Chapter 9
The smoke that had filled the room was slowly disappearing, much to the occupants' relief.
Harry stood in front of a table with gold Hufflepuff Cup on it while Ron and Hermione crawled out from where they had hidden. Luna was softly humming a song from where she was sitting on the couch.
"Is it over?" Hermione asked and Harry nodded.
"Yeah - Voldemort's soul is no longer there," Harry explained as he picked up the cup before shrinking it and placed it into an envelope with a letter and handed it to Hedwig. She took it with a soft nip to his fingers before flying out of the window and back to Hogwarts so Headmistress McGonagall could place the cup back where it belonged, freed of Voldemort.
"Well, that's one down," Ron stated, shaking his head.
Harry and Ron had made their way to Hogwarts two days ago and asked McGonagall for the cup, explaining why they needed it. When they were finished, McGonagall all but threw the cup at them, and told them to do whatever it took to get rid of Voldemort for good.
Hermione and Luna had gone over all the books but much to their frustration, there hasn't been a lot of information on how to destroy a horcux and they knew that they were missing something because if they were to attempt it, one of them would have been harmed.
Hermione had given up with the books and approached Harry about their second year and how he had managed to destroy the diary.
Harry explained to her that he had used the basilisk's fang but later remembered that the fang was coated in his blood.
That was what gave Hermione the idea that Harry should use his blood to destroy the horcux and it had worked.
"So we just need to find the wand, destroy that, then find Voldemort's pet?" Ron summarised and Harry nodded.
"Yeah," Harry confirmed before he looked at the girls. "How are you going with the hunting for the wand?" Hermione shook her head while Luna sighed.
"It's protected and because Ollivander has disappeared - it's getting harder to track them down," Luna explained and Harry nodded, obviously expecting it.
"I'm not surprised - Voldemort needed to make sure that the horcuxes were safe enough - he just didn't count on us," Harry told them.
Hermione nodded as she placed her hand on Harry's shoulder before leaning in slightly.
Ron arched an eyebrow at the sight before he decided to ask the question that had been burning in his mind for the last couple of days.
"What is going on with you two?" Ron finally demanded as he looked between his best friends. Harry and Hermione shared a soft look before they reached out and held hands, much to Ron's amusement. "Well, dang it - you two finally got yourself together."
Hermione grinned at her best friend. Ever since he nearly died - they had spent time in the hospital wing and they finally talked it out what was going on.
Ron had explained to her that he didn't see her that way, despite what anyone said - he had never seen her in a romantic light. Hermione had felt a bit foolish and explained why she thought Ron fancied her only for Ron to complain that he wore his heart on his sleeve - that he made it perfectly clear what he was feeling so would he have told Hermione how he felt about her a long time ago if he had seen her in that light.
Hermione had asked him about fourth year only to be shocked when Ron admitted that he was jealous of her. She was the one who Krum talked to despite the fact that Ron was his number one fan and she had stuck by Harry throughout the whole first task while he sulked in a corner, fully believing that Harry had entered the name himself but just cut everyone else out.
Hermione was relieved when she found out what Ron really felt and it made the two of them closer on a sibling bond.
"Yeah - we finally got together," Harry agreed and Ron grinned happily. He was shocked when Harry had kissed Ginny in front of everyone in the common room. Ron had thought that Hermione and Harry would have gotten together the year before and found himself wondering why his best mate was going after his sister till Harry had told him about the love potion.
Ron couldn't believe that Ginny would use a love potion on Harry and it just furthered his belief that his mother's idea of having a one big happy Weasley family wasn't going to work out. They couldn't force themselves to be in love with someone they weren't in love with just because of a person's dream.
"I'm happy for you two," Luna spoke up before she nudged Harry. "Told you." Harry grinned down at Luna before ruffling her hair slightly.
"Yeah you did - but it's now your turn," Harry told her and Luna smiled softly before she moved closer to the table, leaving Hermione and Ron curious to what Harry had meant, but they left it alone - everything revealed itself in its own way and it was better than to force it when they weren't ready to face the consequences of their actions.
"Do you think that the wand would be at the shop?" Luna suddenly spoke up, causing them to look at her. Hermione frowned as she thought about it.
"It could make sense, but wouldn't Ollivanders take it with him to protect it?" Hermione asked as she moved closer to Luna and they both scanned the pictures of the shop that they had taken.
"Yes, he would have - he would have some idea of what it contained but who's to say that he didn't have it at the shop before then?" Luna asked as both girls sat down.
Harry frowned when Luna's question triggered a memory.
"I remember that there was a wand on a blue pillow in the windowsill," Harry spoke up and Ron nodded in agreement.
"I remember that too," Ron told him. "It was funny type of wand - it was white with some blue engravings on it."
"That would be Ravenclaw's wand but I don't see it in the pictures - no pillow either," Hermione told them as she eyed the pictures a little more closely.
Both boys moved forward too and looked at the pictures before Ron frowned.
"We need to ask around to see if anyone could know some place that Ollivander would have went," Ron told Harry, who nodded.
"You're right but the question is who - we can't risk tipping off the death eaters," Harry told him.
"What about the Hog's Head?" Luna asked and Hermione looked at her before the idea caught onto her and her eyes widened.
"Of course - the barman," Hermione told her and Luna nodded. "He should know where's Ollivander could be."
"What about the barman?" Ron asked, puzzled and Hermione looked up at him.
"He's Dumbledore's brother - he and Dumbledore would have conversed regularly," Hermione explained but Harry frowned.
"Why didn't Dumbledore write it down in his books?" Harry asked, puzzled.
"Maybe he didn't get the chance to or maybe he didn't know what of Ravenclaw that Voldemort had taken - he had been busy trying to convince everyone that Voldemort was back and getting the order started up in fifth year then teaching you everything he knew how to take down Voldemort - he must have thought he would have had time," Hermione suggested before shrugging. "It's just a guess."
"It would make sense," Ron told him. "Nobody knew that Snape was going to kill Dumbledore - heck, I don't think even Snape knew he was going to kill Dumbledore."
The answer to Snape's behaviour of killing Dumbledore had been revealed when an Order member had found Malfoy and questioned him under the truth potion where everything had been revealed.
Snape hadn't had a choice in killing Dumbledore - it meant his death in not fulfilling the contract and Draco's death in not completing the mission. Dumbledore had learned of it - what Snape thought was anyone's guess but he had agreed to it at the last minute.
"I guess," Harry agreed before sighing and running a hand through his hair before he looked at his watch. "We better get some sleep - it's pretty late," Harry told them and everyone nodded as Hermione and Luna packed up all the books and the boys packed up all the stuff that had fallen to the ground in everyone's haste to hide when Harry was destroying the horcuxes.
Once everything had been tidied up, Ron and Luna left the room and headed toward their room while Harry and Hermione made their way into the bedroom with Hermione heading into the bathroom after collecting her night clothes to change and Harry changing into his PJ bottoms before he headed into the bathroom after Hermione had changed.
Both of them went through the nightly ritual of brushing their teeth before they slipped into bed with both of them lying on their backs.
"How do you think everything is going to work out?" Hermione asked as she shifted her head and looked up at Harry, curious to his answer.
Harry sighed as he looked up at the ceiling.
"I don't know Hermione, I really don't," Harry whispered.
Hermione just turned on her side and curled into his side before closing her eyes. Harry just kissed her forehead and closed his eyes as well as they both fell asleep, dreaming of a future that didn't have Voldemort wrecking their lives.
TBC
Thursday!