Heroes with Wands

Chapter 25

Ginny

Early in the morning, Professor McGonagall came to fetch us-myself, Hermione, Ron, and Harry. For all we knew, the demigods were still in the hospital. If she needed them, she didn't let on.

"Professor Dumbledore would like to see you," she said tiredly. We glanced at each other and followed her to Dumbledore's office, not saying a word.

Before we even knocked he told us to come in. There were four chairs in front of his desk. He motioned for us to sit, and we did so.

I noticed his hand looked charred. "Sir! Your hand!" My eyes got wide. Dumbledore chuckled and set his hand on his lap.

"Yes, it hurts quite badly, actually," he said. "Never the matter. I have called you here so early to talk to you about something important. It's about beating Lord Voldemort."

Gasps escaped our lips. "You and I are the only two people in the world with the power to defeat him," Harry noted.

"Yes," Dumbledore said, pearing at us through his half-moon spectacles. "But sadly, no. Voldemort can not be defeated, because parts of his soul are missing. Until they too are destroyed, he is invulnerable."

"Invulnerable?" Ron asked. "As in, unkillable? How are parts of his soul missing?"

"Hush up," Hermione scolded. "Let the Headmaster finish." Ron stared at her blankly. He glanced up at me, and my eyes burned fire back.

"Yes, Mr. Weasley, unkillable," Professor Dumbledore said. "That is why when Harry and I have fought him, he hadn't been overpowered. You see, he created items called Horcruxes. Horcruxes can be anything, but particularly something that holds value to the person."

"Marvolo Gaunt's ring," Harry remembered.

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes," he said. "Voldemort created seven horcruxes. I don't know of them all. But the only way to kill Voldemort is to destroy the horcruxes."

"How will we manage to do that?" Ron asked. I elbowed him. "What? It's only a question, Ginny."

"Be polite, Ronald." I turned back to our Headmaster. "In the Chamber of Secrets. Tom Riddle's diary. Something happened when Harry destroyed it. Was it possibly-?"

He took out two items-a ring and an old, battered diary. It gave me the chills just looking at it. "You're correct, Ms. Weasley," he said. "Tom Riddle's diary was one of seven horcruxes."

"Plus the ring," Harry said. "Two out of seven. But how do we destroy them? I'm guessing they can't be destroyed with regular muggle weapons, or spells."

"Oh," Dumbledore winked. "I'm sure one of you knows."

I thought. We'd known the demigods for-what, a month?-I'd picked up on a few of Annabeth's strategies. She'd told Hermione and I how she always came up with a plan. I thought about the things she'd said.

Retrace your steps, Annabeth said. Was there anything useful you left behind?

I remembered the Chamber of Secrets. Harry destroyed the diary with a basilisk tooth. But the Chamber of Secrets was closed off to everyone, especially those who weren't Parslemouths. Looking at the damaged ring, I didn't know how Dumbledore could've gotten a tooth.

Retrace your steps. Before Harry destroyed the diary, he'd slain the basilisk. With Godric Gryffindor's sword.

My eyes found the sword, hanging in its case behind the Headmaster's desk. Dumbledore saw me and smiled. "Ms. Weasley, I suppose you've got something to say?"

My friends looked at me curiously. Now's the time to show them you're worth something, I thought to myself. Now's the time to prove yourself.