Chapter 21
The next time the group met, Harry explained to them what happened in his private lessons with Dumbledore. He told them about the Pensieve and the memory of Bob Ogden, a man who worked at the Magic Law Office.
He told them about the Gaunt family and the ring that was shown with importance to the man. He later learned that the horrible man was Voldemort's grandfather. Apparently his daughter, Merope, fell in love with a Muggle and used a love potion to trick him into returning her love. They married and, when she became pregnant, the man abandoned her once the filter stopped working. After Merope died after giving birth, Tom Orvoloson Riddle grew up in an orphanage.
There was a long silence after the revelation that was interrupted by Hermione who promptly burst out laughing as she stated, " Do his followers know that this is something they despise? "
" It's a horrible story though. " Daphne said, shocked. " How could someone use a love potion like that? "
" It happens to Harry all the time. " commented Ron, enraged on behalf of his friend. " People probably don't realize the effects of those potions. "
" There's more. " Harry said, drawing attention to himself again. " Dumbledore's hand is completely black, as if it had been held under fire until it was charred. "
" Did he tell you how it happened? " Neville asked, interested.
" He glossed over the question, as if I hadn't asked it. " said Harry, telling in irritation of the shameless way he was sure she had lied to him by claiming to have bought what he recognized as the Gaunts' ring.
" Do you remember how we had assumed that the first Horcrux was the most guarded one? " said Daisy, looking at her boyfriend with concern.
" Did the idiot wear a Horcrux, cursing himself? " snorted Theo, in disbelief.
" So is he dying? " asked Ron, shocked.
" But why touch an object he surely knew was cursed? " whispered Ginny, confused and with tears in her eyes.
" He probably knew something about that ring that he couldn't resist. " said Blaise, asking Harry if the ring looked broken from his view.
" I think I saw a crack in the stone, do you think he destroyed it after realizing his mistake? " Harry bent his head to the side, thoughtful.
" About that I have no doubt. " Daisy said, dejectedly as she rested her head on Luna's shoulder so they could comfort each other. " I didn't think so but I am really sorry for the horrible end he will surely come to. "
" But he's still alive, so let's stop talking as if he's gone. " said Hermione, wiping away a stray tear.
" I don't particularly like him but it would be horrible if he were to die before seeing the war come to an end after all the years he worked to stop it. " Blaise commented.
" That's seven. " said Neville, getting up and walking around the room confidently. Everyone was shocked by the boy's change in character but listened to the ramblings about important numbers in the magical world, stating that seven was one of the strongest numbers.
" So we have the diary, destroyed by Harry during the second year. " Hermione recapitulated, infected by her classmate's manner.
" The locket and diadem were demolished by Daisy and me. " Luna added, proud to have contributed to the erasure of something so dark.
" Dumbledore took care of the ring. " commented Daphne.
" And if we count the cup and the snake, we come to 6. So it seems fair to assume that my theory is correct. " said Neville, proud of himself.
" Neville, you are a genius. " said Daisy, getting up and planting a kiss on her friend's head.
" Should I be worried? " Theo raised an eyebrow in his girlfriend's direction.
" Not at all. " replied Neville, amused by the whole situation. It seemed that having a larger group of friends had given Neville his fair share of pride. That was the fact that McGonagall had spurred the boy on to pursue his dreams, ignoring the will of others.
" Before we focus on figuring out what the seventh Horcrux might be, we need to understand how to deal with the two that are impossible to reach. " Ginny pointed out to them.
" And figure out why Dumbledore thinks those memories are important. " Hermione added, urging them to get to work right away.
" I would like Harry to resume with the ES lessons, just for our group. " Luna said, smiling happily at her friend. " We need to be strong. "
" I'll ask the opinion of Mad-Eye. " said Daisy, voicing her thoughts.
" Are you crazy? He'll spill it to the whole order. " said Ron, reminding her of how paranoid the man was.
" I will only ask him what spells I should use to prepare for war. " she explained.
" Send him a patronus or he will panic at the sight of a letter. " muttered Harry, agreeing along with everyone else. Daisy's silver wolf disappeared in a puff of smoke, delivering the message to the ex-auror.
They didn't have to wait long before a lynx materialized before them, using the voice of Alastor Moody. " Little girl, you finally contact me after that magnificent elbow. Go over all the defensive and offensive spells and try to learn something about the seventh year, maybe I'll teach you some tricks over the vacations. " There was an indecisive muttering before the man cursed, making everyone laugh. " Most importantly, and if you tell anyone I will deny it, learn to resist the Imperius curse. "
" But it is an unforgivable one! " stammered Hermione as the man continued with his dramatic dose on the importance of vigilance.
