Chapter 125: The Grimoire of the Horcrux

By the time Harold returned to the Gryffindor common room, curfew was almost upon them. Yet the room was still packed—everyone seemed to be waiting for something. The moment Harold stepped through the portrait hole, all eyes turned toward him. "Harold! Where have you been?" Fred stood up, visibly excited. "The show was a success—an absolutely brilliant fireworks display! Even the professors watched it with fascination!" "Yeah, but you weren't there. A few people are saying they don't believe we actually destroyed the Chamber of Secrets." "And did you?" Harold asked absentmindedly. "Of course not," Fred and George exchanged a grin. "We told them flat-out—it was just an amazing fireworks show." "Exactly. And no one claimed otherwise," Harold said, brushing past them. "Anyone who seriously believes I'm the Heir of Slytherin... what they think doesn't really matter, and I don't need to explain myself. "Let them go check the Chamber if they're so curious." As he spoke, Harold moved to slip past the Weasley twins' shoulder-to-shoulder blockade. "Hey—what's that?" It was Hermione who spotted it first. "Looks like a book," Harry said. "But... do you really need a Levitation Charm for such a small one?" Just then, the black-covered book twitched as if offended, leaping from Harold's left shoulder to his right. Then it sprang open by itself, pages fluttering audibly. "Whoa, that's brilliant..." Fred and George were instantly captivated. They'd never imagined a floating book could look this cool. Especially the way the pages flipped—that was mesmerizing. "If only we could swap the book out for a Golden Snitch... imagine walking around with one orbiting you!" Fred sighed, dreamily. "George, I've just had a genius idea," Fred murmured. "What a coincidence—I think I had the same one," George said. "Definitely the same." "So... your answer?" "Same as yours." They shared an understanding nod, then both clapped their hands on Harold's shoulders. "Let's work together, Harold." "This thing could take Hogwarts by storm!" "Or you could just tell us how it works..." "We'll trade you the Marauder's Map," George offered. Harold hesitated. That was tempting. But unfortunately, this wasn't something they could replicate—not even Harold could do it a second time. [Grimoire of the Horcrux] Horcrux — Wandless Soul Fragment | 73⁄5 inchesStatus: ActivatedProperties: Magical Drift: Follows the user's magic, able to float freely within a five-foot radius. Magic Sense: Detects abnormal magical presence and warns the user. Spell Engraving: Allows user to manually record spells by writing magical runes. Page flip activates the spell (draws on user's magic). Spell Absorption: Absorbs external spells and engraves them automatically on blank pages. Page flip triggers the recorded spell (draws on user's magic). Usable pages: 7/8 Yes, it was technically a wand. Or perhaps more accurately—a magical book. It was entirely different from traditional wands. It neither enhanced nor weakened spellcasting ability. Even something as odd as the troll wand boosted defensive spells by 30%. This? Nothing. But did it matter? Harold didn't think so—not even slightly. Compared to the sheer potential of this thing, its minor flaws were irrelevant. He was itching to test it out. Glancing around the common room, his eyes landed on Harry. "I need you for something. Come with me." "Can it wait? Knight to H3..." Harry moved a piece. "I'm almost done with this game." "I'll help," Harold offered. Before Harry could ask what that meant, Harold flicked his finger at Ron's king. "You can't do that! That's cheating!" The king crashed to the floor and split in two. The rest of the chess pieces instantly exploded in a cascade of dust. "Brilliant!" Harry's side burst into cheers. "That's how you win, mate!" "Hey!" Ron looked up, clearly annoyed. "Sorry—next Butterbeer's on me," Harold said, grabbing Harry by the arm and dragging him upstairs to the dormitory. "What's going on?" Harry asked, confused—until he saw the silvery-gray cloak in Harold's hand. "Oh—the Invisibility Cloak. You can keep it for a few more days if you want." "No need. I've got something better now." Harold shook his head. "Have you learned the Disarming Charm?" "What?" "Expelliarmus," Harold clarified. "The