Chapter 2
"How'd you do it?" Ron asked Harry.
Harry was confused. Angrily, Ron said, "Never mind. It doesn't matter. Might've let your best friend know, though."
"Know what?" Harry demanded, holding back the pain. Neville and Dean exchanged worried glances, and Seamus just rolled his eyes.
"You know bloody well what," Ron said coldly, as he started putting his day clothes back into his trunk.
"I didn't ask for this to happen, Ron," Harry said desperately. He was shaking a little, but he refused to cry in front of the others.
Ron snorted and got into bed, ignoring him. Harry stood up and went over to him. "I didn't put my name in that cup," he insisted. "And I don't know who did.
"I don't want eternal glory, I just want to be-" the word "normal" stuck in his throat. Harry knew he would never be normal. "Look, I don't know why this happened. It just did, okay?"
The response was Ron flipping away from him and glaring out the window. Harry felt his control slipping, and he went back to his bed to close the curtains.
"Piss off," he heard his best friend, the boy the thought of as a brother, mutter.
And Harry shattered. He only just managed to put up a silencing charm before bursting into tears.
"Harry! What's wrong?" Hermione exclaimed when she saw Harry, almost dropping the toast in her hands.
He knew he looked horrible. The only reason he'd gotten to sleep was because Neville had held him.
"Ron," he rasped. "He hates me."
"He doesn't hate you," she insisted anxiously. "He doesn't even think you put your name in. He's just jealous!"
"I thought our friendship would be more important than that," Harry whispered. "I don't know why he thought I did this! I've been angry over it since it began! This tournament put kids in danger."
"Ron has a big family," Hermione sighed. "He's rarely noticed or heard. And you always get more attention and affection."
"He seems to forget that I had to become a bloody orphan to get that attention and affection," Harry snapped. "And I have to be a perfect little Gryffindor to get any of that affection." He paused. "I'm sorry, I'm not mad at you. You know I didn't put my name in."
"Of course I do, Harry," she said gently, pulling him into a hug. "I knew you would be upset at his idiocy, but I didn't think you would..."
"...He's the closest I'll ever get to having a brother," Harry breathed after a long pause.
"Oh, Harry," Hermione whispered brokenly, holding him tighter.
"Someone must be trying to do you in, putting your name into the goblet," Ron said carefully.
"Finally figured that out, didn't you?" Harry asked blankly.
Ron looked alarmed at his expression. "Harry, what-"
"I'm fine," Harry said flatly. "Go away. You were happier away from me."
"No I wasn't!" Ron snapped, making Hermione and Harry jump. "I felt bloody terrible! I wanted to apologize right away, but Fred and George -- it doesn't matter," Ron decided. "You're one of my best friends in the whole world, Harry. I'm so sorry."
Harry cried again, causing both of his honorary siblings to pull him into a hug.
Harry was worried. He didn't know how to tell Ron and Hermione any of this. He had almost lost his honorary brother once, and he never wanted that to happen again.
"Sirius, wait," Remus said quietly, and the three paused on the lawn of the Burrow. "Harry, what's wrong?"
"Ron and Hermione," he said softly. "I don't know what I'll do if they know."
Sirius winced, and his husband looked sympathetic. Harry had told him and Remus about how he felt about his friends the previous summer, along with almost everything that had happened during his school years.
"I don't think they would betray you," Remus said slowly, "especially not after your fourth year. But since Molly-" his eyes flashed gold "-was a part of this, and Hermione worships almost everything Dumbledore does... you can't be sure."
"Could you Obliviate them, if they do know?" Harry asked quietly. "I love my friends, but I can't risk them betraying me."
Remus nodded.
"Sirius, I need you to cast a glamour on me, so Mrs. Weasley doesn't find out what happened," Harry said to the ex-Auror.
A moment later, the three of them re-entered the house, and a frantic Mrs. Weasley descended on them. "Where HAVE you BEEN?" she demanded.
"With my honorary parents," Harry told her calmly. She flinched in surprise. "We took a walk because I couldn't sleep."
The rest of the family, who had heard Mrs. Weasley's screech, rushed into the kitchen. The twins were the first to swoop Harry into a hug, exclaiming, "Harrikins!"