" All you need is something that anchors your mind. Something strong enough to make you react. " And just as the animal arrived, it disappeared, leaving behind a great silence.
" So... " Blaise began, confused by what he had witnessed. " He has gotten a little worse, am I right? "
" It's completely gone. " muttered Ron, massaging the back of his head.
" We can take his advice, avoiding the last one. " said Harry, casually shrugging his shoulders and intimating the others to get up so they can start going over something.
" Right now, Harry? " Astoria asked, uncertain.
" Couldn't we meet tomorrow? At a normal time? " asked Hermione, begging her best friend to let them rest and being promptly ignored.
" Tomorrow this room is off-limits as well as me. " said Harry, blushing slightly.
" Tomorrow is the big day. " nodded Daisy, giving him an encouraging thumbs up.
" Are all of you capable of producing a patronus? " asked Ron, nodding smugly when they all answered in the affirmative.
" I taught Theo and he prepared them, so we are all at the same point. " said Daisy, looking at Luna with interest. She looked uncertain as she looked between her and Theo so she grabbed her hand and invited her to tell her what was bothering her.
" Every time I say something everyone thinks I'm crazy. " Luna whispered, looking at her with tears in her eyes.
" That's not true. " she replied, resolutely. Flanked by Ginny who had noticed the change in the girl's mood and had begun to worry. " They might do the others, but I promise neither Ginny nor I will ever judge you, right? "
" Exactly. " nodded the redhead, gently kissing Luna's lips and ignoring the others' gaze on the three of them. " What's wrong? "
" I have a bad feeling about some of my friends and I don't like it. " said the Ravenclaw, looking up so as to keep the tears from falling. " Mom had this bad feeling sometimes and her friends are all dead, I don't want to be alone. "
" Honey, none of this is going to happen. " Ginny said, hugging her tightly and looking distraught at Daisy for help.
" And if it did happen, none of us would ever take it out on you. " smiled Daisy, trying to comfort her as she signaled the others to give her space.
" You could. " Luna affirmed, her lip faltering as tears began to fall.
" Then tell us what you feel we should do and we will listen without judging. " promised Harry. " The bad feeling is on me, isn't it? "
Luna nodded, telling him she would try to work things out.
" Who else? You mentioned more than one friend. " Daphne asked, encouragingly.
" Ron but I am not sure because he is not as strong as the others, so I think, he is not very dangerous. " said Luna, apologizing.
" Nothing to apologize for, we should be more careful. " Ron reassured her, inviting her to keep going.
" I don't like the other feeling at all. " she said, resting a hand against her chest and grabbing her shirt uncomfortably.
" My birthday is only a few months away. " revealed Theo, kneeling down in front of Luna and smiling sweetly at her, having long realized it was about him. " Maybe I'll try not to go home, what do you say? "
" Yes. " she said, grabbing his hand and squeezing it tightly as she looked fiercely into his eyes. " The only thing that can give you a chance is willpower. You will have to hold on as long as you can. "
Blaise and Theo exchanged a long look, making a secret agreement with each other. Unbeknownst to the group, the two boys would practice with two of the unforgivables because they understood what the terrified girl was referring to.
" Now maybe we'll all go to sleep, it's been a long day. " said Hermione, with emotion written clearly in her eyes. So like Daisy, Hermione was too rational to believe the prophecies but she was beginning to understand what the Hufflepuff meant when she told her that Luna was different.
" What if we all stayed here for the night? " proposed Astoria, noticing the way Daisy kept looking between Theo and Harry, as if it was painful for her to even have to make that choice.
" Yes, that sounds perfect. " sighed Daisy, mentally thanking her for the little help. " I want to be squeezed between Theo and my brother, and if that embarrasses you, get over it. "
" It's not like we have much choice in the matter when you're ordering it, do we honey? " Theo teased her, tenderly stroking her neck knowing how upset Luna had made her.
" The room just sprouted a huge bed. " Blaise pointed out, shocked.
" I love magic. " sighed Hermione, throwing herself into bed and grumbling about all the lessons she would surely miss the next day due to inattention.
" Hear the girl? Everyone go to sleep. " ordered Ron, barely holding back a smile as he watched her collapse practically immediately after resting her head on the pillow.
" One of these days you're going to have to tell her how you feel, man. " Blaise commented, shaking his head when Ron denied it all flushed.
" Forget it, I'm beginning to think he never will. " huffed Ginny, settling down in the middle of that mass of bodies and falling asleep as soon as the lights went out. It seemed that even the school agreed that they needed to rest.