Chapter 21:
The days stretched into weeks and they got no where through all their movements, the conversations about horcruxes went in circles as well as methods of destroying them. Alicia had tried to figure it out but so far she could not think of something to rival a basilisk fang.
It seemed what Dumbledore had left the three were now useless. Hermione had read the children stories a few times Ron gave up on clicking his Deluminator, no lights were put out in the tent for someone was always up, awake and standing watch, Harry's snitch flew around sometimes, intreating Alicia's little owl with kip her company and was a little reminder of home, but otherwise stayed hidden away and Alicia had rewatched all of the memories Dumbledore had on Voldemort, looking and listening for some new clue only to come up with nothing.
As this continued, Ron and Hermione began to have secluded discussions without the twins. Alicia already knew what it was about, they were disappointed they'd gotten no where. Had a horcrux but no way to get rid of it and couldn't think of a single place another might be. Alicia and Harry believed Hogwarts likely but the other two continued to disagree. Alicia and Harry therefore just spoke about it on their own while keeping watch or collecting water, food or wood. A bonus of their mind connection, they didn't have to irritate Hermione and Ron with their whispered conversations as the two did to the twins. They'd stop having conversations when Harry or Alicia got close, entered the tent or were even around. Harry had apparently walked in on them twice huddled together, heads together and talking fast, falling silent as he got near.
Well it's obvious isn't it? They think this wouldn't have been so hard.
But we told them everything! Harry said They knew what was was going on!
Clearly they thought there was some secret plan we didn't tell them. Why on earth we'd keep something from them I don't know. Alicia said as she sat at the tent entrance, reading through a book of dangerous and deadly weapons.
What do they expect!
More. Alicia shrugged as Harry was tottering around a little ways away, collecting sticks. I don't see what's wrong with them. I mean it took Dumbledore, in all his infinite wisdom, knowledge and resources an entire year to find the locket's cave. Took us mere weeks to find the real one. Alicia believed So far we're doing better anyway.
And we still can't destroy it! Harry kicked the ground and Alicia looked up at him. Why didn't Dumbledore tell us how to do so! Or give us something! Alicia paused and she at him surprised.
"He did…" Alicia mumbled and Harry turned to her "Hermione!" Ron and Hermione had been having another private discussion in the tent, Hermione was attempting to cook some fish from the river beside them, and they broke apart surprised as Alicia closed her book and turned to her. "What do you know about Gryffindor's sword?"
"The sword? Not much, why?"
"I was wondering because Dumbledore left it for Harry."
"Wasn't it for safe keeping?" Ron said
"Come on, what's safer than his office?"
"You mean the one Snape now has?" Hermione added
"What's Snape gonna do with it?" Alicia said "Come on, think about it, why would Dumbledore not leave us something to destroy horcruxes with? Well he did leave us a weapon!"
"But it's a sword?" Ron said
"It's Gryffindor's sword! Each of the founders had an object, Slytherin's locket, Hufflepuff's cup, Gryffindor's sword and they're each rumoured to have magical qualities. What if the sword can cut anything?" she said "I mean can a basilisk be taken down by any sword or does it have to be magic induced?"
"Why does that matter?" Ron asked
"Look, the basilisk fang killed the dairy and the sword killed the basilisk, if we're following which is stronger—"
"Then the sword's stronger than the basilisk." Hermione mumbled
"I mean it's just a theory and that's why I was wondering if you knew anything about it."
"No I don't."
"We don't have the sword anyway so what's it matter?" Ron grumbled
"You don't remember anything about the sword do you Ron? Gryffindor's sword can move and materialise anywhere. That's how it presents itself to worthy Gryffindors. It presents itself in a time of need."
"Where is it then?"
"Our need isn't exactly desperate, we destroy the horcurx fine but we're not dying to do so right now." Alicia rolled her eyes
"Says you."
"Yes me, I'm not impatient and disappointed with how things are turning out." Alicia snapped and the two gapped as Alicia turned around back to face out of the tent. Harry was standing beside her, having been listening.
"It's a good theory." he said
"What else is knew?" she mumbled "Dumbledore was always so confident in his guesses. Why can't I be in mine? I mean half the time I'm right anyway or just off the money." Harry chuckled before he paused and then sat beside her.
"What do we do though, about, our situation. I mean, even Hermione seems to be disappointed by my poor leadership." he mumbled quietly, glancing back at the two behind them, leaning slightly closer to his sister.
"It's nothing to do with poor leadership Harry. They're just putting their expectations too high, clearly thinking this would all be an easy trip and we'd be home within a few months." Alicia rolled her eyes "The lack of food, the Horcrux affecting us and always being stuck in one another's company is gonna cause us to get agitated naturally." Alicia sighed "You might find we're seriously put to the test as friends here." she mumbled.
