Assassins in the Wizarding World.
Chapter Twenty-Two: A Shocked Reaction and Defeating a Memory (Finale)
Previously in the last chapter.
'That will never happen at all, Riddle,' Harry thought with promised determination as he glared disgustingly at the rabid animal in front of him. 'It will be over my dead body before I let you destroy all life on the planet. I will kill your real self and the Death Eaters. I might even kill the children Death Eaters since I won't have them continue your sick ideology and pass it on to newer generation.'
Harry would be damned if he let Riddle destroy all life for his sick quest to become the greatest Wizard in existence. He would find the Horcruxes, destroy them and land the killing blow on Riddle when he's still in his weak form, ending a war that would soon erupt.
Harry also has no intention of facing the Dark Lord bastard if he gets resurrected; there could be a chance he might Apparate away to a different place, leaving a pissed off Ice Elemental behind.
Moving on with the interrogation once again, Harry decided the ask the final question he wanted to know, a question he had been meaning to asked ever since Riddle revealed his immortality…and a question that was going to unknowingly change his life forever, while making him rethink everything he has done during the last three years at Hogwarts.
"Why am I a Horcrux?"
(In the Present; With Harry and Riddle)
The moment Harry asked that question about himself being a Horcrux, Riddle gain such a gleeful triumphed look on his face as if he had just succeeded in wiping out all life on the planet, leaving him the only person in existence. This made Harry greatly tense as he prepared himself for another dramatic reveal, but he was surprised when Riddle started laughing.
"What the hell is so funny?" Harry demanded, a bit unnerved to see Riddle laughing under the Truth Potion. Has it already worn off, despite adding another dose a couple moments ago?
"Isn't it obvious, Potter?" Riddle asked once he stopped laughing but still kept the gleeful triumphed look on his face. "I'm laughing at the fact you haven't figure it out when I revealed my Horcruxes, the objects I used to split my soul and how to destroy them."
"Figure out what?"
"Sweet Merlin, you can't be this dumb, right?" Riddle's sarcastic, yet monotone, question made Harry glare heatedly at him. "Then again, you weren't the brightest person when we finally met each other in your First year and during our second encounter, you became more dumber than before. I guess I should be thanking that Weasley you once befriended for turning you what you are for the last three years: A complete dumb person."
For the very first time since the interrogation, Harry, whose face resembles as a red lobster, lost his temper at being called dumb and punched Riddle extremely hard in the face, making his head snap backwards. Another extremely hard punch cracked his nose and caused blood to flow down.
"Call me dumb again, bastard, and I'll add more power to those punches," Harry growled angrily as he cracked his slightly sore knuckle from punching Riddle extremely hard. He felt a bit satisfaction from seeing blood flowing downwards, but it wasn't enough to calm him down. "And don't you dare thank Weasley for turning me what I was for the last three last years. If you do, I'll murder you."
(At Hogwarts; With the Crowd)
Everyone at Hogwarts was completely and utterly silent. Not a single sound filled the air. No one could even say a single word after hearing Esdeath's explanation about Harry being possessed by Riddle, only to have no memory of it.
But the student's silence was nothing compared to the Death Eaters who were beyond shock and furious at the revelation their master never cared about them at all. They had so much to try creating a society ruled by Purebloods and what do they get in return? Endless torture or instant death. They should've known better than to trust a liar.
"I…I have no words to say," Susan said quietly, breaking the silence as her mind was reeling with Esdeath's explanation…about Harry being possessed by Riddle. How she and the others never notice was beyond them.
"Me too," Daphne agreed, her mind also reeling with Esdeath's explanation. "I can't believe Harry had been possessed and we didn't even know it until now."
"How is that possible?" Akame asked, wanting to know how Harry got possessed without anyone knowing. "We are always with him every single day and not once we saw him possessed."
"Was Potter acting unusual or oddly during the day he got possessed?" Moody asked, checking through his memories to see if he had a possessed Potter in his classes, but so far, nothing came up. "Like he wasn't talking as much and kept his head down in classes?"
The three girls, along with Harry's other friends, blinked at the question before reflecting on the day Harry had supposedly got possessed.
"Yeah…he was acting unusual, Professor Moody," Hermione replied a moment later after remembering the day. "Harry had been quiet, too quiet for our liking, and hasn't once participated in class. He just sat in the back and did his work without talking to us. To make it even more unusual, he had his hood up the whole time concealing his face. I wondered why he did that."
"It was because Riddle didn't want anyone to know he possessed Potter, otherwise there would've been a panic," Moody explained with a growl as he finally remembered a possessed Potter in his classes. How he didn't notice like everyone else at Hogwarts was beyond him but he's going to make sure his lessons will be focused on possessions in the future.
