I don't anything in the Potterverse.
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“Neville, hurry up. We were supposed to be there five minutes ago,” Harry called back as he and Neville raced down the long first floor corridor.
“I know, but Professor Scurlock will understand,” Neville panted, running behind Harry and losing ground.
“I don’t care. The Halloween Feast is tonight and I can’t afford a detention for being late,” Harry countered, as he rounded a suit of armor. The door to the Defense classroom was now within sight. Harry reached the door. Neville was panting as he came up behind him. Harry was gratified to notice that he didn’t even feel winded. Four months of constant training, at least I’m in better shape, Harry mused.
He opened the door and started to walk quietly into the room. He was surprised to see that the room was still rather noisy and that Professor Scurlock was not in front of the class. He and Neville quickly made for the seats that Hermione and Ron had been saving for them.
“Where have you two been?” Hermione questioned as they sat down. “Class was supposed to start eight minutes ago.”
“I know, we were training,” Harry whispered. His training was a closely guarded secret and for once it was a secret that had been kept at the school. “Neville and I against Remus and Tonks.” Harry grinned, thinking of the last disarming spell he had used on Tonks.
“Yeah, Hermione, you should have seen it,” Neville interjected with a grin. “He disarmed Tonks without saying a word. I was dueling with her and when Harry stunned Remus, he just looked at her and waved his wand. She went flying one way and her wand went the other.” Neville looked at Harry, a sense of awe crossing his face. Harry blushed slightly.
“Neville, you did really well too,” Harry stated encouragingly. “We didn’t lose a single duel today. Maybe the next time we work on Patronus Charms at the DA, you could remember how you bound Tonks and dodged Remus’s Stunner all in one motion. It was really good.” It was Neville’s turn to blush.
“Where on earth is Professor Scurlock? He has been late before, but this is ridiculous,” Ron mentioned. “How long do we wait before we just leave?”
Hermione looked scandalized by the very mention of leaving a class before the teacher arrived. Ron was saved from having to defend himself as the door of Scurlock’s office opened and a very harried looking professor stepped out.
“My apologies, class, for being late. I was held up with some important business,” Scurlock announced as he made his way towards the students. He stumbled as he reached the bottom step of the staircase leading to his office, and Harry was reminded of a conversation he had with Ginny the day before, regarding the strange behavior of their Defense teacher.
“Have you noticed anything unusual about Professor Scurlock?” Ginny had commented, taking a sip of her pumpkin juice. “I don’t know, something about him just doesn’t seem to fit, but I can’t put my finger on it.”
Hermione looked questioningly at her. “Well he does seem a bit awkward and clumsy at times, but other than that what is there?”
“I don’t know, sometimes when he looks at me in class, it’s like he’s watching me more closely than the others.” Harry pulled a wry face, raising his eyebrows. “Not like that, Harry.” Ginny slapped his arm. “Like he is making sure nothing happens to me. We have about twice as many Slytherins in Defense this year, so whenever we practice dueling, it is inevitable that I get paired with one of them. He always seems to be watching to make sure they don’t try anything funny.”
“Like he is making sure no one tries to actually hurt you?” Harry replied. “Isn’t that what the professor is supposed to do?”
“It just seems different somehow. That and he shows up late for class a lot. I don’t know, it just seems strange.”
Harry had not thought about it much, but now, as he watched the professor place his things on his desk in preparation for class, it seemed like there was something strange about him. Harry watched more intently as Scurlock began class.
“Today I want us to look at Patronus Charms. It is my understanding that many of you have already mastered the Patronus.” He gave Harry a knowing look. “But there are still some, I am sure, who need to practice.”
“You all know the incantation?” The students, all of whom were part of the DA, (except for those in Slytherin) nodded. Several from Slytherin did not nod, nor did they acknowledge the professor at all. “Well, for those who don’t know, the incantation is Expecto Patronum, and one must think of a very happy or positive thought in order to make the charm work. Now everyone.” Scurlock raised his hands to get everyone to stand.
Hermione quickly raised her hand. “Please, Professor, wouldn’t it be better to let us go one at a time? Otherwise you may have a lot of Patronuses running around.”
