Chapter 51: Chapter 51: “Horcrux”
Kreacher returned with a locket, crafted from weighty gold, featuring an intricate 'S' shaped like a serpent, embedded with a sparkling green stone on its facade. Arcturus, with his deep knowledge of Dark Magic, sensed the malevolence emanating from it, a sensation not perceptible to Sirius or Harry to the same extent.
Sirius said, "That locket seems special. The symbol looks like it's from the Slytherin house. Could this be Slytherin's own locket?"
Arcturus said, "It very well might be. It's said only someone who can speak Parseltongue can open it, and Voldemort was known for that skill. But it looks like he has misused this significant artifact."
Arcturus didn't touch the locket directly. He used his wand to lift it and examined it closely. "Just as I thought," he said, looking closely at the locket, "this has a piece of Voldemort's soul inside. To think he'd use soul anchors in our time..." His voice trailed off, a mix of disbelief and concern in his tone.
Sirius, puzzled, inquired, "Soul Anchors? What exactly are those?"
Arcturus proceeded to elucidate, "A Soul Anchor, more commonly known as a Horcrux, is a dark artifact. It's an object in which a wizard or witch conceals a part of their soul, achieving a twisted form of immortality. As long as the Horcrux remains intact, the soul fragment within it ensures the creator's anchor to the living world, making them immune to physical death."
Without waiting for more questions, Arcturus shared more details. "Making a Horcrux is considered the darkest kind of magic. It goes against nature. To create one, you have to commit a murder in a specific cold-hearted way, which splits the soul. Then, with a spell, the torn piece of the soul is placed inside an object. This process of splitting and placing the soul creates a Horcrux."
The revelation struck Sirius with a chilling reality, "So, Dumbledore was right when he said that Voldemort isn't completely gone."
Arcturus nodded, "Yes. The sacrifice made by Harry's grandmother should have defeated Voldemort, but it seems this soul anchor kept him connected to our world. Dumbledore likely suspects Voldemort created this anchor."
Harry chimed in, sharing his own experience, "I saw him turn into something ghost-like that night. It was so odd; I thought I had imagined it. Now it looks like he could come back. Dumbledore probably knew more about Voldemort, considering he might have been his teacher."
Sirius wondered, "You might be right, Harry. But if these Horcruxes are so powerful, why don't more dark wizards make them? They'd be happily willing to kill many people for immortality."
Arcturus explained, "Well, there are quite a few reasons why not many wizards choose to make Horcruxes. For starters, Horcruxes don't exactly stop you from dying; instead, they keep your soul tied to the living world, kind of like a ghost. Not many people would want to exist like that, preferring death over such a state. Plus, getting back into a real body from being a ghost is really tough."
He continued, "Also, when you split your soul to make a Horcrux, it messes with your mind and who you are. Your soul is what keeps you thinking straight and being yourself. Look at Voldemort; he went completely mad and evil in the last part of his fight. At first, he might have thought he was protecting other wizards from the threat of muggles, but that idea got twisted, and he ended up causing a lot of harm. His battles almost destroyed the wizarding world, making it weaker than it had been in a very long time."
"Another thing is Horcruxes don't last forever. They can keep you from dying too soon, but when it's naturally time for your soul to move on, you'll die anyway. If Horcruxes worked forever, we'd have a bunch of old Dark Wizards still kicking around. I've heard that in Egypt, they were into making these soul anchors. Treasure hunters often find stuff that might have been Horcruxes, but the souls in them have already died a natural death."
The weight of Arcturus's words hung in the air, marking a moment of sober reflection on the complexities of dark magic and the costs of seeking immortality.
Harry pondered aloud, "I bet Voldemort didn't know everything about Horcruxes. If he did, I can't imagine he'd risk everything for such an uncertain form of immortality. He was able to draw people to him because of his charm and strength. It doesn't make sense for him to throw all that away."
Arcturus nodded, adding, "Information on Horcruxes is highly guarded. It's likely that a young Voldemort stumbled upon partial knowledge and, intrigued by the prospect of living forever, decided to pursue it without fully understanding the consequences."
