It was slow work; tedious, pointless. But it helped Harry keep his mind clear so he could think. Harry leaned against a destroyed wall in what had once been a kitchen and waved his hand around, rebuilding rubble.
The entire cottage in Godric's Hollow was destroyed, nothing more than crumpled and broken remains of what had once been a home. It wasn't that Harry was comparing himself to a fucking house, but he saw the remains of where he once lived and knew he had to fix it.
Sure, there was a sign out front saying it was kept ruined as a memorial, but that was a stupid memorial and it was probably Harry's house anyway.
So Harry rearranged stone by stone, not sleeping or eating, just repairing walls, rebuilding ceilings, vanishing mold, and thinking.
There were two horcruxes left, aside from the one inside Harry.
A goblet in a vault owned by either Rodolphus Lestrange or Alexander Lestrange. Last Harry knew, Rodolphus was alive, but that was before Harry blew up seven Death Eaters in his back garden.
And then there was a tiara that nobody knew the location of.
Harry already had a plan for first one, but it was the second that he was struggling with.
"I need my stuff," he hissed to Stevie. Stevie was curled in a ball by Harry's feet and complained nonstop about the cold Harry exposed him to.
Since it was Stevie's fault that Sevvie was gone though, Harry didn't really give a damn about his comfort.
"Where are your things?" Stevie asked. He raised his head and blinked at Harry slowly. "Somewhere warm?"
Harry watched a giant piece of ceiling fly back in place in a room that had light blue walls with star stickers on it - his nursery, he assumed.
Luna had Harry's cloak. Theo had the red pocketknife. But everything else? Everything else had been in a box at Invisibility Way.
"Are you coming or staying?" Harry asked Stevie once he made a decision.
Stevie uncoiled and slithered up Harry's leg to wrap himself around Harry's torso and shoulders.
"Coming," he said.
"If I say kill someone, you better fuckin' do it, got it?" Harry asked him sternly.
"I would kill anyone if you would use their corpse to build a fire," Stevie said.
It shouldn't be possible for a deadly snake to sound like a whiney baby, but Stevie was proving it possible.
Harry and Stevie arrived in Harry's bedroom at Invisibility Way and Harry had to hope that Susan took Harry's box with her. If not, it was gone.
"How long has it been since we left?" Harry asked Stevie.
"Two nights."
Two nights.
It had taken Timmy's bloody followers two nights to destroy Harry's home. Every piece of furniture in Harry and Fred's room had been busted, contents strewn every which way. Harry's clothes were ripped up, as if Harry hid his secrets in the threads of his jeans. Fred's books on their shelf were shredded.
The photos of Harry and Fred from their wedding were destroyed. The framed picture of Rosie had been stomped on with a perfect boot print on top of the shattered glass.
The only thing still intact was the last photo their group took on the Hogwarts express, the train ride to Hogwarts at the beginning of sixth year. It was still stuck to the wall where Harry replaced the old one.
Harry carefully stepped around his destroyed belongings to take that photo down.
Everyone looked so happy, so young.
Hermione didn't know then that she was going to die having the baby that she wanted so much. Susan already had her golden arm, but she also had her aunt back then. Trent had Ron and Draco's arms around his shoulders and looked like he'd won the World Cup with the way he was smiling. And Harry…
Harry touched his own face.
That Harry had never seen the inside of Azkaban. That Harry had Fred's ring on his hand and saw a future so different from the hell that Harry was living in.
That Harry had everything to lose… and he lost it all.
And now Harry was rushing to a finish line he didn't want to face.
Harry pocketed the picture and tried to think. It was hard to come up with a rational plan when everything inside Harry wanted to go burn down the Ministry, destroy it all like Timmy did his home, but he couldn't. He couldn't even risk opening the connection between them to taunt Timmy.
There was only one trick left up Harry's sleeve and he couldn't risk alerting Timmy to it.
"If I give you a letter, can you deliver it?" Harry asked Stevie. There was plenty of scraps of paper laying around, Harry only needed one for the moment.
"I am not a bird," Stevie hissed vehemently. He recoiled at the heated and furious look Harry gave him and quickly corrected himself. "But I can hand off a letter."
