The Broken Soul by silverfox
Chapter Notes: Harry adjusts to being back at school. The Trio find a way to destory the Locket.
Darkness enwrapped a black figure, as he bore down on a frantic red-headed woman. “Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry…”
He was repulsed by the pathetic display of weakness, and let the distain he felt drip into his voice, “Move aside, you silly girl… stand aside, now…”
“Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead-” The only response was silence as the man closed in on the woman.
“Not Harry! Please… have mercy…”
He trembled in sheer ecstasy as he stood over her. Utter joy surging up his spine. There was nothing like the thrill of taking a life. With one flick of his wand the woman screamed and fell limp to the floor. He let out a laugh of victory before turning his attention to a small boy in a crib. The mother’s sacrifice would be for nothing. Now came the easy part. It was almost a shame it had all been so simple. Now he would truly be victorious, just one more kill and that victory would be his.
He aimed at the child and thought of those two familiar words: Avada Kedavra. A green flash lit up the room and an ear splitting scream sounded. The man was surprised and astonished that it was his own voice that echoed off the bedroom walls. The deafening noise continued to echo as the crib and tiny room melted away to blackness. Then slowly the darkness fell away revealing another room.
The same dark man from before now stood in a sparse and dingy sitting room. His red eyes glowering at the other cloaked occupants in the room, while a figure trembled in pain on the floor at his feet. “This is unacceptable!” he screamed in a fit of rage.
A woman stepped forward from the group with an air of confidence that the others lacked. He smiled at this and saddled his rage. He was curious to see what she so confident about, so that he could stripe it from her. “My Lord, if it pleases you I shall bring him before you myself. Severus has proven his failure in this and allowed himself to be captured in the process. I would never allow such a thing to happen.”
Her unsympathetic attitude toward her colleague was applaudable. It pleased him to see his minions fight among themselves so ruthlessly. Competition always brings the best and worst out of people, and the results usually were very beneficial to him. He addressed her coolly, not at the least surprised by her offer. “No, not yet. We have other things to attend to, an invasion to plan for. I have other plans for Potter.”
The woman hesitated before continuing, “Sir, as you know the breakout from Azkaban has given our inside man at the Ministry too much attention. And we haven’t fully recuperated from the attack on Hogsmeade.”
He glared at the woman, his patience wearing thin. “Do you question me?” He lifted his wand and pointed it at her chest.
Bella bowed in reverence as her confident composure faded somewhat. She obviously did not want to join the still convulsing form on the floor. “No-no, my Lord,”
“Good.” He lowered his arm. “Tell the others we strike on schedule.”
“Y-y-yes, sir. Shall we use the weapon…”
He held up his hand to silence her and turned around slowly. His red eyes stared right at Harry, noticing him for the first time.
Harry sat straight up in bed panting and shaking uncontrollably. His head felt like it had been cracked wide open. He pulled his knees to his chest and rested his head on them waiting for the throbbing and overwhelming desire to hurl to subside.
There was no denying it this time. He had been inside Voldemort’s mind. Why, why now? Didn’t Dumbledore say this shouldn’t be happening any more? And why was he having that nightmare of when his mother died again? The last few seconds of her life and that terrible night kept playing over and over again almost every night for months. It was getting to the point where he was afraid to even close his eyes.
Now that he was delving back into Voldemort’s mind there was even more reason to be concerned. Harry ran a shaking hand through his hair. This had to stop. At this rate Voldemort won’t have to kill him, he’d just had to wait for Harry to get exhausted enough to make a big mistake. Get a hold of yourself.
The thing that disturbed him the most was how the dream had happened. It was like he was experiencing everything through Voldemort’s eyes, even his mother’s death. He shivered uncontrollably as he desperately tried to forget the murderous thoughts he had had toward his mother.
Several long minutes passed before he was calm enough to carefully pull himself out of bed and find his way to the washroom. Once inside, he stuck his head underneath the sink faucet and drenched his head in cold water. The icy liquid felt good against his aching head and the agonizing throbbing settled to a manageable pang.