"Let's set aside that topic for now. We've got something more pressing to address," Arcturus said, turning his attention back to the locket on the table.
Sirius, with determination in his voice, said, "I still can't believe Regulus figured out what this locket was without even seeing it. We shouldn't wait any longer to fulfill his final wish of destroying this locket."
Arcturus paused for a moment, reflecting, "Regulus's actions, turning against Voldemort and rejecting the dark path to sabotage his attempt at immortality, show he was a true Black. He might have even made a worthy Lord Black," he said, a note of pride in his voice.
"As for the locket, yes, we will destroy it, but not in haste. There's something unusual about its size that needs a closer look. I suspect Voldemort did something unprecedented. I ask for your patience, Kreacher. We will proceed with its destruction once I've confirmed my suspicions," he assured them, signaling that they would take action soon.
As Arcturus exited the room, Harry and Sirius were left to process everything they had just learned.
"So, what's the plan now? Are we going to start planning how to redo this place?" Harry asked, trying to shift the mood towards something lighter.
Sirius let out a sigh, looking weary. "Not right now, Harry. My head's still spinning from all that information. But yes, eventually, we will. Kreacher, you're dismissed for now. Feel free to start cleaning up around here if you want. And Kreacher... after Voldemort is truly defeated, I promise to retrieve Regulus's remains from that cave," he said, his voice carrying a newfound respect for the house-elf.
Kreacher, visibly moved by Sirius's promise, gave a small nod before disappearing with a soft pop, presumably to start tidying up the neglected mansion or to attend to his own matters.
Harry, reflecting on the day's events, turned to Sirius. "Your brother was much smarter and braver than you've given him credit for, Padfoot. He figured out Voldemort's true nature on his own and bravely sought to destroy one of his tools for immortality. You, on the other hand, needed a lot of signs before you finally saw through Dumbledore's manipulations."
Sirius, his usual bravado tempered by the day's revelations, simply nodded in agreement. They remained in the house for a while longer, each lost in their own thoughts. Harry was contemplating the possible changes these new revelations could bring to the future, while Sirius was consumed with thoughts of his younger brother, filled with regret for not having reached out to him when he had the chance.
Eventually, they decided it was time to leave and made their way back to Black Castle.
Chapter 52: Chapter 52: “Destroying the Horcrux Part - 1”
The following day brought a serious discussion led by Arcturus about his research on the Horcrux they had found. He looked at Harry and Sirius with a grave expression as he shared his alarming findings.
"After looking into the Horcrux closely, I've come to a disturbing conclusion," Arcturus began, his voice heavy with concern. "It appears Voldemort was reckless enough to create not just one, but several Horcruxes. Based on the size of the soul fragment in this locket, I'm guessing he made more than three. Making even one is dangerous and insane, but he didn't stop there. His soul must be fragmented to an extreme extent by now."
Sirius, clearly worried, chimed in, "So, to truly beat him, we have to find and destroy all these Horcruxes?"
"That's correct. Alternatively, you could capture him and imprison him until his soul eventually perishes," Arcturus confirmed, outlining a daunting task.
Harry, ever curious about strategic advantages, asked, "Wouldn't that just make his followers try even harder to free him? If we did capture him, it would have to be done in secret, with no one knowing where he's held. But what I'm really wondering is whether we can use this Horcrux to help us find the others or figure out how many he made?"
Harry found himself in a difficult position. He knew where Voldemort had hidden the Horcruxes but wasn't sure what to do with that information.
One strategy was to subtly inform Arcturus about where the Horcruxes were hidden. Arcturus could then destroy them, possibly bringing the war to an end before it truly began, and paving the way for a peaceful future. This sounded like the perfect plan.
But, Harry had some worries about going down this path. His main worry was that if he ended the war too soon, the wizarding world would stay pretty much the same. It would still be filled with bad guys like the Death Eaters, and Dumbledore would continue to have too much influence over the Ministry of Magic, all for their own gains. Harry thought about fighting against them using politics, climbing up the ladder to defeat them from within. However, he knew this would be a slow and tough journey, taking years to make any real change happen. Harry felt that a war might be necessary to really clean house at the Ministry, getting rid of Voldemort's followers and reducing Dumbledore's grip on power. Without these big changes, Harry didn't think he had the ability to effect meaningful change in the wizarding world.
