Author's note: This is the first fanfic I wrote. I hope you enjoy it and I would appreciate your responces.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Just the copies of the books.
Summary: Half a year has passed since Alastor Moody tried to retrieve the fourth Horcrux and never returned. That day, Harry, Ron and Hermione got into an arguement that left their friendship shattered. Now, Hermione secretly sets off to retrieve the fourth and last Horcrux Harry needs to destroy to make Voldemort mortal again. However, Hermione does not know how dangerous the journey is to retrieve the Horcrux. Meanwhile Harry and Ron rest out their injuries from their latest excursion. They are completely oblivious to the task Hermione has set off to do and the dangers she will face.
Chapter 1: The Cave
Hermione looked down at Professor Moody's notes and then surveyed the surrounding area. The entrance to the cave lay somewhere in the vicinity. Hours had passed since she first set out to find this cave. It had been a sunny day in the afternoon of this cold winter day. Now it was near evening and Hermione still had no idea where the entrance to this cave lay.
She had been there before. It was half a year ago when Professor Moody first attempted to retrieve the fourth Horcrux alone. It was also his last. He walked in with a smile on his face, confident he would return; but he never did.
However, Hermione did not want to think any more about that day. Other things happened. One of which is the reason that brought her back to his cave. Alone.
She looked down at the notes again wondering if she missed anything like so many times before this day. This must have been the hundredth time. She had spent hours walking around in a small circle looking for the exact scene described in the notes, but with no luck.
Maybe I should have brought someone along to help. Hermione began to think. Or just to keep me company. Professor Lupin would have been nice. Or Mr. Weasley. But none of the older members of the Order would agree to have her along. Victor would have come if she asked. But it would be best if… if—
Hermione stopped short of finishing that thought and cursed herself for even thinking about Him. It was because of Him that she is here in this stupid forest. It was because of Him that she had to do this alone. That stupid idiot has caused her enough troubles for several lifetimes. She hated Him, yet she was doing this to prove something to Him.
The more she thought about Him, the more frustrated she became. Her aggravation grew quickly and hit its peak before she finally could force herself to stop thinking about Him. Still angry, Hermione found a nice spot by the base of a large tree to sit down. She kicked away the snow so she could sit without getting too wet. She set her small provision pack down along with Professor Moody's notes and then sat down. Hermione leaned back against the tree and looked up into the forest.
How beautifully serene the trees looked. Hermione thought. Their leaves move swiftly as the wind passes through. To them, as long as there are sunny days and rainy nights, there is nothing weighing them down. How peaceful would it be to be like them? Will peace ever come?
"Hermione," a voice called to her. She turned to see Him standing there with the same smile across his face she loved. "You think too much. Not to mention worry too much as well."
"If I don't think or worry, who is? The two of you certainly are able find your own resources, right?" She responded with a sarcastic tone and a smile on her face. "I mean, who am I kidding? The two of you can go to the library and sit for hours at a time searching book after book without falling asleep!"
"Oh, shush, Hermione. I get it. Without you the two of us could never get things done," he agreed as he leaned closer to Hermione. "But all I'm saying is there are times when you need to relax. Have fun. Live a little."
She felt his hand over the back of hers. It felt so warm and comfortable; and for one moment, all her worries and thoughts were gone. Her heart leaped and stomach somersaulted. She wondered if he felt the same way as he placed his other hand below her chin and lifted it up. Her heart raced even faster and the comfort and relaxation she felt before was now replaced by nervousness and anxiety. A part of her wanted to move, but she could not. She wanted to stay. He leaned closer and closed his eyes. Hermione did the same.
A sudden gust of cold wind made Hermione shiver and rub her arms. Where did he go? She suddenly thought as she looked around desperately. It was just a dream, but a dream she wished was reality as tears fell down her cheeks. She would be lying to herself if she said she did not want Him here. Hermione wanted Him to be here. She wanted Him to always be by her side as she would be by his. She let out a cry in pain and despair. Her love for Him tormented her poor heart as it ached in longing for his touch, his voice and his smile.
This will all be over once I complete this cave! She thought with confidence. Then we can be back together! Hermione wiped her tears dry and stood up dusting off the dirt on her clothes. She looked over towards the west and could still see the sun. It is sunset. There is still time to find the entrance before it becomes too cold. She did not know how long she could continue in this weather. The temperature was dropping faster by the hour and by the looks of the clouds, she would say a storm was approaching.
