Chapter Twenty-Three
Say It Ain’t So
The last few weeks had been especially trying for Hermione. Her mother had been buried next to her grandparents on a dreary, rainy day. She had been allowed to go to the service with her father and an entourage of Order members, but Harry, Ron, and Ginny had not been permitted to go. When she returned that night, she was inconsolable. She wouldn’t eat and refused to speak with anyone, including Ron.
Harry and Ginny were beyond worried, so Ginny borrowed Harry’s Invisibility Cloak and spied on Hermione. She sat at her desk pouring over a letter, scribbling away frantically. Ginny failed to stifle a sigh as Hermione worked away. Hermione snapped to attention and drew her wand.
Ginny held her breath watching her friend carefully, hoping she would not curse her. Realizing that there was no danger, Hermione relaxed her stance and took a deep breath. She looked back at her work, but then turned back to the space Ginny occupied.
“Well, Ginny,” Hermione began, rubbing her forehead. “Tell Harry I’m fine and that I will see him at breakfast tomorrow. Tell Ron I’ll come down in an hour to kiss him goodnight, and Ginny, if you could let me be, I would really appreciate it.”
Ginny swept the cloak of her body and stared at Hermione. “We just want to be there for you. Don’t push us away,” Ginny said.
Hermione let Ginny pull her into a tight hug before she watched the red head disappear down the stairs. Hermione sighed as she pulled herself back to her desk. The letter on her desk would make no sense to anyone other than herself and one other person. She sat down, perusing the letter. She would send it in the morning if she hadn’t heard from him by then. It was her last attempt. She needed to get through this time, or else she would have to go to the Order and he had implicitly stated that that was the very last thing she should do. But she was at her wits end.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry was glad to have Ron back in the Tower. Though he had only been in the hospital wing for a few days, Harry had a difficult time convincing Hermione to leave the wing. He was thrilled that they had gotten together and let them be happy. He may have even been a little jealous, but only because he felt that he couldn’t openly show Ginny how he felt.
Things between Harry and Ginny were still ambiguous. They weren’t together, but they ate, studied, and laughed together. They didn’t hold hands, or kiss, or even acknowledge the ‘relationship’; rather, they just made each other happy and supported one another. Neither seemed to be in a particular rush to define their relationship, and though it was sometimes frustrating, Harry admitted he was happy.
After spending hours in the common room waiting to see Hermione, Harry retired to his room and prepared for bed. He let a particularly loud yawn escape as he drew back the hangings to his four-poster bed and yelped at the spectral image before him. The ghostly visage of Severus Snape reclined against Harry’s pillows.
“You know Potter,” Snape drawled. “I always thought these dorms were particularly comfortable, not half as nice as Slytherin, but quite relaxing.”
For a moment, Harry dwelled on the thought that Snape wasn’t sneering, but then he realized Snape was a ghost.
Harry sputtered and began to yell defiantly. “Get the hell out of my bed, Snape!” Moments later, Ron appeared after hearing Harry’s shouts.
“Oh, very well,” Snape said with his trademark sneer. “I need you and Weasley to join me. I have to speak with the Headmistress and the wolf. Have Miss Granger join us.”
With that, he drifted past the boys and floated through the wall. Dumbfounded, Ron whipped off an urgent note to Remus. He then called Mercutio. The bird was still small, but was strikingly beautiful. Harry privately wondered why the bird appeared when Ron called him, but let his surprise extinguish quickly. After ordering the phoenix to get Hermione to the headmistress’s office, Ron and Harry dashed out of their dormitory and to the office of Professor McGonagall.
They barged into the room without knocking. Both were furious and wanted answers. Why had Dumbledore’s murderer returned to Hogwarts?
Professor McGonagall barely acknowledged their entrance. Her lips were pursed tightly and her hands were clasped firmly on her desk. She did not say a word while Snape floated idly, pacing just above her desk. Harry and Ron crossed their arms over their chests and waited. A moment later, Remus fell out of the fireplace in his pyjamas. They all were silent, waiting for Snape to make the first move. He continued to pace until Hermione let herself into the office and sat down at the desk in front of McGonagall.
