The Death Eaters were camping in a small clearing outside Folkestone, Kent. They had managed to evade the Aurors, but unfortunately, they didn't have means of knowing what was going on in the magical world. Security had been tightened and they were on the run. They knew for sure that any home of theirs would be very closely monitored, so they had to make do with forest clearings. Thankfully, magic could make things a lot easier. They didn't want to contact the Death Eaters who had evaded Azkaban because they didn't trust them. There was no way to tell who was still loyal to the Dark Lord.
"We found something that can get us off the mainland," said Rabastan as he and his brother entered the clearing. They took the offered food they had stolen from the Muggles. Killing those animals would only attract attention, so they had to restrain themselves.
"What is it?" asked Rookwood.
"The Muggles have built a tunnel under the English Channel," Rodolphus answered. "Since it goes underground, we may be able to avoid the sensor net. I recommend that we don't Apparate, but use the Muggles' stupid train instead. We'll have to be extremely careful with our disguises, though."
"It's risky," said Rowle, rubbing his face. "For all you know, this apparent blind spot in the sensor net might be a trap set by the Aurors to capture us."
"Rookwood is the expert on the sensor net here," snapped Bellatrix. "And we will be going! The Dark Lord needs us!"
"I'll know more only after seeing this tunnel, but if we don't use magic, I think we can escape. Once we reach France, cross-country Apparition will become easier," said Rookwood. "But too many of us will increase the chances of being discovered by the International Magical Border Patrol. We can evade the British Aurors, but we can't afford to have the I.C.W. getting involved."
"He's right," said Dolohov.
"Fine," spat Bellatrix. "We'll split up. Four of us will leave using that filthy Muggle tunnel and the rest are to stay here and find out everything you can. Once we return, the Dark Lord will demand information. Start gathering intelligence. Cornelius Fudge is an idiot from what I've seen during his inspection of Azkaban, but that Bones bitch is a problem."
They decided who was to go. Bellatrix, Rodolphus, Rabastan and Rookwood were to find the Dark Lord. The rest would stay out of sight while gathering useful information about the Ministry. Pettigrew's Animagus form would be useful to spy on people.
A few hours later, the four Death Eaters disguised themselves and left. Chanting the Dark Lord's name, they moved forward, letting their Dark Marks guide them. It was time they got their master back.
HP*SAVIOUR OF MAGIC*HP
The second term at Hogwarts began without anything spectacular. Harry continued using the diadem for learning from Voldemort's memories and had later taken to practising the spells he had learnt in the Room of Requirement. At the end of January, Harry finally came clean about his excursion to the cave where the fake locket was found. Needless to say, Sirius was not happy.
"I have enough problems without you being one of them!" shouted Sirius angrily. "Harry, what in Merlin's name were you thinking? I'll tell you; you weren't thinking at all, that's what you were thinking!"
"Sirius –"
"No, I don't want to hear it!" snapped Sirius, cutting him off. "This is the most irresponsible, idiotic thing you have ever done! I don't even want to think about what could have happened if something had gone wrong! You are keeping too many secrets from me, young man, and I am not pleased! You are in deep trouble because right now, I can't even think of a suitable punishment for this latest stunt of yours!"
"Sirius, please hear me out," said Harry softly. "I knew the protections and defences on that cave. I knew that I could take care of them myself."
"Oh yes, that's why you were attacked by Inferi, weren't you?" the new Minister said sarcastically. Normally, Harry was quite mature and Sirius loved the lad with all his heart, but damn, there were times like this he wanted to show the boy how displeased he really was. The late Lord Orion Black would most definitely agree.
"I was distracted by finding out the fact that the Horcrux was not real," said Harry, his eye twitching in annoyance. "Until then, I was completely in control."
Sirius emptied a glass of Firewhisky as he sat down on his chair in his study, hating the fact that he was also dealing with annoying teenagers along with the incompetent Ministry. Dozens of files were placed on either side of his table which contained reports from different departments of the Ministry of Magic. He was really getting short-tempered because of the amount of work he needed to get done. He was close to smacking Fudge upside the head for being such a useless leader.
