"Why has your father's name been blasted away?" asked Dylan curiously.
"Walburga thought it was a shame that the pureblood scion of one of the oldest families in the country had married a Muggle-born and that such a blood-traitor should not be on the family tree of the House of Black," commented Harry, tracing his fingers over the name. "She blasted her own son from the tree when he ran away, even if it was to the house of her own cousin, so it is hardly surprising that she blasted my father's name too. Besides, this is just a copy; the original family tree can be seen at Black Castle."
"Bellatrix Black," muttered Dylan, as it connected to Rodolphus Lestrange.
"You won't find your father's name here," said Harry quietly. "This tree only shows members of the Black family and their spouses and children; that's why I'm not here as well. Rabastan did not marry into the Black family."
Suddenly, Harry stopped talking as he turned towards the door which had opened marginally.
"- what would she say to old Kreacher, oh the shame of it, Mudbloods and werewolves and traitors and thieves, poor old Kreacher, what can he do…"
"Hello, Kreacher," said Harry very loudly, closing the door with a snap. The house-elf froze in his tracks, stopped muttering, and then gave a very pronounced and very unconvincing start of surprise.
"Master Harry," bowed the elf, his face nearly touching the ground. "- nasty half-blood he is too, managed to convince Kreacher's mistress of his blood-status by feeding her lies, but Kreacher knows; Kreacher knows the truth that filthy Master's godson is nothing but scum; a disgrace to the House of Black that he was once the heir…"
"Where have you been, Kreacher? I have been calling for you all day. We need to talk."
"Kreacher was cleaning," said the elf as he removed an old rag.
"A likely story," Harry said sarcastically, his eye twitching in annoyance. "The House of Black is getting blacker every day; it's filthy! Come with me."
"Master Harry likes to joke," Kreacher muttered under his breath. "- filthy half-blood thinks he can order Kreacher about, what would mistress say?"
Hermione was glaring heatedly at the door from where Harry, Dylan and Kreacher had disappeared. She didn't care what nonsense he had spouted. As far as she was concerned, there was no one who supported the pureblood agenda than one Harry Potter. What was worse was that he always managed to make it sound like it had nothing to do with blood-purity at all!
8
"What can Kreacher do for Master?" croaked the elf.
"You can start by telling me everything you know about the locket of Salazar Slytherin; the locket which Regulus stole from Voldemort; the locket which was in the cave where Voldemort made you drink that potion," said Harry, observing the elf's reaction.
Kreacher's eyes widened as he began thrashing about to punish himself. "No! Kreacher failed in his orders! Kreacher failed to obey Master Regulus!"
"Kreacher, stop!" Harry shouted, shocked by the elf's reaction; with a flick of his wand, he bound the elf so that he wouldn't hurt himself. "Now, tell me exactly what happened to Regulus. First, how did you escape the Inferi?"
Not having a choice, Kreacher revealed everything; how he had escaped from the cave, how Regulus had been worried, to taking Regulus to the cave, to Regulus drinking the potion himself and sacrificing his life and finally, ordering Kreacher to destroy the locket by any means necessary.
Harry was astounded by Regulus' bravery and self-sacrifice, not to mention the elf's loyalty to his master. "It looks like the House of Black produced more than one brave son," he whispered, humbled by Regulus' actions. "May Mother Magic bless your soul to find purpose again, Uncle Regulus."
"Kreacher, do you have the locket with you?" When the elf nodded hesitantly, he said, "Good, bring it here. I'll destroy it right in front of you so that you can confirm it yourself."
"Master can destroy the locket?" asked Kreacher looking hopeful. He disappeared with a crack and came back with a large golden locket with emeralds encrusted on the front in a serpentine shape. Harry levitated the locket to the ground and cast several protection charms around himself and the Horcrux.
"Dylan, step back," Harry ordered. Pointing his wand at the locket, he hissed, " Open!"
The locket opened in metallic click and dark, handsome eyes looked up at Harry. " I have seen your heart, and it is mine."
" Avada Kedavra!"
The jet of green light flew from the tip of Harry's wand and impacted the locket, making it scream and wail. After it was done, he scanned it.
"It's destroyed," Harry declared, a dark smirk forming on his lips. "That was the last of it and it has been destroyed."
"Uncle Sirius would be happy," Dylan smiled brightly. "He's been searching for it for a long time, hasn't he? It's finally done."
"Yes," the older boy agreed. He turned to the sobbing elf and the emerald green orbs softened. He was quite pissed off that the locket had been right here the whole time without them knowing about it. Had they destroyed it before, Voldemort would never have risen again, but he couldn't bring himself to be mad at the elf. Kreacher had at least kept the locket safe; Merlin knows what could have happened had the locket been stolen. The consequences would have been too dire to contemplate.
"You did well, Kreacher. If Uncle Regulus were alive, I'm sure he would be very proud of you. His final wish has been fulfilled."
The aged elf couldn't help himself as he burst into tears again. Harry and Dylan quietly left the room, giving the house-elf his privacy.
The last Horcrux was destroyed; Voldemort was mortal.
8
"Harry, my boy," said Dumbledore as he sat down at the dining table, along with the members of the Order of the Phoenix.
"Headmaster," Harry greeted him impassively. He frowned slightly when he saw the shrivelled, blackened hand of Dumbledore. "Are you alright, sir? Maybe you should get that hand looked at."
"Alas, there is nothing I can do," the headmaster said heavily. "Not to worry though, I'm perfectly fine. Now, I was told you wanted to speak to me?"
"Yes. I have contacted my former professors at Hogwarts and they have all agreed to take me as an apprentice, but all of them with the exception of Master Slughorn said that I should talk to you first. As you recall when I first brought up the subject of the accelerated program to you, I had expressed my desire to finish my Master's degree in several subjects. I know that you do not want me out of Hogwarts yet, so this is a win-win situation for both of us."
A witch or wizard had several options open to them after graduating from school. Most of them chose to start their career early, choosing to join their family businesses, seek employment in establishments or governments, or in other cases, pursue higher education. The next step after school was the Master's degree; this could be done through apprenticeship under a qualified Master, or by joining a university and gain the degree through classroom teaching, or through research, which was the most prestigious of the lot but also the most difficult.
The International Committee for Aspiring Masters, which was affiliated to the I.C.W., took part in awarding the degree after they had submitted their research papers or after they had completed their apprenticeship.
The next level after the Master's degree was that of the Sorcerer level. This consisted of an in-depth study of the subject under consideration and it always included research projects. Professors McGonagall, Flitwick and Slughorn were all Sorcerers in their respective fields and were well-known internationally for their research papers.
The highest level of credit was that of the Grand Sorcerer . This required several years, or even decades of study and research and was awarded to anyone who made a breakthrough in any of the various fields of magic. Albus Dumbledore had been awarded this title for his discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, but he also held the title of Sorcerer for Transfiguration and Alchemy as well. Harry, being the ambitious boy that he was, was quite ready to begin his apprenticeship three years in advance as he had completed his N.E.W.T.s.
Dumbledore stroked his beard. "And which subjects do you want to pursue?" he asked.