There are several men sitting around in the locker room of a golf club after a round, showering and getting change for the 19th hole. Suddenly a mobile phone in one of the benches rings. One of the men picks it up, and the following conversation ensues.
(H-Husband, W-Wife)
H- Hello?
W- Honey. It’s me. Are you at the club?
W- Great! I am at the mall two blocks from where you are. I just saw a beautiful leather coast. It’s absolutely gorgeous! Can I buy it?
H- What is the price?
W- Only $1,000.
H- Well, OK, go ahead and get it, if you like it that much…
W- Ahhh and I also stopped by the Mercedes dealership and saw the 2002 models. I saw one I really liked. I spoke with the salesman, and he gave me a really good price… and since we need to exchange the BWM that we bought last year…
H- What price did he quote you?
W- Only, $60,000…
H-OK, but for that price I want it with all the options.
W- Great! But before we hang up, something else...
H- What?
W- It might look like a lot, but I was reconciling your bank account and …I stopped by the real estate agent this morning and saw the house we had looked at last year. It’s for sale! Remember? The one with a pool, English garden, acre of parked area, beach front property.
H- How much are they asking?
W- Only $450,000…a magnificent price…and I see that we have that much in the bank to cover…
H- Well, then go ahead and buy it, but just bid up to $420,000. OK?
W- OK, sweetie…Thanks! I will see you later!! I love you!!!
H- Bye…I love you too...
The man hangs up and closes the phone’s flap. The other men are looking at him in astonishment and derision. The husband holding the phone in his hand asks, “Does anyone know who this phone belongs to?”
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Nice conversation
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Gods always have reasons to smile
Let me come to the point directly without pulling your legs anymore. Gods smile for two basic reasons. First they find it amusing that why is it that their devotees are praying to them when their wishes, requests or expectations are not going to be fulfilled? Second one is closely related to the first one. Why do they need to pray when their wishes are going to bear fruits? Now it seems the answer to this mystery has only doubled it up rather than solving it.
I think the reader can suggest a better solution. Is there any taker to solve this mystery? Sky is the limit.
God is Faith
Gary's Diary: God is Faith
INTERESTING CONVERSATION
An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty.
He asks one of his new students to stand and.....
Prof: So you believe in God?
Student: Absolutely, sir.
Prof: Is God good?
Student: Sure.
Prof: Is God all-powerful?
Student: Yes.
Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him.
Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this God good then? Hmm?
Student: (Student is silent.)
Prof: You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?
Student: Yes.
Prof: Is Satan good?
Student: No.
Prof: Where does Satan come from?
Student: From...God...
Prof: That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?
Student: Yes.
Prof: Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything. Correct?
Student: Yes.
Prof: So who created evil?
Student: (Student does not answer.)
Prof: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they?
Student: Yes, sir.
Prof: So, who created them?
Student: (Student has no answer.)
Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son...Have you ever seen God?
Student: No, sir.
Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?
Student: No , sir.
Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?
Student: No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.
Prof: Yet you still believe in Him?
Student: Yes.
Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.
Prof: Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.
Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Prof: Yes.
Student: And is there such a thing as cold?
Prof: Yes.
Student: No sir. There isn't.
(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)
Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don't have anything called cold.
We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that.
There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat.
We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it. (There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)
Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Prof: Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?
Student: You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something.
You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light....But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it?
In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?
Prof: So what is the point you are making, young man?
Student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.
Prof: Flawed? Can you explain how?
Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God.
You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure.
Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.
To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing.
Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor.
Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?
Prof: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.
Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?
Prof: (The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.)
Student: Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavour, are you not teaching your opinion, sir?
Are you not a scientist but a preacher?
Prof: (The class is in uproar.)
Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain?
Prof: (The class breaks out into laughter.)
Student: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it?.....No one appears to have done so.
So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, sir.
With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?
(The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable.)
Prof: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.
Student: That is it sir.. The link between man & God is FAITH. That is all that keeps things moving & alive.
NB: I believe you have enjoyed the conversation !!
© Guru Sanket Biswal.
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice - Foreword
So the blog is now complete n we are all ready to start posting ... lemme start with something light ... I'll be posting my own version of the 7th Book of the Harry Potter Stories ... which I think is even better than the one by JK Rowling ... naah I'm just kidding ... nobody can write better than her ... Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows was actually the perfect ending to the series
Have fun reading :)
And so it begins ...
Friday, May 16, 2008
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice – Prologue
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice
Post 2 : Prologue
Prologue
He'd been on the run since less than an hour after he and Snape had disapparated from the borders of Hogwarts. Even though the task that had been set before him had ultimately been achieved, he had not been the one to achieve it. He had failed, and The Dark Lord had called for his head before he'd even escaped the school grounds.
Since then, he'd never stayed in one place for more than a week. He was currently sleeping in an abandoned house in the village of Staining, outside the city of Blackpool. He'd been here for 3 days now, and knew that he must set out again when he awoke.
His only thought was that he must get to Azkaban. If he could get there and free his father, one of two things would happen – either this noble act would allow The Dark Lord to forgive his weakness on the Astronomy Tower, or if it didn't, at least his father would be there to protect him, and they would go on the run together. He knew that at best it was an extremely flimsy plan, with both potential outcomes highly unlikely, but it was the only plan he had.
He had only the vaguest notion of where Azkaban was: somewhere in the North Sea. He wasn't yet comfortable apparating on his own, his Nimbus 2001 was still at Hogwarts, and the Floo network was of course being watched, so his only option was to walk. He'd been walking from Spinner's End ever since Snape had apparated with him there. And he still had a very long way to go.
…
Draco Malfoy awoke with a start. The disorientation that came with sleeping somewhere new every few days quickly evaporated, and he looked around to try to find the source of the sound that had awoken him.
"Draco…" a voice whispered from outside the house. "Are you in there?"
"M…mother?!"
"Yes son, it's me. I've come to take you home."
He got up from the cot on the floor that he'd been sleeping on. "Take me home…? I don't understand."
The front door of the house opened and Narcissa Malfoy stood in the entrance. She observed her son silently for a moment. Then, with a hint of sadness in her voice, she said "Your hesitancy has cost us dearly son."
Draco said "That is why I am running of course. How did you find me?"
Narcissa sighed. "That's really not important now is it?"
"It is to me. If you can find me, surely He…"
Her anger flared up. " 'He' has known where you were this whole time, my foolish arrogant son. Don't think for one second that He couldn't have killed you whenever He wished. Where do you think you were going anyway? Where on earth did you think you could escape His gaze?"
"To Azkaban. I'm going to break Father free. If anything can save my life, it is that."
Narcissa's lip quivered, and a single tear spilled down her cheek. "Your father is dead."
Draco stood in shock for a moment. "No… no… I've been reading the Prophet. It would have been mentioned….."
"The Prophet has more important things to report on at the moment. Your father was killed because of your error. And it is time for you to pay the price as well."
As she reached for her wand, 3 more tears spilled down her cheek. Draco's mouth fell open, as he stared back and forth from the wand to her miserable face.
"You… you killed Father." It wasn't a question.
She either didn't hear this, or ignored it. "Forgive me Draco. Another loyalty test from The Dark Lord, you see. It was either this, or he'd kill us both himself."
Draco's mouth slowly closed, and he discovered he had some tears of his own to shed. Under his breath, he muttered "I hope Harry finds him…"
Narcissa's own shock at hearing this was enough to make her wand dip down momentarily. "What did you just say?" she shrieked.
At the end of his life, Draco discovered a well of courage inside of him that he'd heretofore never known existed. "I SAID I HOPE HARRY POTTER FINDS YOUR MASTER AND KILLS HIM! I HOPE HE FINDS YOU SOON AFTERWARDS…"
Narcissa had heard enough. "AVADA KEDAVRA!!"
Draco's last thought before the green light hit him in his chest was "Harry… I'm so sorry…"
...
Narcissa walked slowly out of the house. She felt as if she might faint, but The Dark Lord was waiting for confirmation that his will had been carried out, and she would not keep him waiting. Dazedly, she turned back to look at the house, and pointed her wand up in to the air.
"Morsmordre!"
With the Dark Mark now in place over the house, Narcissa apparated back to The Dark Lord's side.
Minutes later and many miles to the south, Harry Potter awoke with a start. His scar was prickling painfully. Wherever he was, Voldemort was pleased about something, and for the first time in over a year, he had not tried to conceal it from Harry.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice – Chapter 1
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice
Post 3 : The Daily Prophet
CHAPTER 1
The Daily Prophet
Excerpt – THE DAILY PROPHET
August 7th, 1997 – Front page story
HARRY POTTER STILL MISSING
By Rhiannon Skeeter
It has been over 3 weeks since Harry Potter, better known to the world at large as The Boy Who Lived, or more recently, The Chosen One, has been seen alive. He was last seen attending the Weasley – Delacour wedding in Salisbury, in the first week of July, where it is rumored that several alleged Death Eaters were in attendance in disguise. Ministry officials have declined to comment on this last bit of information, though we were able to get a few words from one of them on the disappearance of Mr. Potter alone, under the condition of anonymnity.
"Master Potter has stated quite clearly on several occasions that he does not enjoy publicity, and never has. It is my opinion that he has simply gone into hiding to enjoy some privacy while he can. He'll be starting school again in the fall I'm sure you know, and we all know how little privacy he gets there."
Owls to Harry's muggle relatives in Little Whinging went unanswered.
Minerva McGonagall, newly appointed headmistress of Hogwarts, had this to say on the matter(continued on page 3)
Excerpt – THE DAILY PROPHET
September 9th, 1997 – Front page story
HARRY POTTER PRESUMED DEAD
By Rhiannon Skeeter
In a press conference rife with tension this morning, Rufus Scrimgeour, minister of magic, announced that they had received evidence which would suggest that The Boy Who Lived is no longer alive. When pressed to divulge what this evidence was, Scrimgeour would only say that it was compelling enough that they would be calling off all searches in England & Scotland for Potter's whereabouts.
Since the end of June, the ministry has had teams of wizards searching some of the more remote areas of the country, in case there was truth to the notion that Potter had simply gone in to hiding. This has been a most controversial decision, as many witches & wizards believe that the ministry could be putting their resources to better use. These teams of wizards will presumably be put back to work on the investigation into You-Know-Who's current location.
We caught up with one of Harry's classmates, Ron Weasley, after the conference.
"We're not giving up," said Ron. "I don't care if I have to search every inch of this planet myself. Until I see his body for myself, I'll not believe he's dead."
