Chapter 14
The last days towards Christmas dwindled, with Harry and his friends researching and keeping their fighting skills sharp. They had plans to make another go at finding the Gaunt Shack before the new year, and had found a few more clues that might point to the location, in several books so old Harry thought they may have been lost to the fabric of time. Genealogy books that traced the old family lines had provided a good deal of information, including areas where some families had chosen to settle.
While the Gaunt Family had faded several decades earlier, these books had been written generations ago, and still included the family they were so interested in.
On the morning of the Twenty Fifth, Ron, somewhat predictably, woke them all up early. They congregated in the sitting room, where Harry had asked the house elves to set up a Christmas tree, and ate breakfast sitting on the floor as they opened their gifts.
They all missed their families, but were grateful to be able to spend the day with each other, and because they had kept their trunks shrunken in their pockets when heading to catch the train out of Hogsmeade, they all were able to exchange their gifts with each other.
Ginny immediately put on the gold and peridot infinity bracelet that Harry had given her, grinning with pleasure as she admired the jewelry.
Harry leaned over to give his wife a kiss when he unwrapped a photo of the two of them from her. They were seated on the grass by the lake at Hogwarts, with Ginny leaning against Harry's chest, the two of them oblivious to the camera. "Did Colin take this?" Harry asked curiously, running a finger along the frame.
Ginny nodded, smiling. "He gave it to me a couple weeks before the end of the term. He thought we might like it. It seems he caught us in a rare moment of relaxation, without stressing about the war, or school, or anything."
Harry nodded absentmindedly. "I love it, Gin."
"This is great, Harry, thanks!" Ron called, reading the back cover of a book on the history of Quidditch.
Harry smiled at his friend, knowing that he had gifted the redhead with probably one of the few books the teenager was likely to enjoy reading.
Hermione cut in next, thanking Harry for the book on various jobs in the Ministry, and then it was Neville's turn; Harry had given him a book on jobs that utilize Herbology training.
Harry opened a few more gifts, including a book on wizarding villages and towns in Britain from Hermione, candy from Ron, and a book on advanced warding from Neville. When he got to Susan's present, she looked nervous. "I found this over the summer, and I thought you would like a copy," she bit her lip.
Confused, Harry unwrapped another picture frame. He turned it over, and gasped lightly, looking at the photo within. He recognized his and Neville's parents in the background, along with another man and woman who looked vaguely familiar. Looking at Susan once more, he realized why they seemed so recognizable: the woman in the photo had the same face as his auburn-haired friend, but he could detect a trace of the unknown man in Susan's eyes and jaw line.
Susan nodded, looking down, and Harry turned back to the photo. In the foreground, three toddlers were playing together; he once more recognized himself and Neville, from the photos the Longbottom heir had given him over the last few years. The third toddler he had never seen before, but she had Susan's eyes, and her hair was the same color.
Susan coughed, clearing her throat. "I asked Aunt Amelia, and she told me that we played together a few times before…" Her eyes filled with water. "Our parents weren't great friends, since mine were several years older, but when there was an Order meeting, or if they needed someone to babysit… well, we had a few play dates before my parents died."
Neville gave her a tight hug, and she buried her head in his shoulder for a minute, collecting herself. When she looked back up, Harry was watching her with a sad smile, though his eyes were completely understanding.
"Thank you, so much, Susan. This is a great photo."
Ginny nodded, looking over Harry's shoulder. "You three look like you're having a lot of fun together. It's amazing to see how intertwined we were, even before we all became friends."
Harry sighed, placing the photo aside gently. "It's sad to think about how things could have been. We probably would have grown up as friends right from the start. Our parents all knew each other, it's likely we would have been over at each other's houses frequently before Hogwarts."
They all spared a moment to think about the lives they had been deprived of thanks to Voldemort, before they decided to cast aside the gloomy thoughts for the day, and got back to opening gifts.
Blaise was excited to read about the biography of a celebrated Healer that Harry had gotten him, and Daphne gave him a hug after opening the impressive set of potions stirring rods, with various sizes and that could be set to stir certain ways and speeds.
