Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, sadly, as if I did, HBP would have been different…
A/N: This is my response to a Challenge. It is named "HBP: The Redemption", by Talon Karrde, thus the story title. If some of you have read my other story "HP and the quest of the Horcruxes", you may find some similarities in some points. That's because being this one on seventh year too, I rearranged parts of my other story to fit the requirements of the challenge. As usual, if you read, please leave a comment, good, bad, the way you want, but leave it. It means a lot to me.
Gryffindor or Ravenclaw?
Fortunately they woke up just moments before Ron started to stir, so that they avoided being caught in a position that the redhead would have probably thought compromising.
Not that they meant something by it, it just felt natural to fall asleep that way.
"So, how's your hand doing, Harry?" Hermione asked, while Ron was rubbing his eyes.
Harry tried closing it, and it moved just the tiniest bit.
"As you can see, still far from normal but a bit better" he said, giving her one of his trademark grins.
Then, as soon as the redhead was fully back conscious, they started to plan how to find the next Horcrux, walking down to the Great Hall to have breakfast, before someone found them there in the common room.
"I guess since it can be anything owned by Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, we will have a pretty crowded list of things to check and try before we got the one. Lucky as we are, we may very well have to pass through all of them before we get it right" Ron said, once they were at the table, while stuffing his mouth with sausages.
The time he'd been unconscious made him grow an appetite even bigger than his usual one, and that's saying something.
Apart for having to endure the not so pleasant show of him munching while speaking, something both Harry and Hermione would have happily done without, they caught something in what he had said.
"Lucky? You said lucky?" Harry asked him.
"Yeah, right. Why are you asking?" Ron said, not understanding what he meant, while Hermione did, an hint of a smile on her lips.
"Because we know the best way to be lucky! Does "Felix Felicis" tell you something?" she said, while Harry nodded, grinning at her once again.
Ron stopped with one sausage in mid air. Suddenly he got it.
"Of course!" he said, laughing and banging his head with his free hand. "Of course! We can use it!"
"Yeah, only problem is that it takes six months to brew" Hermione reminded them.
They were able to talk that freely because it was still early an no one was there to overhear them.
"Well, we better go to do it, then" Ron said.
"Yeah, but where? Where can we go and leave a cauldron for six months without someone messing with it?"
"I think Moaning Myrtle's cubicle will do. Or the Burrow…" Harry said, resolution in his eyes.
"Of course! Ginny is at Hogwarts, the twins have the shop to work in, till the summer no one will mess with it at home!" Ron said, excited.
Hermione nodded, a bit annoyed at her boyfriend's childish behaviour. "Yes, but if we do it here, we may be able to check on it more frequently" she reasoned.
In the end they decided to brew it in Myrtle's cubicle.
Most of the work was done by Hermione, as she was the most talented. Ron, known for messing his potions, simply looked, while Harry did his best to help.
"Wish we had Snape's book with us now" Ron said, absently.
"Even if I had it, I wouldn't use it. I'll not accept any kind of help from Snape" Harry said darkly, and Hermione nodded.
"Yeah, we can do it on our own, plus I would never rely on a traitor's help" she said firmly, stirring the potion clockwise once more.
It had started to take that golden colour it should have when finished, but now it should brew for half an year. Being that they were in November, it should be ready for May.
"Here. It's done" Hermione said, looking proudly at her work. "Never done a potion this difficult"
"Great!" Ron exclaimed.
"Yeah, I just wish we had started it this summer. I mean, we already knew finding this Horcrux would not be easy, if we thought of this first, we could have been already half way through its brewing now…" Harry said, wistfully.
"Yeah, you're right" the others agreed a bit sadly.
After locking it with the strongest charms they knew, they called for Myrtle and explained the situation.
"…and so, no one should enter the cubicle apart form us. We locked it strongly, but just so you know and can keep an eye on it, we are telling you"
"Oh, of course. I'll make sure even one pin can't penetrate it" the ghost girl assured. "Are the three of you being scamps again?"
"No, Myrtle. But it is of the utmost importance that no one finds that" Harry said, since he was the one the ghost liked the most.
She nodded and plunged into the toilet again.
"Guys, I guess we better part now" Harry said.
"And why are you suggesting it?" Ron asked.
"Well, if we search in three different places at the same time, we have more chances to compose the list of the objects quicker" he explained.
"Yeah, right" the other two said, unconvinced.
