Chapter 8 – Horcrux

As Verde instructed Leo, the time flew by. Neither of them noticed the hours pass as Leo soaked up knowledge. He was very easy to teach and – after first being shy about asking questions – very fascinated and enthusiastic about the subject.

His flames felt amazing once he learned how to find them. It had taken a while, seeing as they weren't stationary, but moved around the manifestation of his soul space. They eagerly hummed under his skin once he learned how to call them up, not unlike they had last time. They were a bit calmer now, though, and easier to control now he was being instructed on how to use them right.

Just as he was getting ready to call them up once more to practice moving them around his body, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Leo had lost his concentration, so his flames quickly receded. He stared at his hand in disappointment.

"Don't worry, Leo. We've already made tremendous progress today, far more than I'd have imagined. Doing much more might even have been dangerous. You are a very quick study.", Verde reassured him with a small smile and ruffled his hair.

Leo scowled indignantly. His hair was already messy enough as it was, thank you very much! But… the gesture was strangely intimate. It felt warm and comforting... He supposed he could live with it.

After one last fond smile, Verde schooled his face and nodded at Leo. It was time to end the lesson for the day.

"Come in!", Leo called out, having caught on. It seemed the Specialist was here.

The door opened, and Bob poked his head inside.

"Viper has arrived. Shall I ask them to come here?"

Verde looked at Leo in question.

To be honest, Leo wasn't very comfortable inside his rooms yet. He felt that until they truly felt like his, he would be even less so when meeting strangers inside them. His body language seemed to convey his thoughts well enough, seeing as Verde quickly refused the notion.

"Thank you, Bob. We'll meet them in the meeting room instead. They should be waiting there anyways, correct?"

Bob nodded in acquiescence and promptly excused himself to return to his duties.

"Now, before we go, here is your room key. Even though my employees know better than to enter private rooms without permission it's still better to be safe, rather than sorry. There's only one of them so don't lose it. Bob and I are the only ones with access to the skeleton key for the base and both of us will be notified, should it be moved. This means you can be sure nobody enters without our knowledge. You are expected to keep your space clean and orderly yourself."

Leo could only stare at the key in Verde's small hand.

His throat closed up and his eyes burned as the words and their implication truly sunk in. He was being entrusted with this. It would truly be his own space. His to decorate and to retreat to if the world just got too much. He hadn't quite believed it until now. But… the key was a physical representation of it. Finally, he had a place to belong, somewhere where he was accepted and WANTED.

Shakily he took the key and held onto it like it was the most precious thing in the world. For him it was.

"I…", he swallowed down the tears about to roll down his eyes once more. "Thank you. I will be careful with it."

Verde simply smiled at that and waved for them to get going.

If there was a skip in Leo's steps the whole way, neither commented on it.

It took only a glance for Leo to conclude that Viper was suffering from the same curse as Verde. They were both around the same size and he, too, had a pacifier around the neck, that was designed like Verde's, just in a different colour.

The biggest clue was, however, that the closer they had gotten to the meeting room, the more Verde's green pacifier had started to glow. So did Viper's.

As a result, Leo knew the other was probably at least a decade older than him.

"Leo, this is the specialist I was telling you about, Viper. They are a very busy individual, so I appreciate that they took the time to help us out."

"Nice to meet you, Viper, sir! Thank you very much for agreeing to help me!"

Not knowing how else to express it, Leo automatically bowed slightly in thanks to emphasize his words.

"Muu, as long as you pay me, it's fine. Verde wouldn't ask for my help if he didn't need it. Just Viper is fine, and this is Fantasma.", they introduced themselves, pointing at the frog crouching at the top of their cloaked head.

One couldn't quite tell if one didn't know Viper, but Verde knew they were pleased with the respect Leo had shown them. It wasn't rare for them to be treated like the toddlers they seemed to be, at first that is, which meant this was quite the pleasant change.

Not being able to see their face, due to the long black cloak covering their whole figure, was quite disconcerting at first. But Leo didn't believe Verde would call in a bad person, and their words seemed to confirm it for now.

"Now, Verde. Who is this and why did you ask for me this time?"

"This is Leo, my grandson. He has only recently come into my care. The reason you are here is the scar on his head. The healers can't tell what it is, only that it is foreign magic and Leo tells me he suspects it to have tried to harm him recently."

Verde didn't need to elaborate for Viper to understand their friend. This was a confidential family matter not involving their life in the Mafia. They nodded and proceeded to wave Leo over.

"I will examine it and tell you what I make of it. If I can't help, I'll only charge the consultation fee."

After receiving a nod from Verde in confirmation, Leo walked over and stood before Viper. They were sitting on a chair so the both of them were around the same height.

He lifted his locks so they could take a better look.

