"I still couldn't believe you did that to Draco and me," Harry said from his place on the couch.
"Believe me, it tore me up on the inside when I did that. Most of the time I was scared I would find out from the Daily Prophet that you two were dead, or captured," Severus replied as he took a long sigh. Those months Harry, Draco. Hermione and Ron where out Horcrux hunting made him a panic wreck, but only in private.
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After Severus turned the corner the two boys looked to one another. Draco, giving Harry a determined nod turned on his heal and walked in the opposite direction of Severus towards the Headmasters office with Harry hot on his tail. The trip there was silent as the two boys climbed the stairs and enter the man's office. Everything was still and nothing out of place as if he just left for rounds about the castle and he wasn't lying dead at the bottom of the astronomy tower. Harry tried not to think about that as he walked behind the headmaster's desk and opened the top left drawer like his father told him to. There were only two things inside. A note and a ring.
Draco walked up to Harry when he saw the puzzled expression on his face. He too looked in the drawer and carefully pulled out the ring. It was a small thing, with a black stone in the center. Harry lifted up the note and unfolded it. Draco peeked over his shoulder and together they read the note.
Dear boys,
Yes, I know Severus would have entrusted you two for this. I'm afraid by the time you are reading this I will be gone from this world. But I have a very important mission for you. Over the previous summer and the beginning months of the school year. I have been out collecting Horcruxes. The ring enclosed in this drawer is one of them. I'd advise you do not put it on. In this ring is a piece of Tom Riddle's soul. As long as the soul remains in there, Tom will never die. I have a small list of what I believe are Horcruxes, and I need you to obtain them. I pray the best and that you don't face many hardships on your journey. And remember, happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light.
- Albus Dumbledore
Draco and Harry stood there for a moment, amazed at the task that is now presented before them. The headmaster and Severus are trusting them with this. And if they complete it, then Tom Molloval Riddle will truly forever be gone from their world. Draco glanced down at the ring that remained in his hands. The black stone shown up at him, almost taunting him that the soul of a genocidal madman was staring up at him. He dropped the ring on the desk and almost gave a shiver at the thought that he was holding it in his hands. Harry meanwhile scanned the bottom of the note to find the list of the potential horcruxes.
Nagini
Slytherins Locket
T̶o̶m̶ ̶R̶i̶d̶d̶l̶e̶s̶ ̶D̶i̶a̶r̶y̶
Harry stared at the list questionable. Why was Tom's diary crossed out? Then it hit him. Literally. From the shelf behind him, Fawkes perched himself on a shelf a few feet above Harry and knocked the forgotten journal off and it hit him square in the head. He picked it up and looked at the hole that was ripped into the cover from where he had stabbed it with a basilisk fang in his second year. He had literally seen Tom's soul manifest itself before him and he had destroyed it. With a basilisk fang that had...
"Venom..." he said out loud.
"What?" Draco said as he turned to him.
"This diary, it used to be a horcruxe, but in my second year, down in the chamber of secrets, I used a basilisk fang, that still had venom in it, and stabbed the journal. That's what destroyed it. Basilisk venom can destroy the horcruxes," Harry told him. Draco just stared at him like he was nuts.
"Oh, that makes this so much more simple. Let's just stroll up to Nagini and try and stab her with a fang," he said sarcastically. Harry rolled his eyes at the blond.
"Hey, at least it's a start. We know how to get rid of them. Now we just need to come up with a way to make it more efficient," he said as he racked his brain.
"I think you may need Granger for this," Draco said as he summoned a little bag and put the ring inside. Harry nodded and took off towards the Gryffindor common room.
Upon opening the door, he found Hermione pacing in front of Ron who was sitting in one of the air chairs in front of the fire. When the sound of the door opening caught Hermione's ears, she turned to look at him then eventually threw herself into his arms.
"Harry I was worried about you! After what happened in the courtyard, I didn't know what might happen to you," she said as she clung to him. Harry stood there for a minute and hugged his friend to calm her down.
"See 'minoe I told you he would be fine," Ron said getting up and making his way over to them, "So where have you two been then?" he questioned. Harry quickly filled them in on everything that had happened that took place over the past half hour or so.
"So, you know how to destroy the piece of soul, just not a very efficient way of doing so?" Hermione asked as she had a few pieces of paper scattered around her. The whole while they talked he took notes.
"Yeah that's about right," Draco answered her. Hermione looked over her papers a few more times before she looked at Harry.
"Alright, tell me everything that happened down in the chamber of secrets when you fought the basilisk again."
"It chased me for a bit before Fawkes showed up and clawed it's eyes out. Then the sorting hat gave me the sword of Gryffindor that I used to stab it and that's when I got the fang in my arm," Harry said. Hermione thought for a few moments before she jumped up excitedly from her place on the floor.
"That's it!"
"What's it?" Harry questioned her.
