8. Horcruxes

Harry inspected the three adults.

The man was the current head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, with all the capitals where its due because that's how it worked, Arcturus Black the third. According to Draco. He's supposedly 90 years old, but looked at his prime of 50, though if Harry was more observant he could see the man's eyes were weary, with grey once black wavy hair and blue-grey eyes in a stormy night. 

The two women must be Cassiopeia Black, Arcturus' cousin who didn't married nor gave birth, or did it out of wedlock, and either Lucretia Prewett née Black, Arcturus' daughter, or Callidora Longbottom née Black, another of Arcturus' cousin, as they were the only living members of the family. Still according to Draco. And it couldn't be Narcissa Malfoy née Black, because both women didn't match the description Draco gave of his mother, blond and blue-eyed, they were both brunette although on different salt and pepper spectrum with grey eyes.

And then there's a dog. That looked suspiciously like a wolf by how massive it was.

Harry squinted at it but ultimately ignored it, thinking the Blacks wouldn't appreciate him not paying attention to great name like them when they made the trip for him.

"What can I do for you?"

"Actually not much, we only asked for you to have a reason to drop by Hogwarts. But we suppose we could give you our thanks for clearing one of us' name. We may be known as mad thanks to the inbreeding, we're not all scum with no dignity and value of how it could stain our name."

Harry blinked and eventually nodded when neither of them looked like to be joking. It could also be proof of their madness but it's not like he could anything against it, safe sic his obscurus on them.

"So, are you doing at Hogwarts?"

"Looking for a founder's heirloom," one of the women answered.

Harry hesitated if he could ask for her identity or if he would be too rude. Then again, they weren't there for him, meaning he didn't have any reason to get to know them more. But the subject was quite interesting.

"Which one?"

"Rowena Ravenclaw."

"Her diadem. Do you have any idea where to look for?"

"Not really, we were counting on our elf's magic to do the work, but he is taking a little too long."

"Well, the castle's also magic, maybe their magic counter each other. Not that I know elf's magic. I can offer you to talk to Helena Ravenclaw if you'd like."

The adults looked stunned for a moment before recovering quickly. They did seem to care about appearance and Harry's even surprised they could show emotions.

"I wasn't aware the founder had a daughter."

"It's probably wasn't your area of interest. Besides, the line died with Helena, she told me herself."

"Are you saying she came back as spirit?"

"Yeah, well, she's literally Ravenclaw's ghost. And the Grey Lady was killed by the Bloody Baron himself, but keep it to yourself, she only told me that because I was curious about her mother's heirloom and she said that the 'lost diadem' was lost only because she stole it and hid it in the Albania Forest but someone else had retrieve it, though she never mentioned it was brought back to Hogwarts so I'm curious to know where you get that information."

A silence hang between them for a moment before the youngest of the woman let out a sigh. "Right, I forgot you've been sorted to Ravenclaw."

"Wow, I'm so popular that the wizarding world knew what house I've been sorted."

"Of course, you are. How do you think we knew about you being the one who cleared out Sirius' name? Of course, we had the testimony of aurors Shacklebolt and Savage that took Pettigrew's custody under the savior's monitoring eyes, but any of your little accomplishment are published on the news."

Funny how that countered the idle talk of the students who were convinced Harry was taken care by Pettigrew while the magic community knew the truth. He wondered how they got all the facts, though, does that mean there's a snitch between Hogwarts walls? Maybe mister Filch, man looked the type to work for external link as he didn't seem to be paid enough. 

"I keep telling myself to subcrib to the Daily Prophet or at least any newspaper, but it's such a fleeting thing it kept slipping out of my mind."

"How can you not keep up with the news? Did you live under a rock?"

"That's the closest wild guest one could make! I did, in fact, the rock just called muggle world."

As expected, they all pulled a distasteful face.

"The Potters were known to be pro-muggle but this is a little too much. So you were estranged of your magical heritage?"

"Better! I'm an Obscurial."

Again, they were shaken by his words. The dog barked violently and Harry thought it was going to assault him when it was stopped by the youngest woman.

"Quiet, Snuffle!"

"What did those muggle did to you?" The other woman whispered, appaled.

"Nothing, really. Just telling me I'm normal and not a freak like my dead parents. Though, considering the fact I will die young due to the parasistical dark magic, I am like them."

"No, you won't die young like the others Obscurials."

Everyone turned to the man, Arcturus, who was staring thoughtfully at him, or more like at his scar that Harry uncovered in the meantime.

"Well, I wasn't intending to tell any of our plan, but you are actually concerned. We have good reasons to believe the diadem is back at Hogwarts because, as you know, someone went to retrieve it from Albania, and this person is none other than Tom Riddle junior, also known as Voldemort, the murderer of your parents and the terror of Great Britain for two decades before you're born."

