The First Horcrux
Albus parked, but before he turned off the ignition, he looked at Harry one last time, and questioned, "Are you sure you're well?"
'NO! NO, WE ARE NOT BLOODY OKAY,' Harry's head screamed and his chest clenched, but he just nodded instead. Albus then turned off the vehicle and opened the door, stepping out. With nothing else to do but follow, Harry heaved a hefty sigh, unbuckled, then climbed out his side of the car and walked around to the sidewalk. There, Albus had already spoken with the goblin, who had now climbed into the driver's seat, where they shut the door and the car drove off at incredible speed before popping out of existence. Harry blinked; he knew it was enchanted, but he hadn't expected it to be similar to the Knight Bus in that way.
"Come, Harry, we haven't much time left." Albus waved him along, as he headed towards the pub. Harry shook his head, but followed along as they entered the building.
The place was practically dead of customers, except one lone, elderly wizard, sitting at the bar, drinking in silence. As usual, Tom was there, and he greeted them warmly. "'ello there Headmaster, Mister Potter, sirs. Anything I can get fer yeh's?"
Harry, remembering fondly all the time he had spent here over the summer of '93, waved. "Hello Tom," he greeted back. "How have things been?" He felt strongly like asking for a warm butterbeer, but then thought of where they were going next and his breath hitched.
"Not too bad, considering the relative lack of customers. All this bad news and darkness about and nobody wants to step outside unless they have to. Of course, they'll come back sooner or later, they always do," Tom responded, flashing Harry his toothy grin. Harry smiled in return, though it felt half hearted and had no real oomph behind it.
Albus, meanwhile, had stooped to whisper something at the old wizard sitting at the bar, before straightening, saying, "Indeed they do. Now sorry Tom, but we must be going," and swiftly heading out the other side into the alley behind.
Harry waved at Tom again in parting, and sped after Albus as fast as he could, but there seemed to be a strange stitch in his side. By the time he got to him, Albus had already tapped out the pattern on the bricks and they were opening to reveal the shopping district behind, which was nearly as barren as the pub was. Only two or three people were loitering in the street, the rest, if they were there at all, were hidden away behind closed doors and windows. Some of the buildings appeared to be boarded up and shut for good. It was a depressing sight, but one Harry didn't have long to take in before he was being steered towards the bank in the distance.
The closer they got to the building, the worse the stitch became, but he ignored it. What was harder to ignore however, was the gripping clutch on his chest; it felt like someone was trying to block all air from passing in or out of his lungs. His breath hitched again.
Suddenly, Albus stopped just in front of the building and pulled a watch out of his breast coat pocket, looked at it, tapped his foot four times, nodded his head, then pocketed the watch. A loud crack reverberated through the quiet street as a pink-haired witch popped into existence in front of them, facing away, before turning on the spot. Somehow, she managed to get her foot caught on her robe, and fall to her ass. Looking up, the witch noticed them, blushing slightly.
"Wotcher Harry, Headmaster" Tonks said in her usual greeting, pushing back a stray piece of hair trying to cover her eye, then swiftly standing and brushing herself off as if nothing had happened. Since the last time Harry had seen her, she had "grown out" her hair, though he could never be quite sure of what was natural on her and what was her Metamorphmagus abilities.
Harry was slightly surprised by her sudden presence; Dumbledore hadn't mentioned anything about anyone else coming with them. He looked questioningly at Albus, who averted his eyes, instead addressing Tonks.
"Ah, Tonks, right on schedule," Albus declared congenially. "Shall we head into the bank now?"
"Yes sir, right away, sir," Tonks grinned, mock saluting him, which made some of the unease and tension in Harry fade away. It promptly came back though when they passed through the entrance into Gringotts and for a third time his breath hitched, causing him to falter and stop short. The ache in his side was growing worse and his breathing was becoming shallower.
A thought from the depths of Harry's mind sprung forth. 'I don't think this is going to end well for you,' it said, and a part of Harry knew it was right, but he took as deep a breath as he could, then another and another, composing himself enough to continue to the counter where Albus and Tonks stood, even with the shooting pain in his side.
There it seemed they had just finished a heated discussion, as the goblin stalked off into the side area of the bank. Harry wondered what had been said, but didn't have time to question it, before a new goblin swiftly approached them from the direction the other had left.
