5 September: Privet Drive.
"I got a job. I got a job. I. Got. A. Job." Sirius sang as he waltzed into James' house.
James followed his friend's voice into the living room and asked, "And this time you are not going to quite?"
Remus chuckled. He was called here by Sirius so he could share this news with them.
"In my defence, the book store was too quiet and boring for me." Sirius said, taking a seat next to his werewolf friend.
As we know, Sirius was trying to find a job, and he got one at a wizarding bookstore after he guilt-tripped the sweet owner about how the wizarding society did him injustice, and now he is in need of employment. But, literally two days later, he quit because it was too 'quiet and boring' for 'The Great Sirius Black.'
"Not everyone is you, Remus."
"So, where are you working now?" James asked.
"Hogs Head Inn, and guess who the owner is?" Sirius asked, jumping in his seat in excitement.
"The shady part of Hogsmeade?"
"One where students are not allowed?"
"And is usually infested with dark wizards?"
"Are you sure this is a good idea?"
The two friends were not that excited to hear this news.
"Yes, yes, yes and yes." Sirius answered, nonchalantly. "I can easily eavesdrop on those dark wizards and find interesting news. I just have to clean tables, and I am getting paid. And I can meet Harry and Josette during Hogsmeade visits. This is too good to reject."
"Sirius, you are overqualified for this job. You can do more than clean tables. If you are really in need of a job, go to the ministry; after everything they put you through, the least they can do is provide you an employment." Remus tried to convince Sirius that this is not what he really wants.
"You always wanted to become an Auror... You can complete your training now." James added.
"The ministry where half of them are Death Eaters and half still believe I am guilty?" Sirius asked. "And you-" he looked at Remus "-what about the small jobs you do? You too are overqualified."
"It's different." Remus mumbled. "I am a werewolf."
"And I am an ex-convict... This is our life." Sirius said.
James sensed that the excitement was long gone, so he changed the topic. "How did you come across Hogs Head Inn?"
"After meeting Josette, I went there for drinks... You know, as students, we weren't allowed so I was curious, but the owner was not looking for any help-"
"So, you guilt-tripped him as well?" James interrupted.
"Oh! This guy can't be guilt-tripped. I just pointed out there's a lot of dust in the room and customers, and he is alone... so I offered to help, and he agreed."
"Pads, don't you think that's suspicious?" Remus asked.
"That's what I thought, so I asked him, and he said, his brother did me wrong and wants to help me.."
The confusion was clear on both their faces. Sirius sighed that his 'dumb' friends still hadn't figured it out. "He is Dumbledore's brother!" He revealed.
"He has a brother?"
"You shouldn't work for Dumbledore."
James and Remus spoke at the same time.
"Trust me, he is not like Albus...if anything, Aberforth resents him."
"And you figured that out in just one hour?"
"Two hours."
"Sirius!"
"I want to do this, Rem." Sirius sighed, "I was stuck in a house for two years and before that in prison for 13... I want to go out and work... and not in a bookstore where I just have to sit and stare at books... I want to move, run, and at the same time be closer to Josette... This job is perfect."
"Fine." Remus gave in, if this makes his friend happy, who is he to deny it?
Sirius grinned and looked at his 'deer' friend.
"Fine." James also gave, equally happy for his friend. "Wait, does Josette know?"
"Yes. And she approves."
"Look at you... needing approval from your girlfriend.." James teased him.
"You are the one to talk." Sirius teased him back.
~☆~
After dinner, Draco was on his way to Josette's office. He received a letter from Voldemort this morning. It said that he should focus more on his task than quidditch, as he was made captain of the team. Indirectly telling him to quite and Draco did.
He met Dumbledore before the classes started, and for a second there he thought he should just Avada Kedavara him and put an end to all, key word thought. That's when he realized he can't perform the spell; he tried it on a plant and it didn't work. How is he supposed to kill a powerful wizard if he can't kill a tiny flower?
He needs practise and not just for that spell but in combat and everything. So, here he is, knocking on Josette's door.
