Chapter 48: Back to Tom

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HP-BTVS-HP-BTVS

It was the next day that Harry came running into the living room telling Xander that he had another weird sensation of overwhelming feeling of anger that was not his. Voldyshorts was angry that his plan had not gone off last night. He was really pissed, if the feelings Harry was feeling were his.

"Voldemort is very upset," the young teen stated, coming in the room and sitting next to his mum. She took him in her arms and held him tight.

It was just Joyce and Xander in the room, everyone else was off doing other things, or at work. The other teens were either asleep or getting ready for the day.

"Are you sure it's him?" asked Xander. He didn't like this one bit. It didn't bode well that Harry was feeling the Dark Lord's emotions.

"As sure as I can be. I know it's not me," Harry said, shuddering as another wave of anger overtook him. He shielded his mind, and it went away. He was getting better at that. It was reflex now.

"We're going to have to address this. This is getting ridiculous. Let's call the regular players in and find out what's going on. You go and get your friends and see what you can come up with," the yellow-eyed man said, ruffling Harry's hair, hoping to relax the teen a bit. Maybe the two groups could come up with something to rid the boy of the emotions that weren't his.

"OK, Dad," Harry said, squeezing Joyce once more and leaving the room to get Hermione, Luna and Neville. Susan wasn't that close to them, and she wasn't privy to everything they were, yet. They would let her in, maybe, someday. But for right now, she would go and be with Hannah for the day.

Xander sent out a messenger Patronus and an hour or so later, Amelia, Moody, Sal, Ric, Joyce, and Spike all gathered in the living room. Xander was pacing back and forth, very agitated. It was a Saturday afternoon, and all the students were out in about enjoying the first spring like day they had in a while. Final exams would be coming up soon and there would be a crunch with homework, so they were going to enjoy the free day they had now.

"What's up, Xander?" asked Sal, looking at the man like he was a caged tiger about to escape and attack.

"Harry has had another session with feelings that weren't his," the frustrated father said, running his hand through his hair. "I want to discuss what can be done about it and why it's happening."

"This is very disturbing," said the ancient man with a frown marring his brow. He knew the reason why now, but he didn't have to like it and really didn't want to let Xander know without a solution, which he didn't have. Yet, he needed to give the man something. "I remember mentioning this at the World Cup, but we need to address this now. I have a feeling that it has something to do with the Horcruxes."

"You think my son is a Horcrux?" the younger man said, sitting heavily on the couch near Joyce and Amelia. Joyce started to cry and grabbed his hand. Amelia gasped and put her arm around Xander. Both women knew what Horcruxes were, and they were destressed that Harry might be one. As far as they knew the only way to get rid of one was to kill it.

"I think it's a possibility, not that I've ever heard of a live one. Then again, I was asleep for 1000 years so things could have changed," Sal said, shrugging his shoulders. He had been reading up on it for months now, but hadn't come up with any solution on what to do about Harry.

"Well, I've been awake for all that time, and I've never heard of one," said Ric, he too was concerned over what was happening to the Boy-Who-Lived. They would need to handle this carefully.

"Wots a Horcrux?" asked Spike. So, Joyce explained to him what a Horcrux was and how it came about that they knew about them. "And you call vampires evil," the vampire said. "That's downright disgusting, that is." He sneered at Xander like he was the one who invented the things.

"I couldn't agree with you more," said Sal, taking the vampire's attention off Xander and putting it on to him. "They are pure evil," he added, shuddering a bit. He was a sturdy fellow, but Horcruxes made his skin crawl.

"Well, now that we know what's going on, how do we deal with it?" asked Xander, looking around the room at all the people there. There was a forlorn look on his face. Not quite hopeless, but desperate.

"We hit the books," said Joyce, giving his hand a squeeze. She wanted to be there for him. It was why she had brought him here in the first place. He needed to stop the Dark Lord and keep Harry safe. She hadn't expected him to get so emotionally attached to Harry, but there it was.

"Are there books on this?" asked Xander, then shook his head. He really needed to get his head in the game. Of course, there were books on this.

