Harry Potter and the Silent Guardian : Ch. 52

Chapter 52: “Destroying the Horcrux Part-1”

The following day brought a serious discussion led by Arcturus about his research on the Horcrux they had found. He looked at Harry and Sirius with a grave expression as he shared his alarming findings.

"After looking into the Horcrux closely, I've come to a disturbing conclusion," Arcturus began, his voice heavy with concern. "It appears Voldemort was reckless enough to create not just one, but several Horcruxes. Based on the size of the soul fragment in this locket, I'm guessing he made more than three. Making even one is dangerous and insane, but he didn't stop there. His soul must be fragmented to an extreme extent by now."

Sirius, clearly worried, chimed in, "So, to truly beat him, we have to find and destroy all these Horcruxes?"

"That's correct. Alternatively, you could capture him and imprison him until his soul eventually perishes," Arcturus confirmed, outlining a daunting task.

Harry, ever curious about strategic advantages, asked, "Wouldn't that just make his followers try even harder to free him? If we did capture him, it would have to be done in secret, with no one knowing where he's held. But what I'm really wondering is whether we can use this Horcrux to help us find the others or figure out how many he made?"

Harry knew the locations of Voldemort's Horcruxes. 

Harry was in a tough spot. He knew where Voldemort had hidden the Horcruxes but wasn't sure what to do with that information. One option was to give hints about their locations to Arcturus, who could then destroy them, potentially stopping the war before it even started.

However, Harry saw a bigger picture. If he ended the war early, the wizarding world would stay as it was, with Death Eaters and Dumbledore manipulating the Ministry of Magic for their own purposes. Harry believed that a war was necessary to clean up the Ministry and lessen Dumbledore's control over it. Without these changes, Harry felt he wouldn't be able to make a real difference in the world.

He wanted to make his mark on the wizarding world, to establish a name for himself, but not by manipulating things from behind the scenes like Dumbledore. Yet, Harry was held back by a deeper fear. He worried that even if he tried to stop Voldemort now, fate or the world itself might save Voldemort or create a new dark lord in his place. Harry wasn't eager to test this theory.

So, Harry decided to let events unfold as they were meant to, sticking closely to the original story while making small moves for his own benefit. If things started to veer off course, he'd figure out what to do when the time came. This way, he hoped to navigate the complex situation without causing more harm than good.

While Harry was going through this crisis in his mind, Arcturus answered Harry's question. "In theory, it might be possible, but there's no precedent for dealing with multiple Horcruxes. No one has ever been foolish enough to split their soul multiple times. The pain of the first time has kept them away from the second. Due to this, we don't have a method to track or link Horcruxes together."

"Should we wait to destroy this locket, then?" Sirius proposed, hoping to find a more strategic use for it.

"No," Arcturus decisively replied. "The risk of keeping it is too great. We don't know if Voldemort can sense or locate his Horcruxes. Having it could attract unwanted attention. Consider how Walburga's mental state rapidly deteriorated; this locket could have been a factor. We can't keep it, nor can we risk hiding it."

"The biggest issue," Arcturus continued, "is that we lack someone with the necessary skills for research and spell creation who we can completely trust. Inventing a spell to track the Horcruxes would require letting someone else in on the secret. That could potentially expose us to Voldemort's followers, who would do anything to protect the Horcrux or use it to bring back their master."

The room fell silent as they understood the complexities and dangers involved in dealing with Voldemort's Horcruxes.

Harry, deep in thought, turned to Arcturus with a question that had been nagging at him. "Would getting rid of this Horcrux make Voldemort weaker?"

Arcturus nodded, affirming Harry's guess. "Yes, it would. Destroying a piece of his soul would impair his magical capabilities, particularly his ability to perform highly complex spells."

This insight shed light on how Harry in the original story managed to beat Voldemort so easily at the end. It also made sense of why Voldemort often resorted to his killing curse during battles; his other magical abilities were weakened.

Feeling a strong conviction, Harry said, "We should destroy it then." He couldn't shake off a feeling of discomfort that the locket brought about, suspecting it might be influencing their emotions subtly. "I'm sure we'll track down the other Horcruxes eventually."

Sirius agreed, eager to honor his brother's final wish. "Yes, let's do it. And if hunting down every single Horcrux proves too difficult, we still have a backup plan. Considering the extensive protections around this one, the others are likely just as securely hidden. Knowing where they are is one thing; actually destroying them is another challenge altogether."

As they prepared to destroy the locket, Harry pondered another possibility. "Is destruction the only option? Could we not use the soul piece to strengthen someone else?"

Arcturus considered Harry's idea carefully. "It's possible there's a spell that could move the soul's power from the locket to a wizard, making their soul stronger. But Harry, you're already pretty strong for your age. Do you really want to make yourself even stronger this way?"

Harry thought about it and said, "Considering Voldemort might come back, I don't think I'm strong enough yet. Plus, I don't want to miss out on this chance to get stronger. I'm already working on getting physically and magically stronger, but this could be a chance to strengthen my soul, which I can't do on my own."

Arcturus responded, "I see your point, but this spell is still in the testing phase, and I can't let you try it while you're still growing. It's too risky for someone your age."