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I was organizing my computer last week, cleaning up all the junk that had accumulated over the months, just because I felt lazy to format and reinstall all the software once again. It is a tedious process to format the machine, especially backing up all the files, including the music and ebooks and emails and restoring them.

While on the job of cleaning up, I got to read this interesting book extract that was part of a newsletter I had received way back in August 2002. It is an extract from the book “The Wealthy Spirit–Daily Affirmations for Financial Stress Reduction” by Chellie Campbell (A five star rated book at Amazon.com). Below is the extract reproduced for your benefit.

X—————X—————X—————X—————X

Send Out Ships

Thinking positive is your first step to living rich, inside and out. But it is not enough. You have to take action to achieve your goals. I call this “Sending Out Ships.”

In the nineteenth century, the merchants in London built grand, tall masted sailing ships. It would take many months, sometimes years, to build them. Then they would hire a crew, outfit the ship, and store provisions for the long sea voyage. One fine day, the ship would weigh anchor, hoist her sails, and sail out of London harbor, on her way to visit foreign ports, and trade for gold, jewels, silks, and spices. The trip would take many months–often years–and there were no communication lines open then; no ship-to-shore radio, no telegraph, no cellular telephones. Once the ship had sailed, the merchant could do nothing more; only wait for that future day when the ship would return, sailing into London harbor laden with treasure. On that day, the merchant’s fortune was made. And that’s where the expression, “I’m waiting for my ship to come in,” comes from.

Some people are going down to the dock, waiting for their ship to come in–but they haven’t sent any out! If you want the fortune, your responsibility each day is to send out some ships. And you had better send out more than one, because stuff happens to ships: One runs aground just outside of the harbor, another sinks in a hurricane, a few get commandeered by pirates, the whirlpool gets one, and on the next one there’s a mutiny and they sail off to Pitcaim Island and aren’t heard from for another twenty years. Then, of course, there’s the one that hits the iceberg! Once you send the ship out, it’s out of your control. You are only in charge of sending it out, not when it comes in.

When you get into the habit of sending ships out on a daily basis, even if you know some ships aren’t going to make it back home, you are still confident and optimistic because you know you have a whole fleet sailing out there. It creates a positive expectation that ships are going to be sailing in, docking at your pier, and unloading riches for you any minute. Positive energy shines from you. You feel good about yourself because you’ve been doing what it takes to succeed. This is what Tony Robbins, in his book, “Awaken the Giant Within” calls “massive, positive, constructive action on a daily basis.” (Although that sounds a little too much like hard work to me.) I prefer the image of breaking the champagne bottle and waiving goodbye to a proud clipper ship on a beautiful spring day as it sets forth on my behalf. And then celebrating the ship’s safe arrival with all my wealth.

Send those ships out every day. Then prepare to unload your treasures.
X—————X—————X—————X—————X

If you plan to buy the book, click on the image placed above. That is my ship out today

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• உன்னைப்போல் ஒருவன் இன்னும் வேண்டும் (2)

A short story by Niranjan Sathyamurthy

There was this curious door on the twenty second floor of a residential building. He didn’t hear or see much most of the time and neither did he speak except for in occasional creaks and groans. He wasn’t very old. He was in the prime of his long age. At least until the builders would come to tear his home down. But that wasn’t anytime soon and so that didn’t cause him any grief.

The door was the pride of the house. He was crafted beautifully by a curious craftsman who had died soon after finishing this one door. He stood tall, seven feet high and much broader than any of the other doors in his building. While they were those modern doors, he was made from the sturdiest Mahogany and was panelled with intricate carvings of flowery patterns (identical on the front and the back) that he very much liked. A shiny brass door-knob and a shiny knocker that hung from a brass lion head’s maw adorned his frame on both sides.

He liked to sleep most of the time as he had no one to talk to. And that was his only grief. Although, beautiful as he was, the builders had fixed him wrong side out at the entrance to his house. While all the neighbouring doors faced the inside of their houses, he alone was fixed facing the hallway that was boring and empty almost all the time.

Occasionally a neighbour or two would leave open their doors while they ran an errand and at these occasions the Mahogany door, wide awake, would creak and groan to the open doors that could now talk to him, and rejoice at the company he had. They would creak back in turn coveting his sturdy frame and beautiful panels with their intricate carvings. Moments like these were absolute bliss for the Mahogany door who longed the company. But these moments were hard to come by and quick to pass. So, our friend, the Mahogany door would creak a silent prayer to his dead maker and go back to sleep.

Sometimes, while asleep, he’d hear bits and pieces of the human conversations that took place in the almost always empty hallway as he liked to call it now. Human tongue was confusing for him with their many different sounds. He liked the creaks with which he spoke to his kith and kin (on rare occasions).