Autumn rolled over the countryside as they moved through it: They were now pitching the tent on mulches of fallen leaves. Natural mists joined those cast by the dementors; wind and rain added to their troubles. The fact that Hermione was getting better at identifying edible fungi could not altogether compensate for their continuing isolation, the lack of other people's company, or their total ignorance of what was going on in the war against Voldemort.
"My mother," said Ron one night, as they sat in the tent on a riverbank in Wales, "can make good food appear out of thin air."
He prodded moodily at the lumps of charred grey fish on his plate as the golden chain of the Horcrux hung around his neck.
"No she didn't." Alicia said simply.
"Your mother can't produce food out of thin air," said Hermione. "No one can. Food is the first of the five Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfigur —"
"Oh, speak English, can't you?" Ron said, prising a fish bone out from between his teeth.
"It's impossible to make good food out of nothing! You can Summon it if you know where it is, you can transform it, you can increase the quantity if you've already got some —"
"Well, don't bother increasing this, it's disgusting," said Ron.
"Could you be any more rude!" Alicia snapped
"Harry caught the fish and Alicia and I did out best with it! We tired to debone it and take out's it's insides. Notice that we're always the ones who ends up sorting out the food, because we're girls, I suppose!"
"No, it's because you're supposed to be the best at magic!" shot back Ron.
"Well maybe if you weren't so lazy and actually worked at something for a change…!" Alicia snapped
"You saying I'm useless!?" he demanded
"Well it's not like you've done anything lately." Alicia smiled
"Maybe you two should stop slacking off!" Alicia looked at him and felt rage boil in her.
"Slacking off!" She all but shouted.
Hermione had jumped up and bits of roast pike slid off her tin plate onto the floor.
"You can do the cooking tomorrow, Ron, you can find the ingredients and try and charm them into something worth eating, and I'll sit here and pull faces and moan and you can see how you —"
"Shut up!" said Harry, leaping to his feet and holding up both hands. "Shut up now!" Alicia looked at him surprised. Hermione however looked outraged.
"How can you side with him, he hardly ever does the cook —"
"Hermione, be quiet, I can hear someone!"
Alicia turned to the tent entrance, listening carefully and none of them moved. Harry still had his hands raised, warning them not to talk. Then, over the rush and gush of the dark river beside them, came voices. Harry looked around at the Sneakoscope. It was not moving.
"You cast the Muffliato charm over us, right?" he whispered to Hermione.
"I did everything," she whispered back, "Muffliato, Muggle-Repelling and Disillusionment Charms, all of it. They shouldn't be able to hear or see us, whoever they are."
"Good." Alicia said and she dropped down to her hands and kneels to crawl to the entrance of the tent.
"Alicia!" Harry whisper shouted at her but she waved her hand behind her not caring.
There was heavy scuffing and scraping noises, plus the sound of dislodged stones and twigs as Alicia moved the flap of the tent ever so slightly and watched as several people clambered down the steep, wooded slop and towards the narrow bank where they'd pitched their tent. Through the darkness it looked like three adults and two children. Alicia squinted to try and see as Harry, Hermione and Ron had drawn their wands behind her.
"Looks like adults and some kids." Alicia whispered and she turned to them. "Doubt Death Eaters would have children with them." The three didn't change their stance at all.
The group coming towards them were talking but over the rushing over the river it seemed impossible hear them for the moment.
Alicia heard movement behind her and Hermione had snatched up the beaded bag and started to rummage; after a moment she drew out four Extendable Ears and threw one each to Harry, Alicia and Ron, who hastily inserted the ends of the flesh-coloured strings into their ears and fed the other ends out of the tent entrance.
"There ought to be a few salmon in here, or d'you reckon it's too early in the season? Accio Salmon!"
Alicia, still being the only one game enough to look out of the tent entrance, watched as salmon splashed out of the river and onto the bank and then were being caught by the adults. It seemed the two children were having a conversation but Alicia couldn't understand a word of it, they were speaking another language. With a bit more concentration and squinting through the darkness, she wondered if they were children at all.
Everything was thrown into view as a fire was lit and danced to life and the salmon were set up to be cooked. She watched as they took the salmon off, passed around some plates and cutlery and began to chomp on the fish. Two were men she'd never seen before and the two she thought were children were actually goblins. The last face she recognised instantly and she turned to the others.
"It's Dean Thomas." she said, just loud enough for them to hear and the three looked excited.
