Harry pulled his coat tighter around his body. The rigid cold was starting to get to him. The clues he had found with Hermione had led them to the Western Alps, and unfortunately higher up in the Alps. The snow was coming down hard enough to be a blizzard and he could hardly see anything.
"It's cold," Hermione said. A particularly strong gust of wind picked up and blew the snow that surrounded them into the air. "And that was just obnoxious." Harry laughed.
"Did your warming charm wear off?" he asked.
"No," Hermione said. "It's the only thing keeping me from becoming a frozen statue."
"Well, we should almost be there. The map says it's somewhere around here," Harry said. "I'm sure the place has a fireplace. If it doesn't then Hufflepuff must have been totally immune to cold weather."
"Guys! Wait up," Ron called from behind him. Harry and Hermione stopped and turned around to see Ron walking up the hill.
"You all right mate?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, my legs are just cramping up," Ron said. "This hill is killer."
"We're almost there," Harry said. He looked down at the map as he continued to move forward. Hermione wrapped her coat around her body tighter and followed her best friend, Ron in tow. Harry walked up the trail that had probably been made over one hundred years ago. It had grown over with grass, but was still slightly visible, even though it was covered in snow. There had been another about a mile behind him, but he ignored it and decided to go with his gut instinct.
"Found it," Harry said. About a fourth of a mile in front of him was the beginnings of a porch. His pace picked up and as soon as he was in front of the small cottage, he stopped. A minute later, Hermione was on his right side and Ron was on his left.
"Okay," Harry said. "We need to be careful. Watch for any traps."
The three of them entered the dark cottage. Hermione lit up the room with her wand, and Harry sought out a fireplace. It was located towards the back of the small living area. He lit it and put his hands up to the fire.
"Wow," Ron said. "I finally have feeling in my hands." Harry stopped warming his hands and observed the room. It was everything a mountainous house would be. The walls were made of weathered wood and even though there were windows, so much grim and dirt covered them that light could hardly make it through.
"Well, we should start," Harry said. The three of them separated, their wands held in front of them.
Harry carefully climbed the stairs of the dark cottage. His wand let a trail of light lead him. As he stepped on a stair, it creaked and Harry stopped. He was approaching the top of the staircase and he went to step forward again but the stair under his foot collapsed. He felt his leg sink down into the wood.
"Shit," he muttered. He tried to move his foot to get it out of the hole but it didn't work; his shoe was too big. A sharp pain shot up his leg and his knees weakened every time he tried to move his leg. The feeling that something was crawling up his leg came over his senses. He pulled his leg up harder each time and whatever was crawling up his pant leg stopped.
"Ah, damn it!" Harry ground out. Whatever was in his pant leg had just sunk its teeth into his leg. He yanked his leg up so hard that it finally was pulled out of the hole, but it didn't go without plenty of pain. Harry crawled up to the top of the staircase and sat down, nursing his injury.
"Harry?" Hermione whispered. She came to the bottom of the steps, wand held out in front of her. The shine from the spell illuminated the area surrounding Harry and his injury was made clear to Hermione.
"Harry, what happened?" she asked as she started towards the stairs.
"Hermione, no!" Harry said. "These steps are old. I fell through one of them and something bit me. If you come up here, be careful." Hermione started up the stairs with caution but she stopped at the sound of a yell. She and Harry shared a look.
"Ron," they both said. Hermione turned around and Harry went down the stairs as quickly as he could. He turned the corner and nearly ran into Hermione, who had stopped in the entryway to the next room.
Ron was on the ground with one arm up, shielding his face. The other hand held his arm, but it was unusable at the moment. A grayish-purple creature with two sharp horns coming out of its head stood over Ron. It reached up with one of its claws and came down in a slashing motion, gashing Ron's arm. He yelled out again.
Harry and Hermione dove in to prevent another attack by the beast. Hermione shot spell after spell at the beasts face, trying to aim for its eyes. One spell hit it and a loud roar was heard. Immense pain shot through Harry's body as he was moving Ron out of the way. The beast's claw came down on his already bad leg. His scream sounded with the beasts.
