Chapter 5
The First Revelation
The library and most of the house was in darkness, the gentle ticking of a clock and the creaking of wood filled the air, breaking the monotony of silence. Every so often the scuttering of tiny feet against ancient floorboards indicated life on the lower level of the house, as a mouse made its nightly dash for food while the rest of the house slept. There was no light, even the street lamps from outside were stopped from entering their glow and disturbing the blackness by the thick drapes that hung from every window.
Then where there had been nothing but space appeared the body of a girl. Her eyes flicked around her as she searched for her companions, in the once still library. She took a step and stopped as before her apparated Harry Potter. Giving him a smile, she waited patiently for the arrival of their friend but he did not seem to be coming.
"What's happened to Ron?" Harry asked, his voice low but full of concern.
Hermione shook her head, her eyes wide. "I just hope he was thinking number twelve."
A noise from the hallway drew their attention. Harry leading the way, with Hermione right beside him, moved over quietly to the door, making sure not to draw attention to their presence. Pulling it open, with a faint creak, he poked his head outside, listening for signs of where the disturbance was coming from. Seeing no one outside he indicated for Hermione to follow as he widened the gap in the door, his wand already in his hand.
They crept along the hallway, their eyes flicking around, seeking for the faintest trace of life, hoping that their arrival had not woken Lupin or Tonks. Moving slowly along, they worked their way from door to door, checking and giving each the all clear. Reaching the last door, they were about to give up when a crash inside brought them running the last part of the way.
Flinging open the door, Harry stopped suddenly, Hermione crashing into him, sending him flying into the room. She landed on him with a thump. Looking up from their position on the ground, they stared at Ron who was dusting himself off, having picked himself up from the couch he had fallen on, as his wand let off a faint glow.
"I guess I was thinking about coming here in the summer." Ron grinned, looking more than a little embarrassed. He moved over to where his two friends were tangled together on the floor. Helping up Hermione, he gave her a little smile, before he gave his hand to Harry and pulled him up from the ground. The two brushed their clothing down, as they both shot their friend a little disappointed look.
Hermione tutted and illuminated her wand, throwing a little more light on the area. "Destination is very important Ron." She huffed as if she was repeating herself for the hundredth time.
"It's not my fault." Ron looked himself over, before looking at Harry and Hermione expectantly. "Am I all here?"
Harry nodded and laughed. "You look all here." He pointed to the door. "Let's get started. And be quiet, we don't want everyone to know we are here." Turning he walked over to the door, leaving Ron and Hermione looking at each other.
"I'll never get the hang of Apparition." Ron grumbled; a frown etched into his brow.
"Of course, you will." Hermione reached out her hand, which Ron took with a smile. "You just need to concentrate more." She extinguished her wand, letting Ron light their way back to the library.
* * * * *
"Harry?" Hermione knocked on the door, and waited patiently for him to reply. "You can't stay in there forever." She let out a long sigh. "I just want to talk to you." She placed her hand on the door, her other lightly trying the handle, knowing before she did so that it would be locked, barring her entry. She debated pulling out her wand and trying a spell, but she wanted him to let her in. She wanted him to let her help him, wanted him to accept that she was there for him.
Inside the room, she could hear the creaking of springs as Harry sat on the bed. "I don't want to talk, Hermione." His voice was rough, and slightly raised. "Just leave me alone." The sound of more creaks, as she surmised he had lain down.
"You can't hide away forever. This is stupid." Hermione was beginning to lose her temper with him, despite her attempt to be rational. "You have things to do. Damn it, Harry!" She turned and walked away. He would come out when he was ready, she just hoped that he would let her be there for him, let them all be there for him.
* * * * *
Harry was already sitting at the table, his wand wedged upright in a gap, as it spread some low light over the area in front of him. He looked up as his friends entered, his eyes lingering for a moment, a strange expression on his face, almost of regret. Hermione let go of Ron's hand as she saw Harry and the two walked over and sat themselves down.
"I don't know where we are going to look, but if there is going to be something on Horcruxes, there must be something in here. We are looking for any reference as to how we destroy them, but to be honest, anything we can find would be useful." Harry frowned slightly. "We don't have Dumbledore's knowledge anymore."
