Chapter 19 Horcruxes Again
Harry and Ginny were in their sitting room of the Master Suite of Potter’s House. They were sitting in two very comfortable chairs relaxing before the start of the Order meeting when Dobby, Winky, and Nancy entered the room. Harry was just about to greet them when Dobby began speaking, “My Lord…My Lady, Dobby and Winky need to inform My Lord and My Lady that Nancy is asking permission to seek employment outside the Potter Family.” Both Harry and Ginny were shocked. It was Ginny who recovered first.
“Nancy, is this true?”
“Yes, My Lady.”
Harry asked the next question, “Nancy, are you sure you want to do this?”
“Yes, My Lord. The family is an old and noble family.”
Ginny asked, “What are they offering you, Nancy?”
“Mistress tried to give Nancy three Galleons a week, but Nancy beat Mistress down to two Galleons,” Nancy said with pride.
“What else, Nancy?”
Nancy bowed her head and said shamefully, “Nancy has to take four days off a month, My Lady.”
Harry spoke with a very determined edge, “Nancy, I insist that your employers allow you to visit Dobby and Winky whenever you want to and that Dobby and Winky can visit you at any time.”
“Yes, My Lord. Mistress believes strongly in family and does not want to keep Nancy from Dobby and Winky.”
Harry and Ginny looked at each other for a few seconds. Ginny turned to Nancy, “Okay Nancy, you have our permission to seek employment with this family. But first, we would like to meet this family before we give our final approval.”
“Yes, My Lady. Thank you, My Lady. Nancy will go get Mistress.” Nancy left with a small ‘pop’.
Harry turned to Dobby and Winky, “Are you two okay with this?”
“Yes, My Lord. Dobby and Winky are very proud of Nancy.”
“How are you two fitting in here at Potter’s House?”
“Kupping will not let Dobby or Winky work here, My Lord.”
“Oh, why is that?”
“Kupping says Dobby and Winky are guests and shouldn’t work, My Lady.”
“Dobby, we will find something for you to do around here.”
“That’s okay, My Lord. Dobby and Winky have lots of work to do,” Dobby said proudly.
“What kinds of work are you doing, Dobby?”
“Dobby and Winky takes care of Nancy’s House and Sirius’ House, My Lord.”
Dobby began to shake a little, “Also, Professor Lupin and Professor Auror Lupin have asked Dobby and Winky to help clean Malfoy Manor since Dobby used to work there.” Dobby was shaking a lot by the end of this statement.
“Dobby, you don’t have to go back there if you don’t want to.”
“Dobby knows, My Lord. Dobby wants to.”
A knock came at the door. Ginny called out, “Come in.”
Harry was surprised to see Molly and Arthur following Nancy into the room. Harry was starting to rise to greet them when he heard, ”Harry, don’t move.”
“What?”
“I will handle this Harry.”
“Ginny, what is going on? This is your Mum and Dad.”
“I know Harry, but I’m still not very happy with Mum right now. Harry, just leave it to me.”
“Okay, Ginny,” Harry said very reluctantly.
Without saying a word, Ginny indicated with her hand for Molly and Arthur to sit in the love seat.
Molly began just as they seated themselves, “Ginny, I…”
Just as soon as Molly began speaking, Ginny tilted her chin slightly and looked at her Mum with hard eyes.
Molly became flustered by Ginny’s reaction, “Just what…what do you…”
Arthur reached over with one hand and grabbed Molly’s hand and with the other, he the gently turned her head towards him. Looking into her eyes, he gently said, “Molly.”
“No, Arthur.”
“Molly.”
“No, I will…”
“Molly.” This time Molly leaned onto Arthur’s shoulder.
Arthur turned to Harry and Ginny but before he could say anything Ginny stated, “Dobby, will you three please leave us for a few minutes. Don’t go far, this won’t take long.”
All three answered, “Yes, My Lady,” and disappeared with three small ‘pops’.
Harry looked at Arthur and tried to send his apologies to Arthur with his eyes. Arthur gave Harry the slightest nod. Arthur then nudged his wife gently. He did it again when Molly didn’t acknowledge the first one. She sat up and looked towards Ginny. Harry saw the will power Molly had to use to control herself.
“Mrs. Potter, Arthur and I would like to extend an opportunity to Nancy for employment within our home.”
“Why are you seeking the services of a House Elf now?” Ginny asked with a coldness in her voice.