"Brill," Harry murmured to himself. He summoned a quill from a pile of Fred's destroyed shirts and held the scrap of parchment against the wall while he wrote a quick note.
Harry needed to be alone, he couldn't be with the others right then. But someone had to know about Harry's stuff, and Harry needed that box if he wanted to find the tiara.
There weren't many people that Harry could reach out to, too many people would try and stay with him, but Harry didn't work to build his gang up all those years to not use the connections and loyalty that he finally had.
"Let's go," Harry said once his note was complete. Stevie tightened himself around Harry briefly and then the two of them were off once more.
At their next stop, Harry gave Stevie the note and strict instructions to not bite anyone. Harry hid himself in the tree line while Stevie slithered across the lawn to slip inside Moon Lodge.
While he waited to see if Sky would comply, Harry wondered what the others were doing. They would be together, Sev would be firm about it. Would Susan tell the others what she found in Harry's room?
No.
That was daft to even consider.
If Harry could trust anyone to keep Harry's business private, it was Susan Bones.
Did they take Harry's silence as a sign of injury or would someone understand that Harry was fine, he just needed to finish up on his own? Sev wouldn't let anyone do anything stupid, but Susan and Fred were a bit rash when they were together.
Harry was just thinking of his goddaughter and his brother when he heard footsteps approaching. It was an irritation beyond belief to not have his cloak and have to hide behind trees like a child, but it seemed as if that problem had solved itself.
"Harry!" Sky Monty, the werewolf girl that fought with Harry's gang multiple times, had a familiar bundle of purple silk cloth in her arms. She grinned as she thrust it at Harry.
"Luna Lovegood showed up this morning and told me to hold on to this," Sky said, speaking in a rush. "I didn't know what the hell it was for, but she said I needed to hold on to it and give it to you when I saw you. I didn't know I'd see you though, but you're here! Are we fighting?"
There was a manic gleam in Sky's eyes, one that Harry could appreciate in a way.
"Not quite," he said. Stevie wrapped himself around Harry's leg again with hissed complaints about snow and stinky wolf-people.
"Oh." Sky deflated some before she thrust her chin in the air and smirked. "Whatever you need, I'm here to help."
"Brill." Harry tilted his head at Sky and weighed her loyalty. "If you tell anyone what we're doing, I will kill you," he warned her. "But I need someone to help me find something I lost. And you're just the wolf for the job, aren't you?"
Sky didn't even blanch at Harry's death threat, she only nodded. It was why Harry chose her- she had no emotional attachment to Harry, she probably didn't even like him as a person. But she seemed to have a hero-worship for the Boy Who Lived, the boy who bought a house for her pack and let them all join the winning side of the war.
Sky was a good soldier, and that was all Harry needed.
"I would kill myself before I betrayed you," she said.
It was a much appreciate sentiment, but she wouldn't have the chance to kill herself because Harry would do it first.
"Have you heard Lupin mention any of the others? Or did Luna tell you where they're staying?" Harry raised his hand when Sky opened her mouth. "Don't tell me where they are, only nod if you know."
Sky nodded.
"Do you know a way to get where they are?"
Sky hesitated and then shook her head slowly.
"Not without help," she hedged. "Can I have a house elf help me?"
"Yes," Harry said. "But only mine, hold on."
Harry didn't want to involve Mavis, Mavis was too prone to tears and clinging to Harry. But if Harry gave him an order without loopholes, then he could get Sky to the others.
"I'm telling you this before I get my elf," Harry told Sky. "Listen closely, because I'll kill you if you fuck it up. When Mavis takes you to the others, you need to find Susan. Tell Susan you need Harry's box, she'll know what you mean. Once she gets it, have Mavis bring you back to me. Do not tell them where I am, do not answer any fuckin' questions. Got it?"
"Go to Susan, get your box, bring it back, answer no questions, got it," Sky said. "What if Susan refuses to give it to me?"
"Kick her arse," Harry said flatly. "I need that box."
"I won't let you down," Sky said. She raised her chin in a stubborn tilt and Harry sighed.
