Chapter 50: He Did What?
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It's a short one.
HP-BTVS-HP-BTVS
"Dumbledore is dying." Those were the words that gobsmacked Xander two days later. They were walking on the grounds. Moody had taken Xander out for a walk, wanting to give him the news away from anything that could overhear him talking to him. So, he excused the two of them from everyone else and off they went to the Black Lake.
"What? How?" he asked, completely floored by that proclamation. He stopped walking and faced the scarred man and looked at him with the look of someone who had been smacked with a fish.
"He heard you were looking for the Horcruxes and decided that he was going to go and find one himself. He got cursed by the one he found," Alastor said, facing his younger friend. There was bitterness in his voice, and he was saddened by the news.
"God damn it. Why can't that man just leave well enough alone?" Xander stated, pounding one fist into his open hand. He was beyond angry that the old man had put himself in danger that way. He should have taken someone with him. But no, the great Albus Dumbledore had to go it alone. At least Xander was sure that's how it played out.
"I'm sure he thought he was being helpful," said Moody, trying to stick up for his soon to be dead friend. Not that he believed that for a moment. It was just Albus being Albus.
"Yes, I'm sure he was," the younger man agreed sarcastically, "but he was just poking his overly large nose into places that it didn't need to be. Couldn't Snape save him?" he asked, wondering why the potions master hadn't done anything.
"He stopped it from spreading too fast. He's got a year to live, but he couldn't save him, no," the one-eyed man said, shaking his head sadly. It wasn't much time, but longer than it should have been.
"So, we've got a year to put up with Dumbledore's meddling. Gotcha," Xander stated, having less sympathy than Moody. If the old man had kept his nose out of it, then he wouldn't be dying.
"That's my friend you're talking about," said Moody, a bit heatedly. He might be mad at Albus, he was still going to defend him. "It was a Withering Curse. It will slowly kill him by withering his body from his hand to his heart."
"I am sorry to hear that your friend is going to suffer," said Xander, feeling bad for those that knew the ex-headmaster and the suffering they were going to feel. He felt bad for the old man too, in a way. No one deserved to feel something that painful. If they could die fast that was one thing, but to slowly watch your life drain away… that was different.
"It was his own foolishness that got him hurt," said the one-eyed man, trying to be pragmatic. However, there was a tinge of sadness in his voice.
"Still, you've been friends for a very long time. I'm sure this is painful for you," the yellow-eyed man commiserated. He had seen how a fast withering death worked, thanks to Ampata. It looked painful. He could not imagine how a slow one would be.
"And I will grieve when he finally passes on," Alastor stated, putting on that British stiff upper lip. He would grieve in his own time, in his own way.
"Let's get the crew together and find out how many Horcruxes we possibly have left," Xander suggested to get the man's mind off Dumbledore's plight. That and he really wanted to know.
"Alright, meet back at the 'house' in about an hour," Moody said, turning and heading back towards the castle.
Hpbtvshpbtvs
One hour later. The regular crew map back up and were sitting in the dining room of the 'house'. It was the only place big enough where the whole crew could meet, including Sirius and Remus. The kids were in their room, with Susan doing their homework.
"So here's what we know so far," said Xander. "We have the diary, the ring, the cup, and the necklace. Does anybody know how many times this man's split his soul?" He had told them that Dumbledore had found the ring, but not that he was dying. He'd leave that to Moody or the old man himself.
"I didn't know you could split it more than once," said Sal, having done much research on the subject since he had woken. He learned a lot and knew that you could now, but not how many times. As far as he knew only the insane would even try.
"I've done the Arithmancy," said Nic, knowing more than Sal, having known a few people over the ages that had tried to use Horcruxes to gain immortality, "and he can't split it more than six times." That was the magical number after all. If he tried for thirteen, then he'd be dead forever. The soul couldn't be split that many times. There'd be nothing left.
"So, you're saying the only one left is Harry?" Joyce asked, hoping it was true. Not that she liked the thought that Harry was a Horcrux, but it would make life easier for all of them.
"No, I think Harry was a fluke. Like something that was fated to happen. I don't think he's a true Horcrux, more like a partial one. I think Riddle split his soul twice more," Flamel elaborated, tapping his chin thoughtfully and then nodding his head decisively as if doing calculations in his head.
"Okay, so we have two more to look for, is what you're saying?" Xander said, running a hand down his face. He didn't like that idea at all. That meant that they were only three quarters of the way done. "Any ideas what they might be?"
"None whatsoever," said Nic a bit too gleefully.
"Any idea where they might be?" the Wolf King asked the room at large. He looked at everyone's face hoping to see some hope. There were a lot of blank and hopeless faces among the crowd.
"I have an idea of where one might be," said Sirius, looking smug. Like he had a secret that only he knew, and he was proud that he thought of it.
"Oh, and where's that?" asked Xander, nodding in his direction for him to share.
"Here in Hogwarts," said the ex-prisoner, with a flourish of hands.
"Why do you think that?" asked Joyce. She would like to think she'd feel if there was a Horcrux here, but there were parts of the building that were closed off even to her.
