Chapter 2

Later on that evening, many of the Order guests went to their assigned rooms to sleep after a night of merriment. Hermione, Ron and Harry, however, had other things to discuss. The trio went to Harry's room, the master suite of Grimmauld Place, as Harry had inherited the house after Sirius's death. Sitting in the slightly ornate room, Ron and Hermione who hadn't seen the room before whistled in awe.

"Bloody Hell, mate! This place is fancy," Ron commented. Hermione could do little better, her brain cells stunned at the luxury that surrounded the couch they were sitting in. A Persian rug was in front of the fireplace, the very ornamental fireplace, which was gilded with real gold. In fact, the black mahogany walls (of course it was black, first of all, god forbid it should be red, uggh, Mrs. Black would shudder and die should she ever put red and gold together in the same room, and second of all, what other color would the Black family decorate their walls with?) were also gilded with gold in lavish designs that caught the eye. The ceiling was painted with, from what they could tell, the "virtues" of the Black family. The top of the mantelpiece was green marble, and the ancient candleholders on the walls were made of pure silver (silver and green, what else would you expect?).

"Well, honestly, Ron, it was a lot worse before your Mum and Professor Lupin got here," Harry explained to his two best friends, "There were tons of dark artifacts and traps for burglars or family, we're not sure which, sitting around, and we also got rid of a lot of the black draperies. Seriously, it looked like a funeral room in here. Professor Lupin almost had an allergic reaction to all the silver in here. When we got in here, he tried to open the draperies, but apparently they were embroidered with the 'famous' deeds of the Black family, and it was in silver, so you can see how well that turned out."

"Oh," said Hermione, looking horrified, "Poor Professor Lupin. Is he alright? When a werewolf comes in contact with silver, they can get really bad allergic reactions. I once read about this werewolf who was so allergic that he almost died becau-"

"Yes, yes, we know about that. You read your essay on werewolves to us during third year. Not likely to forget that when your professor is a werewolf too. Anyways, Harry, we wanted to talk to you about the Horcruxes and how we're going to search for them," Ron interrupted Hermione's information spiel.

"Yeah," Hermione continued, "Ron and I are going back to Hogwarts this year. Professor McGonagall said she really needed us as Head Boy and Girl to help protect the school against Voldemort. She also wants you to continue the DA from fifth year."

"Hermione, Ron," Harry sighed, "I'm not going back to Hogwarts this year." The two were stunned.

"But, Harry-" Ron spluttered.

"Look, I just don't think Voldemort will wait for me to find a whole bunch of pieces of his soul and learn how to destroy them before attempting to kill me," Harry said angrily, clearly frustrated, "I've thought about this a lot and I believe this war needs to end soon. We've just lost the head of the Light, and the Order isn't coping well with the losses."

"Harry," Hermione said, "You need to come to school with us then. You can come and learn how to defend yourself better and how to destroy the Horcruxes. You'll have a better chance at survival then, and we'll be able to come with you and support you."

"Hermione, I-" Harry tried to refute her argument.

"Harry, you're going to go wandering off and how will we know when we'll see you again, if we ever do see you again!" Hermione didn't leave Harry a chance to contradict her, "we're your best friends! We care about you! At least, if you won't come for Hogwarts for the full year, spend a month, half a semester with us."

Silence invaded the room. The trio sat there, each with his or her own separate thoughts. They sat there for what seemed like hours to each of them, but in reality were only minutes. Finally, after half an hour, Harry spoke.

"Hermione, Ron, I can't put off the search for the Horcruxes any longer. Now that Headmaster Dumbledore's dead, I'm Voldemort's main target. I'll be putting the school in danger as long as I'm there."

"Harry-" Hermione tried to break in.

"Please be quiet, I'm not done yet," Harry looked at Hermione pleadingly and she subsided as Harry continued, "I'll put off the search for the rest of the summer, and I'll go to the Opening feast with you, but in disguise. I can't risk Voldemort knowing I'm there. After that, I'll be gone. I want you two to promise not to try to contact me while I'm searching for the Horcruxes. It might alert Voldemort where I am."

"Alright, I promise," Ron said instantly.

"Ron!" Hermione was shocked.

"Hermione, Harry made up his mind on this. We're not going to stop him. So just agree to this because it makes sense and will keep Harry safe." Ron gave her a thoughtful answer.

"Okay. I guess I promise, but I want you, Harry James Potter, to promise us that if you're hurt you'll come to us so that we can heal you." Hermione glared at Harry, reminding him of Molly Weasley.

"Alright. As long as there isn't an easier and faster way to heal myself," Harry promised, giving a hug to both Ron and Hermione, "I'm tired. I'll see you two in the morning then?" He smiled brilliantly at the duo.

"See you in the morning," echoed Hermione.

"Night," Ron said with a yawn, "Have a good night's sleep!"

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