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The last mage of Krypton

Not my book just posting on webnoval This was written by the bearded one I do not own Harry Potter or Superman, Marvel and DC do. There is one sentence in Bulgarian in this chapter. The translation is at the end of the chapter. !

dark_elf_God · แฟนตาซี
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118 Chs

Chapter 17:Confrontation And History

 

Luna Lovegood eep'd in shock as she stepped out of the secret passage straight into Harry Potter's arms. Behind Harry, Albus Dumbledore and Filius Flitwick stood watching, with Neville and Hermione peeping past them.

"So," Harry asked, "How did you find this passage to the Chamber of Secrets?"

Luna frowned in confusion as she clutched the diary in her hands, only for Harry to snatch it away from her.

"This thing feels quite bad, almost… dark." He said, looking at the cover on which the name T. M. Riddle was embossed in gold and Albus nodded.

"I agree, I can sense the Dark Magic in it. Come, Miss Lovegood, let us discuss this in my office. Twenty points to Ravenclaw, Mr Potter, and yes, you can help explore. How did you know about this passage?"

"I saw her go into it." Harry shrugged. In actuality, he hadn't seen it himself, but Jor-El had picked her up on the scanners and relayed it to him, using the time that the entrance was open to sneak a couple of small probes into it to map it out.

"Excellent work, Mr Potter." Albus twinkled as he placed a guiding hand on Luna's shoulder. "Well done."

"You head back, I'll call you if we need you." Filius said with a significant glance at Harry's wrist, then he was gone as well.

"That was… anticlimactic." Neville finally admitted. "What was that book?"

"I'm not sure." Harry admitted, "But I can probably find out. Come on."

.

"Where did you get this diary from?" Albus gently asked, indicating the dark book sat in the middle of his desk.

"It was among my books when my father an I attended Lockhart's signing and dad got in a fight with Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy didn't like dad's footwear."

"I remember hearing about that." Flitwick chuckled, then he looked at the book. "So, either Malfoy used the fight to get that into your books or someone else took advantage of it. What do we do?"

"Oh, I have an idea." Albus grinned, his normal genial appearance replaced with a ferociousness very few had seen and lived to tell of. "Filius, do you know how to use Fiendfyre? I believe that we should gather the staff and incinerate this thing in front of them."

"And see who freaks out." Filius agreed. "Gather the staff, Albus. I'll take Miss Lovegood to Poppy and then join you… main courtyard?"

"Main courtyard." Albus agreed.

.

.

To my beloved husband.

Something very odd happened today. Dumbledore summoned all the teachers to the main courtyard where he showed us an old diary with the name T. M. Riddle written on it. He then placed the diary on a metal stand and had Flitwick destroy it using Fiendfyre. As it crumbled to ashes, a black cloud emerged and dissipated while screaming.

Please tell me that it was not what I think it was, my love. Even my unlamented aunt refused to use that particular technique and if it was indeed that, then I fear for our future if he ever returns.

On Sunday, make certain that you remain at home rather than being out playing your political games. I shall be there at noon to discuss this with you.

And if it was what I thought it was, you have a great deal of explaining to do…

Yours,

Narcissa.

.

Lucius put down the letter and spent five minutes swearing quietly but with great intensity. Finally calming down, he steepled his fingers in thought, only to be interrupted by the sound of his Floo alert chiming. Rising from his chair, he stalked through to the Receiving Room.

"Yes?"

"Lucius, it's me." The man in the fireplace said. "May I come through?"

Lucius nodded and a moment later, the Floo flared as the visitor stepped through.

"Severus." Lucius said with a welcoming nod. "What is the problem?"

"Today, Albus oversaw the destruction of one of the Dark Lord's Horcruxes." Severus said without preamble. "It was not the one I was aware of. That one was a locket once belonging to Salazar Slytherin. How many did he make?"

Lucius had paled during Severus' statement. "He made more than one? What was he trying to do?"

"He did tell us that he had gone further down the path of immortality than anyone else." Severus growled, pacing back and forwards as he spoke. "And near the end, his sanity was slipping. We both know how paranoid he had become, how his planning abilities had decreased… how many?"

"How do you know of Horcruxes?" Lucius demanded and Severus gave him a look.

"I have my sources." He finally responded, an answer which Lucius knew to mean that he would not be pushed any further. "I assume your wife told you about the technique and why it was abandoned."

"Not quite." Lucius grumbled. "I managed to read part of a book in the Black Library which mentioned them and one of Slughorn's display books that I leafed through had a few other facts, such as how creating a Horcrux damaged the soul of the creator."

"That… explains more than I would like." Severus admitted. "I had wondered why he went from someone who had a plan to someone just reacting and doing so badly… Do you think he ever realized what was happening to him?"

"With his ego? No." Lucius barely managed to stop himself snorting. "Any idea what happened to that locket?"

"I don't know." Severus admitted. "The Dark Lord had Regulus Black loan him the Black House Elf just before he stopped wearing that locket… perhaps Regulus found out where it had been hidden. It would explain why the Dark Lord killed him…"

"So it could be anywhere. And that's assuming that it's the last one, which it probably isn't." Lucius groaned. "Damn. How sane will he be when he returns, do you think?"

"I don't know." Severus turned away, heading for the Floo. "And I don't think I'll be sleeping well tonight."

