Let's Try That Again Redux - Chapter 8

Harry, Ron, Fred, and George had come up with a plan for the evening. The rest of the Weasley family would arrive later in the day. Petunia and Vernon had extended an offer to come over for a meal to improve relations. Molly was chomping at the bit to finally see the people who had raised Harry. Even if she didn't care about his free-will, she was not happy with his treatment. Her plans needed Harry to be healthy enough to give her grandchildren.

There was a tension in the air through the entire day. Rook slipped out of the house to get away from it all. He also popped over to Grimmauld Place to arrange a Fidelius Charm. They didn't want Twinkles or any of his followers to pop in uninvited. It also gave Sirius a place to stretch his legs. Not many people outside of the Black Family actually knew the location without a Fidelius Charm. A shower, shave, and a fresh set of clothes meant he could feel like a person again.

In all honesty, Harry had no idea what was going to happen once Molly, Arthur, Ginny, and Percy arrived. Bill and Charlie hadn't arrived yet. Last time, he didn't meet them until the Quidditch World Cup. Percy didn't step away from the family completely until after the Tournament. Thanks to Dobby they had a full pot of Clari-Tea waiting.

The sound of a load pop followed by screeching tires told them that their prep time was over. Harry opened the front door to see the Knight Bus outside. Percy rushed out of the vehicle and tossed himself onto the ground. Ginny skipped out of the bus; she waved back at the driver with a big smile. Arthur and Molly followed at a much more sedate pace.

Molly didn't seem to notice any change in Arthur's behavior. Harry didn't see how. The man even walked different stride than he had a couple of days ago. There was a solid confidence that he hadn't had before.

The current Weasley matriarch broke into a bright smile when she saw Harry. She rushed forward and wrapped him in a tight hug. Harry had to stop himself from pushing her off. It was critical to their plan to get her inside the house.

"Come in, come in." Harry patted her back. "Let me introduce you to my aunt and uncle."

Harry looked over his shoulder as he directed Molly through the door. Unlike their mother, Percy and Ginny had slowed significantly once they crossed the wards. The two looked confused. Percy was muttering to himself and counting something with his fingers. His face grew redder with every moment. Arthur placed a hand on Percy's shoulder and whispered something in his ear. The younger Weasley nodded.

Ginny, on the other hand, stumbled a couple of steps. She stared down at her legs with wide eyes. It was subtle, but her body was changing. The only true sign was the fact that her pants now ended a good bit higher than her ankle. Ron ran over to his little sister and helped her back to her feet. Once she straightened up she was almost as tall as her brother. She held out her hands to stare at them. The most drastic change was her hair. It shifted from straight bright orange to black with a natural curl. Her eyes changed from blue to brown as well.

Harry stunned Molly once she was inside. The Weasleys were too distracted by the physical changes taking place before their eyes to notice. He had her bound, gagged, and disarmed by the time they had all made it in. Fred and George levitated her over to the couch. Dobby took up guard duty.

"I made tea." Harry motioned for them to follow. "It'll help."

Arthur led Ginny and Percy into the kitchen.

"Harry." Ginny grasped her throat; it wasn't her voice. "What happened?"

"The truth." Harry sighed. "Really, the tea will help."

He poured himself a cup and took a sip before serving one up for everyone else. Dobby hadn't been happy that he wasn't able to give out the tea, but Harry convinced him it was to show he could be trusted. Something the Weasleys desperately needed right now.

Ron took a seat at the table and started to drink his cup. That seemed to finally break the tension. The remaining Weasleys followed suit. For a long few moments, the only sound in the kitchen was that of small sips and clinking glassware.

"This is good." Percy cleared his throat. "Thank you, Harry."

"What happened?" Ginny slammed her cup on the table. "What did you do to me?"

"I dispelled the various enchantments and compulsions that had been placed on you." Harry stated. "I don't know how many there were, or how long since they had been placed, but they are gone now."

"Why do I look like this?" Ginny was already in tears. "Something is wrong. Harry, please, tell me what's going on."

"Ginny." Arthur let out a long sigh. "I went through something similar when I brought your brothers here. Once I crossed the wards the many, many compulsions and potions your mother put on me began to wear off."

"Mother?" Ginny scanned the room. "Where is she?"

"Stunned and under guard." Harry replied evenly. "We won't know the full extent of what has been done to you until we take you to the goblins. They have diagnostic magic beyond that of wizards. Usually, it's used to settle disputes of inheritance, but they were willing to help with some gold changing hands."