"Good, you're okay," Ron said in relief. Hermione pursed her lips in concern.
"We thought you'd been kidnapped!" Ginny said angrily.
"Why do you all think I'm stupid and can't take care of myself?" Harry asked coldly, causing most of them to startle back. Fred and George released him. "I'm not an invalid. And Remus and Sirius were with me. I'm not a bloody idiot."
"'Mia and I don't think you're stupid," Ron insisted. "We did try telling Mum you'd be fine, and you had Professor Lupin and an ex-Auror with you-"
"Sirius is irresponsible and reckless, and Remus caters to him," Mrs. Weasley insisted.
Sirius glared at her. "Remind me the last time I did something reckless, Molly."
She paused.
"I am not the immature brat you think I am," Sirius said coldly. "Do you know why? I was forced to grow up. Spending thirteen years around blood-sucking wraiths tend to do that to you."
The Weasleys and Hermione shuddered.
"I'm playful and mischievous, yes," Sirius said bluntly, "but I'm far more careful than I used to be."
"Sirius is my mate, woman," Remus added icily, eyes glowing gold. "I do what makes him happy and safe."
A flicker of disgust passed over the woman's face, but she was still mostly shocked.
"I'm going to our room," Harry said sourly, brushing past Mrs. Weasley, the twins, and Ginny.
He would've asked Ron and Hermione to tag along, but obviously they knew something had happened, because they followed him immediately. He heard Sirius and Remus following.
Once the trio were seated on the floor of Ron and Harry's bedroom, Hermione said firmly, "All right, something happened while you were gone. Talk."
"I got a letter from Gringotts at five o'clock this morning," Harry began.
"Oh, yeah," Ron remembered. "Most wizar- wixen get letters from the bank when they come of age. You took a Magical Aura Test and Inheritance Test, right?"
Given that neither of them looked panicked, Harry hoped that they were ignorant of Mrs. Weasley's, Dumbledore's, and Ginny's crimes.
"Yes," he said sourly. "It wasn't good. Did you know that goblins know a lot more about Horcruxes than Dumbledore and You-Know-Who do?"
Hermione and Ron looked startled. "Why did that topic come up?" Hermione asked warily.
Harry pulled out the two Tests and handed Hermione his Magical Aura Test. Ron leaned over so they could read it at the same time.
They both sputtered in alarm. "You're Dark?" Ron yelped.
"Death Magic?" Hermione squeaked.
"Sirius," Harry said, knowing the ex-Auror was just beyond the door. It opened, and Sirius stuck his head in. "Can you remove the glamour, please?"
Sirius flicked his wand in response, then shut the door.
His friends gawked at him. Hermione was blushing a little. "Why do you look so different?" Ron asked.
"Keep reading," Harry said dryly, folding his arms.
Ron and Hermione exchanged glances, then went back to the Magical Aura Test. "Death's Apprentice?" Ron said in shock.
Harry said nothing.
"You have a lot of blocks on you," Ron said quietly, worriedly. "Who would do that to you?"
"What are blocks?" Hermione asked, without looking up from the test. She yelped again. "You have an Animagus form?"
"Sirius taught me over the summer," Harry shrugged. "The Muggles left me alone, so the meditation bit was pretty easy. I managed a full transformation a few days before Dumbledore died."
Ron blanched. "Fuck, Harry... your mates..."
"I'll deal with it," Harry said flatly. "I'm used to shit happening to me."
"You can't be with anyone else?" Hermione asked worriedly.
"No."
The redhead rolled his eyes. "Of course Lyth is your familiar." He winced. "And no wonder you were so upset when Hedwig-"
Hermione swatted him. "Shut up!" she hissed.
Harry smiled wearily at them. "You haven't gotten to the worst parts."
"How many compulsions were you under?!" Ron exclaimed in alarm. "Fucking -- my sister gave you a date r*pe potion?!"
Hermione gasped. "Harry, you're a Horcrux!"
"I was, for about two seconds," Harry retorted when Ron went white. He explained what Griphook had told him about souls. "And Dumbledore knew I had You-Know-Who's soul attached to mine. I don't know if he knew my soul had absorbed his, though."
