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The Feathered Serpent: Chapter 17
🕑 Added 2024-01-16 17:00:13 +0000 UTCThe one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...
The words kept running through the minds of both Harry and Daphne by the time they got back to what was their shared room for the duration of their stay here with the Flamels. Harry had wanted to know everything from Nicholas but Perenelle had decided they’d had enough revelations for the day and that they should not continue. Although not too happy, they did not protest and agreed to continue their discussion the next day.
The prophecy was given by none other than the batty Divination professor of Hogwarts who no one ever took seriously. To think that the words uttered by her had linked Harry and Voldemort so intricately and had caused such a far-reaching impact on their lives…
Daphne was still having a hard time believing it. The prophecy all but foretold the demise of one at the hands of the other and as much as she wanted to believe it was Harry who was destined to be triumphant over his foe, she knew it was not such simple a task.
Lord Voldemort was one of the vilest dark wizards to ever exist and the responsibility of one day killing him rested on the love of her life.
She wanted to deny it all. She wanted to curse the heavens, that batty woman, hell, even Dumbledore himself for forcing this burden on her beloved. However, above all else, she wanted to ensure no one could ever touch a hair on his head, least of all that pathetic dark lord.
Daphne had heard it all. She had known ever since she could remember how terrible Voldemort and his rage were. She was aware of the terror the wizarding folk had been living under when he had been at the height of his powers. Yet, she could not give a flying fuck about any of it. To her, all that mattered was the continued safety of her lover and the life she wanted with him.
“We will get stronger,” she whispered, her voice carrying both an undercurrent of rage and fear.
Harry glanced at her as he took her hand, clasping it in his lap as he stroked her palm. The blonde beauty glanced up at him with tears threatening to spill from her sapphire orbs.
“Right?” She urged again. “There’s no way you’re going to die, even if you’ll one day be facing the devil himself.”
Harry leaned his forehead against hers.
“We will,” he whispered resolutely. “We’ll take advantage of everything we can to destroy him for good this time. Even this fucking soul piece. And only then will we get rid of it as well.”
Daphne nodded as they closed their eyes, anticipating their talk with the Flamels and Dumbledore that would be taking place the next day.
XXXXX
The atmosphere was tense in the room. Harry and Daphne sat together with their hands clasped firmly as they gazed at the three elderly people sitting opposite them.
Harry had had a hard time coming to terms with the massive revelation they had been subjected to the previous day. To think that his parents were not the main targets for Voldemort and had died protecting him… It made him feel both profoundly sorrowful and guiltily relieved. They had voluntarily given their life so that he could survive and all he could think was how unfair it was.
Shaking his head to clear off those thoughts, Harry gazed back at Nicholas.
“Well then, now you know how you are significant to him and just why you successfully became a Horcrux,” the ancient alchemist began. “As I already told you yesterday, you do not need to fear getting possessed by Voldemort or surrendering to him because of this unfortunate link you two share.”
Harry nodded alongside Daphne. That was indeed a massive relief. He did not even want to think about the possibility of losing control of himself to become that dark fuck’s puppet.
“I’d advise you to keep working on your Occlumency and develop it as much as you can. You’re already an animagus, right?” Nicholas asked, earning a nod from Harry.
“Good. Becoming in tune with your inner beast would aid you significantly in your pursuit for a mastery in the art of Occlumency. There is a reason why those who have become Animagi are among the best Occlumens there are.”
“I definitely plan to,” Harry replied with determination. There was no room for any half-arsed approach to anything now, not that it had ever been.
“Good lad,” Nicholas smiled approvingly. “Now, it is a no brainer that you must dedicate yourself to becoming the best damn wizard you could be, and the same goes for you, lass, if you two are as close as we’ve realized. Remember that you shall be in as much danger as your boyfriend here. Your enemies won’t hesitate to use any of you against the other, so it falls on you to make sure it never happens.”
Perenelle rolled her eyes at her husband’s teasing tone and smiled as Daphne nodded resolutely. She truly had come to like the girl. She had her heart and her mind exactly where they should be.
“If you hadn’t guessed already, Voldemort is not dead,” Nicholas continued. “First, because of our recent discovery here with your scar that proved he made Horcruxes, and multiple at that, to ensure he didn’t die, and secondly, for why it reacted.”
Harry and Daphne exchanged a curious look with each other, their minds working furiously as the three older people watched them. The realization washed over them in no time and as one, they turned to gaze at the others.
“Voldemort is at Hogwarts…” Harry whispered, staring at Dumbledore in shock who let out a small sigh.
