18. Chapter 18

Lucius and Narcissa followed Dumbledore into a classroom. Ruby was sitting down with Molly Weasley who slammed shut a book that was on the desk. Rookwood and his two minions went to a corner and spoke quietly. All three wore the black robes of the Unspeakables. The two minions were the exact opposite of each other. One was blond, short, fat, blue-eyes, and had a face that was mostly red from exertion. The other was bald, tall, skinny, almost black eyes, and his face was pale as if he had never seen the sun. "Why is Molly Weasley present?" Lucius wasn't very happy.

"She was helping me learn some of the spells. I think I got the spell down." Ruby sounded innocent and proud at the same time.

Lucius arched a brow. "I will ask again, who gave you permission to use Hermione Granger or Molly Weasley to tutor my ward?"

"I only wanted to aid Harry, my boy. Now, let's get the testing going. Augustus, what is to be done first?" Dumbledore moved over to where Ruby was sitting. He was standing next to Molly.

"Mrs. Weasley needs to leave." Lucius wasn't happy at all. He saw Death glaring at Molly Weasley and had a feeling it was more than just teaching some spells. He couldn't hear any hissing but he was willing to bet that Lucifer and Nagini were in cracks in the walls. He wondered if the Dark Lord was also in one.

"I'm sure it's fine. Molly is only here for moral support." Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling.

"No, Albus." Lucius watched as Narcissa stood behind Ruby. Severus and Minerva entered the room. Lucius glanced at Severus, who nodded his head. Lucius realized the little truth session outside the room had been staged by his son and Harry. He didn't want to know.

Molly started to object but Minerva walked her out the door. The room was basically empty for a few chairs and one desk. Ruby was sitting at the desk. Minerva and Severus dragged their chairs to the far wall. Lucius and Narcissa sat behind Ruby.

Pomona entered the room. "I apologize for any delay." She sat down next to Minerva and Severus.

"It's fine. Pomona, we were just getting started." Dumbledore reassured the woman. "As Harry's Head of House, you will be able to assist if we need to make any decisions."

"Mr. Potter, may I see your wand, first?" Rookwood stood in front of Ruby.

Ruby pulled the wand out of her back pocket. "Where is your wand- nevermind." Lucius saw the wand holder was attached to the wand. Ruby handed it all over to Rookwood.

The short minion of the DoM moved forward and Rookwood handed the wand holder back to Ruby. Everyone watched as Rookwood flicked the wand and sparkles flying out. "The wand is made from the Purpleheart tree. The Purpleheart enhances creative energy, knowledge, and assists in healing. It also eliminates negative energy in a home, tension too. It is a good wand for healers."

"Yes, it is. The trees range from Southeastern Brazil to Costa Rica and even to Trinidad. Most species grow in the Amazon basin. These trees are colloquially known by quite a few names, depending on the language. These include Amaranth, Violetwood, Tananeo, Saka, Koroboreli, Pau Roxo, and Morado." The Short Minion informed everyone. Dumbledore seemed delighted with the information.

"It's also one of the hardiest and most sturdy of woods. It's dense and watertight, resistant to decay, fungi, termites, and other bugs." Rookwood handed the wand back to Ruby. "Mr. Potter."

"Harry works for me. Unless you want to call me, Swifty. That is what I was called on the streets. Fast feet. Best runner there was." Ruby knew whatever she said Meg would learn and be able to keep the details straight. They weren't going to make it complex.

"Moving forward. Harry, We are going to run some simple scans. It will be for your magical core. The first scan will be for a baseline. The second will be confirmation of your family magic. The third will be for us to see is anything restricting your core. Each of us will do one scan apiece at the same time." Rookwood motioned for the two minions to join him. "It won't hurt but you will feel a bit of tingling as the scan read your magic."

"Okie dokie."

The three DoM wizards started running their scans. All everyone heard for about twenty minutes was the three DoM's casting. Rookwood and the two minions looked at the result. They pointed to different things on the pieces of parchment that had sprung for their individual wands. "Give us a minute, Harry. I need to speak to Lord Malfoy and the others. We are going to put up a privacy charm."

"Sure, sure. I get it, time is money and all that."

Rookwood headed to where the three Head of Houses were sitting. Dumbledore, Lucius, Narcissa joined him. He put up a privacy charm. The two minions were standing on either side of Rookwood. "We have a bit of an issue." He held out his results. "He barely has any magic. I'm surprised he even got accepted into Hogwarts."

Dumbledore took the results and read them. "Are you sure? He has a wand."

"Yes, a wand that is very well crafted and will work for anyone. He will never get the full benefits of that wand or any other one for that matter. How long was he on the streets? I'm aware of his abusive past."

"We aren't exactly sure. It has been a few years, I believe." Lucius answered.

"We believe that due to the abuse, the lack of care, and whatever he has endured over the last 10 years combined with what happened on that night that drained his magic. His core is weak, very weak. It could fail at any moment." Rookwood pointed to the stats on the parchment.

Minerva glared at Dumbledore. "I warned you about them." Everyone knew the story. Minerva had been very vocal in her displeasure about the muggles when they had believed Harry to be deceased.

Dumbledore looked at the results, again. He glanced over his shoulder to where Ruby was humming a mindless tune. "He was fine after that night. Poppy checked him out."

"Madam Pomfrey would have just looked at his general health. She wouldn't have run a core check." The Tall Minion spoke. "He also as something draining his magic."

