In Essence Divided

[ The Last Horcrux ]

Summary: Harry takes a third option.

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Harry woke up in the middle of the night with the dim sense that something was very wrong.

He immediately reached for his night stand, where he kept both his wand and the diary.

It was gone. The diary was gone!

Harry took his wand and looked around. The dormitory was quiet, but Ron's bed was empty. There was some faint light coming from the bottom of the stairs.

He rushed downstairs, and found Ron and Hermione standing in front of the diary. She was clearly in the middle of casting some spell on it. "Don't touch it!" He hastily took it back from the table. "Are you reading my diary now?"

"Well, we would if there was anything written in it," said Ron coldly.

"It's not just some book with a privacy spell on it. I tried a few charms, and I have no idea what it is, but I know it's very, very Dark. Where did you find this, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"I..." he started, but closed his mouth.

"It's his, right? Voldemort's?" guessed Ron. Harry nodded. He scoffed, "I can't believe you lied to us again!"

"I can't believe you went behind my back and stole my stuff!"

"What else were we supposed to do?" said Hermione shrilly. "You've been spending hours writing in this diary, smiling and giggling to yourself, and, each time we tried to speak to you about it, you've brushed us off!"

"Because, if I told you the truth, you'd stop me writing in it!"

"Of course we would! It's a Dark artefact, it's very dangerous."

"What is this thing anyway?" asked Ron.

"It's not a thing. It's his Horcrux, which means it is him."

"Oh, Harry, this is really bad. You've been writing into a Horcrux for a month. It could have hurt you, possessed you..."

"Well, I've had a piece of his soul in my body since I was a baby and it didn't possess me, so I think I'm safe from that," said Harry drily.

"You should take this more seriously," chided Hermione. "Despite the shard of Voldemort's soul, your body is still human. This is an object so cursed that you can't possibly know what it's capable of!"

"Why did you even write in it in the first place?" asked Ron.

"I was curious at first. Then, he answered me and... I missed him, alright? I missed him, and it felt good to be able to talk to him while still being in Hogwarts with you."

"You know it can't last, Harry. If you want Voldemort to be defeated, the diary has to be destroyed first."

"I know. I've been avoiding thinking about it because... it's not an object, it's a person. Destroying it, it's like killing him. I can't... I can't do it."

"Let us do it then," said Ron. "We'll bring it to Dumbledore for you."

Harry clutched the diary tighter. What was the alternative, really? He couldn't keep writing in it forever. If he did nothing, eventually Voldemort would win and they would both become prisoners again - Harry in Voldemort's bedroom and the diary buried deep somewhere where no one would ever find it again.

"Alright, but let me write in it one last time, to explain and say goodbye. I owe him that much at least."

"But it's too dangerous..."