Know-Thy-Friends (I)

"Is that the Resurrection Stone?" Gellert asked in disbelief as he stared at the black stone set in the golden ring. He could feel a compulsion pressing on his Mind, telling him to grab the ring and put him on his finger, but his Occlumency was strong enough to ignore the compulsion and Harry's warning obviously helped.

"Or it is probably the most convincing replica" Harry pointed out, but neither of them believed that. Gellert had done a lot of research on the Deathly Hallows and he had looked for the Resurrection Stone for years… There was no way that Gellert would fail to recognize the real thing and since Harry had acquired Gellert's experience and knowledge, he also knew everything Gellert knew.

"Though someone had clearly dared to desecrate such an artifact" Gellert growled as he pulled out his Wand and pointed it at the ring. After casting only a few Spells, Gellert already knew what they were dealing with here…

"This is a Horcrux" Gellert breathed out in complete disbelief.

"A Horcrux?" Harry asked thoughtfully. It was a fucking Horrcrux… It made so much sense. He knew what a Horcrux was, thanks to Gellert's knowledge and the Ancient One's records of Herpo the Foul. So, while he could have confirmed the fact on his own, he wanted Gellert to be there, just to be sure.

There were only a few things a man like Voldemort would try to protect with such aggression and Harry was almost certain that Voldemort didn't know that he had the Resurrection Stone in his possession. From the Ancient One's records, Harry knew that Voldemort was obsessed with immortality and there weren't many ways to become immortal.

|A Deathly Hallow. Hadrian, you finally have a Deathly Hallow in your grasp and now we also know how Voldemort survived| Lily gushed out excitedly.

|We can't be sure yet| Harry reminded her and Lily simply scoffed at his words.

|Please, Hadrian… Just accept the fact that you have the Resurrection Stone in your grasp| Lily pressed. |Not only that, we finally know how to kill Voldemort| Lily added.

|I don't disagree with you on the latter part, but I don't think this is the only Horcrux he made… A man like him won't be satisfied with only one fail-safe. Voldemort believes himself to be above everyone else, so he would have knowingly forced himself too far to prove that he was better than everyone else| Harry explained thoughtfully.

Herpo the Foul was the one who came up with the idea of splitting his Soul and putting it inside an inanimate object to anchor his Soul to the Physical Plane was the first person ever to create a Horcrux had also mentioned that he felt losing a part of himself after splitting his Soul and hence he refrained from creating another Horcrux.

He was sure that Voldemort would have tried to make more than one just so he could prove that he was better than Herpo the Foul…

"There is also a Curse on the ring for protection… I am sure that the Curse is from Jamaica, but I don't recognize this specific Curse" Gellert revealed, breaking Harry out of his musings.

"Voodoo Magic?" Harry asked when he heard Gellert mention that country. Jamaica was famous for Voodoo Magic, but no matter how it sounded, Voodoo Magic was real and scary as fuck…

Gellert nodded his head in agreement. "Where did you find this thing?" Gellert asked curiously as he marveled at the Resurrection Stone from a safe distance as there was no way he was going anywhere close to the damn ring as long as it carried the Voodoo Curse… He didn't want to end up as a rotten mummy.

"This ring belonged to Gaunts. All the Gaunts are gone except for Voldemort and when the ring came into his possession, he turned the ring into a Horcrux" Harry explained without missing a beat.

"He didn't even know what he had in his possession, did he?" Gellert asked, but it was clearly a rhetorical question.

"No. He didn't" Harry confirmed. "By the way, thank you for the time, I have another visit to make" Harry said as he closed the box before grabbing it.

Gellert seemed to be a bit put off by Harry's words. "Can I have the Stone for testing?" Gellert asked. He was obsessed with the Deathly Hallows. He never cared much about the Cloak of Invisibility or the Master of Death title, but he really wanted the Resurrection Stone as he believed that he could use the Resurrection Stone to create a true undying army.