“Not anymore. He has been taken care of, for now at least,” Nicholas replied as he nudged the headmaster of Hogwarts with his elbow. “Albus?”
“I might as well tell you two considering how closely you were connected to it this past year,” Dumbledore started solemnly. “It is as you said. Voldemort, or Tom as he was named by his mother, was at Hogwarts this past year. He was possessing Professor Quirrell who unfortunately stumbled in his path during his travels in the forests of Albania this past summer. Professor Quirrell sadly succumbed to the possession and perished, which allowed Tom to possess his body and infiltrate Hogwarts.”
Harry and Daphne stared at Dumbledore, shell-shocked.
“I have known for years now that Tom is alive. It was back in the late sixties when he arrived at Hogwarts and applied for the vacant post of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He was superficially amiable and we had a small discussion. However, I knew he never had any intention to teach. I confronted him directly on his true intentions. Tom never revealed anything, but he did not need to. He took his leave and never stepped foot in the castle again. However, he did not leave without doing anything. Tom has always been a prideful individual and feeling slighted at being denied what he wanted, he put a curse on the Defense position to ensure Hogwarts never would never have a professor holding that office for more than a year,” Dumbledore sighed.
Harry and Daphne hung on to every word that came out of Dumbledore’s mouth.
“The peculiar and yet logical aspect of any curse is that its effect persists for as long as the caster is alive, and when the curse did not disappear even after the events of Halloween of 1981, I realized that like you, Tom had also somehow survived,” Dumbledore said solemnly. “I certainly wondered how he could have survived. Unfortunately, I never had any concrete ideas. At least until you arrived in Poppy’s infirmary with your scar burning painfully.”
“Which happened in the Defense classroom, where Voldemort possessing Professor Quirrell’s body was right beside us,” Daphne said with an undertone of rage as she stared at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore looked solemn as he continued, “I knew Tom was alive but there was no way to prove it to anyone unless he was exposed to the masses. I asked Nicholas to create a fake Philosopher’s Stone and made a show of hiding it in Hogwarts.”
“The third floor corridor you instructed us to stay away from,” Daphne whispered in realization.
Dumbledore nodded with a small smile.
“I knew Tom would not be able to resist. He might be a dangerous dark wizard but even he is not prone to bouts of greed. The prospect of using the stone to see if he could gain a body or prolong his lifespan was too much for him.”
“Not that he could gain a body using it,” Nicholas interjected. “The original stone, that is. If it were true, we would have used it to get ourselves new bodies a long time ago. Merlin knows these old bones hurt.”
Harry and Daphne let out small chuckles at that.
“I knew keeping Tom at Hogwarts was risky, but I had full belief that he would not do anything to bring any attention to himself as long as he did not gain a new body. You must realize that even though Tom was possessing Quirinus, he did not have access to all of his strength. I believe it would not be a stretch to say that a few Bombardas would have sapped away all his energy. Even a fourth or a fifth-year student could have defeated him in the state he was in. There was never a chance for him to directly harm anyone.”
“Directly?” Harry did not miss the emphasis Dumbledore put on that word and his suspicions only grew when the aged headmaster frowned.
His face seemed to age a few years as he whispered, “I underestimated Tom. I truly did. He did not have access to his strength but he certainly had his cunning. Somehow, he succeeded in arranging for an acromantula, a mountain troll, and a werewolf by the name of Elstan Greyback to infiltrate Hogwarts and cause as much mayhem as they could so that he could use the distraction to get past the protections I had placed around the fake stone and retrieve it.”
“No…” Daphne whispered, horrified.
“You two already know what happened on Halloween night,” Dumbledore sighed.
Suddenly, Harry slammed his hands on the table, rattling it violently. His emerald eyes glowed malevolently as he glared at the old wizard.
“Do you have any idea what we went through that night?” He growled. “What happened to Hermione? An innocent man is dead because of this!”
Dumbledore sat back in silence as Harry glared at him. Beside him, Daphne was staring straight ahead with her eyes wide in disbelief.
“I had my suspicions, you know?” Harry continued darkly. “That you knew more than you were telling us. I saw how you reacted when I said someone inside the castle must have been involved. Fuck, I couldn’t have imagined even in my wildest dreams it was that cunt himself!”
“Harry, language,” Perenelle chided gently. “I know you are angry and believe me, both Nicholas and I were when we got to know about it. But it doesn’t mean you should lose yourself like this. You need to do better.”