But he did not like to alone and longed to be set right some day so he could finally hear what the family inside spoke of. He knew who lived inside from when they came to the hallway. There were two little humans who were always laughing and he enjoyed listening to them. Yes, he knew laughter. His neighbouring doors, taking pity on him, had educated him on it (among many other things).

The two little humans had two caretakers; ones that they called a ‘mother’ and a ‘father’. He couldn’t tell the difference between the two yet. He liked listening to their conversation about travelling and the outside world and yearned to learn more about it.

One fine day, the Mahogany door’s lament was heard and his prayers, answered. The humans living inside had noticed that the peep-hole was on the wrong side of the door and had summoned another human to set the door right. The new human had, painfully (for the Mahogany door), extracted the door and with the help of five other humans had finally set it right. Bearing the pain, the Mahogany door rejoiced. Now he would never feel lonely ever again.

Day and night and night and day the door creaked happily to the windows and other doors. Few of them answered and some of the replies were unfriendly. But, nonetheless, the Mahogany door creaked on happily. He learned a lot of things from the humans.

In time he came to learn that the little humans were offspring of the larger humans and could now identify the ‘mother’ and the ‘father’. He also learned that the little humans (children, he called them now) were not always laughing but were noisy most of the time and did not let him rest. But he didn’t complain. He creaked away, night and day and day and night.

This break from loneliness was like ‘a shot of heroin’ (an expression he’d heard the father whispering to a black rectangular object that had a curling tail) for him.

While the Mahogany door spent his time happily learning the ways of the humans and rejoicing in their company, the humans in the house grew tired of his creaking; night and day and day and night. They discussed to themselves about getting a new door; one which was smaller and didn’t creak as much and keep them up at night.

The few friendly doors and windows in the house warned the Mahogany door to creak less. But the Mahogany door in all his joy and glory paid no heed to the warnings they creaked and turned a deaf ear to them (another phrase that he pick up).

Soon enough, more new humans arrived and putting the Mahogany door in pain, they pulled him out. Thinking that they were going to put him back as he originally was the Mahogany door momentarily felt sad but sadness quickly turned to panic as he was carried away down the stairs held up by the six humans that had removed him from the entrance. He could not creak and call for help nor could he creak and cry.

He could not creak at all anymore and as he was carried away he watched some other humans carry a new, smaller and modern door to replace him.

The Mahogany door, now unable to creak whether happy or sad or in anguish, was carried to the woodwork shop and to an object that kept rumbling angrily at the Mahogany door.

‘They are going to feed me to that rumbling monster!’ the Mahogany door wanted to creak in despair. But alas! He could not and as he cried to himself, his final lament, he was fed to the shredder, his seven foot tall frame and all, that tore him down to little pieces and then, the Mahogany door was no more.

Thus was the lament of the curious Mahogany door that once lived on the twenty second floor.

(Author of this story is also the author of a Harry Potter Fanfiction

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Chapter 5: Seen and Unforeseen
(Chapter I , Chapter II , Chapter III ,Chapter IV)

Harry looked out of the window of number twelve Grimmauld Place. They would definitely look for him here. He shouldn’t stay here for more than a few hours. They would be coming anytime. The table in the kitchen was covered with maps of England which he had found in the house. He had come here mainly because of the phoenix feather message. If they were really from Dumbledore then there was some specific reason why Dumbledore wanted him to come here. He would just look around for sometime and then leave for Godric’s Hollow.

He went around the house looking for anything odd in particular. The house had been rummaged to boot. Must’ve been Dung, Harry thought. He stopped near the Black tapestry. They had tried to remove it two years back and still hadn’t succeeded. He felt the part of tapestry where Sirius’ was supposed to be. Sirius, he thought. If only you were here with me. It was my fault, all my fault that you had to die. Unknowingly tears rolled down on his cheeks.

Harry looked away from the tapestry. Why had Dumbledore wanted him to come here? Did it contain any information about any of the horcruxes? Why? Harry had combed the place thoroughly. Had he missed out anything? His mind then wandered off to the locket. RAB, who was he? Harry would never forget what he had seen inside the fake locket.

To the Dark Lord
I know I will be dead long before you read this
but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret.
I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can.
I face death in the hope that when you meet your match
you will be mortal once more.
R.A.B.

The words in the letter he had found in the locket were etched in his mind. The person who wrote it must have been a Death Eater. This he can be sure of, for only the Death Eaters were the ones who addressed Voldemort as the ‘Dark Lord’. There were many Death Eaters under Voldemort. But this person knew that he would be killed by Voldemort. He knew Voldemort’s secret, about the horcruxes. The one thing that put him apart from the others, the only clue to his identity was the initials, R.A.B.