"How do you-" Ron read the last line and the color drained from his face. "My mother...?"
"Dumbledore wouldn't do this," Hermione whispered. "Would he?"
"So you two didn't know?" Harry asked, trying to hide his hope and worry.
Ron looked up and blinked at him. After a pause, he said strongly, "I swear on my life and my magic that I will always remain loyal to my honorary brother, Harry James Potter."
The room flashed with Neutral magic.
Hermione realized why Ron had done that and quickly echoed him. She yelped when more magic flared in the room, this time Dark.
"Did you get letters from Gringotts when you turned seventeen?" Harry asked them, relieved but also a little worried.
Ron frowned. "Fuck. I didn't."
"I didn't even know I was supposed to," Hermione admitted worriedly.
"I'll borrow Sirius' owl," Harry decided. "I think you need to take Magical Aura Tests, too."
"Not just because we might have inherited a creature," Ron agreed. "If... if my mum put you under blocks and compulsions, I wouldn't put it past her to put her kids under them, too."
Harry handed them his Inheritance Test next. "I only took all the Lordships so I could take Hogwarts back from the Death Eaters if I needed to. And I was hoping to stop the Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry."
"You're descended from three of the four founders?!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Not quite," Harry said dryly. "I'm not descended from Sirius."
"You're basically his kid," Ron retorted. "You don't need to explain to me why you took the Lordships, Harry. You're more important to me than that."
Harry relaxed and shoved back his tears. "There's some things we need to discuss.
"I don't want to destroy the Horcruxes and You-Know-Who anymore."
His friends were silent for a moment. Then Hermione said slowly, "I'm sure you have a good reason. You always do."
"I think I'd better start with You-Know-Who's childhood," Harry decided. Hermione looked alarmed.
"He grew up in a Muggle orphanage," Ron remembered.
"Ron, you don't know what orphanages are, do you?" Hermione said quietly.
"Something to do with orphans," Ron said in embarrassment.
"It's kind of like a semi-permanent hotel for kids who don't have parents or whose parents don't want them, and there are a bunch of adults in the building taking care of them," Harry explained. "It's semi-permanent because couples go there all the time to adopt. Mostly it's the younger kids that get adopted, because teens are a bit of a handful."
"That doesn't sound so bad," Ron said in a puzzled tone.
"I don't know about modern orphanages," Harry said honestly, "but from what I saw in Dumbledore's memory, it wasn't great. And he grew up in the literal center of the Blitz."
Hermione blanched.
"What's the Blitz?"
Hermione was the one to explain (a textbook answer, which was a little more graphic than how Remus had explained to Sirius). Ron looked horrified and nauseous.
"This story starts before You-Know-Who was conceived," Harry said, "so you should probably get more comfortable."
Ron and Hermione leaned against Ron's bed, looking curious and worried.
"The story starts in a little village called Little Hangleton," Harry began. "It's a Muggle village between Great Hangleton and Little Whinging. I'm not entirely sure when You-Know-Who's parents were born, but they lived in Little Hangleton, just outside the village. Tom Riddle Senior was a prominent and popular Muggle lord, and his family owned most of the land outside of the town, except for a small plot owned by the Gaunt family: Marvolo Gaunt, the father; Morfin Gaunt, the son; and Merope Gaunt, the daughter.
"Tom Riddle Senior is the Muggle version of Draco Malfoy," Harry added dryly, "so he was well-known, respected, and ho- handsome," he said quickly. Hermione smirked, and Ron raised an eyebrow. "The Gaunts, on the other hand, were so insistent on remaining Purebloods that they performed incest-" Hermione looked horrified "-and were considered ugly by Muggles and not very powerful by wixen. They could, for some reason, still speak Parseltongue, even though every other family gifts they could have had disappeared because of the incest.
"Merope Gaunt was practically a Squib, and she was bullied mercilessly by her father and brother. Especially when she began to get a crush on Tom Riddle Senior, who was constantly riding past their house on his horse.