"I want you to know," said Sirius slowly, the anger clearly evident in his voice, "how deeply disappointed in you I am. You broke your promise when you said that you wouldn't risk your life unnecessarily and I can't think of a punishment that will be suitable for this, mostly because you are not staying at home right now and I doubt grounding you during the school year would help and considering how you react to it, I will never bend you over my knee either, though I am tempted. I can only hope that it means something to you."
"It does," said Harry quietly, sounding abashed, blinking the tears away. Sirius was the only father-figure in his life and Harry really looked up to the man. He was the first living person who had taken an active interest in Harry's life and he did not like disappointing his godfather who loved him so dearly. "It means I've let you down, and for that, I deeply apologise. But I was only trying to look out for you. I didn't want you to be in danger. You have a family now and –"
"You are also a part of that family, son," said Sirius, looking at Harry with piercing grey eyes. "And it is my job to look after you, not your job to look after me. You may be smart and mature for your age, but you, Harry James Potter, are still thirteen years old and it would be wise if you remembered that. I want you to promise me that you won't do anything this reckless again."
"I can't do that," said Harry, looking out of the window, mentally cringing in anticipation.
"Excuse me?" asked Sirius dangerously, his eyes narrowed.
"I have a prophecy hanging over my head, Sirius," he continued, looking at his godfather. "The future is not certain. If there ever comes a time when I need to act, I will do so. I'm not a person who will shrink from responsibility in times of danger but I will do my best to avoid it."
Sirius sighed. It was difficult to argue with Harry because the boy made valid points. But damn, he was so infuriating! Being Harry's guardian was really a pain in the arse sometimes. He felt like grounding the boy for a year, but he knew it would be counter-productive. Exhaling deeply, he said, "Where is this fake locket?"
Harry removed the locket from inside his robe pocket and levitated it to Sirius. The older man took it and observed it for a minute. After doing a standard detection spell, he opened the locket and removed a slip of paper. Unfolding it, he read it, his eyes widening in shock.
"Sirius?" asked Harry curiously. "Hmm, I didn't think to open it. What's inside?"
"See for yourself."
To the Dark Lord
I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more.
R.A.B
"Regulus Arcturus Black," explained Sirius quietly as he closed his eyes. "My little brother stole the real Horcrux."
"But where could it be?" said Harry urgently. "Did he destroy it?"
"That, I'm not sure," Sirius whispered, tears welling in his eyes. "I never had much contact with him after I ran away when I was sixteen. We used to be very close when we were kids, inseparable even, but as the years rolled on, Mother's poisonous claws latched onto him. He was the only one in my family that I ever truly loved. The last I knew, he had succumbed to Mother's threats and had joined the Death Eaters and was killed on Voldemort's orders for backing away just a few months later. Oh, Reggie, why didn't you come to me?"
Harry sighed, rubbing his temples. This only complicated matters. How in Merlin's name did Regulus find out about the Horcrux in the first place? Voldemort had never told anyone. He had used a house-elf while placing the locket in the cave, but the elf had died after Voldemort left. There was no way Regulus could have read Voldemort's mind, which meant he must have known about Horcruxes and might have recognised it when the Dark Lord had once said 'I have guarded myself against mortal death.' Yes, that must be it. But how did he find the cave in the first place? So many questions ...
"Do you have any information on the ring?" asked Sirius, wiping the tears away.
"Yes," said Harry. "But we need to create a replica of the ring and put the protections back in place. If Voldemort were to find out that something is wrong ..."
"I don't know what the ring looks like," Sirius frowned.
"Leave that to me. The curse on the ring is called the Bothrops Curse. It is named after a snake. The curse's effects are very similar to the snake bite of a Bothrops asper. Anyone who comes into contact with the curse suffers a very painful, instant death. The limb turns black and shrivelled, causing severe necrosis and death of the muscle tissue throughout the body. If the person puts on the ring or even touches it, the curse is activated. Once the cell damage reaches the heart, there is no stopping it. In fact, there is no counter-curse at all. It is a very old curse that hasn't been seen for a long time."
"Talk about overkill," muttered Sirius. "All right. Do what you can. But you are not going this time without me, is that clear?"
