Harry sat in the kitchen of the cottage that held the two Horcruxes. As soon as he had walked through the door he could feel the oppressive dark magic that had started to fill the place from having two Horcruxes here. It was so bad that the curse breakers had instituted a rule for the cottage: nobody was allowed to be in there for more than four hours at a time without leaving for at least six.
It was apparently a rule they would reevaluate after the new containment array had been put up. Which is what they were there to do today. There were seven of them, the four curse breakers Makris, West, Tanaka, and of course Williams. Then there was Harry, Grandfather Charlus and Sirius.
Williams was giving Harry and the others a briefing before they went in. "So this isn't a particularly difficult job in theory. West and Makris, you will place the two Horcruxes on their platforms and then Harry when you are given the order you will use your blood to activate the specific arrays shown on your diagram. Those are the containment arrays. The arrays you won't be activating will be activated by Tanaka here. Those ones are to monitor the flows of magic between the Horcruxes and they interfere with the information we are looking for if your protection gets mixed in."
He continued. "West, Makris, and Sirius, you three will be standing back ready to intervene. If it becomes necessary you are to pull Harry or Tanaka out of there. You are also on first aid duty. Remember we are dealing with the potential for possessions, but the souls remain tethered to the Horcruxes. If one of us becomes possessed the way to deal with it is to stun them and take them away from here. The souls will be drawn straight back to their vessels if they try to pass a certain range. So stun them, make sure they aren't bleeding out, then get them out of here."
"Charlus, you are on standby for Harry. With the two of you sharing blood, if Harry manages to get even one layer of the array up we are hoping that your blood will allow for better synergy with the layers brought up by Harry. I will be acting as standby for Tanaka and calling the shots. Any questions?"
There were none. Probably because this wasn't their first briefing on the plan. It wasn't even the first today. They had already asked all the questions that they needed to. At least that was what Harry thought until Sirius leaned in.
"I had one about where babies come from." He asked with a massive grin on his face.
Never mind Harry thought, Sirius was just being his usual self and trying to break the tension. Harry decided to slap him down a little. "No wonder you're still single. All the witches must be very frustrated with you."
Everyone laughed at how easily Harry had turned that around on Sirius. And it was a good thing they were all tense. With good reason, they were about to try and do something possibly never done before using two Horcruxes, magic so dark that the craziest of people would think making more than one was too far. Some tension was good, it would keep them on their toes. What they didn't need to be was so tense they made a mistake.
There was no time like the present and the longer they waited the longer they were going to need to spend in the oppressive atmosphere. Williams led them all into the room Harry remembers from his first time here; only the rune arrays he remembered were gone, replaced by new, far more complex ones that took up more floor space than he remembered the room having. There were two lead trunks at either end of the room and Makris and West each made their way over to one.
Tanaka moved to her potion over the first of the monitoring ward arrays and drew out a potions knife ready to cut her hand for the needed blood. The older Japanese women had taken Harry aside when he got there and had given him a potions knife like hers. "One that has never touched any ingredients and will only ever touch your blood. Keeps out contamination both from the magic and from you." She also showed him where his hand had the least nerves so that while the cut would still hurt it wouldn't hurt more than necessary. "Far better than needing to bite the skin off your thumb." She had told him. Harry moved to his spot, the first containment array and drew out his knife.
Charlus joined Harry standing just behind him and to his left, ready to jump in and help the moment that it was needed. Williams went and did the same with Tanaka and finally, Harry could hear Sirius by the door drawing the sword of Gryffindor from its sheath ready to destroy the Horcruxes if it became necessary.
"Okay it looks to me like everyone is in position. If you need to run to the bathroom or you want to back out this is your last chance, once we begin we see this through to the end." Curse breaker Williams called out. Nobody backed out so he went on. "Okay it's showtime. Makris, West, begin phase one."
The two said, "Yes." In almost perfect synchronicity, they began opening the lead trunks nearest to them. Harry hadn't seen the trunks before and was a little surprised to see that inside each one was another lead trunk. The two curse breakers proceeded to open seven trunks in total.
With each synchronised opening of another layer of lead-lined protective case, the atmosphere got more and more oppressive. To Harry, it felt both like something trying to get out but also something trying to get in. Like something was reaching into his magic. He definitely didn't like it.
West pulled out what looked to Harry like an old and expensive tiara and Makris pulled out the Locket. Neither one was risking touching the Horcrux and was flouting them in front of them. Harry could see that the Locket was once more closed. That made sense to Harry, while you needed a parseltongue to open it, anyone could close it. The curse breakers must have done so to stop the Horcrux from being too active when they had to clear it from the old array.
The two curse breakers slowly made their way across the room being exceptionally careful as they crossed the array to not touch the lines of metal inlaid into the floor. After they both placed the Horcrux. They were moving onto it's own short pillar of stone they started to slowly move away to the edge of the room where they could watch and be ready to jump in if needed.