Even with these thoughts, Harry wasn't totally against the idea of ending the war quickly. He really wanted to make a name for himself in the wizarding world, to carve out a legacy for himself, but not through covert manipulation akin to Dumbledore's methods.
Still, Harry hesitated to spill the beans about the Horcruxes to Arcturus because of another, deeper fear. He was worried that even if he managed to stop Voldemort now, some twist of fate or the "universe's will" might save Voldemort or bring about a new dark lord, even scarier than the last one. Harry had read this kind of thing happen in many fan fiction and other stories. The idea that a new villain could pop up, stronger than the last, made Harry think twice about trying to change the story.
Ultimately, Harry decided to let things play out as they were supposed to, sticking to the original plot while making small tweaks here and there for his advantage without affecting the overall plot. If things started to go sideways, he'd figure out what to do then and there. By doing this, Harry hoped to steer through the complicated situation without making things worse.
While Harry was going through this crisis in his mind, Arcturus answered Harry's question. "In theory, it might be possible, but there's no precedent for dealing with multiple Horcruxes. No one has ever been foolish enough to split their soul multiple times. The pain of the first time has kept them away from the second. Due to this, we don't have a method to track or link Horcruxes together."
"Should we wait to destroy this locket, then?" Sirius proposed, hoping to find a more strategic use for it.
"No," Arcturus decisively replied. "The risk of keeping it is too great. We don't know if Voldemort can sense or locate his Horcruxes. Having it could attract unwanted attention. Consider how Walburga's mental state rapidly deteriorated; this locket could have been a factor. We can't keep it, nor can we risk hiding it."
"The biggest issue," Arcturus continued, "is that we lack someone with the necessary skills for research and spell creation who we can completely trust. Inventing a spell to track the Horcruxes would require letting someone else in on the secret. That could potentially expose us to Voldemort's followers, who would do anything to protect the Horcrux or use it to bring back their master."
The room fell silent as they understood the complexities and dangers involved in dealing with Voldemort's Horcruxes.
Harry, deep in thought, turned to Arcturus with a question that had been nagging at him. "Would getting rid of this Horcrux make Voldemort weaker?"
Arcturus nodded, affirming Harry's guess. "Yes, it would. Destroying a piece of his soul would impair his magical capabilities, particularly his ability to perform highly complex spells."
This insight shed light on how Harry in the original story managed to beat Voldemort so easily at the end. It also made sense of why Voldemort often resorted to his killing curse during his later battles; his other magical abilities were weakened.
Feeling a strong conviction, Harry said, "We should destroy it then." He couldn't shake off a feeling of discomfort that the locket brought about, suspecting it might be influencing their emotions subtly. "I'm sure we'll track down the other Horcruxes eventually."
Sirius agreed, eager to honor his brother's final wish. "Yes, let's do it. And if hunting down every single Horcrux proves too difficult, we still have the backup plan. Considering the extensive protections around this horcrux, the others are likely just as securely hidden. Knowing where they are is one thing; actually destroying them is another challenge altogether."
As they prepared to destroy the locket, Harry pondered another possibility. "Is destruction the only option? Could we not use the soul piece's energy to strengthen someone else?"
Arcturus considered Harry's idea carefully. "It's possible. There's a spell that could move the soul power from the soul in the locket to a wizard, making their soul stronger. But Harry, you're already pretty strong for your age. Do you really want to make yourself even stronger this way?"
Harry thought about it and said, "Considering Voldemort might come back, I don't think I'm strong enough and may not have much time. Plus, I don't want to miss out on this chance to get stronger. I'm already working on getting physically and magically stronger, but this could be a chance to strengthen my soul, which I can't do on my own."
Arcturus responded, "I see your point, but this spell is still in the testing phase, and I can't let you try it while you're still growing. It's too risky for someone your age."
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
33 Power
stone 
Paragraph comment