Chapter Text
Harry sat alone, head hung, as he waited for Dumbledore to come in and question him. Neville and Ron had offered, begged even, to go before him. Harry was thankful. He felt a little stronger now, having rested and eaten a small meal Dobby had provided him. At least he wouldn’t burst into tears at the first mention of Sirius. Maybe. Most likely.
The door quietly opened behind him, and Harry resisted the urge to turn around and stare at the man. The man who had just fought Voldemort. The man that had likely saved his and his friends lives. Dumbledore said nothing for a few moments, sitting down at his desk and just looking at Harry. Harry kept his head down.
“Harry, I would like to apologise.” His head snapped up. “When Professor Snape first came to me after your first occlumency lesson, I was astounded that you had such shields set up already. I thought you were simply a natural at it like your father. Both of them, might I add. I should have investigated it myself.”
“Sir?” Dumbledore sighed.
“Harry, I truly don’t know how to explain this.” Dumbledore said. Harry stared at him, his gaze far and ever reaching. “How about you tell me what happened first?” Harry nodded
“Well, I had this strange dream, and I couldn’t reach Sirius, and I was so worried and-” Harry took a deep breath. “We got the Weasley twins to distract the teachers so I could slip into Umbridge's office and fire call Sirius. He didn’t answer, but that bloody houself was there. He told me Sirius was out, had left and had never come back. Umbridge found me and Hermione, and she, well she casted the Cruciatus curse on me. Twice. Then Hermione took her to where you were supposedly hiding. She left me alone and I was able to use my illusion magic to get Ron and Neville to come find me.”
“Ah, the bunny that jumped from the rafters. Quite a shock for many students.” Harry winced.
“Yeah, that, and afterwards, we went out to the gates to leave but they were locked. Ron had the idea to portkey out, and crafted a port key for us. Er, he might still have it on him if you wanna look at it. Then we appeared in the hallway room, and tried every door we could until the room with the orbs opened up. We hid in there for a moment, and that’s when we heard the death eaters. We ran, and then we found a prophecy with my name in it. Bellatrix caught up to us, and I threw the orb, sorry, prophecy on the ground. Then they started popping in like rats and-” Harry was getting riled up again. Dumbledore raised a hand to stop him.
“I didn’t mean to kill them, professor.” Harry said quietly.
“Only Bellatrix Lestrange?” He questioned. Harry nodded, body tense.
“I do not fault you for wanting to hurt her after what she did to Sirius, however-”
“Not like I could control it anyways.” Harry snapped. “It was like Voldemort was speaking straight into my heart, into my magic itself. Everything he told me to do, I wanted to do. He, he pushed me to give in and I did.”
“Harry, my boy.” Dumbledore sounded so old, so unlike the man he had just seen fighting Voldemort.
“What is happening to me, Professor?” He begged. Tears lined his eyes. “Am I him? Did he duplicate himself and I was the result? I don’t- I can’t control it! I can’t help it either, and it’s affecting Ron and Neville too!”
“My boy, I wished to hide this from you for as long as I could, but it seems the time is too dire.” He took a deep breath. “I have great cause to believe that you are holding a piece of Voldemort inside your scar.”
Harry’s world came crashing down, wringing him out dry and soaking him in pain all the same.
“What do you mean by that, Professor?” Harry asked quietly.
“There was a man by the name of Nascht-mes in Ancient Egypt. I know little of the mummification process they used to do, but in the Diary of Nascht-mes, he wrote that his family didn’t have enough money for him to join his lover once she passed. He was a cruel, selfish man, Harry, and he invited a spell and object known as a horcrux. They are items that hold a piece of one's soul in the event of death. He had, essentially, discovered a way to live forever. However, it comes with a terrible price. The murdering of another, specifically with the killing curse, invented by Nascht-mes elder, Ra-nefru, his grandmother. In his greed, he killed his lover with the killing curse, tearing her soul from her, allowing him to break off a piece of his own. He trapped it in a pebble, and threw it in the river. He assumed he would be safe.”
“He wasn’t, was he?” Harry inferred.
“For a time, yes, he was. But many decades passed, and the rock began to corrode in the river, and he felt his immortality slipping. He created many more, and from his diary, it is easy to assume he had as many as ten horcruxes. He was a deranged man, an evil man, and his appearance slowly began to change because of it. He tore himself apart, and when his own son, Menthesuphis, cast a simple healing charm on him, the man decayed in front of his very eyes. Menthesuphis is the one to finish the diary, begging others to never go down this path.”
“And you think I’m, what, a horcrux? You said items, I’m very much a human!”
“I know Harry, but I think you know you aren’t the only one he has created.” Red eyes of a beautiful boy flashed in his mind, and then the yellow eyes of a snake.