Harry stood up and turned the water off. His disheveled appearance in the mirror just above the sink caught his attention. The pasty white of his skin was a dramatic contrast to the mop sitting on top of his head. His black hair was messier than usual as it stuck up in every direction, but this didn’t bother him as much as his red rimmed eyes. He looked like he hadn’t slept in months, which was true, but seeing the physical evidence made it seem more real. He really needed to get a good night’s sleep. He had almost forgotten what it was like.
Harry turned from his disturbing appearance and walked back to his room. On his way back he noticed the lack of people in the hallway and realized he had overslept. He raced into the empty bedroom and pulled off his sweaty night clothes. Finding some clothes in his trunck, he quickly dressed. While doing this, his mind raced with a thousand different thoughts. He wasn’t keen on delving back into the memories of his dream, so instead he focused on the last three weeks since returning to Hogwarts.
He had mixed feelings about returning to the school, especially since he and Ginny weren’t speaking now. He definitely could have handled things better with her, but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out what he would have done differently. The simple fact was he felt they were both better off not being together, at least until he was rid of Voldemort once and for all. He knew he would never have any kind of a normal life with Voldemort trying to kill him, and Harry just didn’t feel right getting Ginny involved. He didn’t want to see her get hurt. The obvious rift between the two of them, however, left him feeling depressed and lonely.
But on the upside, Ron and Hermione seemed to be doing better. Ron spent every single moment he wasn’t in class or sleeping, by her bedside when she was in the hospital. And once she was released, he still followed Hermione around everywhere she went. Some people might say that it was no different than before, but Harry knew better. He knew that Ron didn’t mind being at the girl’s beck and call now, in fact Harry suspected that he rather enjoyed it. Harry simply laughed at the strange turn of events.
It amazed him how people’s priorities seem to change when bad things happened. It’s like they wake up from a deep sleep and really see the world around them for the first time. They realize what’s important to them and what doesn’t really matter at all.
As for himself, Harry had been in a flurry of activity trying to catch up on the last few months’ worth of classes. And somehow he still had to find time to search for the rest of the missing Horcruxes. Harry never had had any intention of going back to school, but after a long and heated conversation with McGonagall and a few Order members, Harry decided to humor them. After all, they did have some very valid points. The point of having more education to help him in his quest was probably the biggest determining factor for him.
Harry had to admit that even with everything he knew, he still was far from where he needed to be to go up against Voldemort and his followers. Snape’s instruction had helped immensely, but with him now in custody Harry didn’t see their classes resuming. And he didn’t feel totally confident in his own abilities to continue his studies alone. He felt like something vital was still missing, some ancient wisdom untapped.
So Harry agreed to start taking classes and receive extra tutoring on the side to help catch him up to the other students. He did this with several conditions. The first was that his quest, which he refused to reveal to any of them even though they asked repeatedly, was top priority and that school came second. Also, as long as he cleared it with McGonagall first, he would be able to leave the school grounds when necessary so that he could track down leads for his “project”, the Order members started calling it that to make things simple. Third, he insisted that he needed the help of Ron and Hermione, so they were to be given the same leniency as he was.
McGonagall was reluctant to give in to his demands, but quickly realized it was the only way he would remain at Hogwarts. Harry wasn’t sure why it was so important to her for him to stay at the castle. Maybe it had something to do with his disappearance? From what he could tell, she and all the Order members were very concerned about him and wanted Harry in a place that they could keep an eye on him. He smiled at this and kept his mouth shut. Harry wondered what they would say if they found out he had spent the last several months in the company of a murderer, best not to bring that up. Instead he told them he that his disappearance was crucial for what he was doing for his “project” and because of that he couldn’t let them in on the details. This mostly worked for everyone except for Hermione. Somehow she knew that there was something he wasn’t telling her, but for now had not pressed the issue.
As for the continuing search, there had been no new leads even with the help of Ron and Hermione. They had, however, found a possible way to destroy the locket. This was where Harry was supposed to be on an early Saturday morning. The potion should have finished by now and he was late.
Harry ran down the stairs and through the portrait hole, almost knocking into a group of second years talking in the hall right outside.