Hermione quickly reached down for her pack and Professor Moody's notes when she felt a warm gust of air against the back of her hand. The notes had been turned back several pages, but something was different. On it was not the words describing where to find the entrance, but had a picture of some trees.
As she picked the notes up from the ground, the drawings began to fade and the words return. Hermione quickly blew a warm breath onto the page, but nothing happened. So she knelt down to the place where she felt the gust of warm air and lowered the notes.
Hermione waited patiently for the next gust of air, but the temperature was getting too cold. She was shivering so much that she could no longer hold the notes so she placed them on the ground. How much longer could she last? She thought. Then, the gust returned. She quickly matched the picture with her surroundings desperately and there, five meters to her left, she found what she was looking for.
Excitement pumped blood rapidly through her veins warming her up. She grabbed the notes and her provision pack and ran towards an odd shaped tree. A moment later, Hermione found herself standing before the cave entrance. Half a year had passed by and no one has ever made a second attempt at this cave. Until now.
Harry woke in his bed feeling horrible. Earlier this week, he and Ron barely escaped the wrath of Voldemort's Inferi. They were able to stop the Inferi's advance by setting half the fort on fire and collapsing it, but they had expected the other half to hold. The fort was standing as two halves to begin with so in theory, the two halves were standing by itself without the support of the other. Instead, it collapsed and buried them.
Luckily, they were rescued shortly after the collapse because of the clock downstairs. However, the damage was done. The two had several broken bones ranging from the arms to the ribs and to the legs. They had just enough time during the collapse to take cover under a table to shield themselves which effectively reduced the damage.
If Hermione was there, this would not have happened. Harry knew this to be the truth. Neither he nor Ron could match her intelligence. She would have known exactly what to do stop the Inferi and keep the building from collapsing on them. However, after what happened half a year ago, Hermione had nearly cut off all communications with Harry and Ron. It was entirely Harry's fault and he knew that, but it has kept Hermione safe from all the dangers he and Ron faced. Hermione was always kept in the background or at Hogwarts while Harry and Ron fought in the front line.
But Harry could not deny the underlying fact that he missed Hermione. He missed her warmth. He missed her laughter. He missed her intelligence. Harry missed Hermione. Hundreds of times Harry just wanted to blurt out that he was sorry. That he missed her. That he wanted her there with him. However, the choice he made half a year ago still stands true. It was and still is the right thing to do. Harry never questioned that.
Harry sat up in his bed and looked over to his left. Ron's bed was empty. Maybe he went for a walk or a drink. He thought. After all, neither of them is allowed to leave their beds. Well, maybe Ron. He seemed to have taken less damage overall. He looked outside. It was getting near sunset, almost time for supper. Harry figured he mind as well walk downstairs and save the others the trouble of bringing food upstairs to serve to him.
The pains from his wounds were nearly gone, but the aching of sore muscles still remained. Harry walked down the hallway to the stairs and when he passed Hermione's room, he paused for a moment and peered in. No one was there. He walked in, like so many times before when she was away at Hogwarts, and looked around. It once was organized and neat. She is a daughter of two dentists after all. Now, books lay scattered across the room. Some open, others closed. Pages and pages of parchment were crumbled up and tossed in various corners of the room.
Harry knew he was to be blamed for this change. Ever since that day half a year ago, Hermione started to study feverously. No one really knew what she was studying since she charmed all her books. Just about everything in the room was charmed so that no one would know what she was doing. She probably knew that Harry is in her room at this moment.
Many times, when Harry stood in Hermione's room, he wanted to write down how sorry he was and take back what he had said. He wanted to write how much he missed her and how much he wanted them to be together again. But no. His stubbornness would not let him take a step back. Also, he did what was right.
Harry looked over to a picture frame she had placed face down. He had not seen it before. Hermione must have locked it away somewhere in the room. He flipped it up and for a moment, stood very still. It was a collage of pictures when the three of them were together. Unwanted tears found its way out of Harry's eyes and down his cheeks. He tried to hold them back, even tried blinking rapidly; but it did not help. Then Harry began to sob uncontrollably.
Harry missed Hermione.
Ron sat at the dining table snacking on some cookies when Ginny walked in. "Why are you back? Aren't you supposed to be in the dormitory at Hogwarts?" Ron questioned.
"Well hello to you too." Ginny started with an unpleased tone. "I was just coming back to see how you two were doing. Plus I left some books in my room."
