Unofficial Portkey Archive

Disclaimer: I own nothing of the 'Harry Potter' universe, nor do I own any of the bits of the lyrics. I don't make any money at all from writing this stuff.

A/N: Here's another chapter featuring good ol' Tommy Boy. He hasn't been having much fun recently, has he? Well, he's a bit more peaky here… you'll see. This chapter also addresses Harry's wand problem. I think it's quite original… I've never read another story that addresses wands this way. I hope you like it! As always, read and enjoy!

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Chapter 35: The Tainted Tomb

So, hand in glove I stake my claim.
I'll fight to the last breath.
If they dare touch a hair on your head,
I'll fight to the last breath.

But I know my luck too well.
Yes, I know my luck too well,
And I'll probably never see you again…
I'll probably never see you again…
I'll probably never see you again…
Oh...

Excerpt from the song, 'Hand In Glove' by the band, The Smiths.

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Three figures were moving purposefully along a small ledge that encircled a large underground lake. The figure in the lead stopped and looked out over the unnaturally still water towards a greenish glow in the distance. The figure drew back his hood to get a better look, but he still couldn't tell if anything was amiss from that distance. His cold eyes seemed to have a crimson glow that was even more pronounced in the surrounding darkness.

Lord Voldemort briefly glanced to the tall, shrouded creature beside him, apparently unaffected by its draining nature. He then looked at the muggle teenager that had accompanied them into the vast subterranean chamber. The teen was staring blankly into the distance, waiting for a command from the wizard.

Voldemort gestured towards the lake ahead of them with his cracked, withering hand. The dementor silently drifted out over the water, causing a wide path of ice to solidify beneath him as the unnatural cold emanated from its ethereal body.

As soon as the ice was thick enough to support him and his muggle 'friend,' Voldemort stepped onto the ice and began to slowly follow the dementor as he continued creating the frozen path to the small island that he knew was in the center.

As time passed, Voldemort seemed to become increasingly agitated. More than once did he venture too close to the leading dementor, causing the partially thickened ice to crack and shift beneath his feet, which forced him to slow his pace.

When the island finally came into view, Voldemort stopped short. He could just make out the charred bodies of a few of his inferi lying motionless near the shore. As soon as the ice bridge was completed, he stepped onto the rocky shore and hurried to the large bowl on the pedestal, but even before he arrived, he knew that his greatest fear had been realized… his greatest secret had been discovered… he knew his horcrux was gone.

He stood silently above the empty bowl. The green glow from the pedestal now illuminated his cracked, scaly face. He ran his sleeve along the two flaring slits that served as his nose to sweep the blood that had been seeping from it since earlier that day. He reached a shaking, disbelieving hand into the bowl and ran his cracked, flaking nails along the bottom, but it was still quite empty.

A blood-curdling wail echoed throughout the vast chamber. In his rage, Voldemort turned to the imperioused muggle that he had intended to use to drink the Venenis Despero potion. A flash of green and the sound of rushing wind added another victim to the ranks of his inferi in the lake. With an extravagant wave of his wand, the multitude of animated corpses began gliding beneath the surface of the lake towards the exit. They had nothing left to guard here, so he would put them to use in other ways.

After leaving the cave, Voldemort apparated to the outskirts of Little Hangleton. He strode purposefully through a small copse of trees to find the ruined house of his grandfather standing in much the way he had last seen it, but he knew something was amiss even before he crossed the threshold. He walked into what was left of the house and his eyes immediately landed on the previously sealed trap door in the center of the floor. His blood ran cold as he saw that it wasn't concealed any longer, as it was left wide open.

The daylight from the missing roof illuminated the interior of the former root cellar. He could see the decomposing corpse of the Custifanis, a grotesque, baboon like creature with dagger-like claws and razor-sharp teeth, lying at the bottom in a pool of yellowish ichor. He found it hard to believe that the creature, which was totally immune to most kinds of magic, had been killed. It took him a few moments to realize that the creature had been shot with a muggle gun. He didn't have to climb down into the cellar… he knew that another of his horcruxes was taken.

A few hours later, he was sitting back in his chamber, staring down at the once proud patriarch of the infamous Malfoy line. The broken and bleeding man before him looked anything but proud as he laid panting and twitching on the floor.

'Crucio!'

