“Feel like some company, Harry?� Neville asked.

“Sorry Neville, but I’d like to be alone for a while,� Harry said.

“It’s Okay Harry. I understand,� Neville said as he backed out of the compartment.

Harry stared out the window of the carriage as the train slowly pulled out of Hogsmead station. He didn’t know if he would ever be back this way again. He didn’t know exactly what he was going to do. His plans to visit Godric’s hollow and to start searching for the remaining Horcuxes that held the evil bits and fragments of Lord Voldemort’s black soul were very vague. He didn’t want to think about it. How could he learn more about Voldemort without Dumbledore to teach him? How could he find those Horcruxes without Dumbledore to guide him? How could he survive when the most powerful evil wizard of the century wanted to kill him and Dumbledore couldn’t protect him anymore? Harry didn’t want to think about it.

He could hear Neville’s voice, out in the corridor, telling other students to move on down to the next carriage, telling them the compartment was full. That was a bit of a white lie since Harry was alone in the compartment. And it was a bit of a nuisance too since the train was quite full. There were not only students on board but also a lot of people who had attended Dumbledore’s funeral. But Harry didn’t want to be with anyone just now. He stared out the window as the train moved south through the Scottish Highlands. They passed mountains and woods, pastures and villages, lakes and rivers and Harry stared out the window and saw none of it.


An hour later the train slowed down as it passed through Edinburgh. Harry wondered what the Muggles saw. Surely not a bright red antique steam engine pulling old fashioned passenger carriages loaded with sorrowful wizards. They probably see a goods train pulled by a modern diesel locomotive, he thought. Would their world be disrupted if he was killed and Voldemort took over? Would the Death Eaters be free to do as they pleased to Muggle women and men if Harry failed? He didn’t want to think about it.

There was a knock on his compartment door and then it slid open. Harry was expecting Ron and Hermione but Professor McGonagall stepped into the room.

“Are you alright, Potter?� she asked.

“Yes, I’m fine,� Harry muttered looking away from her.

“You’re not a very good liar, Harry,� McGonagall said gently. “I have an important matter to discuss with you.�

“Okay,� Harry sighed.

“You need stay only a fortnight with the Muggles Harry, and then we’ll help you move to your own house at Twelve Grimmauld Place. But the safety of your house has been compromised by the defection of Severus Snape. He knew the location of the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix,� she explained. “We must put a new Fidelius charm on your house. Professor Flitwick is aboard the train. He’ll help us with the charm.

“I didn’t know Professor Flitwick was in the Order of the Phoenix,� Harry said in surprise.

“He hasn’t been,� McGonagall said. “Dumbledore tried for years to convince him to formally join the Order, but he was afraid of getting involved. However the recent attack on Hogwarts, with Professor Snape attacking him, has pushed Professor Flitwick right over the edge. He’s not sitting on the fence anymore.�

“That’s good,� Harry said flatly.

“You need to think about who you want to be your secret keeper,� Professor McGonagall said. “Choose carefully.�

“Dumbledore used to be the secret keeper,� Harry said thoughtfully. “Who is going to be the new leader of the Order of the Phoenix?�

“We haven’t decided that Harry,� McGonagall said with a sigh. “Alastor Moody and Remus Lupin both say they don’t want the job. Kingsley Shacklebolt has a very important job with the Ministry of Magic and can’t take on the leadership of the order. I certainly don’t want the job. But your secret keeper doesn’t have to be the leader of the Order, or even an adult. One of your most trusted friends would be appropriate.�

“You think I should choose Ron or Hermione to be my secret keeper?� Harry stated.

“You must choose someone who is willing to die to keep your secret safe,� McGonagall said sternly.

“I don’t want any of my friends dying for me!� Harry stated emphatically.

“Of course not, Potter,� McGonagall said bluntly. “You wouldn’t even want a Muggle auror, or bobby, or whatever they’re called to die while protecting you. But you need a secret keeper who is serious about the job. You want someone whose loyalty is unswerving, who’s smart enough to avoid capture and who won’t be organizing surprise parties at your house and telling a lot of people how to get there.�

“Loyal…Smart… No parties…You think that I should choose Hermione to be my secret keeper. Don’t you?� Harry challenged her.

“As much as I like Ronald Weasley, I do think Hermione Granger is the more reliable of the two,� McGonagall confirmed.

“I’ll think about it,� Harry said.

As Professor McGonagall left, Harry had to admit to himself that she had a point. Perhaps he would ask Hermione to be his secret keeper. He didn’t want either of his two best friends to be in danger. If he gave Hermione the responsibility of being his secret keeper, it would force her to keep herself safe. She couldn’t take any crazy risks if she had to avoid the danger of being captured. Ron on the other hand was more easily distracted. If Harry didn’t want Ron following him, it would be easier to trick him.


About a half an hour later the door of his compartment slid open again and Ron came in.

“Harry, have you seen Hermione?� Ron asked.

“No I haven’t,� Harry answered feeling a bit worried. “Wasn’t she patrolling with you and the other Prefects?�

“She was in the meeting when the train pulled out of Hogsmead,� Ron replied. “But as soon as we started patrolling the corridors she dodged into the loo and I haven’t seen her in over an hour.�

“She wouldn’t be in there that long,� Harry said. “She must have come out, and you just missed her. I’ll help look for her.�

“Thanks Harry,� Ron said. “I’ll search the carriages to the rear. You search the carriages to the front. I’ve already searched the whole train once, but I could have missed her.�

Harry moved methodically towards the head of the train, looking in every compartment as he passed. He found her in the second carriage ahead of the one he was riding in. She was sitting in a compartment with Lavender Brown, Katie Bell and Demelza Robins. She looked up at Harry when he entered. He could see that she had been crying. Lavender was patting her on the back.

“You can talk to her later,� Katie said sharply as she pushed Harry back out into the corridor and shut the compartment door behind her.

“What’s going on?� Harry asked her.

“Hermione’s very upset about Dumbledore’s death,� Katie explained. “She needs a little while to pull herself together.�

“Hermione’s still friends with Lavender?� Harry said in disbelief.

“They have been room mates for six years,� Katie exclaimed. “Of course they’re friends.�

“But… I thought… you know… Ron…� Harry stammered.

“Lavender is still very upset about breaking up with Ron,� Katie informed him. “But she’s not mad at Hermione anymore. It’s not really her fault, you see.�

“I don’t get it…� Harry said in confusion.

“You and Ron are both good Quidditch players,� Katie said. “But I don’t see how you do it, seeing as you’re both blind!�

Katie abruptly turned her back on Harry and went back into the compartment with the other girls, shutting the door firmly as she went. Harry looked up and down the corridor in confusion, wondering what he had missed. Why was Katie so angry at him? Girls…he thought. They’re all mental. He turned to head back to his own compartment but had moved only a few steps when he heard the door of the girls’ compartment open behind him.

“Harry!� Katie called.

Harry turned around to face Katie again.

“Be careful this summer,� she said, her face etched with concern.

He trudged back to his own compartment wondering what was up with Katie. Why was she angry at him one second and concerned about his safety the next? That was too complicated to worry about. What was up with Hermione? He trusted her to not talk about the Horcruxes. They were all upset about Dumbledore’s murder. Snape was a treacherous bastard. Maybe Hermione was worried about the possibility of Hogwarts closing.

Ron returned to Harry’s compartment a few minutes after Harry got there.

“She’s not in the back part of the train,� Ron said anxiously. “Did you find her?�

“Yes, I found her,� Harry said. “You can stop worrying about her. She’s hanging out with some other girls. I guess she doesn’t want us around while she’s crying.�

“She’s still crying!� Ron said in surprise. “The funeral was hours ago. I’ll go see what’s bothering her,� he said as he got up and edged towards the door.

“Stay here Ron. She’ll be alright with those girls,� Harry said forcefully. “Lavender was patting her on the back.�

Ron abruptly stopped moving and slowly turned towards Harry with a grimace on his face.

“Lavender’s patting her on the back?� Ron said in disbelief, as he glumly sat down.

“They have been room mates for six years. I guess they’re friends,� Harry said dubiously. “Parvati left before the funeral. Maybe Lavender doesn’t have anyone else to sit with.�

“I wonder what they’re talking about,� Ron said in dread.

“You’re probably better off not thinking about it,� Harry said grimly.

They sat in silence for several minutes.

“I talked to Ginny,� Ron said.

“I don’t want to talk about it,� Harry said forcefully. “I have my reasons.�

There was another long and awkward period of silence. Harry realized that if he waited long enough, Ron would bring up some subject like girls or Voldemort or Horcruxes that he didn’t want to talk about. It would be better to head him off.

“How about a game of Wizard’s Chess?� Harry asked as he got out the box.

“I don’t feel like playing chess now,� Ron muttered.

There was a knock at the compartment door.

“It’s alright,� Harry said unenthusiastically. “You can come in.�

Harry didn’t know who to expect, but he would never have expected Percy Weasley.

“Hello Harry… Hello Ron…� Percy said politely as he entered the compartment and sat down next to Ron, across from Harry. He seemed totally oblivious of the fact that both Harry and Ron were looking at him as if he was a particularly large and disgusting cockroach. “It’s been a dreadful turn of events,� Percy said shaking his head. “How are you doing Harry?�

“Are you here on official business?� Harry snarled, while Ron just glared at Percy.

“Very astute,� Percy replied. “I am acting under orders from the Minister of Magic, but it’s a friendly visit.�

“I’ve got nothing to say to you Percy,� Harry said bluntly. “Mr. Scrimgeour talked to me after Dumbledore’s funeral, and I had nothing to say to him.�

“You should be more polite to Mr. Scrimgeour,� Percy said. “He is the Minister of Magic.�

Harry just grunted.

“Would you like a Butterbeer?� Percy asked, as he pulled several frosty bottles from a pocket in his robe that showed no sign of being filled with such bulky items.

“No thank you,� Harry said coldly. He thought Percy was being unusually casual and friendly. Scrimgeour probably told him to act like that.

“Your caution is quite understandable,� Percy said, pocketing the bottles. “You don’t know who you can trust. You-Know-Who has spies everywhere, even in the Ministry of Magic. Mr. Scrimgeour understands that. Dumbledore kept his cards close to his chest and so must you. How do you even know that I’m really Percy Weasley? I could be a Death Eater just trying to get close to you. You should ask me a question that only the real Percy Weasley could answer, just to be sure that I am who I appear to be.�

“Wouldn’t it be easier for us to just throw you out?� Ron asked bitterly. “Then it wouldn’t matter if you’re the real Percy or not.�

“Ronald, that is no way to talk to a brother who is trying to help your best friend,� Percy said pompously.

“Last year you sent Ron a letter,� Harry interrupted. “What did you advise him to do?�

“I… well… I told him… to confide in Dolores Umbridge…� Percy stammered, “and to sever ties with you.�

“Dear Sweet Dolores,� Harry said angrily. “Dolores Umbridge sent Dementors to kill me in Little Whinging and she tortured me to try to keep me quiet and yet she still has a nice job at the Ministry.�

“All right!� Percy said loudly, holding up his hands as if in surrender. “Ms. Umbridge was acting without authorization when she sent the Dementors after you. She wasn’t arrested for that offense because there’s not much evidence against her. You haven’t made a public stink of it. And I wouldn’t advise you to do so. It would come down to her word against yours, and she has friends on the Wizengamot. And as for the rest of it…well…we made a mistake! The official Ministry position at the time was that you were lying about You-Know-Who coming back. I was loyal to Mr. Fudge. I’m sorry about that letter.�

Harry didn’t know what to say, so he just turned his back on Percy.

“Look, I’ve apologized,� Percy said. “It’s a difficult thing to do, you know. But Mr. Scrimgeour suggested that if I had offended you I should apologize. He wants things to be smooth between us.�

“Your boss ordered you to apologize?� Harry said with a sneer. “Isn’t he the fellow who’s still chums with Fudge and Umbridge?�

“Mr. Scrimgeour is keeping Mr. Fudge and Miss Umbridge at the Ministry so he can keep a close eye on them,� Percy explained. “They’ve both suffered demotions. Ms. Umbridge works in the Art Department now. She prepares illustrations for Ministry brochures. She’s lost her big office. It’s my office now, but I haven’t been permitted to change the decorations. All those damn kitty-cats are supposed to remind me that I could be tossed out of that office very quickly.�

“Why are you here Percy?� Harry asked with a snap.

“I’m just here to talk to you,� Percy said. “Mr. Scrimgeour wants to help you. We want to keep a channel of communication open. That’s all.�

“Fine. You’ve talked to me,� Harry said impatiently.

Percy reached over and took the Wizard’s Chess box from Harry.

“How about a friendly game of chess Harry,� Percy asked abruptly.

“I don’t feel like playing chess now,� Harry said irritably.

“I’ll teach you a variation of the game,� Percy said coldly. “I’ll be the dark forces,� he said placing the black king on the board. “You-Know-Who is the king. I’ve got some Inferi to help me,� he said as he set up a row of pawns. “And I’ve got the Death Eaters,� he stated as he put the black castles on the board. “And I’ve got werewolves and giants on my side too,� he placed the black knights and bishops by his king. “Now who is the black queen?� Percy asked. “There’s no evidence that You-Know-Who cares about any woman, although he might occasionally perform unnatural acts with a large snake…�

Ron snorted in an attempt to a choke a laugh.

“But I think we’ll say the black queen represents his spies,� Percy concluded.

“Her Royal Highness the Queen, Severus Snape,� Ron snickered.

“You’re the good guy Harry,� Percy said ignoring Ron. He put the white king on the board, facing the black pieces all alone. “Tell me about your army. Do you have anyone to help you or do you like the way the board looks now?�

Harry said nothing.

“Where’s your castle?� Percy asked holding up a white rook. “The Dursley’s house?�

“I can’t tell you,� Harry said thinking of Professor Flitwick and the old Black family home that was now his.

“You’re always welcome at the Burrow,� Percy said putting the rook back in the box and picking up the white queen. “Ginny would be happy to see you. But of course, you broke it off with her.�

“Who told you all that?� Harry demanded to know.

“Gossip about who Harry Potter snogs or invites to parties, travels very fast and very far,� Percy said. “There are dozens of women working in the Ministry who follow every bit of gossip about Harry Potter like it mattered to them personally. Some of them are almost old enough to be your grandmother. And as for you breaking up with Ginny, I saw you talking to her after the funeral and just guessed about what you were saying.�

“It’s none of your business,� Harry scowled.

“The queen’s an important piece, powerful, she has to be used and sometimes sacrificed,� Percy said deliberately. He pondered the white queen for a moment. “You don’t want to endanger Ginny. It’s not Luna Lovegood or Cho Chang… Hermione Granger perhaps?�

Percy ignored Ron’s snarl.

“I don’t need a girlfriend,� Harry said bitterly. “I don’t want a girlfriend! I don’t want to endanger anyone. And it really is none of your business!"

“Well at least you’ve got Ron on your side,� Percy said tossing the white queen back into the box and putting a single white pawn on the board.

Ron jumped to his feet and held up his fists.

“Oh alright, settle down. We’ll let Ron be a knight,� Percy said in exasperation, replacing the pawn with a knight. “It’s still a rather uneven game, isn’t it?�

“I don’t want to play games with you Percy!� Harry said angrily. “Just get to the point and get out! I want to be alone now.�

“There are people in the Ministry of Magic who want you to win Harry,� Percy said as he dumped the chess pieces back into the box. “That’s all that I have to say.�

Percy left the compartment without saying anything more and Harry said nothing else to him.

“Git!� Ron exclaimed after the door closed behind Percy.

Harry stared out the window and ignored Ron. Percy’s point was painfully obvious but Harry simply couldn’t trust anyone at the Ministry of Magic. Percy admitted that Lord Voldemort had spies there. If Voldemort learned that Harry was searching for the Horcruxes, he could move them. He could hide them in places that were even worse than the cave by the sea. He could use one as bait to lure Harry into a trap. Even if Harry found and destroyed all of them, if Voldemort found out about it before Harry could finish him off, he might make some more. Harry couldn’t trust Percy or Scrimgeour because they would tell people in the Ministry and one of them might be a spy for Voldemort. Harry had to keep the fact that he was looking for the Horcruxes an absolute secret. Dumbledore had never told Tonks or even McGonagall what he was up to and Harry had to be just as secretive. Harry didn’t like Percy and Scrimgeour anyway.

