“Dogweed and Deathcap” was the most well known herbology shop inside the Hogsmeade. Yet you could hardly say many students ventured inside.

 

Suddenly the door opened as Harry and Daphne walked out, the girl had a sweet smile on her face - she managed to find all the herbs she needed to continue her research. While Harry’s ingredients stash was massive, he just bought whatever he might need for school potions - which only covered a dozen or so herbs besides other potion ingredients. Meanwhile this shop had it all.

 

The couple had already visited quite a few shops together - in his previous visits Harry usually just followed the crowd, now he decided to explore what this village had to offer with leisure. 

 

Among the visited places was the famous sweetshop, jokes shop as well as Shrieking Shack - where Harry took the time to retell the tales of his adventures inside during the third year. Knowing exactly why it was built, while interesting, made the place way less spooky - all the allure was gone after knowing that it was just an old house, and the whole haunted story was made up to mask one werewolf student’s monthly episodes of howling.

 

A few more shopping bags with new clothes as well as various snacks and other purchases were already in Harry’s pocket trunk - it really was a very convenient way of carrying purchases around.

 

Still their exploration was coming to an end as Hogsmeade was not that particularly large - they had already walked across most streets and visited the shops that caught their fancy.

 

*grumble*

 

The couple laughed hearing signs of not eating for a while - perhaps they did get too carried away with their exploration.

 

“I think this is a sign we should have a meal” - Harry slowed down at the intersection of the street, then pointed his hand to one side - “should we head to ‘Three Broomsticks’ for a meal?”

 

Daphne puffed in response - “I thought we would go to Madame’s Pudifoot’s tea shop! It was closed in the morning when we passed by… but it should be open now!”

 

Harry, as if by habit, retrieved his memories which showed the nicely decorated shop and its working hours sign - it seemed that she was correct - “Yes, but are you sure, Daph? It’s a tea shop… I doubt they would have much to eat besides a few snacks”

 

Daphne pondered for just a moment - she recalled what she had heard about that popular couple place… and certainly there was no mention of a proper meal in there - just tea and snacks, though couples usually did other activities inside… 

 

“How about we go there later after having a proper meal first?”

 

“Sounds like a plan”

 

The pair turned and walked towards Three Broomsticks with a moderate pace. As one of the most popular inns in the village it was one of the most popular places to visit. 

 

---

Harry sighed as he sneaked out of the room of requirements, leaving Daphne still laying in bed, asleep. He would see her soon, now he had Dumbledore's office to visit.

 

Yesterday was quite relaxing - Harry even skipped his usual training to let himself rest for the whole day and night - instead enjoying the time off in the Hogsmeade with his girlfriend as well as back here in the room of requirements. 

 

As Albus theorised in their last meeting, Tom Riddle was more like a night owl than an early riser. After all, being a dark lord, one was bound to prefer the dark of night for any illegal activities. While he certainly had enough strength in the past to cause attacks on the muggles and wizards alike at whatever time he wished, doing so at night, when the majority of aurors were already tired from a busy day of work, or even ended their shifts was certainly an easier way. While Tom liked to show off his power from time to time he was no fool - preferring the easier way to achieve his goal when available. 

 

*knock* *knock* - as usual the boy just knocked a few times and the office doors slowly opened. Harry headed inside, climbing the staircase.

 

Dumbledore’s office looked… different. There was a comfortable couch, and a large runic array on the floor, slowly being completed by the headmaster himself! 

 

On a nearby table there layed three pairs of vials, still bubbling as if freshly brewed. Severus Snape was already here, cleaning his personal cauldron, while glaring at the newcomer with an ominous gaze.

 

“Welcome Harry! It’s good to see you wide awake so early! Come in now, I am about to finish the array here”

 

Harry sat on the couch as he observed the complex runic scheme on the ground. He could recognize nearly half the runes in it, yet as for what exactly it did and how it functioned eluded him. Based on the runes he did know he could only guess it had something to do with the upcoming dark lords mind invasion. Likely it would let the headmaster tag along somehow, or at the very least, observe it more closely.

 

“And what exactly does this runic array do, headmaster?”

