DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER!!
Memoirs
Chapter 12
Lucius and the Inner Circle set about scanning England for Dark signatures that Horcruxes emit constantly. One was discovered within 2 days after Tom's death and Lestrange was telling Lucius about it. "Where'd you find it?" Lucius asked quietly, not knowing Hermione was hiding behind the corner.
"At the bottom of Lake Windosse."
"What did He put it in?" Lucius asked as Hermione scribbled down where Rodolphus had said on a scrap piece of parchment.
"We just found a small crate. No idea what's in it." Lestrange shrugged.
"Right. Well, keep searching."
"Shall we place a guard on the lake?"
"No. Anyone foolish enough to try and get to it will be in for a surprise anyway." Lucius said, unnerving Hermione a little. Knowing the Dark Lord; the curse on the chest would be something quite nasty. But she'd be prepared.
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Sneaking away in the middle of the night in a swimsuit covered by all black clothing, Hermione crept through the castle. In was an unholy hour, around 3am, 3:30 at the latest, and luckily no one was around. As Hermione got into the Main Hall, lit up lowly by a few dozen chandeliers and candle frames, she silently but quickly ran to the other end, and out the huge doors. The castle grounds were surrounded in a misty freezing fog that chilled Hermione's bones. She crept around to the broom shed and luckily on of the cadets hadn't locked it, making her job easier. Pulling out one of the fastest ones, Hermione mounted it, cast a locator charm on the broom and flew off.
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40 minutes later, she arrived at her destination and saw that the sun was already beginning to rise. Setting the broom down in a pile of bushes, Hermione stripped to her swimsuit and pulled out her wand. She threw her clothes down next to the broom and stepped into the cold water.
"Oh!" she gasped. "Cold! Cold! Cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, COLD!!" she squealed and quickly muttered a self-heating charm, sending tingles throughout her body. With a quick Bubble-Head charm, she dunked under the water.
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Following Lucius' unknowingly given instructions, Hermione swam to the bottom of the thin but deep lake and was soon surrounded by an assortment of plants. A few shoals of fish swam around the weeds but quickly swam off when Hermione disturbed their peace. She lit a Lumos with her wand and pushed the weeds out of her way. Looking through the plant stalks, she grinned as she saw an old wooden chest, hidden beneath a transparent reddish bubble. Swimming over to it, she hesitated, remembering what Lucius said; 'Anyone foolish enough to try and get to it will be in for a surprise anyway.'
Approaching it closely, Hermione braced herself for all sorts of hexes...or worse. Picking up a nearby rock, she tossed it at the shield and fear spiked through her when the rock turned to dust before her eyes. 'It's for a worthy cause, it's for a worthy cause, it's for a worthy cause.' She repeated in her head, extended her hand and pushing it towards the shield.
Waiting for the pain...but it didn't come. Hermione opened her eyes and saw that her hand was indeed in the bubble, but was perfectly in tact. "How..." she murmured but then remembered what Tom had said when they were arguing in the library; 'our blood-binding, that makes us equal'. Of course, if the spell and binding had made them equal, the bubble assumed that she was Tom and why would it stop him if he created the bubble to protect what was his? Still scared but full of a new hope, Hermione opened the chest. Laying inside the wooden crate...was a necklace. It was a foot long golden chain with a flat heart the size of a ping pong ball on it on it and an H carved into it. She reached in further and felt the familiar dread, sorrow and anger course through her when she held it in the palm. Deciding to be wise and replace what she took, Hermione picked up a little rock, about the same weight as the locket and put it in the chest, and closed its lid.
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Lucius left a sleeping and naked Narcissa alone in their bed and went to check on Hermione. As he was rounding the corner to her room, she only just climbed in the window to her bedroom. Closing the window, she put the necklace from around her neck in her underwear drawer - making sure no one would go in there - and then quickly removed her shoes and practically jumped into bed and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep when a knock was on her door. The door opened and Lucius' head came around the door. Seeing that Hermione was sleeping peacefully in the bed, he cast a non-verbal locking spell to the window, closed the door, locking it. Hearing the door lock, she sat up in bed and gave a frustrated sigh before falling back against the pillows and slept dreamlessly.
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"Potter, what are you suggesting?" Snape sneered after hearing Harry suggest attacking Voldemort's newly discovered castle. "There is no way that you - nor anyone - would survive for 3 seconds when you were detected by the wards placed around the grounds."
"The Dark Lord is dead! We have to act now before his Inner Circle starts to reactivate his Horcruxes!"
"They can do that?" Ron asked.
"Yes. A very complicated and painful procedure for the casters." Snape explained. "With a temperamental and extremely complicated potion that Voldemort's body will be bathed in, recite an incantation and then the piece of soul that is attached to the Horcrux around his neck will go into his body, bringing him back to life."
"When are you planning on doing this ritual?" McGonagall asked.
"As soon as we have retrieved a Horcrux. I am already brewing the potion."
"Where's the Horcrux located?"
"It appears that it's already been taken."
"What? By whom?"
"I have an inkling." Snape said simply, earning a furious and impatient Harry Potter and Ron Weasley's wands aimed at his head.
"Tell us who took it!"
"Well, whoever did take it has to be 'equal' to the Dark Lord." Snape prompted.
"So?"
"Miss Granger and He shared a blood biding wedding ceremony." He continued, begging for them to get it soon.
"So?" Harry repeated, his patience dwindling away with every passing second.
"Are you truly that stupid?!" Snape snapped back.
"Harry!" Remus exclaimed, getting the picture. "It means Hermione's alive!"
