Every part of Harry ached with the effort of holding on to the dragon's back.
"Is it my imagination," shouted Ron after a considerable stretch of silence, "or are we losing height?"
Harry looked down and saw deep green mountains and lakes, coppery in the sunset. the landscape seemed to grow larger and more detailed as he squinted over the side of the dragon, and he wondered whether it had divined the presence of fresh water by the flashes of reflected sunlight. Lower and lower the dragon flew, in great spiraling circles, honing in, it seemed, upon one of the smaller lakes.
"I say we jump when it gets low enough!" Harry called back to the others. "Straight into the water before it realizes we're here!"
They agreed, Hermione a little faintly, and now Harry could see the dragon's wide yellow underbelly rippling in the surface of the water.
"NOW!" He slithered over the side of the dragon and plummeted feet first toward the surface of the lake; the drop was greater than he had estimated and he hit the water hard, plunging like a stone into a freezing, green, reed-filled world.
The dragon did not seem to have noticed anything; it was already fifty feet away, swooping low over the lake to scoop up water in its scarred snout.
As Ron and Hermione emerged, spluttering and gasping, from the depths of the lake, the dragon flew on, its wings beating hard, and landed at last on a distant bank.
Hermione collapsed on the shore, sodden and spluttering, breathing in great lungfuls of air. Part of her mind uncoiled as it recognised the firm feeling of solid ground beneath her but it was soon overshadowed by the numerous burns and cuts that began to throb and sting all over her body.
She clambered onto her knees and reached with a shaking hand for her wand. She winced as she dabbed Essence of Dittany onto a large burn, the clothing having been burned away.
Then she turned to Ron and did the same for him.
Ron groaned and sat up, and pushed his fringe out of his eyes. He looked around then turned to Hermione, "Where's Harry?"
Hermione's head snapped around, but Harry was nowhere to be seen. Her heart began to hammer in her chest. She remembered him diving from the dragon's back, but after that it had been nothing but the churning water, a desperate need to breathe and her pail hands reaching for the surface.
There had been no time to check on the others, "He's still in there!" cried Hermione and surged to her feat. Her vision blackened and she staggered, but forced herself unsteadily towards the lakeside.
But before she could make herself wade into the water in search of her friend, a sound pulsed through the water and the lake began to glow. Something in the water shone brightly from the depths.
The sound pulsed again, a deep, pure thrum that rocked through Hermione, a sound so deep it smothered out everything.
Then the choppy surface of the lake erupted and Harry, spluttering and wide eyed burst into the air.
"Wingardium Leviosa," cried Hermione, and Harry was lifted bodily from the water. With a wave of her wand, Harry was floating through the air to come to rest next to Ron.
Ron made to dab his wounds with Dittany, but Harry waved him off, and pulled out his own wand. With barely a glance, he passed his wand over his body and his cuts and burns healed in the blink of an eye.
"What?" said Hermione, stunned by Harry's casual display of advance healing charms.
Harry's eyes found hers and something in the depths seemed totally alien to her, "I'm Groundhogging, Hermione. Explain the concept to Ron, I need a moment."
"Groundhogging," said Ron, a confused look on his face, "Is that something from the Quibbler?"
"It's… it's a movie Ron, about a man who experiences the same day over and over. He's the only one who remembers… Harry, how many times have you done this?"
"Lost count around ten thousand," said Harry as he rummaged in the Mokeskin pouch, "Aha!" He pulled out an old sock then turned to Ron and Hermione.
"I'll explain on the way, just trust me on this. We have a war to win," he grinned, "and so very much more!"
With that, he pointed his wand at the sock and mumble, "Portus."
The Portkey hooked the three of them and they lurched forward in tempest of wind and swirling colour. Hermione shut her eyes tight and tried desperately to distract herself from the nauseous method of travel.
Fortunately there were so many questions. As she bumped and jostled between the two boys she began to sort them out into some semblance of order.
She had just got to question number twenty three when the ground slammed into her feet.
She let out a squeal of surprise and would have toppled over if Harry hadn't caught her.
"Right you two, follow me," said Harry confidently and marched off towards the glowing lights of a small township at the bottom of the hill.
Hermione was about ask when Harry, not looking back began to speak again.