Sky was better than no one. It didn't hurt that she was so eager to help either.
"Answer no questions," Harry reminded Sky. At her agreement, Harry called for Mavis.
"MASTER HARRY!" Mavis flung himself at Harry and, just as Harry assumed, started sobbing. Stevie hissed as the elf squished him beneath his hold on Harry, but that was too damn bad.
"Mavis was worrying about you!" Mavis cried. "Mavis has been making your favorite treats waiting for you to come back, but Mister Snoop was saying—"
"Mavis, quiet," Harry said, cutting off Mavis' ramble before he could reveal anything that Harry didn't want to know. Mavis hugged Harry's legs once more and then shuffled back a step so he could blink up at Harry with teary eyes.
"You know I hate giving orders, but I have to," Harry told him. "I need you to take Sky to where the others are - do not tell me where they are - and when she's done, bring her right back here. AND," Harry stared Mavis down forcefully, "I order you to not tell anyone that you saw me. Do not tell anyone a single thing that you've seen, heard, or even smelled since i called for you."
Harry watched Mavis closely to see if his sly little elf could find a loophole in Harry's orders. When Mavis eventually scowled up at Harry, Harry had to assume he didn't.
"Go now," Harry told them. "Be quick."
As soon as they were gone, Harry threw his cloak over himself.
"You're very bossy," Stevie hissed in a sleepy whisper.
"Pains of winning a war," Harry hissed back.
It wasn't a game, Harry could see now that it never had been. They weren't kids playing cops and robbers; they were adults and any misstep would end in death.
And Harry was so fucking sick of death.
Harry tracked time with Sev's pocket watch as something to do. It took Sky a lot longer than Harry thought, nearly an entire hour, but when she finally returned with Mavis, she had Harry's box in her arms.
She also had a nasty bruise on her face, but Harry didn't care about that.
"You forgot to tell me that Susan has one arm nearly as strong as my entire body," Sky said as she handed the box to Harry. "I had to physically fight her for this."
"And Misses Susan will probably be flooing here if Misses Tonks is letting her leave," Mavis added.
"That's fine, I'm leaving anyway," Harry told them. He shrunk his box down and pocketed it before putting his cloak back on. "Hey, Sky?"
"Yes?"
"Forget you saw me today."
While Sky was blinking in the face of an obliviate, Harry apparated back to Godric's Hollow.
Harry laid on the floor of his old room and stared up at the sky through the hole in the ceiling while he had a cigarette to calm his nerves. It was terrifying, what Harry was about to do, he could honestly say that it shook him to his core, but Harry needed someone that might know where the tiara was.
And since the only person Harry could think of was dead, then Harry needed to bring him back.
Once he finished his cigarette, Harry dug through his box of belongings with shaking fingers for the stone he needed.
It was tempting, so bloody tempting, to bring back Lily Potter again, but… but Harry couldn't look her in the eyes. Not if she knew what he'd done…
Instead, Harry stood up and thought of his friend that wouldn't judge him, the one that Harry trusted from the start to find the horcruxes.
One turn… two…
On the third turn, Harry opened his eyes and found himself face to face with Barty Crouch Junior. Barty looked young, only a couple of years older than Harry was, and he looked happy.
"I told Reg you were going to call for me," Barty said smugly. Even with his washed out features, Harry could see happiness radiating from his round face.
At some point, Harry should tell Sev that Barty was happy. Sev had been, in his own way, devastated when Barty died. It wasn't as if Harry hadn't felt the blow of loss as well, it was just that it didn't bother Harry anymore.
Barty was the smallest blow Harry had suffered and Harry was finally numb to it all.
"Reg?" Harry asked. "What's Reg?"
"Sirius' brother, not important," Barty said, waving a careless hand. He looked around the room Harry was in and let out a laugh. "Slumming it on your own now?" Barty clicked his tongue. "Smart."
"Necessary," Harry corrected him. "I need to know if—"
"If I know where the tiara is?" Barty asked. He grinned at Harry's momentary flash of surprise. "I can't read your mind, I've just been keeping an eye on you and knew you'd ask that."
