Soul Splitting

After Lupin had left the kitchen, Draco and Potter both sat at the table looking deliberately away from each other. My, this is awkward, Draco thought. He was beginning to wonder whether it would be appropriate to leave the kitchen, or if given that he had just lectured Harry Potter on how best to save the world, Potter might find his abrupt departure to be a bit rude. But what on earth do I care about being rude? Draco thought, and picked at his cuticles. He was just about to get up and hope for the best when Potter spoke.

"I do not think that I am the only one who has lost people because of Voldemort."

Draco was silent. He very much wanted to say, "You certainly act like it," but felt that, given the situation, such a response may do more harm than good, and so he said nothing at all.

"And really, Malfoy, is it that out of line for me to have thought that even part of Voldemort's reasoning for sending you all to Hogwarts was for me? I mean the man has tried to kill me a good four or five times, depending on whether or not we're counting the incarnation of his past self preserved in diary form or when he was using Professor Quirrell's body."

Draco shrugged and finally said, "I suppose not, but you need to realize that his plans are bigger than just you. It's not all about you."

"Fine," Potter said. "But even if everything you've said is true, that he really only cared about killing Dumbledore and that I need more training, and even if there's nothing I can do to stop the war right here and now, I still can't go back to Hogwarts and risk leading him there. Everyone I care about is going to be back at school."

"What about Weasley and Granger? Didn't you say they were going with you?"

Potter sighed. "I did, but Remus is right. They should go back to school. As long as I'm not there, Hogwarts is where they'll be safest."

"If the Dark Lord wants to attack Hogwarts, he'll attack Hogwarts. There are plenty of reasons for him to go there aside from you."

Potter looked puzzled.

"What I mean is," Draco continued, "I'm not sure how safe Hogwarts really is. Granted it's safer than say Diagon Alley, but that isn't saying much, is it? Even if you leave Hogwarts and never go back, there's still a very good chance he'll attack there. Perhaps you should take advantage of Hogwarts while it lasts."

"That an awful thing to say," said Potter.

Draco shrugged, but noted that Potter hadn't argued with him. There was a moment's silence, during which Draco traced his initials lazily on the tabletop with his first finger, thinking, and then finally said, "And one more thing. I didn't bring this up earlier because it's only a feeling I have and I'm not usually one to act merely on impulse; it's not based on anything really, but...but I don't think you need to worry about the Dark Lord right now. At least no more than anyone else does. And so, at the moment anyway, I think the Dark Lord has focused his attentions elsewhere."

Potter furrowed his brow. "What could possibly give you that idea?"

Draco continued to trace invisible words on the table. "Well, like you said, he's tried to kill you on several occasions and has thus far been unsuccessful. Obviously I hardly know him at all, and even his closest followers don't know him all that well, but still, what I do know is that he thought he would never be able to regain the power he'd lost, and then some, until he'd killed you and Dumbledore. But now with Dumbledore gone, I wouldn't be surprised that he's realized the old man was the real thing standing in his way. You're just sort of a figurehead. If he leaves you alone and concentrates his efforts elsewhere, he'll be able to do pretty well for himself. So, unless things get worse for him, I'd say he'll view Dumbledore's death as a big enough accomplishment for now."

Potter looked bothered and Draco supposed it was because he'd called him a figurehead, but seeing as Potter wasn't even seventeen yet, it was close to true. Draco looked at Potter, who was staring intensely at the table top, and added, "I think, if he's smart, which he is, he'll learn to let the prophecy go and just wait for you to come to him, seeing as his going after you has failed, like you said, a good four or five times."

Potter turned his head slowly to face Draco. "You know about the prophecy?"

Draco nodded. "I am my father's son, after all."

Potter smiled in a defeated sort of way. "Yes, I forget sometimes, but I suppose that's true."

They were silent for a few moments and then Draco asked, "So, will you go back to Hogwarts? There will be all sorts of protections there, even without Dumbledore and I'm sure the way I got the Death Eaters in is the only way there was anyway and - "

"I'll think about it," Potter said.

Draco smirked. "What a pushover."

* * * * *

Harry really didn't know how Malfoy had done it. After Remus' initial attempt at convincing him, Harry had still had no intention of going back to Hogwarts, and yet somehow after his conversation with Malfoy, Harry was actually feeling as if there was a good chance he'd be returning to school come September. It felt similar to fifth year when Hermione and Ron had tried to convince him to teach extracurricular defensive magic classes - at first the idea had seemed absurd and out of the question, but the more Harry had thought about it, the more appealing the idea had become. A large part of him, one that Harry had been trying very hard to ignore, had been quite sad at the thought of missing his final year at the one place he had ever been able to call home, but it had seemed worth it if it meant defeating Voldemort and saving Hogwarts. However, after the way Malfoy had put it, it really didn't seem like Harry would be helping anyone but Voldemort by not finishing his education. Perhaps if Harry was able to lie low and make Voldemort think he wasn't up to anything, Voldemort really would concentrate his efforts elsewhere. Nothing was final yet though. Harry still had all summer to make a decision.

