To Train A Bad-Ass
By Stargatesg1fan1 Disclaimer: I own nothing of any recognized characters or universes within.
Women Bonded to Harry Potter in This Story
Ros is Played by Esme Bianco Leaf is Played by Kae Alexander Ygritte is Played by Rose Leslie Missandei is Played by Nathalie Emmanuel Daenerys 'Daeny' Targaryen is Played by Emilia Clarke Melisandre is played by Catrice Van Houten
Margaery Tyrell is played by Natalie Dormer Sansa Stark is played by Sophie Turner Tyene Sand is played by Rosabell Laurenti Sellers Myrcella Baratheon Lannister is played by Nell Tiger Free Cersei Lannister is played by Lena Heady
Arya Svit Kona is played by Sienna Guillory Hermione Granger is played by Emma Watson
Chapter 32
Diagon Alley
"Welcome to The Potter Shop," Jeremy Fields greeted the red haired man that had just walked into Diagon Alley's newest shop. Arthur Weasley looked around at the busy shop in awe. "If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask."
Jeremy was surprised when the man walked towards one of their devices and immediately asked, "What is this? My name is Arthur by the way."
Most customers wanted to browse for a bit before asking any questions.
"That is what Mr. Potter calls a laptop. It is based on the concept of a muggle computer. But I can tell you from personal experience that what Mr. Potter created is far more capable than anything the non-magicals have come up with," Jeremy said. "You put your finger here to lock yourself into the computer's sound cone. It's a spell which makes it so only those locked in can hear the output of the computer's speakers. It will then take you through a demonstration of how the computer works. We also offer small classes for more advanced features."
Jeremy left Arthur to see the demonstration video. A few minutes later Arthur was hooked by the magical version of the internet.
"I am definitely interested in that," Arthur said. "Tell me about that," He said while pointing towards a particular item.
"That is our PTV which stands for Pensieve Television. The muggles have a device called a television or TV which allows them to view movies or shows which are often like plays with moving pictures and sound. Sometimes they are based on fiction. Other times they are based on actual events. The PTV is similar in that it shows these plays and events. But it actually immerses the viewer inside the experience as if they are living it. You can be sitting down and experience a memory or actually get involved. There is even a feature called active viewing that is currently only available on a select few shows. In active viewing you can actually experience the senses of the character you are interested in. For example if you are watching a quidditch match and want to know what it is like to be the seeker you can do so with active viewing. The reason it is only available with a select few options for now is because the actor or whoever is being viewed has to wear a special stick on magical sensor to get the sensory feedback from them into the recording. Mr. Potter is hoping to expand active viewing in the future," Jeremy explained.
"But if it is based on fiction how would experiencing what the actors are viewing be entertaining?" Arthur asked. "They are just actors and not the real characters right?"
Arthur knew enough about muggles to understand that much.
"A good question," Jeremy said. "It has been explained like this to us. Mr. Potter has found a way to generate the sensory experiences the actual character would experience instead of the actor."
"Fascinating," Arthur said.
"This is something that we are only allowed to mention to adults," Jeremy said. "And it is only allowed in moderation. If someone tries to watch too much of this then their access will be cut off. The non-magicals have adult entertainment which are movies with actors of a sexual nature. Active viewing is being allowed on the limited number of adult movies being sold. There is a special section of the shop where you can view those limited movies."
Arthur's eyebrows rose at hearing this. Harry had debated not allowing adult films into the magical world at all. He did not think such a thing had a positive impact on muggle society. Yet he could see the writing on the wall. If he let the magicals stumble into it or worse yet some unscrupulous magical finding what the non-magicals had done, it could be disastrous. Instead he had decided to be the pioneer in the magical world and regulate how much adult content magicals could view. And he wouldn't allow any of the deviant content into the magical world. Instead he focused on the more realistic type of content that didn't stray too far from the norm.
"I would be interested in seeing this section of the shop," Arthur admitted. "Follow me Sir," Jeremy invited.
Remus Lupin was sitting in his office above the main entrance to The Potter Shop chatting with Sirius. Sirius was a 25% owner in the shop. Remus was the general manager at The Potter Shop. Sirius had recently been exonerated of all crimes thanks to Amelia. She had managed to get Sirius questioned under Veritruserum. Additionally Sirius had been awarded 500,000 galleons for each year he had been illegally imprisoned.
"Did I just see Arthur Weasley being led into the adult section of the store?" Sirius asked having noticed the security feed from the shop below.
"I believe you did," Remus said amused.
"I sense he and Molly are about to have their sex lives spiced up," Sirius said before shuddering. "There's a thought I never wanted to have. Anything involving Molly Weasley sexually."