Susan gasped as she unwrapped the jade carving of a hawk from Harry. "Oh, this is beautiful, Harry!" she gushed, admiring the carving from different angles.
Harry smiled at his friend's pleasure, and then proceeded to thank Luna for the drawing of a crumple horned snorkack that she had given him.
Luna beamed at him, pleased that he liked her gift, before thanking him for the quartz carving of a falcon that he had given her. "This is quite exquisite, Harry, did you make it yourself?"
Harry shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck. "I had them commissioned from a shop in Diagon Alley. I couldn't manage that level of detail."
"Well, they do impressive work," Susan smiled, looking at Harry. "It looks so lifelike," she admired her own carving again.
Harry blushed slightly, as he opened his last gift: a model of a field from Blaise and Daphne. Playing in the field were all of them, in their animagus forms. The model didn't move, but it was so real that it didn't have to. Harry and Ginny were sitting on one side, their panther and lioness forms practically intertwined, as they watched over the rest of them. Ron and Neville were wrestling as dog and wolf, while Hermione's cat watched them with an amused expression. Blaise and Daphne's forms were nearby, winding through the grass of the meadow, and Susan and Luna were perched on the lone scraggly tree in the field.
He was quite impressed, and the two Slytherins smiled with pleasure at his praise. "It took a while to make," Blaise admitted. "But I think it came out quite well."
"Definitely," Harry agreed.
Everyone else had one more gift left, and they opened them to find matching rings, a simple silver band that would fit around their middle finger. "These are permanent portkeys," Harry explained. "They'll let you, and only you, portkey to the entryway of this Castle. Anyone who is holding onto you won't get through the wards. This way you can return here when we go out, without needing me."
They all grinned and put the rings on, thanking Harry, before they decided to go outside and play in their animal forms.
Harry smiled at Mimsy as the elf popped in and began cleaning up the paper and remains of breakfast. He thanked her for her work, before following his friends, leaving an overjoyed house elf behind.
They spent the day relaxing and enjoying each other's company, before they returned to the horcrux hunt the next day.
In disguise and in small groups, they went out searching the area around Little Hangleton, each group taking a different part of the countryside.
The one issue they had to get around was the Trace – Luna and Ginny were still sixteen, and as such, if they cast a spell outside of the protection wards around the Castle, the Ministry would know. Fortunately, that problem could be taken care of by having the two girls use different wands. Harry had found a vault at Potter Manor during one of his exploration visits over the last year; this vault held many valuable objects, including many of his family wands. He had taken Ginny and Luna to his Ancestral Home just after Christmas, and had them test out each of the wands. They had found two that would work fairly well for them, even if they didn't produce as powerful results as their own wands. They would work well enough, and the two girls had spent some time practicing, to understand the differences between the new wands and their old ones.
They searched every night for a week before they had any luck. Harry and Ginny had been scouring a portion of the land west of the town, keeping track of the time they had spent searching that night by the New Year's celebrations from the nearby town, when they felt the presence of magic. Rather than continue on, they immediately took a step back, marked the place they were standing, and went to collect the others.
The fireworks had fallen silent hours earlier, and they knew that dawn was not that far away, so they agreed to wait until the next evening before returning, this time all together in one place.
After getting some rest, they spent the rest of the day reading up on wards, before returning to the place Harry and Ginny had marked.
It took them a further three days to figure out that they couldn't do this alone. They knew that there were layers of wards covering a portion of land off the path that led to Little Hangleton, but they couldn't figure out how to bring them down, and beyond that, whether or not breaking them would alert Voldemort.
After three nights with no success, Harry finally had to concede that they needed to bring in more help.
Once they returned to Lion's Castle, Harry wrote a letter to Bill, including a one-time portkey that would allow him access to Potter Manor, and sent it off with Mimsy to deliver.
XXX
To say Bill was shocked to receive a letter from a strange house elf was an understatement. He and Fleur had been eating breakfast alone – a rare commodity at the overcrowded Castle – when the elf had popped into the dining room, delivered the note, and then left without saying a word.
Bill scanned the letter for hexes or curses, but when it came up clean, he unfurled it cautiously.