Ron's younger sister Ginevra was too distraught to comment. It has long been rumored that she and Potter had been romantically involved at one point. (continued on page 4)
Excerpt – THE DAILY PROPHET
September 12th, 1997 – Second page story
DRACO MALFOY FOUND DEAD
Draco Malfoy (son of former Hogwarts governor & notorious Death Eater Lucius Malfoy) , who was suspected to have played a major role in the DE break-in at Hogwarts earlier this year, and the subsequent assassination of Albus Dumbledore, was found dead yesterday in a house outside of Blackpool. Aurors had been sent to the house based on a report they had intercepted from the Muggle "police". Though they would not divulge what they had expected to find there, they would say that the body of Malfoy came as a surprise.
"We have no suspects at this time," said Nymphadora Tonks, head of a newly formed squad of Aurors whose sole purpose is to find the location of Severus Snape (see page 6). "Of course we have our suspicions, but as we have very little evidence to go on so early in the investigation, I wouldn't want to voice any of them."
Draco's mother Narcissa could not be reached for comment.
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice – Chapter 2
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice
Post 4 : Hermione's Conspiracy
CHAPTER 2
Hermione's Conspiracy
Cup…snake…locket…Gryffindor….Ravenclaw…
These words, even in the haze.
…
On the morning of September 10th, Harry Potter awoke in much the same way as he had for the past 2 months: with the sun shining into his eyelids and his mantra repeating itself into his ear by way of an old tape recorder.
Earlier that year he had discovered his grandparents' abandoned ancestral home in Godric's Hollow, and it was here that he had been hiding. Hermione had helped him to make it unplottable, and they had hesitantly made Dobby their secret keeper.
Harry got up and noticed the copy of the Daily Prophet at his feet. He glanced at the headline and chortled. The plan was working. He reminded himself to ask Hermione who decided he should die, and what the "evidence" was.
He read the article as he was getting dressed, becoming particularly amused at Ron's comments, seeing as how Ron was one of only two people (and one house-elf) who knew for a fact that he was still alive. In fact, Ron had probably been the one to leave the paper for him while he was asleep. He reminded himself to ask Hermione who decided he should die, and what the "evidence" was.
Cup…snake…locket…Gryffindor….Ravenclaw…
Once Harry was dressed, he reached over and shut the tape recorder off. It had done it's job for one more day.
…
It had been Hermione's suggestion that he disappear for a while, and he had agreed almost immediately. However, when she suggested that he use this time to relax and not think about Horcruxes at all, he had briefly thought her quite insane.
At the rehearsal dinner for Fleur & Bill's wedding, she had pulled him aside.
"I am going to keep researching them," she had said. "I want you to use this time to be alone, and not think about them at all. Relax and be irresponsible for the time being. Down time may be a luxury which you may not get for a while once this really begins."
"But…" Harry said.
"Think about it. If you start nosing around and Voldemort gets wind of it, he'll surely figure out what you're up to. Nobody will care what a muggle-born nobody like me is up to. This makes sense Harry."
"And if he figures it out anyway?" Harry asked. "It's no secret that you're my best friend. Voldemort's not stupid."
"I'll take my chances," Hermione said. "This is the best plan for now. Let him think you're off vainly searching for him, and I'll find out as much as I can. Then we'll start searching for them for real."
"And how exactly do I just disappear?"
She grinned sheepishly. "Ron helped me out with that one. You're going to apparate to Godric's Hollow tomorrow after the ceremony. Don't even wait around for the reception. Once you've disappeared, we're going to…" she hesitated.
"What!?"
"We're going to modify a few memories here and there. People will come away from this wedding swearing that they saw Death Eaters leaving it."
Harry looked horrified. "That's…. that's illegal!!"
"And necessary," she said, annoyed. "In one week, the entire world is going to be convinced that you've been kidnapped by Voldemort. You'll be safely stowed away for the time being, and I'll be free to research the remaining Horcruxes with relative freedom."
Harry grinned. "Breaking the law for the good of mankind. We really have been a horrible influence on you." He sighed and kissed her cheek. "You're the best."
She blushed. "Don't thank me yet. You do know that you can't use magic while you're away…"
Harry started to protest, than nodded. "It'll be detected. The ministry will find me within minutes."
She grinned. "Glad you understand. You're pretty much going to have to be a Muggle for a few months."
He nodded again. "I can do that."
…
Looking back, he had agreed rather hastily. Immersing himself back into Muggle society meant using Muggle money, something he had very little of.
He gave himself one final look in the mirror, trying in vain to fix his hair, and left for his job at a local bookstore, where nobody knew he was famous. Being a nobody was the best part of Hermione's little experiment, and he knew he'd be sorry when it was over.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice – Chapter 3
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice
Post 5 : A Long Expected Revelation
CHAPTER 3
A Long-Expected Revelation
Harry returned home that evening to find Hermione waiting for him in the cavernous Potter dining room. She had brought three books with her, and had laid them all out on the table.
"Hi!" he said. "I thought Ron would be with you."
"Molly.." she started, then blushed and caught herself. "I mean Mrs. Weasley is starting to suspect something. His visits are going to have to be less frequent for now."
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell her…" Or Ginny, he thought.
"No it wouldn't hurt, but it wouldn't help either." She said sternly. "If there was any way to keep it from him I wouldn't have even told Ron. He's a horrible liar, in case you haven't noticed." She studied his face. "The less people that know, the better. Mrs. Weasley would agree with me."
"Ok, fine. What did you bring for me?"
"Maybe nothing. Two of them are actually Muggle books, but something in each of them caught my eye. The third is… well I'll let you see for yourself."
Harry's eyes skimmed over the first two titles without much interest. His eyes came to rest on the third and he let out a small gasp.
The Noble & Most Ancient House of Black – A History & Genealogy
"Where did you get this?" he exclaimed.
She hesitated, then said "It was in the Shrieking Shack. I'm thinking somebody didn't want it to be found."
Harry gaped at her. "Just what the hell were you doing in the Shrieking Shack?" he asked, stunned.
"It was pure luck, actually. I was in Hogsmeade to pick up something from Dervish & Banges, and it dawned on me that it would be a brilliant place to stash a Horcrux. Voldemort wouldn't even have to try that hard to set up magical protection; the place's reputation was enough to keep people out."
Harry knew the answer already, but he asked "And did you find anything?"
Hermione sighed. "Of course not; I would have told you already. I did find a library on the second floor though, and it's definitely something I will want to investigate further. That's where I found that book."
"Ok… so have you read any of it yet?"
"Yes. Before I show you what I've found, I want to ask you: do you know what the names Sirius & Regulus have in common?"
"Umm.. they both end in 'us' ?"
Hermione looked annoyed. "It appears you've been paying as much attention in Astronomy as you have in History. They're both stars Harry."
"Ok, so they're both stars. So?"
"So….. Sirius is considered by many to be the brightest star in the sky…"
"This will eventually have a point, right?" Harry asked, sounding even more annoyed than Hermione looked.
"Do you want to hear what I found or not?!"
"Yes, ok, fine."
"Regulus is considered one of the brightest as well… but the third brightest is called Arcturus. Look up Arcturus Canopus Black in the index."
Harry grabbed the book and opened it, receiving a large amount of dust in his face as a reward. He thumbed through the index and found it – Arcturus Black, pages 456-457,460-472
"Skip 456 and 457," Hermione said. "Go straight to 460."
Harry found the page and saw that it was the beginning of a chapter – Notable Blacks of the 1700s. He began to read.
The Black family was one of the few pureblood familys to end the 17th century with most of their records (dating back to the 2nd Century B.C. at least) completely intact. Muggle persecution of wizardkind had been going on for centuries, and while most wizarding families knew how to protect themselves by the time 1600 came around, much of their ancient history and bloodline information had been destroyed by Muggle fanaticism before then. The Black family was one of a very few exceptions, due to the extreme measures that most Black patriarchs took throughout the centuries to inundate their homes with Muggle repelling charms.
Because of this, Blacks throughout the ages were considered the authority on protection from Muggles…
Harry stopped here. "Protection from Muggles? What's so difficult about that?"
"If you had paid attention in your history class, you'd know that until about 800-900 years ago, Muggles co-existed peacefully with our kind, fully aware of our existence. Between the first and fifth centuries though, a rift began to grow, and Muggles began to view our kind with unfounded mistrust. By the end of the 1400s, the majority of Muggles outright hated us, and many of them tried to have us wiped out. But even though this happened over a long period, it took a while for it to sink in with many wizard families, so for years our world had it's collective guard down. It's one of the reasons the ministry exists. Keep reading!"
In 1721, it was decided by the wizarding community at large that an official organization should exist for the sole purpose of keeping our existence guarded from Muggle-kind. This organization, known then as the Wizarding Heritage Protection Society, would eventually usurp the obsolete Wizard's Council and evolve into the first Ministry of Magic.
The first elected head of the WHPS, by a unanimous vote, was Arcturus Canopus Black (b. 1693)
Harry looked up again, but Hermione shushed him and urged him to keep reading.
Arcturus proved to be a worthy leader, as he was stern but fair, and well liked by all who knew him. But many of his ideas concerning the handling of Muggles, though well-intentioned, were considered too extreme in the eyes of many. For example, his introductory proposition to the society was to allow the extermination of Muggles to the brink of extinction, in order to indoctrinate the survivors and raise them as subservients to Wizards, much like house-elves. As many wizards considered this too ludicrous to be anything but a joke, it was almost unanimously voted down. Arcturus was not to be deterred, though.
In his three years as head of the WHPS, his proposed bills included: worldwide Muggle sterilization, feeding Muggle criminals to dragons, Wizard regulation of Muggle religions (especially those that had led the persecution of Wizards in the past), and the infamous final bill of his career, his proposition to grant selected Pureblood families the right of Jus Primae Noctis over the Muggles in their vicinity…
"Jus Primae Noctis?" Harry asked.
"It would basically mean that Muggles would be bred out of existence." Hermione said cryptically. "Have you read enough?"
"I suppose… I still don't know where this is going though."
Hermione sighed, amused and exasperated at the same time. "Harry, doesn't Arcturus sound like the exact kind of Wizard that Sirius' parents would admire…. perhaps enough to name a son after?"
"Yeah… but they didn't…"
"No. No they didn't. But maybe one of them had Arcturus for a middle name…"
Hermione paused and hid a smile as Harry worked it out in his head.