Harry turned his glare at the woman who stared back, unimpressed. Clenching his fists hard enough to almost draw blood, he gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, feeling Daphne grab him by the arm. He breathed deeply, allowing her to pull him back in his seat.
He was shaking, and beside him, he could feel her shaking in rage as well. She seemed to be doing a much better job keeping control of her raw emotions though.
“When you said Professor Quirrell had quit, what did that mean?” She asked Dumbledore in as even a tone as she could muster.
“I took care of the matters after being told to by Nicholas and Perenelle here. Professor Quirrell had died the moment Tom possessed him. As for Tom… he is a wraith now. It was easy enough for him to flee the castle. However, I do not believe he has any strength in him to launch another offensive for the foreseeable future.”
Harry sneered at the old wizard as he asked, “Just what was your plan there, Headmaster? What did you think? That you’d keep an eye on him as if he was a little child and keep him on leash?”
“It is always better to keep your enemy close, Harry,” Dumbledore sighed. “I do not expect you to understand but—”
“Of-fucking-course I don’t!” Harry hissed. He grimaced when Perenelle gently coughed. “Of course I don’t… You… you keep an eye on your enemy, yes. But you do it after you’ve done everything possible to make sure he doesn’t cause more harm than you can take!”
“Our friend was almost raped by that monster, Headmaster,” Daphne said shakingly. “A bright girl with such desire to learn everything about our world. Gone, just like that. You realize what you’ve unwittingly allowed to happen?”
Harry kept glaring at the table, trying with all his might to keep himself composed.
“I do understand, Headmaster,” he whispered darkly. “I get it. I really do. You were trying to keep him close so that you were not blindsided by something else he did if you didn’t have your eyes on him. I see the point in that.”
Dumbledore stared at him solemnly.
Harry looked up and sneered, “But guess what? You failed. You failed to keep a leash on him even when he was so weak that a Hogwarts student could take him down.”
Dumbledore sighed and he did what he could only do. He nodded resignedly. Both Harry and Daphne averted their eyes from the old wizard, holding each other’s hands tightly and trying to exchange as much silent support as they could.
What had happened to Hermione was a sore topic. The girl had still not recovered from her trauma, having sleepless nights filled with terror and nightmares. They felt helpless every time they got an update on her situation which was frankly not progressing too well. However, they kept hope and their mental scars were slowly healing.
To have this information thrown at them had ripped the proverbial bandages off the scars.
“I did not know Quirinus was already dead,” Dumbledore continued after a long pause during which everyone worked on their emotions so that calm heads could prevail. “That was one of the reasons why I could not take an aggressive step. Tom would have killed him to escape. However, the more time passed, the more it became clearer to me that Quirinus was no longer alive and that Tom had full control over the man’s body. This was after the episode with your scar in the Defense classroom.”
Harry nodded curtly, listening to the old man explaining everything.
“I had been trying to find a way to ensure Tom was trapped so that he could no longer escape. However, there had been no progress on that front so I had no choice but to keep him occupied with the fake stone.”
“Is that even possible? To trap him in the form he is?” Harry asked calmly, having put his raging emotions firmly in check. He had vented more than he should right now.
“I believe so,” Dumbledore nodded.
“Here’s hoping you’re successful then,” Harry sighed.
They sat in silence for a few moments, digesting everything revealed until now.
“Nicholas,” Daphne interjected, making everyone glance at her. “What about getting this Horcrux out of Harry?”
A small frown took over the man’s face as he glanced at the emerald-eyed wizard.
“A Horcrux cannot be destroyed unless its container is destroyed,” he replied, holding up a hand when Daphne’s eyes widened in fear. “Let me finish.”
Breathing deeply, Daphne nodded.
“A Horcrux can be destroyed by only a few means. The killing curse, Fiendfyre, Basilisk’s venom. Take your pick. One needs to sever the link between the foul magic of the torn-apart soul and the object itself. The complication arises because the object has no soul of its own, so the soul piece integrates itself with the object instantly, nullifying any possibility of separating it from its container.”
“Hence the need to destroy the container itself,” Harry muttered.
“Exactly,” Nicholas nodded. “You cannot separate the soul piece from its container without destroying it, just as you cannot take magic from a witch or a wizard without killing them, for magic and the soul are one and the same. Tells you all you need to know about the nonsense those pureblood supremacists spread around about muggleborn stealing magic from witches and wizards.”
They nodded. The concept was clear to them by now. There was no separation between magic and the soul.
