Harry hefted the Hellebore, looking from it to his potion and back to it again.
Snape had announced not to put more than a quarter of the plant into their potion.
He'd been very explicit about how upset he would be if someone messed up with their measurements. Harry had seen Snape stare straight into his eyes and got the message.
' I hope. Unless he was trying to tell me to mess up with something else, and that this could be too dangerous'
He looked back at his potion. It was simmering along beautifully, a wonderful lilac color. Exactly as the book described.
' Here goes nothing'
He nodded at Draco.
The pale boy swallowed and took a step back.
He threw the whole Hellebore into his potion.
Immediately it started bubbling like crazy, the foam building up and up until it began to tower over his cauldron.
"Professor!" He called out, trying to sound scared, "my potion, it's-"
Snape turned around from where he'd been criticizing Longbottom's attempt, and a look of shock crossed his face in a flash as he took in the scene.
He managed to cast some type of shield just instants before the potion exploded.
Whatever the shield was that Snape had cast, it was pretty cool.
It formed, totally invisible, in a circle around the cauldron. It could only even be made out from where the potion had splattered against it.
He was torn away from watching the brown sludge-like liquid slide down invisible walls when Snape rounded on him.
"Potter!" He snarled. "How much Hellebore did you put in the potion?!"
"Uh," Harry said, sounding sheepish and scratching the back of his neck, "the whole thing"
"The whole thing"
Everyone in the dungeon classroom fell silent at Snape's words and tone. It was a rare thing for him to criticize a Slytherin in public, and in Potions? It practically never happened.
"Tell me, are you incapable of following simple instructions?"
Even though he knew this was all a part he had to play, that Snape had to make it seem realistic, he still felt fury begin to build up inside him.
"No" he muttered, staring at the floor.
"No? So why did you put the whole Hellebore? I distinctly remember saying to put no more than a quarter. I believe I emphasized it quite strongly"
"I forgot"
"Well then. Perhaps you'll prove capable of following instructions in detention. My office, after dinner tonight. Now clean this up"
Harry nodded, and Snape turned away.
"Well? What are you all looking at? Have all of you completed your Potions?"
"So, how does it feel?"
"How does what feel?" Harry asked, swallowing his pumpkin juice.
"Making history!"
Blaise just smiled at his quizzical look.
"You're the first Slytherin in six years to get a detention for something they did in Potions. Hell, Crabbe, Goyle, and Eric have all managed. Fine, none of them have had quite so spectacular a-"
"Feels marvelous," he said airily, as he stood up and finished his glass, "always one for firsts, I am"
"Good luck!" Daphne said, giving his hand a squeeze.
"I'll be fine. He's just gonna make me redo the potion"
' And I'll get to meet family' he managed to hold in his laughter as he walked out of the Great Hall.
"You are prepared?" Snape asked.
"Yeah. I mean, I'm just taking a floo trip. And then going with Him wherever we go"
Snape nodded. Just before Harry stepped into the fire though, he called him.
"Harry"
He half-turned.
"Give my regards to Petunia"
"Who-"
"Your aunt. Tell her Severus Snape told you to say hello"
Thoroughly confused, Harry just muttered "ok, sure. Whatever. Malfoy Manor!"
He stepped into the swirling flames.
He stepped out of the fire in Malfoy Manor, to find the Dark Lord sitting calmly, waiting for him.
"Excellent, Harry. You are here quite punctually"
"Thank you, my lord," Harry said, removing the dust from his robes with a wave of his wand and a thought of ' evanesco'
"Before we embark on our mission, I have something I wish for you to do"
"Of course"
"Here"
A hand-held mirror floated from beside the Dark Lord, coming to rest directly in Harry's hand.
It was no ordinary mirror, that much he could tell from a glance.
The glass seemed to bend, shifting through shapes and patterns that blinked out the second he began to make them out. The frame of it as well was strange, with dozens, no, hundreds of weird runes carved into it, their shapes combining to form larger runes, which themselves were all arranged in spirals around the mirror. And as he watched, the runes seemed to be shifting, organizing themselves into different patterns, some of the runes fading out of sight and being replaced by other, totally different markings.
And Harry didn't recognize any of them.
"What-what is this, my lord?"
When he answered, there seemed to be a note of wry amusement in the Dark Lord's tone.
