Indelible

Mistake with the dates... Harry was in Azkaban for two years, not three, and by the end of this chapter, he'll have been out of Azkaban for just under 6 months.



I hate Horcruxes, ‘nuff said, there won’t be much about them. I hate updating while HPFan is down. It means I’m going to have to add so much at the once when it lets us start posting again. Sigh.

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Words: 3,880
Chapter 12
Horcruxes
October 13th 1995.

He had strived for years to achieve immortality, and he had honestly believed himself as close to achieving that goal, as he was possible to ever to become. He had split his soul seven times, and he had eight separate pieces of his soul, only one fragment was within his body. Two were within Harry. Lord Voldemort hadn’t meant to make Harry a Horcrux. He had split his soul, ripping the piece he wanted away from what was left within him, and he had attempted to kill the Potters. Their deaths were intended to be the sacrifice he needed to cement the bond between the soul fragment and an object of his choice. He had intended to place his soul within the Shield of Gryffindor, an heirloom of the founder that Voldemort had found in the Potters home after killing James.

When Harry didn’t die, it had never occurred to Voldemort that it was because his soul fragment had chosen to bond with Harry. He had, technically, attempted to kill himself at that point, and that was why the curse rebounded. Lord Voldemort was close to immortal at that point, and he had just attacked a piece of Voldemort’s own soul. Of course he didn’t die. After all, Harry’s body had two souls, which was a lot stronger than an eight of a soul that used to be within Voldemort’s destroyed body.

Voldemort had been angered, of course, and shocked. But then Tom had possessed Harry’s body as well. The Horcrux within Harry had called to Tom’s soul. It was no wonder that Harry’s soul didn’t fight against the possession; it recognized Tom as a part of himself. His soul and Voldemort’s had started to blend together, after eleven years in contact.

Voldemort wasn’t a fool. He knew Dumbledore intended to destroy his Horcruxes, and he knew Dumbledore intended to use Harry to help him. Tom would protect Harry, as much as it drove him mad to admit it, Tom would never let anything happen to Harry. It wasn’t Harry that Voldemort was worried about though. Well, he was, of course he was. He had started having feelings about the boy, which was weird and not something a Dark Lord had time to worry about. He didn’t want Harry hurt anymore than Tom did.

But Harry wasn’t a Horcrux that could be destroyed.

The two separate souls had entertained. When Harry had taken the potion that changed his appearance, Voldemort had noticed his magic changing as well, the two souls had changed to match his body’s new look. If Voldemort were to find a way to remove his own soul, it wouldn’t look like he or like Tom. It would look very similar to the way Dorian Grey looked. They were now, almost, one in the same.

Tom, however, was a different entity. He was almost a parasite, (different from the other piece of Voldemort’s soul), he wasn’t meant to be there, but the other soul refused to let Harry’s reject Tom. Harry wouldn’t want to, not now. But at first it would have been instinctual to fight back. Harry hadn’t. Lord Voldemort didn’t agree with certain feelings, love and fear were among them, but so was worrying. He hated worrying about others, because no one had ever worried about him when he was in danger. But he was worried about Tom. If Dumbledore found out about Tom, he’d know who Harry was; he’d not only destroy Tom’s soul but if Tom died it would destroy Harry as well.

Voldemort worried about Harry an awful lot. He could admit to himself, when there was no chance of anyone else hearing, that he cared for Harry – he was even growing to love the young man. He was certainly attracted to the boy. The thought of Harry hurt or in pain terrified Voldemort, and he hated feeling fear – for anything. But he feared for Harry more than himself. He was safe from Dumbledore, but Harry was at Hogwarts at the mercy of the old man.

“My Lord?” Voldemort looked up. He was sat at a desk in his office at Malfoy Manor. Lucius was standing in the doorway holding a piece of parchment. It was unopened. “My son wrote. I thought you might like to hear.”

“Read it out loud, Lucius.” Lucius nodded his head and broke the seal on the letter.

