Chapter 60: 4-8: Ho-Ho-Horcrux

Disclaimer: Being neither British nor Japanese, it should therefore come as no surprise that I own neither Harry Potter nor Naruto, nor anything from their respective franchises.

The photos were a big hit with S.E.N., with Neville in awe of the vast trees of Konoha and the three girls cooing over baby pictures of Uzumaki Himawari (Naruto, proud father that he was, had made sure to include several images of his family). Hermione started talking about the different architectural styles, and how the Hokage Tower was so different from anything she'd even heard of on Earth. Harry was most eager to see the people he'd heard so much about, and Luna loved the photo of Naruto with the two Toad Sages on his shoulders. Ginny was impressed by the various powerful kunoichi, but was a bit disappointed at the lack of 'action' shots. Iruka had to explain that photographing a shinobi while they were performing a jutsu was considered on par with peeping on them in the bath (or possibly even worse, given the proclivities of certain high-profile ninja); ninja culture was extremely secretive by nature, and nobody wanted detailed knowledge of their techniques or capabilities to get spread around.

˄

-――――===ͽ ˂ O ˃ ͼ===――――-

˅

In mid-December, with the Yule holidays fast approaching, Iruka received a rather cryptic note asking for his presence in the Headmaster's office. He arrived to find the office occupied not only by an Albus Dumbledore looking as serious as the chuunin had ever seen him, but also by Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, already seated and wearing expressions that mixed worry and confusion.

A third chair sat empty before the Headmaster's desk, and Albus motioned for him to take a seat. As he did, Iruka noticed a gaudy locket sitting in a cleared space in the center of the desk, and saw how the other men in the office seemed strangely wary of the bauble. The locket was quite large, about the size of a small egg, and oval in shape; it was made of gold, with a large letter "S" marked out on its face in small green gems.

"I'm guessing," he said, "that there's a story behind this piece of jewelry?"

Albus nodded somberly. "We shall begin with the most recent chapter of that story, so that you may understand how this meeting came about. Sirius, Remus, would you care to share this portion?"

"Well," Black began, "you know how we've been having my family's old house cleaned out? This locket was in one of the cabinets in the drawing room, and the Curse-Breakers said they didn't know what it was but it had some of the Darkest magic they'd ever seen. I didn't recognize it so I asked Kreacher, the old family elf, where it came from. It took some doing to get the story out of him," here his eyes grew distant for a few seconds, before he shook it off and continued, "but it turns out my brother Regulus sacrificed his life to steal this thing from the Dark Bastard."

"Since the Curse-Breakers couldn't identify it," Remus cut in, "and given who it apparently used to belong to, we figured we'd bring it to Albus to see if he would know what to do."

"He wanted us to just leave it with him, forget about it," Black picked back up with a brief glare at the Headmaster, "but Remus managed to argue that we were already involved, whatever it is, so we might as well know since if something involves Moldyshorts it involves my godson, and his well-being is my business. Then Dumbledore figured we'd probably end up telling you anyway seeing as you've been the one looking after Harry's safety recently, so he called you up here to explain it to you too."

"And thus," Albus said, "we come to the present. Before we continue I must impress upon all of you that all knowledge regarding this locket and what we are about to discuss must remain absolutely secret. If Lord Voldemort should discover what we know, it could doom us all. I may agree at some point in the future to share this with Harry, but for now at least it is one of our most dangerous secrets. The term Iruka has used in the past is 'need to know': There is nobody outside this office that needs to know about this, and frankly most would likely not want to know either - you will understand shortly."

The Headmaster's penetrating gaze locked onto each of his three visitors in turn, only moving on when they had nodded their assent. "Very well," he began, "I am quite certain that this locket once belonged to Salazar Slytherin himself. Rather curious that he would make it from gold, rather than silver; perhaps he preferred the ostentation, but I digress. How Tom Riddle came to possess it is also a story for another time. What is of immediate relevance is that I am quite certain that he has turned it into what is known as a Horcrux, by far one of the foulest creations of Dark magic ever conceived, beyond even the Unforgiveable Curses."

"I will not share any details of a Horcrux's creation," he continued, "as they are of no use to us and are horrific in the extreme. What I will say is that it begins with the use of a vile Dark ritual to prepare the object that will serve as the vessel, followed by an act of deliberate murder, and finally the casting of another Dark spell. Murder, one of the most foul of crimes, tears at the murderer's soul. Rather than healing this wound, the spell widens it, ripping away a piece of the caster's damaged soul to encase it in the prepared vessel." Both of the other wizards present wore looks of shock and revulsion, while Iruka's lips were pressed into a thin line, his face set in a scowl.