"Do you?" Harry asked with a bite of impatience.
"I don't," Barty admitted. His youthful face fell some, became thoughtful. "How much time do you have?"
"None," Harry said. "I'm getting the cup tomorrow."
"And then you're going to let Severus kill you," Barty said. "I hate to admit it, but you're brilliant."
Harry smiled joylessly. "It wasn't my idea."
"No, but I think it'll work," Barty insisted. "When you think about it—"
"Stop," Harry said. He was exhausted, weary to his bones. The lack of sleep, the constant stress, the endless plans he built… it was all catching up to him.
"Do you think you can find the tiara?" Harry asked Barty. "My mum made it sound like you could just spy on people."
"So you want me to spy on the Dark Lord and see if he reveals where it's at?" Barty guessed shrewdly. "I've been watching him, seeing how he's so carefully taken over."
"But nothing about the tiara?"
"Not a thing," Barty said. He sighed and then ruffled his blonde hair. "I think he's close to killing off your brother-in-law though, Percy?"
"Pity," Harry said carelessly. "Perky had his chance to join, but then he went and called me disgusting."
"I remember that," Barty said. He grinned at Harry. "I watched you deck him in the jaw during the Yule Ball."
Harry did grin then, just a small tilt of his lips, at the memory.
"That was a good night," Harry said. He slumped against the wall and took a deep breath. "There's not been a lot of good nights since then, have there?"
"Not really, no," Barty agreed quietly. He leaned against the wall beside Harry. "If it helps any, your parents are rooting for you."
That didn't help at all. They might be rooting for Harry, but Harry would never know it. He made his decisions, he knew the risks.
When Harry died, he'd never go on to the afterlife with his parents.
"Thanks," Harry said. He looked over at Barty curiously. "How the hell did you manage to sneak in there?"
Barty threw his head back against the wall and laughed so loudly that he startled Stevie awake.
"No idea," he said cheerfully. "My sorting took a while, I was surprised when I came out and found Regulus waiting for me."
"Is Hermione there?" Harry asked.
Barty's face softened to something a little more solemn and sad.
"She is," he said. "Your mum's taking care of her."
"Good. And you're happy?" Harry asked carefully. Barty hadn't really stopped smiling since Harry called for him, he certainly looked happy.
"I'm peaceful," Barty said. He shrugged, "I wish you could see it there."
"Yeah, me too."
The two of them made plans for Harry to call for Barty again in a week and if he didn't have the tiara's location then Harry would move on to a new plan.
As soon as Harry dropped the stone and Barty disappeared, Harry slumped down to the floor.
"Speaker, you need rest," Stevie hissed as he slid across the floor to curl up on Harry's lap.
It would be thoughtful if Harry didn't know that his snake was only trying to steal Harry's body heat.
"Yeah," Harry agreed absently. He levitated the stone back in the box it came from and then summoned both the box and his cloak. Harry tucked the cloak around the box, ensuring it was entirely invisible, before he laid his head on it like a pillow.
"This is not a good place to sleep," Stevie said, sounding reproachful. "It is cold."
Harry cast a warming charm on himself that would keep Stevie warm as well and closed his eyes.
"I've slept in worse places," he said softly. "Go to sleep, we've got a busy day tomorrow."
Sleep eluded Harry, but it didn't matter. Harry would rise with the sun and finally be one step closer to the end. A bright light bothered Harry and had his hand twitching for his pocket before he recognized it as another patronus- the seventh one he'd received since splitting up from the others.
It was Sev again that time, his silky voice spilling from the snout of the mischievous little fox-
"I know we have been at odds recently, but you also know it to be true that I am always on your side. Whatever plans you have built, return to your husband's side and allow me to assist you. If you are unable to apparate, call for your acquaintance."
Harry sighed when the fox disappeared, it was decent company to have. He couldn't feel guilty for the trace of worry in Sev's voice, there was no room for guilt in the mountain of problems that Harry had to tackle.
Sev should be proud, really. Harry was finally relying only on himself. It probably wasn't the exact same as self-preservation, but it had to count for something.
Before Harry left Godric's Hollow the next morning, he dug a hole in the ground beneath a tangle of weeds in the back garden of the Potter Cottage.
