before they were able to use the Unforgivables and other torture curses. Where have you heard of them?" he asked curiously.
Hermione gulped. "M-muggles used them on their prisoners during and after the Middle Ages..."
Draco was surprised by that, but didn't show it on his face. "They must have gotten the idea from some careless wizards then... anyway, back to the point: If Muggles used them on their prisoners then it was to make them confess and to punish them, yes?"
At Hermione's nod, he scoffed. "Well, wizards used them to get what they wanted. Physical and mental torture, political slaughter, and other similar things are still part of the Wizarding World. Can you really blame someone who has grown up with that knowledge and was even taught to play that game - like me, Sirius and heck, even Dumbledore - that they don't freak out if someone gets a little sadistic? Even if someone gets-"
"That's quite enough now, Draco," said Nicolas softly but firmly and the blond jumped in surprise when a hand touched his shoulder. Only now could he see that Ron, Hermione and Neville looked slightly ill. "I believe they understand what you want to say, even if they can't comprehend it."
"But... Professor, I'm a pureblood as well and haven't heard of things like that," said Neville hesitantly.
Nicolas scoffed. "I would be surprised if you had, Neville. You're part of a light family after all. You were never taught about the concept of political war. The light families only act in the open with pretty speeches that are printed in the Prophet. The real political game plays in the shadows and is mostly played by piurebloods only. And the purebloods we're talking about here, who are sadly the ones really ruling our world... well let's just say if someone interferes with their business and isn't strong enough, said person simply... disappears. So to explain Harry's behavior... it's considered harmless in the Wizardring World."
"That's barbaric!" exclaimed Hermione in disgust. "We're no longer living in the Middle Ages!"
"No one in his right mind would say otherwise, Hermione" reassured Nicolas the brunette witch. "And it has gotten better because of the muggleborns. But haven't you noticed, that the Wizarding World basically stopped advancing in the Middle Ages?"
"I..." Hermione sighed. "Yes, I have."
Nicolas nodded. "Now... I don't want to be rude, but could you leave Draco and me alone for a moment? I have something I need to talk to him about."
The tree nodded and Draco frowned slightly when they left the room without arguing. He immediately turned to Nicolas as soon as the door fell shut. "What is it?"
Nicolas eyed him. "It's about your reaction to basilisk-blood..."
...HPHPHP...
As soon as Harry had excited the Room of Requirement, he stopped walking and leaned against the wall. He shouldn't have snapped at his friends like that, but he also knew that, in a strange way, it helped him to get rid of some of the tension he had been feeling since Dumbledore had told him about the Horcruxes. Draco, he was sure, would understand why he had said what he did. The blond also wouldn't make a big deal of it, but he was not sure how to explain something like that to Hermione, Neville and Ron.
As horrifying and disgusting as it had been for him during his year of training, he had simply come to terms with that dark side being a part of him and that it was also very common in the Wizarding World for someone to act that way. That didn't mean that he wanted to be like that and didn't try to get those disturbing thoughts out of his head. But he agreed that there was a difference between saying those things just to scare someone and acting on those things.
He sighed and took a deep breath. He really needed to calm down before his magic started to go haywire.
His thoughts fell back on Voldemort and his Horcruxes and what they had just spoken about. He sure needed to talk to Luna in the near future and ask her, if she had any more information about them. With another shake of his head he started walking down the corridor with no particular destination in mind. Even though he was tired, he knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep now.
He stopped shortly, when he heard footsteps behind him and turned around. An exasperated sigh escaped his lips when he saw his godfather coming out of the Room of Requirement. 'That sly dog eavesdropped!' shot through his head.
He slowed down and waited for his godfather to catch up with him. When Sirius fell in step next to him, Harry said nothing and just continued to walk.
"You feeling a little better now pup?" Sirius asked after five minutes when they were going down the stairs.
He shrugged slightly. "I don't know... I just feel as if everything is getting too much." He glanced at his godfather. "I don't know exactly how to describe it... knowing that I'm the one who has to kill Voldemort is one thing, but knowing that he has means to return if I do so, is another."
Sirius only nodded and they both left the castle to walk around on the grounds. After another five minutes spent in silence, Harry noticed that Sirius was subtly leading him into the direction of Hogsmeade. He frowned slightly.
"Where are we going?"
