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"Bollocks to that Harry, I don't think wither Hermione or myself …" he paused to look towards Hermione, continuing after she smiled and nodded affirmatively to him, " … I don't think we need any more time to make up our minds. You are our friend as well Harry … it goes both ways. And it'd be downright rubbish of us to turn our back on you when you need our support." He paused before smiling at Harry, "That being said, apparently I'm smarter than you , because if I ever see Voldemort … I'm running in the opposite direction as fast as these two legs of mine will carry me …"
He was cut off as a laughing Harry closed the distance to hug him, to be joined a half second later by Hermione.
Eventually they all released the hug and found their seats smiling at each other, until Harry forced the smile from his face staring at his friends a serious look on his face.
"Ok then … what do you know about Horcruxes?"
Unsurprised by their lack of responses and confused faces, Harry nodded to them. "I honestly probably would have been more surprised if you had actually known anything about them. Horcruxes are an incredibly dark bit of magic and I think knowledge on them is incredibly difficult to find … even Professor Dumbledore isn't sure where to get more information on them."
This caused Hermione to look at him in surprise as he continued,
"A horcrux is … well its an object that a wizard or witch detaches a fragment of their soul into … essentially allowing them to become immortal, because as long as the object housing the soul is intact, the soul fragment is as well, which allows the individual to be tethered to the world even if their body is destroyed." Harry ignored the look of fear and disgust on their faces as he continued. "The horcrux is … among the most terrible of all dark magic as they can only be created after deliberately and willfully committing murder without any regret or remorse, an act which damages the soul. Right after the murder the caster then has to cast a spell which severs the damaged part of the soul and encasing it into whatever object the individual has planned to act as a container."
"The knowledge is so rare that the only other individual that I heard of having done this, was the person who actually invented the process over two thousand years ago … Herpo the Foul."
Harry was momentarily surprised by the look of recognition in Hermione's eyes as if she had heard of the name. He stared at her preparing to ask about her reaction, however paused when she shook her head and motioned for him to continue on with his story.
Shrugging his shoulders, Harry nodded. "But what is important is that Voldemort at some point learned how to make horcruxes and started making them in his youth … while he was still at Hogwarts … the diary … Tom Riddle's diary was actually the first one he made …"
Ron paled and looked as if he was ready to be sick and pass out, "That … that was a piece of Voldemort's soul …" he croaked out, in such a state of shock that he had no trouble with Voldemort's name.
Harry nodded slowly.
"That monster's soul was affecting Ginny for a better part of the year?" He almost growled out, before his face filled with fear. "Harry … is Ginny … alright?"
Harry paused for a second, not entirely sure if Ginny had been unaffected by the experience but while he had no idea what the long term effects of the experience might be on her, he remembered that she had managed to healthily grow into her own person and had actually been one of the leaders of the student resistance when he had been hunting down horcruxes.
Looking back to his friend he nodded slowly hoping to comfort him, "I'm positive she is Ron. Not only is she incredibly strong but we dealt with the horcrux before it could take over and while at the time Dumbledore might not have been entirely certain as to the fact that the diary was actually a horcrux, at least I don't think he was until we had our conversation earlier, he didn't mention any concerns over the long term effects to Ginny … although fi you want I can ask him the next time I see him. But for what its worth, I'm certain he's kept a close eye on her since we came up from the Chamber two years ago."
Ron nodded slowly still looking as if he was in a state of shock, so Harry reached out and clasped his shoulder, startling the red head who focused his gaze on Harry, "If you are worried Ron, we can try to get her help … although I don't know if there is any notes on what to look for. Since the only other documented horcrux was in Ancient Greece. But I'm certain she is currently and, more importantly, will continue to be okay."
Ron nodded looking slightly mollified, "Thanks Harry."
Harry nodded and looked to Hermione who was looking at Ron with a sympathetic expression that she managed to hide once Ron looked towards her, correctly assuming Ron likely wouldn't want the pity.
Eventually, after several minutes, they both looked to him, nodding for him to continue.
"After Voldemort graduated, he made several more and was therefore functionally immortal by the time he came to kill me, which was in response to having heard about the prophecy."
Hermione nodded slowly as she stared at him, "Harry … a horcrux … I've never heard of these things but from everything I've read about soul magic … I can't even begin to … I mean it's got to have been very dangerous … if even one thing had been done incorrectly … well it certainly wouldn't have gone well … is that what happened on the night he killed your … well … on the night he tried to kill you?"
Harry shook his head, feeling the swell of sadness, "No … it was my mum … she gave up her life to save me, an act of true and pure love, which was apparently some form of sacrificial protection, from what I read …" he trailed off pointing to the bookshelf behind Hermione, " … it was an ancient, extremely powerful, long lasting counter-charm which placed me under a form of magical protection … basically it was impossible for Voldemort to kill me after my mum gave … her life … to protect me." He finished as his voice cracked, so he took a deep breath to regain his composure.