Even more shocking than the situation, was the information the note contained. He recognized Harry's handwriting, instructing him to take the portkey enclosed in the letter at precisely ten o'clock that evening. As long as he was holding onto it, he would appear at the desired location – what that location was, however, was not mentioned. Neither did Harry mention why he needed Bill, just that his skills and expertise were required. It did, however, implore him not to speak of this to anyone, other than to let them know that he would be out late.
Bill was still confused when he kissed Fleur goodbye that evening, before holding onto the knut that Harry had charmed as a portkey. At precisely ten o'clock, he disappeared from the front entryway of McGonagall Castle, and appeared in a cozy but costly sitting room.
"Bill!" Ginny cried, bounding forward a few steps to grasp her eldest brother in a tight hug.
"Ginny?" Bill asked, startled.
He hugged his sister, before looking around his surroundings. Harry and Ginny were standing in front of him, both looking tired, but well.
"Your note was very vague," he commented. "What is it that you need me to do?"
Harry bit his lip. "You remember the search we carried out last summer?" Bill nodded. "We found the location."
Bill inhaled sharply. "You're sure?"
Harry nodded grimly. "The problem is, it's layered in wards and curses. We've managed to decipher a few, but we're hopelessly outclassed. We figured a Curse Breaker would come in handy."
Bill looked between Harry and Ginny, both of whom were now looking grim and determined. He sighed. "I'm happy to help."
Harry smiled slightly. "Thanks, Bill. If you want to hold onto me, I'll apparate to the location. We're meeting the others there."
Bill furrowed his brow. "Are you sure you can do side-along? I mean, not that I don't trust you, but it can take some practice to get it right, even after you get your license."
Harry shrugged. "I can do it. Besides, if you tried to apparate on your own, it wouldn't work. Not from here." Bill looked confused, and Harry smirked. "Oh yeah, welcome to Potter Manor, by the way. There's a lot of defenses on this place, including the ward that prevents anyone but the lord or lady of the house from apparating in or out."
Bill nodded slowly. That was an impressive ward, he had to admit. He suspected the goblins had been the ones to place the defenses on this place, with wards like that. His employers were well-known for placing intricate and powerful defenses around homes for those who were willing and able to pay.
As if knowing what his brother-in-law was thinking, Harry's smirk widened. "It didn't cost anything."
"Huh?" Bill asked, not understanding.
Harry shrugged. "The wards, they didn't cost anything for my family. At least, not in terms of monetary value. The goblins warded this property because the Potter Family is considered to be a true goblin friend. They warded this Manor after my ancestors were forced to abandon our last Ancestral Home."
Bill nodded again, processing the fact that Harry was more than just on good terms with the goblins. He knew that they respected him and considered him to be a valuable customer, but he hadn't realized just how deep the actions ran. The goblins were doing more than just aiding and assisting a wealthy customer who treated them well. Harry was a goblin-friend. "So are you all staying here?" he asked curiously.
Harry shook his head. "Even though it's well-protected, people know of its existence, and the general location is known to more people than we feel comfortable with. We're somewhere safe, and I'm sure Aunt Minerva has guessed where by now, even if she can't get there."
Bill pursed his lips but didn't say anything, as Ginny cleared her throat. "We should get going," she suggested.
Harry nodded quickly, and then grasped onto Bill's arm, while Ginny took the other hand.
One thing they were going to try to rectify was Ginny and Luna's inability to apparate on their own. Because of the attack, the two wouldn't be able to take the class Harry and the others had taken the year before, so they were working on teaching the girls, since it could come in handy in the near future. They had begun practicing over the last week, and they were getting better, but for the time being, Ginny relied on Harry to help guide her to the correct location.
They reappeared a moment later, and Bill shook himself off, before taking a look around, not recognizing his surroundings.
Neville greeted them as they stepped up to the turn off towards the Gaunt Shack. "We've set up Notice-Me-Not charms to prevent people from taking interest," he informed Harry. "Hopefully no one will decide to take a midnight walk this way, but if they do, we'll be prepared."
