Disclaimer: I own no part of Harry Potter, its characters, plot or otherwise. All belongs to JK Rowling.

Chapter 3

Brainthundering Ideas

"Harry, there's one more item for you on The List," said Hermione. "Actually, it probably applies to all of us but you need it most."

"What is it?" Harry asked, concerned.

"Learn some new offensive spells," said Hermione firmly. "We're almost of age now. But we're still using the hexes and jinxes we learned back in fourth year for the Triwizard Tournament."

"So what?" Harry said, feeling slightly offended. "They've worked, haven't they? I mean, I used expelliarmus to hold off Voldemort, didn't I?"

"Yes, Harry," said Hermione patiently, "but you have to admit everyone knows about that move now. They're going to expect that move from you, and they'll know to guard against it." Seeing that he remained unconvinced she added: " Besides, it wasn't expelliarmus which got you out of that duel with Voldemort but the fact that your wands are brothers and that your magical will happens to be exceptionally strong - strong enough to overpower Voldemort, apparently."

Harry felt like squirming, and he looked at Hermione a little rebelliously. It was all very well for her to talk. It wasn't as though she'd been there at that duel. She reminded him of Zacharias Smith from Dumbledore's Army, who had been scornful of the use of the Disarming charm.

"At least think about it, Harry," said Hermione, sighing as she saw his mutinous face. "I'm not telling you that Disarming is useless - quite the contrary. But what if the other person has a backup wand? What if they are capable of wandless magic?"

"Is that even possible?" Harry asked, surprised out of his sulks by the thought of wandless magic.

"Only by exceptionally powerful wizards," said Hermione. "Dumbledore was one and there were a couple of others mentioned, but I'm sure Voldemort's one of them, too. You need to work on your arsenal of spells, Harry."

Harry was silent.

"Hermione's right, mate," said Ron, entering the fray at last. "I mean, all of us know the Disarming charm now, don't we? So they'll be expecting us to use it again. Moody always said not to be predictable in using spells, remember?"

"That wasn't Moody, it was Crouch," said Harry, taken aback by Ron's support of Hermione.

"All the more reason to listen," said Ron. "The death eater as good as told us how to defeat the rest of the ruddy blighters. Let's keep 'em on edge with spells they won't expect."

For some reason, Harry found it easier to accept these words coming from Ron and Hermione than he would from anyone else. He supposed it was because he knew that deep down, they understood where he was coming from.

"How will I practice, though?" he asked, feeling wary. "We agreed I shouldn't use magic at my home, remember?"

Hermione deflated visibly. "That's true," she said, considering. "What if we asked permission for you to come to Hogwarts every week so you can practice. They can't detect your wand from here because of all the magic that's involved in hiding Hogwarts itself. No-one will need to know and Professor McGonagall can give us all portkeys."

"Yes, but if anyone finds out, we'll be in trouble with the Ministry, won't we?" said Harry, raising his eyebrow.

"Not if they don't know about it," said Ron. "They can't actually track portkeys and apparitions, you know." Seeing that Harry looked surprised at this, he added: "Well, it stands to reason, doesn't it? If they could track people that way, we'd never have to worry about crime again or even You-know-who for that matter. They'd have just followed them around using their portkey or apparition trails."

Once again, Harry had the embarrassing feeling of being the only one who didn't quite understand the way the wizarding world worked. He could see that Hermione already knew this fact, probably having come across it in one of her books. Ron, of course, had grown up in the wizarding world.

"Well, if Professor McGonagall gives us permission, perhaps the Order can help us with apparition or portkeys," said Hermione decidedly. "That way, we don't have to worry so much about practising either. We'll have all the time we need, especially in this room, provided we can find it again."

"That's true," Harry agreed, feeling excited. He had never been able to practice magic openly except within the confines of Hogwarts. But he accepted, somewhat reluctantly, the need to expand his spell range, given that the three of them of them would no longer be inside Hogwarts. "We'll probably need to practice everything we can do non-verbally as well then. That's how the rest of the Order does it."

Ron grimaced, and despite his words, Harry couldn't help but feel the same way. Non-verbal spells required a far greater degree of control, and to date, he had only rarely achieved this feat. Hermione, however, was nodding her head in agreement, and scribbling feverishly on her parchment.

"Well then," she said finally, putting down her quill and looking slightly apprehensive. "I think we now need to get on to the main part of the planning: where we're going to find the horcruxes."

"They could be anywhere, Hermione," said Ron gloomily. "Even if we've narrowed it down to England, it's a whole island to search through."

"Not necessarily," said Harry thoughtfully. "Dumbledore said to look out for places that were precious to Voldemort in some way. They had some sort of meaning."

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione, puzzled. "We don't know nearly enough about him to know that - do we?"

"Well, there's Hogwarts," said Harry. He could see Voldemort having left one here.

"Dumbledore would have found it if it had been here, Harry," said Hermione at once, much to Harry's annoyance.

