Harry Potter The Final Straw

"But…" Harry started to say before Remus cut him off stepping into the conversation.

"Let me reiterate, you are not responsible for Malfoy's mistake." Remus said in a soothing tone of voice. He let Harry chew on that for a few seconds before he continued, "Sirius is right, Harry. You need to let go of your guilt over Malfoy's actions. You are not him."

Harry looked at the adults seated around the table and noticed that they all had the same expression of understanding on their faces. Turning to face Hermione, he gazed into her warm cinnamon colored eyes and found what he was looking for.

Her gaze wasn't reproachful, it was grateful. Surprised, he asked her in a small voice, "You… you don't blame me for what happened today?" Harry knew that she had been affected far worse than he had by the aftermath of Draco's spell and it was her forgiveness that he needed most.

Hermione looked into his bright green eyes that were full of guilt before quietly replying, "No, Harry." She reached up, cupped his cheek, and continued, "I'm glad that you had the presence of mind to put your friends out of harm's way and then how you kept your cool afterwards."

Sagging with relief, Harry gave her a tiny smile and mumbled, "Thanks."

Everyone seemed to relax a bit once Harry let go of some of his guilt and dinner proceeded with the accompaniment of pleasant conversation. Just as dessert was being served, a very anxious looking Tonks stepped into the kitchen, her hair cycling through various colors.

Unceremoniously, she plunked herself down in the seat next to Harry and with a grunt pulled the plate of food that Dobby silently slid in front of her and began eating with gusto.

Harry and Hermione were trying not to snicker at Dora's eating habits. They were startlingly similar to Ron's preferred method of eating, lean over the plate and shovel in as much as possible and as quickly as possibly, table manners be damned. Giving it up as a bad job, Harry lost it and began snickering into his napkin while Hermione hung her head and let her long hair muffle her laughter.

Looking over at the two teens, Dora asked with a mouth full of food, "Mwhat?"

"Nymphadora!" Andromeda snapped at her daughter. When Dora's hair cycled to a blushing pink, she continued ranting, "We taught you better manners than that! Now sit up straight and eat like a proper young lady instead of like some Neanderthal!"

Dora cringed at her mother's tone and tried to ignore the snickers coming from everyone else. She quickly sat up straight and resumed eating at a much more dignified pace.

When she was finished, she wiped her mouth and took a sip of water before saying seriously, "I caught Macnair this evening." There were a few raised eyebrows and a smile from Remus at her announcement. "He's in the cell at headquarters." She said before anyone could interrupt her.

Harry and Hermione shared a curious look and mouthed, 'Headquarters?'

Remus was watching the two teens and he decided to tell them the basics about what was going on, "We have another house under the Fidelius Charm that we are using for headquarters. If we capture a Death Eater, we have a cell set up for their use."

"Oh." Harry and Hermione echoed in response to the information.

Reaching into his cloak, Remus pulled out a worn looking book and slid it across the table to them while saying in a lighter tone, "I think this book will give you some information about Harry's Animagus form. I think he is some variant of a Coatl, but I'm not exactly positive."

Eagerly, Hermione snatched the book up and began looking at the pages Remus had tabbed for them.

Harry smiled at her antics and said warmly, "Thanks, Remus." He knew that Hermione was using the book as a distraction from the day's events but he did have some more questions about changing the dark ritual Voldemort used and what was going to happen now that the school year had ended.

Looking at the rest of the adults around the table, Harry asked, "What did you find out about the ritual that I changed and how is that going to effect me?"

Hermione had stopped reading when he asked his question and she was now eagerly looking at the adults for an answer as well.

Squirming slightly, Remus looked over at Sirius for permission to tell the tale. When he received permission, he quietly said, "That ritual was supposed to create a new body for Voldemort. When you gave your blood willingly it altered the intent of the ritual."

Remus paused to gather his thoughts on how to explain everything in a manner that Harry would understand before continuing, "You must understand that this is all speculation, but we believe that it is the correct assumption about why Voldemort survived that fateful night when you defeated him."

Thinking about the parts of the ritual that he remembered, Harry asked, "By giving my blood freely I broke my connection to Voldemort, didn't I?" He was pretty sure that was true because of his improved connection with Hermione, but it never hurt to have something confirmed to ease ones fears.

"Yes…" Remus said hesitantly as he processed Harry's question. After a few moments, he said, "Your scar was probably a Horcrux and when you gave your blood willingly it changed the intent of the ritual. Not only did it create a new body for Voldemort, we think it reunited him with the piece of his soul that was in your scar."

Andromeda had gone pale during the discussion. She knew the basics, but this was new information to her and it was very disturbing. Horrified, she whispered, "How many Horcruxes do you think that the Dark Lord made?" Being a Black, she knew the general terms of what a Horcux was.

It was Harry that answered her question, with a bombshell of his own, when he said, "I think Voldemort made at least three of them. The diary that I destroyed in my second year was one, my scar, and what ever other item that was keeping him alive until he got his body back."

The magical adults all had horrified expressions on their faces as they looked at each other and then back to Harry.

....

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