She opened the door and smiled at him. "Oh! So, you do remember me!" She teased.
"I'm sorry...I was just busy." Draco replied shyly.
"Yes, yes, you are a very busy person." Josette walked in, telling him to follow. He took a seat on one of the benches when Josette asked. "So, how's your task?"
Draco tensed up. "What task??" He asked, putting on a confident mask.
"You became a death eater; Tom must have done that for a reason." Josette shrugged.
"No..no.. he hasn't said anything to me yet.." Draco lied.
"Okay.." Josette felt bad that he lied, but it's okay. He will talk when he feels comfortable, she told herself "So, what brings you here?"
"I want to join your class this year." Draco said. He hadn't taken her class before because, well, he didn't really need to, but now he does.
"Why??"
"Because I am a death eater and have to be ready for this war." Draco shrugged.
"You don't have to fight..."
"I need to... for mother."
Josette sighed and started walking towards her desk. "Pince closes the library at 10. Filch is done with his rounds by 11." She opened the drawer, picked up a wand, and walked back to him "The restricted section key is stuck under Pince's desk."
"Why are you telling me this?" Draco asked.
"You don't fight a war with charms; you need spells, dark spells. And knowing you, you won't ask for help. So, find those books in the restricted section and help yourself."
"You are encouraging me to be a death eater?" He was really confused now.
"No... I am telling you to be prepared. Most people think dark spells are for evil wizards... They are bad, and we should stay away from them... But they are just spells... They are not dark; people are, and I know for sure you are not. Here." Josette handed him a wand. "An unauthorised wand... Use this while learning new spells. The ministry might notice if you use your wand for this."
"Why?? Why are you helping me? We are on opposite sides?"
Josette chuckled and kneeled in front of him, placing her hands on his shoulder. "You don't even know what side you are on... but whatever you choose, without being forced by anyone, remember I will always be by your side... You can tell me anything, and I mean anything, and I won't judge you, I promise."
Draco looked down, feeling guilty. Josette has so much faith in him, but she doesn't know he is going to commit the worst of crimes. Only if he knew she has already done it a hundred times. He opened his mouth to say something when the cabinet rattled loudly, scaring him. He instinctively removed his wand.
"It's okay. He gets angry when I lock him up for a long time." She waved her wand and opened the cabinet. Lev flew out quickly. He attached himself to her shoulders and started shaking and spinning her. As if scolding her for locking him in that tiny space.
"Oh...okay!" Josette laughed, feeling slightly dizzy. "Sorry, but you disturb my class. I had to lock you up." He still didn't stop. "I promise not to do it again. Please stop." A few more spins, and he finally let go of her.
While she was busy with the cloak, Draco realised he was about to tell her everything. Merlin Draco! Pull yourself together. You don't need anyone. You are doing this for mother, and you are doing it. He told himself and stood up, building his walls back up. "Thank you... but... I... I should go."
Josette's smile left her lips; for a second, she thought she got through him. Way to ruin the moment, Lev. She sent a glare at the cloak and turned back to the Slytherin "Yes.. yes.. you should." She whispered.
~☆~
13 September: Gryffindor Common Room
As Harry continued to follow the Half-Blood Prince's instructions, he was now on top of Slughorn's class. The professor was raving about his abilities, saying he had rarely taught anyone so talented. And this helped him with the task Dumbledore gave him: get closer to Slughorn.
The last time he met the headmaster was a week ago, when he was assigned this task. Also, they are going to meet more often to prepare Harry to fight Voldemort. Harry ignored what Josette said and agreed to keep these meetings between him and the headmaster.
With potions, homework, and assignments, Harry has had a very busy year so far, but that didn't stop him from stalking his nemesis. Most of the time, he watched Draco on the marauders map but didn't find anything suspicious yet, as the Slytherin was mostly seen in classes or his common room.
Just as he looked down at the map now, seeing the name 'Draco Malfoy' in the Slytherin Common Room.
"Hey, Harry." Ron pulled him away from his thoughts. "Any tips for tomorrow's tryouts?" He asked.