“Ron,� Harry said to his friend, after casting a Muffliato spell. “You must never tell anyone, including Ginny, anything about Horcruxes. Don’t even say the word. Let’s call them chamber pots from now on, because of the awful stuff that’s inside them.� Harry carefully explained to Ron why absolute secrecy was essential. He planned to have the same conversation with Hermione even though she had probably thought it all out already.

Harry sat in silence all of the rest of the way back to London.

Ron got bored after a while and went to look for Luna and Neville, but he returned to Harry’s compartment shortly after the train passed Cambridge.

The sun was getting lower in the west and the train was approaching the outskirts of North East London when Hermione came into the compartment. She gave Harry a sad sort of smile and sat down next to him.


Authors Notes:
In chapter 24 of HBP (pgs. 513 – 514 of the American edition), Hermione grabs Ron’s arm. She does this to stop him from thoughtlessly drawing attention to the three of them while Harry is talking about Voldemort’s Horcruxes during Charms class. Lavender glared at her and Hermione immediately let go of Ron’s arm. This does not sound like a girl who has finally gotten the boy of her dreams to notice her. It sounds like a girl who does not want a misunderstanding with her roommate.

“Are you alright?� Ron asked Hermione.

“I’m better,� she said quietly. “I’m very sad and I’m worried about a lot of things. But I’ve been talking to Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick and that helped.�

Harry gave her a quizzical look.

“I didn’t say anything about the items you are looking for,� she added hastily. “Not to anyone. I’m worried about my parents. Muggles are so vulnerable. Professor Flitwick charmed an owl so it could fly real fast and he got word to my parents to not meet me at the station. They’ve been told to get out of the house for a week and hide in a hotel until I can get some proper protective charms put on our house. I’ll be staying with some members of the Order for a few days.�

“That’s good,� Harry said. “If you’re the only witch in an unprotected house you wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.�

“We might need some information from the library this summer,� Hermione continued speaking to Harry, seeming to ignore Ron. “You know… about… the items.�

“They’re called chamber pots,� Ron said, grinning.

“Professor McGonagall agreed to let me return to Hogwarts whenever I need to,� she said. “She’s giving me a part time job as an assistant librarian. I’ll also get an official pass that will allow me to enter the Ministry of Magic Archives on Hogwarts business. They’ve got some books that aren’t found in the school library about Dark Magic. I didn’t tell her why I needed those privileges, but she agreed to do as I asked. �

“That might be useful,� Harry admitted.

She put her hand on Harry’s shoulder.

“You have to live with the Dursleys for two weeks Harry,� she said with a sigh. “But you are not going to sit around doing nothing all day,� she added emphatically. “Action, motion, that’s what you need Harry. And whatever happens, remember that you’re not alone.� She gave Harry a gentle squeeze on the shoulder and added almost as an afterthought, “Isn’t that right Ron?�

“Absolutely Harry,� Ron agreed. “We’re with you all the way.�

Harry imagined a chess board that had a white king and two other pieces facing the whole black army on other side. It would be better if he was alone, he thought.

“So did you have a nice chat with Lavender?� Ron asked Hermione as he looked around the compartment in a failed attempt to appear nonchalant.

“I didn’t want her to go home with wrong ideas about me,� Hermione said. “The magical community is really like a small town you know. And between Rita Skeeter, Dolores Umbridge and Marietta Edgecomb, I probably have enough enemies.�

Ron was silent. Hermione stood up and looked out the window. They were approaching King’s Cross station now.

“I wish no one had wrong ideas about me,� she said with a sigh.


Harry, Ron and Hermione were met on Platform Nine and three quarters by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Fred and George. Ginny, who had gotten off the train with Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom, came running up the platform.

“We’ll be taking Ron and Ginny home,� Arthur Weasley said to Harry. “With six of us we should be pretty safe. Remus and Tonks will be seeing that you get home Harry.�

“I’ll be sending you an owl to let you know the plans for Bill and Fleur’s wedding,� Ron said to Harry. “And don’t you go running off to Godric’s Hollow without me!�

As the Weasleys walked away, a group of six wizards and three witches approached Harry and Hermione.

“Harry,� Remus Lupin said. “Nymphadora, Dedalus and I will be taking you home.�

“Remus, please don’t call me Nymphadora,� Tonks said. “Harry, I’ve got a car from the Ministry. We’ll be driving it to the Dursleys’ house.�

Dedalus Diggle picked up Hedwig’s cage and the four of them made ready to leave.

“Just a second,� Harry said to the others. “I want to say good-bye to Hermione.�

Harry walked over to where Hermione was standing with Professor McGonagall, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Professor Flitwick, Mad-Eye Moody, Sturgis Podmore and Hestia Jones.

Hermione glanced over towards the magical barrier as the Weasleys vanished then she looked at Harry. “You didn’t give Ginny a kiss good-bye,� Hermione observed.

“I broke it off with her, just after the funeral,� Harry said sadly.

“Why?� Hermione asked. “She’s pretty and brave. She cares about you and she’s a good Quidditch player.�

“I don’t want her to be in danger,� Harry said.

“I thought so,� Hermione said.

“It looks like you’re in good hands,� Harry said.

“I’m part of Professor Flitwick’s escort,� she said smiling. “I’ll contact you when we get your house ready. If you don’t hear from us in three days, contact Ron. Don’t come to Twelve Grimmauld Place until you hear from us.�

“I’ll see you soon,� Harry said.

As Harry walked out to the car with his three bodyguards, he remarked to Lupin, “Hermione has quite a group protecting her.�

“There’s a possibility of them running into Severus Snape at Twelve Grimmauld Place,� Lupin said grimly. “Or more likely, he may have gone there and set traps. But there’s safety in numbers. Hermione wants to learn how to put a strong Fidelius charm on her parent’s home. Flitwick will teach her the best.�


Harry arrived at Four Privet Drive as the Dursleys were sitting down for dinner. They had set the table for three and seemed very disappointed when they learned that Harry would be joining them for the meal.

“You got in a bit later than usual,� Uncle Vernon observed. “Are your people having trouble getting their trains to run on time? Maybe they’re not quite up to handling railway operations in a normal fashion. �

“The train left the school a bit later than usual today because Dumbledore’s funeral was this morning,� Harry said.

“Dumbledore?� exclaimed Harry’s overweight uncle. “Wasn’t he that old codger that picked you up last year? What did he die of? Was it slow and painful?

“He was murdered by a dark wizard,� Harry snapped angrily. “A teacher at the school, a man we trusted, ended up being a follower of Lord Voldemort.�

Aunt Petunia dropped the bowl of mashed potatoes splattering Dudley heavily. She stared at Harry in open mouthed horror. They all understood that Dumbledore had cast the spells that protected their home from the Dark Lord.

The rest of dinner passed in cold silence. Harry didn’t want to talk and the Dursleys were too afraid to say anything. The evening passed in silence also as Harry sat in his room. For lack of anything better to do, he let Hedwig out to go hunting and then opened a schoolbook to see what he could learn about the Fidelius charm. But he couldn’t concentrate on the spellwork and ended up just pacing around the room. He heard his Uncle turn on the television to watch the late news. Harry knew that the war in the wizarding community sometimes spilled over and affected Muggles. There might be some news about the war with Voldemort even if the Muggles didn’t recognize it for what it was, so he trudged downstairs.

“I doubt if there will be any news about your kind of people on the telly tonight,� Uncle Vernon said unpleasantly.

“I hope not,� Harry said, “but I’d like to catch the weather forecast.�

His Uncle grunted and focused his attention on the television screen. Then he shifted his backside a few inches in his chair as if that would put him farther away from Harry.

“A shocking multiple murder shakes Northwest London this evening,� the news reader began. “Kingsley Shacklebolt, secretary to the Prime Minister, and a woman in his party were killed at the dinner hour this evening when they were ambushed in a Northwest London Alley.�

Harry nearly fell out of his chair as a photograph of the tall black Auror flashed on the television screen.

“Blacks in the government, Humph!� Uncle Vernon muttered. “Probably up to something crooked.�

The scene shifted to an eyewitness report, a man was standing beneath a signpost that said Grimmauld Place and talking into a microphone held by a reporter.�

“I ‘eard some crackin’ noises that could ‘ave been gunfire� the man said. “There was a lot of shoutin’, and flashin’ lights. Then when it quieted down, I came out here real cautious like. There was four dead bodies in the alley. This black fellow and his girlfriend was over there and there was two dead men over that way. And there was this group of people that was runnin’ away. They just disappeared real quick-like.�

“Did he say a girl was dead?� Harry asked in a panic. “Or was it an older woman?�

“What’s it to you?� Uncle Vernon snarled.

The scene shifted back to the news reader.

“Police say Mr. Shacklebolt’s party was attacked by two assailants who managed to kill Mr. Shacklebolt and a female companion before they were killed by return fire from other members of the Shacklebolt party. The Prime Minister’s office declined to offer an explanation for Mr. Shacklebolt’s presence in the alley, but a spokesman for the Minister said that Mr. Shacklebolt’s service to the government had been exemplary and that his presence would be sorely missed.�

The news reader moved on to a story about a multi-car accident near Reading, and Harry dashed out into the garden. He scanned the sky and the trees and quietly but urgently called for Hedwig. He found himself hoping that Hestia Jones had been murdered. It was a sick thing to hope for, and he felt ashamed of himself for thinking of it. She had been a member of his escort two years ago. But there had been only three females in the group with Kingsley Shacklebolt: Hestia Jones, Professor McGonagall and… and… Hermione.

Where was that owl?

Harry searched the sky and the trees in the garden once again for Hedwick. Then he moved around the house keeping in the shadows as much as possible. When he made it to the front of the house he looked up and down the street.

“Hedwig!� Harry whispered urgently. “Hedwig, where are you?�

Hermione had been with Kingsley Shacklebolt when their group had been attacked. Harry had to know what had happened. He considered trying to apparate to Twelve Grimmauld Place, but he was under age and hadn’t passed his apparition test. Then he remembered that a member of the Order of the Phoenix lived just down the street. He started off towards Mrs. Figg’s, but had passed only a few houses when a snowy white owl landed on his shoulder.

“Hedwig! Good girl!� Harry whispered to the owl. “I’ve got to send a message to Hermione right away.�

Harry had no parchment or quill so he had to dash back to his room to write the note:

Hermione,

I saw Shacklebolt on TV.
What happened?
Are you OK?

Harry

He stuffed the note into an envelope and hastily addressed it simply: Hermione. Then as an afterthought, with a sense of dread, he added: or Professor McGonagall. He tied the note to Hedwig’s leg and sent her off into the night sky. Then he sat down heavily on his bed to wait sleeplessly for a reply.





Author’s Note:
In chapter 24 of HBP (pg. 514) Hermione calls Ron a “Coward� and in chapter 25 (pg. 536) Hermione rolls around laughing when Ginny insults Ron’s manhood by saying that she told Romilda Vane that Ron had a Pygmy Puff tattoo. Most girls who have a crush on a guy don’t go around insulting his manhood. Maybe, just maybe, Hermione doesn’t have a crush on Ron.

Chapter 3 House Keeping Chores


For the first three days of summer vacation Harry tried to avoid spending much time in any room that was occupied by a Dursley. He tried to avoid talking to the Dursleys or bumping into them or even allowing them to see him at all. That seemed to suit them just fine. Now that Harry was about to come of age and was a trained wizard they were less confident about forcing him to do chores in order to earn his meals. But without being asked to do so, he mowed the grass and pulled some weeds just to get out of the house. He figured that if he sat in his room he would think about Dumbledore and all of the others and he’d get depressed.

He had received a reply to the urgent note he had sent to Hermione on his first night home, within a few hours. Her letter sat open on his desk. He had read it several times because he hadn’t heard anything from anyone else since.

Dearest Harry,

We were attacked the moment we apparated by two of the Death Eaters who had been involved in the fight at school. A big blond fellow killed Mr. Shacklebolt before we knew what was happening. Hestia Jones was also hit almost immediately. Mr. Moody and Mr. Podmore killed the Death Eaters with a spell you absolutely must learn.

Please don’t worry about me. We are safe for now, though saddened by the sudden loss of Mr. Shacklebolt and Ms. Jones. On top of Dumbledore’s death, this a great blow to the Order. We haven’t fully come to terms with the horror of this new reality yet.

It seems that Snape left your house just moments before we got here. We think the two in the alley were acting as his lookouts.

The house is full of traps. We’ve cleared the front hall and the kitchen so we’re all camping in here tonight. We’ve put up a new barrier to stop intruders. Mr. Lupin has arrived to help. The Weasleys sent an owl with a promise to be here to tomorrow. Professor Flitwick is clearing the traps out of a bathroom. I hope he hurries.

I’ll contact you as soon as we’re ready to put a proper Fidelius charm on your house.

Yours,
Hermione


That treacherous bastard Snape had filled his house with traps. His friends were risking their lives by cleaning out his booby-trapped house while he sat here doing nothing. He wondered what spell Moody and Podmore had used on those two Death Eaters. They would certainly not use Avada Kedavra, it was an unforgivable curse. But whatever they used, it was fatal. Harry couldn’t wait to learn it and then use it on Snape.


Harry picked up The Daily Prophet for about the tenth time that day. The news was still mostly about the deaths of Dumbledore, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Hestia Jones. There were rumors of sightings of known Death Eaters and a story about some mysterious damage to trees that was attributed to giants. The only thing interesting in the paper was a picture of the Holyhead Harpies in their new Quidditch outfits. The league wanted to have their uniforms banned for being too revealing. He took another good look at the Harpies, but even with their sexy uniforms they couldn’t distract Harry for very long. Harry needed action. He needed motion. Hermione was right once again.

“Potter!� Harry’s Uncle Vernon called.

Harry walked downstairs to see what his Uncle was shouting about.

“There is a telephone call for you,� his Uncle said staring at him suspiciously.

“Hello,� said Harry.

“Hi Harry, it’s me, Hermione,� said a familiar girl’s voice. She sounded a bit out of breath and there was a lot of noise in the background. “I’m sorry to not get back to you for three days. I hope you haven’t been too awfully worried, but things in the house were worse than we thought they’d be.�

“Is everyone alright?� Harry asked.

“We’ve had some scary moments and some minor injuries. Sturgis Podmore had to go to St. Mungo’s. But we’re all fine now,� she said.

“Where are you?� Harry asked.

“Paddington Station,� she answered. “We’ll come get you tomorrow morning.�

“I thought I had to stay here for two weeks,� Harry said.

“You have to live at the Dursleys’ house for two weeks, but you can get out for a few hours during the day,� Hermione said.


At nine the following morning there was a knock on the front door.

“Don’t those people know how to use the bell?� Uncle Vernon grumbled.

Harry easily beat his corpulent uncle to the door. He glanced through the peep hole and saw Hermione and Remus Lupin waiting on the steps.

“Where’s you wand?� Lupin asked Harry as soon as the door was opened. “You should always have it out when you open the door and you should ask us some question that only we can answer before opening the door.�

“You sound like Mad-Eye Moody,� Harry said with a smile.

“Mr. Moody sounds more and more sensible everyday,� Hermione said in Lupin’s defense. “And it’s not because he’s getting less paranoid. Ask me a question Harry.�

“Alright Hermione,� Harry said, “What did you smell when you inhaled the vapors of Amortentia in our first potions class with Slughorn?

“Oh Harry!� Hermione exclaimed rolling her eyes. “Alright,� She sighed, “I smelled cut grass and fresh parchment.� She started to blush a bit.

“And what else?� Harry said teasingly?

“You don’t know and you don’t need to know!� Hermione said defensively, turning redder.

“I’ll bet it’s Ron’s brand of soap,� Harry said chuckling.

“No, that isn’t it! Now I’ve answered your question so let’s get going,� Hermione said in frustration.

“How are we getting there?� Harry asked.

“I heard you could apparate,� Lupin said.