Hermione gave Harry a sad smile, as she reached over to take his hand, only to have him snatch it away from her before she could. "We'll find it, Harry. If there is anything in here, we'll find it. Won't we, Ron?"
"Hmm?" Ron looked at Hermione, as if coming back from miles away. "Oh, yes, we'll find it." He nodded his head, but did not sound at all convinced.
Harry stood up from his chair and looked about him. "Then I guess we should get started." Around him, all the walls were lined with books, which seemed to disappear into the darkness at the edges of the room. "I suggest we all take a wall and see what we can find."
"This is going to take forever." The woeful voice of Ron concluded.
"The sooner we start, the sooner we'll finish." Hermione chimed in. Unlike the other two, she liked scanning books for information, she was also better at it than both Harry and Ron. Raising her wand before her, she illuminated the tip and wandered over to a set of shelves taking the longest wall. "Come on, we don't have time to waste."
* * * * *
"How's Harry?" Ron asked as Hermione returned to the kitchen, the eyes of the three occupants on her.
It was easy to tell from her face that she had had no luck with him, not that they really had expected her to. They all knew that he had gone into himself, shutting himself from everyone that cared. The looks that Lupin and Tonks gave her made her want to scream, and Ron's doe-eyed expression did not make her feel any better. The pink haired Auror placed a cup of steaming tea on the table, as Hermione sat.
"We don't have time for this," Hermione intoned, as she cupped the mug in her hands. "I'm going to the library. I might be able to find something that will bring him out of his mood." She rose from her chair, barely having sat for a minute, ignoring the drink, as she headed out of the kitchen, Ron hot on her tail.
He placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her movement. "He just needs time."
Hermione turned and looked at him, her eyes meeting his, her sadness revealed at her failing. "He doesn't have time to grieve, Ron. You know how important it is that he continues what Dumbledore started. But he can't do it on his own, Ron. It's too big a burden for him. But he won't let us help him, and I'm afraid."
Ron took a step closer to Hermione, and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his body, as he pressed a tender kiss to the top of her head. "We aren't going anywhere, he knows that." He whispered into her hair. "He's had to put up with me all summer, I think he knows we are here." He moved slightly, and looked down into her face, his hand lightly brushing over her cheek. "I'll go talk to him."
Letting out a little sigh, Hermione managed a little smile. "You think you can get him to talk when I failed to?" Her voice though quiet, held a little amusement at this thought.
"Can't hurt to try, can it?" Ron grinned.
"No, it can't." Hermione's smile grew. "Good luck." She pressed a light kiss to his cheek and took a step back. "I'll be in the library. Let me know how it goes, okay?"
Deep down, she had a feeling that Ron would be slightly more successful than she had, as he was like a brother to Harry. She stood in her place in the hallway, as she watched him walked up the stairs, a path that she had taken only minutes earlier. The sound of him knocking the door drifted down to where she stood, followed by the calling of Harry's name, then a few moments later some muffled words that she could not hear, and then the soft creak as the door opened. Hermione felt her heart sink at the sound. Turning, she headed off to the library.
* * * * *
The table was piled with a stack of books, various titles from dark arts to ancient myths and legends. In front of each of the three gathered around the table, a large tome was opened at various degrees. Hermione seemed to be flicking through her book quickly, her eyes scanning the page for any sign or mention of a Horcrux or anything else similar. Harry was almost as dedicated, having to keep looking away from the page to stop his eyes popping out of his head. Ron seemed to be reading much slower than the others but also more thoroughly.
"Wow, I didn't even think that was possible." Ron suddenly said, distracting the others from their reading, but not giving any more detail than that, before once more losing himself in the page.
Harry looked up from his book, catching Hermione's eyes, who merely shook her head and said nothing, returning to her own studying, before she closed the book in front of her, and placed it on the table, with a gentle thud.
"There has got to be something in this library. I cannot believe the Black's did not know about them or at least have a book detailing them." Hermione leant across the table and grabbed the next book in the pile entitled 'Spells Through the Ages'. She opened the front cover and watched the dust dance in the light of the wands.
