Chapter 13
A Matter of Trust
"No!"
Hermione blinked open her eyes, her body aching as she scanned the darkness above her. Her breath was uneasy, a mix of shallow and deep breaths as she brought herself under control. She shivered slightly, as she dragged herself up into a sitting position. The room around her seemed darker than usual, and eerily quiet. Her hand moved, and brushed lightly over her forehead, her hair matted around her face.
"Hermione? Are you alright?"
Harry's voice reached her ears, as she once more turned in the darkness trying to work out where she was. She ran her hand over her body, wincing as she touched several tender spots on her skin, where her body had been hit. Moving slightly, she stretched out her muscles, checking herself for damage.
"I think so. Are you alright?" She called into the night, not sure where Harry was.
"I don't seem to have any injuries." His voice seemed to be drawing closer. "Do you have your wand?"
Hermione searched the floor before her, her hands brushing over the area around her. "I don't seem to." She held out her hand and silently spoke 'Accio wand', feeling the slender wooden stick land in her palm. Within seconds, the wand was casting a subtle glow around her.
At around the same time, Harry suddenly appeared out of the darkness, as his own wand illuminated around him. The two appeared like beacons in the night, standing at almost opposite sides of the room. Moving over to Hermione, Harry offered her his hand and helped her to her feet. She gave him a smile before a look of concern spread over her face, matching an almost identical one on his face.
"Ron!" They called out in unison.
A soft mumble filled the air, coming from the direction of the last place they had seen their friend standing. With a brief look at each other, they headed off towards the sound, unsure exactly what they would find there. Things had happened so fast once the spirit of Voldemort began to zoom around the room, that Hermione had not been entirely sure what state Ron had been in. The last time she remembered looking upon him was when the apparition had sped through his body.
"Ron?" Hermione called out softly, a hint of fear causing her voice to shake. "Ron, are you alright?"
"Ron, mate, are you hurt?" Harry's voice floated over to where Hermione stood.
Almost together they stood about two metres from the wall that Slytherin's locket had bounced off of a short time earlier. Both stood still, wondering if the spirit was still there, whether it was merely waiting for them to approach before it began attacking them again.
A brief look at each other, and they turned in slightly different directions. Hermione headed towards the place that Ron was last standing, while Harry moved slightly in the other direction, towards the locket. Both continued to walk cautiously towards their goal.
Hermione's wand lit up the floor before her, where suddenly a limb came into view, followed by another leg. Her heart leapt with a mixture of happiness and fear, as she sped up, rushing towards her fallen friend. Reaching him in mere steps, she crouched on the floor, her hand stretching out towards Ron, searching for signs of life.
"Ron?" Hermione spoke softly, trying to fight back the emotion that was welling up inside her. "Ron?" Her hand found his chest, moving it until it rested over his heart. The beating beneath her fingers caused her to sigh heavily with relief.
"The kiss of life might help." Ron's eyes popped open, his lips spreading into a grin.
"Oh, Ron." Hermione smiled, as she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips to his. "I thought you were dead," she cried out as she sat back on her heels, then frowned, as he pulled himself into a sitting position. "Don't scare me like that again."
Ron looked sheepish, but the twinkle remained in his eyes. "Oh, I feel like I've been used as a punch bag for a week." He groaned, as he steadied himself. "Is it gone?"
Both looked around to where Harry was standing, his light revealing the golden locket that lay broken on the ground. He bent down slowly, his hand reaching out tentatively towards it, as if he was expecting it to bite him. His fingers closed around the oval, as he brought it up to his face for a closer inspection. All three remained silent, as if their voices would bring back the spirit of Voldemort.
"It seems empty." Harry called over to Hermione and Ron, his gaze leaving the locket and finding his friends' faces. His eyes then flicked around the room, searching. "I don't think it's here anymore."
Hermione and Ron followed Harry's example and looked about them. Hermione rose to her feet, her wand outstretched, spreading her circle of light further. "It's gone!"
Harry rushed over to where his friends were, his hand out ready to help Ron from the ground, as Hermione took hold of his other hand, pulling him to his feet. Groaning loudly as his body put up a struggle, Ron gave his two friends a grateful but painful looking smile.
