For the Heir

Letters

Hedwig hooted again worriedly, then nipped affectionately and reassuringly at her master's ear. She stuck out her talon, to which three letters were attached. Harry immediately realized Ron's untidy scrawl and Hermione's neat print. The letters reminded Harry of the dream (or nightmare) he just had. His stomach started feeling queasy remembering the blood on the walls and the beaten-up forms of Ron and Hermione hanging from the dungeon wall. He set the letters aside, along with the knife, which he was loath to touch.

The third letter was from Remus Lupin. Harry flicked it open and started to read.

Dear Harry,

How have you been doing? Are you feeling all right? Has your scar hurt at all? How have you been holding up? Any nightmares? There's not much I can say, for fear that this letter will be intercepted, but Voldemort has been lying low for the most part, only attacking a few ministry officials and such. We are worried that he is planning something big, since he should have started attacking all-out once he was known to have returned. We are using this time to prepare. Also, Cornelius Fudge has stepped down after admitting that he discredited Voldemort's return. You will find out the details in today's Daily Prophet. The three candidates for office are Arthur Weasley, Avery, and Dolores Umbridge. As you can probably tell, we are pushing for Arthur.

Keep in touch, and respond within a couple of days, so we can be sure you are all right. Tonks and Moody say hello. Write to us if your scar burns or have any Voldemort-induced nightmares.

-Remus

Harry looked incredulously at the letter, almost forgetting for a moment about the knife. Dolores Umbridge as Minister of Magic? Harry supposed she had "recovered" and returned to the ministry by now. And she was enough to deal with as Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, but as the Minister herself? That would be so much worse than Fudge. Fudge was a bumbling idiot, yes, but Umbridge would be... just horrid. And Avery? They might as well let Voldemort himself be Minister. Harry was surprised he still wasn't recognized as a Death Eater, but probably wormed his way out of trouble the same way Malfoy did most of the time: bribery. Harry sincerely hoped Mr. Weasley received the position.

Taking another glance at the dagger, Harry shuddered, looked away, and started to shuffle through his school supplies for a quill, ink, and parchment for a return letter. The Dursleys had been extremely frightened of Harry this summer, even more so than when they though Harry's murderer godfather would come after them. This time, they saw the wizards and witches behind Harry, threatening him, and so they let him go and do wherever he pleased, lest he bring the wrath of a bunch of "those freaks" upon them.

Harry started to write, hoping his shaky handwriting wouldn't betray his fear.

Dear Remus,

Really? Umbridge? And Avery? I hope Arthur wins as well!

You told me to tell you if my scar hurt. It did, last night. I can't tell you much other than Voldemort tried to convince me to kill myself. And the scary thing is, when I woke up, I had a dagger in my hand. When I touched it, it was almost like the Imperius Curse, except stronger. And the word Slytherin is carved on it, kind of like Gryffindor's sword. I've enclosed it here.

-Harry

Harry looked over the letter and the dagger, still shaking slightly. He took a deep breath and opened Ron's letter, willing himself not to think of the nightmare.

Dear Harry,

How are you, mate? You would not believe it around here! Fred and George have been accepted into the Order! Now they've been assigned to make dangerous materials (pranks) to use on the Death Eaters! They've been working nonstop on inventing, and the joke shop's going great! Dad was nominated to be Minister along with Avery and Umbridge! Hope he wins because Avery's a Death Eater and Umbridge is a b****, if you don't mind my saying so. ('My sentiments exactly!' thought Harry.)

We're going to stay at Headquarters for a while, so no one will attack Dad while he's running, and Hermione's coming in a few weeks, too. We're hoping you'll come as well; we can all hang out together.

How're the Dursleys treating you? Has your scar hurt? Write back soon!

-Ron

Harry smiled thinly. There was a glimmer of hope for him- to go see Ron and Hermione, but at Grimmauld Place? That was Sirius's home, and he didn't want to think about Sirius. He reached for the last letter.

Dear Harry,

How are you? Any dreams? Remember to report it to the Order if you have!

I've haven't been really busy, just finishing up homework and such. ('Now? Summer's just begun!') I'm really anxious to see my OWL scores- it's so exciting! I hope I did well! ('We all know you did fine, Hermione. You probably have the highest score in all the classes you take.') Ron's invited us to Headquarters, are you coming? Write back soon!

-Hermione

Harry shook his head. It was just like Hermione to still be worrying about OWLs now. Harry took out a piece of parchment.

Dear Ron and Hermione,

I'm responding to both of you at once. Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry. The Dursleys are just ignoring me now. I had a dream last night, but don't worry, I told Remus. Can't wait to see you guys! Yeah, I heard about the elections. Ron's right, Umbridge is a b**** (sorry, Hermione) and Avery would be putting the Ministry in the palm of Voldemort's hand. We're all crossing our fingers for your dad, Ron. Can't say too much in the letter. See you soon.

-Harry

Harry folded up the letter and scribbled, "Ron and Hermione," on it. He rummaged under the loose floorboard, finding an almost empty box of chocolate frogs. He ate the last couple, then carefully placed the dagger inside, trying to touch it as little as possible.

"I'm sorry to send you out again so soon, but this is important. Take this letter and the box to Remus, Hedwig, and this one to Ron and Hermione," said Harry, stroking Hedwig and attaching the parcels. She hooted, nipped his finger, and flew out of the window again.

Harry sighed, touching the cut from the dagger, before ambling downstairs to get some breakfast.

Hedwig returned the next morning with Remus's reply. Harry sat on his bedside and started to read.

Dear Harry,

We need to talk. The Order met last night to discuss your link with Voldemort and find out about the dagger. Tests are in preliminary stages, but we've found the dagger did indeed belong to Salazar Slytherin. You see, each of the Founders had a knack for a particular weapon, and each of them had the weapon custom-made. Gryffindor's was a sword, as you have discovered. Ravenclaw had a bow and arrow set, Hufflepuff a quarterstaff. Slytherin possessed a set of two daggers, which only a person of Slytherin blood can yield, in this case Voldemort. If Voldemort sent you that dagger through your link with him, as long as the link was activated and you held the dagger, you would have been forced to kill yourself. So be careful! I know I sound like Moody here, but CONSTANT VIGILANCE! The dagger in question is now being tested for poison, to be specific, basilisk poison, which we suspect the blade was dipped in, so be sure to tell me when you respond to this letter whether or not it pierced your skin. We'll be coming to get you soon, so don't be afraid if you hear Tonks knocking something over when we arrive in a few nights.

-Remus

Harry gasped. Poisoned? Basilisk poison? Well, why wasn't he dead by now? He reached to touch the dagger's cut again, just to find that there wasn't a cut on his chest. Could he have been just imagining the graze of the dagger on his skin? And the dream of Voldemort? Wait a minute... what dream? Everything was fading, fast. What dagger? What was the letter talking about? Why couldn't he remember any of it?