“Oh yes, very wise, Miss Granger. We wouldn’t want to make too much of a mess with all those Patronuses running back and forth. Perhaps you would like to try first?”
“Expecto Patronum,” Hermione shouted, and her silver otter came prancing out of the end of her wand. It scuttled around the room for a few seconds before evaporating.
“Very good, Miss Granger. Five points to Gryffindor,” Scurlock announced. “Mr. Longbottom, if you please.”
Neville looked nervous and Harry understood why. While Neville had made great strides in his magical abilities, he still had not been able to cast a Patronus. He had been working on it in the DA for weeks, but the best he could do was a thin silver mist.
“Expecto Patronum!” Silver mist shot from the wand but nothing more. Neville turned red and looked back to his friends at the table. Hermione gave him a reassuring nod as Harry mouthed the words “you can do it.”
“Give it another go, Mr. Longbottom?” Scurlock asked.
“Expecto Patronum,” Neville shouted. The silver mist came back but quickly formed into the image of a large bear, slightly larger than Harry’s stag. The bear stalked around the room for about thirty seconds before fading away.
“Great job, Neville. That was excellent.” Harry shouted. He was pleased with Neville for finally getting it. Ron clapped him on the back and Hermione smiled at him.
“Thanks, Harry, I used your advice and thought about the duel today,” he whispered so that no one else in the room would hear.
“Mr. Boot?” Scurlock went on.
The rest of the class was filled with every shape of silvery animal walking, flying and hopping through the classroom. By the end of the class, only two Slytherins were unable to cast a Patronus properly. Hermione had earned the Gryffindors fifteen more points for knowing how and why a person’s Patronus may change.
“Only on rare occasions. If the person deeply loves someone else, the Patronus may change, although that is not guaranteed. The witch or wizard has no control over the change. It is simply a manifestation of their love,” Hermione had explained.
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Ron, Hermione, Neville and Harry were walking back to Gryffindor tower. Harry’s good feelings from class and the dueling training were quickly being replaced by anxiety. It was Halloween night and that meant Harry was going to London, by himself, in search of Hufflepuff’s cup.
It had been three weeks since he announced to Ron, Ginny and Hermione that he would be going, alone, to find the cup. It was three weeks of tension. Ron and Hermione seemed to always be on the verge of arguing about something. Harry and Ron had come to a gentlemen’s agreement not to discuss the matter. Hermione attempted to act like nothing was wrong, but he could tell she was concerned about it.
The four entered the common room. Ginny was in the corner talking with another sixth-year girl. She looked up just as Harry entered through the portrait hole. She got up and started walking towards them. Harry’s heart gave a little leap, then sank.
“Hi you lot. Sorry, but I have to get ready for the feast,” she said brightly and went upstairs with a grin. This was how she had acted since he’d said she couldn’t come with him. She didn’t act angry or hurt. She didn’t seem upset. She acted as if nothing had happened. Harry thought she acted like she didn’t care anymore. That was far worse for Harry than if she would have been angry. If she didn’t care then maybe she really had moved on. Maybe she really did like Ernie.
“Bye, Ron, I will see you in an hour or so,” Hermione stated as she reached up to give him a kiss. She turned to Harry. “Be careful tonight, Harry,” she whispered and hugged him. She then made her way up to her dorm. Harry, Ron and Neville walked up to their room.
“So, Harry, you still haven’t said who you are going with tonight,” Neville inquired, making conversation as he started to get ready.
“Oh, yeah, well actually, I’m not going tonight. I’ve got too much homework to do,” Harry stammered. He knew that somehow Neville was supposed to help him, but he hadn’t even told him about the Horcruxes. Neville could help me by training and staying safely in the school, Harry thought.
“Really, I would have thought that you would’ve had your pick of dates, Harry,” Seamus remarked. “I mean, every girl I talk to says they would have loved to go with you.”
“It isn’t that I couldn’t get a date”I really do have homework,” Harry replied, starting to feel annoyed.
“Whatever you say, but I bet you could still find someone to go with you if you wanted. I bet Romilda would love to go with you,” Dean Thomas commented.