"Yeah, practise hard and maybe be a little nice to your sister; she is the co-captain." He said, cheekily.
"And you are the captain and my best friend." Ron tried to butter him up.
"Yes, but he can't just take your side; you will have to prove yourself." Hermione argued.
"You are right." Ron groaned.
Harry looked down at his watch and hurriedly put the map into his bag. "It’s almost eight; I’d better go, I’ll be late for Dumbledore."
"Oh!" Hermione gasped "Good luck! We’ll wait up, we want to hear what he teaches you!"
Ron nodded, agreeing with her, as they watched Harry leave through the portrait hole.
Harry walked through deserted corridors until he reached the spot on the seventh floor where a single gargoyle stood against the wall.
Harry said the password, revealing the spiral staircase that took him to the top. He knocked on the door.
"Come in." Dumbledore's voice came from the other side.
"Good evening, sir." Said Harry, walking in.
"Ah, good evening, Harry, sit down." Dumbledore said with a smile. "So, I hear a lot about you from Horace."
"Yes. But, sir, what am I supposed to do exactly? Why is Professor Slughorn so important?" Harry asked.
"Over time, while here at Hogwarts, Tom Riddle grew close to one particular teacher."
"Slughorn?" Harry blurted out.
"Yes, yes, Harry. You see, Professor Slughorn possesses something I desire very dearly."
"What is it?"
"A memory... Harry, during these lessons, I am going to show you what made Lord Voldemort the wizard he is today."
"You are not going to teach me spells?" Harry asked rather suddenly.
"Spells??"
"Well, when you said you are going to prepare me to fight Voldemort, I thought we would actually be learning how to fight."
Dumbledore chuckled slightly. "I am going to prepare you, Harry, with knowledge. It is as important as combat. And as for combat, we have teachers, and Josette, she will prepare you well."
"Yes, sir." Harry paused for a minute before continuing "Are you going to tell me about Voldemort's past?"
"Yes, yes, from the very beginning." Dumbledore got to his feet and walked around the desk over to the cabinet beside the door. He opened it, revealing the pensive and, above that, many vials of memories.
Harry eagerly walked over to him.
Dumbledore picked up a bottle, struggling to pull out the stopper with his injured hand.
"Shall I?" Harry offered.
"No worries." He pointed his wand at the bottle, and the cork flew out.
"Sir, how did you injure your hand?" Harry asked curiously, looking at the blackened hand with a mixture of revulsion and pity.
"Now is not the time for that story, not yet." He dropped the silvery contents of the bottle into the pensive. "Before we start, everything you see here-"
"Stays between us." Harry finished for him.
Dumbledore nodded, and Harry bent forward, took a deep breath, and plunged his face into the pensive. He was falling through the whirling darkness, and then he heard rain. He opened his eyes as Dumbledore landed beside him. He saw a house in the distance; everything else was black smoke, as it was irrelevant to the story and didn't really matter if it was there or not. It was raining heavily, but Harry couldn't feel it.
"Whose memory is this?" Harry asked.
"An old friend, Alcott Croix. He died some time ago, but not before I had tracked him down and persuaded him to confide these recollections to me."
Harry gasped when suddenly a girl ran through him, straight towards the house. Harry and Dumbledore followed her.
The girl was wearing a ragged grey dress, all wet from the rain. She was panting heavily; her pale, skinny hands were banging on the door, and the distress was clear on her face.
The door opened, and there stood a tall man wearing glasses. Harry concluded that he is Alcott. The man was confused, as initially he didn't recognise the girl in front of his house, and then he remembered "Merope?"
The girl only nodded.
"You are soaked! Come in, come in." Alcott rushed Merope inside, quickly covered her with a warm blanket, and sat her near the fireplace. He added more wood to the fire, making it burn brighter.
"They are going to kill me. They are going to kill me." She kept repeating it under her breath.
"Merope, please use the language we both speak." Alcott whispered.
But the girl was still panicking, repeating the same words over and over again.