“However, what I said applies to normal cases,” Nicholas continued. “Fortunately for us, Harry’s case is anything but normal. Not only is he not an object, but he also does not share any kind of close bond with Voldemort like a familiar does. Coupled with the fact that his mother has blessed him with such a remarkable protection that keeps that soul piece imprisoned deep within, there is no way this soul piece has integrated with Harry in any manner.”
“So we can separate it from him without harming Harry?” Daphne asked hopefully. Her heart felt as if it was beating a thousand times a minute as she gripped his hand tightly, afraid to let go.
Nicholas grimaced slightly.
“I said there is fortunately a possibility to manage that without destroying, that is, killing Harry. I never said it won’t cause any harm.”
“Nicholas?” Harry asked cautiously.
“There are risks, lad. Massive risks. The soul is delicate, and any attempt to tamper with it can have devastating consequences. That is why I’m talking about only a possibility. It is only a theory of mine as nothing like this has ever happened before.”
“You have ideas, yes?” Daphne asked softly.
Nicholas glanced at her and nodded with a small sigh.
“The most usual way to extract a soul out of a human without killing them is the Dementor’s kiss,” he said.
“No!” Daphne hissed firmly. “That’s not happening. There’s no way it can be done.”
“And you would be correct. I’m just throwing out ideas here,” Nicholas sighed. “There is no way we can force the Dementor to suck Voldemort’s soul piece out. There is full possibility that it would devour Harry’s soul instead since it is intact and thus, the more appealing meal for the creature.”
Both Harry and Daphne grimaced at the disturbing thought.
“The risk is too much. We can’t do that,” Perenelle sighed, earning nods from everyone present.
Nicholas stared hard at Harry as he continued, “Another choice is for you to master Occlumency so that you can gain the ability to distinguish between your and Voldemort’s souls living inside you. Once you can separate the two, you would be able to cut it out of yourself.”
“That’s… good, isn’t it?”
Intrigued, Harry stared at the man who was still giving him that hard look.
“By making a Horcrux yourself,” Nicholas completed.
Harry’s breath hitched and his eyes widened. Beside him, he felt Daphne freeze as she stared at the ancient wizard in sheer disbelief.
“Once you can tell the two souls apart, you can easily push Voldemort’s soul out of yourself and into the container. It can then be destroyed thereafter.”
“No…” Harry whispered, horrified. “I… I can’t… I can’t do something like… like that… Killing an innocent!? There’s no way I’d ever do that!”
Everyone stared at Harry once he declared it passionately, glaring at the man for even suggesting something like that.
“I’ll never stoop to Voldemort’s level just so I could live longer. I’d rather die so that his Horcrux dies with me,” he hissed. “This idea is out as well.”
He felt Daphne squeeze his hand firmly and he glanced at her. She gave him a tearful smile and buried her face in his chest. Harry released a deep breath as he buried his face in her soft hair, trying to calm himself down by breathing in her scent.
“I’m glad you chose that,” Nicholas nodded approvingly. “Unfortunately, those are the two ideas I can think of right now. Fret not though, I will surely be looking into the subject for other ways to see if they can work.”
Harry and Daphne could do nothing but nod at that.
“Don’t think of this as a loss, you two,” Perenelle encouraged gently. “Right now, there is little you can do apart from wait. Remember you need to get strong and master Occlumency. You also have the power to see inside Voldemort’s head should you get proficient enough, and you can also feel his other Horcruxes when you’re nearby. You don’t need me to tell you what a massive advantage you are holding over your enemy, Harry.”
Harry nodded. He understood what a golden opportunity it could be. Simply getting rid of the Horcrux inside him was not enough. They needed to destroy all the other Horcruxes he might have made, and if he could get proficient enough, he could discover their locations so that they could destroy them.
Furthermore, if he could truly glimpse inside Voldemort’s mind then he could gain so much information that would be truly lost to them, which primarily meant what the Horcruxes were and where he had hidden them.
“Which is why we were not going to destroy that Horcrux inside you right now in the first place,” Nicholas continued. “This boon is too big to get rid of so easily. Use this to gain an upper hand in this fight before he can even gain a body, Harry. Remember that your soul is your magic. Destroy enough of his Horcruxes and you will be able to weaken him significantly before you even need to confront him.”
Harry felt Daphne pull back and sit properly in her chair. They turned to each other and nodded with determination. It was truly a massive endeavor they had to succeed in.
“We know our next assignments,” she said softly. “We can do this.”
“I know,” Harry whispered.
“I would advise you not to go looking for things you might not be prepared to see, Harry,” Dumbledore said gently but with a hint of warning in his tone. “Tom is beyond evil. His mind would be a mess of cruelty and vileness. No one should subject themselves to something like that willingly.”
