The Unbreakable Vow

by

Ash Darklighter

It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration and words – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.

Part 6

Ginny sat astounded at what Harry had told her. The night of the last attack on Hogsmeade Voldemort and Harry had thrown curses at one another almost simultaneously. The curse that the Dark Lord had thrown at the Boy-Who-Lived, had begun to drain his magic, possibly permanently and Harry's last ditch effort in turn, had removed Voldemort's spirit once more from his own body. He didn't tell her everything but it was enough to set her mind spinning.

"But because of the Horcruxes he created, he cannot be killed until we find and destroy them all. He's still out there. The magic used is very dark. To create a Horcrux, Ginny, Voldemort had to take a life."

"Does he know that we are aware that he created these…" she shuddered, "…things?"

"I suspect that he must do."

"Oh."

"Ginny, we think that he created seven of them."

"Seven," she moaned. "You're sure?"

"Yes, we're pretty certain of that. However, he may have created seven but I didn't say that seven still existed."

"Some of them have been destroyed?" Ginny's voice held hope.

"Your diary was one of them," he told her gently. "Tom Riddle's diary."

"Tom Riddle's diary was a… It held part his soul!" she exclaimed, aghast at what he had told her. The shame and violation she'd felt all those years ago returned. She'd been eleven, her first year at Hogwarts and having that particular diary in her possession had almost resulted in her death and that of Harry.

"It wasn't your fault." Harry took her hand in his. "Yes, there are other items that we're sure no longer exist. There's a ring Dumbledore destroyed and we think a locket belonging to Salazar Slytherin is another possibility. Although we don't know where it is. The good thing is, Voldemort won't know where the locket is either."

"Slytherin…locket…"Ginny stuttered. "My…Riddles diary?"

Harry nodded. "Voldemort preserved a piece of himself in that diary. That is why he was able to control you."

"You killed that piece of him when you stabbed the basilisk fang through it, didn't you?" Ginny murmured in understanding. Her head lifted, excitement lighting her face. "Harry, if he doesn't have all seven can we kill him? He would be less powerful."

Harry sighed and shook his head. "All the Horcruxes must be destroyed before he can be vanquished for good. I told you that this is magic at its darkest – he has to kill to form a Horcrux."

The eager expression fled and her shoulders slumped. "Do Ron and Hermione know about the Horcruxes?"

"Yes. Dumbledore said that I could tell them and no one else. Never mention that I've told you about this to anyone, including Ron and Hermione. Please, Ginny. It's for your own safety."

"I promise," she said. Ginny suddenly realized how much trust Harry was showing in her. "And that's where you've been since you left school – searching for the Horcruxes?"

"More or less. I did a brief stint in Auror training just to sharpen up my reflexes and hone up on some defensive and offensive spells. Mad-eye Moody is a useful person to know as are Tonks and Kingsley. They taught me a lot, risking their careers and possibly their lives to help me. I'm not the Ministry's favourite person at the moment."

"Because you won't sweeten the potion and tell them what they want to hear. When are you going to tell them about V…Voldemort?"

Harry noted with detached pride that she'd actually said the Dark Lord's name. "I don't know when I'll let them in on the secret. I haven't been too impressed with the way the Ministry has chosen to act. Added to that, something Dumbledore did immediately after the Hogsmeade fight made me keep the news to myself for a bit longer from him. I guess I'm trying to play the old manipulator at his own game."

"Is that wise? Someone will let him know eventually and then he'll know that you didn't tell him." She shivered. "I've never seen Dumbledore angry."

"Ron and Hermione are the most likely informants whether consciously or unconsciously. If the headmaster decides to use Legilimency on them and reads their minds, then they'll tell him things that Dumbledore's smart enough to piece together. Currently, they have no clue about the gradual weakening of my magic," Harry said scornfully. "If I continue to exist in the wizarding world for much longer my magic could eventually drain away completely. Hermione, once she lifts her head out of a book, or focuses less on Ron, will eventually notice that I'm not doing magic and that I'm not suffering any pain from my scar. She'll start asking questions. I know that I'll have to tell them soon."

"What about Snape?" Ginny asked. "He's still spying for the Order. Won't he know about V…Voldemort?"

"He only goes to Death Eater meetings when summoned and I think Voldemort has become suspicious of his activities of late and hasn't called him quite as often. He will be one of the first, I think, to put everything together. I suspect that Snape, along with my mother and the true Marauders, were their generations version of Hermione – one of the brightest wizards of his age. It won't make much difference to me what Snape thinks or does. He still sees my father every time he looks at me and that puts him at a disadvantage. He's still too caught up in the past."