"Well, there must be. Tom Riddle had to have learned it from somewhere. And there's got to be some here at the castle too, since he created his first Horcrux as a student. Remember the diary?" she reminded him, lifting an eyebrow.

"Shit," Xander said, shaking his head.

"That about sums it up."

"All right. Joyce, you and Minerva hit the books. Sal, you and Ric, also look into what you know about Horcruxes. Once you guys have found those books, get them out of circulation," he said, not wanting them in the school library any longer. If Riddle could do it, so could anyone else. He was not going to be responsible for any other Dark Lords learning their evil spells here at the school. He should have done it years ago. "Spike, you go and figure out from your new cohorts what you can ascertained from them. They might know a lot more than we can get from here. Moody, you see what Dumbledore knows. And, Amelia, see what the Department of Mysteries can tell you without telling them about Harry," the Head of Security said as he handed out tasks.

"What can I tell them?" the Head of the DMLE asked, taking out her handy notebook.

"Tell them that we think Voldyshorts has made Horcruxes, but we don't know what they are," Sal suggested, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Don't give them any information about the diary or Harry."

"I can do that, but they are going to want to know how you know," she said, making some notes.

"Tell them we heard it from a seer," Ric said, sitting up straighter. Like he had just come up with a great idea.

"I can try that, but they don't put much stock in divination," she said, closing her notebook and putting it in her pocket.

"Alright, let's break up and do what we have to do. Spike, Joyce, can you stay behind? I have some house business I want to talk with you about," Xander said, wanting to talk about some general rules and housekeeping things that most people talk about when they live together. "Amelia, I'll tell you later," he added, knowing she had to get back to work.

"Sure," Joyce said, even though she didn't live there, per se, she was there every day.

"Whatever," Spike said, slouching down in his seat in that boneless way of his.

The rest of the group left to go and do what they needed to do. Amelia went back to the ministry.

Hpbtvshpbtvs

Meanwhile, with the teenagers.

"I really don't like this connection with Voldemort," Harry said, running his hand down his face. "It's really disconcerting to have feelings that are not yours." He closed his eyes and reinforced his shields around his mind.

"I can imagine," said Neville, settling a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Oh, I know how it is," said Luna. "The nargles do that to me all the time." She got a vague look on her face, hearing something only she could hear.

"I don't know how you put up with it, Luna. That would drive me absolutely insane," Harry commiserated. He believed her when she said that she heard the nargles. And that they told her about the future. "You have any idea as to why this might be? Why I'm feeling Voldyshorts, I mean. Not why Luna is hearing the nargles," he added quickly.

"I've been thinking on that since our second year," said Hermione, looking at him with wariness. Like she didn't want to say anything. She didn't have proof and she didn't want to make things worse.

"Oh, and what have you come up with?" asked Harry, nodding his head at her in an encouraging manner. He trusted her more so than most anyone else. As a matter of fact, he trusted everyone in this room that way.

"I think you might be a Horcrux," she said in a quiet tone. She didn't look him in the face. She then manned up and lifted her chin and stared at his scar and narrowed her eyes like she could rid him of the vile thing with her glare.

"Oh, that's not good," groaned Harry, rubbing the offending thing. Yet, it did make sense. He remembered the diary and how it talked back to Salazar in the Chamber. How it had possessed Blaize. If his scar was one, then it would be connected to Voldyshorts as well. Dammit. "And how does one get rid of a Horcrux?" he asked, knowing he wasn't going to like the answer, given how they had destroyed the diary.

"Well, the usual way is to destroy the container, but I don't think we're going to do that," his bushy-haired friend said quickly. She reached over and put a hand on his knee and squeezed.

"Damn right we're not going to do that," said Harry, knowing that Xander would never let that happen. His fake hand drummed a rhythm on his knee as he tried to come up with a way to kill the bit of soul in his scar.

"We're just going to have to get with the adults and figure out a ritual and take that thing out of you," said Neville, nudging him with his shoulder. "There's got to be a way. Maybe my Phoenix tears will do it," he said with great brightness. Like he had come up with an epiphany.

"Now there's a thought," said Harry, sitting up straighter. He really liked that idea. There wasn't much that could go wrong with that. "They're supposed to be a cure all for everything."

