177 CHAPTER {227-229}
****THE-MAGICK-MOST-VILE (III)****
So, instead of trying to show Harry fake memories, Albus decided to distract him with memories of his parents, believing that he might be able to shake Harry's resolve with them and then use that opportunity to throw Harry out of his mind… There were so many secrets inside his mind and he couldn't allow Harry to discover any one of them. After all, everything he did was for the Greater Good.
Meanwhile, before Harry could even start looking for anything related to Horcruxes inside Albus' mind, the man started to show him the memories of his parents. He immediately realized what the ancient man was trying to do and to be honest, he wasn't amused. Albus had been trying to use the memories of his parents against him since he met the man, and while it had amused him at the beginning. He was starting to become annoyed.
Though Harry was not going to give Albus the satisfaction of getting a rise out of him. So, he forcefully pushed away the memories Albus was trying to show him… Yes, he wanted to learn more about his parents, but not like this. Even though he loved his mother in all the wrong ways, he still respected his father for trying to hold Voldemort back even though he knew that it would spell death for him.
Albus tried his best, but no matter how much he tried, he wasn't able to stop Harry from pushing away the memories… Harry wasn't entranced by the memories like he expected him to. It was like Harry didn't even care about his parents in the slightest, but what he didn't realize was the fact that his plan was bound to fail from the start… After all, Sirius was right there in those memories right beside his parents.
He could simply ask Sirius for the memories and he would happily hand it over to him, and Sirius might even join him on the trip down the memory lane… Harry didn't need to depend on Albus for anything…
Now that Harry was no longer being distracted by the memories of his parents, he decided to start looking for what he came for and it only took him a minute to finally find the memory he was looking for even though throughout the whole time, Albus had been trying to stop him by distracting him with the memories of his parents. Credit where credit's due, and Harry had to admit, Albus was not someone who gave up.
After rummaging through the ancient man's memories, Harry decided to compliment the man for his hard work… Albus has worked tirelessly to discover what a Horcrux truly was and how to destroy them. After learning what a Horcrux was and how to destroy them, Albus started to spend most of his time trying to deduce the objects Voldemort might have used to create his Horcruxes.
He had managed to come up with a list of objects Voldemort might have used to create his Horcruxes and another list of any likely places Voldemort could have used to hide them… Though the problem was, Albus had no idea how many Horcruxes Voldemort could have made and there was only one person besides Voldemort who could answer the question, but the said man was keeping his head all the way down for decades.
Now, Harry finally knew why Horace Slughorn had not been seen since the War. The man was alive, Albus was certain of that, but he had no idea where the man was hiding. Albus had been trying to locate the man for a year, but still no luck… Regardless of that fact, Albus believed that Voldemort had made six Horcruxes, splitting his Soul into seven as seven was the strongest and the most commonly used Magical number, while the Horcrux in Harry's scar was made by an accident.
Alas, it was a simple conjecture on Albus' part and even Albus didn't want to move on with his conjecture without any backing and that was where Horace Slughorn came in. Harry agreed with Albus on this… He also believed that 7 was a really good number, but having confirmation from the man who told Voldemort about Horcruxes in the first place was quite necessary. Harry didn't want to jump into anything half-cocked.
"Thank you, Albus. Thanks to your hard work, Voldemort will be finally vanquished" Harry thanked the man, and Albus didn't even have the energy to glare at Harry. He was quite old and he had been trying to fight off Harry, so even ended up spending most of his energy as mental battles required quite a bit of energy. "Now, let's see where are you keeping that cloak of mine" Harry said with a grin before he once again started to rummage through Albus' mind, in search of his cloak.
This time, Albus didn't even try to stop him as the only reason he was still conscious was due to the throbbing pain he was feeling in his head and as soon as Harry learned of the cloak's location, he stopped using Legilimency and Albus immediately passed out as his eyes rolled up toward the back. The old man slumped down in his bed and Harry decided to leave him for the time being.