The next morning Harry went down to the kitchen to find Remus sipping a mug of tea and reading The Daily Prophet. As he walked in, the professor looked up and said, "Ah, Harry, I forgot last night, what with all the, er, talk, but here - Professor McGonagall asked for me to bring this to you.... It's from Dumbledore and she didn't want to trust an owl with it."

Remus held out an envelope, which Harry rushed to take from him and then, with trembling hands, opened.

Dear Harry,

I am afraid that your reading this letter indicates that I have perished in our valiant attempt to retrieve one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes from the seaside cave. I do hope that, despite my death, the item was retrieved successfully.

Now, Harry, on to business. You have quite a task ahead of you. Assuming we retrieved a Horcrux together and that you have been successful in destroying it, then there are still three others to be rid of, as well as Lord Voldemort himself. As we have discussed, I believe that Voldemort's snake, Nagini, may well be the host of a piece of her master's soul and that the cup Tom Riddle stole from Hepzibah Smith would be an ideal hiding place as well. Of course we then discussed the possibility of either an item once belonging to Rowena Ravenclaw or Godric Gryffindor as the third object yet to be identified. As for the location of these items, remember that a hiding place would probably have significance to Lord Voldemort, in all likelihood reminding him of his childhood. Forgive me for this little summary of our lessons together, but I often find having these things in writing to be quite useful.

Again, Harry, I want to remind you not to shut yourself in - keep nothing entirely to yourself. You have very good friends and you should always feel that you can be entirely open with them. However, I understand that you may feel lost on your journey, even with the help of Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger. Although I strongly believe that secrecy regarding the contents of our lessons is important, I know that we were unable to get through everything you would have needed to do this on your own. Therefore, I assume that you will require additional help from outside sources. Some people that I have found to be helpful and trustworthy and that I believe may be able to help you should you ever need it are Arthur Weasley, Minerva McGonagall, and Remus Lupin. The barman at the Hog's Head is always a safe man to go to should you need to a safe place to meet, and Severus Snape, although not your favorite person, Harry, is one that I promise you can trust. Naturally it would be unwise to inform all of these people of everything you and I have ever discussed, but I want you to feel that in a tight spot, in a situation during which you may have come to me, any one of them would be a worthy substitute.

And so I suppose this is goodbye, Harry. I would like you to know that I have left you my Pensieve. I hope you will find it useful someday. It will be yours upon your arrival at Hogwarts in September. I have enjoyed our time together and watching you grow and mature more than you will ever know. I have faith that you will be able to vanquish Lord Voldemort, even though I am sure it will seem impossible to you in the coming weeks, months, and perhaps even years. All the same, you mustn't lose hope, because hope once lost, often proves most difficult to regain.

Albus Dumbledore

Harry folded the parchment and put it in his pocket, and not wishing to cry in front of Remus, choked back the tears that were trying to push their way out. He went to the table and considered eating some toast, but upon deciding he wasn't hungry any longer, bid a hurried goodbye to Remus and went to owl Hermione.

I have lots of news. Come by today.

Harry

PS. Try and bring Ron.

Harry sent Hedwig off with the note and then set about reading Dumbledore's letter once more. Although it was heartbreaking to read, Harry couldn't help but be disappointed that Dumbledore hadn't left him any advice regarding which direction he should next take. Perhaps Dumbledore himself had not known. On the bright side, Harry now felt confident in his decision let Remus in on the information regarding the Horcruxes. On the other hand, the fact that Dumbledore had listed Snape among those whom he most trusted, in a letter written the same night that Snape would murder him, was very disturbing.

Harry sighed and put the letter on his bedside table, where the diary Malfoy had found was lying. Harry had amazingly forgotten it in all the excitement and decided that now would be as good a time as any to investigate it further.

Harry opened to a random page towards the beginning and read:

Being sorted into Slytherin is a bit funny really. I like the other boys in my dorm, and mother and father and my head of house are all very happy about it, especially since Sirius is in Gryffindor, but he hasn't spoken to me since the train ride here. I guess he was hoping I'd be in his house, but he's the one who should be jealous since Slytherin is certainly the best house at Hogwarts. I do miss Sirius a bit though. Of course I'd never tell him so. He'd beat me up.

Must go. I have mountains of Transfiguration homework then some of the other boys and I have tea with the Slugclub. I'm quite proud to have been invited!

Deciding that Regulus' early days at Hogwarts probably wouldn't prove too useful, Harry skipped a large chunk of pages and read towards the back:

OWLs went well I think. Snape told me I shouldn't worry. He said he thinks, knowing me, that I'll have done well. I know Snape got about twenty million OWLs last year so I feel okay about taking his word for it on the subject. Then again, from what Bellatrix tells me, even if it turns out I haven't done so well, there are other things I can do after Hogwarts where such things as OWLs and NEWTs don't matter.