“Dear father, and mother, (October 12th 1995),

“I apologize that I have not written sooner. It had been hectic. I suppose you’ll inform our Lord about what I have written so I suppose I better tell you everything then. Firstly, I would like to point out (mainly because Tom insists) that our portrait guardian hates Tom. She can shape shift and she always insists on becoming our Lord, but never Tom. Well, frivolities out of the way, I suppose I should start with September.

“On September 12th, Dumbledore finally managed to meet with Harry on his own. Fortunately Professor Lupin managed to get Dumbledore out of the room before he could pry too much. Our Lord probably already knows about this meeting.”

“I remember.” The red-eyed man said quietly. “Continue Lucius.”

“Harry had told me that Dumbledore had some sort of wards around his room that prevents Tom presence in his head. He also noted that when he tried to contact our Lord during the meeting it felt, strained was the word he used. He described it as a fuzzy feeling, with a lot of ‘static’ background noise. On the same day we confirmed our ‘engagement’ to Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini. Pansy cried. Father, I hope I’m not still expected to marry her after this debacle. I’ll never hear the end of it from that girl. Blaise thinks Harry is insane; I don’t blame him.

“On September 16th, during Care of Magical Creatures,” Lucius suddenly stopped speaking and ran a hand over his face wearily. “Something bad is bound to happen when that oaf Hagrid and animals are together.”

“On September 16th during Care of Magical Creatures, two Gryffindors pushed Harry into the Black Lake. It wouldn’t have been so bad disregarding the face that we were studying Merfolk, and the six Merfolk that were nearby thought Harry looked rather tasty. They almost drowned him; luckily, Tom levitated himself out of the Lake. Neither Gryffindor received more than a detention. It’s outrageous. Father I demand you do something! Severus tried but Dumbledore wouldn’t bend.

“I had a discussion with Lupin that day and came to an unexpected conclusion. I will inform you of such later on, but I would like to point out I don’t care if you disagree. It is a simple as I have decided I feel this way, and that will be the end of that, father. And no, mother, I don’t love Pansy, and no, father, I haven’t declared my undying love to a Weasley either. Perish the thought. And now Harry is laughing at me.

“On September 26th, as you all know, Dumbledore decided he wanted Harry’s help defeating our Lord as he believes the other prophecy refers to Dorian. I refuse to have my fiancé place himself in harm’s way because of that man. Father, I insist you do something about this! On October 2nd, the same two aforementioned Gryffindors attempted to hex Harry at the lake. Fortunately, Harry’s wand was quicker and one of them ended up hanging in mid air by his ankles for the best part of the day. Severus informs me it was quite the sight. I’m sorry to have missed it.

“On October 9th, someone botched mine and Harry’s potion. We assume it was the same Gryffindors. They placed Basilisk scales in a healing draught and could very well have killed us had Tom not erected a shield in time. As it were, many Slytherins received minor burns, and I believe we gave Severus heart failure. Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan are their names, Severus thinks they are hurting Harry on Dumbledore’s orders.”

“Do you recognize those names Lucius?” Voldemort asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Lucius frowned. “One is a half-blood. His mother is an Irish witch I believe. The other I do not recognize.”

“A Mudblood then,” Voldemort concluded. “Continue.”

“If that isn’t bad enough, on October 11th, the castle locked down, with Harry outside, alone, on a full moon. Fortunately Harry is fine. But Tom said Dumbledore was the one who found him and took him to the infirmary. Tom also suspects that Dumbledore recognized his magical signature (he performed some warming and cleaning charms after Harry had fallen asleep). That isn’t dangerous for them is it? That Dumbledore may know? It isn’t like the old man will think it’s our Lord at Hogwarts, right?

