The Last of the Starks

Chapter VIII

Harry walked into the Lord's Office, wondering how to proceed with the necessary conversation. He had so many questions for Aunt Stas and Uncle Phin, he didn't know where to begin. That's not even to mention that he now had a letter from Tom, one that he had no clue on what to do with. He hasn't opened it and was quite frankly scared to. He walked over to the liquor cabinet, poured himself a glass of FireWhiskey, and downed it before pouring a second.

Walburga and Phineas watched as the young Lord was having a bit of a nervous breakdown. They were curious as to what had caused it since the only news from the outside could come in letters. Finally, Walburga spoke up, "Harrison... Is everything alright?" Harry turned to look at them and stared for several moments, thoughts running through his head. He chose to instead say, "I'm lost on what to do. There are several things I need your advice on. But they mainly focus on one person. Tom Riddle."

Walburga sucked in a shallow breath, and finally touched the Family Magic. As Harry was now the Lord of the Black Family, the portraits could determine if he was under any influence. She scanned his magic and found it free except for three anomalies. One was a section of the mind that was surrounded by a Blood Ward. She caressed it and found that it was his mothers magic. Something inside his mind was found to be a danger, and her sacrifice had shielded Harry from it. The second was a string of some kind, that led to some distant magic. She recognized it as a bond, but could not determine what type. And the third was underlying magic that had yet to be awakened. While the anomalies were interesting and some concerning, none posed a threat for Harry.

She looked him in the eye, "What has you troubled about him?" Harry sat down by the fire in one of the leather chairs and sipped at his whiskey. He had never drunk before, but the burn was too good to stop him from drinking. He needs this reassurance that he was not losing any of his faculties. He spoke softly, not trusting his voice, "I've had to memories return to me. Last night was of a time I was with a Memory version of Tom from his Highschool years. We were laying together on a couch. The second was in a bathtub, in swim trunks, just enjoying the warm water. He said that he had to leave so that he may live and see me again. That the monster he turned into was not him. He then returned to a diary, one that I have seen in the burrow since then. However, all of this took place in my Second Year. I remember Killing a basilisk and then destroying the diary with its tooth-"

Anything else he was going to say was cut off by Phineas screeching, "A HORCRUX?!?!" Walburga and Harry looked at him curiously, and he took a shattering breath. He entered his professor mode, "A Horcrux is a piece of Soul Magic that according to myth, allows a person to be immortal that can only be destroyed by Basilisk Venom or fiendfyre. However, like all forms of immortality, there is a price to be paid. Take the Philosopher's Stone for example. While alchemy plaid a key part in its creation, it relied on the deaths of several hundred people. By the time that Nicholas Flamel completed it, he had killed 1,238 people. While that is a lot, all of them were prisoners on death row, so they would have died anyway. Also, the Elixir could be used for other things besides immortality. That's why his family was only exiled, instead of tried. For Horcruxes, it depends on how you make the Horcrux. To split off a piece of your soul, you must kill a person. Every single kill fractures the soul, but the size of the fracture is determined by the justification for the kill. If it is completely justified then you are able to control how much you lose. Lets you Hogwarts as an example, for it is one you are familiar with. The Sorting Hat is a Horcrux for the Founders. When they had started to create the school, they wondered how to determine who fell under a person's domain of care. At the same time, they were worried that someone would override their initial beliefs. So they decided to create the Sorting hat. They each chose a wizard who had sexually abuse both muggle and wizarding children and executed them. They then split off a quarter of their soul and placed it into the hat at the same time. It allowed the hat, or Alastair as he prefers, to become his own person. Now, the price for such a phenomenon is nothing except for eternal wondering in the world. When they all passed, they merged their remaining magic into the schools, securing it for centuries to come. Now, if it is cold murder, then the soul is fractured in half. One Horcrux wouldn't do anything, but the more you create, the more insane you become. You begin to lose your true self, as well as grow weak in magic. That is what happened to Mr Riddle."