 

Albus's glasses gleamed as he switched to explaining mode - the old man certainly enjoyed the confusion in the boy’s eyes.

 

“This, my boy, is something of my own creation. While I might not be an expert in runes, I did dabble there for quite some time you see. To put it in simple words - it would amplify your connection, allowing easier access to the dark lord's mind, as well as letting me and Severus join the invasion.”

 

Harry nodded, before his expression turned more grim - the only way that could happen is for those two to enter his mind first… Using the moment of peace before Dumbledore finished inscribing the last runic symbols, Harry quickly ventured inside his library and summoned his invisibility cloak, before hiding the majority of his memories in another room and dropping the cape on top.

 

If it could fool a suspicious Dumbledore it would certainly fool a trusting one as well.

 

With nothing else to do, Harry casually walked around the office, inspecting various trinkets and items around. One particular device caught the boy's mind - it was writing letters of various sorts, which seemed to be in the headmaster's handwriting… 

 

Taking a closer look his eyes widened on realisation that Albus somehow automated quite a lot of paperwork for his other duties - Supreme Mugwump and Chief warlock. The boy's eyes quickly ran through the letter which was seemingly directed towards one of the departments of ministry regarding some case of a halfblood illegally growing mandragoras without a permit… Harry had to admit it, the letters content that seemingly blamed the half blood, yet protected him from Azkaban of all things, rather suggesting just a heavy fine really seemed like something Dumbledore would say.

 

Looking around he saw multiple such devices writing things in the headmaster's name and a few similar ones which were seemingly taking notes of importance - perhaps some things the headmaster actually read? 

 

Before he had the time to inspect further, Dumbledore called him back.

 

“It is done! Now, Harry, come closer, it is time we start”

 

Harry walked closer and upon the headmaster's instructions sat in the centre of the circle. There were also a couple of smaller circles where the old man himself stood, and Severus Snape took another spot.

 

Harry grimaced - still not feeling comfortable on letting those two into his mind, but figuring out any details on how the dark lord survived took priority - only then could they figure out how to beat him once and for all, as well as dealing with Harry’s scar… Only after knowing how to deal with the dark lord could he finally focus on the time loop problem…. 

 

After all there was no point in ending the time loop in case the dark lord was not dealt with. After all his revival was soon, and with a body, he was bound to try to find and kill Harry - just for the sole reason of him surviving his killing curse all those years ago.

Severus' hand with a pair of potion vials, interrupted Harry’s thoughts.

 

“Drink it, Potter”

 

Harry arched an eyebrow - while he could recognize one potion as being famously hard to brew ‘Felix Felicis’ - the potion of luck, it had a darker colour than it should have. While another potion… he honestly had no idea, it was definitely not something one would find in the Hogwarts curriculum.

 

Looking at the headmaster he saw him already drinking his own vials. While the unidentified potion looked the same… Felix felicis had a proper colour on his bottle, same as Snape’s own pair of potions. Well it was rumoured to be very hard to brew… perhaps there was a slight mistake? Or Snape intentionally made his dose somewhat off?

 

“Care to explain what those potions are, professor?”

 

Snape sneered - “Surely an imbecile like you does not have enough brain cells to know what is there inside. Suffice to say… it would improve our chances for today”

 

Dumbledore nodded as well, not bothering to explain further. Yet his face no longer had a grandfatherly smile - he was in full focus, no doubt preparing for the events to come.

 

Harry understood just from his factual expression that there was no more to waste. Hopefully everything will go well. Both Albus and Severus reassured him that his defences were sufficient to keep the dark lord at bay - even if he was in the same room, but only allowed to use mind attacks. Hence that was not the main worry for the boy.

 

He was afraid of something going wrong. Of the time loop restarting once again. While his extra years of memories were hidden in his mind library - who knows if by chance it could leak?

 

Still, even Snape was done clogging down his potions and just staring at the boy with his piercing gaze. Harry grimaced one more time before clogging down the potions as well. He almost wanted to spit it out - Felix Felicis tasted horrible! It was even worse than the vomit taste from Berty Botts all flavour beans! 