"Oh. We're doing fine. It's been four days since the fort fell on us. Where's mom and dad anyway?"
"Not sure. Might be doing some Order stuff," Ginny said as she walked up the stairs. Suddenly, she screamed out, "ARE YOU ALRIGHT HARRY!"
Ron fell out of his chair and bolted up the stairs. He dashed down the hall to his room before noticing Ginny in the entrance of Hermione's room. "Oh." Ron muttered with an indifferent attitude. He had thought something really bad happened. But it was just this. "I'll go get some tissue."
This has happened before. Several times. Ron just left Harry alone. He hated talking to Harry about Hermione. Mostly because the only thing they talk about is what happened half a year ago. That was a day Ron hated to talk about the most. It usually starts off with the "what if" questions and then it crescendos into a shouting match between him and Harry.
Ron loathed arguing with Harry. He loathed it just as much as he hated spiders. As he walked down the stairs, he saw Ginny help Harry out of Hermione's room and back into his. Ron continued down the stairs and searched the house for tissues.
After ten minutes of searching, Ron was only able to produce a box with two sheets left. Now he wished they did not have to use their handkerchiefs to light the fire that collapsed the fort. He did not dare touch any of the handkerchiefs lying around the house. Who knows what Fred or George did to them.
"What's taking so long?" Ginny asked as she entered the living room. "Harry's sleeves won't be able to hold anymore tears!"
"We're out." Ron said plainly. He held back his laugher knowing his sister would beat him to death if he had let it out. "Did you give him your handkerchief?"
"Yeah, but he went through that in a minute. You know, if Herm—"
"Yeah." Ron agreed bluntly not allowing his sister to finish.
"You didn't let me finish!" Ginny pouted.
"She could fix this right? Conjure a new handkerchief or dispel whatever Fred and George placed on the ones lying around the house? Yeah. However the hard truth is: SHE isn't here." Ron knew he was being a bit colder to Ginny than usual, but he did not want to talk about her.
"Geez. You two are so dense, you know that? This wouldn't be a problem if one of you wouldn't be so stubborn and just go talk to her!" Ginny stated angrily. She stomped over to Ron, snatched the tissues from the box, and stomped up stairs.
Ron just shrugged and went back to the kitchen to enjoy his cookies. As he sat down and shoved a cookie into his mouth, he noticed something strange about the clock. He got up from his seat and walked over. As he closed in to look, something shot out and hit him in the eye. "Aahh!" he let out a short cry. "Stupid Fred and George!" He started to walk towards their room to find the ointment that could remove this bruise when he remembered they gave it to Hermione a couple years back.
Ron walked up the stairs when he saw Harry walking out of his room. "What happened to you?" Harry asked wondering why Ron had his hand over his right eye. When Ron removed his hand, it gave Harry a good laugh.
"Ha, ha, ha." Ron laughed sarcastically. "Do you know where the ointment is?"
"Fred and George have it at their shop. Well, maybe…" Harry trailed off.
Ron knew exactly what Harry was referring to. "Yeah. I'll check there first."
Harry walked past Ron without another word as Ron walked into Hermione's room. Harry wanted to avoid another argument over Hermione with Ron. He went down stairs, but really had no idea where he was headed. He sat down at the kitchen table and took one of Ron's cookies. These cookies were good, but he wanted to snack on something else. Often times he wished the Weasley's would accept Harry's money. They are practically family now.
As he reached for another cookie, he saw Ginny walk down the stairs. "Find your books?"
"Yeah. I'll be returning to Hogwarts now. It's good to know that both of you are well. Pass that to Ron will you?"
"Sure. Wait, how did you get here?" Harry asked. He wondered why he had not asked before.
"Floo powder. How else?" she replied as she jumped into the fireplace and shouted, "The Three Broomsticks!"
"Oh, right." Harry murmured, remembering it is the third weekend of this month. Then Ron came down the stairs. His right eye was still black. "Not there?"
"Nope. Going to check Fred and George's room. They might have something there. If not, I'll go visit them."
Harry nodded as he took another cookie. It was then that Harry really took notice at the rift that had formed between him and his best friend. They were nearly inseparable. Now, they avoid long conversations because of the fear they would start shouting again because of Hermione.
Harry grabbed one more cookie before walking back upstairs. Just as he reached his bed, he heard the cracking sound of apparition. Then tears began to fall again.
Harry missed Hermione.