Chapter 15
Ginny met Harry at the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy a few minutes later, and together, they entered the Room.
It was a simple room, with nothing but a sofa and a low table inside. Ginny removed a box from her pocket and set it down on the table before tapping it with her wand. It enlarged rapidly, and when it stopped, Harry opened it and took out the pensieve. Because of the delicate nature of magic required to create pensieves, they couldn't just be shrunken like most other objects. That was why people who planned on transporting the devices often invested in carrying cases like the one Harry had. It worked with the pensieve, and could be shrunken and enlarged without damaging the expensive piece of equipment inside.
Harry deposited Slughorn's memory, and with one last look at Ginny, the two teenagers dove headfirst into the swirl of silvery gray.
An image of the Potions Master's office greeted them, filled with a group of students. Harry looked around with interest, but immediately turned his attention to his girlfriend when she gasped loudly.
Ginny was staring at one student in particular, her face ghostly pale. Feeling his stomach drop down to his feet, he followed her gaze, and then growled in anger, recognizing the teenaged Voldemort. He looked much the same as he had several years earlier, when Harry had fought him in the Chamber of Secrets. He immediately took Ginny's hand in his, and she leaned into his side, trying to calm her trembling. It had been years, he couldn't affect her any more. Harry squeezed her hand reassuringly, telling her without words – even mental ones – that it was all right to be afraid.
They observed the gathering for a few minutes, watching what was clearly an older generation of the Slug Club. He recognized a few others, he thought. There were two men who shared the same troll-like statures of Crabbe and Goyle, and another who looked remarkably like Theo Nott. A boy in the corner bore a striking resemblance to a seventh year Hufflepuff he remembered from the DA as being incredibly accurate when it came to casting spells at moving targets.
They listened as Slughorn thanked Tom for the box of crystallized pineapple, and commented on how he would go far in the world. As they watched, the room emptied out, until it was just Slughorn and Riddle alone.
Harry grit his teeth as Riddle asked about horcruxes, and Slughorn gave him the answer, just like that. He was intrigued when Riddle mentioned the number seven.
The memory ended soon after that, and Harry and Ginny returned to the Room of Requirement.
They sat down on the sofa, and Harry let out a sigh. "Well, that told us a lot," he commented.
Ginny snorted and agreed. "We got more confirmation that he used horcruxes."
Harry nodded. "We already knew that, though, and something tells me that Riddle already knew what a horcrux was when he went to Slughorn. I think he was more interested in what would happen if he tried to make seven of them."
Ginny groaned. "So now we need to find seven of these things."
Harry shook his head. "Four," he corrected. "We already destroyed the diary, and we have the locket. And the seventh piece would be Voldemort himself. That leaves four pieces."
Ginny shook her head. "How do we even come up with ideas for what these things could be?"
Harry shrugged. "We should get the others here, to tell them." He pulled out the fake coin he and Hermione had made for the DA the year before, and concentrated, sending messages to his friends. He hoped it would work, since all the coins were really designed to do was send out a date and time. He thought it was theoretically possible to isolate the coins he wanted to be notified, but he had never tried it before.
Ten minutes later, the rest of the group began to trickle into the Room. Ron, Hermione, and Neville came first, as the Gryffindor common room was closest. Luna followed soon after, and Susan, Blaise, and Daphne entered at the same time.
"What's going on, Harry?" Hermione asked as soon as they were all there.
Harry quickly told them everything he and Ginny had learned from Slughorn's memory.
All of them looked distinctly green at the thought of Voldemort making seven of these disgusting things.
"I Obliviated Slughorn, so he doesn't remember giving us this," Harry informed them. Hermione opened her mouth comment – or berate him – on his actions, he rushed on, "He told me to. It's actually a pretty smart idea. That way, if any Death Eaters catch up to him, he won't be able to tell them anything. Even if they use Legilimancy."
Hermione closed her mouth, and had to concede the point. Especially since Slughorn had told Harry to do it.
"So now what?" Neville asked. "We know how many Voldemort made. How are we supposed to figure out what they are?"
Harry sighed. "We work together. You guys keep looking into his past, Hermione, Ron, Blaise and Daphne keep looking for places they may be hidden. And Ginny and I work on what the objects are. We'll figure this out." He bit his lip. "I know it's hard to keep on top of this with exams coming up, and everything else we've got going on, but just do the best you can."
