Several Miles from the Sun

CHAPTER SEVEN: THE THIRD HORCRUX

Mundungus had not been able to dodge in time and was sporting a rather fetching black eye, as Remus and Ron pulled Harry off him. To add to Harry's multiple swearing, five wands were pointed at him--Bill, Mad Eye, Dedalus Diggle, Hestia Jones and Shacklebolt. Mrs Weasley simply looked livid.

"Let me--let me explain!" he pleaded. He knew the picture looked horribly wrong. He knew that he had about three seconds to state his innocent hand in everything, before someone decided to blow him up.

"Yes, for goodness sake, put away your wands!" said Mr Weasley, exasperatedly.

"Now, it's true that I stole the locket," Mundungus assured them, wiping his brow and feeling an ulcer form in his stomach. "However, I really didn't know of its importance."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Remus asked.

"Well, imagine that you've already got a bit of a rotten record with the, er, master of the house--I am truly sorry, Harry--and all of a sudden, you learn that on top of stealing the fancy silverware, you've also taken a bit of his soul!" Mundungus visibly trembled. "I was planning on hurrying back home and then bringing it back... of course, that was before the ruddy house-elf told me off."

Kreacher sneered happily.

"Then, perhaps, we should go fetch this locket?" Mad Eye said. He held his wand limply in his hand.

"I--yes--splendid idea!" Mundungus straightened up, looking satisfied with himself.

"And perhaps you'll keep your hands to yourself," Mrs Weasley suggested furiously.

"Of course, of course!" Mundungus turned to Harry. "I am very sorry, Harry. I truly am!"

Harry glared at him, told Remus he wanted the meeting adjourned, and then left the room without saying another word.

"I think," said Mrs Weasley sharply, "that there will be no lunch until the locket is back and destroyed!"

Everyone gave Mundungus a rather nasty look.

*

The locket was not brought back until that night, and Mundungus was half-pardoned for his actions, even though neither Harry nor Mrs Weasley was speaking to him. Regulus was in the library with Hermione, when Mundungus and Mad Eye returned and they were called to the meeting room. Regulus was about to retire to his room once again, but Dobby said Harry specifically wanted him there.

"Is that it?" Harry asked Regulus when the meeting came to order. Regulus did not miss the hopeful silence.

"Yes," he said, feeling a new sense of frustration overtake him. "Congratulations, Potter, you're one step closer. Just six more to go, eh?"

"Well, then, I think we should get rid of this," Remus said, looking happy for the first time. He waved his wand, but nothing happened. "Oh dear."

Mad Eye tried, Mr Weasley tried, Ron stepped on it, and someone--Ginny, Regulus thought--tried to feed it to Crookshanks, who looked furious and hissed.

"Perhaps if we wait to Lupin to become a werewolf and then throw it at him?" offered Fred.

Remus did not look happy with the idea.

"Oh," Regulus said casually, "you won't be able to destroy it like that."

Everyone turned to look at him. "Well, I know it wasn't a very good idea--" Fred admitted.

"No, I mean, you won't be able to use magic," Regulus said. "He made sure of it. That's what took me so long...." He trailed off uncomfortably, and Hermione gave him a reassuring smile.

"So how do we destroy it?" Mad Eye asked gruffly.

"Brute power," Regulus answered. "I'd highly suggest applying the laws of physics, but I'm a bit off when it comes to the Muggle way of viewing things."

"Something like throwing it off the Tower of Pisa, you mean?" Hermione looked incredulous.

Regulus stared pensively at her. "I suppose that might work."

"Excellent, trip to Italy!" George announced.

"You're not going anywhere," Mrs Weasley snapped.

Hermione looked at her hands thoughtfully. Tom Riddle's diary had been destroyed by its own basilisk, which, she supposed, was brute force. She did not know how Dumbledore had destroyed the ring, but there was little doubt he would have come up with something ingenious. Throwing something from an astonishing height was a rather good way of destroying any sort of object, but that couldn't have been what Dumbledore had done.

"Where's Hagrid?" she asked suddenly, an idea coming to mind.

"He's with Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth," Mr Weasley said.

"Have you--Harry, what about Grawp?"