"You may, but after I have dealt with the Horcrux" Harry answered smoothly and that was already much better than Gellert was expecting, so he simply gave Harry an understanding nod before Harry opened a portal for him. Gellert gave him a respectful nod before stepping through the portal.

|What are you planning to do?| Lily asked, looking somewhat confused.

|I have some questions for the Ancient One| Harry answered before opening a portal leading to Kamar-Taj. Harry stepped through the portal and found himself standing outside the Ancient One's house… Harry entered the house only to hear some screams from inside the house. It seemed that Kaecilius was having another argument with the Ancient One. Well, it was Kaecilius who was screaming at the Ancient One for whatever reason.

Harry did have some ideas about Kaecilius' reasons, but it was none of his business and his reasons were somewhat similar to his own, so Harry didn't have any leg to stand on… Harry finally arrived outside her room and before he could knock or announce his arrival, the Ancient One told him to enter. He was used to her antics, so he simply slid the door open and entered the room.

|Just fucking great| Harry internally scowled when he saw that Mordo was also there. "Greetings, teacher" Harry respectively greeted the woman he came to meet while ignoring both Kaecilius and Mordo. "Are you guys in the middle of something? I can always come back later?" Harry asked curiously as he glanced toward Kaecilius and Mordo with the latter sneering at Harry.

"It is alright… They were leaving" The Ancient One gestured Harry to take a seat, making Mordo scowl at Harry.

Kaecilius seemed to glare at the Ancient One for a bit before finally turning back toward Harry. "It is nice to see you again, Harry. Please excuse me" Kaecilius declared before he finally walked out of the room without saying anything else to the Ancient One.

"I will also be excusing myself" Mordo said dispassionately before walking out of the room.

"Tea?" The Ancient One offered Harry like everything was normal and peachy.

"No, I am alright, but I wouldn't say no to some chips" Harry said with a grin, making the Ancient One give him a dirty look.

"Unfortunately, it seems that this is my last pack" The Ancient One answered primly and Harry knew that it was a bald-faced lie… There was no way it was her last packet. She always kept a massive stock. "So, you finally found one of the three?" The Ancient One asked and Harry simply nodded his head before he pulled out the box and placed it on the table. There was no use in hiding anything from her since she already knew.

"You redacted his name from the records because it plays a part in his defeat doesn't it?" Harry asked, only for the Ancient One to hum in agreement as she picked up the box. Harry wasn't worried about her giving into the compulsion. She slowly opened the box and stared at the ring with a hint of distaste on her face.

"Such an amazing artifact, but sullied by a madman" The Ancient One declared before closing the box with a snap. "So, what brings you here, Harry?" The Ancient One asked as she took a sip from her cup.

"Don't you already know?" Harry asked curiously.

The Ancient One nodded her head. "I do, but I can't answer your questions for you if you don't ask them" The Ancient One retorted with a smile.

Harry stared at her for the next few moments before finally giving in. "Is there a way I can use the Horcrux to track his other Horcruxes?" Harry asked as he tapped on the box.

"A trick question" The Ancient One declared with a grin on her face. "You have suspicions that this isn't his only Horcrux, and my answer will confirm your suspicions" The Ancient One explained and Harry didn't bother to defend himself as it was true. "Very smart of you, Hadrian" The Ancient One nodded her head in appreciation.

"Unfortunately, the answer is no… I do not know a way to use this Horcrux or this piece of his Soul to track the other Horcruxes or the other pieces of his Soul" The Ancient One answered with a sigh. "I do know where the others are, but I cannot direct you toward them… That is not my job" The Ancient One answered while staring at Harry carefully, watching his reactions.

"I see… You said that you don't know a way to use this Horcrux to track the others right? So, there is a possibility that someone else might know, right?" Harry asked cryptically. There would be nothing to gain by being angry at her and he couldn't have her holding his hand all the time.

The Ancient One frowned at the question… She seemed to ponder a bit before she finally decided to answer his question. "Maybe… Maybe not. Harry… Hadrian, you have to understand that Soul Magic is extremely dangerous. I am six centuries old and still, there is very little I know about Soul Magic" The Ancient One explained. Harry wasn't expecting her to say something like that, but he understood why she said that.

She wanted him to be careful while dabbling with Soul Magic…

"Thank you" Harry gave her a grateful look.

The Ancient One smiled at him… "Harry, there is something I wanted to ask you" The Ancient One said and Harry simply gestured her to continue. "What would you do if I died?" The Ancient One asked, completely surprising Harry by the question…

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