“Sorry,” he yelled over his shoulder without stopping.
He continued running down the school halls at a mad dash ignoring the yells to slow down from some of the students he passed. Panting he reached his destination and opened the door. He walked into the Room of Requirement, which was currently set up as a study and potion mixing room. Harry joined the two forms bent over a large black cauldron in the middle of the room.
“You’re late,” Hermione scolded, without looking up from the bubbling pot she was carefully stirring.
“Sorry, alarm didn’t go off,” Harry lied. He wasn’t about to tell her that the visions where back, at least not yet.
“Is it ready?” he asked anxiously, as he edged to Ron’s side.
“Almost,” Hermione answered. She sprinkled something into the steaming potion and changed the direction she was stirring to counter clockwise. Five turns later, she stopped and made a funny face. “This smells like old socks.”
“Who cares as long as it works,” Ron said.
Hermione held out her hand to Harry. “You have it?”
He hesitated then slowly unclasped the locket from around his neck. He held it in his hand caressing the large “S” engraved on the front. “This is for Dumbledore.” He held it out for Hermione to take.
“All right, everyone stand back. This might get messy.” Once Harry and Ron were standing a respectable distance from the pot, she dropped the locket in and quickly backed away, joining the other two.
They all watched the pot anxiously for several long minutes, but nothing seemed to be happening. Harry was starting to get a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew there was no guarantee that this would work, but they had been so sure they were on the right track, or should he say that Hermione thought they were. She had been the one to figure it out. It had been so simple really, and Harry had felt a little silly that the idea hadn’t occurred to him.
It was almost a week ago now when the idea first came up. Hermione had still been in the hospital. This fact didn’t bother her as much as it normally would, because it gave her extra time to do some research. Harry and Ron had kept her in a steady supply of books and parchment, as they met to discuss the Horcrux search. They were able to hold their meetings without anyone close by hearing, because Harry would cast the Muffliato spell, despite Hermione’s disapproval. The breakthrough had come by way of Dumbledore’s Pensieve.
Harry had gone back the day after the attack to the place he had stayed with Snape. Once there he retrieved his possessions, the Pensieve, and box of memories. Upon returning, he had shown the Pensieve to Ron and Hermione. Both were very excited to see it and even more excited to view the memories. It didn’t take them long to catch up to Harry, who had already viewed the first nine vials (actually eight, since one had broken). Hermione was especially interested with Dumbledore’s visit to the Gaunt house, but didn’t reveal why right away. It was well into her second week in the hospital and after tons of research until she told them her suspicions.
She believed that it could be as easy as finding the right potion to destroy the locket Horcrux. Hermione based this theory on the way that the diary and ring Horcruxes had been destroyed. Each way was done very differently, but both ways were just as effective. So what was the deeming factor that destroyed these objects? Could they each not be destroyed in the same way? Or was it the object that contained each Horcrux that determined how it was destroyed? This might be why Voldemort had chosen to hide the Horcruxes in objects that were very different from each other. The key would be to find what would destroy the object, because the Horcrux itself could not be destroyed. Since a soul can’t exist unless contained, it would be come lost once the vessel was destroyed. Everything in Hermione’s research had pointed to that fact, what little she found.
So they had to find away to break the object. Normally this could be done by any standard means, but the objects Voldemort had chosen to use as vessels were special. He knew that breaking the object would eject the soul and destroyed it. So he put unbreakable spells upon each of the objects once turning them into Horcruxes. This would render the objects durable against almost anything. But not everything, as Harry and Dumbledore had demonstrated in destroying the diary and ring. This put Hermione on the track of finding ways of breaking unbreakable spells.
This wasn’t easy considering unbreakable spells were meant to be just that, unbreakable. But an enormous amount of research later, she found this to be untrue. Unbreakable spells are meant to withstand everyday occurrences, but not something real destructive, such as poisonous venom, a mystical fire that burns so hot it causes a gemstone to crack, or a potion that can melt metal. Thanks to the Half-Blood Prince’s Potions book, they were able to find just such a potion to Hermione’s displeasure.
