40 ch 40

Another funeral with no tears.

I had thought for a long time in my past life about how I must be broken. Everyone else was crying, except Fleur of course. She stood beside me in her black dress. It didn't hug her every curve, so you could only see the baby bump if you really tried. Before today, I had thought it impossible to have a completely stoney face while also glowing, but she proved me wrong.

Dumbledore's white tomb loomed in front of me. It was honestly beautiful. When the clouds parted over this scottish soil, it gleamed as a reminder of the legendary wizard.

Even in death, he is flamboyant. Fitting. I thought as I looked at the monument.

I vowed to return and add some of my own runic wards, in case Voldemort somehow finds his way here looking for the Elder Wand. He shouldn't consider Grindelwald is dead, by my hand but you never know. Voldemort is a genius for a reason.

My hand rested in Fleur's lap, which she had covered with both of her hands, and slightly leaning on me. I absentmindedly wondered when that had happened, as I didn't remember sitting this way when the funeral started.

Harry sat to my left, also stone faced. Apparently long hair wasn't in style anymore and he had cut it shorter. The sides were faded close to his head, but the top was a longer scrambled mess that he somehow pulled off. It looked as if every strand was placed in the perfect position to make him somehow look sophisticated, despite it's shagginess. Tonks sat on the other side of him. Her hair was colored a shockingly bright pink. I couldn't help but think it suited her more than any other at the moment.

A memory of us two, along with Hermione, posing for a picture flashed in my mind and I marveled at how different we were from third year. I couldn't even remember the last time I talked to Hermione, outside of a classroom.

She was doing well of course, top of her class now that Harry and I were done with school. I was happy for her, about as happy as you could be for someone that might as well be a stranger. A part of me missed that child-like innocence that I associated her with. Although I wouldn't trade what I had for the world.

I would literally stand there, and watch the world burn for the woman, and unborn child, that sat to my right. With that thought, I calmed my mind with an occlumency exercise. It was something I did quite frequently nowadays. I would let my shields slip a little, so that I could feel the moments that I knew I should. Then, once I felt that I had enough, I would put them back in place and focus up again.

I think that is what Snape has fallen victim to. I thought to myself. He has literally had no time to let his shields down. Maybe that is why he is so cold to the world.

Some man was giving a speech, but I didn't listen to him, my mind continued to wander to a certain topic. A topic that I had gone over in my head over a hundred times in the past few days.

The Mind Palace.

Even now, my blood was arranged in the shape of a Celtic Triad in a room that Harry and I had hijacked in 12 Grimmauld Pl. It wouldn't cool or dry because of the enchantment I held it under. Soon, I would venture into my very being, and find what has been lost, or maybe a better term would be hidden.

Who, or what, would be powerful enough to take that information from me. I wondered. The same who or what that is responsible for the 'merge'?

I had that exact conversation with myself everytime I thought about the topic. And I didn't have an answer for myself. If I wasn't so proficient in the mind arts, then I would most likely be riddled with anxiety over the topic.

And a couple of months ago, I hadn't even really considered why I had missing/hidden memories.

The speaker left the stage, apparently done with whatever the fuck he was talking about. And a few wizards approached Dumbledore's wrapped body. They flicked their wands, and bright, white flames appeared surrounding the body. White smoke poured out of the flames, and obscured the body. The flames rose, obscuring more and more of Dumbledore before eventually disappearing without warning.

When the white smoke cleared, a massive marble tomb encased where Dumbledore's body had lain on the table. Hooves sounded to my right, and I turned to see a group of Centaurs. They raised their bow just as the merpeople began to sing a sad tune. Arrows dotted the sky, and a few wizards and witches cried out, scared.

My wand fell into my hand, just in case, but I knew the arrows would fall short. It was a sign of respect from the centaurs to the old Headmaster.

People began standing up behind us, preparing to leave and let the Headmaster have his rest. I was in the front row, and something told me to be the last one to leave, so I stayed put. Fleur, Harry, and Tonks did the same.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Black." I heard a familiar voice say from the aisle.