They all nodded, and Harry stood up. "I should tell Aunt Minerva," he informed them. "I'll see you all later?"
They nodded again, and Harry left. Soon after, the rest of them broke up as well, heading back to their common rooms to finish their homework.
XXX
A few days later found Minerva seated in her informal sitting room at home, waiting for Sirius to show up. She had informed Albus that she would be gone for the evening, and had returned to her home, asking Sirius to meet her there so that she could inform him of what Harry had told her.
The Floo flared up, and Minerva looked up, smiling tightly as she greeted her former student and good friend.
The two sat down, and after enacting the privacy wards, Minerva told him what they now knew.
Sirius whistled appreciatively. "Nice job on Harry getting Slughorn to tell him."
Minerva nodded. "It was no small feat, but it is good to finally have some certainties. We know how many He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named made."
Sirius sighed. "It is good news, now we just need to know what they are and where they are." Minerva glared at him, and he shrugged. "It's true." He stood up. "Thanks for letting me know. I'll tell Amelia when she gets home. She wanted to come, but you know how things are at the Ministry these days."
Minerva winced. Amelia was certainly dealing with a lot. She had received a lot of grief for the second Azkaban breakout, and she, Rufus, and Kingsley were working hard to try and uncover the leak they had in the DMLE. Add to that the attacks by both Dementors and Death Eaters, and it was not a pleasant time for Amelia to hold down the top job.
She offered her condolences, before lifting the wards and Sirius stepped through the Floo. Once she was alone, she sighed before downing the last of her tea and returning to Hogwarts. They still had a long way to go, but she did feel like they were making progress.
XXX
With Ravenclaw's domination over Slytherin on the Quidditch pitch at the end of March, the rankings were pretty much set for the Cup. Of course, Gryffindor still had to play Hufflepuff towards the end of April, but with the way the points stood, the badgers would need to win by over two hundred points to topple the lions' lead. No one could really hope to beat Gryffindor at this point, not with the team in possession of two Firebolts and a Nimbus 2001.
Ginny and Harry met with Minerva and Snape to tell the Defense professor of what they had learned, and he promised to give it some thought, but they were all doing about as much as they could, and Snape couldn't be obvious about his involvement.
Fred and George sent a letter to Harry in the first week of April, thanking him for the birthday gift – a large deposit into the Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes vault at Gringotts, and asked if he had any suggestions as to how they should spend it.
Harry asked them to start developing more in their defense line, leaving it at that and trusting their genius to come up with ideas.
He shared their update with the rest as soon as he received the letter, telling them that they were making some more progress on the listening devices, now that Arthur had joined forces with them. He had given them some good insights, and quite a few useful notes from his tinkering with muggle devices. Harry also sent them copies of the notes his mother had made, on getting electronic devices to work around magic.
XXX
Harry was on his way to the Room of Requirement to meet up with his friends when he was stopped by the sound of muffled voices. He frowned, and headed towards the room the sound appeared to be coming from. It was too muted to recognize who was speaking, but he definitely caught something about 'getting Death Eaters in the castle.'
He hurried away when he heard the sound of footsteps heading towards the door, and rushed up to the Room of Requirement, where he immediately informed the rest of what he had heard.
Hermione bit her lip. "I still think it's a long shot on them actually getting in the castle, but it wouldn't be a horrible idea to be on our guards. Right?"
They all nodded. Blaise and Daphne shared a look, before agreeing to keep an eye on their housemates. They knew it was mostly Slytherins involved in this plot.
It was sobering to think of people their age, willingly involved in a plot to allow murderers access to a school full of children, but they knew they couldn't afford to feel guilt over anyone who willingly aligned themselves with Voldemort. They had made their choices, and Harry and his friends would fight to survive.
Shaking themselves off, they turned to more lighthearted topics. Like Voldemort's childhood.
Susan showed them some copies of old Prophet articles, and a few muggle ones they had managed to get their hands on. "It took a little digging –"
"A lot," Neville coughed, looking at his girlfriend.
Susan smiled slightly, and amended her statement. "A lot of digging. We found an article on the murder of a wealthy family. Mr. and Mrs. Riddle were killed, along with their adult son, Tom. This was in 1943."
Harry nodded, remembering Voldemort telling him about his muggle father. "What about his mother?" he asked curiously.
Neville bit his lip. "We found something in one of the muggle articles about how the son came back a few months after vanishing with some beggar's daughter, talking about how she had bewitched him. Nothing on who the girl was, though. But she had to be a witch."
