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A pitch blackness greeted Harry as he walked inside the Department of Mysteries. Only the glow from the exit outlined the pathway ahead. Soft, green light emanated from the way ahead, highlighted in the darkness and Harry took it as his cue to follow.
He walked for a few minutes when he reached an ornate black door. Surprising so far, because he hadn't met this setup back at the end of his fifth year.
"Yes, it's completely different from last time," the serene voice of Luna sounded from above, and Harry craned his neck up to see Luna looking back at him from the window.
"Luna!"
"Come through, Harry, the door's open," she smiled, and Harry nodded. Pushing the door open, Harry entered. There was a staircase to his left, and he assumed that was the way to go. Not breaking his stride, Harry walked upstairs. Luna stood at the top, and he smiled when he saw her.
"Where is she?"
"In my trunk. I've shrunk it down," Harry replied, patting his pocket. Luna nodded.
"We will be going to the central ritual chamber, come on," Luna increased her pace and Harry followed behind her. His eyes took in everything they could, from the floating orbs in one chamber to the massive rows of hourglasses in another. It was a very risky job, being an unspeakable. One small mistake and no one knew what could happen.
"Here, come on," Luna pushed a metallic door open, or what looked like a metallic door. Catching him looking curiously, she informed, "It's black diamond, one of the hardest substances in the world. Why use metals when we have these?" She shrugged. Harry nodded and walked beside her through the deserted corridor.
"Err... Luna, do you know what's wrong with her?"
"I might have an idea, yes. But first answer my question. Why do you have so many Fuzzy Worrclatters around your head?"
"Uhh what?"
"Fuzzy Worrclatters. They make your brain go all tensed. You had them in your office, but you have more now."
"Oh. Maybe because of what happened when I went back to bring Elena here," Harry replied.
"Oh? What happened? Did you do engage in coitus?"
"What? No! No no! Nothing like that! It was... well... it's better if I show you. You have a pensieve here, right?"
"Sure we do," Luna chirped and pushed a door open.
Immediately, Harry felt a rush of magic course through him. His hypersensitivity was triggered as the heavy concentration of magic from the ritual room washed over him.
"Ooh you're feeling it, aren't you? I knew you'd feel that."
"Luna, what the heck was that?" Harry breathed out as they entered the ritual room. It was a massive chamber with a large altar in the middle. The walls were covered in various patterns which he couldn't make heads or tails of, and the floor was adorned with permanent runes. A row of chairs was placed in each corner surrounding a bed and Harry could see a few unspeakables standing near one while gazing back at them.
"Nothing, just the chamber's latent magic. You're sensitive so you felt that. Not everyone does," she told him.
Harry nodded.
"Now follow me," and she led him over to the corner where the unspeakables were presumably waiting for them.
"Mr. Potter," the lead one remarked, "Miss Lovegood here told us you had a serious matter for us to look into,"
"That's right, Mr. -Uhh..."
"Hammer will do, Mr. Potter,"
"Right. That's right, Mr. Hammer. It's pretty serious, and if Luna has also deemed it so, it's even more so,"
"Yes, she told us about the memory and we've seen it for ourselves. We do have some suspicion about this, but we can confirm only if you have the subject here with you,"
Harry honestly didn't like how the unspeakable was referring to Elena as some lab rat to experiment on, but he had enough wits about him to not express his thoughts. Deeming it inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, he nodded.
"I understand. I have brought Elena with me,"
"I assume you have brought her in that trunk in your pocket?"
Slightly alarmed for obvious reasons, Harry nodded.
"Yes, she's asleep in my trunk. But before you run whatever checks you want, there's one more memory I'd like you to watch. Maybe it would help.
"That is a non-issue, Mr. Potter. Please drop the memory inside this pensieve,"
Hammer gestured him to come forward and Harry saw an ornate but comparatively smaller pensieve suspended over the table. He placed the tip of his wand against his temple and thought about his fight with whatever that was. A few seconds later, he pulled the silvery string out of his head and gently dropped it into the pensieve.
Hammer tapped his dark black wand on the pensieve, and Harry saw his memory suspended in the air for all of them to watch.
They saw Harry open the door before the spell came barrelling toward him. They saw him struggle under the onslaught in the beginning, the darkness making it impossible for them to see who was attacking. Only when the light came forth did they see who was attacking him.
"Is that the woman affected?" Hammer asked Harry. He nodded.
"Oh, she's using a different focus," Luna remarked, pointing to the ring. Hammer nodded. They took note of that signature purple glow, and Harry knew it was a crucial detail.
