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Chapter 4 here! Enjoy!

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Without You

Chapter 4: I Really Want You

James Blunt

I really want you
I really want you
I really want you now

I really want you to really want me
But I really don't know if you can do that
I know you want to know what's right
But I know it's so hard for you to do that
And time's running out as often it does
And often dictates that you can't do that
If they can't break this feeling inside
That's burning up through my veins

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"I know I saw something on Rowena Ravenclaw here a few days ago. There's got to be some sort of leitmotif going on here with the horcruxes."

"Hermione, I don't speak French," Ron said as he thumbed through his Quidditch magazine intently. "Wait, yes I do. You're barking mad, pardon my French."

Hermione sighed. "A theme, Ronald. There's got to be a theme that Voldemort is following. We know of three horcruxes that belong to three of the four founders of Hogwarts." She continued to flip through the thing pages that made up an unbelievably thick book. "Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin…I know I saw something important about Rowena Ravenclaw."

Hermione stood up excitedly, pointing to a page in the book. "Here it is! Listen: Rowena Ravenclaw was a pureblood wizard born on the 22nd January, over a thousand years ago. Rowena shared a tight relationship with her wise grandfather, Loberus Ravenclaw. Loberus always wore a small pendant around his neck, which he said held all the lessons he had ever learned because he had worn it through them all. The pendant was of rich turquoise stone in which an ivory eagle's head was embedded.
When Loberus Ravenclaw died, he left the eagle pendant to Rowena, who wore it always from then on…this is it you two! This is the last horcrux!*"

"Wonderful Hermione," Ron said sarcastically. "So how exactly are we supposed to figure out who has it?"

"Well, at least we know exactly what it is we are looking for, Ronald!"

"Hermione, not to ruin your little moment of pride, but we all ready have one horcrux on our hands that we have to get rid of before we go off searching for new ones," Ron said looking toward Harry who had the ruby necklace in his hands, idly turning it over and then back again. "Oy, mate! Doesn't it bother you that you have part of Voldemort's soul in your hand?"

Harry looked up at Ron blankly. "Does it bother you that I'm a parselmouth because Voldemort transferred some of his powers into me?"

"Right. Point taken."

Hermione stood up and walked over to the couch where Harry was sitting. "Harry, are you all right?"

Harry shrugged. "I suppose." Ron came to sit down on his left. "Why shouldn't I be? We found another horcrux, didn't we?"

"Look, I know last night was hard for you, and we just want to make sure…"

"That I'm fine? Yes, Hermione. I'm fine, all right. Am I okay? No, I'm not." Harry stood up and ignored the crash that followed as Ron fell off the arm of the couch. "Why am I not okay? Because this-this bastard killed my parents and what do I get if I kill him? I don't get my parents back. I'll never get my parents back."

"Oh, Harry."

"YOU STUPID FUCK!" Harry screamed as he threw the pennant across the room. It smashed through the glass of a trophy case and not a second later the entire side of the room blew out, sending shards of wood and glass flying everywhere.

"AHHHHHH GOD!" Harry stomped over to the mirror, pounding his fist against it as it, too shattered to pieces. "FUUUUCK!"

"Harry, you're bleeding! Please-"

"NO!" He shouted wrenching his hand out of her grasp. This rage that filled his gut and seeped through his bones was so overwhelming that it made him terrified he might strike her. She tried to reach for him again but he ducked. "DON'T TOUCH ME, HERMIONE!"

She coiled back, as though he had slapped her across the face. Instead of running over to hold her, smooth her hair, kiss her and tell her how sorry he was, he tread heavily over to the bookshelf and started tearing books down, two at a time, stopping to tear the binding off of one. He could almost feel Hermione cringe behind him as he grappled and ripped the books apart, turning around to upturn the table next to him.

"FUCK YOU, TOM RIDDLE FOR KILLING MY PARENTS! YOU KILLED THEM, YOU BASTARD!" He tore a clock off of the wall, sending it to shatter on the floor below, still screaming to the invisible presence. "I'LL KILL YOU; MAKE SURE YOU GO STRAIGHT TO HELL FOR IT, MERLIN HELP ME! I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU BEG FOR DEATH!"