Harry nodded. The muggles might think it was just something like lying to Riddle Senior about being pregnant or something, but it was far more likely he had been Imperiused or had a love potion fed to him.
"I don't think she attended Hogwarts," Neville continued. "We couldn't find any record of a witch from Little Hangleton who attended school in the timeframe that would make sense. Maybe she was homeschooled."
Harry nodded again, smiling. "Good work, guys. Keep looking, I'm sure you'll find something."
He and Ginny then brought forth their ideas for possible objects. "Theoretically, horcruxes can be anything," Harry said. "An old boot, a tin can… it doesn't really matter."
Ron snorted. "So we're going to have to check every tin can in Britain?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Can you see Voldemort using something like that?" he countered. They all shook their heads, and Harry shrugged. "Ginny and I already have one horcrux."
Hermione and Susan gasped, while Ron and Neville's eyes widened, and Blaise, Daphne, and Luna looked intrigued. Harry glanced at Ginny, before he told the rest about the locket Kreacher had given them.
"There's a large 'S' on it, in emeralds. We figure it belonged to Slytherin."
Ron laughed. "Seriously?"
Harry chuckled as he nodded. "Yeah. Big ugly thing, I can't imagine Slytherin ever actually wearing it, but the point is, it was passed down somehow, and it's probably one of the few remaining relics belonging to him that are still known to the world." He took a deep breath. "We figure Voldemort would like using something like that, because it belonged to a Hogwarts founder. More than that, Voldemort's always claimed he's the heir of Slytherin. He would certainly find a sense of justice in using one of his own ancestor's possessions to ensure his own immortality."
Hermione furrowed her brow. "So you think Voldemort would use objects of importance for his horcruxes."
Ginny nodded eagerly. "Harry's right, he wouldn't use just any object. Something that belonged to the founders…"
Susan tilted her head to the side. "So why the diary?" she asked reasonably. "What value did that hold?"
Harry bit his lip. "You forget what that diary was made to do," he countered. "It was meant to open the Chamber of Secrets, and underlined his connection to the place." He frowned. "We know he used something from Slytherin, so it would be logical to assume he searched for something from the other founders as well. As far as we know, the only known relic of Gryffindor is safe."
"How?" Blaise asked curiously.
Harry smirked slightly. "The sword. It's goblin made. It only takes on what makes it stronger. It would have no use for a horcrux."
They nodded; it did make sense.
"So now what?" Neville asked.
Harry grimaced. "We try to find out what other relics are associated with the founders. Just keep digging. Hopefully we'll get lucky soon."
Ron snorted. "Let's hope there's more on our side than just luck," he mumbled.
Harry didn't reply, but he did agree. Dumb luck wouldn't help them out with this. What they needed was a good break. He just wanted the right tidbit of information to drop into their laps and tell them what they were missing.
XXX
With the arrival of the Easter holidays came even more studying. Ginny felt horrible after snapping at Harry when he suggested moving outside to enjoy the spring air. She hadn't meant to be so short with him, but all the strain was finally getting to her.
Harry backed off on Quidditch practices, knowing that there would need to be a major upset in order for them to lose the Cup, and his team was on top form. With several of them sitting OWLs or in Katie's case, NEWTs, they needed the break to study. The rest were happy to have some time to catch up on homework.
When Ginny tried to apologize later, Harry just shrugged it off. He knew she was just stressed.
They did spend a relaxing afternoon playing in their animal forms, letting out the stress and unwinding before they had to dive back into the books. Blaise, Daphne, and Luna were ecstatic that they could join in.
Once more, pamphlets on job possibilities appeared in the common rooms over the break, for the fifth years to peruse in preparation for their career counseling meetings the next week.
Ginny was set to meet with McGonagall on Wednesday during her free period.
When classes started back up again, Harry and his friends felt a little calmer, having had the time to catch up and in some cases, get a little ahead, in their studies.
Ginny met with McGonagall as scheduled, feeling slightly apprehensive.
Minerva smiled when the youngest Weasley entered her office, and gestured for her to take a seat. "This is an informal meeting, Ginny. I'm just here to help you focus on your interests. Have you thought about what you would like to do after graduation?"
Ginny bit her lip. "I'd like to play Quidditch," she admitted. "I know it's hard to break in, and more reliant on luck and talent than any classes I would take."
