Chapter 11

Little Hangleton, England

"There is no one in the house."

"How do you know? You can't see in there!"

Velika rolled her eyes and glared at Hermione. "I know there is no one in the house because I don't hear anyone in there," she said. "But you are welcome to check, if you wish."

Hermione glared back at Velika, her hands on her hips. "How can you possibly hear that far away? There are so many things I've noticed about you that just don't add up . . ."

"Hermione, that's enough," Harry said irritably.

"Yeah, Hermione," Ginny put in, "we aren't here to go in the house anyway, it's the graveyard we want."

Hermione let out a huff and crossed her arms across her chest. "Fine." Velika smirked at her, tossing her red-brown curls behind her shoulders.

"We should split up," Harry said musingly, "we'll cover more ground that way and be through quicker."

"Good idea," Ron said, grinning at Hermione.

"I'll go with Ginny," Harry continued, "and you three can go together."

Ron's face fell. Velika shook her head. "No, I can go by myself." She shot Hermione a look of loathing. "I think it would be better that way anyhow." Ron brightened at this. "I'll take the parent's tomb," Velika said, walking off.

"We'll take Tom Riddle's grave," Ginny said, pulling Harry away.

Ron and Hermione were left alone. "Why do you have to act that way towards Velika?" Ron asked. "She is trying to help, you know. And we need everyone we can get on our side."

"There's something I just don't trust about her," Hermione said. "Something that's just not quite right."

"Like what? I don't notice anything!"

"The way she leaves for a few hours every night on a 'walk'," Hermione said thoughtfully. "The way she heard the Death Eaters upstairs in the Riddle house when we couldn't. Even now, she said she couldn't hear anyone there, and we're not even close to the house! And not just that! It's the way she walks . . ."

Ron snickered. "The way she walks?"

Hermione glared at him. "Never mind. Let's go check around the rest of the graveyard. Maybe we can find something in the other graves."

Meanwhile, Harry and Ginny were using their wands to dig up the grave of Tom Riddle, Senior.

"This is disgusting," Ginny pointed out as the coffin finally showed through the dirt.

"It is, but it's necessary," Harry said as he levitated the coffin onto solid ground. "Hold your nose."

Ginny's eyes widened at the stench as the coffin was opened. As the decomposing body of Tom Riddle appeared, she turned away to retch onto the pile of dirt beside her. Harry looked at her with sympathy and grimaced as he looked into the coffin. He used his wand to lift up the body to check underneath, even going so far as to lay the body on the ground to give the coffin a more thorough inspection. There was nothing there that might possibly be a Horcrux.

"Damn," Harry sighed, putting the body back into the coffin. Ginny had recovered sufficiently to help put the coffin back into the ground and cover it up again.

"Harry," she began, "could the grave marker be a Horcrux?"

His eyes widened with hope. "It couldn't hurt to try." He called Hermione and Ron over. Hermione took out her Horcrux-finding rock and placed it close to the stone marker. Nothing happened.

"I don't even have to ask if you two found anything, do I?" Harry asked.

Hermione and Ron shook their heads. "Nope, sorry mate," Ron answered.

"Well, I found a Horcrux, if anyone is interested," Velika said, walking up behind them.

The others gaped at her.

"What do you mean, you found a Horcrux? How would you know if you did?" Hermione asked spitefully.

Velika smirked and held out a heavy gold pocket watch with the initials E.T.R. engraved on the front. "This was in the grave of Edward Thomas Riddle, Tom Riddle's father. It's a Horcrux. I can tell, Hermione, because I can sense the soul trapped inside."

Harry took the watch from Velika and stared at it. "Are you sure?" he asked her.

"Harry, there's no way she could tell if it is or not," Hermione snapped, pulling out the Horcrux rock. "I bet it isn't one . . ."

Her words were cut off by the rock glowing a bright blue.

"Merlin, it is a Horcrux!" Ron gasped.

"I told you so," Velika said, smirking at Hermione who glared at her with narrowed eyes.

"Let's get out of here," Ginny said, looking around the graveyard with her wand drawn. "I don't think it's very smart to stand around here holding this."

"I agree," Harry said. "Back to the Burrow?"

The others nodded and in a few seconds they Disapparated.