Harry did have a lot more questions for the man, but he could always return and rummage the man's mind for the answers he wanted… After all, Albus was going nowhere and for the foreseeable future, this cell was going to be his home…
|You are quite pleased| Lily spoke up, breaking him out of his musings.
|Yes, I am. He had been looking for Voldemort's Horcruxes and he had managed to come up with a list of objects and a list of places where Voldemort could have hidden the said objects| Harry answered and Lily froze for a second before she spoke up.
|His list could be wrong…| Lily warned him while frowning. She didn't want him to get his hopes up only to get them dashed later.
|I know, mom. I know… But, you have to understand that I didn't even know where to start looking, and now I at least know what I am looking for. That isn't all, Albus had done extensive research on Voldemort. He knows how Voldemort thinks and even if his list turns out to be a dud, I would still have an idea what to look for…| Harry explained and after digesting his words, Lily simply hummed before wishing him luck.
|Good luck then| Lily wished cheerfully before Harry opened a portal leading to Albus' office. There were a few things he needed to grab from the man's office before he could move on to the next task of the day…
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****THE-MAGICK-MOST-VILE (IV)****
~~Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts~~
Harry stepped through the portal and he immediately found himself inside the Headmaster's office. As expected, he didn't trigger the alarm Wards since he didn't enter from the door or any of the windows. The portraits of the previous Headmasters immediately started to stir up due to his arrival.
"Who are…"
"How did you en…"
"What was th…"
The portraits began to speak up, but Harry simply waved his hand in the air indifferently in the air, putting the portraits back to sleep. He didn't want to be hounded by annoying portraits or the portraits could have informed others as Harry wasn't sure if they had other copies or not, so it was better for Harry if they fell asleep. Harry looked around at the books and Harry had to admit, he was impressed by the man's collection.
Though Harry wasn't interested in the books even though most of them were quite rare… So, instead of paying the books any mind, Harry made his way toward a blank wall and then he tapped the wall with the Elder Wand in some specific location. The wall rippled before it became transparent.
Nodding his head in satisfaction, he stepped through the now-transparent wall and found himself inside some kind of storeroom. The room was filled with bizarre knick-knacks, but Harry paid them no mind. His eyes were fixated on the safe, which was by the other side of the room. Harry approached the safe and unlocked it with extreme ease since he already knew the code.
He pulled the door open and inside the safe, he found something wrapped in dragon hide. Harry grabbed the object and gently unwrapped the dragon hide to reveal Tom Riddle's diary in all its glory. Harry immediately started to feel a subtle Compulsion assaulting his Occlumency barriers, but for someone like him, the Compulsion mattered very little.
|This makes three| Harry mused internally before he once again wrapped the diary in the dragon hide and the Compulsion he was sensing disappeared. Now, he only needed to find the remaining three, in case Voldemort split his Soul seven ways. For that, he would need to have a chat with Horace Slughorn. With that thought in his mind, he grabbed the next object. It was a small notebook. All of Albus' research when it came to Voldemort and Slughorn was mentioned in the notebook.
He put the notebook inside one of his pockets before he finally grabbed his Family cloak, which was also inside the safe. Albus was planning to give him the cloak at the start of the first year, but later he decided to keep it in his possession indefinitely as he wasn't sure if he could trust Harry with such a powerful artifact. Harry felt something click inside his mind as soon as he grabbed the cloak and a wicked grin bloomed on his face.
The cloak could supposedly hide him from everything, even death, which was obviously a lie since he already knew why Hela created the Deathly Hallows. Death would eventually come for everyone and Hela wasn't Death, at least technically since she doesn't reign over the afterlife, she only reigns over Hel, but the cloak could hide him from all the Gods, including Hela, and not only that, it can even hide him from Wards.
Mortal Wards were nothing compared to true Divine Beings like the Gods, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the cloak could hide him from something mundane like Wards, but Harry could already see the chaos he could cause with the cloak in his possession…
|The cloak had so much potential, but your father only used it for his stupid pranks| Lily sighed in disappointment and there was also a trace of anger in her voice.
|Don't blame him, Mom. His childhood was completely different from mine and he lacked the drive and resources I have at my disposal. Though he proved himself to be a man when it truly mattered… I am proud of him| Harry explained with a sigh.
|I know… I am proud of him too. I don't blame him for anything, but ughh…| Lily groaned in frustration. |It's just hard to explain. It feels like we could have done more, we should have done more to end the war… Now that I think about it, we weren't fighting a war, not really. We were simply stalling| Lily laughed mirthlessly as she mocked herself for being foolish, but they were so young and naive. They believed whatever Dumbledore wanted them to believe.
After all, he was the defeater of Grindelwald and the strongest Wizard in existence… If not him, then who else were they supposed to believe and trust?
|It's alright, Mom. The two of you were fighting for what you truly believed in and that is more important than anything| Harry decided to comfort his mother, but he wasn't sure if it worked or not. Harry slung the cloak over his shoulder before he finally grabbed the last object from inside the safe. It was a nondescript diary, but Harry knew how important the diary was. The diary contained the list of possible Horcruxes and their possible hiding locations.