“Sort-of,� Harry said, “I haven’t passed the test yet.�

“You can legally apparate side-by-side with either one of us,� Lupin said. “But I would assume that you would rather hold hands with Hermione than with me,� he added with a chuckle. “Let’s move into the parlor so none of the neighbors will see us dissapparate.�

Harry moved into the living room and looked back at his friends. He had expected to see Lupin limping slightly, but he was surprised to notice that Hermione was leaning on a cane as she moved down the hall.

“What happened to you?� he asked her.

“I fell off a stool,� she said in disgust. “It wasn’t enchanted at all! But Snape had cut two of the legs nearly all the way through, and he had put an enchanted music box on top of a wardrobe. The box wouldn’t move when I used a summoning charm, so I used the stool to get to the music box and it collapsed on me.�

“Snape’s a clever bastard isn’t he,� Harry said as Remus Lupin dissaparated with a loud CRACK.

Hermione was looking at him and holding out a hand. Harry hesitated. The only person he had ever apparated with was Dumbledore, and that thought made him sad.

“It’ll be alright Harry,� Hermione said quietly. “I know our destination. All you have to do, is to be determined to stay with me.�

“Yes, yes,� Harry irritably. “We’ll deliberate together and probably get dumped in a dirty derelict dustbin or some dumb d-thing like that.�

He took her hand and they were sucked into a tight rubber hose that transported them to an overgrown vacant lot not far from Number twelve Grimmauld place. Apparating was very uncomfortable and Harry hated it. He was surprised to hear Hermione giggle.

“What’s so funny?� he asked her.

“We were deposited in the dirt surrounded by dozens of darned dandelions,� she said with a mischievous smile.

“Delightful,� he said.

“You sound depressed,� she said grinning.

“Oh stop that,� he said smiling back at her.

“Your house is no longer at Number twelve Grimmauld Place,� Lupin informed him. “We changed the name of the street to Greenfield Way.�

“You can just change the name of a street?� Harry asked in surprise.

“We just changed the wizard’s name for the street. The Muggles have always called this street Grunnell Court,� Lupin said.

“Grimmauld Place was a name used just by Wizards, and then only wizards who knew the secret,� Hermione explained. “We changed your house number too. The new address is Number twelve and seven sixteenths Greenfield Way.�

“Twelve and seven sixteenths! Why not just Twelve and a half?� Harry asked.

“Professor Flitwick was afraid that if we moved it that much we’d crush a peony bush,� Hermione said.

When they got into the house they were greeted warmly by Ron and Ginny, who were there with their mother helping in the final bits of cleaning. Professor Flitwick came striding down the hall.

“Harry! Good to see you! I’m ready to put the new Fidelius charm on your house,� the little professor said. “Have you selected a secret keeper?�

Harry’s reply was drowned out by a burst of shrieking and swearing from the portrait of Mrs. Black. So Flitwick and Harry retreated to the drawing room with Harry pulling on Ron’s arm.

“Ron, you are my best mate,� Harry began, “but I’m going to make Hermione my secret keeper and I wanted to tell you why.�

“Well, alright,� Ron said sounding a bit disappointed.

Harry glanced over at Professor Flitwick before continuing. The Charms Professor moved a few feet away.

“Ron, I might be going to some dangerous places in the next few months,� Harry said quietly. “Ginny doesn’t know what I’m up to, and I want it to stay that way. I want her to stay out of danger. Hermione already knows too much, and she’s stubborn. If I make her my secret keeper, she’ll feel obligated to be extra careful, so she doesn’t get captured. I want her to stay out of danger too. Do you agree with my reasoning?�

“Well, yeah, I guess so,� Ron said unenthusiastically. “But it’ll make it harder to arrange for a surprise party.�

“Would you please tell Hermione to come in here, Ron,� Harry said patting his friend on the back and leading him to the door.

A minute later Hermione came into the drawing room.

“Are we ready?� Professor Flitwick asked?

It took only a few minutes for Harry and Hermione to make the necessary vows while Flitwick cast the protective charm. Soon Hermione Granger was the only person besides Harry who could tell anyone the secret that would allow them or enter or even to see Harry’s house.

Harry and Hermione then went around the house and told everyone the new address so if they left the house, they could get back in. Harry made sure that he personally told Ginny his secret address, but she didn’t seem a bit happy that Hermione was Harry’s secret keeper.

That morning the house was a scene of chaos as people ran around cleaning, destroying enchanted traps and repairing the inevitable damage that occurred in the process of battling choking chairs, smothering sofas and toothy toilets. The constant swearing and shouting coming from the painting of Mrs. Black was really beginning to annoy Harry. He was pulling the curtain over it for about the fourteenth time when Hermione, who had been glancing out the front window every few minutes as if she were expecting someone, suddenly announced, “Daddy and Mr. Weasley are back!�

Harry saw Arthur Weasley and Mr. Granger standing next to a Range Rover that was parked by the curb about a half a block down from Harry’s house. The two men had confused looks on their faces.

Hermione hobbled out the door to tell them the address of the house. They had been there earlier that morning but the new charm made it impossible for them to remember the address.

“The Muggles will see them if they try carrying in that drywall without using magic!� Moody snarled. “It’ll look pretty strange if two men and a sheet of dry wall just disappear in front of their eyes.�

“What is Mr. Granger doing here?� Harry asked in surprise.

Moody ignored Harry and cast a Disillusionment spell on himself. The door opened and closed. Harry assumed that Old Mad-Eye had gone out to help Mr. Granger and Mr. Weasley bring in whatever they were bringing in and to cast the spells that would make sure they weren’t seen by the neighbors.

“They’re going to build a false wall in front of the portrait of Mrs. Black,� Remus Lupin said. “There are enchantments on that painting that prevent us from removing it and we can’t just conjure a permanent wall in front of it either. But that curtain helps, and it is completely non-magical! Mr. Granger agreed to help us build a Muggle-style wall in front of the painting using no magic at all. Professor Flitwick thinks it should keep Mrs. Black quiet for a long time.�

Harry spent the morning helping Mr. Granger build the false wall in front of the painting.
Mrs. Black kept up a tirade of insults and curses aimed at halfbreeds and blood traitors and filthy mudbloods all of the while. The only respite they had from her foul mouth was when she learned that Mr. Granger was a Muggle. She had such an apoplectic fit that she couldn’t even speak for a whole minute. Mr. Weasley tried to help with the construction of the wall too, but Mr. Granger had to take the drill and screw driver away from him.

“We don’t want to run down the batteries,� Mr. Grainger explained. “There are no electric outlets in this house so I can’t recharge them.�

“How marvelous! Eclectic tool with batteries!� Mr. Weasley exclaimed enthusiastically

Being an old Gryffindor student and thus brave, Mr. Weasley wouldn’t let a little pain stop him from learning how to use a Muggle hammer. By mid-morning he was beginning to get the hang of it, but Molly was getting tired of having her work in the kitchen interrupted by his frequent calls to have her cast a healing spell on his thumb. Hermione was much more helpful. She could actually hit a nail with a hammer.

After lunch, Flitwick called Hermione into the kitchen saying he needed a small person to retrieve some evil enchanted items that were hidden in a tight corner.

Harry was just finishing up a long cut on a piece of drywall (using a hand saw with a plastic handle that delighted Mr. Weasley) when Hermione came out of the kitchen. She was clutching the quilt she had given to Kreacher for Christmas. Her face was white.

“Kreacher had a chamber pot in his den,� Hermione said in a shaky sort of voice.

“I’ll bet that smelled bad,� Harry said.

“Harry, come with me please, I want to show you this,� she said insistently.

She looked very stern (even though she had said please) so Harry left the wall building project to Mr. Granger and Mr. Weasley and followed her to the drawing room where the tapestry embroidered with the Black Family Tree hung.

Hermione said nothing but she opened the quilt to reveal a large locket. Harry recognized it immediately. He had seen it two years ago when they were cleaning out this very room. And he had seen it more recently in Dumbledore’s pensieve. It was Slytherin’s locket. Hermione had one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes in her hands.

“What was that doing in my house!� Harry asked in awe.

“It must have been brought here by R.A.B.� Hermione said as she carefully laid the Horcrux on the drawing room table. She looked at the tapestry for a few moments and said, “R.A.B. was Regulus Black!�

“Wow!� Harry exclaimed. “I didn’t expect to find one so soon.�

“What are you going to do with it Harry?� Hermione asked trembling.

“I’ll destroy it, of course,� Harry said.

“Yes, but how will you do that?� she asked. “None of us could open it when we found it two years ago. What if opening it activates some horrible curse like the one that withered Dumbledore’s arm?�

“I’d bet Snape really made Dumbledore’s arm worse rather than better� Harry said bitterly. “Just like he messed with my mind during those occlumency lessons. He was opening me up, making it easier for Voldemort to plant visions in my head.�

“Still, Snape aside,� Hermione persisted, “How do you destroy a Horcrux? I’m not sure if it’s even safe to touch it.�

“I don’t know,� Harry admitted. “A Basilisk fang worked on Tom Riddle’s Diary. But I hope there’s another way of destroying a Horcrux. There was still venom in that fang, and I don’t want to fetch a fresh Basilisk fang every time we find a Horcrux.�

Harry decided right then and there that he didn’t want anyone else, not even Ron, to know that he had a Horcrux in his house. So he cast a Colloportus charm to lock the door of the drawing room and Muffliato spell to keep their conversation unheard. After a bit of discussion Harry and Hermione agreed that they would have to hide the Horcrux until Hermione learned the proper way to destroy one. The safest place to keep it would be right there in Number twelve and seven sixteenths Greenfield Way. So they put the locket into a drawer at the bottom of one of the glass fronted cabinets and Hermione proceeded to put every sort of locking charm on the drawer that she could remember. Then she put a permanent sticking charm on the cabinet so no one could move it. Then she put an imperturbable charm on the cabinet so no one could smash it open. When Harry was satisfied with the security arrangements he removed the Muffliato spell and the locking charm on the door and he and Hermione left the drawing room.

Harry was pleased to see that the wall in front of the portrait of Mrs. Black was complete and he was even more pleased that he didn’t hear her nasty shrieking and cursing. Mr. Granger had brought a couple of gallons of white paint which would really lighten up the old hallway. They started to paint without using magic, mostly for Mr. Weasley’s benefit, but when Molly Weasley announced she had tea and cakes they charmed the paint brushes and let them finish up the job on their own. This delighted Mr. Granger.

Ron was strangely quiet while they had their tea and Ginny was not there at all.

“Where’s Ginny?� Harry asked.

“I’m surprised you care,� Ron said in a rather angry tone.

Harry thought Ron’s attitude was strangely sour, but he supposed Ron had been arguing with Ginny or his mother or had encountered a nasty trap while cleaning the last room upstairs.

“I like the way the hall is looking,� Harry said smiling. “I think I’ll paint the whole place bright cheerful colors.�

“What were you and Hermione doing in the drawing room?� Ron asked.

“Oh nothing,� Harry said lamely. “I mean… nothing you need to worry about. We were working on a little secret project. It’s of no concern to you. Don’t worry about it.�

Harry’s answer did not seem to improve Ron’s mood.

After tea the Weasley’s left for the Burrow. Hermione cleaned up the mess in the hall with a wave of her wand. Mr. Granger took Harry back to Number four Privet Drive since he and Mrs. Granger were staying in a hotel not far from Little Whinging.


On the following morning Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin picked up Harry in a car they borrowed from the Ministry of Magic and they all went to Hestia Jones’ funeral. After lunch they went to Kingsley Shacklebolt’s funeral. Altogether it was not Harry’s favorite day of the summer.

A few days later Harry got another telephone call from Hermione. This time he was invited over to her house for dinner.



AUTHOR’S NOTE
In chapter 15 of HBP (pg. 305 of the American edition), Hermione tells Harry that Ron is “at perfect liberty to kiss whomever he likes,� and that she “really couldn’t care less.� Hermione is clearly angry about something, but are you certain that she is angry about Ron being with Lavender? Are you certain that Hermione is telling Harry a lie? Is there an alternative hypothesis that might explain her anger at this moment? I think Hermione is angry at Harry over the Felix Felicis incident. (See my short fic entitled: The Moment That Was Not for my thoughts on that question.) Alternatively, the girls that were plotting to give Harry a love potion may have her bothered.

Chapter 4 Secret Keepers


Harry met Hermione at Mrs. Figg’s house just before the dinner hour. It was a good place for them to meet because Mrs. Figg always enjoyed the chance to see Crookshanks and her garden was a good place for wizards to apparate without being seen. Harry didn’t much care for apparating but it was the fastest way to get to the Granger home, and since he had promised Ron that they would take their apparation tests together as soon as he was seventeen, practicing side-by-side with Hermione seemed like a good idea.

Harry was surprised to learn that he was not the only wizard invited for dinner. Professors Flitwick and McGonagall were already there and in the middle of a conversation with Hermione’s parents when he arrived.

“…yes I would have to agree with part of what Professor Flitwick says,� Professor McGonagall said authoritatively. “Hermione certainly is bright enough to be in Ravenclaw, and perhaps brighter than any witch of her age who happens to be in Ravenclaw…�

“OW! I’m stung!� Flitwick interjected.

“…but her bravery is such that she definitely does belong in Gryffindor,� McGonagall continued, ignoring Professor Flitwick’s exaggerated act of pretending to be outraged. “I think she showed that in the alley last week.�

“She was brave in the alley?� Hermione’s father said in surprise. “What happened in what alley?�

“No, don’t talk about the alley!� Hermione whispered covering her face with her hands.

“When those two Death Eaters attacked us and killed Kingsley Shacklebolt and Hestia Jones, she…� Professor Flitwick began.

“Hi everybody!� Hermione said brightly, pulling Harry into the living room. “Harry’s here! We had no trouble at all. Harry’s getting very good at apparating and he’ll probably be an expert by the time he gets to take his apparation test!�

“Hello Harry! It’s good to see you again!� Mr. Granger said enthusiastically shaking Harry’s hand. Then he turned back to Professors Flitwick and McGonagall and in a more serious tone of voice said, “Hermione’s mother and I had not heard that she was at the scene of Mr. Shacklebolt’s murder.�

Professors McGonagall and Flitwick exchanged thoughtful glances while Hermione turned red.

“I imagine there are a lot of stories that Hermione has not told you,� Harry said coolly.

Mr. Granger looked at Harry appraisingly and slowly turned towards Hermione. She looked away from her father.

“And we’re all in agreement that we don’t want her getting into any more dangerous situations. Right?� Harry finished.

Mr. Granger turned back towards Harry, looked him in the eye, and after a few seconds he said simply, “Yes.�

Hermione however had spun back around to glare at Harry with a look of defiance on her face that reminded Harry of the time he had tried to leave her with Luna, Ginny and Neville in the forest and go to the Ministry of Magic with Ron alone.

“But of course, protecting Hermione and you fine people is why we’re all here this evening,� Professor Flitwick interjected. “I’ll be placing an unusual modified form of the Fidelius charm on your house. This will make it impossible for wizards, witches and magical creatures to enter or even see your home. They won’t even be able to read your address in the telephone directory. But it will have no effect on the perceptions of Mug…ah… non-magical people.�

“And now that Harry is here Professor Flitwick can begin,� Professor McGonagall said.

“You were waiting for me to get here?� Harry exclaimed. “I thought I was just coming for dinner,� he said turning towards Hermione.

Hermione’s defiant glare quickly vanished and she began to turn red again.

“Oh… Harry,� she stammered, “I’m sorry…I meant to talk to you about this… before the conversation got this far along. I thought… I hoped… Since I’m…Oh…�

It was so rare for Hermione to stumble over what she wanted to say that Harry found her embarrassment amusing, he had to fight the urge to laugh at her.

“Would you be my secret keeper Harry?� she blurted out quickly. “It’s an easy job. You won’t have to tell anyone how to find this house…No wizard needs to know…I trust you...�

Harry couldn’t think of any reason why he shouldn’t do it. If he was killed the secret of her parents address would be very safe. If he was captured, Lord Voldemort wouldn’t bother torturing him for Hermione’s address.

“Alright, I’ll be your secret keeper,� Harry said.

