Albus Dumbledore sighed wearily as he sat alone in his darkened office and took a long drink from his goblet. How long had it been since Dumbledore had drunk this much? He honestly couldn't say, but given the events of the last few hours, Dumbledore would not be remiss in saying that he definitely needed a drink.

Right after Harry's 'meltdown,' Dumbledore had started damage control; immediately, he'd headed to his office and sealed the castle, to ensure that no students would be able to send any letters to their parents regarding what happened. All owls trying to leave Hogwarts had found themselves unable to do so and were redirected back to the headmaster's office; even with a large majority of the school being away for Christmas break, his office had soon flooded with dozens of letters within the hour from terrified students telling their parents what they had witnessed. Immediately following the event, Dumbledore had Flooed a friend of his who worked in the Ministry as an Unspeakable and asked that he come immediately. At first, his friend had declined the invitation, stating he was too busy; however, once Dumbledore told him what had occurred, the Unspeakable had all but come running to Hogwarts to examine the boy. The next thing that Dumbledore did was summon everyone back to the Great Hall with the pretense of explaining what had occurred when Harry Weasley attacked Blaise Zabini. Once he had done a headcount to ensure that all students and staff had reported to the Great Hall as ordered, Dumbledore had immediately drawn his wand and obliviated the entire group before anyone could even blink. Now, as far as Dumbledore was aware, the only people who still remembered what actually occurred were himself, Severus Snape, and the Weasley family. The rest of Hogwarts would remember only that Harry Weasley had attacked Blaise Zabini after the boy had made a disgusting remark regarding Hermione Granger. Taking another deep drink from his goblet, Dumbledore tried to ignore the feeling of shame that coursed through him at the thought of how he had betrayed his staff, men and women who trusted him and had for many years, now.

It was simply another sin that Dumbledore would have to learn to love with; he had so many, now, that he was often amazed that he hadn't yet been crushed by the weight of them.

As Dumbledore refilled his now empty goblet with more red wine, he looked over to where his Phoenix familiar, Fawkes, was sound asleep on his perch; a small smile played across Dumbledore's face as he listened to the quiet song that the bird was humming as it slept. Even asleep, Fawkes could feel Dumbledore's tumultuous emotions, it seemed, and was trying to help as much as he could.

As Dumbledore raised his goblet to his lips and took another drink, he squashed the feeling of guilt and betrayal beneath an underlying fact; Harry Potter, now Harry Weasley, had suffered enough in this life. Almost all of that suffering could be laid at Dumbledore's feet; it had been Dumbledore who had failed to recognize that there had been someone listening at the door when Sybil had given the prophecy of Voldemort's eventual defeat. And it had been Dumbledore who had stupidly sent Sirius Black to Azkaban without trial, thereby ensuring that Harry was sent to an abusive home for years.

That poor boy had been through enough suffering, perhaps even more than anyone should have to endure at such a young age, so if Dumbledore could repay a little of the debt that he owed the boy, he was more than willing to do so. A sudden knock at his office door caused Dumbledore to look up from his cup as Severus Snape entered with a sallow look on his face; while he may not have agreed with the headmaster's decision to wipe the memories of almost everyone in Hogwarts, he could at least understand it. Had the Ministry learned of what had occurred, they would have undoubtedly taken Harry Weasley into custody and thrown him into the darkest cell that Azkaban had to offer.

"Headmaster, the boy's family has arrived," Snape said lowly, "And the Unspeakable you summoned has finished his examination, he say's that he must speak to you immediately."

"Thank you, Severus…" Dumbledore replied wearily, draining the last of his cup and rising to his feet.

Nothing was said as the two descended the stairway and made their way down the darkened hallway; it was only when they approached the Hospital Wing that Severus finally spoke,

"You play a dangerous game, headmaster… And the trouble with playing such games, is that there is always a price to be paid at the end…"

"I know…" Dumbledore replied softly, "I will have much to answer for when the time of my judgment comes. But until that day arrives, I will endeavor to do all I can to make up for the sins of my past, especially to those who my sins have hurt the most…"

As the pair entered the Hospital Wing, Severus said nothing in response; his eye was focused on the bed at the far end of the room, surrounded by people. Multiple curtains surrounded the Hospital Wing, blocking the beds in which the victims of the schools' attacks lay, hidden from view.

