It was eleven in the night. A tall boy was sitting on the couch in the living room of a beach house. Harry sat there with a stony expression on his face as the wind blew in his face as he stared into the dark waters in the distance. His eyes were red and puffy and he was emotionally exhausted and couldn't go to sleep.
Suddenly, he sensed a person behind him. But this presence was very familiar to him so he didn't react when he heard a voice say, "Back to square one, are we?"
"What are you doing out here?" asked Harry quietly. "It's very late. You should be in bed."
"So should you" replied Daphne as she took the seat next to him.
"This place really is beautiful isn't it?" she asked, after several minutes.
"Uh huh" said Harry.
"I told you that I wouldn't leave you" she said quietly, without preamble.
"I believe you" said Harry.
"Liar"
Harry sat quietly, not meeting her eyes.
Daphne sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder. Harry slowly sneaked his arm around her waist as she snuggled deeper into him. "How did you know?" asked Harry.
"I know how you think" replied Daphne. "You might have the entire world fooled, but you can't fool me; I'm the one who spends nearly everyday with you so I can accurately judge your emotions. Harry - " she said and closed her eyes. "Please, don't for a second think the contract being voided would have any change in our relationship. I already told you that I won't leave you. Why is that so hard for you to understand?"
Harry remained quiet. "Look, Harry" she said finally. "This has to end. Tell me right now if you either trust me or you don't. Do you trust me to stay with you to the end? Do you believe me when I say that I love you?"
"I do, but - "
" – but you think you don't deserve love, don't you?" snapped Daphne. "You do deserve love, Harry. Allow me to show you that you are indeed worthy of being loved by others. Don't be so pessimistic all the time, Harry. You have come so far in life. You're an International Duelling Champion; you're an outstanding student; you're incredibly powerful for your age; you work hard and strive to be the best, and this has resulted in you learning so much that you could beat NEWT students with ease. You killed a seventy-foot long basilisk and defeated Tom Riddle in a duel. Anyone else would have crumbled into a heap after everything you've gone through, but you always rise again like a phoenix, more determined than ever each time. Please don't let your bad experiences before affect the wonderful boy you have turned out to be. I love you, Harry, please don't ever forget that. You deserve to be loved and adored by people around you. I'll always be by your side" she said softly but firmly.
"If I feel that I don't deserve love, you can always feed me a love potion" said Harry with a small smile on his face. "Get it?"
Daphne snorted and buried her face in his chest. "That was worse than the last one!" she whined.
Harry chuckled. "Thanks, Daphne. I don't know what I'd ever do without you" he said softly.
"You'll never, ever have to find out" was the reply. "I hope such thoughts never arise in your mind again. Will they?"
"No" said Harry firmly, hugging her tightly, and breathing in the familiar scent of his fiancée. "They won't. I love you too, Daphne. And you're right. The contract being voided has nothing to do with us. You're still my fiancée and nothing can change that."
"Good" said Daphne, leaning up to kiss him softly. They remained there for the rest of the night, tangled in each other's arms.
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The vacation after that went smoothly. They spent the next few days visiting the various magical places of interest in Hawaii. The place had a rich magical culture, and they went to a luau where Harry and Daphne danced and laughed with their friends and family and had a very good time. Slowly, Harry felt all the tension melt away as he repeatedly got an authentic Hawaiian massage. It really helped him, along with splashing each other as he and his friends played in the water. Fawkes and Aquila had turned up too, and the local magical population loved to have the two birds there, and Harry was sure that Aquila for one was having a blast. Daphne too was taken with Fawkes and she spent a long time with the phoenix, while many beautiful witches of various countries petted him and fed him fruits. Needless to say, Fawkes was delighted to receive such admiration and attention from others and not be stuck with a lemon drop addicted old man. The rest of the group and the local magical community and tourists were in awe of meeting the massive thunderbird and many of them went forward to touch his feathers, just to ensure that their eyes were not deceiving them.
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"May I ask what you're doing?" asked Amelia coldly, looking at her new fiancé.
Sirius snapped his head the other way from where he had been ogling at the beautiful woman playing on the beach. His eyes widened when he saw Amelia looking at him with a furious expression on her face. Oh oh, he was in trouble!
"I can explain" he said hastily.