"Harry, look!" Ron shouted. Seething, teeth grinding, and surrounded in books, Harry turned around just in time to see the pendant he had thrown was floating in midair. There was a gold sphere surrounding the ruby that disappeared suddenly. It dropped to the floor with a resounding clunk.

The three of them stood perfectly still, almost afraid to move. The rage that had built in Harry died down and he was the first to make his way over to the necklace.

"No! Wait, Harry!" He didn't listen to her, though. Carefully he walked over to the horcrux, and peered down into the rubble. It was covered in shards of wood and he brushed them aside, picking it up and blowing the dust off the centrepiece. A grin broke across his face.

"It's gone," he said as Hermione and Ron rushed to take a look at it.

"Look at that crack," Hermione reached out to brush her finger against the ruby and accidentally brushed Harry's arm, making a shiver run down his spine. "Is that what the ring looked like, Harry? Marvolo Gaunt's ring?"

Harry nodded, passing the pendant off to Ron to examine. "Yeah, Dumbledore gave it to me to look at and it had cracked just like this one."

"But I don't understand," Hermione looked toward the pendant again. "When Dumbledore destroyed the ring, didn't he have a horrible scar on his hand?"

Harry pondered this for a moment. "Yeah, he said the ring had been curs-oh bloody hell. Ron, put it down!"

"I-I can't," Ron stuttered as his hands began to shake. "Fuck, I can't let go of it."

Harry and Hermione grappled at his hands, trying to pry his fingers off. They tugged at his arm in vain, and Hermione was the first to back off. Harry looked down to see why she would pull back and was almost cut by the claws that were growing out of Ron's fingers.

"Bloody hell, Harry. What the fuck is going on?" Ron watched his hands as the claws grew and his fingers shrunk. Suddenly, the red hair on his arm grew thicker and his fingers shortened. Harry and Hermione could do nothing as they stood there, watching as Ron transformed.

"He's turning into a bloody lion, Hermione! We have to do something."

"Constringio," Hermione shouted before Harry could even think of what to do. A silver cage surrounded him as Ron let out a low growl that shook the room. "We have to get him to St. Mungo's, Harry."

"W-what? We can't tell them what we've been doing!"

"What other choice do we have, Harry?" She screamed as Ron swiped at her from behind the bars. Harry pulled her back without thinking, flush against his body. She gripped his arm painfully and would have left a mark from her fingernails had he not been wearing a long-sleeved shirt.

"R-right, let's go."

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"I don't know what you kids thought you were doing, but he's lucky you brought him in when you did. That pendant was cursed and could have killed him!" The healer who had been taking care of Ron leaned against the door, scowling at them.

"AGH," Harry cried out as another healer pulled the chunks of glass out of his hand and tapped the wound with his wand, magically sealing up the cuts.

"With all do respect, sir. We had only found the pendant in a chest and were passing it around when…"

"I think Harry Potter and his friends should know, more than anyone, that mysterious objects should not be handled without checking them first."

"Hey! I-OW!"

"Sorry," the healer said dully as he Vanished the piece of glass and healed the skin that had been punctured.

"Sir, do you know how to check to see if objects are, well, dangerous?"

Aaron Mulligan quirked an eyebrow at her. "I thought they might have all ready taught you that in that school of yours." The healer pulled his wand from his white coat and threw a sickle on the ground. "It's simple, really. You just point at the object and say, `latito periculum.'" The sickle glowed green and, fading almost as soon as it had started. The healer bent down to pick it up. "See? Simple. It glows red if there's something on it like a curse or a jinx."

"Oh, we tried that one," Hermione lied. Harry smirked at her sharp remark and started coughing to conceal his laughter. "I was wondering if there was one to detect dark magic."

Healer Mulligan looked at her suspiciously. Harry knew what Hermione was trying to get at and momentarily had a sinking feeling that he wasn't buying her question. "Why would you want to know something like that?"

"W-well, with the return of Voldemort-will you be careful with that! You could hurt him!" She shouted at the healer who was trying to fix Harry's hand up. The man had jumped at the mention of Voldemort's name, poking Harry hard with his wand. Harry muttered a curse under his breath. "With the return of Voldemort, and all, you just don't know what's dangerous, and what's deadly."