.

"The Diary was one of the Dark Lord's Horcruxes." Severus stated.

"Which means that either the Locket that you told me of is the last as it would have made three including himself, or there could be up to four more to find." Albus sighed. "I believe there are three others including the Locket."

Severus tilted his head in query and Albus sagged in his chair. "The creation of a Horcrux requires a murder. Not just any murder, but the murder of one who cannot or will not fight back. To kill someone like that damages the soul and with the right ritual, a sliver of the soul can be removed and placed in an item, providing an anchor for the person in question should they be killed.

"However, there is a price. To create a Horcrux costs the creator. Love, joy, happiness, their ability to feel those emotions is halved while anger and rage are easier to feel. Create one and you become more angry and impulsive. To create more than one… at the end, I am surprised he was still able to display any self-control. His willpower must have been incredible.

"Let us assume he meant to create six Horcruxes. Killing young Harry would have been the perfect opportunity to create one, so he had five when he died. A part of his soul was embedded in Harry's scar, but it is gone now. According to Filius, the Goblins have experience with Soul Magic, something I was unaware of until very recently. I wish I had known, I am certain young Harry would have had an easier life had I used their skills on that day… but at least it is dealt with.

"We need to locate the other three, work out what they are and where. The Diary is destroyed, the locket is in a place yet to be discovered… the Diary was his and the locket… he did claim to be descended from Salazar Slytherin. But what of the other three? What were they and where?"

"At least we have a solid lead." Severus offered.

"Indeed we do, my boy, and for that you have my thanks."

.

.

"Luna, are you alright?"

"I am…" Luna replied to Ginny's worried query as she stepped into the Common Room. "The diary didn't manage to do any lasting damage and Poppy says that I'll be fully recovered in a month or so. Until then, I have to avoid stressful situations…"

"I've had Jor-El do some research into the original owner of that diary." Harry said as he walked towards them. "It worries me and I hope he's wrong, but… Tom Marvolo Riddle. Slytherin, Prefect and Head Boy. A trophy of his is in the trophy display cabinet just off the Great Hall. Professor Flitwick let me have a look at his record and his parents were the Pureblood Merope Gaunt and the muggle squire Tom Riddle, making him a Halfblood. Oddly, if you rearrange the letters of his name, it spells out the phrase I am Lord Voldemort. I don't think that it's a coincidence."

"But… that means…" Ginny gasped before she caught Luna in a protective hug.

"Well done, Luna." Harry said with a wry smile. "Now you can claim to have survived an attack by Voldie as well. Welcome to the club."

"...urk…" Luna managed.

"Ginny… you know Luna will need to breathe sometime, right?" Hermione asked as she rose from her chair to join them and Ginny released Luna, blushing bright red.

"…sorry!"

.

.

Gilderoy Lockhart opened yet another of the dozens of trunks he had lined up against the walls of his secret hideaway.

Behind him, a similar line of trunks was open, one half-filled with Galleons, one almost full of Sickles, three with Knuts, five with different sorts of clothes and beside them, piles of books ranging from old, damaged schoolbooks to tomes once held closed with straps and buckles, indicating knowledge within that the unprepared could not cope with but which he had eagerly perused, hoping to find something that would explain that damned boy's techniques.

"Hello?" Gilderoy's eyebrows shot up as the light glinted off something. Reaching in, he lifted it out, holding it up for a closer look.

"What on earth are you?" He mused, turning the item of jewelry around for a better look. "I know that I've seen you before… haven't I?"

Pulling out a damaged cloak, he used it to wrap the jewelry up, then rose from his knees with a slight wince. Moving to his writing desk, he pulled out one of the many folders.

"Let's see… notable magical jewelry.. female… looks rather old… Oh. My. Word!"

With a suddenly-shaky hand, Gilderoy slowly slid the reference folder back into its slot, then he moved the wrapped item to the very center of his desk. Once he had it in front of him, he unwrapped it very carefully, allowing it to once again sparkle in the light.

"Oh… Oh Merlin…" He breathed, lightly touching it as if afraid that it would simply vanish if he even looked at it too hard, then he grabbed a spare sheet of parchment and a quill. "All these centuries it was lost and I'm the one who's found it… but how should I do this? How can I regain the reputation that I had before that little bastard went and… Ah-hah! Of course! I came across a reference to its location in an old manuscript in Hogwarts, but I needed a reason to leave, so I laid clues that led Potter to conclude… no. To mistakenly conclude I was a fraud, which I am not! I let him beat me so that I could leave on my long quest… fighting dragons and vampires… no. Werewolves and vampires, that's more believable… damn the lack of wild dragons outside Asia… until I finally found her birthplace in… in… dammit, got to look up the Scottish Glens and choose one that's been abandoned for a long time… where I undid an enchantment that I found inscribed on a rock… must remember to place said rock there and put some carvings on it… which revealed… in a flash of light…"

Gilderoy dropped the quill and using his fingertips, picked up the item, his eyes moving from the way it was shaped like a bird about to take flight to the large blue sapphire that formed the center of it.

"…in a flash of light, I beheld…" He grinned, lifting the item and lowering it towards his head.

"…the perfection of Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem!" He exulted as the silver band came to rest on his brow and his eyes glowed with magic.