Harry leaned on the wall behind him and slumped down on the floor, deep in thought. R.A.B, who was he? Had he managed to destroy the locket? The initials seemed familiar to Harry. How? He glanced at the tapestry once more.

Color drained from Harry’s face. He realized why the initials were familiar to him. He jumped up and rushed to the tapestry. There it was right beside Sirius’ name. Regulus Black. Sirius had told him that his brother had been a Death Eater. He had been killed on Voldemort’s orders. Could he be the one? Harry hurried to what had been Sirius’ room two years ago. After a few minutes of rummaging through Sirius’ room he found a battered old diary. Sirius’ diary, he thought to himself. This would give him what he needed. Just as he was about to open it he heard movement downstairs. Not now. Harry quickly tucked the diary into his pant pocket. Who was here? The order or someone else? He had to be careful in any case. He sneaked down the stairs. As he came down he noticed that the corridor to the kitchen was clear. He quickly rushed into the kitchen and then turned to the door. Pointing his wand at it, he said ‘Colloportus.’

That would give him a few minutes. He quickly gathered what he required. The pensieve, the diary and the maps that he had found were now bundled together in a bag. With thoughts about the locket, he disappeared with a crack.

“Narcissa…..Draco…..Wake up! Quick!” snapped Snape.

In the dimly lit room two shapes that had been motionless for a while, now stirred.

“Severus!” said Narcissa Malfoy darkly “Where had you been? Why have you returned now? Where are we?” she said looking around. These surroundings were strangely familiar to her.

“Mom. We have to get out of here. We shouldn’t be with him. He isn’t with the Dark Lord. He is against him.” said Draco eyeing Snape with disgust.

“Don’t be a fool Draco. If I had taken you to him both of you would be dead by now.” said Snape.

“But why should we trust you Severus. You betrayed us. You betrayed the Dark Lord. Why should we trust you? Why should we believe in whatever you say? Bellatrix warned me about you that night. I should have listened to her.” muttered Narcissa.

“Listened to her?” asked Snape scathingly “Do you know something? Bellatrix knew nothing. She had a childish grudge against me. She envied my position at the Dark Lord’s right hand, especially since she has been struggling to even keep in his good graces. No, Bellatrix did not truly know anything about me, or I could not have so easily explained away her accusations. You have to see that I would have been expecting them, considering my position. And you heard her yourself Narcissa; she thought it would be an honor to have a child who gave his life for the Dark Lord. Is that what you wanted?”

She was about to protest when he continued, “In fact, it is your dear sister Bellatrix who took the assignment from the Dark Lord to find you. If you were to resist, it would not have been the first time she… disposed of a family member who was disloyal to the Dark Lord.”

Narcissa’s face paled further than her normal pallor, and her shoulders sagged as she dropped her forehead into her hand.

“But you are disloyal to the Dark Lord! We could just tell him that!” Draco interrupted.

“You could, but it would be unwise. The result would simply be that the three of us shared an execution, most probably followed shortly by your father’s. The Dark Lord does not forgive, and such mounting failures will certainly have induced him to exact his revenge regardless of any information you can give him. You don’t understand what is really going on. And it is crucial that you do understand before you go any further. There is much to do, but I must have full cooperation from both of you.”

He paused and looked at each of them in turn.

Narcissa responded first. “But why should we trust you and abandon the Dark Lord, what he works towards?”

“Firstly, if you return to him you will be killed, and secondly because you don’t truly know what you’re doing. You believe you are fighting for the purity of wizarding blood… to eradicate the world of the unworthy individuals in the wizarding world. As… noble… as this may be, it is not the Dark Lord’s true aim. His true aim is immortality, and he does not care how many of his supporters must be sacrificed to this cause.”

They both continued to look at him skeptically, so he continued, “It is true that he is the heir of Salazar Slytherin. But it is also true that he is the son of a muggle father. It was his muggle father who abandoned his pregnant mother. She died giving birth, and he was raised in a muggle orphanage.”

This revelation seemed to have the desired effect. Both of them looked thunderstruck. “Your precious Dark Lord himself is not a pure-blood. You have been mislead. His only true effort is to ensure his own immortality. You must understand this before we can go any further. You must abandon your prejudices if you wish to survive. If you do not agree to do as I say, Lucius may not be safe, nor will any of us.”

He paused for a moment as they both considered. Finally, slowly, they both looked at each other, then at Snape and then nodded at him.

“Very well, then the first thing you must know is that Albus Dumbledore is not dead and we will be taking further direction from him.”

Draco’s mouth dropped open and he was about to speak when Snape silenced him saying “Yes Draco. I assure you. Albus Dumbledore is still alive.”

The next morning when Draco and Narcissa woke up Snape wasn’t there. He didn’t come back for a few days so that he didn’t arouse suspicion. And then one day he returned. He looked very worn and ragged.

