The Year of the Revolution IV. The Outbreak

27. The Wand

Sev and Albus watched the training from the window. Sev saw himself organizing the fourth-year kids with Lorenz, while he thought about the information he had just received.

Sev was thinking, (Wow, Albus has been on Riddle's trail for forty years. If he'd known about the Horcruxes much sooner, he probably would have destroyed them long ago. He must be knackered. At his age, for him to have to deal with a problem like that, and not being able to entrust it to anyone but me.

(I must collaborate with him in everything he requires, but in exchange I am going to ask him for something essential, that as many warriors as possible be properly instructed in the Ancestral Magics, to have a decisive advantage over the army that Voldemort is creating and only die a minimum part of them.

(And of course, they must also learn curses, even if they are not the Unforgivables, in order to eliminate the Death Eaters so that their number is diminished and ours is not.

(Albus has asked me twice in the Pensieve to look closely at objects. I know why, he suspects that Voldemort has turned them into Horcruxes. Very typical of him, proud of his family heirlooms, symbols of power.

(But ugh... the Resurrection Stone is also involved. Albus knows this and has the Wand, and Potter the Cloak, in the same school, all three too close at hand. What a danger. It is clear that I must accompany him to search, it would not be surprising if he wanted to keep it, I must dissuade him at all costs and make it disappear, even find it myself, on my own.

(And if the objects are significant, the places where they are must be significant too, important places in Voldemort's life. Perhaps the Gaunt house itself, which is why he has also given me the name of the village. Maybe also the orphanage where he grew up.

(And Hogwarts itself, if he tried to be a Defense professor here, it is because he is attached to the school. And where to hide something in Hogwarts? Obviously, in the Room of Requirement in its storage aspect.

(More possible places? The two Horcruxes we've seen were jewels and he is surrounded by wealthy purebloods, with security vaults at Gringotts. Bellatrix or Lucius himself may be in possession of one of them, perhaps without knowing it. Lauren's parents will have to be asked to read Bellatrix in that regard, and Lucius, now that he's also reading, to investigate among the high command.

(Look, there I am with the fifth-years. Today I barely paid attention to Deborah, but she didn't need it either, she had the smallest group. Now I'm going for Jack. How nice is the Gryff boy, I have a feeling that we will become good friends. I've already forgotten his name again, I'm a disaster with names.

(Ok, conclusions. Teaching Ancient Magics and curses to warriors, and about Horcruxes, two items to look for, the ring and the locket, and Albus probably knows more. And four places, the Gaunt house, the orphanage, Hogwarts and the Death Eater security vaults, but this last one I have to put up as a suggestion, since I can't reveal to Albus that we have spies on the other side, it would endanger Lauren.

(There I go with the seventh-years. How nice is Genevre, and I also like her. I enjoy being with her, she is intelligent, kind, dedicated, very pretty and also a good warrior.)

"Five past ten," Dumbledore told him. "Should we continue chatting for a while?"

"Sure, Albus."

"Let's go back to the office then."

They went downstairs and sat down again on either side of the large desk.

"I calculate that we will need an hour to give you the teachings for your protection," said the Headmaster. "We'll talk until eleven and we'll watch the break again, you've missed the most exciting moment of the training."