"Hermione," he yelled. "Hermione, keep going for its eyes." He let go of Ron, who had scooted back with his good arm and Harry tended to his leg. With all of his might, he lifted up on the claws that were in his skin. Tears stung at his eyes as the pain sharpened, but the claws were finally out. He took out his wand.
"Hermione, move," he said, anger in his voice. Not at her, but at the thing in front of them. She took one look at Harry and moved out of the way, running towards Ron to help him.
"Avada Kedavra," he hissed. The green light shot towards the beast and hit it directly in the left eye. One last loud roar was given before the beast dropped dead to the ground. A deafening silence overcame the room.
"What the hell was that thing?" Ron said, groaning in pain.
"A Graphorn," Harry said.
"A what?" said Hermione and Ron.
"A Graphorn," Harry replied. "It's rated an x-4 by the Ministry. I read about it the other day in the Library."
"An x-4 my arse! The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures should be shot," Ron said.
"You're telling me," Harry said as a particular dose of pain shot through his leg. Hermione healed Ron's wounds before she tended to Harry.
"Give me your leg," Hermione said. Harry backed up against the wall before he stretched out his injured leg. Harry hissed out in pain as Hermione slowly lifted his pants leg above his injury. Hermione grimaced.
"Mundus," she said. The blood and grime that had been on his leg vanished and his cut, along with fresh blood appeared to Hermione.
"Purgavi," Hermione said as she waved her wand over his leg. The large gash from the Graphorn's claw vanished but the bite that Harry had received remained.
"What bit you?" Hermione asked softly as she met Harry's eyes.
"I don't know. It felt like a snake when it went up my leg," Harry said. Hermione looked closely at his wound. Two small holes were in the center of the large, red and swollen welt like bump that had formed.
"It looks like it, but I don't know what kind it was so I can't do anything to it," Hermione said. Harry nodded.
"Does it hurt?" she asked, gently moving her thumb over the wound. The muscle in his calf flexed and he nodded again. "I can numb it, if that would help." She met his eyes once more.
"Okay," he said.
"Torpesco," Hermione said. The pulsating pain that had been running through his calf and through his upper leg stopped. He breathed in relief. Hermione held out her hand to help him up.
"Thank you," he said softly, letting his thumb rub the back of her hand as they stood there.
"You're welcome," she said, letting her eyes wonder down to their hands and then back up to his eyes. He cleared his throat slightly and let go of her hand, returning to his previous impassive state.
"We should continue," he said to both Ron and Hermione. The three of them shared a look and went their separate ways again.
Harry took the stairs with more caution than he did the first time and made it up in one piece. He breathed a relieved sigh and continued on in the upper level of the cottage. To his left was a door and carefully, he opened it.
The room was dark as he entered it, but the light from his wand guided him through the room and he eventually found a light switch. Cautiously, he flipped it up. A second later, though flickering slightly, lights came on.
The room was small, about the size of his room at the Dursley's. It had a bed, a bedside table, a trunk, a wardrobe and a grim covered window. A very thick layer of dust covered every item in the room.
"Scourgify," Harry said, waving his wand over everything in the room. The dust was cleared and the old furniture was clean again. Harry observed the bedroom, trying to find any loose floorboards or wall panels. His eye didn't catch anything and we headed toward the bedside table and opened the drawer it held. Papers filled it. Harry immediately stuffed them carefully into the backpack he had brought with him. Lowering himself to the floor, Harry checked under the bed. It was clear. His next spot was the wardrobe. The doors flung open and Harry searched through the left over dresses and brassieres. They looked to be from the Dark Ages, which left Harry thinking that they had been Helga Hufflepuff's.
Harry had searched and searched the wardrobe and found nothing but clothes. Just as he was about to close the doors, he noticed a back panel was sticking up slightly. He peered closer and moved the clothes out of his way so he could loosen it up even more. With a hard tug, the panel came loose and he threw the old wood down. One finely wrought handle stuck out from the small alcove that was in the back of the dresser. Relief spread throughout his body as he slowly revealed the rest of the cup. A small picture of a badger was on the golden cup. It was almost like a tea cup. He grinned and put the cup delicately in his backpack. He restored everything in the room and did one last check to make sure he got everything before he flipped off the light and left.