I turned my head to see the Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour addressing us. I stood up, to properly talk to the man. I held my hand out to Fleur, which she grabbed and used as leverage to pull herself up.

"Minister." I greeted and gestured to Fleur. "My fiancé, Fleur Delacour." I introduced, as Tonks jumped up without the help of Harry. Harry calmly stood up.

"A pleasure." Rufus said to Fleur. She curtsied to him respectfully but didn't respond.

"Hello Minister." Tonks drawled the word out, as if teasingly.

Oh yeah, he used to be Head Auror, Tonks' boss. I thought. I vaguely thought about the two different ways that Fleur and Tonks acted in public even though they were very similar when it came to how hard they worked and talent. Rufus ignored Tonks' teasing, much to her amusement and instead shook Harry and I's hands.

"I have some news for the two of you." The Minister said.

Harry and I nodded at the man, and waited for him to continue. He didn't, and he looked towards Tonks and Fleur as if suggesting they should give us some privacy. Fleur stepped up beside me, saying everything she needed to without actually speaking. Tonks draped herself over Harry's taller frame, and sent Rufus a look. He got the point because he quickly continued.

"Yes well I have to inform you that Dumbledore left a will, and you two were included." Rufus said.

I immediately remembered why he was approaching us about this and a small slice of anger sprang up in my mind.

He's going to stall the reading of the will under some bullshit rule. I remembered.

"But I have decided to hold it, until my men can clear it under the Decree for Justifiable Confiscation." Scrimgeour said dropping the bomb.

Harry and Tonks stiffened, as the implications hit them. Apparently they both knew what that meant, how? I had no idea.

"And what is your 'powerful evidence that the deceased possessions are illegal'?" I asked the man curiously. "Isn't that the wording of the Decree?"

"Yes it is. And we have enough evidence I assure you, else the Wizengamot wouldn't have approved it." The Minister said. He produced an envelope from the inside of his robes and held it out to me. "Here is the warrant, if you want to see it."

I grabbed it and thought about opening it, instead my other hand grabbed it. I ripped it in half, pretty quickly, showing him what I thought about the idea.

"Have we not been cordial, Minister?" I asked the man, with a different tone in my voice.

It didn't affect him. He had been dealing with dangerous people his whole career, and we very used to unsaid threats.

"You have." Rufus answered.

"Then why are you determined to fuck me?" I asked, I was beyond the point of caring. Fleur's hand tightened on my arm, as a warning.

This man was running the war all wrong anyway. Give the people a false sense of security while secretly losing more and more people along the way. He didn't learn from his predecessor and was losing the war of attrition. Luckily for him, Harry and I had taken out some very important people the other night, and given him some breathing room.

We locked eyes, and he didn't respond. I held his gaze, and I got the impression that he didn't truly know what I was capable of. Which was odd, because he had seen the bodies I had left in my wake the other night.

Harry and I are the most powerful people on the light side. His attention is in the wrong place. I thought. I can't deal with this stupidity.

"I suggest you try to survive, Minister. I might just hand you Voldemort's head on a silver platter. Or maybe I'll wait a little longer, until he turns his gaze to the ministry. That's what I would do, in his position, now that Dumbledore isn't protecting you." I told the man, serious as a heart attack.

Rufus stepped closer to me, in my personal space, and continued to look into my eyes. I didn't move, and didn't react to the move. He wanted to show dominance by backing me down. The problem is that he was in the space of a seventeen year olds face, one who he couldn't intimidate in the slightest.

Eventually he realized this, turned and walked away without a word.

"Was that the wisest move, my love?" Fleur said beside me as she squeezed my arm.

"No, it wasn't." I answered her. "I could have handled it better."

"Yes." Fleur confirmed. "But it was hot." She whispered in my ear seductively.

I love pregnancy hormones. I thought. Veela hormones are one thing, and then you throw a baby in them and it just increases ten-fold. Obviously, I wasn't complaining.

"Never seen anyone talk to the Minister of Magic that way." Tonks said with a mile-wide grin. "That was awesome."