Lucius Malfoy's screams once more echoed throughout the chamber. The man had no idea why he was being tortured. He was summoned to the chamber, and was mid-bow and halfway through his subservient greeting to his lord when the first curse struck him.

When the curse was finally lifted, Voldemort rose unsteadily to his feet and stood over the wretched Death Eater. The dementor that had accompanied him to the cave was lurking nearby, bleeding the hope out of the distressed Death Eater.

"Lucius, my dear old… friend…" began Voldemort, "I'll only ask you this once. I had once given you a book for safekeeping… an old diary of mine, to be exact. You do remember this book, don't you? The book that was very, very dear to me? I told you that the book held one of the secrets of my immortality. Now tell me, Lucius, what has become of the book? Still very safe, I assume?"

From his position, Voldemort couldn't see the look on Malfoy Sr.'s face, but if he could, he would have seen the sickly pallor that overtook his countenance, making him look even paler than usual.

The answer came in a hoarse, pleading voice, "Master, you had told me… told me to give it to a student five years ago… you said that it would bring you back, but Potter…"

"Crucio!" interrupted Voldemort. He held the curse for a full twenty seconds before he released it.

"I told you to give it away five years ago? Tell me, Lucius, how I could have done that if I hadn't returned until two years ago?"

Through his sobs, Malfoy was able to choke out, "The book! It was you in the book! I knew it was you, the book knew things that only you would know! The book told me to pass it to a pureblood child so that you could return! I… I gave it to the youngest of the blood-traitor Weasley family… the girl…"

Malfoy's words surprised Voldemort. Could his horcrux have gained a consciousness… some sort of self-awareness? In all the information on horcruxes that he had perused while in the Far East, nothing was ever mentioned about one gaining a mind of its own, but then again, making more than one had never been attempted before. Still, the thought was disconcerting to him, as it lent credibility to his theory on what actually took place that Halloween night almost sixteen years earlier… that his consciousness that drifted through the Albanian forests for all those years, the consciousness that he was experiencing now, was actually the soul fragment that was intended for the horcrux, and his true soul… the source… was somehow implanted into the Potter brat when his own body was destroyed.

Voldemort looked down at Malfoy and asked in a wintry tone, "Where is the book now?"

"Potter destroyed it… in the Chamber of Secrets…"

Voldemort reached down and lifted the cowering man by the collar of his robes, "How? How did he destroy it?"

With the dementor pressing ever nearer, Malfoy was having great difficulty staying conscious and coherent, "A basilisk… Potter killed a basilisk and used… used its' venom to burn a hole through the book."

If Malfoy had been looking up, he would have seen a triumphant grin spread across his master's cracked and festering face. 'So… the same girl that was enticed into using the bloodline ritual against Potter is now the container! It couldn't have turned out better if I had planned it this way!'

Voldemort stood erect, and then walked back to his chair. He looked over his shoulder to the dementor and said simply, "Have him."

Minutes later, he watched dispassionately as the empty, soulless husk that was once Lucius Malfoy was dragged from the chamber. He would never fail his master again.

Still, one of his horcruxes had been destroyed, maybe even two of them. He knew it… he could feel it. With the physical changes that he was undergoing, it was obvious. What he didn't know was how. Everything that he had learned about horcruxes indicated that they couldn't be destroyed by normal means. It would take a very old, very specialized type of dark magic that hadn't been seen in the world for many hundreds of years. It was somewhat similar to, but opposite of, the type of magic that caused his first downfall so many years ago.

If there was a wizard out there who knew about this old magic, he would find him… he would have to find him, and quickly.

It was time to raise the ante. He drew his wand and placed it against the mark on his arm, summoning what was left of his inner circle to him. They would have a new priority… find this wizard… this Necromancer…

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Harry and Hermione were standing outside of the wide double-doors of the infirmary, having just left the Weasleys alone in the small room to the side. They were speaking with McGonagall while Kotone stood off to the side, silently listening to the exchange.

"I've spoken with Alastor about our 'guest' in that odd room of yours," began McGonagall, "We think it's best if the Ministry wasn't yet informed of her situation, seeing as we have no idea who can be trusted there. We have a secure place to keep her… as you can imagine, we have quite a few questions about her recent activities that need to be answered."