"But..." Black stammered, "Albus why in Merlin's name would anyone do something like that? Rip their own soul apart?"

"Immortality," replied a grim-faced Headmaster, "at least of a sort. A Horcrux acts as an anchor, and while it remains intact its creator cannot fully die. Their body can be killed, this is true, but their soul will not pass on so long as it is anchored to this world. It is quite likely that the old fairy tale 'The Warlock's Hairy Heart' is based on the story of an actual Dark wizard who made use of a Horcrux."

"So that's why he's not gone," Remus realized, "he set up an anchor as a failsafe, so that even if somebody beat him, he'd be able to stick around. Given what Iruka and Harry have told me of their first year here, it worked, too."

Iruka nodded in agreement. "Harry told me about a conversation he had with Hagrid, when he first found out what really happened to his parents. Hagrid said he didn't think that Voldemort was dead, that he didn't have enough human left in him to die. I guess he was closer than he knew, not that I'm likely to tell him any time soon." They all shared a sardonic smile at that. A good man Hagrid might be, but everyone knew that he was utterly unable to keep secrets.

"So we destroy this thing, the tosser dies?" Black asked hopefully.

Albus hesitated. "Perhaps. It is possible that destroying this locket will sever Voldemort's last link to the mortal plane. The problem lies in the fact that, less than two years ago, another item was destroyed. From what I could determine, it was Tom Riddle's Horcrux."

Iruka's eyes widened. "The diary." It wasn't a question.

"Indeed," the Headmaster confirmed, "its power, durability, and independence all suggested that it was more than a mere enchanted item like a portrait or the Sorting Hat." Several quiet scoffs could be heard around the room, with one muttered 'mere?'. "I could of course have been incorrect in my assessment, but there is a far more worrisome possibility, one which no Dark wizard in recorded history is known to have attempted."

Remus's amber eyes were almost glowing as he let out a low growl. "He made more than one of those abominations?!"

Albus nodded somberly. "Tom was ever the ambitious student, never satisfied to stop at any point that others had reached, always seeking to set himself above and apart from everyone else. I consider it neither impossible nor implausible that he would seek to create more than one Horcrux. Judging by your expressions, it would seem that you have all reached the same troubling conclusion that I have: This may not be the last of Tom's Horcruxes, with one or even several yet to be discovered."

The room was silent at that, aside from the odd noises occasionally produced by some of the odd gadgets around the room. After several moments of quiet contemplation, Black asked, "So what do we do now?"

"First, I think," said the Headmaster, "we destroy the Horcrux we do have. It is not an easy thing to do, as the only known means of stripping the anchor is to destroy its vessel beyond the ability of magic to repair. Fiendfyre would likely work, or perhaps some of the more powerfully destructive Muggle technologies, but fortunately we have at our disposal something far more controllable." At this, he rose from his chair and turned to one of the bookshelves. Tapping a complex pattern on the spines of half a dozen different books caused the entire shelf to slide outward, then to the side, revealing a hidden cavity behind from which Albus withdrew a curved fang longer than a kunai.

"Basilisk venom?" Iruka asked, receiving a nod and an approving smile in response.

Dumbledore held the fang out to Black. "I think, given what this locket has cost you, that perhaps you should do the honors, Sirius. Just give me a few moments to take certain precautions, as there is no telling just what traps and protections might be woven into this Horcrux." After Black took the fang, holding it in a white-knuckled grip while glaring pure hatred at the locket, Albus began casting spells over the locket, the desk, the four men present, the walls, floor, and ceiling, and pretty much everything else in the room. Finally, at his nod, Black raised the fang up over his head in a two-handed grip before bringing it down onto the locket with all his strength. A distant part of Iruka's mind noted that his technique could use a bit of work.

For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, the tip of the fang seeming to simply halt just at the locket's surface. Then, suddenly, whatever protections were present seemed to yield as the fang continued downward, plunging several millimeters into the locket's face about a centimeter off-center towards the chain. An oily black mist, reminiscent of the spirit Iruka had seen fleeing Quirrell's body, poured from the puncture with a scream of rage, terror, and mortal agony that stabbed into the four men's ears far more painfully than its pitch and volume could account for. A second later the mist dissipated, leaving only the echoes of its scream and a lingering feeling of darkness that began to slowly fade. Both the echoes and the unclean feeling were swiftly driven away as Fawkes, who had sat quietly observing to this point, trilled a brief song that seemed to speak of sadness and resolve.