“Arthur and I are expecting our first two grandchildren. I hope that there will be a lot more than just the two. I love my children and their spouses. Knowing my seven children and a good bit about the four spouses, I expect that our grandchildren will be just as horrible, noisy, adventurous, fun-loving, joyful, loving, loved, and high-spirited as their parents. I don’t think I will be able to keep up with them by myself. This is the reason we are seeking to employ Nancy.”
Ginny remarked, “Anything else.”
”Ginny, stop this.”
“No, Harry. This has to be done.”
“Why Ginny?”
“Harry, she is still not treating me as the adult that I am. First, it was about you and the decisions about your care and then it was that invitation.”
“But, Ginny. ..”
“I know, Harry. She was right to send Percy and Penny an invitation but it was my responsibility to send it and my responsibility for the mistake of not sending it, not hers. And yesterday, she was telling me how to decorate my home, Harry. She wasn’t suggesting how to do it; she was TELLING me how to do it. Please Harry, I have to do this. I love my Mum to death, but I don’t want her to run the rest of my life for me.”
“Okay, Ginny, as long as you are sure.”
“I’m sure. Harry. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Mrs. Potter, I once again apologize for interfering with your rights as Harry’s wife and the decisions you make being the Lady of this house. Once again, I can only say that I will try not to control or interfere with your decisions again. Please, Ginny. I’m having a hard time giving up my baby!”
Harry finally heard some of the ice melt in Ginny’s voice, “Mum, I’m not your baby anymore. I belong to Harry and Harry belongs to me and this is our house, not yours.”
“I know, Ginny…”
“Molly.” Arthur called. Molly turned to her husband and looked at him for several seconds.
Without looking at Ginny, Molly said, “I’m truly sorry, Mrs. Potter.”
Ginny surprised everyone when she got up and went and sat on Molly’s lap. Giving her Mum a hug, she told her, “I love you.” Molly hugged her back and soaked Ginny’s robe with the tears she was leaking. Breaking apart slightly, Ginny called, “Dobby.”
The three House Elves appeared immediately. “Nancy, you have our final permission to seek employment with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.”
Nancy flew over to Ginny and hugged her legs, “Thank you, My Lady.”
The dining room of Sirius’ House was full when Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Percy, and Penny walked into the room. Harry was amazed to see every member he knew to be in the Order was present including some surprises such as the twin’s girlfriends, Alicia and Angelina, Charlie’s friend Debra, and Healer McGregor. The one that generated the most surprise was Minister Scrimgeour. Harry looked at Professor McGonagall with questioning eyes and she answered with a slight nod. Harry did notice that one person was missing and assumed that he was on an assignment. Harry went to his seat and the group seated themselves. Harry called for everyone attention and announced, “The first order of business we need to discuss is Percy and Penny Weasley. He is here because he is a scribe and I don’t want to have to go over this again. You can say anything and everything in front of him. Penny will do what is necessary.” Harry looked around the room for any disagreeing members.
“Second is that Luna and Neville are here at my request. These two are our friends who have done whatever I or we have ever asked them. Besides, it is time for them to find out the whole truth.”
“Third, is that we will be as truthful as we can be and I expect the rest of you to be truthful with us.”
Harry gathered his thoughts and began. “The first thing we need everyone to understand is the person calling himself Lord Voldemort was in fact Tom Marvolo Riddle.” Harry continued his story while performing the charm that Tom used in the chamber many years ago. “When Tom was in school, he was already thinking about trying to become immortal. In his later years at school, he came across a tome with one paragraph that mentions ‘Horcruxes’.” Harry heard one or two gasps from the people seated around the table. Harry, with help from the other three briefed the Order.
The background brief lasted over three hours. Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione talked about every detail. Finally, the four brought the story up to the moment the four entered the room where Tom was waiting on them. At this point Dobby entered the room, “My Lord, lunch is served.”
“Thank you, Dobby.”
During the lunch break, everyone was standing around in small groups waiting for the meeting to begin again. An older gentleman, that Harry earlier saw at the other end of the table during the meeting, approach Harry and Ginny. “Pardon me, Mr. Potter, let me introduce myself. I’m Mr. Bones. Susan Bones is my niece.”
“It is nice to meet you, Mr. Bones. I would like to introduce my wife, Ginny and my best friends, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Luna,” Harry pointed to each one as he said their name.
Mr. Bones nodded to each in turn and then focused back on Harry, “Mr. Potter, did I correctly hear that House Elf acknowledged you as ‘My Lord’?”
“Yes, you did. They have been referring to Ginny and I as ‘My Lady’ and ‘My Lord’ since we first got to Potter’s House.”