"Here, Griphook, Gornuk." Alicia recognised one of the name's instantly, though it'd been so long since she'd heard it. Griphook, he was a goblin and had been the one to escort Harry and her the very first time they'd ever been to Gringotts.
"Thank you," said the goblins together in English.
"So, you three have been on the run how long?" asked a new, mellow, and pleasant voice, Alicia had never heard it before.
"Six weeks… seven… I forget," said the tired man. "Met up with Griphook in the first couple of days and joined forces with Gornuk not long after. Nice to have a bit of company." they paused as they ate and having boiled some water they drank from some tin mugs placed on the bank.
"What made you leave, Ted?" continued the man.
"Knew they were coming for me," replied mellow-voiced Ted. Harry tapped Alicia and she looked at him to see him mouth "Ted Tonks". Alicia so wished they could tell him they were hear, but he was in more danger if he'd seen them, whether on the run or not. "Heard Death Eaters were in the area last week and decided I'd better run for it. Refused to register as a Muggle-born on principle, see, so I knew it was a matter of time, knew I'd have to leave in the end. My wife should be okay, she's pure-blood. And then I met Dean here, what, a few days ago, son?"
"Yeah," said Dean, their fellow Gryffindor.
"Muggle-born, eh?" asked the first man.
"Not sure," said Dean. "My dad left my mum when I was a kid. I've got no proof he was a wizard, though."
They were silent as they ate for a moment. Ted broke it and began again.
"I've got to say, Dirk, I'm surprised to run into you. Pleased, but surprised. Word was you'd been caught."
"I was," said Dirk. "I was halfway to Azkaban when I made a break for it, Stunned Dawlish, and nicked his broom. It was easier than you'd think; I don't reckon he's quite right at the moment. Might be Confunded. If so, I'd like to shake the hand of the witch or wizard who did it, probably saved my life."
There was another pause in which the fire crackled and the river rushed on. Then Ted said, "And where do you two fit in? I, er, had the impression the goblins were for You-Know-Who, on the whole."
"You had a false impression," said the higher-voiced of the goblins. "We take no sides. This is a wizards' war."
"How come you're in hiding, then?"
"I deemed it prudent," said the deeper-voiced goblin. "Having refused what I considered an impertinent request, I could see that my personal safety was in jeopardy."
"What did they ask you to do?" asked Ted.
"Duties ill-befitting the dignity of my race," replied the goblin, his voice rougher and less human as he said it. "I am not a house-elf."
"What about you, Griphook?"
"Similar reasons," said the higher-voiced goblin. "Gringotts is no longer under the sole control of my race. I recognise no Wizarding master."
He added something under his breath in Gobbledegook, and Gornuk laughed.
"What's the joke?" asked Dean.
"He said," replied Dirk, "that there are things wizards don't recognise, either."
There was a short pause.
"I don't get it," said Dean.
"I had my small revenge before I left," said Griphook in English.
"Good man — goblin, I should say," amended Ted hastily.
"Didn't manage to lock a Death Eater up in one of the old high-security vaults, I suppose?"
"If I had, the sword would not have helped him break out," replied Griphook. Gornuk laughed again and even Dirk gave a dry chuckle.
Alicia's eyes widened. Sword? They had a sword! In Gringotts?
"Dean and I are still missing something here," said Ted.
"So is Severus Snape, though he does not know it," said Griphook, and the two goblins roared with malicious laughter.
Godric Gryffindor's sword is in Gringotts! But her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. But it wont help escape? But it's Gryffindor's sword, it'd be powerful enough for that…? But then…
"Didn't you hear about that, Ted?" asked Dirk. "About the kids who tried to steal Gryffindor's sword out of Snape's office at Hogwarts?"
Alicia was listen hard now for every piece of information.
"Never heard a word," said Ted. "Not in the Prophet, was it?"
"Hardly," chortled Dirk. "Griphook here told me, he heard about it from Bill Weasley who works for the bank. One of the kids who tried to take the sword was Bill's younger sister."
Alicia didn't turn to the three behind her. Harry would be worried and Ron… with the lack of food and the horcrux…
"She and a couple of friends got into Snape's office and smashed open the glass case where he was apparently keeping the sword. Snape caught them as they were trying to smuggle it down the staircase."
"Ah, God bless 'em," said Ted. "What did they think, that they'd be able to use the sword on You-Know-Who? Or on Snape himself ?"
No. They are stealing it because Dumbledore entrusted it to Harry! Alicia knew. Ginny knew of that and how the ministry had refused to do so.
"Well, whatever they thought they were going to do with it, Snape decided the sword wasn't safe where it was," said Dirk. "Couple of days later, once he'd got the say-so from You-Know-Who, I imagine, he sent it down to London to be kept in Gringotts instead."