"Snape speaks to the Malfoys," Ginny said with a shudder. "They're very close to He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named."

Lucius Malfoy had placed an enchanted diary belonging to one Tom Riddle into Ginny's Cauldron back in her first year at Hogwarts. The malevolent spirit held in the diary had almost destroyed both Ginny and Harry. It had taken her a long time to recover from the ordeal and still suffered from nightmares because of it. Lately, Lucius Malfoy's son, Draco, had taken to watching Ginny very carefully on the rare occasions they had met and there was something disturbing in his pale gaze. She suppressed a shudder. Thankfully, the Malfoy's wouldn't be seen dead anywhere near The Burrow.

"We have to hope that old Lucius is too busy trying to curry favour with the Ministry to wonder why Voldemort hasn't needed his services for three weeks," Harry said quietly. "An Imperious curse for the second time is a hard excuse to pull off." After the first war, many of Voldemort's followers had maintained that they'd been cursed into doing his bidding. "Lucius has more lives than Minerva's animagus form and I wouldn't be surprised if the necromancy texts, Snake-face requires, are hidden in Malfoy Manor. Lucius is no fool and I wouldn't be surprised if he's suspicious."

Ginny clenched her fists. "It's not fair," she burst out. "It's just not fair – it never is for you. Can your magic be saved? You won't be without it forever, will you? You can recover?"

Harry laid one of his hands on hers and squeezed gently. "No, it's not fair and I've already asked myself 'why' hundreds of times but that won't change anything. I can cut right back on spell work and live like a squib would, or, I can go back to the Muggle world and live without magic for a certain number of years. Then, according to Madam Pomfrey, I should recover fully. I was lucky and got treatment immediately after I was cursed. If I hadn't…" he let the words tail off. He knew Ginny would understand what he wasn't saying. "I will forever be indebted to Madam Pomfrey. The second option would be very difficult to maintain."

Ginny Weasley was one of the brightest witches in her year and summed up Harry's situation immediately. "You're going to go away – you have to."

"Eventually." Harry nodded, looking almost calm. "In a couple of months or so, once I sort out my affairs, I will leave the wizarding world. Voldemort is currently without corporeal form and will continue to be so for at least another year or perhaps even longer, if we're fortunate. However I'm not going to be so arrogant as to assume. Sirius and I discussed at length my almost inevitable need for a bolt hole which wasn't Grimmauld Place and made arrangements to buy a property for me without Dumbledore's knowledge. He was dissatisfied with the provision that the headmaster had made for my upbringing at the Dursleys. Petunia and Vernon were the last people my parents wanted me placed with and I was left there for nearly ten years without anyone making the proper checks on my wellbeing."

"Buy…"

Harry shrugged. "Sirius was a wealthy man and I inherited all his assets. Add to that the fortune my parents left me and I would never need to work again, if I so desired."

"I can't see you sitting doing nothing," Ginny said, with a small smile. "You'd be bored and in trouble within a week."

"No, it's not my style. I do still have a Dark Lord to vanquish with or without using my magic. I will use the time for research. Hermione will be proud of me," he muttered cynically. "Make no mistake, Riddle will return and when he does I will be ready for him."

"Can I come with you into exile?" she asked seriously. She was one of the few that knew that former head boy of Hogwarts, Tom Riddle, and Lord Voldemort were one and the same being. She had always believed in Harry.

Harry's face softened. "I would love to have you with me but you're a witch, Ginny. You've no experience of the Muggle world and it won't be the exile for me that it would for you. You need to stay here. Hopefully, it will be safe for you for at least a few more years. Finish your Hogwarts education and think on a career you would really like to do and not because the war has pushed you into it. Work on becoming the most powerful witch that you can so that you will be able to protect yourself and those you love."

She would be safer at The Burrow with her family than living a life hiding in the shadows with him. Ginny Weasley was a pure-blooded witch from the top of her shining red hair to her elegant fingertips. Harry was under no illusions that the magical world would let him go willingly into hiding. An adult Harry Potter with resources and a strong independent will would not suit everyone in the magical world even if he wanted to leave it. They would be concerned with what he was up to, suspecting him of all sorts of nefarious plots against the Ministry. He could even be in danger of some form of imprisonment if they knew of his plans to vanish into Muggle obscurity. He would be in even more danger if they knew that he was powerless. "I expect that the headmaster will turn up tomorrow for your birthday celebrations, Ginevra." He murmured changing the subject.

"Don't call me that."