"You understand her, I’m sure, Harry?" Dumbledore asked quietly.
"Yes, but why can't Croix?"
"She is speaking Parseltongue."
Harry's eyes widened. "She is related to Voldemort?"
Dumbledore only nodded as Merope calmed down and spoke, this time in English "You have to help me, my father... he will kill me..." she sobbed.
"Why? What happened??"
The girl hesitated before saying, "I.. I am pregnant."
"And the father is the farmer boy?" Alcott asked, dreading to hear her answer.
Merope nodded, sobbing harder.
"It's okay, it's okay... I will talk to your father... It's not a crime to love a muggle."
"For him it is... He won't understand... You have to arrest him and Morfin.. please." She pleaded.
Harry almost felt sorry for her, even though he had no idea what had happened before or who are the people she was talking about.
"I can't just arrest them..." Alcott tried to reason with her.
"I will tell you all the crimes they committed. I will testify." Merope pleaded
"It's not enough." The man sighed.
"Then you have to help me, I can't go back there.."
"What about Tom?"
Harry's ears perked up at the familiar name.
"We are neighbours, Alcott. Father will find out."
"Are you married yet?"
She shook her head.
"Will he run away with you? Does he love you? I will help you start a new life." Alcott offered.
Merope stayed silent.
"Merope?" Still no reply. "Merope, what's wrong?" He almost shouted.
"I have been slipping him love potion, he has no idea..." She said, barely audible.
"WHAT!!!" He exclaimed.
The rest of the memory faded away. Harry gasped as he removed his head from the water.
"That was Voldemort's mother!" He said, rather loudly. One would think that the Tom she mentioned is Voldemort and that she is his lover. But Dumbledore did say 'from the very beginning' and he knows his enemy very well, Voldemort can't be fooled by a love potion.
"That’s right," said Dumbledore, smiling in approval. "I am glad to see you figured that out on your own."
"What happened next? What about the father? And why was Merope so afraid of her father? Who is Morfin? How does Croix know them?" Harry attacked the headmaster with questions, and there were more to come.
"Questions, questions." Dumbledore chuckled and moved towards his cabinet of memories. "Here are the answers." He picked up another vial. "As for Croix, he was Merope's friend while at Hogwarts, but they lost touch after that. Alcott works at Magical Law and Enforcement. A few months before this memory, he met the Gaunts. Morfin had used a spell on a muggle, and Alcott came there to give him a warning as it was just a trip jinx and didn't do any harm. That's when he and Merope got back in touch."
"Morfin?" Harry asked.
"Merope's brother."
"And they are descendants of Slytherin, so obviously there's pureblood supremacy. And you once told me Voldemort is a half-blood. So, Tom Sr. was a muggle, and Merope's family was against their love."
"Glad to see you are keeping up." Dumbledore smiled at him and said, "But there was no love between them."
"She tricked him." Harry whispered, remembering what the memory said "We learned about amortentia this year. Voldemort, he can't love, can he?"
"No. He can't. One of the reasons why it is easy for him to kill people. He has no compassion in his heart for anyone." Dumbledore paused for a second and held up the vial. "Shall we??"
Harry nodded as the headmaster poured the contents into the pensive. Again taking a deep breath, Harry dunked his head. Dumbledore followed behind.
This time, he landed inside a house. He saw an old man sitting in front of him as though directly staring into Harry's soul. Sacred, the boy moved from the man's line of vision. There was a knock at the door, again starling Harry. The whole house had a scary aura. The dark walls and what looked like dead snakes pinned to the walls. Harry shivered at the sight of them and turned his attention to the door.
"Morfin! Get the damn door." The old man yelled.
"Marvolo, her father." Dumbledore informed.
Another man walked downstairs, whom Harry assumed must be Morfin, and opened the door.
On the other side were Alcott and Merope, hiding behind him.
"You again, what do you want?" Morfin sneered.
"I just came to drop Merope." He stepped aside, revealing the girl.