“I don’t want or need a date because I can’t go because I have too much work to do!” Harry was feeling very annoyed now”annoyed because his roommates were so interested in his love life and annoyed because Ron was not coming to his defense. “Tell ‘em, Ron. Tell them I have too much homework to do.”
“He has too much homework to do,” Ron declared with no real life to it.
“Thanks, mate.” Harry stormed out of the room. He walked along the stairs. The common room was empty. The younger students were at a smaller feast held just for them. McGonagall had decided that the first and second years should not come to the ceremony since it would be a very late night for them. The older ones were getting ready for the ceremony and the main feast that followed. Harry walked towards one of the armchairs. He sat down and closed his eyes. He felt terribly alone.
He heard footsteps coming from the girls’ stairwell. He then heard voices. “I don’t care if it’s killing you. You can’t say anything now. If he finds out, it will be worse,” one of the voices said. Harry could just make out the words, but because they were said in an undertone, he couldn’t figure out who was speaking. He was in a chair that faced away from the steps, so whoever was talking didn’t know he was down there.
“But if I tell him, at least he will know and then…” the second voice answered back.
“Then he will be hurt that we kept it from him. He’ll really not trust us and we won’t be able to help him at all.” Harry recognized the first voice now”it was Hermione.
“I just have to tell him,” Ginny said as she stepped off the final step.
“Tell me what?” Harry stood up so that Hermione and Ginny could see him. His heart was sinking even lower as he attempted to figure out what Ginny needed to tell him but Hermione wouldn’t let her. What would hurt him more and make him not trust them?
“Oh, Harry,” Hermione stammered. “I didn’t know you were still down here. We were just coming to grab a book she left.”
“What does Ginny need to tell me?” Harry glared at Hermione. Ginny turned pale and began looking around the room as if she was looking for an escape route.
“She didn’t want me to tell you”” Ginny started, still not looking at Harry.
“Tell you that she is going to the feast with Ernie Macmillan,” Hermione cut across her in a rush. “I didn’t want her to tell you because I thought it would really upset you and that it would make things more difficult.” Ginny stared in shock at Hermione and turned scarlet.
“Really, Ginny?” Harry asked. “You thought that would upset me. It’s all right. We aren’t together anymore so if you want to go with Ernie, I understand. I thought you guys were talking about something serious,” Harry announced with a grin that didn’t reach his eyes. His insides were twisting into painful knots, but he owed it to Ginny to not stand in her way. He didn’t want her to feel like she couldn’t have a life just because he couldn’t.
“You don’t care?” Ginny questioned, a bewildered look in her eye. “It’s not important to you if I go the feast with Ernie?”
“Well, no, I mean, Ernie is a bit pompous for my taste, but if you like him,” Harry stated flatly.
“Okay then, I guess I have to go and get ready for my date with Ernie,” Ginny commented. Harry was surprised to see the color had completely gone from her face. “Good luck tonight, Harry. Be careful.” She walked back up the stairs.
Harry’s heart felt like it was about to break into small pieces. Hermione came over to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. She smiled at him and nodded encouragingly. Harry took a deep breath and sighed. “Well, I had better get going. Hermione, don’t do anything stupid tonight, like not accepting the award. You’ve earned it.” Hermione just smiled at him and shook her head slightly.
“Harry,” Ron called from the top of the stairs. “You aren’t going to leave yet, are you?” he questioned as he got to the bottom of the stairs.
“No, I think I will go the library first. Once everyone is at the feast, I can come back and get my pack. My Invisibility Cloak is in it and I’ll sneak out. McGonagall was not at all happy about my going, but since Dumbledore said I could go when I needed to, she didn’t really have much to say about it. She told me to be careful, told me how to unlock and lock the gates, and said that she would want to know the minute I got back.”
“When do you think it will be?” Hermione asked.
“I don’t know. McGonagall told me that the feast would be over by eleven and that the owners of the house, the Vanderschamps, would probably be here for the duration of the feast, since Mrs. Vanderschamp is on the Order of Merlin committee. That means I have until around quarter to eleven to find it and get out,” Harry explained.
Ron and Hermione were silent. They each sat with their own thoughts for several more minutes, until finally Hermione got up to leave. She gave Harry another quick hug and went to get ready for the feast.