"Because that's where Albus wants us to start looking," said Remus, taking the wind out of Sirius's sails.
Sirius pouted.
"How does he think he's going to have you look here?" asked Xander, narrowing his eyes at the two Order members. He didn't like that Albus was plotting for his Order to infiltrate the castle to look for Horcruxes. "You haven't told him the defenses we have, have you?" he asked the four Order members at the table.
"We're in the planning stages of that now. And no, we haven't said anything about what you've set up," said Moody, holding up his hands in a placating manner. He knew better than to spout off on how Hogwarts was secure now.
"Well, why didn't you tell me about this coup?" asked Xander a bit hurt that they hadn't come to him first off. Oh well, he was learning of it now. Not that they were ever going to be able to sneak around the castle.
"Because there was nothing to tell yet," Tonks stated, her hair turning bright green. Like she was laughing at him.
"Oh, well moving on. Joyce, do you feel any Horcruxes within you?" Xander asked, looking at the embodiment of Hogwarts. He hoped to get it over with sooner rather than later.
"No, but there are still plenty of spaces within the castle that I can't feel much like Salazar's room. Rowena had a room, Helga had a room, and there are just places that are unfelt. You have to find those places to see if there's anything in them that can be hidden from me," she explained, making wide gestures as if to encompass the whole castle. It was hard to describe. They weren't blank spaces that she could point out, they were alternate dimensions within her dimension. Spaces within spaces.
"Do you know where they might be located at?" asked Amelia, eager to get started looking. She would take some time off work to do this.
"I know one of them is on the seventh floor. You might want to ask the house elves. I see them up there often enough, so I think they know where it's hidden," Mrs. Summers stated, knowing that the elves had a secret room up there. She didn't know what they did up there, but they went there every summer and sometimes during the year. She never asked, and just left them to it.
"That's actually a very good suggestion," said Xander, rubbing his chin in thought as ideas filled his head.
"I think Helga's is outside somewhere in the Forbidden Forest, so I don't think that would do you any good," Joyce stated, thinking that if it was in the woods, then it wouldn't be found.
"What about Godric's?" Remus asked, leaning forward to hear the answer. He was a consummate Gryffindor.
"His was his hat," Sal said, smugly. He winked at his all but blood brother.
"That's right," said Rick. "Mine is inside my hat." He glared at his brother for spilling his secret.
"Is there anything in there we should be concerned about?" asked Sal, making a mocking posture, like there might be porn or something in the hat.
"Only your bloody sword," the hat stated, pointing a finger at the Slytherin.
"You still have my sword, you bastard. Why haven't you given it back to me?" Sal asked, standing and holding out his hands in a strangling gesture. Like he was going to choke his brother.
"You never asked for it," Rick said with a smirk, knowing Sal couldn't hurt him.
"Well, give it back to me now."
"Boys," said Joyce in that tone that told them to sit down and shut up.
"Yes, Mum," said the two men. Sal sat down sullenly, he folded his arms and sulked.
"You can play this game later. Right now, we need to discuss the Horcruxes," she said, chastising them for playing during a serious meeting.
"So, we have an idea of where one might be, where might be other be?" Xander asked, getting them back on track. He already had plans on tackling the seventh floor.
"Albus thinks that it's his snake," said Tonks, her hair turning purple, a deep eggplant purple.
"That actually makes quite a lot of sense and it's going to be quite hard to get to it," Moody said, seeing the planning in that. A snake could defend itself and Voldy could talk to it. It could move out of danger as well. There were quite a few reasons that it was logical to have something that he could control and be loyal to him as his Horcrux.
"Well, we could somehow have Snape get to it," Sirius asked, thinking the spy could do the deed. He had no love lost on Snape and if the man died trying to kill the animal, no loss.
"How are we going to do that?" asked Amelia, jotting down everything they were saying. She was going to have to see if the Unspeakables knew anything. They might have some insight.
"I don't know. Trick him into it," the dogman said in exasperation.
"Don't you worry yourself about that, lad. I'll do what I can to get him to do it," said Moody. He held a few blackmail things over Snape, the main one being his abuse of the children of Hogwarts. Sure, Dumbledore had gotten him off on the charges, but Moody had other evidence and he had the power to have him rearrested, or he could just make him disappear.
"Oi, what do you want me to do?" asked Spike, who had been silent the whole time and was now bored and upset that he was not the center of attention. He thought he'd gone long enough without being noticed.
"I want you to keep capturing the Death Eaters. The less competition we have at the apex of the war the better," Xander said, nodding to the vampire. It is what Spike did best. He was like a shadow out there. The Death Eaters never saw him coming.
"I can do that," said Spike, preening at the attention. He was good, and he knew it.
"Right. So, I'll get with Dobby and see what we can find out about the seventh floor. The rest of you? Just do what you been doing and see what we can brainstorm about the blasted snake. Spike will continue what he's doing. And that's that. Hopefully the war will be over soon. If I need your help, I'll give you a holler."
"Alright, Xander," said many of them.
With that the group broke up and went about their separate ways and Xander went to the seventh floor to find the secret room of Rowena Ravenclaw.