The trio stood looking at each other for a moment, not saying a word to one another, when suddenly, as if on cue, they burst into a loud laugh, their arms flung around each other. They began to dance happily around and around, patting themselves on the back and celebrating.
"We did it!" Harry cried out with joy. "We did it!"
Ron patted his friend on the back. "We killed You-Know-Who!" He grinned as he looked over to Hermione. "We actually did it!" His voice sounded more than a lightly surprised.
"Not exactly." Hermione suddenly grew serious, even though her eyes continued to hold their smile. "We destroyed a part of his soul, which is impressive to say the least, but we still have a long way to go before we actually kill him." She turned to Harry. "We should leave before the others hear us."
Harry nodded. "What was the ward we put on the room?"
Hermione looked at Harry and smiled. "Secrecy Ward, but it's not permanent. It was just to stop anything that happened in this room getting out. Everything that happened in here will remain a secret. Anyone outside would be unable to hear or sense what was happening within these four walls."
A frown fell over Harry's face. "Why not just use a silencing spell?"
Shrugging her shoulders, Hermione smiled. "Because I found the secrecy one first. Not that it really matters. It was just to stop anyone finding us here."
Ron looked at Hermione. "Why not do the whole house? We could have been found when we were searching it."
"We didn't have time to do the whole house, and we were in the library longer than we were anywhere else…"
"Would Voldemort have been able to pick up on what this part of his soul was doing?" Harry asked, cutting off Hermione.
Turning towards Harry, Hermione pondered for a moment and then shrugged. "I'm not sure how the Horcruxes work, but there is a possibility that he could have sensed his soul, but the ward should have kept him from finding out. Being as he wasn't 'in' the room himself, but I'm not really sure." She frowned. "There is a possibility that he might know that this Horcrux has been destroyed."
"I hope he does know." Harry's voice grew dark. "I want him to know that we are going to stop him. If he knows we are successful, he will know that he has little time left."
Hermione looked at Harry oddly, her brow creased heavily. "He might also move the Horcruxes. And even though we don't know where they are, we could find the solution in his past, but if he moves them, Harry…"
"It doesn't matter. I know that we can destroy them now, and that's always been one of our biggest problems." Harry smiled at Hermione. "And you found the solution."
Hermione blushed, grateful for the low light of the wands. "It was nothing." She turned suddenly and headed over to the table, leaving her friends standing together. "We should start tidying up." She raised her wand, and with a brief utterance the books that had burst into flames and were now merely glowing with heat, suddenly extinguished completely. "Ron, get the lights," she called over her shoulder.
Harry walked over to the table, picking up the books that lay resting on the surface as the room erupted into brightness, causing the three to blink hard as their eyes adjusted from the darkness. Once they were able to see, the full extent of the damage caused was revealed to their eyes.
"This is going to take hours." Ron grumbled, as he moved over to where Harry was standing.
The ground was covered with books, where they had flown off the shelves and had landed. In the middle were a pile of blackened tomes, their bindings burnt beyond recognition. Those that were still in one piece were scattered around, some open with their pages revealed, while others were lying downwards. In the corner two books were in the middle of a standoff, growling and flapping their pages at each other.
"Ron, help me with these." Hermione called over, hoping to give the young wizard something to occupy him.
"You've got to be kidding." Ron looked over to where Hermione was pointing. "They'll take our fingers off."
Hermione turned and glared at him. "Don't be such a baby, Ron. They are only books." She frowned as she once more looked upon the two books. "If we grab one each while they are occupied with each other, it will be easy. I'll take the one on the right, and you take the other."
Ron sighed and nodded his head. "I hope you are right about this."
"Ssshh, keep quiet, and try not to draw attention to yourself." Hermione carefully edged closer, swinging around to the right, while Ron mirrored her actions, moving to the right.
Approaching slowly, their eyes never leaving the scene in front of them, Ron and Hermione finally stood silently behind the two books, as they began to ruffle their pages faster, their covers snapping shut like angry mouths. Hermione briefly looked at Ron, checking that he was in position. Lowering her attention once more she took a step forward.