Black stood there, holding the fang still embedded in the locket and panting like he'd just run all the way from the Entrance Hall. "That..." he said weakly, releasing the fang and collapsing back into his chair, "We might have to do that again? Merlin..."

"Be thankful you didn't have to fight a basilisk for this one," Iruka quipped darkly, "that is not something I ever want to have to repeat."

"Just please tell us the damned thing is dead," Remus said still looking warily at the locket.

Albus obligingly began casting spells over the ruined relic, before giving a grim but satisfied nod. "It now gives similar readings to the diary after Filius and Harry destroyed it. That is two anchors removed, and an unknown number yet to go."

"How do we find them?" Black asked almost plaintively.

"I am not without theories," the Headmaster said, though something about the way he said it left Iruka feeling that he was being evasive for some reason, "having done quite a bit of research into Tom's personal history in an attempt to better understand and predict his way of thinking. There are two particular items which I feel are strong candidates, and a number of locations that might prove fruitful to search. As you three are now aware of this endeavor, I will begin sharing the information I have gathered some time in the near future, once I have had an opportunity to properly organize it and set aside sufficient time for us to go over a good portion of it. Perhaps one of you might spot something which I missed, and in any case I could well benefit from having your wands at my back should I go to investigate one of the potential hiding places."

"So you think he's hidden them in recognizable locations, then?" Iruka asked. "It would be a real problem if he just decided to fly a broom out over the ocean and toss one of them into the water. So would a Horcrux made from something unremarkable, like a random stone."

Albus smiled, a bit of his usual good humor returning. "Ah, but here Tom's pride and arrogance will be some of our greatest allies. While it is true that an unobtrusive item in the middle of nowhere would indeed be nearly impossible to find, Tom would want only the most significant of items to house the precious pieces of his soul. You will understand more, I think, once you know more about his childhood and origins."

"I'm assuming you've already checked the Chamber of Secrets?" Remus spoke up.

The Headmaster nodded. "Indeed, that was one of the goals I had in mind venturing down there. Fortunately or unfortunately, Tom did not choose to hide one of his anchors in Slytherin's Chamber, likely due more to lack of opportunity than anything else."

"That reminds me," Iruka cut in, "you should probably share at least some part of this Madam Bones - who knows, the DMLE might get lucky and find one at some point. An argument could be made for Filius as well, considering he was a big part of destroying the diary."

Albus's hesitation showed as clearly on his face as his crooked nose, before he finally gave a reluctant nod. "Perhaps it would be wise to bring Amelia into our confidence, at least to some degree. You are correct in suggesting that her Aurors might stumble upon a Horcrux, or perhaps a clue that might lead to one, and she herself has proven a skilled investigator. The difficulty will be that she is of a profoundly axiomatic mindset, and will not tolerate unlawful behavior if she can prevent it. Given your previous profession and Sirius and Remus's history as pranksters, you three are all much more flexible with regards to rules." The other two looked a bit confused at this, as Iruka had still not shared the full details of his origins and abilities with them. They knew some, because of their connection to Harry, but not about the dimensional travel aspect or his jutsu, though they certainly seemed to suspect that he had been behind the anomalous flash flood after the Quidditch World Cup.

"It might also be worth seeing if you can find a decent Curse-Breaker you can trust," Sirius added, "unless you happen to know all the tricks of that particular trade. Wards, curses, and booby-traps that would have cause Moony and me no end of trouble, those guys working on Grimmauld go through 'em like they were put up by First-Years. Trouble is that there aren't exactly a lot of trained Curse-Breakers to pick from, and something like this you need to know you can trust them."

"That is certainly worth considering," the Headmaster replied, "though obviously not immediately vital as we do not yet have a clear idea of where we should be searching. Still, there may be at least one possibility, but whether it will pan out remains to be seen."

"Regardless," he continued, "I must again remind you all that this information, and our efforts regarding it, must be kept utterly secret. Firstly, while I'm certain none of you would be tempted to pursue such a course, there are nevertheless those who would attempt to make their own Horcrux should they learn of the possibility. Secondly, if Tom were to discover that we are aware of and seeking his treasures, he would undoubtedly act to thwart our efforts, vastly worsening the already difficult task of rendering him mortal once more."

