Death is but the Next Great Adventure

P. H. G. Part 1

In the last chapter: Harry delves into Necromancy and creates his own totem. Anthony is keeping a close eye on his friend to make sure he doesn't get in over his head. Because of Severus, Remus is let go from his position as DADA professor and Harry confronts Snape, giving the man a reality check so that he can really maul over his past actions and reflect. Harry retrieves the Diadem from the room of hidden things and the school year ends.

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The sky was a deceiving pale grey that promised shade and relent from the summer heat. Instead, it left the air thick and humid, filling the lungs with lethargic dense clouds that were heavy and hard to drag back out. Harry's stomach was in knots, his excitement a flat press of a cool blade against his mind as he gently trailed his fingertips down the thin brittle bones of a snake skeleton still nailed to the decrepit wooden door.

A week had passed since school let out and once he'd settled in and found some time to himself, Death wasted no time directing him towards the last Horcrux. He was shocked to hear that the final Horcrux also contained one of his friends hallows. The Resurrection Stone. As fascinated as he was, Harry had no desire to use the stone. He had no need for summoning shades from the peace of the afterlife.

The Horcrux was a ring that had belonged to the Gaunt family, but was stolen by Tom's father. When Tom killed him, he got the ring back, made it into another Horcrux and hid it in the abandoned Gaunt house. Which is where Harry now stood.

The house was more of a shack than a place where people actually lived and looked like it could be blown down by a strong wind. The wood rotting away quicker than normal under the broken and malevolent magic that had seeped into the property from its previous owners. The residual magic eroded at Harry's, making him feel more uncomfortable with every passing moment he stood there.

Without any more preamble, Harry stepped inside. The inside was no less worse for wear than the outside, dust covered everything, the spiders had clearly taken residence if the thick curtains of webs were anything to go by, and various creeping plants and weeds had slipped in through broken windows and cracks in the walls to reclaim the home as theirs.

But there was something else there, as well. A thick atmosphere that Harry could practically taste; a splash of rich black cherry cut through with the bitter sweet bite of dark chocolate. It was not quite alluring in nature, but still intoxicatingly dangerous. Harry hesitantly wandered around the main room, only stopping when he stood where it seemed the most concentrated—the very middle of the room. Since that area was barren, Harry knelt down and skimmed his fingers over the surface of the stripped wooden floors. There was something underneath, something of immense dark magic.

Harry easily pried the already loose board up to find a small compartment with a wooden box within. It was clear that the magic had nothing to do with the Horcrux itself—no other Horcruxes had behaved in such a way—and clearly Harry was dealing with an incredibly dark curse. Setting the box on the ground next to the compartment, Harry slowly flipped the lid with the tip of his wand, not wanting to touch it just in case.

As he suspected, inside lay the crude gold ring with a black stone that he'd been looking for and was indeed the item that had been so heavily cursed. Cupping a hand over his nose and mouth, Harry tried not to choke on the overwhelming smell and taste of black cherries and chocolate. Carefully dumping the ring out from the box onto the floor, Harry pulled out his totem and put it on while forcing himself to breathe through his mouth.

Slicing open the pad of his thumb with a cutting hex, Harry began to chant as he ignored the grimy floor in order to begin drawing the crude visage of Ouroboros, the serpent devouring its own tail for eternity. With that done, Harry ended the first part of the chant and harshly spit on the ring before starting up the second part as he dragged his bleeding thumb in a circle around the snake twice. The ring began to shake and spin as it slowly lifted a foot into the air above the bloody drawing.