“What have you been up to?” smirked Draco.
“We can talk about that later. I need to attend to some pressing matters. It concerns your safety. You are now well hidden. So well hidden that, I believe even both of you don’t recognize where you are now.” said Snape.

Narcissa looked up at him.

“You mean…” she stuttered

“Yes, you are in the manor. It has been well hidden. Even though it has worked well for the time being, it is not enough. A wizard as powerful as Voldemort can easily find it out. So that leaves us with only one alternative. The Fidelius charm.” he explained.

“What? Is that the only way to escape? Do we have to remain in hiding forever?” Draco exploded.

Snape ignored him and turned his attention to Narcissa. He looked at her. She looked deeply troubled, having heard that they would have to take the most extreme measures.

“Can you perform the charm?” he asked her.

She nodded grimly. Night was beginning to fall. She rose up and drew out her wand.

“Do you Severus Snape accept the burden of keeping the location of this place, our refuge, a secret from those who endanger us?” she asked him.

“I do.” Snape replied. Draco watched wide eyed as his mother raised her wand and placed its tip on Snape’s forehead.

“Fiducia Custos!” she said performing the spell and sealing the charm. Silver light from Narcissa’s wand illuminated the room.

Everything was silent. It was the dead of the night. Snape rose up from the floor. He turned back and gazed at Draco and Narcissa.

“We need to talk now Severus.” whispered Narcissa.

“I’ve got some things to ask you as well.” said Draco “You said Dumbledore was still alive the last time we talked. How can this be possible? I watched you kill him! You cast the killing curse and he fell from the astronomy tower. There’s no surviving that!”

“Severus, if he is not dead, then how is it that you are alive? You made the Unbreakable Vow. You said you would complete Draco’s task if he could not. His task was to kill Dumbledore. If you hadn’t done it, you would have died.” said Narcissa

“I did kill him.”
“You’ve lost it!” shouted Draco savagely “You’ve cracked! There’s no blocking the Avada Kedavra! There’s escaping that kind of fall! There’s no bringing people back from the dead! Everyone knows that!”

Snape did not respond. He remained silent for a moment and seemed to be thinking. Finally, turning to them he said “Truthfully, I don’t quite understand it myself. But for now, just know that things are changing. The Avada Kedavra may not be unblockable after all.”

“How?” asked Draco, perplexed.

This was clearly not going to be a light conversation. Snape sat down and put his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. Malfoy and his mother both watched him silently, waiting for him to answer. Draco, for his part, was feeling distinctly uneasy. He had known Snape for quite some time, and he’d never seen him like this.

Snape finally looked up and said, “I know that this is a lot to take in so suddenly, but I need to know how far you both are willing to go to remain safe, and to protect Lucius, knowing what it will entail… knowing that it will require working against the Dark Lord from this point forward and allying yourselves at some future time with individuals from the Order of the Phoenix, especially Dumbledore, and ultimately with Harry Potter.”

“You have got to be joking! Now I know you’re loony! Why would I ever help that… that…!” Draco sputtered.

“Severus, you have to see how ridiculous this is. What are you playing at? Really.”

“I am sorry Narcissa, but I’m afraid this is no game. And Draco, the reason you might help Harry Potter is because he can help you. You both know that I have no love for him myself, and I have my own reasons. I have kept my distance when at all possible. But even I realize that I must put certain feelings behind me so that I can succeed. I am not asking you to befriend him. At this point that is irrelevant, however, since the entire British wizarding world believes that we are responsible for the death of Albus Dumbledore. I am only asking that you and your mother be willing to proceed, despite your personal aversion to those we may have to work with. Only then can I explain to you what is going on, and we can begin to arrange for your father’s safety.”

Malfoy sat glaring at no one in particular while Narcissa sat with her nose in the air, looking stubbornly to either side of her, avoiding eye contact with Snape.

“Fine,” Draco said quietly after some time.

“Draco! Are you sure about this?” asked his mother.

“Yes.”

“Then…. I guess I am too,” she conceded, still holding her nose in the air.

“Good, then let me explain some things that you need to know. Several years ago I began working towards developing a counter-curse to the Avada Kedavra. I knew that such a counter-curse would be invaluable to the Dark Lord, and therefore, I would also be invaluable to him. I was on the verge of a break through that I thought significant enough to report to the Dark Lord. However, it was at that time that I discovered some of the Dark Lord’s plan based on information I had relayed to him previously. I faltered.” said Snape, staring at the ceiling.

He paused for a moment thinking back. He closed his eyes and spoke

“I then realized that I could no longer support him. It was at this point that I entered Dumbledore’s service as a spy for the Order of the Phoenix. I was, of course, able to turn this to my advantage as it appeared to the Dark Lord that I was merely executing my assignment as a spy against Dumbledore to perfection. Dumbledore and I regularly planned what information I could give to the Dark Lord that would be sufficiently valuable while simultaneously keeping him adequately uninformed.