Minerva nodded. "You are correct. However, I believe that you may have a good chance. We often have scouts come to the last few games of the year, to look at potential players, so keep working hard. What about after? Your Quidditch career will not carry you indefinitely."
Ginny shrugged with one shoulder. "I know. I haven't really thought about other careers. I like Transfiguration a lot. I also enjoy Charms and Arithmancy."
Minerva considered. "You are doing well in all of your classes, averaging E's and O's. Have you ever considered teaching?"
Ginny looked startled. "Not really."
Minerva smiled. "You are very good with the younger years in the DA. You may wish to consider going for a Mastery in a subject you enjoy. Perhaps by the time you finish with your Quidditch career, there will be an opening at the school. Or if you like, you could work part time as the flying instructor. Madam Hooch has indicated that she would like to retire within the next few years. We can easily work around a training schedule, should that be a path you would like to pursue, and should you be drafted for a professional team. Another possibility is a position in the Department of Magical Games and Sports, once you retire from active play."
Ginny stared. "I do enjoy working with the younger students in the DA, but I'm not sure I really want to teach. I'll consider it, though."
Minerva nodded. "This is the time to start thinking. You still have two more years, but you should be thinking about what classes will help you reach your goals."
Ginny took a deep breath. "I think I want to drop History of Magic, Astronomy, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures, but keep with the rest."
Minerva glanced at the parchment in front of her, and nodded decisively. "You should have no trouble getting into the NEWT classes. Your comments from the professors are all complimentary, and like I said, you're averaging high grades, so just keep doing what you're doing, and remember, if you need anything, I am here."
Ginny smiled and stood up. "Thanks, professor," she said, before making her exit.
XXX
The final Quidditch match was the Saturday after the Easter holidays, and true to form, Gryffindor dominated. Not that anyone expected anything different.
Even if Cedric had still been playing for the badgers, they wouldn't have stood a chance. The final score was 310-80, and Harry and the lions landed on the Pitch to approving cheers from their housemates.
Minerva held up the Cup that had adorned her office for the last few years, and the crowd just roared louder. She then passed it to Harry, who held it out to the rest of the team, and together, they lifted the trophy up.
The party that followed lasted well into the night, with Minerva finally coming up to tell them to go to bed around two o'clock in the morning.
With the Quidditch season over, no one had any excuse not to buckle down and hit the books. Hermione bemoaned the fact that she hadn't started revising for exams ages earlier, but Harry and the others just rolled their eyes and ignored her. It was just the way she was. Ron managed to get her to stop briefly by giving her a chaste peck on the lips and telling her she would be brilliant, as always.
Though Ginny was busy studying, Harry did spend some time in the Room of Requirement working on his wandless magic, as well as exploring the library the two had found months earlier. Sometimes Ginny would join him with her homework, sometimes he was alone. He knew Ginny wished she could be practicing with him, but OWLs were important, and he didn't want her grades to slip. Though it vexed her, Ginny knew he was right.
XXX
The first weekend in May was a Hogsmeade weekend, and by that point, everyone felt like they needed a break.
Harry and Ginny enjoyed a relaxing morning wandering through the shops and taking in the beautiful day. Flowers were blooming, the chill had disappeared from the air for good by now; it was well and truly spring.
They met up with their friends for lunch, and spent most of the afternoon talking and laughing in one of Madam Rosmerta's back rooms. Susan and Neville had spent most of the morning away from the crowds, enjoying the rekindling of their relationship, while Hermione had dragged Ron into the bookstore for the majority of the morning, though she did consent to stop by Honeydukes on their way to the Three Broomsticks. Blaise and Luna had disappeared to the woods to play in their animal forms, and Daphne had joined up with Astoria, Colin, and Dennis to do some shopping. Harry really wasn't sure what was going on with his Slytherin friend and Ginny's roommate. Sometimes, they seemed to be dating, others they were just friends. He didn't ask though, knowing that it was their life. Whatever worked for them.
As the afternoon drew to a close, they all got up to head back to the castle, still smiling at the pleasant day.
Their walk was interrupted by a bang and shouting. Harry's wand was in his hand before he was even conscious of the fact that people in dark cloaks and white masks were popping into existence around them.
Most of the younger students were already further along towards the castle, and looking around, Harry noted that many students still in the village were pulling out wands of their own.
Without waiting for an invitation, Harry immediately sprung into action, Ginny quick behind him, and the others taking his lead.