"Regulus…. Holy…"
"Look at the genealogy in the back. It's complete all the way through Draco Malfoy." Harry looked puzzled. "His mother, Harry! His mother was a Black."
"Oh… oh yeah."
Harry turned to the end of the book. There, staring him in the face in bold letters, right next to Sirius' name:
Regulus Arcturus Black (b. 1963)
R.A.B.
Harry sighed and collapsed into a chair. "O.k…. you found him. Now what?"
Hermione paused. "Well, that's something we're going to need to work out together, all three of us. But this is the best lead we've had; I expected you to be excited."
Harry chuckled. "Oh, I am. But knowing who R.A.B. is is barely scratching the surface. We've still got a long way to go; this just reminded me of that. I mean, how much does this really tell us?"
"It gives us a starting point at any rate. Plus, for what it's worth, it proves that Sirius' nobility was not a fluke. Even though he didn't know who you were, Regulus died to help you out…"
Harry became angry at this last bit. "Yeah, and in doing so he helped weaken Dumbledore enough to be killed as well. You'll pardon me if I don't feel particularly forgiving of him just yet."
"He had no way of knowing that would happen."
"I know. I still am not ready to let this particular bygone be bygone. Ask me again once Voldemort is dead."
"Fair enough."
Harry looked over at the other two books Hermione had brought with her. These two were brand new.
"Great Britain's 100 Most Haunted Places? And Unexplained Mysteries of the British Isles? Going ghost hunting are we?" Harry asked, confused again.
"Well, I started thinking. What would happen if a Muggle stumbled upon the cave with the fake Horcrux? Hypothetically of course, how would they react to the Inferi or to the mysterious green glow in the center of a lake?"
"They would probably think the cave was…" Harry grinned. "Haunted?"
Hermione beamed. "Precisely. Now, you said that the protection that was set up around the cave was meant only to keep out wizards…."
"But Voldemort probably wouldn't have bothered setting up any Muggle protection…"
"So maybe over the years some Horcruxes have already been found… by Muggles," she finished for him.
Harry was silent for a while as he thought about this. "Wouldn't it be so perfect…"
Again, Hermione finished for him. "If Voldemort's underestimation of Muggles proved to be his downfall. I was just thinking the same thing."
Harry smiled his first real smile in weeks. "Let's get reading."
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice – Chapter 4
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice
Post 6 : A Long Expected Revelation
CHAPTER 4
A Long-Expected Revelation
Harry returned home that evening to find Hermione waiting for him in the cavernous Potter dining room. She had brought three books with her, and had laid them all out on the table.
"Hi!" he said. "I thought Ron would be with you."
"Molly.." she started, then blushed and caught herself. "I mean Mrs. Weasley is starting to suspect something. His visits are going to have to be less frequent for now."
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell her…" Or Ginny, he thought.
"No it wouldn't hurt, but it wouldn't help either." She said sternly. "If there was any way to keep it from him I wouldn't have even told Ron. He's a horrible liar, in case you haven't noticed." She studied his face. "The less people that know, the better. Mrs. Weasley would agree with me."
"Ok, fine. What did you bring for me?"
"Maybe nothing. Two of them are actually Muggle books, but something in each of them caught my eye. The third is… well I'll let you see for yourself."
Harry's eyes skimmed over the first two titles without much interest. His eyes came to rest on the third and he let out a small gasp.
The Noble & Most Ancient House of Black – A History & Genealogy
"Where did you get this?" he exclaimed.
She hesitated, then said "It was in the Shrieking Shack. I'm thinking somebody didn't want it to be found."
Harry gaped at her. "Just what the hell were you doing in the Shrieking Shack?" he asked, stunned.
"It was pure luck, actually. I was in Hogsmeade to pick up something from Dervish & Banges, and it dawned on me that it would be a brilliant place to stash a Horcrux. Voldemort wouldn't even have to try that hard to set up magical protection; the place's reputation was enough to keep people out."
Harry knew the answer already, but he asked "And did you find anything?"
Hermione sighed. "Of course not; I would have told you already. I did find a library on the second floor though, and it's definitely something I will want to investigate further. That's where I found that book."
"Ok… so have you read any of it yet?"
"Yes. Before I show you what I've found, I want to ask you: do you know what the names Sirius & Regulus have in common?"
"Umm.. they both end in 'us' ?"
Hermione looked annoyed. "It appears you've been paying as much attention in Astronomy as you have in History. They're both stars Harry."
"Ok, so they're both stars. So?"
"So….. Sirius is considered by many to be the brightest star in the sky…"
"This will eventually have a point, right?" Harry asked, sounding even more annoyed than Hermione looked.
"Do you want to hear what I found or not?!"
"Yes, ok, fine."
"Regulus is considered one of the brightest as well… but the third brightest is called Arcturus. Look up Arcturus Canopus Black in the index."
Harry grabbed the book and opened it, receiving a large amount of dust in his face as a reward. He thumbed through the index and found it – Arcturus Black, pages 456-457,460-472
"Skip 456 and 457," Hermione said. "Go straight to 460."
Harry found the page and saw that it was the beginning of a chapter – Notable Blacks of the 1700s. He began to read.
The Black family was one of the few pureblood familys to end the 17th century with most of their records (dating back to the 2nd Century B.C. at least) completely intact. Muggle persecution of wizardkind had been going on for centuries, and while most wizarding families knew how to protect themselves by the time 1600 came around, much of their ancient history and bloodline information had been destroyed by Muggle fanaticism before then. The Black family was one of a very few exceptions, due to the extreme measures that most Black patriarchs took throughout the centuries to inundate their homes with Muggle repelling charms.
Because of this, Blacks throughout the ages were considered the authority on protection from Muggles…
Harry stopped here. "Protection from Muggles? What's so difficult about that?"
"If you had paid attention in your history class, you'd know that until about 800-900 years ago, Muggles co-existed peacefully with our kind, fully aware of our existence. Between the first and fifth centuries though, a rift began to grow, and Muggles began to view our kind with unfounded mistrust. By the end of the 1400s, the majority of Muggles outright hated us, and many of them tried to have us wiped out. But even though this happened over a long period, it took a while for it to sink in with many wizard families, so for years our world had it's collective guard down. It's one of the reasons the ministry exists. Keep reading!"
In 1721, it was decided by the wizarding community at large that an official organization should exist for the sole purpose of keeping our existence guarded from Muggle-kind. This organization, known then as the Wizarding Heritage Protection Society, would eventually usurp the obsolete Wizard's Council and evolve into the first Ministry of Magic.
The first elected head of the WHPS, by a unanimous vote, was Arcturus Canopus Black (b. 1693)
Harry looked up again, but Hermione shushed him and urged him to keep reading.
Arcturus proved to be a worthy leader, as he was stern but fair, and well liked by all who knew him. But many of his ideas concerning the handling of Muggles, though well-intentioned, were considered too extreme in the eyes of many. For example, his introductory proposition to the society was to allow the extermination of Muggles to the brink of extinction, in order to indoctrinate the survivors and raise them as subservients to Wizards, much like house-elves. As many wizards considered this too ludicrous to be anything but a joke, it was almost unanimously voted down. Arcturus was not to be deterred, though.
In his three years as head of the WHPS, his proposed bills included: worldwide Muggle sterilization, feeding Muggle criminals to dragons, Wizard regulation of Muggle religions (especially those that had led the persecution of Wizards in the past), and the infamous final bill of his career, his proposition to grant selected Pureblood families the right of Jus Primae Noctis over the Muggles in their vicinity…
"Jus Primae Noctis?" Harry asked.
"It would basically mean that Muggles would be bred out of existence." Hermione said cryptically. "Have you read enough?"
"I suppose… I still don't know where this is going though."
Hermione sighed, amused and exasperated at the same time. "Harry, doesn't Arcturus sound like the exact kind of Wizard that Sirius' parents would admire…. perhaps enough to name a son after?"
"Yeah… but they didn't…"
"No. No they didn't. But maybe one of them had Arcturus for a middle name…"
Hermione paused and hid a smile as Harry worked it out in his head.
"Regulus…. Holy…"
"Look at the genealogy in the back. It's complete all the way through Draco Malfoy." Harry looked puzzled. "His mother, Harry! His mother was a Black."
"Oh… oh yeah."
Harry turned to the end of the book. There, staring him in the face in bold letters, right next to Sirius' name:
Regulus Arcturus Black (b. 1963)
R.A.B.
Harry sighed and collapsed into a chair. "O.k…. you found him. Now what?"
Hermione paused. "Well, that's something we're going to need to work out together, all three of us. But this is the best lead we've had; I expected you to be excited."
Harry chuckled. "Oh, I am. But knowing who R.A.B. is is barely scratching the surface. We've still got a long way to go; this just reminded me of that. I mean, how much does this really tell us?"
"It gives us a starting point at any rate. Plus, for what it's worth, it proves that Sirius' nobility was not a fluke. Even though he didn't know who you were, Regulus died to help you out…"
Harry became angry at this last bit. "Yeah, and in doing so he helped weaken Dumbledore enough to be killed as well. You'll pardon me if I don't feel particularly forgiving of him just yet."
"He had no way of knowing that would happen."
"I know. I still am not ready to let this particular bygone be bygone. Ask me again once Voldemort is dead."
"Fair enough."
Harry looked over at the other two books Hermione had brought with her. These two were brand new.
"Great Britain's 100 Most Haunted Places? And Unexplained Mysteries of the British Isles? Going ghost hunting are we?" Harry asked, confused again.
"Well, I started thinking. What would happen if a Muggle stumbled upon the cave with the fake Horcrux? Hypothetically of course, how would they react to the Inferi or to the mysterious green glow in the center of a lake?"
"They would probably think the cave was…" Harry grinned. "Haunted?"
Hermione beamed. "Precisely. Now, you said that the protection that was set up around the cave was meant only to keep out wizards…."
"But Voldemort probably wouldn't have bothered setting up any Muggle protection…"
"So maybe over the years some Horcruxes have already been found… by Muggles," she finished for him.
Harry was silent for a while as he thought about this. "Wouldn't it be so perfect…"
Again, Hermione finished for him. "If Voldemort's underestimation of Muggles proved to be his downfall. I was just thinking the same thing."
Harry smiled his first real smile in weeks. "Let's get reading."