Of course I did not tell the Dark Lord of my progress on a counter-curse against the Avada Kedavra that night. Instead, I continued to work on my own. However, when the Dark Lord fell shortly afterward, it seemed unnecessary, or at least less pressing. So, while I continued my studies, I did so with less urgency, less frequency. I made little progress.

Then last year I learned that the Dark Lord was finally planning to make an attempt on Dumbledore’s life. I learned that he intended you, Draco, to do it. He did not believe you would succeed, and this failure would provide him a reason to punish you and your family finally for the failures that he attributed to your father. He did in fact intend me to finish the job in the end.

After explaining the situation to Dumbledore, he decided that in the interest of your life, he would allow you to plot his demise, though not without observation. He was concerned that you not become a murderer more than he was concerned even for his own life. I explained to Dumbledore my previous research and progress towards an effective counter-curse, and he predictably encouraged me to continue.

This became all the more critical when you came to visit me at my home with your sister last summer, Narcissa. I knew that Bella had no faith in me. Personally, I was not inclined to be concerned, but I knew that I could not afford to have her constantly questioning my motives, planting seeds of doubt with the Dark Lord. So I made the Unbreakable Vow. I knew then that either Dumbledore or myself would have to die before the end of this year unless I could find a solution. Only, now I needed a way to overcome the Avada Kedavra while simultaneously outwitting the Unbreakable Vow. My efforts were fruitful to an extent as I found possibilities that I had not previously considered, but I could not find the perfect solution.

I had finally come up with what seemed to be a promising option when time ran out. I had not perfected, nor properly tested my work when you found a way to let the Death Eaters into the school. I did not want to go through with it. In fact, I’d had the same argument with Dumbledore throughout the year that I did not want to do it unless I was sure I had a solution. He would not allow it. He believed that my position with the Dark Lord was too valuable to compromise. I was duty-bound, but still I had to try. On the tower, I cast my non-verbal counter-curse seconds before I performed the killing curse. I had hoped it was a success when I saw the strange effect of the curse. Never before had I seen a person so forcefully hit with the Avada Kedavra. Always a person simply fell lifeless to the ground. I quickly performed a slowing charm on Dumbledore’s falling body so that in case he survived the curse, he would survive the fall as well.
But I worried when I didn’t hear from him that night.”

He paused again.

“And how do you expect us to believe that?” drawled Draco.

Snape, on hearing this, quickly rose up. His eyes flared up with anger. Draco had seen Snape like this only on one occasion before. That was when he used the killing curse on Dumbledore in the astronomy tower that night. A rat scurried into its hole in a corner of the room. Snape quickly levitated it into his open palm. The rat squeaked.

“Silencio!” said Snape pointing his wand at the rat’s throat.

He held it in palm, stretched out. He then turned to Draco and spoke

“Use the killing curse on it. We shall see for ourselves.” saying so, he raised his wand and pointed it at the rat.

Draco stood speechless for a moment and then slowly raised his wand. He pointed it directly at the rat which was trying to escape from Snape’s hand.

“Avada Kedavra!” Draco cried out.

At the same time Snape muttered “Everto Vulnero!”

Both the spells struck the rat at the same time. The rat got blasted off from Snape’s hand, collided with the wall and fell limp on the floor. Snape, Draco and Narcissa gathered around, each trying to see for themselves whether such a thing was possible.

‘The Avada Kedavra, can it be truly unblockable?’ the same thought flowed through Narcissa and Draco’s mind.

Snape’s eyes were fixed on the rat. This would confirm Dumbledore’s survival. If only they hadn’t hurried through the plan, then he would have had a chance to perfect it. They waited silently gazing at the limp little body that lay on the floor. Snape face had turned pale. He was losing all the hopes he had. He closed his eyes as agony gripped him. Dumbledore, No, he can’t be dead, he just can’t.

Just as he opened his eyes he saw something that made his heart leap up in joy. The rat had gotten up again and was scampering through the crates in the room, trying to get back to its hole.

He glanced back at Narcissa and Draco, who stood rooted to the spot with awestruck looks on their faces. He had succeeded. It was all a matter of time now.

“Now, that we have seen it for ourselves, we know that this counter curse indeed makes the Avada Kedavra blockable. But be warned. This counter curse is not to be taken lightly, for you pay a heavy toll to use it.” He cast a dark look at them and continued, “This counter curse takes energy from your body to stop the Avada Kedavra. And this makes it impossible for the counter curse to be used in succession. Again I warn you, not only is this counter curse complex, but you may end up killing yourself using it.”

