Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

...

Harry had been dreading this moment, knowing full well that it was coming as soon as he had responded to Susan's question in front of the majority of the school. Now he would have to answer to Amelia, Susan's aunt having been able to sense the tension between himself and her niece from the moment she had seen them on platform 9 and 3/4. The trip back to her home had been deathly silent and from the bags under Susan's eyes, Harry had known he would be interrogated the moment that he and Amelia were alone.

Now was that time.

And he was prepared.

"Explain!" ordered Amelia, not taking kindly to having seen her niece in such a state.

Harry knew there was no way to sugar coat the truth. "Susan asked me out yesterday in the Great Hall," he said calmly. "She did so in front of a number of other students and members of staff. I didn't respond with the answer she most likely wished."

"Harry, I assure you that my niece means the world to me but Merlin help me if you don't have a good reason for breaking her heart," started Amelia before Harry cut her off.

"It was for her safety."

Amelia found herself uncertain as to what Harry meant by that. Harry took the brief moment in time to walk over to where his trunk was currently sitting, opening it up and rummaging around in it for a smaller bag wich looked rather plain and ordinary. "If I find out that you're pulling my leg Harry..."

"Amelia, I'm going to show you some things which I discovered throughout the course of this year, things which if the general public knew would cause a great deal of pandemonium and chaos. I would ask that you swear yourself to secrecy however if the time comes, I hope that you'll contact those who need to know the truth."

"Harry," said Amelia sternly. "What is in that bag?"

Harry didn't say anything as he reached inside and pulled out what would seem like a completely ordinary diary were it not for the fact that there was a gaping hole in the center of it. It didn't help that it looked as if the diary had bled ink across the pages and cover. "I've often wondered why I survived that night," said Harry, placing the diary down on the nearby desk. "I don't want to even imagine how many before me had been struck by the killing curse but I know that, for some reason I survived. Not only that, but why a curse that is meant to leave no mark on it's victim left this on my forehead." Harry added to the point by reaching up and tapping at the scar that made him a household name.

Amelia merely nodded, uncertain where Harry was going with this.

"I don't know much about it but throughout both last year and this year, at seemingly random intervals it would hurt. Scars shouldn't hurt but again, this is a scar brought upon by a curse from Voldemort." Harry paused as he watched Amelia lightly wince at the name he had so casually tossed around. "For a while I thought the pain was brought upon by different people but I soon discovered that it was also reacting to items. Now, if you see a blank diary, what are you likely to do with it?"

"Write in it," answered Amelia.

"All well and good and I did so but knew something wasn't right when the diary opted to write back stating that it once belonged to one, Tom Marvelo Riddle. Now, it could have been something of a joke, technical magic that made the diary write back to me but that wouldn't explain the pain it caused in my scar. Why was I reacting in such a way? I didn't know who to talk to except the perpetrator themselves. I spoke with Tom and I started learning some things that I had no business in learning and I soon discovered just who Tom really was."

Opening the diary up and turning to a page that was not stained through with ink, Harry took an ordinary ballpoint pen and started writing down Tom's name in full. He then went about writing the anagram, drawing lines to show that all the letters were used before handing the diary to Amelia. She looked at it for a split second before her eyes shot up at Harry in a mixture of shock and need for him to continue. "Once I figured out who he was, it made sense to me as to why my scar was aching due to the fact that this thing was created by the same guy who tried to kill me. The only bit of information I managed to ascertain before I destroyed it was that Tom called his creation a Horcrux."

Harry had to pause as Amelia unleashed a string of curse words that weren't suitable for a child his age to hear. Still though, it wouldn't affect him nearly as much as others given his mental age. "My apologies Harry," said Amelia, trying her best to compose herself after her tirade.

"I'm going to gather by your reaction we're talking about some pretty dark stuff here," said Harry, doing his best to feign some manner of ignorance.

"You could say that," said Amelia. "A Horcrux is a most vile for of magic and notoriously hard to destroy. Which does beg the question, how did you destroy it Harry?"

"I drove the fang of a basilisk through the cover," said Harry casually.

Several seconds ticked by as Amelia took in this information. "Are there any other major hexes you'd like to drop on me at this moment in time?"

"I found another Horcrux and destroyed that one as well."

"I was being sarcastic!"

"And I was being serious," said Harry, reaching into his bag before pulling out Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem.

"Is that what I think it is?" asked Amelia as she marveled at the item before her.

"If you think it's an heirloom from one of the founding members of Hogwarts that was twisted with some dark magic then yes, yes it is," said Harry. "I found it in the Room of Requirement."

"So you not only found an artifact that magical historians would dream to get their hands on, you found it in a room which many students think is nothing more than a fairytale," summarized Amelia.