"Oh, come on. I'm sure you can stay one month not seeing each other. We'll meet each other again for Christmas at the Burrow" he teased them. His inner monster actually laughed at the thought of the couple being parted for so long. Little he knew that while Ron was sad for not being able to be with Hermione, she was sad for not being around Harry for so long.
However, they did in the end part.
"Hermione, I guess Hogwarts library will be the perfect place for you to search. After all we are talking about two of the founders, it's bound to have something about them and their cherished possessions, and out of us three you're the one who knows the library better, so it would be easier for you to find what we are searching" Harry suggested. Actually, he was keeping her there, because that way she would be surely safe. He could not bear the risk to send her alone around Europe, not knowing what she would have to face. But the reasons he gave Hermione were, after all, true, so he didn't feel he was deserting the task for his own personal troubles.
"Ok, Harry. I'll go right now, then" and with that she walked toward the library.
"Ron, I think you should search in the Ministry archives, maybe your father can give you some kind of help in doing that. As for me, I'm off to visit first "Flourish and Blotts" for books on the founders, then the "Worldwide Ancient Magic Library" in Rome. Hope I'll find something useful…"
So the two boys went to see the Headmistress.
"Professor, since I guess this Horcrux will take lots of our time, since we know not what it is and where it is, I ask for permission for me and Ron to leave till Christmas at least. Hermione will stay here in the castle and search in the library". He then explained their theory about it being something owned by either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.
She nodded.
"Yes, I see how this theory could be true. However, a month leave will surely be noticed" she said, in thought. "If I were to allow you that, I would have to think something really good to tell the school and eventually the Board of Governors…"
In the end, she allowed them to leave. So they went as quickly as possible to Hogsmeade, and from there they were off to where they were to search.
**
Hermione was later called by the Headmistress.
"Miss Granger, what Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley are doing must be covered by a good story. Since you're here in the castle, I think we should plan it together"
Hermione nodded.
"Now, surely someone will ask where they are. I think the best course of action is to try and delay the question as much as possible, but it will eventually come. So, I guess the only option open to us is to tell whoever asks that both of them sustained heavy injuries due to the Two-Headed Lions Hagrid has in the grounds. When the time will come we'll spread rumours how the two of them ventured into the forest alone, and an incident occurred, and that they have been transferred to St. Mungo's"
Hermione was not totally happy with what the Headmistress was suggesting, but still she thought there was no other choice. So she agreed.
"Of course, Headmistress. I'll do as you said"
And so Hermione's research started. Nights and nights she read, but found nothing about the founders' possessions, even if on the founders she collected lots of material. During the days, she would go over her notes, scratching all what was totally useless, and keeping information that could somehow maybe lead them to Gryffindor and Ravenclaw's possessions, and she attended classes so that Harry and Ron would be able to study from her notes during Christmas break.
Oh, they would not be going to like that, but she would have them study in those days. After all, the three of them had their NEWTs that year…
During that month, the first Quidditch match was to be played. Ginny approached her and asked about her brother and Harry.
"Ginny, I should not tell you this, but they are on business. Don't expect to see them before Christmas at the Burrow, so for this match you're on your own" the brown haired girl said.
Ginny nodded dejectedly, and went on her way.
The day of the match came. It was Gryffindor against Ravenclaw.
The whole match Gryffindor was on the lead, Ginny was playing Seeker to substitute Harry, McLaggen had taken Ron's position, and as usual was shouting orders here and there like he was the captain.
Ginny flied toward him and Silenced him so that his big mouth would be close for the rest of the match, and she could concentrate on the Snitch.
Hermione laughed seeing her younger friend doing that, but she reckoned the boy deserved that. He was a real prat.
In the end Gryffindor won with a sound 300 to 50 and celebrations ensued in the common room that night. A brown haired witch, however, was elsewhere in the castle, precisely in the Restricted Section of the library, as most nights.
The time Harry had gave her was almost finished, Christmas break at school was about to start, when one night she casually stumbled on a book in the Restricted Section. It was called "Ancient Artefacts and Magical items of Godric Gryffindor and other famous wizards and witches".
She took it, beaming, and started reading it, finally falling asleep on the open pages after having discovered that the only items of Gryffindor still intact at the moment the book was published were some kind of cloak, with engraved Gryffindor's family line, the sword in the Headmistress' office, his first book of Transfiguration and the vase in which he kept the Floo Powder.
She was shook asleep in the morning by gentle hands.
"Hermione! Hermione! Wake up!" a known voice said.
