The Prince Returns

Chapter Twenty-Four

It had been a long day for Harry Potter. The Quidditch game had been fun. Then there had been the Deuling Club's special performance for the entire student body before lunch. He had deuled with Neville, Dean, Hermione, and Draco. It had taken an effort. Then the Defense Assosiation threw a small party in the trophy room. Harry was glad to finally sit down at the feast. However, he was the only person to sit down at their end of the Gryffindor table. Ginny and Ron were still at the hospital and he hadn't seen Hermione or Regan since that afternoon. Harry sighed, wondering where they could be. The Great Hall was filling up as more students entered and took their own seats. The staff table was almost full. Remus Lupin was the only teacher missing and Harry had a good idea where he was. He looked back at the stream of students entering the Great Hall and sighed with relief when he saw the mass of bushy brown hair that he knew so well. He smiled as Hermione joined them at the table.

"Ron and Ginny back yet?" she asked. Harry could not tell if she wanted to face Ron yet or not. He shook his head.

"Where's Regan?" he asked.

"I don't know. I haven't seen her since lunch," Hermione replied. Harry noticed that she was still carrying around Malfoy's books.

"Read any?"

"Yes," she said, brightening. "I haven't been able to read all of them, yet. But I did go ahead and read everything about the Amulet of Rah. I plan on spending all of tomorrow reading the rest of the books."

"Find anything interesting?" he asked, hoping that she did not go into a long speech about the book. He just wanted the basic information.

"Oh, yes, but I have to read the both books completely before I can really say anything," she said, excited.

"Why?"

"Harry, I did not realize what all the Amulet has done. I don't want to go into it here," she said, looking cautiously about the Great Hall. "Also, I want to tell Regan."

"Okay," he said lamely. "How was your Halloween?"

"It's been okay," she said, shrugging. "Madame Pince had a trivia game going in the library this afternoon. I won." She smiled.

"Of course you did," Harry said, returning her smile.

"What have you done all afternoon?"

"The Defense Assossiation party. We missed you."

"You handled it fine all by yourself," she teased. "Here's Regan." Harry looked up to see Regan enter the Great Hall. She was with Malfoy. Harry tried not to react. If she wanted them to make an effort to get along, Harry would do his best. He would not throw up every time he saw them together. Harry thought that that was great progress.

"Hey," Regan said, joining them at the table sans Malfoy, who had joined his own table. Harry was grateful. For a few scary moments, he had thought that maybe Malfoy would sit at the Gryffindor table with them for the feast. At least things had not gone that far. Harry cleared his mind of such thoughts and focused on Regan and Hermione. Regan looked cheerful enough. Her mood had certainly improved since that moring.

"What have you been up to all afternoon?" Hermione said in a playful tone.

"You know, stuff," she said, but Harry could not help but notice that she refused to look himself or Hermione in the eye. "Where are Ron and Ginny?" she asked quickly.

"Still not back. Neither is Remus," Harry said, nodding to the staff table.

"Finally!" Regan exclaimed as Dumbledore announced the feast. "I've actually been looking forward to dinner tonight. I have yet to experience a proper Hogwarts Halloween feast."

"You were here last year," Harry reminded her as the food appeared in front of them.

"Yes. Ron and I got into a fight. Then, as Snape was dragging us to his office, a centaur appeared and announced my brother's impending Death Eater membership," she said in a nonchalant manner that worried Harry. He knew she was worried about her brother. She was also worried about how the other student's were handling her brother's choices. Harry thought that Regan had probably spent her Halloween alone with Malfoy, but he knew that Draco wasn't the only reason she had avoided the other student activities. She had not wanted to spend the day with other students, enduring their whispers and anxious glances. Harry was snapped out of his reverie as Lavender Brown left her end of the Gryffindor table and walked towards them. Lavender had been avoiding them all day and Harry had hoped that she would continue in such a manner for at least another week.

"Hey guys," she muttered weakly, looking hopefully into Regan and Harry's faces, completely ignoring Hermione. Harry saw Regan and Hermione exchange glances. He gulped and faced Lavender.

"Yes, Lavender," he tried to be kind. After all, she and Ron were together now and Ron would always be his friend.

"I was wondering if you know where Ron is?" she asked. He glanced to the girls. They were both looking smug; they knew exactly where Ron was. Harry sighed.

"His father was attacked last night by a Death Eater," he began. Lavender gasped. Regan wiped the smug look off her face and looked at Harry warningly. "He's fine. Ron and Ginny are just visiting him. They should be back soon."