Harry was fiddling with the old iron key in his pocket as she spoke. He had half a mind to tell McGonagall that he had 'misplaced' the key, but in the end decided to hand it over.

McGonagall took the key, saying with an uncharacteristic gleam in her eyes, "If she truly is a Death Eater, and of that I hold little doubt, the Order will get as much information as we can from her, and anything that pertains to you will be shared as quickly as possible. As for the present, you had best leave for wherever it is that you're staying. The Ministry's aurors will be here…"

"…about five minutes ago," came a voice from the now open doorway to the infirmary, startling the corridor's occupants, "Wotcher, Harry… Hermione… I'm glad to see you've caught up with him!"

"Tonks!" exclaimed Harry with a relieved smile. Tonks was standing in the doorway, along with Benjamin Bones and the auror they had fought with during the Death Eater attack at Haversham's orphanage.

Hermione was also smiling as she said to Tonks, "I see you're up and about. How're your legs feeling?"

"They patched me up in no time, but I still have a bit of a limp… but enough chit-chat…" an impish smile appeared as Tonks said, "We're here to search for this 'Chosen One' that everyone's been going on about. Have ya seen him around?"

Harry bristled at the title, but managed a smile all the same as he replied, "Nope, no 'Chosen Ones' around here… Have you checked the Quidditch pitch?"

"We're on our way there now, but just stopped by to tell the Headmistress that another Hit-Wizard squad is going to be here soon. Well, we'll be on our way then!"

With that, the three aurors began walking to the staircase. As Ben passed, he gave Harry a pat on the shoulder and looked pointedly at his hand that was still being held in a death grip by Hermione since before they left the small room. He heard the old auror mumble something resembling '…about bleedin' time…' as he walked away chuckling.

Just as the aurors reached the stairs, Tonks turned and called out, "Oh! By the way, Harry, if I don't see you by then, happy birthday!"

Harry turned to Hermione with a surprised look on his face, "What? What's today's date?"

Hermione looked just as surprised. So many things had gone on in the previous weeks that she totally lost track of the days.

"It's July Twenty-Ninth," offered McGonagall, "I had almost forgotten that your birthday was so close. Well, happy birthday, Mister Potter," and then added, "Now leave. We were lucky that it was those three that came here first. It wouldn't do for you to be seen by the wrong people."

"Go on ahead, Harry, said Hermione as she released his hand, "I'll meet up with you in a little while. There's… something I have to look up real quick in the library. I won't be long."

Harry just nodded and shrugged, then turned to Kotone and said, "Come along, little one, I have a few questions about those visions you had shown me before."

Kotone just shook her head and turned to Hermione, lifting her arms to the older witch in the same way that she always did with Harry.

Harry gave them both a suspicious look, but then flashed a poorly concealed smile as he realized what they were up to, "Listen, you don't have to…"

"Go home, Harry!" interrupted Hermione sternly as she scooped Kotone up against her side, "We'll be along in a little while!"

McGonagall cleared her throat as she turned towards the stairs and then said, "I trust that you won't tarry long." Nobody saw the amused grin that made a brief appearance on the Headmistress's face as she walked away.

With a defeated sigh, Harry just said, "Alright, just be careful," and then quickly set off for his room to use the floo, leaving Hermione and Kotone standing in the hallway.

"I assume that you know what I intend to do?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, we need present for my brother Lion."

Knowing that the little girl didn't have any money, neither muggle nor otherwise, Hermione asked, "Do you know what you are going to get for him?"

The painted lips on Kotone's mask curved into a smile and she nodded, saying, "My brother Lion has need of a wand. My father was very famous maker of wand in Japan, and I learned his craft to make custom wand. I would like to make something special for him, but I am in need of help to make. Do you know what you are going to give?"

"I haven't a clue," said Hermione sadly as she carried Kotone down the stairs towards the entrance hall, "He needs so much, that I could give him practically anything and he'd be happy with it. I want to get him something useful, but not utilitarian."

Upon seeing Kotone's lost expression, she clarified, "I don't want to give him something mundane… I need something he can use, but something that's also special. He doesn't wear jewelry, and he not that much into games and such anymore… besides Quidditch, of course. I just don't know…" a brief darkness passed over Hermione's eyes as she added, "He's probably expecting me to give him a book or something like it. I was going to take a walk to Hogsmeade to see what I could find there."