“Miss Granger,” Snape said without emotion.
“Professor Snape,” Hermione mimicking.
Eyes focused on Hermione. She stifled a yawn and began to explain.
“He destroyed Nagini. That was his mission. He conspired to get Ollivander and Aberforth captured so that they could help him. In the process, he was able to save Natasha. Dumbledore designed the mission prior to his death, but Snape swore he would finish it. Snape didn’t murder Dumbledore in cold blood, either. The curse on the ring had ensured Dumbledore would die a slow death and whatever poison he drank in the cave made his death painfully imminent. Ollivander and Aberforth knew about the mission and had been working on the poisons that would kill the snake. They also knew that Snape didn’t kill Dumbledore; he just ended Dumbledore’s pain. It would seem, however, that shortly after he succeeded, he was found out.”
Hermione let the information sink in. Remus stared at her and looked angry. Ron laid a hand on her shoulder and smiled weakly, while Harry gazed at the portrait of Dumbledore.
The painted Dumbledore nodded and Harry turned away. Remus cleared his throat.
“How did you know?” he demanded harshly.
“He began writing to me over the Christmas holiday. Right after Ollivander was captured, Snape sent word about the mission. He said he had specific orders from Dumbledore to tell only me the plan. I don’t know why Dumbledore trusted me with that information, but he did. Snape told me his plans and that he would kill the snake. He also said that I needed to keep it from the Order until he was successful. He seemed to think that you would try to kill him, if he tried to get your help,” she explained defensively.
“Severus,” Dumbledore’s voice called out, “They need to know why I trusted you so. They deserve to know.”
“I still don’t understand why, Albus,” Remus sighed.
“Well, let me tell you a very sad story, Lupin,” Snape drawled in an all too familiar voice. “…Several years ago, I joined Voldemort and his Death Eaters. I was angry at life. I willingly and openly hated everyone. Voldemort showed me how I could exact revenge on those that had wronged me and taught me how to be callous.
“Near eighteen years ago, I sat in the Hog’s Head one night. I had been sent to spy on Dumbledore. That night, I heard Sybil recite the prophecy to Albus. As she spoke in that dark, channelled voice, my attention was pulled by a woman of striking beauty and depth. She instantly recognized that I was paying a little too much attention to the Seer and shot me out of the bar. She was always a quick draw.
“Once outside, she berated me for being evil, dangerous, and worthless. I tried everything to hate that woman, but nothing could keep away my admiration for someone so gifted and powerful. Mesmerized, I began to watch her. I sought her out and she changed me. I was not any less hateful, but I found one person I valued.
“This woman allowed me to be my typical morose self and never let it bother her, much to my annoyance. She slowly guided me to become a man. I would have done anything for her. Finally, I begged her to marry me. It wasn’t a long engagement after she agreed, and I began to make a life for us.
The Dark Lord was pleased that I had married this woman and showed no true objections, initially. He later swore it was his idea to bind me to a woman so powerful and connected to Albus. He wanted to use her to get to Dumbledore. When he learned that she would bear my child, however, his opinions changed. He felt she was becoming a distraction and though I swore to my lord that my love was hardly a distraction, he did not yield.
“Late one evening, I was summoned to him. My beautiful wife lay asleep and I kissed her goodbye before Apparating to an empty field. Mere moments passed before I realized my folly. When I returned, she was dead. Our child died with her.”
Professor McGonagall wiped a solitary tear from her eye. “While that is touching, Severus, you have failed to prove your point.”
Snape smirked at her and paused before continuing. “My wife was Verona Dumbledore Snape. Verona was Albus’ granddaughter. He raised her when his son and daughter-in-law were murdered by the Dark Lord’s alliances. Albus trusted me with her because he knew what she made me. After her death, he trusted me because he knew the revenge I sought. I swore to him I would be pivotal in the Dark Lord’s fall.”