"I better hope so" growled Amelia. "Or I'll give you a chase worse than the one I did in my seventh year when you stole my bra and panties. I'm sure you remember the wide variety of curses I used on you that day; and trust me, my knowledge in spells have improved drastically since the time I was seventeen."
Sirius swallowed. He remembered that alright. Just then, Amelia removed the robe that was covering her body, letting Sirius see her bathing suit. All thought vanished from the dog's mind as he stared unashamed at his fiancee's body. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Amelia discreetly draw her wand. Suddenly, Sirius found himself hoisted up by his ankles, with him handing upside down.
"AAAHHHHH!" he screamed in shock. But with another flick of her wand, he was banished into the water. Spluttering, he resurfaced to see an amused expression on Amelia's face.
"That's how the Head of the DMLE handles it" said Amelia, gripping Sirius's collar. "You won't do that again, will you, you mangy dog?"
"Oh" replied Sirius dreamly. "You're playing the domineering Auror; Kinky. Do I get spankings as well?"
Amelia looked at Sirius seriously for a few seconds but burst out laughing. "Somethings never change" she said, kissing him. Sirius was only too happy to reciprocate.
"Just remember what happened to James when he was ogling at other naked women. Lily sure found the perfect punishment" whispered Amelia.
Sirius's eyes went wide. "You wouldn't!" he spluttered. Amelia smirked and said "Good luck sleeping alone, Sirius. Let's see how long your doggy mind can handle that."
"Oh no" whispered Sirius, his face paling, as Amelia laughed herself sick. Oh, how she loved to prank him!
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"He's amazing" said Cyrus Greengrass, looking at Aquila interacting with many others in the magical locality of Hawaii. The thunderbird was currently, much to Harry's amusement, playing a game of catch with others who were on broomsticks. Fawkes was content with flirting with as many witches as possible. Neville, Astoria and Susan were on brooms, playing as well. Daphne, Tracy and Hannah had gone shopping along with Elizabeth, so they weren't there. Harry was sitting on the beach, amusing himself with watching Amelia prank Sirius repeatedly. He was pretty soon joined by his soon to be father-in-law.
"He really is" replied Harry fondly.
"I wanted to talk to you Harry" began Cyrus. He was a bit nervous, as he had no intention to hurt Harry's feelings, but he and Elizabeth had observed Harry a few days ago. Needless to say, they were devastated that they had caused more despair to their daughter's fiance.
"Sure Cyrus" said Harry confused.
"I would like to apologise" he began "for the way Elizabeth and I broke the news of her pregnancy. It was inappropriate and we didn't account for your feelings on the matter. We were really upset after we saw the expression on your face once we announced it, and we immediately realised that we should have been more tactful."
Harry's face burned with embarrassment. Here was a man who was apologising for something that wasn't his fault at all. The man should have been celebrating the fact that his wife was pregnant, but instead, he was apologising to his future son-in-law for having a child. Harry felt really guilty at the moment. "Cyrus, I –"
"We didn't try for a baby with the intention of breaking you and Daphne apart" said Cyrus softly. "Don't get me wrong Harry, but I still felt very guilty because of that marriage contract. I didn't know whether you both would be happy together. So instead of both of you being stuck in a loveless marriage, we tried to void it by the only way possible. But please don't think that I don't approve of you. You're our future son-in-law, and over the past two years, I've really grown to like you and so has my wife. We couldn't have asked for anyone better for Daphne, as you're an amazing young boy. All we were trying to do was protect our daughter, nothing more. I'm more than happy if you continue to be engaged to Daphne. You're already part of the family, Harry, and nothing can change that. Okay?"
Harry smiled widely at his father-in-law. "You have nothing to apologise for, Cyrus. Don't worry about me. Yes, I was caught off guard and I wondered if Daphne would still want to be with me, but she straightened me out. It was my fault; not yours, so please don't feel guilty. Congratulations on the pregnancy. It was never my intention to make you doubt your decision. As you said, you were only looking out for your daughter. And I'm honoured that you consider me family because I do too. Thank you Cyrus" he said sincerely.
Cyrus smiled and hugged Harry, kissing him on the head. He hoped that he could develop a true friendship with the young boy, as he really liked the kid. He was glad that the situation was sorted out; Elizabeth would be relieved, as she was feeling incredibly guilty over the whole affair.