Harry turned to look at her. "What about Grawp?" he asked thickly.

"What if we got him to break the locket?" Hermione felt excited all of a sudden. "He has plenty of strength to spare! And... well, just think!"

"That's not a bad idea," Tonks agreed.

"What's a Grawp?" Regulus asked, observing how everyone seemed to have either paled or flushed.

"Hagrid's half-brother," Remus explained. "He's a full-blooded giant. You know, Hermione, I think that's an excellent idea."

Regulus did not feel so. "You want to entrust the destruction of a dangerous object to some giant?" he said.

"He's Hagrid's brother," Hermione said firmly, as if that was the answer to any doubts.

"We'll have a word with Hagrid, then," Harry continued before Regulus could make any further comments. "He'll return to Hogwarts, won't he? Professor McGonagall, could you speak with him? I don't want him going alone, though. I'll go with him. Tell him to stop by tomorrow."

Professor McGonagall nodded tersely. "Remus will accompany you both," she said.

Harry didn't argue. He looked pensive. "We need to find those other Horcruxes quickly. Nagini... going after her will be the hardest," he spoke mostly to himself, and the others had to strain to hear him.

"Logic says Nagini should be our last Horcrux," Kingsley explained. "Get to her and then right on to You-Know-Who. Our priority now is to find those two missing items."

"If Ravenclaw left something, then someone must know," said Mr Weasley. "The problem is whether or not they're still alive to provide us with that information."

"If Voldemort was sneaking about Hogwarts looking for clues, then maybe the portraits or the ghosts know something?" Hermione suggested.

"If they did, Dumbledore would have known immediately," McGonagall said, a bit coldly. "How else do you think we keep such careful tabs on the students?"

Ron and Hermione exchanged looks with Harry. They were all thinking the same thing. At least a dozen portraits had caught them on suspicious outings and had never told Dumbledore anything. At least not that they knew of.

"There must be one biased portrait in the school," Fred said.

"Biased, perhaps, but they all swore loyalty to the Headmaster!" snapped McGonagall. "Trust me, Mr Weasley, if there was something to know, we would know it."

"People have fooled Dumbledore before, haven't they?" muttered Fred, but only Regulus seemed to have heard him.

The table grew quiet as everyone tried to think hard of their next step. Hermione did not want to abandon her idea of asking the portraits and ghosts, but she remained silent. Regulus was the only one who seemed carefree, picking off some invisible lint from his shoulder.

Finally Remus adjourned the meeting, saying that they would gather in a week to discuss any news. In the mean time, they would destroy the third Horcrux and hope for some light to be shed on the rest.

Extracting herself from the large group, Hermione approached Harry, who was talking animatedly to the twins. Fred, noticing it was her, continued on. "If you want," he said quietly, "we'll visit Hogwarts and interrogate the paintings, Harry. If old Filch is still there, Peeves will cover for us. He owes us."

"Hermione here has a point," added George, briefly looking at Hermione, "someone in there must know something. We'll begin around the Slytherin Dungeons."

"Just make sure you let me know before you leave," Harry said. "Hogwarts isn't safe and I want to make sure you don't suddenly disappear."

"Aye, aye, Captain," Fred chirped, and then hurried off before his mother could demand to know what they were brewing.

*

Harry waved goodbye to Ron and Hermione, as they left to their respective houses for the weekend. He was left alone in Chadwick with only Regulus and Remus, the latter who would come around that night. The house seemed lonely and quiet with the small number of people, and Harry sulked off to the attic to find something to do.

Mrs Black's portrait hung in a corner, covered by a large velvet curtain, and Harry was careful not to disturb her. He only paced around, eyeing the furniture that had cluttered up. There was nothing to do, and he was about to leave when he stubbed his toe against a chair. Holding his breath in order to not awake Mrs Black's wrath, he jumped around a bit, rubbing his foot and swearing in his head.

That was when he eyed a small hole in the floor. He wasn't surprised to see it; the house had been infested with rats and numerous other pests through its years of abandonment, but he kneeled down anyway and peered down the hole. It was hard to see anything in the dark, but he saw a glint of light.

