Blood Ties

A/N: Thanks again for all your reviews. I'm glad that everyone is still enjoying the story. 

Chapter 27

The end of the school year was looming and their meeting with Harry and Dumbledore was in less than an hour. Hermione was a bundle of nerves. She'd been obsessing over what Harry was going to say for the last month now. She'd had to stop herself on more than one occasion from grabbing him and telling him the truth. She thought it would be better to let Dumbledore explain the bit about horcruxes.

Before she knew it, she was walking with Draco to Dumbledore's office. He squeezed her hand reassuringly as he knocked and then entered the cozy office. Harry was already there but that didn't surprise her. They had a pretty close relationship. She hoped that Harry wouldn't be too hard on the old man for keeping things from him. Dumbledore had done what he had thought was best.

"Ahh…," he greeted them. "There you are Draco and Hermione. Have a seat and we can get started. I'm sure that you're wondering why you're here Harry."

Harry glanced at her and then to Draco before he answered. "Yes, I am. But what are they doing here?" It wasn't said with malice. Only with a burgeoning curiosity. His thoughts were jumbled and confused.

"They are a part of the story I'm about to tell you. The time has come Harry. The time to actively start our fight against Tom and all of his followers. Tell me, dear boy, do you know what a horcrux is?"

Harry glanced again at Draco when Dumbledore mentioned Riddle and his followers. Hermione saw that he was still suspicious of Draco. He thought that he was a Death Eater. "I don't know, sir."

Dumbledore nodded sagely. "Most of the information on them has been lost to time and for good reason. Horcruxes are the result of the foulest, most evilest of all magics. A horcrux is an object in which a witch or wizard hides a piece of their soul. With a horcrux, even if you destroy the person's body, they can still be resurrected."

"Like Voldemort," Harry whispered.

"Yes, Harry. Like Voldemort. But he doesn't have just one horcrux. He had seven."

Harry sat back wide eyed as he processed the information. "How do you make a horcrux?" he asked finally.

"You split your soul. Then you hide one of the pieces in an object of your choosing. It could be anything, from something of great importance or something as innocuous as a regular rock."

"And how do you split your soul?" he asked.

"By committing the ultimate act of evil. Committing murder tears the soul into pieces," Dumbledore explained.

Harry squeezed his eyes shut, the horror of what Dumbledore was saying sinking deeply into his mind. His thoughts were dwelling on the tense Dumbledore had used when he said that Voldemort had seven horcruxes.

"When you say had…?" he asked uncertainly.

Dumbledore nodded gravely. "Yes Harry had. You destroyed one in your second year." He pulled the diary from his desk. "We have destroyed two more." He laid out the ring and the diadem.

"So there are four more?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Dumbledore answered. "There is a locket, a cup, and Voldemort's familiar, Nagini."

"And the fourth?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore stared at him over his half moon glasses, sadness lurking in his watery blue eyes. He was truly regretful of what had come to pass. "It's you, Harry."

End Note:Thoughts? How do you think Harry will take the news? Remember my dear readers, reviews=love. Leave me lots! XD