one Professor Flitwick taught us at the Dueling Club." "Oh... I guess I have. I mean, I've knocked wands out of Ron's and Hermione's hands. Haven't tried on anyone else." "Good. Take your wand and hit me with it." "Now?" Harry hesitated. "Isn't casting spells in the dorm against the rules? Can't we just find an empty classroom tomorrow morning?" "We don't have time. This is important." Harold's face was serious. "...Alright." Harry sighed, drew his wand, and aimed it at Harold. "Expelliarmus!" A bright red beam shot out. And Harry realized, mid-cast—Harold wasn't holding a wand. What happens when you cast a Disarming Charm on someone unarmed? The thought barely formed before the red light reached Harold. Then—suddenly—a book appeared between them. Black cover—Harry recognized it. It was the same one floating around Harold earlier like a Snitch. Then the spell was gone. Yes—gone. The red flash struck a blank page... and simply vanished. Like a stone sinking in the Black Lake. "What... what just happened?" Harry stammered. That shouldn't be possible. His spell might be weak, but not that weak. In his stunned state, Harry didn't notice the page had changed. A complex rune appeared—one composed of magical script—glowing faintly red. "Harry, look out!" Harold's voice snapped him back to reality. The book flipped open again. One page glowed with the exact red hue as his Disarming Charm. Before Harry could move, the spell hit him in the gut. His wand flew from his hand, and he doubled over, gasping. But Harry didn't care. He staggered back upright, eyes fixed on the book. "What was that thing?!" "It's not a book," Harold said. "It's a wand." "A wand?" Harry frowned. "But... I saw it. It's definitely a book." "It's complicated," Harold said. He handed back Harry's wand. "Try again." Harry didn't argue. He aimed and cast again. "Expelliarmus!" Same spell. Same red flash. Same flipping page. This time, Harry watched it happen—his spell was absorbed and rebounded right back at him. His wand flew away again. Harold caught it midair. "Again?" "Sure." They kept going. Over and over—until nearly half an hour passed. Harry had lost count of how many times his own spell disarmed him. His arm felt like it was going to fall off. And then... he realized. "I've been had," he muttered. "That thing of yours... it's just some enchanted item with a Shield Charm on it, right?" Reflecting spells—that had to be it. A standard Protego, just cleverly disguised. Harold only smiled. But with Harry's help, he'd now confirmed several things about the Grimoire. First—it could be controlled directly via his magic. Like a permanent Levitation Charm, the book would hover and float within five feet. Second—it could sense magic on its own, and react faster than he could. He'd have to test if it prioritized stronger spells when hit by multiple at once. Third—the spell-absorbing feature was one-time use. After casting, the page would return to blank. And the cost? Fairly high. Absorbing and recasting a Disarming Charm cost about 1.5x the usual magic—meaning it took slightly more effort than casting the spell himself. Still a net gain. He got to reuse someone else's magic. Oh—and most importantly, it didn't conflict with Silvermane. It could be used like a floating secondary wand. That discovery alone made Harold giddy. If it had any flaws... it was that eight pages weren't nearly enough. Probably a limitation from the wand core itself. Looking at the still-unrepaired cracks on the diary's back cover, Harold had never wanted to collect Horcruxes more in his life. But that was for another time. He turned to Harry and helped him up. "Can you keep what happened tonight a secret?" he asked. "Don't tell anyone." "What about Ron and Hermione?" "Same. But I'll tell them when the time's right." "...Alright. I promise." Harry nodded. He didn't think it was a big deal anyway. Just some enchanted item that reflected spells—no stranger than his Invisibility Cloak. If Harold wanted to keep it secret, then he'd help. He'd just have to come up with a story for Ron. Harold let out a quiet breath of relief. He couldn't sleep without testing the grimoire. But with Fred and George busy, Hermione being a girl, and the others unfamiliar, Harry was clearly the best choice. And thankfully, he didn't disappoint.