“The diary, Voldemort's diary.” he stated. “And Nagini. They’re horcruxes as well.” Dumbledore nodded sadly, and Harry’s body was numb once more.
“This is crucial information, Harry, no one must know, not even Young messrs Longbottom and Weasley. If this got out to Voldemort, many horrible things could happen. His magic instinctively already knows you are a part of him, but Voldemort himself has yet to realise. I pray it stays this way.”
“How do I get rid of it?” Harry questioned. Normally it was Neville or Hermione asking the important questions, but he needed to know, would he truly be able to get rid of this piece of soul inside him?
“The only way to get rid of a horcrux is to destroy it, Harry.”
“I got that! So let’s just destroy it!”
“You would have to die, my boy.” Harry stopped, heart filled with more dread. It threatened to consume him.
“What? You mean- I'll have to die?”
“I hope that is truly not the case my boy, I as well as Professor Snape are working on a way to sever your horcrux, but keep you alive as well. “
“Oh.” Harry sat back down in the fluffy chair, the comfort offering him no comfort.
“There are more preceding matters, Harry.” Professor Dumbledore said gravely.
“What is it, sir?”
“Where do you plan on staying this summer? With Sirius gone…” Dumbledore trailed off, leaving Harry to think for a few seconds.
“I’ll just stay at Grimmauld.” Harry stated with a nod of his head. “That way, people will be around to protect me, and I can see Ron and Neville.” He didn’t mention how he planned to stay in Sirius’ room, soaking in the smell of his godfather's heavy cologne.
“I’m afraid that isn’t possible, Harry. The wards have shut in grimmauld, and no one can access them.” Harry looked down at his lap, hands coming up to pull at his hair. Damnit! Everytime he had something good, he just went and ruined it! Just like he ruined Sirius’ chance at being free. Just like how he ruined Sirius’ life.
“You know, Harry, you can always stay with Severus. I know you to do not see eye to eye, but-”
“I would rather go back to the Dursleys, then.” Harry stated, body cold and frozen. He would not ever go to his supposedly father’s house.
“Harry…”
“No, professor. He is not a father, not my father, I don’t think he even has the capacity for that.” Harry said with a snort. Dummledore sighed.
“I figured you would say that, Harry. I suppose that is all we have to talk about right at this moment. I propose going back to your dorm, my boy. I know that Mr. Neville and Mr. Weasley are waiting for you.”
“Harry! You’re okay!” Neville exclaimed when Harry stumbled into their common room. Ron was sitting on their joint bed, eyes red rimmed and glossy. Had he been crying?
“Yeah, as well as I can be, I suppose.” Harry walked over to his friends, face planting into the bed.
“How’d it go?” Ron questioned. Harry gave a derisive snort.
“Horrid. He just wanted to know my side of things and then asked if I wanted to live with Snape.”
“Are you serious?” Neville asked him. Harry nodded, face still in his bedsheets.
“How are you guys?”
“Horrid.” Ron said with a wet laugh. “I can’t believe we just did that- that we just-”
“That we just killed people?” Neville supplied. Ron nodded before shaking his head, putting it into his palms.
“It was their time, Ron.” Harry tried to comfort. “I could feel it.”
“That doesn’t make it right. I mean, I get we were protecting ourselves, but it was still wrong .”
“Maybe for you, Ron.” Neville said quietly, hand instinctively reaching out and playing with Harry’s grimey hair. They all needed showers. “It was bloody heaven for me.” Harry looked up only to find both of them looking at him.
“It was a mixture, I suppose. It wasn’t Sirius’ time yet, but it was everyone else's in there. It was an odd feeling.”
“Aren’t we a fucked up trio.” Ron said, sitting back up. “Well, might as well pull out that orb. It’s the only reason I haven’t jumped in the shower yet.”
Harry needed to check on Ron. As daft as he liked to pretend he was, Ron was incredibly smart, and practically a master of pushing conversation off of himself. Neville summoned the orb, the shiny ball landing softly in his hand. He waved his wand again, closing the curtains around their bed.
“How do we get it to talk?” Ron asked. “Smash it maybe?”
Harry shook his head as he sat up. “No, it’ll just break it. I did that with the other prophecy.”
“I think we should all touch it.” Neville said. Harry and Ron shared a look, but placed their hand over it anyways. Suddenly, the ball shone brighter, and a soft masculine voice sounded out in their heads.
With brotherhood and magic bound
Three stranded brothers, sure to found
A secret magic, dwelling deep,
A deeper part, one can keep
And in their virtue, Fate has shone,
Life, Death, and Time alone.
And as two will fall to sleep.
The one with all, the one who will steep.
