AN: Finally, I finished another chapter. I just would like to say that I'm truly sorry that it took so long. It was amazing how much work I've been receiving this month. Hopefully I'll be able to start writing more frequently once October finishes. I would like to thank everyone for reading, and I would like to give an extra thanks to all those that reviewed. Those reviews truly make it easier to continue writing. Now to the chapter……..
Ch. 4 A Locket Destroyed
"Kreacher!" Harry screamed again, his anger finally starting to rise. "Come here! Where is he?"
"Maybe the house has a charm that won't let him in," Hermione said hopefully. "Please stop screaming Harry; you'll wake the others up." Harry looked at his watch to see what time it was, four in the morning. They had just gone to bed a couple hours ago, and Harry noticed that Hermione looked like she hadn't slept at all.
"Have you not slept at all?" Harry asked Hermione. Her cheeks turned a bit pink as she responded.
"No," she said shyly. "All I could think about was Regulus and the mysterious R.A.B. It took me awhile to find a book that proved I was right." Harry felt a sense of pride and loyalty as Hermione talked to him.
"Well," Harry said. "If he can't come to me, then I will go to him."
"Harry, you can't do that," Hermione said to him knowing that he would still go. "Fine, I'm going with you."
"I don't think so Hermione," Harry told her. "I'm not putting you in danger. I can't-"
"You don't decide what I can do," she replied to him, looking straight into his eyes. "I'm not going to let you go by yourself." Harry looked at her determined face and knew he had been beaten.
"Fine Hermione," he said to her. "We'll go, together. Go get changed and I'll meet you outside your door in ten minutes." She hurried off to her room, and Harry quickly put on some jeans and a sweatshirt. Five minutes had passed by and an idea came to Harry. If he crept out of his room right now, Hermione would still be changing. He could leave her behind, and therefore save her. Heading out the door, he grabbed the knife, his wand, and the bag with his invisibility cloak. He quietly opened the door. To his disappointment, Hermione was standing there.
There was worry in her face, yet she stared at Harry with confidence. "Planning on leaving without me?" Hermione asked Harry.
"Of course not," Harry lied to her. She was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt also, her wand in her hand.
"Well, shall we?" He said, nodding towards the hall. Together they silently walked to the entrance of the house. "We need to find a place where we can disapparate. Do you know where everyone apparates from?" he asked her. She looked at him thoughtfully, but didn't say anything. "Come on! Hermione that Horcrux might still be around. I need to destroy it."
"Follow me," she finally said. They walked through one of the other halls and then into a small candle lit room. "This is the only place you can apparate or disapparate. We'll have to come back here, before anyone else wakes up," she added. "Um, Harry, where are we going?"
"Grimmauld Place," Harry answered. "I have a feeling that where we need to go."
"Ok," Hermione said.
"Alright," Harry said. Something occurred to Harry. "There might be a spell on the house that might not let you in." Hermione looked at him and moved close to him. She grabbed his arm with a tight grip.
"Then you'll have to guide me," she said to him. "I won't let you go alone."
"Ready?" Harry asked her. She moved even closer to him and gripped his arm so tightly that Harry couldn't feel his hand. Harry cleared his mind, and thought about their destination. In seconds he felt the sensation of disapparating. Next thing he knew, he and Hermione were standing in front of Grimmauld Place. Harry removed his numb arm away from Hermione, and grabbed her hand. Together they approached the door, and Harry turned the knob. The door creaked open. He looked at Hermione to see if she was ok, and she nodded back to him. Harry walked in, leading Hermione into the house.
"Lumos!" they both said together. They continued to walk through the hallway until they ended up by the familiar staircase. To their relief, the house seemed like it had been abandoned since the night of Sirius's death. Everything was covered in dust and cobwebs. Harry let go of Hermione's hand and walked to the staircase. Tears started to dwell in his eyes. He was remembering seeing Sirius there, and it was coming back that he wouldn't be there anymore. Hermione walked towards him, and grabbed his hand again. She nodded towards the kitchen. Harry nodded back, and she led the way.
The kitchen was just as filthy as the rest of the house. The cabinets were empty, and the only thing that remained was the table and chairs. Hermione let go of Harry and walked towards the fireplace.
"I'm going to get a fire going," she said, breaking the silence. "It's freezing in here, and we'll be able to see better." She crouched down, and in seconds Harry received the warmth from the fire. Harry sat down and Hermione walked over and sat next to him. He noticed a scratch on the table and ran his finger over it. It was the mark from the knife that Fred and George accidentally shot at Sirius. Again, hot tears began forming.