Everyone became weary with the weight of Snape’s position. Not only was Snape capable of love, but he had lost more profoundly than everyone else. Harry could no longer find the hate and contempt he once held for the potions’ master. He couldn’t even relate to what Snape had gone through.
Remus’s shoulders relaxed visibly. They all knew that he wanted to be angry with Snape. But they all knew Snape had sacrificed himself to complete Dumbledore’s orders, and that there was only one more Horcrux left.
“Well,” Professor McGonagall began. “I suppose this means I have to stop using his portrait for dart practice.” She turned in her seat to gaze at Dumbledore’s painting. “Why, Albus? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Minerva,” Dumbledore’s rich voice filled the air. “Firstly, when Verona’s parents were murdered, my darling daughter Venice, I tore the babe away from England and hid her in southern France. She attended Beauxbatons and returned to England only a year after she came of age. I refused to openly acknowledge her for her safety. Secondly, I knew I would not live to see Harry confront Tom. I needed you to be here…for him, for the students. Hogwarts would not survive the loss of us both. We realized that Severus would have to continue his alliance with Voldemort, months before I even found the ring. I made him swear then, that he would continue his mission. I have never lost faith in Severus Snape, and neither should you.” The portraits around him murmured in assent and he returned to silence.
Harry and Ron were in shock, but relaxed their stances and mumbled something about going to bed. Hermione inquired after her father and smiled as Remus explained that he was already moving about Headquarters.
The students excused themselves and left Remus and Professor McGonagall to talk. Once outside the office, Ron wrapped a strong arm around Hermione. She fell in stride with him and they walked in silence before Harry stopped them.
“Hermione,” Harry asked. “Do you have any idea about what the other Horcrux might be?”
Hermione bit her lip and dropped her arm from Ron’s waist, wrapping herself with her arms. “I don’t know for sure, but I learned how a Horcrux is made. For an object to become a Horcrux, a person must attempt to kill something and fail, it is in that failure that the wizard or witch can transfer their torn soul into the object. For example, in order to make a Horcrux out of Pettigrew’s silver hand, Voldemort had to cast the Killing Curse at it. Since it was an inanimate object, it couldn’t die, so his soul filled the glove. If his body had been destroyed, he would have possessed that Horcrux. Eventually, his soul and Pettigrew’s soul would have had to battle it out within the body, the weaker spirit would be destroyed, thus restoring Voldemort to power. In the case of the snake, he cast the curse on a dead mouse, fed it to the snake, and then possessed the snake. He battled with the weaker soul of the snake, thus giving that portion of his soul power over Nagini.”
Harry listened to her digress, before he interrupted her. “So, could I be a Horcrux?” Harry wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted to know the answer.
“No Harry,” she whispered. “But your scar could be. He failed to kill you, so he had to have transferred some of his soul into you. I think your mother’s protection kept the fragment of his soul from taking you over as a child and that made your scar a Horcrux.”
“Couldn’t Harry just have the scar cut from his head?” Ron asked hopefully.
Hermione answered timidly, “No, Ron, there is a lot of magic binding a soul to the Horcrux. Only a huge burst of positive magic could negate it. I wish I knew more.”
“Does that mean,” Harry began heavily, “That I have to die in order for him to be gone forever? The prophecy said, ‘neither can live while the other survives, does that mean I can’t live even if I kill him?”
Hermione moved to hug him. “I don’t know, Harry.” Tears leapt into her eyes and when she pulled away, she saw them in his eyes too.
“I need to be alone right now.” He didn’t wait for a response, but turned away from them and walked in the opposite direction.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next morning, Ron and Hermione had no idea where Harry was. They both suspected that he was hiding in the Founders’ Suite, but knew better than to push him. They were all facing their mortality as the war loomed, but now Harry knew there was a very strong chance he would have to choose to die in order for the world to be rid of Voldemort forever.