Finally she started stirring, just to find herself looking back into the blue eyes of Ginny Weasley.
"Ginny?" she said, not completely awaken by an enticing dream involving her, a man she did not recognize but felt familiar for some kind of reason, and a bedroom. The man had some kind of scars all across his back and his chest too. She was so shocked by that, and did not understand immediately the situation she was in.
Then it dawned on her. She was in the library, and she had fell asleep on the book she was reading.
"Hey, everyone has already left for the Christmas break. I was just searching for a book I need to borrow for a Transfiguration essay, then I'm off home" Ginny said.
"Oh, ok. Well, I guess I better take my things and so we can take the train then, since I'm going to meet Harry and Ron back at the Burrow" Hermione said, the remembrance of her vivid dream still nagging at her mind. However, she was satisfied her task was accomplished, and thought no more of it for the moment.
**
Harry explored Flourish and Blotts thoroughly and found lots of books on the founders. He bought all of them, for which his account at Gringott's would not be pleased, but he didn't care too much. He read all of them as quickly as he could, and managed to find the same information on Gryffindor that Hermione had.
Then he Apparated in Rome, and entered the "Worldwide Ancient Magic Library". He consulted lots of textbooks, in foreign languages too, growing himself nasty headaches for which he kept rubbing his temples groaning, and thinking about Hermione.
The bushy haired girl was more and more invading in his thoughts, lately, and he was half happy, half annoyed by that. After all she was his best friend's girlfriend, and he was supposed to think about Ginny, the one who had enticed him so much previous year, not about his female best friend. Plus, not being able to find useful information made him irritable too.
However, just the day he was supposed to leave for the Burrow, he found information about Ravenclaw's things. He found that the witch had a passion for birds, so she had every kind of them carved in both wood or stone, but most of those objects had gone destroyed or lost. Only one, representing one eagle, had arrived safe to the days of the book, which was dated 80 years before, so Riddle could have read it when he was a teenager. No signs of where the stone eagle was, though.
He found then that a brooch with her emblem had survived too, and was now probably in Germany, thought there was no certainty about that, while her pointed hat, one which there was a charm preventing it from decaying with wear and be torn apart, was no longer tracked but had been seen last time in France.
He found an ancient book on Horcruxes too, how to make them, and alternatives to making one.
Satisfied with his job, he put the book back in its place, the notes he took in his bag, and Apparated straightaway in front of the Burrow.
**
Ron passed one hell of a month in the Ministry archives, as he was not known for his ability in searching things in libraries or similar places. Normally it was Hermione doing that kind of work for him and Harry, even if this last one had sometimes done it on his own.
Arthur did all what he could do to help his son, but it was not so much. He simply obtained Ron a pass for the archives at any time he should need to consult them.
Unluckily, there was one single but terribly annoying wizard working there, continuously on Ron's tail controlling what the young Weasley was doing, which books was reading, which documents…
"Excuse me, would you please leave me alone and mind your own business?" Ron finally snapped, after three weeks of that being followed around between the shelves.
The other wizard said nothing, merely vanished probably going to really take care of his duties.
Finally free of that pestering, Ron managed to find exactly where the two founders' possessions were. Gryffindor's cloak was in the Italian Magical Museum in Florence, while the Transfiguration book was held by a collector in the U.S.A. and the Floo Powder vase had been seen last time in Scotland, precisely in Edinburgh. As for the Ravenclaw's ones, he discovered that the brooch was in Stuttgart, owned by a respected German wizard named Otto Friedel, while the hat was in Marseille, but the owner was not known. There was a picture of it, though, that Ron quickly snatched, not seen. As for the stone eagle, it had never left England, as it had been found few years before and placed in Rowena Ravenclaw Museum in Liverpool.
He pumped his fist in the air, ran out of the office and was about to Apparate away when he noticed he had forgot his notes inside. Groaning, he ran back in to retrieve them, then Apparated to his home, where Harry and Hermione would be probably already waiting him as he reasoned, not knowing they were travelling just in that moment. So he landed in the garden at the same time of Harry, while Ginny, Molly and Hermione weren't there yet.
"Hullo, Harry. How's your search gone?" Ron asked joyfully while they went up to his room.
"Quite fine, thanks. I found about some objects of Ravenclaw, but no indications of where they are"
"If you're talking about a stone eagle, an hat and a brooch, I know where to find them" Ron said proudly.
