The morning after Harry's birthday Professor Xavier called him into his office shortly after breakfast. When he got there he saw that the professor wasn't alone. With him was a man who appeared to be middle aged. His hair was mostly black but streaked with white and he had a thin mustache below his nose. Around his body he wore a red cape which was clasped at the throat with an amulet. A sense of power was radiating off of him and Harry knew at once that this was someone to be respected.
"Harry please come in and take a seat" said Xavier, "I'd like you to meet someone. This is Dr. Stephen Strange. We may have mentioned him to you already. If not, he's the Sorcerer Supreme."
"Yes" said Harry, "I've heard of him – I mean you" he said to Dr. Strange who smiled at Harry and held out his hand. Harry shook it before sitting down.
"How do you Mr. Potter" said Dr. Strange, "I've heard of you too."
"It seems like everyone in the magical world has" said Harry with a sigh.
"That's probably true" said Dr. Strange.
"So what does the Sorcerer Supreme do?" asked Harry.
"Many things" said Dr. Strange, "but the primary task is to defend the world from magical things that would threaten its existence."
"Like Voldemort?"
"In a way" was the answer, "but Voldemort, powerful and vicious as he is, has never been a threat to the world as a whole. His war was confined to Britain while he was in power. If he had won that war and extended his conquests beyond Britain and Europe then it is possible he would have risen to the level where I would have had to step in.
"There are many powerful beings in the multiverse. Some of them are good and some of them are bad – just like with anything in life. Some of those beings have attempted to conquer Earth or even destroy it. Beings like the Dread Dormammu, Chthon, Mephisto, Shuma-Gorath, Zom, and Umar to name a few."
"I don't think I've ever heard of any of them" said Harry.
"Count yourself fortunate if that's true" said Dr. Strange, "because compared to any one of them Voldemort is a petty conjurer."
"Ouch" said Harry.
"Indeed" said Dr. Strange, "but dealing with Earth-wide threats is not all I do. I'm also a consultant. People who have problems with magic come to me and I try to help them if I can. That's why I'm here today. Professor Xavier asked me to come."
"Why?" asked Harry.
"What do you know of your scar?" Professor Xavier asked him now. Harry didn't need to be told which scar he meant.
"It's a curse scar" said Harry, "I got it when Voldemort failed to kill me as a baby. I was told that a person gets a scar like this when a powerful curse touches them."
"Is that all?" asked Dr. Strange, "has it ever troubled you in any way?"
"It hurts me whenever Voldemort is near me or when he's angry" said Harry as he remembered the events of his first year. Dr. Strange nodded.
"Charles contacted me last night about it" he said, "and I've also spoken about it with Professor Dumbledore. Your headmaster originally thought it was just a curse scar but told me that after your first year he was sure there must be more to it than that although he has been unable to determine what it is. On the other hand Charles told me some things about it that have told me more. Why don't you tell him?" This last was said to Xavier who nodded.
"When I first found you on the night your powers woke up" Xavier said, "I sensed that there was a darkness within you. I didn't know then if it was inherently in you or if it was an outside influence. When we later met at Hogwarts I telepathically examined you and that scar and was able to determine quite firmly that it was an outside element that had attached itself to you through that scar. It's very much like what a parasite does to a host."
"Are you saying my scar is alive?" asked Harry, shocked by this.
"Possibly" said Dr. Strange, "the night you got it Voldemort's body was destroyed yet he survived. I have theories about how such a thing could happen and what Charles told me about your scar supports one of them. I'll have to examine it more closely to determine if I'm right."
"Do whatever you have to do" said Harry, "if my scar is alive then I want it gone."
"Easier said than done" said Dr. Strange, "but we shall see. For now please relax and close your eyes." Harry did so. With his eyes closed he wasn't able to tell exactly what Dr. Strange was doing. He heard some words muttered in a low voice but couldn't make out what they were. He did feel a touch on his scar after a second and then a brief explosion of pain which made him cry out.
"By the Vishanti!" Harry heard Dr. Strange swear. Breathing hard as he got over the pain Harry opened his eyes and saw a visibly shocked Dr. Strange looking at him.
"Are you all right Harry?" asked Xavier before Harry could say anything.
"I've felt better" said Harry before turning back to Dr. Strange, "is everything okay?"
"No Mr. Potter things are not okay" said Dr. Strange, "and I'm sorry I caused you pain determining that. Fortunately for you the matter can be rectified. Charles, please contact Albus and ask him to come here immediately. This is an emergency and I will need his help as he has the power to assist me as I require. I will return shortly." Dr. Strange held out his hand and made a portal which he promptly stepped through and vanished.
"What happened?" asked Harry as his breathing returned to normal, "what was he so shocked about?"
"That" said Xavier, "is something that both you and I will hopefully find out when he comes back. Excuse me for a moment. I must contact Albus." Harry was quiet while Professor Xavier concentrated for a few minutes.
"He'll be here soon" said Xavier. Barely two minutes later there was a "crack" and Professor Dumbledore appeared in the office.