 

He swore he briefly saw an amused glint in the potions professor's eyes… Yes perhaps this was payback for all those pranks he had been doing… If he knew he was going to drink potions made by him perhaps he would have refrained from angering him so often…. 

 

Thankfully the other potion was tasteless and also seemingly washed away the unpleasant tingling of his taste buds, then he could see the runes lighting up below him. Then he closed his eyes from pain.

 

Yes his scar felt like it was burning. The boy barely held in his scream from escaping his throat. It was not the worst pain he ever felt. He did mess up while training in the room from time to time… But this was no physician pain. It felt like his mind was on fire as well.

 

Harry closed his eyes and tried to focus. Soon he was in his mind's library, shortly he felt someone trying to come in - is it already the dark lord? He subconsciously strengthened his shields and was relieved to feel they failed to enter. Even his burning pain receded somewhat.

 

“Harry, you should let us in!”

 

Dumbledore's voice reached his ears as the boy felt heat rush to his cheeks. Yes he was supposed to let those two in…. He lowered his shields on one side as a couple of doors materialised. And he saw Albus and Severus walking in. He chose to lower his defences at the very end of his library. As far away from his memories hidden by the cloak. Even as far away from actually anything important. Even if those two decided they had enough time on hand to snoop around they would only find his childhood memories.

 

But there was seemingly no time to focus on the two as his scar’s pain intensified. Then he saw it - there, another door appeared on the wall. As if it was always there. It looked somewhat run down, in parts broken, looking quite antique.

 

The boy stepped closer and pried it open - behind the door was another library, but this time, not his own, yes he was inside the dark lord's head.

 

Without any words of coordination the trio of invaders split up - each wandering deeper inside on their own. 

 

Harry took a few turns, and once he determined he was far away from others, he deployed the trick he learned from the small book Dumbledore lent to him. Soon he could see threads pointing at various places inside the library. It was a legilimency technique for finding information. The boy cursed as he saw just how many threads appeared upon searching for ‘immortality’. Surely the dark lord researched all the countless ways about it before committing to one or multiple methods.

 

Harry quickly focused some more on different keywords - ‘death’, ‘soul’, ‘diary’. More threads appeared, of different colours for each keyword. Harry smiled, seeing that while they went all over the place, there were only a few places where all of them pointed to. Luckily one such book was seemingly nearby.

 

He followed the thread, then cursed as he saw it disappear in the middle of the bookshelf. He removed some books from the front to see that it was actually hidden behind them.

 

Picking it up he started quickly flipping over the pages. Eventually finding a passage that seemed important - the search ribbons were seemingly coming from this exact page.

 

*After all the research I figured out I was right! Only Slytherin heirs can speak Parseltongue. Only they can open the chamber of secrets! Hiding the entrance in the bathroom, but leaving hints for his descendants behind… Salazar is truly worthy of making the Slytherin name rise to fame! A sudden thud caught my attention as I suppressed my grin - it was that girl Myrtle Warren. How foolish of her to believe I was not aware she was inside. Glancing at my soul I could see it crack and split in two, with this I am one step closer to immortality! I should hurry up with the creation of the horcrux and get my alibi in place - then that fool Rubeus can take the blame for the girl's death. The first to hold my soul will be my diary, as for others… I should find more worthy vessels. Like that fancy ring my father wore. As soon as I am out of school and Dumbledore's suspecting eyes… he will be the first one to die directly by my hand!*

 

Harry’s brows furrowed as he continued reading, learning of the ritual to create a horcrux. His eyes were wide open in horror, a horcrux… it truly was a foul and evil magic… Killing someone was only a first step. What followed was an obscure ritual which caused even the dark lord to scream in pain, as his soul fragment was dragged on, prevented from passing to the afterlife or dissipating entirely, and confined inside the diary.

 

Suddenly the library started shaking as the books fell out of the shelves, growing teeth and honing into the boy. The whole place seemed alive. Harry then felt a gaze lock into him as he realised the cat was out of the bag. Perhaps it was the luck potion, perhaps the weakened dark lord's form, perhaps the early morning or most likely all of it combined - it was truly a miracle the dark lord did not discover their invasion for so long… Well he only managed to read one page of memories… At least he found a hint of what he should be looking for.