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice – Chapter 5
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice
Post 7 : Lupin's Gambit
CHAPTER 5
Lupin's Gambit
Ravenwood was a sleepy little village 12 miles inland from the eastern Irish coastline. Known primarily for it's dairy farms, it was the kind of place where only the most disreputable of people were out of bed later than 8 p.m.
At 9:30, in the town's only inn, Remus Lupin was just finishing off his third mug of butterbeer, and he was getting impatient. Three days previously, he had received an anonymous tip that Severus Snape, and possibly several other Death Eaters, were currently hiding in this town. The tipster had said to meet him at this very inn, The Grey Pilgrim, at 8:45 that evening.
Just as Remus was about to give up and leave, a lone cloaked figure walked through the doorway and motioned for him to re-take his seat. Remus could not see the figure's face, and very slowly brought his wand out of his robes. He would probably offend his visitor, but he was not taking any chances.
The cloaked figure got his Firewhisky from the bar and sat down facing Lupin. Lupin regarded the stranger warily. He still could not make out his face under the cloak's hood.
"I told you to come alone," a voice hissed from inside the cloak.
Lupin looked around in shock. How did he know? "I am alone! What makes you think otherwise?"
"The fact that you, Shacklebolt, and Weasley couldn't hide your thoughts from a first year Hogwarts student, much less from me," said the stranger. "Nervous thoughts are always the clearest…"
The stranger removed his hood. It was Snape.
In an instant, Lupin was on his feet, his wand pointed at Snape's heart. Kingsley Shacklebolt and Charlie Weasley joined him seconds later, from where they had been concealed at the other side of the inn. Snape regarded all three of them with an amused half-smirk, half-sneer on his face.
Lupin gritted his teeth. "I oughtta kill you right now."
Snape's grin grew wider. "Not a very private place for a murder. However, if you think you can get off any curses before I disapparate, you're more than welcome to try. But then you'll never know what I called you here to tell you."
Very slowly, Snape brought out his wand from his robes. The others tensed briefly, until Snape laid the wand down on the table.
"Take it Remus," Snape said. "Until we are done here. Then you may decide if you still wish to kill me."
Lupin spat on Snape's shoes. "Nothing you have to say will change that." But he took Snape's wand and sat down just the same. He motioned for the other two to join him. Snape tented his fingers and regarded the three of them silently for a moment, then began to speak.
"The secret of The Dark Lord's immortality is, at the moment, known only to 4 people. The Dark Lord himself, who acquired the knowledge from Horace Slughorn. Albus Dumbledore deduced the secret in the years before he died…
"In the years before you killed him, you mean?" Charlie asked angrily
Snape paused, a pained expression on his face. He then continued "…and had passed this knowledge along to Harry Potter. During my flight from Hogwarts, I learned the secret as well, quite accidentally. I pulled it from Potter's mind. It seems he was thinking about it a great deal during those hectic few hours."
Snape paused and waited to see if they had any questions. All three men remained silent, so he continued.
"Mr. Potter is currently acting on this knowledge, in an attempt to destroy The Dark Lord himself. I am here to tell you that he will not succeed. Not without my assistance, that is."
Lupin's head was whirling as he tried to make sense of all of this. "I don't know if you've been reading the news Severus, but Harry is dead! We're supposed to believe you have inside knowledge on him, when there's nothing to even prove to us that he's still breathing."
Snape was nodding through all of this. "A valid point Remus. I guess you're just going to have to trust me that I know he is alive." Charlie & Kingsley both barked laughter at this, but Lupin remained silent.
Lupin again pointed his wand at Snape's chest. "You clearly believe yourself to have the advantage over us, Severus. So prove it. Tell us this secret you possess and maybe you won't find yourself waking up in Azkaban tomorrow morning."
Snape looked down at the wand and frowned. "It would not be in my best interest, or yours, to reveal that to you right now. It's one of the few things Potter is doing right – researching the matter in secret. If I were to tell you, you'd start looking in to the matter and draw attention to yourselves. That would only assure Potter's failure."
Kingsley stood up and also pointed his wand at Snape's chest. "I've heard enough," he said. "You've given us zero reason to believe any of this horse dung, and every reason to bring you in. In my mind, the only question is do we let the dementors kiss you tomorrow, or let them draw it out a week."
Charlie stood joined Remus & Kingsley. "I agree," he said. "Just thank your lucky stars we found you before Harry did."
Snape obviously had not expected this, and he began to panic. He looked at Remus, and for the first time Remus saw real fear in his eyes.
"You're making a huge mistake!" Snape cried. "Harry is lost without…."
"STUPEFY!"
Three red beams hit Snape all at once, and he dropped to the floor.
Remus bent down to look at him. "Help me pick him up," he said. Charlie & Kingsley each grabbed one of Snape's arms and hoisted him up.
Remus looked at the other two and smiled. "Do either of you believe a word of it?"
"Nope," they both said in unison. "Not one."
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice – Chapter 6
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice
Post 8 : Remember My Last
CHAPTER 6
Remember My Last
Harry and Hermione had stayed awake late in to the night, poring over the two Muggle books. After 5 hours and 3 trades so that they each had gone through both books twice, Hermione announced that she was too tired to continue and would be heading home.
Harry's elation that he had started with when reading the two books had faded considerably. They had only found 3 places in the books that had sounded like they were worth looking in to, and even those three were long shots. None of them seemed like the type of place that Voldemort would deem important enough to stash a piece of his soul in.
Hermione was undaunted though. "I'll take Ron with me to do a cursory look around each of them. If any of them seem worth looking in to further, I'll let you know. Otherwise, I'll look in to some more books like this."
…
Harry was so exhausted that when, two hours after he had fallen asleep, Hedwig suddenly started panicking loudly in her cage, it still took him several minutes to wake up.
"Whuzzz… whuzzat..? Hedwig..!? Be quiet… Uncle Vernon will be…. Zzz.."
Hedwig started rattling her cage even louder, and when she was almost at the point where the cage was about to fall from it's place on Harry's dresser, Harry was finally able to wake up.
"Hedwig! Come on, what's gotten in to you?"
He got up and opened her cage. Her behavior was not exactly unusual, but the time was. Hedwig normally did her hunting right before sunrise. She was over 4 hours early.
Harry got the cage open and Hedwig flew over to the window where, Harry finally noticed, sat another bird which had been tapping patiently. When Harry put his glasses on, the giant red blur at the window solidified into a friend he thought he had lost forever.
Fawkes had come to Godric's Hollow.
Harry found the catch on the window and let the phoenix in to his room. "Fawkes.." he said in an awed voice. "How.. how did you find me?"
Fawkes gave him a look which might have been amusement. He lifted his head up, and Harry saw that he had a small parcel tied to his neck. Harry untied and unwrapped it. It was a black diary, not unlike Tom Riddle's
Mission accomplished, Hedwig flew back to her cage and slipped her head under her wing. Fawkes watched her for a moment, and then he flew over to join her. He landed next to her cage and laid down for some sleep of his own. Hedwig, not always the friendliest of birds when it came to other birds, accepted him without protest.
Harry opened the diary to the first page and began to read:
Harry,
You hold in your hand all the information I was able to collect on Tom Riddle's Horcruxes. If you are reading this, one of two things must have happened. I am either dead, or have become so enamored with the sweets at Honeydukes that I am no longer of any use to you. Either way, the fact that you are reading this means that you will be continuing this journey alone. Which, if I must say, you were probably meant to do all along.
I can not offer any advice to you. As Professor Snape told you on his first day as your DADA teacher, the Dark Arts are many, varied, ever-changing, and eternal. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, and indestructible. As such, any advice I may feel like writing down here might be useless by the time you read it. Those who dwell in the Dark are constantly having to adapt to the world of Light around them. You must adapt with them to have any hope of success.
The notes are divided in to 3 sections, one for each remaining Horcrux. You've destroyed the diary, I've destroyed the ring, and together we've destroyed the locket; therefore I have burned the sections I had pertaining to the ring & the locket.
Harry felt dread sink into his stomach upon reading this. Professor Dumbledore must have written this shortly before their trip to the cave, and had obviously assumed the locket would be destroyed before or upon their return. Any information Dumbledore had collected on the locket was gone forever.
I wish I could give you more to go on, but of course these items are very well protected and coming by information on them was not easy. The rest is up to you.
If I've never told you before how very proud you have made me these last 6 years, allow me to do so now. Your courage, loyalty, and honor are boundless Harry, and it has been my extreme privilege and humble honor to be your headmaster. The wizarding world will one day have you to thank for the demise of Voldemort, and your praises will be sung for centuries. Of this, I have no doubt.
I have but one favor to ask of you. I know you already have an owl that you are quite fond of, but I wonder if you would mind looking after Fawkes as well. I don't think he'll mind. He doesn't eat much, and what he does eat, he will find on his own.
Harry looked up from the letter and looked over at Fawkes. Fawkes was still awake, and had both eyes on Harry. He knew it was the lack of sleep, but he could swear that the phoenix was smiling at him. Fawkes winked once, then turned around and went to sleep. Harry went back to the letter.
One last thing. No matter what has happened, no matter what the circumstances of my death were, no matter what you may have seen or heard by the time you read this, I swear to you this: Severus Snape is a good man. I hope, for his sake and for your own, that he will be able to demonstrate this to you himself when the time comes. You've trusted me without question on everything that has come before. Trust me on this Harry, I beg of you.
I've done all that is in my power to do to prepare you for the trials that lie ahead. Farewell Harry Potter, and good luck to you.
Your friend always,
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
Harry finished reading and wiped the tears from his face. He wanted to get right in to reading the sections on the Horcruxes, but he was still so very tired. He promised he'd get right in to them upon waking.
He climbed in to bed, a million thoughts whirling around in his head. As he drifted off to sleep, his thoughts were of Snape, and of what Dumbledore had meant by "the circumstances of my death". It was almost as if Dumbledore had known he was going to die that night…
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice – Chapter 7
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice
Post 9 : Delegation
Chapter 7
Delegation
Voices from downstairs woke him up the following morning. Harry was used to this, as Hermione & Ron had permission to come and go as they pleased. He took his time getting ready, for he wanted to prepare himself for the reaction that revealing the contents of Dumbledore's diary would provoke in his two best friends. He felt a chill go down his spine; whatever had transpired so far, the diary meant that the real quest began now.
"…. well Sirius was S.O.B. , but I bet nobody will ever see anything special about that."
Harry froze halfway down the stairs. That was not Ron that Hermione had brought with her.