"Charles" he said, "what's going on? Why does Dr. Strange need my help?"
"I don't know the details yet" said Xavier, "but when he returns I expect he will tell us."
"Ah, Harry" said Dumbledore noticing Harry there, "I didn't see you. Are you well?"
"I'm not sure" said Harry, "Dr. Strange found out something about my scar and he's not happy about it." Before Dumbledore could respond to that the portal reappeared and Dr. Strange stepped back through it into Xavier's office. He was carrying a metal box in his hands.
"Albus, good, you're here" Dr. Strange said to Dumbledore.
"Yes Stephen, I am" said Dumbledore, "what's all of this about?"
"I've discovered a soul fragment from Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter's scar" said Dr. Strange getting right to the point.
"What?" said Dumbledore sounding shocked and appalled, "are you saying that scar is a horcrux?"
"Yes" was the reply, "almost certainly accidental but a horcrux nonetheless."
"Excuse me" said Harry, "what's a horcrux?"
"A horcrux" said Dumbledore, "is one of the darkest, most foul bits of magic a wizard can do. It's supposed to be a way to protect the creator from death. In order to make one you have to tear off a piece of your soul and place it in an object. Then as long as the object exists you can't die. Your body might be destroyed but you will continue to exist in a disembodied form like a wraith until either the horcrux is destroyed or you manage get a new body.
"Now as if tearing your soul apart isn't bad enough the only way to do such a thing is to commit the most evil act and that's cold blooded murder. The act of murder can tear the soul after which a spell can remove a piece of the soul for use in the horcrux.
"There's a significant price to making a horcrux though and that's paid by your physical appearance and your sanity as making a horcrux affects both of them. Voldemort, just before he fell, was an extremely ugly man who was in no way sane though he was very good at fooling people into thinking that he was."
"Why would anyone do that?" asked Harry, "if that's the price for trying to become immortal isn't it better to die with all of you intact?"
"Yes" said Dumbledore, "but Voldemort is afraid of death. In fact the name Voldemort is French for 'Flight From Death.'"
"But why would he turn Harry into a horcrux?" asked Professor Xavier.
"I doubt that he meant to" said Dr. Strange, "it makes no sense to turn someone you're trying to kill into a repository for a piece of your soul. I think that the night he tried to kill Harry his soul was already so damaged and unstable that when his body was destroyed a piece of his soul got separated from the rest of it and latched on to Harry by accident."
"But that can't be" said Dumbledore, "making a horcrux doesn't destabilize the soul that badly. For such a thing to be possible he'd have to deliberately make more than one, several in fact – " he stopped as a look of horror came into his face.
"He must have made several horcruxes" said Dr. Strange finishing Dumbledore's thought, "each time he made an additional one it would destabilize his remaining soul that much more until – "
"Oh Tom, you stupid, stupid boy" said Dumbledore shaking his head, "why would you do that to yourself? At least it explains one thing that's puzzled me. Harry do you remember that diary you destroyed?"
"I don't think I'll forget that in a hurry" said Harry.
"It was a horcrux" said Dumbledore, "I'm sure of it. But horcruxes are usually hidden away to be kept safe. Voldemort, however, wanted that diary to be used. Now, however, I think understand why he would do that. He would only allow that if he had at least one other that he kept hidden so if the diary was destroyed it wouldn't endanger his life. This also raises the question of just how many horcruxes he did make."
"It does" said Dr. Strange, "but we can deal with that later. For now I'm more concerned about the one in Harry's scar."
"Can you get rid of it?" asked Harry, "I don't want to have a piece of Voldemort living inside of me. I feel sick just thinking about it."
"That's a good question" said Dumbledore and for the first time that Harry could remember he looked uncertain, "there aren't many ways of destroying a horcrux and the only ways that I know about require that the soul piece's vessel be destroyed." He turned to look at Dr. Strange, "Stephen I'm sure you didn't ask me to come here to help you kill Harry so am I right in thinking that you know of another way to deal with the horcrux?"
"Yes" said Dr. Strange, "there is one other way and that's to transfer the soul piece from its vessel to another vessel. That's what this box is for." He held up the box he was holding. They could all see it was made of silver. It also had small runes inscribed on it.
"The runes will keep the soul piece inside" continued Dr. Strange, "so that it will not be able to affect anyone who handles the box later on."
"I'm glad to hear it" said Dumbledore, "but how will you do the transfer? I don't know of any spells that can loosen a soul piece from its container."
"I won't be using a spell as such" was the reply, "I will be using this." His hand went to the amulet at his throat.
"What's that?" asked Harry looking at the amulet which looked like a closed eye. Dumbledore seemed to recognize it as his eyes went wide and he gasped out a small "of course" as Dr. Strange nodded to him before turning to Harry.
