MIRROR OF ERISED

42. Horcruxes

PREVIOUSLY IN - MIRROR OF ERISED

The gang of friends have a sleepover at Potter Castle.

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The summer holidays after Harry's birthday party was spent pretty much the same as it was before July 31st. They also didn't bother to go to Diagon Alley as they had all the books that they needed. Dumbledore and Flitwick worked out a solution and removed the curse that Voldemort had placed on the DADA teacher's position.

On Harry's birthday, when Harry and his friends were in the library, Lucius broke the news of how Voldemort survived that Halloween night. It was due to the making of Horcruxes. When asked how he knew, he told that one night, Voldemort had called himself, Bellatrix Lestrange and Sirius' brother Regulus to meet him. One by one, he called the privately and gave them an object each for safe keeping. He continued by telling that he was given a diary, Bella was given a cup of some sort and Reg was given a locket. Since Regulus knew that Lucius wanted the Dark Lord's downfall, he told him that the locket would be kept in his childhood home, No. 12 Grimmauld Place.

"Are you sure about this, Lucius?" asked the old Headmaster. "Yes, Albus. I think those are Horcruxes. I come from a family that has always been famous for siding the Dark Arts. Even though they're not as deeply knowledgeable as how the Blacks are about the subject, we do know quite a few bits of information." Said the blonde-haired Malfoy Lord. Sirius too started contemplating about this. "If you say they're horcruxes, how are we to destroy it? The only way is to conjure fiendfyre or stab it with a basilisk fang." He said. "And none of it is feasible. I bet none of us here are proficient enough to cast that spell and the last time someone ever saw or heard of a basilisk was four centuries ago."

"I know, Sirius. But there is a basilisk that has been surviving till date." Said Lucius. He went on to explain his conversation with Voldemort by the latter giving him instructions to devise a plan and plant the book with a student going to Hogwarts. In that process, Snake Face went on to explain about the Chamber of Secrets, killing of Myrtle Warren with the help of the basilisk inside Hogwarts and the subsequent blaming and expulsion of Hagrid from the school. Everyone was as white as sheet when they heard that there was a Basilisk in school. "He also told me that the chamber can be opened by a parselmouth. But he didn't tell me the exact location of the chamber."

This brought up the conversation that Charlus, Dorea, Lily, James and Dumbledore had in the Hospital Wing at the end of Harry's first year in the said people's minds. The horcrux that was residing in Harry's scar had been destroyed when he was thrown onto the Mirror of Erised.

It had also come to light a few days ago, that even though the horcrux inside Harry had been destroyed, he had retained the ability to speak Parseltongue, when he was found talking, hissing rather, to a harmless garden snake in one of the greenhouses. And since he was the only parselmouth other than Voldemort, he'll have to help them to open the chamber.