Chapter 15: Horror-crux Night

When Harry left the room, Albus could do nothing but stare at the vanishing form of the boy he had deemed the saviour.

Something was wrong with the boy.

Albus had never seen Harry act like that before. Of course, it had been some time - some months - since he had seen the boy the last time. The last time…

The last time he had seen Harry, the boy had just won the Triwizard Tournament and his first battle against a reborn Dark Lord.

Since then Albus Dumbledore had been nervous to meet the boy again. Albus of course knew about the Horcrux in Harry's scar and he feared that Harry would be influenced by it, now that Voldemort had returned…

The trial today just aided to Albus' believes.

How?!

How had the boy managed to get off without his help?!

How had the boy known all this?!

Albus had brought the boy to Petunia and stopped every contact the boy could have to the wizarding world so that the boy would not be raised in the traditional ways of the pure-bloods - and now the boy suddenly was acting as if he had been raised like a pure-blood all along… !

This was not something Albus had wanted or even imagined.

He had wanted Harry to be raised like a Muggle or Muggle-born. He had thought that when the saviour of the wizarding world would act like a Muggle-born that the rest of the pure-blood would see the error of their ways. Albus had hoped that the pure-blood would finally stop clinging to customs that were long out-dated - instead Harry suddenly seemed to know a lot more about the law and custom of the wizarding world then he should have.

But how…?!

Had he researched it with his friends? Albus would not be happy if he had, but he would understand that.

Or had it been Voldemort's influence…?!

Albus tried to shrug of his concern, but he couldn't.

The cold voice, the emotionless face, the cool intelligence - Voldemort .

The charming behaviour, the cunning mind, the perfect manners - Voldemort.

The knowledge about everything he needed to know, the ability to sway the crowd, the ability to induct fear, loyalty and awe - Voldemort.

The boy had acted so much - maybe too much?! - like a charismatic and young Tom Riddle… Voldemort in all his former glory.

Albus shuddered and prayed that he was wrong. He prayed that someone at Grimauld Place had broken their promise to him and had the boy taught how to act and what to state - because if they hadn't there was a great chance that the connection between the Horcrux and Harry was starting to get stronger than Albus had predicted…

There was just one consultation for Albus: the boy still did not know about the rule of emancipation. As long as the boy did not claim his lordship he would stay a minor and was as such still under the guidance of Albus Dumbledore. Maybe Albus could do something to rescue the boy if he truly had given in to the Horcrux in his head…

If it was the Horcrux that let him act the way he did…

"Tonight" he decided. "I will speak to the members of the Order of tge Phoenix tonight. Maybe one of them has done or seen something that explains Harry's behaviour today…"

And if they hadn't… well, Albus would go there later when he had to…

When Harry left the room, Fudge was fuming.

How…?!

How had the boy been able to get of the hook like that?!

How had the boy swayed the Wizengamot?!

Fudge had been sure that he would be able to capture the boy with that spell. He needed the boy to be captured by it! He feared that the public would follow the boy. He feared that the boy was telling the truth and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named really had returned. The Potters were an important, powerfull family. They had a large political cloud and until now the boy had done nothing to jeopardise it.

Of course, the articles about the boy last year had not been supporting the boy - but they had not been scandalous enough to slander the boy also. And the boy had won the Triwizard Tournament with fourteen years of age and the boy had killed a dark lord when he was a baby…

Every negative press was fading away when you looked at the accomplishments of the boy - and even the articles that were printed the last few month about the boy's insanity in the Daily Prophet did not really jeopardise the political cloud the boy had.

A political cloud that came from the Potter family, the deeds of James and Lily Potter and the deeds the boy had done in his short life. The killing of You-Know-Who, the winning of the Triwizard Tournament, the rumours about facing a Professor when he tried to steal the Philosopher's stone and the rumour about ridding the school of Salazar Slytherin's monster…

Even if the last two were just rumours - the power the boy had shown by killing a dark lord as an infant and winning the Triwizard Tournament was enough to endear him to many. The boy just had to come to the Wizengamot session in January when the new lords would be introduced and he would have enough power to threaten even Fudge's position as the Minister of Magic. The boy himself might be too young to be the Minister of Magic - but with his influence and power he would be able to aid Albus Dumbledore in his quest to be the new Minister and he would win. Fudge would be unable to hold his seat against two slayers of dark lords…

But Fudge would not give up his position without a fight.

He had worked for this position. He had lived for this position.

He would not simply step aside.

There was just one thing h could do…

" Daily Prophet " he announced while stepping in the flames of his floo-fire. He would visit the Daily Prophet to ensure that the boy's reputation would finally be tarnished…

When Amelia Bones finally returned to her office, she hoped for a quiet evening. The trial today had been energy-sapping. She really didn't know how she felt at the moment - but she was quiet sure that Fudge was definitely not her favoured person today.

First he had stopped Mafalda Hopkirk from doing her duty by bringing the Potter-heir in front of the Wizengamot and then he had butchered up the whole trial by disregarding the laws he had sworn to follow - and the Potter-heir had known it all along.

