A/N: I do not own Harry Potter.
"I have to die?"
"This is preposterous! What's going on here Albus?"
"He's just a child!"
"Surely, there's some other way..."
"Everyone, please!" Hermione sighed and continued. "No Harry. You don't have to die."
"But Sn-uh-Professor Snape said that the vessel has to be destroyed beyond repair..."
"I'm surprised you actually paid attention Potter. You see, most of the research used by the Dark Lord himself to create those abominations were grossly outdated. Plus, he was too proud and egotistical to even consider that his knowledge was limited. He didn't even think about other magical beings' expertise on this matter."
"What do you mean?"
"Our history teaches us that Herpo the Foul was the first wizard create a Horcrux. But, the goblins had discovered them way earlier. In most cases, wizards use goblin-made items for such powerful magic. After centuries of research, goblins have come up with a way to extract the horcruxes from the vessels. They can be transferred to another vessel and be destroyed."
Snape paused for all the information to sink in.
"So, no Potter, you won't have to die. We have requested Wrackrage the Wise to come over tonight and rid you of the Dark Lord's soul. It will hardly take an hour and you'll be almost fine... No side effects... except..."
"Except what? What's the catch?" Harry's head filled up with horrible thoughts, ranging from permanent blindness to losing a limb. "Please Professor. Tell me... What will happen to to me after?"
Snape sighed. "I am sorry Potter. After the process... you will still remain a reckless dunderhead. I can't do anything about it." He slowly counted the seconds till the silence broke.
Three... Two.. One.
"Professor, was that a joke?"
"Where is Severus and what have you done with him?"
"Merlin's funny pants! Snape has a second emotion!"
"Alright! Alright!" Moody yelled. "The lad will be fine. Snape is just hilarious. And I have a bum leg. Now let's get on with the meeting... Miss Granger?"
"Yes. So.. uh.. there's one thing you should know. Transferring the soul from a horcrux has one limitation. The vessel needs to be similar. For example, if the horcrux is a spoon, the soul needs to be transferred to another spoon. If it's a cat, we need another cat... And..."
A wide eyed Lupin spoke up... "So, the piece of soul in Harry has to be transferred to another human being? How do we choose?"
"Well..." Hermione eyes darted towards the rat on the table.
Madam Bones addressed the room for the first time. "Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't condone such an act. But, these are dark times. There's no black and white. The plan focuses on efficiency. Once Pettigrew becomes a horcrux, we'll put him up for a trial. I will make sure that he is tried publicly, under the influence of veritaserum. He will most likely be sentenced to a dementor's kiss. Plus, this will clear Mr. Black's name. Then.."
"Really Amy... Mister Black? Why such formality? After all the snogging and..."
"Sirius! That was a long time ago. You were in azkaban..."
"Wrongfully imprisoned..."
"And you cheated on me with that ska..."
"What? Amelia! I would never..."
"STOP THIS CHILDISH SQABBLING AT ONCE! We have much more important things to discuss." McGonagall's tone silenced the room at once. "Amelia, do continue..."
"As I was saying... A dementor's kiss kills horcurxes. This will be a win win situation. Two birds with one stone."
"But what about Fudge? Remember how he instantly subjected Crouch Junior to a dementor's kiss?"
"Leave that to me. I will make sure that he listens to me. He owes me a few. Actually, quite a lot..." smirked Amelia.
Sirius's eyes were filled with hope. Finally he will be free... He will no longer be termed a criminal.. He will be able to be a real godfather to Harry.. Then spend the rest of his life wooing the witch of his dreams. Wait... Was it just him or was Hermione avoiding his gaze. He needed to clear the air with her about Amelia.
Hermione cleared her throat. "Moving on to the next thing on our agenda: The Daily Prophet. It has been printing rubbish. They don't want to hear our side of the story. But, they will print what their most famous journalist will say. Someone who is news hungry and looking for trouble. Someone who has no qualms about controversies..."
Fred, or George (you can never be sure about these two), scoffed. "And how will we do that? It's not like you have Rita Skeeter in your pocket..."
Hermione blushed. "Well, about that..."
She placed a jar on the table. In it sat a big ugly beetle. The kitchen went silent again.
Snape smirked, "My my Miss Granger. I never knew you to be an avid collector of animagi.."
A/N: Please do review...