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"Underwater expedition?" asked Harry to the saleswoman.
"Yeah" she replied. "Gillyweed lasts for an hour and is easier than using a bubble head charm; Thirty galleons for your entire group, a bargain."
"Deal" said Harry, as he purchased them.
It turned out to be the best purchase Harry had ever made. The underwater scenery was breath-taking. They swam underwater for an hour before making it back to the beach. Just as Daphne was getting out of the water, someone pulled her back and pushed her back in. Spluttering, she resurfaced to see a grinning face of her fiancée.
"Oh this is war, Potter" she snarled. "Once I'm done with you, you'll realize the might of Daphne Elizabeth Greengrass."
What followed was a battle of splashing each other and laughing. Harry didn't know when he had so much fun in his life, but he was certainly enjoying himself. It was four days later that the exhausted, tanned group made their way to the International Portkey Terminal and found themselves back in London. After that, they went home to recover from their vacation.
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The Lord's study in Potter Castle was dim, with the lighting charms at minimum and a fire burning brightly in the fireplace. Hadrian Potter was sitting at the centre of the room, on a luxurious carpet, in a meditative state. He was looking for the memories that had come to him when he was in the Chamber of Secrets. He wanted to know what a Horcrux was and where to find those devices. He dwelled into his mind, and found a memory.
He was standing in a classroom with Professor Slughorn and hesitantly asked while trying to hide his excitement. "Sir, I was wondering what you know about . . . Horcruxes?"
Slughorn raised his eyebrows and asked "Defence Against the Dark Arts project?"
He knew that the Potions master did not believe in that, of course. So he carefully flattered the man, without overdoing it.
"Well," said Slughorn, not looking at him, but fiddling with the ribbon on top of his box of crystalized pineapple, "well, it can't hurt to give you an overview, of course. Just so that you understand the term. A Horcrux is the word used for an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul."
"I don't quite understand how that works, though, sir," he replied in a curious tone.
"Well, you split your soul, you see," said Slughorn, "and hide part of it in an object outside the body. Then, even if one's body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die, for part of the soul remains earthbound and undamaged. But of course, existence in such a form . . ."
He didn't care about any of that. He wanted to be immortal, and this was the perfect way to do it.
"How do you split your soul?" he asked the Professor.
"Well," said Slughorn uncomfortably, "you must understand that the soul is supposed to remain intact and whole. Splitting it is an act of violation, it is against nature."
"But how do you do it?"
"By an act of evil — the supreme act of evil. By committing murder. Killing rips the soul apart. The wizard intent upon creating a Horcrux would use the damage to his advantage: He would encase the torn portion —"
"Encase? But how — ?"
"There is a spell, do not ask me, I don't know!" said Slughorn, shaking his head like an old elephant bothered by mosquitoes. "Do I look as though I have tried it — do I look like a killer?"
He immediately backtracked. "No, sir, of course not," he said quickly. "I'm sorry . . . I didn't mean to offend . . ."
"Not at all, not at all, not offended," said Slughorn gruffly. "It's natural to feel some curiosity about these things. . . . Wizards of a certain caliber have always been drawn to that aspect of magic. . . ."
"Yes, sir," he said. "What I don't understand, though — just out of curiosity — I mean, would one Horcrux be much use? Can you only split your soul once? Wouldn't it be better, make you stronger, to have your soul in more pieces, I mean, for instance, isn't seven the most powerfully magical number, wouldn't seven — ?"
"Merlin's beard, Tom!" yelped Slughorn. "Seven! Isn't it bad enough to think of killing one person? And in any case . . . bad enough to divide the soul . . . but to rip it into seven pieces . . ."
He then paused. Maybe asking that last question wasn't a good idea as Slughorn looked deeply troubled. Had he pushed it too far? Should he try to modify Slughorn's memory? No, the man was well versed at Occlumency, so it wouldn't do him any good. After that, he pacified Slughorn, leaving the room with brimming happiness. He had finally found the perfect way to secure his immortality. He now had to go through the book he had found on the subject in the Library and attempt it. He, Lord Voldemort, would be the greatest wizard the world had ever seen!