Remus shuddered and said, "Damnit Sirius. Why do you put these thoughts into my head!" "Do you want me to obliviate you?" Sirius asked.
Remus looked like he was seriously contemplating it before shaking his head, "I'm very tempted. But I hate that spell."
The two friends continued talking about things both serious and comical for some time.
Wizengamot Chambers
"Is there any new business before we begin this session?" Albus Dumbledore asked.
"I have some," Augusta Longbottom said.
"The Wizengamot recognizes Madam Longbottom of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom," Albus said.
"Lord Harry Potter would like to take his rightful seat on this body," Augusta said without preamble.
The doors opened into the chamber causing quite a few whispers to break out as Harry walked into the chamber dressed in fine Acromantula silk robes.
"I'm afraid Heir Potter is not of age to sit on this body. He is a minor," Albus pointed out.
"That is where you are mistaken," Augusta replied. "The moment the Ministry acknowledged he was old enough to compete in the Triwizard Tournament he was legally an adult. I have had it checked legally. Here are the appropriate papers."
Augusta floated a set of papers over to the appropriate members of the entry subcommittee which approved entry onto the Wizengamot including Albus out of courtesy. Albus' blood ran cold. He had been voting proxy for the Potter's for years. This would lose him that vote. Albus would ask how Harry had found out about his Wizengamot seat. Yet Augusta's involvement would suggest an answer. He had no choice but to move forward.
"Very well. Let's put it to a vote of the entry subcommittee. Those in favor of allowing Heir Potter to take up the Potter seat please vote now," Albus said.
Each member sat before a console which had a small jewel they sent their magical signature into when it was time to vote. Their intent was analyzed, and the results were displayed overall on the same console. Albus didn't betray his displeasure when the vote was 4 out of the 5 members of the subcommittee to allow Harry entry. Harry only needed 3 to be allowed on.
"Please take your seat Lord Potter," Albus said.
Harry took his seat, inwardly pleased with the way things were going. He was planning on reclaiming what rightfully belonged to the Potters.
Hogwarts "You look stunning," Harry told Hermione as she came down to the common room. It was dinner time. So, they had Gryffindor tower pretty much to themselves.
"Thank you," Hermione said with a blush. Hermione was wearing a dark blue cocktail dress that really showed off her figure. Her mum had helped her pick it out. Dan and Emma had recently bought a house in Hogsmeade to be closer to their daughter. Lily and Alice had taken Emma under their wing even though technically Emma was physically older. James, Sirius, and Remus were showing Dan the ropes in the magical world. Dan had entrusted Harry with a few hundred thousand of their retirement savings to invest. It was the best decision Dan had ever made. That few hundred thousand had grown into three million with Rhaezael doing the investing. Soon it would be over ten million. Dan and Emma were making plans to retire early. Until then they were living in Hogsmeade and apparating to their dental practice. "You look handsome yourself," She added as she took in her boyfriend's hand.
Harry led them out of Gryffindor tower. His probe told him no body was nearby after they walked down a hallway with no portraits. The Rhaezael did a site-to-site transport.
"Welcome to the LuPot Resort," Harry said as they appeared in a large hallway with many windows that let in plenty of light.
Hermione's attention was immediately captivated by the view out through the windows.
"Harry, is that?" Hermione began but was unable to continue.
"The surface of the moon? Yes it is," Harry said with a wide grin.
Out the window Hermione could see what looked like a normal earth lawn of grass for maybe half a kilometer surrounding the resort. There was a visible transparent dome surrounding the resort. Then she saw what was obviously the surface of the moon. Then she saw Earth. Hermione was stunned.
"You built a resort on the moon," Hermione said with amazement as she looked at her boyfriend.
"I did. We're going to start off at one hundred thousand dollars for a three day stay. It only actually costs us $1,000 for a guest to stay here for 3 days. Other than the fact we want to make a profit, if we don't set that price people will suspect our technology is more advanced than we let on and this place will be flooded. I figure we'll still be plenty busy. But the price will make it so people have to save up for it," Harry said.
"Show me everything," Hermione said excitedly.
"Let's start with dinner," Harry suggested.
Harry took Hermione's hand and led her down the hallway to the entrance to a large ballroom with a large collection of round tables lining it. A man in the resort's uniform was waiting for them just inside the door.
"Right this way Mr. Potter," Javier said. "Are the staff human?" Hermione whispered as Harry held her chair for her.
"Actually the staff are all what you would think of as robotic lifeforms except much more sophisticated. They are limited artificial intelligences, AIs," Harry said as they began looking at the menu.
The couple quickly ordered. Hermione began peppering Harry with questions. Her eyes rarely left the view out of the large window she sat next to. The ceiling was a transparent dome which showed the sky above. An hour later they were finishing up with dessert.