Tanaka moved forward and with a quick cut of her hand with her potions knife she added blood and power to the base of the pillar supporting the tiara. As she did so, runes that Harry hadn't been able to see before started glowing from inside the solid stone pillar. Almost immediately the dark magic in the air felt more oppressive. Like it was reaching out looking for any weakness to exploit.
There was a sudden crack and a chunk of the ceiling right above Tanaka's head gave way and the chunk of wooden beam fell hard. It would have whacked her in the head and possibly even killed her but Williams was fast enough to send the chunk flying into the far wall instead with a flick of his wand. "Looks like the same kind of entropy curse that was used on the Defence professors. It's going to try and arrange circumstances to kill us rather than attacking us directly." Williams informed them.
During that time Tanaka hadn't even flinched, either too focused on her task or having a lot of faith in her fellow curse breakers to keep her safe. She shifted over to the other pillar and said to Harry. "Tell it to open now please."
So Harry did. He had to take a step closer to the Locket so he could focus on the snake and really push to use it, but in parseltongue, he said "Open." And immediately stepped back to where he had been before.
Just like last time the Locket opened and the dark grey mist that was a part of Voldemort's twisted and corrupted soul came spewing from the Locket like smoke from a smoke machine. Tanaka waved her wand and a band of stone grew out of the pillar and across the Locket keeping it firmly in place and stuck open.
The mist tried to lash out at Tanaka like it had Williams during the last time Harry Harry had been here but Harry, Williams and Sirius were all expecting and waiting for that and all three of them snapped up shielding spells. The mist broke through two of them being weakened by each one but was caught on the third.
Tanaka slammed her bleeding hand on the pillar and like the first it too started to glow revealing hidden runes. Almost immediately the two Horcruxes were surrounded in swirling magical mists in a rainbow of colours. It was the magical energies of the Horcruxes and the magical items they were in being made visible for inspection.
Harry didn't wait for Williams to tell him, he pulled out his new knife and just like Tanaka showed him sliced into his left hand ignoring the sting of the metal as it glided through his flesh releasing the magic-rich blood ready to press it into the first array of containment as soon as Tanaka was clear.
Tanaka was powering up one more array to aid with the examination of the Horcruxes, this one surrounded both Horcruxes and as soon as it was activated they were able to see even more of the magic that was normally invisible and this time it wasn't just stirring around the two Horcruxes but it was reaching between the two, mixing and very quickly increasing in size.
"Tanaka get out of there, Now!" Screamed Harry but it was too late the energy shot towards her and despite the fact that West had summoned the belt Tanaka was wearing with all her strength the destructive magic was faster. Tanaka screamed as her left arm and leg were caught as she was being pulled away and disintegrated into nothing instantly.
Harry had to push down his panic and revulsion and focus. They would all be next if the Horcruxes weren't contained. He slammed his bloody palm down on the copper outer circle or the first containment array and the barrier immediately flashed up only for Harry to stumble back falling on his arse as more of the destructive energy slammed into the barrier right in front of Harry's face. If he had been even a split second later then that cursed magic would have taken off his head.
The energy slammed against the barrier and they could all see the barrier straining. Harry just sat there staring at the energy kept pressing into the straining barrier as his mind tried to process just how close to death he had just come.
"Harry get up, move and raise the next ward!" Grandfather Charlus's voice cut through the brain fog and Harry was able to focus again. He didn't waste time getting to feet, instead, he did a sort of one-handed rolling pushup over the array being careful not to touch the inlaid metal lines and runes and as soon as he crossed it he slammed his bloody hand down for a second time powering up the second layer of protection.
The power from the Horcruxes was forced back and Harry felt he had the time now to stand up and start powering up every layer of the wards.
It wasn't easy. Not because of the power he was pushing into the wards, or because of any level of complexity nor even because the Horcruxes were pressing on him making him nervous. No, the reason it was hard was because of the screaming. Tanaka was screaming in pain as West, Makris, and Sirius fought to stabilise the unlucky witch enough to transport her to St Mungo's. Everything about Harry said he had to rush over and help her, but he had to keep focused on what he was doing and let the others help her.
One by one Harry brought up the wards until there were seven layers all acting together. Harry could actually feel his skin tingle from the power they were giving off, like a cross between pins and needles, and too much static in the air. More impressively, by the time he got to around layer five, he could no longer feel any of the oppressive dark magic coming off the two Horcruxes.
Just as Harry finished powering up the last array his grandfather Charlus took hold of him helping Harry to his feet then caught hold of Harry's left wrist and said, "Let me look at that." and started cleaning and healing the cut on his hand. Once he was finished Charlus didn't let go of Harry's wrist and even gave it a little yank when Harry tried to turn and see how Tanaka was holding up. Her cries of pain had subsided into whimpers and Harry's instincts were telling him that was either okay or really bad.