"Thank you Harry," she said, giving him a big smile. He smiled back, grateful to see her go back to her sight at the other end of the long Gryffindor table.

"Thanks Harry," Regan muttered. At first, he thought she was mocking Lavender. Then he realized that she was indeed thanking him because he had not been very specific about Arthur's attack. "I know they will all probably find out what happened eventually, but telling Lavender Brown would spread the news faster than the Daily Prophet itself."

"No problem," he said, giving her a small smile.

"Why looking so glum?" a voice asked from behind Harry. He turned to see Ginny behind him. He brightened. Ginny sat down next to him.

"Where's Ron?" Harry asked. Ginny frowned and glanced at Hermione before nodding to other end of the table. Harry saw Ron, sitting next to Lavender. He mentally scolded himself for asking such a question. Of course Ron would sit with Lavender, not Hermione. Behind Ron was the staff table and Harry was glad to see Remus Lupin back in his seat.

"How's Arthur?" Regan asked and he was grateful for the subject change.

"He's fine. Actually, he's estatic. The Order is going to start research on Muggle weapons. Dad's going to be involved directly in the research."

"Great," Hermione said, forcing a smile. Harry knew that part of her mind was still focusing on the red-head at the other end of the table.

****

Later that evening, Hermione, Harry, and Regan went to the library for privacy. The Gryffindor common room was full of students continuing the Halloween celebration. While Harry was enjoying himself, Regan had been hinding in her dorm room while Hermione tried to read in the corner of the common room. The noise had been too much for her. Plus, she really wanted to tell Harry and Regan the news. After much persuading, she and Regan convinced Harry to join them in the library.

"What's so important?" Harry demanded once they were sitting around a table in the deserted library. Apparently, even Madam Pince got in on the Halloween spirit. She was nowhere to be seen. Hermione laid the books that Malfoy had given her out on the table. She thought that they looked very impressive, laid like that, in the center of the table.

"You remember the Amulet of Rah?" she asked. Regan rolled her eyes.

"Of course we remember."

"Voldemort has it now," Harry mumbled. Hermione cleared her throat and continued.

"The books that Malfoy gave me have a lot of information on the Amulet that I don't think we could find anywhere else," she said. She expected Harry and Regan to be impressed. Regan examined her fingernails. Harry traced the etchings on the table, left by other Hogwarts students. Hermione cleared her throat again. They looked at her, obviously bored. She knew that Harry was thinking of the party in the common room, Regan of the book she abandoned in the common room. She decided it was time to make her announcement. "The Amulet of Rah can be destroyed."

****

After escaping the Prince house the night before, Braydon had not headed straight for the Malfoy Manor. It had not taken him very long to retrieve the Amulet. He was not expected back at the Manor for some time. He had spent too many days locked in the attic. He wanted to enjoy the freedom. Therefore, he flew. He did not know how long he was on his broom, just flying. No destination. No purpose. Just flying. He had missed flying so much. It was like a drug.

Braydon's mind was blissfully blank as he flew. However, time passed and he knew that Malfoy and Voldemort would be expecting him soon. As he headed back to Malfoy Manor, he thought about what had happened. Braydon had not planned on killing anyone. Honestly, Braydon was not a big fan of killing innocent people. He knew that there would be war, but killing during a war was part of the fight. He was prepared to kill during battle for his lord. However, he was not prepared to kill just to kill, as other Death Eaters enjoyed. He had killed Tonks because he had to to become a Death Eater. He had felt no guilt about that. Plus, Tonks was alone. She had no family and her only friends were of the Order. Braydon knew that the Order was prepared for losses. But Braydon knew that he would have felt guilty about killing Arthur Weasley.

There was no reason to kill Arthur, not that night. Arthur was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Braydon had not been instructed to kill him, so he was spared. Also, Braydon knew that Arthur had children. His wife had just died. When Arthur had entered the office, Braydon had been terrified. He did not want to kill anyone, but he could not be caught. So Braydon had tried to shoot the door to the Arthur's left. Braydon had bad aim, but Arthur's shoulders had only been a few feet away from Braydon's target. A few feet was a good statistic for Braydon. He was glad that Arthur was alive, but he was worried that Voldemort would know that he had not tried his hardest to kill Arthur.

Braydon felt himself tense as he neared the Malfoy Manor. He was worried that there would be punishments. He wondered if Voldemort would be angry that he had not went directly to the Manor after obtaining the Amulet. As he descended to the ground inside the Malfoy grounds, he felt the Amulet in his pocket, its weight a burden that seemed to drag him down.