"If anything happens to me, bring Mavis here," Harry told Stevie. His snake watched while Harry buried the box with his belongings and letters in it deep in the ground.
"I will," Stevie said. "And if he refuses, I will eat the flesh from his bones."
Harry sighed as Stevie draped himself around Harry's shoulders once again. Harry covered them both with the cloak, not wanting to risk being seen by anyone.
"For someone so eager to eat flesh, you've been absolutely no help in any fight, yeah?"
Stevie flicked his tongue against Harry's cheek.
"Tasty rabbits before flesh," he said.
Harry was bloody sick of hearing about tasty rabbits.
The first stop on Harry's list for the day was Gringotts. Harry went inside under his cloak and approached the first goblin without a line.
"I need to access my vault," Harry breathed. He slid his key from beneath the cloak on the countertop. The goblin didn't even seem surprised that there was an invisible being requesting access to a vault, they probably saw weird shit all the time. Fuckin Sirius managed to buy Harry a Firebolt as a dog.
"I'll need a secondary proof of identity," the goblin said, thankfully speaking quietly. "Your wand?"
"I don't carry a wand," Harry said. He thought about it for a moment. "Isn't that proof enough?"
The goblin sneered in Harry's direction.
"No."
Harry rolled his eyes and then stuck his right hand out from beneath the cloak. It took a moment, but he managed to remove the glamour he had on the rings that once belonged to his dad and Sirius. Harry used to wear them on his left hand, but he moved them when Fred proposed.
"Proof enough now?" Harry asked.
The goblin squinted at Harry's hand for a long moment before nodding.
"Adequate," he said curtly. "Follow me."
Harry kept his cloak on until he was in the cart with the goblin.
"What's your name?" Harry asked him curiously while they traveled beneath the bank.
"Strelk," the goblin said.
"Have you heard anything from the ministry recently, Strelk?" Harry asked.
Strelk fixed Harry with a dark and thoughtful look while he guided the cart.
"I hear a great many things, Mister Potter. I could inform the Minister," Strelk sneered Timmy's stolen title, "where you are and receive a handsome reward."
"You could," Harry agreed pleasantly. "But d'you think you could call him before I killed you? Cause I'm fast, aren't I?"
Strelk chuckled, a disturbing sound, and smiled at Harry, showing all this pointed teeth.
"Goblin Nation will remain neutral," he said. "You intrigue us, and there are some that fear the Minister."
"So it's just an open secret who the Minister is?" Harry asked.
Strelk chuckled again and the cart slowed down outside Harry's vault.
"It's not much of a secret anymore," he said slyly. "Your party has seen to that."
Harry raised an eyebrow in interest. "Yeah? How's that?"
"We're here," Strelk said. He slammed the cart to a sudden halt, jostling Harry, and grinned. "Be quick, Mister Potter. One hundred thousand galleons is no paltry reward."
Harry put a finger to his forehead and swung it out in a mocking salute before climbing out of the cart. He was careful to take his cloak with him, he didn't like how Strelk was eyeing it.
There were only a few things Harry needed from his vault. A handful of galleons and…
"Gotcha." Harry plucked up the red rock he stole all those years ago and tossed it in the air before pocketing it.
Threats were effective, but so were bribes.
Since Harry couldn't even begin to guess where Alexander Lestrange lived, he had to resort to going to the owl post office and sending a letter.
Something inside Harry ached when he selected an owl from the 'fastest delivery' section. Sevvie had been quick; always so happily sending any letter Harry needed.
Numb, Harry ordered himself. It wasn't the time to start thinking about death, Harry could do that later when he couldn't sleep.
He grabbed an ugly calico-colored owl from the section and took it to the register to pay for the use of it. It was convenient that the entire wizarding world was so mad that nobody questioned an invisible bloke buying parchment and owls.
Harry sent the owl off with his short letter and then apparated from Diagon Alley to the place he told Alexander to meet him at.
It was no where special, which was the point. Harry had chosen a place at random, somewhere that he could be sure wasn't watched by either party. It didn't mean that Harry wasn't assaulted by memories when he arrived though.