"Speaking of which, Neville, have you tried curing your parents with your tears?" asked Hermione. She had always wondered that. He had been one for months now. She would've done it right away. It would have been the first things she'd have done.

"I did think of doing that," said Neville with a sad look on his face and in his tone, "but Gran won't let me." Then he got angry for a moment, only to get sad again.

"What? Why not?" asked Harry, completely gobsmacked.

"She's under the impression that I'm not really a phoenix. She thinks that I'm just a fake phoenix. I'm not sure how it works. She doesn't think I'm powerful enough to be a magical Animagus," the sandy-haired boy said, very upset that after all this time his Gran still had so little faith in him.

"Even after all this time and all the powerful magic you can do, your grandmother still doesn't have any faith in you?" asked Hermione, voicing his thoughts.

"She is very old and set in her ways," said Neville, trying to reason away her actions. She was his family after all.

"If I were you, I would just sneak into the hospital and do it anyway," said Harry with a mischievous grin.

"Oh, I plan on it," said Neville with a matching grin. "I'm going to do it this summer," he promised.

"Let me go with you. I have a plan," said Harry, that shit-eating grin still on his face.

"What kind of plan?" inquired Neville, not sure if he liked that smile.

"Well, ever since I started growing limbs, I've had this inkling that I can heal. I did it with Spike last night, it was just like it came second nature to me and I want to see how much I can heal without touching," Harry replied, leaning forward, like he was sharing a secret with them.

"Do you think you can heal my parents?" asked Neville, moving forward to hear him and to ask.

"I think between you and me, we can heal the entire hospital," confided the messy-haired boy with a conspiratorial wink. He did think that too. They were going to make everyone whole and happy.

"Should we do it overtly or covertly?" his friend asked.

"Let's do it under the cover of night," was the answer.

"Why hide it?" asked Hermione, really wanting to know.

"Because we're not exactly asking permission of the families," said Harry. While most people would be happy that their relatives would be healed, there would be some that would what them to do more. He didn't want that, or the fame that would come with it either. He wanted to do it silently and just get the gratification that it could be done and that he did the right thing.

"Oh," she said.

"Anyway, back to the Horcruxes. How are we gonna get this one out of my head using your phoenix tears, Neville?" Harry asked, looking at his friend.

"Injection," said Luna, surprising everyone. How does she know what an injection is? The magicals don't use needles.

"That's actually not a bad idea, Luna," said Hermione, tapping her chin thoughtfully. She was going over the ramifications. She didn't see any downfalls.

"Where would we get the needle?" asked Harry. He knew there wouldn't be any in the castle. Well, there might be one here in the 'house', but he doubted it.

"I can get one from my parents' practice. Dentists use them all the time," she said, like it was a simple thing to do. Then again, swiping one would be easy enough.

"But do you know how to use one?" asked Harry. He'd heard horror stories about bubbles and heart attacks. He didn't want to die over a bubble in his scar.

"I could probably learn," said Hermione, frowning thoughtfully. She too had heard those stories. She would research it before she did anything.

"I'll trust you," her friend said, leaning forward and patting her leg. Hermione was a smart person and wouldn't put him in danger if she could help it.

"Great. We have a plan. We'll get this one out of you and let the adults take care of any other ones that are lying about," Luna said insightfully. She was seeing things they didn't.

"What if the phoenix tears don't work?" Neville asked, worried that it might not be enough.

"Then we'll think of something else. Maybe basilisk venom?" Harry said, knowing that would work. Then again, he didn't want Slinky's venom in his scar. He might die.

"Won't that kill you?" asked Hermione, worrying her lip with concern.

"I'll have the phoenix tears standing by so we can inject the basilisk venom. And then inject the phoenix tears directly after the Horcrux is dead," Harry said, though there was a great deal of doubt in his tone and face. He didn't have faith in this plan.

"That's awful risky," said Hermione, looking hesitant.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take to get rid of Voldemort," the teenage boy said, firming his resolve.

"I think you should talk to your dad first," his bushy-haired friend said, standing to do just that.