"What?" Dumbledore paled a bit. "It can't be."

"Albus?" Pomona summoned a chair. "Sit."

Dumbledore sat down. "I, I, I'm not sure but I believe that Voldemort left a piece of his soul in Harry's scar."

"WHAT!!!!!" Almost everyone screamed.

"You mean he created a Horcrux which you knew about and you did nothing?" Rookwood hoped his acting was good enough. "If you had informed us when he was younger, we could have removed it. Now, after ten years, I believe it's merged with his magic. It's what is draining his core. His core will fail unless we find a way to stop it."

Severus watched Dumbledore. The man looked ready to faint. He had to hand it to Harry and Lucifer, they could plan events. "Is there a way to isolate the piece?"

"We will have to do more testing and research. No one has ever made a human Horcrux before. While a Horcrux is a tangible thing, I'm not sure what effect it has been having on Harry's mental stability. I can tell you it's almost ruined his core. If Harry's magic and core hadn't been compromised, he might have been able to fight off the effects of the Horcrux. The Horcrux might be the only reason he is alive." Rookwood explained.

"Harpo the Foul only did one Horcrux. From what we have read, a Horcrux will do whatever it can to survive." The Short Minion added.

"Yes, indeed. I believe that is why Harry is still alive. The Horcrux didn't want to die." Rookwood pointed to the results. "Those readings are barely keeping him alive. The Horcrux would only do that. It would only keep him alive."

"What can we do to heal him? We must do something so that the Horcrux won't keep draining him." Pomona quietly asked.

"He is going to need a lot of rest, a lot of potions. You might want to move him into Severus' quarters as a way for Severus to monitor Harry. I would have suggested Madam Pomfrey but Severus would be best. He can adjust the potions based on his observations." Rookwood explained.

"What type of potions will be required?" Dumbledore still looked a bit pale.

"Magic replenishers, bone strengtheners, nutritional potions, and even some Skele-Gro. I believe if we ran a medical scan we would find numerous issues. I'm sure Severus can handle it all." Rookwood looked at Severus. "He will need a special diet. I'm sure Madam Sprout can assist in that aspect."

"I will, I will do whatever is needed." Pomona looked at Severus. "We can discuss what you need after you do a health scan."

Severus scowled at Ruby. He did have a part to play. "Certainly."

"I will make sure you have everything you need, Severus. Pomona, if you need anything for the greenhouse, let us know. We will make sure you get it."

"Thank you, Lucius." Severus and Pomona spoke at the same time.

"Do you wish for us to continue testing? I won't do anything magical as I don't want to drain his core. We can test his reading and writing."

"I believe Miss Granger answered that." Dumbledore smiled.

"No, I want him tested. I want to make sure. I want to provide Harry with the correct required course of actions for all of his needs." Lucius looked at Narcissa.

"I'm in agreement. We want the very best for Harry." Narcissa looked at Pomona. "As his head, perhaps you could also work with Severus about tutoring, if needed, without straining whatever medical needs Harry has?"

"I certainly will." Pomona smiled.

It was all worked out before Dumbledore realized it. He looked at Pomona, Severus, and the Malfoys. He needed to find a way to get his pawns to be friends with Harry. Rookwood removed the privacy ward and headed back to Harry with his two minions trailing him. "Harry, I'm going to give you a book to read. I want you to read a paragraph for me."

"Why?" Ruby's voice got a bit defensive.

Severus was impressed. He had shown Ruby and Meg how to react about reading or writing. Rookwood opened the book that Molly closed. "We just want to see what level you are at. We need to make sure you are able to keep up and not get lost or confused with the lessons."

"I don't want to." Ruby closed the book. "What's the big deal with reading?"

Rookwood arched a brow. "Harry, I know this is something you won't want to admit but we need to know if we are to help you. Can you read?"

Ruby leaned back in her chair. "Harry, dear, it's fine. Lucius and I will make sure no one else will know." Narcissa looked at Dumbledore. "It will only be between us and whomever we hire to tutor you."

"You promise?" Ruby looked up. She had teary eyes.

"Yes, dear."

Ruby lowered her head and mumbled, "I can't read."

Narcissa smiled in reassurance. "That is fine, dear. Lucius and I will handle it." Narcissa turned and faced the group. "Thank you for your assistance, today."

"Yes, thank you. Augustus, may we have a copy of everything?"

"Certainly, Lucius. I will file the results when I return to the Ministry. You don't have to inform them of who you hired as a tutor but please inform the Board when you do."

"I will." Lucius faced Dumbledore. "I'm sure you will want the results of our decisions but we aren't hiring a tutor until Harry is physically up for it. We will take him to our healer in the morning. We will discuss the course of action with his healer and make our decision based on what the healer recommends."

"Yes, yes, of course. We don't want to burn out Harry's core." Dumbledore was still a bit pale but was regaining his coloring. "No need to rush things. I'm sure we can work this all out."

"Why don't we escort Harry to Severus' quarters." Narcissa smiled at Dumbledore. "That won't be an issue?"

"No, no. It's fine. I will arrange for Hogwarts to add another room. It will be ready by dinner." Everyone bid their goodbyes. Lucius, Narcissa, Severus, and Ruby weren't surprised to find Death, Harry, and Draco waiting for them. They knew Nagini, the Dark Lord, and Lucifer would join them in a few minutes.