A five minute walk and one wrong turn later, Harry found himself in front of a two-story house that bore the distinct look of disrepair. One of the windows had been smashed in by neighborhood children and the weeds had long since overgrown the gardens, covering the rest of the lawn and a sizeable portion of the porch as well. The iron gate groaned in misery at being used; petulantly refusing to open more than half a meter, which forced Harry to turn sideways and shimmy onto the property. The faint outline of where the front walk had once been led them to the wooden porch and in turn, the front door. Harry slipped his wand from his back jeans pocket and tapped the doorknob.

“Alohamora!” he commanded. The door swung open to reveal a dark hallway.

It was not quite as one would imagine a house abandoned well over a decade ago to be. Furniture was still quaintly arranged in conversational groupings, knickknacks still in place on the fireplace mantle. Dishes were gathering dust both in the cabinets and on a drying rack next to the sink. It was not as if the house had died along with Harry’s parents. Instead it seemed to be sleeping, trapped between the life it had been busing living and one that had yet to be started.

Harry explored the upstairs and took one of the bedrooms for himself. He got back to the drawing room and waved his wand at the fireplace “Incendio!”

Harry dropped down on the couch thinking. He would go and visit the cemetery the next day. Harry didn’t know how long he sat there. His thoughts kept wandering around Dumbledore, Sirius, Snape, the phoenix feather messages, the locket, Regulus Black, his parents, Ron and Hermione, and Ginny. Finally he stood up and stretched. He climbed back up the stairs to the room he has picked out. He lit a fire in the fireplace there and then sat on the edge of the bed. He wasn’t sleepy yet, but there really wasn’t really anything else for him to do. He lay there for a while, staring at the ceiling, when a sudden slam of a door snapped him back to reality. He jumped out of bed and clutched his wand in his hand and moved out.

The door of the room next to his creaked open once again and then came crashing back with a slam. Harry noticed that the latch of the door was broken. He repaired it with magic and entered the room. He must have had forgotten to look inside this one, for the moment he entered, he stood rooted to the spot staring at the empty baby crib which stood in a corner of the room. Hot tears unknowingly rolled down his cheeks. This had been the room where it had happened. Where his mother had been murdered, trying to protect him. Harry’s legs gave away beneath him and he fell down crying uncontrollably.

A heavy sigh escaped from Harry’s lips as he woke up from a restless sleep. He didn’t remember when he had got back to his bed. Harry glanced down at his watch. It was past four in the morning.

Harry slowly crept through the chilly house, getting warmth only from the solitary candle that he held for light. Reaching the kitchen he set a tea kettle to boil and then wandered. There was a door at the end of the rear hallway.

Opening it Harry saw that the walls were actually bookshelves from floor to ceiling, stuffed with volume after volume of written word. Some of them seemed to be magical, others Harry knew to be Muggle. He set his candle down on the desktop, pausing to pick up a picture frame beside the blotting paper. Something was wrong.

There in the frame, he and Ginny were waving happily from a bench that Harry recognized from the courtyard of Hogwarts. No, it couldn’t be. They had never taken this picture. He sank into a chair peering closer. Now he saw the differences.

This was not Harry, but a young James; only a few years older than the one Harry had seen when he had fallen through the Pensieve into one of Severus Snape’s memories. It was James’s arm that was draped lazily over…Harry turned the photograph towards the light that the candle was offering on the desk…over Lily’s shoulders. Her eyes were the same emerald color as Harry’s, not Ginny’s vibrant brown. Harry had never noticed the likeness between Ginny and his mother. But there it was. Both had thick auburn hair and pale lightly freckled skin and they shared the same friendly smile, complete with a mischievous sparkle behind the eyes.

An overwhelming wave of emotion crashed over Harry as he stared at the photo in his lap. It was a mix of grief, anger and love and he couldn’t figure out where to direct any of it. In that instant he knew that he needed Ginny just as much as she needed him.

The sharp whistle of the tea kettle drew Harry from his silent reverie. He turned his head towards the door and saw a flicker of movement on the floor in the shadows. There was something hiding there, something slithering menacingly towards him.

“Who’s there?” Harry demanded in Parseltongue as he drew his wand.

“He has to be here. We’ve checked everywhere else and no luck. He just has to be here.” muttered Ginny biting her lip, as Ron and Hermione followed suite behind her to the front yard of the house.

She magically unlocked the door and the three of them entered inside the house. The moment they entered, a scream echoed off the walls.

“Harry!” they cried out in unison and rushed to find the source of the sound.

Arthur Weasley appeared with a pop with a flustered look on his face. He had just received Hermione’s patronus. Hoping all was well he hurried past the open door into the house. On entering all he could see was Ron, Hermione and Ginny weeping, huddled around a limp Harry who lay propped on the couch. On getting closer he could see that Harry’s arm was bleeding.