"Understood," said Harry with a small smile. He went over and gave his godfather a tight hug. "I didn't mean to disobey you or make you worry about me, but I thought I was doing the right thing. I'm really sorry, Sirius."
Sirius sighed. He remembered his own teenage years. Running around with a werewolf every full moon night was not something any sane wizard would do.
"I know how you feel."
HP*SAVIOUR OF MAGIC*HP
In mid-march, Harry put down the book he had just finished reading. It was the journal of Godric Gryffindor. Once he had claimed the family ring, he had received information that Godric had hidden the family fortune somewhere at Hogwarts. Knowing the general location, he had searched for it until he had struck gold, literally. Using the Sword of Gryffindor and the Gryffindor Headship ring, he was able to get the secret chamber opened, only to gape in shock.
The secret chamber was clearly Godric's personal chambers at Hogwarts, but it was filled to the brim with gold, silver and precious jewels. Mountains of gold could be seen and a small pile of diamonds, rubies and other gems was placed in a corner. He had seen something similar in the high-security vaults deep under Potter Castle and also in the Potter family vault at Gringotts, but the amount of gold in here was staggering. He had immediately called his house-elves to transport the contents to a high-security vault at Potter Castle. Slowly, over time, he would transfer a bulk of the fortune to Gringotts where he could begin investments.
Gold wasn't the only thing he found in the place. On a table was a journal penned by the Founder himself. After using a translation charm, Harry had taken to reading it every spare moment he got. The revelations were astounding.
Godric had been the firstborn son of the Gryffindor family. The Gryffindors were an old family, dating back to the time of King Arthur and Merlin. In fact, they, along with the Potters and Slytherins were members in King Arthur's court hundreds of years ago. It was once during their childhood that Godric had met Salazar, a boy five years younger than him, but they didn't have much contact since.
He was taught magic by his parents and other tutors, and once he was an adult, he travelled abroad to learn various branches of magic from tutors. While touring Magical Italy, which still carried its traditions from the Ancient Roman Empire, he met a woman who was a year older than him who wanted to go abroad and learn all about the intricacies of various forms of magic as well. Her name was Laurentia who was the daughter of Godric's instructor in Rome. The two had forged a friendship and several months later she joined Godric in his tour of the world and the pair travelled extensively for many years, learning various branches of magic.
In Egypt, Godric won the friendship of the Goblins; a warrior race known for their expertise in banking, warding, warfare and creation of weapons from magical metals that only their race could work with. He spent a lot of time with them, learning about their culture and how to wield a sword. Once, he saved a bunch of goblins from a mob of Muggles who wanted to kill them, so the leader of the Goblin community finally accepted Godric's request and made a special sword for him as a reward; Godric still had to pay for it, of course. It was a three-foot-long blade, made of Goblin silver, making it very conductive for magic use. While he was quite good with his wand, he couldn't help but be at home with his new sword. He spent many years enchanting and enhancing the sword to his style. By the time they finished their tour of the world, he and Laurentia had fallen in love and had decided to get married.
After talking to her parents and returning to Britain to talk to his family, it was finally decided to hold the marriage ceremony in Rome. Once they were married, Godric and Laurentia returned to Britain, hoping to create a better life for the people of their country. But there were problems as witch hunts grew in popularity; if Muggles detected witches and wizards or even magical creatures, they would be attacked in their sleep and killed in their beds. The Muggles would then drag the mutilated bodies for all to see. These instances horrified Godric, but he felt that once they could explain to the Muggles that magic wasn't evil but a blessing from the Goddess herself, everything would work out and both magical and Muggle humans could coexist in peace.
It was a few short months into their marriage that Laurentia found herself pregnant. The couple was ecstatic and nine months later, Laurentia gave birth to a girl who they named Geraldine Gryffindor. When Geraldine was only a year old, tragedy struck; Godric's entire family had been targeted due to them being witches and wizards. His parents and siblings were all killed by a large mob of Muggles. Godric was filled with rage and wanted vengeance but Laurentia managed to calm him down. It was then that Godric decided to rethink his plan for Muggles and magicals coexisting with each other. Clearly, Muggles did not tolerate the existence of magic.