“Thank you, Harry,� Hermione said with an audible sigh of relief.

It took only a few minutes for Professor Flitwick to finish the job. The spell was cast and the vows were said and Harry was the only person besides Hermione who could tell a wizard or witch how to find the Granger’s house. Then they all sat down to eat the wonderful meal that Mrs. Granger had prepared.

“So what did Hermione do in the alley?� Harry asked Professor Flitwick.

“She stepped right in front of me and cast a perfect shield spell,� Flitwick replied.

“And fortunately Mr. Moody and Mr. Podmore killed the bad wizards before they had a chance to do any more harm,� Hermione interjected. “Oh and Harry, you’ve really got to learn the spell they used!�

“What did they do?� Harry asked.

“It’s actually a very complicated spell that few wizards ever master,� McGonagall said, “for it is a combination of a transfiguration and a charm.�

“The caster must simultaneously transfigure some air molecules into a lead ball and charm the ball to fly at a high rate of speed at the target,� Flitwick explained.

“The true advantage of the spell is the brevity of the incantation,� McGonagall added.

“Positively monosyllabic,� Flitwick said.

“What do you do?� Harry asked. “Point your wand and say BANG?�

“Harry, I believe you would have done better on your O.W.L.s if you had been sorted into Ravenclaw,� Flitwick replied with a smile.

“Not that again!� Professor McGonagall said rolling her eyes.


Harry had to spend another whole week at Number 4 Privet Drive before he could move to his own house but his friends didn’t want him to have to sit around doing nothing. So Hermione and Ron made arrangements to visit Godric’s Hollow in mid-week. Remus Lupin agreed to be their guide.

Harry’s trip to Godric’s Hollow began the same way his trip to Hermione’s house had. He walked to Mrs. Figg’s garden. There he listened to her talk about cats and he helped her hang a heavy carpet on the line. They had a glass of lemonade while they waited for the others to arrive. At the appointed time Mrs. Figg began beating the carpet so the neighbors wouldn’t notice the loud cracking noises of the apparating wizards.

“Oh Ron,� Hermione said rolling her eyes in irritation as soon as she and Ron appeared together. “No one will see you holding hands with Mr. Lupin. This way, both you and Harry get to practice apparating three times, twice with me and once with Mr. Lupin. That’s fair isn’t it?�

Ron reluctantly let go of Hermione’s hand and took Remus Lupin’s. They vanished with a loud crack while Mrs. Figg skipped a beat in whacking her rug.

“Next stop, Godric’s Hollow,� Hermione said cheerfully, holding out her hand.

“Are you sure you know the destination?� Harry asked.

“Remus took me there this morning,� she replied. “Are you properly determined?�

“I thought I was supposed to be distracted,� Harry joked.

“Only if you want to learn what splinching feels like,� Hermione said with mock sternness.

Their landing zone was a secluded clearing in a small woodlot about a half mile from the village of Godric’s Hollow. Harry and his friends followed Lupin out of the woods and into a small cemetery that was next to a peaceful little country church.

“Your parents were married in that church,� Lupin said. “There were about as many Muggles at the wedding as Wizards. All of Lily’s relatives were non-magical. Your Aunt Petunia caught the bouquet. Your mother was very special Harry. There are about a million children born every year in Britain, but only one or two of the children from Muggle families will be able to manipulate magic. Lily was brilliant, kind-hearted and brave, though she could be a bit on the bossy side. She was a better prefect than I was.�

Lupin stopped next to an ordinary tombstone. It was nicer than some but not as nice as others.

Harry contemplated his parents’ graves. Their dates of birth were different though both were born in 1957. Their date of death was October 31, 1981. They were only twenty four when they were murdered, just Tonk’s age. They all stood around in silence for a few minutes.

“Are you alright Harry?� Hermione asked.

“Yeah, I’m alright,� Harry said in a flat tone. “I didn’t really expect to learn anything here. But it’s good to see that the cemetery is well maintained.�

“Are you sure you’re alright Harry?� Hermione asked again.

“Yes, Why?� he asked slightly irritated.

Hermione turned away, as if she couldn’t face him, but she pointed to a nearby stone. The style of the stone was identical to the one belonging to Harry’s parents. The names on the stone were Joseph and Mary Potter. They had been in their late fifties when they both died on the same day: July 31, 1981.

“Your grandparents were never in the Order of the Phoenix because of your grandfather’s position at the Ministry of Magic. But I understand that they helped in the fight against Grindelwald in the 1940s,� Lupin said. “They were murdered Harry, along with Lily’s parents. Your Aunt Petunia never forgave the wizarding community for that. They had a party at a local pub. The Muggles think it was a bomb set off by the IRA. You and your parents were late for the party. They were waiting for Sirius.�

“Oh Harry,� Hermione said with a tear running down her cheek. “That makes me so angry! Those people murdered your grandparents at your birthday party. That’s just… it’s so… it’s not human!�

Hermione gave Harry a hug while Lupin and Ron patted him on the back. Then they silently left the cemetery. Lupin took them into the village and showed them a nice pub.

“Their house was here,� Lupin said pointing to the pub. “That statue of Lord Wellington in the little park over there is really a statue of Godric Gryffindor. A wizard can see it by turning around to the left twice. There are several magical families living around here.�

They trudged back to the secluded clearing in the woods and Ron apparated to the Burrow with Hermione.

“Well, that’s Godric’s Hollow,� Lupin said. “I haven’t been here in years.�

“Thanks for bringing me,� Harry said. “I don’t know what I was expecting.�

“Closure perhaps?� Lupin asked.

“My family is part of the past,� Harry said in a dull and cold tone. “Revenge is the future.�

“Harry, what you must do is very difficult. Not just because destroying Voldemort is a complex and dangerous undertaking, but because it is hard to kill a fellow human being, even if that person is completely evil,� Lupin said. “I’ve seen you in action. You are motivated to help people, to protect them. You are at your best when you are motivated by love, not hate. You won’t be at your best if you let yourself sink to their level. You will destroy Voldemort. But you must do it to protect your friends and your community, not for revenge. That isn’t you.�

“But I do hate Voldemort!� Harry shouted. “And I want revenge!�

“You will kill Voldemort,� Lupin said. “But when you are done, you will need to come back to us. You will want to be able face decent people again, people who aren’t killers. And you’ll be able to do it. Because, in spite of all that Voldemort has done to you personally, you will kill reluctantly, to protect others.�

Harry and Remus Lupin stood in silence for a few minutes before attempting to apparate to the Burrow. Too much anger can hinder one’s concentration and lead to splinching.



Remus Lupin said good-bye to Harry and left the Burrow soon after he and Harry arrived.

“I promised to meet Nymphadora for lunch,� Lupin said with a crooked smile.

Harry looked around for Ron and Hermione, but they were not in sight. Ginny however had heard the cracking noise of wizards apparating and was walking towards him.

“Hi Harry!� Ginny said with a look of concern on her face. “Did you go someplace dangerous?�

“No,� Harry said unenthusiastically, “we went to Godric’s Hollow so I could visit my parents’ graves.�

“Why didn’t you take me with you?� she asked.

“Well… Ginny…� Harry stammered. “We apparated there.�

“Harry, that’s a pretty lame excuse,� Ginny said in a hurt tone. She turned and went back into the house.

Harry stood and looked around for a moment before he decided to walk over to the old broom shed to see if he could find Ron and Hermione. He heard them before he saw them.

“I care about both of you. You’re my friends,� Hermione said. “Harry wouldn’t break up with a brave girl like Ginny in order to protect her and then turn right around and hook up with me. Stop imagining things between me and Harry, or between me and you for that matter, that go beyond friendship.�

Harry thought it might be a bad idea to butt in on this conversation, so he quietly moved back towards the house where he waited for Hermione and Ron. A minute or so later Ron and Hermione appeared from behind the broom shed. They both smiled at Harry, though neither one had been smiling when they came around the corner.

“Alright Harry, that was good apparating practice,� Ron said. “A few more outings like that and we should have no trouble with our tests.�

“Ron and I will pick you up from the Dursleys’ on Saturday,� Hermione said. “We’ll use dad’s car to move your stuff to your own house.�

“I’ll see you on Saturday,� Harry said to Ron. Then he and Hermione walked away from the Burrow. “Ginny was angry that we didn’t take her to Godric’s Hollow,� he said to Hermione.

“I’m sorry about that,� Hermione said, “but it would have taken much longer to get there on brooms and I thought that you and Ron wanted to practice apparating.�

“Yeah, well,� Harry said despondently, “she didn’t miss much, did she.�

“Poor Harry,� Hermione said sympathetically, “it’s bad enough that you never had the chance to get to know your grandparents, but to learn how they died…�

She held out her hand and Harry took it.

“I saw my grandparents on Sunday afternoon,� she said.

“That’s nice,� Harry said.

“I hadn’t seen them since Christmas. I love them but it’s so hard to have a good conversation with them. They don’t even know I’m a witch so I can’t very well talk to them about school,� she babbled on. “Except for Astronomy, I can talk to grandpa about constellations and planets. He has a telescope.�

“That’s nice,� Harry said.

“Grandpa slipped me a couple of five pound notes,� she said smiling.

“Really,� Harry said.

“I’ll buy you lunch,� she said sweetly.

“That’s better than going home. The Dursleys don’t want to see me at their table,� Harry reasoned. “Where are we going?�

“You choose the place and concentrate on the destination. Don’t tell me where we’re going. You guide me through the apparation this time. It’ll be better practice for you,� she said in a professorial tone. “But the restaurant can’t be too fancy. I only have ten pounds,� she added in a much less bossy, almost apologetic, tone.

Harry was at a bit of a loss since the Dursleys never took him to any restaurant, fancy or cheap. But all he really had to do was to pick a destination that was close to some Muggle restaurants and also a place where apparating wizards wouldn’t create a stir. He suddenly had an idea.

“Are you ready?� he asked her. When she nodded, he said, “close your eyes.�

“Good,� she said closing her eyes tightly. “I hate to watch people get splinched.�

“Funny,� he said.

And then with determination and deliberation they were sucked into a nasty-tight rubber hose of a spell that transported them to Platform Nine and three-quarters at King’s Cross Station. They walked from the enchanted railway platform to a little shop a few blocks from the Station where they could get some fish and chips.

“I’ll think you’ll do fine on your apparation test,� Hermione said when they had gotten their food.

“Thanks,� Harry said. “You’ve been very helpful.�

“It was a good idea to apparate to Platform Nine and three-quarters,� Hermione said. “No one notices it and King’s Cross Station is a romantic place.�

“Romantic?� Harry said in surprise.

“The first time I kissed a boy it was at King’s Cross Station,� Hermione said wistfully.

“You kissed a boy at King’s Cross Station? Who was it?� Harry asked.

“Oh, never mind that!� she said in exasperation. Then she lowered her voice, “I met Professor McGonagall at the Ministry of Magic yesterday morning. She introduced me to the archivist and I went right to work on some books about dark magic from the most restricted section.�

“Excellent,� Harry said. “I just hope the archivist isn’t on the other side.�

“Professor McGonagall seems to be on good terms with her. But I’m trying to be sneaky about it all the same,� Hermione said. “McGonagall doesn’t know what I’m looking for. I just told her that I’m doing it for you. I told the archivist that Professor Slughorn needed information about some gruesome potions and the antidotes to them. I spent the whole day going through the most horrible potion books and taking random notes. But I found the word Horcrux in the index of one of the books. I plan on looking up the relevant pages this afternoon, if I can get a few minutes when the archivist isn’t paying any attention to what I’m doing.�

They finished up their lunch and walked back to Platform Nine and three quarters. From there they apparated to Mrs. Figg’s garden with Hermione making Harry guide her again.

“I’ll see you Saturday,� Hermione said as she prepared to apparate to the Ministry of Magic.

As Hermione headed off to an afternoon of studying dusty old books on dark magic and horrible potions, Harry walked back to Number Four Privet Drive with the goal of getting his belongings well organized. He wanted the move on Saturday to be quick and easy.



AUTHOR’S NOTES
In chapter 15 of HBP (pg. 305 of the American edition), Hermione tells Harry that he should invite someone to go to Slughorn’s Christmas party as a way of defending himself from Romilda Vane and other girls who had bought love potions. Harry didn’t give Hermione’s suggestion much thought. He was too busy thinking about Ginny’s hot young body and the possibility that Malfoy was responsible for the cursed locket that nearly killed Katie Bell. But what if Harry had followed her advice right then and there? Harry is very awkward around girls. What would have been the easiest way for a lazy Harry to act on her suggestion? What was Hermione trying to get Harry to do? I think Hermione was hinting to Harry that he should ask her to be his date.

Chapter 5 Moving On

On Saturday morning Mr. Granger, Hermione, Ron and Ginny arrived at the Dursleys’ house. Hermione and Ginny used magical levitation to move things from Harry’s room to the front door while Mr. Granger, Harry and Ron loaded Mr. Granger’s car without using magic. It didn’t take long to put Harry’s possessions into Mr. Granger’s Range Rover. Harry said a quick good-bye and a thank-you to his Aunt and Uncle. He then left the Dursleys’ for what he hoped would be the last time. The Range Rover was too crowded for all of them to fit into it so Mr. Granger and Ginny traveled in the car while Harry, Ron and Hermione apparated together.

Since apparation is a much faster way to get across London than driving a car, Harry, Ron and Hermione had some time to sit in Harry’s kitchen and talk while they waited for Mr. Granger and Ginny to arrive with Harry’s possessions.

“Your birthday is July 31,� Ron began. “There’s an Apparation Test date on the first of August. Bill and Fleur’s wedding is the third. But the second of August is the key date of the whole summer,� Ron said enthusiastically.

“Your refrigerator’s almost bare,� Hermione announced. “And what’s in here should be thrown out.�

“See Harry, we don’t know if school will be open in the fall or not,� Ron continued. “So we might as well assume we’re done with school and get on with our careers.�

“I think Hogwarts will be open in the fall. Professor McGonagall has been complaining about tuition projections and getting approval from the board to hire new teachers,� Hermione said. “Harry you don’t have much food in your cabinets either, just a few cans of…dog food?... and some… more dog food?...and what’s this…it’s dog food! Sirius must have bought this stuff. I hope he was feeding it to Buckbeak.�

“I don’t plan on going back to school even if it is open,� Harry said dully.

“So on August second, it’s Professional Quidditch tryouts!� Ron said enthusiastically.

“Harry you should consider returning to Hogwarts. You’ve still got a lot to learn about magic and there’s safety in numbers� Hermione said earnestly. “You need to start a grocery list right now. I’ll start with trash bags, and of course bread and milk…�

“I don’t think I’ll be playing Quidditch Ron,� Harry said sadly.

“Do you have any Muggle money, Harry?� Hermione asked.

“You can make a lot of money playing Quidditch,� Ron argued. “You’ll need to find some source of income while you’re fighting You-Know-Who. Playing Quidditch would be an easier way of making money than working in a shop in Diagon Alley.�

“By the way, while I’m thinking about shopping, I have a list of things you need to buy in Diagon alley� Hermione said as she pulled an envelope out of her pocket. “Some of these ingredients will be very difficult to find.�

“A grocery list is not a bad idea Harry,� Ron said. “You need to have a proper house warming party.�

“I don’t much feel like a party…� Harry began.

Ron grabbed the grocery list from Hermione. “Let’s see, we’ll need: Butterbeer, Mulled Mead, a variety of wines…and…now that I’m seventeen, I can buy Firewhiskey!� Ron said in delight.

“Give that back!� Hermione demanded in a bossy tone. “We’re trying to keep Harry from starving here.�

“Alright!� Ron said, “add pumpkin pasties, caramel apples and cookies.�


Mr. Granger and Ginny eventually did arrive at Number Twelve and seven sixteenths Greenfield Way and Harry’s things were moved into his house within a few minutes. Shortly after Mr. Granger left there was a knock on door and Ginny went to answer it.

“Hi Dad,� they heard Ginny say.

Harry stepped out of the kitchen in time to see Mr. Weasley giving a big hug to a rather surprised looking Ginny. He held a canvas bag.