Harry nodded, as Bill greeted the rest of the teenagers. He was relieved to see them all, and made mental notes of their wellbeing, since he knew that his mother and Minerva would grill him on it if and when he mentioned seeing them.
Without wasting any more time, they got to work. Bill was amazed at the number of wards protecting the Shack. There was one to instigate fear, to make people turn away, one that caused the bushes to grow and block them from coming any further, one that was designed to make people forget why they were heading in that particular direction, and at least four more.
In the end, it took them nearly the entire night just to get through the wards, being careful to ensure that there were no trip wards anywhere, designed to go off if any of the other wards were triggered.
Fortunately, none were present, but untangling the wards still took no small amount of skill. Bill worked with Harry, Ginny, Blaise, and Hermione, while the rest kept watch; those four teens were the best at wards, and the others would just be a hindrance.
It was nearing five o'clock in the morning when Harry called the others back to them. Neville and Susan appeared, nodding at the exhausted group, glancing at the small shack that was now visible behind them.
"The others are still keeping watch," Neville informed them.
Harry nodded tiredly. "We've got through the outer wards, but now we need to try and find the… vessel." He didn't want to say the word horcrux out loud, especially out in the open like this.
Neville bit his lip. "Do you think you have enough time?"
Harry glanced at the sky, which was still dark, but he knew that dawn was approaching rapidly. He looked back at Neville. "Reinforce the Notice-Me-Not charms, and try and add a few more. We shouldn't have too much traffic this way, and I don't want to leave the job half done. We've started, we need to finish this today."
Neville and Susan nodded, and headed back out to the road, as Harry turned back to his group.
Bill was looking at the Shack with a calculating expression. "Harry, I think you might want to check this out."
Harry moved over to his brother-in-law's side, and frowned. "What's up?"
Bill glanced at him. "There's a ward on the door that I can't quite crack. When I try, I keep getting this hissing sound."
Harry furrowed his brow. "A parseltongue passcode, maybe? Vol – " Ginny immediately cut him off with a hand on his shoulder, and Harry stopped talking, suddenly realizing what he had been about to do. With an apologetic look at the others, he amended his statement. "You-Know-Who is a parselmouth, it would make sense that he would set a passcode to ensure only he was able to get through."
Hermione looked at him. "Shouldn't you be able to get through, then? You can speak parseltongue as well."
Harry bit his lip, and glanced at Ginny. Do you think I still have the ability? With that piece of… Him… gone, I'm not sure I can, anymore.
Ginny shrugged. Only one way to find out.
Harry nodded slightly, and then turned to the door. He tried to imagine a snake in his head. "Open."
Nothing happened.
Hermione looked disappointed. "Still English."
Harry shook his head. "I think I lost the ability a few months ago. Long story."
They all looked intrigued, but didn't press at the moment.
"So how do we get in?" Blaise asked, studying the door.
Harry furrowed his brow, thinking hard. Catching his direction of thought, Ginny inhaled sharply, drawing the others' attention, but the two ignored them for the moment.
Do you really think that will work? Ginny asked, excitedly.
Harry looked at her, amused. Only one way to find out.
Ginny huffed and shoved him lightly, but she was smiling slightly.
"What's going on?" Bill asked, looking between the two.
Harry bit his lip. "What you see has to stay between us," he warned them. "I've got an idea, but I'm not sure if it will work."
They all nodded slowly, confused. Harry squeezed Ginny's hand once, before he stepped up to the door.
In his research, he had discovered that phoenixes – and indeed many magical creatures – had the ability to bypass most wards and spells set by witches and wizards. Phoenixes were among the more powerful of magical creatures, along with griffins and unicorns, and it was possible that Harry could use his abilities as a phoenix animagus to bring down the ward on the door. He could theoretically flame travel into the Shack, but that wouldn't really help the rest of the group, especially if they couldn't get the door open from the inside. And if he flame traveled inside and accidentally set off a ward, they'd all be in huge trouble.
He reached out with one hand, concentrating on his phoenix form, without actually making the change. Next to him, Ginny grasped his hand with one of hers, while her other hand also reached out to touch the door. They both felt the intense and joyous song travel through them to congregate in their palms. The hissing of the ward sounded once more, but the couple kept going.