I smiled briefly. "I wasn't lying, if he doesn't get his shit together, Voldemort will target him."

We fell into silence then, and I wondered what Harry was thinking. He hadn't said much all day, opting to observe me interacting with everyone. Although I did see a lot of humor in his eyes when I was talking to the minister.

"Can I have the addresses?" Tonks asked.

Oh yea. I remembered and reached my hand into my robes. I handed her the exact amount of papers that we had for Order members.

"Make sure they burn them." I told her.

I'd hate to cast the fidelius again. I thought to myself.

We had gone over who needed to be the secret keeper for a long time, but none of us were willing to endanger anyone we didn't know. So I took the burden on myself. I was a significantly powerful wizard, and it would take a lot to take me down.

We also considered Fleur's family, but I shot it down quickly. I refused to put them in danger. Everyone else was either too close to Britain, or not powerful enough. In my mind, it didn't matter. If I die, Harry is there to pick up the slack. If we both go out, then everyone needs to get the hell out of dodge. Fleur would flee back to France, and hopefully someone somewhere would take Voldemort out.

But that won't happen. I won't allow it.

"I feel naked."

"You are naked." Harry joked back to me.

He wasn't wrong. I was naked. As naked as naked gets. Harry, Tonks, and Fleur sat in the ritual room, about twenty feet away from me. And all of them were staring. I had thought Fleur would kick Tonks out, and not allow her to see. I was wrong.

Apparently Fleur was so confident in our relationship, that it didn't matter if Tonks watched on. I actually thought it was a form of bragging for Fleur. That didn't mean that I was swinging my willy around in front of them, no. I was facing away from them, to preserve some of my dignity.

The ritual required there to be absolutely zero magical influence from any other source. Even the wards didn't apply in the ritual circle. The runes around the Celtric Triad created a bubble that stopped magic from entering. I wore no robes, no underwear, no wand holster, no wand, no necklace, no ring, nothing. Even my hair hung down my head because I cancelled the magic holding it into place.

"Yea he is." Tonks commented.

"Hmmmm." Fleur hummed with a huge smile, loving my position.

"Is everything ready?" I asked, stalling.

"We've accounted for everything." Harry said with a sigh. "We've been over this Ron, it's time."

"It's not everyday you get to see your soul, your being." I commented.

Harry was about to answer but Fleur beat him to it.

"Pussy."

That was like a friendly slap to the face, the kind that says 'get your act together'. So I did, I took a deep breath, clamped down on occlumency and cleared my mind, and stepped forward.

A flash of red, and everything changed.

No longer was I in 12 Grimmauld Pl. Instead I stood in the Room of Requirement. It was the study room that I had been using since the 'merge'. It looked exactly as it normally did.

Except it didn't.

There were books laying on the ground, as if they fell from the bookshelves on the wall. Papers lay on the ground, out of place. And the desk looked as if it could have been built better. The windows were warped and out of place. Nothing really made sense.

With a thought, the books flew from the ground onto the shelves. I cleared my mind immediately, knowing that this was a representation of my very being. Somethings were out of place and maybe they should have been.

Or maybe that is the beauty of the 'Mind Palace'. To organize yourself, directly. I pondered. Keep yourself, but improve it, nothing more.

I did just that. Papers went back into the desk, or on top of it, neatly. The desk itself shiften to look perfectly built. The walls became symmetrical. The windows became clear, and uniform. As it was happening, my mind cleared.

No that wasn't right.

It was as if everything just improved. I couldn't explain it. Information fell into place, quickly and efficiently. When I looked out the window, I saw Hogwarts grounds, and new possibilities with runes and my magic became obvious. Things that I would have eventually discovered, became apparent, as if I was unlocking them.

I walked towards the window, and continued straight through it as if it didn't exist.

My magic sang under my skin, and around me. I knew that reaching this connection with your magic, would be the key to double casting.

I moved back through the window, and into the Room of Requirement. My magic returned to its normal state.

The room is my mind, the wind is my magic. I realized as I looked around. And the land represents my body.

And everything is the soul. I thought.