"Now!"
Hermione and Ron leapt forward, arms out and grabbed the two heavy tomes, fighting to keep them from opening once they had managed to push their covers together. Hermione backed away from Ron, putting some distance between them as the two students struggled to lock the catches on the books. Finally, both noticed a difference as the books gave up the fight and with a heavy sigh the young witch and wizard returned the books to their shelves.
"I hope we don't have to do that again in a hurry." Ron moved over to her and gently stroked her cheek as he smiled. "I always thought libraries were supposed to be quiet places."
Laughing, Hermione took told of Ron's hand and lowered it from her face, looking over to see what Harry was doing before turning back to Ron. "Not here." She whispered, not wanting Harry to hear.
Ron nodded in understanding. "Let's get this mess cleared up. The quicker we start, the quicker we finish."
Hermione smiled. "Thank you, Ron." Letting his hand slip from her fingers, she watched as he began to pick up some of the other books that lay on the floor, while she walked over to the table where Harry was stacking the books they had been using earlier.
"Which one was it in?" Harry asked, looking up from his task at her approach.
Hermione scanned her eyes over the table, picking up a couple of the book, not looking up at Harry, almost as if she had not heard his question. Ron had stopped what he was doing and wandered over to them as he caught what Harry had said and was as curious as his friend for an answer.
Stopping as he reached Hermione, Ron placed his hand on her shoulder, making her jump. "'Mione, stop being so bashful and tell us where you found the spell."
Harry looked at Hermione, who had turned her attention from the table and looked into his eyes. "What is it?" He looked into her face for a moment then gazed down onto the table, staring at the book that rested on the surface in front of the seat she had been sitting at.
He walked around the table, stopping by her chair. Looking down at the open book, he moved his hand to flick over the cover to read the title. As he did so, Hermione's hand came down on the page stopping his progress.
"Hermione, what is it?" He asked, his eyes finding hers.
"Harry…I…"
"Yes?"
Hermione paused, her hand remaining on the book. "Well, you see…I…"
Harry frowned, his expression one of confusion. "You did what?"
"I made it up."
Silence descended on the room, as Harry looked between Hermione and Ron, while the other wizard stood staring at her opened mouthed. The ticking of the clock in the hallway could once more be heard, along with the low crackling of the slowly cooling burnt books.
Harry finally found his voice. "You did what?"
"I made it up," Hermione repeated, sounding more than a little embarrassed about admitting the fact.
"Wait!" Ron interrupted. "You made up the spell that destroyed that thing?"
Hermione nodded. "Yes, I made it up."
Ron and Harry exchanged looks, before they both once more stood staring at their companion. Both looking as if they were fighting hard to find something to say that would make this conversation seem more real.
"You made it up?" Harry asked again.
"Yes." Hermione answered, sounding a little annoyed at having to repeat herself.
"Out of the blue? Just like that?" Harry's eyebrows had risen questioningly. Beside him, Ron had a similar expression on his face.
"Yes, just like that." Hermione flicked her eyes between her two friends.
Harry frowned for a moment. "How did you know it would work?"
Hermione paused, looking more than a little uncomfortable. "I didn't know it would work."
"What?" Ron's voice rose in pitch.
"I believed it would work." Hermione smiled sheepishly, looking so much unlike herself. "And I thought you would believe it would work. And so it did."
Once more the room fell into silence, as the two wizards stood trying to understand what she was saying, and finding it hard to come to terms with her words. The expressions on their faces revealed as much to the young witch.
"Spells are created all the time and somehow they work." Hermione turned to Harry, her eyes looking at him pleadingly for understanding. "Remember the Half Blood Prince's book," she explained, making sure not to mention Snape's name, as now was not the time to get into an argument. "When you tried the potions and spells written in the margins, you must have believed they would work, otherwise they were nothing more than just words that someone had jotted down. You made them work."