Not showing any outward reaction, Viper reached out with their right hand to trace the famous scar. They knew exactly who this was now. They would have some questions for Verde after this.

Leo felt a small tingling where Viper's hand was resting on his forehead. It lasted for around a minute before Viper took back their hand and nodded.

"The thing inside your forehead is something called a Horcrux." Seeing Leo's questioning look, they elaborated. "It's basically a cut off part of someone else's soul."

Verde went pale at the revelation, having made the connection as to just who's soul piece that was and frantically thinking over their options.

Leo just felt sick. One could lose a part of their soul? How did that even work? Regardless of that, it must hurt to not have all of it!

"C-can we return it?"

Viper simply stared at him in confusion for a second. Usually people would want to get rid of it, right? But in the end, it wasn't their decision, they simply got paid to help out, so…

"Not right now.", he said slowly.

"It's been tainted by magical backlash. Once it's purified, it's main soul can reassemble it if they wish. The process will be quite painful for you, however. It's been there for much too long to leave you unaffected throughout. In fact, the process will most probably induce severe side-effects that have a 50% chance of being deadly for you."

Leo gulped at that. He… didn't want to die. But he didn't want someone to hurt because of him either!

"Th-then what can I do? Not having a whole soul hurts, right?"

Viper simply shook their head at him.

"Muuu… It won't make a difference in this case. Judging from the size of this piece the owner has quite a few other pieces lying around."

"S-so we can't help them? The other pieces…"

"Leo", Viper interrupted, "As admirable as your desire to help is, the soul piece you hold wasn't left there on purpose. Even if it was, seeing as it's affecting you and you want me to do so, I am allowed to help you. But the others might have been split off intentionally. It isn't our place to judge."

Someone would intentionally do that? Oh god!

Leo stared at Viper in disbelief until the warm hand of his grandpa closed around his bigger one. He looked at him in understanding.

"There are some desperate people in this world", he explained quietly. "For someone to die, their whole soul must move on, or none of the pieces will."

Leo's eyes lit up in comprehension.

"So that's why…"

He shuddered. Living without his complete soul… he didn't even want to imagine it.

"Th-then what do we do? I don't want it to attack me again"

He hated how weak and helpless his voice sounded at that moment. He didn't want to be helpless anymore, he wanted, no, needed, to be able to help himself. But he couldn't right now. He didn't know enough.

At that moment Leo swore to himself that he would learn. He would live to learn so he wouldn't be helpless anymore, so HE was the one helping others, not the one needing it instead.

He clenched his fists and stared at Viper in determination. He would be free from the black chains first, then he could dedicate his attention to gaining knowledge, and getting to know his grandpa, fully.

"Removing it isn't an option. Instead, you will assemble it. There is a ritual that will start the process. It will slowly take its course over a year. You will feel an overall increase in your power level and senses, as well as your mental capacity as a result. There won't be any truly detrimental side-effects, seeing as the ritual itself shields you from those."

Leo discussed this option with Verde. In the end, both of them agreed it was probably for the best. He had been worried about the original soul. They wouldn't have a complete soul again after this! It seemed the only effects it would have on them were slightly dulled senses and a reduced mental capacity - supposing all other soul pieces had been returned, that is. This was due to the fact that the size of the soul would be permanently reduced by a little. Leo decided to go ahead with it after that.

Viper would return the next day with all the materials they would need and left Leo with strict instructions to memorize until then. Soon, he would be free.

It took Leo most of the evening to learn his part of the ritual by heart. When he was finally satisfied, Verde had him re-enact the whole thing once. Once he agreed Leo was ready, he was dead tired and was asleep before Verde even left through the door.

That night he had his first nightmare about that day. The day his relatives nearly killed him.

He woke up sweaty, entangled in his bedsheets and hysterical. For a few seconds he didn't know where he was, only that it was dark and ohgodhewasbackinthecupboard and he. Couldn't. BREATHE.

Then, with a sob he got air and the memories rushed back in. He was on his bed at his grandpa's place. He was saved. He clung to those memories desperately, went over them again and again, just so he didn't have to think about his dream. 'Then again… what if you aren't?', a scared little voice in his head asked. He hadn't known the guy long and he seemed to mask his emotions most of the time? What if how he acted around him was a mask too? He couldn't trust him.

Why had he been so trusting and innocent yesterday? Did he do something to him? Something to make him act and think differently? He didn't know.

He shuddered. No, he wouldn't be convinced this easily. He didn't want to be betrayed and hurt again.

Not even 5 minutes after he woke up, there was a knock on the door.

"W-who is it?"

"It's Verde. May I come in?"

His voice sounded oddly hesitant and soft. Leo narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Sure"

Verde made his way over to his side, worry clear on his face.