"What do we do if Harry gets possessed again, Professor?" Cho asked one of most important question in the world in a timidly manner. She does not like the idea of someone being possessed by a person, especially one who had caused so much terror during the First Wizarding War.
"Let's hope it doesn't, Miss Chang, because I don't like the idea of facing someone who is not only powerful in a form that can increase Magical power ten to fifteen times greater but also has so much anger and hatred." Moody then shivered. "I don't think both worlds, Muggle and Magical, can handle an Elemental who can freeze the world."
(Back with Harry and Riddle)
"Alright, let's try this again, Riddle," Harry said a few moments later after calming down. "And you better answer my question this time, otherwise I'm going to add more punches to your face. Why were you laughing when I asked I was a Horcrux?"
Despite having his face bruise and bloody, Riddle still retained the gleeful triumphed look. "The reason why I was laughing is because you are holding a part of my soul inside your head when I tried to kill you during that night, which has made you a Horcrux. I did reveal about you being one."
Harry's eyes widen in pure shock at what he just heard. He had a piece of Riddle's soul in his head?! He thought it was just a piece of Dark magic or Riddle's power!
"How could I have a piece of your soul in me?!" Harry asked a bit hysterically, extremely not liking the idea of having an insane person's soul inside him. It scared him. "I thought it was your powers being transferred to me! It's how I'm able to speak Parseltongue!"
Riddle let out a exasperated sigh like he was dealing with a stupid idiotic person, which he is but didn't say that in fear of getting punch again. Those punches hurt so much. "I just told you, Potter, a piece of my soul went inside you when I tried to kill you that night. As for my powers being transferred to you, that is completely rubbish because you can't transfer powers onto a person. There's no such thing as powers being transferred."
"Are you kidding me?"
"No, I'm not."
Harry glared at Riddle for the smartass comment, not amused the slightest bit. He's resisting the urge to hit the rabid animal again since it wouldn't really do anything at all, except bring satisfaction of being in pain. So, he decided to move on with the interrogation. "Moments ago, Riddle, you said I haven't figured it out when I asked about me being a Horcrux. What did you mean by that exactly?"
"By not figuring out what I said about you being a Horcrux, Potter," Riddle began explaining, looking forward to seeing Harry's spirit greatly crushed. "I'm talking about the destiny you were raised to be when the prophecy was made fourteen years ago, the destiny you can't escape from, no matter hard you tried to."
"And what is this destiny I was raised to be? A hero to defeat you?"
"No, a sacrificial martyr to die."
Harry stared, not sure what to say about that. How was being a sacrificial martyr to die be the reason why he's a Horcrux? He doesn't know why, but he was not liking the implications that were running through his head, implications he hoped they were wrong.
"What do you mean I was raised to die as a sacrificial martyr, Riddle?" Harry asked, trying to push the implications away. "I can't be one since Dumbledore wouldn't make sure of it."
"Ah, but you are a sacrificial martyr, Potter," Riddle countered, seeing the troubledness radiating off his rival, which made him extremely happy. It was working. "You have always been one ever since you were sent to the Muggle World after defeating me that night. There was one thing I didn't mention when you ask me how to destroy Horcruxes and that is what would happen if all my Horcruxes are destroyed."
"But I had already asked…" Harry started to say, only to trail off as he remembered asking Riddle how to destroy Horcruxes, not what would happen if they are destroyed. "What would happen if I destroy all your Horcruxes?"
"If all my Horcruxes are destroyed, then I would finally be able to die like every person I killed, but that will never happen at all because of you, Potter. You have to be destroyed like all my Horcruxes. You are nothing but a vessel containing my soul piece. In order for me to die for good, you must die as well. That was always your destiny to begin with when you were being raised at those filthy Muggles and Dumbledore made sure to keep you on that sacrificial path, given he knew about you being a Horcrux."
Once again like before, Harry wasn't aware of the trauma, which is much bigger and worse, he is currently experiencing. The world around him has frozen, his eyes were very wide, cold sweat fell down his face, his breathing became very heavy, and his body is ice numbed like a statue. He is not aware of dropping his sword, nor taking a few steps backwards. All Harry could think about was the words Riddle just said to him, particular the vessel and die part.
"You are nothing but a vessel containing my soul piece. In order for me to die for good, you must die as well."
"You are nothing but a vessel containing my soul piece. In order for me to die for good, you must die as well."
"You are nothing but a vessel containing my soul piece. In order for me to die for good, you must die as well."