Seeing them enter, a man in dark grey robes stepped away from Harry Weasley's bed and approached the pair, a serious look on his face; as he approached, Severus couldn't help but stare at the man who'd hardly left the boy's bedside for the last hour.

The man was tall and lithe, standing almost as high as Dumbledore, and had dark-brown hair that was riddled with streaks of gray; cool blue eyes gazed out from under heavy lids, and Snape couldn't help but shudder at the way those eyes looked at him, as though calculating Snape's every move and had already formulated a plan to counter them, before the potions master had even considered which moves to make.

"Albus… We must talk… The boy's situation is much worse than you led me to believe."

XXXX

Molly Weasley tried not to sob as she gently ran her hand across her youngest son's sleeping face; when Dumbledore had Flooed her and told her that Harry had been injured, she'd been frantic. She and Arthur had just returned from France the day before, having thoroughly enjoyed the gift that Sirius had given them, and Arthur had left for the Ministry to get started on all the paperwork that had built up in his absence, leaving Molly alone with Jaya. The pair had been enjoying a nice cup of tea when the Floo call arrived, and Molly had wasted no time in preparing to leave. After informing Jaya to send a message to Arthur about Harry, Molly immediately left for Hogwarts, only to find Harry unconscious and surrounded by the rest of her family, as well as a strange man in gray robes who was running his wand over Harry while muttering under his breath. Trying to discover what had happened had proved difficult at first, especially when Molly's children had all tried to speak at once, resulting in a confusing cacophony of noise in which Molly failed to understand anything that was said. Just as she'd been about to lose her already frying temper, a loud voice had echoed throughout the Hospital Wing, instantly silencing all noise, and causing several of her family to jump with fright,

"QUIET!"

Sirius Black had apparently arrived unnoticed while everyone was making a racket and had decided to shut everyone up the only way he knew how, by being the loudest voice in the room. The man who had been examining Harry shot Sirius a glare at this before resuming his examination while Sirius approached, looking torn between aggravated and worried.

"Now, let's try this again," Sirius growled, "Only this time, let's try one at a time…"

After carefully listening to her children explain what had happened, Molly couldn't help but feel afraid for her son. What could have possibly caused this? Was it a curse? Would Harry even live?

Throughout the entire tale, Sirius had barely changed his expression; only the sight of him clenching and unclenching his fists indicated his feelings. Professor McGonagall arrived not long after and requested the children return with her to their dorms, but they had all vehemently told her in no uncertain terms that they were not leaving until Harry woke up. The aged Professor looked as though she would have liked to argue but simply sighed in resignation, informed Molly and Sirius that she would return later, and quickly left.

Not long after, the strange man finally ended his examination and strode over to Dumbledore and Snape, who had just entered the Hospital wing; Molly had been unable to hear what was said, as they spoke in low tones, but whatever the man had said made Dumbledore pale considerably as he nodded at the man. Motioning with his head that he wanted her to follow, Dumbledore turned and left alongside Snape and the strange man. Quickly rising to her feet, Molly turned to her children; Ron was holding Harry's limp hand and staring at his brother silently, as though begging him to wake, while Percy held Ginny as she cried into his shirt. Fred and George had taken positions on either side of the bed, like guards, and were staring down at their younger brother with haunted expressions.

"Stay with Harry. Sirius and I will return directly. If your father arrives before I return, inform him I'll be right back."

"Don't worry, mum," Fred said at once,

"We're not going anywhere," George added with a nod.

Nodding in approval, Molly followed after Dumbledore, Sirius matching her step-for-step; neither said anything as they made their way to the headmaster's office, too absorbed in their collective worry for Harry.