“Anyway, school has been going rather well for me. The work isn’t overly hard, but it isn’t too simple either. I’m doing well, and the professors have informed me that they are pleased with my progress this year, as well as Harry’s. Also, as I mentioned before I came to an understanding about my feeling for someone. I don’t mind if our Lord hears, because since Tom already knows and I haven’t been attacked yet, I suppose his knowing can’t be too detrimental to my health. I love Harry – but as family. I consider Harry a part of our family and I honestly don’t care if you disagree father. I just wanted you to know that, ok. Send Dorian’s love to his uncle, please.

“Much love, to both yourself and to mother. I’ll write as soon as I can.

“Your son, Draco.” Lucius folded the letter back up and placed it in his pocket. He inclined his head respectfully and when Voldemort waved his hand dismissively, Lucius backed out of the room.

Voldemort growled lowly, he had suspected something was wrong with Harry. He could feel Harry’s emotions and Tom’s when the boy was in control of Harry’s body. Lately Harry’s emotions had been all over the place, and it was suspicious. While he and Tom had planned Dumbledore’s death in the boys’ private Chamber, he had not really known what it was all about. He had been angry with Dumbledore for daring to use Harry to destroy his Horcruxes but he realized now that Tom was angry because Dumbledore had been hurting Harry.

Voldemort was even more worried about Harry now, and he wasn’t any happier about being worried.

XXX

Dumbledore was playing with a gold locket when Dorian bumped into him. The older man was just standing in the hallway, seemingly fascinated by an egg-sized pendant that hung off of a thick gold chain. Dorian hadn’t been looking where he was going, and had bumped into Dumbledore’s back. “Sorry!” He said immediately, and then realized who it was. He caught sight of the pendant when Dumbledore turned around. It had an ‘s’ carved into it and it was covered in small green gems.

“Not a problem my boy. In fact I had hoped to bump into you today.” He paused and smiled, tucking the locket into his pocket. “Actually, you’re the one doing the bumping into today, I suppose.” Dorian just raised an eyebrow. “Come my boy. We can speak in my office.”

“Well,” Dorian said quietly. He didn’t really want to be alone with the man in his office. He wouldn’t be able to hear Tom and his link with Voldemort would be too strained to be of any use. He was without Draco, and neither Remus nor Severus knew he was going to be with Dumbledore. They all thought he was going to have a nap during his free period, and the others would all have class so he really would be alone. “Uh, I suppose.” He said when Dumbledore’s eyes narrowed at him.

“Don’t do it Harry!” Tom warned as Harry made his way to the headmaster’s office.

“I have to. I can help find the Horcruxes then I can steal them and bring them back to Voldemort. I can’t just let Dumbledore destroy them all.” The boy had his arms folded across his chest. They were both standing in their Chamber of Secrets, one at each side of the bed separated from each other. Harry climbed onto the bed and reached out for his lover. “Tom please. You can’t tell me you want Dumbledore to get his hands on the Horcruxes.”

“At least tell someone you’re with him.” The other boy bit out, climbing onto the bed and taking Harry into his arms.

Voldemort appeared, standing at the bottom of the bed looking disorientated. “You wished to speak with me?”

“I’m going with Dumbledore to search for the Horcruxes. I’ll contact you when I’ve returned. Tom,” he gave the boy a mock glare. Tom just pressed a kiss to Harry’s lips, and that made Voldemort’s stomach clench in jealousy. “is being over protective again. I’ll be fine. I have to go now.” He disappeared from Tom’s arms and from the Chamber.

Tom and Voldemort looked at one another as they were pushed from Harry’s mind. “He is in Albus’ office now then.” Tom said needlessly.

“I love him.” Voldemort blurted out. Tom’s head snapped around so he could stare at Voldemort. He only looked mildly surprised. Mostly he looked jealous. “I won’t apologize. I don’t care for people, but I seem to have found myself caring greatly for Harry, but you would hardly be able to judge me. I would like to inform you, that while I love Harry, my conscious (which I never used to listen to before meeting Lord Indelible),” he gave a soft snort and Tom’s lips twitched in response. “My conscious will not allow me to pursue the boy while he is in a relationship with you.”

“I will not leave him.” Tom said coldly.