Harry grinned as he watched her. "We'll find something." He looked down at his book and back over to hers. "I have faith in your abilities."
Hermione met his eyes, a smile playing on her lips, her attention completely removed from the book on the table before her. "We've always managed in the past, haven't we?" She gazed briefly over at Ron, who was totally engrossed in his book, which make her think he was not reading about Horcruxes. Her eyes once more found Harry's, his look making her blush slightly.
"We are a good team." Harry smiled, and lowered his gaze down to his book.
Watching him for a moment, unable to bring herself back to the task at hand, Hermione let her gaze linger on the head of the boy before her. So much he had been through, so much he had lost. He would always have them. Her mind turned briefly, the darkness around her suddenly growing darker. As she watched him, the image before her changed, and Harry was no longer sitting, but was lying sprawled on the ground, his body broken and lifeless. A tear welled in her eye, and rolled down her cheek.
"Are you alright, Hermione?" Harry was looking at her, a worried expression on his face.
"I'm…yes, I'm fine," she stammered.
Ron, who been lost in his book and had been paying little attention to the conversation, looked up from his page and stared at Hermione. His eye picked up the reflection of the light in her tear. "Are you crying?"
Hermione shook her head and laughed lightly. "Of course not." She looked between Harry and Ron, her eyes lingering longer on the darker haired boy, as she rubbed her hand over her cheek. "Silly dust." She lowered her eyes back to her book, losing herself in her study, hoping that was the end of the topic.
With her head lowered, she missed the look that passed between her two friends.
* * * * *
Harry was deep in thought as Hermione entered the sitting room, in his hand she could see a little scrap of paper, that seemed to have caught his attention so much that he had failed to hear or see her arrive. She moved silently over to where he sat and placed her hands on the back of his chair as she looked over his shoulder. It did not take much for her to recognise the writing on it, or to recall the words detailed. Harry had been looking at it often since it had fallen out of the locket that he and Dumbledore had retrieved, assuming it was one of the Horcruxes.
"Any luck?" She asked, and watched as Harry almost jumped out of his chair.
He stood up from his chair and looked at her, surprised to see her standing behind him. "Hermione." He shook his head, as he began to calm himself down. "You startled me. I didn't hear you come in."
Hermione laughed. "I know you didn't." She moved around to the side of the chair and perched on the arm. Looking up at Harry, she patted the seat that he had just vacated and smiled. "I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't mean to disturb your thoughts, I was just curious."
Sitting back in the seat, he let his gaze fall back on the paper in his hand, rereading the words before him. "If only we knew who R.A.B. was." He frowned. "I can't believe after all that we went through, what Dumbledore did, we didn't even get the damn Horcrux." He shook his head, his voice rising. "He suffered, Hermione, he really suffered. And for nothing. In the end, it was all for nothing." He ran the paper between his fingers. "If he had not drunk that stuff…Snape…" His teeth were gritted. "Snape…" He kicked out at the coffee table in front of him, sending it flying across the room.
"I know, Harry." Hermione turned slightly, and wrapped her arms around Harry, burying his head against her chest. "I know…we all know." Her voice was low and comforting.
"He shouldn't have died." Harry mumbled against her body. "I'm going to kill Snape! If it's the last thing I do, I am going to kill him and Voldemort."
Hermione continued to hold him; relieved that he had not clammed up on her as usual. "Everything will work out, Harry. It always does."
Pulling back slightly, Harry looked up into Hermione's eyes, searching in them. "Do you believe that? Do you really think that I can do this?" His brow furrowed as the anger once more seeped in this gaze. "I don't even know who stole the locket and I have their initials." He turned away from her, pulling himself out of her embrace, and rose from the seat. "I can't even work out a simple clue like this," he yelled as he waved the paper in front of him.
"We'll get there, Harry. I know we will." Hermione stood up and looked at him.
"Who am I trying to kid? I can't do this! I can't do it without Dumbledore!" Harry picked up a book that lay on the mantle, having been left there by its previous reader. It flew across the room, landing with a bang against a vase that tumbled off the surface it rested on and smashed against the floor.