"The sword of Gryffindor. I read somewhere that objects goblin made absorb certain properties if it adds to its strength. And the sword of Gryffindor is a goblin-made object," she said proudly of her own findings.
"So that means?" Ron asked from his spot on the couch.
"Honestly," Draco sighed as he looked at him, "The basilisk venom strengthens the power of the sword. So the sword of Gryffindor is infused with basilisk venom. We can use that as well to destroy the horcruxes."
"It would be much easier to kill a snake with a sword then a fang," Harry said jokingly. Draco playfully rolled his eyes while the other two let out small laughs. And so their adventure began. Upon searching the headmasters' office they didn't find the sword and decided to work on obtaining and figuring out the others. Using a polyjuice potion, they went as ministry workers and stole the locket off of Umbridge. Though they did cause a small commotion upon leaving the ministry. Escaping into near-by woods they set up a small camp. To keep the locket safe they put it in the bag with the ring, though a curious Ron slipped it on and his mood instantly took a turn for the worst. A major fight one night broke out amongst them, resulting in Ron leaving the camp. To clear his mind Harry strolled off to a nearby lake to think. He stared out at the frozen lake, watching the moon's reflection shine on the ice. Moments later Draco joined him and together they just sat there, staring at the ice. That was until a blue and white mist caught their attention.
In front of them stood a doe. Well, a doe patronus. It pranced around the edge of the lake before stopping in front of the two of them. It bowed its head and trotted out to a spot close to the lakes' middle. It bowed it's head once again and disappeared in a blue cloud. Harry was the first to make his way out to where the doe disappeared. Draco cautiously followed and shinning a bright lumos, the pair saw something sitting at the bottom of the lake. Something shiny was on it for it reflected the light back up at them. Knowing it was important for why else would it lead them to it, Draco cast a reducto on the ice and a hole was blown into the ice. Harry got his Gryffindor courage and jumped in.
The freezing water was like hell against his skin, but her persisted against it. He sawm with all his might to the bottom where he grasped the object and brought it to the surface. Draco quickly got him out of the water, momentarily casting the object to the side. He took Harry's jacket off of him along with his shirt and Draco replaced it with his own. Once that was done the two boys turned their attention back to the object in question. Another lumos from Draco showed the object was the sword of Gryffindor. Draco lightly picked up the sword when a burning sensation came from his pocket. It was coming from the bag holding the ring and the locket. Fetching it out of his pocket and on to the ground, he found the objects physically moving on their own, away from him. Knowing what had to be done they picked up the bag and ran back towards the camp.
They spent a day or two trying to find the best was about doing it. They could easily just strike the locket and the ring with the sword, but what would come after it? Would they need to be prepared to fight something, or would that be the end of that piece of soul? In that time span, Ron returned to the camp. He received hell form Hermione, Draco just gave him a stern look and Harry, well, he just acted like the thing never happened. He was just glad his friend hadn't completely abandoned him. Now with all of them together again, they went a ways away from the camp and laid the objects on a log. Rasing the sword above his head, Draco brought it down first of the ring. Once this happened all hell broke loose. The soul exploded out of the stone and blew Draco away. He dropped the sword and it found itself next to Ron. The power from the first horcruxe opened the locket and that piece of soul manifested in to the viewers worst nightmare. For Ron, it was too much and brought the sword down on the locket as well.
The journey continued wit then hunt for Horcruxes which took them to Gringots for the Helga Huffelpuffs cup which resided in Bellatrix Lestranges volt. Though everything they touched multiplied and soon they were being consumed by the room as the objects multiplied. Upon getting the cup they had to escape the Wizarding bank on the back of a dragon.
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"You can't imagine our panic when we heard that you lot did that." Lucius told him.
"I swear I almost had a heart attack when u found out it was you all who broke out of Gringots, and on a dragon no less." Severus said.
"Well, the idea was Hermione actually." Said Harry. Lucius and Severus only rolled there eyes. "Hey, it could have been worse."
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After the Gringots fiasco, the four students meet Albus Dumbledores brother, Aberforth, who helped them sneak back into the castle to find the Diadem of Ravenclaw. But, luck have it, that's when the Battle of Hogwarts started. So while students scattered, fought and professor defended the castle, Hermione and Ron went down to the chamber of secrets to destroy the cup with an actual basalisk fang, while Harry and Draco searched for the diadem.
The searched for it, before finding the ghost of the Grey lady, or Helena Ravenclaw. She told them of what Tom Riddle did to her mother's diadem and where they could find it. Entering the Room of Requirements, they searched high and low till a few Slytherins entered in. One set a fiend fire loose in the room and soon, the whole room was up in flames. Summoning a broom both Harry and Draco flew out of the room, but not before dropping the diadem in the fire. The soul of Riddle ripped out of it and died out in a sound of anguish and flames.