"Right this way," they said, in the most cordial tone Harry had ever heard from a goblin, and led them in the direction of the carts. Instead of boarding one though, they were led into a small side room and bid to wait. "Someone who is qualified to take you down to the lower vaults will be here shortly," the goblin stated before closing the door, leaving the three of them standing there.
Harry, the pain and clenching tightness growing by the second, sat down in the only chair in the room, feeling wobbly on his feet. Albus gave him a concerned look out of the corner of his eye while talking to Tonks, but Harry ignored it, instead jerking his head in Tonks' direction, in a way to ask if she knew why they were there. Almost imperceptibly, Albus shook his head no, carrying on the conversation, which Harry didn't pay any attention too. Instead, he tried his hardest to calm and steady himself, even going so far as to put some of the Occlumency lessons he had (barely) learnt the last year into effect. It seemed to work and he started to feel better, until like a shot through his head, the Voice rang out again, this time with a loud, piercing, visceral shriek. This sudden noise in his mind caused a penetrating bolt of pain right through his core, and he tensed, grunting.
Then, as suddenly as it had come it was gone, and Harry felt like he had before Albus had given him any of the potions, with a throbbing headache and the ever pervasive clutching at his chest. Thankfully, the stitch seemed to have subsided.
Harry noticed Albus dismiss Tonks and move over to him, opening his mouth to speak, but before he could be addressed, the door opened, and a very pitted and scarred goblin, carrying what appeared to be a large set of chains, stepped through.
"Follow me now," he rasped, before turning and heading for the cart, chains rattling in his wake, not waiting to see if they were following.
Harry stood from the chair, a spike of pain puncturing his skull, and he staggered slightly, but managed to catch himself and carry on like nothing had happened. He didn't notice the look Albus gave him out of the corner of his eye as he passed.
The ride was longer than usual and Harry's head pulsed to the clack of the cart. About halfway down, they passed through a curtain of water which didn't wet them any, but left Harry feeling tingly. He briefly thought of asking what that was, but decided against it when another wave of pain penetrated his head.
Finally, the cart rolled to a stop and the methodic pounding ceased at least slightly, enough to let Harry notice that they were now in a large chamber with a dragon at the center and a ring of vaults around the outside.
'I hope it eats us,' the Voice had time to whisper about the dragon, before the goblin started rattling it's chains to ward the approaching creature, and Harry's head was filled with nothing but a high pitched ringing. It continued as they walked around the chamber to the door of the Lestrange Vault, where the goblin opened it and gestured they enter, all while the chains still rattled. Harry's head buzzed and he nearly lost his balance as he stepped inside after the Albus and Tonks. The goblin finally gave off one more harsh rattle of their chains and closed the door, sealing the three of them inside.
The buzzing in Harry's head seemed even stronger now that they were in the quiet and stagnant vault; it appeared as if none of the artifacts had been stirred for a long time. He watched, as if in a silent film, Albus began casting spells, the deafening sound reverberating through his skull; it was a squealing whine now, blocking out all other sounds. One object in the room started glowing with a dark crimson light, right near the middle on the left hand side. Harry started walking towards it automatically, his feet seemingly moving on their own. The whine became a whistle as he approached. Partway there, Albus grabbed him by the shoulder, said something indistinguishable to Tonks, and then turned to be face to face with Harry.
"Are you ready?" Harry could see the words form on the Headmaster's lips, but no sound could reach him now. Without realizing it, Harry had nodded and then Albus was pulling the sword of Godric Gryffindor out of his breast coat pocket and passing it to him. It was heavier than Harry remembered it being, making his arm sag slightly when placed in his hand, and it felt like it burned in his palm. Albus was pointing at the cup, saying something to him that he couldn't make out.
Gripping the sword as tightly as he could, knowing what he had to do, Harry took one step towards it. Time seemed to slow. A second step and all thoughts subsided, replaced with an even higher pitched whistling. A third and his vision clouded, but he knew he was nearly there. Another step and he trembled, nearly faltering. Harry managed to take one more step, now nearly right on the cup, when it felt like everything in him ceased to function. His hand lost it's grip on the sword, his vision turned totally black, and his breathing ceased. Then, hundreds upon thousands of images hurled through his mind, things he had forgotten, things he had never wanted to remember, things he thought he never even knew. His heart fluttered and he distantly felt himself fly limply into something, then fall to the ground.