"House Weasley will repay this debt." Arthur stated.

"House Potter will only accept payment in the form of an alliance and continued friendship." Harry set an unquestionable gaze on the older wizard.

Arthur nodded.

"How are you feeling, Percy?" Ron asked.

The older Weasley sipped his tea in silence.

"I don't want to work for the Ministry anymore." Percy spoke barely above a whisper. When he looked up his cheeks were streaked with tears. "I wanted to study herbology. Why didn't I study herbology? Professor Sprout said I had a talent for it. She said I could get a job working at any greenhouse in the country. I turned her down. Why would I do that?"

Aurors arrived an hour later to gather Molly. Arthur took his children to Gringotts for the diagnostic magic. Harry had tried to keep a brave face on as they left. It hurt more than he had expected. He wasn't just saying goodbye to them, he was paying his respects to the family that had never been.

Harry hated watching the family around him meltdown. Years upon years of damage was slowly being exposed. He had a lifetime of memories with these people. Holidays, births, deaths, weddings, and weekend family meals. Now, he was watching in real time as that family collapsed. He had to tell himself that his previous life had been a lie. Those people, those moments, weren't real. He had never truly known these people, only what they had been forced to become.

Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley had stepped out for the evening. He didn't want them around just in case the plan to capture Molly went sideways. Harry thought that the witch was completely willing and able to cause some major damage if she realized she had been found out. Sirius had excused himself as well. He wasn't nearly as unstable now that he was free of Dumbledore's influence.

Harry sat at the table staring at nothing once he was alone. Dobby had placed a plate of food for him under stasis for when he wanted to eat. As much as he wanted to help Great Harry Potter, the elf could feel that Harry needed some time to himself.

The sound of his family returning brought him out of his thoughts. A moment later the front door opened. The Dursleys made their way into the kitchen.

"The right thing to do is rarely easy." Vernon patted him on the shoulder. "Your mother told me that."

Harry cocked his head to the side.

"Surprised she would speak to me?" Vernon laughed. "So was I. Too bad I didn't listen to her."

Harry nodded.

"That poor man." Petunia sighed. "He's a kind soul."

"I'm going to give them a couple of days before I check in on them." Harry nodded.

"That's a good idea." His aunt gave him a small smile. "It will give us time to get a gift basket together. You said he liked muggle things?"

Harry nodded once more. It was still odd to hear his aunt use words like that so casually. Petunia grabbed the keys from the hallway table.

"I'll be back in a bit." She called over her shoulder.

Harry watched her go. There was something going on with his relatives that he was missing. He couldn't put his finger on what it was, but whatever it was dangled just out of reach. Petunia and Vernon had been in a lot better mood after speaking with Arthur. He hadn't hung around while the three finished off the whiskey the other night, so he didn't know the details of their conversation. Honestly, he had avoided getting too close. The pain hit a little too close to his previous life and led a train of thought he didn't want to explore.

His old life was still fresh in his mind, but it was disconnected. It was like watching a movie rather than actual memories. He wasn't sure if it was a coping mechanism to distance himself, or if he was settling into this life. Small moments were starting to fade. His future after Hogwarts was a jumble of potion saturated falsehoods. The years fighting Voldemort followed by chasing down the remaining Death Eaters were the sharpest.

The timeline had already been altered to an extreme extent. Sirius was free, his relatives were actually family, Pettigrew was out of the picture, and he had a plan to deal with the horcruxes remaining. The knowledge from his previous life wasn't going to be of use for much longer.

More to the point, he needed something else to focus on. There wasn't anything he could do to help the Weasley's right now. But there were other problems he could tackle. That meant he was going to need to stop relaxing and get to work. He needed to figure out how to deal with the powerful Death Eaters. The heavy hitters in politics, finance, and battlefield specialties. Harry wanted to believe that Malfoy was out of the picture for good.

Harry needed to decide how he was going to handle the situation. Discrediting them, exposing the corruption, and using the legal system would take a long time. They could stall the process, or make it completely disappear. The more violent and depraved of the Death Eaters targeted muggles or muggle-born which meant most of the Purebloods didn't give a rat's ass about it.

Killing them made the most sense. Going into his fourth year put him on a time crunch. If things stayed close enough to his old life, then Riddle would regain his body at the end of term. Once that happened Harry bet that fighting the Death Eaters would be tricky. Right now, they were unprepared and there was no reason to expect an attack.