* * *

Two hours later Harry had read several more excerpts from Regulus' diary and was beginning to feel as if he was getting to know him a little. It seemed that Regulus, having been quite insecure, had relied heavily on the approval of his family and housemates. After having been sorted into Slytherin he obviously missed Sirius, but was too proud to admit just how much. Another thing that Harry found interesting was how much Regulus seemed to look up to Snape and some other Slytherins who Harry recognized as future Death Eaters. But, Harry supposed, that was to be expected.

Harry was just settling in to read another entry when there was a knock on his door. "Come in," he called.

Hermione opened the door and stuck her head in. "I got your owl and came right over. Well, after I'd convinced Ron to come along."

Harry jumped off his bed. "You brought Ron?"

"Yes, I just said so, didn't I?"

"Oh, thank you Hermione." Harry rushed over to the door and hugged her. "You're the best."

Hermione shrugged and smiled. "I told you everything would work out. Look, why don't you go down and talk to him. He's in the parlor."

Harry nodded and grabbing the letter and the diary sprinted out the door and down the stairs to the parlor, where Ron was standing by the window. "Hi," said Harry.

Ron turned around. "Hi."

"I'm glad you came," said Harry. Ron said nothing and went to sit on the sofa. Harry followed suit and said, "So, Hermione explained everything to you?"

Ron nodded. "Look, it wasn't even that you broke it off with her, Harry. It's that it was like you were trying to hide it from me."

"Ron, I swear, that was the last thing I meant to do and if it seemed that way I'm so, so sorry - "

"I know, it's okay. Hermione's really been pushing that the past few days."

Harry smiled. "So you understand why I did it then and that my not telling you was a complete and utter mistake?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah. It's all in the past now. And who know, after the war's over you could well get back together, yeah?"

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, who knows?" He was so happy that their reconciliation had gone smoothly that he didn't feel like telling Ron that whether or not he'd get back together with Ginny when the war was over was the least of his worries. "And what about everyone else? Are they still angry?"

Ron shook his head. "Well, I suppose Ginny is, but I don't think Fred, George, or Bill were ever that angry to begin with. Everyone was just so busy with the wedding...I think it was more a matter of timing. Bill's on his Honeymoon now in France, but I talked to Fred this morning and he says he wishes Ginny would stop whining, what with you just trying to keep her alive and all."

"What about your mum and dad?"

"Dad hasn't mentioned it. Mum on the other hand, well, I think she was really hoping you'd be part of the family someday, proper like," Ron said, knowingly. Harry shrugged. At this point, he was just happy to have Ron back on his side.

While they waited for Hermione to turn up, Harry made sure Ron was all filled in on the progress made regarding R.A.B. After a few minutes Hermione poked her head through the doorway and seeing that Ron and Harry were not at each other's throats came in saying, "It's so ridiculous when you two fight!" Harry had to keep himself from reminding her that she and Ron and been practically estranged for much of the past school year.

"Well, Harry, what is it that's so important?" asked Hermione, as she sat down between him and Ron.

"It's a few things, actually. First of all, Remus brought me a letter from Dumbledore... one he wrote to me the night he died. He must have written it before we left." Harry handed the letter to Hermione, who leaned over so Ron could read it as well.

After they'd finished, Ron said, "I can't believe it. He trusted Snape to the last."

Harry shook his head and sighed. "I know."

There was a moment's silence and then Hermione said, "But Harry, he's left you his Pensieve. That's brilliant. Of course, we'll have to stop by Hogwarts so you can retrieve it."

"Well, that's another thing," said Harry. Ron and Hermione looked at him. "I've been thinking that maybe it's not the best idea for us to miss out on our last year."

Ron looked crestfallen. "You don't want to go hunting Horcruxes? You want to go back to school instead?"

Harry bit his lower lip. "Well, not exactly. I do want to spend the summer looking, but then, well, Remus has told me about what's in the works for Hogwarts next year and it sounds really valuable for the fight." Harry recounted the previous night's discussion, tweaking it here and there so Malfoy wasn't mentioned, but giving the credit for his argument to Remus (albeit in a less hostile manner).

Hermione sighed and said, "You know, Harry, I can't say I'm not a bit relieved. I mean, don't get me wrong, I was completely prepared to follow you wherever you were going to lead us, but I think finishing our education will give us a huge advantage."

"I suppose she's right," said Ron, dejectedly. "But I was looking forward to finishing early and having a good adventure."

"There will be plenty of time for that after we leave," said Hermione. "It doesn't look as though Voldemort is going anywhere and the more training we have before we go after him the better, I think."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, sorry, mate, but Hermione's spot on."