"This bitch." Morfin sneered, grabbing Merope by her hair and pulling her into the house.
The girl cried in pain, so did Harry, seeing how she was treated.
"Hey!" Alcott's grip tightened on his wand.
"Stay out of our family business." Morfin gritted his teeth before slamming the door in his face.
The memory again faded away, and it still didn't answer any of Harry's questions besides what happened next.
"I still don't understand." Harry said as soon as he removed his head from the water.
"He couldn't give the rest of the memory due to ministry-related matters." Dumbledore said, "Alcott and Merope had planned to expose what Morfin and Marvolo really are, and she was the bait. Alcott was not alone, there were aurors surrounding the house. You witnessed how the Gaunts treated Merope, you can only speculate on what happened after she informed them about her condition. And that was enough to put the two in Azkaban for at least six months."
"Just six months?" Harry asked, getting angrier.
"Yes, unfortunately."
"And what after that?"
"Alcott never heard from Merope again. From all that I have been able to discover, as soon as Tom Sr. was freed from the potion, he left her. Merope gave birth to Tom Jr. and died some time after that, leaving Tom in the care of Saint Wool's Orphanage."
"What about Marvolo and Morfin?"
"Morfin was longer in Azkaban than Marvolo. He had been greatly weakened by his time in prison, and he had possibly never learned to feed himself. He had died by the time Morfin was released. As for Morfin, that's the story for another time."
Harry took his time to take everything in. He was struggling to take a side, as in who is right and who is wrong. Marvolo deserved what he got. Merope was also at fault, she shouldn't have used the love potion, it's wrong, it's unethical. Tom Sr.'s anger was expected and, in a way, right, but he shouldn't have left her after learning about the baby. And maybe, if he had been there, Voldemort would not be the wizard he is today.
But what Harry didn't understand is why knowing this is important. How is this going to help him defeat Voldemort?
"Sir... is it important to know all this about Voldemort’s past?" He asked.
"Very important, I think." said Dumbledore. "As they say, Know thy enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated."
"Right." Harry said, a little confused but reassured all the same.
"I think that will do for tonight, Harry." said Dumbledore after a moment or two.
"Yes, sir." said Harry. "Sir, can I at least tell Ron and Hermione?"
Dumbledore considered him for a moment, then said, "Yes, I think Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger have proved themselves trustworthy. But Harry-"
"I won't repeat it to anyone else." He promised. Dumbledore nodded with a smile.
Harry turned to go, then another question occurred to him, and he turned back again. "Sir, you were able to track down a friend of Merope's. Don't you think Voldemort's friends will be able to give more information about him?"
"Yes, yes. I did think that but Tom was not the one to make friends. And never to reveal his plans to anyone."
"But surely he did not do all this on his own... He must have had some support." Harry argued.
"That's why he has followers. From his time at Hogwarts, all the purebloods were loyal to him... but Tom never truly trusted them, never shared his plans with anyone. Most of them are dead now, and the remaining ones won't go against him."
"Oh...okay. Isn't that sad, not being able to love, to feel, to trust..." Harry said, mostly to himself.
"Tom did feel something. There are now two people in his life that he came closest to love, closest but world domination always remained his first priority."
"Who?" Harry asked, interested to know who those two are that can make that monster feel something.
"His mother, who is now dead."
"Let me guess? The other one is also dead?"
"No, she is very much alive and right here in this castle. Probably the only one who knows Tom from the inside out."
"Who?" Harry furrowed his eyebrows.
"Mortis."
~☆~
As Harry was having 'lessons' with Dumbledore at the same time the Marauders were having a secret meeting of their own.
"Is meeting here necessary?" Remus asked, shuddering as he stood in the shrieking shack. The last time he was here, things didn't really end well.
"Bringing back happy memories?" Severus couldn't help but comment. Years of habit of jabbing the marauders at every turn.
"Sirius isn't here yet." James said, completely ignoring Severus.
Right on cue, Sirius entered the room. "Sorry, just finished my shift. Aberforth is very strict with work. So, what did I miss?"