Harry definitely needed to get to work after the situation with Hermione was handled. A lingering sense of dread loomed in the future. Helping the Weasleys had felt good, but he needed to get some real progress dealing with the Death Eaters.

The first thing he had to do was find where all the prominent Death Eaters were. Azkaban held some of the worst but breaking in to kill them would require a lot of preparation. Unfortunately, he didn't have the time for that. He also couldn't make too many waves just yet. Going after the Death Eaters that weren't as public was the best course of action.

"I need a wand." Harry muttered.

"You have a wand, boss." Death chimed in.

Harry looked up to see her lounging on his bed nearby. He wasn't sure if it was a good sign, but he didn't mind the company.

"I can't use this wand." Harry twirled his wand along his fingers.

"Not that one." Death shook her head. "This one."

With a flourish she produced the Elder Wand. Harry looked from it to her. He shrugged.

"That works." Harry took it, feeling the sudden rush of bone-deep chill that came with its power. "Thanks."

"No problem." Death winked at him.

"I don't mind the company, but what are you doing here?" Harry placed his wand in his new chest.

"You're about to put some numbers on the board." Death didn't seem offended. "It saves me a trip being close to you."

Harry crossed the room to stand next to her. He held out a hand, reaching out to touch her. There was a slight tingle where his fingers were supposed to make contact, but there wasn't any touching.

"Stop it, that tickles." She slapped his hands, sending more tingles where her hands passed through his arm.

"I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't hurt you if things get crazy." Harry shook the tingles from his hand as he pulled back.

"Aw, thanks boss." Death smiled brightly at him. "So, who are we going after first?"

"I'm going to pick off the ones that won't be missed first." Harry tapped his chin. "Macnair, would be a good place to start. He's the easiest to find as well. Avery, I think he works at the Ministry. Selwyn, I'm going to make him suffer, just have to find him. Yaxley would be a bit high profile, but he needs to be taken out before he can cause too much damage in the DMLE." He paused. "Greyback too. Just need to be careful not to get bitten. Though being a werewolf would be kind of cool."

"Maybe next time." Death said.

"What?" Harry looked to her.

"Nothing." She shrugged. "Go on."

Harry scrunched up his brow, studying her. After a moment he continued. "The Carrow's, they shouldn't bring too much attention. The Nott's too. Crabbe and Goyle should be easy to find."

"That's nine known Death Eaters." Death added. "People will notice."

"Can't be helped." Harry shrugged. "The ones in Azkaban are another matter."

"Really?" Death slipped off the bed and began to explore is room. "They're all in one place, locked in cells. That's like shooting fish in a barrel."

"Not sure how I'd get in, avoid the dementors, and get out without being caught." Harry replied.

"Why?" Death asked. "Just pop in, zap them, and pop out."

"There are wards." Harry shook his head.

"Oh, right." Death practically skipped over to his side. "I didn't give you the full rundown." She wrapped her hands around his arm. This time he actually felt her touch. "You are kind of dead, which is why mental magic won't work on you anymore. More than that, you're kind of death too."

"Kind of death?" Harry tilted his head to the side. "That… what?"

"The Master of Death thing." She rolled her eyes. "Not so much a master, more like a co-worker. Basically, anytime you die you have the option to go back and try again. You're not immortal, you can still die, but once you're bored with that, you can join the ranks of Death."

"Anyone who collects the Hallows can do that?" Harry asked.

"Nope." Death wiggled closer to him. "This is nice. I haven't been able to touch someone in so long." She slipped her arm across his shoulder. "In the dimensions where the Hallows exist there is only one set. Whoever collects all three, or however many there are, it changes, holds them. The items return to Death once the carrier joins the ranks."

"Wow." Harry stumbled over to the bed. "That's… that's a lot to take in."

Death helped him settle. "Yeah. We try to spread the knowledge out. Otherwise, it's overwhelming."

Harry took a couple of long, deep breaths.

"Okay." Harry sat back up. "Good to know. What does that have to do with wards?"

"They can't hold you." Death shrugged. "Didn't you think altering the wards around the house was a little too easy? They were set by Dumbledore, a guy who knows what he's doing, and you sliced through them like a hot knife through butter."

"You mean I could just apparate into Hogwarts if I wanted?" Harry asked.

