Ch 30 pt 2

Garry could feel Sam's curiosity. "Ur, yes. Well, you see, I kidnapped her from Azkaban, then de-aged her after removing all her memories from age six on up. It was either that or kill her and I didn't want to do that. She is a Black, after all. And with Sirius, Remus, and Nymphadora living with her at Twelve Grimmauld Place, I'm sure we can prevent her from following the path she did the last time. She certainly has no problems with Halfbloods and Muggleborns the way she used to! In fact, she seems to regard most Purebloods as complete twits, suitable only for pranking!" He sighed. "Which means, I'm sure, that she'll fall arse-over-teakettle for a pureblood before she graduates."

". . . ."

"Well, anyway, I wanted to warn you that I, as Lord Gryffindor and Lord Slytherin, command you to not reveal anything to her or anyone else about her previous life as Bellatrix. I don't care what House you sort her to, although I would prefer it not be Slytherin, if you can help it. I want her to have a fun time here and not become the insane Dark Arts obsessed bitch she used to be."

"I will do as you command Lord Gryffindor-Slytherin. I will not reveal her past to anyone, especially not to the girl, herself."

"Thank you, Sam."

Sam shifted and seemed to lean over slightly, as if leaning closer — an odd sensation considering Garry was wearing Sam on his head. "Mr. Lockhart . . . Mr. Potter . . . you seem to have integrated your personalities rather well. There is no dividing line between the two of you the way there used to be. Might I take a closer look?"

Garry shrugged. Maybe Sam would be able to determine exactly what had happened.

"Hmm. Oh. Ah. No? Oh. I see. Hmm. Oh dear. Ahh!" Sam shifted around Garry's head, as if he were walking around him. "Most interesting." There was a long pause, then, "Thank you."

"Well?" demanded Garry. "What did you find?"

For a moment, he thought Sam wasn't going to respond.

"Well," Sam finally said, "That spell that hit you was apparently a prelude to a possession attempt, but you escaped before the possession could take place. The spell seemed to have had two components, the first was to crush down the personality in the brain of the one being possessed, in this case, Mr. Potter, because he was the one in control at that point. Your escape, while fortuitous, would have left a normal Wizard comatose for many months with his personality knocked out. In your case, with your two personalities already in place, it simply put Mr. Lockart in control while you slumbered.

"The second component, the active part, was to merge all the memories of the subverted personality with the controlling personality, making them one and destroying the subverted personality in the process. In your case, Mr. Potter was the dominant personality even though Mr. Potter was asleep. It appears that after all the memories were combined the spell tried to establish Mr. Lockhart as the dominate personality, and failed. And in that failure, it simply merged the two personalities into a new one.

"So, Mr. Lockhart, you are now one new person with the traits and strengths of both, as well as the defects and weaknesses. Fortunately, most of the strengths and traits of one compensate for the weaknesses and defects of the other. You are a rather well-rounded personality as a result . . . who enjoys pranks far too much." The Hat shifted again. "I must say, I approve!"

Garry sat there in shock — Voldewhore had developed a spell to aide him in his possession of others. Probably that was what had made it so easy for Quirrell to accept and adjust to his possession. Only Harry's typical fantastic last-minute luck in escaping had really saved them.

"Well," he finally said. "That's interesting." Still in a bit of a daze, he said "Thank you for your help." Sam tilted, his version of nodding assent. Garry slowly walked out of the Headmistress' Office.

Garry spent several days contemplating what he had learned and his narrow escape.

(⊙_◎)

Garry looked around and realized he had once again started to leave the graveyard. Damnit! This was annoying as hell. He sighed and then used a sticking charm to make sure he remained on his broom. Then he cast another spell that locked the broom onto a course to follow his tracking spell, regardless of any attempt he might make to change course. It would remain in effect until he was close enough to hear or see what was really happening in the graveyard, at which point the anti-magical enchantment would fail to affect him and he could safely take control again.

For the third time he set out for the graveyard and Harry Potter.

Gingrotts! Ragnurk! Had he done everything needed? Besides updating his Will, had he forgotten anything?

(◎_◎)

"So, here's my new Will and Last Testament, Ragnurk," Lockhart said, handing over the parchment. The Wizard settled back in his chair as he waited for the Goblin to read the new legal papers.