The goblins started to laugh again.
"I'm still not seeing the joke," said Ted.
"It's a fake," rasped Griphook.
Alicia froze. The sword in the office was fake! Dumbledore had switched it because he knew the Ministry wouldn't let Harry have it! Did Snape have the real one hidden away, was he supposed to get it to them somehow, or had Dumbledore hidden it in a place for the four to find?
"The sword of Gryffindor!"
"Oh yes. It is a copy — an excellent copy, it is true — but it was Wizard-made. The original was forged centuries ago by goblins and had certain properties only goblin-made armour possesses. Wherever the genuine sword of Gryffindor is, it is not in a vault at Gringotts bank."
"I see," said Ted. "And I take it you didn't bother telling the Death Eaters this?"
"I saw no reason to trouble them with the information," said Griphook smugly, and now Ted and Dean joined in Gornuk and Dirk's laughter.
"What happened to Ginny and the others? The ones who tried to steal it?" Dean asked
"Oh, they were punished, and cruelly," said Griphook indifferently.
"They're okay, though?" asked Ted quickly. "I mean, the Weasleys don't need any more of their kids injured, do they?"
Alicia's eyes widened and she slumped sideways. What did that mean? Had someone been injured since they'd left the Burrow? Had something happened? Or were they simply talking of injuries already happened? George's ear, Bill's face, Ron ill in bed. She closed her eyes and balled her hand that wasn't holding the ears, gosh she wished with all her might nothing new had happened. And yet she eyes pricked anyway.
"They suffered no serious injury, as far as I am aware," said Griphook.
"Lucky for them," said Ted. "With Snape's track record I suppose we should just be glad they're still alive."
"You believe that story, then, do you, Ted?" asked Dirk. "You believe Snape killed Dumbledore?"
" 'Course I do," said Ted. "You're not going to sit there and tell me you think Potter had anything to do with it?"
"Hard to know what to believe these days," muttered Dirk.
"I know Harry Potter," said Dean. "And I reckon he's the real thing — the Chosen One, or whatever you want to call it."
"Yeah, there's a lot would like to believe he's that, son," said Dirk, "me included. But where is he? Run for it, by the looks of things. His sister too. You'd think, if they knew anything we don't, or had anything special going for them, they'd be out there now fighting, rallying resistance, instead of hiding. And you know, the Prophet made a pretty good case against him —"
"The Prophet?" scoffed Ted. "You deserve to be lied to if you're still reading that muck, Dirk. You want the facts, try the Quibbler."
Alicia watched as the unknown man, Dirk, choked on his salmon. Ted clapped him on the back from beside him. Dirk had swallowed a fish bone. At last he spluttered, "The Quibbler? That lunatic rag of Xeno Lovegood's?"
"It's not so lunatic these days," said Ted. "You want to give it a look. Xeno is printing all the stuff the Prophet's ignoring, not a single mention of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks in the last issue. How long they'll let him get away with it, mind, I don't know. But Xeno says, front page of every issue, that any wizard who's against You-Know-Who ought to make helping Harry Potter their number-one priority."
Alicia smiled slightly.
"Hard to help a boy who's vanished off the face of the earth," said Dirk.
"Listen, the fact that they haven't caught him yet's one hell of an achievement," said Ted. "I'd take tips from him gladly; it's what we're trying to do, stay free, isn't it?"
"Yeah, well, you've got a point there," said Dirk heavily. "With the whole of the Ministry and all their informers looking for him I'd have expected him to be caught by now. Mind, who's to say they haven't already caught and killed him without publicising it?"
"Ah, don't say that, Dirk," murmured Ted.
There was a long pause filled with more clattering of knives and forks. When they spoke again it was to discuss whether they ought to sleep on the bank or retreat back up the wooded slope. Deciding the trees would give better cover, they extinguished their fire, then clambered back up the incline, their voices fading away.
Harry, Alicia, Ron, and Hermione reeled in the Extendable Ears and Alicia moved away from the entrance to the tent. She sat in one of the arm chairs and picked up her mirror, her own reflection stared back instead of the grinning face with red hair framing it that she so wished to see.
Harry broke the silence. "Ginny — the sword —"
"I know!" said Hermione.
She lunged for the tiny beaded bag, this time sinking her arm in it right up to the armpit.
"Here… we… are…" she said between gritted teeth, and she pulled at something that was evidently in the depths of the bag. Slowly the edge of an ornate picture frame came into sight. Harry hurried to help her. As they lifted the empty portrait of Phineas Nigellus free of Hermione's bag, Alicia watched as Hermione kept her wand pointing at it, ready to cast a spell at any moment.