"Harry, I need you to be honest with me. How tired are you right now?" Grandfather Charlus's tone was serious.
"I'm okay. About how I am at the end of the school day." Harry said, confused.
"Do you think you have it in you to cast the silver limb spell? Tanaka is losing blood from her leg as fast as we can get blood replenishes into her."
For a half second, Harry felt like he was going to be crushed under the pressure but he took a deep breath to steady himself and said "I'm gonna need a lot of silver for a leg."
Charlus just nodded in approval and grabbed a bag from next to him that Harry hadn't noticed until now and shoved it into Harry's hand. Harry didn't have time to wonder about where the silver had come from he just strode over to where Tanaka was lying on the floor being seen to by everyone else and knelt down in the space they had obviously left open for him. There must have been some discussion while Harry was focusing on bringing the wards up.
"Tanaka, I can give you a new leg but it magically makes you my servant. Normally there is a contract limiting what I can ask of you first but we don't have time for that now, so I need your permission to do this. Do I have it?" Harry asked. This was something Law Witch Twist had made very clear to Harry in a letter he had gotten a while back as part of the process for setting up Harry being able to offer this through St Mungos. If there was ever an emergency situation where a contract couldn't be signed first, he had to get permission first. Because the spell wasn't just medical but bound the recipients to his service there were a lot of very messy legal implications.
"Yes! Just do it!" The woman shouted through her gritted teeth.
Harry just nodded and got to work. The first thing he did was vanish her trousers with a wave of his wand. This got him a few looks from the others but Harry was too focused to even notice. He needed the trousers out of the way for two reasons: one he didn't want the edge blocking where the new leg was to attach and he also needed to see the other leg for comparison to know how to shape the new leg.
As he examined the wound he could see why the leg was so much more important than the arm. They had tied a rope tightly around the remaining stump of an arm and stopped most of the bleeding but there was no stump of leg left for them to tie anything to. The current solution they had was Sirius had reached into the wound and with his fingers was pinching the artery closed. He was only partly successful as every few seconds about a small potion vial of blood would leak out from between his fingers.
"Right, Sirius when I say you will need to pull your hand away immediately," Harry ordered and his godfather just nodded.
Harry pulled open the bag of silver and began to cast the complex spell. The silver wasn't in the best form for what he was doing. Harry preferred powder silver but this was a long spool of silver wire. Luckily the spool it was coiled on seemed to have some enchantments to keep the silver from tarnishing so Harry didn't need to worry about stripping away any impurities.
First, Harry formed the core of the limb. The magic that bound both to the receiver for them to control and to him via the symbol that tens of thousands of magical people had mentally connected with him. Then Harry carefully added more and more silver forming the outer layer of the leg. He took care to mirror the other leg as close to perfectly as he could, he even had one of the curse breakers remove her shoe and sock so he could match the new foot. Some might have thought he was being too detailed and that looks didn't matter, but it wasn't about looks, if the knee was half an inch too high or low that could really mess with someone's ability to walk. If the ankle was off he would curse her with a limp, and if the toes were off her ability to dodge would be compromised. All of which could be dangerous to a curse breaker.
"Now Sirius." Sirius pulled his arm back and the amount of blood Harry now had to deal was staggering. One of the curse breakers, Harry wasn't sure which, had to keep vanishing it so they could see what they were doing. Harry worked quickly and the new limb fixed itself in place. There was an almost instant sigh of relief from Tanaka. She was still hurting from her arm but she no longer had to deal with the larger of the two pains and it was obviously easier for her.
They gave her one last blood-replenishing potion and helped her clean up. Harry shrugged off his outer robe and threw it across her lower body returning some level of modesty to the woman and with a quick wave of his wand the robe was now a rather crude loose skirt that while it wouldn't win any kind of fashion approval, but was enough for the one job it was needed for. Her trip to St Mungo's.
"I don't have the energy to do your arm today but I promise you I will do it soon and I will get my law witch to draw up the contract limiting what I can ask of you and get it to you as soon as possible," Harry said as some of the others were picking up Tanaka and taking her out of the house so they could side-along her to the magical hospital.
Harry was left in the cottage with Charlus and Williams, the rest all going to St Mungo's with Tanaka. Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see his grandfather standing over him. "Come on Harry, let's get you cleaned up. Then we can talk over a cup of tea."
At his grandfather's words, Harry looked down and saw just how much blood was soaked into his clothes and was covering him in general. It wasn't the blood of a dead person so Harry didn't have too strong a reaction to it but he understandably felt very unclean. Charlus offered Harry a hand to stand up but Harry refused to take it because he didn't want to get blood all over his grandfather.