Ragnurk had still sneered at him as he entered the plush office reserved for the Goblin in charge of Lockhart's accounts, which also included the accounts of Black, Potter, Peverell, Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Gaunt, although the sneer wasn't nearly as impressive as it used to be. In fact, for a Goblin, it might even be termed "welcoming."

Now the largest single depositor at Gringotts, the lower-ranked Goblins treated Lockhart almost like royalty. Watching them rush around and kowtow to him was most gratifyingly. Even more amusing was watching the reactions of the other Wizards and Witches in the main lobby at those very uncharacteristic actions. It was quite satisfying on several levels.

The Goblin looked up at him. "You are relinquishing Head of House of Potter, Gryffindor, and Peverell to the Potter Heir when he reaches majority or immediately if you become incapacitated or die," he stated.

"Yes," affirmed Garry. "They are rightfully his."

The Goblin grunted. "House Black is to go to Miss Belladonna Bellatrix Black under the same conditions."

"Yes," affirmed Garry, again. "Sirius has declared he has no interest in assuming that seat, and he doubts he can father any children, anyway, considering his time in Azkaban. I did bequeath him rather large amounts of Galleons so he will not lack for funds, in any event."

Ragnurk did sneer at him, "I can read." So stop wasting my time telling me something I already know was the subtext. "However," he continued, his expression clearly indicating he thought Garry was an idiot, "House Black can only be inherited by a Wizard, thus she is ineligible."

Lockhart grinned, and handed him a second parchment to read. "Sirius Black agrees to act as Temporary Head of House Black, until she has a son, at which point she will become regent. The inheritance laws do not restrict regency to Wizards, although that is the custom. Should she die before that happens, then Head of House devolves to Nymphadora Tonk's son, as those parchments indicate."

The Accounts' Manager studied both parchments for a few minutes, then referred to an ancient inheritance laws book. Then pulled out an even older book for farther study. Finally, he set the books aside and studied the parchments again. Reluctantly, he nodded. A sly look crossed his face. "It will be quite expensive preparing all the correct paperwork for this."

"Naturally," the Wizard said, his own expression bland. "Just so long as it cannot be successfully challenged and overthrown."

The Goblin grunted assent, but his smirk was easily visible. He looked back at the Will, then said, "Houses Lockhart and Gaunt are to go to your sisters' sons or daughters, should any of them become a Wizard or Witch, or throwing the accounts into dormancy should they not. Being lesser Houses there are no restrictions preventing Witches from being the Head of House.

"These will be filed today and the appropriate supporting documentation provided," Ragnurk concluded.

"Excellent! And before we go farther, Ragnurk," Garry said, leaning forward to hand another parchment to the Goblin.

The Goblin read the short note, then looked up at the Wizard, fury evident in his expression.

Unperturbed, Lockhart nodded. "That's correct, if Gringotts or any Goblin, Wizard, Witch, or agent in their employ should reveal or acknowledge that Belladonna is actually Bellatrix Lestrange née Black who has been de-aged and oblivated of all memories back to the age of six, I will close all my accounts and transfer their contents to the Banking Gnomes in Switzerland. That includes not denying the fact by saying things such as 'we cannot confirm or deny' or 'that is private information' or any other method that might imply that she is Bellatrix without actually saying so or denying that she is. I expect Gringotts and its employees and agents to simply say 'Her name is Belladonna Bellatrix Black not Bellatrix Black or Bellatrix Lestrange née Black. She is not the adult woman that was a follower of the self-styled Lord Voldemort, also known as Tom Riddle.' Or words to the same effect." Garry leaned forward before the Goblin could object.

"And, should the Houses already have passed to my successors and word leaks out about her identity, I have already filed the proper paperwork, signed by my sisters, Harry Potter, and Sirius Black, with my lawyers to close and transfer their accounts to the Gnomes."

That should protect her secret quite well.

He left Gringotts in a quite cheerful mood, leaving behind several very unhappy Goblins.

And should things really go badly, he had left a series of parchments with his lawyers for the Ministress Bones explaining how he had destroyed all the horcruxes and that Voldemort was as mortal as any other man.

(◎_⊙)

He heard a voice ahead, "B-blood of the enemy … forcibly taken … you will … resurrect your foe."