"Yes Hermione, I am experiencing the same day over and over. Voldemort!"
"Harry the taboo!" yelled Ron as dark shapes appeared all around them with a series of cracks. Next thing Ron knew he was pushed off his feat by a wave of force and crashed into Hermione, sending them toppling to the ground.
"Who dares utter the Dark Lord's name?" barked a harsh voice as six figures formed a semicircle around Harry, "We've got you surround-"
From the ground, Hermione saw Harry flick his wand once and instantly the six snatchers were clutching at their throats. To Hermione it look like they were drowning.
Harry turned to Hermione and Ron. Another wave of his wand and Ron was back on his feat and Harry was dusting him down, "Sorry about that, Ron, Hermione but believe me it was the best way. I hope you noticed my liberal use of cushioning charms."
Harry followed the wide eye gaze of his best friends who were now staring at the struggling Snatchers, "And to answer your latest question Hermione, it's a reverse Bubblehead Charm. Remarkably effective don't you think. It can be canceled with a well cast Finite but suffocation seems to make them panic every time."
Harry disarmed them with a wordless Accio and canceled to spell letting the six snatchers fell to ground, dragging in ragged breaths.
"Now as to what we are doing here, I am waiting for a letter and you are freaking out. Once I have my letter, we are going to force our way through one of the best protected dwellings on the planet. Truly formidable stuff let me tell you. Took me ages to crack it.. That's why I said Tom's name. We needed a couple of volunteers. Now if you'll just give me a moment."
And with that he started Confunding five of the six Snatchers. The last one he Obliviated, stunned then Portkeyed him away.
"What did you do with him?" asked Ron, his arm unconsciously wrapped around Hermione's shoulders.
"Samual B. Erikson. Working undercover as a Snatcher and has helped several Muggleborns escape. But we can't have him wandering about so I stunned him, removed the memory of the day and sent him to his sister's place."
He turned to the others, his face hardening, "As for this lot, each and every one of them has done things that would land them in Azkaban for decades." He pointed to the one who spoke earlier, "Huxley here likes torturing Muggles, especially pregnant ones."
"How do you know all this?" asked Ron, "I mean, how do you know about them!"
"Huh, you beat Hermione to the punch this time," mused Harry, "that bodes well. I've spent hours, days even, rifling through all their minds over the years. I know more that anyone should ever know about this lot." He turned to the dazed snatchers, "Alright you lot, up you get!" he barked.
The five remaining Snatchers struggled to their feet and stood waiting patiently for Harry's next instruction.
"What are you going to do to them? Asked Hermione in a small voice.
Harry turned to his oldest friends and the strange gleam in his eyes faded. He closed the distance between them and pulled them both into a hug, "Don't worry guys. I haven't become that kind of monster yet."
Hermione pulled away, her eyes wide, "You've killed them before haven't you?"
Harry sighed, shoulders sagging, "Hermione, I've tried everything."
"So what are you going to do with then? This time?" Asked Ron, gripping his wand nervously.
"We are going to tap them for everything their worth, shatter defenses the world believe inviolate and leave these bastards as little more than squibs." said Harry evenly.
Ron's face went white at the idea of anyone losing their magic, "I think I'd almost prefer to die," he muttered.
"Magic is wonderous thing Ron. A gift, one that they have abused time and time again. The don't deserve it so I'm going to do my best to take it away from them. Now come, time is getting away from us."
With that he started making his way toward the village, the Snatchers marching in a line before him.
"I have more questions!" Hermione said, as she jogged up to him.
Harry smiled, "I know. Let me fill you in. On my first time through today, we almost won, but at the last minute, I died in a duel with Tom. Then I found myself in the water, experiencing the day again. Let me tell you I made a complete hash of things the second time around and never even got to face Tom. As the sun rose, I felt like I was underwater and then suddenly I was back in the lake."
"I talked it over with you on my third trip and you told me about the movie. We've even watched it together a couple of time."
"You mean we just blew of the hunt for the diadem?" asked Ron incredulously.
"Yeah, Hermione had a theory the character from the movie, I had to complete some special set of circumstances to make it to the next day. Then we brain stormed over the next couple of cycles and we came up with a great plan. Can you guess what it is, Hermione?"
