Forming anti-portkey wards within the Chamber of Secrets turned out to be less challenging than Harry had anticipated, despite the considerable drain it still inflicted on his magic. The ease came largely from Voldemort's memories, which included comprehensive instructions on various types of anti-transportation wards. The ward he selected had exceptions to ensure he could still access the Chamber using a portkey—after all, it wouldn't do for him to be blocked from his own secret lair.
Though he completed the warding process by early afternoon, Harry Potter-Slytherin opted against returning to the castle to retrieve the diadem. Dumbledore was currently at Hogwarts, and getting caught by him was the last thing Harry needed at that moment. Besides, it wasn't as if a wraith—Voldemort's current form—would come to snatch the diadem horcrux from its hiding place...
With the wards successfully raised, Harry activated one of his portkeys, already attuned to the new ward, and made his way back to Salazar's cottage. He still needed to prepare for the retrieval and subsequent destruction of the locket horcrux, which, according to Voldemort's memories, remained hidden in a cave not far from Tom's childhood orphanage.
As he considered how to confront Voldemort once he regained a physical form—the young wizard was certain it was only a matter of time—he realized that simply killing the dark lord wouldn't suffice until all the horcruxes were destroyed. If they remained, Voldemort would revert to his wraith state after death. Although Harry had devised a plan to neutralize the dark lord regardless of his soul anchors, further research was necessary. He couldn't afford any mistakes when dealing with someone like Voldemort.
Pushing these heavy thoughts aside for the moment—since they would only serve as distractions—Harry ventured into the potions lab in the basement of Salazar's cottage, ready to start brewing a new batch of magic booster potions for his horcrux quest.
~/ *** \ ~
By late afternoon on July 2nd, Harry felt adequately prepared to pursue the locket. However, recognizing the operation would require several hours of focus, he decided to wait until the following morning. Waking early, he completed the ritual necessary for horcrux destruction, donned his "hunting" attire, and double-checked his equipment.
Once he was confident he was ready for any challenges that lay ahead in the cave, Harry apparated to a high ridge of dark rock adjacent to the steep cliff housing the cave. He carefully navigated the jagged footholds down to the boulders lying partly submerged in the water below. The descent was perilous, but using both Voldemort's memories and the climbing skills he had honed during his time with the Dursleys, Harry managed to reach a smaller boulder nearest to a fissure in the cliff.
After casting a warming charm and a charm to repel water, he slid into the cold sea. Swimming toward the narrow slit in the cliff face proved difficult, as no one had taught him how to swim, but he eventually reached the entrance to the cave: a dark, slimy tunnel barely three feet wide, glimmering like wet tar in his wand's illumination. Knowing this tunnel would fill with water at high tide, he pressed on to avoid being trapped inside.
The tunnel curved left before opening into a vast chamber. Familiar with the entrance to the inner cave, Harry made his way to a flat rock embedded with a barely visible rune. Recalling from Voldemort's memories that he needed to make a blood sacrifice to enter, he conjured a minor charm to slice his index finger and pressed it against the rune. A flash of silver and crimson revealed arched "doors" to the inner cave. As they swung open, he stepped through, standing at the edge of a massive black lake so expansive he couldn't discern the far shore. The cave's ceiling was shrouded in an impenetrable darkness, only broken by a distant misty green light shimmering in the lake's depths, hinting at the danger lying beneath.
As he traversed the lake's perimeter, careful not to disturb the water and awaken the inferi lurking beneath, Harry reached the location where, according to Tom's memories, a boat would await him to ferry him to the island at the lake's center. Waving his hand through the air, he soon found a chain forged from pure magic. Upon pulling it, a faint clinking echoed as the chain materialized, coiling into view. A ghostly prow of a small boat emerged from the black water, glowing as green as the chain, and drifted silently toward him.
Once seated inside, the boat floated slowly toward the island. The journey lasted an excruciatingly tense minute, with the threat of inferi lurking just below the surface. At last, Harry stepped onto solid ground. The island was small, no larger than Professor McGonagall's office, and dominated by a stone basin atop a pedestal—the source of that eerie green light. Observing the basin, Harry recognized it was filled with an emerald liquid radiating phosphorescent glows.
According to Voldemort's memories, the locket lay hidden in that basin, and the only way to retrieve it was to drink the potion within—a potion that would weaken the drinker's mind, rendering them vulnerable to the inferi waiting nearby. Voldemort had devised a method of evasion meant only for himself, but now Harry understood it as well. By touching the hidden runes on the basin, he successfully made the potion vanish.
Reaching into the basin, he grasped the locket. Unfortunately, it soon became evident he had made an error; the inferi that had lain dormant suddenly awakened, advancing menacingly toward the island.
"Damn!" Harry cursed. "Incendio!" A sizeable fireball hurtled toward the nearest undead, inflicting significant damage. Still, given the sheer number of inferi, he quickly recognized he needed more powerful magic. Drinking a magic booster potion, he raised his wand to the cavern ceiling. "Flammaro induco!" A dome of fire erupted around him, incinerating any inferi that ventured too close. However, waiting for them to destroy themselves against his protective barrier was not feasible, as his shield could fail before all the undead were vanquished.