Hermione had wisely told McGonagall about their conversation and she excused Harry from his training session, but Ron was still worried. When he went to train, he knew that he had to find a way to help Harry get through this. After an hour of trying to fend Hannah off, a stroke of genius came. He quickly scribed another urgent message to Remus and went off in search of his sister.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Meanwhile, in the hospital wing, Hermione was still trying to avoid Malfoy. Susan had graciously resumed nursing the pale Death Eater again and Hermione could not fully express her gratitude. She refused to speak to Malfoy even when he called out to her. She just couldn’t forgive him for being a Malfoy.
Malfoy was healing nicely, thanks in large part to both Healers-in-training. Susan quietly worked his limbs so he would not be in pain, while Hermione had allowed him to read. She had left him books, a newspaper, and even a couple of odd magazines she called “comic books.” Though he would never say it fully, he missed having the two witches’ kindness.
Hermione would talk to him despite their past differences, and always treated him kindly. Susan was tender and loving. He knew he missed Susan and though his heart tore when he heard that his father had killed Granger’s mother, he felt relief wash over him as he realized that Susan may talk to him again.
Susan had simply refused to speak or be around him since they fought. He knew that she had grown fond of him and hoped that she would understand that now that the Dark Lord knew he lived, he would have to return to him or face death. He wanted to make a better life for himself. He didn’t want to die or go to Azkaban because he foolishly took the Dark Mark. He wanted to ask Susan to be a part of his life, but he knew that she would not fancy a patient. Furthermore, she would not fancy a patient who was also a Death Eater.
After some coaxing from Roni, Susan had agreed to tend to Malfoy again. Finally, after careful plotting, he got the chance to say all he had been thinking. After Susan escorted him to the loo, Draco fell painfully to the ground. Certain that they realized he faked it, he watched them intently as Hermione came to help Susan pull him up and into bed. Once on his feet again, Hermione supported his weight while Susan guided him.
The three said nothing until he was back in bed. As soon as Hermione began to move away, Draco took his chance. “I’m sorry, Granger.”
Hermione turned back to him with a blank face. “What are you sorry for, exactly?”
Draco gulped before moving on. “I wish that what you were going through never happened. I just needed you to know that and thank you for helping me. Thank you for saving me that day…at Godric’s Hollow.”
She eyed him suspiciously before nodding sharply and briskly walking away from him. Susan was stunned by his admission. She gingerly wrapped a warm blanket about him and jumped slightly when he reached out to touch her hand.
“I’m sorry to you too, Susan. I wish I could change my past, but I can’t. I wish that my future would be different. I was never a good person, like you,” he whispered to her. “The fact that I can’t get to know you more or repay you for making me so happy kills me. I hate what I have become and will spend everyday I can trying to make it up to you.”
He brought her hand to his lips, kissing her fingers tenderly. He let a miniature smile escape as a tear fell from her eye, knowing it meant that she forgave him. Susan was beyond herself with glee at Draco’s confession. She finally knew that she had reached him. He wasn’t out of danger, but he was no longer a threat.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry watched the sun fall beneath the horizon. He hadn’t even noticed as time drifted past him. He sat against the wall and hung his head. How could he be expected to do this?
Ginny silently entered the room. He didn’t even look up when he heard the door snap shut behind her. Vaguely, he heard Rowena murmur her worries to Ginny, and Godric instructed her to help him. She sat down next to him and waited.
“Go away, Ginny,” he said with a cutting tone.
“No,” she replied simply. “Ron and Remus just brought me into the Order. You know I knew about the Horcruxes, and now I know everything that you went through in trying to find them. You’re not getting rid of me.”
He smirked at her attitude. He should have expected Ron to send in reinforcements. Harry finally raised his head to look at her. She looked like she’d had a good cry recently, but she smiled. He couldn’t help but laugh. She knew he wasn’t going to push her away again, so she cuddled into him. Knowing he needed a new train of thought, she addressed the portraits.
“Helga,” she spoke sweetly, “you never told us if we got your riddle correct.”
The portrait smiled prettily and nodded. “Would you like one more? If you get this one right you will have solved the Legend of Infinity.”
Harry chuckled as Helga bounced excitedly in her frame. Ginny looked to him for guidance and they nodded together.