"Are you alright? The medication was supposed to wear off last night, so…"

Ah, that explained the nightmare then, and, he supposed, his own actions the day before. Relieved, he took a deep breath. He had forgotten about that. All the more reason to be suspicious though. With medicine like that, who knew what else Verde could make him do, or think.

Still, he wouldn't lie. This was someone who hadn't harmed him in any way yet, so he deserved honesty at least. Until he proved untrustworthy.

"Nightmare", he simply confirmed.

"Do you want to talk about it?", Verde asked uncomfortably.

"Not really. I'll be fine.", Leo denied, "Thanks."

His grandpa nodded, slightly relieved despite himself.

"There is a spell.", he offered. "it will let me know if you're having a nightmare so I can come and wake you, if you want. I'd have to apply it everyday before you sleep. Just let me know, alright?"

Relieved he didn't expect an answer right away, Leo thanked him for the offer. He wasn't comfortable with the idea of being under surveillance like that. Verde let him know Viper would be by in around 2 hours, so they had just enough time to get ready.

When Viper did arrive, they headed to a room Leo hadn't been to before. It was completely empty.

Viper nodded in satisfaction and instructed them on how to set up the ritual.

The three of them worked in silence, the two Evans both starting to feel the nervousness. What if something went wrong? There were uncountable things that could happen.

But… it was better than having the soul inside bide its time until it could harm Leo once again.

After an hour of setting up bowls and drawing runes on the floor, Viper was satisfied with the setup and shooed them outside. He would purify the room and instructed Leo to return in 10 minutes in only a bathrobe. He had to undergo the ritual naked, so no foreign material could interfere and cause it to fail.

Leo was understandably nervous about this. Nobody had ever seen him naked before. They would be able to see all his scars and know just how much of a freak he was.

It didn't matter that the doctors had probably seen them. He hadn't been awake for that and hadn't had to dread their reactions. This was different.

Was it worth it?

That was the question.

Leo had contemplated this repeatedly over the last 16 hours. He always came to the same conclusion. Yes, yes it was.

Verde squeezed his hand reassuringly, a silent support. He was thankful that he didn't say anything. They had talked about it in detail already, there was no need for meaningless chatter now. Seeing no point in waiting any longer, he took a last deep breath to calm himself. Leo stepped into the room, discarding the bathrobe outside on a stool.

Viper was waiting for him inside. There were two white stripes on their black hood he hadn't noticed before, running towards where he estimated their eyes to be. They stood out sharply in the dim light.

With a nod in his direction, showing they were ready, Viper waved Leo into the empty space in the middle of the room. The cleansing was first.

Leo couldn't tell how much time had passed. He figured he had been in some sort of trance for most of it, induced by the strange smells invoked by some incense Viper had burned for the cleansing. When his mind cleared completely, only the last step was left.

Recalling the instructions he had memorized, Leo sat up into a meditative position and burrowed his hands into the powder in the bowls on either side of him. Viper stepped in front of him and drew some runes on his forehead around the scar and his chest before making their way towards his back.

Despite having expected it, Leo still flinched when Vipers hand connected to his back. They didn't comment on it, simply wiped off the failed rune and started again, more carefully.

Once it was done, they began chanting. This was the hard part.

Leo closed his eyes and slowly connected to his core. He had to ensure it didn't fight Vipers magic or the ritual would fail.

It seemed his magic was quite agitated due to the earlier rituals and his own twitchiness beforehand. He didn't really know how to meditate properly. They hadn't had the time to really get him started on it. Instead, he simply tried to fully concentrate on his magic and only his magic.

The soothing red colour of his core, the power that had saved and healed him time and time again.

It was working, somewhat. He didn't fully calm it down, but managed to sooth it enough that it didn't lash out right away once Viper's magic entered the runes. That was enough.

His magic could make out the intention of the cursed infant and, since it wasn't on alert as it had been earlier, did not disrupt it on principle.

Leo relaxed fully at that. So far so good.

Just when he went to disconnect from his core, the black chains returned and struck.

He felt like cursing. He had let down his guard too early!

The chains seemed to be weaker than they were last time, at least. He could work with that. He couldn't let them close off his core.

It seemed they had gotten sneakier, however. Instead of attacking head-on and chaining his magic, they instead turned their assault towards his connection to his power. They were trying to kick him out! If he didn't consciously steer his magic, the chains knew they would win!

Leo gritted his teeth in anger and determination.

It was no use, however. The connection he had to his core right now was nearly severed, since he had moved to disconnect it earlier and the chains wouldn't leave him enough time to re-establish it.

With a last gasp of fear, Leo's world went black.

Author's Note:

There we go!

And it's a cliff-hanger too! You're welcome...! It was just way too tempting to stop there. My apologies my dear readers.

I hope you enjoyed this double release brought about by my forgetfulness.

Thank you to archerongoddess for proofreading this chapter as well!

Love you all and see you next time!