“I am not asking you too. I just wanted you to know how I felt about him so you could take care of him for both of us.” Voldemort faded out, leaving Tom alone in the Chamber to think about things. His thoughts kept straying to Harry, and he hoped the boy left Dumbledore’s office soon.

XXX

The Horcruxes had been collected with little effort on Dumbledore’s part. Dorian was the one who had to collect the Gaunt ring from their cottage while Dumbledore waited outside. Dorian didn’t even know what he was looking for; he had to have Voldemort’s mind in his head the whole time, so the elder man could tell him what to look for. Unfortunately, Dumbledore seemed to have done something to Dorian without anyone noticing because whenever Tom tried to take control of Dorian he ended up unconscious while Dorian felt very dizzy for a while after. He had planned on duplicating all of the Horcruxes and keeping the real ones hidden in their Chamber, but that plan wasn’t going to work since Dorian didn’t know how to duplicate.

Dorian slid the ring on his finger, wincing as it made his hand feel as if it were on fire. Then it stopped and he came outside and held his hand up for Dumbledore to see. There were black stains around the tips of his fingers already, as if the skin was beginning to rot. Dorian looked down at the marks with wide eyes but Dumbledore only let out a sigh. Albus smiled though as the black marks began to heal by themselves, and soon disappeared completely. It meant he was right. Only Voldemort could wear his Horcruxes without worrying about the consequences and since Dorian had healed it meant that the Dark Lord really had possessed him.

“That poor boy,” he murmured.

“What was that, sir?”

“I said well done, boy. I’m very proud of you.” They went to find the next Horcrux, and the next. Each time it was Dorian that was made to find and retrieve the item. It was like Dumbledore was continuously testing him, either that or he didn’t want to injure himself and didn’t care what harm might befell the young man.

When they arrived back at Hogwarts they were only short of Helga Hufflepuff’s cup. “We shall find a way to retrieve that tomorrow, my boy. You should get some rest.” Dorian didn’t argue. He was far too tired. His eyes locked on Dumbledore’s hand as the man closed a draw in a press behind his desk. Dorian smiled. So that was where Dumbledore was hiding the Horcruxes.

“Yes sir. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bright and early,” Dumbledore said with a smile, locking the draw with his wand.

XXX

December 19th 1995.

It had taken slightly longer to legally gain access to search the Lestrange vault. Since all three remaining Lestranges were escaped criminals there was nothing they could do to contest the search warrant, but it still took time for Dumbledore to find proof to show the Minister that he didn’t mind the world knowing about. The cup was carried out of Gringotts by Dorian, and was later shrunk and hid inside of the draw in the press behind Dumbledore’s desk.

It had been over a month since he had started helping find the Horcruxes and so far he hadn’t been asked to help destroy any of them, so Harry assumed that they were all still in tact. With a sigh, he stopped pacing. He looked up at the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster’s office and bedchambers. This had to go to plan, Harry couldn’t afford to have anything go wrong. He had one change to steal the Horcruxes and then get out of Hogwarts. The Hogwarts Express would be leaving the following day at noon for the Christmas holidays and Harry needed to be on that train with the Horcruxes in his possession. He wouldn’t need to come back after the holidays, and it wouldn’t be safe either. Dorian would be the only person who knew that the Horcruxes were in the building, and it would be suspicious that they had disappeared just after they had all been gathered together.

He whispered the password, relieved to find that it had not changed over the past week. He gripped his wand tightly. Tom’s new wand was in the Chamber of Secrets, with Tom as the boy slept peacefully. He hadn’t been informed that Harry would be doing this tonight. He didn’t want to give Tom the opportunity to talk him out of it. It needed to be done, Tom and Voldemort had been in agreement with that, but Harry doubted they would be happy that he was here on his own.