“Potter’s House accepted you and your wife, then?” Mr. Bones inquired.
“Yes.”
“This is great. It has been a long time since a Potter has held the title of Lord Potter, My Lord. Thank you so much for your time, My Lord.” Mr. Bones gave a slight bow and started to turn away.
“Wait, Mr. Bones. May I ask a few questions, sir?” Harry requested.
“Indeed, My Lord.”
“Will you please tell Ginny and I about the title?”
“Surely, you jest!” Harry shook his head. Mr. Bones look at the couple with a stunned expression. Harry and Ginny both looked at the older gentlemen with pleading eyes.
Mr. Bones began softly at first and then became more normal the further he got into the tale. “Did you know the Goblins are ruled by a monarchy?” All the students shook their heads, but Mr. Bones only noticed Harry and Ginny.
“Well, they are. The thing is no witch or wizard knows the monarch’s name. The Goblins will not even tell the Ministry, despite the fact that the Ministry recognizes the Monarchy. It is part of some agreement from long, long ago.”
“Did you know that the Goblins only own fifty percent of Gringotts? Nobody has ever been able to determine who owns the other fifty percent.” Neville and Luna faces showed a mild shock while the other four were totally stunned. Harry was amazed that information was known to the general wizard public.
Harry was finally able to choke out, “Are you sure?”
“Oh, yes. It is part of the original charter the Goblins filed. I have seen the copy the Ministry has, but even that doesn’t list who the other owner is.”
“Okay, but that doesn’t explain about my title? Why do I get one anyway?”
“The Goblins had granted only eighteen titles in the history of Wizard-Goblin alliance. All the titles were given to someone who helped the Goblins out in some fashion. The Potter title is the only hereditary title. It is also the oldest of the titles. Your family must have done something great to get the only hereditary title. It was once believed that your family was the other owner, but that was quickly discounted when it was realized that your title is many years older than the Gringotts charter.” Harry was very glad that Mr. Bones didn’t turn around and see the shocked look on half of the faces of the Order members. Mr. Bones continued, “Then again, the Goblins may have realized their mistake and just quit giving hereditary titles.”
Mr. Bones looked at Harry and Ginny again, hard, “Are you sure you didn’t go through a ceremony or something when you first when to the house?”
”Harry! The ceremony we did at Nancy’s House!”
“Oh, Merlin! Ginny, you are right.”
“Grorn did say ‘…grant by right and by law all that is theirs.’ But what are you going to tell him, Harry?”
“I don’t know, but I need to think of something quick.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Bones, but we did go through a ceremony when we arrived at Potter’s House. But it was just for the House to accept us as the rightful heirs,” Harry informed Mr. Bones.
Mr. Bones began to show excitement at this statement. “Was there a Goblin present?”
”Ginny, you are going to have to do this. He is going to want the name of the Goblin. I don’t think I will be able to tell the story with a straight face!”
“What story, Harry?”
“Tell him there were about fifteen Goblins waiting for us at the house and they all did the ceremony.”
“Okay.”
Ginny took over the conversation, “Yes there was, Mr. Bones.”
Mr. Bones could barely get the words out he was so excited, “Did he tell you his name? Would you be able to recognize him again?”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Bones. There were about fifteen Goblins there and we only knew one of their names. They all performed the ceremony with us,” Ginny informed him with the straightest of faces.
“What is the name you do know, My Lady?”
”Griphooks” Harry sent hurriedly.
Ginny quickly said, “Griphooks.”
“Griphooks, My Lady? But, he is only an assistance teller. Why would he be there?” Mr. Bones questioned.
Both Harry and Ginny shrugged their shoulders. Mr. Bones seemed to deflate some when he continued, “The Goblins sure do protect their monarch. You did go through the ceremony, so are entitled to be called Lord Potter and Lady Potter. I must give you my congratulations, My Lord and to you, My Lady.” Mr. Bones bowed and then returned to his seat at the table.
Harry looked around to see the whole room had been listening to the conversation. “Uh, if everyone will return to their seats, we will begin the next session.”
Ginny took over the briefing. “When we first when into the Trophy room, Tom immediately began his attempt to get control of Harry’s mind. Harry and Tom battled each other with Occlumency and Legilimency for the entire seven days.”
“Seven Days!” Harry gasped out. “I thought it was for two days.” Ginny reached over and held Harry’s hand.
Ginny softly confirm, “Yes Harry, seven days.” Harry gently squeezed her hand and had a mild look of bewilderment on his face.