Dismissing the flaming dome, he unleashed a torrent of fire upon the nearest inferi: "Ignis iaculumo!" The spell obliterated the animated corpse and those behind it. "Ignis falcisco!" A fiery sickle shot from his wand, reducing a group of inferi attacking from behind into ash.
The struggle lasted about seven minutes, but in the end, Harry triumphed over the advancing horde. Unfortunately, he had to take a second magic booster potion during the fight, the aftereffects of which began to take their toll. He still needed to escape the cave and return to Salazar's cottage.
Retracing his steps to the boat, Harry made the crossing back to the "mainland" and approached the exit of the inner cave. After sacrificing more of his blood, he opened the gateway to the outer cave. The tunnel that had first led him to this place wasn't yet flooded, leaving him some hope that he could reach the end with the meager magic he had left, even as his body protested from the aftermath of the booster potions. He was cold, shivering uncontrollably as his warming charm faded.
Somehow, he made it outside, but he found himself stranded on a boulder in front of an unscalable cliff. Harry searched for options, and though he knew he would soon regret it, he downed a third magic booster potion to restore his magical strength temporarily.
Feeling the rush of magic return, Harry apparated as close as the wards around his cottage permitted and raced toward the house, eager to arrive before the potion's effects wore off. He reached the bottom of the stairs but collapsed, the potions' aftereffects crashing over him and rendering him motionless on the floor. At least he was home…
Hours later, Harry finally regained the ability to move, though fatigue weighed heavily on him. Curious about the locket he had retrieved and its history—it once belonged to Salazar—he managed to open it without needing Parseltongue, an act that defied Tom's memories of how it should have worked. When he discovered a simple folded parchment instead of an intricate mechanism with two glass windows, he realized someone had beaten him to the real horcrux. Frustrated by the time wasted on a fake, yet eager to uncover who had discovered Voldemort's secret of immortality, he unfolded the parchment.
"To the Dark Lord,
I know I will be dead long before you read this, but I want you to be aware that I uncovered your secret. I have stolen the real thing and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I am ready to face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more.
R.A.B."
Reading that hurried scrawl, Harry felt a dawning recognition. The author appeared to have been hastily documenting a significant deviation from Voldemort's plans. But who was this "R.A.B."? Drawing on Voldemort's memories of his Death Eaters, Harry deduced it referred to Regulus Arcturus Black. Regulus had turned against Voldemort before that infamous Halloween night in 1981, resulting in the dark lord personally seeking to eliminate him to set an example for the others.
Sighing, Harry lamented that in the end, Regulus had been a hero, and yet he remained unsure whether the man had succeeded in destroying the horcrux before his untimely demise or where the real locket might now be. With Hufflepuff's cup rendered inaccessible, Harry understood there was no opportunity to render Voldemort mortal before their inevitable confrontation. He needed to pivot, focusing instead on finding an alternative way to address the "Voldemort" situation.
~/ *** \ ~
Almost a week had passed since Harry discovered the locket was a fake, and he finally felt recovered enough from the lingering effects of the magic booster potions to leave Salazar's cottage. Making his way to contact Violet, he scheduled a meeting with her.
On July 12th, Harry entered the offices of the "Carter, Bridged & Ashford" law firm. Since this meeting was prearranged, he wasn't left waiting. After exchanging greetings with Ms. Bridget, Harry wasted no time getting into the matter at hand:
"First off, thank you for the work you've done. I've reviewed your report, and I'm impressed with your accomplishments in such a short time. House Potter will certainly be continuing our collaboration with your firm."
"And I appreciate your kind words, Lord Potter," Violet replied.
"Now, the reason I requested this meeting," Harry continued, "is that I have another task for you. Though it's not as urgent as previous assignments, I'd like it addressed at your earliest convenience."
"What task do you have in mind?" Violet asked, ready to take notes.
"I want you to clear the name of Regulus Arcturus Black and secure him a posthumous Order of Merlin, second or perhaps even first class." Violet raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the request.
"As far as I know, the late Mr. Black was a Death Eater. I'm unsure how I can achieve this, nor do I understand your reasoning for such a request," she replied, diligently recording his order.
Harry handed her the parchment containing R.A.B.'s message. "Considering the history of the Black family, Regulus was murdered by Voldemort himself. This parchment reveals the reason for such a death: Regulus uncovered the dark lord's secrets regarding his quest for immortality and chose to no longer serve that monster. He defected to the light while attempting to destroy the horcrux."
"I understand," Violet said, her voice calm as she examined the document. After casting a few protection charms on it, she added, "I'll see what I can do. However, gaining public support for someone known primarily as a Death Eater will not be easy."
Harry nodded in agreement. "Just do what you can. I want to see justice served."
"Of course," Violet acknowledged. "I'll do my best. Is there anything else you wish to discuss?"
"Yes, could you gather some general information on Tiberius Ogden and his political positions? He struck me as someone I would consider for proxy status." Violet nodded again.
"I will owl you the results when I have them," she promised as she recorded his request. Harry expressed his gratitude and they both exchanged goodbyes before he exited the office.
With the afternoon still young, Harry enjoyed lunch at the Leaky Cauldron before apparating back to Salazar's cottage, where his recent experiment awaited his attention. This experiment was quite unconventional—he had employed a technique developed by Muggles just two years prior, something that wizards had never even heard of, which meant a considerable risk of failure. However, if it did not succeed, he still had the option of creating a guardian in the traditional manner...