Half-Blood Princess Book Six

Chapter 17 - Pieces of A Soul

Third-Person POV

Tilly and Harry stand with Dumbledor as he pours the memory they retrieved from Horace into the Pensieve. The two-place their heads in the water, watching the same scene unfold, but with a different plot. Horace follows Tom with his eyes as he speaks of being in the library and a bit of rare magic.

"It's called, as I understand it, a Horcrux." Slughorn stares astonished at the boy.

"I beg your pardon?" He asks, very confused and concerned.

"Horcrux. I came across the term while reading, and I didn't fully understand it." Tom says slowly.

"This is very dark stuff, Tom. Very dark indeed."

"Which is why I came to you," Tom says, manipulating Horace.

"A Horcrux is an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul," Horace says carefully. Tom asks how it works, and Horace gives him the answer. "One splits one's soul and hides part of it in an object. By doing so, you are protecting should you be attacked and your body destroyed. That part of your soul that is hidden lives on. In other words, you cannot die." Tom nods, slowly walking over to the fire.

"And how does one spilt his soul, sir?"

"I think you already know the answer to that, Tom," Horace says as Tom hides his evident smile and smirk.

"Murder." Tilly dislikes the way Tom spoke. The way he wanted to kill, the thirst in his voice, and the hunger in his stomach.

"Killing rips the soul apart. It is a violation against nature." Tom thinks for a moment, then asks as he twists his ring.

"Can you split the soul, say seven?"

"Seven? Merlins beard Tom. Isn't it bad enough to consider killing one person? To rip the soul into seven-piece..." Horace says, very shocked, but then has a thought. "This is all hypothetical, isn't it, Tom? All academic?" Horace waits as the boy turns and speaks.

"Of course, sir." The smile on Tom's face tells Tilly immediately he was always going to make Horcrux's. "It'll be our little secret." The look in Tom's eyes scared the professor more than anything ever has.

Tilly and Harry take a breath as they surface.

"He did it. And not just once." Tilly says, running over to Dumbledor's desk draw as Harry and the headmaster take a minute to think about the news. Tilly grabs the dairy from the draw and the ring with a particular stone from her pocket, which is wrapped up, so Tilly doesn't touch it.

"it can be anything. A book or a ring." Tilly places the two objects down. "We destroyed this one four years ago. The other I can see is going to be harder." Tilly looks directly at Harry. "If we want to destroy Voldemort once and for all, we have to get rid of the Horcrux's first."

"Yes, but how do you find them? They could be hidden anywhere." Harry says in disbelief.

"True, but magic, especially dark magic-" As Dumbledore speaks, Harry reaches to touch the ring, and as his skin is about contacts with the ring, Tilly tries to stop him but is too late, as now both have connected with the ring.

Snippets flash before their eyes of Tom, his memories, a snake, and when Tom is Voldemort. All the images merge, blurring into only a few seconds long.

"This is why you've been leaving. To find the Horcruxes." Tilly states as she and Harry snap their heads to the left. Dumbledore walks around to the two, standing before them, as he nods.

"And I believe I have found another one." He sighs, "I always will once again have to ask too much of you both." Tilly frowns, understanding what he will ask of them, and knows who Dad isn't going to be pleased with.