Ginny continued, “Ron, Hermione, and I began our part of this battle by using our brooms to stay above Harry and keep an eye on the rest of the room. One of the first jobs was the make sure Tom’s snake, Nagini was in the area. Once she was confirmed there, Hermione cast the Shield Charm that she created.”
Hermione broke in, “The Shield Charm that Ginny and I came up with.”
Ginny looked annoyed at Hermione’s statement. “The shield had three purposes. One, neither Harry nor Tom would ever be able to leave that Trophy room again unless Hermione, who is the only one who knows it, casts the counter-charm.”
Kingsley asked, “How is that possible, My Lady?”
Ginny replied, “Since Tom used Harry’s blood in his re-birth back at the cemetery, Hermione used some of Harry’s blood to construct the shield in such a way that the Shield would not allow Harry or Tom to pass through it.” Kingsley just nodded his head, unbelieving. Ginny smiled and resumed, “The second part was that no Death Eaters would be able to pass through the shield. This was done by using an identifier, the Dark Mark that each Death Eater has on his forearm. The third purpose was that it, along with the shield charms Harry, Ron, and Hermione were also casting, this Shield Charm would not allow the death curse to reach Harry from one of the Death Eaters outside the shield.”
Silence, until Debra spoke, “You have found a way to stop the death curse?”
“Uh, No. Everyone knows it takes extreme emotions to make the death curse work. Hermione… and I,” after giving Hermione a quick glance, “were able to find a way for the Shield to somewhat lessen the intensity of the spell as it passes through the shield. So, by the time it passed through the other shields that Ron, Hermione, and Harry were using, the curse was easily avoided or ineffective. I know of at least three times that the death curse was cast, but failed to reach Harry.”
Ron spoke this time, “Make that six, Ginny.”
Hermione added, “Eight.” Not only was Harry shocked, but the rest of the table was too.
Ginny visibly shook herself. “While Hermione was doing this, I was using my skills to try to enter Tom’s mind. Earlier in the year, when Tom attacked Harry at breakfast one day, I was able to find a hole in Tom’s barrier. I had three goals to accomplish. My first goal was to find the last of the Horcruxes. My second goal was to find out how to destroy them, and the third was to see if I could put a Memory Charm on Tom to prevent him from using the three ‘unforgivables.’ Once I did this, I was then to put a Memory charm on Peter since he showed in the past that he was willing to use the death curse. All this took about an hour.”
Once again Harry blurted out, “An hour. To me, it only seemed like ten minutes.” Turning to Bill, “It took you an hour to get ready to enter the Trophy room?”
Bill answered with some hurt feelings, “No Harry, we were ready to enter about five minutes after you called for Fawkes. But, Fawkes seemed to know that you and the rest were not ready for us to enter then. Fawkes kept us from entering until you were ready.”
Harry realized how harsh he had asked the question and quickly softens his voice and temper, “I’m sorry, Bill. This time conflict is really bugging me.”
“That is okay, Harry, I understand.”
Ginny began again, “At this point, Tom attacked with spells and curses for the first time.”
Harry, not believing in his sense of time asked, “Ginny, to me, the attack lasted about forty minutes. What was it really?”
“Four hours, Harry.” Harry was stunned and could only shake his head back and forth slowly. “During these four hours, not one curse, hex or spell was able to penetrate the three shields that were cast by Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I was still in Tom’s mind and was able to read his frustrations because of this. After Tom’s attack stopped, Harry began his attack. Our plan was to wait about ten minutes and then all three of us were to cast spells to kill the snake, Nagini. It was an hour into Harry’s attack before I felt it safe enough to drop the shields and try to kill the snake. Our good fortune continued when all three curses we sent connected and sliced the Nagini into three pieces. It was observed that a foul green smoke rose for the body and dispersed. We now had destroyed three of the Horcruxes.”
Ginny looked around the room to see if anyone had a question. “At this point, Tom became enraged at the death of Nagini and attacked again. This attack lasted approximately six hours. About an hour into this attack, I sent Fawkes to the twins to come relieve two of us. When Fred and George arrived, Ron and Hermione went back to the dorm for some sleep and food. Fred and George continue to cast shield charms to protect Harry. Tom was still sending insults and curses at Harry when Ron relieved me about four hours later.”
Ron took up the briefing. “After I have been there about twenty minutes, Tom stopped this attack. Harry once again attacked. This attack lasted about two hours. Bill and Fleur showed up to relieve the twins and Hermione took over for me about two hours later.”