'No…it can't be true…' Harry thought with complete numbness as he slowly looked down to stare at his hands. 'It just can't be true. There's no way I was only raised to die as both a vessel and a sacrificial martyr to kill an immortal Dark Lord who wants to wipe out all life on the planet. There's also no way Dumbledore would keep me on that path. My real mother gave her own life to save me and have me raised happily, she wouldn't want me to grow up horribly and as a martyr. Riddle had to be lying…he had to be.'
"You're lying, Riddle…" Harry said at last, his voice very thick with emotion. He looked ready to start breaking down. "You must be lying. There's no way I was raised to die as both a vessel and a sacrificial martyr to kill your immortal self. There's also no way Dumbledore would keep me on that sacrificial path and knew about me being a Horcrux."
"Oh, but Dumbledore did know about you being a Horcrux, Potter, he knew the whole time," Riddle said, very much enjoying hearing the thick emotion in Potter's voice. "And he always kept you on the sacrificial path, even to this day. Not only did he dump you with those filthy Muggles who had both physically and emotionally abused you, but he kept you ignorant of the Magical World, your heritage and your family. The less you know about the Magical World, your heritage and your family, the easier it is for you to become the sacrificial martyr needed to kill me."
Harry truly didn't want to believe what Riddle was saying about him being a sacrificial martyr, but since the latter is still under the Truth Potion, every word is the truth…and it's very much scaring him.
"Dumbledore also ensured you, Potter, to become friends with the Weasleys who hinder your education to a mediocre level and take Divination to listen about your death numerous times," Riddle continued, making Harry become more horrified and scared than before. The Weasleys had been his favorite family after meeting them…and they had been hindering his education for the last three years? Why would they do that? "Let's not forget about your 'adventures' at Hogwarts. They were never real to begin with, Potter, they were only tests to see if you really are a hero like everyone else said about you. Well, rather a unthinking pawn who will just charge into battles or situations without a plan, which is a priority of being sorted in Gryffindor."
Riddle then let out a high cold laugh. It's time to add the final nail to the coffin. "How does it feel, Potter? That your whole empty life, which began after I made you my Horcrux, was nothing more than fake and a big lie? How do you feel you were only raised to die as both a vessel and a sacrificial martyr instead of a happy life like your real mother wanted? How do you feel now, Potter, that Dumbledore only cared about his weapon instead of you?"
Harry was completely and utterly stunned at the revelations Riddle just said, making him take another few steps backwards. He wanted to believe every word was a lie, but due to being under the Truth Potion that always reveals the truth, no matter how hard you tried to deny…they were all real.
Every single word was real.
Harry had been raised to die as both a Horcrux vessel and a sacrificial martyr to kill the Dark Lord instead of being raised happily, he had been both physically and emotionally abused by those filthy Muggles, he didn't know anything about his family, his heritage or the Magical World, despite his best efforts to learn much, his friendship with the Weasleys were nothing but fake in order to hinder his education – was Hermione's friendship a fake as well? – and his 'adventures' had been tests, not real, for him to become an unthinking pawn who will charge into battles or situations without a plan.
Every single thing Harry did at Hogwarts…had been nothing but fake and a huge lie.
Harry wasn't aware of the tears streaming heavily down his face, nor falling onto his knees as if he had just lost someone he cared about before placing his hands on the ground, the tears dropping downwards. All he could think about is the revelations Riddle said about him being a Horcrux vessel and a sacrificial martyr.
It wasn't fair. Not fair at all.
Harry should be having a normal teenage life, thinking about Quidditch, partying, girls and other things, not worry about a delusional rabid animal who wants to kill him for revenge after what happened on October 31, 1981. But no, thanks to Dumbledore, Harry had to lose his family, his childhood and his innocence to become the sacrificial martyr needed to kill Voldemort once and for all.
With Riddle's revelations and Dumbledore's betrayal running through his head, Harry did the only thing he could do at that moment.
Harry let out a loud anguished scream as he continued to sob heavily on the ground.
And done! That's the ending of the part chapter! I had wanted to write more and actually finish the chapter, but I decided to end it there because I wanted to get a new chapter posted, even if it is a part chapter. So, here it is, a new part chapter for you guys to enjoy.
Harry has finally learned he needs to die in order to kill Riddle, so his reaction was exactly how I'd imagine. I wonder how everyone else back at Hogwarts is going to take the news, especially Esdeath, who would no doubt become very angry and possibly try to murder Dumbledore. The very last one won't happen, but there might be a chance she could injure him greatly than before.
Anyways, here is a new chapter for you guys to enjoy and I'll get started on the next part chapter in a few days.
Write a review if you like this story and enjoy the chapter.