"That's what has brought us to today."
"Are we allowed to know the mission?" asked Madam Bones.
"Most of the first phase is already successfully completed," said Harry. "They are: end the friendship between myself and the two youngest Weasleys, to stop them influencing my behaviour and otherwise interfering with their potions; get Sirius cleared of all charges; round up Riddle's soul anchors, and free the soul fragments from them; allow Dumbledore to go after one of the anchors, which slowly kills him, removing him from being a negative influence on what's to come; claim emancipation as soon as possible; let what happened in the graveyard happen so we could get the snake and allow Riddle to be resurrected so he becomes mortal again; ensure magical Britain is aware of Riddle's resurrection immediately after it occurs; I was to bond with these two lovely ladies; and, finally, kill Riddle once he was resurrected.
"All but the completed."
last
one
has
now
been
"And the second phase?" she asked.
"We... don't know the full details of it yet," said Hermione. "However, we know it has something to do with Daphne and me. There's a reason Daphne and I were also brought back. It has to do with the soul bond and how the three of us go on to greatness." "But, we don't know what our angels mean by that, yet," Daphne smoothly added. "We think they, our angels, want us not worrying about that until after Harry's dealt with Riddle. But, we think things that have been recently happening have to do with it."
"Things like Harry picking up his Order of Merlin, and getting him on the Wizengamot through it; clearing the air about Harry's true history of living at Privett Drive through to the first of September last year, and what really happened during the first three years of school; Harry's, then ours, emancipations; Harry figuring out the nature of souls; and getting Dumbledore and his manipulations out of the way, are all issues surrounding what comes next."
"And where are these soul anchors?" asked Madam Bones. Harry turned his head slightly and called for Dobby.
"Yes, Master Harry?" asked the elf.
"Can you go into my trunk and bring out those special items I have in there?" asked Harry.
"Yes, Sir!" replied the elf before he popped away.
A few moments later and the now horcrux free objects appeared on the coffee table. Leaning forward, Harry indicated each. "These are - from left to right - Salazaar Slytherin's locket; Helga Hufflepuff's Cup and Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem. The other soul anchors were Riddle's familiar, Nagini... which Daphne managed to kill very shortly after Riddle was resurrected... Riddle's school years diary, which I destroyed at the end of second year and Dumbledore now possesses; the Gaunt family ring, which Dumbledore also currently has; and the accidental one, which the angels destroyed and was behind the scar on my forehead. That makes seven.
"All are now free of the soul fragments that held Riddle on this plane of existence as a wraith. So, Riddle is now mortal, again. That means, from now on, anyone can really kill him. However, I'm still the one fated to do it according to the prophecy."
"Harry, right in front of me I see three of the most treasured heirlooms our nation has ever had, yet thought lost," said Madam Bones. "How in Merlin's name did Riddle ever find them to turn them into those soul anchors you mentioned?" "He found out the location of the diadem from the Grey Lady - the House ghost for Ravenclaw - who was once Helena Ravenclaw, Rowena's daughter," he replied. "The previous owner of both the locket and the cup was Hepzibah Smith. Riddle stole them from her back in the '70s while he worked at Borgin and Burke's, and before he killed her and pointed the blame at her house elf, Hokey. Before her, the locket was owned by his mother, Merope Gaunt, who sold it to Smith for a few galleons to try and survive. The cup was a Smith family heirloom.
"He was also looking for something belonging to Gryffindor but never found it, I think. If he did, he never converted it into a soul anchor; or used it to create the familiar bond with Nagini. He searched for Gryffindor's cape brooch and the sword but we know he never found the sword, at least." "What do you plan on doing with them?" she asked indicating the three heirlooms.
"Once Riddle's dealt with, and Dumbledore is either dead or no longer an issue, I'm going to present them to the school," he replied with a shrug. "By rights, the locket and cup belong to the Smith family, as it was from them they were stolen. However, there's no legitimate reason they had them in the first place, unless they can prove ancestry to Helga Hufflepuff for the cup. And Merope stole the locket from her brother.
"No. They should be in the school under heavy anti-theft enchantments. I intend to work with Professors Flitwick and McGonagall to place them, and the sword, in display cases to go into the Entrance Hall."
"And what now for your mission?" asked Sirius.
"Now we wait until we track down where Riddle went to ground," said Hermione. "In the previous timeline he went almost directly to Malfoy Manor and hid out under their wards."
"Which reminds me," said Harry turning to look directly at Sirius, suddenly on a different topic. "How're cousins Narcissa and Draco?"
Surprised at the change, Sirius said, "Both are now back to, or for the first time when it comes to Draco, being Blacks."
"Well, I think one of the Death Eaters I hit in the face with a reductor, last night, was dear old Lucy," said Harry. "If that's the case, and Riddle wasn't already keyed into the wards at Malfoy manor, he wouldn't have headed there, last night, after I hurt him. "That leaves, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, MacNair, Avery, Yaxley annnnd... Rowle. Whose place from those he'd go to, I wouldn't know. I guess it would depend on who has the nicest and most well-protected Manor. He'd demand nothing less."
"It'd be Nott Manor," suggested Matthias.
"Too well protected to attack with only a small force," said Madam Bones.
"However, that aside, it doesn't stop Madam Bones from boosting her auror force from donations, and making sure the wizarding world is alerted to Riddle's resurrection," said Daphne.
"No need to worry about the second part of that," replied the woman. "I take it you've not seen the Prophet, this morning?" "Errr... no," said Harry, as his wives shook their heads.
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