“Harry,� Mr. Weasley said nervously, “a word with you please.�

Mr Weasley pulled Harry into the drawing room, shut the door behind them, placed the canvas bag on the table and began pacing nervously.

“I’ve just come from a raid Harry,� Mr Weasley began. “We searched the house of a chap in Dumfries who specializes in making enchanted objects. Do you know what a slave collar is?�

“I’ve never heard of it, but it sounds like something used to control someone,� Harry replied.

“It renders the victim unable to do magic unless the owner of the collar allows it. One of them can make a poor witch as helpless as a Muggle. This fellow in Dumfries made some for the Ministry of Magic to use in Azkaban, but we got a tip that he was planning on selling some on the open market,� Mr. Weasley said in great agitation.

He opened the bag and showed Harry two boxes.

“Those two bastards are planning ahead� Mr. Weasley said bitterly. “They think You-Know-Who is going to win. To the victor go the spoils and they’re already picking out what they want to have when they’re in charge.�

Harry opened a box that was labeled For Severus Snape, inside there was a fancy collar with a name embroidered on it, Hermione Granger.

“A smart girl like Hermione could be forced to make complex potions and high level enchanted items,� Mr. Weasley reasoned. “Snape could make a profitable business of it. He could make her work all day and then he could use her at night too.�

The other box was labeled For Peter Pettigrew. It held a collar for Ginny Weasley.

“That filthy rat used to hide in Ginny’s room,� Mr. Weasley’s voice shook as he talked. “We thought he was just a rat…hiding from the owls! He watched her… dressing and undressing… when she was just a little child. That dirty pervert wants my Ginny…�

“I will never… let… that… happen,� Harry vowed grimly.

Mr. Weasley put his evidence back into the canvas bag, and turned to face Harry.

“I don’t know what Dumbledore was up to,� Mr. Weasley said. “We’ve all guessed that you’re going to continue doing whatever it was that he was working on. And we’ve guessed that it is extremely important. Dumbledore must have had a very good reason for such secrecy. But… if you ever need any help, anything at all, you ask me. Whatever it takes…This isn’t like last time, my children aren’t babies anymore…they can make it without me…whatever’s necessary …�

Harry didn’t know what to say. It was like Mr. Weasley was volunteering to go on a suicide mission and that he, Harry Potter, who was not yet seventeen, was the commander. The thought was ridiculous. Mr. Weasley was going bald and paunchy, but if he couldn’t run and carry things like a young man he could apparate and levitate with the best of them. To Harry it seemed more reasonable for Mr. Weasley to be the soldier than for Harry Potter to be the commander. Harry thought for a moment he might tell Mr. Weasley about the Horcruxes, but he quickly rejected the idea. Mr. Weasley worked at the Ministry of Magic. The hunt for the Horcruxes had to remain secret. Voldemort must not learn what Harry was up to.

“I can’t tell you all of my plans,� Harry said. “But if I need you, I’ll ask for your help. I promise I won’t use Ron or Ginny for anything dangerous if I can use you instead.�

“Thanks Harry,� Mr. Weasley said. “Thanks for not laughing at me. I know I’m getting old and paunchy and going bald. But better me than my kids. You’ll understand when you have children of your own. You’ll be a good father, some day, when this is all over.�


As they left the drawing room, Harry could hear the familiar sounds of Ron and Hermione arguing in the kitchen.

“Harry said he didn’t feel like a party!� Hermione said.

Mr. Weasley left almost immediately, taking Ginny with him in the Ministry car that he was driving. Ron was allowed to stay at Harry’s house for a while longer. Ginny protested vigorously, but unfortunately she was too young to apparate home on her own.

“Ron hasn’t passed his apparation test either,� Ginny argued.

“True, but he can apparate side-by-side with Hermione,� Mr. Weasley countered.

“But if you’re not nice to me, you’re going to have a long walk home, Ron,� Hermione threatened.

As soon as Ginny and Mr. Weasley were gone Harry turned to Ron and said in a rather serious tone of voice, “I think we will have that house warming party.�

“Oh Harry!� Hermione exclaimed in exasperation. “Is that wise?�

“You write the guest list, and then we’ll update the grocery list,� Harry said authoritatively as he passed a fresh piece of parchment to Hermione.

“Great!� Ron exclaimed. “Alright Hermione, start with yourself and then put down all of us Weasleys, except for Percy, and we’ll invite Seamus Finnegan, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood…the Gryffindor Quidditch team,…I like Dean Thomas but maybe we shouldn’t invite him…

“Oh really …� Hermione said in disgust.

“Scratch off Seamus and Neville and Luna and the team… and Ginny,� Harry said.

Ron looked at Harry in shock.

“Add Tonks and Lupin,� Harry said, “and Sturgiss Podmore, Dadelus Diggle…

“Lupin, Podmore and Diggle?� Ron said dubiously. “What kind of party are you planning? If it’s a stag party we shouldn’t invite Tonks. She might not appreciate the stripper.�

Harry ignored Ron and continued, “Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, Mad-Eye Moody, Mrs. Figg… who else? Hagrid of course! Is that all of them?�

“Harry’s calling a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix,� Hermione said proudly.

“Mundungus?� Ron asked.

“NO!� Hermione said forcefully.

“They cleared the traps out of my house, at great personal risk,� Harry said. “They deserve a party. And they need to pick a new leader and get back to business.�


“You had a much longer shopping list earlier,� Ron observed as the three of them walked to the nearest supermarket for some Muggle-style grocery shopping.

“The list got real short when I found out how much money Harry had,� Hermione said.

“Can we stop for some lunch? That Muggle sandwich shop sure smells good,� Ron suggested.

“Do you have any Muggle money?� Hermione asked. “I gave Harry all of mine. It’s going for groceries and nothing fancy at that.�

“I’ll get some pounds at Gringott’s when I go to Diagon Alley,� Harry said. “I’m not hurting for money I just don’t have any with me.�

“Daddy always complains about how the Goblins gouge him when he exchanges pounds for galleons,� Hermione said as they entered the store. “I’ll bet they charge a hefty fee for changing galleons to pounds too.�

“Why are we shopping for food at a Muggle store? Couldn’t we just go to Diagon Alley?� Ron asked.

“It’s safer for Harry to shop at Muggle stores,� Hermione explained. “He’s less likely to be seen by a wizard here. And there are so many more Muggle stores to choose from! Harry can vary his pattern. By shopping in different places at unpredictable times he can foil ambush plans. And just look at the prices.�

“They’re all in Muggle money,� Ron observed.

“Here are the noodles,� Harry said as he put a box into their basket.

“If you do the currency conversions you’ll see that prices for ordinary things like milk and bread and cheese are much higher in Diagon alley,� Hermione informed them. “Buy the brand that’s on sale Harry,� Hermione said taking the noodles out of the basket and replacing it with a different box. “You need to watch every penny.�

“So do you have enough money to buy all of this stuff?� Ron asked holding up the envelope and list that Hermione had given Harry earlier. “Acromantula venom, cobra venom, foxglove, ergot toxin, aflatoxin…�

“Ron! That list is for Harry!� Hermione snapped as she grabbed the list from Ron. “He can’t find any of those things in a Muggle supermarket.�

“How can the Muggles call this market Super if they don’t even have foxglove and cobra venom?� Ron asked. “What’re all those poisons for anyway?�

“Hold your voice down!� Hermione hissed at Ron. “Those are ingredients for a potion Harry needs to make.�

“What sort of potion?� Ron asked.

“A secret potion,� Hermione whispered.

“Oh!� Ron whispered knowingly.


The three friends finished grocery shopping, returned to Harry’s house and ate a simple lunch. After their meal, they prepared invitations for all of the members of the Order of the Phoenix, calling them to a Birthday party for Harry which would also serve as a chance for them to select a new leader and get reorganized. Hermione then took Ron home, but she returned just a few minutes later.

“I found a recipe for a nasty potion that can kill the soul when it is released from a Horcrux,� Hermione told Harry. “You need to buy all of those ingredients on that list I gave you. I’ll help you to prepare a batch of it. To get rid of the soul, we lower the Horcrux into the poison and then say the incantation that opens the Horcrux.�

“This is one seriously toxic brew,� Harry said as he read the recipe.

“We’ll have to be very careful about how we handle it,� Hermione admitted. “One drop on your lips and you’re dead. It strips the soul right out of your body like a liquid Avada Kedavra spell.�

“Is this the only way to destroy the soul in a Horcrux?� Harry asked.

“I found two other ways,� Hermione replied. “You can also let the soul suck most of the life force from a helpless victim. In the moments just before it regains a physical body, that soul becomes vulnerable and an attack with a strong poison will kill it.�

“That’s how I destroyed the diary in the Chamber of Secrets,� Harry reasoned. “Tom Riddle’s shade was sucking the life out of Ginny.�

“The connection between Tom Riddle’s soul and the Horcrux was weakening but his hold on his new body wasn’t strong yet. You must have used the fang at just the right moment,� Hermione concluded.

“It’s too risky to do it that way,� Harry said. “Ginny almost died.�

“You can also let the soul out of the Horcrux and let it occupy someone’s body, then kill the person that it possesses� Hermione said.

“That’s definitely harsh,� Harry said.

“I think that’s maybe the way Dumbledore destroyed the soul fragment in the ring,� Hermione said very thoughtfully. “I’ll bet the only person around was Dumbledore. Voldemort’s soul fragment would have had to fight Dumbledore for possession of his body. Maybe Dumbledore let Voldemort have an arm but stopped him at that point. Then he poisoned his arm to kill the soul fragment.�

“You think Dumbledore sacrificed his arm to destroy that soul fragment?� Harry asked in horror.

“It’s just a guess,� Hermione admitted. “But Dumbledore would never sacrifice a human life and he wouldn’t ask anyone to sacrifice even a limb if he had not already done so.�

“Alright, we’ll make the nasty potion,� Harry agreed. “Do you know the incantation to open a Horcrux?�

“That’s like really evil magic Harry,� Hermione said. “Access to those books is very restricted. I plan to start that line of research on Monday, but I have to come up with some believable excuse for asking to study the books about evil enchantments.�

“Your excuse will be in the Daily Prophet tomorrow,� Harry said. “The Ministry of Magic confiscated some illegal Slave Collars today. You can tell the archivist that McGonagall wants the new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor to know how to deal with evil objects like that.�

“Slave Collars!� Hermione said in horror. “That is so sick! But they certainly are evil objects that might be described in the kind of book that would cover Horcrux spells.�

Harry couldn’t tell her that the collars were intended for her and Ginny. The thought of Peter Pettigrew having his way with Ginny made Harry wish he had let Sirius and Lupin murder him when they had the chance. He could see why Snape would want Hermione, she really was very attractive, nice figure, soft hair, beautiful golden brown eyes and she had such a brilliant mind. If Snape could force her to work for him she would be a valuable piece of property. What could he do to her that would force her to cooperate?

“Harry,� Hermione said quietly, “you’re staring at me.�

“Sorry,� he said.


A few days later, as Harry was warming up a can of soup for dinner and beginning to think that Aunt Petunia’s cooking wasn’t all that bad, Hermione knocked at the door.

“I found the incantation for opening a Horcrux,� Hermione reported. “You wouldn’t believe the horrible things in that book! Deadly traps, terror weapons, torture devices…� she shuddered.

“I’ve managed to get most of the ingredients for the soul-destroying potion,� Harry told her. “Except for Acromantula venom, I’ll need to talk to Slughorn about that.�

“Very good Harry,� Hermione said in a business-like way. “We can apparate up to Hogsmeade tomorrow. Professor McGonagall told me that Professor Slughorn had agreed to stay on for another year. I also found a spell that you need to learn. It’s a type of elemental magic that will enable you to manipulate a body of fire. It might be the sort of spell that Dumbledore used against the Inferi in that awful cave by the sea.�

She gave Harry a scroll on which she had copied a detailed description of a spell for controlling a fire elemental. The incantation was Flamesse.

“Old Mad-Eye dropped by this morning,� Harry said grinning. “He’s coming again tomorrow morning. I’m learning how to say Bang and really mean it.�


Harry spent the last week and a half of July safely in his home, but he was rarely lonely.
Mr. or Mrs. Weasley dropped by nearly every day to make sure Harry was kept informed about the latest news. Mad-Eye Moody and Sturgis Podmore came by to help Harry practice defensive spells and to teach him how to shoot bullets by pointing his wand and saying “Bang�. And Hermione was there a lot of the time.

“You’re really getting the hang of controlling that ring of fire Harry,� Hermione said happily.

“It’s exactly what Dumbledore did to keep the Inferi away,� Harry said. “And thanks for repairing my sofa. You really are a very talented witch. I can’t see any signs of smoke or water damage.�


Hermione was at Harry’s house all day on his birthday, but it was strictly business. They had spent a week and a half preparing the hypertoxic soul-killing poison that was needed to destroy a Horcrux, and they had to rush to finish it and get it safely into bottles. There was just barely enough time to clean up the house and decorate for the party. They were both sweaty and disheveled when Ron arrived.

“What have you two been up to?� Ron asked suspiciously.

“Just helping Harry with house cleaning,� Hermione replied.

“I thought we had finished that up,� Ron said skeptically.

“That Kreacher was such a pack rat,� Harry said.

Soon the other guests began arriving for Harry’s Birthday Party. It was an unusual party for a teenager celebrating his coming of age. Most of the guests were much older than Harry and he had deliberately not invited his girlfriend. Needless to say, Ginny was very upset and she had made Ron promise to tell Harry in no uncertain terms that she was angry and hurt. They had food and drink and decorations with a Phoenix theme, but there wasn’t much informal socializing before Harry summoned them to gather around the kitchen table and select a new leader.

It had been a bad year for the Order of the Phoenix. A trusted member, Severus Snape, had turned out to really be a follower of Lord Voldemort. Albus Dumbledore, Emmeline Vance, Hestia Jones and Kingsley Shacklebolt had been killed and Bill Weasley scarred for life. But Professor Flitwick had joined the group.

They chose Professor McGonagall to be the new leader of the Order, even though she didn’t want the job. But as Headmistress of Hogwarts she had access to Dumbledore’s records, his Pensieve and all of the devices and paintings that came with the office. They all agreed that the mission of the Order of the Phoenix was to resist the growth of Lord Voldemort’s circle of followers and to distract the bad guys from Harry Potter’s activities. In a way, Harry was the real leader of the Order. McGonagall promised to report to him on a regular basis and to consult with him on the activities of the other members to make sure they did nothing that endangered his secretive mission. And of course, Harry’s house was their headquarters.

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley and Fleur (soon-to-be Weasley) Delacour were formally made members of the Order. Plans were made to discretely approach former members of the D.A. like: Ernie Macmillan, Neville Longbottom, Terry Boot, Justin Finch-Flechley, Susan Bones and a few others to see if they would join.

By the end of July, The Order of the Phoenix had crawled out of the ashes of despair and was back in the business of fighting Lord Voldemort.


On the first of August Harry and Ron passed their apparition tests with no problem. Their examiner commented that they must have been practicing with an excellent teacher.


The second day of August was a beautiful sunny day that was warm but not oppressively hot. Harry knew that Ron and Ginny Weasley were at the Professional Quidditch League Tryouts and he hoped they both managed to get onto a team. Harry couldn’t be there because he had another activity to attend to.

Harry watched Hermione work. She wore a white lab coat from a dental office. Her hands were covered with blue latex gloves and her face was covered with a clear plastic shield even though Harry had cast an Impervioso charm on her. The caution was completely sensible. A truly noxious mix of several deadly poisons was gently bubbling in the large black cauldron that hung over a small magical fire in the middle of Harry’s darkened drawing room.

“I think it’s ready,� she said in a muffled voice, as she made a final stir of the Soul-killing potion.

Harry was similarly clad in lab coat, gloves and goggles courtesy of Granger and Granger Family Dentistry Inc. He figured it was overkill because the Impervioso charm on him had been cast by the best witch in the class, but it didn’t hurt to wear the Muggle gear and it didn’t hurt to be cautious around that nasty bubbling brew. He held the Horcrux over the cauldron using a good pair of tongs that had a gripping charm placed on them. He carefully lowered the Horcrux into the toxic solution. There was a bit of spattering of the poison but it was quickly cleaned up by a wave of Hermione’s wand. Harry laid aside the tongs and took out his wand. Hermione held up a scroll on which she had written in large clear letters the incantation that would open the Horcrux. He pointed his wand at the cauldron and read the words aloud.