"It is a most unique artifact, dating back to well before the founders of Hogwarts"
He almost dropped the mirror at those words.
' Holy shit. It's-it's over a thousand years old!'
It suddenly felt a lot heavier than it had moments before.
"I want you to look into it" The Dark Lord continued, either ignoring or not noticing his discomfort. "And then, I would like to perform legilemency on you, to see what exactly it is you saw in the mirror. Descriptions are not enough, I am afraid. It is something that can only be understood from seeing it"
"I-if that is what you want, I will, my lord"
"Excellent. I will explain everything once I have seen what exactly it is that you see"
Totally unsure of himself, Harry raised the mirror with only a slight shake in his hands.
He saw what it showed him, and gasped, understanding why the Dark Lord had said that what he saw could not be explained.
His first, frantic thought was that he was looking at a chessboard that stretched through eternity.
After a few seconds though, he realized that it was absolutely nothing like anything he had ever seen in his life.
Though it looked like hundreds, thousands of squares, none of them were of different colors, and even though they were all clearly separate from each other, they were at the very same time one piece.
There seemed to be a shadow of another giant square, hanging over whatever the thing was. But as he looked, he saw that they were really tied together, seeming to melt into one giant amalgamation.
Whatever this weird thing was, he was entranced.
He stared, seeing how cracks seemed to run through it, bisecting it into many parts. He saw flashes of gold, blinking around. And when he focused on what seemed to be individual squares, he could swear he saw flashes of memories from his point of view, not like he was watching them in a Pensieve.
But… they weren't all his memories.
In one of the squares, he could see Dumbledore telling him that he was a wizard. And in the square next to that he saw almost the exact same scene. But that Dumbledore was a lot younger, and that Dumbledore wasn't calling him Harry.
He was calling him Tom.
' What the absolute fuck'
He saw the Dark Lord standing by him as he burnt down his orphanage. And from the square next to it, he saw a different orphanage burning.
He saw himself and Daphne, the night of her initiation. And the square next to it showed someone, someone he couldn't recognize, writhing under a Crucio.
He saw Joseph dying, and he saw two kids in a cave, shaking in fear and pain.
He saw Mr. Roberts, pulling off his belt, and-
He dropped the mirror.
It hung in mid-air.
"Harry"
He looked around the room wildly, drawing his wand.
"Harry. Lower your wand, now"
It took a few seconds for him to place the words, for him to place himself.
When he did, he hurriedly dropped his arm.
"I-I'm sorry, I was-"
"It is understandable. I am told the mirror can be… a shocking experience"
He just nodded, sweat dripping down his brow.
"Are you up for legilemency to be performed upon you?"
He looked up, saw the mirror floating back to where it had come from.
"I-yeah"
"Look into my eyes. Do not attempt to fight me"
"I won't" he whispered and stared into the Dark Lord's fiery gaze.
Immediately, everything he had seen in the mirror played in his mind, as if it was a video.
He could feel his lord's presence in his mind, could feel the pressure mounting. His head felt like it was going to burst.
And then it was over.
"Interesting" The Dark Lord murmured, staring into space, "very interesting"
"What- what was that?"
"Come. Walk with me. We will apparate from the boundary of their wards. I will tell you on the way"
As Harry rose, his lord's wand flashed, moving through motions of what Harry was sure were privacy and anti-eavesdropping charms.
"What you saw, Harry. That was your soul"
' What'
Noticing Harry's flabbergasted expression, Voldemort continued. "Indeed. That mirror is a one of a kind. Even I do not know how to replicate it. And after the centuries of study, no-one has managed. It shows a representation of your soul"
They walked in silence for a few minutes, down the large spiral staircase. As they walked, it began to make a bit of sense, the things he had seen. His heart slowed its frenetic beating.
"But not-not all the memories I saw were mine? What-why was it so important that I see that? And that-that-"
"That I saw what you had seen?" Voldemort asked.
"Yeah"
"That is an interesting, and I believe a unique tale. And it is a large part of what Dumbledore is aiming to teach you, with his lessons of my life and family history"
Voldemort looked closely at Harry.
"I was your age when I discovered this specific type of magic," he said quietly, "but throughout history, few, if any, have mastered it as I have. Tell me, Harry. Does the word Horcrux mean anything to you?"