Damn, he was too late to stop the ritual completely. Still floating on his broom, he followed the tracking spell and soon approached the site of Voldewhore's rebirth. A Death Eater he didn't know was standing by the massive cauldron, which was boiling and bubbling. The moon was past half-full and contributed only a bit of light to the scene. Fortunately, the Death Eater had provided a few torches around the graveyard so he wouldn't be stumbling around in the dark trying to do a finicky ritual.

Harry, as he had been in the future-past, was bound tightly to a statue. The ropes were quite secure, but a silent cutting spell made quick work of them. "Harry," the older Wizard whispered, "duck behind this gravestone and then run straight away until your emergency portkey works — about a hundred feet after you leave this cemetery. Don't take chances! Leave me to deal with these buffoons."

Before he could deal with Tommy-boy he needed to eliminate Nagini. The snake had to be somewhere around here. Unfortunately, the enchantments on the graveyard and its environs rendered his point-me spell useless at finding the snake. Only his special spells on Harry had allowed Lockhart to find him.

"Robe me!" he heard an annoyingly high-pitched voice say, almost like a little girl playing with helium. Garry glanced around the statue.

Merlin, but that was one ugly monstrosity standing in the cauldron. He wondered when the Wizard would realize things had not gone as well as he had intended. Standing in the cauldron was a . . . creature. It looked to be vaguely squirrel-shaped, but interspaced with patches of . . . fur? . . . were bare skin, and occasionally shiny scales. Considering the size of the cauldron, Garry should have been able to see the Wizard's legs, but instead all he could see was belly. Tom Riddle's new body was clearly more adapted to running on all fours than walking on two.

The pointy face reminded Garry strongly of the rather rat-ish appearance of Peter Pettigrew after a long decade stuck in his animagus form, but much, much more exaggerated. Tommy-boy, though, did not have that animagus excuse. His mouth stuck out somewhat like a rodent, as did his nose, the two looking much like a short snout. His ears were above his head, fully furred and tufted, while his eyes were shifted to the sides, giving him a much wider range of view than a normal human. His hands were more claw-like paws.

No pure-blood would follow such an obvious twisted-breed, no matter how powerful he might be.

If nothing else, Garry had severely inconvenienced the Dark Lord. Voldewhore would have to die and try again to resurrect himself, if only so he wouldn't have to spend the rest of his immortal life as a squirrel-snake-man hybrid!

When his command went unanswered, the Dark Lord looked at his servant's horrified face and realized things were not as rosy as they were supposed to be. He looked down at himself and screamed in anger. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!" He leapt out of the cauldron with a squirrel's quickness — oh, that wasn't good! — and tackled his follower, yanking the wand from his hand. "Crucio," he screamed, his voice edging higher into the nearly unhearable zone.

It was at that point that Garry heard a noise behind him. He turned. At the edge of the cemetery, he saw movement. It was Harry running behind another headstone. A huge snake followed him. Oh, of course. The one direction Harry would choose to run was the one guaranteed to meet Nagini. The snake was doing an admirable job of herding Harry back to the graveyard. Garry, still on his broom, shot off towards the two while unleashing a strong cutting curse at the snake.

Apparently, being a horcrux had improved the snake's reflexes — if it was a horcrux at this point. It was hard to tell with the evil taint that surrounded the graveyard. The snake whipped to the side. The curse sailed past it. Garry reached Harry and slid off the broom. "Here," he said. He thrust it at the little Wizard. "Take this and get the hell out of Dodge. I'll handle the snake."

Harry grabbed the broom. He hopped on and shot straight up. Garry dodged to his left. The infuriated snake, probably taking its cues from its still incoherently screaming master, slammed to the ground where they had been standing. Its fangs dripped poison as it hissed at him. It was as incoherent as its master. A deadly game of tag followed. It tried to tag him with its poison. He tried to tag it with a cutting curse. Neither made any real progress. The screaming by the cauldron stopped. Garry realized Voldewhore was aware of his snake's game.

Squirrelmort screamed above him. Garry threw himself behind a statue as curses rained down. The damn bastard had climbed one of the statues!