 

The boy started escaping towards the door - perhaps the dark lord was underestimating his combat powers, perhaps he was more focused on other invaders, Harry did not find it too hard to dodge the incoming barrage of books.

 

From his own library, various shields manifested and rushed towards Harry. Even from afar he could manipulate his own defences and seemingly help him out while visiting his neighbours mind. After all their minds have been connected. Still Harry felt it - as soon as any of his creations stepped through the door, they got significantly weaker.

 

---

Albus Dumbledore looked around as he eyed the colourful threads as he kept changing the keywords. ‘Soul jar’, ‘phylactery’, ‘soul container’, ‘kahunas’ - the headmaster had lived for a long time and knew of many legends and magical ways of immortality. Even when filtering out only those related to souls. Thankfully it did not take him too long to find one which had seemingly a lot of threads. The legacy of Herpo the foul - a ‘horcrux’.

 

The Headmaster's expression was dim. It was one of the more troublesome ones - as it allowed one to split the soul into many containers, meaning one had to destroy them all before the being was truly dealt with. As he furiously flipped over books nearby with this keyword inside his expression was sad - as far as he knew… There was no way to remove a piece of soul from a living vessel without the caster's consent… He doubted Voldemor would be so kind as to do so, which means Harry will have to die… Suddenly the prophecy made even more sense than before… 

 

Amidst the reading he slowed down as he noticed a familiar name - the former Hogwarts potions professor - Horace Slughorn. After quickly running over the text, his eyes dimmed even more as he realised what it implied. ‘Seven… That foolish former student of mine planned to split his soul seven times…. No doubt this was why it was so weak that a piece split by itself, then lodged itself inside Harry…’

 

As the library started rumbling, Dumbledore summoned his Elder wand and started shielding himself while rushing towards the exit. He was known as the best wizard alive, yet even he was afraid of staying inside Tom Riddle's mind for too long. Sensing the ominous gaze upon him and the variously increasing attacks of magical constructs and books he had to admit - they underestimated the dark lord's state. Yes perhaps his body was weekend and he was only a wraith… But his mind was as sharp as ever. As twisted as ever.

 

With every passing second more and more adversities would be created to fight the intruders. While using Harry’s link to bypass the outer defences layer worked, Voldemort will undoubtedly realise what happened and have some countermeasures in place if they try this again.

 

Dumbledorre tripped and fell to the floor as a dragon’s flame rushed above his head. He should thank Severus for that one, luck potions were really useful. Albus quickly got up and continued his dash to safety. His wand madly waved as various shields rose around him.

 

---

Severus Snape rushed as he followed the few ribbons that appeared. His trace of thought was simple - the diary had a piece of Voldemort's soul, and it was bestowed to Lucius. So it was reasonable to assume that perhaps other pieces were given to other followers.

 

While he himself was on the favourites list, perhaps being so close to Dumbledore made him not an optimal candidate to pass something so dark on to, but there were also other trusted aides besides Malfoys - the Lestranges.

 

Severus smirked - dark lord seldom bestowed any gifts to his followers, surely the few threads he found could lead to a good result.

 

Grabbing the book close to him, only a few pages later he realised this was not it - this was about Malfoy’s being asked to safeguard the diary… 

 

A minute later he reached another book - soon his eyes glinted as he read a passage on Lestranges receiving a cup for safekeeping. A cup which he recognized as one of lost Hogwarts artefacts - one of the founder's items.

 

As the library started rumbling he quickly started rushing back, but mere moments later the well known gaze locked into him. Severus shuddered as the hoarse voice reached his ears - it sounded young like a baby, yet was similar to hissing like a snake.

 

“SEVERUS! To think you would be the one to betray me in the end…. How disappointing”

 

Potions master cursed as he barely dodged the troll club which swung from behind the bookshelf he was moving towards. 

 

There was more shouting following from behind, but he paid it no mind, instead focusing on running away. He long since accepted that his double spy position would be compromised one day. Heck he even suspected the dark lord knew it all along and just used him as a middle man to pass information along.

