Harry Potter & The Black Sacrifice
Post 21: Borgin Sells Out
Chapter 19
Borgin Sells Out
Remus spoke up first. "Dumbledore. You expect us to believe…"
"That the Auror was Dumbledore, yes," finished Arcturus. "Of course, he went by a different name back then. I've learned that he changes his name every time he…"
"You died in 1726, Baron," interrupted Remus. "Dumbledore was old, but not that old."
"He was born in 1845, sir," said Hermione timidly. "I'm sorry, but you must be mistaken…"
"Maybe you're not as bright as Potter believes, young lady," said Arcturus with a sneer. "I would have thought that you, of all people, could have put the pieces together by now."
Hermione wasn't sure whether to take this as a compliment or an insult, so she simply shook her head and shrugged. Arcturus turned his attention to Harry.
"It is my understanding," said Arcturus, "that Sirius Black the 4th, the only Black ever to be sorted in to Gryffindor, became an Animagus while here at Hogwarts."
Harry nodded. "His form was a dog, a huge black dog… probably a labrador, but bigger."
"And did you ever," continued Arcturus, "notice any dog-like traits in him while he was in human form?"
Harry shrugged. "Fiercely loyal… quick to anger… I suppose. Pettigrew though… Pettigrew definitely displayed rat-like tendencies when in human form. What's your point?"
"All Animagi inherit some traits of their animal form upon successfully becoming one. And since most of the time Animagi can only become normal, non-magical animals, this in and of itself might not be so remarkable. Every so often though, a wizard will discover that their Animagus form is that of a magical creature. And that wizard will inherit not only that animal's traits, but their powers as well."
Hermione gasped as she finally understood. "But.. the registry.. He wasn't on there."
Arcturus chuckled. "Dumbledore was alive long before the registry even existed," he said. "As for supposedly being born in 1845, that was simply the last time he was re-born.
"Albus Dumbledore, the only Phoenix Animagus ever known to exist, has died at least 6 times to my knowledge. He once told me that his memory gets fuzzy trying to go back any further than that."
- - -
The following morning, the three of them plus Ron and Ginny were sitting in Harry's living room, discussing everything they had learned over the past 2 days.
"It's obvious that it won't even work," said Harry, "so why waste our time figuring out how to prevent it? I say we just let him try it and fail!"
"It's tricky, though, Harry," said Ginny. "I've never known a spell to be
concerned with semantics."
"It's not semantics!" argued Harry. "It's simple fact! The spell requires a first-born, and Narcissa's child will not be her first born!"
"It will, however, be Voldemort's," said Remus quietly. "Ginny is right; it's tricky. There's three schools of thought here: he will be Voldemort's first-born, he will be Narcissa's first born as a Black, but it is not technically her first-born child."
"I don't even think it matters, honestly," said Ron. Harry looked over to him, eyebrow raised. "Would you really consider just waiting to see if it blows up in You-Know-Who's face? I mean, suppose it does turn out that his baby is not a suitable host. Those four other babies will still die while You-Know-Who is figuring that out."
Harry's look softened. "You're right… I'm sorry."
Nobody spoke for a few minutes. Then Hermione broke the silence.
"About… Dumbledore…"
Harry glared at her. "I thought we had agreed.."
Hermione interrupted him. " 'We' didn't agree on anything. You told me to keep quiet and I didn't say anything back, at the time."
"What about Dumbledore?" asked Ginny eagerly. Harry continued glaring at Hermione, daring her to say anything.
"The Baron thought he'd have a little fun with us after all the serious stuff he had to tell us," said Harry. "He thought he'd try to give us hope that Dumbledore is still alive."
"And I still say," said Hermione, "that he'd have no reason to lie to us!"
"I think they deserve to make up their own minds, Harry," said Remus, "so I will tell them.
After Remus finished, Ron spoke up right away. "I always thought it a bit odd that he would name the Order after his pet bird. He didn't though.. he was naming it as his Order!"
Harry groaned. "So you believe it too?" He looked over at Ginny. "Please tell me that you don't."