There was nothing else Harry wanted to grab right now, so after shoving the diary inside his pocket, he closed the safe before exiting the secret room. Then he pulled out the Elder Wand and waved it in front of the translucent wall and it turned solid again… Harry looked around the office and decided to raid it some other time. There were bound to be other important stuff in his office.
After that, he simply opened a portal leading to his room and stepped through. The portal closed behind his back and after placing everything on the table, he decided to start with Albus' research diary. The first Horcrux Albus mentioned was the diary and he believed this was the first Horcrux Tom ever created. If Albus' speculation was right, Voldemort made this when he was still at Hogwarts and he used the death of Myrtle Warren to create the diary Horcrux.
Harry didn't know what to say… There were Dark Magic detection Wards in Ilvermorny. A student couldn't even cast a somewhat Exploding Curse without triggering the Wards. The training rooms were obviously an exception, but some of the Darker Curses like the Organ Melting Curse, Skin Rotting Curse, Entrails Exploding Curse, and the Unforgivables were completely banned for obvious reasons.
But, a student created something like a Horcrux inside Hogwarts and nobody noticed anything? Magic like that was bound to leave traces, which meant that Tom either performed the Ritual outside the school Wards, or he performed the Ritual in a place where the Wards didn't reach… Thanks to Lucius, Harry knew that the diary was somehow connected to the Chamber of Secrets, so Tom could have performed the Ritual in that Chamber.
Then Albus believed the second Horcrux to be the Gaunt Family ring… It was never found after Morfin Gaunt was arrested for the second time when he was sentenced to Azkaban for life after he confessed that he had killed the Riddles… However, Albus didn't believe him to be the culprit as Morfin could not remember why he killed them or how he killed them. Even his Wand turned out to be clean, but the Ministry simply wanted to get it over with and since he confessed, he was the criminal.
Harry had to admit, Albus was right on the money… The ring was most definitely a Horcrux, but thankfully, it was destroyed.
After that, Albus wasn't sure about the order, but he believed that Voldemort stole the Slytherin's locket, and Helga Hufflepuff's Cup from Hepzibah Smith and this time he manipulated the house elf into believing that she was the one who poisoned her Mistress and killed her. Albus believed that he might have turned those two artifacts into his Horcruxes and the Locket was most definitely a Horcrux since it was already in his possession.
Albus also believed that Voldemort might have found Gryfinndor's Sword, which was lost since the Founder's demise and then turned it into a Horcrux. Considering how egotistical Voldemort truly was, he wasn't going to put it past him… Voldemort wouldn't use something mundane to create his Horcruxes. Then there was also a chance that he might have found Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem, which had been also lost for centuries and then turned it into a Horcrux.
It could only be either of them as Albus was certain that Voldemort's familiar Nagini was a Horcrux too…
Nagini was simply too smart for a snake and Voldemort seemed to possess far too much control over the snake's actions. Even a Parselmouth shouldn't possess such a tremendous amount of control over a snake. Then the snake was also quite unnaturally large and Voldemort seemed to be way too protective of his snake… After he finished reading the conjectures, Harry didn't know what to think.
After some pondering, he simply closed the diary and decided to locate Horace Slughorn before anything else…
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****ENEMIES-ASHORE (I)****
~~London City Airport, London, England~~
"Wake up, we are finally here" Alan cuffed Merlin at the side of his head and the man woke up with a flinch. He immediately removed the magazine covering his face and started to look around frantically, searching for any threat. It took his brain a couple of seconds to realize where he was and he turned toward Alan to glare at the man.
"That wasn't funny" Merlin grumbled unhappily before he slumped down in his chair.
"I disagree, it was quite funny" Agatha agreed from the other side. "So, what's the plan now?" Agatha asked as she put her book away. The plane just touched down, so all the passengers started to put away their things.
"First, we pay a visit to the Diagon Alley to get a lay of the land before, then we can plan our next move" Merlin explained and both Alan and Agatha nodded their heads in understanding. Instead of using a Portkey or a Portal, they decided to use Muggle means to enter Britain because they wanted to take the scenic route.
After exiting the airport, Merlin simply summoned the Knight Bus and only after a couple of minutes, the group of three found themselves standing in front of Leaky Cauldron. None of them liked the Knight Bus, but it was the fastest means of travel if you weren't using Apparition or Portkey, and Merlin wanted to have a chat with the driver as they were usually well-informed.