"Are you alright Harry?" Hermione asked, gently putting her hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he said quickly getting up. "Let's do what we came here for." He inhaled deeply and called, "Kreacher!" A small pop came behind Harry. He turned around and stared down at his house elf. He received an urge to straggle the elf, but something in his body resisted.
"Where have you been?" Harry yelled. "Why didn't you come to before?"
"I couldn't," Kreacher stated simply. "Something powerful wouldn't let me go into where master was. I was very excited."
"Enough," Harry said, barely containing his anger. "Tell me about Regulus Black. How did he die?"
"I will not spill his secrets!" Kreacher responding, holding his mouth shut with his hands. But he belonged to Harry, so eventually he started talking. "The great Dark Lord came and took him. I do not know why," he added looking quietly to the ground.
"Was there a locket?" Harry asked. "Kreacher, bring me the locket."
"No! I will not!" Kreacher shook his head violently. "I promised I would not let no one take it!"
"I am your master now!" Harry yelled. "You do as I say! Bring me the locket that Regulus Black stole from Voldemort. Bring me that one, and no other!" There was another pop, and Kreacher disappeared into thin air. Harry turned back to Hermione, her eyes stared fixed on him, the flames from fire reflecting off them. Another small pop and Harry turned to see Kreacher who was clutching the locket closely. Harry extended his hand and said, "Give it to me." Kreacher started shaking and gave the locket to Harry. "You speak of this to no one," he advised Kreacher. With one nastier look, Kreacher disappeared.
Harry held the locket and looked closely at it. The locket was identical to the one that he and Dumbledore took from the cave. Harry ran his finger over the distinctive "S" engraved on it. He tried to open it, but couldn't. "This is it Hermione. I know it is." He laid the locket on the table and took out the knife. "For Dumbledore," he said and with all the anger he could muster, he jabbed the knife into the locket. The locket split in the middle, still connected by the chain. He took out the knife, and pocketed the locket. "Let's go," he told Hermione. She nodded and they silently left towards the exit. Harry stopped in front of the staircase and took another look around. Then, they left outside. Once outside, Hermione grabbed his hand, and waited. Her hand felt really warm and it calmed Harry for some reason. In seconds, they where on their way back to Aberforth's.
They arrived in the same room, and Hermione guided him back to where there rooms were. It was nearly sunrise, but luckily no one was up yet. They stopped in front of the doors, and Hermione was the first to say something. "Are you alright Harry?"
Truthfully, Harry wasn't. His mind was filled with images of Dumbledore and Sirius. Both made his eyes burn. "Yea," he lied to her. "I'm just really tired." She looked at him, and walked over.
She gave him a hug and whispered, "It'll be okay Harry, I know it will." He held on to her, not really knowing why he didn't want to let her go. He felt so lost and alone that he couldn't let go. She let go of him and said, "Do you need me to go with you and be with you for awhile?"
He wanted to answer `yes' but his reflex got the better of him. "No, it's okay, really. We both really just need some sleep." He could have sworn he saw her give a look of disappointment, but then again, he was very tired. "But maybe we could talk tomorrow, or I should say later?" She gave a weak smile, and they both returned to their rooms.
Harry went straight to his bed and dove into the covers without changing. He took off his glasses and rubbed his forehead. Four down, three more to go, he thought to himself. He closed his eyes a tried to go to sleep. He searched his head for a good memory to get his mind off Sirius and Dumbledore. He finally picked the thought of his first trip to Hogwarts, before Voldemort. Where his major problem was whether or not he would have friends, whether or not he would become a real wizard.
*******
Harry stayed in his room the next day. He needed some alone time. Mrs. Weasley had gone in his room to see what was wrong, but he just said it was a stomach ache. His mind was full of memories. He felt alone and sad. It was around dinner time, and his stomach was grumbling. He headed off to the kitchen to try to get some food before everyone arrived. Right outside the kitchen, he was greeted by Aberforth.
"Tonight Potter," Aberforth growled. "Our first lesson; we will start once dinner is over." He led him to the table, and to Harry's dismay, some people were already there.
"How's your stomach dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked calmly. "I bet you are famished. I made this soup especially for you. I'm sure it will make you feel better," she added with a warm smile. Harry sat down next to Aberforth, and Mrs. Weasley poured him a bowl of soup. Just then, Hermione walked in with Tonks. Harry stared down at his plate, not wanting to look at Hermione. Surely she wanted to talk about the previous night, but he wasn't ready.
She went and sat down next to him. He could feel her staring at him. "How are you feeling?" she asked him.
"I feel better," he lied, still not looking directly at her. "This soup is making me feel better, thanks Mrs. Weasley," he added, trying to change the topic.