"You told us she was a squib, Luna?"
"That's what I had thought too," Harry admitted and Hammer looked at him.
They saw the spells slowly get darker and darker, as the woman was hellbent on killing the man in front of her.
"She will wear herself out if she keeps flinging so many high-level spells in such short succession,"
"That's what happened," Harry nodded.
They saw Harry getting bound by metal wires cutting into his skin, and they saw the blood pooling through his clothes on the floor.
"That's got to hurt," one unspeakable muttered, and Harry nodded.
"Like a bitch,"
Their heads jerked upward when they heard the woman shout at herself. Hammer looked at Luna, who nodded. As the rest of the memory played out, they heard her entire monologue before chuckling half-heartedly at the way Harry dealt with her.
Once the memory ended, Hammer sat down on the chair and gestured for everyone to take a seat.
"I believe we will need something strong for this. Pearce, the antique from the cabinet will do,"
The unspeakable in question summoned the bottle and glasses and poured them for everyone. All of them pulled their hoods down and Harry got his first look at their faces. Three of them were males while two were females, including Luna.
"These are glamours, Mr. Potter," Hammer clarified, "and these voices are also modified. Luna here is as herself because you know her, nothing else,"
Harry nodded. That made sense. He took the drink from Pearce with a 'Thank you' before focusing on Hammer.
"Now Mr. Potter, what you've brought in here is something very very serious," Hammer's voice was grave, and it filled him with a sense of foreboding.
"I understood that from the way she acted," Harry remarked, taking a small sip.
"Listen closely, Mr. Potter," Hammer said, "we know your familiarity with Horcruxes," Harry's eyes widened and Hammer gave him a nod.
"It's not as private a matter as you think it is, Mr. Potter. We know Tom Riddle had made Horcruxes which you destroyed along with your comrades. With that out of the way, tell me what a Horcrux is," Hammer fixed him with a look.
Harry sipped his drink and frowned.
"An object containing a fragment of the soul of a witch or wizard to gain immortality. Created after committing the murder of an innocent in cold blood," Harry muttered darkly.
"Indeed. It contains a fragment of someone's soul, and as you're familiar yourself, it is possible for a living being to become a Horcrux,"
Harry sighed.
"I guessed right then... Elena is a horcrux,"
Hammer chuckled.
"If only it were so simple, Mr. Potter,"
Alarmed, Harry uttered, "Simple!? What do you mean?"
"Listen closely, Mr. Potter. A Horcrux contains a fragment of someone's soul. But what if that soul was never split? What if the entire soul of someone was transferred to someone else's body so that it could take over, and keep doing taking over bodies for decades, maybe even centuries to keep the physical flesh as fresh as it could just so it could exist in the best condition possible?"
Harry stared, horrified, as his glass slipped out of his hand and shattered on the hard floor. His heartbeat quickened; eyes wide as his breaths became laboured. He felt bile rise in his throat as he ran Hammer's words in his mind.
Luna looked on sadly as Harry had a total breakdown in front of her. Only tears didn't come out, otherwise, he looked like a man completely at a loss.
"How... how could something like this happen?" He whispered, horrified beyond comprehension.
"This is forbidden knowledge, Mr. Potter, but given who you are, I'm making an exception here. Still, I'd need an oath from you never to reveal this knowledge to anyone else, and by anyone, I literally mean anyone. Not to your friends, not to your family, current or future. This knowledge will go with you to your grave," Hammer finished with utmost seriousness.
Harry didn't hesitate for even a second.
"Luna, will you be the binder?" Harry said, his eyes locked with Hammer's as he brought his arm forward.
Luna nodded and brought out her wand, and Harry clasped his arm with Hammer. She placed her wand at the junction of their arms and recited out loud, her voice uncharacteristically serious and in no way light.
"Do you, Harry Potter, agree to never divulge the knowledge of the Ypotagí Psychís ritual to another soul?"
"I do."
A silvery band slithered around their clasped arms, binding the vow.
"Do you, Harry Potter, agree to never mention the words 'Ypotagí' and 'Psychís' in your life?"
"I do."
Another band came into existence, binding their hands together.
"Do you, Harry Potter, agree to destroy any mention of the Ypotagí Psychís ritual if you find it in your lifetime?"
"I do."
The final band of glowing silver formed around their clasped arms, glowing brightly for a moment before dissipating into nothingness.
Luna nodded and put her wand away.