"Morfin realized this and caused Riddle to grow hives on his face, which sent the Ministry to their doorstep. When the Auror tried to arrest Morfin, Marvolo attacked him, and he took both of them into custody. While they were in Azkaban, Merope fed Riddle a love potion-" his friends blanched "-and they got married.
"When Merope discovered she was pregnant, she stopped feeding Riddle the potion, believing he would stay for the child. She was bloody wrong. He ran back to his parents, and Merope wandered the streets in distress.
"I don't think she knew that the potion was r*pe," Harry added when Hermione looked scandalized. "The Gaunts weren't that intelligent. She just wanted to be loved, for once."
Hermione and Ron grimaced.
"I'm not saying what she did was right," Harry added, "just that I get it." He ignored the concerned expressions on his friends faces and continued the story.
"Merope managed to survive to bear Tom Marvolo Riddle Junior at Wool's Orphanage. She died in childbirth.
"When Tom was four, he had a reputation of being sweet, intelligent, and well-behaved. He had been adopted a few times, but the Muggles sent him back every time his accidental magic came into play. None of the other orphans liked him, because he'd charmed the staff into loving him, and he'd been adopted more than anyone else had. From the look I saw on eleven-year-old Tom's face, he'd been bullied and abused."
Hermione and Ron looked shocked. "How do you know?" Ron asked worriedly.
"Because I had a mirror at eleven," Harry said flatly. He continued the story again, ignoring Hermione's gasp and Ron's protective snarl.
"Tom was five or six years old when the Blitz started," Harry said. "From September 1931 to May 1932, bombs were dropped all over London, including the area of Wool's Orphanage. It was sheer luck that it wasn't destroyed, and that none of the orphans or staff were killed or injured. This, I think, is what started Tom's desire to make himself impossible to kill."
Understanding grew on Hermione's face. Ron already knew what Muggle bombs were (a sight more dangerous than dungbombs) and was pale.
"When he was seven years old," Harry continued, "his accidental magic killed one of the other orphan's pets. I don't think he intended to hurt the rabbit," he added, "but something very traumatic must have happened for his accidental magic to do something that drastic. This flipped a switch in everyone there, including Tom. He was still bullied, but now the staff turned a blind eye to it, considering him dangerous and a bully, though they didn't have any proof. Tom was still very charismatic around the staff, and he became even more intelligent and cunning.
"Dumbledore came to tell Mrs. Cole, the head matron, that Tom was going to Hogwarts. He didn't tell her that Tom was a wizard, so I don't think the law that says Muggleborn's parents and guardians should be told was in effect yet. She told him that Tom scared the other children, and bad things happened to the kids that bothered him, but she had no proof it was Tom who did those things. She also told him about the rabbit.
"I still don't understand how Dumbledore could immediately consider Tom evil and a bully with just that," Harry added angrily. "Tom was a bloody child! And Dumbledore knew about the Blitz!" He shook himself. "He asked her if he could talk to Tom personally, and she agreed.
"Tom was really skinny and pale, and he had a coldly polite look on his face. Tom thought Dumbledore was from the insane asylum, and that Mrs. Cole and the staff wanted him locked up."
Hermione and Ron looked alarmed.
"To prove that he was a wizard, Dumbledore lit Tom's bloody wardrobe on fire," Harry added irritably. His friends choked. "The wardrobe was fine, but it revealed a little box of things Tom had stolen from the other orphans. Before you say anything," he added when Ron opened his mouth with a frown, "I stole one of Dudley's stuffed animals when I was six. I didn't have anything to sleep with, and he had a lot of stuffed animals. Kids steal from other kids, especially if they have nothing."
Hermione was looking more distraught by the minute. Ron looked like he wanted to hex Dudley.
"Dumbledore told Tom that stealing wasn't allowed in Hogwarts," Harry continued, "and that he wanted him to return the items immediately. He offered to help Tom shop in Diagon, but Tom didn't trust anybody, understandably, and told him he could do it on his own.
"Before Dumbledore left, Tom told him he could speak to snakes," said Harry. "Dumbledore told him it was rare, but not unheard of. This was another thing that made Dumbledore not trust Tom, although how you can't trust a child that speaks a bloody language, I don't know."
Ron opened his mouth again, paused, and closed it again, looking a little sheepish. Hermione rolled her eyes at him.