Harry exited the memory with a gasp. So that's what a Horcrux is. He couldn't believe that Tom Riddle had been so desperate for immortality that he had been willing to split his soul not once, but seven times! It made him sick.
Suddenly, his face went pale as realization struck him like a ton of bricks. "Tippy" he called quietly.
The female elf popped in front of him and smiled. "What can Tippy do for Master Hadrian?"
"Tippy, do you remember the day Aquila rescued me and brought me here to Potter Castle?" he whispered.
The elf's ears went limp. "Tippy remembers" she said morosely. "Master was badly injured."
Harry continued in the same flat voice as he asked, "Tippy, did my scar house a piece of Voldemort's soul?"
Tippy burst into tears as she nodded. "Is it still there?" whispered Harry.
"Oh no, Master Hadrian" said the elf, looking up and smiling again. "Several elves used elvin magic and forced it out. Then Master's thunderbird destroyed it using lightning as it not have place to stay."
Harry sighed in relief. That explained him getting Voldemort's memories. Something must have happened during the ritual which made him gain the man's memories in his subconscious mind. He thanked the elf and went back to his meditative state. He found a few more memories.
He remembered the dead body of Myrtle Warren. He had ordered the basilisk to kill the girl, so she was technically murdered by his hand. He looked at the small diary in front of him and many other ingredients which surrounded him. A glass of potion, which was pitch black was sitting on a table. He took it and drank, and then pointed his wand at the diary and said the spell. Pain. It was more pain than he had ever imagined! Had something gone wrong? Just as he felt like he couldn't tolerate the pain anymore, it stopped. He opened his eyes to look at the diary, which was glowing. He smiled widely. He was just sixteen, but he had done it. He had finally created his first Horcrux!
His filthy muggle father. How dare the man leave his mother and reject him before he was even born? The muggle needed to be taught a lesson. Oh, how he loved killing his so called father and grandparents. Now, their deaths would be used to create his second horcrux. The big black and gold ring lay in front of him. He drank the potion and pointed the wand at the ring. Pain. The ring glowed.
How stupid of the ghost, and she actually was the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw herself! While he immensely respected Rowena for her sheer intelligence, he couldn't help but look down at her daughter. She had just handed over her mother's diadem to him. He had killed a muggle prostitute who he had slept with the previous night; really that was all those muggles were worth for. He looked at the diadem in front of him. He drank the potion and pointed the wand at it. Pain. The diadem glowed.
That stupid woman. How dare she insult his mother? Not that he cared at all about his mother, but it was the principle of the thing! And she possessed Salazar Slytherin's locket! It rightfully belonged to him, the descendant of Slytherin. He had killed her and he looked at the golden cup in front of him. Hufflepuff's chalice. He drank the potion and pointed the wand at it. Pain. The cup glowed.
What a worthless family. He had just eliminated almost the entire Bones family. Could they even call themselves an Ancient house, with their manor so horribly protected? Unfortunately, he couldn't get one brother and sister. But he wasn't worried. He would get them all soon enough. Amelia Bones had become a nuisance, along with Sirius Black, James Potter and his mudblood wife, Lily. Really, the Potters should know not to interfere with his business. Getting rid of Charlus and Dorea Potter had been expensive, but the deaths of all those Death Eaters had been worth it. He looked at the locket in front of him – Salazar's locket. He eagerly drank the potion and pointed his wand at the locket. The pain was a lot lesser than before. The locket glowed.
Harry gasped and pulled back. He had just gained memories of what Voldemort's Horcruxes were, along with their locations and some of their defences. He was grim, as he thought about the defences. They were not easy.
The diary had been given to Lucius Malfoy for safe keeping and to later use it to open the Chamber of Secrets. The ring had been buried under a mountain of wards, including a horrible curse on the ring itself in the Gaunt shack. Ravenclaw's diadem was the easiest of all; it was in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts. Hufflepuff's cup was in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault at Gringotts. And finally, the locket was present in a cave, with some dark and nasty defences.
If Harry had been a Gryffindor, he would have rushed off to the places to find the Horcruxes. But he wasn't. Harry was a Ravenclaw. He was smart to realise that he needed more information. So he got up and climbed up the stairs and entered the Potter Library.