Harry had never been at the park in Treales, it was too empty and abandoned. It was quiet enough that Harry could have slept there as a kid, but he also could have been murdered and nobody would have found his body.
"I used to sleep on benches like this," Harry told Stevie. He walked around the run down park slowly, trailing his hand on the wooden bench and the lattice arc that probably had flowers covering it in the springtime.
"When I was a kid, I didn't have anyone," Harry went on, lost in his own thoughts. "And now I have people, but I don't want them. It's fuckin mad, isn't it?"
Harry didn't expect a reply from Stevie, it sounded like he'd fallen asleep anyway.
It was mad.
But it was also necessary.
The sun was high in the sky by the time a crack of apparation alerted Harry to Alexander's arrival. Harry waited under his cloak silently, watching to see what Alexander would do.
Alexander looked shaken, on edge. The scars Harry left down both sides of his face were a stark pink color to his pale and gaunt cheeks. Alexander had Harry's letter clutched in his hands and started walking around some, looking like an idiot, as he checked in various places for Harry.
"Are you alone?" Harry asked quietly from beneath his cloak. Alexander jumped and spun around, trying to find Harry.
"I am," he said. His voice shook, he was far from the cocky and arrogant prat that dueled Harry on his first ever night at Hogwarts.
"Why are you scared?" Harry asked. Harry wasn't going to reveal himself until he knew why Alexander was on edge. If it was a setup, Harry needed to leave before he revealed a single damn thing.
Alexander swallowed hard and looked to the left of where Harry was.
"I've been in hiding, with some of the others," Alexander explained. "I can't go home, not without taking the mark. I told my mother that anyone with the mark would die, and then I fled."
"Coward," Harry taunted him. "You were scared of a big, bad, wizard?"
"You," Alexander said bluntly. "It's you. You- you killed them, didn't you? Bellatrix, Rodolphus, Rabastan?"
Harry paused and tilted his head to the side, trying to remember.
"Is Rodolphus dead?" he asked. He'd been trying not to kill him, when did that happen?
"The Prophet said it this morning, but it was in the Quibbler too," Alexander said. He pulled some papers from the inside of the robe he wore and tossed them on the ground between himself and Harry.
"Brill," Harry sighed. It was the first stroke of luck he'd had in a while. Harry pulled just the head of his cloak off so Alexander could see him.
"In your seventh year, you swore loyalty to me," Harry said. He made his voice soft and cold, the same dangerous tone he used during duels, a tone to remind Alexander exactly who scarred his face and killed his family. "Do you still swear it?"
"I do," Alexander said. He didn't look scared then, he looked determined.
There was something to be said for Slytherin self-preservation. Harry was just glad that he made himself more feared amongst his classmates than Timmy ever could have.
"There's something in your family vault that I need," Harry told him. "It's a golden cup, it'll have the Hufflepuff crest on it, yeah? You need to get it and bring it to me."
Alexander didn't give any sign that he recognized what Harry wanted, but he did screw his eyes up when Harry finished.
"What's in it for me?" he asked.
Harry smiled winningly. "You get to live."
"How do I know you won't just kill me after I get it?" Alexander asked him. He traced the scar down the right side of his face, a match to Harry's own scar. "You're not exactly trustworthy."
No, Harry wasn't.
Harry slowly pulled the red rock from his pocket and held it out in his palm where Alexander could see it. When the sun hit the rock, it shone brightly and looked like a pool of blood in Harry's hand.
"D'you know what this is?" Harry asked Alexander. Alexander shook his head, so Harry explained. "Nicholas Flamel made this," he said, not taking his eyes off Alexander. "It can create the Elixir of Life or turn any metal to gold. And, if you bring me that cup, I'll give it to you, won't I?"
"Bloody hell, Potter, where'd you get it from?" Alexander breathed. His eyes were wide and Harry knew it was the perfect bribe to bring.
Harry had no use for it until then anyway.
"Stole it from Dumbledore when I was eleven," Harry said glibly. He pocketed the stone and smirked at Alexander. "Deal?"