The train ride back to London was quiet. Hermione and Ron sat with them, unmoving and barely there in the first place. Ron was staring into nothingness, and Hermione hadn’t flipped a page in her book since they all sat down. With a loud slap, Hermione slammed her book shut.
“That’s it! We have to talk about this!”
“About what, ‘Mione?” Ron said, grumpy.
“About whatever the hell happened last week! You all took your O.W.L.s and then shunned away everyone! Even Dean!”
“We killed people, Hermione.” Harry said bluntly. “We killed people and some of us enjoyed it.” Ron looked green, but Neville practically shone with pride. He tried to hide it around Ron, but Harry knew his friend. He could feel it in every spell Neville cast. What they had gone through had made all of them stronger, yes, but it had enhanced Neville even more.
“And you think I didn’t?” Hermione was angry, shocking Harry. She hadn’t had this level of emotion in a few months. “I brought Umbridge to her death!”
“Wow, Hermione.” Neville said. Ron looked interested, and Hermione just sighed.
“Story for story, then?” Harry asked. Hermione nodded, and began telling the tale of how she had brought Umbridge into the forest, and left her with the spiders.
“We got lost, and came across that field of spiders you found in second year. I offered her as food, fat and hefty for all of them to eat.” Ron shuddered. “She was caught in their webs, and as thanks for the food they let me go. I ran, leaving her there.”
“She deserved it.” Promised Neville. Ron and Harry just nodded. They fell into silence once more.
Hermione sat there, glaring at the wall. Her hair was more tame then it had been since they met, now falling in softer ringlets. Her posture had changed too, but he didn’t know if that was them ageing or from the events that had transpired these last few weeks.
He looked at Ron. He was more cowed then Harry had ever seen, but he was also more guarded. Even in a place as safe as the Hogwarts Express, Ron had his wand clutched tightly in his hand, and his eyes darted between the door and the window, as if something was out to get them.
Neville was already so different. His skin was softer, smoother, less haggard than it used to be. The opposite of Harry himself. He seemed ready to take on the world, to fight anything and everything. The boy who had once struggled to remember simple spells was now among the most skilled in their year. His posture was straighter, his strides more purposeful. Confidence radiated from him as he interacted with his friends, no longer overshadowed by self-doubt. Neville knew what he was capable of.
A bittersweet smile tugged at Harry's lips as he realised that he, too, had changed in this past year. The weight of responsibility had sculpted him into a leader, a protector, but had also opened him up to allow himself to be protected. The events he had faced had chiselled away his naivety, leaving behind a young man who understood the complexities of the world.
And yet, as he observed his friends, Harry realised that they were all still the same at their core. Hermione's thirst for knowledge, Ron's loyalty, Neville's kindness—they were all constants, even amidst their transformations. Harry felt a surge of gratitude for having them by his side through everything.
“You sure you’ll be alright here, Harry?” Professor “call me Remus, I’m not your professor anymore.” Lupin said. Harry just shrugged, not able to lie to the man. Lupin had dropped him off in front of the Dursley’s, and Harry itched with the desire to curse them.
Do it, my sweet.
Harry pushed the feeling down.
“Yeah, I’m sure I’ll be okay. Dumbledore explained why I had to go back, and he said they allowed it.” Probably with a lot of black mail and promises of money, but Harry kept that to himself. Lupin frowned, but leaned over to whisper in Harry’s ear.
“There are a lot of us sent to watch you over the summer, all right Harry? You’re not supposed to know, but if the muggles try anything please come let us know.” Harry just nodded, giving the man a brief hug before stepping into the hell hole of his childhood.
Petunia just gasped as she stared at him. Harry said nothing, walking straight up the stairs. After placing hedwig on his desk, he enlarged his trunk with a tap of his wand, pulling out his important books and items (he needed parchment and ink for his homework, after all) and stowing them away under a loose floorboard. The book Mad-Eye had given him caught his eye. He still had a few chapters to read of it, so he might as well bring it too. Better safe than sorry.
It was a little while later when Vernon stormed into his room.
“Give me that chest, boy! I won’t have you doing any freak stuff in here!” Harry said nothing as Vernon grabbed the, thankfully locked, box. He winced slightly as it tumbled down the stairs. He hoped nothing was broken inside it.
“You hear me now, brat, you will stay up here this whole summer! I don’t want to see the likes of you anywhere near my family!” Vernon roared, turning and walking out of the room. Harry breathed roughly through his nose, but didn’t respond. He’d rather not get murdered, thank you.
Reaching into the floorboard, Harry grabbed a book. Magic, and the Ways to Hide it. An idea spun in Harry’s head, and he grabbed a piece of paper, and began jotting down a message for Neville.
I have a plan, if it works, I’ll see you soon.