Chapter 22 - The 8th One II

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Harry returned to the dorm room and hit the bed right away. It had been a long and fruitful day, but still, handling two women like Narcissa and Bellatrix took plenty of energy. So he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

Yet, sleep wasn't so easily earned by Harry. Plagued by nightmares of Voldemort and his surprise attack, he couldn't relax even in his sleep. The fear of the Dark Lord taking over his mind always lingered.

Turning and twisting, feeling warm and cold at the same time. Harry didn't even realize when the windows started simmering the room with the morning light. Yet, his face looked tired, his eyes swollen from sleeplessness.

He wanted to stay in bed, but he forced himself up. It was the last day of the Easter holiday, and he wanted to deal with Slughorn that day itself.

"You look like my dead grandma," Ron muttered, seeing his friend.

Harry glanced over and saw Ron still lying in his bed. "No date today?"

"Lavender said she wants to take a break," Ron replied.

Isn't that like a breakup? Harry wondered, not sure since he never had a relationship.

"I know what you're thinking," Ron added, sighing. "I'm not sure either."

"You're not sad?" Harry asked.

Ron shrugged, but he grinned after that. "Slightly, yes. But it was fun while it lasted. We did a lot of things together… A lot of fun things."

Is he talking about shagging?

"Yeah," Ron responded, as if reading Harry's expressions. "She's almost a maniac when it comes to that, but it was also fun. Anyway, what are your plans for today? I'm just going to sleep."

Harry got out of bed wearily. "Well, I'm off to meet Professor Slughorn."

"Ugh…" Ron just turned around and closed his eyes. "Good luck learning potions. Even Hermione's jealous of you."

All thanks to the Half-Blood Prince. Harry thought and got dressed quickly before heading out to the washroom to brush and clean his face. After that, he headed to Professor Slughorn's place.

"It's locked?" Harry knocked for a long time and tried to open it as well, but the door remained closed. "Not a good start. My luck's too ba… Wait."

Just then, Harry remembered the liquid luck that he had won in Potions class. Wasting no time, he quickly searched his pants pocket and took out the glass vial. He always kept it with him whenever going out, now finally being the time to use it.

He removed the wooden cork and poured all of the golden liquid into his mouth. Then, he waited, and suddenly started feeling good for no apparent reason. It felt as if everything was perfect, and his breath was soothing.

Like all the fatigue of the sleepless night was gone.

"Broom," Harry exclaimed and started walking away without a second thought. He went out of the school building and reached the Quidditch grounds, where he entered the locker rooms and got himself a broom.

Then he kicked his feet and flew up into the sky. However, he didn't keep himself restricted to just the grounds. He went wherever his mind told him to. Flying over the school's tall towers, he passed Hagrid's hut, and from there, flew close to the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"What's that?" Harry saw something move from some height and dived down. "Is that Fang?"

Harry eventually landed on the ground, just at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He saw Hagrid's dog barking at one of the trees. Looking up, Harry saw movement up there.

"Professor Slughorn?" Harry exclaimed in shock. "What are you doing up there?"

"Harry?! Oh, m'boy. Give me a hand, will you?" Slughorn started to climb down from the tree, and Harry helped the old man on the last few steps. "I found a rare seed up there. I think some bird dropped it."

"Seed for what?"

"Potions, my dear boy," Slughorn chimed with a gleaming smile, deftly transferring the seeds he'd acquired into a dainty glass vial. "You won't come across these gems in any ordinary market, I assure you. Unless, of course, you're willing to part with a rather hefty sum. And what are you doing here? It's dangerous, Harry."

"I know," Harry replied, looking towards the forest. "I felt like I needed a breath of fresh air."

"Don't we all these days," Slughorn muttered. "We should return to the school now."

Harry didn't object and started walking beside Slughorn. "Did you know, Professor? The Dark Lord tasked Draco with killing Professor Dumbledore this year."

"..."

Slughorn almost stumbled and fell face-first on the ground. He stared at Harry, noticing his normal expressions. "It's not something you should joke about—"

"There was an old Vanishing Cabinet that Draco was repairing in the school. But I destroyed it. They were planning to strike the school from inside this time," Harry continued, his mind telling him to just blurt it all out.

"W-What?" Slughorn exclaimed in utter shock. "Did you tell Dumbledore?"

"Not yet. Draco confronted me yesterday to fight me. But I disarmed him and let him go," Harry added. "Dark Lord had gained control of my mind too. He could peer through my eyes and see whatever I saw. It was excruciating... But I've figured out how to push back, how to shield my thoughts and keep him out."

"..."

"I've got to stop him, Professor. If I don't, he'll keep coming after me. Who knows, maybe one day he'll even take over my mind, and..." Harry's words stumbled out like a broken record. "Do you have any idea how I can fight him, Professor?"

"F-Fight? Him?"

"Of course. Someone's got to face him, right? I mean, aren't I the Chosen One? He failed to defeat me so many times, and I don't think he will stop until he has," Harry replied, unknowingly saying all the right words. "But if the baby me can survive the odds, I think I can do that once again—If not for anything, then for my Mum."

"L-Lily?" Slughorn muttered, his thoughts a mess. "O-Oh… she was indeed brave."

"Then I should make her proud," Harry exclaimed. "You should make her proud too. Won't you fight alongside me, Professor? Against the evil Dark Lord?"

"F-Fight?" Slughorn repeated again.

"Why not? If there is something magical… afterlife out there. I don't want to be seen as a coward by my parents. If I can defeat him, then it's not a matter of 'if' I should, but 'how' I should." Harry continued on and on, hitting the man right where it hurts. Shame, more shame, and even more of it. "I'd rather die fighting than hide behind some walls like a coward. It's not as if the world will be peaceful if he wins. He will kill anyone that even remotely knows about his past, that he's Tom Riddle."

Thud!

Slughorn sat down on the ground roughly. "Y-You can't… defeat him, Harry. He can't be defeated."

"Mum did," Harry replied. "They say I defeated the Dark Lord as a baby. But it was my Mum, her love, and her protection that saved me. She gave her life to save me."

"It's not enough," Slughorn added, his brows furrowed. "Just defeating him isn't enough… He's a monster."

"Then tell me about him." Harry knelt down beside him, grabbing the scared Slughorn by his shoulders. "How do I defeat him?"

"N-None can… I can't, Harry…"

He's a coward! Harry felt angered, his patience waning.

"Professor, is this truly how you wish to be remembered? As someone who held the key to defeating the Dark Lord but remained silent? As someone who could have been a savior to the world but instead allowed darkness to prevail? A man—"

"I'm not evil!" Slughorn barked. "I… I couldn't see the evil within him."

"Right now, I can't see the good in you, Professor," Harry talked back, shattering his heart. "Help me find it, Professor."

Slughorn defeatedly looked at Harry. "What if you hate me after seeing it?"

"I won't hold it against you. It was in Tom Riddle's very nature to deceive us all. You, Professor Dumbledore, he managed to deceive a lot of people," Harry reassured, aiding the man in lifting his wand towards his temples. "But if you deny me even the opportunity to understand, I might not last much longer—I'd certainly hold that against you."

Slughorn, a man somewhat cowardly, was more concerned with his own safety and comfort than anything else. He was dominated by his obsession with influence and fame—he feared losing all that if his darkest secret came out.

That it was his words that led to the rise of the Dark Lord.

"You can do it, Professor."

Slughorn eventually extracted his memory and placed it in a test tube. "Please don't think badly of me when you see it. You've no idea what he was like, even then."

Harry wasted no time and took the test tube from him. "I won't, Professor. This is a battle between good and evil. And you just chose to stand by the good."

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