****

Harry blinked. "It can be destroyed?" he asked in disbelief. Hermione was glad she finally had their attention. They were looking at her, and only her, now.

"Yes."

"And it is in that book?" Regan asked, doubtful.

"Yes. It tells how the Amulet can be destroyed as well as how the Amulet can be used."

"You put it on?" Regan offered. Hermione sighed.

"That doesn't work. Not since the sixteen hundreds," Hermione said, trying not to get annoyed. Why wouldn't they just listen?

"Why would Lucius Malfoy let Mal-his son have that book? Won't Voldemort need it?" Harry asked. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"He did not give the book to Draco. Draco took it," Regan said. Hermione felt a little better, though she certainly did not want them bickering. She did not need them to make up for Ron's absence.

"Can I continue?" she demanded. Harry and Regan looked at each other and then looked back at Hermione meekly. "Thank you. The last recorded sighting of the Amulet was in the Middle East in the sixteen hundreds. At that time, a small council of wizards ruled the wizards of several different countries. Towards the end of the sixteeth century, there were a series of wizard revolutions in the Middle East. After the revolutions were over, the council was worried that the public would not remain loyal to them. The council did not think that they would be able to rule with the support of all the wizards. In the beginning of the seventeeth century, one of the members of the council discovered the Amulet of Rah. They used the power of the Amulet to rule their people for almost fifty years. After about fifty years, several members of the council began dieing. As far as historians can tell, they died of natural causes. They were replaced by new wizards. These new council members fought for power. They wanted the Amulet to rule their people as they saw fit. They did not want to share the power with anyone."

"How do you know all this?" Harry asked, in awe of Hermione's knowledge. Harry was usually in awe of Hermione's knowledge.

"History of Magic," Hermione said dismissively.

"You can find that in any history book," Regan said. "That does not tell us how the Amulet can be destroyed. It does not even tell us what happened to the Amulet after that."

"But this book does," Hermione said, gently touching the cover of Magic Entities and Their Story. Harry motioned for her to continue. She took a breath and did so. "I've never come across what they did with the Amulet until I read this. The few remaining members of the council, the ones who had used the Amulet to begin with, worried what would happen once they died. They did not want their kingdom ruined by corruption within the government. They decided to get rid of the Amulet. However, they were very much aware of the ambition and cunning of the newer council members."

"Sounds like Slytherin to me," Harry mumbled. Regan shot him a warning look. Hermione cleared her throat and continued.

"They did not want the concil to find the Amulet once they died. They decided to destroy the Amulet, or at least make it unusable for the council. However, while they were wizards, their magic was not very advanced. They did not have the knowledge or the skill to accomplish anything. So, they went to the most powerful groups of wizards that they knew of.

"At that time period, the magical community, much like the rest of the world, was ruled by a monarchy in Europe. A family ruled all witches and wizards in the United Kingdom and a few small, surrounding countries. The king at the time was capable of taking care of the Amulet. Also, he ruled his kingdom well. He had plenty of money and power. He knew of the Amulet and had no use for it. The council in the Middle East thought that he would be able to help him. They travelled to Europe and to the king."

"What did the king do?" Harry asked. Hermione sighed.

"I'm trying to tell you. He tried, but could not actually destroy the Amulet. However, he knew that there would be advances in magic over the next several years. He knew that there would be more powerful witches or wizards who could properly destroy it. Instead of actually destroying it, he performed several spells on the Amulet. He believed that his family would rule the United Kingdom for several more centuries. He trusted his children, so he involved his family in the spell."

"What spell?" Harry asked.

"Harry!" Regan exclaimed. "Let her finish!" Hermione smiled gratefully at Regan before giving Harry a stern look.

"He made it practically impossible for anyone to use the Amulet. He placed a spell on it that prevented anyone in his family from obtaining the power. If he himself was to put on the Amulet, it would do nothing. Then, he took it a step further. Whenever the Amulet was created, part of Rah's soul went into the Amulet, making the Amulet more powerful. It also allowed the Amulet to work properly. With his soul, the Amulet worked to the whims of any man. Without part of Rah's soul, the Amulet was not nearly as powerful. It was harder to manipulate."

"He took out Rah's soul," Harry muttered. Hermione looked daggers at him, sick of his interruptions.

