Gordic's Hollow - Part 6

"And he discarded you when he was done," Harry said, feigning boredom.

"I know about the Horcruxes," Wormtail whispered triumphantly.

Harry's blood ran cold. "What?" he asked numbly.

"I know about the Horcruxes. There are seven of them, two of which have already been destroyed," Wormtail said. "You destroyed the first one."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry said unconvincingly.

"I think you do. I think the part you don't know is the part only the Dark Lord, Severus, and I know. I suspect Dumbledore had also at least pondered it before he died," Wormtail said mysteriously, obviously relishing having something to hold over Harry.

"What are you on about?" Harry asked.

"I'm talking about the reason the Dark Lord will win in the end – his Seventh horcrux – the one you will be unable to destroy," Wormtail replied smugly.

Harry was perplexed. He didn't want to reveal any of the horcruxes if Wormtail was only bluffing, but even as the thought occurred to him, he discarded it. Wormtail was more certain of himself than Harry had ever seen the man. He knew something, and Harry had to find out what it was, despite every internal nerve and instinct that was screaming at him that he didn't want to know.

"After the horcruxes are destroyed, he'll be mortal. He can die like any other man," Harry said firmly.

"I'm not speaking about the bit that's still in him. I'm speaking of the horcrux even he wasn't aware of until two years ago. The horcrux he never intended to make," Wormtail said, eyeing Harry speculatively.

"What are you on about?" Harry asked in frustration.

"Don't you know, Harry? Haven't you at least suspected?"

The pit in Harry's stomach was growing heavier by the moment. "What are you saying?"

"Didn't you wonder why He left you alone all of last year? Why after the Department of Mysteries fiasco he never made another attempt on your life? Even during the battle at Hogwarts, all the Death Eaters had strict orders not to harm you. You were to be left for him, he told them. I know the real reason. I've heard him talking to Severus," Wormtail said, sneering.

Harry was momentarily stunned. He was right; Voldemort had been unusually quiet all of last year. He should have come after Harry with a vengeance for all the trouble he'd caused at the Ministry.

Why hadn't he?

Trembling visibly, Harry forced himself to ask the question, "Why?"

"He possessed you at the Ministry. I heard him talking to Severus about it. That's when he realized the truth, and it shook him. It's you, Harry. You are his Seventh horcrux," Wormtail said, smiling with a mad gleam in his eyes.

Harry's throat was dry, and he suddenly felt very cold. "That can't be true," he whispered hoarsely.

No. No, no, no, no, no.

"But it is true, and I can see by the look on your face that you know it is. He intended to make a Horcrux that night he came here for you," Wormtail said raising his arm expansively. "It was his plan. He told Severus that the spell to make a Horcrux is wordless, it takes the act of murder and an intense amount of concentration, but there is no incantation; the force of will powers the spell."

Wormtail's casual discussion of murder made Harry's stomach churn.

"He believes that he got over-excited the night he came to kill you. He thought he was going to eliminate the only obstacle in his path. He was thinking of his final goal, already planning to kill you, when your mother got in the way," Wormtail said, and here his voice did waver slightly.