"Hermione," said Ron kindly. "I thought you said there were no bad ideas in a brainthundering session. It's not going to help if we throw cold water on each idea right away, is it?"

"Brainstorming, Ronald," said Hermione. "But surely Dumbledore would have known if there was a horcrux here. He went all the way to the cave, didn't he?"

"Dumbledore said himself he didn't know all the secrets of Hogwarts, Hermione," said Harry patiently.

Hermione was about to protest again before she remembered that she had promised herself to listen to Harry and Ron more. Swallowing her words, she pursed her lips and wrote down Hogwarts on the parchment. She could see Harry and Ron looking at her in astonishment. It only confirmed how very dictatorial she had become. Even her best friends couldn't believe she was actually open to their ideas because she acted like a know-it-all. It made her feel rather small inside.

"Why don't we look at where we've found the other horcruxes?" suggested Ron. "Maybe that'll give us an idea of where else we can look."

Seeing the other two look at him in surprise, he went red. "Well, it was only a suggestion," he said awkwardly.

Hermione found her voice. "Ron, that's a wonderful idea," she said, beaming at her tall, gangly friend. "I never thought of that. It's the most logical thing to do!"

Harry clapped the blushing Ron on the back. "You beat Hermione at logic, mate," said Harry, grinning.

Ron, still blushing madly, said: "Well, something had to rub off after six years after all."

"Oh hush you two!" said Hermione fondly. "Let's see, there's the diary and the ring."

"Don't forget the locket," said Harry. "Lucius Malfoy had the diary. Voldemort gave it to him himself, according to Draco."

"How do you know?" asked Hermione.

"Draco told us," said Ron, grinning, "while we were under the Polyjuice down in the Slytherin common room in second year."

Hermione blushed faintly at this reminder of the Polyjuice potion that she had made in second year. Her part of the transformation had resulted in a prolonged stay in the hospital wing because she had used a cat hair rather than a human hair. From Harry and Ron's smirks, she could tell they were remembering this too.

"All right, so Malfoy had the diary," she said calmly. "The ring was in the shack near Little Hangleton. Why was that significant?"

"He found out he was the heir to Slytherin there," said Harry quietly, remembering Morfin's confrontation with Voldemort. "Morfin Gaunt told him about the locket and about his father there, too. That must have been when he killed the Riddles and put the blame on Morfin."

His friends looked sickened by the knowledge that Voldemort had killed the remainder of his family.

"The third one was in the cave," said Hermione, writing down everything Harry had said so that they could puzzle over it later. "Isn't that where he took those two children, according to the lady at the orphanage?"

"Yes," said Harry, thinking back to the memory of the young Tom Riddle at the orphanage. "Their names were Amy and Dennis. Voldemort must have done something bad to them in that cave. They were really afraid of him after that."

"So it was the place where he demonstrated his power and make someone fear him," said Hermione thoughtfully. She looked down at the parchment again, trying to make sense of the whole. "Voldemort gave one horcrux to his follower, left another in the place where he discovered something critical about his heritage, and the last was in the place he demonstrated his power as a child."

"Malfoy was a very faithful follower," said Harry, frowning. "What if Voldemort gave a horcrux to another faithful follower?"

"You reckon someone like the Lestranges?" asked Ron shrewdly.

Harry nodded. "They went to Azkaban for him," he said slowly. "The night Voldemort came back, he said that the Lestranges were the most loyal because they'd been the only ones who'd gone looking for him. I can see him giving them, or at least Bellatrix, a horcrux to guard."

Ron grimaced. "I don't fancy going up against Bellatrix Lestrange, mate. Stark staring crazy, that one."

Harry couldn't help but agree more. Bellatrix Lestrange was mad and unpredictable. Her stay in Azkaban had only made her worse, and the thought of getting a horcrux away from her was more than a little daunting.

"All right," started Hermione, trying to get rid of the unsettled feeling in the room, "we've got Bellatrix Lestrange so far - that's another follower."

"Perhaps it's another place where he demonstrated his power or where he found out about his heritage," said Ron. "Blimey, that's a lot of places."

"No, it isn't," said Harry suddenly, feeling excited. "It has to be here at Hogwarts in the Chamber of Secrets. Until Voldemort came, no-one found it, not even Dumbledore. What if he hid a horcrux down there?"

Seeing their blank faces, he hurried on. "Voldemort thought he was from a muggle family until he found out that he was actually of Slytherin's blood. Hogwarts would have been like a home to him, wouldn't it? This is where he learned magic, gained power, and his first followers. What more perfect place to hide a horcrux than the Chamber of Secrets?"

Ron appeared to be convinced and Hermione was frowning deeply. "I think you're right about Hogwarts, Harry," she said carefully. "Certainly Dumbledore and others who looked for the Chamber of Secrets couldn't find it until Voldemort came along."

"But-?" asked Harry.

Hermione threw up her hands. "Basilisk venom is the only thing capable of destroying a horcrux," she said, standing up from her chair and pacing around. "I can't believe that Voldemort would be so careless as to leave a horcrux in the place where a basilisk was roaming around freely."