Hermione looked at Harry and dashed over to the fallen china, wanting to clear up the mess and repair the damage. Wand already out, she silently spoke 'reparo' and watched as the pieces all came together sliding from their positions on the floor and binding themselves, becoming one again. She picked up the book that was lying open on the floor. As she did, the front cover revealed its secret.
"Harry?" Hermione's voice was low and disbelieving.
"What?" Harry replied; his temper still evident.
"R.A.B." Hermione turned the book towards Harry, showing him the inscription inside the cover, which revealed itself to be 'the property of Regulus A. Black'. "The answer's been here all the time."
Rushing over to where she stood, Harry broke into a grin and then began laughing, as he threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly. Her lifted her from the ground and spun her around, both of them smiling broadly. As their eyes met, he stopped his actions and gently lowered her to the ground. They stood in each others arms for a moment, their eyes locked.
"What's going on?" Ron's voice floated over from the door.
Harry released Hermione, as if she had suddenly became too hot to touch. "R.A.B." He grinned as he pointed to the book in Hermione's hand. "We finally know who it is."
Hermione looked at Harry for a moment, before stepping away and taking the book towards Ron, who was walking into the room. "Sirius' brother, Regulus Black."
Grinning wildly, Harry walked over to his friends. "We've had the answer here all the time." He threw his arms around Ron and Hermione, holding them close. "Now we just have to find out what he did with the locket…"
* * * * *
"This is ridiculous." Harry slammed the book shut, and sighed loudly.
The pile of unread books had steadily decreased, as the pile of read had grown around the table, but none had shone the tiniest bit of light onto anything to do with how to go about destroying a Horcrux. Not that they had even found any reference to them at all in the books they had chosen to browse through that evening.
"We should probably stop now and get back to Hogwarts, before anyone notices we are gone." Hermione, the voice of reason, looked up from her book, closing it as she did. "I don't think we are going to find anything tonight." Her eyes lingered on the pile of finished books. "We've done pretty well so far."
"Only another million or so more to go." Ron chipped in, closing the book he had been reading, which looked like it was the original one he had started with. He looked around the room at the row upon row of leather bound - and those it was hard to describe the covers of - tomes that filled the shelves. "We are going to be here forever."
Hermione frowned as she took the book he was reading. "We will if you only look through one a night." She caught Ron's gaze in hers. "What were you doing? Reading it word for word?"
Ron looked at her, and then at Harry, before turning his gaze to the brown eyes of the young woman before him. "I thought you wanted a thorough job done. I didn't want to miss anything."
Letting out a long sigh, Hermione ran her eyes over the title. "Quidditch: Trials, Tribulations and the Winning Formula?" She blinked and fixed a stare to his face, one that left him as red as his hair. "And what made you think you were going to find any reference to Horcruxes in there, Ronald Weasley?"
"Now you are sounding like me mum." Ron growled, hating it when Hermione went at him like she was.
"Then perhaps you will listen to me, because you have just wasted a whole night reading about Quidditch," she practically shouted at him.
"Ssshhh," Harry held his hand up to his mouth. "You'll wake up the house."
Hermione turned to Harry, scowling, her voice lowered but still full of her displeasure. "You are taking his side again, I see."
"No, I'm not taking anyone's side."
"You always do this. He's in the wrong and you are shouting at me."
"Hermione, I'm not shouting…you are." Harry looked at her, one eyebrow raised above his glasses.
Huffing, Hermione folded her arms across her chest, breathing deeply. "He has been reading one book about Quidditch all night, when we are supposed to be looking at ways of stopping Voldemort." She shot Ron a killer look. Both of her friends looked at her as she used the Dark Lord's name. "Now what's the matter with you?"
"You…you just said Vo…" Ron stammered.
Picking up the books from the table, Hermione silenced Ron with a look, challenging him to make an argument out of it. He remained open-mouthed but did not utter a word, just watching her collect a few of the books and walk off to the shelves. She returned the books to their homes to ensure that anyone coming in the library the following day would not notice that anyone had been there. The last thing they needed was to highlight their nightly trip, especially as this would be their first of many, at least until they got the information they needed.