"Oh, the Grey Lady must have known his true identity as she looked livid when retelling me the story, I mean more livid than a ghost could be."

"Even ghosts keep up with the news."

"I mean if I'm going to die in the near future..."

"I'm telling you you're not. And the reason is because Tom Riddle made you and the diadem horcruxes."

Now, even his companies were shocked at this. The dog had his jaw slaken and tongue in the air. After a moment of silence, Harry nodded, pretending to know what horcrux were. While he used to get mad and frustrated not to know anything, he started to get unconcerned the more he realized how short his life will be. So, anyway...

"You're reacting as if you know what horcruxes were, but I'm feeling magnanimous and will explain to you. Horcrux are usually artefact made to render the caster immortal. It consisted of splitting one's soul by doing the horrible deed of killing and putting said piece of soul in the object so even vanquished they had a way to came back to life. And Tom Riddle did it five times. Six with you being unintentional as his killing curse bounced on your protection ritual made by your late mother and back to him. Because he had previously killed your parents, he created a horcrux, though unknowingly and his piece of soul settle on you for whatever reason."

Again, a moment of silence.

"That's wicked, so my body's actually cohabitating with the last dark wizard of Great Britain?"

"You're really calm about it."

"I'm actually in so much shock the tumult is manifesting in my Obscurus, right above us, but since you're all not reacting, I figured I should stay as calm."

Indeed, the wind had raised and tormenting their hair, with the dog's fur ruffled making it look like a furball. And since the Blacks were dark arts enthusiast, Harry's pretty sure they would be less akin to calm him down like the professors tried and failed so he hold onto his feelings the chaos inside him. A sudden pop definitely calmed him down due how distracting it was.

"Masters and mistresses, Kreacher found it."

"Is that a house elf? First time seeing it, can I assume that all those enlisted at Hogwarts looked like this?"

Hopefully not including the glare and screech Kreacher gave him. Harry took a step back, readying himself in case the creature assaulted him and infected him of whatever bacteries he's carrying due to his poor hygiene.

"Most house elves looked like this, Kreacher is just a little aged and crazed from taking care of some member of the Black family," the eldest woman said casually.

Arcturus ignored them to look at the diadem in the elf's hand who said having found it in the go and come room as the other elves called it, whatever that meant. But too close of the dark artefact made him lose energy and stumbled, only managing to keep on his feet thanks to his cane.

"Well, father, I think it's about time for us to leave and get rid of all those filthy things," the youngest woman, Lucretia, muttered.

"How are you going to get rid of them?"

"Not that you will be able to do anything but we shall burnt them with the fiendfyre curse, which deadly flames could destroy anything."

"So you're going to destroy thousand years old heirloom because of a mere soul that infected it? What about me, gonna burnt me to crisp too?"

"Didn't Arcturus said it already?" The other woman, Cassiopeia Black, retorted rolling her eyes. "The horcrux's keeping you alive from your unfortunate circumstance, which could be cured if you feel like belonging, so you better keep it with you. Now, let's part here, what if he seized the opportunity to regenerate here because of all those soul pieces together."

The three made way to the road the carriages are pulled but Harry wasn't finished.

"Then, what? Wait for the murderer of my parents to come back and kill me for real? And what if I feel like belonging with you?"

"We just met. It's not because your godfather was a Black, that we should feel any obligation to you."

"I don't care about Sirius Black, the man who abandoned me and got stupidly condemned for something he didn't do."

The dog who was watching them argue whimpered, as if empathic enough to know the conversation will devolve rapidly.

"You're the only adults who told me everything and aren't walking on eggs around me in spite of knowing me being an Obscurial. Can't you consider taking me with you?"

"You just saw the patriarch fell due to weak health, do you really think we're going to, like, adopt you? A half-blood like you?"

"I can give you the elixir of life if all it takes is to extend the head's life!"

"What the bloody hell did you say?"

"Well, the ghosts are quite the gossipers and they could travel through walls to know any secrets hidden in some basement. It just happen that one discovered that the third-floor corridor hide the Philosopher's stone made by Nicholas Flamel himself."

"So Tom Riddle is already on the work to come back. First by breaking into Gringotts as the stone was kept there during summer, now using a mountain troll as distraction to introduce into Hogwarts."

Wow, having connections sure is handy. Or maybe it's thanks to the elf's spying?

"And if not the elixir of life, maybe you can consume unicorn's blood? I read it could keep a person alive."

"You sure have questionnable reading. And do you want to curse our head on top of having to deal with you?" 

"What more can I trade? I'm the Potter heir! My Gringott's vault is full of gold, if not adopting me, I can still be part of you by merging our two names! I heard the Potter name still hold political power!"