He reached the bottom of the stairs and peeked his head into the doorway to observe the two guests in his living room. He had barely done so when a fiery blur of red hair & freckles (enshrouded in a flowery smell that reminded him of the Burrow) had run into him so fast and hard that it knocked him down onto the floor.
Ginny was down on the floor with him in a flash, kissing him fiercely and punching him in the stomach at the same time, knocking the wind out of him.
"You GIT! You selfish PRAT!!" Each insult was succeeded by another punch to the stomach. "I've been dying inside for two months! And all this time… all this time Ron & 'Mione have known!" But she started laughing and hugged him so hard, he lost his wind again.
When his wind had returned, he was able to laugh a little himself. He pointed to Hermione. "It was her idea! Punch her for a while why don't you!?"
"Yeah and I bet you fought real hard against it," she mock pouted. "The whole world thinks you're dead, and here you are, in your comfortable mansion, letting everyone believe it. Not everyone will forgive you as quickly as I have." With that, she kissed him so fiercely again that Hermione began to blush.
Ginny looked up and grinned. "Sorry 'Mione. I'll wait until later."
Harry looked over at Hermione. "What made you change your mind!? What happened to 'The less people that know, the better.' ?"
Hermione grinned. "The Burrow is depressing enough as it is right now, and I haven't seen one of my best friends smile in months. I wanted to bring some cheer back to her, what little I could. Besides, it's not as if she'll go running to find a Death Eater to tell."
Harry frowned for a second, sat up, and looked over at Hermione. "Hey that reminds me… whose idea was it to make the ministry think I was dead?"
Hermione observed Harry for a moment, suspecting that he was joking. "Harry… we thought.. Wasn't it yours?"
Harry stood up and walked over to the couch. "No.. I figured you or Ron must have sent some fake evidence in as part of your plan."
"No.. the plan never involved faking your death."
Harry began to pace, and Ginny reclaimed her spot on the couch.
"So someone completely unknown wanted the ministry to think I was dead. Why would someone do that? Do you have any idea what the so-called evidence was?"
Ginny actually answered this one. "They wouldn't tell us, but Dad overheard Scrimgeour talking to Fudge about it. Not the most discreet man, Mr. Scrimgeour. Anyways, Dad thinks it was a body part."
Harry smirked and ran his hands all over himself. "Well I don't appear to be missing any vital parts. What makes them so sure it was mine?"
Hermione answered. "They would have done some magical tests on it… and they wouldn't feel comfortable announcing their suspicions unless they were sure it was yours."
All three of them frowned at once. "It must… it must not have been a body part then. Unless there's a clone of me we don't know about!" Harry joked.
"Don't forget Harry, Voldemort," (Ginny flinched) "has your blood now. Who knows what he's capable of doing with it?"
Harry considered this for a moment, then shook his head. "Voldemort wouldn't want people to think I was dead. What would be the point? It's not his style. No, he'll want people to KNOW when I'm dead, and that he's the one responsible."
Ginny piped up again. "So… who then?"
Harry sat down in a recliner and sighed. "I suppose we won't know until we find out for sure what the body part, or whatever, is. Until then…. I have something to tell you that is more important right now. But Ron should be here to hear it as well."
Ginny got up, reached in to her pocket, and pulled out some floo powder. She walked over to the fireplace, threw the powder in, and stuck her head in to the fire. "RON! Get over here now!"
There was a loud crack outside, and Ron walked through the front door. "Will you keep your voice down!? Mom almost heard… bloody hell, what are you doing here?"
Hermione repeated herself for Ron's benefit. "It would have been nice if you'd informed me," said Ron. "Dad has spent the night at the Ministry two nights in a row, and she's handing out extra chores to keep her mind occupied. Since you weren't around, they all went to me!"
"Boohoo. Sit down, Harry has something important to tell us."
Harry ran upstairs and came back down with the diary. He re-read the letter from Dumbledore to them. All three remained silent after he finished.
After a minute, Ron broke the silence. "I think…. I think we should each pick one remaining Horcrux to research independently. Hermione will keep studying the locket, I'll start researching Gryffindor & Ravenclaw, Ginny will start researching… Nagini I guess, though I don't know what she's going to find…"
Harry shook his head. "I've decided that I don't want this coming between you guys and your schoolwork. This is…. What? What's wrong?"
Ron & Ginny were both looking at Hermione in an odd way. "You didn't tell him!?" yelled Ron.
"I was going to today. I just hadn't gotten around to it yet."
Harry frowned. "Tell me what!?"
Ginny & Ron spoke at once. "Hogwarts is staying closed."
Hermione nodded. "Too many parents are keeping their kids at home; there haven't been more than 23 students who've returned to school. The governors decided that, for now, it would be in everyone's best interest to keep it closed."
Harry sat down and put his head in his hands. "I guess I'm stuck with you all then." He grinned at Ron. "So I'm researching Hufflepuff's cup then?" Ron nodded. "Fine. But you realize there's more to this than just the Horcruxes themselves. Just as the items themselves were significant to Tom Riddle, the places he will have stashed them will be also. The ring was in the Gaunt house… the locket.. was once in the cave.. the diary was left in Lucius Malfoy's keeping."
Hermione moaned. "It's like one of the logic puzzle books my father has in his waiting room at work. Which Horcrux goes with Which Location…"
Harry ignored this. "I was thinking we'd write down a list of any locations that Riddle would have deemed significant enough, and maybe cross reference them with those haunted places books that Hermione bought."
Ron grabbed Dumbledore's diary out of Harry's hands. "No doubt Dumbledore will have included some of that information in here."
Harry said "Let's go off memory for now; we'll look through that later. Somebody write these down. The Riddle House, which we already know is considered haunted… the Orphanage…. Borgin & Burkes… Hogwarts, of course… anything else?"
Hermione chimed in. "Well I guess this is covered by Hogwarts, but the chamber of secrets was significant to him…"
Ron said "And what about Azkaban? It would certainly be guarded well.."
Ginny began to write down Azkaban, but Harry held up his hand. "I doubt it. Despite how many of his followers wound up in there, he never had anything personal vested in it."
Ginny looked up timidly. "What about…. Your parents' cottage Harry? Surely.. the place he met his downfall is significant to him.."
Harry looked at Hermione, who shrugged. "Yeah… write that down. Though we did visit it the day after the wedding… I think we would have noticed anything unusual. But we'll check it again."
He sighed again. "This is a good start. And frankly, I'm done being serious for today. Let's go do something fun."
…
Hermione & Harry were stunned to learn that Ron & Ginny had never been to a movie, so the 4 of them walked into town to see what was playing. They caught an early showing of Austin Powers, which had just been released the previous week. All four agreed that it was pretty lousy, but they enjoyed themselves just the same.
They spent the rest of the day exploring the town and simply enjoying each other's company. It was the best day Harry could remember outside of Hogwarts.
…
They returned to Harry's home just as the sun was beginning to set. Hermione & Ron, arm in arm, went inside the house, but Harry grabbed Ginny's arm. "Wait… I want to talk to you. Alone."
He led her over to the other side of the house, which had an incredible view of the entire town. He sat her down on the lawn and looked in to her eyes, which were unflinching. "My mind hasn't changed, you know. We still can't be together."
Ginny smirked. "Yeah… funny thing about that. At this point, thanks to that horrible Skeeter woman, everyone knows we were together at school. Do you really think it'll make a difference to V-Vo… dammit… You-Know-Who that we're broken up on a technicality?"
Harry considered this for a moment. "I suppose you're right."
Ginny continued. "If I'm in his sights now, it's not going to matter to him that we've broken up. He'll know you still care about me." Harry nodded again.
She put her arms around his neck and kissed him softly. "If I am going to be a casualty in your little war Harry, I want to at least be able to enjoy the reason for it. While I can."
As the sun set over the Potter manor, and over the Trio's last happy day together, Harry could only think of one thing to say. "As you wish."
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice – Chapter 8
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice
Post 10 : The Blood Of Slytherin
Chapter 8
The Blood Of Slytherin
Excerpt – THE DAILY PROPHET
September 13th, 1997 – Front Page Exclusive
PETER PETTIGREW CAPTURED IN IRELAND
By Wagner Jinnloo
Peter Pettigrew, alleged Death Eater and illegal Animagus, was captured and arrested last night in the village of Ravenwood, Ireland.
Acting on an anonymous tip, Ministry Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, accompanied by two members of the elusive vigilante group known only to the public as The Order, apprehended Pettigrew under the impression that he was Severus Snape. On the way back to the ministry though, the polyjuice potion that Pettigrew had taken began to wear off, revealing his true identity. Shacklebolt was disappointed upon learning this, but was still relatively upbeat.
"While the capture of Snape would have been a marvelous victory for the ministry," Shacklebolt said, "capturing Pettigrew is a victory as well. It's just a smaller one. This man is indirectly responsible for the deaths of Lily & James Potter, several Muggles, and who knows who else over the years. Not to mention the framing of Sirius Black for his own death, which led to Black's imprisonment in Azkaban for nearly 12 years. Having Pettigrew in custody is nothing to be disappointed about."
Rufus Scrimgeour, minister of magic, made a brief statement this morning in the lobby of the Ministry. "The arrest of Peter Pettigrew is a severe blow to the dark forces currently at large in our world. Hopefully, he will be able to reveal to us the location of other dark wizards, and we can finally put an end to this conflict. I will be interrogating Pettigrew personally this afternoon, with the assistance of Mr. Shacklebolt. We are obviously hoping that he will cooperate freely, but we anticipate that there will be a need to use Veritaserum on the accused. I have already received authorization from the Wizengamot to do so if necessary. We will hopefully have more to report on later this afternoon. Thank you."
This reporter received an tip that suggested Pettigrew had had his memory modified or erased before he was arrested, something that Scrimgeour neglected to mention. Interrogating Pettigrew will not be an easy task.
In related news, Ministry officials are now searching the village of Ravenwood and the surrounding areas for any sign of Pettigrew's associates. It is unknown at this time what exactly they hope to find. Ireland's own Ministry had pledged full cooperation and has offered their assistance in the search.
....…
"Wormtail performed admirably, my Lord. More admirably than I would have expected possible."
"Yes. Imperius can have that effect on people."
Lord Voldemort chuckled softly. "It's curious where people will place their priorities, Severus. The ministry now has in their hands the wizard solely responsible for my return to power, and thus the deaths of thousands. Yet rather than celebrate, they instead mourn the fact that they have not captured you, merely because you killed a single old Mudblood loving fool. It's almost insulting."