“I won’t, Headmaster,” he said in understanding. He could guess well enough what kind of memories and thoughts he would find in that bastard’s mind and there was no way he would willingly go through that literal torture.
For the next few minutes, they sat in silence, slowly processing the massive revelations of the day. Harry and Daphne exchanged several meaningful looks all the while.
“We’d like some private time to think about everything that you all have told us today,” Daphne said softly.
Perenelle nodded in understanding.
“I’ll tell you when it’s time for dinner,” she said gently, earning small smiles from both.
The elders watched the young couple get out of their seats and walk out of the room together.
Once they were gone, Nicholas flicked his wand, and the door shut on its own. He sighed and turned toward Dumbledore who stared back solemnly.
“There are other ways as well,” Dumbledore remarked. Nicholas pursed his lips while Perenelle sighed.
“Voldemort needs to gain a body so that he can be killed properly,” the latter muttered. “There is only one ritual in existence and it will demand blood of the enemy to be taken by force.”
“Tom will want Harry’s blood,” Dumbledore stated with confidence. “Harry was the cause of his downfall and Tom will want to prove a point to everyone.”
“He is egotistical and prideful,” Perenelle said softly. “It would be his downfall.”
Dumbledore nodded solemnly as he stared at his mentor.
“Blood that contains his mother’s protection,” Nicholas nodded. “The ultimate tether to the plane of existence. Voldemort would not be able to kill him if he uses his blood to resurrect himself.”
“So that is the plan, hmm? Let Voldemort resurrect himself and then cast the killing curse on Harry?” Perenelle asked keenly, staring at her husband who turned toward her.
“Harry won’t die because the same blood would be coursing through Voldemort’s veins. As long as they both don’t die at the same time, Harry will pull through. However, the killing curse will still destroy a soul and luckily, he has a spare one to get rid of,” Nicholas nodded. “That’s the plan right now until we discover another way.”
“Be it as it may, Harry cannot know about this or the ritual shall fail,” Dumbledore interjected, earning a nod from both.
“He certainly needs to be kept in the dark. Both him and Daphne,” Nicholas said firmly.
“And if they somehow get to know about it?” Perenelle asked hesitantly.
“Then we better hope we find another way,” Nicholas replied with a sigh.
“You know of any other way apart from…” Perenelle trailed off.
A large grimace crossed across Nicholas’ face.
“They won’t be able to do it,” he whispered.
“No… no they won’t,” Perenelle said in sorrow.
“Which is why I’m not considering it at all.”
“You know of another way?” Dumbledore asked hesitantly.
Nicholas and Perenelle exchanged a glance with each other before the former nodded.
“Alchemy’s root principle is equivalent exchange,” the former began. “A soul for a soul.”
A foreboding feeling coursed through Dumbledore as he stared at his mentor.
“What are you saying, Nicholas?” He asked tentatively.
Nicholas sighed.
“To destroy Voldemort’s soul inside him, Harry will have to sacrifice a portion of his soul as well.”
“He won’t create a Horcrux, Nicholas,” Dumbledore frowned. “And isn’t this theory redundant? After all, if he had to sacrifice a portion of his soul, he would have created the Horcrux and used it to cast Tom’s soul off.”
“Sacrificing a portion of your soul does not necessarily involve creating a Horcrux, Albus,” Perenelle said softly. “Your soul is your very self. Anything that consists a portion of your very self shall count. Isn’t it ironical? It doesn’t require creating a Horcrux but it is so much more evil than that…”
“No…” Dumbledore whispered, horrified. His hands were gripping the arm of his chair tightly.
“Never mention or even think about this any further, Albus,” Nicholas warned.
“There is no possibility for anyone with the slightest bit of purity in one’s heart to even think about this, let alone go forward with it,” Dumbledore said faintly.
“Indeed, which is why I did not even consider it, let alone propose it to them,” Nicholas replied. “It is vile and something that should never be given a place in one’s mind. The plan we have right now will have to work if we don’t find another way.”
Dumbledore nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. There was no way they would even consider going ahead with this vile method of equivalent exchange.
After all, even though there might be rare exceptions, no parent could ever sacrifice their child – one that was a part of one’s very self – for any purpose.
To be continued…
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NovelReader
In other fictions I've read about Goblin magic or Elvish magic to treat the soul. But then the Flamels are supposed to be one of the top tier people in terms of all esoteric and obscure magical knowledge.