"I'm sorry Harry, but you have to admit, it would explain a lot."
"Such as?"
"One of Dumbledore's favorite sayings, for one," said Ginny. " 'There are worse things than Death.' It would explain why his tomb burst in to flames, and the phoenix shape that you thought you saw flying out of it. Fawkes' loyalty to him, and the fact that they could speak to each other…"
"Fine, fine," said Harry. "So where is he? If he's alive, why hasn't he let the world know?"
"Gee Harry," said Ron with a smirk, "you're right. I can't think of a single reason why anyone would want to hide from the world the fact that they were still alive." Everyone, including Harry, laughed at this.
"Plus… he may not look like himself," said Ginny. "I know Fawkes becomes an adult rather quickly after being re-born, but it may be on a different scale for Dumbledore. Who knows what age he may look like now?"
There was another long silence as the five of them pondered this. This time, the silence was broken by Remus.
"If he is indeed alive, and wants to remain hidden, nobody in this room is going to find him. So let's keep our focus on the Sacrifice, and let Dumbledore worry about himself."
- - -
Times were bad for the shopkeepers in Knockturn Alley. Even those shops that sold relatively innocent items were struggling, due to the fact that nobody wanted to be seen shopping there. Being seen in Knockturn was a good way to get your name on the Minster's list of enemies, whether you deserved it or not.
Borgin and Burkes did not sell anything which could even remotely be considered innocent, and thus they were struggling more than any other store. Borgin would often go entire shifts without a single sale, and he had had to fire most of his staff as he could not afford to pay them anymore.
To make matters worse, the Ministry had recently published a new list of banned magical items, and Borgin was dismayed to discover that the newest list was well represented in his establishment, just as the previous lists had all been. Rufus Scrimgeour himself had paid the store a visit the previous week, to make sure that Borgin was in compliance. For all outward appearances, he was, but his secret storeroom, already full of all the previously banned items, was now suddenly very crowded.
So when Borgin heard the front door open that Tuesday morning, he could barely contain his excitement. He'd been in the back doing inventory, certain that nobody would be in to disturb him.
When he saw who his customer was though, the excitement drained from him. "Fletcher," he said coldly. "Make it fast. I'm about due for another Ministry visit."
"This won't take long," said Mundungus. "The locket. Were you able to open it?"
Borgin had to think for a moment to remember what Mundungus was talking about. "No, no I wasn't…"
Mundungus smiled. "Then you'll have no problem giving it back to me."
Borgin observed Mundungus with naked suspicion. "You couldn't wait to get rid of that thing last time I saw you, along with all that worthless junk with the Black family crest on it," he said. "You kept mumbling about it being 'evidence'. "
Mundungus nodded. "Exactly. The person I stole it from no longer suspects me, so I can afford to take it back. Even if I can't open it, it was always my favorite item amongst that 'junk' , as you call it."
Borgin's eyes drilled into Mundungus, searching for any hint of dishonesty. When he couldn't find any, he shrugged his shoulders and walked into the back of the store to search for the locket.
"If you're still interested, I know how to open it," Borgin shouted from the back. "That's a very interesting locket you brought me. Worthless, yes, but interesting."
If you think it's worthless, thought Remus/Mundungus, you must not have gotten it open yourself.
"I can't open it myself," yelled Borgin. "But I probably could be persuaded to tell you how to open it. Ah! Here we are."
Borgin walked back in to the front of the shop, holding out a locket. Remus had not seen the locket for himself, but this one seemed to fit the description Harry had given him.
"Persuaded, eh?" asked Remus with a smirk. "How much?"
"50 Galleons," said Borgin humorlessly.
Remus nodded. "I think I'll pass," he said, realizing that they didn't need it open to destroy it. "Even if I had that kind of money, I think it looks fine the way it is."
"Fine," said Borgin angrily. "Now get out. I've got enough problems without escaped prisoners browsing my shelves in broad daylight."