Kotone thought for a few moments, and then said, "I will help you with gift, if you help me with gift?"

Hermione wasn't entirely sure what the little girl had in mind, but realizing her own dilemma, readily agreed.

As they left through the main castle doors, Kotone looked across the grounds to see Hagrid and his unusually large hound, Fang, walking down the path from his hut towards the Forbidden Forest. Kotone shifted her weight to get Hermione's attention, and then pointed at Hagrid and said, "I need to speak with Mister Rabbit."

Hermione stifled a laugh. This she had to see for herself. She set Kotone down, who began briskly walking towards the lumbering half-giant. Hermione drew her wand and closed her eyes as she placed the tip against her forehead. When the familiar Yin-Yang image appeared, she opened her eyes and let out a startled gasp. Sure enough, an ethereal, comically large hare was superimposed over Hagrid's massive frame, but that wasn't what caused Hermione to gasp in surprise.

Actually, there were two things that stunned her into disbelieving silence. The first was when she looked at Kotone as the little half-witch made her way towards the rabbit. She now knew why she couldn't see the form of Kotone's soul, or to be more accurate, why she couldn't tell what her soul looked like before.

In enclosed places, all she saw was a white mist that surrounded the area. Now that they were out in the open, Hermione saw the complete image of the little girl's soul. Hovering around Kotone was a huge white figure, easily reaching thirty feet tall. She couldn't describe it in any other way… it was a towering angel, complete with long, flowing silvery hair, breezily flowing robes and long, graceful, feathery wings. The only thing that was missing, she thought, was a golden halo around her head.

Even in the intimidating presence of Kotone's soul, that wasn't the only thing that had made Hermione gasp. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a dark, writhing 'presence' around a large marble structure that was constructed along the lakeside just over a month before. A dark, smoky aura was surrounding Dumbledore's tomb, a type of aura that she had seen before.

'The ring!' thought Hermione in alarm, 'He destroyed the ring, but not the soul fragment that it contained!'

Dumbledore was wrong. If she hadn't discovered that fact, they could have found the rest of the horcruxes and gone on to face Voldemort, never realizing that there was one that hadn't been destroyed. Even if Harry won against the Dark Lord, they would have to spend the rest of their lives fighting him over and over again.

Now she understood why Voldemort was so confident that his horcruxes were secure. Even if they were found, they couldn't be destroyed by anyone but a Necromancer… anyone but her. After all, there hasn't been a 'true' Necromancer in Europe for many, many years, perhaps even centuries.

Her immediate impulse was to march right up to the tomb, open it, and after confirming to herself that it was indeed one of Voldemort's horcruxes, to perform the banishing ritual that was disturbingly becoming as second nature to her. After taking a cursory glance around her, she saw Madam Hooch performing the annual maintenance on the Quidditch stands, Madam Sprout inspecting the area around her greenhouses, as well as Hagrid, who was engrossed in a heated conversation with Kotone. She decided that, rather than explaining to everyone in the area why she was desecrating Dumbledore's tomb, it could certainly wait until the area wasn't as densely populated.

As she approached Kotone and Hagrid, she caught the trailing edge of their conversation.

"I don' thin' it's such a good idear to have you wanderin' aroun' the fores'. It's more dangerous now than ever since the Centaurs 'ave up an' nearly d'clared war on us wizards… I've 'ad to dodge more'n a few arrows recently jus' gettin' to me brother."

"Do not concern yourself with the family in the forest. They will do nothing," said Kotone confidently, "We have to find… tamagushi yousei… (kind of like a spirit tree) I… I do not know how to say…"

Kotone noticed Hermione approaching, realizing that the limited translation ability of the mask was just that… limited. She turned to Hermione for help and engaged her connection.

The grounds of Hogwarts dissolved into blackness, leaving Hermione focused upon Kotone's violet eyes, 'Washi-chan, you know what we look for… for wood that is special for enchantment… Wood that belongs to the tree spirits. I can feel them there."

As the connection was broken, Hermione understood Kotone's frustration and explained to Hagrid, "We need to find a wand wood tree. We know there are Bowtruckles in the forest, which means there are trees there that are of wand-wood quality…"

"Aye, that there are," said Hagrid in understanding, "but why's you looking for wand trees, 'specially in 'ere? Even ol' Ollivander ne'er took wood from the Dark Forest… Aye, there are unicorns in there, but most o' the trees 'ave been aroun' the nymphs fer far too long… not to mention Aragog's kin… they've been eatin' the Bowtruckles… You won' be finding much useful, there, I'd wager."