"Your source is wrong, they don't even have a place in the Wizengamot anymore. And we do not lack gold after the trial."

Harry was ready to fire another argument, like the Black did not have a male heir to keep the Black line going, but Arcturus raised his hand and everyone shut up.

"You did raise a point. It would be too bad to get rid of those precious heirlooms, some did come from the tenth century. Actually, I did start to have some second-thought about getting rid of it and Tom Riddle himself."

"Father! What are you saying! Did you actually lose your mind?"

"Lucretia, watch your mouth. And Cassiopeia, you shall agree with me that it would be pitiful to let the Gaunt line die like this. I mean, it hold two of the most amazing wizards, Salazar Slytherin and Cadmus Peverell."

"Peverell? The same from the tale of the three brothers by Beedle the Bard? About the wand, stone and invisibility cloak? Voldemort is a descendant?"

"Indeed, the purity maintained for so long since tenth century, almost as long as the Black house who was in France at this time, but it got spoiled by muggle blood."

"Well, innovation was the only way to save from inbreeding."

"Didn't do much, as he wanted to get rid of those with the same blood statue as him. Can't believe he terrorised half-blood and mugblood alike while he wasn't pure himself."

"That may be so, but Lucretia, you said it yourself. He was a bright boy, charming even, and could have changed the world if he didn't let himself go adrift."

Harry nodded. "The Grey Lady said he was clever and could empathetize with her. Maybe if we reason him and give him what he want but in legal way, he could turn a new leaf."

"Considering he created Horcruxes, he wanted immortality. And with how his reign of blood supremacist while subjugating muggles, it could mean that he wanted to rule, over wizards and none alike?"

"To be fair, he never went and tormented muggles by himself so let's pretend he didn't want anything from them. He wanted immortality, which could be possible by consuming either the elixir of life or unicorn blood, but the best is to have him sane and functional so he could be elected as minister."

"You want him to govern us?"

"Look at this side, Lucretia. Cornelius Fudge is a joke, an old man who don't do shit and that's conceit in his position because his subordinates could manipulate him, look at this toad Umbridge or this scummy Malfoy. If we manage to reason with Tom Riddle, we shall make an agreement with him to give him what he wants and he changed the world for better."

After another long silence, Cassiopeia spoke first. "And how do we do that? On the basis that we do manage to reason with him, wherever he is right now, how do we give him a way to immortality?"

"You saw what happen with Regulus."

"We rejuvenate him?"

"Precisely. If his horcrux could possess a human, and we have a living proof with us, that meant there's chance that we can put his assembled soul pieces into a body. Young, preferably."

"That's sick, even for dark arts enthusiasts like us. Where do you find a body that could and will be his receptacle?"

"We choose one. Like, this frog Umbridge, we made her be kissed, leaving a soulless body and placed Tom Riddle inside."

"You're crazy if you think it will make him willing to listen to us."

"But it's not a crazy way to work? You can render someone soulless with a kiss and force another soul inside the corpse?"

"A piece of his soul was forced inside your body, didn't it? And dementor's kiss means it steal your soul. Great, now, I had to cast a patronus charm."

"What's that?" Harry asked and sighed when the adults looked at him as if remembering they had a serious conversation just before him. "Fine, don't tell me, I will teach myself, not the first time I will practice an advanced spell. After all, I was the one who cast a homorphus charm on Pettigrew."

"Then why don't you cast it again? For fun."

Harry laid his gaze on the dog Lucretia Prewitt was showing and pulled out his wand. But before he cast the spell or the dog bolt to avoid it, he clicked his tongue, looking annoyingly at the woman.

"I know it's an animagus, and probably the godfather I just denied. If you despise the idea of me being a Black so much, I won't insist again, but will you please let speak to Tom Riddle once the, I don't know, ritual is done? I'd like to ask him something."

"Of course, I mean you also have one piece of his soul with you. Did you never feel something?"

"Now that we're talking about it. I think his main soul must be at Hogwarts, I remember my scar hurting me at the start-of-term feast when I met eyes with a professor. Not sure which one, unfortunately."

"How could you forget."

"I mean, my scar would usually itch so I didn't pay much attention. How could I have known that it was because I was a horcrux?"

"Point. Then, let's keep contact. We'll find the suitable body while you're look for the main body he's possessing right now. Once done, we will perform the ritual at Little Hangleton, where the Gaunt's shack is as it's an empty place."

"But what about your health, gramps?"

"Don't. We deal by our own. See you shortly, mister Potter."

"Please call me Harry," he called on them pitifully.

They didn't spare him an answer.

Well, anyway, Harry's going to be busy. He had to seek for Kevin's assistance to learn this patronus charm.

Oh, and he had to prepare for his first Quidditch match. Hopefully it will hint him on Voldemort's current receptacle.