Amelia was quiet sure that the Potter-heir had played them the whole time they were in court.

"And I thought the boy was a Gryffindor" she mused, thinking about the things her niece had told her when she asked her about Harry Potter. At that time it had been mere curiosity that had Amelia driven to find her answers - now she was spiked with longing to know about the boy.

"When the boy really is a Gryffindor, then he might have had aid" Amelia thought and sat down in the chair behind her desk. "There is no way a Gryffindor would be able to come up with something like that…"

Except the Gryffindor was a snake in a lion's fur all along…

Again Amelia repeated the morning in her head.

The boy had played them - but he had done it with the truth as he knew it, a feat that not even Lucius Mafoy would have easily pulled of…

Amelia sighed and buried her head in her hands - just to stop and stare at a piece of parchment that was lying innocently on her table.

Do you want to be responsible for another innocent's fake-trial? There aren't just innocent Potters out there - after all, there is a Black on the loose.

Sometimes you have to look a second time.

And sometimes you have to be a Slytherin to get justice.

RAB

She blinked, but the parchment did not vanish under her unbelieving eyes.

Another innocent?

A Black on the loose?

Slytherin?!

"It's definitely not my day" Amelia finally decided and tucked the piece of parchment in her desk. She had no desire to think about anything like that riddle in front of her at the moment.

"It can wait until tomorrow" she said to herself. "I finish early today."

And with that she left the office, not knowing that the piece of parchment would make a lot of more sense to her in the future. Even if it would take her some time to understand this twisted message at all…

It was night at Grimauld Place No 12. And while the children had been send to bed some time ago, the adults weren't sleeping.

Instead more and more people entered silently the house and went to the crammed kitchen. The last one was Albus Dumbledore. He closed and locked the door behind himself before setting some wards that prevented spying.

"So, tell us, Albus - how was the trial?" Molly Weasley asked. "The boy said he was cleared of all charges but he did not tell us more."

"Yes. I also want to know" Moody said grumpily. "Was your influence enough to let the boy of the hook?"

Albus Dumbledore himself sighted. He was not sure how to tell the people in front of him that the boy had somehow managed to be cleared by himself. By Merlin, Albus himself wasn't even sure how the boy had managed to play the whole Wizengamot until they had to let him go because of the evidence his memory provided.

The boy was a Gryffindor, for Merlin's sake! How the hell had he managed a Slytherin approach like that?!

"It did not go like I planed" he finally said sighting. Moody and the others looked at him.

"So it was just luck that the boy was cleared?" Moody asked. "They did not accept the witness Arabella was giving?"

"No" Albus answered, shaking his head. "I never asked Arabella to enter."

"So how…?" this time it was Arthur Weasley that asked the question.

"I was not allowed to be the witness for the defence." Albus answered tiredly.

"Fudge prevented it?!" this time a lot of voices asked the same question.

"No, Harry did" Albus answered.

"Why?!" the voices asked - all except one. Sirius Black was sitting on his chair, laughing.

" He did stop you when you tried to rescue him - and he got of himself?! That is hilarious!" the Animagus laughed barking. "Absolutely hilarious!"

Albus threw a sharp look at the laughing younger man before he answered.

"I do not know myself" he said. "But he prevented me from interfering and after that simply… crushed… the Minister with his own laws…"

The others blinked.

"He used the laws to defend himself?" Moody verified.

"Yes" Albus answered. "And some of them were laws I never heard before. He wasn't even a little bit afraid when he was standing in front of them - and finally he tricked them so that he was able to show them his memory."

"He knew about the possibility to do that?" Moody asked astonished.

"He did. And he used it to its fullest." Albus answered seriously. "What did he do while he was here?"

The Weasleys and Sirius looked at each other.

"He cleaned with us" Molly finally stated. "And when he did not clean he was with Ron and Hermione. Once I saw him in the library doing his homework… why?"

Albus sighted. He had hoped that Molly and the others had seen Harry while he planed the trick he had pulled in the Ministry but they hadn't.

He even wished that anyone would have helped Harry to do what he had done - because when they hadn't he was not sure how Harry had done it. And that was a terrifying thought. What, when Voldemort had helped him?! Was the link between these two open enough so that Harry could access the things Voldemort knew?!

"I just wondered when he had time to prepare for the trial." He finally answered Molly. Moody looked at him sharply but said nothing until the meeting ended and the other ones had left to go home or to go to bed.

"You fear something, Albus" Moody said, still looking at him intensively. "What do you fear?"

Albus sighted, then decided to give away a little bit of his information.

"The boy has a link to Voldemort" he said whispering.

"And you fear he was able to get of because he had the information the Dark Lord provided" Moody concluded.

"Yes."

"I will look out for the boy" Moody said. "When he really access the mind of the Dark Lord we will know it."

"Thank you my friend."

And with that both of them also left, not seeing the tiny figure that popped in the kitchen and loosened a tiny Muggle-recorder from beneath the table.