"Effectively, yeah," said Harry, plopping himself down on the nearby chair. Amelia swiftly followed suit, but not before going to a nearby cabinet and pouring herself a glass of Ogden's firewhiskey. "So, circling back to the beginning, so long as these things are out there then I, and anybody involved with me, are in danger."

"You think there's more out there," said Amelia as she took a sip of her drink. "Of course there'd be more out there. He wouldn't stop at two. The issue is how do we go about finding them?"

Harry couldn't help his ears perk up at a certain word there. "We?" he repeated.

"After everything you've told me, I feel obliged as not only the head of the DMLE but also as a woman who has a family to protect to assist you in any way that I can," said Amelia sternly, fire in her eyes.

"You do understand why I said that if this news was leaked to the wider public there'd be chaos," said Harry.

"If they believed it in the first place," said Amelia. "Many people would flat out refuse to believe that he'd return. Frankly, even with the evidence in front of me I'm struggling to believe the fact that he could very well be back."

"Perhaps not yet, but there is the possibility if more of these fall into the wrong hands," said Harry. "It also doesn't help that we have to consider how many there are and what they could be hiding in. If Voldemort managed to put one inside an item such as Rowena's diadem, then who knows what else he has polluted with his magic."

"That is a terrifying thought indeed," said Amelia, her spare hand coming up to rub at her eyes. "I'm going to have to ask a lot of favors from people I'd rather not ask favors from."

"Well you can take the diary and diadem as proof, there might still be some traces of magic that could be tracked from them," suggested Harry.

"It's a possibility that I'll consider," said Amelia in between sips.

"So perhaps I was wrong before," said Harry.

"Wrong?"

"Going back to the beginning, I said that I didn't accept Susan's confession in order to protect her. Perhaps it would be more simple to say that until this is rectified, I don't think I have it in me to endanger somebody else when I know Voldemort is still out there and still out to get me," said Harry.

There was a small 'eep' from around the corner as Harry had mentioned the name of the Dark Lord, causing a small smile to spread across Harry's face. "Come on out Susan," he said softly.

With timid steps, Susan stepped around the nearby corner where she had been eavesdropping from and looked ashamed that she had been caught. "Susan, how much did you hear?" asked Amelia fearing that her niece had heard far more than she should have.

"Well," started Susan, avoiding making eye contact. "I heard you Auntie when you said all those words that I'm not allowed to say. I thought that you were directing them at Harry so I came to tell you to stop but when I heard what you were talking about..."

"It's natural to be curious," assured Harry. "I will say though that this wasn't particularly something you'd want to listen in on. Some pretty heavy subject matter."

"Is it true...that You Know Who is still out there?" asked Susan, desperately not wanting to hear what she feared was going to be said.

"From someone who fought him, I'm sorry to say that yes, he is," said Harry.

"Fought him?" repeated Amelia. "What do you mean you fought him?"

"Well, I said before that not only items but certain people triggered my scar. Just so happens that one such individual happened to be possessed by Voldemort and was roaming around the castle last year looking for an object that would bring him back to life," said Harry casually.

Amelia meanwhile believed that she had not enough firewhisky in her glass at that moment in time.

...

Susan was, understandably, terrified.

After Harry had broken down everything for her, including how he had fought against Professor Quirrell the previous school year, she had excused herself from the conversation and retreated to her room. She felt as if everything was sane within the safety of her bedroom.

As much as hated the sheer thought of what Harry had been talking about to be the truth, from the way her auntie had been reacting to every word he had been saying Susan knew that it wasn't a lie. If she told anybody else however then they would undoubtedly think that she was lying. Nobody in the Wizarding World wished to even contemplate the fact that such a horrible person could still be out there.

Instinctively, Susan felt her knees press against her chest as she tried to provide herself with some manner of comfort. It did little other than provide a mere slimmer of warmth however as she did her best to think of the time she had seen Harry throughout the school year. It hadn't gone unnoticed near the start that Harry had been a bit paler than usual but nobody had been able to guess as to why. It also had been noted that Harry didn't attend Charms class with the rest of the second year students. Why Professor Flitwick allowed him to do as such was unclear but given what Susan had just discovered she could start piecing some information together.

None of it good.

Just from missing out on Charms, that allowed Harry to spend his time doing something else and she didn't believe that he was working on his Transfiguration assignments. He was likely spending the time learning things far beyond what their current year level permitted. Well, the current year level's curriculum at least. Her activities with Potter Club had gifted her with some knowledge and spells that many her age couldn't yet properly comprehend.

Harry however was probably using this bit of extra time he had to try and discover and locate these vile items that that monster had created. Then there was also the event that she had almost caught him doing over the Christmas break. She still was unsure why Harry had been brought in front of so many of the Hogwarts staff but now that she knew what she knew Susan imagined that Harry had been giving his report. Or perhaps, given the sounds she had heard, Harry had been demonstrating his own resolve to carry out the mission that he had set himself.