"Guys," Harry said softly. He cautiously walked into the room where the Graphorn was and looked around. "Ron? Hermione?"
Harry went along a back hallway as he searched for his two best friends. He followed the slightly large footsteps of his best mate, which their imprints had been left by the dust. The hallway led to the kitchen and there Ron was, looking through the cabinets.
"Ron," Harry said. Ron jumped and turned around, his wand out. He sighed and put his wand down when he saw Harry.
"Blimey mate, I was ready to hex you," Ron said. Harry grinned.
"I found the cup," he said. Ron grinned and walked toward Harry.
"Ron? I can't find the cup or Harry," Hermione said softly as she came into the kitchen. She stopped abruptly when she saw Harry standing next to Ron with the cup in his hand.
"I'm right here and so is the cup," he grinned.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Harry diligently worked on his Transfiguration essay as he sat next to Hermione in the Library. It was their break and both of them wanted to get any extra homework out of the way so they had time to work on the Horcrux. Beside him, Hermione was whispering quietly to him about what she found out about the Horcrux, though she was careful of what she said, and about his essay, which she had gone over once already.
"I think we need to be extra careful this time," Harry said. "He might start to get suspicious." He was talking about Voldemort and the weakening of his powers every time a piece of his soul was destroyed. Before Hermione could respond, a voice interrupted her.
"Mr. Potter, Miss. Granger, I don't think discussing your extra curricular activities in the Library is appropriate," said the sickeningly sweet voice of Umbridge, though a hint of maliciousness was behind the insinuation. "I think two nights of detention should suffice." Giggles were heard from the occupants around them. Hermione stiffened and Harry slammed his quill down before he stood up and turned around the face Umbridge. The giggles stopped quickly.
"Who the bloody hell do you think you are making assumptions about what Hermione and I were talking about?" Harry growled. "If you feel the need to know, we were planning a surprise birthday party for her father and he is beginning to get suspicious about what we're doing." Umbridge looked up at Harry, a hateful glint in her eyes.
"Mr. Potter, I do not like that tone," Umbridge began.
"I don't give a flying fuck what you like and what you don't like. I will talk to you however the bloody hell I please. We're both adults here, and I think you should start acting like one. I do not and will not tolerate assumptions about my relationship with Hermione. It's no one's business but our own so stay the hell out of it. And I certainly don't want to hear it coming from you," Harry said, his eyes flashing. Umbridge didn't say anything.
"And anyway, you are not employed here at Hogwarts. You were sent from the Ministry to keep an eye on things. You abilities here are very limited and I know damn well you don't hold the power to give out detentions or take away house points. Don't even try that game or you will be sorry," Harry said in a much quieter voice, but it was every bit as fierce as before.
"Is that a threat?" Umbridge asked, affronted.
"No, that's a promise," Harry said. "Now why don't you hop along and find something to do other than annoy me, huh?" Harry gave her one last glare and returned to his seat and homework. Behind him, Umbridge opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water for a few more minutes before she walked off in a huff.
"Harry," Hermione said from beside him. "That was awful." Harry looked over at Hermione, who was smiling despite herself. He noticed the eyes on the both of them. She's reprimanding me for losing my temper with a Ministry Official in front of other students Harry realized. He knew she didn't mean it though, if her smile was any indication.
"When you chastise someone, try not to smile the next time," Harry said with an amused grin on his face. A light blush dusted her cheeks and she kept her head down as her smile got wider.
"Now, as I was saying," Harry said. "There have been three gone and even though I haven't felt anything from him, he has to be noticing something. We've got to be careful because after this one, we have only two more to go and if he catches even the slightest wind of his things being confiscated, he'll make the next two near impossible to get and destroy." Hermione nodded.
"How are we going to do that?" Hermione asked.