"He couldn't take Rah's soul out of it. You said that he couldn't destroy the Amulet. Wouldn't that be destroying it?" Regan said thoughtfully.

"If he had destroyed that small part of Rah's soul that went into the Amulet, it would have destroyed the Amulet. But he did not do that. He simply removed the soul from the Amulet and put it somewhere else. By simply removing it, it still existed and the Amulet could still work. However, it would have to be reunited with the soul to work properly and be complete."

"But where is the soul?" Regan asked. Harry had not comment, he was still too hurt by Hermione's sharp looks to him.

"In him," she said simply.

"What?" Harry asked, forgetting his new silence.

"He put the soul in his blood," she continued. "And the blood of his children. That way, his descendants would have the soul of Rah. They would be able to complete the Amulet."

"Only his descendants can use the Amulet?" Harry asked, confused.

"No. He used spells to prevent his family from obtaining the Amulet's power. Were you not listening earlier?" Hermione demanded, getting frustrated.

"Then how can the Amulet be used if his family, the one with the soul, cannot use it?" Regan demanded, getting frustrated as well.

"The family members won't use it. They would have to offer their blood to the wizard who possess the Amulet. The king knew that that would be the only way to prevent the Amulet from being abused. He trusted his own family. He told his children about the Amulet, but made them swear secrecy. He did not want anyone else to know about the Amulet, its powers, or their connection with the Amulet. The Amulet was then passed down from generation to generation. With time, it became just another piece of jewelry, a family heirloom that an eccentric ancestor had picked up while travelling."

"If there was such secrecy, how did it wind up in that book?" Regan asked, much less frustrated. She was almost calm.

"A few years after the king died, one of his children went over to the Dark Side. He discovered Dark Magic and became so immersed that he lost his sanity."

"Like Voldemort?" Harry offered.

"Something like that. He wrote down the story about the Amulet. It found its way to this book. Some of his companions wrote it," Hermione said, looking at the cover again.

"How do you know the story is real?" Regan asked.

"Because it makes since. It explains why we haven't seen the Amulet in so long. It explains why you had it."

"What do you mean? How does that explain why Regan had it?" Harry demanded.

"Because I'm the king's family," Regan said slowly. Hermione nodded.

"The Prince family has had the Amulet for the past four hundred years. The Prince blood has the remnants of Rah's soul," Hermione said. "It's all in the book."

"What about People Every Knowledgeable Witch or Wizard Should Know About?" Harry asked, gesturing to the other book.

"That offers an extensive history of several prominent wizarding family in Europe. It even has the Malfoys," she said, smiling.

"And the Prince familiy," Harry said.

"Yes. While it does not mention the Amulet directly, it does allude to a magical force. The timeline indicated in the book coincides with the timeline of the Amulet," she said. Regan and Harry were both quiet for awhile.

"How would we destroy it?" Regan asked.

"Get rid of the soul of Rah," Hermione said.

"Does that mean we have to kill all Prince descendants?" Harry asked quietly.

"That is one possibility," Hermione admitted. "Or we could use a potion that purifies the blood. It would get rid of his soul."

"Let's do that," Regan said quickly.

"The potion is in these books, but it's difficult. I don't think I could do it."

"Snape," Regan said. "If we go to him with the book, he could do it."

"I don't know. Some of these ingredients are really hard to come by," Hermione said. She opened the book to the page containing the potion, which she had bookmarked. "Unicorn blood. Centaur teeth."

"Centaur teeth?" Harry demanded doubtfully.

"Yes. I don't think I've ever seen such a long list before," Hermione said with desperatoin. "It's hopeless."

"Maybe not," Regan said, taking the book from Hermione and looking over the page. "Most of this stuff Snape would probably have. My dad would have some of it. I'm sure Lucius Malfoy would have a few of these in his potions lab."

"Malfoy is not going to just let us borrow his ingredients," Harry object. Regan and Hermione looked at him. "Oh. Right. Draco." Harry leaned back in his seat, feeling stupid. Hermione smiled at him assuringly.

"The remaining ingredients we should be able to get in the Forbidden Forest."

"The Forbidden Forest?" Hermione said. "That won't be easy."

"No. It'll be an adventure," Harry said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Okay," Regan said, suddenly sounding very professional. "This spell takes about a month to make. If we can obtain the ingredients within a few weeks, we can go to Snape with them. If we already have the ingredients, he will be more likely to help us. Then we should have the potion by Christmas break."

"And what? What do we do with it? Run around the world, looking for Prince descendants? Forcing them to drink the stuff?" Harry asked.