The deadly liquid roiled and bubbled, a putrid green cloud of vapor rose from the cauldron. The vapor swirled like a coiling snake and then seemed to condense and take form. An image appeared in the smog above the bubbling pot, an ugly, spectral being, translucent, green and about two feet tall. The ghostly shade of Lord Voldemort surveyed the room with a scowl on his face. It pointed a bony finger at the end of a skinny little arm at Harry.

“Remove the Horcrux from the cauldron!� the fragment of Lord Voldemort’s dark soul commanded.


AUTHORS NOTES:
In chapter 15 of HBP (pg. 313 of the American edition), Hermione talks to Parvati in a most uncharacteristic fashion about going to Slughorn’s Christmas party with Cormac McLaggen. She mentions that she likes really good Quidditch players. Was this just a cynical remark that was meant to insult Ron, or was it the truth? Maybe her remark was intended for another Quidditch player, one who really is good. I find it interesting that this desperate move on Hermione’s part comes immediately after Peeves flies around the castle singing, “Potty loves Loony!� on page 312.

At the party (on page 317), a disheveled Hermione tells Harry she has “escaped� from Cormac McLaggen. She compares Cormac to Grawp. Why Grawp? Why not compare McLaggen to a gorilla or a baboon or an axe murderer? Harry is the only person in the world who would understand the reference to Grawp. She then tells Harry she is trying to annoy Ron. Is Ron at Slughorn’s party? Is it sensible to try to annoy someone who isn’t there? Is Hermione in the habit of doing senseless things? Is Hermione telling Harry the truth about who she wants to annoy? Maybe Hermione wanted someone to step in and protect her from McLaggen the way that particular someone once protected her from Grawp.

Chapter 6 The Bird Sings


Harry didn’t know what to expect when the Horcrux was opened but he had guessed that the incredibly strong poison that he and Hermione had prepared would destroy Voldemort’s soul fragment instantly. He did not count on having a two-foot tall green ghost of the Dark Lord ordering him to remove the Horcrux from the cauldron.

“I command you to remove the Horcrux from the cauldron!� the little spectre repeated.

“And just who the hell are you?� Harry asked, stalling for time, hoping the poison would work.

“I am Lord Voldemort! I am the most powerful wizard of the age! I am invincible!� the little green thing shouted.

“Lord Voldemort you say!� Harry taunted him. “I fought a duel with Lord Voldemort once. And I lived to tell about it. The real Lord Voldemort is much taller than you.�

“If you remove the Horcrux from the cauldron, I’ll make you very powerful,� the image promised.

“Really?� Harry said mockingly, sensing weakness. “I don’t think I can trust you. If you’re the most powerful wizard of the age, why don’t you get out of the cauldron by yourself?�

Yellow flames began to appear on the surface of the liquid. This seemed to distress the Dark Lord’s ghost. He pointed a wandless hand at Hermione.

Crucio! the little monster said.

Hermione flinched in pain and pulled her arms close to her body but she held onto her wand and she stayed on her feet. She moaned but did not scream.

“Remove the Horcrux from the cauldron or I will kill her,� the shade said in a desperate tone as the yellow flames grew higher.

“I’ve got the tongs,� Harry said, picking them up with his left hand but pointing his wand at the little spectre with his right. “Release her first!�

“No Harry!� Hermione shouted. “Don’t do it. He’s bluffing! He’s getting weaker!�

The ghostly green image of Voldemort was nearly engulfed in yellow flames. A dozen little black hands on long skinny arms rose out of the cauldron and began grabbing at the evil wizard’s soul. Slowly but relentlessly the necrotic arms were pulling the green figure down into the pit of hell.

In a last defiant gesture Lord Voldemort’s soul fragment pointed at Hermione and shouted “Avada… “

“Silencio!, Harry shouted.

“AAaagh!� Hermione moaned as she collapsed to her knees.

The foul green visage disappeared into the cauldron in a burst of yellow flames mouthing a silent scream. With a whooshing noise the surface of the toxic liquid flashed red then turned black and became calm.

Hermione’s face was ashen but her eyes were focused on Harry. She wobbled and started to fall forwards. Harry dashed to her and caught her before she fainted into the cauldron of soul-destroying potion. He pulled off her plastic face mask and lowered her gently to the floor a safe distance from the pot of poison.

She leaned against Harry and shuddered as he held her.

“That…little… beast…� she gasped. “Everything… went green… for a moment.�

“Take it easy, rest,� Harry said. “He’s gone now.�

He held her for a few minutes while she caught her breath.

“The Cruciatus curse… hurt a lot,� she said dispassionately, “but not as much as I thought it would. I could hold my wand. I could still think… and talk. That little ghost was weak.�

“I thought that poison would destroy the soul fragment faster than that,� Harry said.

“I’ve got an idea… for next time,� Hermione said breathing heavily, “to protect us, when we say the incantation.�

“What’s the plan?� Harry asked.

“When the little ghosty starts to appear in the Cauldron,� she explained. “We run away.�

Harry helped Hermione into an overstuffed chair. Then he cleaned up the cauldron of poison with a very carefully cast Evanesco spell.

Later, as they sat in Harry’s kitchen drinking tea, Hermione joked about the incident. “I am Lord Voldemort and I am invincible!� she said in a deep spooky voice. “Now rescue my Horcrux and let me possess you,� she added in a squeaky voice that made Harry laugh. “Be quick about it or I might cast some weak spell on you before I vanish.�

“A toast to our success,� Harry said holding up his cup of tea. “I wonder if Ron and Ginny did as well today as we did.�

“If only one of them got onto a team, I’ll bet it was Ginny,� Hermione said.

“Oh that’s a sucker’s bet,� Harry said.


Early on the following morning Harry apparated to the Burrow to help with the final preparations for that afternoon’s wedding. He was dressed for work in jeans a T-shirt and trainers, his nice dress robes and good shoes were in a bag that was slung over his shoulder.

“Oh great you’re here!� Ron said in relief. “Toss your dress clothes in my room and meet me in the garden, we’ve got work to do!�

A few minutes later Harry met his friend in the yard beside the house. Ron had an arm full of sickles (not the money-type of sickles, but the tool with the curved blade with the short handle).

“Mom’s mad as a wet cat,� Ron said. “We’ve got to get the grass mowed quick!�

The yard did look rather wild. Harry guessed it had been several weeks since the grass had been cut.

“Too busy practicing Quidditch to cut the grass, hey?� Harry asked.

“Not that it did any good,� Ron said morosely, “except for Ginny.�

Harry and Ron set about trying to enchant the sickles to fly through the tall grass in sweeping arcs.

“What are you two up to?� Hermione asked as she came out of the house. Her hair was tied back and she was dressed for work in jogging shorts and a tight T-shirt that didn’t quite cover her navel.

“We’ve got to mow the grass, and we’ve got to hurry!� Ron explained.

“It’s a jungle out here Ron,� Hermione observed. “Is there any special reason for waiting until the last minute before starting to get the yard in order?�

“Just help us enchant these sickles,� Ron demanded.

“Oh, they’re not even sharp!� Hermione complained. “Boys!� she said in disgust. She then dissapparated with a loud cracking noise.

“What’s with her?� Ron asked, as he resorted to hacking at the grass by hand.

A few minutes later there was another very loud crack of apparition and Hermione appeared sitting on a large gasoline-powered Muggle lawn mower.

“This thing is three times as large as anything Daddy needs to take care of our lot, but boys do have to have their toys,� Hermione said sarcastically. “Put away those stupid old sickles,� she told Ron as she hit the electric starter on her father’s tractor. With a wave of her wand she sent the mower off around the paddock carefully enchanted so it would guide itself safely. “And bring some rakes!� she yelled at Ron as he carried the sickles back to their old barn.

“Nice mower,� Harry said.

“It’s now an illegally enchanted Muggle item,� Hermione said. “I hope Mr. Weasley doesn’t arrest me, or steal Daddy’s spark plugs.� Hermione thrust a picture of a chair in front Harry. “Let’s see you conjure a chair that looks exactly like this one,� she said in a bossy tone.

After a couple of tries Harry managed to produce a chair that met the precise specifications of the bride to be.

“That’s adequate,� Hermione pronounced. “You will need to put at least eighty-eight of these on the right side of the aisle and one hundred and seven on the left. I suggest ten rows in a slightly curved arrangement. Make the rows twelve seats wide on the left and ten seats wide on the right,� she said very quickly. “That’ll leave a few extra seats for family members that don’t want to sit right next to each other. But first you had better help Ron rake the grass, it’s almost long enough to bale for hay.�

Then she dashed off mumbling about having to make the pear trees bloom with white flowers and tiny green leaves while the apple trees had to produce bright red fruit and golden yellow leaves when early August was not the normal time of the year for either of those two botanical events. And then there were the flowers and the ribbons and the songbirds, so many things to conjure and the grass wasn’t even mowed yet!



The wedding was a beautiful affair. No one said anything about Bill’s face and Fleur really did look stunning. (Ginny and Hermione both looked very pretty too.) Getting married must have made Fleur very happy indeed, for she was almost polite. She even thanked Hermione for the songbirds that serenaded them during the ceremony.



After the ceremony and the photographs and the tossing of the bouquet (caught by Luna Lovegood, of all people) and the cocktails, and the wedding cake and the opening of the presents, the caterers finally announced they were ready to serve dinner.

Harry sat with Ron and Hermione and eagerly dove into his plate of food. He and Ron had missed lunch because they had to rake the yard before they could begin conjuring the chairs and that job took longer than it should have. Some of Ron’s chairs didn’t quite measure up to specifications and had to be vanished. The errors were small: wrong color, three legs, no seat, that sort of thing. It was as if Ron’s self confidence had taken a bit of a blow. He was in a funk because he had to decide about his future, and that future did not include playing professional Quidditch.

The Lovegoods were seated at Harry’s table and Luna’s father was thrilled to meet Harry in person. He asked Harry a lot of questions about You-Know-Who. The sixth seat at Harry’s table was occupied by Gabriel Delecour. She had managed to convince Ginny to swap seats with her. Ginny was still angry at Harry and had suddenly become very popular with all of the males present, especially a tall pale French fellow who was one of Fleur’s cousins.

“Pierre eez happy,� Gabriel observed. “He likes Bill’s seester, maybe.�

(Ginny had been taken by the Holyfield Harpies as back-up seeker and chaser, which meant she would probably see a lot more broom time than the average rookie. Harry had a hard time keeping his mind off of the image of Ginny in a Harpies uniform. When he did allow himself to think about Ginny in that skimpy uniform, he had a hard time in a distinctly different and potentially embarrassing way.)

After dinner, a band began playing and couples got up to dance. Much to Gabriel’s disappointment, Harry pleaded that he didn’t know how to dance. Ron asked Hermione to dance but she seemed more interested in talking to Mr. Lovegood, who seemed genuinely excited to learn that Tom Riddle’s father had been a Muggle. Ron ended up dancing with Luna Lovegood. Harry wondered if he was doing it to make Hermione jealous, but she seemed oblivious. Harry felt a twinge of jealousy when he saw Ginny dancing with the French fellow, but at the same time he felt a bit of relief. He knew that breaking up with her and not inviting her to join the Order of the Phoenix had hurt her feelings, but he didn’t want her to be in danger. She was a strong girl, she’d get over it. Of course she might be dancing with that fellow to make him jealous, and it did make Harry a bit jealous. But if that was her motive, it meant she was a fighter. Harry didn’t want Ginny getting all depressed and loosing her magical powers like Tonks almost did when Remus was rejecting her, but he figured that was very unlikely to happen to Ginny.

The band started playing a newer piece that was made popular by the Weird Sisters and some of the older couples moved back to their seats. Harry excused himself to get another helping of one of the excellent desserts brought in by the French caterers. He was intercepted on his way back to the table by Ron’s least favorite brother.

“It seems you’re not into dancing,� Percy said.

“No, I’m not,� Harry said coldly.

“There’s a fellow who wants to talk to you. Will you come with me?� Percy asked.

“Is this official business? Did Mr. Scrimgeour tell you to talk to me at the wedding?� Harry asked bitterly.

“Yes and yes,� Percy answered. “And it’s quite serious business at that.�

Harry looked around the crowd at the banquet. There were several wizards from the Ministry of Magic there but Mr. Scrimgeour was not one of them.

“I don’t see Mr. Scrimgeour,� Harry observed.

“He was unable to attend. Of late, he’s been a very busy man,� Percy explained. “He sent a note expressing his regrets and a nice wedding present.�

“Who is it that wants to talk to me?� Harry asked with a sigh.

“Stan Shunpike,� Percy answered quietly. “Will you come with me, to Azkaban?�

Harry stared at Percy in surprise, but Percy seemed perfectly calm and cool.

“You can bring along someone you trust,� Percy offered, looking over at Ron.

Harry thought that bringing Ron might not be such a good idea. Ron and Percy were still on unfriendly terms and interrogating prisoners could be tricky business. His eyes found Hermione. She was attempting to talk to Gabrielle in French and both girls were giggling.

“Three years ago, the day before the World Quidditch cup match, I came to the Burrow,� Harry began. “You didn’t want us making noise because you were working on a report. What was the report about?�

“Harry, I’ve done a lot of paperwork in the last three years!� Percy said in dismay.

“You want me to go apparating with you to a place I’ve never been!� Harry said. “How do I know I can trust you?�

“Alright, fair enough,� Percy said. “At that time, I was working for Mr. Crouch in International Relations,� Percy said thoughtfully. “I took care of Trade Issues while he took care of Quidditch Cup issues. Cauldron imports! I had to contrive an excuse to ban imported cauldrons. It was to protect a local manufacturer from competition. He had been generous to Mr. Fudge’s political campaign fund.�

Percy’s frankness surprised Harry.

“Alright, I’ll go with you,� Harry said. “We’re bringing Hermione along.�

Harry walked over to Hermione, put his hand on her shoulder and gently led her away.

“Where are we going,� Hermione whispered in his ear.

Harry looked around at the crowd. Ginny was dancing with the French fellow. Ron was dancing, sort of, with Luna Lovegood. No one seemed to be paying any attention to him and Hermione. He whispered to her, “Azkaban.�

She followed him without hesitation. They met up with Percy and the three of them slipped away from the crowd. They dissapparated from the shadows of the old broom shed and were soon walking down the grim stone corridors of the wizard’s prison.



“The deal was I’d talk to ‘arry Potter, an’ no one else,� Shunpike said defiantly.

“You’ll talk in front of her or we’ll leave,� Harry insisted bluntly.

Shunpike looked unhappy, but he sat down at the table and glared at the guard in silence.

Harry sat down at the table across from Shunpike keeping his wand firmly in his hand. Hermione joined Harry at the table and made rather a show of letting her hair down. She slyly tucked her wand into her gown between her breasts. It was positively magical how sticking her wand into the tight gown left no lumps or bumps to spoil the natural curves of her slender figure. She then took a long roll of parchment and a large fancy quill out of her small clutch-purse. When she was settled into the role of a dutiful secretary she smiled at Harry. The guard walked out of the room and locked the door behind him.

Shunpike frowned and said nothing as he looked at Hermione’s quill and parchment.

“I left a party to come here,� Harry said. “What did you want to say to me?�

“The Minister of Magic, Mr. Scrimgeour hisself, talked to me he did� Shunpike began. “He said that you was on my side. He said that he was on your side. He said that if I helped you he might let me go.�

“How are you going to help me, Stan?� Harry asked skeptically.

“I ain’t no Death Eater Harry,� Stan pleaded. “I was just talkin’ big an’ they locked me up with ‘em.�

“How do I know you’re not really a Death Eater?� Harry asked.