The painted lips on Kotone's mask curved into a smile as she said, "Not to worry about… nymphs… they will understand."

Hagrid reluctantly agreed to lead them into the Dark Forest. He went back into his newly repaired hut and came back hefting a large, double-edged woodsman's axe. As they traveled deep into the wood, Hermione could have sworn that she had seen a glimpse of a centaur or two, but whenever she looked to where she felt a 'presence,' there would be nothing there.

About ten minutes into the trek, Kotone began to slow. She was sweating profusely and would occasionally stagger to the side as she walked. She stopped and hung her head as she embarrassedly lifted her arms towards Hermione, the same way she would naturally do with Harry.

Hermione heard the young girl's laboured breathing as she lifted her from the ground. It never occurred to Hermione that Kotone didn't just want to be carried, but needed to be carried, especially over long distances. She noticed that when the little half-demon was aware that she was being carried, she could adjust her weight so that she wasn't such a burden, probably due to the physics involved with wrapping her hair and tail in such a way to distribute her weight.

Kotone gave Hermione a grateful smile as they continued through the woods.

"That way," said Kotone. A few minutes later, her ears would twitch and she'd call out, "That way!"

After over an hour, during which time they hadn't encountered a living being, they ended up in a small clearing deep in the heart of the Dark Forest. In the center of the clearing stood, surprisingly enough, a tall, solitary olive tree. It was surprising because the olive tree wasn't native to Scotland at all.

Kotone loosened her hold on Hermione, who in turn gently set her on the ground. Kotone surveyed the area for a few minutes, and then walked directly towards the trunk of the tree.

Even Hagrid was surprised when an unusually large Bowtruckle seemed to emerge from the bark lining the trunk of the tree. Its sharp claws were extended as it poised itself to defend its' tree.

Kotone stopped a few yards away from the Bowtruckle, who seemed much more aggressive than any either Hermione or Hagrid had ever seen. Hermione saw the Bowtruckle rear back, obviously intending to assault Kotone's eyes. She was about to call out a warning when she heard the young half-witch begin to sing.

It wasn't like the first time she had heard Kotone sing. Back then, the young girl's voice was coarse and grating. With the enchantment that she had placed on the mask, the true tone, as well as the words, came through clearly…

'Happy crickets sing their song
bringing blessing on the home
they give their soul, they share their bliss,
and bring a calmness all their own.

Will you share their peaceful gift,
with nature's relations, brethren all?
Or will you shun what's given free
or will jealous pride force a fall?'

Kotone continued singing, her lithe voice flowing through the clearing like a soft spring breeze. Hermione noticed the glazed-over look in Hagrid's eyes as he stood silently listening to the little girl's song. She also noticed the Bowtruckle's talons slowly retracting. She watched in amazement as the creature laid itself upon the ground and in less than a minute, it was asleep.

Hermione turned to Hagrid to comment upon what just occurred, but found that the half-giant was also asleep, sprawled out on the ground beside her and holding the double-bladed axe to his chest as if it were a teddy bear.

After waking Hagrid, they harvested one of the sturdier branches from the tree, but Kotone directed them to cut off three more, including a very thick log from the very bottom. Satisfied with what they had gathered, she held her arms up to Hermione who scooped her up into her usual position and they began the long walk from the forest.

Once back in Hagrid's cabin, Kotone asked him for a knife, an awl, a hammer and chisel, and a finishing plane, all of which Hagrid happened to have, being something of a woodcrafter himself. He had even given Harry one of his creations for a present one year, a hand-carved flute.

Kotone immediately set to work while Hagrid began making a large pot of tea. Hermione sat alongside the little half-witch, watching her with fascinated awe as the girl quickly removed the bark from all of the branches and then began carving small, curved plates of differing sizes from the large log. She quickly shifted between the chisel and the plane, and then switched to the awl to create tiny holes along the edges. She worked very fast, creating each piece with practiced ease.

After Kotone finished the twentieth little wooden plate, which looked suspiciously like tiny scales from a suit of armour, Hermione couldn't hold her curiosity in any longer.