Her eyes flicked between Ron and Harry, settling on the red haired wizard. "You failed to apparate at first because you had doubts in yourself." Again her eyes moved between her two friends. "Ron did well in that Quidditch match because he believed that he had taken the Felix Felicis potion. That's how this spell worked." She sighed heavily, feeling a little frustrated.
"Because I trusted you…and I trusted that you had found the spell?" Harry asked, still sounding a little unsure. "Is that what you are saying?"
Hermione nodded. "Partly. The words focus your thoughts to what you want to happen." She let her hand up from the book, letting Harry reveal the title. "This book held the answer. I just had to make the words say what we wanted to happen." Her smile grew. "Ante Mortem Apage Voldemort means Before Death Begone Voldemort." Moving slightly, she lowered herself into a chair. "We need his soul gone before we can kill him, and you wanted him gone, and so did I."
"'Resourceful: A guide to creating what you need, when you need it'." Harry read the title aloud to Ron. "This sounds like a self help book, not a spell book."
Hermione looked down at the book, her eyes resting gratefully on the cover. "But we needed a spell that could destroy the Horcrux, and it gave me the idea. And your trust in me made you believe the spell would work. Just like with the Patronus spell, Harry. That time when you knew you could do it because you had seen you do it. It's how spells work, and why we are better at some more than others."
Ron frowned. "Are you saying that my problem is disbelieving I can do it?"
Hermione laughed lightly. "I'm saying that it could be a possibility." Her eyes met Ron's; the look in them was kindly. "But you cannot deny that you improved at Quidditch when you thought you had taken that potion. Because you believed that luck was on your side."
Nodding his head, Ron grinned. "Harry sure fooled me." He patted his friend on the shoulder. "It certainly did wonders." He looked down at the table and sighed. "I guess we'd better get tidying if we ever want to leave here tonight." Without another word, he walked away from the table and resumed picking up the books that had been tossed onto the floor.
Harry watched Ron walk away, and let his gaze fall onto Hermione. Unlike Ron, he appeared less than happy with her explanation. "I still don't understand how you could try something so stupid without knowing it would work."
"Did you notice any time when I could have practiced first?" Hermione scowled, growing more than a little annoyed that he was not thanking her for her help, rather than attacking her about it. "It came to me, Harry, as if it was supposed to be." She pointed to the book. "This is the only book that I read tonight. I don't know why, but it seemed to hold my attention like a book has never done before. And you know how much I like books, Harry."
Harry grinned despite himself. "Before you do something foolish like this again, at least give me some warning."
"I asked you to trust me, Harry. Do you remember?"
The two fell silent for a moment, the only sound in the room was the scuffle of Ron's shoes against the floor as he continued his task, and the gently rustle of pages as they closed against each other.
"I remember," Harry nodded slowly. "But I thought you were referring to the ward." He smiled suddenly, his face lighting up. "I do trust you, Hermione. I always have. I've know you long enough to know that you never do anything that you do not believe will work. And I know that you would not do something that you thought would hurt me." He placed his hand on her shoulder, and looked down into her face. "I trust you, and I always will."
Hermione blushed, unsure for a moment what to say. "Thank you, Harry." She raised her hand and rested it lightly on top of his that lay on her shoulder. "That means a lot to me."
They remained smiling at each other for a minute, no need for more words as their eyes said everything that needed saying. The sound of a book being shut behind them pulled them out of their reverie.
"I guess we need to get finished, we don't want to be late for class tomorrow." Harry moved his hand from its place and let it hang down the side of this body. "Professor Stygian will probably start docking points from Gryffindor if we are not there on time."
Hermione nodded. "Yes, she does seem a little strict, and I think she could make Professor McGonagall seem forgiving."
Sharing a smile, Hermione rose from the seat, and the three began working on clearing up the library, to ensure that should Tonks, Lupin or Kreacher enter the following day, none would be aware that anyone had been in the room.
* * * * *
The corridors of Hogwarts were quiet, but the three students took no precautions and returned using the invisibility cloak and the Marauders Map, managing to reach the Head Boy and Girl's suite without bumping into anyone. Even Filch had been far away from their path, which boded well for Harry, Ron and Hermione. Disappearing inside, the three friends were revealed as Harry pulled off the cloak and dropped it over the back of the chair, as Ron and Hermione visibly relaxed.