"But he never thought anyone else would open the Chamber," argued Harry. But deep down, he knew that Hermione was right in this instance. Voldemort would not have left his precious horcrux where it might have a chance to be destroyed."

"He left the diary, didn't he?" said Ron suddenly. "Malfoy told us his father said to stay out of the Chamber of Secrets mess and let the heir do his work. So he already had one horcrux connected to the Chamber. Wouldn't leaving another one there be like, I dunno, repeating himself?"

Harry grimaced but he had to admit his friend had made a good point.

Hermione looked down at the woefully small list and sighed. "We've got a good start," she said optimstically, "but we'd better think of other places too, just in case. Would there have been anyone else that Voldemort trusted, Harry?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't think so," he said, "all the others said they'd been under the Imperius curse. Oh wait, we forgot to account for Nagini. She's with Voldemort."

Hermione's face momentarily brightened (they'd placed another horcrux), but then fell (the snake was with Voldemort).

Ron kicked frustratedly at the table legs. "What about the other founder's item, then?" he demanded. "We've got the locket and the cup. Dumbledore said it can't be the sword. What about Ravenclaw? Any sign of anything of hers that you-know-who could have turned into a horcrux."

It was Hermione's turn to shake her head. "I've only found one thing," she said reluctantly, pointing to the scroll which had detailed Gryffindor's sword and the other gifts that Ragnuk the First had made to the founders. "Rowena Ravenclaw received a diadem that would enhance intuition and cleverness. But it's been lost for centuries."

"Sounds perfect for you-know-who then," Ron commented. "He always seems to be finding lost things. The Chamber of Secrets, Hufflepuff's cup… he probably found Ravenclaw's thingamajig too." Seeing, Hermione turn to stare at him, he asked: "What?"

Hermione simply smiled. "When you put it that way, I suppose it makes more sense," she said.

Harry entered the conversation. "So the remaining founder's item that we have to find is likely this diadem, then," he said. He paused thoughtfully: "What's a diadem?"

Ron looked relieved. He'd been about to ask the same question. Hermione, of course, answered at once. "It's like a tiara or a very simple crown. They've got a diagram of it here."

She showed them the illustration of the diadem and Ron whistled under his breath. "That looks expensive. How on earth did they manage to lose track of that?"

"It doesn't say," said Hermione, perplexed. "But according to all these sources, despite so many looking for it, no-one's seen the diadem in living memory."

"All right," said Harry wearily. "Let's add it to the list and keep going." He leaned over and grabbed the parchment from Hermione to look at the list. She'd made two columns, one for the horcruxes, and one for their locations or likely locations. Diary - Lucius Malfoy, Ring - Gaunt shack, Locket - Cave, Nagini - Voldemort, Cup - unknown / Lestrange / Hogwarts, Diadem? - unknown / Lestrange / Hogwarts.

"We still need to look for the locket," said Harry carefully, producing the locket with R.A.B.'s letter. He put down unknown next to the word, cave. "We don't know whether he or she - " he added hastily seeing Hermione about to interrupt - "managed to destroy it or not."

Hermione closed her eyes and Ron let out a groan. "This is going to be impossible," moaned Ron.

"That's why we're thinking about it now, Ron," said Hermione sharply. "Can you imagine thinking about all these things once we'd set out on the trip? We wouldn't even know where to start."

"Good point," Ron acknowledged with a wince. He sat up, propping his chin on his hand. "How much time have we got left? Can we try and talk to Dumbledore now?"

"We need to get to the Chamber of Secrets first," said Hermione.

"How?" asked Harry. "There was a cave-in in the passage. How're we going to get past that?"

"We'll move it with our wands," said Hermione firmly. "I looked up a few spells for that."

"Of course you did," said Ron chuckling. Seeing Hermione glare at him, he added: "Sorry, Hermione. I just meant it's always you who's well-prepared."

Harry chuckled.

"We need to make sure we've got everything from here," said Hermione fretfully, choosing to ignore Ron. "I don't know whether it will come back after this."

"Good point," said Harry, gathering up parchments, quills, and books. "Are these the horcrux books, Hermione? Did the room give them to you?"

"No, I found them," said Hermione shortly.

Ron looked very interested. "But I thought you said Dumbledore removed them from the library."

"He moved them to his own office," said Hermione, turning pink. "I did a summoning charm from my room and they flew in there. I think Dumbledore must have set it up that way."

Harry and Ron looked at her in admiration and shook their heads. "You're amazing, Hermione," said Harry warmly. "We couldn't do without you."

"Thanks, Harry," said Hermione, smiling at him.

Ron dropped a book with an unnecessary thud. "Well, let's get going then," he said forcefully as they looked at him. "We have rocks to move and fangs to play with."

"What a treat," said Harry sardonically, moving to the door to hold it open for the other two. "I can't wait to get started."

Hermione and Ron laughed in sympathy, and loaded with quills and parchments and bags, they made their way out of the room.