Chapter 12 – The Fourth Horcrux

Harry returned to his house in Grimmauld Place just over an hour later. He found Hermione in the kitchen preparing a light lunch. "Ron's practising that physical shield," she said. "I've bewitched things to fly at him and he has to get the shield right or they'll hit him." Harry was already aware that Hermione was pushing them all, but especially Ron, to the extent of their capabilities, but was beginning to think that maybe she was being a bit cruel.

"Hermione, don't you think that's a bit cruel?" he said, and immediately wished he hadn't. Hermione turned on him with all the ferocity of an angry tiger.

"No, Harry," she exploded, "I don't think I'm being cruel! I'm trying to create realistic situations in which we may have to defend ourselves. It might seem like we're safe at the moment, hidden in this house, but what happens when we've found all the Horcruxes? Then we'll have to get to Voldemort, and I don't think his Death Eaters will just stand back and let us. And what about our exams? Harry, I'm being serious! If this book is a Horcrux, then we've only got one left to find. It's only January, all of this could be over in a few months."

"Do you really think that's possible?"

"Yes, Harry, of course I do! Think of everything we've managed to achieve in only the past year! We've not got much left to do in comparison."

"Except kill Voldemort." Harry said monotonously.

"Well yes," Hermione said, a touch of anxiety in her voice, "We will have to think about that."

"Think about it?" said Harry sarcastically. "Yeah, 'cause that'll be much harder than actually doing it."

"Harry, don't start." Hermione snapped, and returned to tearing lettuce. Harry thought it was best to leave, so he shuffled off to find Ron. In the same room they had been using to practise human transfiguration, Harry discovered Ron standing quite composedly, surrounded by objects that were constantly whizzing towards him, yet bounced off an invisible barrier before they reached him.

"Looks like you've got the hang of that one," Harry said.

"Yeah, it's not going too bad," Ron said, smirking. Harry waved his wand carelessly and the objects (which, Harry observed, included china mugs and some heavy-looking books) ceased moving and fell noisily to the floor. "How'd your lesson go?" Ron asked.

"Not too bad," Harry replied. "My teacher is the guy who I had for my apparition test, Professor Tenuit. He seems alright." They started to head down to the kitchen. "Hey, I think I upset Hermione a bit just now," Harry said tentatively. "Do you want to go down ahead and check she's okay?" Ron looked at him in alarm.

"Go in on my own? With Hermione in a bad mood?" Ron shook his head. "Nah. Let's just leave it a while, she'll cool off." They changed course and headed for the drawing room instead. They had only been there a few minutes, discussing potions, when Hermione strolled in.

"Glad to see you're making good use of your time," she said tartly.

"Actually, we were trying to remember the recipe and correct ingredients for Polyjuice potion," Ron said defiantly.

"Oh. Well go on then, what are the ingredients?" Hermione demanded. Her expression, however, had changed from annoyed to mildly interested, and gradually formed one of delight as between them Harry and Ron listed all of the ingredients correctly. "Well done!" she said proudly. "Okay, you've earned some food. Lunch is ready."

After lunch they would continue with Hermione's plan for the day. First, they would apparate to Hogsmeade, at which point Hermione would take the invisibility cloak (as she was the only one of them still small enough to be able to run with the cloak covering all of her) and proceed into Hogwarts. Harry had suggested she take some insubstantiality potion just to be on the safe side, but Hermione had declined the offer, arguing that she would only be taking the invisibility cloak as an extra precaution anyway. She intended on crossing the lake to get into the grounds, so that she wouldn't have to work out how to get in through the gates. When Hermione was safe inside the Hogwarts grounds, she would then proceed to the statue of the humpbacked, one-eyed witch on the third floor, behind which was the secret passage Harry had used in his third year. This is where Harry and Ron would be waiting, having entered the passage via a trapdoor hidden in the cellar below Honeydukes'. At this point, Hermione would cast a charm she had recently mastered, causing all of the inhabitants of the building to fall into a deep sleep for exactly one hour, in which she, Ron and Harry were free to retrieve the book from the library, destroy the soul if it turned out to be a Horcrux, and safely return to Hogsmeade. From Hogsmeade they would apparate back to Grimmauld Place and arrive in plenty of time for the Order meeting in the evening.

Harry had added his own amendments, which primarily involved going to the Room of Requirement to retrieve his copy of Advanced Potion-Making. If Hermione started to make a fuss, he would just tell her that the book would surely have a solution to her Felix Felicis thickening problem.