Life went on and Laurentia befriended a witch from Scotland named Rowena Ravenclaw. She was several years older than Godric and Laurentia, and had come back to Britain from Albania, where her husband's family was nobility. Godric was very impressed with the older woman's sheer intelligence and talent with her wand. The Gryffindor family slowly got to know Rowena, who became close to Laurentia and thus, as an extension, her husband Godric.
But unrest in the Muggles soon found its way to strike again. One night, when Godric was away on business, the Muggles attacked his home. An entire mob of Muggles managed to overpower Laurentia and burned her at the stake after torturing her, while her six-year-old daughter was badly injured. Luckily, Laurentia had managed to send a message to her friend Rowena, who arrived quickly and managed to save Geraldine, but was unable to save her friend.
Laurentia Gryffindor was brutally killed.
Rowena then sent a message to Godric, telling him to come back to Britain as soon as he could, while she took little Geraldine to a well-known healer of the time – Helga Hufflepuff. Although Geraldine was badly injured, Helga was able to save her life. Godric returned to find his wife dead and his only daughter wounded. Rage filled him in a way he had never felt before. He headed back to the village where his family had lived and slaughtered the Muggles; every single one of them. The village was a bloodbath, and no one would forget the sight of Godric Gryffindor holding a sword in one hand and a wand in the other, killing everyone he could find, magic radiating off of him in waves, his face in tears. If the Muggles wanted to see death so badly, he would show them what death really was.
Godric then spent his time raising his daughter. It was during this time that he had met his childhood acquaintance, Salazar Slytherin, who, Godric had heard, was in a similar predicament. Salazar's family too was murdered when he was just a child and he had grown up as an orphan, using his cunning nature to survive and manage his fortune. But unlike Godric, Salazar was more in control of his emotions and used his sly and cunning personality to win. He was not a battle mage like Godric but he was very knowledgeable in obscure magical arts. When Godric found himself very troubled with his past, Salazar taught him how to control his thoughts and emotions using Occlumency. Godric also taught Salazar many spells which he had learnt during his travels. It was during this time that their friendship deepened.
The two men realised that the witches and wizards were in grave danger, with the knowledge of magic dying in their beloved country. The Muggles seemed to have forgotten the time when King Arthur ruled their land hundreds of years ago when Britain's population of both magicals and Muggles coexisted peacefully. It was then that Rowena came up with the idea of a school. The idea was accepted by Godric, Salazar and Helga, who had by then become Rowena's friend.
They chose a remote location in Scotland, in the middle of a forest, away from prying eyes. They had to ensure that no one trespassed and attacked innocent children. They pooled all their money and constructed a large castle where they were to have the school. Having already befriended the Potter family who had constructed a castle with a heavy amount of protective enchantments and a stone fortress around it so that no one could enter their home and kill them in their sleep, Godric realised that their school had to be well protected. They collectively used their knowledge of magic to erect various wards around the place, to make the castle a magical fortress, something which Godric remembered the Potters had insisted was important. Once construction was complete, Helga named the school Hogwarts. The four then spread the message among the magical community so that parents would send their children to the newly constructed magical school. Godric personally went to Potter Castle to talk to them and soon, Alan Potter was among the first students enrolled at Hogwarts.
As knowledge of Hogwarts spread, many more parents sent their children to the school so that they could learn from the four learned witches and wizards. Godric specialised in Battle Magic and Transfiguration; Rowena focussed on Charms, Runes and spell crafting; Helga specialised in Healing and Potions, while Salazar specialised in Rituals and other obscure arts of magic. Rowena even developed an open ward which was so large that it could detect magical children born anywhere in the British Isles. It would later be known as the Book of Admittance of Hogwarts.
It was some years later that Godric found out that his daughter and Alan Potter were seeing each other. He was quite happy with the union, and with the blessings of their parents, the couple got married. Rowena too had a daughter named Helena who grew up at Hogwarts with her parents, as Rowena's husband shuffled between living at Hogwarts and going to Albania to take care of his family business. Helga had several children with her husband, who was the Herbology teacher at Hogwarts. Although he remained unmarried, Salazar too wanted children so he blood-adopted a young boy, who was also surprisingly a Parselmouth, and gave him his own name – Salazar Slytherin.