"No. What does it mean?"
Voldemort whispered "it means immortality"
"Tell me, Harry" he continued in s more regular tone of voice. "You noticed the lines running through your soul?"
He nodded.
"When one wields the ultimate power. When you take a life, those lines, those fractures, and cracks in the soul appear. No longer can the soul remain pure and unvarnished, not once murder has been committed"
He looked up sharply, horror spreading on his face.
' Oh fuck. What have I done to myself? My-my soul?'
"This may seem horrific to you. But why should it? The soul is yours. Yours to do with what you will. Besides, a fractured soul gives far more benefits than a whole one"
"Like what?" Harry said, whispering himself.
The Dark Lord stopped walking suddenly.
"We will apparate from here shortly. When a soul is fractured, a piece can be removed from the whole. And it can be placed in a… container if you will. And as long as the container is not destroyed, the person who created it cannot die. As long as one piece of a soul remains on this earth, the rest of it is tethered to life. That container, Harry, is called a Horcrux"
Understanding flooded Harry, and in a small, shocked voice he said "the ring"
A snarl twisted the Dark Lord's face.
"Precisely. The ring was one of my Horcruxes"
"One of-"
"I made several. And I made one by accident"
' So he really can't die. Even though Dumbledore destroyed the ring, he can still live forever. Holy shit'
It was probably the most impressive thing Harry had ever heard.
Right then, something the Dark Lord had asked Harry to do occurred to him.
"The-the Diadem?"
Voldemort nodded. "I hope you are aware, Harry, of just how much trust I have placed in you. Not a single other person knows of my Horcruxes, not truly. No-one other than you"
"Th-thank you, my lord, I-"
"Tell me. Whose memories did you see in your soul, other than your own?"
He swallowed loudly. The obvious answer had occurred to him moments after he had escaped the mirror.
"Yours"
"Precisely. As I said, I made an additional Horcrux by accident. You, Harry. You are one of my Horcruxes"
Harry's mind just blanked.
' No. What. How'
"When I cast the killing curse on you and your mothers sacrifice blocked it, it rebounded off of you and hit me. And my soul was torn from my body. But a fraction of my soul lodged itself in you. And that is how you have the gift of Parseltongue, that may very well be why you have such a talent with regards to the Dark Arts"
' Holy. Fucking. Shit'
"As long as you live, Harry Potter, so do I. And I fear that Dumbledore knows this"
"He-but he'll kill me!"
"He can try. But he will not do so anyway, not yet. If I know anything about Dumbledore, he will wait until he has done as much damage to my other Horcruxes as he possibly could. But even so, there is a risk"
Harry couldn't think, not really. His entire world had just shifted.
"However. By the end of this year, we will kill Dumbledore. You will kill Dumbledore"
"But-how? He's-he's so-"
Voldemort nodded. "Yes. He is rather powerful. But I will set a trap for him, to weaken him. And he will return to Hogwarts in a severely weakened state, to find an ambush waiting for him. Once the cabinet is repaired, at least"
"It-it is paired with the one in Borgin and Burke's?"
"Yes. But we will discuss this all closer to the time, once you have repaired the cabinet. For now, I want you to be aware of this. I want you to know how much a threat Dumbledore may very well be if he knows what you are"
"I-I will be careful. I'll make sure-"
"Harry. Breathe. Breathe"
He did so, taking huge gulps of air.
Slowly, he started calming down.
' Ok. So I have a piece of the Dark Lord's soul inside me. Ok. Dumbledore will probably kill me at some point if I don't get him first. Ok. It's going to be ok'
"Relax. I understand this is a most stressful piece of information, but it is one that is vital for you to know"
He nodded.
"Now, at some point, once Dumbledore is dead, you should make your own Horcrux. Until seeing what you saw in the mirror, I was not sure that you would be capable of it. I worried that the presence of my soul would disrupt the ritual. But it will not"
' Holy shit. I can-I can live forever'
"I- I would love to, my lord. Can-can Daphne make one for herself, as well?"