Snape smiled and nodded in agreement. "I must say though.. I still think I could have handled the Auror and his friends, had it truly been me who had been attacked."
Voldemort looked down to where Snape was kneeling at his feet. "We've been over this Severus. The whole point was to gauge whether or not you could gain the Order's trust once again. I couldn't risk actually sending you; you are much too valuable."
"Thank you, my Lord, you are too kind."
Voldemort nodded. "Now that we have our answer, we can start utilizing you in other ways. Rise, my friend and take a seat on the couch. I wish to hear your opinion on a matter I have been pondering since before the Potter brat was even born."
"And what of Pettigrew, my Lord? Will there be any attempt to free him?"
"I chose Pettigrew solely for his expendability. I will not waste my time, and you shall not waste yours, worrying about his well being in Azkaban. He is on his own. Sit, Severus."
Severus stood and walked over to the couch.
The couch and the man sitting on it were in a moderately sized mansion in the far north of England. The former Muggle residents, not coincidentally, were quite recently deceased. Voldemort & Severus, along with several others, had been hiding here for nearly 2 weeks.
"As you know Severus, I am the last in the line of Slytherin. Had I known this at the time, I might have thought differently about framing my Uncle Morfin for the murder of Thomas Riddle. The blood of Slytherin could have been passed on by him as well.
"While the blood of Slytherin will indeed endure eternally in this immortal body I have created, I decided a long time ago that that was not enough. Slytherin's bloodline should continue. Do you agree?"
Snape nodded slowly.
Voldemort continued. "I don't mind telling you that your intelligence surpasses my own Severus. So I wonder if you have deduced yet the reason for sending Lucius Malfoy and his son on missions in which they had no hope of success."
"The thought had crossed my mind, my Lord. It always seemed to me that you would have had no problem retrieving the prophecy yourself. If you'll forgive me my Lord, I had questioned your judgement for appointing Lucius as the leader of that mission."
"As you should have. He was a loyal fool, but a fool all the same. His son was no better."
"So why send them to fail? Why not just kill them yourself and be done with it?"
Voldemort paused for a moment, wondering how he should continue.
"Severus… I have many followers. But you are the only one I can truly call a friend."
"Thank you, my Lord."
"As such, I can trust you with one of my most closely guarded secrets. I can, can't I?
"Most assuredly, my Lord."
"I knew I could. As I said a moment ago, I know now that the bloodline of Slytherin, my bloodline, must continue. I desire a son, Severus."
Snape held his breath. He'd known what Voldemort was about to say for some time now, but he was anxious to hear it from his lips.
"But only the worthiest of followers would suffice to act as the mother of this child. I had Narcissa Malfoy in mind years ago, but only now has she proven herself worthy. Her loyalty is second only to your own."
"I agree my Lord."
"So why not just kill Lucius and Draco, you ask me. Because although Narcissa is loyal, she is also proud, and she truly loved her husband and son. She would never come to me willingly if I had killed them for no evident reason. No, she would have to know that they deserved to die for failing me. Only then would she welcome me without question. Loyalty would not be enough in this case."
"It was a brilliant plan, my Lord."
"Now, I am poised to give her a new son, to replace the one she lost. What greater gift could I possibly give to such an obedient servant?"
Voldemort began to laugh. It chilled Snape's blood to hear it, but he forced himself to laugh along just the same.
......…
The sun was just over the horizon in Godric's Hollow, and Harry Potter once again awoke to the prickling of his scar.
"Need to tell Remus or Moody…" he muttered to himself. "First thing… when.. I.." Harry was asleep again before he could finish.
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice – Chapter 9
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice
Post 11: Snake and Cup
Chapter 9
Snake and Cup
Hermione shook him awake 2 hours later. "Harry.. Harry get up."
He grabbed his glasses and looked at her. "Why, what is it? Is something wrong?"
She shook her head. "No no, it's just that I wanted to get an early start." And with that, she threw some clothes at him and left the room.
He came downstairs to find her reading the Prophet at the dining room table. She looked up at him and smiled. "Take a look at this!"
He sat down next to her and his eyes widened at the front page headline. "Pettigrew…Ireland…wow." He read the entire article, then turned to page 2 to see if there was any more. There was not, but his eyes widened again at a smaller headline towards the bottom:
MALFOY'S BODY ARRIVES AT MINISTRY.
Hermione had gotten up while Harry was reading to make some breakfast. "Hermione! Did you know that Malfoy was dead!?"
Hermione walked back and looked over his shoulder. "No. I rarely look past the front page anymore, so they must have not mentioned it there." She skimmed the article. "They're going to conduct an investigation into his death. I don't know what they expect to find…"
"Blackpool…. Ever hear of it?"
She shook her head. "I doubt it means anything. Probably just a stop on his flight north."
Harry looked troubled. He had suddenly remembered a dream he had had the night before. A dream in which Voldemort had revealed the details of his plan to have 2 of the Malfoys killed. And the reason why.
"Hermione… I've been dreaming again…"
She looked up sharply. She didn't have to ask what he meant. "And your scar?"
After a moment, Harry nodded.
She sighed. "Harry!! This is not the time to be keeping that a secret again!"
"Well, it's only happened twice," Harry said. "The first time I didn't even dream, it was only the scar hurting."
"What was the dream about?"
"Voldemort… and Snape.. talking about both Lucius & Draco Malfoy being dead… and that Voldemort intended for them to die."
"Did he say why?"
Harry tried to remember, but that portion of the dream was drowned out by laughter. "He may have. I can't remember."
Hermione nodded. "O.k. Just put it out of your head for now I guess. We'll talk more about it later."
Harry looked around. "So what are we doing today? What did you want to get an early start on?"
"We're going to the Riddle mansion," Hermione said nonchalantly.
Harry gasped. "Umm.. why, exactly? Why today?"
"No time like the present Harry," she said. "Besides, unlike you, I've been reading Dumbledore's notes. The Riddle mansion was the next location he intended to investigate after the underwater cave."
"Will Ron & Ginny be joining us?"
"Molly flipped when Ginny came home so late last night, and Ron got the worst of the screaming. Best not to risk it."
"So… just you and me.. alone.. going to the Riddle house."
Hermione started to laugh. "Harry, don't tell me you're scared!"
Harry glared at her. "Hell yes I'm scared. Last time I went in search of a Horcrux, a best friend died indirectly because of it. Apparently you think it's funny that I'm in no hurry for it to happen again."
Hermione stopped laughing. "You're right, Harry, I'm sorry. We won't go too far in, o.k.? If we get even the smallest sign that there may be a Horcrux in that house, we'll stop and come back when there are more of us."
"Fine."
…
It had been decades since the Riddle mansion was considered the finest looking house in Little Hangleton, but Frank Bryce had at least managed to keep the house looking presentable. In the three years since he had died, however, the house and grounds had fallen into a permanent state of disrepair and ruin, adding to it's reputation as a haunted place.
The grass was overgrown, brown, and weedy. Many of the trees lining the driveway were dead or dying. The house itself was no better. The front door was hanging on one hinge. Most of the paint had peeled off the side of the house. A few windows had been broken by some of the braver adolescent boys of Little Hangleton. The house itself swayed in the wind as if it wanted to fall over and die. It looked as if it had been 300 years since someone had lived here, instead of just 3.
Hermione and Harry stood at the gate, gazing up at the 3 story house anxiously. They kept glancing at each other and then back to the house, almost as if daring each other to go on. Hermione was starting to feel as if she had been too hasty in coming here.
Harry had promised himself that he would not look down the hill to the graveyard, but his eyes kept straying there. The graveyard was the only thing in sight that looked well preserved. This thought made Harry uneasy.
Hermione took a big breath, then started walking up the driveway. Harry reluctantly began to follow.
They got to front door and Hermione peeked inside. She got her wand out, and Harry got out his. "Just a once over, okay? We look inside every room for any sign of the unusual. If we see anything, we'll come back later with more of us. We see nothing, we never have to come back again."
Harry nodded. "Where do we start?"
…
They saw nothing unusual in the basement or on the first floor. They started up to the second floor and began to hear a low hissing sound from the bedroom at the second floor landing.
"That's where the caretaker was killed," thought Harry.
Harry motioned for Hermione to stop. He kept walking up the stairs, and the hissing grew closer. Just as Harry was about to open the door, the hissing became words.
"Massssterrr… You've returned!"
Harry stopped and looked back at Hermione. He mouthed "Parseltongue" to her. She mouthed back "Go with it!"
"Yesss, I have returned. When did you expect me?"
"Monthssss ago Masssster. You told me you would return for me within a week… That was monthsss ago.. I've been trapped in thisss room ever ssssinccce."
Harry turned around, excited. He mouthed "Nagini!" Hermione mouthed "Duh!"
She slowly walked up the stairs to join Harry. Harry mouthed "Open the door on three…1…2…"
"MASSSSSTERR… WHO HASSSS JOINED YOU!?"
Harry mouthed a word that would have made Mrs. Weasley blush.
Harry was panicking, and said the very first thing that came to his mind. "My… wife hasss joined me.." Harry smacked his forehead. Voldemort with a wife? What a stupid thing to say.
"Thisss isss not the sssmell of a Pureblood, masssster," Nagini said. The first signs of suspicion were now in Nagini's voice. "Why does Narcissssssssssa smell of a Mudblood!?"
Harry's jaw dropped to the floor and his eyes grew as large as dinner plates. Why would Nagini think that Narcissa Malfoy was Voldemort's wife?
Then Harry realized an even bigger problem. Nagini knew that Hermione was not Narcissa based on her smell… yet thought he was Voldemort.
Hermione was growing impatient. All she had to go on were Harry's facial reactions, and they were making her extremely curious.
"Nagini… do I sstill sssmell the sssame?"
"You ssssmell the sssame asss you have sssince the night Wormtail ressstored your body, massster. You sssmell not of yoursssself, but of the Potter brat….the..Potter…POTTER!!"
Harry had no idea how smart snakes were, but he knew that Nagini had just figured out his ruse.
The door shook hard on it's frame as Nagini rammed hard into it. Harry knew that the door could not stand many more hits like that, and motioned for Hermione to have her wand at the ready.
After the fourth hit, the door broke free from its top hinge, and Nagini was able to peer through a crack at them.
"Ssssssstarving…."
While Harry had at least seen Nagini in his dreams before, Hermione had never seen her at all, and her mouth opened in a horrified O.