At around midday, Harry and Ron skulked around outside Honeydukes' in Hogsmeade, keeping a sharp eye out for anyone approaching or anything to arouse suspicion. Although the shop was closed, Harry had a hunch that the owners would be inside, so he and Ron could hardly blast the door down and waltz right in.

"What d'ya reckon then?" asked Ron. "Unlock the door, keep it quiet, head straight for the cellar and jinx anyone who tries to stop us?"

"Not a bad plan," Harry agreed, "but don't you think it makes us the bad guys? Breaking in and hexing anyone who gets in our way?"

"Well when you put it like that…" Ron furrowed his brow, apparently deep in thought.

"I brought this just in case," Harry said. He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled it out to reveal a small black curiosity with short little legs sitting in the palm of his hand. "One of Fred and George's decoy detonators," he said.

"Wicked," Ron enthused. "So unlock the door, keep it quiet, and if we hear anyone coming, we send that off."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "And if anyone gets in our way…"

"Then we jinx them," Ron finished his sentence, grinning. He turned to the door and tried a few unlocking spells, first non-verbally, then spoken aloud, just in case it was his magic that was the trouble, rather than the spell. When the door still wouldn't budge, Ron crouched to his knees and took a piece of wire from his pocket. "Growing up with those two does have its advantages," Ron said, as he silently picked the lock. Harry jumped as the latch clicked softly back, unlocking the door. He hadn't realized it but he'd been holding his breath; he let it out in a long, low whistle.

"After you," Ron said, gently pushing open the door. Harry cautiously crept in the room, taking care to immobilise the bell over his head to prevent its ringing out and alerting everyone in the vicinity of their presence. Harry strained his ears but couldn't hear anything except the rustle of trees outside and a soft ticking from a large bubblegum pink clock on the wall. He shuffled forwards as quietly as he could across the shop floor, very thankful that there were no CCTV cameras in the wizarding world. As he peered around, Harry realized that most of the shelves, usually crammed with delicious goodies of every variety, were empty and dusty. He couldn't help feeling astounded at the amount of chaos Lord Voldemort had already caused, and Harry got the impression that he had barely begun implementing his tyrannous plans. With Ron close behind him, Harry had now reached the steps down to the cellar. He pressed his ear to the floor and yet again detected no sound, so carefully descended to the sweet shop's storeroom. The cellar was barely recognisable from when Harry had last seen it, stocked heavily with boxes and crates in piles up to the ceiling covering nearly every square inch of the floor. Now the room was dark, cold, and practically empty, save for the odd mop and a few smaller boxes, each coated with a thick layer of dust. Harry glanced back at Ron, who was looking staring unblinkingly at a large spider nestled on top of one of small the boxes. Harry nudged him to get his attention, and pointed to the trapdoor in the stone floor, barely visible through the grime. Ron nodded and approached it. He lifted the door easily and, after lighting the tip of his wand, slid into the tunnel. Harry followed suit, and soon they were both hurrying along a dark passage, hunched over because of the low ceilings that hadn't really bothered Harry's shorter, third-year self.

Meanwhile, had anyone been watching the vast lake below the Hogwarts castle, they would have seen a teenage witch transform herself into an oversized brown otter, and dive rather ungracefully into the dark water. Hermione, in her new otter form, swam with determination across a good distance of the lake towards the castle. She had guessed, correctly, that other than the secret passageways, the lake would be the only way of entering the castle undetected. The three of them could have chanced taking a secret passage together, except Ginny had the Marauders Map, so upon entering the castle they could have been spotted immediately.

When Hermione resurfaced near the castle grounds she was exhausted from swimming and lay on the bank for a short while to catch her breath. She only stopped for a few moments, then sprinted on four tiny paws up towards the castle. The front doors were open and guarded by Filch. Convinced he hadn't seen her, Hermione hovered hidden behind a small rock until Filch was looking away. Seizing her chance, she ran flat out through the front doors and into the entrance hall. Once inside the castle, she turned into a narrow hallway and hid in an alcove behind a tapestry of Wendelin the Weird. Now all she had to do was to wait until the transfiguration magic wore off.