The library at Potter Castle was enormous. There were bookshelves covering three floors and comfortable tables and chairs occupied the ground floor. He quickly made his way to the third floor, and into a place that was highly restricted by the family. He placed his ring on the big, oak door. The door flashed and a plate of several runes appeared in front of him. Harry calmly tapped the various runes and entered the required password by disabling the wards around the room. The door then took a small blood sample and finally the door opened.
Harry had never been inside this room. This room was built to house the worst books ever created on magic. They were indeed the deepest of the dark arts. Harry took a deep breath and started searching. He went over to the directory book and tapped it with his wand. Suddenly, several books appeared in front of him. He levitated them to a table and sat down. He looked at the books and realised that they were all about Horcruxes. With a grim smile, he opened. They were all in ancient Greek, so he used advanced translation charms on them so that he could understand what was written.
Half an hour later, Harry was near the window on the other side of the room as he felt sick just by looking at the book. He couldn't believe that Riddle had actually made not one, but five of these devices! The procedure was disgusting! He made his way back to the table and continued reading the oldest of the old books. He doubted the book he was reading was even present in the Hogwarts library, while he knew that the Secrets of the Darkest Art was the book from which Voldemort had gained his knowledge.
The container of the soul piece is what makes a Horcrux. The Horcrux cannot survive without its container. So, ensure that your container is very well protected.
There are only a few ways of destroying a Horcrux – Basilisk venom, Fiendfyre, the Dementor's kiss and the Avada Kedavra curse.
Creating a Horcrux does not diminish one's magical power. Indeed, the devices are all linked together, so theoretically the magical power would remain with the person. But in case the Horcrux is destroyed, there is a possibility that your magical power may diminish, but there is no way to be sure as no one has created more than one Horcrux, and it is inadvisable to do so.
There is no other way to destroy a Horcrux other than by destroying the vessel.
Harry looked up with a grim look on his face. Now he understood Dumbledore's motivation of trying to keep him under control. The old goat was going to sacrifice him on the altar of the Greater Good. He probably believed that Harry was a Horcrux, and only through his death could Voldemort be truly killed. There was no way was he going to be made a martyr. Besides, the old man had discounted elf magic and so had this book which was also written by a wizard; his faithful elves had ejected the soul piece. The soul piece was nearly destroyed and when Aquila hit it with a bolt of lightning, it was completely obliterated.
He waved his hand and the books went back to their original shelves. He slowly walked out of the room and reset the wards – no one could enter without the authorization of the Lord and Lady Potter. He went back down to the library and sat down in a plush armchair. What to do?
He knew of the defences of the Horcruxes. Could he risk going there now to try to retrieve it? He wouldn't be able to do it after school started, and it would be difficult to get away during the Yule Holidays. So there was no choice. He had to start now.
Where to start first? He concentrated on the protections around the ring and the locket. He would go after the ring first. There was absolutely no way he could go after the locket alone. He was thinking about the horrible potion in the cave when he suddenly looked up and laughed. "That is perfect" said Harry to himself.
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The town of Little Hangleton was small, with poor houses, a graveyard and a large empty manor on top of a hill. The manor had been empty ever since the Riddles had been murdered. Harry Apparated silently near a clearing and began walking. After walking for nearly a kilometre, he stopped. There seemed to be a thick jungle in front of him. He closed his eyes and activated his mage sight. This had taken a lot of practice over the last five years, but he had managed to learn it. He went over to a tree and started touching it. He felt like it shouldn't belong there. Sure enough, there were intent based wards around the place, along with strong notice me not wards. They were good, but it was clearly made by an eighteen-year-old Tom Riddle; his inexperience showed.
Harry touched the bark with his hand and moved around. Finally, he found what he was looking for. He flicked his left hand, and his thunderbird feather wand sailed to his hand. He touched the bark and muttered in parseltongue, and the forest disappeared. Instead, he saw a dusty road, and a shack several meters ahead.
Harry paused. This was where the next defences began. He took one step further and several long, poisonous snakes started coming out of the bushes, with their hoods raised, and hissing angrily.
"Halt!" hissed Harry in parseltongue. "It is I, Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin. I command you to let me pass to the ancestral home of my family."
For a second, Harry thought it had worked. But unfortunately, it didn't. The snakes hissed angrily and said "You, speaker, are not our master! You will be killed for entering this place. Get ready to die."