Hpbtvshpbtvs
"Wolfy Kingy is calling Dobby?" the elf asked as he popped in. He was wearing a Hogwarts tea towel, but there were socks on his feet. They were colorful socks like they had been knitted by a colorblind granny.
"Yeah, Dobby, I hear there's a room up here that the Hogwarts' elves use. Do you know where it is?" Xander asked, looking at a painting of a man trying to teach trolls to dance. "And I've told you before, call me Xander."
"Yes, Wolfy Xander, there is being the Come and Go room that the Hogwarts' elves bes using for lost and found. Mostly lost," Dobby said, pointing to the blank wall opposite them.
"How do I find it?" the yellow-eyed man asked, going to the wall and feeling around like there was a trip wire or depression to push.
"Yous must be pacing back and forth three times, thinking about what you need. Yous needs to be finding something, so you thinks about finding something," Dobby explained mimicking doing just that.
"I can do that," Xander said and did as instructed. He had a clear picture in his head of looking for a Horcrux. However, since he didn't know what he was looking for, it wasn't as clear as it could be, only that he was searching for something.
On the third pass a door appeared. It was a tall wooden one with brass brackets. Xander opened the door and looked inside. He quickly closed it and leaned against it. "I'm going to need help," he said, opening the door again and sighing.
"The elvies can help," Dobby offered, bouncing up and down. He was eager to help, and he was sure the other elves would too.
"No. Thanks, Dobby, but I don't want you guys around these things," Xander said, shaking his head. He was thinking of who he could call to him. Spike was out, he was asleep. Moody, Remus, Joyce and Sirius were all available right now. Everyone else was in class or at work. So, he sent off a note with Dobby for them to come to him.
It took twenty minutes for all four of them to come, but once they were all gathered, he told them what he'd found. He opened the door wide, and they all stared.
"Bloody hell," Sirius said, staring wide-eyed at the mounds and mounds of junk and treasure that was behind the door.
The room was as big as a football field or two, it was hard to tell, given they couldn't see past the first few piles of stuff. But it went on as far as the eye could see. Everything one could imagine was there, even the kitchen sink. The piles were as high as a small mountain.
"How are we going to find anything in this?" Xander whined, moving to enter the room.
"There is the Point Me spell," Remus suggested, pulling out his wand.
"How does that work?" Xander asked, interested in seeing it done.
Remus placed his wand in his hand, cast the spell to find the Horcrux, and watched as the wand spun on his hand. It twirled for a few seconds then stopped and pointed northwest. "It's that way," he said unnecessarily.
"Well, let's go that way," Xander said, cheerfully.
They walked for five minutes and didn't find anything that radiated dark magic. So they walked for ten minutes more. Then they cast the spell again and the wand pointed behind them. They had gone too far. So, they backtracked. They were going over every item that looked suspect. Five minutes later they cast the spell again and this time the wand pointed west. They moved in that direction and soon enough came upon a bust with a diadem.
"That's it," Sirius said, feeling the evil emitting off the thing. "It feels just like the locket," he said, shuddering.
"Is it the bust or the crown thingy?" Xander asked, looking at them both with a gimlet eye. You never know with evil things. He remembered some of the weird things that turned out to be dark in his old world. For one, candy. Who messed with the sanctity of candy? That crazy sorcerer that's who. Ethan Rayne was a bastard who worshiped Chaos. He didn't care what he used to mess with people. So, it could be the bust, even if Xander was sure it was the crown thingy.
"The tiara," Remus said with a rolling of his eyes. He knew his Conri was smarter than this. He just liked to play dumb.
"How do we get rid of it?" was the next question from the yellow-eyed man.
"I can destroy it with fiendfyre," Sirius offered, readying his wand.
"No, the goblins can save the crown," Xander said, suddenly remembering they could do that. "Dobby," he called.
"Yes, Wolfy Xander," the elf said, popping in.
"Could you find me a box for that thing?" he asked, pointing to the diadem.
"Dobby can," Dobby said, snapping his fingers and suddenly he was holding a lead box. It was large enough to hold the bust too.
"Thanks, Dobby." Xander levitated the whole thing into the box and asked the elf to take it to Ragnuk. Dobby nodded and with a snap of his fingers he and the box were gone.
"I would like to clear this room," Joyce said, not liking that the equivalent of a junkyard was in her 'body'.
"We could use the students, teachers, and elves to do it. Make it a punishment, or a treasure hunt. I'm not sure which," Xander said, looking at the mass quantities of stuff laying around. It would take years to get it down to manageable. Even with magic.
"Let's start it as treasure hunting, then when it's down to just junk, detention," Joyce said, looking around and seeing lots of jewels and other items of value.
"Alright, rewards for good behavior, then," Xander stated. "But… only if there's a teacher present for those under fifteen. Unless it's one of ours," he added.
"Agreed," she said, moving towards the door. Moody, Remus and Sirius followed her. She was just glad she found Rowena's room. She was going to have to explore just what this room could do.
Xander took another look around and smiled. That was two more down. That just left the snake. That was going to be the trickiest. But he had faith they could do it.
That and Harry, but he was sure that could be taken care of too.