“We have to get him St. Mungo’s.” he said with a panicky tone in his voice. Taking Harry with him, he disappeared with a pop.

(Chapter I , Chapter II , Chapter III ,Chapter IV)

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Chapter 4: Birthday Surprises

(Chapter I , Chapter II , Chapter III , Chapter V)

Harry lay blissfully asleep after the nightmares had ended and had drifted off into a dreamless sleep. Someone gave him a hard rap on his head.

“Ow!” said Harry.

He got up rubbing his eyes. ‘Has it dawned already?’ he thought to himself thickly. He put on his glasses to see Ron, Ginny and Hermione goggling at him with a grin on their faces.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!” they shouted.

For the first time in many days Harry was happy. He wanted this moment to stay frozen forever. He was with his friends and that made him even happier for words. As he went down for breakfast accompanied by his friends, he saw that the table was laden with gifts. Harry couldn’t believe himself. His thoughts must’ve shown on his face because Ron said “It’s not everyday that a guy comes of age Harry.”

Harry smiled happily at everyone. He would never forget this day.

She slithered through the fencing and hid herself in the long grass and weeds in the garden. She gazed around taking in the smells of the night. Her tongue flickered in and out. She let out a soft hiss.

All the people he knew (even the ones he knew merely by sight) had gathered that evening in the Burrow (after Mr.Weasely had enlarged it several times its original size so that the living room now was the size of a quidditch pitch!).

The whole crowd was talking merrily as Harry started opening his gifts. Ron had given him a miniature quidditch set, complete with a quidditch stadium and two full quidditch teams.

Hermione’s gifts were two huge spell books entitled ‘Major Defensive and Offensive charms, hexes, curses and jinxes: Part I and II by Professor Vindictus Viridian’

Mr. and Mrs.Weasley had given him a watch just like they had given Ron the previous year, when he had turned seventeen.

She lay under the bed in the room which she had seen through her master’s eyes. She was lucky to have gotten into the house, lucky that the creeper grew past the window of this room, and this had made it possible for her to get into his room without anyone finding out. Now all she had to do was wait. Wait till the golden moment came and then her mission would be complete.

“Harry!” Ginny called out from the other side of the room. Her voice was barely audible over the noise of the crowd. But all the same it was loud enough for Harry to hear. He made his through the crowd and found her near the table in the kitchen. On the table sat a strange, oddly shaped package.

“It just appeared here Harry……with this.” She said holding up a feather. A phoenix feather.

Harry’s heart skipped a beat. What can this package be? If he had been right about Dumbledore’s demise, then this must have been sent by Dumbledore! Should he open it? Was it safe? His curiosity got the better of him and Harry opened the package. Harry removed the last pieces of wrapping paper to reveal a stone basin, with weird markings on it. A pensieve. It looked just like Dumbledore’s, except that it was slightly smaller. When Harry lifted it up to examine it a note fell down from it. Harry picked it up to read the contents of the note. It said

‘Use it well’

And that was all. Nothing else. This message sparked thoughts in Harry’s mind. It was the same message he had got from Dumbledore, when he had anonymously sent him his father’s invisibility cloak. Harry was sure that this was from Dumbledore.

“Harry….” said a voice behind him.

Harry had quite forgotten about Ginny on seeing the pensieve. He turned around and saw that she was smiling. She moved closer to him.

“I want to give you my gift for your birthday.” she said holding out a small package.

Harry unwrapped it and held a golden locket dangling in his hand. He opened it up to see the picture of Ginny and himself standing side by side playfully pushing each other, beaming. Harry looked up at Ginny smiling.

“Wow!” he said “I really don’t know what to say.”

“And that’s not all” said Ginny moving even closer to him.

Before he could realize what had happened, he and Ginny were locked in a tight embrace and were kissing passionately. How long they stood there they didn’t know, but neither wanted to stop.

“Ahem.” said a voice suddenly from the door.
They saw Lupin standing at the door, slightly bemused.

“How long has this been going on?” he asked, a bit seriously now.

“Er……we got together last year and then we broke up. Now we’re back together again.” muttered Harry grinning.

Ginny’s face had turned scarlet. She hurried out muttering a hasty excuse to Lupin and Harry. Lupin and Harry looked at each other and grinned. Harry fully appreciated Lupin’s company. He was the only one of his dad’s friends who remained. Pettigrew betrayed all of them. And Sirius…Sirius had died because of him. ‘Don’t think about that now!’ Harry scolded himself. Besides that Lupin was another person who, like himself, really suffered because of Dumbledore’s death. Dumbledore. Dumbledore would have trusted Lupin as much as he trusted Harry. Harry decided. Harry moved to the door, closed it and muttered “Impedoforo.”