Hermione started, “This pattern of attacks and counter attacks continued for about three hours. Various Order members continued to relieve the other two at different times. One thing of importance that happened during my first shift was that Tom began to shed his skin.” Hermione heard some sharp intakes of breath at this announcement.
Professor McGonagall spoke up, “Did you really say that Vol…Tom shed his skin?”
Hermione smiled, “Yes, Professor. We believe that Tom used so much of Nagini for the re-creation of his body and used her to for food that he basically became more snake than wizard. We observed that the shedding became more frequent and took longer to complete the longer the battle lasted. This first shedding took about 20 to 30 seconds. The last one, right before Harry killed Tom, took about five minutes. Tom would put up a shield that allowed nothing we were using to go through. During the shedding, it would be the only time Tom would use this particular shield. I don’t understand why he didn’t use it any other time.”
“Maybe it was natural, instead of being cast by Tom,” Charlie ventured.
“That would explain a lot, Charlie,” Hermione said with a faraway look in her eyes as she thought about it.
Once again, Ginny took over the briefing. “Tom and Harry continued this pattern until day three. When I first came on duty on day three, I noticed that Harry and Tom had stopped sending curses, hexes, and spells at each other. Harry and Tom had quit trading insults also. We all failed to notice when Harry and Tom had stopped this. From this point on, the battle was entirely within Harry’s and Tom’s mind. I, along with Ron and Hermione, agreed that this would be a good time to destroy the remaining Horcruxes. So, I began destroying the remaining Horcruxes on day three. The first one was Hufflepuff’s cup, thinking it would be the easiest to destroy.”
“How did you destroy it, My Lady?” asked Healer McGregor.
“I destroyed the cup by simply using it as a drink cup. Who would ever have thought to use Hufflepuff’s heirloom as a simple water vessel? To destroy the cup, four different people had to drink a full cup of water without spilling any. We had one minute to do this. The cup would only allow two attempts before the cup would react. I waited until the next group of relief people showed up and then we did it. It took both attempts to do it. The first attempt failed due to one drop of water that fell from the cup. Once we accomplished this, I threw the cup aside and the same foul looking green smoke that appear when Nagini was killed, rose and dispersed from the cup.”
Ginny again looked around the room. “The next one I destroyed was Gryffindor’s Shield. This one proved to be the easiest to destroy. All I have to do is reunite the shield with Gryffindor’s sword. Knowing we would be in the Chamber, Harry had thought to bring the sword with him. I took the sword from Harry and placed it on top of the shield. The sword and shield began to vibrate for about thirty seconds before the same foul looking green smoke appeared and dispersed. Slytherin’s locket proved to be the hardest to destroy only because Harry was the only one who could speak Parseltongue. I had to wait for Tom’s next shedding which was either very late on day three or early on day four. We had about two minutes once Tom began to shed for Harry to destroy the last one. Harry did it in about forty seconds.” Ginny finished with pride.
“My Lady, what happen then?” asked Mr. Bones.
“Visually and physically, nothing much, really. Harry and Tom continued battling within their minds. About three days later, Harry called us all together and the next thing we realized was Tom on his knees, screaming, and holding his head. This lasted about 3 hours. Then, Tom fell completely to the floor. He started rolling around, screaming louder now, and really squeezing his head. This lasted about 1 hour. All of a sudden, Tom stopped everything and just lay on the floor. Harry took a few steps towards Tom and then he collapsed. We brought Tom’s body and Harry up to the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey examined Harry and determined he was exhausted and just needed rest and some restoration potions. She also examined Tom’s body and declared him dead. Several St. Mungo’s Healers then examined Tom’s body and verified Madam Pomfrey’s death announcement. Auror Kingsley took control of Tom’s body and that is the last we saw it. Two days later due to all the reporters and people trying to see Harry, I decided to move Harry to a more secure location,” Ginny still gave Molly a shrewd look as she said this statement. “This is the end of our battle report.”
Several voices could be heard trying to ask questions, but Harry was the loudest, calling for everyone to quiet down. “I know everyone has some questions, but it is getting late and Dobby was not expecting to make dinner for this many people tonight. Please, everyone return tomorrow at 9:00 o’clock A.M. and we will continue with the briefings.” Harry quickly rose and assisted Ginny up and turned towards the door. Harry heard one last thing before going through the door.
“Goodnight My Lord and My Lady.”
Harry could have sworn it sounded like Professor McGonagall.
A/N Chapter 20 Bill’s Tale