I've faced snakes worse than you, thought Harry. He reached for his belt and pulled out a big ruby encrusted sword from within a bag's depths. The snakes hissed and charged, but Harry sliced them off with several strokes of his sword. He knew the snakes were a result of dark magic, so unless he used the killing curse or cast Fiendfyre or something similar, it was difficult to kill them. But luckily, the magic of the Sword of Gryffindor, along with the basilisk venom in it turned out to be quite effective as the snakes all lay on the ground, dead.
Harry walked further along the path. Right when he was able to reach the shack, it disappeared. He grunted with annoyance as he reached out into the air, as if searching for something. After two minutes, he found it. It felt like a lever, so he pulled it and said "I Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, command you to reveal the ancestral house of my ancestors". Harry was glad that Riddle had used parselmagic, as without parseltongue, bringing down the wards would have been quite difficult indeed.
Suddenly, the Gaunt shack appeared. Harry rolled his eyes. The man was obsessed with being Salazar's heir; no wonder Riddle had been so angry when Harry said that he might not be so. He stood in front of the door and frowned as he sensed a dark curse. After a couple of seconds, he waved his wand and the door vanished. He entered the place and crinkled his nose. For someone who grew up with the Dursleyes who were neat freaks, and later in an enormous castle, this place was terrible to look at. He extended his senses and found a dark magic concentration under the floor. So he pointed his wand at the floor and thought "Reducto"
A red beam of light left his wand and impacted the floor. Dust covered the shack, and once it cleared, Harry saw a ring on a pedestal. Okay, just pick it up, put it on. That would be the best decision of your life. Come on, put it on . . .
Harry's hand was an inch away from the ring when he yelped and pulled it back. The compulsion! He reinforced his Occlumency shields, took the sword and stabbed the ring with it. There was a wailing and screeching noise as the Horcrux was destroyed. Harry immediately levitated the ring into his Mokeskin pouch and left the shack. He walked fast and once he reached the Apparition point, he breathed a sigh of relief. The defences weren't much, but if he had not been prepared, he very well could have died within seconds; the curse on the ring would have seen to that. He turned on the spot and Disapparated back to Potter Castle with a silent crack.
Harry entered his study and went to a blank section of the wall, deep inside. He flashed his ring and muttered a password, just as another set of runes appeared on the wall. He gave several set of passwords by pressing the different runes, and finally, after the Lord's ring authorization, a door materialised. He went inside. The small, hidden vault was filled with several instruments and treasures belonging to the Potter family. He placed the ring and Gryffindor's sword there and got out of the high security safe.
He looked at the time on his watch and realised that it was still 7 PM. He had time to get the locket as well. Harry walked down to the dungeons, muttering passwords in parseltongue as he went along. As he finally reached the door, he flicked his fingers and the door opened with a bang.
Harry slowly entered the place and looked at the thin forms of Vernon, Petunia and Marge Dursley. They didn't look like they were only skin and bones; no, they looked okay, even if somewhat weak. Harry had told his house elves to give them food, just not good food. The isolation was enough punishment for them.
"Get up" he said in a cold voice to Vernon Dursley.
"Why?" asked Vernon, trying to sound brave.
Harry didn't have the patience to deal with this. He was running out of time. He pointed his thunderbird feather wand at Vernon and said "Imperio"
The Imperius Curse really was an unforgivable because it was highly difficult to detect it. There were various degrees of which the curse could be used. The passive degree connected the curse to the victim's subconscious mind, and it was this form that was long lasting, not to mention could be cast only by those who are competent. In such a case, the victim didn't know that he was under the curse, as he went about doing his daily business, and others found it hard to detect too. The active degree was temporary, and the victim was in full control of the caster, and this was simpler to detect by others. Harry used the latter on Vernon as he only wanted the man following his orders for a few hours.
"What did you do to him?" asked Petunia fearfully.
Harry smirked. "Nothing much. Just fired a curse at him that would make him follow any orders I give him without question" he replied. "It's actually very much illegal all over the world, but I need him like this. Say goodbye to your husband, Petunia"
He left the room with his uncle, not listening to the screams and wails of his aunt. They left the castle grounds, and Harry took his uncle's hand and Apparated.