While the Order of the Phoenix held their meeting in the kitchen, in another, unused room of the house two other people were still awake.

The room was empty and small. Once it maybe had been a room for cleaning supplies and other things you don't use in daily routine. Now it was used for something entire different.

The runes, hieroglyphs, pentagrams and circles painted on the walls, ceiling and floor of the room implied the new use of the room. It had been changed to a ritual chamber.

And in the middle of this ritual chamber two objects were lying on the floor.

"Stand aside, Reg" a voice whispered and Regulus Black who had placed the objects in the middle-circle went to another circle painted on the floor right behind the door.

"Let's begin" the voice whispered again. And suddenly runes out of blue fire were drawn in the air. A moment later they vanished and with them the little noise from outside you could hear vanished also.

And then the chanting began.

Regulus himself watched from his secured place at the outer side of the ritualistic circle. He had seen this scene before but he still was unable to look away.

The first time he had seen it was ten years ago when the man in front of him had vanished the first Horcrux they had found. At that time he had known nearly nothing about the man. He had had woken up just a few weeks before that time after a magical coma of six years.

He had known nothing except that the man had rescued him back in 1979 from dying. And after that had looked after him until the potion in his system finally had worn of and he was able to wake up again.

He stared at the other one - ten years back it had been a man, now it was a boy - saw him drawing runes with the glowing staff in his hands. Then the green eyes of the other suddenly lightened up in unearthly light. They glowed as if filled with little, green suns, their gaze shone on the objects he was destroying.

Regulus never had seen a wizard using techniques like that. The air felt heavy and foreign. The magic flowing from the runes felt sweeter and earthy and absolutely different then the magic Reg was used to.

The first time the boy had vanished a Horcrux Regulus had been absolutely awestricken. And even now…

He could not look away, even when the light the runes and lines began to glow in started to hurt his eyes. Unearthly - that was the only description he was able to.

And then the chanting in a language Regulus could not place stopped and a soft hissing sound penetrated the silence.

Suddenly a black fog erupted from the two objects in the middle of the circle. The fog tried to take on a different shape, but white glowing light hindered the forming.

Again a chanting was heard. This time filled with soft hisses and words that sounded like Arabian.

The purifying.

The first time Regulus had seen it, he was not sure if the man in front of him tried not to invoke more evil as already was there. This time he knew it wasn't like that.

In that moment black and green fire erupted from the objects and reached for the black fog. A high pitched shriek could be heard when the fire began to consume the fog. Then the fog vanished in the flames.

It took another moment and then the unnatural fire also vanished, leaving behind the untainted Hufflepuff cup and Slytherin locket.

The boy sighted and disabled the runes and the runic circle.

Then he simply fell to his knees, totally spend.

Regulus left his corner to hurry to the boy's side.

"Are you okay?" he asked the boy.

"I am. Just tired. Help me to bed?"

Regulus sighted, feeling relieved that the boy seemed alright.

"Let me clean you up, then I will bring you to bed" Reg said and conjured a flannel and some water to rub away the runes and hieroglyphs Harry had painted in blood on his body.

"Thanks" the boy said when finally the last drop of blood was cleaned from his naked chest. "I hate this ritual. In other rituals the blood would simply vanish after I finalize the ritual. I don't know why it is different with that one…"

"Maybe because you are destroying something?" Regulus guessed.

Harry looked at the objects in front of him.

"Maybe" he said, and then came to his feet with a little help from Regulus. "Maybe."

Regulus opened the door and stopped listening. Nothing.

Silently they creped downstairs to the room Harry shared with Ron. There, Regulus opened the door to look in. Ron was sleeping soundlessly. So they were safe. They entered and Reg helped Harry to bed.

"Thanks" Harry said, Reg just snorted.

"You did the whole work. Bringing you to bed is definitely the easier part."

Harry just rolled with his eyes.

"Nevertheless thanks."

Reg smiled at him.

"Sleep, Harry. We wouldn't wake Ron now, would we?"

"Definitely not" Harry answered yawning, and then closed his eyes. "Hide the objects, will you?"

"Of course."

"Hide yourself as well."

"Sure."

Harry yawned again.

"Sleep, Harry."

"Will do."

And with that the boy closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Regulus looked down at the boy he had sworn to help. Now, asleep the boy looked absolutely harmless. Regulus took the glasses of the boy and put them on the table beside the bed.

He sighted.

A child. He was following the advices and command of a child. When he would not know that the boy in front of him was older than he looked, he would declare himself crazy.

He shook his head.

"Let's start the beginning of the end" he whispered sighting and still head shaking. "Let's see what's left after you are through with them…"

And with that he left the room to hide the Ex-Horcruxes and finally to go to bed himself.

That's it. Maybe there'll be a two-chapter Christmas-bonus in the next days, we'll see - but definitely one other I'll promise to post before Christmas.

I hope you like it…

Just another warning beforehand: I might have to change the age-limit because there might be some things in the next chapters that will not fit with the K+ limit I have now… But we'll see.

' Till next time.

Ebenbild