Chapter 25:

Christmas and New Year came to pass, and the day before they were boarding the train to back to Hogwarts the family was having a rather cold pick-up game of quidditch. Rosalie and Harry were currently man-handling Sirius and Remus in a chaser shoot-out, but the whole group was having fun in the little round-robin tournament they had created.

By the end of that day, Harry had his arms around both his siblings talking about how he would come to visit them on Rosalie's birthday which was in early April. Jack's birthday was in late August, which would make him one of the youngest in next year's Hogwarts class.

These were good days, that Harry would look back upon when he needed strength. These were the days that would one day power the corporeal Patronus he had been working on.

New Year passed without hitch. Basically, Harry brought Darrel up to speed on what he had learned from Professor Snape and told him that maybe it would be best if he backed out of learning what the dark artifact or piece of magic was. Darrel was reluctant to agree and told Harry that he would stick beside Harry through the task, which was a casual showing of why he was put in Hufflepuff.

When school started back the boys took the very first night to go explore the restricted section. Darrel told Harry that he would not need access to his invisibility cloak as he was going to claim that he was just on prefect patrol.

It didn't take long for the green-eyed boy to realize he wouldn't have made it very far without Darrel, because when the restricted section asked for a password which, Harry had not the faintest clue for.

The moment they made it to the library Darrel strolled over to a specified area, where he said he had located the book earlier that morning. He explained to Harry that they could not steal it, because there was an anti-theft ward on every book in the restricted section.

This meant they had a limited amount of time to not only discover what a Horcrux was but to find it in the book as well.

Neither knew an index spell and Harry wanted to scold himself for not asking his mother or someone else that might know for that matter. The boys were scratching their heads and disgusted at what they were reading. After about an hour of reading Darrel turned green, "I think I just figured out why Snape was so vicious in his warnings."

Harry scrambled over to Darrel reading over his shoulder. Darrel read, "A Horcrux is one of the most complicated pieces of magic known to our kind, however, it is also one of the vilest. In order to achieve a gateway to immortality, one must learn the process of splitting a soul. The easiest and safest way to do so is to commit a murder of an innocent. Children, women, priests, nuns, monks, etc. The act must be done in a dishonorable way, for example stabbing one in the back, the killing curse, and performing dark rituals, refer to page 141."

The boys exchanged nervous looks. Darrel asked, "Why would Quirrel be building Horcruxes, and you said he said the final piece, why would you build more than one?"

Harry glared at the book, "Someone is keeping information from us. Crucial information I fear. I hope Snape got more out of what Quirrel said then what we did. All I learned is that Quirrel is a coward and a vile man. This is worse than the unforgivables."

Darrel scratched his head running a hand through his blonde hair, "You said you've felt dark magic for weeks. That you have seen shadows where there shouldn't be. Harry...Quirrel isn't building Horcruxes, his master is. Or worse yet, his master has, and is trying to reach them or finish making them. The question is...is the master who I think it is?"

Before Harry could retort to that he felt his sensory of magic pick up a very powerful and familiar presence coming towards them. Harry quickly offered his fellow badger the cloak, but Darrel shook his head and stood up holding his lamp out as if he was exploring the library, while Harry started walking quietly in the opposite direction.

Snape soon appeared, but he was shoving Quirrel up against the walls, "Perhaps you need a final warning, you best check where your loyalties lie, or my hand might just slip into your morning pumpkin juice."

Quirrel stuttered out, "Now, now Severus, I don't think there is any need for hasty threats. We are all on the same team here. Do you really believe Dumbledore would've hired me had I not been?"

Snape took a twisted smirk at the question, "I think the headmaster's old age has made him many things, and wise is not one of them. I just hope you are telling me the truth."

Suddenly Darrel came into the picture, "Professors. I have followed a student into the restricted section before I lost him or her. They were perusing the library when I caught sight of them. I need to get back to the hallway if you would be willing to continue the search. I have not been granted permission to patrol the restricted section."

Quirrel clapped then stuttered out, "I will escort you out, my boy. Ten points to Hufflepuff for outstanding diligence. Now let us talk about your last essay as we leave Professor Snape to search the library."

Darrel was instantly uncomfortable, but he was motioning behind his back for Harry to get lost, and Snape just shook his head and darted off in pursuit of said student. Harry followed the professor, as he did not know a way out of the restricted section, and backed into a dark room when Filch's cat came onto the scene.