“I got valuable information,� Shunpike said in a hushed tone. “The screws ’ave been movin’ me about, from cell to cell. I’ve been with ‘em all… Travers, Jurgson, Dolohov, Malfoy… all of ‘em. They talked to me they did. You get me outta here, an’ I’ll tell you their secrets.�

“You give me the information first,� Harry said. “If it’s useful, then I’ll speak to Mr. Scrimgeour on your behalf.�

There was a moment of silence while Shunpike considered his options.

“Word has it… that you’re goin’ up agin… You-Know-Who,� Stan whispered.

“Yeah,� Harry whispered back.

“He’s got a secret weapon,� Stan said knowingly. “It’s hidden in a cemetery.�

“What sort of secret weapon?� Harry asked.

“It makes ‘im immortal,� Stan said in a conspiratorial tone. “It’s called a whore crosser.�





AUTHOR’S NOTES
There is a double meaning to the title of Chapter 11: Hermione’s Helping Hand.
Hermione lends a hand by helping Ron beat Cormic McLaggen for a spot on the Quidditch team, but she also shows her hand. Like a poker player revealing her cards, Hermione reveals her feelings towards Harry and Ron in this chapter (page 219). Harry is “…frankly… fanciable.� She goes on to list the reasons why Harry is so attractive. Hermione’s an expert on the issue because she fancies Harry. The temperature in the room began to rise because Harry got the message. Ron gags on his food, gets a look of disdain and is then ignored. When Hermione points out that Harry is tall, Ron butts in with, “I’m tall too�. Harry is getting attention from Hermione. Ron is clearly jealous. Harry is uncomfortable with that situation.

Chapter 7 Desperate Problems


Hermione snickered and turned red as she wrote Whore Crosser on her parchment.

“Sorry,� she said when Harry looked at her.

“Where is this weapon hidden?� Harry asked Shunpike.

“It’s in a cave beneath a crypt in the catacombs of Kensal Green Cemetery. That’s in London,� Shunpike said.

“What crypt?�

“The name was… just a minute…� Stan screwed up his face in concentration, “Stubbs, Billy Stubbs it was.�

“How’s it guarded?�

“There’s a long crawl through a low cave, there’s Inferi and…� Shunpike lowered his voice to the barest of whispers, “and there’s a dragon.�

“What does the weapon do?� Harry asked.

“Don’t rightly know,� Shunpike shrugged, “but they say it’s the secret to ‘is immortality.�

“Whore Crosser?� Hermione said with a cynical giggle. “Sounds like a device that’s used to cheat a working girl out of her five galleons.�

Shunpike looked very serious, as if his brain was slowly working through the idea. Harry was stunned to learn that Hermione knew the going rate for prostitutes in Knockturn Alley.

“Maybe frequent sex with loose women helps keep the Dark Lord young,� Hermione suggested in a whisper.

“I’ll bet you’re right,� Shunpike nodded thoughtfully. “It costs eight for a cutie like you. Adds up quick it does.�

“Look Shunpike,� Hermione said in a suddenly stern and bossy tone. “This is serious. We don’t care about his sex toys. We need to know who’s working with him and what sorts of magical creatures he has for allies.�

Shunpike was taken aback and he looked a bit nervous.

“Well… uh,� Shunpike stammered, “’e’s got a dragon.�

“Yes, you’ve told us,� Hermione snapped. “It keeps his sex safe. How many dragons does he have? Just the one?�

“I’ve ‘eard ‘e’s got a couple of others,� Shunpike ventured.

Hermione looked at Harry and said, “Charlie.�

“Dragons are no problem,� Harry said. “What else has he got? Besides Inferi.�

“He’s got a giant,� Shunpike said with confidence.

“We know about the giant. We’ve got one too,� Hermione said. “You’ve got to do better than that, Shunpike.�

Poor Stanley’s confidence was completely shot. “I ‘eard of other things too,� he said defensively.

“What things?� Hermione demanded sharply.

Shunpike sat in stunned silence.

“Heliopaths?� Hermione suggested in a whisper.

“Yeah,� Shunpike said in a shifty eyed way. “Start fires they do. The Inferi don’t like ‘em.�

“Did he get them from Fudge’s privet army?� Hermione prodded him.

“The Dark Lord took Fudge’s Heliopaths away from ‘im, just like ‘e did with the Dementors,� Stan said confidently.

“The Heliopaths could cause problems,� Hermione said to Harry in a funny tone as she turned her face away from Shunpike to hide her smile.

“Tell us everything Stan,� Harry said grimly.

For the next half hour Stan Shunpike told them of all sorts of horrible creatures that were being gathered by Lord Voldemort. Everything from Acromantulas to Zombies with Crumple Horned Snorkacks in between. It was clear that Stan Shunpike was a regular reader and a true believer of The Quibbler.

As the guard escorted Shunpike out of the interview room, Percy asked, “Did he tell you anything of value?�

“Just a lot of nonsense,� Harry said. “Nargles, Rotfang, Snorkacks…�

“What shall we do with him?� Percy asked.

“I don’t trust him. He told us lies,� Hermione said. “I think he was trying to get Harry to go off on a series of wild goose chases. Maybe he wants Harry to waste his time but maybe he wants to send Harry to a trap. He might even be a Death Eater, albeit an idiot.�

One fact that was absolutely clear in Harry’s mind was that he did not want Lord Voldemort to learn that he was searching for the Horcruxes. Lord Voldemort must not learn that Stan Shunpike had told Harry Potter about a Whore crosser hidden at Kensal Green Cemetery. They couldn’t let him go now.

“Hold him,� Harry said.

“You shouldn’t put him back with the other prisoners,� Hermione suggested.

“Keep him in solitary confinement,� Harry said.

“Lock him up?� Percy said in surprise.

“and throw away the key,� Harry finished.



Harry and Hermione apparated behind the old broom shed. They could hear the music from the band at the wedding party.

“Ron didn’t need to know about the Horcrux in your house Harry,� Hermione whispered. “But are you going to tell him about the one in the crypt?�

Harry knew what she was getting at. It was leading up to: Don’t go into that crypt alone!

“Yeah,� Harry lied. “I’ll tell Ron about it. He and I will plan the mission. I don’t want my secret keeper getting captured. You were a big help tonight, Hermione.�

Harry walked away from her and towards the dessert table where Ron was standing with a piece of cake. Hermione stood tottering in the shadow of the broom shed for a few moments then she moved towards the house and started walking very fast.

“Any of the good stuff left?� Harry asked his friend by the dessert table.

“Just cake, all of that chocolate stuff is gone,� Ron said rather coldly. “What’s with Hermione? She looks upset.�

“Oh?� Harry said in surprise.

“Where have you two been?� Ron asked.

“Azkaban,� Harry said.

“Really?� Ron exclaimed. “I’ve never heard it put that way. Didn’t go so well, huh?�

“Huh?� Harry grunted. “No.�

“She’s hard to figure out,� Ron noted, “a real cold fish.�

“You should go back to Hogwarts this term,� Harry said. “You’ll be the Gryffindor Quidditch captain for sure. You can try for the pros again next year.�

“Yeah, I suppose,� Ron said. “I’ll need to find two new chasers and a seeker, unless you come back too. Hermione will go back, won’t she?�

-------------------------------


Two nights later in an affluent suburb of London, the midnight quiet was disrupted by a loud cracking noise, like the snap of a whip or the pop of a small caliber gun. A dog began barking next door. A light that was activated by a motion sensor went on in the garden of a nice home. Harry heard the sound of a sliding door opening on the deck.

“Daddy,� a girl said. “Don’t do it! Be careful!�

Harry saw a man approaching him. He had difficulty focusing his eyes. His peripheral vision was fading to black. His knees buckled. He fought through his dizziness, struggling to look up at the man.

“Harry?� the man said.

It was Mr. Granger. Harry felt his wand slip from his fingers. The ground came up fast.

---------------------------------

Something went thump on the bed and Harry woke up. He cracked his eyes open trying to not move. Every muscle in his body ached. Hedwig sat at the foot of the bed.

“Hi girl,� Harry said weakly, trying to smile.

He looked around the room. What was this place? It looked like a girl’s bedroom. Where were his glasses? He ventured to turn his head. There was a nightstand beside the bed that held a large white alarm clock with brass numbers and bells. It was a little past nine. From the sun he guessed it was nine AM. There was a white telephone next to the clock and a book and… his glasses! He reached out an aching arm and retrieved them.

Now he could see much more clearly. The book was The Healer’s Helpmate. There were stuffed animals lined up neatly on a shelf. There was a nice wardrobe, white with gold trim and a matching dresser. The footboard of the bed matched the wardrobe too. There were awards of some sort neatly framed. A Hogwarts Prefect badge hung next to them. This must be Hermione’s bed. There were pictures. A very young Hermione stood smiling in a yellow summer dress, the grass was green but strangely, she had snow in her hair. Another showed Hermione with her parents in front of the Eiffel Tower. There were several pictures of Harry Potter.

Hedwig hopped towards him. She had a letter tied to her leg. Harry took it.

Dear Hermione,

Don’t worry about me, I’m fine.
I have no idea what you are talking about.
I haven’t been to any cemetery since Godric’s Hollow.
I have not heard from Harry in several days. Is he alright?
How did you get Hedwig to bring me your letter?
Why on Earth did you address your letter:
“To Ron Weasley or His Parents�?
Did you think I might be dead?

Ron

The door opened and Hermione came in with a tray. She was trying very hard to be quiet and seemed surprised to see him awake.

“You’re awake!� She said needlessly. Her face broke into a smile of relief as she sat the tray on the edge of the bed and gave Harry a hug. His face was pressed to her breasts as she kissed him on the top of his head.

“Hermione?� Harry exclaimed in surprise.

She quickly let go of him and stood back.

“I’m sorry Harry,� she said. She was smiling but her eyes looked like she might cry. “You gave us a bit of a scare.�

She took the lid off of a plate that was on her tray. If that was breakfast, Harry’s appetite was totally gone.

“What’s that? It smells awful,� he asked.

“It’s cat food,� Hermione said placing the plate near an excited Hedwig. “She seems to like it. I’ve got some tea for you, with cream and sugar, and some more broth. Would you like something more substantial? We’ve got bacon and eggs or waffles or toast, whatever you want.�

Foggy memories came back to Harry. “Have you been spoon feeding me?� he asked.

“I imagine you’re tired of broth,� she said sympathetically. “But you lost so much blood I thought it wise to push fluids into you.�

“I don’t feel up to bacon and eggs,� Harry admitted. “But I think I could drink the broth from a cup and maybe eat some toast.�

She conjured a cup, poured the broth into it and helped him hold it as he took a drink. He needed her hand to help hold the cup, his own hands were still too shaky.

“Rest a minute,� she said to his relief. “I’ll get your toast.�

She placed the cup of broth on the tray and practically dashed out of the bedroom.
Harry realized he was wearing pajamas. They had taken off his filthy, blood stained clothing. That meant Hermione would know that he had failed. He had returned beaten, bloody, exhausted and empty handed. The Horcrux was still in the crypt.

She returned a few minutes later with warm toast, butter and jam. She helped him to eat his breakfast by spreading the butter and jam for him and holding his cup of tea and broth. He was so weak.

“How long have I been here?� he asked.

“Two days, three nights,� she replied.

She picked up Ron’s letter and silently read it.

“I thought so,� she said with a sigh. “I knew you would go alone. Still, it’s good to be certain.�

“Hermione, I didn’t want anyone else to be in danger,� Harry explained.

“I know Harry,� she said softly.

“I didn’t get it,� Harry admitted.

“Poor Harry,� Hermione said taking his hand in hers.

“I was a bloody mess, wasn’t I?� he said with a little smile. “Have you been practicing healing spells on me?�

“Yes,� she replied. “I bought a copy of The Healer’s Helpmate on the day after the wedding. I had a day and a half to study it before you arrived.�

Hermione was always studying. Harry had never worked as hard on his class work as she did. Harry had not taken as many classes as she had. That thought made him sick.

“Are you alright Harry?� she asked in concern.

“Just tired,� he lied.

“It was smart that you came here,� Hermione said. “You’ve been delirious, talking.�

“What did I say?� he asked.

“You said the word Horcrux several times,� she reported. “As beaten up as you were, you were still clever enough to reject going to St. Mungo’s. I’m proud of you.�

“I failed, Hermione,� he said sinking into the bed. “I failed.�

“Rest Harry,� Hermione said gently. “When you’ve recovered… you’ll try again.�

She turned her head. Then she gathered up the dishes, rather clumsily, as if she couldn’t see them, and she took the tray out of the room.

Harry closed his eyes and tried to sleep. He was in Hermione’s bed. She was his best friend. And she was a bookworm. It made Harry want to cry.


Over the next few days Hermione and her parents nursed Harry back to health. Harry wanted to go home but Hermione had threatened to come for every meal to make sure he didn’t starve. He couldn’t escape her, but he couldn’t face her. He couldn’t look into her brown eyes and lie to her, but he couldn’t tell her the truth. He couldn’t tell her about the door.

An article in The Quibbler told the wizarding world The Secret You-Know-Who Keeps From His Followers. Now everyone knew that Lord Voldemort was really Tom Riddle and that his father had been a Muggle. Mr. Lovegood paid a steep price for that scoop. An owl from Ron reported that the Weasleys could see the Death Head over the Lovegoods’ house from their kitchen window. Luna was staying at the Weasley’s.

Harry left the Grangers’ home and went back to Twelve and seven-sixteenths Greenfield Way. Members of the Order took turns dropping by to make sure he had food: Tonks and Lupin, Molly and Arthur, Bill and Fleur and even Professor McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall urged Harry to return to Hogwarts for his seventh year. The school would be open, although with tuition revenue projections down there would be staffing problems. Professor Slughorn was complaining of old age and having to assume the role of Head of Slytherin House. He had dropped to half-time. They couldn’t hire a new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor. Madam Hooch married the coach of the Appleby Arrows and quit. Administrative tasks were taking up a lot of McGonagall’s and Flitwick’s time. They were going to use seventh year students as instructors for first and second year courses. Hermione would teach Charms and Transfigurations. McGonagall offered Harry the job of teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts and Flying for the first and second year students. As a faculty member he would be able to leave the school grounds if he needed to. Plus he could get a nice break on tuition expenses. He told her he needed a few days to think about it.

Mid-August came and went. Harry said yes to Professor McGonagall’s job offer. He couldn’t sit at home and do nothing. He couldn’t go back into the crypt in Kensal Green. He had gotten past the dragon twice but that was really dangerous. He had made it through the gauntlet and the cage and he had made it out, although the attempt had nearly killed him. But the door had stopped him. He couldn’t open the door.

The war news in The Daily Prophet made Harry ill. The Creevy family had been murdered, Colin, Dennis, their parents and young sister. It was extremely rare for a Muggle family to produce two wizards but it turned out that Colin’s mother had been a Muggle-born witch who hadn’t gone to Hogwarts. Voldemort’s followers wanted to purify the wizarding community by eliminating the Muggle-born. Harry had to go back into that crypt and get that Horcrux. But he couldn’t open the door.

“Harry,� Hermione said quietly, “I brought your dinner. I’ve been here an hour, and you won’t talk to me.�

Harry remained silent.

“You won’t look at me,� Hermione said.

Harry avoided her eyes.

“School starts in just over a week,� she pointed out. “You have to get that Horcrux.�

“I failed,� he said.

“You’re the…the Chosen One,� Hermione said in a higher than normal pitch. “I can’t help you if you won’t talk to me.�

“The queen’s an important piece…� Percy’s voice echoed in Harry’s mind.

“When you came to my house, bloody and beaten, I healed you,� Hermione said. “I held you… and helped you sip water.�

she has to be used…

“You were… delirious,� she said haltingly. “You talked.�

and sometimes sacrificed…

“It was a door…that stopped you,� Hermione said. “What was it about that door?�

Harry buried his face in his hands.

“It was…� he croaked, “Runes.�




Author’s notes
In Chapter 25 (page 552, U.S. edition) Harry prepares to go off with Dumbledore to recover a Horcrux. Note the huge difference between Ron’s response and Hermione’s response when Harry gives them the Felix Felicis. Ron is awestruck, but Hermione doesn’t want it? Why the big difference in their attitudes? Felix Felicis is seriously cool stuff and Ron is ready to give it a try for real! If Hermione had a crush on Ron for years and he has finally gotten around to admitting that he loved her, wouldn’t she want her guy to have a night of good luck? If she was just a legalistic prude she would want the bottle in her hand so she could make sure that neither of her friends took the drug. Maybe she does want her guy to have the good luck. She wants Harry to take it.

