(A/N: I sat down at my computer a few hours ago, planning to write this chapter up around four. I've been sitting, brainstorming, staring at the same white screen for the past THREE HOURS! But then it hit me. I got my idea. Problem: this idea was for the last few chapters! Yes, I OFFICALLY have the last few chapters of this story written, and nothing you can do will make me reveal my secrets. NOTHING I TELL YOU NOTHING! Well, maybe a virtual cookie… XD! No. I'm not telling! You have to wait and find out. This story is probably going to be BEYOND my amount of chapters because I'm already on, what, chapter 13 or 14? And the plot hasn't even really come into play. Sigh… don't worry, though, I'm working on speeding up the plot line, so yea… you should be able to see some faster paced plots in the near future (hopefully!). Read and enjoy!)
Flashback!
'Every thing will be ok, Hermione. We can get through this together. It will just take time.'
'Yes… yes… We'll move on from this terrible tragedy in time. Just one last thing, Ron.'
'Yes?'
'Be strong for me, like you never were before. Please.'
'Don't worry, love. Our bickering days are in the past. I'll be there for you. Just say the word.'
'Thank you, Ron. It means so much.'
'Whenever you're ready to come back, I'll be waiting with a bowl of nice and hot chicken soup and bread, courtesy of Mum.'
'Thank you, Ron. I'm coming home. See you in a few seconds.'
'Ok, love. See you.'
Hermione closed off the link, and with a loud CRACK! she appariated out.
…
"Hmmmmm… Ok, Mr. Potter, what is your greatest fear?"
"It used to be fear itself, but that may've changed. I suppose, now, it would be having you say no."
Ginny's heart gave a jolt. "Say no to what?"
Harry grinned mischievously. "Your turn."
Ginny reached into the pile, and surfaced with a small, gold locket. She tried opening it. When she did, it opened and a surprisingly large amount of black liquid came out. When it touched Ginny's fingers, it burnt the skin like acid. "Harry… DO SOMETHING!"
"What?" Harry asked frantically.
"ANYTHING! Just hurry up!"
Harry tried to think. 'Um… let's see. Cleaning spell. What's a cleaning spell? I'm stupid! THE cleaning spell!' "SCORIGIFY!" he shouted, pointing his wand at the black liquid. It disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"Thanks Harry. My hand hurts now. Oh, wait, since that was DEFINATLY not the locket, you get to ask your question."
"Don't you want me to figure out what that was, and heal your hand?"
"No, it didn't do enough damage. It was only a potion gone wrong. They can turn to acid if they're done wrong. Didn't you know that?"
"No…"
"Well now you do. Ask your question."
"Ok, but no interruptions!"
"Fine," she replied, with a small smile playing across her porcelain skin.
"Ok then," he gulped. 'Here it goes, he thought.' "Do you love me?"
"Yes you know that."
"Would you do something for me?"
"Anything."
"Will you marry me?"
Ginny's eyes started welling with tears. She smiled and slowly nodded her head. Harry reached into his pocket and his hand came out enclosed around something. He held it out to Ginny and told her to open his hand. She did, and a magnificent gold ring plated with two sky blue crystals surrounding a single diamond floated out of his hand and onto her left hand ring finger.
"Oh Harry!" Ginny exclaimed, embracing him as she did.
Harry pulled his head slightly away from hers and looked down upon the beautiful angelic red head's face. She looked up at him and he leaned down and gave her the most wonderful kiss. A kiss that sealed their love. A kiss that would mean more than anything in her world. A kiss that made her feel like if she would die at that very moment, she would be perfectly content. They broke away and sat back on the floor, Ginny's thin figure in his lap. She reached forwards and grabbed a heavy gold locket and examined it. She let out a gasp of surprise, and then dropped it.
"Ginny, love, what is it?" Harry asked worriedly.
"This is the locket. Harry, we found it."
Chapter 12
The Search Begins
Hermione was lying on the cold, hard stone floor of her cell. They had taken her back again. She lifted her head up and saw a small, cracked and bloody skull at her feet. She began to slowly creep backwards when a shake of her shoulder caused her to turn her head. She saw Ron, lying on the floor, blood spurting from all the cuts and gashes in his skin.
Hermione gave an ear-piercing scream and shot up, opening her eyes.
"Hermione! Are you okay?" asked the terrified voice of Ron.
"Ron, I had the worst night-mare!" She sobbed. "I saw a bloody skull, a baby's skull, then I saw you dead. Oh, Ron! It was so scary!" she ceased talking and sobbed uncontrollably. Ron rushed over and held her to him, while she cried into his shirt.