"That was a wonderful meal Harry," Hermione said. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. How about a tour?" Harry invited.
"I'd love to. It will help me walk off this food baby," Hermione said with a grin as she accepted her boyfriend's arm.
Hermione loved all the activities available at the resort. The athletics on the low lunar gravity would be interesting. But it was the hot swimming pool and hot tub in particular that caught
Hermione's eye. She didn't bring a bathing suit. She could have transfigured one. But her lingerie seemed to serve just as well if Harry's reaction was anything to go by. She wasn't wearing her suit for long. Both Harry and Hermione felt it was a fantastic date.
Voldemort's Safe House Number 5
Lord Voldemort, born Tom Marvollo Riddle, sat in the seventh safe house he controlled. He routinely switched between his seven safe houses at random intervals. The wards upon his properties were some of the most impressive in the world. The final layer of the warding scheme was an obscuring ward that made the Fidelius charm look weak in comparison known as the Liamvue ward. The Liamvue was so dark that each time it was initialized on a structure the sacrifice of thirteen lives was required. Luckily this could be done with muggles. The death of 91 magicals it would have required to ward all seven of his properties if muggles couldn't have been used to establish the Liamvue would have been unacceptable. Killing 91 muggles didn't bother Voldemort in the least.
"You may dress and leave now Narcissa," Voldemort said silkily. Narcissa Malfoy bowed her head and said, "Yes my Lord."
Narcissa Malfoy was an attractive woman currently found herself in a very unattractive situation. She was lying on the dark lord's bed having spent the past three-quarters of an hour as his plaything. The ritual that had resurrected Lord Voldemort had not done so with a penis. The region of his groin where a cock and balls would have been was only smooth pale flesh. Narcissa hadn't been able to see even that much without signing a magically binding contract. The contract ensured she couldn't talk about what went on between her and the dark lord. She couldn't even speak or reveal his secrets in any form. Had she somehow been able to she would drop dead instantly.
What did sex consistitute for a dark lord without a penis? He would run his hands and mouth all over her body. Occasionally he would bring her to orgasm with his mouth. Sometimes she would be impaled by magical dildos he conjured. Narcissa had questioned why he didn't conjure himself a silvery replacement appendage like that which he granted Pettigrew or her sister. Yet it wasn't a question she had ever voiced out loud for it could mean certain death. Perhaps it wasn't possible. Whatever the case Narcissa came to the dark lord's bed chamber every time he summoned her and feigned eargerness to do whatever he pleased no how much it repulsed her. For it truly repulsed her to lay with the creature Voldemort had returned as. If it wasn't for the occlumency she had been schooled on growing up she had no doubt her feelings for the dark lord would see her dead.
Voldemort watched Narcissa leave the room. She was a beautiful woman. He felt a momentary pang at the fact the lust potion he had taken had warn off. It was a sadness born of a sensation he knew he should be experiencing but wasn't. After dressing, Voldemort made his way to the
operations room. He found several inner circle members there including Lucius, Bellatrix, and Rodolphus.
"What news?" Voldemort asked after he entered the room.
It amused Voldemort to see Lucius while he was still covered in the juices of the man's wife. Lucius of course knew that Narcissa serviced the dark lord just as Rodolphus knew that Bellatrix often did the same. Occasionally Narcissa and Bellatrix did so together. It was not something either man would challenge the dark lord on.
"The properties of Potter and his friends have all vanished without a trace my Lord," Lucius reported. "Fudge has no idea how either."
"Someone is casting the Fidelius then," Voldemort mused. "What of our recruitment efforts?"
"Thirty-five merceneries from the continent my Lord and another forty that are loyal to the cause," Rodolphus reported.
"The merceneries will make good cannon fodder," Bellatrix said. "When combined with those we can imperius when the time comes it is a mighty force. Will we attack Hogwarts?"
"No. It would be foolish to attack there. Not when our true goal is the Ministry," Voldemort said. "Continue our sublte approach with the Ministry for now. I want to be ready to fully take after after the third task."
"You still wish to capture Potter during the third task?" Lucius confirmed.
"Yes," Voldemort said. "Potter has grown powerful indeed. But he cannot hope to defeat me. Still, I want you to take the new recruits and target the families of all the year mates of Potter who have ever been friendly with Potter. Draco can provide a list. Do not attack yet. Just monitor them in preparation for an attack. Also, I want portkeys placed on all of these friendly yearmates prepared to portkey them to the site we are bringing Potter to. We will put them in pens as hostages against Potter's compliance."
"It will be done my Lord," Lucius said.