"Nothing." Josette said before embracing him in a hug. Sirius smiled and kissed her cheek.
"So," she started in her professional voice, "What do you know about a Horcrux??"
"Nothing." James and Sirius spoke in unison.
Remus tried to remember if he had come across that term, but then shook his head.
"Object containing part of a wizard's soul to gain immortality. Creating a horcrux gives one the ability to anchor their spirit to the world of the living if their body is destroyed, giving them the chance to create a new body. The only known creator of Horcrux was Herpo the Foul." Severus repeated the paragraph word to word he once read in one of his dark arts books.
"What are you, an encyclopedia?" Sirius remarked, slightly impressed.
"Yes, but he is not the only creator. Can you guess how Tom was brought back to life?" Josette asked.
"He has a Horcrux?" Remus gasped.
"Does that mean he is immortal?" James added.
"As of now, yes, but if we destroy all his horcruxes, then we can kill him." Josette explained.
"Horcruxes? As in plural? There are more than one?" Severus asked, quite shocked. He knows a bit about horcruxes and how making them splits one's soul, and it is just horrible to do it once.
"We can only assume there's more. Tom can be selfish, and more horcruxes guarantees more chances of surviving, so...." Josette shrugged.
"How do you know all this?" James asked.
"Well, there was a time when I was his, you know, partner in crime, so he told me..." Josette said, awkwardly.
"How many are there?"
"I just know one, Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem."
"And where is it?"
"I don't know."
"So, from what I understand, we don't know how many horcruxes are there, we don't know what they are, and we don't know where the diadem is." Remus concluded the whole meeting so far, which brought them to a dead end.
"I know it sounds impossible, but at least we can try." Josette said, even though she herself was not sure how they are going to find these horcruxes.
"But how? I mean, where do we start? We have nothing." Sirius said.
"Not nothing. Severus, you try to find the whereabouts of the diadem from Voldemort."
"It will take time... he doesn't trust me now. I will have to earn it back." Severus said.
"Okay, okay." Josette thought about it and then continued "Now, Tom has pride, like a lot. He won't just make anything his horcrux. It should be worthy to contain his soul like the diadem, it's a historical relic... so we find all the famous items."
"Jo, even those numbers go up to thousands. We can't just destroy every historical object." Remus reasoned.
"We won't. Horcrux is dark magic, it emits dark traces. We find all these famous objects and see if they are laced with dark magic or not." Josette explained.
"Cool. I think we can do this.." Sirius said, positively.
"So, here's what we are going to do... Snape focuses on Voldemort and the diadem. We research on all the famous objects in the whole history of the wizarding world and try to find them. Okay?" James said.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Now let's get out of here. These place is starting to creep me out." He shivered and walked towards the door, others following behind.
Sirius and James were whispering between themselves. "Let's start with other founders, like Gryffindor's sword." James said.
"No, that sword could only be removed from the sorting hat by a true Gryffindor-"
"Like my son." James proudly said, rudely interrupting him.
The rest of the conversation was deaf to Josette as she suddenly realised something "Oh... Oh my God!" She stopped in tracks.
"What?" Her friends asked, confused.
"The Hufflepuff's Cup. That's the second horcrux. It was filled with dark magic, and when I touched it, I saw Hephzibah Smith die. She is the one who led Tom to me and to the Ravenclaw diadem. It makes sense, Voldemort killed her and made the cup a horcrux." She grinned, obviously proud of herself. "We already know about two horcruxes, we are killing it." She raised her hand for a high five, and it was returned by James.
"Where is it now?" Remus asked.
"Dumbledore's office. I will try to get it as soon as possible." Jostte said.
"Er.. but... Jo, how do we know when to stop? We don't know how many of these objects are there. How do we know if we have destroyed all his horcruxes or not?" He asked a very reasonable question.
"Well, I can't answer every question now, can I? For all we know, there could be just these two." She replied with a not so reasonable answer.
"It's a start." James said. It was followed by a long silence where everyone was contemplating if they can really pull this off.