A very uneventful twenty minutes passed, then Hermione found herself human once more. She threw Harry's invisibility cloak over her head and hurried up through the castle to the third floor corridor, pausing only once when she heard footsteps, but it turned out they were heading in the opposite direction. Within a few minutes, Hermione reached the statue of the humpbacked witch. She stood next to it, and rapped hard on the wall with her knuckles, three sharp knocks. A moment later, three sharp knocks sounded from the other side of the wall, where Harry and Ron, tightly squeezed together at the end of the secret passage, now placed a defensive shield around themselves. Hermione waved her wand in a large swooping motion. She paused, then thrust her wand forwards, emitting a loud, resounding bang. Still hidden beneath the cloak, Hermione waited for someone to come running. After a couple of minutes, nobody had arrived, so Hermione knew that her spell had worked, and everyone in the castle was now fast asleep. She removed the cloak and tuned back to the statue. She tapped it lightly with her wand and muttered 'dissendium'. At once the statue's hump opened up. Hermione peered sceptically over the top of the stone to where Ron and Harry were squished behind it.

"I can see that Harry wouldn't have had trouble when he was thirteen," she said, "but I'm not sure either of you will fit through this gap now."

Harry twisted his neck awkwardly to look up at Hermione. She did have a point.

"Make it bigger then!" Ron instructed. His voice was muffled as Harry's arm had pinned Ron's head against the wall in their cramped condition. Hermione scowled at him, but nevertheless she lazily waved her wand over the statue, casting reducio, so that the statue shrank so small so quickly that Harry and Ron spilled out of the hole into the corridor. Hermione stood with her hands on her hips and glared down at them.

"Honestly!" she sighed, but Harry noticed she was smiling. He picked himself up from the floor and held a hand out to Ron, then hauled him up, too. "Come on," Hermione ushered the down the corridor, "we haven't got all day!" The three of them headed to the library quickly, not making much conversation on the way. When they reached the library, Hermione was practically dancing with excitement at being back in the place she had spent most of the past six years. Harry was a little excited, too, but he was working hard not to get his hopes up, just in case it turned out to be nothing. "This way," Hermione said unnecessarily as she led the way to the restricted section of the library.

"What did you say it was called?" Ron asked, peering up at the tall bookcase in front of him.

"Corpus Transfigorum," Hermione and Harry replied together.

"So this big one here?" Ron carefully levitated a very old, dusty and heavy book; the cover was peeling and mouldy around the edges. Ron directed the book directly into Hermione's hands, who squealed involuntarily upon receiving it.

"Harry, can I do it? Can I see if it's a Horcrux?" Hermione whispered.

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, okay" he said. Trembling slightly, Hermione placed the ancient, handwritten manuscript onto one of the library tables. She took out her wand and, aiming it the book, incanted "expostra dementa". Slowly, a silvery substance like solid gas spiralled upwards from the book. Hermione and Ron were as still as if they had been petrified. The silver wisp had begun to descend back towards the book.

Quick as a flash, Harry brandished his wand and yelled "noyu detru!" The smoke-like coil ignited from the electric blue shield surrounding the book, and burned until all traces of it had completely disappeared. Harry's heart was beating fast. He tore his gaze away from Ravenclaw's book to see Hermione and Ron as white as ghosts and still as statues. "It's okay," Harry said. "We did it!" He couldn't help the huge grin that was now spreading across his face. He grabbed Ron and Hermione by the elbows and shook them a little. His friends shook themselves free from their momentary stupor. "We did it!" Harry exclaimed again, "Only one more left to find!" Harry couldn't hold in his excitement any more and pulled both his friends into a rib-breaking hug.

"Harry, geroff," Ron said, though he too was grinning like a maniac. When Harry released them a moment later, Hermione was also smiling but still looked quite shaky.

"So," Harry said. "Next part of the plan."

"I have to copy out the bit from the book on transforming other people into animals," Hermione stuttered. She pulled a quill and parchment from thin air and busied herself at the table.

"Right," said Harry, realising his opportunity to collect Snape's old potions book. "Will you be alright on your own if Ron and I wander off for a bit?" he asked in as casual a voice as he could manage. Hermione seemed to sense something suspicious though, as she looked up sharply.

"Wander where?" she asked. Harry felt a strange compelling to tell her the truth and had to halt himself abruptly. "Just for a wander," said Harry, innocently. Hermione glared at him for a few seconds, then returned her focus to her task. "Just be back before the charm lifts," she said. Harry and Ron turned out of the library and right down the corridor.

"What's that about?" Ron asked when they were out of earshot.

"I want to get Snape's potion book back," Harry said, and sped up his pace. "The only problem is, I told Ginny that the Room of Requirement should be sealed to stop anyone else entering the castle that way."