"It's a pitty that Potter's mudblood is so well protected. I know she is a mudblood. Yet she is quite attractive. Rodolphus, take Rebestian and track down the relatives of the mudblood. Look for Grangers nearby the town of Crawley. Put portkeys on them that we can trigger remotely. That will help our effort as well. The portkey location will be at the site as well. But I want them in a separate pen from the magicals," Voldemort ordered.
"Yes my Lord," Rodolphus said.
"I wish to speak to Bellatrix alone," Voldemort said. The others left. "How did your mission at Gringotts go?"
"It went perfectly my Lord," Bellatrix replied. "I cast the detection charm without issue. Your goblet is undisturbed."
If you knew the right goblins to speak to and were willing to pay a price it didn't matter if you were a wanted criminal. You could gain access to your vault.
"That is good news. After Lucius' incompetence it is more important than ever that the goblet I entrusted you with remains safe," Voldemort said.
"I won't let anything happen to it my Lord," Bellatrix said with devotion.
Voldemort's Official Headquarters
While Lord Voldemort rotated between his seven different safe houses, he also maintained a base of operations where his recruits primarily stayed.
Ruthomeer Horn, one of the newest recruits, came awake in the small bedroom he had been appointed. Ruthomeer was a member of a minor pureblood family who had very recently pledged his fate to the dark lord. He was not sure what had caused him to come awake. Some sixth sense told him that there was an oddity in the room. The small room he had been given was comfortably furnished. Every other Death Eater was furnished with the same room. Before Ruthomeer could so much as utter a cry of alarm he felt the full body bind spell hit him.
Harry had learned that not even the advanced sensors of the Harion could scan beneath the protection of the Liamvue ward. As an early experiment Harry had placed nanite trackers in several of the Death Eaters that were known after they had come out from beneath the Liamvue ward. It turned out that the dark magic in the Liamvue broke down nanites quickly. Small clusters of nanites would break down within minutes. Larger groups could last for up to thirty minutes.
One of the aspects of the Liamvue ward was that if someone not keyed into the ward managed to smuggle themselves into the space protected by the ward they were left debilitated with nausea so bad they could not stand. The Alterrans in the Harion's database had been capable of producing humanoid machines that were made of nanites and by all appearances looked human. It would take a very advanced race to detect that they were not in fact human. The closest translation Harry could find to English for these constructs was human form replicators or HFRs for short. This technology was how Harry had constructed the weapon he had called Night King Killer 1 or NKK1 for short.
The HFRs could even now work a limited amount of magic. The HFR shaped like Harry had less than ten minutes to finish its mission. It had taken considerable time to make its way to this section of the base undetected. Its ability to phase was compromised by the arcane energy in the walls of this base.
"Ruthomeer Horn, due to your willing support of the Dark Lord Tom Marvollo Riddle you are hereby sentenced to death of consciousness," HFR Harry said without preamble before plunging a finger into Ruthomomeer's neck.
The HFR's right arm seemed to disintegrate into a silvery liquid which flowed into Ruthomeer. The nanites the arm had been made of healed the wound from the entry point even as other nanites flooded Ruthomeer's brain. The nanites had one specific purpose. They killed off Ruthomeer's personality. Ruthomeer Thorn died in that moment. What was left would be able to fool others into thinking it was Ruthomeer. But it was really a creature with one mission. That mission was to see the end of the Dark Lord Tom Riddle A.K.A. Voldemort. It would listen to direct orders from Harry Potter and continue a mission of subterfuge until such a time as it was needed. The nanites finished rewriting Ruthomeer's mind and self-destructing just before they would have failed anway.
Elsewhere
Harry was swimming in the pool in the LuPot resort with Hermione when he got a mental alert from the Harion over the neural link he maintained with his probe. Another Death Eater had been subverted to his cause. Tom Riddle may have thought his efforts to subvert the Ministry employees to his cause was brilliant. But Tom didn't know the abilities of his opponent. Harry's resources were out of Tom's depth. For every Ministry employee subverted to Voldemort's cause, Harry took one or more of Voldemort's minions. It was slow going due to the wards protecting the Death Eaters. Yet Harry would overcome that and prevail.
Onboard the Harion "Thank you for coming," Harry said. "Of course," James said. James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily sat around a table with Harry. "What is it you wished to discuss?" Lily asked curiously.
"Several of you have asked me in the past how it was that Voldemort managed to survive the backlash of the killing curse," Harry said. "I've answered those of you who have asked. For those who haven't asked. He made horcruxes."
Sirius hissed in surprise and asked, "How many?" "This many," Harry said as a hologram appeared in front of the table showing all of the
hocruxes. They could see Tom Riddle's journal, Hufflepuff's cup, Slytherin's locket, Ravenclaw's Diadem, and the resurrection stone ring. "In addition to the five objects you see before you it was Riddle's intent to make a horcrux out of my death the night he came to kill me. As a result of his preparations he unintentionally turned my curse scar into a pseudo horcrux. He intended for his soul to be in seven pieces," Harry explained.