Looking up he saw Hermione trying to blink away tears which were forming in the corner of her eyes.
"So when he tried to kill me … the protection from my mums sacrifice caused the killing curse to rebound. However, since he had made the horcruxes already he couldn't die and was reduced to … well less than a wraith … a mere shadow of a person. I'm not sure how long it took for him to recover to the point of being able to co-inhabit a body, as he did with Quirrell, but he's been slowly and steadily regaining his strength since our first year." Harry paused and shuddered at the memory of the sound of the nasally voice from the chair when he was talking to Pettigrew and Barty Crouch Jr. "In the end, that's the problem. It won't matter if we are able to beat him or how many times, he is killed … as long as his horcruxes exist … he's immortal."
Ron shook his head looking hopelessly dejected, "Harry … that's an impossible task, he could have picked anything … a bird's feather, a knut which he hid in a gnome's gnomehole, … a grain of sand which he dropped into an ocean …" he trailed off, turning to look at Hermione, having caught sight of her leaning forward and staring at Harry.
"That's the actual secret … isn't it, Harry." She said, her voice barely above a whisper. "You don't only know about him making the horcruxes … you know what they are … don't you?"
Harry nodded as he looked at her, ignoring the look of shock on Ron's face. "I do, Rowena Ravenclaw's Lost Diadem, a cup belonging to Helga Hufflepuff, a locket belonging to Salazaar Slytherin, a family heirloom – a ring, a snake, …" he trailed off, looking back and forth between them before shaking his head slightly, deciding not to finish the list, not wanting to burden them too much with the identity of the last horcrux, " … however, more importantly than just knowing what they are … I know where they are."
He paused and looked between the two of them, checking to see how they were dealing with all the information. Ron was staring at Harry as if he'd grown another head … although he was trying to be discrete about it, which under the circumstances felt like a reasonable reaction to the information Harry had just presented. As he looked to Hermione, he was met with a look of sympathy … although he couldn't help but feel that there was some suspicion in her gaze, and he wondered if perhaps she had caught his slight pause as he was listing the horcruxes and had determined that there was more than what he had said.
Eventually, she seemed to decide it wasn't worth asking or at least it wasn't worth asking at the moment, as she refocused her gaze on him, a serious look on her face. "So, what are your plans? Obviously, they need to be destroyed."
Harry nodded seeing Ron snap out of his stupor and refocus on the two of them as Harry replied to Hermione. "They do … or at least they will. That's part of what I talked to Professor Dumbledore about … although we both agreed we should wait for …"
"What do you mean?!" Hermione asked in an alarmed voice, cutting him off. "If you know of his weakness … if you know where these horcruxes are … we should get rid of them as soon as we can! What if he or someone else moves them or finds out that you know of his secret? We would lose the advantage."
Out of the corner of his eyes Harry saw that Ron was nodded at Hermione's argument.
"Like I had said, Voldemort didn't even trust any of his Death Eaters with the knowledge of what he was doing … otherwise there is no way that Draco's father would have ever given the diary to Ginny … and Voldemort is confident that no one suspects anything about his horcruxes, but most importantly Professor Dumbledore doesn't know of any way to destroy the horcruxes without also destroying the object they reside in … they are extremely resilient … and considering the … significance of some of the containers … I'm willing to give him a little time to look into ways to selectively destroy the horcrux without destroying the vessel …"
"HARRY JAMES POTTER …" Hermione almost yelled at him, " … that is possibly the most foolish thing I've heard come out of your mouth. Sure, it would be nice to be able to save relics that had belonged to the founders of Hogwarts … especially with the enchantments said to have been on Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem … but inaction could lead to the loss of our advantage, was this …"
Harry shook his head and tried to calm Hermione, "You have to trust me on this Hermione, I … personally agree with Dumbledore and think that it's worth giving him a little time to … to not have to kill or destroy the vessel." He ignored the look of suspicion on her face as she raised her eyebrows at him, as he continued. "Especially as there is no rush. But believe me, if there was any risk that Voldemort was going to change the location of the horcruxes, I'd be right there immediately with basilisk venom and fiendfyre to destroy them all … I'd be willing to sacrifice everything to make sure all the horcruxes were gone and someone would be able to kill Voldemort."
Harry looked to Ron who nodded and as such he missed as Hermione's eyebrows shot almost into her hairline at Harry's phrasing.
By the time he looked back to his bookish friend her look of surprise had disappeared and she opened her mouth, only to close it when Harry shook his head and mouthed 'later' towards her.
Slowly but surely she nodded and slumped back into her chair, staring at the fireplace behind Harry, deep in thought.