Harry had suggested melting it with fire like Dumbledore had done with the ring, so they wouldn’t have to use the book. But Hermione shot this down for several reasons. One, because the skill to produce a hot enough fire to even melt metal was immense, and two she politely pointed out that despite Dumbledore’s power he had burnt his arm in the process. Destroying the locket with a potion would hopefully not be as destructive to their persons. Thankfully, melting metal was easier than cracking a gemstone. So they had decided to try the potion first.
They went to work gathering the ingredients needed for the potion, which Ron had stolen the rarer ingredients from Professor Slughorn’s personal stash while Harry distracted the man by agreeing to go to the next Slug meeting- the sacrifice’s one had to make for the cause. Because of its complexity, it took them nearly a full week to put it together and brew.
Now the three watched in waning hope at the bubbling red liquid. According to the Prince’s book, the red potion would turn brown once the metal had been melted down. The concoction was still a deep red well after five minutes.
“I don’t think it’s working,” Ron whispered, afraid to say it too loudly.
Hermione sighed, “It was a long shot anyways.”
“What do-” but Harry was cut off, as he heard a loud hissing noise come from the suddenly rocking cauldron.
The churning liquid bubbled and erupted violently, sending potion spraying in every direction. The trio jumped back from the concoction, barely missing the flying hot fluid. The crimson brew swirled and surged until it seemed the cauldron would crack from the frenzy. And then as sudden as it had begun the steaming potion began to settle, as it did the color slowly darken until it was a muddy brown. They each moved as one toward the cauldron and were stopped by a deafening crack. Before they knew what was happening, they found themselves drenched in brown goo. The cauldron and its contents had exploded and settled over the entire room.
“Gross,” Ron whined as he held out his arms looking at the brown sludge all over them and the rest of his body.
Harry pulled his glasses from his face and crinkled up his nose, “This stuff stinks and burns.”
He looked down to see a brown patch of liquid bubbling on his arm. Harry smelt his own flesh begin to burn. He reacted quickly and cast a cleaning spell on himself. He turned to help Ron and Hermione, but saw that they were already casting their own spells. Within moments, the three of them were no longer wearing the brown potion.
“How do we know if it worked?” Ron asked rubbing a spot on his hand that was starting to blister from where the potion had landed.
“Well, I guess we clean up and see if we find a locket lying anywhere.”
They each then took a section of the room and searched every inch of it while casting cleaning spells. An hour later, the room was spotless and no one had found even a hint of gold anywhere.
“I guess that settles it. The locket is officially destroyed, even if we had to endure a little physical pain to do so,” Ron said, grinning from ear to ear, a large welt on his left cheek.
Harry couldn’t help but smile himself. It seemed the weight he had been carrying around on his shoulders had lessened somewhat. He couldn’t help but feel a little excitement course through him. The excitement was short lived however when he thought about the other Horcruxes still out there waiting to be found. Time was running out, he could feel it.
“Three down, four to go,” Harry said.
“Actually only three, if you don’t count Voldemort himself,” Hermione replied.
“I do, in fact he’ll be the hardest one to of them all. We need to work faster than this. Time is running out,” Harry paced the floor.
“We’re working as fast as we can, Harry. You know that, and if you stop pacing, I’ll let you in on an idea I had,” Hermione said.
This made Harry stop and look at the girl, “Oh?”
“You know I was thinking about that time when Voldemort visited Hogwarts trying to get a teacher position. It seemed to me that the whole reason for that visit wasn’t actually the job, but that it allowed him access to Hogwarts itself.”
“Yeah, I already figured that much, what of it?” Harry said.
“Well, ask yourself. If Voldemort wanted access to Hogwarts, what would it be for and where would he go?”
“I always assumed it was to hide a Horcrux,” Harry replied.
“That maybe true, but you haven’t answered the second part of the question. Where would Voldemort hide it so that no one would find or stumble across it?”
Harry thought about it for a minute and then slapped himself on the forehead. How could he be so stupid, of course that’s were he would go. It would be the perfect hiding place, because no one had access to it, at least Voldemort didn’t think so at the time.
“The Chamber of Secrets,” Harry said out loud.