Voldemort frowned. "Yes. But you will not tell her of my Horcruxes. You will not tell her of what you are"
He shook his head frantically. "No-I w-"
"Understand this, Harry. I am trusting you to tell no-one. I could make you swear an Unbreakable Vow, I could bind the very knowledge to your brain to the point where even if you tried to tell, you would find yourself experiencing pain a thousand times worse than the Cruciatus. But I will not do so. I am trusting you to tell no-one. Anyone who is told of this will die. Not as a punishment, but simply to ensure the knowledge does not spread. Your punishment would be far, far worse"
He gulped. "I won't"
"I know. But I must make sure you understand the possible consequences"
The Dark Lord stared at him for a moment, before nodding and continuing to speak.
"You will be staying with Black over Christmas break?"
"I- I was planning on just staying at Hogwarts, but-"
"Go to Black. I have reason to suspect that one of my Horcruxes is in his house. It is the ancestral house of Black, is it not?"
"It-it is"
' How the fuck did one end up there?'
"There is a House-elf there? I believe its name was Kreacher"
"Yes. Sirius says they've had it since he was a kid"
"Ask the elf. It is possible that Regulus" Voldemort spat that name, "gave it to the elf to destroy. Ask it, and kill it if need be. Inform me the very instant you have it in your custody. Bellatrix will come and collect it"
"But-the house, it's under the Fidelius, and Dumbledore's-"
"Bella has a way in. A Portkey, one that makes use of Blood Magic. The Fidelius will not stop such a thing from working. Find the locket, dispose of the elf, and find out when the house will be empty. Bella will come"
"I- I'll make sure of it"
"Good. Understand me well, Harry. You are my Horcrux, and so I will protect you with every ounce of magical ability I possess. But even were you not, you have sworn to me. You have shown such promise in my service. I promise you when the war is won you will command power and respect second only to me"
"Thank you, my lord"
"Now. Let us pay a visit to your family"
If someone had been standing on the corner of Privet Drive that evening, they would have witnessed a very strange event.
A loud crack split the air, coming for no perceivable source. Seconds later, the air on the street seemed to grow heavier. And this theoretical watcher would have found that their eyes would begin to simply slide over the pretty little house at number four, and so they would not have noticed the door opening and closing, allowing two invisible figures entry into the sanctuary of normalcy.
Harry followed the Dark Lord into the house, his mind still reeling with everything he had been told. He instinctively stopped when he heard a voice call from the kitchen.
"Dudders? You expecting anyone?"
A few seconds later, a reply came, from what seemed to be the sitting room.
"No, mum"
And then a woman walked out of the kitchen and stopped at the doorway.
Harry had a moment to stare at her, to see what his aunt looked like.
She was thin, all spindly limbs and scrawny bones. She stood there, staring back at him for a moment, her mouth forming a perfect o of shock, her hands clasped to the apron over her abdomen.
"Potter?" She whispered. "Harry?"
Rage flooded him.
' Fucking bitch! I should have grown up in a house like this, not in that fucking Hell!'
"Where are the rest of the lovely family?" The Dark Lord asked, cold jog bubbling up under his voice.
"In the lounge" she whispered back, not moving her eyes from Harry's own.
"Let's go see them," Harry said. "A nice family reunion"
"You-what are you doing here? We said we wanted nothing to do-"
Harry raised his wand, pointing it directly at her. From the way she paled and her eyes widened, she knew what it was.
' I'll bet she doesn't know what it can do though. She will. Oh, she fucking will all right'
"I said. Let's go see them, bitch. Lead the way"
"You-you can't," she said coloring.
From the direction of the lounge came a call.
"Pet? Who're you talking to?"
"Not out of school" she continued, ignoring the voice. "There are rules, I know, and-"
' Enough'
He was about to cast something, to make her scream loud enough for the whole neighborhood to come running when his Lord spoke again.
"You will find, that Harry can and will do whatever he wishes. Now, lead the way" He raised his own wand.
Finally, she turned and started walking towards what Harry supposed was the lounge.
They followed her in, to find two extremely fat people sitting on the couch watching the telly.
The one with the large, walrus mustache was probably her husband, Harry decided. Which meant the other one was her son.
' How did he not crush her when they fucked?'
"Vernon" she whispered, as they walked into the room.
He turned his head and immediately went perfectly still.
"What-what are you doing in my house?" He said, obviously trying to sound imposing.
The Dark Lord just laughed.
"Whatever Harry wishes. It is his night, as they say. Although, we only have slightly over an hour. So you should start already"
"Start what?" The kid asked, but Harry was already pointing his wand at him.