He moved to the table and drew up chairs for both of them to sit. He motioned Lupin to sit down and then said

“Professor. I want to tell you something. Something about Voldemort….you know Professor Dumbledore used to leave Hogwarts …..and…and….” his voice trailed off as he thought about the locket and Dumbledore.

His mind always wandered away to Dumbledore. No matter what he thought about, he always ended up thinking about him one way or the other. And it was very painful as it reminded him of the things Dumbledore had done for him. All this made Harry hate Snape, loathe him and despise him. Anger surged through his veins. He stared out of the window for a moment and then turned back to Lupin. He told him everything he knew through Dumbledore about the horcruxes. Finally after he finished, Lupin said

”Hmm…so according to what Albus has told you, Voldemort had made seven horcruxes and you have destroyed the diary and Albus, the ring.” He said going over what he had learnt from Harry’s narrative.

“But you mentioned having found a locket that Albus thought to be a horcrux. What happened to that?” he asked

Harry slipped a hand to his pocket and drew out the locket. He held it out to Lupin, who took it and examined it.

“But, Harry….didn’t you tell me it was Slytherin’s locket? This possibly can’t be Slytherin’s.” He said, as his fingers fumbled to try and get it open.

Harry turned back and faced the pensieve. Lupin watched him draw out his wand. Harry placed it on his temple and when he brought it away from it, a silvery strand of memory clung to the wand tip. He dropped it in the pensieve and watched as the single, silvery strand swirled around in it turbulently.

He ushered Lupin forward and both of them placed their wands together in it and disappeared into the pensieve. A moment later they were back in the Weasleys’ kitchen.

“I understand now, Harry.” said Lupin looking at Harry.

“Better get this stuff back to your room” he continued, staring at the pensieve and the other remaining unopened gifts which Harry had received “I think someone might have noticed that we’ve been missing for the past half hour Harry. We better go join them now. Need any help?” he asked motioning towards the table.

“No. You go on. I’ll get these to the room and then join you.” said Harry

As Lupin left the room Harry moved the gifts on the table to his room with a flick of his wand. He then picked up the pensieve and then moved to the staircase and went up to Ron’s room. He kicked the door open and then placed the pensieve on his bed. He went back and locked the door. As he turned back towards the pensieve, he thought he saw something slither under his bed.

‘I must be getting sleepy.’ he thought, glancing at his watch.

He then moved towards the window and looked at the moon. The horcruxes were still out there. Safe and sound, tucked away in some unknown places, the places which he would have to find out soon. He realized the task ahead of him and felt glad that Ginny, Ron and Hermione were still with him. He turned back facing the pensieve. Harry quickly drew out his wand and held it in front of him like brandishing a sword. He cursed darkly. He had seen something slither under his bed, and now it was right in front of him. Nagini.

Harry’s mind quickly jumped back to what Dumbledore had guessed about Nagini.

“Why are you here?” Harry hissed out in parseltongue.

Nagini didn’t answer she just kept drawing closer to him, her tongue flicking in and out.

“He sent you here didn’t he?” hissed Harry again.

At this Nagini paused and hissed back “You stupid half blood scum. Took you long enough to realize, did it? My master knows all and I through him know everything. I am more than just his pet…” she paused again and glared at Harry.

“More than just his pet?” What Nagini just told him kept replaying in his mind. This confirmed Dumbledore’s speculation. Harry quickly brought his wand in front of him. Nagini slithered forward. Just as she lunged at Harry he disapparated momentarily with a crack and then appeared behind her.

All his hatred for Voldemort brought his anger out. He shot Nagini a look of pure loathing.

“AVADA KEDAVRA!” he shouted aiming his wand at the snake which lunged for him. Nagini fell on the floor baring her fangs. An unearthly shriek filled the house. Nagini then turned to ashes.

Harry’s wand fell on the floor. He couldn’t believe it. He had just destroyed another of Voldemort’s horcruxes. He had used the killing curse. He heard footsteps echoing on the staircase. Nagini had come here because of him. No. He wouldn’t endanger anyone anymore. He found parchment and quill and scribbled a quick message and threw it on his bed. He picked up his wand and pensieve. Someone banged his door. He heard muffled cries outside.

“Harry….open the door. Harry!”

Lupin moved swiftly through the crowd near the door and blasted it open. He looked around. No one was there. He walked to the window, opened it and peered out. He looked about the room, to try and find something that might give him a clue about what had happened. He glanced at the bed. As he did he noticed something flutter from it from the breeze that was now emanating from the opened window. He made a grab for it and caught it. It read

“Don’t look for me. I will return.”

(Continued)

(Chapter I , Chapter II , Chapter III , Chapter V)

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