When Harry opened his eyes, the smell of salty water greeted him. Waves were hitting the cliff where they were standing. He turned to Vernon and said, "We'll have to swim to that cliff. Don't drown. I need you."
Vernon nodded and they took the plunge. Harry activated a heating charm to keep himself warm as they swam to their destination. Once they arrived, Harry waved his wand over himself as his clothes and body began drying at a fast rate. He rolled his eyes at his uncle shivering, and pointed his wand at the man and fired drying charms.
He then looked at the entrance of the cave. There was a magical barrier here; he just had to find it. He walked to the back of the cave and concentrated. "This is the place" he said to himself, aloud. "This is the antechamber."
"It wants payment" he said again, frowning. After another minute of examining it, he found it. Harry snorted. How typical of Voldemort to think giving blood would stop a person from entering. It was so simple to heal wounds with magic. He waved his hand over his palm and a gash appeared. He let the drops of blood fall on the stone and suddenly, an entrance materialised. He waved his wand again, and the gash disappeared.
"How did you do that?" asked Vernon, mystified.
"Magic; or in your words, freakishness. Just shut up and follow me" snapped Harry.
Vernon's mouth snapped shut as they entered the cave. An eerie sight met their eyes: They were standing on the edge of a great black lake, so vast that Harry could not make out the distant banks, in a cavern so high that the ceiling too was out of sight. A misty greenish light shone far away in what looked like the middle of the lake; it was reflected in the completely still water below. The greenish glow and the light from Harry's wand were the only things that broke the otherwise velvety blackness, though their rays did not penetrate as far as Harry would have expected. The darkness was somehow denser than normal darkness.
"Don't touch the water" warned Harry to his uncle and started walking.
After walking for a minute, they stopped. Harry narrowed his eyes as he felt the air above him. He suddenly felt something in the air, and after searching for something, he found what he was looking for and he held on to it. With his wand in his left hand, he tapped his wand at his right palm, and suddenly thick coppery green chains extended into Harry's hand. Harry tapped the chain with his wand, and the chains pulled a boat from under the water.
Vernon gaped at Harry performing magic that was surely very advanced. Before he could say anything, Harry's control over his mind came back to the front, as Vernon seamlessly stepped into the boat. Harry carefully stepped in as well and tapped the boat with his wand. The boat started moving. He didn't want to look into the water, or what was more likely a potion similar to water. He knew what he would see and he didn't like it one bit.
But Vernon had so such warning. He looked at a body in the water and screamed. "T-there is a b-body in there" he stammered.
"I know" replied Harry. "There are several of them in there. So make sure you don't touch the water".
Once they reached the island, they got down. Harry looked down at the basin with the bright green potion with a grim expression. He knew what it was. He had looked it up in the Potter library while researching about Horcruxes. It was the Curse of Living Nightmares. It wasn't really a curse, more of a potion. But it was so bad that they named it a curse to drink.
Harry pointed his wand at Vernon and bound the man with ropes and made him sit on the ground. "I'm going to feed you a potion, and you're going to drink it" he ordered.
He conjured a crystal goblet and plunged it into the basin. He then took it and fed it to his uncle. His uncle started screaming "No! Don't. I can't do this! No. Stay away from me!" he shouted.
Harry smirked. "Welcome to my life, Uncle Vernon" he whispered, and force fed the potion to him. He found a locket at the basin after it was empty. It didn't resemble Salazar's, so he opened it to find a note.
To the Dark Lord
I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more.
R.A.B
"Great" said Harry. "Absolutely great. Come on, you big lump. We're leaving".
He levitated Vernon to the boat and he stepped in as well. But once he reached the other side, he knew something was wrong. It looked like even if Voldemort came here, he always sacrificed a person who drank the potion. So this time, when the water was not disturbed and there was no one to drag into the water, the Inferi knew that something was wrong. They slowly rose from the water, crawling towards Harry and Vernon.
Vernon screamed, but Harry remained calm. He took his wand and rotated it around his head in long gestures, and finally, there was a ring of fire that burst from his wand, that surrounded the Inferi. The corpses realised that they could not win, and so returned to their place underwater. Harry extinguished the fire, levitated Vernon out of the cave, and Disapparated back to Potter Castle.
He had failed in acquiring the locket Horcrux.