˄

-――――===ͽ ˂ O ˃ ͼ===――――-

˅

The other event of note in December was the Yule Ball, yet another tradition of the Triwizard Tournament. Albus and the rest of the staff had worked together with the two visiting Heads to both temporarily enlarge the Great Hall and decorate it even more spectacularly than was usual for the holiday season. Part of the spectacle may have been the result a bit of one-upsmanship between the three school Heads during the decorating stage. Madame Maxime eventually won with the creation of an entire rose garden, complete with various benches and secluded spots for discreet romantic interludes that would undoubtedly require patrolling by chaperones were it not for the cold weather that would likely dampen the ardor of all but the most dedicated young lovers.

All of the faculty and staff present at Hogwarts were in attendance, as were the visiting Heads along with Ludo Bagman and Percy Weasley, the latter of which was standing in for Bartemius Crouch, who was apparently under the weather and had delegated his Tournament duties to his assistant until he recovered. Both the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons student contingents were there in their entirety, but the largest group were the students of Hogwarts: At least eighty percent of those fourth-year and up had come, along with a smattering of younger children admitted as various older students' dates. Harry and Neville had brought Luna and Ginny as their dates as friends, to allow all of S.E.N. to attend together.

Hermione had been the real surprise, to a lot of people, attending on the arm of Durmstrang champion and international Quidditch superstar Viktor Krum. Ordinarily she put little real effort into her appearance, but now she was showing that she actually cleaned up quite well indeed. Her oversized front teeth had been shrunk, her usual bushy mane tamed into smooth waves and a fancy style (courtesy of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion, an invention of Harry's grandfather Fleamont Potter), and her periwinkle gown showed her developing figure kept uncommonly fit by Iruka's training. More than a few jaws hit the floor at seeing the usually somewhat frumpy witch looking radiant with easily one of the most desirable dates at the Ball, and not all of the stares directed at her were from jealous witches. The girl's beaming smile and confident bearing showed just how much good this evening was doing to exorcize the demons of poor self-image built up by years of bullying.

After the three school champions opened the Ball with the official first dance, the students flooded out to take a twirl themselves. Both Harry and Neville made sure to dance with each of their three female friends at least once, and Krum obligingly danced with Ginny and Luna once each himself. In fact, he ended up following Hermione to where S.E.N. had gathered to enjoy their evening, and got to discussing Quidditch and flying in general with Harry and Ginny, eventually joined by Cedric Diggory and his date Cho Chang, the incumbent Seeker for the Ravenclaw team. Harry's behavior towards the latter had Iruka smothering a smirk at the obvious infatuation; someone, it seemed, had begun to notice girls 'that way'. Judging by the twitching corners of Luna and Neville's lips, Iruka wasn't the only one to have picked up on this.

Beyond those simply jealous that they weren't on the arm of the famous Bulgarian, two wizards in particular seemed less than pleased by Krum's association with the Hogwarts group. Karkaroff seemed extremely put out by the fact that his superstar pupil was associating with other people - nearly every appearance by the two had the Highmaster fawning over the student and hovering over him like an overprotective mother hen. Most likely he just wanted to be connected as strongly as possible with such a major celebrity, possibly aiming to gain some degree of influence over him as well.

The other person who seemed particularly aggrieved was Ronald Weasley. Several times the redheaded Fourth-Year in the hideous maroon robes made as if to approach the group, before settling back down to simply continue glaring angrily. Iruka made sure to keep an eye on the boy, in case he was about to start trouble, but whatever his issue was it didn't seem like anything immediately dangerous. Finally, at a point where most of the pairs among the group were dancing and Krum was making his way towards the buffet with his and Hermione's goblets, the youngest male Weasley made his move.

As Ronald was stomping his way over to a presently-alone Hermione, Iruka made an excuse and started slipping through the crowd himself. He didn't think the boy was planning anything nasty, but even if he just caused a scene the chuunin wanted to be there to head it off as quickly and quietly as possible. Ginny had mentioned her youngest brother's volcanic temper, so this had the potential to get a bit ugly unless someone managed to defuse it before Mount Ronald blew his top.

Between the music and the dull roar of conversations around the room, he was practically next to the two Gryffindors before he could make out what they were saying.