Godric had, however, years later, always suspected Salazar to have had a biological child of his own; a girl, whom Salazar was very fond of and also possessed the man's vibrant green eyes. Unfortunately, Godric never found out if the girl was indeed Salazar's daughter or not.
Salazar Junior grew up at Hogwarts raised by his father, but he tended to be very arrogant and treated everyone as his inferior. The boy also hated Godric with a passion, which annoyed his father as Salazar and Godric considered each other brothers in all but blood. The two men, of course, had their differences because of their clashing personalities as Godric was loud and brash while Salazar was calm and cunning, but they both counted on each other as family. This slowly created a rift between Salazar and his son. Several years later, when Salazar Junior did something unforgivable, the founder banished his son from Hogwarts, telling him to never come back ever again.
By this time, the founders were not their youthful selves. Rowena's husband had passed away, her daughter had disappeared and so had her diadem. While witches and wizards lived much longer than Muggles, emotional distress tended to make them age a lot faster in their later years rather than physical problems. Rowena was dying, and there was nothing Helga could do to prevent it. Even on her deathbed, the once proud woman craved and cried for her daughter, begging Godric to bring her back so that she could see her one final time before she died. But by the time Godric had found out that Helena Ravenclaw had been killed by the Baron, Rowena had breathed her last.
It had been a sorrowful time at Hogwarts after they lost Rowena. But the other three decided to move on and ensure that Rowena's name would live on at the school. After a span of a few years, whispers began to reach the school that Salazar Junior had started killing various witches, wizards and Muggles alike so as to become the ruler of Magical Britain. Salazar finally had enough of his son's actions, so he decided to go confront him and end his life once and for all. Godric had wanted to come along with him but Salazar refused, stating that this was an internal matter between father and son. Salazar left Hogwarts so as to stop his son from killing any more people, against Godric's advice. That was the last time Godric saw his friend. There was no news of his death but Godric had used an arcane spell to check if he was alive. Godric was devastated to find out that Salazar Slytherin had been killed by the latter's own son.
By this point in time, Godric was old and all the hardship that he had endured had weakened him. Salazar Junior launched a massive offensive at Hogwarts, hoping to take the castle by force, but was thwarted by the wards and the combined forces of Godric Gryffindor and Helga Hufflepuff. Helga was the one who finally fought Salazar Junior and killed him but she later succumbed to her injuries while Godric dealt with Salazar's forces. The battle had severely weakened the aged warrior and he soon left to spend his remaining days at Potter Castle with his family.
Harry was sitting still, his face blank as he explained the story to Daphne. They were in the Room of Requirement.
"It is so ironic," said Harry softly, "that the man everyone believes to have been a Muggle-lover slaughtered an entire village of Muggles when the said Muggles murdered his wife, and everyone vilifies a man who actually died while trying to stop his son from killing innocent witches and wizards. Who wrote our history books again?"
Daphne nodded. "It was Salazar Junior who wanted to wipe out Muggle-borns, not Salazar. History is confused and clouded and everyone thinks the founder was the one who was evil. How sad. What is actually ironic is the way they all died, did you observe that?" she asked.
Harry nodded. "Godric was a warrior who died of depression and old age; Rowena was highly gifted and intelligent but died of heartbreak; Helga was a healer and her House is said to be non-confrontational and are widely called duffers but she died a warrior's death after duelling and defeating Salazar Junior; Salazar was widely known for his cunning nature, but he let his heart overrule him and rashly decided to confront his son and died in a duel with him. It's completely contradictory to their given traits but it shows that while they were great men and women, they had their share of flaws too."
"I'll set history straight," muttered Harry as he picked up the journal. "They deserve to be remembered in their truest form, not the way they are now."
HP*SAVIOUR OF MAGIC*HP
"Report," said Amelia.
"Ma'am, as you know the Muggle Prime Minister has also informed the heads of all the other European countries about the missing Death Eaters," said Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt. "A Muggle couple in southern Italy apparently called the police when they saw someone they thought looked like Bellatrix Lestrange. The Ministry of Magic of Italy began sending their Aurors all over the country to track them down but there have been no leads yet."