"I'm not sure yet. I was thinking that we can wait until we get the other two and then do it all at once. That way we have all of them and then it's just him left."
"That's a good idea, but where will we put this one in the mean time?" Hermione asked.
"I think we need to keep it someplace we know no one will be able to get too or break into," Harry said. "I'm thinking either my vault in Gringotts or my trunk here.
"We need to get started on the next two then also," Hermione said.
"Well, I was thinking about that one too," Harry said. "And I came up with an idea but I think we need to talk about it someplace more…safe." She nodded and began to fold up her homework as did he. The two of them quickly made their way out of the Library and to the Heads Dorm.
"Okay," Harry said as he sunk down on the couch. Hermione sat next him and turned to face him.
"We have two left after Hufflepuff's Cup, and we have that so we can keep an eye on it. Since Voldemort had a founder thing going on, I was thinking one of the two left was either a relic of Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. But, Slytherin and Gryffindor hated each other so that wouldn't compliment his bloodline at all having a relic of his rival house, which makes me think it will be Ravenclaw's."
"That makes sense," Hermione said. "Voldemort wouldn't want a relic of someone he thought to be a traitor so he probably went with Rowena instead." Harry nodded.
"As for the other one, I think its Nagini," Harry said. Hermione's face contorted with surprise.
"Why?" she asked.
"To make a Horcrux, you have to commit the ultimate act of evil, which is murder. Voldemort could've killed one of his Death Eaters so he could make Nagini a Horcrux. This probably would've happened no less than twenty years ago. Then I got to thinking about Regulus and how he ran away to find the locket. Regulus was killed by Voldemort himself for `running away'."
"Maybe when he killed Regulus, he used that murder to make Nagini a Horcrux. It makes sense if you think about it. Voldemort's first era was twenty years ago, when my parents were our age. Regulus was only two years younger than them. Sirius said that Regulus was killed for fleeing Voldemort's rule. I don't know why Regulus left, but he was killed twenty years ago, give or take a few. He stole the real locket and replaced it with a fake. Voldemort must have found out that Regulus knew about his Horcrux making and he knew that it could jeopardize his plans. In effort to stop that from happening, Voldemort killed Regulus. He didn't know that Regulus had already gotten the locket. He then used Regulus' murder to make Nagini a Horcrux. Voldemort is Slytherin's heir and Slytherin's sign is a snake. To have a snake under your control would be pride factor towards his bloodline and because Voldemort is a parsletounge, he can control Nagini more easily. It makes sense to keep the snake close to him if part of his soul is located in the body." Hermione thought for a moment.
"That makes perfect sense," she said. "But if Nagini is so close to Voldemort, how will we ever destroy the Horcrux?"
"Well, that was my other thing I needed to talk to you about. I know we'll need to find out where Voldemort is located. Where Voldemort is, Nagini is. Two of us need to be on the lookout while the other takes care of the Horcrux. There'll be more intricate planning, but that's just an outline," Harry said.
"Well, since neither Ron nor I can speak parsletounge, I think you'll be the one to destroy Nagini. The two of us will be on the look out for any Death Eaters or anything of that sort," Hermione said. "Like you said, we need to find out where he's located. I think we should pay attention a little more to the things we hear. You and I both know we still have supporters of Voldemort in the castle. We're bound to hear something." Harry nodded.
"Then that's settled. Even if Nagini isn't a Horcrux, the bloody snake is out of the way," Harry said. "We should get started on research for Ravenclaw."
"Tomorrow we'll tell Ron and then start researching," Hermione said. "Until then, I think I'm going to head to bed." Harry nodded.
"Okay, I'll see you in the morning," Harry said. Hermione ran her hand through his hair as she kissed his cheek. She disappeared up the steps and to her room. Moving to the table, Harry took out a piece of parchment and wrote down the main points he illustrated to Hermione for Ron the next day. After that, he headed up to his own dorm.
&---&---&---&---&
Chapter 11 is up and out. I've got a few ideas for chapter 12 forming in my head so hopefully I'll be able to get that out quickly.
Thanks for reading! LemonDropAnyone, 9 pages.
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