"Shh… I'm here now. I'm not leaving. I'll always be here."
Hermione looked up at him. "Oh, I'm just being stupid again!"
"Hermione, don't you think like that. No one in this world could be as smart as you!"
At first, Hermione looked as if to protest, but she just smiled a sad, sweet smile at him instead.
"We may die in this war, you know that?" she asked him, her eyes glistening with tears.
"Yeah, but know this. I'll always be with you. No matter what happens, I'll always be your angel."
Hermione smiled that same smile. "But what happens if…" she was silenced by the most wonderful kiss she had ever felt.
"C'mon, I can smell breakfast," Ron said, once they broke. Hermione giggled.
"You and your food. What ever will I do?"
It took Harry a minute to actually register the fact that they had, indeed, found what Dumbledore had died trying to find. At long last, the search to destroy the evilest, most power-hungry wizard to walk this earth had begun.
"Harry? You alright?" Ginny asked, her eyes boring into his soul.
"It's just that… we're one step closer to destroying the man who has left me to fend for myself in this world."
"You're not alone, Harry," Ginny told him, her eyes blazing as they had done when Harry had first kissed her. "I'm staying by your side. I won't leave you. Understand that, please Harry, I love you. I will always love you, and nothing anyone can do will change that."
Harry just looked at her for a minute, but then he stepped forward and hugged her close, caressing the back of her head. "I love you too, Ginny. I love you so much…" he said, finally beginning to break down after holding all of his emotions from the past seventeen years of his life inside his soul.
For a moment they just stood there, embraced in each other's warm arms, knowing, right then and there, that they were destined to be together. Ginny stepped away from him and softly began singing her melody. Her song.
Softly,
You kissed me,
Sweet and divine,
Lovely as angels,
In the sky,
Know me,
Remember,
The times,
We've been through,
Together,
Forever,
I'll love you.
Take me now,
Lift my head straight up,
Kiss away my fears,
Drive away my tears,
Stay by my side,
Don't let me run and hide,
My shadows,
No more
These shadows,
Made us,
Who we,
Are…
Ginny finished, her last note hanging eerily in the stale air of Number 12, Grimmauld Place. Harry looked at her, his emerald green eyes glistening with emotion. Not tears. Definitely not tears, but happiness, joy, love, kindness, every positive emotion one person could feel at the same time.
"Harry?" Ginny asked timidly, wanting to know what he thought.
"You're beautiful Ginny. Beautiful," Harry swooped her up into a sweet, passionate kiss, full of love and joy. 'Dumbledore would be proud.' Harry though. 'There's more love in this world now.'
Hermione, Ron, and Mrs. Weasley were all eating a hearty breakfast of eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, pancakes, and hash browns, talking and enjoying themselves immensely. Mrs. Weasley kept wanting to talk about plans for their wedding, but Ron kept telling her that they wanted to plan it all on their own, Hermione said that they would like her help, but they wanted to do the majority on their own.
BANG! CRASH! BOOM!
"Whoops! Sorry future husband!" a girl's voice apologized.
"No harm done, future wife!" came another voice, male this time.
"YOU DIDN'T?" Ron practically shouted, but his face was alight with joy.
"I did." Harry replied, his face equally alight.
"MY BEST MATE IS GOING TO BE MY BROTHER IN LAW! WHOOHOO!" Ron flat-out bellowed.
"Harry!" came Hermione. "That's wonderful news!"
"Hermione! You're back!" Ginny cried.
"Yes, but let's not talk about my experience. Now is a time for joint-wedding planning!" Hermione told her, glowing.
"Ok, Hermione! But before we do that, we have to tell you something. And it's important. Really, important." Ginny told her.
"Hermione, Ron, Ginny, let's go outside for a minute. I feel like I need some fresh air." Harry proposed, hinting heavily that he didn't want Mrs. Weasley to know about their plans.
"Oh, ok Harry." Hermione said, immediately catching on.
They walked out into the Weasley's back yard, waiting until they were far enough from the house that they couldn't be seen before they stopped.
"Ginny, I think you should tell them. You figured it out." Harry asked the redhead.
