White Heather for Protection

Power of Seven

"So how are you going to get rid of it?" Sirius asked.

"It is notoriously difficult to destroy an item of such nature. However, I have narrowed down the possibilities to either using fiendfyre or basilisk venom."

She blinked in shock. That seemed extremely heavy-handed. Fiendfyre was uncontrollable and highly destructive while basilisk venom was the most potent of its kind in existence. Must be some spell to require such methods to be destroyed.

Remembering a Christmas present of hers from Hadrian, she enquired, "Would a basilisk fang suffice?"

The Headmaster looked at her curiously. "Yes, it would. Basilisk fangs are imbued with the venom as well."

A sudden mischievous urge shot through her. Without any warning, she removed her necklace and whipped out her wand to unshrink the pendant on it. Holding it up - still-sheathed, of course - she presented it to Dumbledore with a guileless smile. "Here you go, sir."

Sirius and Remus looked taken aback at the appearance of the gigantic, lethal fang. "Where did you get that?" Sirius sputtered.

"Oh, Rian gave it to me for Christmas two years ago," she said cheekily.

Remus sighed in consternation. "Yes, but how did he get a basilisk fang? Basilisks parts are horrendously expensive."

"Didn't you know? Hadrian killed a basilisk in his second year. Its carcass is still in the Chamber of Secrets." She smiled brightly. "Which reminds me, I should ask him if I can harvest all those parts. Think of all the potions I could brew with them!" Antivenin being the top of that list. Since basilisk venom was the most potent venom in existence, its antivenin was like a venom panacea. With Voldemort around, that would probably come in helpful.

Dumbledore coughed lightly. In a strained voice, he suggested, "Perhaps it would be safer if Professor Snape accompanied you on this task."

A thrill ran through her. Headmaster-sanctioned time with Professor Snape? Well, she would be a fool to reject it. Affecting indifference, she shrugged and agreed. "So, will you be destroying the necklace now, sir?"

"Yes, the sooner the better. I would ask you all to step out of the room for a bit. The backlash will be quite unpleasant."

While Heather was reluctant, she knew Dumbledore wouldn't budge on this. She, Sirius and Remus went out of the room, staring at the closed door anxiously. She was somewhat worried about the old man, seeing as he was still weakened by his earlier magical struggle with the locket, but he probably knew his own limits.

She was alarmed to feel waves of malicious magic seeping out of the room. If there was so much of it that it was overflowing, how thick must it be in the room? She could hear some kind of struggle in there, the sounds of chairs overturning and things falling from the table. Fortunately, the door opened within minutes to reveal a haggard but victorious Headmaster Dumbledore.

"It is done," he stated tiredly. He returned the sheathed basilisk fang to Heather, who immediately shrunk it and put the necklace on again. "It was fortunate that you came to me regarding this matter. Who knows what trouble the locket could have caused otherwise. I apologise for the mess; it was being quite stubborn." He shifted so that they could all look into the room. 'Mess' was a gross understatement. It looked like a tornado had blown through the room. The curtains had been ripped from the hangings, chairs toppled over and at the eye of it, a fractured locket hanging open limply.

Remus was quick to reassure Dumbledore that the mess was of no consequence. "Don't worry, it's just a few spells to put the room to rights, Headmaster."