They ran down the stairs of the main hall. Now they had a snake to find. Harry sat down against a near by wall. Granted to find the snake next to Voldemort, he first had to locate the mad-man. Closing his eyes-he focused on the connection he shared with him. He saw hooks, water, ropes... the boathouse! But the vision didn't end there, he saw the snake, but then he saw Voldemort and... Lucius.
He's speaking to him, asking him to call of the attack. Voldemort turns to him saying that he did not have to find Harry, that he would come to him. Well, he was right about that. But before Lucius left, The Dark Lord gave him an order. To bring Severus to him. Fear and panic settled into his bones. His eyes shot open and his friends where looking at him. They knew what ever he saw and shaken him. Like a lighting bolt Harry shot up and ran to the boathouse as fast and as stealthiest as he could.
They reach the outside and find Severus had reached the boathouse before them. Harry and the rest waited outside where The Dark Lord wouldn't see them through the glass. They could make out a few words here and there when a thud hit the glass. All Harry could see was black robes and black hair against the glass, making the figure his father. Then something was either thrown or something struck him repeatedly. After a minute or so all was quiet and they entered the boathouse. Laying on the floor resting against the window was Severus with a gash in his neck and blood pooling around him. Harry let a straggled noise leave his throat before he ran to him and dropped to his knees where he placed a hand on his neck. Hermione, one to always come prepared, pulled out her wand a muttered a spell that closed up his neck. She pulled out vials of blood replenishing potion, but he refused to take it. Instead he weakly pointed to the inside of robes. Draco leaned down next to Harry and reached inside and grabbed what was in his robe pocket.
In his pocket was a small blue vial. Draco uncapped it and helped the man drink it. Upon the liquid hitting his lips, already colour returned to his face. Then he slowly motioned for Hermione to give him the blood replenishing potions. Though a few tears fell from his face, he motioned his hand to them.
"Take them, please," he rasped out. Taking a spare vial Ron passed it to Harry who collected them. "Take them to the pensive," he said.
"What about you?" asked Harry.
"I'll be fine here." Harry was hesitant to leave his father like that till Draco volunteered to stay with him. He hugged his father then returned to the castle to make his way up to the headmasters office. He dragged out Dumbledores' pensive and dropped his fathers memories into it and entered.
The first memory he was shown one of his mother when they where younger. It showed his mother and his aunt. His mother had taken a crushed flower in her hand and brought it back to life. Petunia smacked it out of her hand and called her a freak. The memory shifts to Petunia calling after his sister telling her that she'd tell their mother she was a freak. That's when Severus appeared. Petunia ran from him and he picked up a leaf and had it flutter over to his mothers hand. She caught it and smiled at him and he smiled back. Again the memory shifted to them laying by a lake looking at the sky.
A new memory came up of the sorting, and he watched his mother be sorted into Gryffindor, leaving Severus alone in Slytherin and having Lily meet James. He saw his real father shove his way through Severus and Lily, knocking all their books to the floor. A memory of his mother and his real father dancing, one of the prohocy and him being called to Dumbledore. There he pleaded with him to protect his family, to hide them. And in return, he said he would give him anything.
He saw his mother dead and Severus talking to Albus. Severus was telling how he said he would keep them safe, keep them all safe. But they put their trust in the wrong person he said. Then he goes on to say Severus was to protect him. Not end up as his son, but protect him when he came back to school. He saw himself be sorted into Slytherin. He saw what happened to Albus. How a curse started in his hand and how in a year it would spread and claim his life.
But then he heard something. He needed to be told something. That when his mother took the killing curse for him, Voldemorts soul split and attached itself to him. A part of the Dark Lord lives within him. Then he heard, he must die. But at the proper moment and it was essential that Voldemort does it himself. His father casted a potronous of a sliver doe, the same one he saw by the lake.
He extracted himself from the pensive and sat down for a while. His father knew, that he was supposed to die. He wanted to know why his father didn't try anything to stop this. Maybe he looked into it and found there was no other way? He pulled himself together and made his way to Voldemort who was currently located in the forest. Upon entering it, he took out the small golden snitch that Dumbledore gave him in his will. He rolled it around in his hand and found it opened. Inside was a reddish stone. The resurrection stone he realized. He took that out and rolled it around on his palm. He found his mother and his real father.
He looked to his mother first. He saw the same eyes as his own stare back at him, filled with love. She reached out a single hand and he held out his. His hand may have went right through it, but it made him happy none the less. He looked to his real father and saw his own reflection staring back at him.
"What's it like," he asked them, "dying?"
"Quicker than falling asleep," his father said. His mother smiled at him.
"You've been so brave," she told him.
"I never asked you to die for me. You shouldn't have."
"Harry we would do it again if it meant you lived. We would do anything for you," James said, "and we're always with you. And let Severus know, I appreciate what he did. Raising you. I could never thank him enough for taking care of you."
He smiled to his parents one more time before he dropped the stone and walked to his death.