 

Perhaps only an act like killing Dumbledore himself could make him seem completely on the dark lord's side… Alas after today even that seemed to no longer be an option…

 

---

Harry was back in the safety of his own mind, sitting on an armchair as various constructs kept materializing and rushed to keep the doorway clean from the invading magical creatures.

 

Voldemort likely recognized him, but he made a mistake of underestimating the young boy. While he was not as great as him overall… In the area of mind arts defense Harry was very competent.

 

Shortly after he saw two figures rushing towards the door, various dragons, trolls, werewolves on their feet, but they were luckily avoiding the threats and still moving forwards.

 

As soon as they were back in Harry’s mind, he quickly sealed the door to the best of his ability, excluding it from his mind while applying all the shields he knew - the combination that even kept Dumbledore away. As well as various tricks that made his occlumency ever better from the books he read since then.

 

Then after that was done, he kicked out the two ‘guests’ from his mind, before finally opening his eyes and leaving the ritual circle. Without it, he could finally let out a breath of relief as the pain in his scar dropped to manageable levels. Now the connection was not as strong - which meant his defences should be more than sufficient to hold the still ongoing assault on his shields..

 

---

Severus and Albus both grimaced as Harry outlined all the details on how horcruxes were made. It was quite a foul bit of magic, needing to kill someone in cold blood just as a first step…

 

“And it mentioned something about his fathers ring… It might be another horcrux - like the diary, though we do not know how many there are… ”

 

“Ah, I was lucky in that regard Harry, it seems he planned to make seven - I am not sure how many he managed to create to this day, but it should be no more than eight in total” - he glanced Harry’s way - “even if you are an unintentional one, it was caused by his body perishing - while whole remaining soul should have roamed free as a wraith, a fraction got stuck inside your scar instead.”

 

Both pairs of eyes turned toward Severus who had been quiet until now.

 

“I learned of another one. It might be a cup, Helga Hufflepuffs cup. He passed the diary to Malfoys, and the cup to Lestranges, though as they are all in Azkaban I am not sure what happened to it. It’s either somewhere in the ministry or in their vault in Gringotts or perhaps still hidden in their manor.”

 

Dumbledore nodded - “Unfortunately we do not know where exactly he hid them… While I do know where his father used to live - I doubt he hid the horcrux there. But I will still visit the place, perhaps it will have some leads. I will also reach out to my acquaintances in ministry and Gringotts.”

 

Dumbledore let out a sigh - he too looked tired - “I will try to read more about them, perhaps Black’s library have something on horcruxes, at least we know that Basilisk venom works on destroying them” - the headmaster glanced at the sword of gryffindor which was hanging as decoration on the wall of the office - “Gryffindor sword should also be able to do so. After all it has absorbed the venom, strengthening itself”

 

Harry nodded as he put his empty tea cup back in place. The office was back in its former state. Not long after dark lords mind invasion Dubledore cleared the runic construction of the floor - while creating it took a while, clearing was just a wave of his wand.

 

The boy had a lot on his mind to process, so as discussions seemed to be over, he bid them both farewell as he walked back to the seventh floor. He still felt slight headaches - the dark lord was undoubtedly trying to break through his defences - not like he had anything better to do, stuck in his weakened body. But without the runic array to amplify their connection, it was a futile effort. Based on the current state of his defences, Harry estimated it would be sufficient to renew the shields once or twice a day.

 

Silently he climbed back into the bed as he decided to get some more sleep. While he usually read a book at this time, his mind just felt too tired from today’s adventures. Shortly after he fell asleep, unconsciously snuggling closer to Daphne.

 

---

As the morning arrived Daphne opened her eyes and noticed the extra weight on her chest - it was Harry’s arm. Daphne smiled as she looked at her still asleep boyfriend. Somehow he still looked tired, perhaps all that walking yesterday really did tire him out… 

 

She would let him sleep a while longer. 

 

Her eyes gazed into his sleeping face, he was still beautiful even as he slept… This would undoubtedly become one of her precious memories.