Whatever it was, it was clear that Harry's mind was on his education second and the ridding of You Know Who first. Harry had no chance whatsoever to be a normal kid like her and the rest of their peers. Perhaps that had been why when she had asked him out he had flat our refused so quickly. In Harry's eyes, he didn't have time to waste on a relationship. Every spare moment he had had to go towards ridding the world of this horrendous evil once and for all.

A knock on the door snapped Susan out of her stupor. "Can I come in?" asked Harry from the other side of the door.

"Yes, of course," stammered Susan as she lowered her legs to try and make herself look somewhat presentable.

The door to her bedroom slowly opened before Harry stepped in. "So...how you doing?" asked Harry sheepishly as he rubbed at the back of his head.

"I...I don't know," said Susan honestly. "What you said before, it's terrifying."

"Yeah, it kinda is," said Harry. "Gotta keep positive though, half the battle is mental strength at the end of the day. If you can't think about fighting him then you're never going to start."

Susan couldn't help but smile, knowing full well that Harry could have easily said his name but chose not to do so to not make her anymore uncomfortable. "How long have you known that...he...was still out there?"

"I never discounted the possibility," said Harry. "You don't become the most feared wizard in the world without having some manner of contingency plan in place. It just so happens that he had more than one."

"So we should all be afraid then," said Susan, turning her gaze to the side in worry.

"I wouldn't be worried just yet," said Harry, causing Susan's attention to violently snap back at him. "He had ten years to return but didn't do anything, whether that was because he didn't have the strength or simply couldn't do so I don't know. If the items containing him are as hidden as they must be to not so easily be stumbled upon, it could be decades before anything happens again."

"So we're just meant to live in fear?" questioned Susan. "If we don't know when he'll be back then we don't know how long we have to prepare."

"Hey," said Harry, walking forward and placing a comforting hand on Susan's head. "Don't fret about it, I got this."

As much as Susan wished to argue against what Harry was saying, she couldn't find it in herself to do so. It didn't matter that he was the same age as her with decades less experience than his enemy, the sheer confidence he radiated was contagious. Susan couldn't help but trust that when Harry said that he was going to succeed she found herself believing him without question. "Okay Harry," she finally said, struggling to give him a smile in response.

"So," started Harry as he took a protective step backwards. "With everything you've learnt, do you blame my response yesterday in the Great Hall?"

"That still hurt you know," pouted Susan. "However, given what you're dealing with, I'll forgive you."

"Why thank you."

"However," added Susan before Harry had the chance to retreat. "As you said, it could be decades before he comes back. I imagine that you can't prepare for him all of the time, you'd burn yourself out. You need to have some manner of down time. Harry, you might be trying to stop an unstoppable evil but that shouldn't prevent you from being a kid."

"Thanks Susan, I'll keep that in mind," said Harry, flashing her a smile before leaving her bedroom.

Susan smiled at the doorway, feeling as if she had just helped in a way that only she could. The two of them may not have been in a relationship but that didn't prevent her from potentially asking him out to Hogsmeade next semester.

...

The hour was late as Harry stared at the roof, his mind reeling over the gamble that he had taken earlier in the night. Alerting Amelia to the potential dangers out there was risky and while anybody could have believed he only did so as to not get in trouble with an angry aunt, it had been something he had been considering for quite some time. Given the position that Amelia held within the Ministry, it was possible that he could utilize it for his own gain down the line.

At some stage he needed to break into Bellatrix Lestrange's vault and he would rather not get hold of some of her hair to utilize in a Polyjuice Potion. The best possible outcome had Bellatrix still behind bars and not wondering the streets. Harry wasn't sure just what level of clearance Amelia could get within Gringotts but it was sure more than what he could.

As far as he was aware, the Locket was still at the Black Manor and would stay there until he went and visited Sirius. Destroying it without making a big deal out of it would be the harder part of that operation.

The ring was...somewhere. Harry didn't recall if Dumbledore had ever told him where he had originally located that specific Horcrux which made it likely the hardest to locate and destroy.

As for Nagini and the current crippled version of Voldemort, well they could be dealt with immediately.

Rolling off his bed, Harry was grateful that Amelia had granted him the use of his own private room. Consequently, it was highly unlikely that anybody would notice him temporarily leave the Bones residence on a swift mission.

"Dobby," he whispered before a pop announced the appearance of the House Elf.

"Yes Harry Potter sir," said Dobby as Harry reached into his bag and pulled out one item that he hadn't brought out in front of Amelia before.

"Are you up for the assassination of a Dark Lord?" asked Harry casually, holding up the basilisk fang that he had taken from Hogwarts.

...

Hope you enjoyed.