White Heather for Protection

Power of Seven

When Dumbledore flooed in as they were finishing up dinner, Heather caught Sirius' eye and gave him a significant look. He looked confused for a moment before his memory caught up with him. Nodding, he told her to bring Dumbledore to the Blue Room. It had recently been declared entirely curse-free, showing that the walls, which were previously thought to be a drab grey, were instead a nice shade of pastel blue. She mouthed a 'later' to the others when they shot her perplexed looks. She'd tell them about it later.

"Professor Dumbledore?"

He turned towards her, smiling his usual twinkly-eyed smile. "Yes, my dear?"

Heather rolled her eyes internally. "Could Sirius and I have a word with you please? We found a suspicious item while cleaning the house and would like to request that you take a look at it. Sirius has gone to get it."

"Of course! I would be delighted to." He gestured for her to lead the way. As they walked, he commented, "I find myself anticipating this artefact of yours. The Blacks had something of a reputation. I used to be quite the collector of odd knick-knacks myself."

"Yes, your office has a lot of interesting objects, sir."

"Oh, do you have a favourite? I am rather fond the remembrall which glows strobe lights. Much more eye-catching than the typical red smoke, do you not think?"

"Indeed, sir," Heather said politely. She didn't even know what Dumbledore had in that in his room. It was all just a messy pile of contraptions to her.

"Albus!" Sirius greeted when they entered the room. Remus was with him, holding the glass case with the locket. After the obligatory pleasantries, Sirius' smile slid off his face, replaced with a solemn look. "We have this locket that just absolutely reeks darkness, but even Bill couldn't find out what was wrong with it." He grimaced sheepishly. "I was thinking of just chucking it out, but Heather pointed out how dangerous that would be."

The old wizard nodded sagely. "Yes, that would not have been the wisest decision. Could I have a closer look at it?"

Remus handed the box to him. "We thought it best not to touch it." Dumbledore nodded distractedly, gaze fixed on the locket.

Heather watched with interest as he paled dramatically and clutched at the box tighter. Somehow, there was a bizarre mix of horror and excitement in his eyes. Abruptly, he flipped the box open and touched it. She could feel a huge clash of magic emanating from that single point of contact. She jerked forward, as if to stop him, but halted her steps. Of course, what did she know compared to the century-old wizard? If he thought it was fine to touch it, then who was she to stop him? The man nodded grimly to himself, withdrawing his hand and shutting the box up tightly. The oppressive magic lingered in the air, causing her to frown. And after they had finally cleared this room, too.

Dumbledore seemed to have aged a decade after his contact with the locket. His blue eyes were dimmed with exhaustion, his shoulders slumped over slightly.

"Would you like to take a seat, Headmaster?" Remus asked worriedly.

"No, that's quite alright, my boy," Dumbledore sighed. "Just a little drained. I know what this is. It doesn't surprise me that none of you could figure it out. Fret not, I know how to destroy it."

Heather's eyebrows raised incredulously. Destroy it? Why not just remove whatever it was on the locket? It was probably a precious antique. "Is there no other way to neutralise it, sir?" She knew it sounded a little impudent to question his decision like that, but she was honestly curious.

"Unfortunately, Heather, such a spell cannot be rid of unless the vessel is destroyed," he answered mournfully. He looked at her, grief shining in his eyes. She shifted on the spot, unsettled by the depth of his emotion for what she believed was just a simple locket. It didn't seem like they were just talking about the piece of jewellery anymore.