"Britain is in a dire state" Merlin admitted solemnly as he stared at the pub. Leaky Cauldron was usually filled with people, going about their lives while happily chatting with their buddies, but today the Leaky Cauldron was somewhat empty and the people inside the pub looked wary and jumpy. It was a weird sight for him to witness.
"Well, the Minister is dead. The most feared Dark Lord is back from the dead. What else did you expect?" Agatha snarked at her friend. "They are scared" Agatha added as she could somewhat sympathize with them.
"Maybe, we could take out the so-called Dark Lord along the way?" Merlin suggested in an unsure tone.
"We can't… You know we can't. His fate is not in our hands and yes, we can circumvent the Prophecy, but that wouldn't bode well for us. Lady Fate doesn't like it when someone messes with her machinations" Merlin stated with a grave look on his face. He didn't like it, but his hands were tied in this matter.
"I know… I just hate myself for not being able to do anything to help these people. Maybe, I am just a naive man" Alan admitted as he chuckled mirthlessly, mocking his own powerlessness.
"Don't blame yourself too much, Alan… I also feel like that, but if we start interfering then we might get noticed. That would not be good for our mission" Agatha explained and Alan could only nod his head, even though he was quite reluctant to do so. After all, dealing with Harry Potter was their main objective.
"Alright, let's split up. That way, we will be able to cover more ground and after three hours, we return here" Merlin explained the plan. Both Alan and Agatha nodded their heads in understanding. The group of trio entered the pub and the occupants looked at them warily as they walked by. After entering Diagon Alley, the group of trio split up, just like they planned…
~~Abandoned Warehouse, Scotland~~
"This is a good place to set up" Peggy commented as she looked around the abandoned warehouse. This place used to be a military outpost during World War II, but after the War was over, the outpost was abandoned as there was no need for it anymore. Since the place was abandoned, SHIELD decided to use the place for the time being.
"Though it would be hard to get reinforcements here, Ma'am" Derrick Oswell from MI6 conveyed, not liking the fact that they were away from any sort of human civilization. They were the only people up on this mountain and the mountain was nothing but a frozen tundra at the time of this year. His men didn't have any experience of fighting on ice, so they were at a huge disadvantage up here.
Peggy stared at the man who was in charge of the team lent to them from MI6 and sighed… MI6 didn't even bother to tell these people who they were up against. This warehouse was the only place they could find near the Magical village of Hogsmeade and considering their enemies, they needed to be close to Magical Settlements.
Settling near Diagon Alley would have been much easier, but that would have been a waste of time and it might have gotten the attention of Aurors, or worse, the gray cloaks. "I know, but it is a risk we must take…" Peggy stated with a determined look on her face. Derrick still wasn't happy with the answer, but before he could say anything Agent Coulson arrived.
"Ma'am, the Royal Mages are here" Phil Coulson revealed and a smile bloomed on Peggy's face, while Derrick frowned at the mention of the Mages. He obviously knew about the existence of Magic along with his team. That was why they were sent to help SHIELD on this mission in the first place, but he wasn't expecting that they were going to be working alongside Mages.
"Mages?" Derrick asked with a deep frown marring his face.
"Yes, Mages" Peggy confirmed with a deep nod. "I know what you are thinking, but the Royal Mages have no contact with the Wizarding World. Their sole purpose is to protect the Royal Bloodline from Magical threats and Harry Potter is most definitely a threat to the Royal Bloodline. The Queen has graciously provided us with half of her Mages" Peggy elaborated when she noticed the confused look on Derrick's face.
"They are going to be quite invaluable, Ma'am" Coulson agreed with her with a polite smile on his face.
The group of three finally arrived outside the warehouse, only to be greeted by a group of people dressed in blue robes. A platinum blonde-haired woman stepped forward when Peggy arrived with Derrick and Phil. There were other people milling around, but after giving Peggy a salute, they resumed their rounds.
"Greetings, I am Rachel Node from the Royal Mages and I am in charge of my group" The woman introduced herself as she extended her hand.
"I am Elizabeth Carter. Glad to have you with us, Miss Node" Peggy accepted the offered hand and shook it. "I will be leading the mission, I hope you are okay with that?" Peggy asked just to make sure.
"No problem, Ma'am, we will be under your command. As long as the threat is dealt with" Rachel admitted with a nod of her head.
Peggy smiled at that. "Good, then all of us are on the same page. Let's go inside, we have a lot of work to do" Peggy stated and Rachel nodded her head in agreement before she ordered her team to fortify their base with Wards and Charms before the group of four started to head inside…
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