Order Only: Private Message to Harry and Draco

[alt_hermione]

Harry, Draco let me read over his shoulder last night.

What do you think you're going to do? You could simply disappear as soon as school's over. Come here and not let anyone get you back to Buckingham.

That would let us all think over what to do. Did Moon give you precise notes about the ritual? The more detail we have, the better we can plan how to make sure it can't ever happen.

Comments

[alt_harry]

I could, yeah. But what if that last horcrux is in Buckingham? It's not exactly easy to nip in there to pull off a burglary. It'll be a lot easier if someone's already there.

I told Moon I was writing a story to impress a girl, and that it had a villain in it that just happened to be doing what Voldemort's done with me, kept them safe and uninjured until they were grown. I told him I wanted the magic the villain was using to be something real. Linus had a couple of ideas but here's the one I think Voldemort is actually up to:

'The most shrouded in mystery, and therefore probably best for your purposes as it allows the greatest liberties to be taken fictionally, is a spell supposedly practiced by certain ancient families in the dim recesses of time. When there was great need for a strong leader to provide continuity in times of threat or turmoil, this method allowed the head of a family to take possession permanently of a younger family member, thereby providing unbroken guidance through troubled times. The references suggest that this spell exacts grave payment from its caster (though, of course, not so grave as that experienced by its subject!) in the form of an inability to bear or sire further offspring when in the new body, thus necessitating the next move be into a nephew, niece, foster child, or some such. It all sounded quite dire, and might be exactly what you need, should you wish a villain with a yen to live forever and a fondness for breeding programs to provide appropriate vessels through the millennia. This is further suited to your purposes in that the references specify that the vessel need not be willing to receive the incoming soul — which lets you build quite a harrowing villain indeed. (Nor does the vessel necessarily need to remain unblemished, though obviously if a villain is going to the trouble to find a nice body to move into, they’d probably take care not to muck it up with too much torture, et cetera.) You can find what references there are under the search term “Succession Rite,” though if you’d like to see the primary sources, it would probably quicker for me to assemble them for you than for you to plow through the stacks in search, unless that’s really the sort of thing you enjoy.'

[alt_harry]

He's happy to get me all the additional details I want, so long as it's after NEWTs.

[alt_harry]

Have you ever heard of this? Is there anything in the 12GP library, or the Malfoy one?

Dolohov had heard of it. He clearly knew it was real.

[alt_hermione]

Succession Rite. We're looking.

[alt_hermione]

Do you want us to not tell Sirius? Or Mr Snape? I mean, is it all right if we do? Because they might know more. But if you don't want them to know yet, we can keep it secret for now.

[alt_harry]

I'm afraid that if you tell them about this they'll want me to run away right now.

[alt_hermione]

Well, I want you to run away right now, Harry Potter, but I know why you're being so stubborn about it.

They're going to have to know, eventually. We can wait a little while longer, though.

[alt_harry]

Yeah, at least you're not arguing and trying to convince me.

Voldemort's coming here this weekend. To Hogwarts, I mean.

[alt_hermione]

Does that mean we're out of time?

[alt_harry]

No. Unless you seriously think he'd try to take over my body in the Great Hall or something.

[alt_draco]

Who would stop him, Harry?

Unless you're depending on him wanting to keep that rite a secret, since he's so possessive of the other magic that's allowed him to become invulnerable.

[alt_harry]

No one. But things like this aren't usually simple little spells. They take time, and effort, and privacy.

It's the sort of thing he'd do at Eton.

[alt_draco]

You'd best have an exit plan in place, just the same. Carry your cloak with you at all times, so you can head for the colocation box if you need to. I'd speak with the others to ensure you have some kind of diversion on hand, too, in case its needed for any reason.

[alt_harry]

I'll carry my cloak, for sure. And I'll talk to the others. Pansy can probably think of something.

[alt_harry]

Instant Darkness Powder, maybe. She was telling me about this stuff the Twins had developed. Or bought. Or I'm not sure. From Peru? They can't actually be importing it, but they maybe got the idea from there.

It would turn the room dark, and I could get my cloak on. No one would know where I'd gone. Though if I tried to actually run before the stuff cleared, I'd probably trip over a table.

[alt_draco]

Can Voldemort see in the dark, with those weird, red eyes of his?

Or, actually - there's this artefact that Rodolphus gave my father, something he found at one of those auctions he's always going 'round to. Anyway, it's this mouldering old, withered hand, and if you carry it in the dark, it will give you enough light to see with, but everyone else will still be completely blind.

[alt_harry]

That sounds hideous. Why am I not surprised it was a gift from Rodolphus?

Anyway, could I borrow it? I'm pretty sure Voldemort can't see in the dark.

[alt_draco]

Yeah.

I'll get it into the colocation box in an hour.

[alt_harry]

Got it. Thanks.

And Pansy had some of the darkness powder, and I put it all into my container bracelet, so don't worry, I'll be able to get away if I have to.

[alt_hermione]

That's what I'm afraid of, too.

Maybe he's just coming to give you a pre-NEWT pep talk, Harry. Or to test you beforehand. Or perhaps he thinks staring at you while you sit your exams will be a motivational boost.

Not very likely, is it.

[alt_harry]

The rumour is he's looking for more Death Eaters. Like last year's contest. Only without the intermediary.