Harry nodded, hoping that his face did not betray that he already knew what Dumbledore was vaguely and unhelpfully hinting at. His eyes flickered to the Gaunt ring nestled on the man's finger.
He did a double-take.
There was something different about it. His magic, unbidden, swirled around him, beckoning to the ring. The faint curse of the horcrux lingered around it, but there was something more.
Death, his mind supplied. The Hallows. How he noticed this now and not before he'd met Death was a bit unnerving. Had he actually been cursed when Death's bone finger grazed his face? How else had he developed a sudden sixth sense for the Hallows.
It was like the ring spoke to him, or rather, the pure, matte black chalcedony gem nestled into the thick band. The circular gem reflected no light, drawing in darkness and reminding Harry of the empty pits of Death's eyes.
The magic turned his gaze to the professor, who held the memory strand by the tip of his wand and gently poured the silvery mixture back into the little bottle he kept it in.
The Headmaster's wand tugged against his mind. Mine. Want. Need.
The Resurrection Stone. The Elder Wand. Sitting right there… if he could just take them…
"Harry?"
He followed the wand's movements.
Now this, he was certain, he must not let Dumbledore know.
But Dumbledore was confusing. Sort of on the same side, but also not. A third player that he could not afford to miscalculate. Harry could probably deal with Voldemort. But Voldemort and Dumbledore?
Did Death expect him to murder the man? If Dumbledore knew about the horcruxes, then he needed to be left alive and questioned. He had no idea where the man truly stood or how much he knew. He was being so damn vague!
"I'm sorry, I was listening. It's just, that I was reminded of something Sirius mentioned to me." Harry paused, threw caution to the wind, and went for it. "It was called a horcrux, professor. He said it was vile, Dark magic that could keep people alive long after their corpses rotted under the earth. It's a part of your soul that you put into an object. Do you think that might be what Voldemort is using?"
"Sirius mentioned this to you." Dumbledore's voice had taken on an unfamiliar, sharp tone. Harry kept his eyes planted firmly on the sweets he was unrolling with desperate fervor.
"Yes, sir. He lives in his family's old house. He was cleaning out the attic and I was fascinated with all the books they had. One of them mentioned it in passing and he told me about it."
"What was the name of this book, Harry?"
"Um, I'm not sure." He knew mama had a book that mentioned them somewhere, but he wasn't Hermione, he didn't memorize everything he'd ever read. "It was called something dumb like 'Secrets of Dark Magic' or something similar. I don't think Sirius kept the book, sorry."
"Ah, I think I know the book you refer to. And did Sirius mention how he knew about this magic?"
"No. But he told me the Blacks were pretty crazy. He didn't let me open some of the books in there, let alone read them. Or maybe he learned about them when he was an auror?"
Dumbledore did not say anything for a long time. Harry was too frightened to look the man in the eye because his occlumency was absolute pants, so he just kept eating the lemon candies and waited in tense silence. He could only guess the myriad of expressions that might be on Dumbledore's face. Maybe he would pull out his wand. Would Harry notice in time?
"I do believe your theory has merit, my dear boy. Do you remember the diary which opened the Chamber of Secrets?"
"Yeah, it had the ghost haunting it called Tom Riddle - oh!" Harry gasped dramatically. He bit back a grin, impressed by his acting and cunning. It was working! Dumbledore was being useful! "That was one of them, wasn't it?"
"Indeed so, Harry. I could not confirm at the time, as sadly the book was destroyed but I suspected it. I - " Dumbledore paused again. Harry almost looked up as the pause shifted into an awkward length. The crinkling of the cellophane treat echoed across the room.
Dumbledore continued in his normal tone. "I discovered that Voldemort was not yet dead, however. And so I doubted myself. Because, for as little knowledge as there is about horcruxes, one of the few things one may find easily is the warning to not be overzealous. To only create the one vessel or risk sanity and a complete loss of identity and personality.
Harry, please look at me. How did you know he'd created more than one?"
"W-what?" Harry did not dare lift his eyes.
"You said "that was one of them" just now. After, presumably, finding out that Voldemort had created any just moments prior to that."
A lemon candy was crushed in Harry's palm, sending droplets of sticky, sweet candy across the floor. He hoped that gave Dumbledore an ant problem.
"Like you said, sir. Voldemort isn't dead. It's a logical deduction." Harry said softly. "Why else would we be discussing them? Why else would I be receiving this training?"
Dumbledore did not respond, and it took all of Harry's willpower to not sneak a peak at the man's face. The old man sighed, heavy and slow, an exhausted release and he slapped his hand against his forehead.
"Harry. You must understand why I am concerned. Horcruxes are one of the most esoteric branches of necromancy. I highly doubt even the Black Library would contain tomes that did more than hint at the subject. Any such books would have been outlawed over a century ago, and exist in such small numbers that I have not been able to uncover where Voldemort himself would have accessed a copy to learn the ritual.
Why do you know more than you're supposed to?"
He considered, for a brief moment, if he should throw the shadows to grab mama, drag her in here with him before Dumbledore could murder him. Or would he then murder both of them? And what would happen if mama murdered Dumbledore? They'd have to flee the country, surely. He would have to forfeit the tournament, lose his magic.
His palms shook as he moved in the direction of his pocket where his wand was kept hidden.
....
Join my P*atreon for early access to 60+ chapters ahead of the public release.
Link : pa*treon.com/thebookaddict (Remove the *)
Free members can get 2+ advanced chapters FOR FREE.