"So if McGonagall's sealed it…" Ron said, following Harry's train of thought without bothering to finish the sentence. The pair of them quickened their pace again, so when they arrived on the seventh floor corridor opposite the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy they were quite out of breath. In silence, they each walked passed the spot they knew was the entrance to the room several times.

"I need to get my potions book back," Harry repeated monotonously to himself. Eventually they stopped and a door had appeared in the wall.

"She's not sealed it then!" Ron exclaimed, delighted. Harry tried the handle but the door would not open.

"Oh yes she has" Harry said. He sighed and sat down on the floor, leaning against the stone wall next to the impenetrable doorway. He could tell from Ron's furrowed brow that he was surreptitiously trying to open the door with non-verbal unlocking charms. Harry, on the other hand, was positive that McGonagall would have made sure unlocking charms were useless. Eventually Ron gave up and gazed down at Harry as if awaiting instructions. Harry smiled grimly. "I've really stuck myself right in it, haven't I?"

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "What a clever idea, telling McGonagall to seal the Room of Requirement."

"One of my best yet," Harry agreed. Ron hesitated for a moment, as if making up his mind what to say.

"Shall we, erm, just go back and wait for Hermione then?" he asked tentatively.

"There's got to be a way in," Harry said defiantly. He pushed himself up so he was standing next to Ron, and stared at the door, willing it to open. "Ron," he said thoughtfully, "if you were locked out of your house, how would you get back in?" Ron shrugged.

"Dunno. Apparate, I guess. 'Cept we can't apparate in here, Hermione's always telling us that."

"That's true," Harry said, but his tone suggested there might be a way round it. Harry was thinking of his last year at Hogwarts, and how Kreacher and Dobby had appeared in the hospital wing one evening. "I've got it," Harry said. He took a breath and called "Dobby!" He waited. Nothing happened. Ron was looking at Harry as if he had gone mad.

"They're all asleep, remember?" Ron said scathingly, but something at the back of Harry's mind was urging him to try again.

"Dobby!" Harry called again.

"Did you hear me Harry? They're all …" but Ron stopped speaking as the bat-eared elf appeared before them, looking as though he had just woken from a particularly rough night.

"Harry Potter sir!" Dobby exclaimed delightedly, instantly bowing so low his pointed nose scraped the cold stone floor.

"Oh, I get it now!" Ron grinned as comprehension dawned. "They're asleep but you can wake them up if you want. And of course house elves can apparate within the castle!"

"Hey, Dobby," Harry said, ignoring Ron. "How have you been?"

"Dobby has been very well, Harry Potter. All the other house elves is living in fear now, because he-who-shall-not-be-named has returned, but not Dobby, sir! Because Dobby knows Harry Potter will save us!" Dobby looked up at Harry, his adoring protuberant eyes glistening with tears of admiration. Harry felt as though someone had poured a bucket of ice down the back of his neck, and Ron was doubled over in silent hysterics.

"Yeah," Harry said, a little thrown off his guard. "Listen, Dobby. Can you do me a favour?"

"Anything, sir!" Dobby enthused.

"I can't get into the Room of Requirement, and there's something I need in there. Can you help? Can you get in?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Oh, yes, Harry Potter, sir," the small elf replied. "Witches and wizards have been locked out, but we house elves can still get in sir!"

"Great," said Harry. "I need to retrieve a book…" Harry trailed off as he tried to remember where he had placed the book so as to give Dobby coherent instructions on how to locate it. Ron had finally stopped laughing enough to contribute to the conversation.

"Maybe Dobby can open the door from the inside?" Ron suggested. Harry raised his eyebrows thoughtfully, but Dobby's ears drooped and he lowered his gaze to the floor.

"Dobby has tried, sir, but the door cannot be opened," he mumbled.

"Never mind," Harry consoled him. "The book is called Advanced Potion-Making. Now, if you turn left at the stuffed troll…"

Ron and Harry found Hermione just outside the library with a sheaf of parchment held under her left arm. "Where on earth have you two been?" she hissed. "We've only got two minutes to get back in the secret passage until the sleeping spell wears off!" Harry and Ron exchanged a quick look of dismay before turning and sprinting back down the corridor, Hermione hurrying along in their wake. As they approached the statue of the one-eyed witch, Harry clench his fist around the tiny book in his pocket, shrunk to the size of a stamp with his reducio charm. He watched Ron scramble through the hole and dove in after him. He turned in time to see Hermione restore the statue behind them as they heard footsteps approaching along the corridor.