"Hogwarts. Azkaban. The girls locker-room." Death counted off the options.

Harry laughed. "Thanks, I needed that."

"Happy to help." She smiled at him. "You ready to bust some heads?"

"Yeah." Harry nodded. "I think I am. How do I do this then? I've never been to Azkaban how it is now. It changed a lot once it was rebuilt."

"Think of a person rather than a place." Death suggested. "Got one?"

"I've got the perfect one." Harry smiled at her.

~§~

Without a sound he disappeared. A moment later he appeared in a grimy cell. The smell of salt water was overpowered by body odor and other things that he didn't want to think about. A woman covered near the bars spun to stare at him.

"Bellatrix." His voice came out flat, completely void of emotion.

"Who are you?" The woman pressed her back against the bars.

Her eyes darted around the cell. Seemingly finding something, she began to shimmy toward her right. Harry let the full force of his magic loose. Bellatrix stared at him in wonder.

"I don't think we've met." She whispered.

Harry shook his head. He stalked across the cell toward her. She tried to push herself away from him, only realizing what she was doing when the bars started to grind into her spine. There were many things Bellatrix had seen but never experienced before. Peace had always eluded her. Love, actual love, not the twisted version her family or even the Dark Lord gave her was something she could hardly comprehend. Fear though, she had plenty of experience with. Bellatrix reveled in fear. There was a glorious warmth that spread through her when she saw that pure, primal emotion staring back at her.

This, though, this was fear like she had never known.

"Not in this life." Harry came to a stop. He held out the Elder Wand, pointing it directly between her eyes. "I don't get the appeal."

"What?" Her voice had a shiver to it.

"This." He waved his free hand between them. "Seeing you so scared, holding all this power over you. I don't understand why you like it so much."

"I'm not scared." Bellatrix screamed.

"That's where you're wrong." The wand disappeared from his hand. "You're terrified. I get that now. You've always been terrified. Poor, broken Bellatrix. Just needs someone to protect her. A great, powerful wizard to keep the fear away." He sighed and shook his head. "How utterly consumed were you once you found out your Dark Lord was gone?"

"You know nothing." She screeched.

The rage boiling inside her spurred her into action. She raced across her cell, ripping the bone-shiv from the piled straw that was her bed. Bellatrix turned, ready to pounce on the intruder only to find him standing directly in front of her.

She was launched off her feet. An unseen force slammed her against the wall. Her vision blurred. The figure in front of her seemed to split into a trio.

"I'm sure in some other life you found that powerful wizard." Harry pointed a finger at her. "Someone to love you, maybe someone that could heal you." He snapped his fingers, sending a blade of pure magic toward her. "But this isn't that story."

Her head dropped to the ground. Harry let the body fall. He turned to see a dementor standing outside the cell. It stared hungrily at where the corpse had fallen.

"Attracted by the fear?" Harry asked.

It turned its attention to him. Frost spread across the floor of the cell, directly toward where he stood. Harry flicked his hand, summoning the Elder Wand as he did. He needed a spell that wouldn't just hold a Dementor at bay, but one that would kill. The words popped into his mind a moment later.

"Serenitas Ferrum." He spoke.

The spell bisected the dementor. Harry looked down at the wand.

"You certainly pack a punch." He chuckled as he twirled the Elder Wand along his fingers. A sense of warmth spread from the wand up his arm. "Ready to get to work?"

Another rush of warmth.

"Hello, it's nice to be here!" Harry yelled as he stepped out into the hallway. "If you don't know who I am, you'll start to understand."

"Mudblood filth." A voice shrieked from nearby.

Harry flicked his wrist toward the sound. A moment later the voice was replaced by the sound of a squishy splat. The two pieces of the Death Eater slumped to the stone floor.

"Now." Harry scanned the prisoners with a wicked smile.

The Death Eaters stared back at him in terror. A feeling so deep that it dwarfed the fear their Dark Lord inspired.

"Let's see what color a Pureblood bleed." Harry whipped his wand in a wide arc.

An hour later the population of Death Eaters and Dementors at Azkaban had been drastically reduced. Harry retraced his steps, making sure to transfigure the dementor corpses into something manageable. He would need to take them to Gringotts before they changed back.

~§~

"Feel better?" Death asked.

"This wasn't about feeling better." Harry brushed a bit of frost that had accumulated on his sleeve. "I can't deny revenge played a part, but this was pest control." He scanned the empty cells. "Did I make too much of a mess?"