“Learn how to transcend time and space,” Rowena and Helga chimed together
“Become immortal.” Godric and Salazar finished in unison.
Harry sat dumbfounded and Ginny looked distressed. Suddenly Harry stood up.
“How can a person become immortal?” Harry burst out. “Become immortal?! If only Voldemort had found this room, maybe he would have left me alone! I can’t focus on my N.E.W.T.s, I have to kill Voldemort. I can’t keep people I love alive, because Voldemort wants me to suffer. I can’t play Quidditch because Voldemort will use the teams as target practice. I can’t tell her I love her because Voldemort will use it against me!” he yelled violently as all of his frustrations came out.
“Well, Harry,” Ginny responded in a calm voice. “I love you, too. I suppose all we can do now is work through it together and know that, regardless of what will happen, we are there for each other.”
Harry let out a cynical laugh, “How can you love me when I need going to die so that Voldemort can die?”
Ginny choked a little, “I love you because you would sacrifice yourself so that the threat of Voldemort can die too.”
“I love you, too,” Harry confessed exhaustedly as he collapsed next to her once more.
Ginny claimed his hand in hers. “So tell me Harry,” she tried to change the subject, “how does one, become immortal and transcend time?”
She smiled as he laughed and kissed her on the head.
“I have no idea.” Harry laughed as she laughed with him.
They both laughed until tears streamed down their face, neither knowing why exactly. Slowly they quieted and Harry gave in to his weaknesses. He kissed her softly, gently probing her mouth and caressing her face with his hands. He didn’t know how she did it, but he felt like he could take on anything in that very moment. She pulled away from him and smiled. They were both lost in their own world and only came out of their reverie when Godric cleared his throat sharply.
Ginny shrieked gleefully and Harry started as they looked at the founders. No longer residing in their portraits, the founders stood before the young couple. They had stepped out of their paintings and the now-human forms of the famous people smiled down at them. Salazar shook Harry’s hand as Godric spun Ginny around.
Godric kissed her lightly on the cheek. “I have been waiting ages to do that,” he confessed shooting a playful look at Salazar.
“Well Godric, you lost the bet. I told you they would figure it out faster than Wesley and Claire,” Rowena pointed out.
“Must I do it in front of the children?” Godric whined.
“Yes!” his fellow founders cried definitively.
Harry and Ginny giggled as he stalked to the far end of the room. Helga borrowed Ginny’s wand to cast a charm at Godric, who sneered at her with distain. The whole room erupted into laughter. Godric wore a, what would have been, sexy black dress, covered in frilly lace, with bright red petticoats and bloomers. As the giggles subsided, he took a deep breath and proceeded to do a Cancan dance. While Helga and Rowena clapped along, Harry and Salazar fell to the floor laughing hysterically as Godric hummed the tune and flipped his skirt expertly.
When the entertainment was over, Ginny, still giggling, turned to Rowena. “Has he done that before?”
“In the past century, that would be the fourth time,” Rowena answered amusedly.
Having laughed heartily, Salazar changed Godric back into his red robes with Harry’s wand. He admired the wand momentarily before conjuring several roses. The first dozen he gave to Rowena. Next, a small yellow rose and a small white one. He gave the white one to Ginny and the yellow to Helga.
“Harry,” Salazar called. “Place your right hand in Ginny’s right hand.”
Slightly confused, the two students obeyed silently. Rowena waved Ginny’s wand over their hands and Salazar mimicked her movements precisely. They muttered words that made sense only to themselves and both smiled as a warm white light surrounded the clasped hands.
Harry waited for the light to subside before he stole a glace at his hand. A thin silver ring was twisted on his last two fingers. The ring had just a small twist in between the fingers, and though it was not uncomfortable, it was unusual to feel something residing between his fingers. Unconsciously, he turned Ginny’s hand in his and observed that she had a matching ring as well. She smiled as his eyes caught hers and they examined her ring together.
Letting their inspection take precedence, the founders waited silently as Harry and Ginny examined their rings and finally pull their hands away from one another. Ginny immediately began to thank them for the gift, but Salazar stopped her.