Once Harry was standing he turned to Williams and asked. "Is there a shower I can use?" There of course was and Williams showed Harry where it was. Harry didn't bother to strip, he just walked into the shower fully clothed and turned on the water and stood under it until the water running down the drain shifted from red, to pink, and finally back to clear. Then still in the shower he stripped down and while washing himself with some of the soap and other things available he took the time to stomp as much of the blood out of his clothes as possible.
He didn't know why he was doing it this way but he knew he didn't have any other clothes to wear once he was out of the shower and he wouldn't feel comfortable wearing clothes that had only been hit with a few cleaning charms after being soaked in blood. Once he was clean he turned to the matter of his clothes. A few quick drying charms on them as well as himself were a good start after that he hit the garments with every cleaning charm he knew. They were still a wrinkled mess that he was sure Hermione would tut at if she saw them, but they were clean and dry. That was good enough for now.
Harry got dressed again and went to find his grandfather. He and Williams were in the kitchen and there was already a steaming mug of tea waiting for Harry at the third seat, the two older men already halfway through their own. Harry sat down in the chair that was obviously meant for him and tried the tea. It was strong and sweet, practically perfect for recovering some energy quickly.
"Have you heard anything yet?" Harry asked.
"No, not yet and I doubt we will for quite a while. The healers will probably prioritise her and get to her quickly. However just because they start quickly doesn't mean it will finish quickly and it will take even longer to get any news from them because they aren't family. She doesn't have any family in the country." Said Williams.
"Should we contact her family and tell them she has been hurt?" Harry asked.
"I'm already going to do it. Unfortunately with the lockdown from the other countries, they probably won't be able to make it here." Grandfather Charlus told Harry. "However you will probably be able to get more information from the hospital than we will."
"How?" confusion filled Harry's voice. He knew healers were very close-lipped about what they could say to people.
"While you're not a healer you are in negotiations to provide a healing service through the hospital. You also just gave Miss Tanaka a new leg. There should be enough professional courtesy to let you get at least a general report on her leg and how long they think it will be until they would be comfortable with you providing her with a new arm." Charlus explained his idea. "I will try taking you tomorrow."
They sat there in silence for a while while they drank their tea. Just as it was getting awkward Williams broke the silence. "Harry. You do understand that Tanaka is a curse-breaker right? That's a job like Auror or Dragon Keeper where there is always a level of risk. Tanaka is one of the best and you don't become one of the best without fully understanding that. And she knew before she took this job that she would be dealing with multiple Horcruxes, one of the darkest and most dangerous artefacts a curse breaker can face. What I'm saying is even before she took the job she understood the risks. While helping her get new limbs is a nice thing for her employer to do and some sympathy while she recovers is expected, whatever you do, don't insult her by pitying her."
That surprised Harry. He didn't feel particularly responsible for what happened to Tanaka but that had been what he expected Williams to talk to him about. How he shouldn't blame himself. But being told not to pity Tanaka was a surprise. Especially since the man said it was different from sympathy. Maybe Harry's understanding was off because to him they were pretty much the same thing. It was something he was going to need to think about.
After they finished their tea Charlus said it was time to get Harry back to Hogwarts. There was no floo in the cottage so it was a side-along apparition just like they had used to get there. They appeared about a hundred feet from the Hogwarts outer gate and walked the rest of the way. They had to stop at the gate and prove their identities to the Aurors who were now stationed there but they were let through and had the even longer walk up to the main gate to the main keep. At the main gate, the gate at which Dumbledore had been when he overheard him being banned from the castle, they were challenged again and let through.
Charlus insisted on walking Harry all the way up to his common room. By the time he was climbing through the portrait hole, Harry was ready to fall asleep where he fell. Luckily for him Ron saw Harry's state and jumped up and half carried, half dragged his best mate to some of the sofas where Hermione and Ron had been waiting for news.
Ron set Harry down next to Hermione who immediately pulled Harry against her in a cuddle. "So mate you look beat, what happened?" Ron asked as he took his own seat.
"First I'm completely fine. Just… tired. I had to use a lot of magic and then afterwards," he dropped his voice low so nobody else could hear them. "I had to make Tanaka a new leg."
"What happened?" Hermione asked. Waving her wand and setting up a privacy charm or two so they could speak freely.
So Harry told them about how the two Horcruxes had worked together and somehow their attack had destroyed both Tanaka's arm and leg. Harry's friends were of course horrified by what had happened and a little grossed out at Harry's rather vivid description of all the blood. Hermione though, did make a point to say, "Harry you probably saved her life and when you give her a new arm and hand as well you will be saving her career and helping her live a relatively normal life. I'm proud of you, and you should be proud of yourself." Then she kissed him.
Not long after that Harry fell asleep on Hermione pinning her there until she woke him up just before curfew so she could go to bed.