"It's your name and it's pretty…like you are." He stood up and stepped away from her. "I would love to have you with me but you are safer with your family."

"My family…" Ginny moved closer to Harry again. "My family is breaking apart and there's very little I can do about it. Charlie's back in Romania because dragons are easier to deal with than the death of our father and the way that my mother is right now. Bill has been ordered back out into the field by Gringotts and Fleur has gone with him. He wants to feel normal again and not watched as if he's going to sprout fur at every full moon."

Bill had been attacked by the werewolf, Fenrir Greyback, but not badly enough for him to make the change every full moon. It had been an anxious time for the family as they'd watched and waited. But the most that had happened was that the eldest Weasley brother had a greater desire for rare steak at certain times of the month.

"I heard something about Bill and Fleur working for the Order," Harry said quietly. "It wouldn't surprise me if that's the reason they couldn't make it here for your birthday and I know there has been talk of sending Remus back to the werewolves again."

"The twins are too busy creating in their shop and Percy…" She scowled, her lip trembling. "He's still toadying to the Ministry. He's never once admitted to us that he was wrong."

"And he never will. I would go and see the twins, Ginny. I think you can depend on them most of all. Tell them what you are feeling. Ron…"

"Ron is Ron. He's sticking to Hermione like glue and willing to do exactly what Dumbledore wants him to."

"To the extent of reporting on me," Harry agreed tiredly. "And the worst of it is that he won't realize that's what he's doing. But we all do what Dumbledore wants us to do."

"Because he's Dumbledore, the greatest wizard in the world," murmured Ginny.

"Precisely" Harry ran a hand through his hair again. "We need someone to trust when things start to fall apart. We need someone to make everything better again except I'm not sure if he can. I'm not sure if I can." The prophecy echoed in his mind again in Trelawney's strange trance-induced voice.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as him as his equal, but he will have power that the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…"

Ginny's head drooped. "My family is coming apart in front of me, Harry. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

"You won't lose me," he said, standing and pulling her up with him. "You may mislay me for a while but I'll turn up eventually." He tipped her chin up with his finger and stared into her eyes.

"I'll wait for that," she promised, her eyes twinkling into his.

"Come on, birthday girl; let's get back to the house. I'll help you with supper. You are not allowed to make it all by yourself."

Ginny smiled gratefully. "That would be good. Otherwise Hermione will offer to help and I can't cope with her in the kitchen."

"For all her brilliance, homemaking is still an area she lacks expertise in. Her cooking is…" He looked appalled and clapped a hand across his mouth.

Ginny giggled.

"Merlin, don't tell her I said that."

"I wouldn't dare," Ginny said. "Even if it is true. She would either hex me senseless or challenge me to a baking competition. I'm not sure which would be worse."

They skirted around the back of the property and were about to head for the kitchen door when there was several faint pops heralding the arrival of several figures. Harry and Ginny, sadly all too accustomed to less than friendly visitors, ducked behind a large oak tree and waited to see the identity of their callers. Harry pulled out his wand.

"Harry…" Ginny hissed, gesturing to him to put it away. If what he had told her was right, he would drain more of his magic if he used his wand right now.

"I'd rather survive which will give me a chance to eventually recover," he whispered back. He stole a quick glance around the tree trunk and his mouth dropped open with surprise. "Ginny!" he muttered. "Look."

Ginny peered around the tree trunk and gasped, her eyes wide with surprise. "It's Percy," she whispered. "What's he doing here? He's made no contact willingly with the family since he started working for Fudge in my fourth year at Hogwarts."

Harry remembered that episode very well. Percy, along with the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, hadn't believed Harry and Dumbledore when they said that Voldemort had returned. He had even written to Ron on the unsuitability of having Harry Potter as a friend. "It is your seventeenth birthday," offered Harry. "Percy could be willing to put family differences aside. What would be a more suitable occasion than this? You are his only sister and he did always want to look after you."

"By force feeding me Pepper-Up potions?" Ginny shook her head. "There's something wrong about this and I don't trust his appearance here. He's not been near Mum all the time she's been at St Mungo's. I saw him at Dad's funeral in amongst the Ministry representatives but he never came and spoke to the rest of us. He stayed away from the family at a time when we should have been together. Our father died and our mother was terribly injured and he never came to us to give or to receive comfort." Her pretty face hardened. "As far as I'm concerned he's not a Weasley any more."

Harry's eyes narrowed as he recognized the wizards accompanying Percy. "You were right to be suspicious, Gin. He's not alone," he muttered, his hand tightening on his wand. "And I'm not sure that I like his companions. In fact, I'm certain that I don't."