"Deal," Alexander said quickly, his eyes still wide. He was probably imagining all the gold he could create; Harry didn't care.
"Go with him," Harry ordered Stevie. It was a calculated move to send Stevie- it reminded Alexander of Harry's power and Stevie was the perfect spy and weapon. "If he tries to contact anyone or do anything aside from go to the bank and bring back the cup - not a duplicate, but the actual cup - then kill him."And, yes, you can feast on his flesh," Harry added before Stevie could ask.
Stevie hissed out a pleased noise and slithered off Harry's body to make his way around the papers and toward Alexander.
"That's Stevie, he's a King Cobra," Harry told the other boy. "If you try and fuck me over in any way, he's going to bite you."
Alexander paled another shade as Stevie made his way around his body to settle on his shoulders.
"You've got thirty minutes and then he's going to kill you," Harry said. He pulled out his pocket watch and flipped it open, checking the time. "I'd get going, wouldn't I?"
Alexander must have gotten a bit smarter than he was when they were students together because he turned on the spot immediately and disappeared.
Harry grabbed the papers he left on the ground and retreated to the bench to read them under his cloak. The first one was unfamiliar, but Harry couldn't doubt who it came from:
THE QUIBBLER 2.0: Your Leading Source on the Wizarding World
Harry grinned at the very Luna-like title done in bubble letters of pastel colors. Harry's grin grew to a full smile at the front page headline:
Tom Marvolo Riddle Junior: Lord Voldemort's Beginnings
Susan, because it had to be Susan, filled the first two pages of the tabloid style magazine with Timmy's birth story. It was even completed with photographs of the grave where Harry had once been an unwilling participant in his resurrection and a dumpy little house where his mother had lived.
If Harry could remember later, he'd have to tell the girls how brilliant they were.
Timmy would have read it; if Alexander and Strelk saw it, then he would have too. Harry wondered how much it burned him to be publicly exposed as a half-blood and have his new identity linked to Voldemort.
Harry amused himself with flipping through the paper while he waited, the Prophet entirely forgotten. There was a disgusting picture from Invisibility Way of the death eaters that Harry killed. And, it seemed like Alexander was right, known names were listed and it seemed as if Harry did kill Rodolphus.
Poor bastard had to be identified by his teeth.
There were still a few articles Harry wanted to read left when a crack had him looking up from the magazine.
Alexander stood in the middle of the park, a sickly green color, and Stevie immediately made his way to Harry.
"He contacted no one," Stevie told Harry obediently. "The cup is in his pocket."
"Good work, don't leave yet," Harry hissed. He pulled his cloak all the way off and tossed it over his shoulder. "You've got it?" Harry asked Alexander.
Alexander slowly pulled a gleaming gold goblet from his pocket and held it up for Harry to see. Harry's heart skipped a beat.
That was it.
After the cup, there were only two horcruxes to go.
In six days, it might all be over.
"Why do you want it?" Alexander asked.
Harry stepped toward him slowly and pulled the red rock from his pocket.
"That's my business, isn't it?" Harry asked. He stopped a few feet away from Alexander with his palm outstretched. "I'm gonna set this rock down and back up. You're gonna throw the cup to me and take the rock."
Alexander licked his lips nervously and nodded. "Okay."
Harry held eye contact with him as he slowly knelt down and put the red rock on the ground.
"Throw it to me now," Harry said after he backed up a few steps. Alexander didn't hesitate, he underhand tossed the goblet to Harry and then snatched up the rock.
"Pleasure doing business with you, Potter," he said with a grin.
Harry held the goblet tight in one hand and flexed the fingers on his other hand.
Die.
Alexander didn't even get the opportunity to pocket the rock before Harry's spell hit him right in the chest, ending his life immediately.
"You knew I couldn't be trusted," Harry said without emotion as he summoned the rock back from Alexander's lax hand. Harry pocketed both the rock and the cup before sitting back down on the bench and picking up the Quibbler.
"Stevie, him you can eat," Harry told his snake.
While Stevie finally got the chance to eat flesh off bones from the first person to challenge Harry in the magical world, Harry resumed reading the paper that his friends wrote.