He fired off a stunner at the nearest Death Eater, and then had to dodge a Blasting Hex aimed at his head.
Time elapsed quickly, as Harry ducked, dodged, and fired back. His aim was to capture, but he wouldn't stick to stunners, not when a quick 'ennervate' would get the Death Eater back up and fighting again.
It felt like forever, but eventually, Harry noticed that they were receiving less opposition, and he cautiously peeked out from the partially blasted wall he had taken cover behind.
There were about five men or women in robes unconscious in the street, but the rest were gone.
Carefully and being mindful of the thought that it may be a trap, Harry stepped around the crumbling brick. Ginny, I think it's over.
Ginny popped up as well, from her hiding spot in a nearby alley. I think you're right, she commented.
Harry bit his lip. "Where are the adults?" he asked out loud, taking stock of the situation now that it looked like the remaining Death Eaters really were knocked out.
More pops sounded out, and Harry raised his wand quickly, spinning around to face the new threat.
He narrowed his eyes, recognizing a few of the newcomers. Fletcher, the scum who had tailed him on a previous Hogsmeade trip, was off to one side, looking very shifty. Dedalus Diggle, the excitable man who had bowed to him in a shop while he was shopping with Petunia, and greeted him upon his return to the wizarding world before his first year, was next to him. Moody was there, and so was a woman he didn't recognize.
The woman harrumphed at seeing the students pointing wands at them. "Put those away," she ordered. "We're here to help."
Harry was happy to see that not one of them obeyed, instead looking to him for instruction. Glancing around also gave him the opportunity to take stock of any injuries. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be many. A few students had visible cuts or bruises, but they were all standing, and no one seemed to be too badly hurt.
Moody rolled his good eye, the electric blue one seeming to focus on all of them at once. "We're not here to hurt you, Potter. Stand down."
Harry tightened his grip on his wand, thinking. He wouldn't relax his guard until someone he knew and trusted showed up. Ruffling the newcomers' feathers was just a bonus. It really irked him that Dumbledore's Order waited until the fighting was over to show up. No doubt they would try to take credit for stopping the attack.
Another pop had several students turning towards the new addition, though Harry gestured for them to relax when it turned out to be Sirius, Kingsley, and Tonks, along with a three more Aurors from the DMLE. Sirius almost smiled approvingly when he saw that his godson and the others hadn't relaxed their guard yet.
"Kingsley, Tonks, do you need help getting the Death Eaters out of here?" he asked, looking sidelong at the Aurors.
They shook their heads and moved forward, attaching portkeys to the five remaining criminals. Once they were gone, Sirius gestured for Harry to stow his wand.
The teenager listened, and following his actions, the other students also put their wands away.
Sirius smiled. "You all should head back to the castle. We'll take it from here. Good job, all of you."
Harry quirked his lips upwards slightly, as he led the group down the road towards Hogwarts. A few students mumbled a "Thanks, professor," as they passed Sirius.
Once the teenagers were gone, Sirius looked at the Order members who had shown up. "It appears your services are no longer needed," he commented idly. A couple of them bristled, but didn't speak. "You should probably get back to whatever it was this situation drew you from."
His voice dripped with disdain, and it was clear he knew that they hadn't even shown up in time to help at all. Not for the first time, he thanked Merlin that his godson was so good at Defense.
Moody was the last one to depart. When it was just he and Sirius alone, the grizzled Auror sighed. "The kids did well," he admitted gruffly. Sirius nodded. "You've done a good job of training them," he went on.
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "If there's something you want to say Mad-Eye, just say it. You never were one for beating around the bush."
Moody let out a grunt that could almost be a laugh. "Neither are you, Black." He sobered quickly, and shrugged with one shoulder. "We came as fast as we could. Dumbledore alerted us less than fifteen minutes ago."
Sirius frowned. From the clear signs of the fight around him, it seemed plain that it had gone on for at least half an hour.
Moody sighed. "We do the best we can, Black. We can't be everywhere."
Sirius grit his teeth. "No. Especially when you must be on call to jump the second the old man says so." Moody looked surprised. "You used to be the best Auror in the DMLE, Mad-Eye. You used to do things because you knew them to be right, not because some old man told you to. If you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my wife."
Sirius disapparated, leaving Moody alone in the middle of a destroyed street. He clenched his jaw, looking around him at the destruction, and then spun on the spot, heading back to his home.