"Italy," Sirius frowned heavily. "What are they doing in Italy?"
"I'm not sure, Minister," said Kingsley. "In fact, I'm still trying to figure out how they got out of Britain in the first place!"
Amelia pursed her lips. "Thank you, Shack. Dismissed," she said.
With a nod, the tall Auror left the room. Sirius sat down at his desk, thinking hard as Amelia sat down on the chair in front of him.
"Why would they go abroad at all, Sirius?" asked Amelia, frowning. "It serves no logical purpose!"
"Maybe they are trying to find Voldemort?"
"Voldemort has not been sighted since that night he attacked James, Lily and Harry," said Amelia, shaking her head. "Even if they try to find him, how do they know where he is? They have been in Azkaban for twelve years! Voldemort may not be dead but who knows what form he is in? No, we're missing something."
The wards informed Sirius that someone was at the door. Pressing a rune on his table, he opened the door while retaining the other wards around the office.
"Ah, Director Croaker," said Sirius. "Please come in."
"Minister Black," said Algernon Croaker, Head of the Department of Mysteries. He nodded at the witch, "Amelia."
"Any leads?" asked Sirius.
"My people have been keeping a constant watch on them all," said Croaker. "Not one of them seems to be doing anything suspicious although Lucius Malfoy has attempted to find the escaped Death Eaters. So far, no luck. It seems the prison escapees don't trust those who evaded Azkaban."
"Damn, so there goes tracking them to lead us to the Death Eaters," muttered Sirius.
"I also have some good news, though," said Croaker. Seeing Sirius nod, he said, "The intelligence wing of my department was able to figure out how Bellatrix was able to sneak past the sensor net. It seems the Muggles have built an underwater tunnel that connects England to France."
"Oh, Merlin," muttered Amelia. "How deep?"
"About two hundred to two hundred and fifty feet below the seabed," replied Croaker. "We were not informed about it, so the sensor net has not been applied to the area."
Sirius narrowed his eyes, thinking. "Fine," he said quietly. "There is nothing we can do about it now. But what we can do is ensure that we are prepared. Get the sensor net down to that level. If Bellatrix does return through the tunnel, we'll be able to catch her. Amelia, inform the French Ministry of Magic about this discovery. They've probably not done it either."
"If Bellatrix is abroad, what about the rest?" asked Amelia.
"My guess is that they are still in Britain," said Croaker. "Though I'm surprised they have not attacked anyone yet. It is getting difficult to judge their actions. They're quiet; too quiet."
Sirius nodded. Once Croaker left, he began pacing. "Amy, why did Alastor Moody retire?" he asked curiously.
Amelia scowled. "Fudge," she spat, "decided that he wasn't needed anymore. Alastor's paranoia was getting the better of him and I heard rumours that Malfoy might have pushed for the retirement. Rufus Scrimgeour tried to keep him in the Auror Academy as an instructor but it was shot down."
"Well, I think it is time we brought him back," said Sirius. "Give him all the help he requires. Merlin knows he is more than qualified in capturing those Death Eaters considering he put them there in the first place."
"Understood," said Amelia as she got up to leave. "I need a vacation, Siri; between the issue with the Death Eaters, taking care of Rigel and the upcoming Quidditch World Cup, I'm running myself ragged."
"You think the World Cup is bad?" exclaimed Sirius shaking his head. "You don't even want to know the stink the Triwizard Tournament is causing. No one in Europe wants to come to Britain right now with ten high-security prisoners on the loose. I'll be leaving tomorrow morning for a meeting with the I.C.W. Triwizard Committee in Paris. I'll have to convince them that we'll take care of any security issues."
Amelia nodded. "I'll let you know of any updates."
HP*SAVIOUR OF MAGIC*HP
Harry Potter twisted his wand slowly, his face scrunched up in concentration. In front of him was a ring on which a black stone was placed. He was trying to create a replica of the Gaunt ring which he was trying to recall from memory. He had been working on this for more than two months and it was finally ready. He didn't know what that symbol meant, but it was the only design on the ring so it had to be perfect.
"Done," he breathed. Picking up the ring, he turned around and asked, "How does it look?"