Harry was heaving for breath at the situation. He had just gotten Darrel escorted out by the last person on planet Earth he probably wanted to run into. Snape was now out pursuing a student out of bed, and he was trapped in this abandoned classroom. Sighing in stress the boy began looking around the room hoping to find something useful or even an exit, but that probably would have been too much to ask for.

Swearing he sat down at a desk taking off his invisibility cloak, "Fantastic, I get stuck in a room, with myself to reflect upon."

As he stared to the other side of the room he was looking at himself, but suddenly the picture began to shift behind him and he stood up drawing his wand but turned to see nothing. When he looked back into the mirror it was empty, but it was clear a different shape was trying to form. Slowly he walked towards the mirror with his cloak and wand in hand. He noticed a small scripture on top of the mirror and couldn't make sense of it, " Erisedstra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi."

He waved his wand in the air drawing the letters and then casting the revealing charm, as the letters unfolded, "I show not your face, but your heart's desire."

As Harry watched the image form it showed him a red-headed girl all grown up in a wedding dress, and it showed him in the middle of another person who looked rather similar to his father. He was wearing a tuxedo and it was clear these two were getting married, but the way Harry stood it was clear that they were not getting married together, but that they were going to be married. Behind these two were unfamiliar faces, but on the outside of the photo was an older man and woman that looked identical to his parents, Sirius, and Remus. Before the whole family through a body was on the ground covered in a shroud.

Harry stared at the picture for some time, when he put it all together. His heart's desire was to see his family grow old. To see his brother and sister have lives, to see his parents become grandparents, to kill The Dark Lord.

He was astonished as to what had unfolded before his eyes, but he realized that too much time had passed and he needed to get back to the common room to see Darrel before he began to worry.

It only took a few minutes to go back through the entrance to the library and exit to the main floor and make his way to the Hufflepuff common room. When he got there Darrel was standing on his feet pacing, but when he saw Harry he stormed over to him placing a hand on each shoulder, "Merlin Harry, I thought Snape or Quirrel had caught you. My Occulmency shields were going haywire. Quirrel tried to talk to me for a good thirty minutes, I think he was trying to figure out why I was really in the restricted section. He saw right through my lie."

Harry sighed, "I'm sorry I brought you into this. He's onto both of us. I found the Mirror of Erised."

Darrel whistled, "Nothing half-ass with you mate. What are we going to do next?"

"I honestly don't know. I now have more questions than answers. What did he make the Horcruxes out of? How many did he make? Did he ever actually make one, or was what I heard a need to finish a ritual to create one. What does Dumbledore know?" Harry inquired.

Shaking his head the perfect answered, "The Dark Lord walks among us. Snape will have informed Dumbledore without using your name, so we have informed the right people of the right thing. The question is what do we do about it?"

Harry put his hands in his head thinking quickly. Before he could come up with a response Darrel spoke, "It's too much to ask anyone, much less an eleven-year-old. I understand the stress mate. Maybe we should sleep on it, and talk about it tomorrow."

"We should just keep training. Keep our eyes on Quirrel, when he makes a move we either inform the teachers or strike. Whichever comes easiest or quickest at the time. We will need to be constantly vigilant over the next few months, weeks, or even days. If Quirrel goes for the stone the stakes have gotten much higher, and we will need to stop him at all costs.

If he has created a Horcrux or is going to attempt to finish creating one then he will be able to gain his power or magic back. Even if it was only in fractions it would make him immensely powerful and difficult to handle. We must stop him before something like that can happen." Harry ranted.

Nodding the dueling captain spoke, "I agree with you there. We step up training. We work harder and create the perfect effort that Cedric is going on about. You have family in Tonks, maybe we should bring her into it.

Cedric too, this is getting too big for us mate. We have to prepare to stop him. If he gets to power now, then the game will be over. There won't be time to train or gather forces and power. We have to act now, or we may be talking about this in the new great adventure that Dumbledore talks about. It's your move, and I will follow you on this.

Not because you are the boy-who-lived, or the chosen one, but because I trust you to turn things around for us one day. You're going to be beating me in dueling in your third year or sooner. You've got the power, but we just have to nourish it. We can do this."

Harry shook his head in acknowledgment and clasped the boy's hand. Darrel then clapped him on the back, "Come on let's get to bed, training early in the morning, and by the weekend we invite Cedric, Tonks, and maybe Heidi to join us. Give us a good opportunity to tell people it's just dueling club training."

Harry merely nodded, "Okay, your right. Thanks for your help, Abbot. I'll see you in the morning."

With that, Harry stood up and headed off towards his dormitory for the night. Darrel seemed to follow and went to the lower chamber dormitory.

A/N: I need Power Stones~