"Now that we have the oath out of the way, we can begin. Tell me Mr. Potter, do you know the origins of the Horcrux?"
"Herpo the foul created the concept to ensure his immortality, that's all I know."
"Accurate. Herpo was regarded as the foulest dark lord to have ever existed. But what barely anyone knows is that he had an apprentice, Maul. Maul was Herpo's pride, because he exceeded his master's expectations. Although he was evil, Herpo seemed to truly love Maul, to the extent that he even made him his heir. Herpo created horcruxes, but Maul wanted something different. He considered splitting the soul to be taxing on one's sanity, something he was completely right about. Years later, Herpo grew deranged. He had created seven horcruxes, same as Tom Riddle. Maul saw him as a threat now, and eliminated his horcruxes, and consequently, his master,"
Harry listened attentively.
"Maul worked hard on soul magic, exploring the depths of the subject to its limit. It took him years, but he managed to devise a ritual that had the power to extract the entirety of one's soul from one's body and transfer it to another. The soul of the transferee would remain in subjugation, and the soul of the transferor will assume its place, making it able to, for the lack of a better word, hop to another body when the previous one became useless. Much like throwing away old clothes, the soul throws away old bodies,"
Harry felt dirty simply by listening to the explanation.
"I'm sorry for what I'm about to say Mr. Potter, but please imagine this. Your soul remains battered and subjugated, while another soul takes its place and uses your body for years, and once your body is deemed too old, that soul hops to another younger body, while your original soul becomes active only at the final moment to witness it's death. That's it,"
Harry felt like throwing up. He couldn't imagine how someone could do this.
"And... and this could be done any number of times?"
"Exactly. The soul can jump bodies whenever the ritual is done, and the older body perishes shortly after the soul leaves it, with no scope of recovery,"
Harry felt like he would regret asking this, but he did.
"And how is it done?"
Hammer looked at him for a moment.
"Do you really want to know, Mr. Potter? It's not pleasant,"
"Please,"
Hammer sighed.
"Alright. The bodies of the older host and the newer host are placed inside a ritual circle. Eight virgin humans, four male and four female, have their blood entirely drained on the runes previously erected around the circle. The blood charges the runes which power up the ritual. Once the bodies are completely submerged, they must remain submerged for eight hours. That's the amount of time it takes for the soul to jump. One night, that's it. None of the humans should be older than sixteen, however they can be of any age younger than that, and all of them must be in direct blood relation to the older host, making it the ultimate sacrifice," he finished grimly.
With each word, Harry was gripping his chair tightly, until he stood up harshly at the end. The unspeakables watched with grim faces as he started pacing agitatedly.
"How the fuck did that asshole even create such a ritual!?"
"You have to understand Mr. Potter, Maul was a master of obscure magic. That's all you need to know," Hammer leaned back on his chair and regarded him.
"Enough of this," Harry growled, "how do we fix this? How do we fix her? Tell me please," he finished pleadingly. He was terrified for Elena. Who knows what kind of pain she must be under, and the fate of the older hosts... he never wanted her to go through that!
"It's our luck that we have been able to procure one of the only few copies of Maul's documented works, which details everything there is to know about this ritual," Luna remarked, standing up and steadying him. Harry looked at her hard.
"It's not easy, Harry, and given the requirements, only you could do this. At least I think so,"
"What is it? I'll do anything I can to cure Elena, please tell me,"
Luna nodded at Hammer, who got up.
"Alright, Mr. Potter. Follow me, but be prepared. It won't be easy,"
"I'm ready, Hammer," Harry said with a determined look on his face.
"Tell me. Do you love her? Elena, I mean,"
Harry paused midstep, looking at Hammer's stoic face. Did he love her? He liked her, that was for sure, but would he call it love?
A serene silence had taken over the ritual room of the Department of Mysteries as Harry contemplated his answer.
"I don't know if I love her yet, but what I know is that the day might come when we come to love each other. What I can say with absolute certainty is that I care for her and I'll do everything in my power to get her back,"
Hammer stared at Harry for a long moment before he smirked.
"That will do. Follow me to the ritual circle,"
The unspeakables walked behind Harry, who was following Hammer as they made their way to the ritual circle.
It wouldn't be easy, it might even be close to impossible, but he would be damned if he didn't do everything in his power to bring Elena back and get rid of this tainted soul from her body. For he might not be in love with her, but he was surely falling for her.
Luna looked at him and shook her head with a small smile, knowing what he really felt. The Cuperblimps around his head told her so.
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To be continued...
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