More Important Than Any Broomstick [Harmione]

42. Experimental Magic

Suddenly everyone was staring at Harry, whose face had turned white. Hermione, with a horrified expression on her face, took Harry's hand, knowing that if he ever needed her support, it was now.

"Wh-What?" asked Harry, hoping he had misunderstood.

The gazes all shifted back toward Dumbledore, who said with a sad expression, "You heard me correctly Harry. Your scar is a Horcrux." The old man looked on the verge of tears. "I'm afraid that you'll have to die before Tom can."

"Wait a minute!" shouted several people angrily.

Dumbledore put up his hands. "I wasn't proposing we kill him now. We'd be as bad as Voldemort. I'm just saying that while Harry lives, Voldemort can't fully die. We can try to delay his return to power, as Harry did with the Philosopher's Stone and the diary. I suggest we concentrate our efforts on the remaining unidentified Horcrux."

Sirius had to speak up. "Isn't there some way to destroy the Horcrux without hurting Harry?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "When a Horcrux is inside a living thing, be it plant, animal, or human, it survives off of the host's life force. As long as that life force exists, so will the Horcrux."

Harry took on an angrier expression than he'd ever had before. "That bloody son of a..."

"Harry," said Hermione desperately. "Calm down. We'll find a solution." She then turned back to Dumbledore with a light of hope in her eyes. "Headmaster, is there a way to...transfer the Horcrux to something else?"

"I'm afraid not, Miss Granger. No spell exists to transfer a Horcrux."

"Then, maybe I can do it wandlessly, without a spell."

"To attempt to transfer the Horcrux from Harry without damaging him would be far too complex to do without a spell. There are too many factors to consider, the most important part would be Harry's mind."

"His mind, sir?"

"Yes, his mental health. He has hosted, however unwillingly, a piece of Voldemort's soul inside him. It has been a part of him almost his entire life. It is a part of him, infused in his magic and mind."

"You mean I get my powers from Voldemort?" asked Harry, still angry judging from how red his face was.

"Some of your powers, such as Parseltongue, but I don't believe all. Your parents were both powerful, so naturally you'd be powerful in your own right. However, some of your power may come from the Horcrux. However, it's just as likely that the Horcrux is holding back some of your own power."

"Holding back?" asked Harry, clearly not fully understanding.

Hermione explained, "Binding your magic. Harry, don't you remember what Professor Vector said in class a few weeks ago about magical potential?"

He blushed at momentarily forgetting his arithmancy that he'd worked on so hard to learn so he could drop divination. "Oh yeah. If something is binding magic, the victim's potential is limited, so some of their spells will have less affect while others won't work at all. There are spells and cursed objects that can do that."

Lupin said with a smirk, "It's theoretically possible that if you lost the Horcrux you could lose some power and gain the same amount back."

"And come out even," said Harry unemotionally.

"But I'm afraid that all of that is pointless speculation," said Dumbledore firmly. He looked into Harry's eyes and said, "I'm very sorry Harry, but as long as you live, Voldemort can't die."

"But that's not what the prophecy says, sir," Hermione stated. "It says 'neither can live while the other survives,' not 'the dark lord can't die while the other survives.'"