As they entered the office, the pair saw Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, with his elbows resting on it and his hands clasped before him. Snape was standing in front of the window, staring at nothing, his hands clasped behind his back, while the strange man who had been examining Harry was seated in the chair in front of Dumbledore.

"If you would both be seated," Dumbledore said softly, "We can discuss what my friend, Saul, here was just telling me…"

"Now I remember where I know you from," Sirius said, snapping his fingers as he looked down at the man who was currently scowling at Dumbledore, "You're Saul Croaker, head of the Unspeakable Department! I remember you trying to recruit Lily back in the day."

A sad expression crossed Saul's face for a moment before he regained control of himself and resumed scowling,

"A damn fine witch, Lily Potter was… It was a true loss for our world when she died."

"What is wrong with my son?" Molly demanded as she took her seat across from Saul. She was not in the mood to discuss anything else but Harry and was unwilling to let the conversation deviate from what she deemed important. Sirius chose to stand behind Molly, his arms crossed over his chest.

"We were just about to discuss that," Dumbledore replied, "We were simply for your arrival."

"As I was saying…" Saul growled, clearly not used to having his time wasted, "Young Mr. Potter…"

"Weasley!" Both Molly and Sirius cried in unison, making Saul start slightly, before a sneer appeared on his face at the interruption.

"Whatever the boy chooses to name himself is irrelevant…" Saul sneered,

"I don't like you," Sirius growled,

"I don't care," Saul growled back.

"Enough!" Dumbledore snapped, slamming his hand down on the tabletop and causing both men to turn to him, "You will both cease this asinine in-fighting immediately! There are more important matters that need to be discussed than you two comparing the size of your egos!"

Albus' blue eyes flashed with power as the pressure in the office seemed to increase to an almost suffocating degree, as all were made aware in that instant how far Dumbledore's fraying patience had been tested, as well as reminded why Albus Dumbledore was considered by most to be the most powerful wizard since Merlin.

Saul's chair audibly groaned as the pressure bore down on him, making it appear as though the chair would break. Suddenly, the pressure disappeared, allowing everyone to take a deep breath of relief.

"Now, if you're both finished acting like children," Dumbledore growled, "Perhaps we can return to the matter at hand, an ACTUAL child who is in need of aid."

"Yes, as I was saying…" Saul replied, "Mr. Weasley is neither cursed nor in any immediate danger."

"Then, what is wrong with him?" Sirius growled,

"Are any of you familiar with the term Horcrux?" Saul asked. Instantly, the temperature of the room seemed to drop by several degrees as Snape, Sirius, and Dumbledore stared at Saul with various degrees of shock and horror; only Molly looked at the man in confusion.

"Are you saying that my godson…" Sirius asked in a horrified voice, "Has been contaminated by one of those abominations…?"

"What exactly is a Horcrux?" Molly asked, staring around the room in confusion; Dumbledore had yet to say anything, and that was worrisome on its own, but the look of revulsion on Snape's face made her worry all the more.

"Are you certain, Saul?" Dumbledore asked, "There's no doubt?"

"Please, do not insult me, Albus," Saul scoffed, "I have been an Unspeakable for fifty years, I've seen things you could scarcely imagine, and studied aspects of magic that would leave most in a fear-induced catatonic state. So, when I give my professional opinion on something, you can be sure that I know what I'm talking about."

"Then it is as I feared…" Dumbledore sighed, rubbing his face with one hand, while the other rested listlessly on the desktop.

"Wait, you knew this thing was inside Harry!" Sirius demanded, taking a threatening step forward, "And you never thought to tell anyone!"

"I did not know what it was," Dumbledore replied placatingly, "However, I have long suspected that Harry's curse scar was more than just that, that Voldemort left a bit of himself in the boy when he tried and failed to murder the child."

"Then you should have said something!" Sirius snarled, "You've not only put Harry in danger, but everyone close to him as well!"