"She's tired, Ron." Harry whispered, his voice carrying over to where Hermione was standing. The darkness around her obscured the fact that she had turned towards them, and was listening to their conversation.
"I guess that dream got to her yesterday."
"And the fainting in class." Ron sounded concerned, which caused Hermione to smile slightly.
"We should go a little easier on her. You know, make sure we don't upset her. I really don't want her storming off like last year. I'm not going to be able to find this information without her." Harry's voice sounded sincere. "No one can research like Hermione."
Ron nodded; the movement just obvious from where she stood. "I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't plan to read the book, but it kind of fell open when I was looking for titles, and before I knew it…"
"Next time, you just read, and Hermione and I will fetch the books from the shelves." Harry's voice held a little humour. He was trying to defuse the situation. All three of them were concerned with what was going to happen, they all knew the seriousness of what lay before them.
Growing calmer, Hermione once more stepped over to the table, the conversation of her two friends, stopping immediately. "Am I going to do all this clearing up on my own?"
* * * * *
Hermione sat in the kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place, a bowl of cereal in front of her on the table. She dug her spoon in, lifted it slightly then dumped the contents of the back to join the rest of the now soggy cornflakes. Not that she knew that she was doing it, as she was miles away lost in thought. It had been two days since they had discovered the name behind the initials. The book was sitting beside Harry's bed for safe keeping, almost as a nightly reminder to him that they were one step closer to the task he had before him.
"Anyone tell you not to play with your food?"
It was Hermione's turn to jump slightly. "You startled me."
Harry grinned. "I know." He walked over to the table and sat down opposite her, watching as she dropped the spoon into the bowl. "Not hungry?"
"Not really." Hermione looked down at the barely touched food, before raising her head and looking at him. "I can't stop thinking."
"I know what you mean."
"If the answer was here all the time, I can't stop thinking that it might not be the only thing here." Hermione frowned, and shook her head, pushing away the bowl in front of her, to stop herself playing with it in frustration. There was something niggling her, but she could not quite put her finger on it.
Harry shook his head. "He wouldn't hide the locket here. Not in the house."
"Why not?" Hermione looked up at him, her eyes questioning.
"I just don't think he would. It's too obvious."
Shaking her head, Hermione frowned. "No one knew he had it. Not even…You-Know-Who."
"He would have put it somewhere safe." Harry began, trying to think of a good place that he would hide something that he did not want anyone to find. "He would not be stupid enough to hide it here."
Hermione leant forward, resting her elbows on the table, her chin against her hands. "Sometimes the best place to hide something is in the open. It's the last place people will look." She sighed, and shook her head. "You are probably right. We can't be that lucky twice." She sat up straight and smiled. "Do you want some tea?"
* * * * *
"The lockets here!" Harry's voice called out from one of the shelves as he put one of the books back.
Ron and Hermione stopped what they were doing and turned, looking bewilderedly at Harry. Shocked into inaction by his words, they looked at each other and then back at Harry, neither knowing what to say or do.
"You've found it!" Ron asked, finding his voice first.
Harry shook his head, and walked over to a point between where Ron and Hermione were restocking the shelves with the last few books they had been reading that night. "No, but we've seen it."
"When?" Hermione looked at him, trying to recall what he was talking about.
"Two summers ago, when we tidied the house up." Harry looked between his friends, a huge grin on his face, his eyes sparkling, showing signs of the young wizard they had grown up with. "A big locket, about this size." He made a shape with his hands to indicate. "We couldn't open it, despite trying to."
"Yes, I remember." Hermione grinned; feeling the same sense of excitement that she assumed Harry felt, just before her heart sank. "Sirius threw it in a rubbish sack."
The three friends looked at each other, their eyes flicking between sets of eyes. Not a word was spoken, as the depth of this knowledge sunk into their minds. They stood, opened mouthed and in shock, as they each tried to find something to say that could save the situation.
"We'll discuss it at school." Hermione said, as she heard the slight chiming of the clock in the hall. "We need to get back." She looked around the room, happy everything was as it had been when they had arrived. "Let's go. And remember, Ron, stay focused on Hogsmeade."
The three friends disappeared, leaving the library in darkness once again.