Hindsight

Cleansing

It was with a great sense of anticipation that Harry arrived at Gringotts for the second time that day. Hermione had brought them to an Indian restaurant for lunch, claiming that Harry needed his energy for the ritual. True to her word, Harry was feeling stuffed with naan and various meats as he, Hermione, and Sirius walked back through Diagon Alley to the magical bank.

Hermione was in a stormy mood. Through all of lunch, she had shrilly ranted about how Dumbledore had never once mentioned Harry's scar being a Horcrux.

'I don't believe for a minute that he knew nothing of it!' she had shrieked again and again, growing more scarlet in the face with each repetition. 'If he'd just told you…or even figured out some way to get rid of it without telling you! Fuck, it was because of him all those people died in the "old timeline"!'

'Maybe he had some sort of "grand plan" to get rid of it somehow,' Harry had thought out loud. He was not feeling particularly charitable towards Dumbledore, but he found it hard to believe that the man would have no plan at all, when everything else he did was so intricately laid out.

'A grand plan that didn't end up working out!' Hermione had pointed out. 'It's hubris, the way he thinks that the entire world runs according to his plans and his goals. He got millions of people killed because he was too proud to even consider the possibility that he could be imperfect!'

Whatever Dumbledore's plans or lack thereof were, it did not matter now, besides bolstering Harry's growing conviction of Dumbledore's untrustworthiness. Whatever Dumbledore's machinations had been in the 'old timeline', the seventh Horcrux was going to be destroyed this afternoon. The Cup and the Diadem were already gone, and Harry and Hermione had plans already laid out for the others.

Griphook was waiting for them right at the main gate and led them directly to Ragnok's office. They arrived, greeted Ragnok, and sat down to wait in silence. It felt to Harry like he was waiting for some sort of major operation at a hospital. It was not too far from what he was really here for.

A few minutes later, five goblin Curse-Breakers arrived. Ragnok spoke to the lead Curse-Breaker in Gobbledegook, complete with a lot of gesticulating and miming. Finally, Ragnok turned to Harry.

'Lord Potter, the goblins are forbidden from giving other races the exact details of this process, but I believe you should know a minimum of what's about to happen. I must demand that you keep this knowledge a secret.'

'I swear secrecy,' Harry replied immediately. 'Do you need a magical vow from me?'

Ragnok waved him off. 'There is no such need, Lord Potter. Your word as an honourable wizard is enough. Now, this process will essentially force the attached piece of soul from your body by ripping apart its bindings. The soul fragment, without its bindings, will be forced from its unnatural presence within you. Usually, this process is powered by goblin magic. Since you are a wizard, however, it is more likely that your own magic will expel the foreign soul. Once released, goblin magic will destroy the soul fragment. Of that, I cannot speak of.'

Harry nodded. 'And the process of ripping apart the bindings of the soul fragment. That's the part that'll be painful, isn't it?' he asked.

'Indeed. We will need to paint goblin Runes around the soul container,' Ragnok explained. 'Normally, the Runes will be painted around the object that contains the soul fragment. However, in your case, my Head Curse Breaker believes that we will only need to paint it around your scar. Goblin magic will activate the Runes, and they, along with your own magic, will take apart the bindings and allow us to free the trapped piece of soul. Now, Lord Potter, are you ready?'

He turned to Hermione. Her face was as pale as it was this morning when she first found out that his scar contained a piece of Riddle's soul. She was nibbling her lower lip nervously.