Chapter 52: “Destroying the Horcrux Part - 1”

The following day brought a serious discussion led by Arcturus about his research on the Horcrux they had found. He looked at Harry and Sirius with a grave expression as he shared his alarming findings.

"After looking into the Horcrux closely, I've come to a disturbing conclusion," Arcturus began, his voice heavy with concern. "It appears Voldemort was reckless enough to create not just one, but several Horcruxes. Based on the size of the soul fragment in this locket, I'm guessing he made more than three. Making even one is dangerous and insane, but he didn't stop there. His soul must be fragmented to an extreme extent by now."

Sirius, clearly worried, chimed in, "So, to truly beat him, we have to find and destroy all these Horcruxes?"

"That's correct. Alternatively, you could capture him and imprison him until his soul eventually perishes," Arcturus confirmed, outlining a daunting task.

Harry, ever curious about strategic advantages, asked, "Wouldn't that just make his followers try even harder to free him? If we did capture him, it would have to be done in secret, with no one knowing where he's held. But what I'm really wondering is whether we can use this Horcrux to help us find the others or figure out how many he made?"

Harry found himself in a difficult position. He knew where Voldemort had hidden the Horcruxes but wasn't sure what to do with that information.

One strategy was to subtly inform Arcturus about where the Horcruxes were hidden. Arcturus could then destroy them, possibly bringing the war to an end before it truly began, and paving the way for a peaceful future. This sounded like the perfect plan.

But, Harry had some worries about going down this path. His main worry was that if he ended the war too soon, the wizarding world would stay pretty much the same. It would still be filled with bad guys like the Death Eaters, and Dumbledore would continue to have too much influence over the Ministry of Magic, all for their own gains. Harry thought about fighting against them using politics, climbing up the ladder to defeat them from within. However, he knew this would be a slow and tough journey, taking years to make any real change happen. Harry felt that a war might be necessary to really clean house at the Ministry, getting rid of Voldemort's followers and reducing Dumbledore's grip on power. Without these big changes, Harry didn't think he had the ability to effect meaningful change in the wizarding world.

Even with these thoughts, Harry wasn't totally against the idea of ending the war quickly. He really wanted to make a name for himself in the wizarding world, to carve out a legacy for himself, but not through covert manipulation akin to Dumbledore's methods. 

Still, Harry hesitated to spill the beans about the Horcruxes to Arcturus because of another, deeper fear. He was worried that even if he managed to stop Voldemort now, some twist of fate or the "universe's will" might save Voldemort or bring about a new dark lord, even scarier than the last one. Harry had read this kind of thing happen in many fan fiction and other stories. The idea that a new villain could pop up, stronger than the last, made Harry think twice about trying to change the story.

Ultimately, Harry decided to let things play out as they were supposed to, sticking to the original plot while making small tweaks here and there for his advantage without affecting the overall plot. If things started to go sideways, he'd figure out what to do then and there. By doing this, Harry hoped to steer through the complicated situation without making things worse.

While Harry was going through this crisis in his mind, Arcturus answered Harry's question. "In theory, it might be possible, but there's no precedent for dealing with multiple Horcruxes. No one has ever been foolish enough to split their soul multiple times. The pain of the first time has kept them away from the second. Due to this, we don't have a method to track or link Horcruxes together."

"Should we wait to destroy this locket, then?" Sirius proposed, hoping to find a more strategic use for it.

"No," Arcturus decisively replied. "The risk of keeping it is too great. We don't know if Voldemort can sense or locate his Horcruxes. Having it could attract unwanted attention. Consider how Walburga's mental state rapidly deteriorated; this locket could have been a factor. We can't keep it, nor can we risk hiding it."

"The biggest issue," Arcturus continued, "is that we lack someone with the necessary skills for research and spell creation who we can completely trust. Inventing a spell to track the Horcruxes would require letting someone else in on the secret. That could potentially expose us to Voldemort's followers, who would do anything to protect the Horcrux or use it to bring back their master."

The room fell silent as they understood the complexities and dangers involved in dealing with Voldemort's Horcruxes.

Harry, deep in thought, turned to Arcturus with a question that had been nagging at him. "Would getting rid of this Horcrux make Voldemort weaker?"

Arcturus nodded, affirming Harry's guess. "Yes, it would. Destroying a piece of his soul would impair his magical capabilities, particularly his ability to perform highly complex spells."

This insight shed light on how Harry in the original story managed to beat Voldemort so easily at the end. It also made sense of why Voldemort often resorted to his killing curse during his later battles; his other magical abilities were weakened.

Feeling a strong conviction, Harry said, "We should destroy it then." He couldn't shake off a feeling of discomfort that the locket brought about, suspecting it might be influencing their emotions subtly. "I'm sure we'll track down the other Horcruxes eventually."

Sirius agreed, eager to honor his brother's final wish. "Yes, let's do it. And if hunting down every single Horcrux proves too difficult, we still have the backup plan. Considering the extensive protections around this horcrux, the others are likely just as securely hidden. Knowing where they are is one thing; actually destroying them is another challenge altogether."

As they prepared to destroy the locket, Harry pondered another possibility. "Is destruction the only option? Could we not use the soul piece's energy to strengthen someone else?"

Arcturus considered Harry's idea carefully. "It's possible. There's a spell that could move the soul power from the soul in the locket to a wizard, making their soul stronger. But Harry, you're already pretty strong for your age. Do you really want to make yourself even stronger this way?"

Harry thought about it and said, "Considering Voldemort might come back, I don't think I'm strong enough and may not have much time. Plus, I don't want to miss out on this chance to get stronger. I'm already working on getting physically and magically stronger, but this could be a chance to strengthen my soul, which I can't do on my own."

Arcturus responded, "I see your point, but this spell is still in the testing phase, and I can't let you try it while you're still growing. It's too risky for someone your age."