Hermione frowned, her mind racing with the possibilities before her eyes widened as the full realisation stuck, "You have infinite time… you could construct the perfect day, defeat him… do anything, so long as you could manage it before dawn!"
"Exactly! But then I got really ambitious. Years back I managed it, we all but won the war, captured all the Death Eaters and no one died. It was down to Tom and I. But at the last second I had an idea, a crazy, impossible idea. What if we could do more?"
"More?" Hermione said, puzzled.
Ron froze, and almost tripped. Harry reached out a stopped him falling over, his eyes alight, "You're going to save everybody!"
"Damn right I am. And with you two by my side, we can do it."
The arrived at the outskirts of the little town that looked much like Godrics Hollow had. Neat Cottages stood on either side of the broad winding road that cut through the village. A short way ahead of them, the glow of golden streetlights indicated the center of the village.
Harry turned into a side street and moved confidently. He paused near a window and tapped his wand against it. The window unlocked and slid open without a sound.
"Accio catfood" muttered Harry and a small tin of the stuff sailed out the window into his waiting hand. With another wave the window closed and latched itself.
"Cat food?" said Ron, looking at the tin as if it held some unknown power.
"Cat food," Harry said with a nod and moved on.
They stopped a short time later, in line with the fence between two small cottages.
Harry reached into the pocket of his robes and withdrew the watch Molly had gifted him. Harry pointed at a point in the sky, "Three, two, one!"
The air above them seemed to boil for a moment then something pulsed and a single owl flapped into existence. Without missing a beat, it arced towards Harry and alighted on the fence before him, then held it's leg out. Harry gently removed the letter and read the short missive before handing it to Hermione and Ron.
All that was written was an address. They looked up at the same time, only to notice a distinctly wizardish house was now standing between the two muggle houses that had been neighbors just moments before.
Harry nodded and then turned his wand on the five silent figures. They moved in perfect unison, standing side by side, along the front of the freshly revealed cottage. Then as one, they raised their wrists' to their mouths and bite hard, piercing the skin and slicing veins open.
Ron gagged, but Hermione couldn't look away. The Snatchers held out the bleeding arms, letting the blood drip on the ground in front of them. Then they began to chant.
"Blood which is magic, blood which is life, take what is offered. Soul be the lock, blood thy key, take what is given. Blood be our link, trust be our bond, I am thy keeper.
Hermione held her breath, but nothing happened. She looked at Harry, who seemed to be waiting for something, "Did it work?" she finally asked.
Harry held up a single finger, motioning her to wait. For a moment nothing happened, then the five snatchers fell to their knees, gasping as if they'd just run a marathon.
Harry grinned… no he smirked, "The protections around the house now view me as master."
Huxley seemed to shake off whatever daze he'd been in and turned his face up to Harry. He reached for his wand but Harry just smiled and held it up in front of him.
"Thanks, Hux," said Harry and chucked the Snatcher his wand.
"Stupid boy," Huxley spat and turned his wand on the trio. Ron and Hermione dived for cover but Harry stayed still.
"Confringo!" bellowed the Snatcher, but nothing happened.
Harry smiled, "Not going to work, Hux. I'm not sure you could even manage a Lumos anymore."
"You little shit, what have you done to me?" he screamed.
"Only half what you deserved. You'll spend the rest of your days as a squib. Now if you'll excuse us, we Wizards have work to do." and with that Harry Banished the Snatchers, flinging them across the road, slamming into the hedgerow in a tangle of limbs and groans.
"Sorry about that," said Harry as he helped Ron and Hermione up, "Couldn't resist a little showmanship. Now let's pay Sidero a visit.
Realisation dawned on Hermione, "You overwhelmed the semantic link of a home and it's owner!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah, but it was Ron who had the idea first."
"I did?" said Ron bemusedly.
"Well we all agreed there was no way to break the protections without destroying the house and a fair chunk of the coastline, but you said something…" Harry shook his head, "You know, it's been so long I can't quite remember, Sorry Ron. Either way, it took me ages to figure out how to actually do it."
"And you took their magic!"
"Technically they still have it, it just being used right now. That's part of the deal, they offer their magic, a part of themselves and it subsumes the claim of the owner."
"That was blood magic, Harry," said Hermione. She couldn't quite hide the accusation in her voice.