It was quiet for almost a complete minute before Ron leaned forward, shaking his head. "Blimey, mate, that's a proper load to take in." He paused as Harry smiled and nodded. "And you've been dealing with all that?"
After Harry nodded again, Ron let out a forced chuckle, "Merlin, Harry, so that's what you've been up to almost everyday you aren't doing homework or flying?"
Harry bowed his head in agreement, seeing that Hermione had leaned forward in her chair again was listening intently again.
"When I first came back to the castle this year, I suppose I was a little worried about what might happen at the end of the year, but then I found this room and started practicing. But not only for actual dueling but also learning different kinds of spells. I know Voldemort was probably one of the most accomplished fighters before I was even born and I have a feeling that it will take a little more than a good ole Expelliarmus to win a fight against him …" Harry smiled sadly as he saw the same look of shock appearing on both their faces, "… honestly as much as I don't enjoy the idea … I'm pretty sure this will only end in a duel between Voldemort and myself … if for no other reason than it is what he wants and not only am I unable to imagine him stopping for anything less, but I don't think I could let others suffer for me. So once I entered this room … I've pretty much spent every moment that I could practicing my spell casting, learning new charms, reading about new areas of magic, … just trying to get better. I don't want to rely on luck if …or when we do end up having to fight."
Harry was quiet as he watched as Ron and Hermione stared at him before they looked towards each other and shared a look.
Ron looked back to Harry and spoke first. "So, what do you want us to do? Where should we start?"
"Sorry … what?" Harry asked, confused.
"Well … if your plan is to eventually have to fight Voldemort, then I imagine you are going to have to fight your way through his supporters. As I imagine that by the time you are ready to fight him, he will have at least collected some of his old followers … if not already have started recruiting new ones. And while I have less than zero desire to fight him myself, I could at least try to buy you some time to get to him …"
Hermione looked to him proudly and nodded before looking to Harry, "I'm sure we could do more than just buy you time, but Ron is right, you know this room and you've already started practicing … where should we start?"
Harry was speechless staring at his friends uncertain where to start. He tried a couple times to start but each time the words died in his mouth before he was finally able to find the words. "Thanks … so … thank you … you don't need to do this … I mean you don't have to do … you deserve to just …"
Ron laughed as he stood up and walked over to Harry's chair, putting his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Frankly that's bollocks mate, and you know it. You know damn well that we have your back."
Harry smiled up at his friend, "Thanks Ron ... you have no idea how much this means … although I don't want to put you in more danger than you are capable of handling."
Laughing, Ron waved around the room, "Well then I suppose you better show me the good stuff, if you don't want me unable to handle what I run into."
Smiling, Harry stood and started towards a bookshelf before stopping and looking back to the bundle that he had set down by his chair when they had first entered. Looking back to Ron he pointed to a shelf in the center of the room, "Behind Hermione there, are books on defensive and protective spells, I think that's probably a good place to start … but do you want to eat first … it feels like we've been talking for hours and I did grab a bunch of food from the elves so that we wouldn't starve, probably even enough food to stop your hunger."
Looking back at the bundle for a second, Ron looked away quickly shaking his head. "Ummm … maybe later."
Harry froze, staring at his friend, an action he was positive Hermione had mirrored. "Ron …" he began, "… are you ok … in the entire time I've known you … I don't think I've ever heard you willingly turn down food, much less at a mealtime …"
Ron forced a smile onto his face, "Sure thing Harry, laugh it up … but after everything we talked about … don't think I have much of an appetite … don't think I'd be able to keep anything down …" he paused before an actual smile made its way onto his face, "… not saying that I won't feel like eating everything later … just maybe … not right now …"
With that, he turned and headed to the books that Harry had pointed out and began scanning the shelves for books to bring back and start reading.
Harry took a couple steps towards the shelf to point out the two books that he had found most helpful but once again he was stopped in his tracks passing Hermione's chair as he felt her hand clasp his.
Turning to face her he watched her stand and face him not letting go of his hand, which she squeezed even tighter. She stared at him for several seconds before her eyes dropped to look at their hands. As if surprised she was holding his hand she quickly let go, as if burnt, and looked away for a second, a little blush forming on her cheeks.
Looking back to Harry with a serious look on her face, "There is more? Isn't there? She said plainly, in a hushed tone that Harry was sure didn't travel far enough to be overheard by Ron. "There is more you aren't telling us?"
He raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?" He replied, trying to play dumb.
"Harry … don't do that. What aren't you telling us?"
He opened his mouth to try and deny it but seeing the look on her face caused him to shut him mouth and he only nodded. "There is more … but I can't tell you …" he tried to ignore the look of pain on her face as he reached out to grab her hand, "… it's not that I don't trust you or don't think you aren't capable of handling it. Hermione, I trust you more than anyone. You have always had my back … you've always been on my side … and even when I was angry at you for something, well I knew that deep down I was probably being childish and your actions were probably in my best interest …" he said as he squeezed her hand, bringing a little color back to her cheeks as he continued. "but I think that telling you … well at best it would be distracting and cause more worry than benefit at the moment."