The others gasped at seeing the glow coming from the duo's hands. When they touched the wood, the entire door began to glow with a soft gold. A moment later, there was a pulse of green, and then the gold intensified.
A few moments later, Harry and Ginny lowered their hands, breathing hard.
"That took more effort than I thought," Harry commented idly. "The ward should be down." Next to him, Ginny nodded her agreement.
Bill frowned and ran his wand over the door, nodding after a minute to indicate that it was safe to go in.
"How did you do that?" he asked curiously.
Harry looked around, and then turned back to Bill. "We'll explain later. For now, let's just do what we came here to do."
Bill nodded, and they all focused on the dark and dusty interior. There was one large room, with a several doors leading to presumably other parts of the small shack. It looked like no one had set foot in this place in decades. There were a few pots and pans scattered around the floor and counters, a few plates, whole and in pieces, and what looked like an old lantern, turned over on its side in the middle of the room.
They all raised their wands and began casting detection spells, finding several spots on the stone floor that would trigger defenses if they stepped on them. They marked those spots so that they could avoid them, and continued searching for where the horcrux could be hidden. There was no doubt in any of their minds by now, that there was a horcrux there. Why else would it be so well protected?
Bill disabled a ward that if triggered would alert Voldemort that someone was at the Shack, before he turned his attention to the floor in the corner of the room. There was a concentration of protective magic in that area, and he got Harry's attention. Working together, the two were able to dispel most of them. A few more minutes got the rest, and they both had to take a breather for a moment.
"Guys."
The rest of the group turned towards Harry, and upon seeing where his concentration was directed, also focused his gaze on that specific corner.
A wave of the wand had part of the floor lifting on a hinge, and Harry stepped cautiously forward, avoiding the marked stones to avoid springing any traps.
When he looked down into the hole in the floor, he saw a small box sitting innocently before him. He made sure there were no more curses on the box, before he levitated it out of the hole, and opened it.
Inside was a ring. A pressure in his mind told him to put the ring on, and he shook his head quickly, clearing it of the thought. He recognized a compulsion charm when he felt it.
Closing the lid to the box, Harry placed a locking charm on it before turning around and nodding to the others. "Let's get out of here."
They all needed no further encouragement, and quickly left the cramped Shack.
Out on the path, Harry nodded at Neville, who was the closest. Smiling, Neville went to collect the others. Harry turned to Bill. "Let's return to Potter Manor, and I'll try and answer the questions I know you have." He looked at Ginny. "Can you and the others Floo in, in about five minutes? I'll make sure the wards will let everyone through."
Ginny nodded and gave him a kiss, before he took Bill's arm and disapparated.
XXX
When Ginny and the others Flooed into Potter Manor a few minutes later, they found Bill and Harry waiting for them in the dining room, an impressive breakfast spread set up before them.
Bill smiled tiredly. "I sent a Patronus to Fleur to let her know I'll be gone a little longer, and Harry sent Gringotts a note excusing me from work for the day," he grinned at the idea of a 'get out of work' letter being sent on his behalf by a seventeen year old.
Harry shrugged. "Sharptooth will understand what we're doing, and he'll smooth it over with your immediate supervisor. In the meantime, the house elves prepared breakfast for us. It looks amazing, and I'm famished. Shall we?"
They nodded quickly, and fell on the spread with gusto.
Fifteen minutes later, everyone had been sated, and they sat back from the now empty table, all breathing sighs of relief.
Bill spent a few minutes explaining to them the state of things as he knew it. Snape had woken up briefly a few days earlier, and was doing well, according to Narcissa. Hogwarts was being used as a Death Eater camp for Voldemort. The Bones Estate was hosting many former Ministry employees, while McGonagall Castle was hosting most of their circle, and Sirius had opened up Grimmauld Place for any members of the Order who needed a place to stay. The Ministry was still functioning, though it was obvious to anyone with a brain, that the Death Eaters were in charge; even if he hadn't declared himself Minister of Magic, Voldemort was definitely pulling the strings.
