"But, is that the power Tom knows not? It is a power he would want. But, not having it, would he know it? Is the 'power he knows not' the power of the Master of Death?
"What decisions.
is
the right path?"
Decisions,
"And, the horcruxes. Tom made at least two the ring and the diary. How many more did he make? How many times can the soul be split before it can be split no more? Or, at what number did he stop if he chose to stop before he reached the limit? Tom always had a fascination for the magical properties of the number seven. But, was that seven pieces of soul or seven horcruxes meaning eight pieces?"
Placing the ring on the desk, he reached into the same draw and drew out his latest journal. Opening it to the back he carefully read through the items he'd listed. From a list of over twenty, he'd cut it down to eight: The diary, the ring, Ravenclaw's diadem, Hufflepuff's cup, Slytherin's locket, Gryffindor's cape-brooch, his wand and Harry. Of those, he'd placed a star next to Hufflepuff's cup, Slytherin's locket... and Harry. The last one bothered him the most.
'However, Harry may have freed himself of it,' he thought, according to his comments about what happened when the first bond was initiated. 'That meant the soul bond, or bonds, may be the 'power he knows not'.' From the list he'd scratched out other items: Slytherin's 'monster', the Sword of Gryffindor, Tom's award, Tom's mother's wand, something from the Gaunt shack, something from Riddle Manor.
Then there was a list of where Tom might have hidden the items: Riddle Manor, the Gaunt shack, Hogwarts, the Chamber of Secrets, Borgin and Burke's, the Ministry, Gringotts, the orphanage. And one added recently, the cave.
Of those, he'd already crossed out Riddle manor, the Gaunt shack, the Chamber of Secrets and the orphanage.
He needed to talk to Horace. He needed the man to confide in him, convince him that trying to keep what he knew a secret only placed him in more danger. Knowing Horace's penchant for collecting 'favours' from famous people, would taking Harry with him gain him what he needed from the man? Would Harry be willing to go?
"Do you have to keep tormenting Dumbledore, Harry?" asked Matthias, as they were walking away from the Headmaster's office.
"Yes," replied Harry. "I need to keep him on the back foot, or he's going to eventually find a way to get me back under his control again. And, you know what happens to our world if Dumbledore gets back control of things."
"What are you talking about?" asked a worried Madam Bones.
Harry thought about how to reply for a few moments as the others looked between themselves. "I have... certain knowledge of what will come to pass if Dumbledore gets back enough control to manipulate things, again," he carefully said. "If things play out as Dumbledore wants them to play out, the immediate future is not a good one."
"How... bad is it?" she asked.
"Not here," said Matthias. The older man turned to Madam Bones and said, "Let's head back to the apartment of these three. There's information you need that's of a highly sensitive nature."
With a frown of concern, Madam Bones said, "If you wish."
When the party returned to the apartment, Harry turned to Madam Bones and asked, "Do you mind asking your guards to wait outside, for now?" "Is that really necessary?" she asked back.
"Yes, Ma'am," he replied.
"Yes, Amelia, it is," added Matthias.
Looking from one to the other of Harry and Matthias, with a look to both Sirius and Deece as well, she then turned to her two shadows and said, "Wait outside, please."
Both aurors hesitated a moment until Madam Bones gave them a slight gesture, and then both exited.
Both girls then cast about to ensure there were no listening charms or similar as Harry gestured to the couches. With a sigh, he said, "Take a seat. Please. This will take a little bit to explain." With everyone sitting, the girls returned to sit either side of Harry.
Looking to Madam Bones, Harry finally sat forward and said, "What we're about to share with you, you will not believe. But, you must. The future of magical Britain, if not the entire world, hangs on what we're doing."
"Well, that was quite foreboding," she said.
"I know," he sighed. "But, it's no less true. We three know what was going to come until we took steps to change things. We'll explain how we know, in a little while; but, the Greengrasses and Sirius already know.
"For instance, us three were not supposed to have initiated our bonds. I was still supposed to have seen Hermione as just a very good friend. And Ron and Genevra Weasley had managed to keep Daphne and me apart through aversion potions. Therefore, no bonds and no emancipation. I was also deliberately kept in the dark about my heritage, so I was still under the supposed care of my muggle relatives in Little Whinging.
"If we hadn't changed things already, Barty Crouch senior would have died a month ago, and Cedric Diggory would have died during the third task. When I returned from the graveyard, no one would have believed me that Riddle had been resurrected. Common belief would be that I had killed Diggory in some ridiculous belief I killed him to take the glory of winning the Tournament. Then, for the next eleven months, the Daily Prophet would have printed stories about how I was a lying self-delusional git.
"Umbridge would have then seen me as a direct threat and, in late June, sent two dementors to Little Whinging, where I was still living, to kill me. I use a patronus to drive them away, which then leads her to immediately have me charged with using underaged magic and using magic in front of muggles. She fails in that, too.
"Fudge then sees Dumbledore as a direct threat and has it in his head the old man is trying to take over as Minister. Of course, that's just plain stupid because Dumbledore's already been offered the spot numerous times and turned it down each and every time.
"Added to that, Dumbledore wasn't able to find a Dah-dah Professor for next year, and the Minister forced on him Dolores Umbridge for the role. A woman, who besides being a blood bigot of the highest order, barely managed to scrape by with an OWL Acceptable in the subject, and never took Dah-dah for NEWTs.
"His idea is to put someone he trusts close to Dumbledore to keep an eye on him. However, Umbridge... or, Umbitch as we all came to call her... used the opportunity to torture muggleborn and half-blood students by making them write lines with a blood quill, and then adding a compulsion charm for them not to tell anyone about it."
"What?!" exclaimed Madam Bones.
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