"Six horcruxes and the seventh being his active consciousness," Lily clarified. "Yes," Harry confirmed.
"By that logic then if he didn't know about the horcrux in your curse scar he may have tried to make another horcrux after the point you no longer have memories," James pointed out.
"Yes," Harry agreed. "I do know that he contemplated making his familiar Nagini into a horcrux. I do not know however if he went through with that plan."
"Why would he make a flesh and blood creature into a horcrux. If it dies he loses the soul fragment," Sirius pointed out.
"He felt confident in the fact that he had so many other traditional horcruxes. It just felt right to him. Not everything Riddle chose to do was highly logical like most people," Harry explained.
"Do you have locations on all of these horcruxes?" Lily asked.
"I have locations on these horcruxes," Harry said. "Tom Riddle's journal is destroyed. Hufflepuff's cup is in Bellatrix's Gringotts vault. Ravenclaw's Diadem is at Hogwarts. The gaunt family ring is in the Gaunt hovel outside of Little Hangleton. And Slytherin's locket is in this house in London which is not where Riddle secured it." When they saw the house in question Sirius sat up straight while James glanced sharply at Sirius. When Harry saw their reaction he said, "You recognize this house?"
"I should considering it's where I grew up," Sirius admitted.
"Why would a horcrux be there?" James asked. "Unless...Regulus?"
"If Voldemort entrusted horcruxes to two of his Death Eaters why not a third?" Sirius asked. "My brother was a Death Eater," He added for Harry's benefit. "But of course you probably already knew that."
Harry had thanks to his memories from Voldemort.
"Regulus was not entrusted with a horcrux. But his house elf Kreacher was used when Riddle secured it," Harry explained.
"Kreacher," Sirius said with surprise. "I need to question that elf."
"Riddle thought Kreacher died after securing the horcrux," Harry said.
"You own the house now that your mother has passed right?" Lily questioned.
"Yes. I never thought I would go back," Sirius said.
"Thanks to Harry, Amelia, and Augusta getting your name cleared with the Wizengamot there should be no contest to your ownership," Remus told Sirius.
"It's still weird that I can walk around a free man," Sirius mused.
"So we retrieve that horcrux first since it is so easily accessible. I assume you can't just transport them out?" Lily asked her son.
"That is correct. The dark magic fields surrounding the horcruxes make transport impossible," Harry said.
"How close can you transport?" Remus asked curiously.
"Within fifty meters. No closer," Harry answered.
"So, you could transport us into Gringotts, just not within Bellatrix's vault," Lily said.
"Yes," Harry confirmed.
Remus cocked his head to one side and asked, "Out of curiosity, could you transport gold out of the vaults?"
"I can," Harry confirmed. "The goblin wards wouldn't stop me."
James whistled and said, "We could bankrupt Voldemort's movement."
"We could," Harry confirmed. "I hadn't considered it."
"What I wouldn't give to see the look on Lucius Malfoy's face when he finds out he is bankrupt," Lily mused.
"We're getting sidetracked," Harry said. "A mass robbery would be a good cover for the horcrux being taken. I was planning on replacing it with a very convincing fake. But I really like the sound of taking the gold from all the Death Eaters."
"We should take care of the Gaunt Ring and Diadem first though. If Riddle fears for his horcrux in the vault he may go after the others to hide them," Remus pointed out.
"I'm curious why you can't detect Riddle and if Nagini was made a horcrux," Sirius said.
"The Liamvue wards are hiding them," Harry said. "Those are some damn powerful wards." "When do you want to go after the horcrux at the Gaunt house?" James asked his son. "No time like the present," Harry said as he stood. "We're coming with you," Lily said.
"Alright," Harry replied.
Harry activated the transporter. Mid-transport all members of the party were outfitted with battle armor made of a liquid-nanite material that could actively project an energy shield.
"This is where Voldemort's mother lived?" Lily said with disgust as she laid eyes on the place. "No wonder he was so eager to erase his past."
Harry took out his wand and began dismantling the wards. For this work he would need the focus. The Marauders kept a lookout for any danger while also glancing at Harry's progress.
"Your son might just be more skilled than Merlin was rumored to be," Remus whispered to James and Lily so as not to distract Harry.
"I don't think there is any might be about it," Lily admitted. "Harry has the ability to travel back in time. He asked Rhaezael to send a probe back in time to observe Merlin. It recorded Merlin's entire life including watching all the magic Merlin learned. Harry has been learning it by absorbing the knowledge directly from the computer."
"I didn't know that," James said in awe.