"Crucio" He whispered lovingly.
The boy's screams shook the house.
The mother started shrieking immediately, while the father went stock-still. After a few seconds though, he stood up, bellowing in rage, and charged at Harry.
Harry didn't notice. He was far too engrossed in the spell.
The Dark Lord, however, did notice.
Harry's reverie was broken by a loud crash. He looked up, sadly dropping the spell, to see that the man had been thrown back into a wall.
He lay on the floor, rubbing his head and scowling up at them.
"Get out of my house!" He screamed, or at least, tried to. "Leave us in peace!"
"Why should I?" Harry asked quietly.
"Your mother-" his aunt began.
"Is dead. And I never knew her. And I don't know you. Maybe if I hadn't grown up in that fucking shithole you dropped me off at-"
"Why should we have taken you in?! You were dropped on our doorstep-"
"And why should I show you mercy?" He roared back. He turned his wand on their son again.
"No. Please, no more!"
"I'll stop when you ask me to kill you"
His aunt shrieked at that.
He turned towards her and grinned. "Actually, I'll stop when your mother begs me to kill you. How does that sound?"
His uncle made a sound, something like a hippopotamus would make.
Laughing, Harry aimed at him.
"Parzala Degarmi," he said, wand pointed at the man's right leg.
Vernon shrieked the curse shattered the bones in his leg.
Harry repeated it, pointing at his left leg.
He spun around again, aiming his wand at his aunt.
"Severus Snape sends his regards"
He was about to Crucio the son again, when he made out something she was repeating through her sobs.
"How can you do this to us?"
"How could you just leave me at that place? I'm your blood!"
"Crucio!"
After what felt like hours, something she was shrieking made it through the ecstasy.
He dropped the spell, aware he was panting and that he had a throbbing erection.
"STOP IT!"
The boy rolled on the floor, vomiting, and sobbing. He had coughed up blood along with his sick and was rolling around in it.
"I told you when I'm going to stop. Only when you beg"
He heard a scratching noise and spun around again.
His mouth dropped open.
"Holy shit. He's persistent, isn't he?"
"Indeed. You should probably end it before it causes you any issues"
Harry smiled and pointed his wand at his uncle, who by now, was halfway across the room, dragging himself forward by his hands, his useless legs trailing behind him.
A quick levitation and a drop, and the man was on his back.
"STOP IT!"
He ignored his aunt.
"Intestinus Erupto!"
Vernon's stomach burst outward, his intestines flailing as they shot away from his body before dropping to the ground with a splat.
The room was drenched with blood, and Harry laughed as he rubbed it out of his eyes.
His aunt just stared, looking from her husband's corpse back to him.
"What are you?" She whispered.
"What you made me into. Crucio!"
He felt it, the instant the fat boy's mind broke. Suddenly and without warning, the pleasure stopped. The spell was still going, he could tell that much. But he just wasn't feeling it anymore.
He looked down at the boy, noting his rolling eyes and drooling mouth.
"I think I broke him" he announced, before ending the spell.
"Good enough. End her as well. We don't have much time left here"
He turned to his aunt. She sat huddled in the corner, hands on her chest, weeping quietly.
At some point though, she had scratched long furrows down her face.
She looked up at him.
"Severus Snape showed me this spell," he said speaking directly to her. "Sectumsempra!"
Large cuts appeared over her chest, spurting blood onto the floor.
She gave a little sigh, and collapsed forward, as the blood pooled over the floor.
"Is there any way they'll be able to tell I did it? From the kid, I mean?"
The Dark Lord looked at the boy, watched as drool made its way down his cheek.
"Possibly"
"Avada Kedavra," Harry said.
And even though Dudley Dursley's mind had been broken, his death still gave off pleasure.
"We must leave in a few minutes. Hold still"
Voldemort waved his wand in Harry's direction, and all the blood and viscera that had coated him flew off.
"Wow," He said, looking down.
He looked around the room and giggled.
"Before we return to the Malfoys, I must leave a message. They must think that I am hunting you"
Blood splattered onto the wall.
They walked outside, pausing for a moment so Voldemort could cast the Dark Mark above the house before they apparated to the Malfoy's.
On the wall of the lounge, the Dursleys' blood dried.
" Harry Potter. Soon you will share their fate"