Once he was finished updating them, Bill turned to Harry with keen interest. "So, Harry, are you going to explain how you two got through that door?" he asked.
Harry sighed, before he and Ginny stood up and stepped back from the table. "This can go no further than here," he warned them. "Aunt Minerva and Sirius know, but we don't want anyone else to find out."
They all nodded, confused, and then gaped as the two teens turned into phoenixes before their eyes. Ron actually fell off his seat in surprise.
"How…?"
Harry gave them the bird equivalent of a smirk, before he gathered the fire he could feel coursing through him, and let himself be consumed by it.
Everyone whipped their heads around to the opposite side of the room, to see Harry reappear in another burst of flame. A moment later, Ginny followed his lead, disappearing in a burst of flame and reappearing next to Harry on the other side of the room. A minute later, both turned back.
Harry rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, and Ginny beamed. "When we took the animagus potion, we had two forms. We completed the phoenix one a couple years ago, a few months after we finished our first forms. Near as we can tell, we've got all the traits and abilities of phoenixes, though we haven't tried out the healing tears part yet."
There was a shocked silence, before Bill furrowed his brow in thought. "All the abilities…" He trailed off, and Harry nodded.
"Including their ability to get passed any ward set by mere mortals," Harry commented, shrugging. "Most magical creatures have some level of control over wards and spells made by wizards, with phoenixes and griffins having the most power, followed closely by unicorns. We used that ability to bring down the ward on the door to the Shack."
"That doesn't explain everything though," Blaise commented, looking at the two with a shrewd expression. Harry raised an eyebrow, and the Slytherin leaned forward. "You and Ginny have something going on. I don't know what it is, but sometimes it seems like you're having conversations without saying anything."
Harry let out a sigh, glancing at Ginny. She shook her head slightly, her eyes accepting. "I don't think we can keep it a secret anymore," she answered his unasked question.
Harry nodded ruefully, and Bill looked even more confused. "What's going on?"
Biting his lip, Harry extracted another promise not to tell anyone anything they heard in this room, before he informed Bill, Blaise, Daphne, and Luna about their soul bond.
All four were suitably shocked, and surprised that no one else was, which led to an explanation of how the rest had known for over a year.
Harry shrugged sheepishly. "We told them right after we told our guardians. We're sorry we didn't say anything to the rest of you, we just…" He shrugged again.
Blaise nodded slowly. "It makes sense. I guess I wish you had told me sooner, but I can understand you not wanting anyone else to know."
Harry nodded. "Thanks," he said, relieved that they understood. Daphne and Luna were nodding their acceptance as well.
Bill pursed his lips. "Mum and dad know?" he asked Ginny softly.
Ginny nodded, leaning into Harry's side. "They were shocked, and startled to realize that I have been married since I was thirteen, but they trust us to be responsible. They've worked really hard to let Harry and I have our space, and they realize that they don't have much say in it anyway, so they have no choice but to trust us."
Bill inclined his head, looking between the two. "Well, I can't say I'm thrilled, but I think I knew you two would stay together, even without this bond. I'm happy for you, Ginny. You guys are really good together."
Harry and Ginny grinned happily, glad that Bill was all right with it.
Harry shifted in his seat. "Just so you know, Bill, Fleur knows about this as well. We didn't tell her," he hurried on when Bill opened his mouth, "but she's part Veela, so she could sense it. I know you don't want to hide things from your wife, so I thought I'd let you know that you don't have to."
Bill nodded slowly. "Thanks." He knew it would take some getting used to, and he definitely needed to process everything he had learned that night and morning, but it was nice that they trusted him enough to tell him.
A few minutes later, Bill decided he really needed to get back to McGonagall Castle and get some rest, so he said his last farewells, told them that he was glad they were all well, and promised to carry their greetings to their families, before he departed through the Floo.
The rest of them used their ring portkeys to return to Lion's Castle, and when Harry was alone in his Ancestral Home once more, he removed all their names from the access list before he joined the others. Not much more was said, as they were all exhausted.
Harry placed their newest acquisition with the other horcruxes, before he joined Ginny in their room, and settled down to get some much needed rest.