Proliferated Petrification

6- Horcruxed

Dumbledore was clearly aware that he'd been caught on his back foot. "I…I appreciate your generosity, Amelia," he managed.

"Good. Now, let's talk horcruxes." She thumbed through the report he had given her. It was surprisingly thick given the amount of time he'd had available, and he must have had large parts of it prepared in advance. "If there's one thing I can tell you I'm genuinely grateful for, it's that you were so thorough. You've got You-Know-Who's family history, his birth, the orphanage he was raised in, his habits, his friends and enemies in school, objects of importance to him, a record of his murders—This information must have been collected over decades. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were harbouring an obsession, Albus."

He smiled weakly at her. "Know thy enemy, Amelia. I believe this information gives us crucial clues to finding Voldemort's horcruxes."

"And I hope you're right," Amelia said. "Right now, all you've got is a ring, a locket, and a cup, each more speculative than the last. You don't even know if there are any others, let alone what they are. Incidentally, how long have you known about these three?"

"As you said, the memories I collected over many years, but I did not know which parts were significant until I reviewed them last night. I am aware that my record is woefully incomplete, but I believe that if we investigate the orphanage where Tom Riddle grew up, as well as his mother's home, we may find more clues."

"Fair enough. I'll add them to our to-do list. In the meantime, I'll circulate this list of items to the Aurors and Unspeakables as cursed objects we suspect the Heir of Slytherin may have left behind. Anything else on this front?"

Albus grew solemn and sighed heavily. "Since we are operating under strictest secrecy, did you speak to the Healer who treated Harry at St. Mungo's?"

Amelia looked down and shuffled some papers around her desk. "I think I have a report from him somewhere. I was going to use it for the case against Harry's relatives. Why?"

"Molly Weasley reported to me that the Healer found a latent concentration of dark magic in Harry's scar—dark magic that was likely as old as the scar itself. It doesn't appear to be hurting him, but…I have a theory, Amelia, which is little more than a guess at present, and which I am unsure as yet how to test. But here is what I know. When Voldemort tried to kill Harry that night, he used the Killing Curse. The magical residue confirmed that at the time. The Killing Curse was reflected by an extremely obscure Protection of Love ward—reflected back at Voldemort, whose soul was already damaged beyond all knowledge from creating multiple horcruxes. I believe it is possible that when he was struck, a piece of his soul broke off and, in the absence of a prepared horcrux vessel, latched onto the only living thing left in that room."

Albus stopped talking, but Amelia didn't register it for several seconds. She became aware that she had dropped her papers and tidied them again. "Good Lord," she whispered. "You think Harry could be a horcrux?"

"As I said, it is an uncertain theory—"

"But if there's even a small chance, we have to investigate it," she finished. "Your evidence?"

"Harry can speak Parseltongue, an ability he likely got from Voldmort. He suffers headaches in Voldemort's presence—beyond the level of ordinary Legilimency. He remembers the night his parents were murdered—"

"He does?!"

"He claims he remembers only green light, but the fact that he remembers anything at all of that night is unheard of for a child of fifteen months. It could very well be connected."

"Any evidence against?"

"The fact that his friends have not been corrupted as Ginny Weasley was. Even if Harry himself is protected, the horcrux should have had a dark influence on the minds of those close to him."