- - -
"Apologize, and give him 100 Galleons," said Harry 3 minutes later from his hiding spot down the street from Borgin & Burkes. He reached into his pocket and handed Remus the necessary funds. "Even if you're right, it couldn't hurt to know how to open it."
"He's already suspicious enough, Harry," said Remus. "If I go back in there, he'll start to wonder why the locket is suddenly so important... even moreso. He may even decide that he wants it back."
"I'll hold it," said Harry. "And I'm thinking 100 will be enough to distract him from any questions that pop in to his head." Harry looked Remus over from head to toe. "You'd better hurry, I'd say you've only got about 20 minutes left on that Polyjuice."
- - -
Remus strolled back to the shop. He was about to walk back in when he heard heated voices coming from inside.
"… they're in compliance, Weasley!" he heard Borgin pleading desperately. "I haven't seen them in any of the 5 lists that have been released so far!"
"There's a new list being released next week," Remus heard Percy Weasley say. "The Minister of Magic thought he'd give you a friendly heads up."
"You're driving me out of business!" shouted Borgin. "This new list leaves me with…" He paused to do the math in his head. "7 items left in the store that I can sell!"
"Perhaps this is a sign that you should pursue a more reputable occupation Borgin," Percy said coldly. "So.. if that is all.."
"No, that's not all!" said Borgin. "There's got to be something I can do… Fudge and I always had a bit of an.. understanding.."
"The new Minister had made it quite clear what you can do to avoid this level of scrutiny, but you've thus far refused."
"I HAVEN'T REFUSED ANYTHING!" yelled Borgin, loud enough to make a passerby on the other side of the street look over. "I can't give you information that I don't have!"
"Well then, we have nothing left to talk about," said Percy. "I hear the joke shop business is simply booming Borgin. Maybe if you're lucky, I'll put in a good word with my brothers and they'll give you a job." Percy sneered, and moved towards the front door.
"Wait… wait!" There was raw panic in Borgin's voice now. "Fletcher! Mundungus Fletcher! He was in the store not ten minutes ago! I think he'll be back!"
Percy raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly. "Fletcher is not a Death Eater, and thus is of no real concern to the Minister at the moment. Names, Borgin. Death Eaters' whereabouts. Real information that can lead us to You-Know-Who. Talk, or starve."
Borgin sat down on the floor and covered his face with his hands. "I don't know! I swear to you, the last Death Eater in the store was Draco Malfoy, over a year ago!"
Percy nodded. "Very well. Then you can expect the new list next week."
Percy walked out the front door, leaving Borgin alone. Remus slipped back in to the store silently.
"Thanks Borgin," he said sarcastically. "Glad to know I can trust you to keep your mouth shut."
Borgin looked up and grimaced. "What would you have done? Anyways, didn't I tell you to get out?"
"I came back to apologize, actually," said Remus. "If you don't mind, I'd like to know how to open the locket after all. I have 100 Galleons for you, and it sounds like you're going to be needing it."
Borgin's eyes widened. "100 Galleons? Show it to me."
Remus brought out Harry's money.
"There must be something very special inside that locket if this is what it is worth to you," Borgin said.
Remus shrugged. "Merely sentimental. It reminds me of a locket my mother once had."
Borgin didn't believe this at all, but he was torn between his curiousity and his concern for his rapidly disappearing inventory. He sat in thought for almost two minutes; Remus waited patiently.
"I want to know what you find in there," Borgin said finally.
Remus shook his head. "Sorry. You tell me how, no questions, or I keep my gold and go spend it in Diagon Alley somewhere."
Borgin growled, but he nodded. "Fine. The Galleons first."
Remus handed over the money. Borgin eyed it greedily, and took it in to the back of the store for safekeeping. When he returned, he was grinning maliciously.
"Well?" asked Remus. "How do I open it?"
"I'll tell you, but I don't think it'll do you any good," said Borgin. "It seems only a Parselmouth can open that locket. So, now that Harry Potter is dead, unless you plan on asking the Dark Lord himself to open your precious locket for you…"
But Remus was already out the door, and he did not hear the end of Borgin's taunt.
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