"This, Harry," said Dr. Strange, "is the Eye of Agamotto. It has many powers. One of them is that when it is open it gives off a mystical light which evil cannot stand but which will not harm you. By bathing your scar in the light of the Eye the soul piece will weaken enough that I'll be able to force it out of your head without harming you although you may feel pain again during the ordeal. This, however, is a taxing piece of magic I'll be doing. Albus, I'll need you to direct the soul piece into the box. You will almost certainly have to fight with it so that it is unable to latch on to anyone else. That's why I wanted you here as you have the power to best Voldemort, even if it's just a fragment of him."
"I might be able to help too" said Xavier, "if I can attack the soul fragment telepathically I can distract it from what both of you are doing which might make it more difficult for it to resist you."
"That's possible" said Dr. Strange, "but be careful. Even just a soul fragment of Voldemort is not to be underestimated. He may be nothing when compared to beings like Dormammu or Chthon but that doesn't mean he's weak by the human scale."
"I understand" said Xavier.
"What should I do?" asked Harry.
"Just relax" said Dr. Strange, "I know that's difficult for you under the circumstances but it's the best thing for you to do. Don't try to force Voldemort from your mind. Leave that to us. By trying to fight any of us it will force his attention outward from you and loosen his hold. Do you understand?"
"Yes" said Harry.
"Good" said Dr. Strange, "sit back, relax, and let us do the work."
"Do you want me to close my eyes again?" asked Harry.
"That's up to you" said Dr. Strange, "whichever way makes you feel more comfortable."
"If you can keep your eyes open I would recommend it" said Dumbledore, "not many people get to see the Eye of Agamotto being used. It's sure to be interesting."
Harry leaned back in his chair. He decided to keep his eyes open as he wanted to see what would happen. Dr. Strange looked directly at him and appeared to be concentrating hard. As Harry watched, the amulet around Dr. Strange's neck opened up to show the shape of an eye inside. The eye detached itself from the amulet at Dr. Strange's neck and floated up to embed itself in his forehead giving him an actual third eye. After another moment a warm yellow light came from the eye and Harry was bathed in its warmth. It was very pleasant, quite relaxing actually, and Harry felt himself becoming much calmer than before. After a few moments he felt a pull on something in his forehead, something foreign that he could tell didn't belong there and a resistance to that pull by the interloper. He had an urge to push on the foreign presence that was being pulled from his head and get rid of it. Before he could do that he heard Xavier's voice in his head.
"Don't fight it Harry" said Xavier, "let it slide out of you. I will do the pushing for you." And then he felt new power being directed at the foreigner. Suddenly he felt pain in his scar as the foreign presence was attacked. Harry squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to keep himself completely still.
"Stop!" called the intruder in a voice that was all too familiar, "I will kill him unless you stop! I won't be dislodged."
"Kill him and you kill yourself Tom" said Dumbledore in response, "you will die if you kill your host."
"I will not" said Voldemort's voice, "I am immortal!"
"Enough Voldemort!" came Dr. Strange's voice, "by the power of the Vishanti and the strength of Eternity I summon you. Come !" Harry felt the soul fragment of Voldemort get slowly pulled out of his head literally kicking and screaming and, remembering Dr. Strange's warning, it took all he had to keep himself still and not try to attack Voldemort himself.
Finally, finally after what seemed like hours, Harry felt the presence of Voldemort leave him completely. Taking a deep breath he opened his eyes. Floating in the air about a meter in front of him was a small, evil looking black cloud which Harry knew was Voldemort's soul fragment. It was surrounded by the light from the Eye of Agamotto as Dr. Strange kept his gaze on it. An evil face coalesced in the cloud and Harry recognized it all too easily. It was the same face he had seen on the back of Quirrel's head at the end of first year and it was struggling hard against the light that was holding it still.
Dumbledore stepped forward, raised his wand and began chanting words that Harry couldn't make out but as he spoke the cloud began to scream as it tried to resist Dumbledore's power. Dumbledore made a swishing motion with his wand and the cloud was abruptly sucked into the box that Dr. Strange had provided. The lid snapped shut and the box locked itself. The soul fragment was now trapped inside. The light from the Eye of Agamotto faded away. The eye detached itself from Dr. Strange's forehead and returned to the amulet around his neck which then closed itself.
"It is done" Dr. Strange said and he leaned on Professor Xavier's desk for support looking drained. Next to him Dumbledore held the sealed metal box which was glowing slightly. Dumbledore looked a little drained himself although not as much as Dr. Strange.
"Are you well Harry?" asked Dumbledore.
"I'm fine" said Harry although even as he said it he felt exhausted himself, "but for some reason I feel very tired and I didn't do anything."
"No one can go through an ordeal like that without feeling drained" said Dr. Strange, "you should rest for a while."
"Yes Harry" said Xavier, "go lie down. It will help."
"Okay" said Harry as he stood up from his chair, "thank you Dr. Strange for removing that thing from my head. And thank you headmaster and you professor for helping him."
"You're more than welcome my boy" said Dumbledore, "now go rest. You need it."
"It was my pleasure Harry" said Dr. Strange, "I look forward to seeing you again at some point under hopefully better circumstances."
Harry nodded and thanked them again before leaving Xavier's office and heading back to his room where he fell on his bed and was asleep almost immediately.