Hermione released her hand from his grasp and took a step back, staring at him for several seconds before finally nodding her head. "Okay Harry … I won't push it. But you need to know you can tell me anything, I'll be there to help you."
Harry smiled appreciatively, "I know Hemione, and you'll be the first to know when it's the time to share."
After staring at him for several seconds longer studying him, Hermione shrugged her shoulders and turned to look towards the shelves with a small smile on her face. "So where should I start?" She asked her eyes betraying her excitement at the prospect of looking at the books.
"Well, I had told Ron that he could …" he paused seeing Hermione shaking her head out of the corner of his eyes, which caused him to look back to her questioningly.
She shook her head, "I'll look at those later, but it seems that you are confident that a way needs to be found to not destroy the vessels that the horcruxes are in so I have a feeling that what you are keeping from us is related to that, so I think I should start with trying to find a way to do just that."
Harry stared at her in shock as his mouth dropped open unable to hide his surprise, an action which caused her to look at him and smile.
"So … I'm right." She said confidently. "Are there any books here that I might find information about them on."
Harry was still shocked by Hermione's ability to put together the information, managing to come to a conclusion to look for more information on horcruxes on the books within the room, an idea that hadn't even occurred to him and he had spent the better part of entire weekends in this room reading. Although looking to the shelves where he had found the Occlumency information he tried to soothe his ego, reasoning that he had been focused on becoming competent at the skill and perhaps with more time he could have thought of that idea as well.
Slowly Harry shook off the shock and nodded numbly to his friend. "Hermione … you are absolutely brilliant. I think the shelf in the corner had books on magical artifacts, experimental magic, and dark rituals. Maybe something is there?"
Hermione smiled at his complement before turning around and heading eagerly towards the shelves.
Watching her for a second, a smile on his face, Harry eventually gently shook his head in joy, feeling optimism about their chances … as if anyone might be able to find something where even Professor Dumbledore had failed the first time … he had no doubt it would be Hermione.
He was jarred from his thoughts by a loud thud sound, which caused him to spin, finding Ron standing with a smile on his face in front of a thick book which he'd just dropped on to one of the desks in the room.
"Harry, this book looks wicked. I swear I just flipped through the pages and there is mention of spells that I've never even heard of before … not even from Bill. Honestly mate, if our classes contained stuff like this, I would have never been late, and I'd have paid attention to all of them."
Harry raised an eyebrow to his friend, who laughed in response.
"Okay … I would have been rarely been late and I'd have paid more attention than I had."
Harry smiled as he turned to head over and grab the book that he had been reading earlier about battle transfiguration, thinking about how impressed he was with how much Ron's attitude had changed when he heard a cough from behind him, causing him to turn back and see Ron who wore a guilty expression on his face as he looked up at Harry.
"Hey, Harry, I might be ready for some of that food you had mentioned … if you want to lay it out … after all I probably learn better on a full stomach."
Laughing, Harry turned as he walked back to the bundle and began unpacking the food, which Ron immediately began eating as Harry was placing it on the desk.
'Okay … maybe not everything about Ron's attitude had changed.' He thought with a laugh as he finished putting the rest of the food out.
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Story Note 1 – There have been a couple heavy chapters in a row – setting up for the future however the next couple chapters will end up being a little lighter, going to focus back on the tournament. Next chapter Harry will get called down for his photo where he will get to meet a certain intrepid journalist, requesting an interview …I wonder how that is going to go …
Story Note 2 – Expelliarmus winning a fight … Hmm Harry was definitely a little reliant on that one spell. I wonder if he will become comfortable with a slightly more advanced spell and that will become his go to …
Thanks to those of you out to those of you who enjoy my stories, I promise to keep updating the stories as long as you enjoy them, and a special thanks to those of you who have taken the time to leave feedback or reach out to me directly.
Author Note 1 – All feedback is welcome (hopefully constructive!) Looking forward to what you think! Once again, thanks for all the reviews and feedback on this story, I'm pumped it has been well received. Obviously, I love people telling me they enjoy the chapters (keep it up if you do) but I really enjoy the constructive criticism as well. One of the earliest pieces of feedback I got was that Fred/George dialogue was rough – so as a result I changed it but really like the way it is coming across now (a sentiment that seems to be shared by the readers as well). Also please continue to share ideas or requests as to things you wish to occur in the stories. I love the suggestions. And try to incorporate what I can.
Author Note 2 – I have started posting polls, having been getting really helpful feedback from some readers and thought I would make it easier for anyone to provide feedback on the stories they are liking without having to reach out directly. Thanks in advance for anyone who follows up.
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