"I'll eat the Mudblood firsssst Potter. That way I can ussse you to get rid of the horrible tasssste.."
Nagini was moving in and out of view, and neither Harry nor Hermione could get a clear shot at her. She rammed the door one more time and that was all it could take, for it flew off the remaining hinge. Harry & Hermione both ducked and the door flew over their heads, then clattered down the stairs. Nagini saw her opportunity and wound herself around Hermione's leg.
"STUPE…" Before Harry could finish the spell, Nagini's tail had whacked him in the head and stomach in succession. Harry sat down hard; he was seeing stars and the wind had been knocked out of him.
"HARRY!" Hermione shrieked as Nagini pulled her off her feet. Her wand fell out of her hand as she hit the floor, and Nagini began to drag her back into the room.
Harry shook his head hard to try and regain his senses, but it wasn't working. He tried to stand twice and fell to the floor both times, all the while vaguely aware of Hermione screaming. Not knowing what else to do, he bit down hard on his tongue.
It worked. Distantly aware of the taste of blood in his mouth, he charged in to the room.
Nagini had coiled herself around Hermione's stomach and arms, and was getting ready to strike at her neck. "NAGINI!" Harry yelled. Whether it was in Parseltongue or English he couldn't say, but either way he gotten the snake's attention.
Harry pointed his wand directly at the snake's head. Hermione saw what he was about to do and began to shake her head no, but he knew there was no other way.
"SECTUM SEMPRA!"
Nagini narrowly dodged the spell and it hit the wall. Infuriated, Nagini sank her fangs into Hermione's leg. Hermione shrieked.
"NO!" Harry ran to Hermione's side and pulled at the snake's head with all his strength. He finally wrenched it free from Hermione's leg.
Without a thought in his head other than he needed to end this quickly, he stuck his wand into Nagini's open mouth.
"SECTUM SEMPRA!!!!"
Nagini's head exploded, and her grip on Hermione gradually relaxed.
…
Hermione was drifting in and out of consciousness. The wound on her was nearly as bad as the one Harry had received from the basilisk in his second year at Hogwarts.
"Hermione, I'm going to carry you outside," Harry said. "I don't want to apparate from inside here."
"No.."
"It's o.k. I just need to get you home to Fawkes and we'll get you fixed up."
"No… Harry…. We can't leave yet."
He looked into her face. She was breathing very fast. "Why not?"
"Because…. Nagini was not a Horcrux…"
Harry looked at her, shocked. "Of course she was. Why do you say she wasn't?"
She tried her best to calm herself. "Dumbledore wrote about… seeing.. the soul fragment leaving the ring upon … destroying it… nothing like that… happened this time…
"You're not thinking straight Hermione. Dumbledore burned those pages…"
"He wrote that… part in another … section.. so we'd know what to look for… you still have 4 Horcruxes left Harry….."
Harry groaned, but his mind was not changed. "So? What does that have to do with getting that snake poison out of you?"
"If there is.. a Horcrux here… it'll be gone when we come back…"
"What!? Why?"
"Dumbledore said….. that Nagini and… Voldemort… we're connected. Voldemort surely knows already that she is dead… if there is one here, you need to take care of it.. now.."
Harry stood on legs that were still a little wobbly. "O.k… maybe I can call Fawkes to you.. I've done it before."
He cleared his throat and said, "ALBUS DUMBLEDORE WAS THE GREATEST SORCERER WHO EVER LIVED."
Hermione looked up at him and smiled. "I'll wait here. You keep looking."
…
Harry's first thought was that Nagini must have been left in the room specifically to guard something in there. However, the room was mostly bare with no closets, and Harry saw nothing in the room other than the chair that he remembered from dreams.
There was nothing else in any of the rooms on the second floor, so he began to climb the stairs to the third floor.
In a disheveled sitting room, three doors down from the stairway landing, he found what he was looking for.
Harry's first thought was that he was looking at the Goblet of Fire. It was a goblet, to be sure, and it glowed a pale blue. It was sitting on top of a heap of dirty clothes in the corner of the room. He then remembered that he had seen this cup in Dumbledore's Pensieve last year.
He began to wonder what kind of magical protection must be surrounding it, but then remembered that Marvolo's ring had not had any protection around it. Harry supposed that extreme measures around only one of the Horcruxes would be enough. He ran over and grabbed it. He waited. Nothing happened.
He looked at the cup. It was gold plated, but still modest, with the image of a badger embossed into the side. He yelled in triumph, and ran back down to the second floor bedroom.
There, he found an attentive Fawkes standing watch over a sleeping Hermione. The wound on her leg was gone.
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice – Chapter 10
Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice
Post 12: AReturn To Hogwarts
Chapter 10
A Return To Hogwarts
"You did WHAT!?"
"I ran up and grabbed it. Why, what was I supposed to do?"
Harry had shaken Hermione awake right as he had found her, and they had swiftly apparated back to Godric's Hollow. They were now in the dining room, with Hufflepuff's glowing blue cup sitting on the table in front of them.
"You could have tried to detect a curse around it. You could have… I don't know, but surely SOMETHING smarter than just grabbing it!"
"It was just sitting there on a pile of clothes, I didn't see anything suspicious, and for all I knew, you were dying downstairs!"
Hermione did not have a retort to that one, so she went back to staring at the goblet. "We still have a problem. Dumbledore's hand was cursed when he destroyed the ring. We don't have Snape around this time to help us if this one is cursed as well."
Harry was silent for a moment. His face was unreadable. After a minute or so, he said, "No.. we don't have Snape around.. but we may be able to get back his Advanced Potion Making Book."
Hermione shook her head. "Who knows if that will do any good?"
Harry said, "I know I don't. But I'd want to at least look through it before we attempt to destroy that thing. Do you have a better idea?"
Hermione looked from Harry to the cup and back. "Actually, yes. You left the book in the Room of Requirement, right?" Harry nodded. "Well, if we're going to be sneaking in to Hogwarts anyway, I'll look through the library for some books on curse breaking while you're getting the Potions book.
"Sneaking in to Hogwarts?" said a voice behind them. "Sounds like fun!"
Harry & Hermione turned around to see Ron & Ginny standing at the front door, both grinning. "Off probation I see," said Harry. "That was quick."
"We told Mom we were helping Fred & George out in the store," said Ginny. "They said they'd cover for us, no questions asked, so long as we actually did help them out once they opened their third store."
"Third!?" gasped Harry. "Nobody told me they'd even opened their second yet!"
"They were finally able to buy Zonko's in Hogsmeade," sneered Ron. "A partnership in Weasleys' for the former owner convinced him."
"Do they have a spot in mind for the third shop yet?" asked Harry.
Ginny laughed. "They have spots in mind for the third, fourth, and fifth shops. The third one is going to be in Edinburgh. The fourth…." She trailed off and looked at Ron.
"Nutters.." muttered Ron.
"What? What about the fourth?" asked Hermione.
"They're going to open another store in London. In muggle London."
Harry & Hermione gaped at the two Weasleys, waiting to see which one would start laughing first. Neither did. It was not a joke.
"But.. they can't!" Hermione said. "The statute of secrecy.."
"It's going to be a Muggle item only shop," explained Ron. "The rack they had in the first store was doing so well, they figured they try out a whole store full of the muggle magic tricks. The Ministry is all for it. They've made a little arrangement."
"Arrangement?" asked Hermione.
"Yes," said Ginny. "They're going to be giving out free shield hats, cloaks, and gloves with every purchase during their 2 month long Grand Opening, completely paid for by the Ministry. They hope enough Muggles will wear them on their own; obviously they're not going to tell them they're really magic. They don't offer a whole lot of protection, but they're better than nothing. It was actually Dad's idea."
"That's atypically generous of the Ministry," Hermione scoffed. "Those cloaks aren't cheap!"
"It's Scrimgeour's attempt to get back on good terms with the Muggle Prime Minister. Ever since he found out what caused the destruction of that bridge last year, he's blamed everything that goes wrong in England on wizards. I don't think a day has gone by so far this year where the Prime Minister hasn't requested a meeting with Scrimgeour to yell at him about something new..."
"This is boring!" interrupted Ginny. "I want to hear why we're sneaking in to Hogwarts!"
"We!" exclaimed Harry. "There's no reason for all of us to go. Hermione & I just need to get a few books."
Harry expected Ron to be upset, but Ron hadn't even heard him. He had just noticed the cup on the table and was staring at it. "Harry! That's not.. you didn't already…"
Harry grinned. "We went this morning. It was on the third floor of the Riddle house."
"You went without us!?" Ron & Ginny shouted simultaneously.
"We didn't know when you two would see the light of day again," said Hermione with a smirk. "This isn't exactly the kind of thing that we can do leisurely. The obituary page of the Prophet is getting longer every day."
They both nodded, and took a seat on either side of Hermione. Harry & Hermione took turns telling them the events of that morning. Ron was impressed.
"So you got two Horcruxes at once," said Ron. "Maybe this will be easier than we thought!"
Harry & Hermione exchanged a knowing look. "No, just one," said Harry. "Dumbledore was wrong about Nagini."
Ron croaked in surprise and buried his face in his hands. "So now there are two that we know nothing about, and a third that we have no idea where to start looking for. This quest stinks Harry!"
"If it were easy, it wouldn't be a quest, now would it?"
…
Without the hustle and bustle of students and teachers coming and going everywhere, Hogwarts was a very lonely looking place. A cold wind blew in off the lake, raising the hairs on the back all of their necks.
It was just after sunrise, and Hagrid's hut was dark, but there was smoke rising from the chimney. The four of them looked at it uneasily. Hagrid hadn't done very much to repair the fire damage from earlier in the year. It made them wonder what else he had been neglecting.
Hermione took a deep breath, and knocked twice. As expected, they were greeted by the booming voice of Fang.
Fang carried on for about 2 minutes, but there was no sign that Hagrid was in the hut with him. Hermione tried again twice, but received no answer other than Fang's increased enthusiasm.
"He couldn't have been gone long," said Ginny. "Unless Fang learned how to light the fireplace."
"I don't see a single light on in the castle," said Ron. "My guess is he's in the forest."
"Well come on then," said Harry from inside his invisibility cloak. "It's not like we've never been in there before."
Rather than make Harry take the cloak off, Ron took the lead into the forest, Hermione second, with Harry last behind Ginny.
"Where exactly am I going Harry?" asked Ron.
"Well, Aragog's dead and I doubt he'd be having tea with the centaurs. So chances are he's with Grawp."