"I've seen worse." Death laughed. "Wizards keep death clean, for the most part. It's the Muggles that come up with the nasty stuff."

"I need a shower." Harry sighed. "What time is it?"

"No clue." Death shrugged.

"Tempus." Harry held up his wand. "Oh, shit."

It was eleven-thirty at night. Petunia was going to be worried sick.

~§~

Twenty-Eight Death Eaters Found Dead in Azkaban
Dementors Flee
Ministry In Chaos
By Rita Skeeter

Selwyn placed the Daily Prophet on the table in front of him. This was not good for his appetite. It wasn't surprising that the convicted Death Eaters were still a target. Most likely a couple of the guards decided to take revenge. It wasn't like someone killed all of them in one night. Most likely the deaths would have happened over an extended period of time but were discovered because of an inspection or something.

The pureblood couldn't figure out how they had gotten rid of the Dementors. More fanatical surviving Death Eaters had wanted to bust out their captured comrades. The only thing stopping their plans were the Dementors. At least he wouldn't have to listen to their half-baked plans.

Selwyn wasn't a fanatic, or an idiot. He didn't believe that Voldemort was ever coming back. The Dark Lord had a good run. He was the rallying point for the purebloods, the real progress was now. The wounds were fresh enough that as long as their plans weren't overt almost certainly succeed. The 'Light' would hem and haw, but behind the scenes deals would push the agenda through.

"Pert!" He yelled for his house elf.

He waited a moment. The creature didn't appear. He gritted his teeth. The elf was going to pay for this.

"PERT! GET OUT HERE NOW YOU DISGUS-" The words froze in his throat as the door to room opened.

A young man stood in the doorway with a wand pointed at him. Selwyn tried to speak, only to find that he could hardly breath.

"Not very sporting, is it?" Harry lowered his wand, releasing his hold on the Death Eater.

"Who are  you? What are you doing in my house?" Selwyn spat the words and pounded on the table.

A flick of his wrist brought his wand into his hand. Selwyn moved smoothly, aiming it at the intruder. A cruel smile crossed his face as a cloud of blood filled the space between them. His expression changed from victorious to confusion as the air cleared. The young man was in one piece without a single drop of blood anywhere.

Selwyn moved to cast another spell. It was then that he realized he wasn't holding his wand. That required a hand to hold it and hands needed arms to attach to a body. He had neither. The table in front of him was covered in crimson.

Harry kept his arm level. He tilted his head to the side, studying the man. Having to constantly hold his magic back had made him a bit sensitive to the natural flow. Right now, the magical energy within Selwyn was leaking out of the wound. It drifted out of him, mingling with the ambient magic in the room.

Reaching out with his own magic, Harry latched onto the thread. He pulled, drawing the magic from Selwyn's body. The man began to scream, his skin lost turned ashen, shrinking. Harry twirled the string of magic closer. Time seemed to freeze as the thread touched the tip of his wand. The slow drift of the magic shifted into a storm, torn from the wizard by the Elder Wand. Harry could feel the new magic saturate the air before fading away.

The husk, Selwyn dropped back into the chair.

Harry looked from the drained corpse and the Elder Wand. He had always heard about people dying when their magic was taken away. Harry wondered what that process entailed.

"Death." Harry called.

The girl appeared. She was lounging one a nearby chair at the table.

"These are nice seats." She wiggled in the chair.

"What just happened?" Harry asked.

Death looked over to the husk. "Oh, you performed a magic-ectomy."

"Did the wand do that?" Harry nodded toward the wand.

"Nope." She shook her head. "That was all you."

"Can everyone do that?" Harry spun the wand; it disappeared once it finished the second rotation.

"Yeah." She hopped up from the chair and strolled over to the body. "If you're strong enough. Otherwise, it just looked like you were wiggling your wand at someone."

Death held out her hand. A mote of light drifted out from the husk and settled into her palm. She tucked it into her pocket before turning back to him.

"You're a powerhouse." She plopped into another chair.

Harry nodded.

"Who's next on the list?" Death asked.

"No one for now." Harry sat down with her.

"Oh?" Death leaned forward. "Why not?"

"Voldemort comes back this year." Harry said. "A bunch of his followers are there. There will all be in one place. Hopefully, Nagini will be there too. I destroy that horcrux and take out a few of them at the same time."