Hermione is smart enough to realize that Harry is going into a dangerous place. Dumbledore’s necrotic arm shows what can happen to a fellow who messes with Voldemort’s Horcruxes. Harry says that very telling line “Don’t look like that, Hermione…�. What sort of look was Hermione giving Harry? Fear? Concern? Love? What was Harry really saying? “Don’t be concerned for me, Hermione.� “Don’t love me, Hermione.�

Then Harry leaves without saying a word to Ginny.

When the fight was over, they knew the Dark Mark was hanging over Hogwarts but they didn’t know who it was for. Harry comes into the hospital and Hermione runs to him and hugs him (Chapter 29, page 613). Hermione doesn’t care what Ginny thinks about it and she doesn’t care what Ron thinks about it. This is just an outburst of honest, uncontrollable, heart-felt relief when she learns that Harry is safe. This was the night that Dumbledore died. This was the night that Harry made the decision to break up with Ginny and Hermione’s hug was one of the moments of that night.

Chapter 8: Desperate Measures


The sun was just setting when Harry led Hermione out of the tube station at Kensal Green. They took a wandering route to the cemetery to make sure they weren’t being followed. As they passed a scrap yard full of rusting cars, Harry pointed across the street to a derelict square building that was surrounded by a high but deteriorating railing, broken iron gates and an overgrown courtyard.

“That was the orphanage where Tom Riddle grew up,� Harry said. “I visited it with Dumbledore more than fifty years ago in the penseive.�

They continued on to the cemetery, which was closed by the time they got there. But a locked gate is an insignificant obstacle to a young wizard and a witch. They glanced up and down the street to make sure they weren’t being watched, and then opened the gate with a spell. The smell of heather and lavender was heavy in the late summer air as they walked through a grove of leafy trees to a footpath. To the left was an interesting Georgian colonnade but Harry took Hermione to the right, past crumbling tombstones and over a deep ditch. The footpath was badly cracked up, they passed open tombs and fallen masonry. Harry stopped in front of a large but plain crypt that bore the inscription:

Suffer the little children unto me.

“It took me a whole day to find this crypt,� Harry said.

The name “Billy Stubbs� was on a long list beneath the inscription. There was no familial theme to the list of names, though Doe and Smith were fairly common. The dates indicated that all of the occupants of the crypt had died young, many in infancy.

Harry and Hermione slipped into the crypt and shut the door behind them. Hermione made a light with her wand while Harry cast a spell that revealed the tiny opening of a cave in the back corner of the crypt. They got down on their bellies and crawled into the cave. For more than two hundred yards they crawled through the cave, over sharp and slippery stones, through foul smelling mud, sometimes with bare inches between the mud and the jagged roof of the cave. Where the ground was firm there was a trail of dried blood.

At last they reached a small chamber with a ceiling that was high enough for them to get up onto their knees or to stoop uncomfortably.

“The dragon’s in a large chamber through that small opening,� Harry whispered.

Hermione wordlessly cast a spell that cleaned the mud off of them.

“We’ll just get dirty again,� Harry said very quietly.

“We’ll be able to move faster without all of that mud weighing us down,� Hermione pointed out in a hushed voice.

Harry carefully crawled through the small opening into the next chamber. The dragon appeared to be sleeping in the middle of the chamber but Harry knew this could be a deception. The shortest route to the small exit hole was straight across the middle of the irregularly shaped room. Unfortunately, this was where the dragon sat. The path along the right wall was shorter than the path along the left wall, but there were large rocks that they could hide behind along the left wall.

Harry motioned for Hermione to come into the dragon’s chamber and they began to sneak along the left-hand wall. They didn’t have to use their wands as torches because the room was dimly lit by a magical phosphorescence of some of the rocks, but there were many dark gloomy corners. They tried to be quiet but it was inevitable that one of them would stumble in the dark, especially when his attention was on trying to help her from stumbling in the dark. The dragon seemed to not notice the noise. They waited for several long tense minutes in the shelter of a rock before moving forwards again.

When they were mid-way between two sheltering rocks, the dragon suddenly raised his head. Harry and Hermione had less than a second to dive for cover before the giant beast shot fire at them. Hermione dove for the shelter of the rock they had just left. Harry dove for a gap behind the rock just ahead.

The dragon moved towards Hermione’s hiding place. Harry jumped out and hit the beast in the eye with the conjunctivitis curse. The dragon roared and turned to shoot fire into the hole where Harry was hiding. Taking a note from Cedric Diggory’s book, Hermione quickly transfigured two rocks into dogs. The first dog bounded towards the dragon barking and snarling and was quickly incinerated by a blast of fire. The second dog bolted towards the little hole that was the entrance to the dragon’s chamber.

As the dragon pounced on the retreating dog, Hermione dashed towards Harry. The dragon spun away from the dog and lashed out at her with claws as deadly as swords, catching her with a glancing blow on the back.

Harry jumped out from behind his rock and shouted at the dragon. A mouth full of teeth the size of daggers lunged at Harry. He aimed his wand at the onrushing gullet and shouted Bang. Then he leapt and rolled to avoid the bite. The dragon reared back and roared in pain.

Harry grabbed Hermione and pushed her towards the tiny hole that was the exit. A blast of fire came at them but Harry was ready with his wand. He caught the fire with an elemental control spell and molded the flames into a blindingly bright wall that stood between them and the giant reptilian beast. Then he darted through the hole after Hermione.

The next room was like a hallway with narrow little balconies on both sides. At the far end of the hall there was a small cage like an old fashioned elevator. As the two friends walked into the hall, the floor began to move beneath them back towards the hole where they had entered. Hermione looked at Harry in fear. She held her left arm pressed tightly up against her chest using her right wrist for support with her wand held above her left shoulder.

“Run!� Harry commanded pointing down the hallway towards the cage.

They began running towards the far end of the hall as flames appeared from the hole they had just crawled through. Harry let Hermione run in front of him. He could now see the awful wound that the dragon’s claw had made on her left shoulder blade. Blood ran down her back staining the shredded remains of her T-shirt and her pants. As they ran towards the cage making very little progress against the moving floor, ugly little faces began appearing on the balconies to their left and right. If Harry had ever had any sympathy for the gnomes that lived in the Weasleys’ garden, this hallway completely eliminated it. The gnomes began throwing stones at Harry and Hermione, turning the endless hallway into a pain-filled gauntlet.

Hermione held her wand uselessly over her shoulder focusing on running as fast as she could in spite of the pain from the wound on her back. Harry had learned from bitter experience that the shield charm did nothing to stop the stones that the gnomes were throwing at them. In fact the shield charm seemed to accelerate the stones towards their target. Harry used a simple levitation charm to make the stones curve away but he had to point his wand at each rock to deflect it and there were so many coming at them.

Harry could protect Hermione’s injured back fairly well just by running behind her so he focused his efforts on deflecting the stones that came at them from the front. Hermione raised her arms as best she could, tucked her head down and ran as fast as she could. A stone hit Harry hard on the left side of his head almost causing him to stumble. He glanced at the balcony to the left and saw a leering gnome with a slingshot taking aim at Hermione. Harry’s next levitation charm hit the gnome with the slingshot instead of the rock he held. The nasty little twerp was lifted over the balcony railing and dropped onto the moving floor which dragged him back to the hole that led to the dragon’s chamber.

On and on they ran desperately gulping for breath, their pulse pounding in their heads, their sweat dripping into their eyes, their sides aching. But Harry had ceased to merely deflect the oncoming stones he was now using the summoning charm to pull the gnomes off of their balconies. Battered and exhausted the two took a final lunge onto the stationary part of the hallway floor where the cage stood.

Harry pulled open the door of the cage and motioned for Hermione to huddle behind it. He then used the door of the cage as a crude shield to protect them from the stones being thrown at them by the angry gnomes. They had to get into the cage and ride in it to the next room but Harry knew they needed to catch their breath before doing so. If there had been any time during his first trip here when Harry thought he was going to die, it had been in that horrible little cage. As they huddled behind the cage door gasping for breath, the gnomes that Harry had knocked off of the balconies climbed back to their posts and the number of rocks being thrown at them increased.

Having stationary targets the gnomes began to coordinate their attacks, throwing their rocks in great volleys so Harry couldn’t block all of them with the cage door. The two friends began taking hits from the rocks. After a few short minutes of rest to recover partially from their exhausting run down the hall, Harry and Hermione used the gap between two volleys of rocks to dash around the door and squeeze into the cage. The cage was only big enough for one averaged sized person and Hermione moaned in pain as Harry pressed tight against her to pull the door shut.

The cage began to descend through the floor.

“Take a deep breath,� Harry warned as the cage was lowered into water.

The cage slowly sank to the bottom of a flooded chamber and then began to creep across the floor. It would have been so much faster to swim across the flooded chamber but the cage was the only way in or out. The cage moved so slowly. They waited, trying to be patient, trying to conserve their bodies’ limited supply of oxygen. The blood in the water attracted fish that bit at their fingers and any part of their flesh that pressed against confining bars of the little cage. They waited. Their lungs began to ache. Their vision began to fade. They had to breathe. Oh to have just a little air! The cage began to rise slowly, filling them with the hope of getting air and with doubt that they could survive long enough for it to finish its slow journey.

Their heads finally broke the surface and they gasped for air coughing and sputtering. When the cage stopped, Harry opened the door and they fell out. They lay on the floor soaking wet in a blood stained puddle, exhausted, aching and out of breath.

“The door is there,� Harry said, panting for oxygen and pointing at the sealed arch. His head was throbbing where he had been hit by a rock.

“I wish…I was…more… athletic,� Hermione gasped as she crawled over to the door and pulled herself up to her knees.

She stared at the runes in the dimly lit room. After a few minutes she idly slid her wand behind her left ear, like Luna Lovegood. She shifted her right hand to get a better grip on her injured arm. Harry managed to get up and walk over to stand behind her. Hermione’s T-shirt and bra strap were in tatters, severed by the dragon’s claw. What remained of her clothing was red with her blood.

“I can read the runes… but they’re nonsense,� Hermione said in a worried tone as she gasped for air.

“You’re bleeding badly,� Harry said looking at the deep gash on her left shoulder blade. This concerned Harry greatly. If she passed out, Harry could never get her out of the crypt alive. If she was unconscious in the cage, she’d drown. He could never run the gauntlet carrying her and he couldn’t get her safely past the dragon if he had to drag her. “I can cast a healing spell on you,� Harry began. “But I tried a healing spell on myself the last time I was here and it just made the bleeding worse.�

“Don’t try the healing spell Harry,� she said without taking her eyes off of the runes. “There’s a warning here of some sort…I think…cursed is….something, potion, hat, planet, something, the room…� she mumbled in confusion. “Make some crude bandage,� she suggested.

Harry took off his T-shirt and wrung it out. He tore off a section and placed it on Hermione’s wound. She winced but kept her eyes on the runes.

“I’m going to repair your bra strap,� Harry said awkwardly, “to hold the bandage.�
Hearing no objection, Harry pulled the pieces of her bra strap over the piece of cloth.
“Reparo,� he said.

Hermione’s bra and T-shirt crumbled to dust leaving her topless.

Harry stepped back in surprise and horror, shutting his eyes against the sight of Hermione’s naked bleeding back.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry,� Harry stammered. “I…I didn’t mean to do that.�

Hermione just snickered slightly and kept studying the runes.

“That’s it!� she said in triumph. “Cursed is …this room… backfire will… spells cast… for healing… or for repairing objects. I can read the runes!�

“That’s great!� Harry said. “But… you’re like… topless. What do I do?�

“Rip up your T-shirt and put a bandage on my shoulder,� she said. “Save a piece to make a sling for my arm. It hurts to lower it.�

Harry tore the remains of his shirt into strips and knelt behind her.

“The message is hidden by the insertion of nonsensical runes,� she explained. “The sensible runes are scattered, but there’s a pattern. It’s a standard numerological progression that relates birth signs to lucky numbers. It’s basic arithmancy�

“I’m going to have to…to…� Harry stammered nervously, “ um… like… touch you.�

“It’s alright,� she said. “Get the bandage on. We’re friends. It’s not like I’ve never taken your pants off while you were lying in my bed.�

“You took my pants off?� Harry said as he wrapped a strip of cloth across her bleeding shoulder blade, under her arm and between her breasts.

“With daddy’s help,� she added. “You were very bloody… Mom appreciated it when I used magic… to clean up,� she said in a distracted fashion as she concentrated on the runes.

Harry continued to bind her wound while she worked through the scrambled runes.

“To open the door you must give it an offering… � she said, “…of blood…�

“I tried to give the door an offering of blood. I gave it plenty of blood,� Harry insisted. “It didn’t work.�

There was indeed a frightfully large stain of dried blood on the frame of the door.

Hermione turned on her knees to face him. Harry froze, not wanting to gaze into her eyes, not wanting to stare at her breasts.

“You must give the door some blood from the one you love,� she finished.

“Blood… from the one I love?� Harry exclaimed in dismay. “I can’t give the door blood from the one I love. I… I… I don’t love anyone!�

Hermione gave Harry of look of sorrow and pain. “Put a sling on my left arm so I can use my right to aim my wand please, Harry,� she said quietly.

“We might as well leave, before you pass out,� Harry said in defeat as he tied up Hermione’s arm. “Everyone I’ve ever loved has been murdered. I can’t love anyone. I won’t love anyone.�

“Do you have any cloth left?� Hermione asked.

“A bit,� Harry replied.

“Tie it around me like a bikini top, please,� she instructed, wincing in pain as she gingerly raised her injured arm with her good arm.

Harry did as instructed trying to not think about the fact that he was touching Hermione’s breasts.

“Poor Harry, you’ve been hurt so badly,� she said softly. “I know you have to avoid grief and self pity. You have to focus on the awful job that you have to do. But you mustn’t give up on love.�

She began to struggle to her feet, so Harry stood and helped her up.

“When the war with Voldemort is over, you’ll be free to love,� she said softly. “Don’t forget how.�

She reached out with her good arm and rather roughly rubbed the throbbing spot on the side of Harry’s head.

“OW!� he said. “What was that for?�

“You’re bleeding too,� she said.

She rubbed the frame of the door with her bloody hand adding a small amount of Harry’s blood to the large stain that was already there.

The door began to slide open.

“Oh Hermione,� Harry sighed. She wasn’t just his best friend, she loved him. And he had brought her here to this awful place because he couldn’t read the writing on the wall.

On an ornate alter in the middle of the next room, stood the cup of Helga Hufflepuff.

The unblinking eyes of a hundred Inferi stared back at them.

Hermione took her wand from behind her ear.

Harry pulled Hermione’s body close to his and summoned a ring of fire to surround them.

Together they walked through the arched door towards the alter.


The End

I have started a sequel to this story, called "The Fifth Horcrux". It is classified as a H/Hr romance.

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Author’s Notes
Ginny would be a great girl for Harry, but he breaks up with her at the end of HBP. Harry’s not really being fair to Ginny. As a Weasley, she is in danger weather she is Harry’s girlfriend or not. But he knows she will accept his decision (Chapter 30, page 646). In Harry’s mind Ginny is the girl who won’t say “Be careful� or “Don’t do it�. Who would say such things to Harry? Harry has no family. He is a lone hero on a lonely quest.

Harry is going off to war and he accepts it. No young man wants to go off to war without first having a girl, but it’s a complicated issue. You will have to say good-bye, and that’s hard to do. Lots of girls in Hogwarts are hot for Harry Potter, but he chooses to have his fling with Ginny. He picks Ginny in part because she is pretty and he genuinely cares for her, but he also knows that he can break it off without it hurting too much. And Ginny knew the break was coming. But even as Harry gathered the courage to make the break with Ginny, in the back of his mind Harry was thinking about that other girl, the one who would say “Be careful�. And he is in effect admitting, somewhat bitterly, that he could not break it off so easily with her.