"I've never been in to see Grawp! Hermione, you lead!"
They started walking in, calling out Hagrid's name every few minutes. They reached the spot where Hermione and Harry had first seen Grawp in less than an hour, but neither Hagrid nor Grawp were anywhere to be found.
Hermione sat down to think. "Let's just go back and wait for him at the hut," she finally said. "He'll turn up pretty soon."
The others all groaned and started walking back the way they had come.
About 15 minutes into their walk back, 3 crossbow bolts narrowly missed Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. All three froze in their tracks.
" Halt!" a voice shouted from behind a tree. "I didn't have to miss! Identify yerselves or the next three make their homes in yer heads!"
"Hagrid!" cried Hermione. "It's Hermione Granger, with Ron and Ginny Weasley!"
Hagrid stepped out from behind the tree, his crossbow still trained on all three of them. "A likely story! Tell me something, Hermione…" Hagrid stopped to think for a moment. "What form does yer patronus take?!"
"Otter! An otter!"
"Foine, foine. Tell me Ron…" Hagrid again stopped to think. "What was the final score of the Gryffindor / Ravenclaw final last year!?"
"450 to 140!" Ron said proudly. "Can you please lower the crossbow now!?"
"GINNY!" Hagrid boomed, ignoring Ron. "What did Romilda Vane ask you about Harry when you two first got together!?"
"If it was true that he had a hippogriff tattooed on his chest!"
Hagrid stared at the three of them, wanting to be convinced, but they could tell that something had really spooked him that night and he wasn't taking any chances.
"One more… one more.. let's see…" he muttered to himself. "O.k…. why do we have to be quiet in the front hallway of the headquarters of the Order!?"
"So we don't wake Sirius' mom up Hagrid!" they all said at once.
He was finally convinced, and he lowered his crossbow. "Blimey!" he said, as the three of them ran up to hug him. "What in the ruddy hell do yeh lot think you're doing here?"
"We.." began Ron, but Hermione interrupted him.
"I am still planning to take my N.E.W.T.s Hagrid," she said. "Mrs. Weasley said that you can take them at the ministry!"
"Well that's mighty admirable of you Hermione," said Hagrid. "That don't give you cause to be wanderin' in this forest so late at night."
"We were looking for you!" Ron said. "She wants to get some books from the library, and we need you to let us in to the castle."
Hagrid stared at the three of them. "If it were anybody else… well this is not the place to discuss it. C'mon, this place ain't safe right now."
The four of them waited for an explanation, but Hagrid did not give one; he immediately turned on his heel and began to lead the way out of the forest. They struggled to keep up.
"Hagrid," Hermione said a few minutes later. "What had you so spooked back there?"
"Not now, not now. Wait until we get back to my house."
…
20 minutes later, they arrived at Hagrid's front door. Hagrid breathed a great sigh, looked at the three pairs of eyes staring at him, and said simply, "Dementors."
"Dementors!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Dementors," Hagrid repeated. "In the forest. Unicorns have been going missin' from the forest for weeks, and the dementors are keepin' me from tryin' to find out why." With that, he beckoned them inside. Harry briefly debated whether or not he should go in as well, and decided to stay outside and listen at the window.
"They're not even turnin' up dead this time," Hagrid said once they'd all been seated. "I'll come across the scene of a struggle, where there might be a little bit o' unicorn blood, but I ain't found no bodies. Somebody's jus' takin' 'em. Whenever I start followin' a trail from one of those scenes though, the dementors chase me out of the forest."
"Is that what happened tonight?" asked Ginny.
"No… I wish," said Hagrid, and shuddered. "I must've gotten really close to sometin' tonight they dint want me to see. One of 'em tried to kiss me."
The two girls shrieked, and Ron practically fell out of his chair. Hagrid nodded. "Never been so happy fer this giant blood before in me life. It made me really dizzy, and I had trouble walkin' fer a bit. But as you can see, I still got me soul." He grinned.
"We can drive them out for you if you want Hagrid," Ron said. "You know that both Hermione and I can conjure corporeal patronuses. Patronuses… patroni..? Anyways, more than one patronus. We'll have the forest cleared out in no time."
Hagrid considered this, then shook his head no. "Don't want you lot gettin' involved without some betters here in case somethin' goes wrong. No Professor Dumbledore or McGonagall to call on if the…" He stopped talking. Bringing up Dumbledore had an obvious negative effect on Hagrid, and he got up and walked to the other side of the hut so the three of them would not see him tearing up. With his back turned to them, he quickly changed the subject. "So! Yeh need some books from the library do yeh? I don't think Headmistress McGonagall would have a problem with that. I'm sure she'd want to know someone was getting' some use out of 'em. C'mon then."
He left the hut and started towards the castle with the three of them in tow. Hermione was now in the rear, and she whispered "You still with us Harry?"
"Yeah, in front of you," he whispered back.
Hagrid was still anxious to keep his mind off Dumbledore, so he looked back and said, "What do you lot think about Harry goin' missin' ? Any idea where he mighta gone?"
The three looked at each other. "He told us at the wedding that he had to go away for a while," said Ginny. "I'm sure he'll turn up once he's done… whatever he needs to do."
"Aye, somethin Dumbledore told 'im he needed to do, I'm guessin…" He sighed as he caught himself again. "Books! Yeh need books. Let's go get 'em."
Hagrid opened the portcullis at the front of the castle, and led them all inside. If the outside of the castle was lonely and gloomy, it was nothing compared to the inside. What had been the setting for all of the happiest moments in Harry's life now had all the life and charm of a mausoleum. Hagrid might have picked up on this thought, for he said, "Aye, not so cheery right now. Jus' wait. It'll be back open again in no time."
They followed Hagrid up the stairs. When they got to the fourth floor, Hermione whispered "Good luck!" Hagrid led the three inside the library, while Harry broke off and continued up to the seventh floor.
He reached the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, and was about to begin the familiar ritual of passing by three times, when a low and sinister voice interrupted his thoughts.
"I think it's almost your bedtime Potter," hissed the voice.
Harry pivoted to see the Bloody Baron floating halfway down the corridor looking straight at him.
"You can see through my cloak! I never knew that," said Harry. "What do you want?"
"I merely wish to hear of the disappearing unicorns. I have a feeling that oaf may have regaled you with details of their latest plight."
"I'm sorry… sir," Harry said, unsure how to address the Baron. "I'm afraid I don't have time…"
"No, of course not," hissed the Baron, annoyed. "Always in a hurry is our young Master Potter." The Baron began to float away.
Harry hesitated, then called out "Sir! I'm sorry sir, that was very rude of me."
The Baron began to float back. "Such a polite young man," he said. "More polite than I would have expected, judging from the way Snape always spoke of you."
"Snape formed his opinion of me before he even knew me," Harry said curtly. "Why do you want to know about the unicorns?"
"Let's just say their disappearances seem a little…. familiar to me," the Baron said. "What has the half-giant told you?"
"Only that they're being taken from the forest by force, but with little to no blood left behind. And that whenever Hagrid tries to track them down, Dementors chase him from the forest."
"I see.." The Baron paused. "That is.. fascinating. Tell me, how well do you know your history, young Potter?"
Harry smirked. "You sound like my friend Hermione. Not very well, I'm afraid. Professor Binns… doesn't exactly make history a compelling subject."
To Harry's shock, the Baron actually chuckled. "No, I suppose not." His tone quickly became serious again. "Hear this Potter. Just as it threatened to in your second year here, I feel some of this castle's dark past may be about to repeat itself."
"Just because some unicorns are going missing?" asked Harry. "What do you think is going to happen again?"
"The unicorns are just the beginning," the Baron said, ignoring Harry's question. "This friend of yours, Hermione, you say she knows her history?"
Harry nodded. "Yes, but.."
The Baron interrupted him. "Listen to me Potter. You're not likely to find this dreadful event in any school textbook. It's not the kind of thing Binns would teach you either." Harry noticed with another shock that the Baron almost sounded afraid now. "If I am right, a tremendous folly is about to be attempted again. It failed the first time, costing hundreds of lives. I've no doubt that a second attempt will fail as well."
Harry was growing quite annoyed with the Baron's cryptic narrative. "I don't suppose you expect me to thwart this attempt, whatever it is? Because frankly I've got enough on my plate at the moment."
The Baron stared down his nose at Harry. "You'll do as you wish, of course," he said menacingly. "But if I've piqued your interest enough to distract you from your own selfish interests for a bit, you'll want to look in to strange occurrences in and around the year 1726. That way you'll recognize the signs, should they arise again…"
"That's it?" asked Harry. "You can't tell me what this 'folly' was yourself?"
"If you see more signs Potter, come and visit me again. Then, only then, will I speak of it. I will do so only if I absolutely have to. It is simply too horrible…"
With that, the Baron drifted back the way he had come.
Harry took only a moment to ponder this bizarre exchange, then resolved himself to the task he had come here for.
He walked by the tapestry once. I need to get my potions book back.
Again. I need to get my potions book back.
A third time. I need to get my potions book back.
He looked over his shoulder. The door to the room of requirement had materialized.
…
When he got back to the fourth floor, he found the library deserted, so he hurried downstairs to find Hermione stalling Hagrid at the front of the castle.
"Well, it's just that I want to look through all of the books one last time, just to make sure I have everything I need!"
"Hermione!" chuckled Hagrid. "You've already looked through 'em 6 times. Ain't you sure by now?"
"I don't.."
Harry walked up behind her and gave her the pre-arranged signal – he tugged the back of her cloak three times.
"… want to waste any more of your time Hagrid; I'm sure I have everything I need."
"Waste my time!" bellowed Hagrid. "Listen, the three of you can waste my time whenever you want. This place is damn lonely without yeh!"
Hermione smiled. "We'll make it a point to visit more often then," she said. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Hagrid's cheek.
"You just be sure that Harry's with yeh when yeh come back," said Hagrid. He waved farewell and walked back to his hut.
The four of them raced to the edge of the grounds so they could apparate back to Godric's Hollow (Ginny was side apparating with Harry). On the way there, Harry told them what that Bloody Baron had told him.
"I don't remember anything around that time period in Hogwarts: A History," said Hermione. They had reached the borders. "I suppose it's worth looking in to."
"Come on, let's go," said Ginny. "We told Mom we'd be home by 10:00."
"Alright then," said Harry, as he grabbed Ginny's hand. "I think we're done here."
The four of them popped out of existence.
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