“Ron, I am sorry about all this”” Harry started when Hermione had left.
“I know, Harry, you’re just doing what you think is best. I can’t say I would do it any differently. We all have to do what we have to do in this war.” Ron got up to leave. “I need to go and get ready. Be careful, mate.”
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An hour later, Harry was under the Invisibility Cloak, walking along a cement path leading to Hepzibah Smith’s former house. He was about halfway to the front door when he distinctly heard a pop. Instinctively he whirled around but saw only cars driving up the street. Stop being so jumpy, Harry. He took a deep breath and slowly turned to look at the house; he continued to take deep, calming breaths as he looked around.
It was dusk and Harry was having a difficult time seeing clearly in the small amount of light. He heard an owl hoot somewhere in the distance behind him. The house was large”larger than Harry had expected after seeing the photos. Hermione had found the pictures of the house, along with a wide shot of most of the street, in a guide book to the richest homes in Wizarding London. He was able to use the pictures as a point of reference to Apparate there. Now, as he stood in front of the old house, he was surprised by its size.
It was three stories, with large white columns on a porch that seemed to wrap around the entire house. The second floor windows all had small balconies with intricately carved, white wood railings. The third floor had five gabled windows, all painted green. Harry smirked, thinking about the book he had seen Ron reading in the dorms a few nights before. It was called Anne of Green Gables and he said it was one of Hermione’s favorite Muggle books. The other young men in the room had had a great laugh over it.
He started up the path towards the house again. There was a rustling in the shrubs off to his left, but Harry just chalked it up to the wind. He reached the front door. It was locked. He pulled out his wand and tapped the knob without saying a word. The lock clicked and Harry quietly opened the door.
He stepped inside and got his bearings. The first time he had seen the inside of the house was through the memory of Hokey, Hepzibah’s house-elf, and he had stayed in the sitting room where Hepzibah was seated waiting on her guest. Over the past several weeks, he had been entering the memory and following Hokey everywhere the little house-elf had gone that evening. By now he had a pretty good idea of the layout of the house.
The interior was very different. Hepzibah had been a pack rat, filling the house with trinkets of all sorts. The Vanderschamps, however, were much more fastidious in their decorating. Harry was glad for this since it made it easier to move through the house and find the room he was looking for.
He found the correct door off the main hall and slowly entered the room, still under the Invisibility Cloak. As he entered, there was a small creaking sound and Harry thought he must have found a loose floor board. He could tell this was the room he wanted. It was smaller than he remembered it, but this was definitely the correct room. Many of the cabinets remained, along with some of the lacquered boxes that were in them”the room was remarkably similar to how it had looked in Hokey’s memory. The boxes on the floor were gone, but the cabinets and cases on the walls remained”all except the wall on the right.
He removed the Cloak and stuffed it into his pack, closed his eyes and raised the walls in his mind. When he opened his eyes, he immediately saw a red glow coming from the one empty wall in the room. Harry walked over to it, and as he approached he felt the dark magic growing. The closer he got, the stronger it got.
He focused his mind on the wall in front of him, trying to see what was needed to get past it. After a couple of seconds the word “blood” came into his mind. “Again? You aren’t very creative are you, Tom,” Harry muttered to himself. He reached into his pack and found his silver potions blade. He sliced his hand, wincing at the sting, and placed his palm on the wall. Light began to form an archway on the wall, and after several seconds, an opening appeared, leading to a hallway. Harry quickly healed the wound on his hand using a spell that Hermione had showed him.
He walked for about twenty feet and found an arched doorway which was closed. He tried the handle and found it locked. He tapped the door with his wand, but nothing happened. He again focused his mind on the door. The word “blood” again went across his mind. “Bugger,” Harry spat as he again found his silver blade and sliced his hand.
He place his bloody hand on the doorknob, heard a click, and the door opened. The hall was flooded by firelight. He entered a small round room. The walls were brick and there was no furniture to be seen. In the center of the room, floating in midair was a Quaffle-sized ball of flames.