Hermione smiled fleetingly at being told she was spot on and then said, "Is there any other news, Harry? You made it sound like there might be something else."

"Right!" exclaimed Harry. "I can't believe I almost forgot. Anyway, I was going through the house yesterday and you won't believe what I found." Harry explained about how Malfoy had found the diary, but conveniently replaced Malfoy in the story with himself.

"Wow, that was a stroke of luck," said Ron. "Trying Regulus' old room for clothes even though you didn't know the room was his and even though you already have your own clothes."

Harry looked awkwardly at Hermione, who, perhaps having guessed the real truth, raised an eyebrow at him.

"Anyway, here it is." Harry handed them the diary and watched them pour over it together.

"Harry, this is a real find," said Hermione.

Ron skimmed through the pages a bit more and then said, "I dunno, it doesn't seem like it really says much we're looking to know about him...'Had some off sausage at breakfast this morning; it made me ill. Perhaps I should go to the Hospital Wing.' I think we're looking for something more like 'I found out You Know Who made some Horcruxes and he's hidden them in his kitchen next to where he keeps the biscuits.' Don't you think?"

Hermione shook her head. "I think this is really important. Even if it doesn't say anything directly about the Horcruxes, it could tell us why Regulus became a Death Eater in the first place, and give us some insight into why, unlike most Death Eaters, he decided to betray his master." Hermione looked at Harry and Ron knowingly. "It's like how Dumbledore was showing you all those memories, Harry. It's important to have psychological insight into people - understand their choices."

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I think it's worth a read or two. I've already learned he at least knew a lot of Death Eaters and seemed to set a lot of store by Bellatrix."

The three friends spent another hour looking through the diary, but having not come upon anything of particular interest, Harry suggested they end there for the day. "If you two are still up for it, I'd really like to leave for Godric's Hollow tomorrow."

Ron grinned. "Yeah, of course. I'm ready when you are."

Hermione nodded. "Tomorrow sounds fine, Harry. The sooner the better I think."

Harry stood and walked with Ron and Hermione to the door. Halfway down the stairs Hermione let Ron get ahead and whispered to Harry, "I'm guessing it wasn't you that found the diary. Perhaps a houseguest?"

Harry nodded. "You're really too bright for your own good."

At the bottom of the stairs Ron turned and looked back at them. Hermione hurried to catch up and Harry waved goodbye from where he was, and then went to inform Remus and Malfoy that he might be gone for a while.

* * * * *

Draco was in his room reading Malleus Malficarum again when he heard a knock at his door. "Who is it?" he called.

"Harry."

"Enter."

Potter opened the door and came in. As he shut the door behind him, he said, "You should think about keeping that locked."

Draco knew Potter was right and so said nothing.

Potter leaned against the wall and said, "I'm going away for a while tomorrow."

"Where are you going?"

"Why do you even bother asking? You know I won't tell you."

Draco shrugged. "I thought maybe I'd catch you off guard. I can be very stealthy."

Potter frowned. "Right." They looked at each other briefly and then Potter continued, "Anyway, I'm going away and I'm not sure how long I'll be gone."

"And?" Draco asked.

"And I wanted to make sure you're going to be alright."

"Of course I'll be alright. I've been alright thus far, have I not?"

Potter nodded. "Yes, it's just, I'd like you to promise me something as well."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "And what might that be?"

"I want you to promise me that while I'm gone you'll mind Remus. He'll be in and out and he'll let you know when there are going to be Order meetings, but he won't always be here so you're going to be alone."

"But you want me to do what he says when he's here?"

Potter nodded. "And to keep doing it when he's not."

"I suppose that's reasonable. Lupin seems to be a practical person."

"Good. I can leave then and not worry about you."

Draco laughed. "I still don't know what you think I'd get up to unwatched."

"Actually, Malfoy, believe it or not, I'm beginning to trust you. Or, at least, I'm beginning to not not trust you, if that makes any sense at all. There's something I never thought I'd say.... Anyway, it's not you doing something I'm worried about. I just want to be sure you'll be safe here. I don't mean Remus is going to be giving you a bedtime, I just mean if he tells you to hide or even to run, well, do it."

"Ah." Draco nodded. "Understood. Well, Potter, I have no idea what's happening on the outside so I suppose I'm better off taking advice from Lupin than not, seeing as I can hardly make informed decisions on my own at this point."

Potter looked a bit surprised. "Well, excellent. I'm glad to hear you say that. That you'll do what Lupin says I mean. That you understand it's important."

There was a moment's silence. Potter scratched awkwardly at his nose and Draco, not wishing to prolong awkward moments with Harry Potter said, "Well, have an excellent trip. See you in a few days or weeks or years or however long it will be. Goodbye, Potter."

Potter looked at Draco. "Right, bye, then," he said, and left, shutting the door behind him.