Taking out his pocket knife, he carefully pried the floorboard open. A small glass cube was sitting there, coated in dust and something black - Harry didn't want to venture a guess at what it was. Curious, he carefully picked it up. It seemed to vibrate softly under his fingertips.

"Interesting," he murmured, eyeing Mrs Black's curtains, and then turning back to his treasure.

He carefully set it on the floor, blowing away the dust. He had half-expected to find something written on it, but there was nothing but smooth glass all around. He touched it with his right fingers, feeling it vibrate in a harmonious sort of way, almost as if it were calling to him. He rested his palm against the cold glass, and felt a sudden jolt of electricity run across his arm, like he had just been shocked.

Harry tried to remove his hand, but found that he couldn't. His palm had stuck to the glass in a horrifying way. The jolts continued and soon gave way to a sickening sensation. Harry felt his skin burning, the flesh melting away, and a sickening odour filled his nostrils.

"BLOOD TRAITORS! THIEVES! DECEIVERS!" Mrs Black suddenly started shouting, and Harry realised that he had begun to scream.

The pain was unbearable. He tried desperately to pry his arm from the cube, but it seemed only to mock him in return.

"I HOPE YOU BURN IN HELL!" Mrs Black screamed nastily, laughing gleefully at the sight.

The smell of burnt skin was making Harry feel faint, and alongside the searing pain, he knew he was going to pass out any time now. He was briefly able to hear the sound of pounding footsteps run up the stairs. He was aware that he was still screaming despite everything, and Mrs Black was swearing at him from her portrait.

"Potter! Potter! For fuck's sake what on earth is--what are you doing, you stupid boy?" It was Regulus. Harry felt relief sink in, but the pain was too intense to say anything.

"Oh, shut up, Mother," Regulus snapped, grabbing a hold of Harry. It felt like he was suddenly bathed in cold water. "Potter, would you stop your incessant screaming? It's all in your bloody head, do you hear me? The pain is all in your head."

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. In his head? It was as real as anything!

"Come on, Potter, I need you to concentrate," Regulus urged. "It'll go away only if you think about something else. Think about Quidditch or school, or girls even."

Harry couldn't. He tried to think about Ginny on a broom in Hogwarts, but the pain made the image evaporate into flames. His hand... his hand was on fire.

Regulus was clutching his hand furiously, trying to pry it off the cube, and Harry kept wondering why Regulus wasn't burning as well. All in his head... it was all in his head. It wasn't all bloody in his head!

Regulus was saying something, but Harry couldn't hear.

"... I think I'll pin her against the wall and take her right there. You don't mind, do you? She's a lovely creature. I can't wait to dip my tongue between those--"

"Who the fuck are you talking about?" Harry croaked. The pain seemed to lessen slightly.

"And grab those small--Hermione, of course," Regulus chirped.

Harry raised his right fist and swung at Regulus.

"There you go," said Regulus, rubbing his nose. It wasn't broken, thank God.

Harry blinked. The cube lay on the floor, looking devastated. Regulus grinned at him, and even Mrs Black had settled down, eyeing them both with disgust from her side.

"What happened?" Harry asked. His arm was fine. No scorched skin, no leftover pain. It had all vanished.

"I merely distracted you, since, apparently, you are too much of a blockhead to do it yourself," Regulus explained. He dusted off his trousers and offered a hand to help Harry up. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"How did you know about the cube?" Harry asked.

"It's mine, actually. A birthday present when I turned twelve," Regulus said.

"A birthday present?" Harry echoed. "What's it doing hidden under the floorboards?"

Regulus shrugged. "Don't know. I bet there are a lot of things hidden in here." He closed the curtains on his mother's portrait with a quick apology. "Leave the cube there. Let's go get you a bit of alcohol. You're looking somewhat peaky."

"Thank you," Harry found himself saying. "I felt like my arm was being burnt off."

Regulus shrugged. "That's nothing. The cube is supposed to make you go insane. Was an excellent present, really. I used it on old Lucius once for a laugh and got slapped for it."

"They couldn't have bought you a pack of cards or a kitten, instead?" demanded Harry, as they marched down into the kitchen.

"Well, I had a kitten once," Regulus said, "but it got eaten by an Acromantula by mistake."