“Great, I suppose the cup is in there,” Harry stated. “Well, at least I know that something is here. I hope no one beat me to this one.” He focused his mind again, this time trying to find the answer to the fireball. As he focused, the answer didn’t come, but through the flames he was able to see the ornate gold cup he was there to retrieve. “Well, that looks like it,” he said under his breath. His heart, which had been racing, moved to a higher gear. He again attempted to slow his breathing and calm himself. His heart slowed a little and his adrenaline came under more control.
I still don’t know how to get to the cup, he thought. “Aguamenti,” he stated. Water shot from the end of his wand into the fire. Steam rose but nothing else happened”the fireball was still blazing away.
Harry wracked his brain, attempting to find the correct spell. He tried an Ice Charm that he had seen Ginny use during the summer to instantly cool a drink. It had no effect. He thought about simply blasting the fire away but decided that would not be a good idea considering he was in such a small room. He noticed that while the fireball seemed to burn with great intensity, it gave off very little heat.
He focused his mind again on the solution, and again he saw the cup clearly but didn’t have the foggiest idea of how to get to it. Finally, as he focused his mind, his thoughts turned to Hermione. She would have known what to do, he thought bitterly. His mind then quickly turned to a story he had heard about witches using a Flame Freezing Charm to be able to survive being burned at the stake. He smiled and realized he had found the answer. He was surprised to find that he actually knew the incantation for the spell. When did I learn this? he wondered.
He waved his wand at the fire. The spell hit the flame, but there was no visible change. Harry wondered if the spell had worked but remembered that when the medieval witches used it, the flames still appeared to be normal flames. He focused again on the fireball and got a mental image of the cup, with no flames around it. “Ha, it worked!” Harry exclaimed.
He reached into the flames; they felt warm but nothing more. He grasped the cup. Simultaneously he heard a creaking sound, as the door he had entered began to slowly swing shut. He also saw the image of the cup he had in his head flash with flame again. This is a trap, Harry thought. I can pull my hand out and probably burn it off or I can let the door close and be stuck here until Voldemort shows up.
Harry didn’t have time to ponder the situation; he had to get out of the room. He quickly pulled his hand out of the fire. Screaming in pain as the flesh on his left hand was severely burned, he dropped the cup on the floor, then grabbed it in his right hand and dove out of the nearly closed door. He was having a hard time breathing because of the pain in his hand and lower arm. He quickly moved through the corridor to the archway. It had sealed itself again. He noticed a blood smear on the cup and realized that he hadn’t healed his hand from before. He put the cup under his left arm, cringing at the pain involved in moving it. He placed his bloody hand on the wall and the archway appeared again.
Harry stepped through the arch, his head now swimming with the amount of pain that was radiating from his hand. He hurried through the house. He got to the door and simply kicked it open, not thinking about what the owners would think when they returned home and found their front door kicked off its hinges. Harry was starting to see stars and he was afraid he might pass out from the pain.
He stepped shakily onto the porch. He saw an animal diving off the porch, but didn’t take time to care. He raced down to the front street, knowing that he couldn’t Apparate inside the yard. He could see the Anti-Apparition barrier around the property. Thankfully, there were no cars or people in the street at that time of night. It was almost pitch black with only a crescent moon in the sky. He focused his mind again, this time on the front gates of Hogwarts, and felt the pinching sensation of Apparition.
He next found himself at the Hogwarts gates. They were locked. He tapped the lock but nothing happened. He was losing his battle to stay conscious. Finally, he pronounced the unlocking charm that McGonagall had told him; the lock opened and the chains snaked around, allowing the gate to be pushed open. He stepped through the gate, without locking it again and collapsed. The walls in his mind were crumbling and the pain in his arm intensifying. He was blacking out. The last thing he heard was the Crack of someone Apparating before he finally lost consciousness.
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A/N: See what being noble gets you, unconscious with a charred hand. Will Harry ever learn? I hope you all liked this one, it was one of my favorites. If you liked it let me know. If you think you know what is going to happen next, let me know. I love to hear what you are thinking.
Thanks go out to my lovely and talented pre-betas, Cableguysmom and Kerrbear. Also big thanks for my wonderful and talented beta JenC. Thanks ladies, you take wonderful care of me.
Up next, we see the results of Harry’s nobility complex, and we answer the age old question, how do you destroy a Horcrux.