"Kotone, What are all of these things? I thought you were making a wand for Harry?"

The painted lips on Kotone's mask curved into a smile. Without stopping her work, she said, "Not a wand… something better. Used by wizard Samurai long ago. Stealth and speed for spellcraft, and offer protection, you will see."

Several hours passed before Kotone put the finishing touches on the last plate. She sat back and shook the cramps out of her tired hands. After a few moments of rest, she did something that caused both Hermione and Hagrid to gasp.

A single, long hair from the top of Kotone's head snaked its way to the front of Kotone's face. She reached up, grasped it firmly, and pulled it out with a quick jerk of her hand while letting out a pained squeak. She laid the hair on the table, where it continued to lazily squirm on the flat surface. Again, another hair separated itself from the others and drifted before her face. With another cry of pain, pulled that one out and placed it upon the table with the first.

"Kotone! Why are you doing that?"

Kotone didn't answer, she just kept pulling strands of hair from her head until there was a small, writhing pile of snowy white hair on the table. Hermione noticed that each hair came from a different location on her scalp, probably to avoid leaving a bald spot.

Kotone held out her hand over the table, and one strand lifted itself up like a snake and wrapped around her index finger. She picked up two of the curved plates, the largest one that was shaped roughly like a shield, and one of the medium sized ones. The strand of hair began working itself through the tiny holes in the plates, securing one to the other. Kotone continued fastening the plates together with the strands of hair while the two others in the room watched in fascinated silence.

After a while, Hermione could identify what Kotone was making. It was a like an armoured glove, with the plates held firmly together by the hairs, but left loose enough to allow a full range of movement for the fingers. With the hair doing most of the work binding the plates together, it didn't take very long at all before the glove was complete. As the last hair tied itself off, Kotone lifted the glove and inspected it closely before giving a satisfied nod while handing it to Hermione.

"Olive wood and Oni hair," said Kotone proudly, "A fine combination for a Warrior Mage. Please try it out."

Hermione looked over the glove with awe as she slipped it loosely onto her right hand. She was startled for an instant as the living hair contracted the joints together, causing the glove to instantly size itself to fit perfectly on her hand. She flexed her fingers, noting that it felt like it was made out of a fine, soft leather.

Hermione reached out her arm and said, "Lumos." The glove immediately lit, casting a bright white glow around the room. "Nox."

"Well done!" Hagrid excitedly said to Kotone as he clapped his hands, "Tha's a righ' fine bit o' craffsmanship, tha' is!"

Hermione smiled brightly at Kotone, "Oh, Harry is going to love this, especially when he finds out that you made it for him yourself!"

An odd expression shone through Kotone's eyes. The painted smile on her porcelain mask faded into a slight frown as she said, "Yes, now he will always hold a piece of me."

The smile then returned as she said, "I'm happy that you think he will like it. Let's go home so I can show you the present that you will give him."

Kotone thanked Hagrid for the use of his tools, and they both thanked him for the tea before heading along the forest's edge towards the road to Hogsmeade. They didn't think it would be wise to reenter the castle, what with all the aurors and Hit-Wizards looking for Harry there, so they would use the floo at The Three Broomsticks.

They entered the tavern and politely asked Madam Rosmerta if they could use her floo, who graciously offered a bit of floo powder to each of them free of charge. They walked to the hearth and Hermione was just about to toss the pinch of powder into the flames when she paused, seemingly lost in thought.

"I… I don't know where I'm going! I can't remember where…"

A look of alarm spread across Hermione's face as the realization struck her, 'The Fidelis! I don't know where… 'it' is anymore!'

She turned to Kotone and said in a whispered rush, "Kotone, where is home? You're the secret keeper for us… only you can tell anyone where 'home' is!"

Kotone's brows crinkled in thought, "I do not know the name of the place. Nobody ever told me, I was carried there."

"Oh! Oh, no! Harry!" said Hermione with panicked whisper, "Harry can't get back to the house! He doesn't know either… nobody does!"

In one quick motion, Hermione scooped Kotone against her side, hastily returned the unused floo powder to Madam Rosmerta, and after a hurried apology, she rushed from the tavern and began the long trip back to Hogwarts, silently praying that Harry was still somehow safe.