"The teenage Tom Riddle that I met in the diary had a lot of potential," Harry said. "Minus the trying to kill bloody children. And from some research I did, his original goals as a Dark Lord were to bring balance to magic and give so-called 'Dark' creatures jobs. If we help him put his soul back together, then he won't be insane anymore and Remus might have a chance to have a bloody normal life."
"'Bring balance to magic?'" Ron repeated.
"Making all magic legal, and only making the acts illegal," Harry explained. "Did you know the Killing Curse was invented by a Healer who didn't want her patient suffering a slow and painful death from an uncurable disease?"
Ron and Hermione stared at him.
"The Cruciatus Curse was supposed to be a magical version of resuscitation," Harry added, and Hermione's eyes widened.
"What?"
"Muggles can restart people's hearts," Hermione explained to Ron, "with..." she paused. "It's kind of like a controlled form of lightning?"
Ron looked awed. "I should've taken Muggle Studies."
"The Curse was dropped as a resuscitation method, though," Harry added, "because of too many bad side effects. You really only had to use it once or twice to restart the heart, so your brain was unaffected, but the pain nerves were fractured because of it. They did create a much better version later."
"What about the Imperius Curse?" Hermione asked interestedly.
"It was created by a Dark Lord who wanted to keep his prisoners in a happy, suspended state," Harry said. "He didn't intend for it to be a mind-controlling spell, just for it to keep them from suffering."
"What the fuck...?" Ron muttered.
"The point I'm trying to make," Harry continued, "is that magic is a tool." He Summoned a quill from his trunk. "This is a quill, used for writing and drawing, right?" Ron and Hermione nodded. "I can think of seven ways off the top of my head to kill someone with this," Harry said flatly.
Ron and Hermione went green.
"But the Ministry didn't ban quills, they banned magic."
"Where did you learn all this?" Hermione asked carefully.
"The Black library," Harry said. "The stuff about Tom's past I learned from memories Dumbledore showed me, but all that magic shit I learned from Sirius' family library."
"You said Dark families know a lot more about Horcruxes than Light families do," Ron remembered. Harry nodded. "Do you think Sirius has a book on Horcruxes that we can show You-Know-Who?"
"That's a great idea, Ron," Hermione said in delighted surprise.
"I can come up with good ideas, too," Ron said in a mock indignant tone.
"If Sirius does has a book on Horcruxes," Harry interjected, and the two turned back to him, "we can't show it to him ourselves. He'll kill me on sight. We need to deliver the book, and his Horcruxes, anonymously. And I have to find the objects the diary's bit of soul and the ring's bit of soul fled to."
"Do you think that... Entitatem Death might be able to help with that?" Hermione asked hesitantly, looking a little awed.
"I don't know how to contact them," Harry admitted. "But it's possible."
"I don't know, either," Ron said. "I think maybe, since you're their apprentice, you could just call out to them with your mind? Maybe?"
Entitatem Death? Harry thought.
Little Apprentice.
The voice sounded like a Dementor's howl, but for some reason, it soothed Harry.
I, uh, need your help.
With the soul Riddle placed in the diary and the ring, Death responded. I see your mind, little Apprentice. You will need Severus Snape for this.
I what?!
There was a whooshing noise, and a seven foot tall cloaked figure carrying a giant scythe appeared in the room. Ron, Hermione, and Harry all jumped in surprise, causing the figure to chuckle. The chuckle sounded a lot like a Dementor's breath.
"Your room is rather crowded, young Weasley," Death said to Ron, who was looking awed and terrified at the same time. Death suddenly shrunk to six feet tall and pulled down their hood, revealing a very handsome human with long dark hair and AK green eyes.
"Little Apprentice," Death spoke -- in a normal, human-sounding voice -- "Death Eaters have taken over Hogwarts."
"Oh no!" Hermione cried, then blushed when Death gave her a faintly amused look.
"Why would Snape help me?" Harry frowned. "He killed Dumbledore." He paused. "He did save my life a lot, even if he does hate me. I thought it was just because You-Know-Who wanted to kill me himself, but-"
"He swore an Unbreakable Vow to the old fool that he would protect 'Lily's boy,'" Death said bluntly. Ron and Hermione gasped.
