Seventh Horcrux

Harry Potter vs. Love (Pt. 3)

I was torn from my musings as the fireplace roared to life. A robed figure stepped calmly from the green flames.

"Good evening, my lord, my fellow Death Eaters, Mutt," Severus said, nodding to each of us in turn but reserving a sneer for Sirius.

"What in Merlin's name happened?" I snapped.

"Apparently, an uninvited guest flooing into the Slytherin common room sends the entire castle into lockdown," Severus said. "We were stuck there for hours."

I frowned. "Has Lucius been captured, then?"

"No, my lord. When Dumbledore arrived to interrogate him, Lucius claimed that he was doing a surprise inspection for the Board of Governors. There was some suspicion when it turned out that the Board had not been aware of this, but he reminded us all that he did say it was a surprise," Severus drawled.

"That's Lucius. He's always been good at slithering out of trouble," Sirius said.

"Indeed. Now, why is Lucius not reporting his failure to me personally?" I stroked my wand, causing the entire group to shudder, save Sirius. There is a reason he's my right-hand man, after all.

Severus said, "He was invited to dinner, and Dumbledore expects him to perform a slightly less surprising inspection of the school before he leaves."

"How unfortunate," I muttered.

"In happier news," Severus said, "Potter nearly got himself killed doing some sort of Dark ritual."

It had been fifty-seven years since I'd visited the Hospital Wing, but it hadn't changed much. The sickly smell of potions filled the air, mingling with the citrus scent left by years of heavy cleaning charms. The bed was slightly too hard, to subtly discourage students from lingering, and, even through the bandages, I could still see its painfully white walls.

I heard Hermione lean towards me from her perch in the visitor's chair. "What have you learned today?"

"There's a reason wizards wear glasses. Eyes are complicated," I said.

She snorted. "True. What else?"

"Don't just read the summary of a ritual in the book. There might be warnings or better instructions later on," I said.

"What else?"

I frowned. "I can't think of anything else. I'm pretty sure those are the only things I learned from this experience."

"How about: Don't perform an untested ritual in the middle of a school-wide lockdown? Honestly, Harry, what were you thinking?!"

I shrugged. "I didn't want to be disturbed. It's not like I was invisible this time."

"Madame Pomfrey couldn't get to you for hours," Hermione said. "You could have died."

"Probably not died," I said. "Lost my eyes, maybe, but then I could just get better ones. Like Moody's."

"You are not getting fake, magical eyes."

I chuckled. "Well, obviously not now. The ritual didn't go that badly."

Hermione was silent for a time, probably reading. She does that a lot. "Harry, what was wrong with your old eyes?"

"Well, I did need glasses, and I wanted night vision."

"Why do you need night vision? You don't even do anything at night."

"Of course not. Without night vision, that would be stupid," I said.

I heard a soft smacking sound, likely Hermione's palm striking her forehead.

I added, "Also, I thought the whole slitted-pupil thing would look cool."