"Fine," Harry said with a whinge in his voice.

"Do you want to go find him now, or do you want to wait until he's finished with his discussion with the adults?" Neville asked, knowing that the adults were talking about the Horcruxes as well.

"Let's go find him now while the other adults are around so we can brainstorm," Harry stated, going to the door and leaving the room.

"Okay," the rest said, following him out.

So the group of them went downstairs to the living room to find Spike, Joyce and Xander.

"Phooey, we were hoping to catch the rest of you too," said Luna as she crawled into Spike's lap, much to everyone's amusement. She was the only one who would get away with it.

"Well, you gotta us three. What's going on?" asked Xander, glaring at the vampire, who was glaring at Luna.

Harry laid out the plans that they had put together, save the hospital plan. As he talked, Xander's face went through a myriad of emotions. It also turned many different colors. From pale white to eggplant purple.

"Well, what do you think?" asked Harry, settling down on the couch next to his dad, with Hermione next to Joyce and Neville on a chair.

"I'm not sure whether to have you committed or turn you over my knee and spank you," said Joyce. She was shocked and appalled at what they had come up with. Then again, from the stories that Xander had told her about the Scoobies, teenagers did come up with wild plans to get things done to rid the world of evil. Some of the things that Buffy did just defied description. Like jumping through the portal and sacrificing herself.

"But, Mum," Harry whinged. He thought they had done a really good job of coming up with some plans.

"No, they're all good plans, but there's so much risk to all of them," the embodiment of Hogwarts said, raising her hands in defense of her words.

"What kind of risk can there be injecting phoenix tears into the scar?" Hermione asked, tilting her head to the side. She hadn't seen any repercussions.

"You have no idea what a concentration of phoenix tears could do to him," Joyce said in a stern tone. She knew the girl was smarter than this.

"Well, they're supposed to be a cure all. I mean, how bad could it be?" Harry asked in defense of his friend.

"You can die from drinking too much water and it's supposed to be harmless," said Xander, giving them an example of something mundane that can kill you.

"I guess," said Harry.

"I'm not saying that these aren't bright ideas," the older man said, giving them all encouraging looks. "I'm just saying that we need to step back and brainstorm a bit more. Discuss it with medical personnel and people who are a lot smarter than we are." He was going to ask Madam Pomfrey and any other healers that he could get his hands on. There were some goblin healers he could talk to as well.

"OK," said Harry, a bit despondent that they weren't going to do this sooner rather than later.

"Buck up, Harry, we'll get it done. Just not right away," Xander said, hugging the boy to him. He knew from past experience just how hard it was to wait for research to be done. He was gung-ho in his younger years too. He remembered saying 'just give me a target' many times. But Giles was one to make sure all the ducks were in a row, while he and Buffy would fidget and get anxious.

"Okay," Harry said, again.

"Amelia should be home soon, what say we watch a movie and forget this Horcrux business for a night? We'll come back to it in the morning," Joyce said, tired of all the tension. First it had been the foreboding of the third task, and now this. They could use a good night of a comedy movie.

"I can get behind that," Neville said, more than happy to sit through a movie and forget.

"Yeah," the rest of the teens said.

So that's what they did. Even Spike. They watched three movies that day and night. Sirius joined them for the third movie, right before the kids went to bed. He had come to give Xander some news, but he was told that all news was being held off until tomorrow. He shrugged and watched the movie.

"I'll come back tomorrow," Sirius said, when the movie was done.

"Please," Joyce said, giving the man a hug in thanks.

"Don't blame me when you say I should have told you sooner," he said, turning to leave.

"Why don't you tell Moody then," Xander suggested, thinking that might be a good idea. "He can tell me tomorrow. Or find Sal and tell him," he said, scratching the back of his head. He knew if it was majorly important then one of them would come and tell him, his day off be damned.

"Okay, I'll go find one of them," Sirius said, thinking that was a good idea. He whistled a tune and left the 'house'.

"I'm going to regret that," Xander said, watching him go.

"I'll make you forget for the night," Amelia promised him, taking him by the arm and leading him up the stairs.

"Goodie," Xander said, liking that promise.