Spells and Visions; A Harry Potter story

Chapter 7: Horcruxes and Poisons

There was a note on the noticsboard in the common room that you could sign up to follow lessons for Appairition. I looked at Neville. If everyone had read the article in the Daily Prophet with the truth about Voldemort's comeback, they'd know I could already Apparate. Besides, Neville and I both had our licence, so there was nothing we had to be scared of. Harry had also Apparated, but with someone, specifically Dumbledore.

I felt happier and calmer than at the beginning of the year. I had a fluffy pet now, who kept me company, and I caught up with my lessons again. I was up late to finish my unfinished homework, and when my head almost fell on my book, I decided it was time to go to sleep. Precisely then, Harry entered the common room.
"Where did you come from?" I yawned.
"Dumbledore's. Had another... lesson."
"What kind of lessons are they, anyway?"
"I can't tell everyone about it, it's kind of... secret."
"Come on, don't you trust me?" I said, now wide awake.
"I do," Harry said hesitantly. "Okay, I'll tell you in short. So, Dumbledore basically takes me through his Pensieve into someone's memory everytime, memories he has collected."
"Cool," I said.
"He has taken me to see Tom Riddle's childhood, and something about his parents. And this time, it turned out that Riddle had killed his own father."
"Well, kind of expected that, didn't we?" I said.

Harry continued.
"We also went into one of Slughorn's memories, but he had altered the memory. He changed it."
"How can you change your own memory?" I frowned.
"That's what I asked. Young Riddle was one of Slughorn's favourites, and he had asked Slughorn something about Horcruxes."
He held his hand up when I opened my mouth to ask what Horcruxes were.
"Then the room went all foggy and Slughorn yelled that he wouldn't tell him even if he knew, and then we went back."
"So Slughorn does know what they are," I concluded.
"Probably, yeah. Not even Dumbledore knows what Horcruxes are, so that's what I have to find out. I have to try to convince Slughorn to tell us what he really told Riddle."

I stared thoughtfully in the fire.
"Well, it can't be something good," I said. "Voldemort needed it for... something, and if he knew about something so evil that Slughorn didn't want to admit he actually told him about it, it must be something really bad."
"Good thinking," Harry said.
"Hor... horror... cruxes... sounds like curses..." I brainstormed. "I don't know, it can't be good. Sounds like Voldy needed it to become like, really powerful or something, which is what happened, and even after you- you know- evaporated him, he still didn't actually, humanly die, so there must be some more to it, right?"
Harry opened his mouth, but I didn't let him talk.
"What if..." a sudden thought struck me. "What if finding these- these Horcruxes, is a key to finishing him? I mean, why else would he need them so desperately?"
"Wow, I might not even need Hermione for this now," Harry said, surprised at all I told him.
"Hey, don't get your hopes up," I chuckled. "I don't know anything for sure. You should really check if Hermione doesn't know anything. There might be something in the Restricted Section, by the way, maybe."

"I do need to gain Slughorn's favour, though," Harry said.
"Just, be really smart in the Potions lesson tomorrow," I yawned. "Then stay behind and ask him sweetly. It should work. I'm going to sleep."
"Good idea," Harry said. "And goodnight."

~

Hermione also didn't know anything about Horcruxes, she never even heard of them. She also still didn't talk to Ron, and for some reason, neither to Harry.
I didn't understand anything of the Potions lesson. Hermione said something about Golpalott's Third Law, and when I exchanged glances with Ernie, Ron and Harry, I saw they didn't understand a word either.
Next, we had to create an antidote for a poison, and normally, I would know what to do, but all the instructions we got were 'take a vial from my desk, don't forget your protective gloves, and good luck'. Great. Especially if Harry didn't do something awesome, he was never going to gain Slughorn's favour.
Hermione was very busy, didn't have time to talk to us, and the Half-Blood Prince didn't help either, so I just stared at my cauldron and stirred around, waiting for something to happen.
Suddenly, one minute before time, Harry rushed away to the storeroom, came back, and nervously waited. I didn't know what he had done, but if we wanted to find out what Horcruxes were, it better was something good.