The snake lunged towards him, mouth open wide to bury its fangs in the trapped Wizard. Garry saw his chance, He threw the strongest cutting curse he knew straight into its wide-open mouth. Like the Basilisk before it, the inside of its mouth had little in the way of magical protections. The curse sliced through the back of the snake's mouth, severing its spine and major arteries. It flopped to the ground, sliding into Garry and knocking him over. And, incidentally, out of the way of Squirrelmort's curse, which blew apart the dead snake's eye instead. Voldemort fell off the statue on which he was standing, screaming.

Ah, so the snake was a horcrux! Just as had happened in the Harry's future, destroying a horcrux vessel at such close range had a devastating effect on the Dark Wizard.

Garry lay stunned on the ground for a moment, dazed. He had hit his head on the side of a gravestone. Slowly he got back to his feet. He knew he didn't have much time. He walked over to motionless would-be King of England. He started a stupify when a bludgeoning curse hit him from the side, throwing him across the body on the ground into another gravestone. His armoured vest protected him from serious injury, but his side hurt like a bitch.

The Death Eater had apparently recovered from his Master's curses and had entered the fray. Garry cursed himself for forgetting the other Wizard. He rolled quickly to the side, scrambling to his feet. Another curse banged into the gravestone where he had just been lying. He dodged behind another gravestone and started firing off curses as fast as he could. In a matter of moments, he had the other Wizard doing the dodging and shielding.

He had just hit the other Wizard with a stupefy when a powerful bombardo curse exploded the gravestone he was using for a shield. Squirrelmort had awakened. Garry started shielding as he searched for his opponent. The next curse exploded his shield with a bang and threw him down. That was when he saw Squirrelmort. Damn but he was quick! The creature darted closer. He sneered, in a girlishly-high squeaky voice, "You! You thought you could best Lord Voldemort?" He screamed "Avada Kedavra!" Garry grabbed a chunk of the shattered gravestone and threw it in a desperate attempt to block the curse. To both their surprise, it worked and exploded into dust. Garry scrambled back and threw a langlock at the other. Voldewhore sneered, stepped to the side quickly and launched another Avada Kedavra. There was nothing at hand and Garry realized he didn't have the time to dodge.

That was when the worst possible thing that could happen, happened. A blur shot in front of Garry from his right and above. It caught them both by surprise. Voldemort again fell screaming to the ground. Garry watched as Harry Potter fell off his broom and tumbled wildly across graveyard. Harry had taken the curse for Garry. He had sacrificed himself without regard for his own life.

For a moment, Garry stood too stunned to move. Then he spun back to Voldewhore and cast the most powerful stupefy he could manage. Then he did it again. And again. If something is worth doing once, it's worth doing twice. Or three times. Maybe even five. And what he should have done the first time Squirrelmort was temporarily out. This time, at the very least, Voldie would have the mother of all headaches when he awoke.

Garry reached into his expanded pocket and took out two halves of a glass sphere, each with numerous parseltongue runes etched into it. Those had taken quite a bit of research to create. He had finally discovered that all he had to do was be thinking in parseltongue when he cared the runes to make them unreadable by anyone not gifted with that skill.

He shrank Squirrelmort down until he would just fit inside one of the half-spheres, then levitated the creature into it. One half of the sphere had grooves that ran a short distance cut into the edges. The other half had matching tabs that were not quite as long. He lined up the two and pressed them together, then turned the top half until it stopped. A set of magic-charging runes were divided between the two halves. Turning the two hemispherical sections to their stops lined the runes up perfectly, top to bottom. He pushed magic into it until the next set of runes reacted and sealed the two sections into one seamless piece. After a moment, the next set of runes engaged and made the sphere unbreakable. The next set of runes made it impermeable to magic. Then there was a set that made it indestructible by melting or other actions. The final set prevented wraiths or any other spirit from escaping the prison.

Garry checked on his other opponent, who was still out cold. He hit him with petrification curse, then another stupefy. He would let the Ministry deal with the Dark idiot.

He again reached into his pocket and took out a second pair of half-spheres. These had the runes carved on the inside. He dropped the first sphere into one half-sphere of the new one, then put the other half-sphere over it. The two halves barely fit over the first sphere, but the charging runes lined up perfectly and powered the same sequence of runes that had decorated the first sphere. Now, no one could abrade the runes off and free the creature inside. Voldewhore was constrained, with no escape.

He dropped the sphere into his pocket and hurried over to where Harry was lying. A quick diagnostic spell showe