"Loathe though I am to agree with Black on anything, headmaster," Snape said, finally turning from the window and facing Dumbledore. "I have to agree with him in this instance. If you suspected that the boy had such an abomination resting within him, you should have made someone aware. You've not only put the boy's life in danger but also his soul."

"Dammit, someone tell me what the bloody hell a Horcrux is!" Molly finally screamed, "What is wrong with my son!"

All eyes turned to Molly at that, and Sirius nearly chuckled out loud at the sight of Saul digging a finger into his ear to stop the ringing that had come from how shrill the Weasley Matriarch's voice had gone.

"A Horcrux, Madam Weasley," Snape said silkily, "Is one of the darkest and most foul pieces of magic that our world has ever produced. It is used as a means of making one invulnerable from death by literally splitting one's soul and hiding the piece somewhere outside of one's body. In this way, it makes the wizard or witch unable to die, even if their body is destroyed, because as long as that piece of their soul remains safe, so too are they from death's clutches."

"Dear Merlin…" Molly gasped in horror, her hands covering her mouth, "And one of these abominations is trapped in my son…?"

"Not just any…" Dumbledore replied seriously, "If I am correct, the Horcrux currently trapped in Harry's scar was placed there by none other than Lord Voldemort himself."

If there was any blood left on Molly's face, it promptly fled in the wake of this revelation, leaving her almost as pale as a ghost; the others weren't much better; Sirius had to grip the back of Molly's chair to keep his legs from giving out on him. Only Snape managed to keep his outward composure, though, on the inside, he was reeling; a piece of the Dark Lord's soul was trapped in the head of the one person on earth who could destroy him? Unbelievable! Did Voldemort put it there himself in order to negate the prophecy? Or was its placement purely coincidental?

"How… How do we get it out?" Molly whispered, "There must be some way…?"

"Ordinarily, to destroy a Horcrux, the container itself must also be destroyed," Saul explained in a cold, clinical tone as though discussing the weather, causing Molly to gasp in horror before falling almost listlessly into her chair.

An instant later, Saul found himself face-to-face with Sirius, whose temper had finally exploded, causing him to grab the front of Saul's shirt and haul the Unspeakable to his feet,

"If you say another word about killing my godson," Sirius growled, "I promise I will end you where you stand…"

Saul stared unafraid at Sirius, simply calculating the best way to negate this current threat when Dumbledore quickly rose to his feet,

"Sirius! That's enough! No one is talking about killing Harry, nor will we discuss such a monstrous act! I will not allow it! Now, if you would please release Mr. Croaker so that we can discuss what it is we ARE going to do to help the child."

The group watched in silent anticipation for a moment as Sirius seemed to physically struggle with his anger before finally releasing Saul and making his way back to Molly's side; Saul simply sneered at Sirius for a moment before carefully patting down his robe and retaking his seat.

"As I was saying before, you rudely accosted me, Lord Black," Saul sneered, "Ordinarily, to destroy a Horcrux, one must also destroy the container that houses it. However, there has never been a record of a human being used to house such evil magic. I will admit that in this instance, I am in uncharted territory, something that has very rarely happened in my career."

"So, what is to be done?" Sirius demanded, "How do we get the piece of filth's soul out of Harry without killing the boy?"

"I will need to do some research on the matter," Saul replied, "Perhaps even confer with a few of my associates in the Goblin nation, no one knows more about those abominations than those cheeky blighters. They view Horcrux's as an affront to life itself and have declared what tantamount to a holy war against the monstrosities since they were first created. I've no doubt that if we made the Goblin nation aware of what we've found, they will be more than willing to help us remove it from the child."

"Or they might instead decide that the best way to destroy it will be to remove Mr. Weasley's head from his shoulders…" Snape hissed, "Let us not forget that Goblins do not view life with the same sanctity that we do. Everything is a number to them, and if the cons outweigh the pros in this instance, they may decide that the easy way is the better way."

Molly issued a squeak of terror at that, and Sirius instantly pulled the woman out of her chair and into his arms as he glared hatefully at Snape.