"-supposed to be about getting to know foreign wizards and making friends with them!" came the tail end of a firm assertion by Hermione.

"No it isn't!" shouted Ronald, "It's about winning!"

The angry shout had drawn a lot of attention and was the start of exactly the type of trouble Iruka had hoped to head off. Deciding to end this argument before it got any louder (and knowing Molly Weasley, her son probably had a fair amount of volume left unused), he stepped up to the two. "Mister Weasley," he said somewhat coldly, "your fellow students are trying to have a relaxing, enjoyable evening, and you are making a scene. If you continue causing a disruption I will have to ask you to return to your common room." He glared sternly at the boy, who grumbled angrily and sulked off.

With that incident dealt with, the evening was free to move along enjoyably for all involved.

˄

-――――===ͽ ˂ O ˃ ͼ===――――-

˅

It turned out later that, while the Yule Ball had finished without further trouble (a spectacular success for something involving hundreds of teenagers in high spirits), the evening had not been without further drama. Apparently the youngest male Weasley had again exploded at Hermione once in the relative safety of the Gryffindor common room. From her account, along with those of the three other S.E.N. members in her House, Iruka tried to piece together what Ronald's problem was from what sounded like a somewhat rambling stream of rage.

Looking at it overall, the chuunin could only conclude that the boy was envious: He was envious of Harry's and Krum's fame and wealth, envious of Hermione's association with the Bulgarian Seeker, envious of the close connection she and the rest of S.E.N. shared with the famous "Boy Who Lived", and even a bit envious of Krum for getting a date with Hermione. Further conversation with Ginny (and with Harry, who had still been interacting with the youngest of Ginny's brothers in a friendly if distant manner - much more distant after this incident), gave Iruka further insight into the redhead's mind, even if the indirect nature of his source meant that his analysis was far from ironclad.

Apparently Ronald had a low opinion of Hermione overall, and therefore had not expected her to find a date to the Yule Ball at all. This led him to assume that she'd be available, and he considered her one of the more attractive and accessible girls that wouldn't already have dates. Thus, she was his fallback option to make sure that he had a date to the Ball in the event that no more desirable girl would accept his invitation (a likely state, given his humiliating attempt to ask Fleur Delacour). When Hermione turned out to have a date already when he asked her at the last minute, it left him feeling betrayed.

Ronald Weasley was almost certainly deeply insecure, even compared to other teenagers. Five older brothers who had each achieved a degree of success and respect in their chosen fields of endeavor, plus a younger sister that was doted upon for being the only girl born to the family in quite some time, left him feeling constantly overlooked and overshadowed. This wasn't exactly surprising, as he certainly had a lot to live up to, but it would explain his envy of those who he felt were outshining him. His lackadaisical nature might also be a result of this, as what would the point be of exerting himself if he'd never achieve enough to measure up?

It was, frankly, a mess, and not one that Iruka really felt he was suited to handling. Perhaps if the boy had joined Harry in S.E.N. he'd have found his own way to stand out among his brothers, but there was no way for anyone involved to have known that at the time. Keeping the group semi-secret would have also been a bit more difficult, admittedly, since Ronald didn't seem to have much of a filter between his brain and his mouth, but the meditation and other exercises might have helped that in time as well.

Regardless, it was too late now: He was years behind the others, and would be starting at an older age and thus benefit less from the physical portions of the training. That wouldn't be a problem on its own, but given his existing issues it could get ugly when his envy was turned towards his peers' greater advancement and abilities, negating the entire attempt to help him move past his insecurities. The most Iruka could do was explain the matter to the Weasley parents, and to Minerva as the boy's Head of House. With a sigh, he reached for his writing materials to begin a letter to the Burrow.

A/N: No, Himawari is not still a baby at this time. Naruto just sent along baby pics of his kids, partly to brag and partly to embarrass Boruto.

I seriously tried to make Ron a part of S.E.N., but it just didn't make sense when the group was first forming, and the final paragraph of this chapter explains why bringing him in late would be problematic at best. It's unfortunate, since my original thoughts had him turning into the group's equivalent of Shikamaru - a lazy but brilliant tactician - but I just didn't see a believable way to bring him on board.

Fic Recommendation: "The Key to a Successful Interview" by The Sage of Toads - It's Ranma 1/2 but many of the characters are more sensible and less odious and annoying. Very well written, but almost never updates.

Posted 16 June 2019

Current WIP Chapter: 76