"He only told Hermion and I," Lily admitted. "Of course we've been learning it too. We just can't absorb it as fast as he can and don't have the power to cast a lot of the spells."
The wards came down with a thrum of power. Harry's probe had been maintaining a containment field surrounding the entire structure so that Riddle hopefully wouldn't sense the wards coming down. Harry strode inside with the Marauders following him. He flicked his wand at a spot in the floor. A small stone chest rose out of a hidden cache.
"Don't anyone touch it. There is a powerful compulsion on the ring to put it on and it has a withering curse upon it," Harry warned.
Harry opened the lid on the stone chest and levitated the ring out. He began chanting in a tongue the others didn't know. Within a few moments a dark inky cloud rose out of the horcrux before vanishing. Another few words and the withering curse was removed. Harry took a very good duplicate out of his pocket and put it in the stone chest before returning it to the hidden cache.
"You make this look so easy," Sirius commented. "It isn't," Harry said. "But having Riddle's memories of putting this all up once helps."
A few minutes later and Harry was finished recasting the spells that Voldemort had placed. The group was transported back to the Harion.
"What now?" Lily asked. "Now let's head to Gringotts," Harry said.
Harry led the Marauders to the bridge of the Harion. When they reached the bridge Rhaezael was present in one of his replicator forms.
"The analysis of the protections upon the vaults of those identified as Death Eaters is complete. With the exception of the Lestrange vault the contents of the Death Eater vaults will be transportable. Once the horcrux is removed from the Lestrange vault then the contents of that vault will also be transportable. I would also like to note that two other vaults not listed as Death Eaters contain what I believe to be horcruxes from their energy signatures," Rhaezael reported.
"Are they Voldemort's horcruxes?" Harry asked curiously. "No. They belong to two different magic users," Rhaezael reported.
"It looks like Voldemort wasn't the only magic user to make horcruxes in recent times," Lily said.
"It is my understanding that they were very popular at one time. But they had a decent chance of making the person who created one mentally unstable," Harry pointed out.
"But you have to commit murder to create one," Remus objected.
"That is just one variation of the horcrux ritual. I believe a variation used to exist before the method was lost to time that allowed the person who wanted to create a horcrux to act as an executioner. It would be fairly simple. You Polyjuice as an executioner or use a glamour and take their place once. But again, the probability of mental instability was too high," Harry explained.
"Let's get to looting some Death Eater vaults," Sirius said.
"Alright. If we do this, we are doing it smart. You will wear these," Harry said as small pendants were transported into his hands. "They will distort your features, voice, and magical signatures so that you will be unrecognizable. Even your body shape will be altered. Only other people who are wearing the pendants will be able to see the real you. I want no chance of the goblins recognizing us. Just in case," He said as he turned to address Rhaezael. "Stash cloaked probes inside the Potter and Black vaults. Should there be any hint that the goblins are trying to
ceize the contents of our vaults transport out everything." "It will be so," Rhaezael said. "Here we go," Harry said after the pendants were on.
The group was transported away. At the same time as the group appeared outside the door of the Lestrange vault, the contents of the vaults belonging to the Death Eaters began being transported away starting with the Malfoy vault. Because of the nature of the wards surrounding each vault, the Harion had to focus all of its considerable sensors upon each vault. Therefore, the thefts had to be done one at a time. The theft was immediately noticed. An alarm began blaring in the tunnel.
"That isn't good," Sirius said. Several roars were heard in the tunnels. "Security dragons," James said grimly. "Keep it distracted," Harry said. "The quickest way to get this vault door off is brute force."
Harry put away his wand. For this his wand would just hinder him. He thrust out his hands towards the vault door and made a grabbing motion. The vault door made a creaking noise. Dust fell from the surroundings of the door. Harry gained a look of extreme concentration. He momentarily lamented the fact that his ability to phase through solid matter was also compriomised by the field the horcrux put out. The sound of something large moving around the bend in a side tunnel several hundred meters up the main tunnel was heard. Then a dragon that was blind came into sight. It let out a roar of challenge.
"How should we handle this?" Sirius asked as James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus all held their wands at the ready.
"Like this," James said as he cast two cutting spells at the tracks for the carts which delivered customers to their vaults.
One of the sections of track James had cut free was transfigured into a large metal javelin. The javelin was sent hurtling towards the dragon that was charging down the tracks towards them. The javelin hit the dragon in its left shoulder and pierced several feet into it. But the thick hide stopped any further progress. The other Marauders had gotten the idea though. More transfigured javelins were sent hurtling at the charging dragon until it looked like a pin cushion. The dragon fell dead sliding to a stop fifty meters away.
Meanwhile the metal of the vault door had begun to bend as Harry's telekinesis pulled at the goblin forged steel. Three more dragons appeared out of side tunnels.