"I have to say it. That was a most exceptional night." Harry grinned, as he pushed his hand into his pocket and pulled out the golden locket, now devoid of its occupant. "I really didn't think we would be able to do it."
Ron walked up to Harry and looked over his shoulder at the oval in his hand. "Who would have thought something so small could have caused so much trouble?" He looked over at Hermione. "Do you think they will all be like that?"
"I don't think they will get any easier, but now we know what is in it, and we know that we can destroy it." Hermione moved over to the fire and waved her wand, bringing the dying embers back to roaring flames. "But we really should not get over confident."
Harry nodded and walked over to where Hermione was standing, Ron following closely behind. "But we know we can do it. That has to make a difference."
Grinning, Ron plopped himself down into one of the chairs, his eyes flicking between his two standing friends. "One down. Dumbledore would be proud of you, Harry."
The dark haired wizard shook his head. "Proud of us." He smiled. "I couldn't have done it without the two of you." His face took on a look that Ron and Hermione had not seen in him for a long time, at least not since the end of last year. "I thought I had to do this one my own, but I was wrong. You two are the best friends I could have."
Hermione looked at Harry and smiled, her eyes twinkling with happiness. "We will always be here for you, Harry. Won't we, Ron?"
The other wizard nodded his head. "You can count on us, Harry."
A chiming from the clock drew all their attention, bringing them down from their euphoric feelings. The night had turned into morning, and although it was still dark, they all knew that the sun would be up in a couple of hours. Ron rose from his chair and looked over at the door.
"I'd best go otherwise the others will wonder where I've gone." Ron turned his gaze to the cloak. "Harry, can I…?"
"Sure, go ahead." Harry nodded and walked over to the chair where Ron was heading. "You'd better take this too." He handed over the Marauders Map. "Be careful. You really don't want to be caught now."
Ron nodded as he picked up the cloak and placed it around his shoulders, his body disappearing, leaving just a floating head. "I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight, Hermione."
"Goodnight, Ron," Hermione answered from her place by the fire. "Like Harry said, be careful. Look out for Filch."
Looking between his two friends, Ron pulled the cloak over his head and disappeared from view. A moment later the door to the room opened as if by magic, and then silently closed again. Harry and Hermione stood watching the door for a moment, before Harry walked back over to where Hermione was warming herself.
"I really can't believe we did it." His hand once more opened in front of him, revealing the locket. "When that thing rammed into Ron, I thought we were all going to die."
Hermione shivered despite the heat from the fire, as the vision from her dream appeared before her eyes. The face of Harry stared blindly up at the darkening sky, Voldemort standing across from them, his eyes blazing with anger. Her arms held Harry tightly, as tears streamed down her cheeks. Then he blinked. His eyes finding her gaze, as he gave her a cheeky smile.
"Are you alright, Hermione?" Harry asked, as she turned towards him.
"I'm fine." Hermione smiled, and moved closer to where he stood, taking his hands in hers. "I'm just burying demons."
Harry grinned. "We certainly did that tonight, didn't we?"
Hermione squeezed Harry's hands tighter, gaining strength from his touch. "Yes, we did. But we still have a long way to go." She leant forward and pressed a tender kiss to his cheek. "Goodnight, Harry."
"Goodnight, Hermione." Harry smiled. "Have pleasant dreams."
Hermione released his hands, and took a step back. "I will." She stood and stared at him for a moment, just watching him, before she turned slightly and walked towards her bedroom door. Pausing with her hand on the handle, she looked back over at Harry, where he had gone back to staring at the golden locket in his hand.
"Tomorrow we can begin searching for the next one." She called over to him, smiling as he once more met her gaze."
Harry nodded his head. "And then the fun starts all over again." He wrapped his fingers tightly around the locket, and walked over to the door of his bedroom. "See you in the morning, Hermione."
They stood gazing at each other for a moment, and then as if on cue, they both turned and disappeared into their rooms.