"Yes, it's them!" Harry said excitedly. "Great job, Ron. Anything about Gryffindor?"
"We have a book, a cloak and a Floo Powder vase"
"Do you know where they are too?" Hermione's voice asked. They turned to see her standing in the doorway. Harry's breath caught in his throat seeing her. She was even more beautiful than he remembered.
Not that they had been apart too long, but still…
"Yeah, I know. We can go retrieving them after Christmas" Ron said.
"Sounds fine to me" Harry agreed.
"Good for me too" Hermione said. "Seems everything is fine with the potion, by the way. I've checked it yesterday. In May it should be ready to be used. Harry, has your hand improved?"
"Lots. I can almost move it normally now" he said, showing it to her.
"Happy to know that" she said smiling warmly at him.
The three chatted some more, then went downstairs to help with preparing Christmas dinner.
When Molly spotted them, she ran to hug them.
"Guys, it's so good to see you!" she said, while they were still trying to regain their breath.
A bone-crushing Molly Weasley patented hug is something difficult to grow used to, even after years. Always better than Hagrid's one, though…
"Hey, Mum, never thought we could have been Death eaters in disguise?" Ron, who was the first to recover, said, teasing his mother.
Molly was taken aback, then looked down.
"No, I was so happy to see you after months, that I did not think about that. I should have though, as their attacks had become even fouler and they come more often. You probably know that a quarter the Aurors have been killed in a mass attack two weeks ago, and the McMillans have been all killed…" she said, her face darkening.
"What? A quarter the Aurors…and the McMillans…" the three repeated, shocked.
So after a chat in which Molly told them about Voldemort's last killings and attacks, one on a Muggle entertainment park too, in which one hundred Muggles had been killed, the Trio went setting the table for the dinner.
On their way, they met Ginny. It was what Harry was both dreading and waiting for, as it could give him answers on the confusion he felt about Hermione.
He didn't feel any urge to go and snog her breathlessly like he had months ago, and like he had just half an hour before when he had seen Hermione. That troubled him even more, while wiping away many of his doubts. What should he do now?
He had no time to mull over it, as he was greeted by Mr. Weasley shaking his hand.
"Good to see you, Harry" the twins said, patting him on his back, while Fleur and Bill exited from the fireplace greeting everybody. The part Veela provided both Harry and Ron with kisses on the cheek, much to Ron's pleasure and Hermione's amusement.
Ginny simply rolled her eyes, knowing very well that Harry was not much affected by that. What she did not know yet was that he now was not affected by her, too.
So, finally, between chats and pranks from the twins, time to have Christmas Eve dinner came. Molly had prepared one fabulous stew, there were lots of pudding, crackers with their usual silly surprises, and so on.
Harry and Hermione were seated one in front of the other, and pulled together one cracker, making an orange hat come out of it.
"You should put it on, Mione. It would really look good on you" Harry said, amusedly, moving to place it on her head. She moved away, sticking her tongue at him.
"Why don't you put it on yourself, Harry? I'm sure it would make your eyes shine" she said, almost seriously, but then cracking in a fit of giggles, as the imagine in her mind of Harry with that hat was too funny to resist.
When she looked up again, she found Harry staring at her with the most intense look he had ever directed her, full of emotion. She gulped, and looked away, turning pink.
Luckily for them Ron was too interested in food to notice the exchange, but Ginny wasn't. She wondered what the hell was that she had seen.
Harry and Hermione couldn't have been flirting with each other, could they?
Not knowing what to think, she shrugged and turned to her plate.
After all, she was far prettier than Hermione, everyone seemed to think that, so probably she would have nothing to fear. Or so she thought.
After dinner, everyone reunited in the living room for some time, talking about various things, from the twins' latest invention, a strengthened version of their love potions, to Arthur's business in the Ministry, with lots of illegal items and potions confiscated and wizards charged for trying to cheat innocent people with them, selling those objects as protections against Dark Wizards.
Then they all went to bed, apart for Hermione and Ron, who were going to have some quality time alone.
They sat outside, although it was cold, but they warmed themselves with some charms.
It was so a romantic scenery, with all that snow. Hermione took Ron's hand and led him in the garden, leaving footprints on the white blanket.
Then she conjured some soft music, and he got the hint.
Placing his hands on her waist, he started moving, while she rested her head on his chest. They swayed to the soft music for some time, not caring about the snow falling on them.
She sighed contentedly, and then looked up at him, meeting his blue orbs. They slowly moved toward each other's face, meeting in the softest and sweetest of kisses.