"I don't mean to rush you. But I don't think we have the ability to distract them all," Lily told Harry.
Harry let out a scream to psyche himself up and then put all his focus and power into his efforts. The vault door ripped free of its hinges. Harry flung it to the side with a wave of his right hand and immediately grasped onto Hufflepuff's cup with his telekinesis, floating it out of the vault. Harry quickly used his wand to remove the soul fragment. The dragons were charging down the tunnel and only a hundred meters away now. A small blast of fiendyfire destroyed the soul fragment. The dragons were fifty meters away when Harry, the Marauders, the cup, and the contents of the Lestrange vault were transported away. At that point they decided a little divide and conquer was appropriate.
"I think that is enough horcrux hunting for one day," Lily said as she tried to calm her racing heart.
"Agreed," Harry said. "We'll go after Slytherin's locket later. I will grab Ravenclaw's Diadem when I'm at school," He added.
Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office "You wished to see me headmaster," Harry said respectfully after entering the office.
"Yes Harry. Please have a seat," Albus offered while gesturing at the chair before his desk. Harry sat down and waited for Dumbledore to speak. "I want to start off by saying my apologies. I'm sorry."
Harry mentally contacted his parents through his neural link with his probe. The probe allowed James and Lily to immediately tune into what was going on.
"For what?" Harry asked.
"For the way I have handled your upbringing," Albus said. "When the secret keeper betrayed your parents in such an ultimate way as to betray them to their enemy it began to degrade the effectiveness of the Fidelius charm. That particular charm is odd that way. It's a charm that few can cast, harder even than a patronus to master. But your brilliant mother managed to learn how to cast it. That was why I never knew who the real secret keeper was. When the charm degraded enough with their deaths that I was able to travel to Godric's Hallow to their cottage I found them dead. I was grief stricken. I was very fond of your parents."
Harry was silent as he listened to Albus talk. This was more information than he had ever gotten before.
"I was inside trying to figure out what happened when Sirius showed up. I had asked Hagrid to take you to your Aunt's house the long way to give me time to investigate. I had already tried healing your curse scar. Yet the dark magic within it resisted. Hagrid followed my orders to the letter. Sirius had been rumored to have been your parents' secret keeper. So, I don't blame him for not relinquishing you. I found notes your mother had kept of the ritual she had used. It was a modified ritual. She was brilliant. The ritual would indeed allow the blocking of the killing curse. But it was such a peculiar ritual that I doubt it would work under many circumstances. Yet the circumstances aligned that night. It was truly your mother who defeated Voldemort that first time," Albus explained.
"It was her notes that allowed me to put up the blood ward that kept Voldemort or any of his marked followers from harming you. I also thought that growing up in the wizarding world with your fame would not do you any favors personality-wise. Your fame is honestly my fault in a way. I let slip some things to Hagrid about what happened. And we know he can't keep a secret. I also had to tell officials at the Ministry some measure of how things went to allow me to handle the situation. I knew that Petunia didn't care for magicals. I didn't realize at the time how much. So, I left you at her home with a protection charm on you to make sure you were alright until she found you. In hindsight I kick myself for leaving you on her doorstep. I don't know what I was thinking. People always think I am the great Albus Dumbledore. But even I am prone to fits of stupidity from time to time," Albus said.
"I had Arabella Fig look in on you keeping watch. She reported that by outward appearances your home life wasn't ideal but that you were healthy. I should have looked further into it. When you showed up here you were a nice boy without the inflated ego of your fame," Albus explained. "You even made some friends."
"What was the deal with the traps leading up to the Philosopher's Stone in my first year?" Harry asked.
"That was not the real Philosopher's Stone. Nicholas Flamel is old enough and wise enough to protect his belongings. Nicholas and I engineered a convincing fake because I had heard rumor Voldemort was still around. I wanted to draw him out. The traps were not too difficult because I didn't want any children who may have fallen into them to be too badly injured. I admit in hindsight the Cerberus was foolish. Yet I wanted to convince Voldemort that the stone was real so had to have convincing traps. I had subtle charms set up in certain traps to alert me if anyone tried breaching several of the traps," Albus explained. "You and your friends surprised me by entering the traps yourself. I was impressed. It was an overconvuluted plot in hindsight."
"In my second year were you really unaware of the basilisk?" Harry asked.
"I had considered a basilisk," Albus admitted. "But the fact that we hadn't had a death confused the issue. I was quietly consulting with colleagues about the issue when Ms. Granger figured it out. She is truly brilliant. I hadn't put all the clues together. You again surprised me when you destroyed that diary and killed the basilisk. I will tell you now that it was a dark object known as a horcrux. It contained a piece of Riddle's soul. I intend to train you in the art of occlumency so you can keep what I am telling you to yourself. Others could read it from your mind."