His holly and phoenix feather wand felt heavy in his hand and he took another deep breath before he started to walk up the stairs. In Dumbledore’s office he quickly made his way to the draw. His wand poked through the keyhole and he whispered “Alhomora” but nothing happened. With a frown, Harry searched Dumbledore’s desk for a key but found none. Instead he found the man’s wand. Smirking, Harry grabbed it, and jammed it in the lock. “Alhomora,” he said again.

He was unconscious by the time the draw popped open.

Dumbledore had watched him from the corner of the office. He had frowned, but steeled himself for what had to be done. It was for the greater good. He cast a stunner as Dorian used his wand to open the draw. He caught the green-eyed boy as he fell to the floor.

With a frown, Dumbledore picked up the fallen wands. He placed his own back into his pocket and gasped at the sight of the other. “Harry?” He asked with a frown. “Harry Potter?” He laughed quietly.

Disregarding the fact that he had seen two auras when he had cast the spell on the boy in early October, he still believed Harry’s soul to have been destroyed by Tom Riddle’s. “Tom,” he whispered with another laugh. He grabbed the child and pulled a small black bag out from under his desk. The Horcruxes were in the bag, and the wand had been left on his desk on purpose, for the draw was empty, and Albus needed Harry to complete the ritual to destroy the Horcruxes in one go.

With Harry’s body in his arms and the black bag thrown over one shoulder, Dumbledore flooed to Grimmauld Place. He fire called Minerva to let her know he would not be present for the following few days and claimed it had something to do with Voldemort. She didn’t ask any more questions.

Harry was tied to a bed in one of the spare rooms on the second floor. The bag full of Horcruxes was left at the side of the bed, in Harry’s line of sight, almost to torment the boy once he woke up. Dumbledore left to prepare for the ritual.

XXX

December 20th 1995.

When Draco woke up, he gave a small yawn and stretched. He was rather shocked not to see Harry sitting on the other sofa watching him wake up. The brunette had started doing that at the start of October. It had freaked Draco out at first but he had gotten used to it. When Draco had woken, Harry usually lay down beside him and Draco hugged him for a short time, well, until Tom got jealous and insisted they separate. It was strange not to have Harry waiting for his morning hug.

Remus came out of his bedroom a minute later with a large smile on his face. Draco nodded to him and went to check Harry’s room. Neither Harry nor Tom was in there. The bathroom was empty as well. As if knowing what was going through Draco’s mind, Remus laughed lightly. “Your brother was probably famished. He hasn’t been eating well this last week. He’s probably in the Great Hall as we speak.”

Draco blushed at the word ‘brother’. It was how he felt about Harry, but it still surprised him that Remus accepted it so easily. It was Remus’ godson, his family, which they were talking about, and the werewolf had happily accepted the fact that Draco was claiming Harry as a member of his own family (with his father’s permission, according to the elder man’s last letter).

“Yeah, I suppose he is.” Draco nodded goodbye, and headed to the Great Hall. Remus watched him leave with a fond smile on his face.

“Hey,” he greeted Blaise as he sat down at the Slytherin table. Dumbledore was notably absent from the Head table. He looked around the hall, but he couldn’t see Dorian anywhere. It wouldn’t be unusual for the boy to be sat at the Gryffindor table with Granger or the Weasley twins, but he wasn’t. “Has anyone seen Dorian?”

Pansy gave a soft sob at the other boy’s name, but said nothing. Blaise rolled his eyes. “He’s probably already in class. He eats in the kitchens sometimes you know.”

“Yeah I know.” Draco said softly, biting his bottom lip. “You’re probably right.” He wanted to believe Blaise, just like he had wanted to believe Remus was right, but Draco just couldn’t help but have a bad feeling about Harry’s absence.

XXX

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This chapter was so hard to write. I hate Horcruxes. It would have been longer but the Horcrux scenes weren’t playing out the way I wanted them too, so I deleted them. Sorry.

Please review me – you know you wanna!
I was going to have a teaser for the next chapter but I want to post this now, instead of waiting to pre-write the next chapter. But I will say this-- dun, dun, dun character death ahead.