"He knew my mum?" Harry said slowly. "He cared about her," he amended. "He clearly didn't know about the abuse, then, otherwise his magic would have killed him. What about the Tournament?"
"His magic recognized there was nothing he could do about that," Death replied. "May I sit?" they asked Ron, who looked like he was about to have a hernia. The redhead managed a nod, and Death sat down on Ron's bed. The scythe disappeared.
"He did his best to keep you from dying in the tournament," Death told Harry. "And he had no control when the Portkey took you to Riddle."
"You said we needed Snape to get into Hogwarts, uh..." Harry wasn't sure how to address the entity. "Sir" and "Ma'am" were wrong, but he didn't know the non-binary form of that. Si'am? Ma'r?
Death chuckled again. Harry was glad it sounded human this time. "I rather like the term 'ma'r' in place of 'sir' or 'ma'am.' Otherwise, Master Death or Mortem will do just fine, little Apprentice."
There was a note of fondness in the deity's voice. Harry nodded.
"Riddle has chosen Severus Snape to be the new headmaster," Death explained. "Other than the diary soul, the Peverell Heir ring's soul is in the headmaster's office, and the diadem of Ravenclaw resides in the Room of Lost Things."
"What's a diadem, uh, ma'r?" Ron asked carefully.
"It's like a tiara," Hermione said at once, then turned red.
"Yes," Death agreed. "This one grants wisdom to the wearer, although Riddle doesn't know that. Snape can retrieve the diadem while you, little Apprentice, retrieve the diary's bit of soul and the ring's soul."
"Yes, ma'r," Harry said. "Does that mean you know where the other Horcruxes are?" he asked.
"Slytherin's locket is with Mundungus Fletcher," Death said sourly, and Harry snarled angrily. Ron and Hermione shuddered at his rage. "Regulus Black had Kreacher take it to Grimmauld Place, and he stole it, along with much of your godfather's family heirlooms. Hufflepuff's Chalice is in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault at Gringotts. You need only tell Director Gornuk that she is holding a Horcrux, and he will bring it to you immediately." They smirked, and Hermione looked flustered. "Of course, their reasoning will be that it is because you are the Black Heir, and you own the Chalice, not Lestrange."
Harry snickered. "I bloody love goblins."
"Riddle attempted to make Nagini a Horcrux," Death added, "but because she is a living creature, and a Maledictus on top of that, the soul returned to him."
"We would've had to kill that bloody snake?" Ron groaned. He paused. "What's a Maledictus?"
Hemione immediately launched into an explanation, sounding like a textbook. Harry and Ron rolled their eyes fondly.
"Thanks, 'Mia," Ron deadpanned when she'd finished.
"Wait," Harry said angrily, "Nagini is a bloody HUMAN? Dumbledore told me I had to kill her!"
"Calm, little Apprentice," Death said sleekly, and Harry sucked in a sharp breath through his nose. "There is one more thing I need to tell you before I return."
The three of them turned to Death expectantly.
"Dumbledore created a golem before he entered the Gaunt shack," Death stated. "It was the golem that was cursed by the ring, not Dumbledore. And it was the golem that was killed by Snape, not Dumbledore."
"~What!~" Harry hissed in fury. Hermione was shocked.
"Fuck," Ron whispered.
"Do you know where he is, ma'r?" Harry asked in a quiet, stiff tone.
"He is currently hiding in his Animagus form, a taipan, somewhere he can listen to what is happening in the wixen world," Death responded darkly. "He is waiting for you to sacrifice yourself, so he can swoop in and kill Riddle himself."
"~Fuck,~" Harry hissed again, and Ron and Hermione shuddered. "How do I get Snape to help me?"
"I will bring him to you after the wedding," Death replied. "He will believe me." He disappeared as swiftly as he came.
"Duh, Snape will believe Entitatum Death," Ron snorted. "They're Death."
Hermione swatted him, and he yelped. "Don't be rude, Ronald Weasley!"
Harry laughed. The similarities between his honorary parents and his honorary siblings was hilarious....