'Hello, nice to finally meet you again, Harry,' the Voice pronounced, and all meaning was lost to him.
There were only three things Tonks knew for sure of what was happening right now. One, she was only present in the Lestrange Vault due to a law stating an official family member must be in the vault at the time of others access; she was one of the few who qualified, after Sirius reinstated her to the family before his death. Two, they were looking for some object related to dark magic, though what it was she wasn't sure, but knew Albus had cast a spell to mark it. Three, she had just watched Harry float eight feet in the air with no apparent cause, then be hurled across the room, collapsing lifeless to the ground.
Dumbly, she just stared as Dumbledore rushed over to Harry's body, yelling something at her, casting a rapid fire of spells at him. She started approaching Harry herself, but she felt at a loss, and didn't know what to do. She wasn't good at healing magic and dealing with curses wasn't her forte either. Watching helplessly, she saw Albus begin to methodically prod at a heavily bloodied and limp Harry with his wand. She whirled around in a circle, panic flowing through her, when suddenly her eyes caught sight of the sword of Godric Gryffindor lying on the ground near where Harry had initially been.
"Grab the sword and destroy the cup, Dora," Albus bellowed, not turning his head away from what he was doing. Tonks could see Harry's body start to twitch violently.
This finally kicked Tonks' mind fully into gear, and she was all action. She took the several step sprint to the sword, quickly crouching to grab it. It was hot to the touch and burned her skin slightly, but she held on and scanned for the cup that he mentioned. It was easy enough to tell which object he was referring to when she saw it surrounded by a crimson light. She prepped the sword, readying it to thrust at the cup the moment she was in range, but before the tip could get near, a sudden cloud of black smoke burst forth from it. It swirled around her, then swiftly pulled back, solidifying into the form of three woman, that of her aunts Bellatrix and Narcissa, and her mother, Andromeda.
The one shaped like Bellatrix instantly pointed at Tonks and started cackling. "Oh, isn't that just too sweet," it jeered. "The little witch thinks she's going to play hero." Tonks faltered at the words, and stopped in her tracks, the sword's tip just mere inches away from the cup now. 'Who are you to play hero?' a Voice in the back of her mind hissed.
"Indeed," the one that appeared like Narcissa sneered. "But she is just a clumsy oaf who fails at every possible opportunity." 'Why even bother trying if you're just going to fail?' the Voice persisted.
Andromeda's figure just looked sadly at Tonks, and something snapped in her mind. She couldn't do this any longer, couldn't bear it anymore. She didn't care, everything was just too much and she wanted it all to end. Slowly, without her being fully aware of it, she began to tilt the sword until it's blade was angled at herself, drawing it closer. She could barely hear Albus screaming something at her due to the continued laughter and a resonating whistling in her head.
"Yes, make it all go away," the voices of Bellatrix and the one in her head merged, chortling at her. The blade drew closer to Tonks, nearing her throat.
This time, the voice of Narcissa echoed with the one in her mind, urging her on. "Do it, do it now," they sang. Tonks felt the edge of the blade touch her neck.
"Not even Remus can save you," the Voice spoke in parallel with her mother's figure, and Tonks' mind was suddenly barraged with memories of her crush. Remus sitting reading a book in the kitchen at Grimmauld place, his tongue poking out slightly in concentration. Remus bending over to grab something she had just knocked to the ground. Remus after he had had a bar of chocolate, a small smear of it lingering at the edge of his mouth. Remus shyly complimenting on her new hairstyle the last time she had seen him.
Tonks' heart soared with these flashes and she found that she actually did care, that she was going to play hero if it meant seeing him again, and yanked the still burning sword away from her throat and jolted forward, plunging the blade into the cup.
A piercing scream, similar to that of the whistling Tonks had heard in her head, filled the air at contact, loudly reverberating through the vault. In the ensuing silence, Tonks dropped the sword of Gryffindor to the ground, where it clattered.
"What the bloody fuck just happened?!"