"Yes and just like with House Elves, the magical community has it all wrong. Technically it should be referred to as prime magic. Turns out, the first spells all used blood as a conduit. If we see tomorrow, I'll tell you everything I can, but for now I need you to trust me. This was the best way. Or would you have preferred I track down the original secret keeper and torture it out of them?"
"Of course not!" said Hermione hotly.
"Good, because I need you to say 'here kitty kitty.'" said Harry seriously.
Hermione gave Harry an incredulous look before crossing her arms and saying, "Here kitty kitty."
Almost at once, a fluffy white cat burst from the bushes and ran to Hermione. It rubbed its body against her legs and when Hermione bent down to pat it, it started purring.
"Works every time." said Harry admiringly as he walked over to the front door of the house. He turned the handle and it opened.
Harry held a finger up to his mouth, motioning for quiet and together they tiptoed into the dark house.
Hermione was reminded of Snape's potions classroom. A plethora of ingredients and flasks covered every surface, every shelf and hung from rafters in no discernible order.
Harry was rummaging around in one of the cupboards, pulling out small bags and gathering them on a nearby table, "Ron, in the next room you'll find a small cauldron, bring it in here for me."
"What will happen?"
"You'll find me a cauldron, Ron." answered Harry flatly.
"Not what I meant, prat. Will anything bad happen?"
"Not if you're quiet."
Ron huffed and stalked off to the next room.
"What are you making Harry?" Hermione asked as she held the cat close.
"I've never given it a name, to be honest. I get Ron to chuck a whole lot of whatever into a cauldron and feed it to the cat."
"You wouldn't!" said Hermione, holding the cat closer and shielding it with her body, utterly scandalised.
"Sssh! Of course I wouldn't. But our unwitting host doesn't know that."
Ron returned with the cauldron and Placed it over the stove. Harry thanked him and lit the stove with the poke of his wand. He waved Ron closer, "Okay Ron, I want you to really Neville this potion up proper."
Ron chuckled and nodded, "That I can do."
"Now I'm going to wake our guest." Harry moved off into the darkness.
Hermione turned to Ron who was contentedly through random things into the cauldron. He reached for a jar of porcupine quills and was about to empty it into his creation.
Hermione's hand shot out and grab his arm, stopping the explosive mistake at the last moment.
Ron turned to her and smiled, "Couldn't do Neville justice if you weren't there making sure it didn't explode."
"How you can be so calm?" demanded Hermione under her breath.
Ron's smile faded and he leaned in to whisper into her ear, "Look I've messed up once already. I should have trusted Harry… trusted you. But I didn't and I stormed off like a bloody idiot. I'm not doing that again. Harry asked us to trust him, and that's what I'm going to do."
"Ron he's been reliving the same day for at least thirty year! Do you really think he's still the same Harry we knew going into to Gringotts?"
"Maybe. I don't really know. What I do know is that he's been honest with us and he has a plan, besides maybe this might be the power he knows not."
A floorboard creaked behind them and Ron and Hermione leapt apart. Harry was standing behind them looking tense, an unconscious woman floating in the air behind him.
He set his shoulders and met their eyes, "So… what did you decide?"
Hermione looked at Ron and he nodded, "Oh Harry," said Hermione as she closed the distance and drew him into a hug, "we're with you, to whatever end."
"Too right," said Ron.
Harry sagged in Hermione's arms, "Thank Merlin. Sometimes… sometimes you don't."
Hermione pulled back and held his gaze, "Just promise me Harry, that you really mean to finish it this time."
"I do Hermione, I think I finally have everything set."
"So who's the old woman?" ask Ron, nodding toward the floating hostage as he stirred the potion.
"This is Sloane Sidero. Potioneer, Necromancer and Alchemist and most importantly for us, former Unspeakable. She also happens to be the one person in the world with the only remaining slither of the Flamel's Stone, and we are going to ask her for it."
"But Dumbledore told you it was destroyed!" protested Hermione.
"Hermione, think about how powerful the Horcruxes are, now remember just how messy destroying them is. Take that and multiply it by one hundred. The Philosopher's Stone isn't something you can just break with a hammer, and somehow, Sidero here got her hands on a piece that was left over."
"Right so what are we going to do with it?" asked Ron.
"Everything, Ron, everything!"