The ex-convict smiled slightly. "I talked to Dumbledore shortly after you left the hospital wing and he agreed to let you come with me. We're going to Grimauld Place to talk to my brother."
Harry's eyebrows went up. "What does Regulus want?"
Now Sirius looked a little guilty and then sighed. He stopped walking when they left the grounds and turned to him. "It's something Dumbledore and I should've told you as soon as we found out, or to be more precise, as soon as we confirmed it."
"Meaning?"
Harry noted that Sirius was now smiling slightly and he guessed it was because of his short answers.
"I knew that Voldemort has made Horcruxes since the end of last summer, Harry. And I told Dumbledore about them just before Christmas."
Harry only sighed and shook his head. He simply didn't have the energy to be angry right now. If his godfather was surprised at his lack of reaction he didn't show it, even though Harry saw him raise an eyebrow when he turned around.
"See you at Grimauld Place then," he said and changed into his Phoenix form, before flashing away.
...HPHPHP...
Harry appeared directly in the hallway of Grimauld Place, right in front of the entrance to the hidden library. He was just opening the secret door, when Sirius entered the house through the front door, grumbling slightly to himself.
"I wish I were able to simply apparate through wards like that... it would make escaping from danger much easier."
"Well, you can dig a tunnel to escape if necessary," Harry replied with a smirk and received a soft whack on the head for that.
With a slight pout in his godfather's direction, Harry opened the hidden door and stepped into the dimly lit room. His eyes didn't take long to adjust and with a small frown, he saw Regulus hovering over a chair near the fireplace.
The ghost looked up and smiled. "Harry, it's nice to see you again!" He then turned to his brother and gave a small nod. "Sirius."
"I've told him," Sirius only said and gave his brother a small smile in greeting. "I could've told him what you did as well, but it wouldn't have been right to do so."
Regulus sighed and nodded. Harry's frown increased when he followed Regulus's gesture and sat down on one of the armchairs. He stared at the ghost. "So... with what I gathered, you know about the Horcruxes?"
Regulus nodded. "You know that I've betrayed the Dark Lord... let me tell you, what exactly happened..."
...HPHPHP...
Harry sighed tiredly when he stepped through the gates and padded along the way leading up to the castle. He shook his head and his hand wandered into the pocket of his cloak and closed around a cold and smooth object.
Slowly he took it out and looked at it. It was a small golden locket with a large S engraved on it. It shimmered eerily in the glow of the sinking sun and Harry had to suppress a shudder when he thought of what exactly was in that locket.
"The locket of Salazar Slytherin... Voldemort sure as hell knows how to destroy history..."
He had been surprised when Sirius had given the locket to him with the explanation, that they weren't able to destroy the locket and he should store it somewhere in the Room of Requirement, as it was the safest place in all of Hogwarts.
"HARRY!"
He stumbled and quickly let the locket disappear back into his pocket. Not one moment too late.
He felt his feet leave the ground when something slammed into him and painfully landed on his back. Feeling the air getting knocked out of him and two arms squeezing him tightly, he gasped for breath and coughed slightly when some dust from the dry way made its way into his lungs. "H-hermione... you're k-killing me here!"
"That's actually a very good idea!" she huffed and let go of him, only to punch his chest... hard. "Didn't we already talk about you running off like that? Can you believe how worried I was after your display in the Room of Requirement? Where have you been these PAST SIX HOURS?"
Harry made no move to stand up while trying to get his breathing under control and ignore the pain in his back. "I was with Sirius..."
"Hermione, it's no use to knock him out as soon as you find him," chuckled Draco before she could start another rant and appeared in Harry's vision. "Let the man catch his breath before interrogating him."
"Gee, thanks Dray," Harry replied dryly and sat up with a slight wince. He looked around. "Where are Ron and Neville?"
"They're looking for you elsewhere." Draco shook his head and held a hand out to help him up. "Where the hell did you disappear to? Heck, we even thought about going down to the Chamber of Secrets!"
Harry didn't answer immediately, but held a hand out for Hermione to take. She sighed and gave him a look which said that she was still slightly peeved at him and let him help her up.
"So?" she asked when they started to go back to the castle.
"As I said, I was with Sirius," replied Harry, not sure where to begin. "Is it okay to wait for the other two? I don't want to tell you twice."
Hermione and Draco exchanged a look and then they both nodded.
"Good, then let's go back to the Room of Requirement," Harry said.
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Dark Phoenix of Slytherin