With only a glance to Godric, Salazar signalled to the other founders to return to their portraits. Instead of climbing back into them, as Harry suspected they might, Rowena and Salazar handed their wands to Godric and Helga who murmured quiet passwords to the frames. Each frame snapped open and revealed a shallow passage. Each founder retrieved something from their passage and brought it forth to Harry and Ginny.
“The Legend of Infinity has only been solved a few times this century. We built this quest of riddles to help teach the lessons that we all valued most. Love, friendship, trust, and faith built you into the people you have become and we have taught you the things we want every student to learn. Take these gifts to remind you that you always have friends and help make the world a better place.” Rowena announced softly.
She held out a book to Harry and Godric placed a shield in his arm. Helga gave a ribbon to Ginny. Salazar placed a set of thick dragon-hide gloves in Ginny’s hands and smiled at her.
Salazar waved his hands and a dark mahogany table appeared in the room along with six chairs. The group sat at the table and the founders waited to be asked the questions that always came when their legend was learned.
Ginny sat idly thumbing the ribbon. She didn’t know which question to ask first, but decided she’s start off with the most obvious.
“You can only speak to people who truly love each other,” she stated simplistically.
Helga smiled and answered, “We can only speak to people who are in love.”
Harry grinned at Ginny from across the table and found his voice. “You said we reminded you of Wesley and Claire, who were they?”
Godric laughed at this question. “Claire and Wesley got married immediately after they graduated. Albus told us once that they had a son named James.” He looked at Harry meaningfully and smiled as Harry’s eyes widened in shock.
“How is that possible?” Ginny interrupted. “How could Professor Dumbledore speak to you if you only speak to couples in love?”
“Albus,” Rowena offered with a knowing smile, “Albus figured out who we could speak to early in his reign as Headmaster. He had a habit of using this room as a place to voice his opinions on current events. Because of his, for lack of a better word, ramblings, we knew everything about Voldemort, James and Lily, and of course…The Boy Who Lived.”
Godric continued for her. “Wesley and Claire both loved each other very much. She realized it long before he did and when he finally realized what she meant to him, he no longer thought himself worthy of her. I believe Claire’s grandmother told her of this room and Claire offered to help Wesley with his homework in here. He was particularly horrible at Divination.”
“Must run in the family,” Harry mumbled to himself but Ginny heard and laughed.
Ginny quietly composed herself and looked down at the trinkets the founders had given them. She played with the intricate ring on her fingers and looked up at Helga.
“What are all these things?” Ginny asked reverently.
“My ribbon helps people see the most important part of a person. If you wear it, the people around you will see your inner beauty, your strength, your power. It can be quite intimidating. If you don’t want it, give it to someone in your life who needs to be seen for what they are worth.” Helga answered, placing a hand on Ginny’s.
Salazar continued. “My gloves help those with natural power. They can channel a person’s natural talents into wandless, nonverbal magic. I loved Potions and Herbology, and those gloves helped me develop some incredible remedies and poisons. Use them to make the potions you will need to defeat Voldemort.”
Harry smiled at the gloves in Ginny’s hands and Rowena spoke next. “My book will look empty until you ask it a question. It has absorbed the knowledge of generations, that my fellow founders and myself, as well as that of several headmasters. Use it to find the answers that will bring Voldemort and his Death Eaters down.”
Harry looked at the book and caught Ginny’s eye. They both smiled and whispered, “Hermione.”
Harry turned to Godric. It was strange enough to be talking with the founders, but even more to be sitting across the table from them. Godric looked at him with sad eyes and smiled weakly. He tapped the shield on Harry’s arm and whispered, “Protect yourself.”
Ginny had been watching them intently and smiled as Harry nodded at Godric’s command. Harry bit his lip to keep the emotions at bay. The founders of Hogwarts had given him gifts and advice. He knew he was as ready as he would ever be and that it was time to face Tom Marvolo Riddle.
Harry Potter and the Legend of Infinity by peskypetunia
Chapter Notes: Please review