Mulligan shook his head. "I don't know of any other spells to detect curses other than that one, I'm sorry."

Hermione nodded and Harry interjected. "Do you know when we might get to see Ron?"

Healer Mulligan shook his head. "It's hard to tell. We've sedated him so that he doesn't try to attack anyone, but it's going to take a few days for us to brew the potion that will start to turn him back."

"So what can we do right now?" Hermione asked, moving closer to Harry as he jumped down from the bed, flexing his newly-healed hand.

"There's no use in sticking around here. You two would be better off going home than staying here. He's unconscious, and even when he's awake, he's only interested in eating."

"Can we come back tomorrow to check up on him?"

"If you want," the man checked his watch impatiently. "We won't be able to do anything drastic for a few days. I have to go check another patient so if you'll excuse me…" the healer pushed his way past Harry and Hermione before disapparating from sight.

"I don't like that man," Harry said matter-of-factly. "He's a jerk."

Hermione smiled, slipping her hand around his middle and drawing him into a hug. "You're so sweet, Harry, looking out for Ron and I like you do."

Harry smiled and drew her closer to him, holding her tightly. Merlin, he couldn't believe he had almost hit her before. He didn't know if he would have forgiven himself for doing that. "I'm sorry."

She pulled back, still holding onto his waist. "For what?"

"For getting so upset earlier." Harry hung his head, taking one of her hands in his; sliding his fingers between her own. "I-I was so upset that I felt…fuck. I felt like I could have hit you when you touched me, Hermione."

"Oh, Harry," she said, gently touching her forehead to his. He gazed into her eyes and felt his stomach drop. This feeling was greater than when he asked Cho Chang to the Yule Ball. It was greater than the first and last time he had kissed Ginny…and even stronger when his heart had broken when Ginny told him that she had moved on…to Neville. This warmth that was spreading through him was the feeling he got when he was flying; the excitement he experienced when he caught the snitch. It even felt like all those times he had fallen from his broom; completely helpless, yet exhilarating. He wasn't sure a person could feel such a mix of emotions at once, but here he was standing, feeling all these things for Hermione.

And her eyes…God. They were stunning. He could stare at her forever.

He wanted her; God did he want her.

He wanted to kiss her, touch her; feel what it was like to have her beneath him as he kissed her skin. He wanted to hold her breasts, hear her moan, no…not moan. He wanted her to scream his name as he…

She kissed his cheek, moving away from him. He stepped back, face flushed as though she had heard everything he had just been thinking. It amazed him how someone could feel all those things by just looking in her eyes.

Taking his hand in hers, she whispered, "Let's go home." He nodded numbly, following her as she disapparated.

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Voldemort roared, upturning tables, throwing curses at portraits; one even hit Wormtail, burning his good arm badly. Bellatrix Lestrange trembled in the corner of the room, waiting for her Lord to punish her; she knew he would.

"I can feel it! He destroyed another one!" Wormtail sat against the wall, his injured arm tucked against his chest. Voldemort ignored his cowering form and moved onto Bellatrix. He grabbed at her roughly and she shrieked. Instead of strangling her like she had expected, he reached for the necklace that was around her neck.

"If you let him get this pendant, Bella, I will take pleasure in watching Potter kill you." He gripped the necklace, using it to throw her to the floor. Bellatrix whimpered, clutching the necklace tightly in her fingers. It was made of smooth ivory in resemblance of an eagle, with a turquoise stone for the eye. Bellatrix knew of its importance, but beyond Voldemort's use, she knew nothing of the pendant.

"I-I will guard it with my life, my Lord."

He had his back turned to her. "If I had any doubts of that, I would kill you myself." He turned to Wormtail. "Get up, you pathetic mess. Go get me Nagini. We must bring her somewhere safe tonight."

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So, chapter 4 down…16 to go…I think. Maybe 15 maybe 16. Let me know what you think!

*For more information on Rowena Ravenclaw and her grandfather's pendant, see these sites:

http://embarktohogwarts.tripod.com/subbook2.htm

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