"R.A.B. is Regulus Black, Sirius's younger brother. That was the simple part. Do you remember the locket that we found that not one of us could open? That was you-know-who's Horcrux. We went back to Grimmauld Place and politely asked Kreacher to bring us whatever lockets he had found in the house. Because Kreacher is a dirty, filfy…" she caught the look on Hermione's face, "but very nice House Elf, he brought us about fifty lockets. After several hours of long, hard searching, during which I nearly got my hand burnt off, thanks to some nasty acid in one of them, we believe we have found the locket." Ginny withdrew from her pocket the heavy golden locket that they had found. She handed it over to Hermione, who promptly examined it, as to prove that it was, indeed, genuine. She let out a small gasp of surprise and motioned for them all to lean in, so as to see. Engraved in the heavy gold of the locket, was an ornate snake, below which were the initials S.S.
"This isn't only his locket. It's Salazar Slytherin's last remaining heirloom. But Harry, you never told us…" Hermione looked inquiringly at Harry.
"I never thought about it. I mean, I knew it was Slytherin's heirloom, but I never thought to mention it. I didn't think it was important." Harry said, quickly jumping to his own defense.
"Oh, Harry. It's of great significance. If V-Voldemort," Ron and Ginny shuddered, "is Slytherin's last remaining heir, he… he's all the more powerful. I've heard that the heirs of the four founders are known to have unusual qualities to them, as well as increasingly alarming talent. Voldemort may be the evilest wizard of all time, he may be power-hungry, he may be obsessed with finding out how to stay alive, but he may also just be a kid hidden underneath layers and layers of power." Hermione finished.
"He's murdered more than once Hermione. He's tried to kill me every time we met. He has no love in that body of his. He looks like a freaking snake! HE IS DAMN EVIL!" Harry was shouting now.
"Harry…" Ginny looked terrified; she knew how prone he was to random out bursts of fury. He immediately calmed down.
"I'm sorry, Gin. I got a little carried away…" he apologized guiltily.
"My point is," Hermione continued, "that Voldemort may not just be an evil genius and wizard, but a little kid crying desperately for attention. Voldemort may need our help, Harry. But not to keep him alive. He needs help to die, or his kind self will never be able to be shown. We shouldn't be going after him for revenge, but to help a poor, innocent soul be released from within the depths of anger and furry." Hermione completed her well thought-out theory, the other three looking at her with looks of astonishment on their faces.
"I always new you were crazy," Ron said, breaking the silence, "but I never knew you would take it that far, Hermione. That's insane…"
"But, Ron, it's possible." Ginny inputted.
"How can you say that Gin? How can that be possible?" Harry turned on her, not angrily, but curiously.
"Did you listen to a word Hermione said? She has so much proof, so much research in there. It's not You-Know-Who we're fighting. We're fighting a make-shift reincarnation of Slytherin, who was a very pleasant man, before he created the Chamber of Secrets and left the school." Ginny shuddered at the memory of the Chamber. She had, only four years ago, been possessed by a diary by Tom Riddle, was forced to open said chamber, and was almost killed, and had it not been for Harry, she would've been killed.
"Now I see what you mean. We're fighting a basic clone of Slytherin. Oh, that makes me feel loads better, Ginny. Thanks!" Harry told her, voice dripping with sarcasm, yet a smile playing on his handsome face.
"I try, Harry. I try." Ginny told him, trying to look innocent and inconspicuous.
Harry sighed and scooted closer to Ginny, placing his arm around her shoulders. She looked up at him and smiled, then looked back at the others, waiting for someone to say something.
"I guess there's only one thing to say." Hermione told them, her chocolate eyes held a blazing look that made Ginny proud.
"And what's that, Hermione?" Ron asked.
"The Second War, the search for the Horcruxes, the quest to defeat Voldemort's evil soul has begun."
The pair of lovebirds sat there, taking all of this in. Harry, most of all, was thinking about how much he admired his two best friends and loved his fiancé for all of this. They knew that they probably wouldn't return from this war, but they still wanted to fight with him. He knew, that if he could've picked anyone in the world to have gone with him, it would not of been those three. He didn't, no, he couldn't, loose another loved on at the hands of Voldemort or his followers.
He knew, that these three people did not deserve to die, but he knew, that if it were to help Harry kill the man who murdered his parents, they would gladly loose their lives for him. That was what scared Harry. Always, their had been someone who stood between Harry and Lord Voldemort, protecting Harry, but those days would one day be gone. Harry would be alone, facing Voldemort all by himself. The question he asked himself was, would he be able to do it? Could he do it? Kill the most evil, demonic wizard of all time? His life must include or end in, murder. No matter how he played his cards, he would either be victim or murderer.