"I'm glad dear," Mrs. Weasley answered warmly. "Feel free to take as much as you want." More people came in. Ron took the seat across from Harry, and from what he could tell, Ron must have known about the previous night. Ron gave Harry a weak smile, and asked how he was feeling. Then he piled his plate high and started to eat. In between bites, Harry noticed that Ron and Hermione kept exchanging glances. Harry continued to eat until the others finished.
"Are you finished?" Aberforth asked.
"Yes," Harry answered back. They excused themselves from the table and got up. Ron and Hermione did the same. Together, they followed Aberforth to one of the rooms of the house. It reminded Harry of the Room of Requirement. It was big, and filled with anything they might need.
"This is where we will meet every other night until summer ends," Aberforth said. "The Order had decided that in these times of danger, it is important for you three to know how to properly defend yourselves. This will include the killing curse." Harry heard Hermione inhale loudly. "Now I know that you three are very aware of how to defend yourselves, therefore, my main concern will be Avada Kedavra. Today however, I must see how far your limits are. We will start Avada Kedavra in our next lesson."
So class started. Aberforth conjured what looked like faceless dolls that could cast defending spells. Harry, Ron, and Hermione each demonstrated their fighting capabilities. Midnight came, and Aberforth conjured back the dummies.
"That's enough for tonight," Aberforth said. "We'll continue in two days."
"Good," said Ron. "I'm exhausted. I'll see you two tomorrow," and he quickly left the room.
"Before you go Potter," Aberforth said as Harry walked towards the door. "There is one more thing. The Order has asked of one more thing. They wish that you will learn Occulemency."
"How?" Harry interrupted. "Are you going to teach me?"
"Actually, I found someone better," Aberforth said. "I figured that it would be easier if it was someone you trust. So, you and Hermione will have lessons on Tuesday and Thursday." Harry turned around and looked at Hermione. She gave a small smile and then looked down. "You two best be off to bed, Molly would be furious if she knew you were still up."
They left and quietly went towards their room. "Since when do you know Occulemency?" Harry asked Hermione.
"Aberforth has been teaching it to me since the beginning of summer," she said quietly. "Please don't be mad Harry; I just thought it was a good idea. I thought it was worth a try."
"I'm not mad at you Hermione," Harry said stopping in front of his door. "It should be easier since it's not Snape trying to get inside my head." They silently gave each other a smile. "Good night Hermione and they parted ways.
*******
Harry was in the middle of a forest. A cool breeze swept in between the many trees surrounding him. He heard voices in the distance, and walked over to the source of the sounds. He peaked behind the tree, and his jaw dropped at the sight. People were dispersed motionless on the forest floor. Some Harry didn't know, some he did. He recognized Ron's lifeless body. Next to Ron was Ginny and Neville. A little ways off from them was Luna. Then Harry noticed his own dying self, crumpled up in the middle. Hermione was crawled up next to him. They unlike the rest were still alive. She was crying quietly and was cradling Harry with all the strength she could muster. They were whispering something to each other, but Harry was too far away to hear the words.
Then there were foot steps. A dark hooded figure appeared behind Hermione. Harry started to run towards Hermione and stopped several feet before her. "Hermione, look out!" he screamed. She did not look up. The masked man raised his wand, and a get of green light came racing towards Hermione. Instantly she dropped down flat on the ground. Harry watched his dying self move up slowly towards Hermione. Harry felt hot tears running down his cheeks.
"You see Potter," said the hooded man. "It's the one's you love that will suffer." The man started to walk closer. "And now, I will finish you." With a quick flick of the wand, another green beam shot right at Harry. A hot wave shot through Harry's body, and in an instant, he was awake in his bed.
He was breathing heavily. Big beads of sweat were running from his cheeks, and the bed sheets were stuck to his body. It had just been another nightmare. He looked at the clock and noticed that it was 2:46 A.M. A few minutes passed, and once he calmed himself down a bit, he decided to go get some water. He quietly crept to the kitchen. When he opened the door, he was surprised to find Aberforth sitting in a chair, drinking out of a cup.
"Couldn't sleep Potter?" Aberforth grunted.
"Yes," Harry said, deciding that there wasn't any point in lying. "I just came to get some water."
"Well," Aberforth said. "Now that you are up, and judging by your appearance I suspect you will be up for some time, why don't I show you something?"
"What do you need to show me?" Harry asked.
"I thought you might be interested in going-" Aberforth paused and examined the look of curiosity in Harry's face, "To Godric's Hollow."
AN: I must admit, this is not my favorite chapter. But, I needed this in order to continue the story in a good pace. To me this is more of a transitional chapter, and the next will contain more action and cliffys. Please review and tell me what you think!
-->