After some time, tough, they thought better to go back inside, as it was really cold and the charms were starting to wear off.
They bid each other good night and went to bed. Ron was so happy he did not notice Harry's bed being empty.
The raven haired wizard could not sleep, due to his usual nightmares, so he had gone for a quiet fly in the snowing sky, and had witnessed the scene of his two best friends dancing and kissing in the snow.
He sighed, not knowing what to do. The more he looked at Hermione, the more he knew Ron was a lucky wizard, and he should be happy for them as they were obviously happy. But, he felt something gnawing at him from the inside every time he saw them like that.
He soared high in the sky, seemingly asking the falling snow for help, and then, after some time, retreated back into the house too. His sleep however was far more agitated than his best friends' one.
Next morning, they woke up to find their presents under the tree.
Harry got a sweater from Molly, like anyone else, with a green H on the front, some packs of sweets from the other Weasleys, some WWW products from the twins, an H shaped locket from Ginny and a book on how becoming the perfect Auror from Hermione.
Ron got, apart from his mother's sweater, a Cannons new robe from the twins, sweets and from Hermione he got a stack of new quills and a book with tips for Keeping in Quidditch.
Hermione instead got sweets, Molly's sweater, once again a perfume from Ron, and a Transfiguration book from Harry.
Later that afternoon, Harry went to have a walk on the snowy garden, thinking about how to retrieve the objects. There were lots less than he expected, so maybe the Felix Felicis wasn't so necessary after all, but they would still need time to collect all of them in those months, having to cross Europe many times. Apparating was not an option, still inexperienced as they were, so they would need Muggle ways, or Portkeys if Arthur could provide them those.
When he came back, he found Hermione outside alone, reading the book he had given her. He grinned while walking toward her.
"I see you're not losing time in reading it" he said. She looked up and grinned at him.
"No way I'd let this chance pass. We'll have no much time for reading out of our assignments or search for the Horcruxes in the next months. Thanks for you gift, Harry" she said, giving him one of her smiles, that lately seemed to have a particular effect on the raven haired boy.
"Actually, I had another gift for you. I didn't know how Ron would have taken it, though, so I waited. I'll be here with it in a minute" he said.
So, few minutes later, Hermione was holding a silver heart-shaped locket in her hands.
"Harry, this is so beautiful!" she squealed.
"Really? I was afraid it was too girlish for you…" he said, blushing.
"No way. I simply love it" she said, putting it on and then kissing him on the cheek, just on the corner of his mouth, lingering there maybe one moment too long for a friend.
Few days later, after they had studied the notes Hermione had brought them from the lessons they had missed, they left to go and retrieve those objects.
It was not an easy task, as the owners were mostly museums or collectors, which held them in high consideration and protected with charms. However, sneaking in the buildings thanks to Harry's cloak, and removing the charms, that were fair simpler than the ones Voldemort used on his Horcruxes, with Hermione's ability they managed in April to have all them collected and checked.
The easiest one was Ravenclaw's hat, which had been found by a Muggle girl. Stealing it from her house was easy so that Ron managed to do it without messing it.
Every time one thing was taken, they would provide to destroy it, and it proved an easy task. The Floo Powder vase was smashed against a wall and broken in many pieces, the book was tore apart page by page, the cloak was cut in tiny pieces with a Cutting Charm, the stone eagle pulverised by a well placed Reducing charm, the brooch melted in the fire, the hat cut in pieces too.
No one opposed resistance, and no strange hexes were on them. Thus, the trio understood those things were not Horcruxes, and with some Reparo spells they put the things in perfect shape again, then snuck them back in their places.
The morale of the trio was pretty low, as they didn't know what to do.
Many times they had gone back and forth from Hogwarts on their "raids" but it had proven to be all useless. It was just lots of wasted efforts.
They kept mulling over what they had done wrong, back at the school, waiting for the Felix Felicis to be ready and maybe guide them, when one day Harry suddenly burst in an hollow laughter.
"But of course! How could I have not understood it first?" he said bitterly. "What else could I expect, with the life I've had till now?"
"Hem, Harry…care to enlighten us too?" Hermione said, tentatively, hoping to not incur in his temper.
"Guys, really, it's easy. You should see it yourselves in no time. Just think of it." Harry said.
After some minutes, seeing they didn't grasp the terrible reality, he said it aloud.
"I am the Horcrux"
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