So how do I connect the room with the outside, and my magic? Well it seems simple, really. I thought to myself.

Open the window.

The window in front of me swung open, and the euphoric feeling of having almost absolute control over my magic washed over me again and through my brain. I stood there a moment and moved it around under my skin.

I waved an arm, and tried to summon a fireball.

Nothing happened. I had complete control over my magic ...under my skin. I would still need a wand to inflict my will upon the world. But I could imagine learning some wandless magic would be possible. Like maybe a magelight, or something.

With that task figured out, my mind turned to the main purpose of my mind walk.

So where would I find something that is missing?

My eyes were drawn to a specific point on the castles grounds. A weeping willow, of epic proportions reached out to the world.

With a thought I floated down to it and stood in front of it. There was a single symbol carved into the tree, which I now realized was very very white. It was a black symbol I was very familiar with.

The Deathly Hallows.

I stood there for a moment as I pondered the information. The tree, made out of death, for death, to forget death.

That is interesting.

I stood in front of it knowing that if I touched that tree, I would find what was once lost. I could possibly find the key to defeating Voldemort. But the Deathly Hallows sat on the tree, as a warning. I don't think it meant that if I touched it I would die.

But I knew for a fact that Death had a lot to do with the knowledge I was about to receive. Dumbledore's voice sounded through the mind palace.

"He greeted Death as an old friend."

I reached out.

A fire.

A scream.

Smoke.

Success.

Pain. Unimaginable pain.

Peace.

My eyes opened, and I was in the same position with my palm on the tree. Although a blue flame was slowly eating away at the tree from the ends of the branches to the center, where the Deathly Hallows sat.

The further the flame traveled to the center, the more memories became known.

The term Horcrux rang in my skull, and I could grasp the information. Slowly my memories unlocked and images of all of Voldemort's horcruxes became known one by one.

Tom Riddle's Diary.

Marvolo Gaunt's ring/The Resurrection Stone.

Salazar Slytherin's Locket.

Helga Hufflepuff's Cup.

Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem.

Nagini.

And finally….

Harry Potter himself.

The tree disappeared completely in the blue flame as all the memories came to me.

"No!"

"No!"

I was met with the sight of the ritual room in 12 Grimmauld Pl. But that wasn't my focus. I turned around to the source of my outburst.

My eyes locked onto Harry's scar. The lightning bolt mocked me from its place on his skin.

Harry is a Horcrux! I thought. And Dumbledore knew. Dumbledore knew that Harry needed to die for Voldemort to ever be defeated.

A memory of Harry standing in front of Voldemort's killing curse flashed through my eyes.

"What's wrong, Ron?" Fleur was in front of me now, worriedly checking me over.

My wand flashed into my hand from the other side of the room as I remembered that I was naked. With a negligent flick, I conjured some pants from the air onto my body to cover myself up. I paused, as I felt my magic absolutely sing when it met my wand.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." I reassured her as I grabbed her face and kissed her. "I found the missing memories." I revealed to everyone in the room.

Harry stood up, looking concerned. "And?" He asked.

I paced for a moment, thinking on whether or not to tell him. In the end, the answer was obvious. Harry deserved to know.

"Harry, have you ever considered why you and Voldemort have a connection?" I asked.

"I used to, before the prophecy. Now I just associate the two." Harry answered. "Destiny, I guess."

I shook my head. "Close, but there is a deeper reason. You know that one has to split their soul to create a horcrux, right?" I asked everyone.

I got nods from all of them. "Well, how do you split your soul?"

"Murder." Harry said. "According to Dumbledore."

"Exactly!" I confirmed. "Now, what happened the night Voldemort attacked your parents Harry?"

Harry stared at me, and he tilted his head sideways thinking about what I was saying. I could tell he was putting two and two together.

His hand shot up to his forehead. "He murdered them." Harry breathed out, and stumbled for a moment.

He's figured it out. I thought.

"Neither can live, while the other survives." Harry said, staring out into space.

"What?" Tonks said. "What does that mean?"

Harry decided to be the one to break it to her.

"I'm a Horcrux."