"Humph?" asked Daphne as she looked up from the book she was reading. "Oh, yeah, it looks perfect, but the ring itself is quite ugly looking."
Harry's eyes twinkled in amusement. "We're not going for aesthetics, Daphne. I wanted a replica of the ring."
"Still, it's ugly. You're leaving now?"
"Yes," answered Harry as he put on his leather cloak. "Sirius is back from Paris and he wants to get this done. There is still that locket which we are searching for, but one step at a time. Damn, why couldn't that bastard have died when that curse rebounded on him all those years ago? It would have saved us a lot of trouble."
Daphne smiled sadly. "My grandmother always says that life isn't fair."
"It never is," said Harry grimly. Kissing her goodbye, he made his way to the Shrieking Shack to get out of Hogwarts. With a crack, he Disapparated from Hogwarts.
HP*SAVIOUR OF MAGIC*HP
Two cracks could be heard in the middle of a clearing in Little Hangleton. The two hooded figures were walking towards a forest which they could see in a distance. After walking for five minutes, they stopped.
"There is a barrier that deters people who come too close," said Harry. "It really is a wonderful piece of magic. You wouldn't even recognise it until you have walked for about ten kilometres. By then, you'll probably be fatigued and wondering why you are tired of walking just a few short meters when you have in fact walked for about two hours."
He then went to a specific tree in the forest and began feeling the magic around it. Concealment charms always left traces. Tapping the knot on the tree with his wand, he hissed in Parseltongue. The air seemed to shimmer for a few seconds until the wards dropped.
"Come on," said Harry as he and Sirius walked forward. "Those snakes would be just around the corner. Any second now ..."
A dozen poisonous snakes suddenly crawled all around them. Harry removed the Sword of Gryffindor from inside a bag and began slicing them clean off. Sirius used a modified fire spell and burnt them. With a flick of his wand, Sirius vanished any traces of the snakes.
"That's it?" asked Sirius, eyebrows raised.
"Oh, no," said Harry, shaking his head. "The wards around this place are very advanced but since I am a Parselmouth and I know all the passwords, it is much easier to get through. Even someone like Dumbledore would be stumped here for a while."
With that, Harry began hissing in Parseltongue as he waved his wand in a delicate pattern. Ten minutes later, the wards finally came down, revealing a rundown shack in the distance.
"The door also has a curse placed on it," said Harry as he opened the door, careful not to touch it.
"Hmm, he does take the security of this place seriously," said Sirius. "But I wonder why he didn't put a piece of his soul in a small stone and dump it at the bottom of the ocean."
"Let's be very glad that he didn't," said Harry grimly. Looking at the badly concealed portion of the floor, he began scanning.
"That's another trap, isn't it?" asked Sirius. "If someone enters the shack, they can find the ring easily and once they do, it is a quick, painful death."
"Yup," said Harry as he blasted the floor open. "I can't help being impressed by his diabolical mind."
"Avada Kedavra!"
A pale jet of green light flew from the tip of Harry's wand and impacted the ring. There was a loud screeching sound as the ring stopped moving. Carefully levitating it into a dragon hide pouch, Harry placed the fake ring in its place.
"I still cannot believe you can perform the Killing Curse like it is second nature to you," said Sirius, looking alarmed and worried.
Harry maintained his silence. Unlike Sirius, Harry did study the Dark Arts after all and he knew the taboo on most of it was unwarranted. Sure, some of them should never have existed, the Horcruxes for one, but they did not fall under the purview of dark; that was black magic, which was highly illegal and dangerous.
Flicking his wand in a complicated gesture, muttering under his breath, the ancient Egyptian curse slipping easily from his lips, he finally pointed his wand to the ring as a ripple of magic impacted the ring, making it glow.
"There, it is done," said Harry as he put the ring back in place and repaired the damage done to the floor. "Now all we have to do is take care of any evidence that would lead us to believe we were here at all."
Sirius nodded as he began waving his wand and clearing the evidence. One hour later, the stone which was on the Gaunt ring was placed in the high-security vault at Potter Castle. The golden ring was melted with Fiendfyre to get rid of the curse placed on it.
Another Horcrux down … Now, if only they could find that blasted locket!