"I very much doubt that will happen," Dumbledore replied icily, causing the others to turn to him,

"And you base that assumption on what exactly?" Snape asked with a raised brow,

"On the fact that Harry Weasley is a hero in our world," Dumbledore said at once, "Were the Goblins to kill the boy, they would find nearly the entire Wizarding World ready to storm Gringotts, and while the Goblins may love war, they love profits more. They will not willingly risk losing hundreds of millions of Galleons over the life of one child."

"In any case, I've instructed your nurse to keep the boy sedated," Saul replied with a shrug, "Until we can figure out how to remove the damn thing from the boy's head. We can't risk Voldemort's soul overpowering the boy's and gaining a new body."

"Agreed," Dumbledore sighed. "Since the term doesn't resume for another week, I can stall questions about Harry's whereabouts until then, at least."

"That should be enough time, I think," Saul replied thoughtfully as he rubbed his chin, "I'll need to start making inquiries immediately, though."

"Then please do so," Dumbledore nodded, "I will await word from you on what the best course of action will be, once you have gathered enough information to make an informed decision on the matter."

"Very good, then," Saul replied as he rose to his feet; giving the others a quick nod, Saul strode into the office fireplace and threw some Floo powder onto the ground in front of him, before shouting,

"Gringotts Bank!"

An instant later, he disappeared in a flash of green that made everyone look away with a wince,

"Now, I think the two of you should return to Harry's side," Dumbledore said softly, turning to Sirius and Molly, "Severus and I have some things to discuss."

"You'll keep us apprised of what is to be done?" Sirius asked,

"Of course, my dear boy," Dumbledore said at once, "The moment I hear anything from Mr. Croaker, I'll message you immediately."

Sirius simply nodded at that before slowly helping the almost catatonic Molly out of the office; once they were gone, Snape turned back to Dumbledore and stared at him for a moment with an analyzing glare.

"Did you know that the Dark Lord made the boy into a Horcrux?"

"I did not," Dumbledore replied at once, sounding almost offended at the accusation,

"And would you have told anyone had you known?" Snape hissed, causing Dumbledore to look at him in shock.

"How can you even ask that of me? Of course, I would have! Do you think me so cruel as to allow a child to have such an abomination trapped within his head?"

"I don't know what to think anymore, headmaster…" Snape replied, "We both know that Voldemort is not gone for good, that one day he will return. If you had known, would you have been willing to let one child die if it meant finishing Voldemort once and for all? For the 'Greater Good'?"

Dumbledore visibly winced at that, and for a moment, looked as though he had aged decades in mere moments, before finally answering in a tired voice,

"There is nothing good about sacrificing a child for victory… If such methods are what is required to win, then we've already lost. I freely admit that I have more sins to account for than any man should, but one I can proudly say I've yet to commit is to sacrifice an innocent child."

Snape simply glared at Dumbledore for a moment more, as though trying to see into the old man's soul to discover if he was lying; when enough time had passed, Snape simply nodded before turning to the door in a flurry of robes.

"Then, I will take my leave, headmaster… There is much to do if we are to discover a way to save Harry Weasley's soul from the clutches of the Dark Lord."

Left alone in his office, Dumbledore could only rest his elbows on his desk as he steepled his finger before him, his mind wandering to how he could have gone so wrong in trying to reach a young man more than fifty years ago, and shape him into a better member of their society. Was the darkness always there in Tom, or did it grow and build until he became the monster that was so drenched in darkness that he would willingly split his soul and put it into a child?

"How could I have been so blind to what he was…?" Dumbledore whispered softly; though no one would hear it, Dumbledore spent the next few minutes quietly sobbing at his failures.

XXXX

Author's Note:

I'm baaaaaack! It took me a while, but I finally got my hands on a new laptop, so I expect some new chapters as soon as possible to make up for how long it's been. I hope you enjoy this one, and if not, let me know what I did wrong so I can fix it in the next chapter. And as always, stay golden, ponyboy!