"We are the only part of the Prince family around here," Regan said. "My father was an only child. His father was an only child. My great-grandfather had a few siblings, but they don't live in this part of the world. We aren't really for sure where they are."

"You grew up without relatives?" Hermione asked, feeling sympethetic. She thought fondly of all her cousins and aunts.

"My mother is..was...one of eight," Regan said, suddenly growing quiet.

"As your immediate family takes the potion, we should be fine," Hermione said, quickly changing the subject. "There won't be anyone nearby Voldemort can use. It would take time for him to find another descendant. The Order would be able to get the Amulet back."

"Does Voldemort know that he can't use the Amulet without Prince blood? Or that it can be destroyed?" Harry asked.

"I don't think so. We have the books," Hermione said, grinning.

"Lucius will be mad," Harry said, smiling as well.

"But we need some ingredients from him!" Regan said, looking back at the list.

"Then Draco had better owl home quickly," Hermione said. Harry and Regan looked at each other before they simultaneously burst out laughing. Hermione watched them in disbelief for a few moments before laughing herself. It felt good to laugh. She felt like she had laughed in awhile.

****

Lucius Malfoy was anxious. Braydon had returned that afternoon with the Amulet. Voldemort had planned a ceremony with all the Death Eaters present that night. They would all witness him donning the Amulet and obtaining its power. Lucius did not want to wait until that night. He wanted Voldemort to put the Amulet on the second Braydon presented them with it. But Lucius understood the importance of ceremonies and traditions. He understood that Voldemort had to have all his servants there to witness the event.

Lucius was still worried about the ceremony. Voldemort had read many different stories about the Amulet. Supposedly, the person who wore the Amulet felt its power surge through his veings the moment he put it on. Suddenly, he could do miraculous things just by lifting a finger. Lucius knew that the Amulet contained the powers of wandless magic and true divination. However, there were no accounts for the Amulet after the seventeenth century. It had simply dissappeared. That bothered Lucius. He thought that maybe the Amulet should be tested first, but Voldemort wanted to have the ceremony that night. Testing would delay it.

That evening, the house-elves prepared the dungeons. Death Eaters began arriving. Lucius Malfoy wore his best dress robes and prepared himself for the ceremony. He did not know what to expect. The ceremony was to take place an hour before midnight. Voldemort wanted to receive the power of Rah on Halloween. Lucius thought that the day itself was fitting. Halloween. By half past ten that evening, all the Death Eaters began their way to the dungeon. They took their usual places in the center chamber of the dungeon. They all gathered in a circle, with Voldemort in the middle. They faced their lord. Lucius was at the head of the circle. Next to him was an empty space. When Voldemort joined the circle, he always stood next to Lucius. Lucius looked at the center of the floor. He remembered that Braydon Prince had been on that floor not so long ago, writhing in pain as he became a Death Eater. That Halloween night, Braydon stood in the circle with the other Death Eaters. Though they all looked alike in their robes, hoods up, Lucius thought that he could tell which one was Braydon. His stance, his height, his build, everything about him gave off the impression of a young, arrogant man. He reminded Lucius of himself. Lucius thought of his own son. True, Draco had not turned out as Lucius had hoped. He was beginning to rebel in the stupid ways that teenagers do, but nothing serious. His only major offense to date was the stolen Nirvana Stone. Lucius reassured himself with the fact that soon his own son would be part of the circle of Death Eaters, that he would soon be lying at that very floor, getting his own Dark Mark.

Lucius noted with some anxiety that it was only a few moments until eleven o'clock. He watched closely as Voldemort stood in the center of the circle. He lowered his hood and beckoned Braydon. The boy moved forward and took the Amulet of Rah from his robe pocket. He gave the Amulet to Voldemort. Several Death Eaters gasped at the sight of the Amulet. Even from the dungeons, Lucius could hear the large grandfather clock in the foyer of the Malfoy Manor chime. It was eleven o'clock. Voldemort raised the chain and put the Amulet on. He was wearing the Amulet. Nothing happened. He waved his hand. Nothing happened. Lucius saw the frustration on the dark lord's face. He removed the wand from his robes and tried again. Nothing happened. Voldemort yelled in frustration. Lucius winced. It was a terrible sound. "Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort yelled, pointing his wand in no specific direction. His angers were vented, killing a Death Eater to his left. Lucius could not decide if he wanted to vomit or laugh. The Amulet did not work. What had went wrong?

****