"You're confident you'll be able to take more than one on at a time?" She asked. "Not to mention Tommy Boy?"

"I was able to hold him off and escape last time." Harry leaned forward, dropping his voice to a whisper. "Don't tell anyone, but I'm stronger this time and I've got years of experience as an auror."

Death motioned to zip her mouth. "How much trouble were you in last night?"

"Dobby covered for me." Harry smiled. "I love that little elf."

"Oh?" Death smiled. "What did he say?"

"I had to go to talk to the goblins." Harry shrugged. "It was simple enough to work. Petunia said that I needed to check-in if I was going to be later than ten."

"I would have thought he'd pile up the blankets in your bed to make it look like you were sleeping." Death chuckled.

"He did." Harry shook his head. "It didn't work so well once Petunia caught him bringing more blankets in from the laundry. He had managed to arrange them all to look like a me if I had been transfigured into a puppet."

"Things are going to start picking up this year." Death gave a happy sigh.

"Yeah." Harry nodded.

"Are you going to change the tournament?" She asked. "You can take out Crouch before he sets it up."

"Last time I was terrified." Harry thought for a moment. "I'm actually looking forward to it this time. I want to work out the tasks in a different manner. Flying a broom against a dragon was a really bad idea. So was the gillyweed. The only thing that I actually did well in was the maze."

"Are you excited for the world cup?" Death pressed.

"I'm excited to spend time with Sirius when he's not a wanted criminal." Harry countered. "What happened to him last time? I mean, after the veil."

"He died protecting you." Death patted his hand. "To him, there was no greater thing he could do. He passed on to whatever comes next."

"Whatever comes next?" Harry asked.

"I'm Death, not Afterlife." She shrugged. "Come on, let's get out of here before the house elf wakes up."

"Good idea." Harry pushed the chair away from the table. "Can I do this Reaper Jump thing one a location too?"

"Reaper Jump." Death nodded appreciatively. "Nice. And yes you can."

With a thought he was gone.

He found himself in a rundown sitting room. It didn't look like anyone had been here for a while. The only time he had seen in his previous life was in a vision. It was just as depressing as he remembered it. He paused, listening for any sound of habitation. Aside from the occasional skitter of mice the place was quiet.

He sighed. It would have been too easy if Nagini and Tom were here. As it was, he could still deal with the ring. The mid-morning sun helped him navigate through the mansion. He found the front door chained from the outside. Using his magic wasn't a good option. It would leave behind a trace, and he didn't want to tip Riddle off that anyone had been here.

The front window had a pane of glass partially broken. A couple of kicks completely cleared the shard from the frame. He pulled his robe tight, making sure it didn't catch, and made it out into the front yard. It wasn't as ragged as the mansion had appeared in his vision. The caretaker hadn't been killed yet.

Harry strolled along to the back of the mansion and down a small hill. The Gaunt Shack was tucked away in the corner of the property. It was in the middle of a cluster of half-dead willow trees. The hanging branches tangled up on the roof, forming thick thread that looked like desiccated snakes. He rolled his eyes.

§Cold.§
§Hungry.§
§Ah! Giant!§

Harry stopped as the sound of voices reached him. He smiled as he saw a few little snakes slithering around.

§Hello.§ Harry spoke softly. §I'm not going to hurt you. Can you move out of the way so I can open the door?§

§Speaker?§
§A speaker!§
§Giant! FLEE!§

Harry chuckled. The trio of snakes moved out of the way. One of them disappeared in the nearby bushes. He stepped up to the door. The curses and wards made the air feel like sludge.

§Open.§

§Who dares-§

§Open, now.§ Harry commanded.

The door popped as the old hinges worked. He stepped to the side and waited for it to open all the way. Once it was completely clear he could feel the pull of the curse. It was obvious that this was a trap. He had no idea how Dumbledore could have fallen for it.

Harry crossed the small space to where the magic was the strongest. He held out his hand over the warped board in the corner. A small pulse of magic launched the ring from beneath the floor into his outstretched palm. Gooey tendrils of a curse wiggled around. It called to him, desperately pleading for him to put it on.

He shook his head. Harry tossed the cursed piece of jewelry into the air. He summoned the sword and sliced the ring as it fell. The piece of soul gave a tortured moan as it faded away.

"Another one down." Harry let the pieces fall. "That just leaves the locket and the snake."

Now for the hard part. Dinner with Hermione.