Alexandra Dursley {Golden Trio}

Chapter 19 - Horcruxes and Animagi

Al took a deep breath as she approached Harry and his friends after transfiguration. She didn't want to do this, but she desperately needed answers. "Um, Harry? I need a word, please." Ron rolled his eyes and Hermione just looked at her sternly, but Al ignored them.

"Sure," he said with a smile, "what's up?"

Making sure Ron and Hermione were out of earshot, Al pulled a piece of parchment from out her bag, "I have something for you, but I need something back."

"Is that...?" he said, eyeing the signed permission slip.

"Yes, I got my Ma to do it," she said.

"What do you need?" Harry asked, somewhat desperately.

"I need to know how you didn't get caught in our first year? When you went to see the dragon at Hagrid's?" His face fell.

"Oh...well, I can't really..."

"Please Harry. It's really important."

"Do you mind telling me what it is?" he asked.

"When I passed out on the train, I had this vision. I just want to research that, but the book's in the restricted section. And I can't get caught."

"Ok. I have this invisibility cloak from my Dad. But you can't lose it," he warned.

"I won't, I promise. Library after dinner?" she asked and he agreed.

*****

 Al hadn't been out in the castle at night on her own before, and the silence was weird. Hallways that were usually full and loud were now quiet and empty. She didn't come across anyone except the Ravenclaw ghost on her way to the library - so the plan was going well.

 Once she was in the library, she had to get into the restricted section, which wasn't difficult as it only required a first year spell. Al wasn't too worried about being caught; she thought the points system was stupid and she probably deserved the detention. Finally she found herself wandering the shelves, looking for the book title Madame Pince had written down on that note.

 It took her a good five minutes to find the right section, but once she had, finding the book was not a problem. Getting into it was. On one side it was bound with a spine, as all books were. But the other side had a sheet of shimmering metal with a keyhole. Not many of the other books had it, but when Al tried 'Alohamora', it didn't work. How difficult does he have to make this for me? Al thought. She'd bet anything Dumbledore was behind this.

 As far as she knew, this book was only about the three unforgivable curses, which any child of an Auror knew. There was a chapter on them in one of the books Snape had assigned her last year! There were far darker books in this section of the library, so for this one to be locked was absurd. At least she knew where the answer was.

 While she was here, Al thought she may as well have a look around. One book a shelf along caught her eye, because it wasn't dusty. It also wasn't locked. Lighting her wand, Al flipped Secrets of the Darkest Art by Owle Bullock open to a well-read chapter titled, Horcruxes.

 To create a horcrux is a dark task to undertake, involving ripping one's soul into two and storing that piece elsewhere. Sought after by dark wizards over the centuries, a horcrux is one of the most powerful objects in history, as it can - in a sense - prevent death. The object in which the piece of soul resides acts as an anchor, preventing the individual from moving on to the afterlife.

 The process for creating a horcrux consists of...

 Al stopped reading there, namely because some of the words further down the page made her feel a bit sick. But also because she'd realised something. What if Voldemort had a horcrux? That would explain how he survived after the spell had backfired. Then - what if the diary that Harry told her about had been a horcrux? He said it had a memory of Voldemort in it - could that not have been a piece of soul mistaken for a memory?

 Al lowered her wand tip along the shelves, when another book called out to her. Becoming Animagus by Gereth Dresden. Maybe something in here could help her with her essay for transfiguration? They were studying animaigi at the moment.

 Al hauled the red-bound book down from the shelf. She flipped it to a random page, which appeared to be bookmarked with a photograph. It had four boys, a few years older than her, sat in a red and gold decorated dormitory. On the right, one timid looking boy waved at the camera. Next to him, a tall, scrawny boy was leaning against a bed post with a bar of chocolate and a book - he looked weirdly familiar, but she couldn't place him.

 She now allowed herself to look at the man taking the picture from a selfie angle and inhaled sharply - he was the spit of Harry. But his eyes were brown instead. Could it be...his Dad? Maybe she should show Harry when she gave the cloak back. But then her eyes wandered across to the fourth boy in the picture and she felt her stomach drop. That was unmistakably Sirius Black. He had the same pointed features, the same dark eyes and the same curly hair. Granted - it was longer after thirteen years in Azkaban - but it had to be him.

 But what was he doing in a picture with Harry's Dad? Had they been friends? The thought didn't bear thinking about - he was the one that got the Potters killed. She quickly flipped the picture over, hoping for some more information. It only read, Prongs, Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail. Nicknames, obviously. And all animal related...were they animaigi? Was Sirius Black an animagus? Padfoot...what on earth could that be? Pretty much any mammal. Should she tell someone? No - she shouldn't even be there, and she had no proof that was Black. Prongs was something with antlers, Moony was a wolf and wormtail was a rodent or something.

 "Hello?" a voice called out. Filch! Al quickly pocketed the photo, put the book back on the shelf, put out her wand and got under the cloak, just as his slimy head popped round the corner. "You can run, but you can't hide," he called, walking straight past her.

 Quickly, Al dashed out the library, ran straight past the Weasley twins who were running from Mrs Norris, and straight back down into the dungeons. She had some thinking to do.