“Ah, Professor Silverwood, I understand you wanted to see me?” Professor Dumbledore said as he entered the school’s hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was there as was Miss Shimmer and a couple of fairly large men from her airship. “And who are our guests?”

“Allow me to introduce to you my good friends Clyde and Dale,” Sunset offered.

“Professor,” Madam Pomfrey cut in. “We have some concerns.”

“Concerns?”

“Your hand.”

“My… oh, it’s just a scratch. Professor Snape is giving me something for it.”

“Professor Snape may be a confident potions master but he’s no healer,” Nova countered. “We’d like to see your hand.”

“And I suppose you’re a healer?”

“Among other things. I’ve learned many things in my years.”

“Professor…” Madam Pomfrey pressed.

“I assure you that I am fine.”

“Professor, were you perhaps thinking we were giving you a choice?” Sunset asked as she stepped forward.

“Now Sunset, we did say we were going to give him the opportunity to comply,” Nova chastised playfully.

“Perhaps I should go…” Dumbledore had barely turned when the door swung shut. None of his potential assailants had a wand in hand. The next thing out of his mouth was an eep as strange energy enveloped him, turned him back around, and forced his arm to shoot straight out exposing his rotting hand. Sunset was standing there with a hand out making an interesting gesture palm forward, thumb out, small finger about halfway down.

“Oh… my…” Madam Pomfrey said breathlessly. Nova walked around behind him and ripped his sleeve off. “Professor… what have you done to yourself?”

“Put on a cursed ring,” Nova stated. “Even though he was warned not to.”

“Aye, I did.”

“Where is it?”

“I… I don’t know. Madam Pomfrey is there… Miss, could you perhaps release me? I promise not to run away.”

“It has to come off.” Madam Pomfrey’s words fell on Professor Dumbledore’s ears like lead.

“What?”

“Where?” Sunset asked.

“Now hold on, Professor Snape’s potion…”

“Just above the elbow.”

Brrrzzzzz!

“Arrrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!”

Sunset had whipped out her lightsaber and snipped off the arm in an instant.

“My arm!”

“Crawling around on the floor!” Madam Pomfrey shouted at him. “Look at it! It’s down there trying to crawl away!”

Dumbledore found himself stepping back several paces on seeing his arm trying to pull itself across the floor.

“Never in all my days did I ever think I’d see wraith magic. That’s what that was. Even with potions it slowly takes over the host turning them into a slave of the master; a thing undead.”

Nova Silverwood willed up a massive ball of foxfire and cast it onto the arm which was slowly incinerated by the purifying fire. The sight of which had Dumbledore reeling. He was surprised to find himself being gently directed to a chair to sit down in. As for Madam Pomfrey, she went to her cabinet and retrieved a small vial which was then offered to Dumbledore.

“I always keep some for accidental dismemberment.”

“Accidental?”

“The infection having been removed with that weapon, you will be able to grow your arm back. You do want your arm back, don’t you?”

“I… I must confess I’m tempted to go without to remind me of my stupidity.”

“You really don’t know where the ring is?” Nova Silverwood asked as she finished torching the arm.

“I suppose there’s no point in hiding my foolishness anymore given you’ve already guessed which ring I found.”

“I tracked down the Gaunt estate and you’d already been there. Where is it?”

“I… I did a very stupid thing.”

“That much we know,” Madam Pomfrey stated with the vial still offered up.

“I don’t know what came over me. I thought I could see my sister again… and… I vaguely remember slipping the ring on. I was here. In my office, and the next thing I remember is finding myself in a gutter in London.”

“Which puts us right back to where we started,” Nova Silverwood spat out angrily. “But then again, you wanted Voldemort to return. Didn’t you? Well?!”

Dumbledore hung his head in shame.

“But, I thought?” Madam Pomfrey asked.

“If the ring should find a proper host, Voldemort will be able to control them through the ring.” Nova Silverwood explained stopping short of what the ring truly was. “The ring is an extension of the man. That’s why it was so important not to put it on. That’s why it’s so important to destroy it.”

“So, we are back to square one?” Sunset asked.

“Worse. Thanks to Aerie’s unique foreknowledge she knew where such items could be found. Having lost it, there is no knowing where or when it will turn up.”

Author's Note

Just a short chapter.

I just didn't want to leave the question of whether Dumbledore had the ring or not hanging until I started in again. It occurred to me, what if the ring was every bit as sentient as the diary? In the book, Dumbledore puts on the ring, gets cursed, takes off the ring, and destroys it. All nice and tidy off-screen action. The idea that the ring might be able to possess someone never factored in. Just one little change and suddenly Dumbledore's actions make far more sense and have far greater consequences.

It's raining today. I whipped out this short last night.
I'm thinking of just jumping to the final arch and will start writing again. Even so, it'll be a while before I've got anything ready.