"I know occlumency," Harry said.
"I shouldn't be surprised. Your skill in the tournament and your move to take your place in the wizengamot has made me reevaluate how I approach you," Albus explained. "I am trying the honesty approach. Your third year was another fiasco that could have been handled better. So, much went on during the war. They were chaotic times. Barty Crouch Sr. assured Minister Bagnold and I that Sirius confessed to his crimes. We were concerned with dealing with the Death Eaters that hadn't confessed. Lucius Malfoy spread so much gold around. I think the reason Bagnold retired was because Lucius bribed her enough she could retire. I believe he engineered Fudge's rise to power as an easily bribable official. The reason I explain this is to show you all that was going on. I let Sirius slip through the cracks. I should have orchestrated a trial in third year. But by that point in time Lucius' influence in the wizengamot would have prevented a trial easily coming about. I still should have tried. And then there is this year."
"Could you have gotten me out of the tournament?" Harry asked curiously.
"The only way would have been to cancel the tournament and restart it. The paperwork we had to get through all three Ministries of Magic wouldn't have been able to be redone in time. That is still no excuse. I must admit I also wanted to see how you fared in the tasks. I was ready to intervene if necessary with the dragon. But it proved unnecessary," Albus admitted.
Harry was silent for a while as he thought over everything Dumbledore had said. "I forgive you. I will however not forget," Harry said. "Nor should you," Albus agreed. "Tell me what you know of my scar," Harry said.
This was a test to see if Albus was truly being honest.
"I...I suspect it is a horcrux just like the diary," Albus admitted. "I have been quietly searching for a way to transfer a soul fragment out of a living object without destroying that object. What makes the task more difficult is that if it is a horcrux it isn't a true one. Riddle never intended for you to become a horcrux. Likely he intended for you to be part of the ritual to create a horcrux. I'm sorry Harry. I will continue to search."
"That will not be necessary," Harry said. "Since you have decided to be honest with me and extend some measure of trust I will respond in kind. You aren't privy to all of my secrets just like I am not privy to all of yours. But I will tell you this. The soul fragment in my scar is gone."
Dumbledore appeared amazed for a moment before breaking out in a wide grin. "That is fantastic news," Albus said.
"One of the side effects is that I gained all of Tom Riddle's memories up until the point he attacked me as a baby," Harry said.
Albus' eyes bulged.
"Then you know about the horcruxes," Albus said. "Much more makes sense now, how you were so capable in the tournament."
"Yes. I have been going after the horcruxes. Only a few remain to be recovered," Harry said. "One of them is here in Hogwarts. Perhaps you would care to retrieve it with me."
"Of course," Albus said as he stood at once.
Harry led the way out of the office. They walked in silence to the Room of Requirements. Harry walked back and forth while focusing on the need to hide something. When he opene the door it was to reveal the piles and piles of hidden things over the years.
"Behold, more than a millenia of contraband," Harry said.
"Oh my," Albus said as he followed Harry into the room.
Harry could sense the horcrux even from this distance.
"I find the magic of pocket dimensions truly fascinating," Harry mused. "The magic of this room is even greater than that."
"I once happened across a loo when I was really in need near the entrance of this room. I take it this room is a lost secret of Hogwarts?" Albus asked.
"It is called the Room of Requirement or Come and Go Room," Harry explained before detailing what it was capable of.
"This room has the potential for great feats of magic. I look forward to exploring it later," Albus said. They came to the bust which held Ravenclaw's Diadem. "Is that?"
"It is," Harry confirmed as he drew his wand. "I am going to transfer the soul fragment to something more disposable."
Albus watched in fascination as Harry chanted in a tongue he was not familiar with. Soon the soul fragment was inside of a small statue of a naked woman that had been stashed inside the room.
"Fiendyfire works well," Harry said after picking up the diadem while focusing on needing a place to safely cast the magical fire.
The room transformed. A single table stood before them with a metal box sitting upon it. The box was etched in complicated patterns of runes. Harry placed the diadem within the box. A lid appeared on the box with a small hole for the tip of his wand. Harry cast Fiendyfire within. The runes on the box began to glow. A scream was heard from within the box. When the runes stopped glowing the Fiendyfire was out.
"Amazing," Dumbledore said.
"I think this belongs in a display case in your office for now. If you need help on enchanting the display case to prevent theft let me know," Harry said.
"Thank you, Harry," Albus said gratefully as he accepted the diadem.
At the entrance to the room Harry said, "I think that is enough talk for one day. This has been productive."
"Yes. Thank you. You have given me much to think about," Albus said before heading back towards his office.